TEHRAN — The Israeli military launched a second wave of airstrikes on Iran early Sunday, targeting key military, defense, and nuclear-related sites in Tehran and multiple provinces, as tensions between the two regional powers continued to escalate.

According to Iranian state media, explosions were reported in the capital Tehran, where an Israeli strike hit the Ministry of Defense headquarters, causing minor damage to one of its buildings.

The Defense Ministry has not issued a public comment.

The Israeli military confirmed the strike on the Defense Ministry and said it conducted a "wide-ranging series of intelligence-based strikes" targeting several locations linked to what it described as Iran's nuclear weapons project.

These included the headquarters of the Organization for Defensive Innovation and Research and multiple fuel storage sites.

The Iranian Oil Ministry reported that two fuel depots in Tehran were also struck, including the Shahrān oil depot in the northwest of the capital, which caught fire, and another facility in the southern part of the city.

As the air raids intensified, Iranian air defenses were activated across seven provinces, including Hormozgan, Kermanshah, Qom, West Azerbaijan, Ahvaz, Tabriz, and Isfahan.

Iranian state television also reported air defense activity around Bandar Abbas, the country’s main southern port.

Iran claimed to have intercepted ten Israeli drones in various regions.

On Saturday, Israel said it had struck an underground missile facility in Khorramabad, western Iran, describing it as a major Revolutionary Guard site used for storing and launching surface-to-surface and cruise missiles.

Military spokesman Avi Divrin said the site was featured in Iranian propaganda videos and that senior figures linked to the facility were eliminated.

Separately, Iranian media and the Iranian Red Crescent reported that an Israeli airstrike in Urmia, near the Turkish border, killed two people, including paramedics responding to an explosion at the Mahdi Barracks.

The Red Crescent confirmed that an ambulance was directly targeted.

The new strikes follow the massive Israeli air assault launched at dawn Friday under the codename “Rising Lion,” which targeted nuclear facilities and military bases across Iran, killing senior military leaders and nine nuclear scientists, according to Iranian sources. — Agencies