A storm is brewing in Nigeria’s downstream oil sector as key industry associations raise alarm over Dangote Refinery’s move to commence nationwide distribution of petroleum products from August 15. The plan—announced by the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery on June 15—includes the direct distribution of diesel, premium motor spirit (PMS), and compressed natural gas (CNG).

What may appear, on the surface, as a stride toward improved fuel availability is being fiercely contested behind closed doors. Oil marketers across the country, particularly those under the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), are currently locked in marathon meetings to strategise a response. Their common concern: the threat of market domination and the looming danger of a monopoly by the Dangote Group.

According to PETROAN president, Billy Gillis-Harry, the scale and approach of Dangote’s distribution plan risk wiping out many existing businesses in the sector. “It’s now that my other sister associations are waking up to realise that this is a big danger that is going to be part of the entire industry,” he said. PETROAN has warned that Dangote’s forward integration model—where a producer also takes control of distribution—could choke out competition and destabilise the industry.

In a formal statement signed by PETROAN’s national PRO, Joseph Obele, the association decried what it described as a “monopoly in disguise.” The group warned of sweeping job losses if the refinery’s pricing and logistics strategies undercut existing players. “This could lead to a massive shutdown of filling stations across Nigeria, resulting in widespread job losses,” the statement reads.

Among the most concerning developments for marketers is the plan by Dangote to deploy 4,000 CNG-powered tankers—vehicles that offer lower transport costs and environmental benefits. While this innovation may appear forward-thinking, PETROAN argues that it risks putting thousands of independent truck drivers and small fleet operators out of work.

The association also highlighted how Dangote’s scale—unique in Africa—enables it to produce at global refinery levels while also controlling retail distribution, a move that effectively blurs the line between upstream production and downstream commerce. PETROAN insists that this kind of market leverage could be used to manipulate prices, suffocate modular refineries, and bypass local suppliers and distributors.

The concerns voiced echo earlier analysis that while Dangote’s refinery brings hope for energy independence, it also raises red flags about unchecked market dominance. The refinery’s push to halt fuel imports and control supply channels could tilt the sector dangerously in favour of a single player, endangering Nigeria’s competitive energy landscape.

As tension builds, marketers are expected to issue a unified statement in the coming days. But the underlying question remains: will regulatory authorities step in to prevent market imbalance, or will the downstream sector be left at the mercy of a single industrial giant?

Nigeria's headline inflation rate fell slightly for the second month in May, to 22.97% year-on-year from 23.71% in April, data from its statistics agency showed on Monday.

Africa's most populous country has been battling high inflation which soared to repeated 28-year peaks last year, spurred by President Bola Tinubu's removal of petrol and electricity subsidies and devaluation of the naira after he came to power in 2023.

After a rebasing exercise where the statistics bureau updated its base year to 2024, from 2009, and reweighted the inflation basket, the annual inflation rate fell sharply from 34.80% in December to 24.48% in January.

Food inflation, a key driver of the headline rate, stood at 21.14% year on year in May compared with 21.26% the month before.

Last month, at its second rate-setting meeting of the year, the central bank held its key interest rate for a second consecutive time, following six hikes last year, citing improved macroeconomic indicators supporting medium-term price moderation.

Reuters

Israel activates 'Barak Magen' aerial defenses for system's first ever interception

Israel activated a new aerial defense system – dubbed "Barak Magen," meaning "lightning shield" – for the first time on Sunday night, saying it intercepted and destroyed multiple Iranian drones.

The Israeli Navy intercepted eight Iranian drones using the "Barak Magen" and its long-range air defense (LRAD) interceptor, which were launched from an Israeli navy Sa’ar 6 missile ship, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

John Hannah, senior fellow at The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) and the co-author of a report published earlier this monthon Israel’s defense against two massive Iranian missile attacks in 2024, told Fox News Digital on Monday that the air defense system "significantly enhances" the air and missile defense architecture of Israel’s navy.

"The Barak Magen is simply another arrow in the expanding quiver of Israel’s highly sophisticated and increasingly diverse multi-tiered missile defense architecture – which was already, by leaps and bounds, the most advanced and experienced air defense system fielded by any country in the world," Hannah said.

The system can intercept a "wide range of threats," according to the IDF, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, high-trajectory threats and shore-to-sea missiles.

