As Israel–Iran conflict spirals, a round-up of 5 key developments in the past 24 hours
Entering its fourth day, the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran continued to intensify early Monday. Fresh missiles were traded, killing scores of civilians, damaging structures, and raising fears of further escalation from both sides caught in a longstanding conflict.
Over the last few days, Iranian strikes on Israel have killed at least 19 people since Tehran began attacking the country in response to the latter's sweeping assaults on its military and nuclear infrastructure. In Iran, the toll is higher. At least 224 people, including children, have been killed since Israel launched a surprise attack aimed at halting Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons.
Both nations have vowed to retaliate 'strongly' to each other's deadly attacks with offensives that have have showed no sign of slowing so far.
What has happened in Israel in the last 24 hours?
In a new wave of missile attacks by Iran on Israel early Monday, at least five were killed and dozens more wounded, the country as emergency services reported.
Iranian ballistic missiles struck Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa, wounding at least 30 people, emergency responders said. Video footage doing the rounds showed fire burning at a power plant near the port. Loud explosions from missiles fired by Iran were also heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Powerful explosions, likely from Israel's defence systems intercepting Iranian missiles, rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn on Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the coastal city. Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said that Iranian missiles had hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and ripping the walls off multiple apartments, killing one person, as reported by CNN.
One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, and its concussion caused minor damage, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said.
An Iranian strike on Saturday killed four people — women from the same family — as it destroyed a three-storey building in the town of Tamra. In Israel's Bat Yam, six people were killed and at least 180 were injured.
What happened in Iran in the last 24 hours?
Israel on Monday struck the command centre of Iran's Quds Force, a special military unit that coordinates support for Iranian allies in the Middle East and reports directly to the country's supreme leader. Israel also hit missile sites in central Iran.
On Sunday, an Israeli strike killed the intelligence chief of the country's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazemi, along with two other officers, according to state media.
Since Israel's initial attack on June 13, it has killed at least six senior military figures, including the Chief of Staff of Iran's armed forces, Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri, and the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Gen Hossein Salami. Six nuclear scientists were also killed in an Israeli attack, the military said. At least 224 people have also been killed, with 90% of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.
Israel also struck Iran's Defence Ministry headquarters and two fuel depots in the Tehran area. The Shahran fuel and gasoline depot, which has at least 11 storage tanks, was hit and set afire during the Israeli attack that began on Saturday. Separately in the city's south, Shahr Rey, one of the country's largest oil refineries, was also struck, according to Iranian state news media.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that the latest attack on Israel employed a new method that caused Israel's multi-layered defence systems to target each other.
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Sunday that Israel is not only defending itself but also the world by stopping Iran from making nuclear weapons.
He claimed that the two assassination attempts on US President Donald Trump were orchestrated by Iran, adding that Iran also attempted to kill him, as a missile fired by Iran struck the bedroom window of his home.
'They (Tehran) want to kill him (Donald Trump). He's enemy number one,' Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News.
Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said on Monday that the residents of Tehran will 'pay the price, and soon,' after Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn, killing at least five people.
Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian called on Iranians to join hands amid Israeli strikes on the country. 'Any disagreements or disputes must be set aside today,' he said in the parliament on Monday. 'We must confront the aggression of this genocidal criminal with strength,' state media reported.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also threatened 'severe punishment', claiming that residential areas had been targeted in strikes by Israel. The Iranian leadership has vowed a harsh military and diplomatic response against Israel.
The sixth round of talks scheduled between the US and Tehran for Sunday (15th June) in Oman has been cancelled, following Israel's attack on Iran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran would not attend nuclear talks as long as Israel continued its attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Oman's Foreign Minister, Badr al-Busaidi, echoed the decision, saying the talks 'will not now take place,' adding that 'diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace.'
For the first time since the conflict began, US President Donald Trump, in a post on X on Saturday (June 14), denied any involvement in the recent strike on Iran, stating that Washington had no role to play in the conflict.
He also warned Iran of an attack at levels 'never seen before' should Iran launch an assault on the US.
'The US had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight. 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 said in a post on his Truth Social handle.
The Associated Press reported that US President Donald Trump recently vetoed an Israeli proposal to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a dramatic indication of how close the allies came to further escalation.
As world leaders head to Canada for the Group of Seven (G7) meeting, the agenda on the table has shifted to the simmering conflict between Israel and Iran.
European leaders are intending to pin the US President down on his entire Iran strategy, including getting a definitive response on whether he will use his influence over Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to call a ceasefire — or instead let the war run its course.
(With inputs from agencies)
Karishma Ayaldasani is a Senior Sub Editor at The Indian Express. She has previously worked as a Social Media Sub-Editor at Firstpost and as a Creative Strategist at Clematis Advertising. She holds a PGDM in Journalism and Mass Communication from Xavier's Institute of Communications, Mumbai and a degree in Economics (Honours) from Sophia College, Ajmer. ... Read More
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