Iran warns foreign weapons deliveries to Israel are ‘legitimate target’: Live Updates

21 June 2025

The UN nuclear watchdog has unveiled more details about the damage at a facility in Esfahan, central Iran, which came under Israeli attack for the second time in just over a week.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said that at least six additional buildings were struck in the latest raid, including a natural and depleted uranium metal production facility, a fuel rod production unit, a low-enriched uranium pellet production lab, two laboratories, a workshop handling contaminated equipment, and an administrative office.

The same site had previously been targeted on June 13, when four key buildings were damaged: the central chemical laboratory, a uranium conversion facility, a fuel manufacturing plant, and an enriched uranium metal processing site still under construction.

Grossi downplayed the significance of the attack, stating that the targeted buildings housed only small quantities of natural or low-enriched uranium and posed no risk of radiation leakage.

“Based on our analysis of the nuclear material present, we don’t see any risk of off-site contamination,” he said, while also stressing that “nuclear facilities should never be attacked.”

US President Donald Trump has shared another Fox News segment on his Truth Social account, highlighting his policies and potential plans to involve the US in Israel’s war with Iran.

“Only time will tell!” the US commander-in-chief wrote in a cryptic message.

The Israeli Air Force claims to have intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that approached Israeli airspace from the east early Saturday. According to the IDF, the “hostile aircraft infiltration” occurred around 12:52am in the northern communities of Ramat Magshimim and Haspin. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The IDF did not specify the UAV’s origin or intended target.

US Presidential Envoy for Special Assignments Richard Grenell has urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to provide free Starlink access across Iran so that his “friends” can have uninterrupted access to information.

“Can you turn on Starlink for free in Iran for the next few weeks, @elonmusk? My friends inside Iran don’t have regular access to information right now. I’ll chip in a donation and I think others would, too,” wrote Grenell, the former Acting Director of National Intelligence, in a post on X.

Starlink’s constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites was originally promoted as a solution for providing high-speed, low-latency internet access to remote and rural areas – but it has also proven crucial for frontline coordination and drone warfare.

SpaceX has supplied the Ukrainian military with Starlink access since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, delivering more than 40,000 terminals over the years. Kiev’s forces have become fully dependent on Starlink, and turning it off would lead to the collapse of the “entire frontline,” Musk claimed in March.

Israeli forces conducted a major wave of airstrikes deep inside Iranian territory earlier on Saturday, targeting strategic military assets including missile storage facilities, air defense systems, and radar installations, according to IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.

“Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked three F-14 fighter jets of the Iranian army in the heart of the country,” Defrin told a press conference on Saturday evening, as cited by Ynet News, adding that about 60 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in the strikes.

The US-made F-14 jets were supplied to Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel previously claimed to have destroyed two F-14s in an earlier strike on Tehran last week.

“We are striking all components of missile production and preventing the Iranian military from rebuilding its strategic capabilities. At the same time, our forces are intensifying strikes on the firing capabilities of their artillery arrays. The missile launching capabilities they have today are far from the capabilities they had when we began the operation,” Defrin added.

Israeli officials have urged the Trump administration to act swiftly against Iran’s nuclear program, warning they may strike the heavily fortified Fordow facility before the end of the US’ two‑week decision window, Reuters has reported, citing sources.

In a recent call involving US Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Israel highlighted the urgency of targeting the facility, which is built deep within a mountain, signaling readiness to act independently if necessary, the agency claimed.

Earlier on Saturday, Reuters reported that the US deployed B‑2 bombers capable of penetrating Iran’s hardened sites to the Pacific island of Guam.

Iran has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful means only.

The Israeli military has reported that it is striking “UAV storage facilities and a weapons facility” near Bandar Abbas in southwestern Iran.

Turkish President Erdogan phoned former US President Trump on Monday, proposing a meeting in Istanbul the following day between senior US and Iranian officials, Axios media outlet has claimed, citing sources.

The US president reportedly agreed to dispatch his Vice President J.D. Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff, or even attend the meeting in person to sit down with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.

According to Axios, Iran signaled interest via back channels. However, attempts to secure Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s approval reportedly failed – he had “gone dark” amid Israeli airstrikes – leading Iran to decline the meeting.

A spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces has warned that the delivery of “military or radar equipment by ship or plane by any country to aid the Zionist regime will be considered participation in the aggression against” the Islamic Republic. The official clarified that such shipments would be treated as a “legitimate target for the [Iranian] armed forces.”

According to the spokesperson, citing Tehran’s intelligence, Israel has lost a “significant part of its radar and defense capabilities” as a result of the “effective and devastating” Iranian strikes. He claimed that Israeli forces have “faced a shortage of ammunition and equipment.”

The IDF has claimed that its warplanes destroyed three Iranian F-14 fighter jets in the central part of the Islamic Republic, with more strikes targeting military infrastructure ongoing.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has announced the start of “assisted departure flights” from the country.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, that under his leadership, Tehran has been “seeking to strengthen cooperation with all countries in the world based on mutual trust and respect,” as quoted by Iran’s Tasnim media outlet. He accused Israel of “sabotaging and disrupting this process from day one.”

Pezeshkian assured Macron that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful. He stated that the Islamic Republic “is ready to provide guarantees and confidence‑building measures … within the framework of international law.”

However, he stressed that Tehran “will not accept reducing nuclear activities to zero … or renounce its right to possess peaceful nuclear capabilities.”

The president further pledged a “more crushing and decisive” response if Israel continues its “aggression” against the Islamic Republic.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has claimed that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus.”

Cypriot authorities, in cooperation with their Israeli colleagues, thwarted the “terror attack,” he stated on X. The diplomat accused Tehran of “deliberately targeting Israeli civilians both in Israel and abroad.”

IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin has said that Israeli warplanes “deepened the strike on the nuclear site in Isfahan and in western Iran” overnight. The announcement on X is accompanied by a short video clip purportedly showing the aftermath of the latest “wide-scale” attack on the enriched uranium reconversion facility.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed on Saturday that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop in Isfahan had been hit by Israeli strikes.

“There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences,” he assured.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released a video of what it describes as the interception of several Iranian drones that were approaching Israel. Apart from land-based air defense systems, “an array of fighter jets and attack helicopters” are also bringing down incoming Iranian UAVs daily, it said on X.

A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis has warned that “if the US gets involved in an attack and aggression against Iran with the Israeli enemy, [the Shiite militant group] will target its ships and warships in the Red Sea.”

Following the start of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza in 2023, the Houthis began attacking merchant vessels passing through the Red Sea that they believed were Israeli-owned or -operated, as well as those from countries supporting Israel. In May, the armed group agreed to a ceasefire with the US, pledging to cease attacks on ships in exchange for Washington halting strikes on the Houthis’ military infrastructure in Yemen.

A senior Iranian official cited by Reuters has called the proposals presented by European powers during Friday’s nuclear talks in Geneva “unrealistic,” warning that insisting on them would make an agreement difficult to achieve.

“In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting,” the official told the agency, while speaking on condition of anonymity.

Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, has reiterated his nation’s “strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli aggression against Iranian territory.”

Qatar considers “it a flagrant violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, and a clear breach of the rules and principles of international law,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Al-Thani met with his Iranian counterpart in Istanbul, on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara is ready to play the role of facilitating the resumption of nuclear talks.

“Steps should be taken as soon as possible to open up diplomacy via technical and leaders-level talks between Iran and the US,” according to media reports that cited his office. The Turkish leader stressed that Israel had to be stopped immediately, according to the statement.

Erdogan met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation gathering in Istanbul.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed replacements in the country’s military chain of command, ensuring that senior officers can be replaced if they are killed in Israeli strikes, according to the New York Times.

He has also designated three senior clerics as possible successors to himself should he be slain, the paper has claimed, citing “three Iranian officials familiar with his emergency war plans.”

The Iranian authorities are ready to handle the fallout from the Israeli attacks, including a potential radioactive leak, Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian has said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

”We have not yet received reports of Israel using unconventional weapons. We are prepared to deal with any nuclear leak in the event that nuclear reactors are targeted, and we hope we do not reach that stage,” Jafarian said, accusing Israel of targeting three hospitals.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has urged Israel and Iran to de-escalate the conflict, warning that the exchange of strikes “is already triggering population movements in both countries.”

“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss, and displacement – we cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said, warning that “once people are forced to flee, there’s no quick way back – and all too often, the consequences last for generations.”

Several explosions have been heard in the city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran, with speculation that Israel was targeting a local base of Basij, a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This came after the Israeli military said its jets were “currently striking military infrastructure in southwestern Iran.”

Iran’s Red Crescent has confirmed the attack on its helicopter, releasing a picture of the aircraft with a large hole in its fuselage.

A rescue helicopter of Iran’s Red Crescent Society has been damaged “due to brutal attacks of the Zionist regime,” Mehr news agency has reported, without specifying the location of the incident. It added that such attacks are prohibited by the Geneva Conventions.

The Israeli military claims it has intercepted 40 Iranian drones and attacked an unspecified number of UAV launchers that were ready to fly the aircraft. In total, Israeli forces have intercepted 470 UAVs since the start of the conflict, the statement read.

Israeli airstrikes on Iran have killed 430 people, with more than 3,500 civilians injured, since the start of the conflict on June 13, the Health Ministry in Tehran has said. An earlier estimate by the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group put the death toll at least 639 Iranians.

As for Israeli losses, officials reported 25 deaths and more than 2,500 injuries.

Diplomatic efforts to defuse the current Middle East crisis could work, just as they did in the past, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. “But in order for us to come back to diplomacy, the aggression should be stopped. It is obvious I cannot go to negotiation with the United States when our people are under bombardment under the support of the United States,” he added.

He also warned that it “would be very dangerous for everybody” should Washington directly join the conflict.

Members of Iran’s sports community have held a protest in front of the UN headquarters in Tehran, videos from the scene show. The demonstrators are heard denouncing “the crimes” of Israel and chanting “Down with Israel” and “Down with USA.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Istanbul to attend the special session of the Islamic Cooperation Organization Foreign Ministers’ meeting. The minister said he hopes that the gathering will produce “a strong and clear statement condemning this aggression [by Israel].”

According to Araghchi, he will use the opportunity to hold several meetings with foreign ministers and the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. He added that he expects a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been a vocal critic of Israel’s attacks against the Palestinians and Iran.

The IDF claims it has eliminated Saeed Izadi, the head of the Palestinian Division in the IRGC Quds Force, in a strike on the Iranian city of Qom.

“Izadi facilitated increased financial support from Iran to Hamas for terror activities against the State of Israel and maintained direct contact with Palestinian terror organizations,” the military said in a statement, describing him as “one of the masterminds behind the October 7th massacre” and “one of the architects of Iran’s plan to destroy Israel.”

The Israeli military claims it has assassinated Behnam Shahriyari, the commander of the Quds Force’s Weapons Transfer Unit in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The senior commander was killed as he was traveling in his vehicle in western Iran, according to the IDF.

Shahriyari was a key link between the Iranian government and several paramilitary regional groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, the IDF said, claiming that the commander helped to finance them and provide them with arms.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi intends to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, NBC has reported, citing its interview with the diplomat. Moscow has yet to confirm the visit.

Putin has cited Iranian statements that it does not seek to produce nuclear weapons, noting that the “International Agency for Nuclear Energy confirms that there is no evidence of Iranian efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.”

He added that Moscow has repeatedly informed the Israeli leadership that Tehran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Iran has the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Sky News Arabia, adding that Moscow is ready to provide the necessary support. Putin also suggested that there are ways to resolve the conflict between Iran and Israel, urging the sides to show flexibility.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has told NBC that Tehran doesn’t know how it can trust the US, calling Washington’s stance on Iran “a betrayal to diplomacy.” He also suggested that the US could be pretending to want talks with Iran simply to “cover up” its real plan to attack the country.

Iran is using negotiations with the West and efforts to hide its nuclear material to force the US to decide between accepting its terms in nuclear negotiations or “risking a long and challenging hunt” for its radioactive materials, a joint study by US-based thinks tanks, the Critical Threats Project (CTP), and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), has claimed.

Mohsen Rezaei, the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, earlier claimed that his country had moved all nuclear materials to secure locations.

India’s embassy in Tehran has announced that it will assist Indian nationals, as well as the citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka, in leaving the country amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.

“The Indian Embassy in Iran is evacuating all Indian nationals in Iran,” the embassy wrote on X, providing contact information for those seeking to depart. At the request of the governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the India’s evacuation efforts will also cover citizens of those countries, it added. 

The US State Department evacuated 79 staff and family members from its embassy in Israel on Friday amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran, according to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press. The evacuees were flown from Tel Aviv to Sofia, Bulgaria, aboard a military aircraft, with onward travel to Washington expected via charter flight.

The same document revealed that more than 6,400 US citizens in Israel filled out an online form on Friday alone to request information about potential evacuation flights. However, the US Embassy in Jerusalem warned earlier that there was “no announcement about assisting private US citizens to depart at this time.”

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to confirm details about the embassy evacuation but said more than 25,000 Americans had reached out for information on leaving Israel, the West Bank, and Iran. There are an estimated 700,000 Americans currently in Israel, many of them dual citizens.

The memo also noted that at least 84 US citizens and Green Card holders have crossed into Azerbaijan from Iran since the conflict began.

A new Israeli strike targeted the southeast of the Iranian city of Isfahan, which houses one of Iran’s nuclear facilities and has already been targeted by the IDF over the past week, Press TV reports.

US Vice President J.D. Vance believes that President Donald Trump will “pursue diplomacy” with Iran “until he thinks that there isn’t an opportunity.”

“Once he decides that diplomacy has completely run its course — that we’re not going to get anything out of additional talks — then I think the President is going to do what he needs to do,” Vance told Fox News.

Israel has claimed that it has killed Aminpour Joudaki, identified as the commander of the second UAV brigade of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force, in an airstrike on Friday.

According to the IDF, Joudaki played a central role in advancing “hundreds of UAV attacks against Israeli territory” from the Ahvaz region in southwestern Iran. The military said he assumed greater responsibility within the IRGC’s drone operations following the reported death of UAV headquarters chief Taher Pour in an Israeli strike on June 13.

The IDF provided no visual evidence or independent verification to support the claim. Iranian officials have not yet commented on the alleged strike or confirmed any casualties.

The IDF have claimed that a “suspicious aerial target” was intercepted around 4:56am Saturday morning near the northern town of Ghajar, following sirens indicating a possible hostile aircraft infiltration. No damage or injuries have been reported, and authorities have not provided further details on the nature or origin of the intercepted object.

Former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned that any US military strike on Iran would inevitably drag Washington into a broader regional conflict.

“There’s no question that the United States would be in a regional war at that point,” if President Trump moves forward with an attack on Iranian targets, Panetta told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday.

Panetta, who served in both intelligence and defense roles under previous administrations, drew parallels to the US invasion of Iraq over 20 years ago. “It’s a lesson that the president needs to learn,” he said, calling the Iraq war a “terrible mistake” that should not be repeated.

“So make no mistake about it. It may be an airstrike, but it would definitely involve the United States in a war with [Iran],” he added, warning that Iran is certain to retaliate.

At least two people, including a teenager, were killed and several others injured in the Israeli strike on the central Iranian city of Qom, Press TV reports.

Israeli authorities said Iran launched at least five ballistic missiles toward central and northern parts of the country, with the majority of the projectiles reportedly intercepted successfully. The strikes occurred around 2:40am local time, with residents in several cities reporting the sound of explosions overhead. Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service, confirmed that no physical injuries were reported.

“One event in central Israel involved a fire on the roof of a building, but no major incidents have been reported,” MDA said in a statement on X. Firefighters stated that the blaze on the roof of the four-story building was sparked by missile shrapnel and confirmed that the situation is now under control.

The building’s residents were evacuated safely, and MDA teams provided medical assistance to several individuals experiencing anxiety. The Home Front Command has declared the incident concluded and lifted emergency directives for the public.

Israel has announced a new wave of attacks against unspecified targets across Iran, without issuing any prior warnings for civilians to evacuate.

“The IAF has started a series of strikes against missile storage and launching infrastructure sites in central Iran,” the military said in a brief statement.

20 June 2025

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has accused the “dishonest media” of taking her statements about Iran’s nuclear program out of context to create a rift between her and President Donald Trump.

“The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division. America has intelligence that Iran is at the point where it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that that can’t happen, and I agree,” Gabbard wrote in a post on X, alongside a clip of her congressional testimony from March.

Back in March, Gabbard stated that the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.”

This assessment has remained unchanged, with no publicly available US intelligence suggesting otherwise. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed earlier this week that US intelligence still believes that while Iran has stockpiled enriched uranium, it has not taken concrete steps toward developing nuclear weapons.

The IDF says it has detected more missile launches from Iran toward Israeli territory, with the country’s air defense systems currently operating to intercept the incoming threats. The IDF has issued an urgent warning to the public, instructing all residents to take shelter immediately.

“Upon receiving an alert, the public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice,” the statement said. “Leaving the protected space is only permitted following an explicit directive.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rejected the idea of a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Tehran, insisting that his country does not “believe so much in diplomacy with Iran.”

“They usually use these talks in order to deceive, in order to waste time,” Sa’ar said in an interview with Axel Springer on Friday.

“We are not dealing with negotiations with Iran,” Sa’ar insisted, when asked whether there was anything Tehran could do to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict, reiterating Trump’s call for “unconditional surrender.”

When asked to clarify whether a decision on US strikes on Iran could come sooner than the “two weeks” he previously mentioned, President Trump said, “We’re going to see what that period of time is.”

“I’m giving them a period of time. And I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” he told journalists.

Trump declined to answer a question about whether he believes an aerial campaign would be “enough” to “win” in Iran without deploying ground troops.

“Well, I’m not going to talk about ground forces. The last thing you want to do is ground forces,” the US commander-in-chief replied.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard “is wrong” on Iran, President Trump has stated.

When asked to comment on his intelligence community’s assessment that there is no evidence Tehran is close to building a nuclear weapon, the US president replied, “Well then, my intelligence community is wrong.” He then asked the reporter who had made that assessment. When informed it was Gabbard, Trump responded, “She’s wrong.”

Trump has said it will be difficult for him to request that Israel stop its strikes on Iran.

“I think it’s very hard to make that request right now if somebody is winning. It’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing,” the US president told journalists. “But we’re ready, willing and able. And we’ve been speaking to Iran and we’ll see what happens,” he added.

The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted 15 drones launched from Iran during the day.

The IDF also posted a video on X of what it claims to be “radio communications and footage from the interception of a UAV by a helicopter.”

Trump believes that Europe will not be able to help end the conflict.
“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this,” he told reporters in New Jersey.

The comment follows shortly after senior diplomats from the UK, France, and Germany met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva.

Following talks in Geneva, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has urged Tehran to “consider negotiations with all sides, including the United States, without awaiting the cessation of strikes, which we also hope for.”

The diplomat also insisted that there can be no military solution to the issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and warned against attempts to pull off a “regime change” in the Islamic Republic.
His Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in turn, made it clear that Tehran supported the “continuation of discussion” and was “ready to consider diplomacy,” but only after Israel stops its military action against his country.

The official also stated that “Iran’s defensive capabilities are non-negotiable.”

Additionally, Araghchi criticized failure to condemn the “aggressive actions of the Zionist regime” on the part of the UK, France, Germany and the EU.

The Iranian diplomat went on to reiterate that his country’s nuclear program is peaceful in nature.

Maersk, a major international container shipping company, has announced the “decision to temporarily suspend vessel calls at the Israel's Port of Haifa and also suspend cargo acceptance for Haifa.” In its statement on Friday, the Danish company cited “potential risks” for the “safety of our crews” amid the ongoing exchange of missile strikes between Israel and Iran.

The port city in the north of Israel came under a massive Iranian rocket attack on Friday.

