Israel and Iran Edge Closer to War After Escalating Attacks
Tehran, Jun 13: Air raid sirens echoed across Israel as Iranian missiles struck the country on Friday, in retaliation for recent Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and the assassination of senior military leaders.
Explosions were heard throughout Jerusalem, while Israeli television broadcast images of smoke billowing over Tel Aviv following what appeared to be a missile strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Israeli military reported that dozens of missiles had been launched and instructed residents nationwide to take shelter in bomb shelters.
The escalation follows a major wave of Israeli strikes targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure and military installations. These attacks reportedly killed at least three high-ranking Iranian military officers, marking one of the most significant assaults on Iran since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.
The situation unfolds against a backdrop of mounting tensions over Iran's rapidly progressing nuclear program. Israel has long warned of preemptive action, while successive U.S. administrations have worked to prevent such a strike, fearing it could trigger a broader regional conflict and prove ineffective against Iran's well-fortified and dispersed nuclear facilities.
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Arab Times
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High-Ranking Iran's Commanders And Scientists Among Dead In Israeli Strikes
TEHRAN, June 14: Iran has confirmed the deaths of several high-ranking military commanders and nuclear scientists following a series of Israeli airstrikes on Friday that targeted key military and nuclear sites across the country. The strikes, which reportedly aimed to disrupt Tehran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, resulted in the deaths of at least 20 senior figures, including the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and prominent officials linked to Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs. According to regional sources cited by Reuters, among those killed were: Hossein Salami – Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2019. Born in 1960, Salami was a central figure in Iran's military establishment. Mohammad Bagheri – Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and a former IRGC commander. Bagheri joined the Guards during the Iran-Iraq War and had served in the post since 2016. Amir Ali Hajizadeh – Commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force and a key figure in Iran's missile program. He was widely seen as responsible for orchestrating aerial threats against Israel. Hajizadeh also admitted responsibility for the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner in 2020. Gholamali Rashid – Major General and head of the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters. He previously served as deputy chief of staff of the Armed Forces and was a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war. Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani – A senior nuclear physicist and former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (2011–2013). Known for his hardline views, Abbasi also served as a member of parliament from 2020 to 2024. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi – A nuclear scientist and president of Islamic Azad University in Tehran, Tehranchi was a prominent figure in Iran's academic and nuclear research community. In addition, four other scientists were reported killed in the attacks: Abdolhamid Manouchehr, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari, Amirhossein Feghi, and Motalibizadeh. The unprecedented loss of top leadership figures marks a major escalation in the ongoing shadow war between Israel and Iran and is expected to have far-reaching implications for the region's security and nuclear diplomacy.
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Iran Confirms Limited Damage At Key Nuclear Site After Israeli Attack
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Israel warns Iran that 'Tehran will burn' if it continues firing missiles
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, June 14, (AP): Israel's defense minister warned Iran on Saturday that "Tehran will burn' if it continues firing missiles. Speaking after an assessment meeting with the army's chief of staff, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Iran will pay a heavy price for harming Israeli citizens. His comments come after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel overnight Saturday following Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear program Friday morning. Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel into Saturday morning, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear program and its armed forces. Israel's assault used warplanes - as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, according to officials - to hit key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Iran's U.N. ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the attacks. Iran retaliated by launching waves of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, where explosions lit the night skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below. The Israeli military urged civilians, already rattled by 20 months of war sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, to head to shelter for hours. Both Israel and Iran said their attacks would continue, raising the prospect of another protracted Mideast conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his objective was to eliminate any Iranian threat to Israel, but he also urged Iranians to rise up against their leaders. Israel would welcome the government's overthrow even if it is not actively seeking it. Israel's strikes also put further talks between the United States and Iran over a nuclear accord into doubt before they were set to meet Sunday in Oman. I ran's Foreign Ministry spokesman called further nuclear talks with the United States "meaningless' after Israeli strikes on the country, state television said. "The U.S. did a job that made the talks become meaningless,' Esmail Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel had passed all Iran's red lines by committing a "criminal act' through its strikes. However, he stopped short of saying the talks were cancelled. The Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran's judiciary, quoted him as saying: "It is still not clear what we decide about Sunday's talks.' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message Friday: "We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed.' Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday. Iranians awoke Saturday to state television airing repeated clips of strikes on Israel, as well as videos of people cheering and handing out sweets. Israel's military said more drones were intercepted near the Dead Sea early Saturday. A hospital in Tel Aviv treated seven people wounded in the second Iranian barrage; all but one of them had light injuries. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said they were wounded when a projectile hit a building in the city. A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital said one woman was killed. Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, killing two more people and wounding 19, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged. Meanwhile, the sound of explosions and Iranian air defense systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight on Saturday. An Associated Press journalist could hear air raid sirens near their home. Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport. A video posted on X showed a column of smoke and flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport. The Israeli military said it carried out overnight strikes on dozens of targets, including air defenses, "in the area of Tehran.' Israel's paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an AP journalist saw burned-out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one where the front was nearly entirely torn away. Residents of a central Israeli city that was hit Friday night told the AP the explosion was so powerful it shook their shelter door open. "We thought, that's it, the house is gone, and in fact half of the house was gone, it fell apart," said Moshe Shani. U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. Israel's ongoing airstrikes and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Israel's 20-month-long war with Gaza shows no signs of ending. At least 27 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight Friday, according to local hospitals. Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear program. But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack - plus the reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump - created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the U.S. was informed in advance of the attack. On Thursday, Iran was censured by the U.N.'s atomic watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. The crossfire between Israel and Iran disrupted East-West travel through the Mideast, a key global aviation route, but Jordan's state-run Petra news agent said the country would reopen its airspace to civilian aircraft at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, signaling it believes there is no immediate danger. Lebanon's government also said Saturday it had reopened its airspace. Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan. U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged the infrastructure there, he said. Netanyahu said the attack had been months in the making and was planned for April before being postponed. Israel's Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defenses and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not possible to independently corroborate those claims. Over the past year, Israel has been targeting Iran's air defenses, hitting a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery in April 2024 and surface-to-air missile sites and missile manufacturing facilities in October. The first wave of strikes gave Israel "significant freedom of movement' in Iran's skies, clearing the way for further attacks, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack with the media. The official said Israel is prepared for an operation that could last up to two weeks, but that there was no firm timeline. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Two of Bagheri's deputies were also killed, Iran confirmed Saturday: Gen. Gholamreza Mehrabi, the deputy of intelligence for the armed forces' general staff, and Gen. Mehdi Rabbani, the deputy of operations. Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks "will only get worse.' "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left,' he wrote.