Hannah said the system not only provides force protection for the Israeli fleet but also gives long-distance protection to Israel’s expandingoil and gas infrastructure in the eastern Mediterranean, along with critical infrastructure and population centers located along Israel’s coastline.

"It allows Israel to conduct interceptions at significant distances from the Israeli homeland, both out in the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and thereby adds critically important strategic depth when defending Israel’s tiny geographic area," he said.

The IDF said that the Israeli Navy’s missile ship flotilla has intercepted about 25 UAVs that posed a threat to Israel since the conflict with Iran escalated.

Israel and Iran traded missile strikes for the fourth day on Monday, with Iran firing a new wave of strikes that killed at least eight people and wounded dozens more.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military claimed it had achieved air superiority above Tehran, warning about 330,000 people in a central part of the Iranian capital to evacuate ahead of new strikes.

** Trump urges Tehran evacuation as Iran-Israel conflict enters fifth day

Israel and Iran attacked each other for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, and U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to evacuate Tehran, citing what he said was the country's rejection of a deal to curb nuclear weapons development.

Trump was due to leave the Group of Seven summit in Canada later on Monday, a day early, due to the Middle East situation, the White House said. Fox News reported he would convene his National Security Council.

"Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump's early departure from the G7 was positive, given the immediate objective was to get Israel and Iran to agree to a ceasefire that the U.S. had proposed.

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"There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a ceasefire and to initiate broader discussions. And I think this is a very good thing," Macron told reporters. "So now we need to see what the stakeholders will do."

Iranian media reported explosions and heavy air defence fire in Tehran early on Tuesday. Air defences were activated also in Natanz, home to key nuclear installations 320 km (200 miles) away, the Asriran news website reported.

A White House aide said it was not true that the U.S. was attacking Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News that Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran, while adding the U.S. would defend its assets in the region.

In Israel, air raid sirens wailed in Tel Aviv after midnight and an explosion was heard as Iranian missiles targeted the country again.

Iranian officials reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, in five days, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said nearly 3,000 Israelis had been evacuated due to damage from Iranian strikes.

Sources told Reuters that Tehran had asked Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to urge Trump to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to an immediate ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations, according to two Iranian and three regional sources.

"If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X. "Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue."

Netanyahu told reporters on Monday that Israel was committed to eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, adding, "If this can be achieved in another way—fine. But we gave it a 60-day chance."

Speaking to Reuters on Friday, the first day of Israel's assault, Trump said he had given the Iranians 60 days to come to an agreement to halt uranium enrichment and that the time had expired with no deal. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.

Oil prices rallied more than 2% early in Asia on Tuesday after Trump's evacuation warning, reversing losses on Monday amid reports that Iran was seeking an end to hostilities.

CHINESE URGED TO LEAVE ISRAEL

With security concerns growing and Israeli airspace closed because of the war, the Chinese embassy in Israel urged its citizens to leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible.

The Iran-Israel air war - the biggest battle ever between the two longtime enemies - escalated on Monday with Israel targeting Iran's state broadcaster and uranium enrichment facilities.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the BBCthat the Natanz plant sustained extensive damage, likely destroying 15,000 centrifuges, while Iran's Fordow plant remained largely intact.

Talks between the United States and Iran, hosted by Oman, had been scheduled for June 15 but were scrapped, with Tehran saying it could not negotiate while under attack.

Israel launched its air war with a surprise attack that has killed nearly the entire top echelon of Iran's military commanders and its leading nuclear scientists. It says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in the coming days.

Trump has consistently said the Israeli assault could end quickly if Iran agreed to U.S. demands that it accept strict curbs on its nuclear programme.

"As I've been saying, I think a deal will be signed, or something will happen, but a deal will be signed, and I think Iran is foolish not to sign," Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Monday.

A U.S. official said Trump would not sign a draft statement from G7 leaders calling for a de-escalation of the conflict. The draft statement says Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Fox News/ Reuters

War-weary Gazans share images of destruction in Israel

Residents of the Gaza Strip have circulated images of wrecked buildings and charred vehicles hit by Iranian missiles in Israeli cities, and some were hopeful the wider conflict could eventually bring peace to their ruined homeland.

Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and the Israeli port city of Haifa before dawn on Monday, killing at least eight people, part of a wave of attacks by Tehran in retaliation for Israel's strikes targeting its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

"The Iranian response was a surprise to me, to many Palestinians, and the Israelis too. Everyone thought it would be mild and theatrical," said Mohammad Jamal, 27, a resident of Gaza City.