The logistics giant added that it stood ready to “reassess this decision as soon as it is safe and feasible to do so,” noting that it continues to call at Ashdod Port in the south of Israel.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday, the US ambassador at the organization, Dorothy Shea, has said that “we can no longer ignore that Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon.” She claimed that this scenario will materialize once Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, makes the decision.

According to the US diplomat, the Islamic Republic “could have avoided this conflict [with Israel] had they agreed to a deal that would have prevented them from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.” Shea accused Tehran of “choosing instead to delay and deny.”

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has warned that “in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant [in Iran], a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity.”

Russia’s state nuclear power corporation, Rosatom, helped to complete and launch the nuclear power plant in the early 2000s.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service has reported that 17 people have sustained injuries in the city of Haifa, 3 of them in serious condition with shrapnel wounds.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency has published several videos purportedly showing the firing of ballistic missiles toward Israel by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The news outlet has also quoted Iranian military officials as saying that the 17th wave of Operation True Promise 3 was launched on Friday, targeting the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheba. The main focus of the attacks has been on military centers, air bases, defense industry facilities, and command and control centers, the statement reads.

Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has blasted Israel for conducting an “unjust war” which he said violates the UN Charter.

“Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities are grave war crimes,” he said, highlighting the potential dangers of radioactive leakage. According to Araghchi, Iran is entitled to defend its territorial integrity and security.

Two people, including a 16-year-old, have been injured following an Iranian missile attack, according to Magen David Adom emergency service.

Iran has launched several missiles at Israel, the IDF has said, adding that the air defenses are working to intercept the threat. Local media has reported several explosions in Be’er Sheva, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem.

According to Israeli Channel 12, Iran is estimated to have launched 20-25 missiles.

The Israeli Air Force says it is now attacking military infrastructure in western and central Iran, without providing details on the targets or assets involved in the operation.

France, Germany, and the UK will present Iran with a “diplomatic solution” during today’s talks in Geneva, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

“It is essential to prioritize a return to substantive negotiations which include nuclear – to move to zero enrichment – ballistics, to limit Iranian capacities, and the financing of all the terrorist groups that destabilize the region,” he stated.

Iran has repeatedly refused to abandon all of its nuclear enrichment capabilities, calling it a red line. On top of that, the now-defunct 2015 Iran deal addressed only Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, and imposed no limits on military research or the scope of Iran’s ties with regional paramilitary groups.

Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets across the country to protest the Israeli strikes and attend a mass prayer, according to videos shared by local media.

An Israeli drone strike on an apartment block in Tehran has killed another Iranian nuclear scientist, several Israeli media outlets have reported. The Jewish state has been targeting Iranian experts in the nuclear field for years. Around a dozen scientists have reportedly been killed since the current stand-off began last week.

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, has condemned the Israeli attacks, which he says “undermine peace efforts and threaten to drag the region” into a full-scale war.

He also pointed to “the seriousness of Israel targeting economic facilities in Iran” and warned that the strikes could lead to “disastrous regional and international repercussions, particularly for the stability of energy supplies.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has ordered the military to “intensify strikes on regime targets in Tehran” to “destabilize” the country’s government.

“We must strike all symbols of the regime and its mechanisms of oppression, such as the Basij, as well as the base of the regime’s power, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he said, referring to the paramilitary volunteer militia and the elite branch of Iran’s military.

The world has found itself mere centimeters from a nuclear disaster due to the Israeli strikes on Iran, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

“The strikes are carried out… literally in the immediate vicinity of… facilities where radioactive materials, nuclear materials are stored,” she said, urging the belligerents to return to talks.

According to Zakharova, the entire Caspian region could be in jeopardy. “The Caspian region is not only Iran. It is several states, including our country. This has direct significance for us,” she added.

An Israeli drone has hit an apartment block in Tehran’s central Gisha district, local media reports, suggesting that the goal of the strike was to assassinate an unnamed Iranian nuclear scientist. It is unclear whether the attack resulted in any casualties.

Germany, as well as its partners in the UK, France and EU, are open to further talks with Iran if it shows “serious willingness to renounce any enrichment of nuclear material, which could lead to nuclear weaponization,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has told reporters ahead of talks in Geneva.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, has said that he had arrived for talks “to listen” rather than negotiate, adding that any productive dialogue is impossible as long as Israel continues its strikes.

The Israeli military claims to have destroyed as many as 35 Iranian missile launchers and storage sites in the Tabriz and Kermanshah areas during strikes on Friday morning.

The Israel-Iran conflict is of grave concern for Russia because, among other things, it inevitably exerts a detrimental impact on the global economy and energy markets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated.

He reiterated that Russia is ready to mediate if necessary. “We are not imposing them. But our relations with Iran, Israel, and other countries allow us to provide such services if necessary. Will they be in demand? It is difficult to say,” Peskov has said.

The IAEA’s report on Iran’s nuclear program could “hardly be a basis for any military action,” the agency’s chief, Rafael Grossi, has told CNN. Iranian officials earlier accused the IAEA of presenting a “biased” report which Israel has allegedly used as a justification for its attacks, while vowing to take legal action against Grossi himself.

Iranian forces were planning a large-scale strike on Be’er Sheva, but the Israeli military managed to foil the attack, destroying three missile launchers that were about to fire on the city, the IDF has said.

An Israeli strike on Khondab heavy water research reactor – also known as Arak – resulted in damage to key buildings at the facility, including the distillation unit, the IAEA has said. However, given that the reactor was not operational and did not contain any nuclear material, no radiological fallout was expected.

Iran rejects the US request to reopen negotiations on a nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. “After our resistance against Israel, I think countries will distance themselves from this aggression. There is no room for negotiations with the US until the Israeli aggression stops.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned Lebanese-based paramilitary group Hezbollah, which has close ties with Iran, against any attacks on the country.

“I suggest that the Lebanese proxy be careful and understand that Israel has lost patience with terrorists who threaten it. If there is terrorism, there will be no Hezbollah,” he wrote on X.

Nabih Berri, the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, has said he is “200% sure Lebanon will not enter a war” with Israel because “it has no interest in doing so and would pay a heavy price.”

Russia would react “very negatively” if Israel, with US assistance, assassinates Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told Sky News.

Asked if Moscow would take action if this happens, Peskov said the main backlash would come from Iran. Iranian society is “very well organized and very well consolidated,” he added.

“It will lead to the birth of extremist moods inside Iran. Those who are speaking about it should keep that in mind. They will open Pandora’s box.”

The IDF claims that it struck three Iranian missile launchers aimed at Israel and ready to open fire, as well as a military commander who was operating the weapons.

Israeli jets have attacked Iranian missile systems and radar installations in the areas of Isfahan and Tehran, which were seeking to disrupt their operations, the IDF has said.

Any use of nuclear weapons in the Middle East conflict would be “catastrophic,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, though he described reports that the US is not ruling out the option as “speculation.”

Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has dismissed The Guardian report that Trump is not considering the use of tactical nukes.

“I was just told by a top official here that none of that report is true, that none of the options are off the table, and the US military is very confident that bunker busters could get the job done at Fordow,” she said.

US President Donald Trump is not considering using a tactical nuclear weapon on Iran’s highly protected Fordow nuclear facility, The Guardian has reported, citing sources.

The outlet noted, however, that even US bunker buster bombs would be insufficient to penetrate deep enough into the mountains to ensure that the facility is destroyed by a direct hit.

According to defense officials interviewed by the paper, the complete destruction of the Fordow facility will “require the US to first soften the ground with conventional bombs and then ultimately drop a tactical nuclear weapon from a B2 bomber.”

Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, has vowed to take IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to court over his alleged “inaction” and failure to condemn the Israeli attack. Iranian officials earlier accused Grossi of endorsing a “biased” report on Iran’s nuclear program that paved the way to the current stand-off.

The Iranian strike on Be’er Sheva involved only one missile, which was not intercepted by air defenses and struck near apartment blocks, injuring five people, an unnamed official has told the Times of Israel.

At least six people were injured by the Iranian missile impact in Be’er Sheva, but none of them seriously, according to Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance, and blood bank service.

“Right now we’re in the south, another place that was hit by a missile… Luckily, so far we’ve found only six people who were slightly injured. Right now MDA teams are searching each apartment to see if someone else got hurt,” said Dr. Shafir Botner, Director of the MDA Paramedic School, in a video from the scene.

The Israel Defense Forces announced that more than 60 Israeli fighter jets conducted a wide-scale overnight bombing raid, targeting dozens of sites in and around Tehran.

“Among the sites attacked were military industrial facilities for manufacturing missile components and sites for producing raw materials used to make rocket engines,” the IDF said, claiming that its forces launched at least 120 missiles based on “precise intelligence.”

One of the main targets was the headquarters of Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND) – an entity central to the development of advanced military technology in Tehran.

In its morning press release, the IDF also reported the interception of four unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Iran overnight but made no mention of at least one missile that struck the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva.

The missile apparently landed near the Microsoft campus in Be’er Sheva, striking a parking lot outside apartment blocks and setting several cars on fire, according to videos from the scene.

The IDF has announced that Israelis are now allowed to leave shelters, “following the situational assessment” of the ballistic missile threat in the Be’er Sheva area.

“IDF search and rescue forces are operating at a location where a report of a fallen projectile was received,” the army said, without providing further details.

An Iranian ballistic missile has landed in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva, causing some damage but with no immediate reports of injuries or casualties, The Times of Israel reports.

US intelligence officials continue to assess that Tehran has not made a definitive decision to develop a nuclear bomb, despite stockpiling enriched uranium, according to a New York Times report.

However, analysts warn that Tehran may change its stance and pivot toward weaponization if Washington joins the Israeli bombing campaign – particularly if the Fordow enrichment site is targeted or Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is assassinated.

Israel has for years claimed that Iran was on the brink of obtaining a nuclear weapon. Prior to the attack last week, Mossad projected that Tehran could build a bomb in as few as fifteen days. US intelligence provides a broader estimate: several months to up to a year to produce a weaponized device.

The long-standing US assessment has remained unchanged since March, when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that the intelligence community “does not believe Iran is building a nuclear weapon.”

None of the new claims about the timeline are based on newly collected intelligence, according to multiple officials cited by the NYT.

President Trump has received detailed briefings from intelligence and defense officials outlining both the potential risks and strategic advantages of targeting Fordow, Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear‑enrichment site, CBS News reports.

“He believes there’s not much choice,” one source said. “Finishing the job means destroying Fordow.”

Trump reportedly approved attack plans on Tuesday night but has not yet finalized a decision on whether to initiate a strike or formally join Israel’s air campaign. According to sources he’s delaying his decision in anticipation that Tehran might agree to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful and has never sought weapons of mass destruction.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that a final decision will be made within the next two weeks.

“Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” Leavitt read from a statement issued by Trump.

President Donald Trump shared several Fox News segments on his Truth Social account highlighting his policies and potential plans to involve the US in Israel’s war with Iran.

“I think the only person that can actually come to a creative solution is, thank God, the man in the White House,” said Elizabeth Pipko, a model of Soviet Jewish descent, in one video. She praised Trump’s “America First” policy and unwavering support for Israel: “So if anyone can find a way to make sure Iran does not get a nuclear weapon – and also ensure American troops don’t have to get involved – it is the man in the Oval Office right now.”

“I have total confidence in Donald Trump. This is the guy who killed Qasem Soleimani. You think he’s afraid to take out Fordow? Of course not,” added former Pentagon and George W. Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen in another clip.

President Trump is reportedly hesitant to authorize US airstrikes on Iran, fearing the nation could spiral into chaos similar to Libya after the 2011 NATO intervention, according to insiders cited by the New York Post. The US-led military bloc bombed Libya under the pretext of a UN Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone to establish “an immediate ceasefire.”

Trump allegedly repeatedly referenced Libya’s descent into anarchy following the Western-backed uprising and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, warning that removing Iran’s Supreme Leader could trigger comparable instability. 

“Libya was a much more extended kind of bombing commitment, and it ended up being regime change,” one of the Post’s sources noted. Another expressed Trump’s concern that a collapse of Khamenei’s regime “could lead to somebody worse” taking power. Trump would “rather have a deal” than initiate a military campaign that could destabilize Iran, another senior official said.

While weighing whether to support Israel’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, Trump is reportedly inclined toward narrowly targeted strikes on facilities like Fordow and Natanz – potentially using 30,000‑pound bunker busters. However, potential fallout concerns – including radiation and retaliatory strikes against US forces and assets – remain key deterrents.

Israel has received at least 14 military cargo planes from the US and Germany over the past week, transporting military equipment and supplies. “This delivery is part of efforts to strengthen operational continuity and support all the IDF’s needs, both for achieving the goals of the war and for improving readiness and stockpiles,” the Israeli Defense Ministry said. Washington and Berlin have not commented on the nature or contents of the supplies.

Israel intercepted two more Iranian UAVs near the Dead Sea, following sirens triggered by a hostile aircraft infiltration, the IDF has announced.

The Israeli Air Force intercepted a UAV launched from Iran after sirens were triggered in the Dead Sea area, the IDF has announced.

19 June 2025

An Israeli strike has reportedly targeted the Iranian city of Rasht, northwest of Tehran, according to videos circulating on social media.

The Israeli military claims that the country’s Air Force and Navy have intercepted “hundreds” of drones fired by Iran in recent days, without specifying the exact timeframe or the locations where the interceptions took place.

“So far, more than 95% of targets considered threats and approaching the country have been successfully intercepted,” the IDF said in a statement, which was accompanied by several videos of the alleged interceptions.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has claimed that his country is not seeking to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but insisted that the Iranian people would benefit from a regime change if it becomes a “side effect” of the ongoing bombing campaign.

“We don’t have a goal on Khamenei, nor do we have a goal on regime change… But it could be historically a clear side effect of major historical consequences that will do good to the Iranian people,” Herzog said in a Thursday interview with Germany’s Axel Springer publishing house. 

“We are dealing with the Iranian nuclear program, which is a monstrosity, an octopus monstrosity and has many elements, and we need to remove and delineate their capability,” he added. “I think that this is a rare opportunity to remove a threat which has been looming over the world.”

Israel has issued an urgent warning to the residents of the northwestern Iranian village of Kalash Taleshan, announcing imminent strikes and urging immediate evacuation from the zones marked on the map.

“The Israeli army, just as it has been attacking the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure throughout Iran in recent days, will soon be operating in this area,” the IDF wrote in its warning in Farsi, telling civilians that their “presence in this area puts your life at risk.”

The Israeli Air Force has intercepted a suspected Iranian drone over the port city of Haifa. “No sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol,” the IDF said in a brief statement, without providing further details.

Former IRGC commander‑in‑chief, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, has claimed that Iranian nuclear sites were cleared of nuclear materials and the staff evacuated ahead of Israeli strikes.

The West’s failure to condemn Israel has given the Jewish state the green light to commit crimes with impunity, Iran’s UN ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, told Euronews.

“The impunity which has been given to Israel is something which encourages that entity to continue committing new crimes,” the diplomat said. “And this impunity is because of inaction by Europeans. By the United States and the Security Council.”

Israel is continuing its attacks to degrade Iran’s nuclear program and missile array, IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin has said.

“We are working to significantly harm its nuclear program, all its components, and we are working to harm its missile program, which we saw only an example of today, what they can do to us,” Defrin said.

Attacks on nuclear facilities are “extremely dangerous” and could result in fallout rivaling “the Chernobyl tragedy,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned in a post on X.

Israel is “defenseless from end to end” against Iranian strikes, an Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) spokesman claimed, referring to an earlier missile barrage on Tel Aviv.

“The command and intelligence center of the Zionist regime’s army near one of the hospitals was targeted with high precision in a pinpoint strike,” he said.

The US will begin to intensively bomb Iran as early as this weekend, investigative journalist Seymor Hersh claimed, citing Israeli and American insiders.

The White House has signed off on an “all-out bombing campaign in Iran,” but Tehran’s deeply entrenched Fordow nuclear facility will not be attacked until this weekend, Hersh wrote on his Substack blog.

Trump has insisted upon the delay, as he wants the shock of the bombing to settle down as much as possible before trading opens on Wall Street on Monday, the journalist claimed.

CIA director John Ratcliffe said that Washington believes Iran is very close to developing nuclear weapons, CBS News wrote, citing an anonymous US official.

To claim that Tehran isn’t close would be like saying football players who have fought their way to the one-yard line don’t want to score, Ratcliffe reportedly said.

A US strike on Iran would escalate tensions and further destabilize the region, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RT.

“Moscow believes this is the wrong step,” he said. “It is a move that will – and assuredly will – lead to further escalation, a significant escalation, and will complicate the situation in the region even more.”

Iran’s state-owned news agency, PressTV, has released footage of Iranian air defenses intercepting Israeli missiles in Tehran’s evening sky.

US President Donald Trump will decide in the coming weeks whether to join Israel in attacking Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

“Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision on whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” she quoted the president as saying.

An Iranian state-owned broadcaster has shared footage of the launch of this morning’s wave of missiles at Israel.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national medical and disaster service, has reported that at least 89 people were injured in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area as a result of today’s missile strikes.

Israel is “ahead of schedule” in its military operation against Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to the Times of Israel.

“We are ahead of the schedule we set – both in terms of timing and results,” he reportedly said in a televised interview.

The operation had been in planning for months, starting after West Jerusalem had weakened Hezbollah, and when the Israeli prime minister became convinced that “Iran was racing toward a nuclear capability,” Netanyahu reportedly said.

A ceasefire in the Israel-Iran conflict is an urgent priority, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The parties to the conflict, especially Israel, should reach a ceasefire as soon as possible to prevent an escalation of the situation and avoid the spillover of war, Xi said, according to a statement published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Major world powers with influence over Israel and Iran should make efforts to deescalate the situation rather than stoke it, he added.

The situation regarding the Iranian nuclear program cannot be resolved through force, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Both agreed that a resolution to the Israel-Iran conflict can only be achieved through political and diplomatic means, Russian presidential policy aide Yury Ushakov has stated, commenting on the conversation.

US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff has spoken to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi by phone several times since Israel attacked Iran last Friday, Reuters has reported, citing three anonymous diplomats.

The talks included an earlier US offer to form a regional consortium that would enrich uranium outside of Iranian territory, which Tehran has rejected, the outlet wrote.

“Araghchi told Witkoff Iran was ready to come back to nuclear talks, but it could not if Israel continued its bombing,” Reuters cited one diplomat as saying.

The first call was initiated by Washington to extend a new offer, in an attempt to overcome the diplomatic deadlock, the outlet cited another source.

Israel has struck several areas of western Iran where the Islamic Republic was attempting to restore missile launch sites, the IDF has said on X.

“In recent days, IAF aircraft have detected several attempts by Iranian regime security forces to restore launch sites and storage facilities after they were attacked by the IDF,” it claims.

In an attached video, various pieces of construction equipment are seen being attacked.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has held a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged him to exercise moderation in Israel’s campaign against Iran, Reuters has reported, citing a source in the Bundestag.

Berlin supports the Israeli attacks in principle, but stresses the importance of seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict, the outlet cited its source as saying.

Air raid sirens are sounding in northern Israel due to an incoming wave of Iranian ballistic missiles, the IDF has reported on X.

Israeli real-time tracker ILRedAlert has reported at least 207 active alerts.

An unnamed Israeli official has told the Times of Israel that “it was a mistake” for the IDF to announce a strike on the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, which Russian personnel help operate.

The paper’s source said that, unlike several other Iranian nuclear sites, he could neither confirm nor deny that Israel had indeed attacked the facility.

President Vladimir Putin earlier said that Israel had agreed to ensure the safety of Russian personnel working at the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

The very fact that the US has “entered the scene” and is helping Israel “is a sign of that regime’s weakness,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said.

In a post on X he urged Iranians to show courage in the face of Israeli attacks. “If the enemy senses that you fear them, they won’t let go of you. Continue the very behavior that you have had up to this day; continue this behavior with strength,” he wrote.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has fired back against Israeli accusations that Tehran targeted Soroka hospital, saying that the strike “accurately eliminated an Israeli Military Command, Control & Intelligence HQ” located nearby.

