Two thousand giant snails are kept in fridges as an insurance policy by the DoC.

Hastings Golf Course bird life thrives as predator numbers decline.

OPINION: Louise Upston champions a $35m tourism package to boost growth.

Lifewise wants Rotorua triage facility for homeless with addictions, mental health issues.

Tauranga council plans $400,000 pathway, cave barrier works then $1m+ playground upgrade.

The figures hint at cuts of $1.2b this year; Health NZ needs $600 million in savings

OPINION: Does anyone ever read the online surveys people fill in?

The PM isn’t sure whether he’s on President Xi’s Christmas card list, like Sir John Key.

Israel has unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were canceled.

Israel's strikes have killed at least 406 people in Iran and wounded another 654, according to a human rights group that has long tracked the country, Washington-based Human Rights Activists. Iran's government has not offered overall casualty figures.

The region braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment on Friday of Iranian nuclear and military sites killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Neither side showed any sign of backing down.

READ MORE: Passerby stumbled upon middle-aged woman's body, partially undressed

Iran said Israel struck two oil refineries on Sunday, raising the prospect of a broader assault on Iran's heavily sanctioned energy industry that could affect global markets. The Israeli military, in a social media post, warned Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signalling a further widening of the campaign.

Israel, the sole though undeclared nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, said it launched the attack to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The two countries have been adversaries for decades.

Explosions shook Iran's capital, Tehran, about noon and again about 3.30pm (6.30pm and 9.30pm AEST). Semiofficial news agencies close to Iran's Revolutionary Guard reported one strike in the area of Vali-e Asr Square downtown and another in a neighbourhood named for the air force, which is headquartered there.

Sirens went off across much of Israel again about 4pm (11pm AEST), warning of what would be Iran's first daytime assault since the fighting began. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

US President Donald Trump has expressed full support for Israel's actions while warning Iran that it can avoid further destruction only by agreeing to a new nuclear deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that if Israel's strikes on Iran stop, then "our responses will also stop". He said the US "is a partner in these attacks and must take responsibility".

READ MORE: Israel's unprecedented attack shows Iran has become a 'playground' for the Mossad

Mosques as bomb shelters

Iran's UN ambassador said on Saturday that 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded. There has been no official update since then.

Israel said 14 people there have been killed and 390 wounded. Iran has fired more than 270 missiles, 22 of which got through the country's sophisticated multi-tiered air defences to make impact, according to Israeli figures. The country's main international airport and airspace remained closed for a third day.

Israeli strikes targeted Iran's Defence Ministry early on Sunday after hitting air defences, military bases and sites associated with its nuclear program. The killing of several top generals and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes indicated that Israeli intelligence has penetrated Iran at the highest levels.

"Tehran is burning," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on social media.

Araghchi said Israel targeted an oil refinery near Tehran and another in a province on the Persian Gulf. He said Iran targeted "economic" sites in Israel, without elaborating.

Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that an Israeli drone strike caused a "strong explosion" at an Iranian natural gas processing plant. The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air-defense systems around them, which Israel has been targeting.

In a sign that Iran expects Israeli strikes to continue, state television reported that metro stations and mosques would be made available as bomb shelters beginning Sunday night.

Death toll mounts in Israel

In Israel, at least six people, including a 10-year-old and a bube-year-old, 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 were missing.

An Associated Press reporter saw streets lined with damaged or destroyed buildings, bombed-out cars and shards of glass. Some people could be seen leaving with suitcases.

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. A strike on the central city of Rehovot wounded 42.

The Weizmann Institute of Science, an important center for research in Rehovot, reported "a number of hits to buildings on the campus." It said no one was harmed.

An oil refinery was damaged in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, according to the firm operating it, which said no one was wounded.

READ MORE: How the militaries of Israel and Iran compare

Urgent calls to de-escalate

World leaders made urgent calls to de-escalate and avoid all-out war. The attack on nuclear sites set a "dangerous precedent," China's foreign minister said. The region is already on edge as Israel makes a new push to eliminate the Iranian-backed militant group Hamas in Gaza after 20 months of fighting.

Israel — widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East — said its hundreds of strikes on Iran over the past two days have killed a number of top generals, nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear program. Iran's UN ambassador has said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded.