"Watching rockets fall without the stupid Iron Dome being able to stop them is a joy, and seeing buildings collapsing and fires everywhere reminds me of the destruction the occupation brought on Gaza, yet I can't even begin to compare," he told Reuters via a chat app.

The Iron Dome is the part of Israel's multi-layered missile defence system that tackles the kind of short-range rockets and mortars fired by Hamas militants from Gaza.

Tahrir, a 34-year-old mother-of-four, said their house was destroyed in the Shejaia suburb, east of Gaza City, in the early weeks of the war in 2023, and her family has since been displaced several times.

"Finally, many Israelis felt what we have felt for 20 months, fear, loss of faith, and displacement," she said.

"I hope that this time, they will press their government to end the war in Gaza because all of what is happening with Iran is part of the wider Gaza war."

'NOTHING COMPARED TO GAZA'

The latest fatalities in Israel, reported by Israel's national emergency services, raised its death toll to 23 since Friday. Israeli attacks in Iran have killed at least 224 people since Friday, Iran's health ministry has said.

With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers.

"I was never a fan of Iran, I still don't like them because of their intervention in Gaza and other Arab countries, but seeing them retaliate for real, not a play like in previous times, made me happy, despite all the sadness around me," said Amr Salah, 29.

"It is nothing compared to what Israel did to Gaza, but at least a taste of it. It is maybe time to end all of this, in Gaza too," he added.

The war in Gaza erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, taking 251 hostages and killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli tallies, on October 7, 2023.

Israel's military campaign since has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than 2 million people. Most of the population is displaced and malnutrition is widespread.

Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.

Hamas-led factions praised the retaliatory strikes by Iran.

"Scenes of Iranian missiles striking the strongholds and hideouts of the Zionists carry with them a sense of pride, dignity, and honour that shatters Zionist arrogance and dominance," said a statement issued in the name of the Hamas-led "Factions of Resistance".

Hamas leaders have repeatedly thanked Iran for its military and financial support to the group in its fight against Israel, including during the current war.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia attacks Kyiv with waves of drones, missiles

Waves of Russian drones and missiles struck districts across the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Tuesday, damaging an apartment building, sparking fires and injuring up to 16 people, city officials said.

Reuters witnesses said drones swarmed over the capital and they heard what appeared to be missiles overhead. An air raid alert remained in effect more than seven hours after it had been proclaimed.

Other parts of the country also came under attack, including areas outside the capital and the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, where the regional governor reported at least four strikes.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that most of the 16 injured were in Solomianskyi district, near the city centre, where a drone damaged the top floor of an apartment building and other non-residential areas.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, noted 12 strikes in five districts. Among the targets was a kindergarten in the city's eastern edge.

"The capital is coming under a combined attack," Tkachenko wrote. "The Russians are deploying missiles and strike drones. There are fires in different districts and emergency crews are at work."

Waves of drones had attacked Solomianskyi district, he said. "This is a very difficult night," he wrote, adding that there had been power cuts in some areas.

Both Ukraine and Russia have launched mass drone attacks in recent weeks as the two sides have held two sessions of direct talks on ending the more than three-year-old war. The talks have produced agreements on freeing prisoners of war and returning the bodies of fallen soldiers, but little more.

"More strikes by Russian drones on residential buildings in Kyiv," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram. "Russia is continuing its war on civilians."

Klitschko reported that a 62-year-old U.S. citizen had died in a dwelling opposite a site where medics were providing assistance. He gave no further details and it was not clear how the man had died.

In Moscow, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defence units had repelled an attack on the city by two Ukrainian drones. The city's airports were briefly closed.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces strike Ukrainian army training center, air defense radars over past day

Russian forces struck a Ukrainian military-industrial enterprise, an army training center and air defense radars over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

"Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck an enterprise of Ukraine’s military-industrial sector, a Ukrainian army training center, air defense radar stations, assembly and storage facilities and control posts of attack unmanned aerial vehicles, ammunition, explosives and materiel depots, and also temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 156 areas," the ministry said.

Kiev loses 1,320 troops in all frontline areas over past day - latest figures

The Ukrainian army lost roughly 1,320 troops in battles with Russian forces in all the frontline areas over the past 24 hours, according to the latest data on the special military operation in Ukraine released by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The latest figures show that the Ukrainian army lost over 230 troops and eight armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup North, roughly 190 troops and a tank in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup West and more than 175 troops and two armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup South.