He acknowledged that the blast wave caused “superficial damage to a small section” of the hospital, which he said was largely evacuated and in general treated Israeli service members.

”It is the Israeli regime and not Iran that initiated all this bloodshed, and it is Israeli war criminals and not Iranians who are targeting hospitals and civilians,” he wrote on X, vowing to continue to “pummel” Israel.

The IDF’s Home Front Command has accused Iran of using at least one ballistic missile equipped with cluster munitions which was aimed at the central part of the country. Cluster munitions are typically seen as extremely dangerous for civilian populations, as dozens of small explosives are released from the warhead and spread randomly over a large area.

The Israeli military claims it has hit two-thirds of Iran’s missile silos, adding that “hundreds” of surface-to-surface missile launchers have been rendered inoperable. It cautions that Iran still has the capability to conduct strikes.

The Israeli military has carried out a strike in western Iran, targeting surface-to-surface missile infrastructure sites, trucks carrying military equipment, and Tehran’s service members, the IDF has said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has confirmed to IRNA that he will meet with his British, German, and French counterparts in Geneva to discuss the conflict with Israel.

Türkiye has ramped up security at the Iranian border, a Defense Ministry source has told Reuters, adding, however, that Ankara has not seen any uptick in migration so far.

The Reuters source adds that Türkiye is continuing to develop a layered air and missile defense system, while its planes are patrolling the borders to prevent any Israeli airspace violations.

Russia believes that any Israeli strikes on Iranian peaceful nuclear infrastructure are “categorically unacceptable,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said, warning of a potential disaster.

She adds that attempts to justify Israel’s “unprovoked aggression” against Iran are “cynical.”

The IDF has released footage of what it claims is a strike on an inactive nuclear reactor in Arak.

The IDF has dismissed as “lies” Iranian claims that the strike that hit the Soroka hospital was an attack on an intelligence base and military hardware parked not far from the facility.

“We are not so despicable as to endanger civilians. Attacking hospitals is a crime. Fabricating a reason does not justify it,” Israeli officials said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has rebuked IAEA chief Rafael Grossi for coming out too late with the statement that there is no evidence that Tehran is making an effort to produce nuclear weapons.

“You obscured this truth in your absolutely biased report that was instrumentalize[d] by E3/US to craft a resolution with baseless allegation of 'non-compliance…’ Do you know how many innocent Iranians have been killed/maimed as a result of this criminal war?” he said.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has condemned the Israeli strike on the Arak heavy water complex. It said, however, that no casualties have been reported due to “preemptive safety measures” and there is “no threat or harm posed to residents in the vicinity of the mentioned site.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has denied targeting the Soroka Hospital in Israel, insisting instead that they had carried out a “precise and direct” strike against military assets.

The Israeli accusations are a “false narrative… [and a] part of a psychological campaign aimed at sanitizing Israel’s military image and concealing the extent of the blow to its intelligence infrastructure,” sources told the Tehran Times.

A potential US intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict would trigger “a terrible escalation spiral” and drastically increase the geographic scale of the stand-off, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

An Israeli attack on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would bring “disastrous consequences,” Hezbollah has warned. It says threats from US and Israeli officials to assassinate Khamenei are “an offense to hundreds of millions of believers and those connected to Islam, and it is utterly reprehensible.”

An Israeli strike on Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which Russian personnel are helping to operate, could result in a nuclear disaster on par with the 1986 Chernobyl accident, Aleksey Likhachev, the head of Russia’s Rosatom, has warned.

“This cannot be allowed to happen,” he has said, adding that any strikes in the proximity of active nuclear facilities should be off limits.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says “the tyrants in Tehran” will pay “the full price” for the strike on Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva.

If the US directly intervenes in the conflict, Washington’s priority target would be the Fordow uranium enrichment site, which is deep-seated in the mountains, Axios has reported, noting that Israel lacks the necessary tools to destroy it with long-range strikes.

The US possesses 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and heavy bombers to deliver them.

Israeli officials interviewed by the outlet “fear that if Fordow survives the war, Iran’s nuclear program will too.”
However, Israeli officials reportedly estimate that they could do significant damage to the facility on their own by other means, including “a risky commando raid.”

The Iranian military is poised to inflict “crushing blows” on Israeli nuclear facilities as a mirror response to similar attacks, a senior security official has told RT.

Without directly mentioning the US, he also promised that if any third party joins the conflict, “it will provide much more accessible targets for the Iranian Armed Forces to destroy.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have instructed the IDF to “increase the intensity of attacks against strategic targets in Iran and against government targets in Tehran” as retaliation for strikes on civilian targets.

The IDF has confirmed an overnight wave of strikes on Iranian targets, including an inactive nuclear reactor in Arak. It noted that the attack targeted the component intended for plutonium production “in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development.”

Other attacks targeted a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz, military production facilities, as well as air defense batteries, surface-to-surface missile storage sites, detection radar systems, and detection equipment, the IDF says.

An Iranian strike that hit a building in the city of Holon south of Tel Aviv left 16 people injured, with three in serious condition, according to Wolfson Hospital.

A group of Democratic senators has sounded the alarm about reports that Trump is considering military action against Iran, as well as what they describe as a “lack of preparation, strategy, and clearly defined objectives, and the enormous risk to Americans and civilians in the region.”

They also stressed that any direct US military intervention must be approved by lawmakers. “By law, the president must consult Congress and seek authorization if he is considering taking the country to war. Congress is an equal partner in preserving and defending US national security around the world, and Congress has not provided authorization for military action against Iran – we will not rubberstamp military intervention that puts the United States at risk,” their statement reads.

US intelligence confirmed once again this week that Iran is not moving towards building a nuclear weapon, Democratic Senator and Vice Chairman of the Intelligence Committee Mark Warner has claimed.

He went on to rebuke Trump for dismissing this intelligence and failing to disclose what his Iran policy is at this point.

“If I don’t have the foggiest idea, what do the American people know?” he has said.

Israel has attacked Iran’s heavy water reactor in Arak in the central part of the country, according to local media, which claims that there was “no radiation danger whatsoever,” and that the facility was evacuated before the strike. The damage so far is unclear.

“Several hits were identified as a result of the missile barrage — one of them hitting the largest hospital in southern Israel,” the IDF has said.

Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Be’er Sheva has suffered “significant damage” after a “direct hit” by an Iranian ballistic missile, Israeli media report, citing authorities.

Several missiles have penetrated Israeli air defenses in the central and southern parts of the country, causing multiple injuries and “extensive damage” at at least four impact sites, according to the Times of Israel.

The IDF has announced that it has “identified missiles launched from Iran,” activating warning sirens in several areas across Israel and urging residents to seek shelter.

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the statement said. “The defense is not hermetic; therefore, it is essential to continue following the instructions of the Home Front Command.”

Senior US officials at a “handful of federal agencies” are “preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in the coming days,” Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity. Some of the sources allegedly pointed to “potential plans for a weekend strike.”

Despite Israeli military censorship, several videos allegedly captured by the crew of a merchant vessel off the Israeli port city of Haifa are making the rounds online, seemingly showing Israeli air defenses struggling to intercept a volley of incoming Iranian missiles during one of the Iranian strikes earlier this week.

Earlier on Wednesday, the IDF censorship chief, Brig.-Gen. Kobi Mandelblit, issued new media guidelines requiring “any person who prints or publishes printed matter or a publication regarding the location of a strike or hit by enemy war materiel, including missiles of any kind and UAVs, in the media or online,” to submit it to the military censor for approval, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The latest Israeli strikes apparently targeted unspecified sites in Tehran, as well as the central provincial capital of Karaj, according to footage shared by Press TV.

The IDF has issued an urgent warning to residents of the Arak–Khondab area in central Iran, announcing imminent strikes and urging immediate evacuation from the zones marked on the map.

“The Israeli army is operating in this area, as it has been doing throughout Iran in recent days to attack the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure,” the IDF wrote in Farsi, warning civilians that their “presence in this area puts your life at risk.”

Israel has announced that its air force has launched yet another bombing raid against Iran, without disclosing the exact targets.

“The IAF is currently conducting a series of strikes in Tehran and additional areas in Iran,” the IDF said in a statement.

President Trump has reportedly “reviewed attack plans” against Iran provided by his security officials but is holding off on making any final decisions, CNN reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. “As President Trump said himself today, all options remain on the table,” an unnamed White House official said.

The Situation Room meeting chaired by the US commander-in-chief lasted about an hour and concluded without any public announcements regarding possible US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, an unnamed White House official told NBC News.

18 June 2025

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has said that Tehran is acting “solely in self‑defence,” noting that even under heavy aggression, “Iran has so far only retaliated against the Israeli regime and not those who are aiding and abetting it.”

Iran has “never sought and will never seek nuclear weapons,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X, adding that Tehran’s restraint demonstrates its seriousness on the issue.

“If otherwise, what better pretext could we possibly need for developing those inhuman weapons than the current aggression by the region’s only nuclear-armed regime?” he said.

Araghchi also cautioned that Iran will “continue to exercise its right to self‑defence, with pride and bravery,” warning that it will make “the aggressor regret and pay for its grave error.”

Tehran has not asked Moscow for military assistance, President Vladimir Putin has said in response to a question about whether Russia is ready to send arms to Iran. Moscow has previously offered Tehran cooperation in air defense systems but the Iranian side “showed little interest,” according to Putin.

“We once proposed working together on air defense systems to our Iranian friends. They didn’t show much interest at the time, and that was that,” Putin explained.

“As for the strategic partnership agreement, there are no provisions related to military cooperation,” he added. “And our Iranian friends are not asking for that. There’s practically nothing to discuss.”

President Vladimir Putin has refused to answer a question about a potential assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “I don’t want to even discuss it,” he told the late-night Q&A.

President Vladimir Putin said that Israel has agreed to ensure the safety of Russian personnel working at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, revealing that more than 200 Russian specialists are currently working on the project.

“Our experts are in the field, we’re talking about over 200 people,” Putin said at a media roundtable on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). “We agreed with the Israeli leadership that their security will be ensured.”

The Russian leader emphasized that Moscow is not withdrawing from the Bushehr project. “Our specialists are working in Bushehr – 250 people, plus others on assignment. The total number could reach 600. And we are not leaving,” he told reporters.

Russia has been involved in the construction of the Bushehr nuclear facility since the 1990s, with the plant’s first reactor completed in 2011. Two additional units are currently under construction and expected to be operational by 2025 and 2027.

The world must find a way to end the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran that would enable both sides to reach an agreement, President Vladimir Putin told the heads of international news agencies during a late-night Q&A session on the sidelines of the 28th annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Iran’s interests in peaceful nuclear energy development should be respected, as well as Israel’s interest in security, Putin suggested.

“There are ways to ensure Iran’s interests in peaceful atomic energy and alleviate Israel’s security concerns,” he said, adding that Russia is not imposing its vision on anyone but merely offering its assistance in mitigating the crisis.

Russia has contacted the US, Israel, and Iran and offered its services as a mediator, the president said.

The US military has begun airlifting some diplomats and their family members from the American embassy in Israel, ABC News reports, citing unnamed State Department officials.

“Given the ongoing situation and as part of the Embassy’s authorized departure status, Mission personnel have begun departing Israel through a variety of means,” a State Department spokesperson said. Those evacuated reportedly include Chief of Mission personnel, with additional military evacuation flights anticipated in the coming days.

The Diplomatic Security Service is reportedly assisting with the logistics and security of the operation. According to two senior officials, discussions are underway within the State Department about the possibility of a full evacuation, though any final decision would come from the White House.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has put his cabinet on alert, warning that a US attack on Iran may be imminent, the Financial Times has reported, citing anonymous officials familiar with the proceedings.

British officials are concerned that the US will carry out an attack from the joint US-UK air base at Diego Garcia, according to the outlet.

The air base currently hosts six US B2-Spirit stealth bombers, the only aircraft currently capable of carrying America’s massive 30,000-pound (13,600 kg) MOP bunker buster bombs, which would be needed to penetrate Iran’s deeply entrenched Fordow nuclear facility.

London sees the situation as “grave and volatile” and is concerned that any US strikes by these bombers could draw the UK into the conflict, according to FT.

US President Donald Trump wants a total and complete Israeli victory in the conflict with Iran.

“We’re well beyond ‘ceasefire’... A ceasefire means everything is going swimmingly, let’s take a little time off. We’re not looking for a ceasefire, we’re looking for a total, complete victory,” Trump told journalists in Washington.

Tehran not having a nuclear weapon would constitute such a “victory,” he added.

US President Donald Trump’s style of laying out maximalist demands may have worked in his business dealings, but talking with Iran works differently, Valdai Discussion Club Research Director Fyodor Lukyanov has said.

Trump “now says that Iran has to accept everything Americans are proposing or face fatal and terminal consequences,” he told RT.

“Maybe it is a Trumpian style because he believes that the tougher demands, the easier it is to get to a conclusion, something which normally worked in his real estate business, but international relations is something else,” he said.

Earlier, the US president reiterated his demand for Tehran to unconditionally surrender.

Israel has struck 20 military, industrial and research sites in the Iranian capital, the IDF has claimed.

“As part of the broad effort to operate against Iran's nuclear weapons development project, IAF fighter jets struck weapons production sites, centrifuge production sites, as well as research and development sites, ”the IDF said in a statement on Wednesday.

The latest strikes also reportedly targeted Iran’s missile assembly sites, as well as facilities that provide them with raw materials.

Israel is increasingly striking targets unrelated to its stated military goals in Iran, French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly stated.

The president has “expressed his concern about the ongoing escalation, with Israeli strikes increasingly attacking targets unrelated to Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, and a growing number of civilian casualties in Iran and Israel,” French channel TF1 reports.

Macron reportedly added that a lasting resolution of the issues surrounding Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs can “only be achieved through negotiation.”

Tehran has begun using super-heavy, long-range, two-stage Sejjil missiles against Israel, Iranian state news agency IRNA has reported, citing a statement from Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.

Earlier in the day, footage posted to social media showed a two-stage missile launch from Iran.

Israeli media have reported that the missile has been intercepted, citing a military official.

It’s no surprise that Iran has responded to Trump’s demand for surrender with outrage, Former British Ambassador to Iran, Richard Dalton said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“That is what you’d expect from any undefeated country, and that is what you’d expect from Iran,” the diplomat said.

“These threats to its identity, to its continued existence, this damage to civilian facilities, not just military or potentially nuclear ones, has clearly enraged people in Tehran and not just supporters of the system of government in Iran,” Dalton said.

He added that the “unpredictability” of the US is a “serious worry” for both the region and the wider world.

Tehran will temporarily limit internet access to prevent “the enemy from threatening citizens’ lives and property,” as the conflict with Israel escalates, Iran’s Ministry of Communications has said.

Hours earlier, internet traffic watchdog NetBlocks reported that data flow from Iran indicated an almost complete blackout.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has suggested that US President Donald Trump did not speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

“Life is so eventful now that a retrospective of a few days seems like yesterday,” Peskov told journalist Pavel Zarubin, when asked to comment on Trump’s claim that he spoke to the Russian president “yesterday.”

Multiple videos purporting to show the launch of an Iranian missile are circulating online.

In the footage, a thin missile trail can be seen rising to an altitude where the contrail rapidly thickens and spreads to a much wider area as the munition accelerates.

The IDF says it has detected multiple missile launches from Iran towards Israel, warning people to head to shelters until further notice.

The Israeli military is intercepting and striking back where necessary, it added.

“The defense is not hermetic, therefore, it is essential to continue following the instructions of the Home Front Command,” the military said in a statement on Telegram.

Washington’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has said that the embassy is working to help US citizens who want to leave the Jewish state as its conflict with Iran escalates.

Tehran has denied Trump’s claim that Iran asked for a meeting at the White House.

“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader,” Iran’s mission to the UN wrote on X.

Tehran “does not negotiate under duress,” it said, adding that Iran will retaliate against the actions taken against it with reciprocal measures.

Trump has claimed that Iran offered to send a negotiating team to the White House.

“They have suggested they come to the White House. That’s courageous, but not easy for them to do,” he told reporters in Washington.

He added that it would be dangerous for him to visit the region, amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.

No country has the right to attack Iran because they don’t like its government, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.

“Israel say they don’t like the regime in Iran, the political regime,” she said in an interview with RT’s Rick Sanchez.

“Whether you like a regime or you don’t. if it doesn't attack you, and if it doesn’t… create direct threats to people or a state you have no right to change that regime,” she stressed.

“What has Iran done wrong? What is it being bombed for?” she asked, stressing that in a normal legal system, when a crime is committed, evidence needs to be submitted.

Trump has reiterated his demand for Iran to capitulate.

“Two words: unconditional surrender. That means I’ve had it, I’ve had it, I give up, no more. Then we go and blow up all the nuclear stuff,” he told the press on the White House lawn.

He went on to call Iran “zealots,” claiming the country has had “bad intentions” against neighboring countries for years.

US President Donald Trump has said he discussed the Israel-Iran conflict with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday.

“I spoke to him yesterday… he actually offered to help mediate,” the US president told journalists outside of the White House.

Trump said he asked Putin to focus on Ukraine first.

Moscow has yet to comment on the conversation.

Israel struck at least 40 facilities related to Iran’s missile infrastructure overnight, the IDF has claimed on X.

US President Donald Trump has teased a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

“I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m gonna do,” he told the press on the White House lawn, without elaborating.

US President Donald Trump has been given a list of options related to Iran by his national security officials, ABC News has reported, citing sources. One of the choices includes potentially using American military assets to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, the outlet claimed, adding that no final decision has been made.

The Israeli military has conducted a strike on an airfield in Karaj, west of Tehran, according to Al Jazeera.

The IDF has confirmed it has renewed strikes on military targets in Tehran, without providing more details, or saying whether the attacks were successful.

Israel has conducted several strikes on Tehran, with explosions heard in the eastern part of the capital, according to media reports and unverified footage on social media. The target of the strike is so far unclear.

The Iranian nuclear facility in Natanz has been “badly hit” by Israeli strikes, with its enrichment hall located above ground “completely destroyed,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Bloomberg.

Several buildings at another nuclear compound in Isfahan have also been affected, he added. According to Grossi, however, the Fordow enrichment plant, located deep in the mountains, seems to have evaded the same degree of damage.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone conversation with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the Israel-Iran conflict, the Kremlin has said.

Both leaders expressed deep concern over the escalation, stressing the need to halt the hostilities and resume talks over Iran’s nuclear program, according to the readout. Putin also reiterated Russia’s readiness to mediate the conflict.

Asked whether Iran wants continued dialogue with the US, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei noted that “diplomacy never ends” but added that Tehran does not trust Washington. He added that Iran maintains contact with its partners, including Russia.

“We expect everyone that has a leeway, that has a mandate under the UN Security Council, to act to help having a resolution in condemnation of this attack,” Baghaei said.

Any third-party intervention in the Israel-Iran standoff risks a conflict that “would engulf all the region and even will go beyond that,” Iranian Foreign Minister spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli Air Force has hit over 1,100 Iranian assets since the start of the conflict last week, the IDF has said. It added that the strikes are “deepening the significant damage” caused to Iran’s missile forces and air defenses.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused Iran of “being the main source of instability” in the Middle East. However, the West’s key goal is “to get to negotiations that make it possible for Iran not to become a nuclear power,” she added.

Iran “is standing firm against an imposed war” and will not surrender to anyone, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said in a televised address to the nation.

He also warned the US against potential direct intervention in the conflict with Israel, noting that it “will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”

Israel’s strikes on Iran are “a full-scale terrorist act,” and Tehran is in its right to defend itself from “this banditry,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

“The stain of blood and shame has not only been smeared on Netanyahu's hands and forehead… but also on the hands, foreheads and consciences, if any, of everyone who remains silent, quiet and unresponsive,” he added.

