Israel, Iran exchange missile barrages as Israel aims to wipe out Tehran's nuclear programme
Tehran launches dozens of missiles early today
Israel says it intercepts some
Air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem
TEL AVIV, June 14 — Iran and Israel targeted each other with airstrikes early today after Israel launched its biggest-ever offensive against its longtime foe in a bid to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the country's two largest cities before dawn, sending residents rushing into shelters. The military said its air defence systems were operating, seeking to intercept Iranian missiles.
'In the last hour, dozens of missiles have been launched at the state of Israel from Iran, some of which were intercepted,' the Israeli military said.
It said rescue teams were operating at a number of locations across the country where fallen projectiles were reported, without commenting on casualties.
Several explosions were heard in the Iranian capital Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Rescue personnel work at an impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Ramat Gan June 13, 2025. — Reuters pic
Israeli media said a suspected missile came down in Tel Aviv, and a Reuters witness heard a loud boom in Jerusalem. It was unclear whether Iranian strikes or Israeli defensive measures were behind the activity.
Iran's Fars news agency said Tehran launched a third wave of airstrikes today after two salvos last night.
Those were in response to Israel's attacks on Iran early yesterday against commanders, nuclear scientists, military targets and nuclear sites.
Israel's ambulance service said 34 people were injured last night in the Tel Aviv area, most with minor injuries. Police later said one person had died.
The US military helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed for Israel yesterday, two US officials said. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles yesterday and that most were intercepted or fell short. Several buildings in and around Tel Aviv were hit.
The Israeli strikes on Iran throughout the day and the Iranian retaliation raised fears of a broader regional conflagration, although Iran's allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel.
Army air defence firing is seen following the Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, June 14, 2025. — Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Reuters pic
Trump says: Not too late
Iran's state news agency IRNA said Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel after Israel blasted Iran's huge Natanz underground nuclear site and killed its top military commanders. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.
Israeli officials said it may be some time before the extent of damage at Natanz was clear. Western countries have long accused Iran of refining uranium there to levels suitable for a bomb rather than civilian use.
The above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Natanz has been destroyed, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council yesterday. He said the UN was still gathering information about Israeli attacks on two other facilities, the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and at Isfahan.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of starting a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful.
Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani said 78 people, including senior military officials, were killed in Israel's strikes on Iran and more than 320 people were wounded, most of them civilians.
He accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences.
Israel's UN envoy Danny Danon said intelligence had confirmed that within days Iran would have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs. He called Israel's operation 'an act of national preservation.'
Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
US President Donald Trump said it was not too late for Tehran to halt the Israeli bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme.
Tehran had been engaged in talks with the Trump administration on a deal to curb its nuclear programme to replace one that Trump abandoned in 2018. Tehran rejected the last US offer. — Reuters
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JERUSALEM, June 14 — Israel's surprise attack on Iran had an obvious goal of sharply disrupting Tehran's nuclear programme and lengthening the time it would need to develop an atomic weapon. But the scale of the attacks, Israel's choice of targets, and its politicians' own words suggest another, longer-term objective: toppling the regime itself. The strikes early on Friday hit not just Iran's nuclear facilities and missile factories but also key figures in the country's military chain of command and its nuclear scientists, blows that appear aimed at diminishing Iran's credibility both at home and among its allies in the region — factors that could destabilise the Iranian leadership, experts said. 'One assumes that one of the reasons that Israel is doing that is that they're hoping to see regime change,' said Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former senior official under President George W. Bush. 'It would like to see the people of Iran rise up,' he said, adding that the limited civilian casualties in the initial round of attacks also spoke to a broader aim. In a video address shortly after Israeli fighter jets began striking Iranian nuclear facilities and air defence systems, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appealed to the Iranian people directly. Israel's actions against Iran's ally Hezbollah had led to a new government in Lebanon and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, he said. The Iranian people had an opportunity too: 'I believe that the day of your liberation is near. And when that happens, the great friendship between our two ancient peoples will flourish once again,' said Netanyahu. But despite the damage inflicted by the unprecedented Israeli attack, decades of enmity toward Israel — not only among Iran's rulers but its majority-Shi'ite population — raises questions about the prospect for fomenting enough public support to oust an entrenched theocratic leadership in Tehran backed by loyal security forces. Singh cautioned that no one knows what conditions would be required for an opposition to coalesce in Iran. Friday's assault was the first phase of what Israel said would be a prolonged operation. Experts said they expected Israel would continue to go after key Iranian nuclear infrastructure to delay Tehran's march to a nuclear bomb — even if Israel on its own does not have the capability to eliminate Iran's nuclear programme. Iran says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. The UN nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. Israel's first salvoes targeted senior figures in Iran's military and scientific establishment, took out much of the country's air defence system and destroyed the above-ground enrichment plant at Iran's nuclear site. 'As a democratic country, the State of Israel believes that it is up to the people of a country to shape their national politics, and choose their government,' the Israeli embassy in Washington told Reuters. 'The future of Iran can only be determined by the Iranian people.' Netanyahu has called for a change in Iran's government, including in September. US President Donald Trump's administration, while acquiescing to Israel's strikes and helping its close ally fend off Iran's retaliatory missile barrage, has given no indication that it seeks regime change in Tehran. The White House and Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York also did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. Ending nuclear programme beyond reach, for now Israel has much further to go if it is to dismantle Iran's nuclear facilities, and military analysts have always said it might be impossible to totally disable the well-fortified sites dotted around Iran. The Israeli government has also cautioned that Iran's nuclear programme could not be entirely destroyed by means of a military campaign. 'There's no way to destroy a nuclear programme by military means,' Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel's Channel 13 TV. The military campaign could, however, create conditions for a deal with the United States that would thwart the nuclear programme. Analysts also remain sceptical that Israel will have the munitions needed to obliterate Iran's nuclear project on its own. 'Israel probably cannot take out completely the nuclear project on its own without the American participation,' Sima Shine, a former chief Mossad analyst and now a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, told reporters on Friday. While setting back Tehran's nuclear programme would have value for Israel, the hope for regime change could explain why Israel went after so many senior military figures, potentially throwing the Iranian security establishment into confusion and chaos. 'These people were very vital, very knowledgeable, many years in their jobs, and they were a very important component of the stability of the regime, specifically the security stability of the regime,' said Shine. 'In the ideal world, Israel would prefer to see a change of regime, no question about that,' she said. But such a change would come with risk, said Jonathan Panikoff, a former US deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East who is now at the Atlantic Council. If Israel succeeds in removing Iran's leadership, there is no guarantee the successor that emerges would not be even more hardline in pursuit of conflict with Israel. 'For years, many in Israel have insisted that regime change in Iran would prompt a new and better day - that nothing could be worse than the current theocratic regime,' Panikoff said. 'But history tells us it can always be worse.' — Reuters
