By Parisa Hafezi, Phil Stewart and Maayan Lubell ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Iran said on Monday that the U.S. attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called U.

The United States attacked three Iranian nuclear sites. Iran launched more missiles at Israel and vowed to defend itself.

The operation marks the most direct American military intervention inside Iran in decades and has reignited fears of a rapidly widening conflict that could draw in proxy forces, endanger U.S. troops, and disrupt global energy markets.