The Israeli military claims to have destroyed five Iranian helicopters parked in the Kermanshah area in the western part of the country.

The IAEA has confirmed that two centrifuge production facilities in Iran, including a workshop in Karaj and the Tehran Research Center, had been hit by Israeli strikes.

“At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested. At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured,” the agency said.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is expected to deliver an address to the nation in a few minutes, according to local media.

Iran will retaliate if the US gets directly involved in its conflict with Israel, Ali Bahreini, Tehran’s ambassador to the UN, has warned.

“We will give the same response to the United States that we give to Israel. I am confident that [Iran] will react strongly, proportionally and appropriately,” he said, adding that Tehran is “closely following the level of involvement in the US.”

The Israeli military has claimed it has intercepted seven drones launched from Iran before they could reach the country’s border.

Global peace cannot be guaranteed until “all nations that possess nuclear arsenals, including Israel, destroy them,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez has said. Israel has never publicly confirmed nor denied having a nuclear arsenal.

The Iranian military claims it destroyed an Israeli long-range and medium-sized Hermes drone over eastern Isfahan, with local media releasing footage of the UAV’s debris on the ground.

It is “bizarre” that Trump, who criticized the US invasion of Iraq on the campaign trail, is using the same narrative about weapons of mass destruction to lay the groundwork for a potential campaign against Iran, filmmaker Sean Stone has told RT.

He added that efforts to seek regime change in Iran could backfire on the US. “Is it like Iraq, where we’re going to have to try to send troops to occupy a country and potentially deal with ten years of conflict and chaos?” Stone has said.

Iran’s attacks against Israel have so far been a deterrent warning, Sayyid Abdolrahim Mousavi, the new chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, has said, adding that “punitive operations” can be expected soon.

Israel is running low on Arrow air defense missiles, raising concerns over whether the country can defend against Iranian attacks if the conflict is not over soon, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing sources.

Hundreds of Iranians have taken to the streets in Tehran to protest against the recent remarks of Donald Trump, who suggested that the US could easily eliminate Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to images posted by local media.

The International Atomic Energy Agency does “not have any proof of a systematic effort” by Iran to move closer to producing a nuclear weapon, Rafael Grossi, the organization’s director general, has told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

Around 60% of Americans are opposed to US military involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, while only 16% support a direct role in the standoff, according to a YouGov poll conducted June 13-16.

Nevertheless, 61% of Americans see Iran’s nuclear program as either an immediate and serious threat to the US, or a somewhat serious threat (37%). Around 56% of respondents believe Washington should engage in talks over a nuclear deal, while 18% are opposed to this approach.

The Israeli military claims that it intercepted three drones launched at the country from Iran. Two were taken down over the Dead Sea area, and one was destroyed over northern Israel, officials say.

US officials believe that the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical in the Israel-Iran conflict, and will determine whether a diplomatic solution is possible or the US military will become directly involved in the hostilities, ABC News has reported, citing sources.

According to the outlet, US negotiators still think Iran is “in a weak position” and could ultimately agree to abandoning all of its nuclear enrichment capabilities, which Tehran has so far dismissed as a deal-breaker.

The IDF claims to have conducted a major overnight airstrike operation targeting key military infrastructure in the Tehran area, including a facility allegedly involved in centrifuge production for Iran’s nuclear program.

According to an official press release issued early Wednesday, more than 50 Israeli fighter jets, guided by “precise intelligence” from the IDF Intelligence Directorate, struck a series of targets believed to support Iran’s weapons development capabilities.

“As part of the broader effort to cripple Iran’s nuclear weapons development program, a site for centrifuge production in Tehran was attacked,” the IDF stated, sharing a video of Israeli jets preparing for a sortie.

Other targets allegedly included facilities producing raw materials and components for surface-to-surface missiles, as well as systems for air defense missiles.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has released a video allegedly showing the launch of multiple missiles earlier on Wednesday.

The IDF has detected a “hostile aircraft infiltration,” apparently referring to Iranian drones, with air defense sirens sounding in several areas across northern Israel. Earlier in the night, the Israeli Air Force reported intercepting several hostile UAVs over the Dead Sea.

The latest satellite images of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain appear to show no vessels anchored nearby, the Associated Press reports, noting that “dispersing ships is a common safety technique employed by navies around the world in times of trouble.” In anticipation of further escalation, the Pentagon has reportedly placed all troops on high alert across bases in the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Israeli fighter jets have reportedly struck Imam Hossein University in eastern Tehran as part of the latest raid, according to witness accounts. The university is on the US sanctions list due to its alleged ties to the IRGC.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps allegedly used “powerful and maneuverable” Fatah hypersonic medium-range ballistic missiles to pierce Israeli air defenses earlier on Wednesday. In a statement carried by Iranian media, the IRGC claimed that the attack “showed we have gained complete control over the skies” of Israel – echoing a similar claim made earlier in the day by US President Donald Trump about Iranian airspace.

17 June 2025

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued an evacuation warning for residents of Tel Aviv, urging “Israeli settlers” to leave the “occupied” Neve Tzedek neighborhood for their own safety, according to Iranian media.

Smoke and flames were seen rising over Tehran following the latest Israeli raid, according to a video shared by Press TV.

The IDF has announced that the Israeli Air Force “is currently conducting a series of strikes in the Tehran area.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has issued a warning to Israel, indicating that Tehran’s retaliatory strikes will continue.

“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” read a post from Khamenei’s official account on X.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously refused to rule out the potential assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, while US President Donald Trump remarked that he would be “an easy target.”

Iranian air defenses have reportedly engaged incoming Israeli missiles over Tehran, according to local media reports and videos shared online.

The US State Department has announced that the embassy in Jerusalem will remain closed from Wednesday to Friday, urging all US government employees and their family members to continue sheltering in place in and around their residences until further notice.

The latest security alert noted that there was “no announcement about assisting private US citizens to depart at this time,” advising those who wish to leave the country to “make your own security plans.”

The second salvo of Iranian missiles targeting Israel tonight involved around ten projectiles, according to Israel’s Channel 12. No casualties were reported, but the strike reportedly caused a fire in a parking lot in central Tel Aviv.

The Israel Defense Forces have issued an urgent evacuation warning for residents of Tehran’s District 18, citing imminent Israeli airstrikes targeting the area.

“In the coming hours, the Israeli army will operate in this area, as it has in recent days across Tehran, to strike the military infrastructure of the Iranian regime,” the warning stated. The message was accompanied by a map highlighting the specified zone.

The IDF says it has detected another missile launch from Iran, urging residents to follow Home Front Command instructions and to leave protected areas only upon receiving an explicit directive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with President Donald Trump earlier in the day, before the US commander-in-chief convened his national security advisers in the White House Situation Room, according to a source cited by The Jerusalem Post.

At least 15 missiles were launched into central and northern Israel, most of which were intercepted by air defense systems, Ynet reported, citing the IDF. Videos circulating on social media reportedly showed Israeli interceptors engaging targets in the skies above Tel Aviv.

The IDF has reported detecting additional missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory, with warning sirens sounding in several areas across the country, including Tel Aviv.

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat. The public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice,” the IDF said. “The defense is not hermetic; therefore, it is essential to continue following the instructions of the Home Front Command.”

The messaging platform WhatsApp has accused Iranian authorities of spreading “false reports” after officials in Tehran warned the public to delete the app from their smartphones, alleging that user information and geolocation data could be used by Israel to target strikes.

“We do not track your precise location, we don’t keep logs of who everyone is messaging, and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another,” said a spokesperson for the platform, which is owned by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

“We’re concerned these false reports will be used as an excuse to block our services at a time when people need them the most,” the spokesperson added.

The IDF has said that the Israeli Air Force “struck 12 missile launch sites and storage facilities in Iran aimed at Israeli civilians,” and shared drone footage of one of the attacks, which was carried out at an unspecified location and time.

The exiled son of the deposed, CIA-installed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi has called for an uprising in Iran, claiming he has a “plan” and promising his countrymen a “bright” future in a video posted on X on Tuesday.

“Now is the time to rise; the time to reclaim Iran. Let us all come forward… and bring about the end of this regime,” he stated.

“Do not fear the day after the fall of the Islamic Republic. Iran will not descend into civil war or instability. We have a plan for Iran’s future and its flourishing. We are prepared for the first hundred days after the fall, for the transitional period, and for the establishment of a national and democratic government — by the Iranian people and for the Iranian people,” he added.

Reza Pahlavi is the eldest son of Iran’s last Shah. He was designated Crown Prince and heir to the throne before the 1979 Islamic Revolution led to the monarchy’s collapse and the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Pahlavi now lives in exile in the United States and maintains warm relations with Israel, which he visited in 2023.

Iran is preparing for potential retaliatory actions if the US directly joins Israel’s military campaign against Iran, the New York Times reports citing unnamed American officials. 

It is nearly certain that the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels will resume assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the officials told the outlet. Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria may also target US bases in retaliation.

Other officials noted that Iran could respond by mining the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping chokepoint, to trap US warships in the Persian Gulf. 

Two Iranian officials stated that Tehran would attack US bases in the Middle East, prioritizing those in Iraq, should Washington intervene militarily alongside Israel.

In anticipation of escalation, US commanders have placed troops on high alert across bases in the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Over 40,000 US troops are currently deployed in the Middle East.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has declared that its recent missile and drone strikes specifically hit Israeli air bases responsible for launching attacks on Iranian soil.

In an official statement, the IRGC warned: “Our attacks against Israel will continue in a constant, complex, multi-layered and gradual manner… We targeted the airbases from which the Zionist entity launched attacks against Iranian territory.”

US President Donald Trump is convening his national security advisers in the White House Situation Room this afternoon, according to American media, as the administration considers increasing US engagement in the Iran-Israel conflict.

US President Donald Trump is weighing direct American military involvement in Israel’s campaign against Iran, according to a Tuesday report by Axios, citing three unnamed officials. 

The outlet stated, “Three US officials said Trump was seriously considering joining the war and launching a US strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, especially its underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow.”

Axios previously reported that Israel does not possess the necessary bunker-buster bombs to effectively target the Fordow infrastructure buried deep underground.

Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites are unlawful and could lead to a catastrophe, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement.

According to the ministry, some Western countries are trying to “manipulate the global nuclear non-proliferation regime for settling political scores.”

However, the Iranian authorities have made it clear that they are ready to adhere to their NPT obligations and to resume contacts with the US, the ministry added. It further stated that Moscow supports this stance and believes that any lasting resolution must be achieved through diplomacy and negotiations.

“The destructive actions of the Israeli leadership are supported and understood only by those states that are its actual accomplices, acting out of political expediency. These ‘sympathizers’ pushed the [International Atomic Energy] Agency’s leadership to prepare a dubious “comprehensive assessment” of Iran's nuclear program, whose shortcomings were exploited to promote a biased anti-Iran resolution passed by the IAEA Board on June 12“.

US President Donald Trump is becoming more open to the idea of using military force to target Iranian nuclear facilities, and less favorable towards pursuing a diplomatic solution to the escalating conflict, according to two officials who spoke with CNN.

Trump reportedly signaled earlier Tuesday that his patience for diplomacy “was wearing thin.”

“I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate with Iran,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One while returning early from the G7 summit.

The Israeli military is set out 60 jets for an “extensive wave of strikes in the heart of Iran” a few hours ago, according to IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.

Multiple videos posted on X show that Tehran is under constant bombardment now.

The Pentagon is moving more fighter jets to the Middle East and is extending the deployment of air assets already in place, including F-16s, F-22s, and F-35s, an unnamed US official has told Fox News.

“Unconditional surrender,” US President Donald Trump wrote in capital letters on Truth Social on Tuesday after publishing several posts on Iran.

The American president also claimed that the US and its Israeli allies “know exactly” where the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is “hiding.” Trump called him an “easy target” but stated that “we are not going to take him out… at least for now.” 

Iran’s military has claimed it struck an Israeli military intelligence center in Tel Aviv with a guided missile on Tuesday.

“The Zionist regime’s security and intelligence center was hit with a precision-guided missile, despite the enemy’s extensive defense systems – bolstered by American support – failing to intercept or track it,” Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik said, as quoted by Rudaw.

“They will see more of these surprises,” he added, claiming that the attack demonstrated “the enemy’s growing weakness.”

President Donald Trump claims the United States “now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” while noting that Tehran “had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment,” but it hadn’t hindered the US.

The Israeli military has said it conducted a new wave of airstrikes against Iranian ballistic missile launchers in the west of the Islamic Republic.

Additionally, since this morning, the has IDF claimed it has struck Iranian air defense systems and radar sites, also publishing footage it claims is of the strikes.

The White House supports Israel’s stated aim of eliminating Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, but not the broader task of reshaping the Islamic Republic through force, Axios wrote citing sources.

”They might be more comfortable with regime change than we are. They may be more comfortable with destroying the country than we are,” an unnamed US official said, referring to West Jerusalem.

“But generally speaking, the world should want this bomb capacity to be destroyed, and eventually we're going to have to get that done.”

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has condemned the Israeli attack on Iran, warning that the conflict between the two countries could endanger security on a global scale.

”There is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end. And that, my friends, is a threat to people everywhere,” the monarch said in his speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

”We are at another defining crossroad in our history, one that demands a choice, power or principle, the rule of law or the rule of force, decline or renewal,” he stressed.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has claimed there could have been “direct impacts” on the underground part of Iran’s Natanz nuclear site as a result of Israel’s initial attack on Friday.

The UN watchdog said that its experts came to such conclusion “based on continued analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery.”

There has been “no change to report” at the Esfahan and Fordow nuclear sites, the agency added.

US President Donald Trump has declined speculation that Russia and North Korea have been aiding Iran during the escalation with Israel. “I have not seen it,” he said when addressed on the issue.

According to US intelligence, Israel’s recent attacks have set Iran’s alleged military nuclear program back only a matter of months, CNN reports, citing an unnamed American official.

Contrary to West Jerusalem’s claims that Tehran is on the brink of obtaining a nuclear weapon, US intelligence assessments have concluded that not only was Iran not actively pursuing a nuclear bomb, but it was also up to three years away from being able to produce one, the broadcaster cites four informed sources as saying.

Tehran has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful in nature and that it isn’t pursuing related weapons development.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that it struck the headquarters of Israeli spy agency Mossad in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, confirming earlier media reports. “The facility is currently burning,” it said in a statement.

According to the IRGC, it also targeted a spy center of the Israeli Military Intelligence (Aman).

The Iranian missile attacks on the facilities were successful “despite the presence of highly advanced air defense systems” in the area, it stressed.

US President Donald Trump has again warned Iran against targeting US military facilities and personnel in the Middle East.

"Iran knows not to touch our troops. We would come down so hard if they do anything to our people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he was on his way to Washington from the G7 summit in Canada.

The president also stressed that his goals went beyond achieving a truce between Israel and Iran. “I did not say I was looking for a ceasefire. I want a real end, with Iran giving up entirely on nuclear weapons,” he noted.

When asked if he would send his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President J.D. Vance to engage with Tehran, Trump said: “I may, but it depends what happens when I get back.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that a new “more powerful” missile assault has been launched against Israel.

“A new wave of fierce attacks by the armed forces, especially the army’s ground forces, with new and advanced weapons has begun and will intensify in the coming hours,” commander of the Iranian Army Ground Forces, Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, has said as cited by state-run IRNA news agency.

Tehran has struck the headquarters of Israeli spy agency Mossad in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, according to Iranian media.

Videos on social media have captured black smoke billowing from the area where the HQ is supposed to be located.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has said that three people were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli strike on its headquarters in Tehran on Monday. Initial reports spoke of one female employee succumbing to her injuries after the attack.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Israel reached “the peak of cowardice” when it targeted the TV station. “When they cannot succeed in a real battle, they try to attack and destroy a defenseless center that only broadcasts the truth,” he insisted.

Israel has claimed that it has assassinated the newly appointed Iranian Chief of Staff, Ali Shadmani. Tehran has not commented on the matter so far.

“Iran’s most senior military official and [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei’s closest military advisor was killed in an IAF strike in central Tehran, following precise intelligence,” the IDF said in a statement.

Shadmani’s predecessor in the job, Gholamali Rashid, died in the initial Israeli attack on Iran on Friday.

Iran has fired around 20 ballistic missiles at Israel in the latest attack, according to the IDF.

The missiles fell in central Israel; in one incident, an empty bus caught fire after being struck in a parking lot, according to The Times of Israel.

Unverified videos on social media have shown blazes and smoke billowing in several areas, including Tel Aviv.

There have so far been no reports of deaths or injuries.

US President Donald Trump has rejected his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron’s claim that he left the G7 summit in Canada early in order to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

“Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

According to the US leader, what he is looking to achieve is “much BIGGER than that.”

“Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned,” he said.

The IDF reports that it has carried out “several extensive strikes” on targets in Western Iran overnight, attacking surface-to-air missile launchers as well as missile and drone depots. 

The US State Department has announced that the US Embassy in Jerusalem, as well as the consular section in Tel Aviv, will remain closed on Tuesday.

“As a result of the current security situation and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, the US Embassy has directed all US government employees and their family members to continue sheltering in place in and near their residences until further notice,” the security alert stated.

The alert also noted that Washington is currently unable to provide travel assistance to American citizens, advising those who wish to leave Israel to consider alternative routes through border crossings with Egypt and Jordan.

“The US Embassy is not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel,” the embassy added. “Before traveling to the border crossings, US citizens should consult the Israel Home Front Command guidance… This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, has defended the deadly strike on Iran’s state broadcaster – which killed at least one journalist – by claiming the IDF had warned civilians to evacuate the area in advance.

“Hundreds of thousands of Tehranis have escaped Tehran to be out of the line of danger, and we took out the broadcast system. This is very important because this serves the Mullahs and their information campaign, their propaganda campaign throughout Iran to incite the public and to warn the public against any kind of demonstrations against the government,” he said in a video posted on X.

The diplomat claimed that Israel is not pursuing regime change in Tehran, but expressed support for Iranians if they choose to overthrow their government.

“We’re not in the business of regime change… If the Iranian people rise up and change the regime, that’s their choice. And if we play a role in facilitating that eventuality, then history will judge us favorably, I believe,” he said.

The White House is seeking to organize a meeting between President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as part of a last-ditch effort to secure a “deal” with Tehran, Axios reports, citing four sources briefed on the issue.

“A meeting with the Iranians this week is under consideration,” one source claimed, adding that its outcome could determine whether Washington intervenes militarily in the ongoing clash between Israel and Iran.

“They do want to talk… But what we don’t know is, ‘Have they been brought to their knees fully so that they realize that, in order to have a country, they have to talk?’” another senior official claimed. The US president is allegedly considering supplying Israel with bunker buster bombs as “leverage” to force Tehran into signing a deal.

Washington has so far distanced itself from Israel’s attacks on Iran, but Trump has repeatedly insisted that Tehran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon by any means necessary.

Israel’s largest oil refinery operator, Bazan Group, has ceased all operations at its facilities in Haifa Port after a missile strike by Iran damaged critical infrastructure and resulted in the deaths of three employees. The attack, which occurred early Monday, targeted the refinery’s power station, disrupting the supply of steam and electricity essential for operations.

“The power station responsible for part of the steam and electricity production used by the group’s facilities sustained significant damage, alongside additional impacts,” the company said in a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Monday night.

“At this stage, all refinery and subsidiary facilities have been shut down,” the company added, noting that it is currently working with the Israel Electric Corporation to restore power and assess the full extent of the damage.

The Haifa refinery is a critical component of Israel’s energy infrastructure, processing approximately 197,000 barrels of oil per day. Its prolonged shutdown could significantly disrupt the country’s fuel supply and industrial operations.

