US-Israeli attack on Isfahan factory kills 15, says Iranian media | US-Israel war over Iran news

Iranian media reports the deaths in central Iran as Tehran fires new missile salvos at Israeli targets.

A missile attack on an industrial area in the central Iranian city of Isfahan killed at least 15 people, Iranian media reports said, adding that workers were inside the factory at the time of the attack.

The strike hit a factory that produces heating and cooling equipment on Saturday, a workday in Iran, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, which blamed US and Israeli forces for the attack.

Iran’s health ministry says the US-Israeli strikes have now killed at least 1,444 people and wounded more than 18,500 since they began on February 28, the 15th day of the conflict.

Cities across Iran have been repeatedly targeted since the start of the war.

On March 8, shelling damaged the Russian consulate in Isfahan, injuring staff, with Moscow calling the strike a “flagrant violation” of international conventions.

Iran’s Culture Ministry said on Saturday that 56 museums and historical sites were damaged, including the 17th-century Naqsh-e Jahan Square, the focal point of Isfahan, and the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran.

UNESCO said it was “deeply concerned” that four of Iran’s 29 World Heritage sites had been affected.

Separately on Saturday, Iran’s military confirmed that Brigadier General Abdullah Jalali-Nassab had been killed in an Israeli strike, saying he was “martyred while defending the country”.

Earlier, US forces struck Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports, although a regional official said operations were continuing normally and there were no casualties.

US President Donald Trump has previously threatened to target the island’s oil infrastructure if Tehran continues to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz.

Any prospect of negotiations is remote. The Trump administration has rebuffed regional efforts to broker a ceasefire, a senior White House official told Reuters news agency the president was focused on.

“They are not interested in it right now, and we will continue the mission continuously,” the official said.

Reuters reported citing an unnamed Iranian official that Iran has ruled out talks while the attacks continue.

Iran’s Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a tone of protest on Saturday, saying the US security framework in the region had “proved to be full of holes” and called on neighbors to “kick out the foreign aggressors”.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the war was entering a “decisive phase” that would “continue as long as necessary”.

Iran fired new missile salvos at Israel on Saturday, with explosions heard over Jerusalem, according to AFP news agency correspondents.

The Israeli military said six waves of missiles, some carrying cluster bomb warheads, hit large swathes of the country. In Eilat, a cluster munition impact injured three people, including a 12-year-old boy, The Times of Israel reported.