US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have repeatedly said Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon before Israel unleashed its campaign of airstrikes targeting Iran beginning on Friday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has made the destruction of Iran's nuclear program his top priority, said Israel's strikes so far were "nothing compared to what they will feel under the sway of our forces in the coming days".

In what could be another escalation if confirmed, semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported an Israeli drone struck and caused a "strong explosion" at an Iranian natural-gas processing plant. It would be the first Israeli attack on Iran's oil and natural gas industry. Israel's military did not immediately comment.

The extent of damage at the South Pars natural gas field was not immediately clear. Such sites have air defence systems around them, which Israel has been targeting.

READ MORE: What we know about the Minnesota shooting suspect

Iran calls nuclear talks 'unjustifiable'

The sixth round of US-Iran indirect talks on Sunday over Iran 's nuclear program will not take place, mediator Oman said. "We remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon," said a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomacy.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and US intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran was not actively pursuing the bomb. But its uranium enrichment has reached near weapons-grade levels, and on Thursday, the UN's atomic watchdog censured Iran for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran's top diplomat said on Saturday the nuclear talks were "unjustifiable" after Israel's strikes. Abbas Araghchi's comments came during a call with Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat.

The Israeli airstrikes were the "result of the direct support by Washington," Araghchi said in a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency. The US has said it isn't part of the strikes.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a deal with the US on its nuclear program, adding that "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left."

US helps to shoot down Iranian missiles

Iran launched its first waves of missiles at Israel late on Friday and early on Saturday. The attacks killed at least three people and wounded 174, two of them seriously, Israel said. The military said seven soldiers were lightly wounded when a missile hit central Israel, without specifying where.

US ground-based air defence systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.

Israel's main international airport said it will remain closed until further notice.

'More than a few weeks' to repair nuclear facilities

Israel attacked Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Satellite photos analysed by AP show extensive damage there. The images shot on 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.

UN 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 have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged infrastructure there, he said.

Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, including "infrastructure for enriched uranium conversion", and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said four "critical buildings" at the Isfahan site were damaged, including its uranium conversion facility. "As in Natanz, no increase in off-site radiation expected," it added.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official procedures, said that according to the army's initial assessment "it will take much more than a few weeks" for Iran to repair the damage to the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites. The official said the army had "concrete intelligence that production in Isfahan was for military purposes".

Israel denied it had struck the nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometres south-east of Tehran.

Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's aerospace division, which oversees its arsenal of ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. On Saturday, Khamenei named a new leader for the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division: Gen. Majid Mousavi.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on US targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would "soon" make a deal to end their escalating conflict.

Trump in an early Sunday morning (late Sunday AEST) social media post said the US "had nothing to do with the attack on Iran" as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day.

Iran, however, has said it would hold the US – which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry – for its backing of Israel.

READ MORE: Passerby stumbled upon middle-aged woman's body, partially undressed

Israel targeted Iran's Defence Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defences and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel.

"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," Trump said.

Hours later Trump took to social media again to predict "Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal".

The US president argued he built a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities "just like I got India and Pakistan to make" after the two countries' recent cross-border confrontation.

India struck targets inside Pakistan after militants in April massacred 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any links to the attackers. Following India's strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other's territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases.

It was the most serious confrontation in decades between the countries. Trump on Sunday repeated his claim, disputed by India, that the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after he had offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.

READ MORE: The Aussie motorists sitting on $130 million of unclaimed cash

Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia.

"Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!" Trump said.

"Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!"

The growing conflict between Israel and Iran is testing Trump who ran on a promise to quickly end the brutal wars in Gaza and Ukraine and build a foreign policy that more broadly favours steering clear of foreign conflicts.

Trump has struggled to find an endgame to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

And after criticising former US president Joe Biden during last year's campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump found himself making the case to the Israelis to give diplomacy a chance.

His administration's push on Tehran to give up its nuclear program came after the US and other world powers in 2015 reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the growing Israel-Iran conflict. And Trump is set to travel later on Sunday (Monday AEST) to Canada for Group of Seven leaders summit where the Middle East crisis will loom large over his talks with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan and the European Union.

Some influential backers of Trump are urging him to keep the US out of Israel's escalating conflict with Iran.

DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.