A female staffer of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Masoumeh Azimi, who was injured in an Israeli strike on one of the state broadcaster’s offices, has succumbed to her injuries, according to local media.

The facility, which houses IRIB’s news and political affairs department, was struck by at least four projectiles during a live news broadcast on Monday. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed the strike on what he called the “Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece” was justified.

The Chinese embassy in Israel has urged its citizens to leave the country, advising them to use the available land border crossings with Jordan or Egypt, as Israeli airspace remains closed.

“At present, the Israeli-Iranian conflict continues to escalate, with civilian facilities damaged and civilian casualties increasing, making the security situation even more severe,” the embassy said in a warning on WeChat, according to Reuters.

The Pentagon chief has justified the ongoing deployment of additional US military assets to the Middle East as a demonstration of the “America First” foreign policy and a pursuit of “peace through strength.”

“Our job is to be strong. We are postured defensively in the region to be strong, in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that’s what happens here. And ‘America First’ means we’re going to defend American personnel and American interests,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News.

“So when you see jets, and you see air defense assets and counter-UAS [Unmanned Aircraft Systems] assets — that’s because my job as the Secretary of Defense is to ensure that our people are safe and that we’re strong, so that we can set the conditions for a deal. And President Trump’s made it clear it’s on the table. The question is whether Iran will take it,” he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron has claimed that his US counterpart Donald Trump had discussed the prospects of a potential ceasefire between Israel and Iran on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

“There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions,” Macron told reporters, according to Reuters.

“We have to see now whether the sides will follow… If the United States can achieve a ceasefire, that’s a very good thing,” he added.

President Trump allegedly directed members of his team to “attempt a meeting with Iranian officials as quickly as possible,” CNN has reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

“I think Iran basically is at the negotiating table,” Trump told journalists earlier in the day, before the White House announced he would leave the G7 summit in Canada a day earlier than planned. “They want to make a deal, and as soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something. But I have to leave here. I have, you know, this commitment.”

The IDF has again instructed residents to seek shelter and “remain there until further notice,” citing additional missile launches detected from Iran.

Israeli residents were permitted to leave bomb shelters following the latest missile scare, with no reports of impacts or casualties.

The IDF has reported detecting additional missiles launched from Iran toward Israel, with warning sirens sounding in several areas across the country.

“At this time, the IAF is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat. The defense is not hermetic; therefore, it is essential to continue following the instructions of the Home Front Command,” the IDF said.

US President Donald Trump has allegedly “requested that the National Security Council be prepared in the Situation Room” by the time he returns to Washington on Monday night, according to Lawrence Jones, co-host of Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

16 June 2025

The White House has announced that President Trump will depart the G7 summit in Canada a day earlier than expected.

“President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Much was accomplished, but due to the situation in the Middle East, President Trump will depart tonight after dinner with the Heads of State,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a post on X.

US President Donald Trump has issued a cryptic warning on Truth Social, urging “everyone” to leave the Iranian capital as soon as possible.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. Such a shame and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again!” he wrote.

“Everyone needs to evacuate Tehran immediately!” the US leader added.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced the deployment of additional “defensive capabilities” to the Middle East amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

“Protecting US forces is our top priority, and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,” Hegseth said in a post on X, without disclosing which military assets were sent over the weekend.

The IDF has announced that it is now safe for Israeli residents to leave shelters. “Following a situational assessment, the Home Front Command has announced that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country. The public is requested to continue following the instructions of the Home Front Command,” the IDF said in a statement on Telegram.

The IDF has detected multiple missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory and has issued urgent instructions for civilians in “several areas of the country” to seek shelter immediately and remain there until further notice.

“The defense is not hermetic,” the IDF stated, emphasizing the importance of adhering strictly to Home Front Command guidelines. “Please enter protected areas upon receiving an alert and remain there until further notice. Leaving the protected area will only be permitted after receiving explicit guidance.”

The IDF added that the Israeli Air Force is currently conducting operations to intercept and strike targets as necessary to neutralize the threat.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that “Israel is doing very well” and predicted that Iran will eventually be forced to sign some sort of “deal” amid ongoing tit-for-tat hostilities between the two states.

“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 one,” he said. “I want to see no nuclear weapon in Iran, and we’re well on our way to making sure that happens.”

Dr. Mathew Maavak has analyzed for RT how Israel’s recent strikes may be pushing Iran toward nuclear armament as its only viable deterrent.

He argues that Israel’s strikes on Iran, framed as self-defense, are paradoxically reinforcing Tehran’s resolve to acquire nuclear weapons. Maavak critiques the US-Israeli “coercion cloaked in diplomatic theater,” highlighting how relentless sanctions, assassinations, and bombings have left Iran with few alternatives for survival. Historical grievances, like the 1953 CIA-MI6 coup and Western-backed chemical attacks during the Iran-Iraq War, are cited as a response to decades of existential threats.

The article also explores Israel’s ‘Samson Option’, a doomsday doctrine of global retaliation, and contrasts it with realist theories suggesting a nuclear Iran might stabilize the Middle East through mutual deterrence, as seen in India-Pakistan relations. Maavak warns that regime change fantasies ignore Iran’s historical resilience and cultural pride, predicting that any successor government would likely double down on deterrence. A destroyed Iran could trigger regional chaos and risks global destabilization, with potential false-flag operations or the destruction of the Temple Mount triggering a wider Sunni-Shia conflict.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has said it is “appalled” by the Israeli airstrike on Iran’s state TV channel during a live broadcast.

“Israel’s killing, with impunity, of almost 200 journalists in Gaza has emboldened it to target media elsewhere in the region,” Sara Qudah, CPJ’s Middle East representative, said in a statement.

Iranian state TV has reported a fresh wave of drone and missile strikes targeting Tel Aviv and Haifa.

US President Donald Trump is set to deliver a “last chance” proposal to Iran, according to American and European officials who spoke with The Jerusalem Post on Monday. One official noted that the new offer could be somewhat more favorable than the previous terms presented to Iran roughly ten days ago.

An Israeli official told The Post that Israel has not yet been formally approached. “The negotiations are currently between Tehran and Washington—in the meantime, we continue striking more and more targets,” the official said.

Iran has warned Israeli news channels to evacuate their premises after West Jerusalem attacked buildings belonging to Iranian state TV.

”This order comes in response to the hostile attack of the Zionist enemy against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s broadcasting service,” the Times of Israel said, quoting Iranian state TV.

Iran’s Nour news reports that Tehran has shot down an Israeli F-35 fighter jet near Tabriz.

However, the Israeli military claims, “it has no knowledge of such an incident,” The Times of Israel wrote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told ABC News that he doesn’t rule out killing Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

When asked about reports that US President Donald Trump rejected an Israeli plan to assassinate Khamenei, Netanyahu said, “It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict.”

“The ‘forever war’ is what Iran wants, and they’re bringing us to the brink of nuclear war. In fact, what Israel is doing is preventing this, bringing an end to this aggression, and we can only do so by standing up to the forces of evil.”

Asked if West Jerusalem would indeed target the supreme leader, Netanyahu said that he was “doing what we need to do.”

US President Donald Trump stated at the G7 summit in Canada that he believes Iran wants to de-escalate the conflict with Israel, noting that Tehran is “not winning this war,” as quoted by CNN.

Speaking about the canceled US-Iran nuclear talks and their failure to produce an agreement, Trump claimed Tehran “should have done that before,” adding that both parties had 60 days to negotiate, “and on the 61st day, I said, ‘We don’t have a deal.’”

“They have to make a deal, and it’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late.”

Trump also refused to say what could prompt the US military to get involved in the conflict. “We’ve always supported Israel. We have for a long period of time, strongly, and Israel is doing very well right now,” he added.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has subtly urged the US to intervene and negotiate a resolution to the ongoing hostilities between Tehran and West Jerusalem.

In an X post, the minister suggested that if US President Donald Trump is “genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.”

“Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue. It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”

Ruptly's office in Tehran has received a warning about an impending Israeli strike on the residential area where its office is located, the video agency's head has told RT.

The agency's employees are urgently being evacuated. There has been no contact with them since the message was received.

The Israeli military has bombed the offices of Iranian state broadcaster IRIB in Tehran. The moment of the strike was caught live.

According to the Times of Israel, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the area in Tehran where IRIB’s headquarters are based shortly before the strike. Defense Minister Israel Katz then said that the “Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappear.”

Tehran has signaled to Israel and the US that it seeks an end to hostilities and resumption of nuclear talks, WSJ has said citing Middle Eastern and European officials.

US President Donald Trump’s counterparts at the G7 summit “plan to press” him on his strategy for dealing with Israel and Iran, officials from several delegations have reportedly told CNN on Monday.

Conference organizers also plan to release a joint statement calling for de-escalation, though there are differences on “how far to go in supporting Israel’s attacks on Iran”, the US network has reported.

Trump continues to support Israel but is cautious about any US offensive involvement, suggesting that nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran may restart. Meanwhile, European officials are seeking a clearer understanding of how long Trump plans to tolerate the ongoing conflict.

”Already, a difference has emerged between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron over a role for Russian President Vladimir Putin to play in mediating the conflict,” CNN noted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that his country is on its way to achieving the two main objectives of its attack on Iran, which are “eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat.”

The Israeli air force is “in control of the skies over Tehran,” Netanyahu stated as he visited the Tel Nof airbase in central Israel. He also urged the Iranians to evacuate their capital, saying: “we are taking action.”

Footage circulating online depicts explosions in Tehran, though no new airstrikes have been reported.

The Israeli military earlier issued an unprecedented evacuation warning for a large section of the Iranian capital.

“Dear citizens, for your safety, we ask you to immediately leave the mentioned area in District 3 of Tehran,” the IDF Persian-language spokesman, Master Sgt. (res.) Kamal Penhasi, has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have discussed the “sharply deteriorated situation” in the Middle East during a phone call, the Kremlin has said in a statement.

The two leaders have “condemned Israel’s military action against Iran, undertaken in violation of the UN Charter and other norms of international law,” the statement read.

They also “expressed serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iranian-Israeli conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and could result in serious long-term consequences for the entire region,” it said.

According to the Kremlin, Putin and Erdogan called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to the Iranian nuclear program, exclusively through political and diplomatic means.”

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi has said that there has been no further damage to Iran’s Natanz and Fordo uranium enrichment sites since the initial attack by Israel.

On Friday, the IDF destroyed the above-ground part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at the Natanz facility and hit four buildings at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site, Grossi told the members of IAEA’s board.

“There has been no additional damage at the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant site since the Friday attack,” he stressed.

The UN nuclear watchdog “is and will remain present in Iran. Safeguards inspections in Iran will continue as soon as safety conditions allow,” Grossi insisted.

Tehran said earlier that it will limit its cooperation with IAEA over what it has called the organization’s “silence” regarding Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities.

Iran’s retaliation to the Israeli attack “was so powerful that it went beyond what even Israeli authorities and US President Donald Trump anticipated,” a high-ranking officer of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has claimed.

The diversity of munitions deployed by Tehran and their precision “left the enemy in utter shock,” Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, who serves as IRGC’s Deputy Commander for Political Affairs, has said, as cited by Press TV.

Javani blamed the Israeli authorities for trying to conceal the actual scale of casualties and destruction caused by the Iranian strikes. “Given the operation's massive scope, they have been forced to issue limited reports to their own public,” he said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has issued a statement clarifying his earlier comment that “residents of Tehran will pay the price” for Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel.

"There is no intention to physically harm the residents of Tehran,” Katz claimed.

What he meant to say was that the Iranian civilians “will be forced to bear the cost of the dictatorship and evacuate their homes from areas where it will be necessary to strike regime targets,” according to the readout.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has warned that the conflict between Israel and Iran could affect the entire Middle East region and urged the sides to swiftly de-escalate.

Beijing “is deeply concerned about Israel’s attacks on Iran, which have caused an abrupt escalation of military conflict,” the ministry’s spokesman, Guo Jiakun, said during a briefing.

“We call on the parties to immediately take measures to ease tensions as soon as possible, … prevent the region from descending into greater turmoil and create conditions for returning to the right track for resolution through dialogue and consultation,” he said.

According to Guo, if the conflict “continues to escalate, or even enlarge, the Middle Eastern countries will be the first to suffer.”

The number of fatalities from the overnight Iranian missile strikes on Israel has risen to eight people after Israeli Army Radio said that the three people missing in the city of Haifa have been confirmed dead.

Separately, the Israeli Health Ministry said that 287 people required hospitalization as a result of the latest round of attacks. One person was in serious condition and 14 others sustained moderate injuries, with the rest being lightly wounded or suffering from acute shock, according to the ministry.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged the country’s people to unite during the ongoing escalation with Israel.

Speaking to the Iranian parliament on Monday, Pezeshkian insisted that “today, more than ever, we need solidarity and cohesion. All Iranians must come together and stand firmly against this act of aggression. Whatever differences or problems exist must be set aside now. We must unite and resolutely confront this genocidal criminal aggression.”

“The enemy cannot remove us or our nation from the scene through violence, killings, and assassinations. For every hero who falls, hundreds more will rise to carry the flag and stand against the oppression, injustice, crimes, and betrayal committed by these aggressors,” he stressed.

The president defended Tehran’s right to a peaceful nuclear program, saying that “we stand firm in achieving this right and fear no power in securing what is rightfully ours.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who earlier warned that “Tehran will burn,” has again threatened the civilian population of the Iranian capital.

“The arrogant dictator of Tehran has become a scared murderer who fires at Israel’s civilian home front in order to deter the IDF from continuing to carry out attacks that are destroying his capabilities,” Katz posted on Telegram, apparently referring to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

"The residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon,” he wrote.

The death toll from Israel’s attacks on Iran since Friday has reached 224 people, including 70 women and children, according to the country’s health ministry.

Israel has said that its warplanes struck command centers belonging to the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as the country's military.

According to a map published by the IDF on X, at least ten locations in populated areas in the Iranian capital Tehran had been targeted.

The branch of the US embassy in Tel Aviv has sustained “some minor damage from concussions of [an] Iranian missile” that struck not far from the compound, according to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. There were no injuries among the American staff, he added.

The US embassy and consulate in Israel will remain closed on Monday as shelter in place order remains in effect, Huckabee wrote on X.

The death toll from Iran’s attacks on Sunday has risen to four, Israeli police said. The victims’ bodies were recovered from the rubble in Bnei Brak and neighboring Petah Tikva, located in the central part of the country.

Unverified reports on social media claim that Iranian missiles have struck a power plant near Ramla.

Iran launched its latest missile barrage early Monday morning, with strikes reported in Tel Aviv and Haifa.

Iran has informed mediators Qatar and Oman that it will not negotiate a ceasefire while Israeli strikes continue, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed official briefed on the matter.

15 June 2025

When asked about the possibility of de-escalation between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump said:

“Well, I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal, and we’ll see what happens. But sometimes they have to fight it out.”

Iranian media have published what they claim is an Israeli drone-manufacturing site discovered by security officials in a suburb of Tehran.

According to the Tasnim news agency, the site contained homemade bombs and more than 200 kilograms of explosives.

“The war will continue in the coming weeks,” senior government adviser and former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Mohsen Rezaee said on Sunday evening.

“We are still acting with restraint and have not yet used all our capabilities,” Rezaee warned, adding that “the scope of the war could escalate” if the US, France, and UK continue assisting Israel in intercepting incoming missiles.

Iranian Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said Sunday evening that 224 people had been killed and 1,277 injured in Israeli strikes. He claimed that “over 90%” of the victims were civilians.

Israelis are ready for war with Iran, but worry it will be “endless,” Bloomberg wrote on Saturday reporting from Tel Aviv. According to the channel, many people who spoke to journalists were shocked by the destruction caused by Iranian missiles.

”We’re going to find ourselves in an endless war,” Danny Citrinowicz, a fellow at the Institute of National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, who used to oversee Iran's research in military intelligence, told Bloomberg. “The consensus in Israel on Iran, both from the left and the right, is worrying. Nobody is raising questions or challenging Netanyahu,” he added.

Israel “mustn’t become addicted to its own successes and, as a result, to a prolonged war,” the channel said, citing another Israeli, Yoav Limor.

The IDF has published a video showing an airstrike carried out by fighter jets on a surface-to-air missile launcher in Tehran. The military said it was filmed on Sunday.

According to the IDF, it also targeted ballistic missile production sites and a radar facility in the Iranian capital.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called a videoconference of EU foreign ministers for June 17 to discuss the escalation between Israel and Iran.

“The meeting will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views, coordination on diplomatic outreach to Tel Aviv and Tehran, and possible next steps,” according to Kallas’ representative.

The number of Israelis injured in Iranian strikes on Haifa has risen to four, including a 72-year-old woman in moderate condition, according to Magen David Adom.

Iran’s military has issued a warning to residents of Israel to evacuate from areas “close to important Israeli military and scientific sites” for their safety, CNN has said citing a video statement on Iranian state TV.

Colonel Reza Sayad, a spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, warned people in Israel not to stay near or travel to “vital, sensitive, and important locations,” claiming that Tehran has already “successfully struck sensitive and important targets, including military and security centers” in Israel.

Israel has struck a building belonging to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a post on X. The building is located directly across from the Institute for Political and International Studies, which was also targeted according to Khatibzadeh.

”Several civilians were injured in the attack, including a number of my colleagues who were taken to the hospital for treatment,” he wrote.

Iran has fired at least 30 missiles at Israeli cities, including Haifa and Jerusalem, the Times of Israel wrote. According to Magen David Adom (national emergency services), at least two people were lightly injured by shrapnel in Haifa.

The IDF killed Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps intelligence chief Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi, along with his deputy, General Hassan Mohaqiq, Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed to Fox News.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied reports that US President Donald Trump ‘vetoed’ an Israeli plan to kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during an interview with Fox News.

“There are so many false reports about conversations that never happened – I’m not going to get into it.”

Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi has called the reports “fake news of the highest order,” as quoted by the Times of Israel.

US President Donald Trump has ‘vetoed’ an Israeli proposal to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday.

The consular section of the Russian embassy in Iran is temporarily suspending its work “due to the current situation” in the region, according to a statement.

The death toll in an Iranian strike on an apartment block in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, has risen to seven after rescuers recovered another body from under the rubble. Three others are still feared missing, according to the Times of Israel.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene.  

Videos circulating on social media appear to show large-scale sewage and water pipe explosions across Tehran, according to The Times of Israel.

US President Donald Trump has expressed his openness to Russian President Vladimir Putin serving as a mediator in the conflict. “He is ready. He called me about it, and we had an extensive conversation,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday.

However, he also claimed that “it's possible” that the US “could get involved” in the ongoing conflict between West Jerusalem and Tehran.

US President Donald Trump has called on West Jerusalem and Tehran to stop the fighting and make a deal, adding that “many calls and meetings” are already being made between Iranian, Israeli and American representatives.

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At least 14 Iranian scientists have been killed in Israeli attacks since Friday, including in car bombs, Reuters wrote, citing two sources from the Gulf states.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan have discussed the escalation between West Jerusalem and Tehran over the phone.

Türkiye “commended Russia’s consistent willingness to undertake mediation efforts,” especially those related to Iran’s nuclear program, RIA Novosti cited Moscow's Foreign Ministry as saying.

Moscow’s embassy in Tehran is coordinating the evacuation of Russian citizens by land from Iran due to Israeli strikes, according to RIA Novosti.

Sirens are sounding across northern and central Israel amid another Iranian ballistic missile barrage. The IDF says it is “operating to intercept” the missiles and that people should go to bomb shelters.

“The defense is not hermetic, therefore, it is essential to continue following the instructions of the Home Front Command,” the statement reads.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani over the phone on Sunday to discuss the recent Israeli airstrikes. Pezeshkian urged Iraq to take measures to prevent Israel from using Iraqi airspace to attack Iran, according to an official statement by Tehran.

“We emphasize that the Iraqi government must exercise greater care and protection of its borders and airspace so that Iraqi territory is not misused against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has said it targeted Israel’s military fuel infrastructure.