During the last 24-hour period, the Ukrainian army also lost roughly 490 troops and four armored combat vehicles in the responsibility area of Russia’s Battlegroup Center, over 175 troops and an armored combat vehicle in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup East and about 60 troops and two jamming stations in the responsibility area of the Battlegroup Dnepr, the latest figures suggest.

Reuters/Tass

In February, Afrobeats singer Tems won the Grammy for Best African Music Performance. Her achievement underscores the genre’s growing popularity, exemplified by more than 15 billion streams on Spotify. It is also part of a broader cultural renaissance, as Africa’s creative industries – from music and film to fashion – rapidly expand their global reach.

African culture’s rise to prominence could play a major role in the continent’s economic transformation, offering significant opportunities for a large and growing youth population. The creative industries are projected to account for 4% of Africa’s GDP and up to 10% of global creative exports by 2030, creating more than 20 million new jobs.

As I highlight in a new report, the growth of Africa’s creative industries is driven by two major forces: digitalization and demographic shifts. But to unlock the sector’s full economic potential, policymakers must make strategic investments and implement targeted reforms.

Digital innovation is rapidly reshaping Africa’s cultural landscape, creating new pathways to economic development. Increased access to emerging technologies is fueling the rise of digital payment platforms, while social media, streaming services, and online marketplaces are lowering entry barriers for creators and entrepreneurs. AI alone is projected to add nearly $1.5 trillion to the continent’s GDP by 2030, transforming how creative work is produced, distributed, and consumed. Between 2016 and 2022, Netflix invested $175 million in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, reflecting its confidence in Africa’s creative output.

Demographic shifts are equally transformative, as the rapid expansion of Africa’s middle class and consumer base is driving demand for locally produced creative goods. By 2060, the middle class is expected to comprise more than 40% of the continent’s population. At the same time, Africa’s youth population is projected to doubleby 2050, making it the only region in the world with a growing working-age population. In addition to expanding Africa’s domestic markets, this demographic dividend is poised to transform the global cultural landscape, with African creators playing an increasingly influential role.

African policymakers must harness this cultural momentum to advance economic, social, and development goals. Notably, creative industries tend to employ a higher proportion of young people than other parts of the economy. With an estimated 11 million young Africans expected to enter the workforce annually through 2030, targeted investment in these industries could be a highly effective strategy for addressing the continent’s youth unemployment problem.

In sectors like fashion, around 90% of micro, small, and medium-size enterprises operate informally. Formalizing these businesses could boost productivity, broaden access to finance, and foster long-term growth. A more structured creative economy could also advance gender equality, especially in countries like Ethiopia, where women comprise roughly 85-90% of the apparel workforce.

To be sure, significant obstacles must be overcome to realize the sector’s full potential. Africa currently accounts for just 1.5% of the global creative economy and 5% of the world’s cultural and creative-industry jobs, and the sector faces persistent funding gaps, chronic underinvestment, and weak regulatory frameworks. Many African governments allocate less than 1% of their national budgets to creative industries.

Intellectual property protections remain a key vulnerability as well, with UNESCO estimating that 50-75% of African film and audiovisual revenues are lost to piracy. To tackle this challenge, governments must bolster anti-piracy laws and improve enforcement mechanisms. The African Union’s Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries is a step in the right direction, but its success will depend on coordinated national implementation, the development of clear IP guidelines, and more robust institutional capacity.

Alongside IP reform, African governments should adopt business-friendly policies tailored to the unique needs of African entrepreneurs and creators. Given the high levels of informality across the sector, these frameworks must be flexible and inclusive. A prime example is Morocco’s rebate system, which attracted international productions and helped the country’s film industry achieve record profits in 2023.

Access to funding is essential. The financial measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to aid the arts sector provide a useful model for how direct public investment can support creative industries. Strategic investment in digital infrastructure is also critical, especially for creative industries like fashion e-commerce.

National governments should also collaborate with regional and international funders. Encouragingly, the African Export-Import Bank announced last year that it would double its investment – to $2 billion over the next three years – in the Creative Africa Nexus initiative, which connects creative professionals and investors from across the continent.

