Iran says its Fordow nuclear facility has been struck again
Within Israel, explosions are heard in Jerusalem but no immediate reports of damage
Iran's underground enrichment site at Fordow was hit again Monday while Iran fired a salvo of missiles and drones at Israel and warned the United States that its military now has a "free hand" to attack American targets in the wake of the Trump administration's massive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The Israeli military also confirmed it struck roads around the Fordow facility to obstruct access to the site.
The Fordow facility was one of those hit in the initial attack over the weekend, and the subsequent Monday strike was first reported by Iranian state television. There was no immediate word on damage.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Monday that "given the explosive payload utilized," the UN nuclear watchdog expected "very significant damage" occurred in the initial strikes there.
With the strikes on Sunday on Iranian nuclear sites, the United States inserted itself into Israel's war, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict. Iran said the U.S. had crossed "a very big red line" with its risky gambit to strike the three sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
In Iran, witnesses reported Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Iran's capital, Tehran, around midday.
One strike hit the gate of Iran's notorious Evin prison in Tehran, Iranian state television reported. The report shared what appeared to be black-and-white-surveillance footage of the strike.
Israel's Defence Ministry confirmed it hit targets including prison and the security headquarters of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards.
The prison is known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
Evin also has specialized units for political prisoners and those with Western ties, run by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The facility is the target of both U.S. and European Union sanctions.
Carney says he spoke to Trump about de-escalation
Israel said its defence systems were operating to intercept the latest Iranian threat, which apparently targeted the north and central areas of the country, and told people to head to shelters.
Iran described the attack as a new wave of its Operation True Promise 3, saying it was targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian state television.
Explosions were also heard in Jerusalem. There were no immediate reports of damage.
Earlier Monday, Iranian Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of joint staff of armed forces, warned Washington its strikes had given Iranian forces a "free hand" to "act against U.S. interests and its army."
Mousavi described the American attack as violating Iran's sovereignty and being tantamount to invading the country, the
state-run IRNA news agency reported.
In the wake of the American attacks on Iran, calls came from across the globe for de-escalation and the return to diplomacy to try and resolve the conflict.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump overnight.
"We focused on de-escalating the conflict in the Middle East, our shared commitment to a stronger NATO at this week's summit, and the progress in the ongoing trade negotiations between our countries," Carney said in a social media post.
The two-day NATO summit in The Hague of its 32 members involves an informal dinner Tuesday and one working session Wednesday morning.
EU focused on diplomacy
The European Union's top diplomat said the bloc remained "very much focused on the diplomatic solution."
"The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge," Kaja Kallas said at the start of a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels where Iran has jumped to the top of the agenda.
"Especially closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody," Kallas said, referring to a maritime route crucial for oil transport.
After Sunday's attacks, Iranian officials repeated their longtime threats of possibly closing the key shipping lane.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was meeting on Monday in Moscow with key ally Russia. He thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Kremlin condemned U.S. strikes on Iran, telling him Russia stood on "the right side of history."
"This is an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran; [it] has no basis or justification," Putin said at Monday's meeting.
Iran has supported Russia's efforts in its war in Ukraine, most notably by providing Shahed drones.
Fu Cong, the UN ambassador for China, said the parties, especially Israel, "should immediately cease fire to prevent the situation from escalating and avoid the spillover of war."
Iran was hurt "but the United States' credibility was also damaged — both as a country and as a participant in any international negotiations," Fu added.
Trump sounds open to regime change
U.S. officials on Sunday, including Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, stressed that the U.S. was not interested in regime change in Iran but were focused on the country's nuclear capabilities.
They appeared to be undercut by the president in subsequent social media posts by Trump.
"It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???" Trump posted.
While Trump said in the first U.S. statement following the strikes that they had "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's three nuclear sites, a half-day later Gen. Dan Caine of the Pentagon would only go so far as to say that "extremely severe damage and destruction" had occurred, with a full assessment of damage not yet clear.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Sunday the country was "very close to achieving our goals" in removing Iran's nuclear and missile threats.
With files from CBC News and Reuters