“In response to the Israeli aggression, the IRGC launched a large-scale drone and missile operation targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centers,” a statement issued by the force on Sunday read, as cited by Al Jazeera.

“Iranian air defense systems have intercepted three cruise missiles, 10 drones, and dozens of small hostile micro air vehicles in the affected regions,” it added.

New footage released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shows its overnight strike on Iran’s “nuclear program headquarters” in Tehran.

The IDF says it hit around 80 targets in the Iranian capital, with Tehran’s defense ministry complex among them. Some 50 fighter jets took part in the attack, according to West Jerusalem.

The Israeli military claims it’s issuing warnings to Iranian civilians to vacate areas near military weapons factories and affiliated infrastructure, in anticipation of potential strikes. The message, disseminated in Persian across multiple channels, urges people to “leave these areas immediately” and not return until further notice, stressing that “your presence next to these infrastructures will endanger your life.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that the warning reflects its commitment to prioritizing civilian lives, even at the cost of losing the element of surprise. “While Iran chooses to strike without warning, we choose to warn innocent people,” the IDF said, adding that “that’s the difference between us and our enemy.”

“The Israeli military will strike these sites and will continue to peel away the Iranian snake’s skin in Tehran and everywhere – targeting nuclear capabilities and weapons systems,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said in a statement.

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves does not “rule out” future involvement in Israel’s conflict with Iran, though Britain “has not been involved” in strikes on Iran in “this conflict,” she told Sky News on Sunday.

She also confirmed that the UK had not assisted in intercepting weapons launched from Iran at Israel, although it had increased its presence in the Middle East to protect “important assets.”

The Russian Ministry of Economic Development has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Israel and Iran due to escalating military tensions. Tour operators have been recommended to suspend the sale of tours to these countries until the situation stabilizes.

Operational teams from the Iran Red Crescent Society have been urgently deployed, following an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Tehran’s Narmak district.

Footage shows search and rescue operations actively underway as crews work to clear debris and provide emergency aid to the injured civilians on site.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has identified Israeli opposition as a key obstacle to achieving a diplomatic breakthrough in the nuclear talks.

“This is a crystal-clear matter. The Zionist entity does not want us to reach an agreement or a diplomatic solution with the United States,” he said. Iran stated it had been prepared to provide assurances to the United States during the latest round of nuclear negotiations, which was ultimately canceled, while accusing Israel of undermining diplomatic efforts.

“Iran was prepared to provide the necessary assurances to the Americans,” Araghchi told diplomats in Tehran, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

He noted that the previous round of negotiations had shown potential for progress. “The Americans presented a number of proposals, which were not entirely acceptable to us. We submitted our response and our viewpoints, and we were expected to present a counterproposal. Our proposal could have opened the door to a comprehensive agreement with the Americans,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reaffirmed Iran’s position on nuclear weapons, emphasizing the country’s opposition to acquiring them. “It is our firm conviction not to possess a nuclear weapon,” he said, as cited by Al Jazeera.

Araghchi criticized efforts to restrict Iran’s civilian nuclear program, stating, “Those who are willing to deprive Iran of our right to possess the nuclear programme for peaceful purposes, they have no right to do so.”

Israel’s military said on Sunday that seven drones launched toward its territory were intercepted over the past hour by its air force and navy.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held separate calls with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts on Saturday, voicing concern over escalating tensions and urging a return to diplomacy, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

In talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Wang condemned Israel’s recent strikes on Iran, calling them a violation of international law and warning that “force cannot bring lasting peace.” He urged Israel to show restraint.

Speaking with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Wang reaffirmed China’s opposition to violations of Iran’s sovereignty and voiced support for Tehran’s efforts to defend its legitimate rights. He encouraged continued diplomacy to resolve the nuclear issue.

US President Donald Trump has claimed the United States had no involvement in the recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran but cautioned Tehran against any retaliatory actions targeting American interests.

“The US had nothing to do with the attack on Iran tonight,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social. “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,” he warned.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, has condemned Israel’s recent airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, calling them a blatant violation of international law.

He also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for “hypocritical” remarks about Iran’s nuclear program. Macron had warned that Iran’s nuclear activities were reaching a critical stage. Iran has said its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and emphasized the double standard of Western silence on Israeli military actions while pressuring Tehran over its civilian nuclear work.

Iranian officials have expressed concern that further Israeli strikes on critical infrastructure could lead to public unrest, including protests, according to a report by The New York Times on Friday. During a meeting of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, one participant reportedly noted that potential attacks on water or energy facilities might trigger civil disturbances.

The Times report, citing interviews with senior Iranian officials and members of the Revolutionary Guards, said Iran’s leadership was caught off guard by Israel’s preemptive strike, which targeted radar systems, air defenses, and missile sites, and resulted in the deaths of several high-ranking military officials.

Video purportedly shows Israelis taking shelter in a tunnel as Iranian ballistic missiles strike.

One of Iran’s missiles has reportedly struck the Weizmann Institute of Science in Tel Aviv, according to CCTV footage showing an explosion at the site. Iranian state media, in a social media post, suggested the strike may have been in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s message to the Iranian people, claiming that Israel supports them, is hypocritical in light of the recent Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, Esteban Carrillo, news editor at The Cradle, told RT on Saturday.

“It takes a lot of egomania… to come out and say that you stand by the people that you just bombed relentlessly,” Carrillo said.

In his address, Netanyahu said Israel’s fight was not with the people of Iran, but with what he called a “murderous regime” that oppresses them. He emphasized solidarity with Iranian citizens and urged them to stand up for their freedom. “We respect and admire” the brave people of Iran, he said.

Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service has updated the casualty toll from the latest Iranian missile barrage on Saturday night.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that Tehran’s attacks on Israel would become “heavier and more extensive” if Israeli strikes on nuclear and military targets across Iran continue.

The statement followed a barrage of dozens of ballistic missiles launched by Iran at Israel earlier in the night, killing three people and injuring at least seven others.

Israeli military jets have carried out “an extensive series of strikes on targets in Tehran related to the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons project,” including fuel depots, the IDF said on Sunday.

Targets included the Iranian Defense Ministry headquarters and the “headquarters of the SPND nuclear project, and additional targets, which advanced the Iranian regime’s efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon and where the Iranian regime hid its nuclear archive,” it said.

At least one person was killed and more than 20 others were hospitalized following an Iranian attack on an apartment block in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, Ynet reported, citing medical officials.

14 June 2025

An Iranian missile struck a two-story home in Tamra, near Haifa, killing three people and injuring seven, according to The Times of Israel.

Earlier, a video circulated on social media appearing to show a strike on an oil refinery in Haifa.

“Tehran is burning,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X. Earlier, he warned that Iran would “pay a heavy price” if it continued to launch missiles.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is “not off limits” as a potential target, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an Israeli official.

Israeli jets targeted an oil depot in Tehran, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, which cited the Oil Ministry.

A video circulating on social media appears to show a large fire at an oil refinery in the capital.

An Israeli airstrike was carried out in Yemen earlier today, according to defense sources cited by The Times of Israel. The attack was reportedly an assassination attempt targeting a leader of the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group.

The sky over Haifa, Israel filled with Iranian missiles.

Iranian missiles en route to Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his claim that Iran attempted to assassinate US President Donald Trump "twice", supposedly in retaliation for the 2020 killing of General Qasem Soleimani. Netanyahu did not provide specific details about the alleged plots. Iranian media and officials have consistently denied similar past claims, framing them as Israeli propaganda to justify military actions.

Iran has temporarily reduced operations at the massive South Pars gas field – the world’s largest – following an Israeli strike that triggered a fire there Saturday, according to the Iranian Tasnim news agency. This appears to mark Israel’s first direct attack on Iran’s critical energy infrastructure.

Israel initially avoided targeting Iran’s oil and gas facilities in earlier attacks, which already drove oil prices up 9% on Friday.

“This war in Israel-Iran should end,” US President Donald Trump has posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that he agrees with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the matter.

Iran’s state media is reporting imminent “heavy and destructive” retaliatory strikes against Israel, expected within hours.

Iranian air defenses are engaging incoming projectiles over the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas, as Israel continues its strikes against Iranian targets. Local reports indicate multiple interceptor missiles have been launched from Iranian anti-aircraft batteries in an attempt to shoot down the Israeli munitions.

An Israeli military spokesperson announced active strikes against Iran, stating the country still possesses “an arsenal capable of severely harming Israel.”

Explosion sounds and air raid sirens are being heard in the Iranian capital of Tehran, according to a RIA Novosti correspondent.

The Iranian Oil Ministry reported that Israeli strikes caused fires at the Fajr Jam Gas Refinery and South Pars gas field in Bushehr Province. Emergency teams swiftly responded, bringing the blaze under control “in the shortest possible time,” according to a ministry statement published by Tasnim News Agency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump have held their fifth call this year. Here is what was discussed regarding Israel-Iran escalation, according to Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov:

 • Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed Moscow’s readiness to mediate between the two countries.

 • Trump described the situation around Israel and Iran as “highly alarming” and called the Israeli strikes effective.

 • The US president stated that American negotiators are prepared to resume talks with Iran on the nuclear issue.

 • The Russian and US leaders did not rule out a return to negotiations on the Iranian nuclear deal.

Israeli drones struck a refinery in Iran’s South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, according to Iranian semiofficial Tasnim and Fars news agencies. If confirmed, it would be Israel’s first attack on Iran’s energy sector. Israeli forces reportedly struck Phase 14 of the gas field, igniting a fire in parts of the facility. Phase 14 is a major development segment within Iran’s share of the world’s largest natural gas field.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said planned US-Iran nuclear talks “will not now take place” following Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran previously said that talks would be “unjustifiable” amid ongoing attacks. Oman had been mediating the discussions and the sixth round was set to take place in its capital, Muscat.

The Croatian consul and his wife were lightly injured during Iran’s missile strikes on Tel Aviv, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Saturday on X. “I am shaken by the news that our consul and his wife were injured in the attack on Tel Aviv... We strongly condemn attacks on civilians and diplomatic facilities.” The building they were residing in was hit, resulting in minor wounds, he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stressed the need to stop Israel for the sake of regional security. Erdogan warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s country represents the “biggest threat to the stability and security of the region”. Erdogan added that the IDF’s strike, carried out during ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, was aimed at sabotaging efforts toward peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israeli Air Force jets will soon appear over Tehran and carry out a series of strikes on various targets.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded by warning that his country will retaliate much more forcefully if Israel’s aggression against the Islamic Republic continues.

Rescuers are still searching for the bodies of ten children under the rubble of a residential building in Tehran’s Shahid Chamran neighborhood, which was struck by Israel yesterday.

RT correspondent Saman Kojouri was the first international journalist to reach the scene. Part of the building collapsed, and apartments from the 1st to the 15th floor were reduced to ruins, with belongings and children’s toys scattered everywhere.

According to the latest reports, 60 people were killed in the Israeli strike on the apartment building, including 20 children.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed his condolences to Iran’s foreign minister over the numerous casualties caused by Israel’s attack.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has expressed “serious concern” over the escalation in the Middle East and condemned Israel’s attack on Iran.

“Such aggressive actions against civilian targets, including energy and transport infrastructure, which have resulted in civilian casualties, are a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter. They constitute an infringement on Iran’s sovereignty, cause damage to regional and international security, and pose serious risks to global peace and stability,” the SCO said in a statement.

The group, which includes Belarus, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran, stressed that its members “firmly advocate for the resolution of the situation surrounding Iran’s nuclear program exclusively through peaceful, political and diplomatic means.”

The US still plans to hold talks with Iran on Sunday regarding its nuclear program, a senior administration official told The Washington Post on Friday. The scheduled talks had led some analysts to believe Israeli strikes would be delayed, and after the strikes occurred, some speculated the talks were merely a ruse to mislead Tehran. The official, speaking anonymously, dismissed this claim as false, saying, “We have always wanted peace with Iran. We still do. And we still want to have talks.”

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has expressed worry that the Israel-Iran conflict could reduce military aid to Ukraine. In remarks to journalists on Saturday, he said similar crises in the past have already slowed support. “We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,” he stated.

Zelensky also warned that rising oil prices, caused by the attacks on Iran, will benefit Russia. “This is bad for us,” he said. He added that Europe’s support is weakening without US leadership. “Europe has not yet decided what it will do with Ukraine if America is not there,” he added.

Iran is reportedly considering closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint for global oil shipments. Esmail Kosari, a member of Iran’s parliamentary security commission, confirmed that this measure is under serious review, as reported by Iranian state media IRINN.

The Strait of Hormuz, situated between Iran and Oman, facilitates the transit of approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day, accounting for about 20% of global oil consumption. The mere suggestion of its disruption has already caused significant ripples in global markets, with Brent crude oil prices surging by around 6%.

New footage published by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shows what West Jerusalem claims to be interceptions of Iranian drones.

Over 100 drones have been shot down since Friday by Israeli fighter jets, helicopters and Navy missile boats, according to the IDF.

Israel’s latest missile strikes on Iran are aimed not just at thwarting nuclear development but at toppling the Iranian leadership, Palestinian-British political analyst Abdel Bari Atwan has claimed. Speaking to RT, Atwan said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s televised message to the Iranian people was a clear signal of support for regime change.

”This will make it very clear that the aim of Israel is not to prevent Iran from having a nuclear bomb but to change the regime in Iran,” Atwan said during the interview. He referenced Netanyahu’s comments encouraging Iranians to revolt against their leadership, calling the message “very dangerous.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday named nine Iranian nuclear scientists that it says were killed the day before.

The list includes Fereydoon Abbasi, expert in nuclear engineering; Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, expert in physics; Akbar Motalebi Zadeh, expert in chemical engineering; Saeed Barji, expert in materials engineering; Amir Hassan Fakhahi, expert in physics; Abd al-Hamid Minoushehr, expert in reactor physics; Mansour Asgari, expert in physics; Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari Daryani, expert in nuclear engineering, and Ali Bakhouei Katirimi, expert in mechanics.

“The elimination of the scientists was made possible following in-depth intelligence research that intensified over the past year, as part of a classified and compartmentalized IDF plan,” the statement read.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that around 25% of Iranian missiles, fewer than 50, were not intercepted, “according to protocol”. They didn’t damage any critical infrastructure, according to West Jerusalem.

Some missiles made it through air defenses, the IDF said, and caused damage in residential areas of Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Rishon Lezion in central Israel.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday expressed support for Iran following the Israeli strikes.

“In this time of trial, we stand by Iran in every way. We will protect Iranian interests. Iranians are our brothers, and their grief and pain are shared,” he said as cited by Dunya News, a Pakistani TV channel.

Pope Leo on Saturday called on Iran and Israel to act with “reason” following recent airstrikes, urging restraint and renewed dialogue.

”In such a delicate moment, I strongly wish to renew an appeal to responsibility and to reason,” he said, according to Reuters, adding that peace must be built through “sincere dialogue” and a commitment to a world free from nuclear threats.

Iran has "officially notified France, the United Kingdom, and the United States of plans to launch large-scale attacks on Israel," according to a report by Iran’s Mehr news agency quoting an unnamed source. Tehran also warned that if those countries assist Israel in countering the strikes, their military bases in the region would be targeted.

The warning aligns with earlier reporting from Fars news agency, which cited Iranian military sources as saying preparations are underway to strike US bases across the Middle East.

Around 60 people, including 20 children, have been killed in an Israeli strike on a housing complex in Tehran, Iranian state television reported on Saturday.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed 78 people and wounded more than 320, including senior military officials and civilians.

Earlier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Iranian people to rise up against their leaders, saying, “The time has come for the people of Iran to unite around their flag and historical heritage and fight for their freedom from the evil and oppressive regime.”

Three people have been injured in northern Jordan after an unidentified object fell from the sky, the Jordan News Agency reported on Saturday.

The victims were taken to hospital and are in stable condition. Authorities did not specify the nature of the object, but the incident reportedly occurred as Iranian missiles and drones targeting Israel passed through Jordanian airspace. An investigation has been launched.

Iran’s strikes against Israel will continue, a senior Iranian military official told the Fars news agency, warning of further retaliation following Israel’s recent attacks.

The official, citing statements from senior military commanders, said Iran also plans to target US bases in the region in the coming days.

Two senior Iranian military officials have been killed during Israel’s recent assault, according to Iran’s Armed Forces, cited by Tasnim news agency.

General Mehdi Rabbani, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, and General Gholamreza Mehrabi, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, were reportedly killed during what Iranian authorities called a “terrorist attack” by Israel.

Iran is preparing to launch around 2,000 rockets at Israel in upcoming strikes, the Al Arabiya reported on Saturday.

According to the outlet, the Iranian military has warned that future missile attacks will be “20 times larger than previous ones.” 

Iran has not yet decided whether it will take part in the next round of nuclear negotiations with the United States, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaeisaid on Saturday.

“It is not yet clear what decision we will make about Sunday,” Baghaei was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that the growing confrontation between Israel and Iran could spark a global conflict, calling for unified action from the West to help avert further escalation.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned Israel’s recent attack on Iran, calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “Hitler of the 21st century.”

Maduro accused Western capitals — including Paris, Berlin, London, and Washington — of backing what he described as a “criminal attack on Iran that violates the UN Charter.” He said Israel’s actions defy international law and called for global condemnation.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he was forced to take shelter multiple times overnight as Iran launched waves of retaliatory missile strikes on Israel.

“Been rough nite in Israel,” Huckabee wrote in a post on X Saturday morning.

The Israeli military says its air force continues to strike Iranian ballistic missiles and launchers, and has released footage of recent operations.

The Israeli military has detected more drones launched from Iran approaching their airspace.

“A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of UAVs launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Friday there was “never a chance” Washington, Iran, and Israel would reach a nuclear deal, following Israel’s major attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

“It wasn’t that we didn’t give diplomacy a chance. Diplomacy had no chance, given Iran’s objectives,” Bolton told CNN. Earlier US President Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal over its nuclear program before tensions escalate even more.

US Senator Lindsey Graham said the US must be ready to fully support Israel against Iran if diplomatic efforts collapse, declaring it a chance to restore American strength and credibility.

“If Iran refuses this offer, I strongly believe it is in America’s national security interest to go all-in to help Israel finish the job,” Graham wrote in a post on X.

Iran has accused the US of enabling an Israeli attack on its territory, declaring ongoing nuclear talks “meaningless” in light of the assault.

”You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time allow the Zionist regime to target Iran’s territory,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told Tasnim news agency. “It is unimaginable for anyone that the regime would have committed such a crime without American permission,” he said.

“The other side did something that made the conversation meaningless,” he added, referring to recent US-Tehran talks aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme.

US Ambassador to Türkiye, Tom Barrack, has called for restraint and dialogue amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. In a social media post on Friday, Barrack emphasized the importance of diplomacy even during heightened conflict.

Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said they are treating and evacuating 21 people following a rocket strike in Israel’s Coastal Plain region, the agency said on X. One person is in critical condition, several are seriously injured, and others sustained mild to moderate wounds.

Scenes from Tel Aviv, Israel, following recent Iranian missile strikes — damaged buildings, debris-lined streets, and emergency responders on site.

At least nine people have been injured and six buildings damaged in Iran’s recent retaliatory strikes on Israel, the news outlet Ynet reported on Saturday. Video footage purportedly shows widespread destruction in southern Tel Aviv following the attack.

One woman has been killed and around 40 people injured in Iranian strikes on Israel, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said. Speaking to CNN, Leiter said Iran launched about 150 ballistic missiles in three salvos and warned of further attacks.

He accused Tehran of targeting civilians and said Israel’s campaign aims to neutralize Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. “We can come very close to completely neutralizing, for good, Iran’s nuclear infrastructure,” he added, noting a clearer assessment would follow in several days.