More broadly, African governments must develop forward-looking policies that accelerate the growth of creative industries. By tapping into the talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial drive of Africa’s youth, the continent has the potential to position its creative economy as a global powerhouse, driving GDP growth, expanding cultural influence, and shaping a future defined by African-led prosperity.

Project Syndicate

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has unveiled a fuel distribution programme that will deliver petrol and diesel across Nigeria with free transportation, starting August 15, 2025.

According to a company statement, the initiative targets marketers, petrol station dealers, manufacturers, telecom operators, aviation firms, and other large-scale users. As part of the plan, Dangote has acquired 4,000 CNG-powered tankers and will deploy over 100 tankers to support CNG “daughter” stations across the country.

The company described the initiative as a move to eliminate logistics costs, enhance energy efficiency, and contribute to economic development. It also includes a credit facility: buyers who purchase 500,000 litres of fuel can access an additional 500,000 litres on credit for two weeks, backed by a bank guarantee.

The refinery said the offer is expected to lower fuel costs, stimulate job creation, revive dormant filling stations, support SMEs, and improve energy access in underserved areas.

A 60-day registration and KYC process runs from June 16 to August 15. Dangote says the scheme reflects its “commitment to affordable energy and equitable distribution” across the country.

Critical Analysis

1. Beneath the Surface: Monopoly Ambitions?

While the gesture of offering free logistics might appear consumer-friendly, it also deepens Dangote’s strategic effort to dominate the downstream sector. By cutting distribution costs, the company undercuts its competitors — a classic price-leverage tactic used in monopoly formation. Once market dominance is secured, pricing power often shifts in favor of the monopolist, with negative long-term implications for competition and consumer welfare.

2. Context: A History of Market Tensions

This move cannot be divorced from the ongoing tensions between Dangote Refinery and existing downstream players, including private fuel importers and state-run NNPCL. There has been stiff resistance from these players to Dangote’s pressure on the federal government to halt fuel imports. The free logistics initiative might further weaken competitors’ positions by forcing them to absorb logistics costs — or lose market share.

3. Geography vs. Economics: The Lagos Advantage

Consumption nalysis shows that 43% of national fuel consumption occurs in the South‑West, particularly in Lagos and surrounding states — all located close to the Dangote Refinery. Since both Dangote and many competing depots operate from Lagos, transport costs are already minimal in this zone. Therefore, offering free distribution may not significantly impact fuel prices in this dominant consumption zone, where half of the market lies.

This suggests that Dangote’s free logistics offer may be more symbolic than substantive in its immediate effect on pricing — especially in areas already efficiently served by current players.

4. Competitive Pressure: Response from Rivals Likely

Facing the risk of rapid market erosion, NNPCL and other importers will likely respond with similar offers to protect their share. Price wars, logistics subsidies, and credit incentives may follow. While short-term benefits could accrue to consumers, this pressure could also strain smaller importers, pushing them out and narrowing the field, again raising concerns of market capture by a single player.

Conclusion

The Dangote Refinery’s new fuel distribution strategy is more than a logistics upgrade — it’s a calculated play for market control. With half the country’s fuel consumption concentrated within reach of its Lagos base, the company is leveraging location, scale, and capital to shape the downstream landscape. Policymakers and regulators must ensure that market access remains open and competitive to prevent the rise of a private monopoly in Nigeria’s critical energy sector.

MultiChoice Group is testing a weekly subscription model as the pay-TV giant grapples with the loss of 2.8 million subscribers across its African markets.

The company has been running a pilot program in Uganda for seven weeks, with plans to potentially roll out the flexible payment option to other markets within three to six months if results prove successful.

CEO Calvo Mawela explained the strategy during a recent interview with South Africa’s Sunday Times, emphasizing that the weekly model would better match customers’ income patterns in markets where many people earn money daily or weekly.

“This represents a significant shift in our approach,” Mawela said. “We believe that offering weekly passes will provide relief for customers facing financial pressure, similar to how prepaid services transformed the telecommunications sector.”

The company is also exploring modifications to its channel packaging, though Mawela ruled out complete à la carte selection. Instead, MultiChoice is considering a system where subscribers begin with a basic package and can add individual channels as desired.

These strategic changes come after MultiChoice reported substantial subscriber losses in its latest financial results for the year ending March 31, 2025. Nigeria bore the brunt of the exodus, losing approximately 1.4 million subscribers, largely attributed to repeated price increases. The most recent tariff hike of 21 percent has placed additional strain on customers already struggling with economic pressures.

