TEHRAN — A massive explosion struck Iran’s capital on Sunday as the Israeli military said it was targeting sites in central Tehran, marking a new escalation in the widening conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States.The blast sent a large plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground across parts of the city.The explosion appeared centered in neighborhoods that house key state institutions, including the country’s police headquarters, Iranian state television, Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.The strikes came hours after Iran launched missiles at an expanding list of targets in Israel and several Gulf Arab states, describing the attacks as retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.-Israeli operations.The joint U.S.-Israel campaign followed weeks of rising tensions, during which the Trump administration deployed one of the largest concentrations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. President Donald Trump had previously said he was seeking a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program.In response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes, Iran launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted U.S. military installations across the region, widening the scope of the confrontation.TEHRAN — A massive explosion struck Iran’s capital on Sunday as the Israeli military said it was targeting sites in central Tehran, marking a new escalation in the widening conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States.The blast sent a large plume of smoke into the sky and shook the ground across parts of the city.The explosion appeared centered in neighborhoods that house key state institutions, including the country’s police headquarters, Iranian state television, Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and a Defense Ministry building.The strikes came hours after Iran launched missiles at an expanding list of targets in Israel and several Gulf Arab states, describing the attacks as retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.-Israeli operations.The joint U.S.-Israel campaign followed weeks of rising tensions, during which the Trump administration deployed one of the largest concentrations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. President Donald Trump had previously said he was seeking a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program.In response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes, Iran launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted U.S. military installations across the region, widening the scope of the confrontation.