A fresh barrage of missiles has been launched toward Israel, the military said on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces urged residents to follow Home Front Command instructions as its Aerial Defense Array worked to identify and intercept incoming threats.

China has condemned Israel’s military actions against Iran, calling them violations of Iran’s “sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” Chinese envoy Fu Cong told an emergency session of the UN Security Council.

Beijing is “seriously concerned” about the escalating conflict’s potential to derail nuclear negotiations with Tehran, Fu said, urging Israel to “immediately stop all military actions” to prevent further escalation.

He added that Iran’s right to the “peaceful use of nuclear energy,” as guaranteed under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, must be fully respected.

Sirens sounded across several areas in Israel on Friday after missiles were launched from Iran, the Israeli military has said.

“The public is asked to follow the instructions of the Home Front Command,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement, warning that while interception efforts are underway, “the defense is not hermetic.”

The Israeli Air Force is currently operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat, the statement added.

Iran’s nuclear program and missile attacks on Israel posed a serious threat to regional stability, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said. He said he convened Canada’s National Security Council to assess the situation and ensure protection for Canadian nationals and diplomatic missions in the region.

In a post on X, Carney reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and pursue a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said she had spoken with Israeli President Isaac Herzog about the escalating Middle East crisis, reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself.

A senior US diplomat has warned Iran of “dire” consequences should it target American citizens, forces, or infrastructure in the Middle East, following Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.

“Our absolute, foremost priority is the protection of US citizens, personnel, and forces in the region,” McCoy Pitt, senior official at the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, told the UN Security Council.

Pitt emphasized that Washington had been notified in advance of the Israeli attacks, but said the US did not participate militarily. “Every sovereign nation has the right to defend itself and Israel is no exception,” he added.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Iran to stop the escalation.

Iran’s Fars News Agency says at least two projectiles have hit the area of Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.

CNN has quoted a senior Iranian official as saying that Tehran would consider countries defending Israel to be legitimate targets.

”Iran reserves the right – under international law – to respond decisively to this regime,” the official said. “Any country that attempts to defend the regime against Iran’s operations will, in turn, see its regional bases and positions become new targets.”

Several media outlets had previously reported that the US used its military assets in the Middle East to intercept Iranian missiles aimed at Israel.

Western nations share the blame with Israel for the ongoing violence, Russian envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said at the emergency Security Council meeting. He accused West Jerusalem’s closest allies of “knowingly and methodically” injecting “anti-Iranian hysteria” into the work of international organizations and subverting efforts to resolve concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.

Nebenzia noted that President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the UN-backed 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, during his first term, while the UK, France, and Germany failed to alleviate the sanctions reimposed on Iran.

”The Western parties to the JCPOA have been doing everything possible to fuel the escalation, and, essentially, they incited it,” the Russian diplomat said. “They artificially created tension on international platforms, which only spurred Israel to take radical steps and fostered the feeling of impunity with West Jerusalem.”

13 June 2025

Iranian media report a huge fire at the Mehrabad International Airport near Tehran.

Iran reportedly targeted Tel Aviv’s HaKirya neighborhood, which hosts Matcal Tower, the headquarters of the IDF General Staff and the Ministry of Defense. A Fox News correspondent on the scene said an Iranian missile hit the area. Israeli authorities have not confirmed any damage.

Iranian media reported new explosions in Tehran on early Saturday morning.

Footage purportedly shows a column of smoke rising from the Ben Gurion Airport area.

A woman who was critically injured in the first wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes has succumbed to her wounds, according to local media.

At least five people were reportedly injured in the latest salvo.

The IDF reported intercepting some of the dozens of missiles launched in Iran’s latest barrage. Rescue services have been dispatched to reported impact sites, the statement added.

It is “perverted logic” to claim that Israel’s strikes in Iran were done in self-defense, Russian First Deputy Envoy to the UN Dmitry Polyansky told RT.

”Of course, every country has the right to defend itself. But in this case, Israel launched an aggression, an attack against Iran, totally violating and breaching the UN Charter and international law,” the diplomat said.

”We totally support the Iranian position … that nobody should be permitted to act as Israel does,” he added.

Polyansky rejected Washington’s claim that Iran should not have developed a nuclear enrichment industry in the first place. He stressed that every nation has the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, under the monitoring of the UN’s atomic watchdog.

”I think the IAEA was not saying that Iran is about to develop nuclear capabilities, this is interpretation, twisted interpretation from Israel and from some of its allies,” he said.

Videos circulating online appear to show a missile strike in Tel Aviv just minutes after the IDF issued a warning about an incoming barrage.

The IDF reported detecting additional missiles incoming from Iran on Saturday and urged citizens to take shelter and await further instructions.

Ahmad Vahidi, the acting commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that Iran targeted around 150 sites in its retaliatory strike, including airbases and military-industrial facilities.

The Israel Defense Forces reported a drone intrusion near Eilat. A video circulating online appears to show the UAV being intercepted near Israel’s southernmost city.

Danny Danon, Israel’s representative at the UN, described his country as a “democracy under siege” that acted “to prevent its destruction” at the hands of Iran.

Speaking at the same Security Council session, he accused Iran of targeting “population centers” rather than military sites during its retaliatory attack, saying dozens were injured in the strikes.

”Now take a moment and imagine if today that radical regime had nuclear warheads for those missiles,” he said, reiterating West Jerusalem’s claim that its “preventive” operation was justified.

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s envoy to the UN, said Israeli attacks on Iran have killed 78 people, including senior military officers. Around 320 others were injured in the strikes, he added, noting that most of the victims were civilians.

Speaking at an emergency session of the UN Security Council, Iravani insisted that the Iranian nuclear facilities targeted by Israel were “peaceful.” He described Israel’s actions as a “chilling display of calculated aggression.”

Videos circulating online appear to show air defenses in Tehran engaging incoming targets following Iran’s retaliatory missile strike.

Iranian defenses brought down two Israeli F-35s, as well as a “large number of their micro air vehicles” earlier on Friday, local media have claimed, citing the Iranian Army’s public relations office.

Earlier reports claimed that one of the pilots, said to be a woman, had been captured. In a post on X, the IDF spokesperson for Arab media dismissed the claim as “fake” and “completely baseless.”

An IDF spokesperson has reported that Iran launched two barrages of surface-to-surface missiles toward Israeli territory during its retaliatory attack against Israel.

“Fewer than 100 missiles were fired. Most were intercepted by air defense systems or failed to reach their targets,” Brigadier General Effie Defrin said, as cited by the IDF press service. “There are a few impacts on buildings, some caused by interception debris.”

In a post on its X account, the IDF has claimed that its airstrikes destroyed multiple Iranian Air Force military bases and “dozens of targets belonging to the Iranian regime’s air defense system,” as well as “unmanned aerial vehicles, and surface-to-surface missile launchers.”

“The IDF is prepared to continue to act as necessary,” the statement concludes.

Israel’s national emergency service, the Magen David Adom, has updated the injury tally, saying that a total of 35 people have sustained injuries, with one individual in critical condition, as a result of the Iranian retaliatory missile strikes, as reported by the Israeli media.

“The victims were taken to Beilinson, Sourasky, and Sheba hospitals in central Israel,” the Magen David Adom added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the Iranian people to subvert their government. In a video statement delivered in English, he insisted that the “nation of Iran and the nation of Israel have been true friends” since time immemorial.

“The time has come for you… [to stand up] for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime,” Netanyahu declared, claiming that the Iranian authorities have “never been weaker” than now.

He described the Israeli attack on Iran as an “opportunity” for the Iranian people to overthrow their government. The prime minister went on to claim that the Israeli strikes were not aimed at the Iranian people, “whom we respect and admire.” He said that the Iranian government is the “common enemy” of Israel and ordinary Iranians.

“I’m with you, the people of Israel are with you,” Netanyahu concluded.

Iranian officials have reported multiple casualties among civilians in the wake of the Israeli airstrikes on numerous localities across the country.

Russia’s permanent representative at the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has warned that Israel’s attack on Iran is pushing the “region to the edge of a big war.” Speaking at an emergency UN Security Council meeting requested by Iran, the Russian diplomat emphasized that Moscow strongly condemns Israeli actions.

“This unprovoked attack, despite Israel's claims to the contrary, is a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law,” Nebenzia said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that Iran has “crossed red lines after it dared to fire missiles at civilian population concentrations in Israel,” as quoted by the local media.

“We will continue to defend the citizens of Israel and ensure that the Ayatollah regime pays a very heavy price for its heinous actions,” the official is reported as saying.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency has claimed that the country’s air defenses have shot down two Israeli warplanes. According to the report, one of the pilots, said to be a woman, was captured.

Commenting on Iran’s ongoing retaliatory strikes against Israel, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in a statement the start of an operation code-named True Promise III, as quoted by IRNA. The IRGC proclaimed that it had “carried out its crushing and precise response against dozens of targets, military centers and air bases of the usurping Zionist regime in the occupied territories.”

Meanwhile, several videos have been circulating on social media purportedly showing multiple impacts by Iranian rockets in Tel Aviv. Judging by the footage, Israeli air defenses are being overwhelmed by the barrage.

The IDF has stated that the Iranian missile attack “is ongoing” and that dozens more projectiles have been launched. In a separate message, the Israeli military stressed that the country’s air defenses are “not hermetic” and that the population should remain in shelters.

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to “participate in protecting Israel” should Iran retaliate against the Israeli airstrikes. In a televised press conference, the French head of state hastened to clarify, however, that Paris was not considering any “offensive” operation. According to Macron, it is impossible to predict the scope and nature of the consequences of the current escalation between Israel and Iran at this point.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reported that its air defenses “identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel.” In a statement on its Telegram channel, the Israeli military urged the public to “enter a protected space and remain there until further notice” while air defenses try to intercept the incoming projectiles.

On its X account, the IDF published a map showing the whole of Israel in red and reading: “All of Israel is under fire as Iran fires projectiles.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss his country’s ongoing strikes against Iran. The Russian head of state emphasized the importance of returning to the negotiating process on Tehran’s nuclear program, and offered to mediate between the sides to prevent any further escalation, as reported by the Kremlin press service.

Putin and Netanyahu agreed to continue contacts in order to avert dire ramifications of the current crisis for the entire region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. He extended his condolences to Pezeshkian over the fatalities inflicted by the Israeli attacks, which included civilians, the Kremlin press service said.

Putin stressed that Russia condemns the Israeli actions and deems them in breach of the UN Charter and international law. The Russian president expressed support for a diplomatic resolution to the issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, and pledged to help de-escalate the current crisis.

Karin Kneissl, a former Austrian foreign minister and head of the St. Petersburg-based GORKI (Geopolitical Observatory for Russia’s Key Issues) think tank, has criticized Israel’s attacks against Iran, challenging the prevailing narrative expounded by West Jerusalem and Western governments of preemptive self-defense.

In an interview with RT, Kneissl drew parallels to the 1967 Six-Day War, where Israel justified its actions similarly, leading to prolonged occupation of territories. She also cited the 2003 Iraq War, where the US invoked “preemptive self-defense” based on the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction, which were never found.

Addressing German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s assertion that Israel is “defending” its very “existence,” Kneissl labeled it “total nonsense.” She argued that Iran has not posed a direct threat to Israel in the past two decades, noting that previous exchanges between the two nations were largely symbolic and did not escalate into a full-scale conflict.

Israel has launched new strikes on targets in the north-central Iranian province of Alborz, including in the cities of Fardis, Garmdareh, and Mohammad Shahr, Press TV has reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed that he gave the order to destroy Iran’s nuclear program back in 2024, following the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, Lebanon. In a video address released by his office, Netanyahu stated that he had originally scheduled the attack for April 2025, but stopped short of specifying why it was apparently delayed.

Explaining the need for the airstrikes against Iran, Netanyahu claimed that Israeli intelligence had established that the Islamic Republic was actively working toward creating a nuclear weapon of its own. Iran has repeatedly denied it was pursuing nuclear weapons.

The Israeli prime minister also cited Tehran’s ballistic missile program, claiming that the country was aiming to churn out 300 rockets a month.

“We decided we couldn’t wait anymore,” he concluded.

The situation is “devastating” but “not unexpected,” Nelson Wong, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Centre for RimPac and International Studies, told RT.

“We're not surprised that Washington is fully aware of what's going on,” he said, expressing skepticism that Israel could have launched such a major operation without US coordination.
Wong expressed the opinion that US President Donald Trump is “either a bad manager of Israel or a great actor.”
He added, “We all have reasons to worry about what’s about to happen next.”

Wong predicted that, if the situation escalates further, there is a high likelihood that Israel will block the Strait of Hormuz – a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which up to 30% of the world's oil supply passes daily. If that happens, “there is going to be an oil crisis worldwide,” he warned, as oil prices would soar.

The newly appointed commander-in-chief of the IRGC, Major General Mohammad Pakpour, has warned that Israel will face a “bitter and painful fate with enormous and destructive consequences” for its latest airstrikes against the Islamic Republic.

”The gates of hell will soon be opened to this child-killing regime,” Pakpour added, vowing to avenge the people killed in Friday’s attacks, as quoted by Press TV.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has accused the US of complicity in the Israeli strikes. The attacks demonstrate that the “US and Europe are two sides of the same coin, aligned with the crimes of the illegitimate Zionist regime,” he claimed in a statement, as quoted by the IRNA news agency.

Velayati noted that the Israeli airstrikes came ahead of the sixth round of Iran-US talks over Tehran’s nuclear program.

An Israeli attack “would be great for the market because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” US President Donald Trump has told the Wall Street Journal.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released footage of what it describes as “the interception of UAVs launched from Iran by missile boats” and “IAF fighter jets.”

The US is moving its military assets in the Middle East following Israel’s attack on Iran, in anticipation of potential retaliation by Tehran, AP has reported, citing two American officials.

The agency has said the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner was ordered to start sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean, with a second destroyer told “to begin moving forward” so it will be available for redeployment if requested by the White House.

The overnight strikes on Iran are a sign of “Israel extending itself not only in the region, but also with the Trump administration,” RT contributor Martin Jay has said. He described the move as a “last-ditch” effort by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to derail the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the US.

“I think Netanyahu has overstretched himself,” he said, adding, “A lot of people have argued in recent years that American foreign policy is run by the Israelis. I think what happened tonight really underlines that.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to speak with US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the coming hours to discuss the situation following Israeli strikes on Iran, his adviser Dmitry Gendelman has said.

Netanyahu has already spoken with the leaders of Germany, India, and France.

Israel is seeking to convince the US to join it in attacking Iranian military targets, the Jerusalem Post has reported, citing sources.

Israel has “struck at the very center of Iran’s uranium enrichment program” and “the core of the nuclear weapons program,” targeting the main enrichment site in Natanz and killing a top nuclear scientist, the Israeli Embassy in Moscow said on Friday. The overnight offensive, dubbed Operation Am KeLawi (Rising Lion), involved more than 200 fighter jets hitting over 100 locations across Iran, including key infrastructure tied to the country’s ballistic missile program, the embassy said in a statement.

Israel managed to trick Iran’s top air force commanders into convening at a meeting in one place only to be taken out by a single strike, an unnamed official told Fox News, adding that the overall campaign went more successfully than anticipated.

“We carried out specific activities to help us learn more about them, and then used that information to influence their behavior,” the official said. “We knew this would lead them to meet – but more importantly, we knew how to keep them there.”

The German Foreign Ministry has “strongly condemned” what it called “an indiscriminate” Iranian retaliatory drone strike on Israel. Previous media reports indicated that Tehran launched a raid involving 100 drones, which were mostly intercepted by Israeli jets on approach to the country’s borders.

“Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens. At the same time, we call on all sides to avoid further escalation,” the ministry said.

As many as 78 people died in Israel’s attack on Iran, with another 329 wounded, Fars News agency has reported, citing preliminary data.

French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned Iran’s nuclear program and reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense following recent Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities. 

Israel’s attacks on Iran are “nowhere near over,” a senior Israeli official has told the Wall Street Journal, adding that West Jerusalem has planned for the operation to span 14 days.

The Israeli military’s threats against Iran could prompt Tehran to exit the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), potentially destabilizing global nuclear norms, independent US journalist Sam Husseini told RT.

“If they were to be attacked, they would at least seriously consider withdrawing,” Husseini told reporters. He criticized Israel’s strategy as counterproductive, noting it could provoke the opposite of its intended outcome. Husseini also pointed to a double standard, citing Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, which neither Tel Aviv nor Washington officially acknowledges.

US President Donald Trump has suggested that Iran could still agree to a nuclear deal following Israel’s strikes. “I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal’. They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn’t get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!” he wrote on Truth Social.

As many as 60 Russian performers are currently in Iran and awaiting extraction to their homeland, state-funded tour organizer Rosconcert has told TASS.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev weighed in on Israel’s recent attack on Iran, warning that the conflict could go nuclear. “I am often accused of nuclear fearmongering. When I talk about nuclear conflicts, it’s not just talk. This threat is real, and it can happen fast. Nobody needs that!”

Israel’s embassy in Moscow has refuted reports that it has closed due to security concerns stemming from West Jerusalem’s attacks on Iran. However, footage released by several Russian media outlets shows that Moscow police have ramped up security around the diplomatic mission.

US President Donald Trump has praised the Israeli strikes on Iran as “excellent” and signaled that new attacks are likely in the offing. “We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it… They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. A lot more,” he told ABC News.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran, calling them a “clear provocation” that violates international law and threatens to further destabilize the Middle East.

“Israel has moved its strategy of drowning our region, especially Gaza, in blood, tears and instability to a very dangerous stage,” Erdogan said in a statement on X. He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of pursuing “reckless, aggressive and illegal actions” that risk dragging the region and the world into disaster.

Iran would not remain silent in the face of Israeli attacks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said, warning that the Islamic Republic would deliver a “powerful” response that would make its adversaries “regret” their actions.

In his address to the nation, Pezeshkian called on Iranians to remain united and support the government amid rising regional tensions.

Iran’s IRNA News agency has confirmed that the head of the IRGC Air Force, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, has been killed in the strike.

The Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 20 of the country’s senior commanders, Reuters has reported, citing sources. Tehran earlier confirmed the deaths of Major General Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East “deeply alarming” and urged all sides to de-escalate.

“Europe urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint, de-escalate immediately and refrain from retaliation,” von der Leyen said in a statement posted on social media. “A diplomatic resolution is now more urgent than ever, for the sake of the region’s stability and global security,” she added.

The Israeli military has killed most of the leadership of the IRGC air force, Defense Minister Israel Katz has claimed, stating that an underground facility where the commanders had convened for a meeting had been targeted.

According to the IDF, the commander of the IRGC air force, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, is among the deceased. Iran has yet to comment on the claim.

The Trump administration is seeking to avoid direct confrontation with Iran following Israel’s recent strike, while distancing itself from potential retaliation, according to analyst Amir Oren.

Oren, speaking to RT, described the attack as “only the first meal in a very long supper,” signaling expectations of prolonged hostilities. He added that President Donald Trump is maneuvering to remain on stable diplomatic footing should talks with Tehran resume.

“Obviously, Trump wants to be on better diplomatic ground if the talks resume,” Oren said. “And in a few weeks, perhaps we’ll get to the new deal.”

Hundreds of Iranians have taken to the streets in Yazd in central Iran to protest the latest Israeli strikes and call for retaliation, according to footage from the scene.

Israeli spy agency Mossad has released rare footage of attacks on Iranian military assets, including air defenses and ballistic missile launchers. One clip also shows what looks like two Israeli agents operating on Iranian territory.

An unnamed Israeli official told the Times of Israel that the Mossad has built a secret drone base inside Iran to attack Iranian military sites and thwart Tehran’s potential retaliatory strikes.

The Israeli military claims to have damaged underground facilities at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site, including a multi-story hall housing centrifuges, electrical rooms, and other key infrastructure. It said the strike had targeted “vital infrastructure” essential to the site’s operation and to Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

However, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the damage at Natanz was only superficial and added that the Fordo nuclear facility had not been hit.