The subscriber decline reflects broader challenges facing the pay-TV industry in Africa, where economic uncertainty and increased competition from streaming services have forced traditional broadcasters to reconsider their pricing and service models.

Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader, US officials say

President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.

"Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we're not even talking about going after the political leadership," said one of the sources, a senior U.S. administration official.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top U.S. officials have been in constant communications with Israeli officials in the days since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program.

They said the Israelis reported that they had an opportunity to kill the top Iranian leader, but Trump waved them off of the plan.

The officials would not say whether Trump himself delivered the message. But Trump has been in frequent communications with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

When asked about Reuters report, Netanyahu, in an interview on Sunday with Fox News Channel's "Special Report With Bret Baier," said: "There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I'm not going to get into that."

"But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States," Netanyahu said.

Trump has been holding out hope for a resumption of U.S.-Iranian negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Talks that had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman were canceled as a result of the strikes.

Trump told Reuters on Friday that "we knew everything" about the Israeli strikes.

** Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day and threaten more to come. Over 230 are reported dead

Israel and Iran traded more missile attacks Sunday despite calls for a halt to the fighting, with neither country backing down as their conflict raged for a third day.

Iran said Israel struck its oil refineries, killed the intelligence chief of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and hit population centers in intensive aerial attacks that raised the death toll in the country since Israel launched its major campaign Friday to 224 people. Health authorities also reported that 1,277 were wounded, without distinguishing between military officials and civilians.

Israel, which has aimed its missiles at Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and military leadership, said Iran has fired over 270 missiles since Friday, 22 of which slipped through the country’s sophisticated multi-tiered air defenses and caused havoc in residential suburbs, killing 14 people and wounding 390 others.

Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, has said this attack — its most powerful ever against Iran — was to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon.

The latest round of talks between the U.S. and Iran on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program had been scheduled Sunday in Oman but were canceled after Israel’s attack.

Iran turns metro stations, mosques into bomb shelters

Claiming to operate almost freely in the skies over Iran, Israel said its attacks Sunday hit Iran’s Defense Ministry, missile launch sites and factories producing air defense components.

Iran also acknowledged Israel had killed three more of its top generals, including Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, the Revolutionary Guard intelligence chief.

But Israeli strikes have increasingly extended beyond Iranian military installations to hit government buildings including the Foreign Ministry and several energy facilities, Iranian authorities said, most recently sparking huge fires at the Shahran oil depot north of Tehran and a fuel tank south of the city.

Those new targets Sunday, coming after Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas field, raised the prospect of a broader assault on Iran’s heavily sanctioned energy industry that remains vital to the global economy and markets.

Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh and other Iranian diplomats shared photos of the Foreign Ministry’s offices and library laid to waste by flying shrapnel.

Iran’s state TV broadcast footage of a dust-covered man carrying a baby away from the ruins of a residential building and a woman covered in blood making panicked phone call from the site of an Israeli missile strike in downtown Tehran. The spokesperson for Iran’s Health Ministry, Hossein Kermanpour, said 90% of the 224 people killed were civilians.

The Washington-based rights advocacy group, called Human Rights Activists, reported a far higher death toll in Iran from Israeli strikes, saying the attacks have killed at least 406 people and wounded another 654. Iran routinely has undercounted casualties in recent crises, such as the 2022 mass demonstrations over mandatory hijab laws after the death of Mahsa Amini.

State TV reported that metro stations and mosques would be converted into bomb shelters beginning Sunday night. Tehran residents told of long lines at gas stations and cars backed up for hours as families fled the city.

Traffic police closed a number of roads outside the city to control congestion. Energy officials on state TV sought to reassure the jittery public there was no gasoline shortage despite the long lines.

Iranian state-linked media acknowledged explosions and fires stemming from an attack on an Iranian refueling aircraft in Mashhad deep in the country’s northeast. Israel described the attack on Mashhad as the farthest strike it has carried out in Iranian territory.

The death toll rises in Israel

Air raid sirens sounded across Jerusalem and major Israeli cities, sending Israelis scrambling to bomb shelters in the seaside metropolis of Tel Aviv and the northern port city of Haifa.

The Israeli military reported that almost two dozen Iranian missiles had slipped through the vaunted Iron Dome aerial defense system and struck residential areas.

