Hundreds of civilians, mostly in Iran, have been killed by dueling airstrikes despite international pleas for de-escalation.

Iran launched a wave of missiles just hours after Israel said it was striking missile sites in central Iran. Israel says it hit Quds Force command centers.

Investors have been weighing the odds of further escalation in the conflict and spillover into the broader oil-rich Middle East.

Israel and Iran have traded more missile attacks despite international calls for a halt to the fighting, with neither country showing signs of backing down as the conflict between the regional foes raged for a third day.

Leaders in Washington and Tehran appear to be jostling over red lines to keep their countries out of a direct confrontation.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA said hundreds of ballistic missiles had been launched in retaliation for Israel’s biggest ever attacks on Iran, blasting Iran’s huge underground nuclear site at Natanz an

Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, reiterating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's religious edict against weapons of mass destruction.