Iran launches fresh missile attack on Israel
Jerusalem, June 17 (UNI) Iran launched a fresh missile attack on Israel on Monday night, causing no casualties, Israeli officials said.
The attack triggered air raid sirens in dozens of cities and communities in central and southern Israel, including Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli military.
A security official told Xinhua that the attack included about two missiles, which were apparently intercepted or landed in open areas.
Israel's national rescue service Magen David Adom said there were no immediate reports of injuries or direct hits.
The attack, announced by Iran's state media earlier as a new wave of strikes targeting Tel Aviv and Haifa, marked the latest exchange in the ongoing aerial conflict between Israel and Iran, now in its fourth day. The escalation began with Israeli airstrikes on Iran on June 13.
UNI XINHUA ARN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
All about GBU-57, the 30,000-pound U.S. beast that could help Israel neutralize Iran's deepest threat
Live Events Why Fordo Remains Intact Meet the GBU-57: America's Deepest Bunker Buster Will the U.S. Join the Fight? (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel As Israel intensifies its military campaign against Iran, attention is shifting to a powerful American weapon that may be key to ending Tehran's nuclear ambitions: the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound "bunker buster" designed to destroy deeply buried targets like Iran's Fordo uranium enrichment days into its surprise offensive targeting Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure, Israel appears to be expanding operations. The Israeli military has ordered evacuations of over 330,000 civilians from central Tehran — a densely populated area home to around 10 million people — in what analysts see as preparation for further Israeli Air Force claims to have achieved full aerial dominance over Tehran's skies and reported the destruction of over 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers, as well as two Iranian F-14 fighter jets. The Israeli military also claimed it had eliminated Gen. Ali Shadmani, the newly appointed head of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters. Iran has yet to confirm the Israel struck 10 command centers belonging to Iran's Quds Force and issued evacuation warnings to areas housing government facilities, including state television and major Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel's strikes had set Iran's nuclear program back 'a very, very long time.' However, one critical target still eludes destruction: Iran's heavily fortified Fordo enrichment deep within a mountain near Qom, the Fordo facility is considered nearly impervious to conventional airstrikes. To take it out, Israel would need the GBU-57A/B — a bomb it neither possesses nor can by Boeing, the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator is the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal for targeting underground facilities. Key specifications include-Weight: Over 13,600 kg (30,000 pounds)Length: 6.2 metersExplosives: Carries 2,500 kg of high explosivesPenetration Depth: Can burrow through 60 meters of reinforced concrete or rockDelivery Platform: Only deployable by the U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomberThis bomb was specifically engineered to destroy hardened bunkers, tunnel networks, and nuclear facilities that conventional munitions can't suggest that former U.S. President Donald Trump cut short his appearance at the G7 summit, possibly to attend a National Security Council meeting on the Middle East crisis. This has fueled speculation that the U.S. might intervene — or at least authorize Israel to use or be supported with the GBU-57 in a joint military analysts believe multiple MOPs would be required to seal off Fordo completely — a move that would mark a turning point in the shadow war between Israel and any U.S. involvement could trigger broader regional escalation and domestic political fallout, especially among isolationist voices warning against abandoning the 'America First' doctrine.
New Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazakhstan to cement Central Asia ties
ASTANA: Chinese President Xi Jinping met Central Asian leaders at a summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, his second trip to the region in under a year as Beijing competes with Russia for influence there. The summit in Astana brings together Xi -- who arrived in the Kazakh capital on Monday -- and the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Under Russia's orbit until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five countries of Central Asia have courted interest from major powers, including China and the United States since becoming independent. The region is rich in natural resources and strategically located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. In a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Tuesday, Xi called for the two countries to "scale up trade and investment and expand cooperation in emerging sectors", Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. The two sides should "advance high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and foster new drivers of growth in clean energy, green minerals and artificial intelligence", Xi reportedly said.
NDTV
32 minutes ago
- NDTV
'Friends' No More? Amid War, Iran Israel Pivot From Allies To Enemies
New Delhi: On June 13 morning Israeli forces targeted nuclear sites and military installations across Iran, killing nuclear scientists and senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers. Residential areas were also hit and there were civilian casualties, a furious Tehran claimed. The attacks preceded Iran-United States talks over the latter's escalating uranium enrichment, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes but Tel Aviv views as "threats" to its survival. And by June 13 evening Iran responded, firing ballistic missiles at Israeli military sites, including those used to refuel warplanes. Some even snuck past Israel's famed 'Iron Dome' air defence, hitting parts of central Tel Aviv, which is where the Israeli Defence Forces is headquartered. The conflict between the two is now in its fifth day and shows no sign of stopping; on Monday more Israeli missiles pounded Tehran and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said the war could only end with the death of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The attacks also marked the latest military escalation in the West Asia region since Israeli strikes on Gaza - the result of Hamas' October 7 terror attacks - began in 2023, and heightened fears of an all-out armed conflict between nations that were once friends, even allies. Their more recent history, though, is mired in animosity and conflict, with Netanyahu pointing to Tehran's controversial nuclear programme and painting Iran as "the greatest threat... to Israel's very survival." And Iran has accused Israel of repeated sabotage attacks and assassinations. When They Were 'Friends' Back in 1948, most Muslim-majority countries in West Asia refused to recognise the newly created country of Israel. The big exception was Shia-majority Iran and Turkey, Islamic states that recognised the sovereign state of Israel. The connection was the US. At the time Iran, with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi at the helm, had shifted consciously closer to the West, proving itself a key regional ally of the US during the Cold War. The newly formed state of Israel, requiring American support to stay afloat, seemed to find a natural partner. And then, over the next couple of decades ex-Israel Prime Minister David Ben Gurion led the country through his Periphery Doctrine - an effort to ally with non-Arab states. Iran, Turkey, and Ethiopia emerged as the key players. The four nations expected to benefit from economic cooperation, including arms sales, and intelligence sharing, particularly between Israel's Mossad and Iran's SAVAK. Iran also supplied Israel with crude oil after the Six Day War resulted in Arab nations boycotting the latter. And trade and infrastructure growth in Iran were supported by Israel. All seemed to be going well. But then the Islamic Revolution swept through Iran in 1979 and there was a fundamental shift in Iran-Israel relations, a change underpinned by the overthrow of the Shah and the establishment of the Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khamenei. The Break Up The break-up had been coming. Even during times of cooperation there were Islamist elements in Iran that were advocating for Palestinians, often raising funds for their use. After 1979 there was a sharp break; Iran refused to accept Israeli passports, for example, and Iranian passport holders were banned from travelling to "occupied Palestine". And so, Israel was declared an 'enemy of Islam' and 'Little Satan'. In the 1980s and 90s Iran emerged as a sponsor of armed groups - initially Hezbollah in Lebanon and then others, like the Houthis in Yemen and later Hamas in Gaza - moving from funding to active training, and then arming them to launch attacks on Israel. The bad blood intensified over the next decade; in December 2000 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Israel a 'cancerous tumour' that should be removed from the region and, five years later, said 'Palestine belongs to Palestinians... fate should be determined by the Palestinian people'. The Hezbollah and Hamas were targeted and decimated by Israel after the 2023 attack. And, after Iran launched a pair of missile attacks on Israel last year, Israel responded with strikes of its own, including one that destroyed Iranian missile sites and weakened air defences. The collapse of that proxy network, coupled with Iran's new vulnerability, created an opportunity for Israel to strike, and write another bloody chapter in Iran-Israel ties.