Israeli officials say the US privately approved the Israeli strikes on Iran, despite public denials from Washington, according to media reports.

Axios, citing two Israeli sources, reported that US President Donald Trump and his aides gave a “clear green light” behind closed doors while publicly opposing the operation.

US officials have denied involvement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Israel acted independently, and Trump reiterated his preference for diplomacy, while acknowledging the possibility of an Israeli strike.

US President Donald Trump said he had warned Iran that it could face dire consequences unless it played ball on a potential new nuclear agreement.

“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done,” he wrote on Truth Social network.

He added that if they failed to do so, “it would be much worse than anything they know.” “Certain Iranian hardliner’s spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!” Trump said, while noting that there is still time to stop further bloodshed.

“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left,” the US President added.

Russia is assessing options for evacuating the 51 members of the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra currently in Iran following Israeli airstrikes overnight, a source has told TASS.

The orchestra performed in Tehran on June 10 as part of the 'Week of Russian Culture in Iran' festival, marking its first-ever such concert in the country. The performance also featured the Dagestan State Academic Dance Ensemble Lezginka, which intends to come to Iran again this autumn.

At least 95 people were injured by the Israeli strikes, Mojtaba Khalidi, spokesman for the Iranian Red Crescent Society, has said. “Relief and rescue operations are continuing in 12 provinces of the country,” Khalidi noted, adding that the injured were transferred to nearby medical centers.

Israeli forces have launched new strikes on Iran’s northwestern city of Tabriz, Iranian state media have reported.

Video footage purportedly shows a large plume of smoke rising after an explosion. The news agency Tasnim said Tabriz Airport was “under heavy Israeli attack,” while Fars reported around ten sites in the province of East Azerbaijan having been hit, without giving details.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Major General Mohammad Pakpour as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), following the killing of former chief Hossein Salami in an Israeli airstrike, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday. Several other senior Iranian military officials were also killed in the attack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has “strongly condemned” Israel’s overnight military strikes on Iran, calling them a violation of international law.

The ministry has called for restraint and reiterated that “there is no military solution to the situation around Iran’s nuclear program, which can only be resolved through peaceful, political, and diplomatic means.”

Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas has expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East, urging all parties involved to exercise restraint and prevent further conflict.

Crowds have gathered in central Tehran to protest against Israeli airstrikes carried out overnight across Iran.

Iranian state media reported that five people have been killed and at least 20 injured in the capital. Nationwide, at least 50 people, including women and children, have been reportedly wounded.

The IDF has claimed to have “control over the situation” following reports that Iran has launched a long-range retaliatory strike involving around 100 drones, with civilians told they are no longer recommended to remain close to bomb shelters.

According to The Times of Israel, Israeli fighter jets have been shooting down Iranian drones at the approaches to the country’s borders.

The Iraqi government has issued a strong condemnation of Israel’s recent military strikes on Iran, calling them a “blatant violation” of international law and a serious threat to global peace and security, especially amid ongoing US-Iran negotiations.

“The Government of the Republic of Iraq strongly condemns the military aggression launched by the Zionist entity against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the statement read, adding that the attack undermines the UN Charter and the foundations of the modern international order.

“The international community must not remain a bystander,” Baghdad warned, calling on the UN Security Council to take “firm and tangible measures” to deter further aggression.

The Israeli Air Force has claimed to have destroyed Iranian “ballistic missiles aimed at the State of Israel,” releasing footage of the attack.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, calling the attack a “provocative action” that violates international law and risks igniting a wider regional conflict.

“We condemn this Israeli aggression on Iran and urge immediate steps to de-escalate. Such aggression will not bring security to anyone. Diplomacy and compliance with international law and respect for sovereignty of nations and rights will,” he said.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has ordered domestic airlines to suspend all flights to and from Israel and Iran until further notice, with the directive in effect at least through June 26, 2025.

The agency also instructed carriers to avoid the airspace of both countries, citing unspecified safety concerns.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of colluding with Israel following the attacks on the country’s nuclear infrastructure.

“The AEO considers the silence of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Director General’s failure to condemn the threats of the Zionist regime as collusion with this regime and a sign of the Agency’s lost credibility,” it said, as cited by ISNA news agency.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed him of the strikes on Iran in a call on Friday morning. The chancellor stated that Israel has the right to defend itself, while urging Iran not to develop nuclear weapons.

“We call on both sides to refrain from steps that could lead to further escalation and destabilize the entire region,” he added.

Israeli airstrikes on Tehran have “crossed a red line” and opened the door for a broad military response, a senior Iranian official told RT on Friday. US bases across the Middle East could now be targeted, he warned.

“Anywhere would be a legitimate target now,” said Hamidreza Gholamzadeh, Secretary General of the Asian Mayors Forum, who is also Deputy for International Affairs in Tehran Municipality. “American military bases all over the Middle East, [in] the likes of Qatar, Bahrain” could be hit, he claimed, accusing the US of supporting the attack through intelligence sharing.

Gholamzadeh said the strikes had eliminated any path for renewed diplomacy. “Iran has been trying to give diplomacy a chance,” he said. “But the Americans did not want that... They worked as a team with the Israelis. There is no other choice now but to stand against them.”

France is closely monitoring the escalating tensions in the Middle East following Israel’s strikes on Iran, and urged restraint from all sides, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot  has said.

In a post on X, Barrot reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense but stressed the need to avoid actions that could undermine regional stability. “All diplomatic channels must be activated to de-escalate tensions,” he added, reiterating France’s concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.

The Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv has advised Russian citizens to avoid traveling to Israel amid ongoing security tensions, urging caution until the situation stabilizes.

In a statement, the embassy instructed Russian nationals already in the country to remain calm, follow Israeli security directives, stay near shelter locations, and avoid leaving them unless directed by local authorities.

Russia “is concerned and condemns the sharp escalation of tensions” between Israel and Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky has said he had “a great deal of understanding” for Israel’s military actions against Iran.

Speaking to reporters at the Globsec Forum in Prague, Lipavsky said he supported efforts “to deter the production of a nuclear bomb in the region.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has urged the bloc’s members and partners, including the US, to work towards de-escalation, while describing Israel’s actions as “unilateral.”

A red “flag of revenge” has been hoisted over Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, northern Iran, according to local media reports. The flag, which has been used for years, symbolizes the blood of martyrs and serves as a rallying cry for vengeance against those deemed responsible for their deaths.

China is “deeply concerned” about the potential consequences of Israel’s strikes on Iran and urged all parties to avoid further escalation, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, spokesperson Lin Jian said China was closely monitoring the situation and called on relevant parties to act in ways that promote regional peace. 

Lebanese President Michel Aoun has condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, saying the attacks not only targeted the Iranian people but also jeopardized international efforts to preserve stability in the Middle East.

In a statement shared on X by the Lebanese presidency, Aoun said the strikes aimed to undermine diplomatic initiatives that had made “significant progress” toward averting war. He called on the international community to take swift and effective action to prevent Israel from achieving its objectives.

The US may have had advance knowledge of Israel’s strikes on Iran, a former senior security policy analyst at the Department of Defense, Michael Maloof, has told RT. Maloof said Washington appeared aware that “something was going to be happening,” citing the earlier evacuation of non-essential personnel from the region.

Maloof noted that the US maintains a significant military presence in the area that could be vulnerable if tensions escalate. While he acknowledged no direct evidence that US President Trump was briefed on the exact timing of the strikes, he pointed to recent administration comments hinting at imminent developments. “They [the administration] may have used the threat to pressure Iran diplomatically,” he said.

Türkiye's foreign ministry has condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, warning they could trigger broader conflict. It accused Israel of undermining diplomatic efforts to resolve regional tensions.

Iran has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council following Israeli airstrikes on its territory, state news agency IRNA reported on Friday. 

The letter, signed by Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani, calls for an emergency meeting of the Council and urges decisive action against what it describes as “blatant aggression” by Israel, allegedly carried out with US support. Tehran said the strikes, including one on the Natanz nuclear facility under IAEA safeguards, violated international law and posed a severe risk of radiological disaster and regional instability.

Israel’s deadly strikes highlighted the need to strengthen its uranium enrichment and missile programs, Iran has said.

“The world now better understands Iran’s insistence on the right to enrichment, nuclear technology, and missile power,” the government said in a statement. “One should not speak to such a predatory regime except in the language of power,” it added.

The US Embassy in Israel has instructed all American government personnel and their families to shelter in place due to the current security situation, it said on Friday. The embassy warned US citizens to remain vigilant and aware of the nearest shelter, citing the risk of sudden attacks including rocket fire and drone intrusions.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya has condemned recent developments in the Middle East, calling on all sides to de-escalate tensions.

“Peace and stability in the Middle East are extremely important to Japan, and we urge all parties involved to exercise the utmost restraint and calm the situation,” Iwaya told reporters in Tokyo. 

Tehran is unlikely to proceed with the sixth round of nuclear talks with the United States following recent Israeli airstrikes on its territory, a senior Iranian lawmaker has said.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of parliament’s national security commission, cited the escalation triggered by the strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites. While Washington denied involvement, Tehran has accused the US of complicity, deepening diplomatic tensions.

Israeli strikes on Tehran have killed at least six Iranian nuclear scientists, according to Tasnim news agency, which identified them as Abdolhamid Minoochehr, Ahmad Reza Zolfaqari, Seyed Amir Hossein Feqhi, Matlabizadeh, Mohammad Mahdi Tehranchi, and Fereydoon Abbasi.

It added that Feqhi was the deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and that Matlabizadeh’s wife was also killed in the attack.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers denounced Iran as an “aggressor,” promising that the US would defend Israel. Iran’s “pursuit of a nuclear weapon is an existential threat that will not be tolerated. The US was not involved in the strikes, but our forces stand ready to defend themselves and our ally Israel. Any Iranian attack on US forces would be a grave miscalculation,” he warned.

The Palestinian group Hamas has called for a unified international response to deter Israel and end what it described as continued aggression. In a statement posted on Telegram, the group warned that Israel’s actions mark “a dangerous escalation that threatens to destabilise the region,” blaming the “extremist Netanyahu government” for pushing the Middle East toward broader confrontation.

Hamas described the Israeli strikes as “a brutal aggression” and “a flagrant violation of international norms and conventions,” asserting that Israel poses “an existential threat to the entire region.”

Some of the latest images emerging from Iran show damaged residential buildings in Tehran, following Israeli airstrikes on Friday. The photos depict shattered windows, debris-strewn streets, and structural damage.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for de-escalation following Israeli strikes on Iran, urging “all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently.”

“Escalation serves no one in the region,” Starmer said, adding that the UK is working with partners to promote stability. “Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.”

The Israeli military said it killed Iran’s three most senior military commanders in overnight airstrikes.

The army identified the officials as Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces; Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; and Major-General Gholam Ali Rashid, head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.

India has asked Iran and Israel to “avoid any escalatory steps.”

In a statement on Friday, the Indian Foreign Ministry said, “Existing channels of dialogue and diplomacy should be utilized to work towards a deescalation of the situation and resolving underlying issues.”

“India, which enjoys close and friendly relations with both the countries” is “ready to extend all possible support,” it added.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, calling them a clear violation of international laws and norms.

In a statement, the ministry said the attacks were “heinous” and urged the international community and the UN Security Council to take immediate action to halt the aggression.

Oman, which has been mediating nuclear talks between the US and Iran in recent months, condemned Israel’s strikes as a “dangerous and reckless escalation” and a violation of international law.

In a statement, Muscat said the attack “represents unacceptable and ongoing aggressive behaviour that undermines the foundations of stability in the region,” adding that “Israel is responsible for this escalation and its consequences.”

The escalation casts doubt over planned talks in Oman this weekend between Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and an Iranian delegation, as Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused Washington of complicity in the strikes.

The US was aware of an imminent Israeli strike on Iran, President Donald Trump has told Fox News, adding that Washington hopes Tehran will return to negotiations over the nuclear deal.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see,” he said, adding that “There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back.”

The Iranian Army has said it will not tolerate Israeli “aggression,” warning that “a bitter lesson awaits [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. “Avoid approaching military bases; and wait for the moment when the Leader will assign a collective duty to the nation. At this very moment, the combat forces of the Army and the IRGC are engaged in battle in the skies,” it said in a statement.

At least five people have been killed and 20 injured in Tehran following an Israeli strike, according to Press TV.

Jordan has closed its airspace “in anticipation of any dangers resulting from the escalation happening in the region.”

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Iranian authorities have informed the agency that the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was not targeted in the recent attacks, and that no increase in radiation levels has been detected at the Natanz site.

Iran has launched over 100 drones at Israel, which are expected to arrive in several hours, the IDF has said, adding that the military is taking action to destroy them.

At least 16 Air India flights were diverted or forced to return to their departure airports after Iran closed its airspace in response to an Israeli strike on Tehran on Friday, the airline has said.

The disruptions affected several international routes, including flights from New York to Delhi and from Delhi and Mumbai to London and New York.

Iranian media have confirmed that Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces, was killed in an Israeli strike, following initial denials from official news outlets.

Iran appointed Habibollah Sayyari as temporary commander of the Iranian Armed Forces, according to Iranian Nournews.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the country’s forces for what he called a “successful opening strike” against Iran, saying the attacks had killed senior Iranian commanders. He urged the public to follow military safety instructions, warning that the operation could be protracted.

“Israeli citizens may have to remain in sheltered areas for lengthy periods of time,” he said, reiterating earlier remarks that the campaign may be long and difficult.

A video circulating on social media reportedly shows the strike on the Natanz nuclear facility.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson voiced strong support for Israel amid its strikes on Iran, despite ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.

China has issued security warnings to its citizens in Israel and Iran, urging heightened caution amid escalating tensions. In a notice on Friday, the Chinese embassy in Israel warned of a “complex and severe” security situation and advised nationals to avoid unnecessary outings and areas near military sites or sensitive institutions due to the risk of missile and drone attacks. In a separate message, the Chinese embassy in Iran called on citizens and businesses to closely monitor developments and strengthen security precautions.

The warnings came as Israel raised its public security alert to “essential activity,” banning educational activities, gatherings, and most workplace operations. Israel’s Transportation Ministry also announced the closure of the country’s airspace for arrivals and departures until further notice.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the country’s latest military operation was a targeted effort to “neutralize an immediate and existential threat” posed by Iran. He accused Tehran of leading “a global terror empire” and working relentlessly to develop military nuclear capabilities and expand its ballistic missile program.

“Iran’s leaders have made no secret of their openly repeated intention to annihilate the State of Israel,” Herzog said. “Israel has the inherent right and the solemn duty to defend itself—and will always do so with determination and clarity.” 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for “maximum restraint” to prevent a deeper conflict in the Middle East, his spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement. “The Secretary-General condemns any military escalation in the Middle East,” Haq noted, adding that Guterres is “particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran” amid ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Explosions were reported in Tabriz near a nuclear research center and two military bases, Al Jazeera said. Blasts were also reported in other parts of Iran, including Isfahan and Kermanshah.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Israel’s military strikes as a “clear aggression” and an “unforgivable crime,” accusing the country of violating Iran’s sovereignty by targeting residential areas in Tehran and other cities.

The ministry said the attacks killed “the most honorable and patriotic servants of the homeland” alongside innocent civilians. Offering condolences to the Supreme Leader and the people of Iran, the ministry described the strikes as a blatant act of hostility and warned that Iran’s armed forces “will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation with all their might and in a manner they determine.”

“The dangerous and far-reaching consequences of the Zionist regime’s aggression will be the responsibility of this regime and its supporters,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said, adding that the attack “cannot have been carried out without the coordination and authorization of the United States.” It urged the UN Security Council, the Secretary-General, and the international community to take immediate action and collectively condemn what it called a threat to global peace.

Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev has strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, calling them a dangerous and unjustified escalation. Quoting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s claim that Israel had struck “the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” Kosachev warned the attacks also delivered “a blow to nuclear safety,” and “a blow to Iranian sovereignty” by targeting its top military leadership. He argued that the strikes sabotage diplomatic efforts, including the now-cancelled sixth round of nuclear talks in Oman.

Kosachev said Israel’s actions cannot be justified “legally, politically, militarily, or morally,” warning that an Iranian response is “inevitable” and the region is spiraling into a “vicious circle of escalation.” He criticized the West’s role in the crisis, stating it “has ceased to be collective, but remains extremely opportunistic.” While calling hopes of avoiding full-scale war “illusory,” he urged the international community to deliver a firm, united condemnation of the operation.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned Israel for its early morning strikes, accusing the “Zionist regime” of committing a crime by targeting residential areas and vowing retaliation.

In a statement published by the official IRNA news agency, Khamenei said Israel “must expect severe punishment” and warned that the Islamic Republic’s armed forces “will not abandon” the response. He confirmed that several commanders and scientists were killed in the strikes, adding that their successors would immediately take up their duties.

“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared a bitter and painful fate for itself, and it will certainly receive it,” he said.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed that Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility was among the sites targeted in Israel’s recent airstrikes. Grossi stated that the agency is closely monitoring the situation and is in contact with Iranian authorities regarding radiation levels. He said the IAEA is coordinating with its inspectors on the ground to assess the impact of the strikes.

Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir has announced the mobilization of tens of thousands of soldiers and preparations across all borders, warning that “anyone who tries to challenge us will pay a heavy price.” 

In a televised address, he acknowledged the possibility of Iranian retaliation and cautioned that the expected toll might differ from previous experiences. Zamir emphasized that the operation had been in preparation for a long time, with unprecedented efforts made across all branches and directorates to achieve readiness against the tangible and present threat.

Several Iranian news outlets reported that Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, said Israel would pay a “heavy price” for its attacks.

The White House said US President Donald Trump will convene a meeting of the National Security Council in Washington on Friday to discuss Israel’s strikes on Iran.

Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been killed in an Israeli strike, according to reports by Tasnim news agency and the Tehran Times.

The reports also said that two nuclear scientists, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi, were killed in the same strikes. Tehranchi headed the Islamic Azad University, while Abbasi previously served as chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel, voiced support for the country’s military action against Iran in a social media post. His remarks came as Israel carried out a series of airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, describing the operation as a preemptive measure against an imminent threat.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA has dismissed reports that top Iranian general Mohammad Bagheri was killed in an Israeli attack, saying he is “currently in the war room” and “has not been harmed.”

Iran has closed its airspace until further notice, the state-run IRNA news agency reported on Friday, citing the country’s aviation authorities.

Israel’s decision to strike Iran was made independently, despite ongoing dialogue with Washington, Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon said in an interview with CNN. Danon declined to speculate on whether Israel expects US assistance in the event of an Iranian response.

According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, loud explosions were heard near the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, and eyewitnesses reported seeing smoke rising from the site.

Unconfirmed reports also suggest that a fire has broken out at the facility.

Iranian news agency Tasnim has reported that the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami has been killed in an Israeli strike.

According to unconfirmed reports, other victims include Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Gholam Ali Rashid.

Iranian state media have reported civilian casualties in the capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF has struck the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz.

He added that the strikes, dubbed Operation Rising Lion, will “continue for as many days as it takes to remove the threat” from Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement saying that the United States is not involved in Israel’s “unilateral action against Iran.”

Dozens of aircraft participated in the “opening strike,” hitting “dozens of military targets, including nuclear sites in various regions of Iran,” the IDF said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had “begun preemptive and precise strikes targeting the Iranian nuclear program in order to prevent the Iranian regime’s ability to build a nuclear bomb in the immediate timeframe.”

“Over the past few months, intelligence has shown that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon,” IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said.

Videos from the scene show destruction in residential areas. Unconfirmed reports on Iran-linked Telegram channels claimed that the apartment complexes housed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Unverified reports on social media show thick clouds of smoke billowing over Tehran. Iranian media have confirmed that loud explosions and air raid sirens were heard in the capital.