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

When Israel launched its series of strikes against Iran last week, it also issued a number of dire warnings about the country’s nuclear program, suggesting Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in its quest to obtain nuclear weapons and that the strikes were necessary to preempt that outcome.

The exchange of fire comes as talks on Iran's nuclear program in Oman between the U.S. and Iran were called off.

Experts suggest the U.S. has a strategic opportunity to leverage Iran's weakened position for a nuclear deal after Israel's targeted strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites.

Israel stunned and hobbled Iran last week when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision. In this Israeli city hit by an Iranian missile,

If the U.S. decides to support Israel more directly in its attack on Iran, one option for Washington would be to provide the “bunker-buster” bombs believed necessary to significantly damage the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant,

Plus: An appeals court blocks the ruling directing President Donald Trump to return control of the National Guard to California. More on The Excerpt.

Iran said the dialogue with the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear programme is "meaningless" after Israel's biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.

Trump arrived at the White House early Tuesday at a moment of choosing in his presidency. Israel, with five days of missile strikes, has done considerable damage to Iran and believes it can now deal a permanent blow to Tehran’s nuclear program — particularly if it gets a little more help from the Republican president.

The United States advised Americans not to travel to Israel after another wave of Iranian missile attacks struck the country.

European foreign ministers told their Iranian counterpart in a call on Monday to return to nuclear negotiations with the U.S. and refrain from escalating conflict with Israel, to which Iran's foreign minister said Tehran's priority was to confront Israel for now,