Tel Aviv, June 14: Tensions in the Middle East escalated further early on Saturday as Iran launched a fresh wave of missile attacks on Israel, according to reports from Iranian state television.

The renewed offensive comes amid a period of heightened hostilities between the two nations.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed the attack, stating that a barrage of projectiles had been launched toward Israeli territory.

In a brief statement, the military said, “Another barrage has been fired towards Israel,” though the total number of missiles and specific areas targeted were not immediately disclosed.

In central Israel, at least 10 civilians sustained injuries after an Iranian missile reportedly struck near residential areas. Emergency services responded swiftly to treat the wounded and assess the extent of the damage.

The Israeli government has placed the country on heightened alert, with residents in several regions advised to stay in protected areas.

Meanwhile, the United States military has intervened to assist Israel’s air defence systems. According to two US officials speaking on condition of anonymity, American forces successfully intercepted multiple Iranian missiles that were en route to Israel.

However, the officials did not specify the method of interception or whether it was conducted by fighter jets, missile defence systems, or naval assets.

Earlier nearly 100 missiles were launched from Iran toward central and northern Israel in two massive barrages, causing significant damage and injuring 41 people, according to the Israeli military and the national emergency service, Magen David Adom (MDA).

The MDA reported two people critically injured, two moderately, four lightly-moderately, while the remaining individuals suffered light injuries or trauma-related symptoms, including panic attacks.

Following the launches, air defence sirens were activated, sending millions of residents to protected rooms and shelters for more than an hour.

IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said that most missiles were intercepted by the air defence system or did not reach their target. He noted that the injuries reported occurred inside buildings, with several caused by shrapnel from intercepted missiles.

United Nations, June 14: Even as Iran was raining missiles on Israel in retaliation for the attack on its nuclear facilities and leaders, the Security Council heard International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) top official warn that attacks on nuclear installations could have “grave consequences”.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, “Any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond.”

The IAEA General Council has declared that military attacks on nuclear facilities violate the UN Charter and international law, he said.

UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the Council Emergency session convened at the request of Iran, “We must at all costs avoid a growing conflagration which would have enormous global consequences”.

She said that Israel attacked Iran as “significant diplomatic developments” were afoot with talks between Washington and Tehran set to resume in Oman on Sunday. Iran has pulled out of the negotiations.

DiCarlo said, “A peaceful resolution through negotiations remains the best means to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme”.

A senior US State Department official, McCoy Pitt, said the US was still willing to negotiate.

“We seek a secure peace”, he said. “As President Trump said, the violence should come to an end, and Iran should make a deal so that there is ‘no more death, no more destruction’. The United States will continue to seek a diplomatic resolution that ensures Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon or pose a threat to stability in the Middle East”, he said.

“Iran’s leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time”, he added.

During US President Donald Trump’s first term, he pulled out of an international agreement to stop Iran’s programme to produce materials for a nuclear bomb in return for removing some international sanctions.

However, recently he tried to work out a new agreement with Tehran, and those efforts have now been blocked by Israel’s attack on Iran.

Iran’s Permanent Representative Amir Saeid Iravani, said Israel’s attack was meant “to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations, and to drag the region into wider conflict”.

He also accused Washington of being complicit in the Israeli attack.

Pitt denied that the US was involved in the attack, although it had been informed of it in advance.

Israel’s Permanent Representative Danny Danon defended his country’s action, calling it “an act of national preservation”.

He displayed a picture of a countdown clock in Tehran that was timed to its plan to annihilate Israel.

Israel’s mission was to ”neutralise the (Iranian) regime’s ability to follow through on its repeated public promise to destroy the State of Israel”, he said.

Danon said the strikes in Iran were precise and targeted the nuclear facilities.

New Delhi, June 14: Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu will chair a high-level meeting on air safety at the ministry office on Saturday. The meeting comes in the wake of the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, which was en route from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick Airport on June 12.

The crash claimed the lives of at least 241 people. Only one individual is reported to have survived the crash.

The meeting, scheduled for 10:30 a.m., will be attended by the Civil Aviation Secretary, the Director General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), officials from the Airports Authority of India, and other senior officials from related departments.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation also announced the formation of a high-level multi-disciplinary committee to examine the causes behind the devastating crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

According to the ministry, the committee will review the circumstances leading to the accident and assess the current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and safety guidelines in civil aviation.

The ministry stated that the committee’s mandate will be to recommend a comprehensive framework for preventing and managing similar aviation incidents in the future.

Taking to X, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said, “The Committee will not be a substitute to other enquiries being conducted by relevant organisations but will focus on formulating SOPs for preventing and handling such occurrences in the future.”

The crash occurred just minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad airport when the aircraft lost altitude and spiralled into a medical college hostel located in a densely populated residential area. Many are feared killed and injured on the ground as the aircraft had burst into a ball of fire as it was carrying a lot of fuel for the long-haul flight.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site on Friday and met with survivors undergoing treatment at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

A team of 70-80 doctors is conducting post-mortem examinations to identify the deceased.

A formal investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash. Forensic experts are examining the wreckage, and aviation authorities have launched a comprehensive probe to ascertain the factors that led to the fatal incident.