Iran has solid proof US forces supported Israel: Minister Abbas Araghchi

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran had evidence to show US forces supported the bombardment campaign Israel launched against Iran this week.

"We have solid proof of the support of the American forces and American bases in the region for the attacks of the Zionist regime military forces," Araghchi told foreign diplomats in a meeting broadcast on state TV, as per AFP.

Araghchi statement was reported after US President Donald Trump said the US had nothing to do with Israel's attack on Iran on Sunday.

Trump warned Iran, “If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.”

Iran-Israel conflict

Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day on Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country.

Israel vowed that its military would continue targeting Iranian military facilities. “We will strike the sites and continue to peel the skin off the Iranian snake in Tehran and everywhere,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz was quoted by Iran International as saying.

He vowed to strip Iran of its nuclear and weapons capabilities. Notably, Israel sees Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, Rouhollah Motefaker Azad, a member of Iran’s parliament education committee, said Sunday that the gates of hell have opened on Israel.

“We are a nation well-versed in war,” he was quoted by Iranian media as saying, adding that “weddings are being held in Iran, but Netanyahu is missing.”

Death toll amid Israel, Iran tensions

In Israel, at least six people, including two children, were killed when a missile hit an apartment building in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv. Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven are still missing.

Meanwhile, Iran's UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and 320 wounded in Friday's first wave of Israeli strikes. Iranian authorities have not provided an updated toll as of early Sunday, but Tehran says Israel has killed top army commanders and nuclear scientists, AFP reported.