Early Sunday, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service reported that at least six people, including a 10-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl, were killed when a missile smashed into a high-rise apartment in Bat Yam, a coastal city south of Tel Aviv.

Daniel Hadad, a local police commander, said 180 people were wounded and seven missing in Bat Yam. Residents appeared dazed, staggering through the rubble of their homes to retrieve personal belongings while rescuers sifted through twisted metal and shattered glass in their search for more bodies.

Another four people, including a 13-year-old, were killed and 24 wounded when a missile struck a building in the Arab town of Tamra in northern Israel, emergency authorities said, while a strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42 people.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, a center for military and other research also in Rehovot, reported “a number of hits to buildings on the campus” and said no one was harmed.

An oil refinery was damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, the firm operating it said. Israel’s main international airport and airspace was closed for a third day.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said if Israeli strikes on Iran stop, then “our responses will also stop.”

Netanyahu says conflict could result in regime change in Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off urgent calls by world leaders to de-escalate.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, he said regime change in Iran “could certainly be the result” of the conflict. He also claimed that Israeli intelligence indicated Iran intended to give nuclear weapons to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Iran has always said its nuclear program was peaceful, and the U.S. and others have assessed that it has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003.

But Iran has enriched ever-larger stockpiles of uranium to near weapons-grade levels in recent years and was believed to have the capacity to develop multiple weapons within months if it chose to do so.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive nuclear talks, said Washington remained committed to the negotiations and hoped the Iranians would return to the table.

The region is already on edge as Israel seeks to annihilate the Palestinian militant group Hamas, an Iranian ally, in the Gaza Strip, where war still ragesafter Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

‘Many months’ to repair nuclear facilities

In Iran, satellite photos analyzed by AP show extensive damage at Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. The images captured Saturday by Planet Labs PBC show multiple buildings damaged or destroyed. The structures hit include buildings identified by experts as supplying power to the facility.

U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to be hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said.

Israel also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said four “critical buildings” were damaged, including an uranium-conversion facility. The IAEA said there was no sign of increased radiation at Natanz or Isfahan.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity Sunday in line with official procedures, said it would take “many months, maybe more” to restore the two sites.

Reuters/AP

Israel identifies second hostage whose body was recovered from Gaza last week

The Israeli military on Sunday identified the second of two hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza last week as Aviv Atzili, who was taken captive during Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Last Wednesday, the military said it had recovered two bodies of hostages and identified one of them as Yair Yaakov.

** Israeli military kills 41 people in Gaza, medics say

Israeli gunfire and airstrikes killed at least 41 Palestinians across Gaza on Sunday, local health authorities said, five of them near two aid sites operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Medics at Al-Awda Hospital in the central Gaza Strip said at least three people were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire as they tried to approach a GHF site near the Netzarim corridor. Two others were killed en route to another aid site in Rafah in the south.

An airstrike killed seven other people in Beit Lahiya town north of the enclave, medics said. In Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip, medics said an Israeli airstrike killed at least 11 people in a house. The rest were killed in separate airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip, they added.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May after Israel partially lifted a near three-month total blockade. Scores of Palestinians have been killed in near-daily mass shootings trying to reach the food.

The GHF said in a statement that it resumed food deliveries on Sunday, distributing more than two million meals from its three distribution sites without incident.

The United Nations rejects the new Israeli-backed distribution system as inadequate, dangerous, and a violation of humanitarian impartiality principles.

COGAT, the Israeli military aid coordination agency, said that this week it had facilitated the entry of 292 trucks with humanitarian aid from the United Nations and the international community, including food and flour, into Gaza.

It said the Israeli military would continue to permit the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave while ensuring it did not reach Hamas. Hamas denies Israeli accusations that it steals aid and says Israel is using hunger as a weapon against the Gaza population.

The Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Saturday that at least 300 people have so far been killed, and more than 2,600 wounded, near aid distribution sites since the GHF began operations in Gaza.

"These are not humanitarian aid, these are traps for the poor and the hungry under the watch of occupation planes," said Munir Al-Bursh, Director-General of the health ministry.

"Aid distributed under fire isn't aid, it is humiliation," Bursh posted on X on Sunday.

The war in Gaza erupted 20 months ago after Hamas-led militants raided Israel and took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, on October 7, 2023, Israel's single deadliest day.

Israel's military campaign since has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the densely populated strip, which is home to more than two million people. Most of the population is displaced, and malnutrition is widespread.

Reuters