Israel attacked at least six military bases and multiple residential homes
People watch smoke rise in Tehran, Iran. Explosions rocked Tehran today, as Israel carried out a major attack on Iran intended to cripple the country's nuclear programme, Israeli officials said. Photo / Arash Khamooshi, the New York Times
The Israeli military said it struck Iran, attacking dozens of targets, including nuclear sites, and killing top Iranian military officials and scientists.
The scale of the attacks and the damage they caused were not immediately clear. But the strikes raised fears that the long-simmering conflict could escalate into an all-out
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NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Airlines are temporarily avoiding major travel hubs in the Middle East amid the conflict
This frame grab take from AFPTV footage shows the remnants of an Iranian missile intercepted over Qatar, as it lies on a pavement near a fence. Qatar said the security situation was 'stable' following an Iranian missile attack that targeted a US air base on its territory in retaliation for American attacks on Iran nuclear sites. Photo / AFPTV, via AFP Global airlines have suspended or reduced flights in the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites and Iran retaliated by targeting a US military base in Qatar. Here is the latest airline situation: European airlines British Airways
Otago Daily Times
3 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
'Total ceasefire' between Israel and Iran
United States President Donald Trump has announced a "complete and total" ceasefire between Israel and Iran will go into force with a view to ending the conflict between the two nations. Trump appeared to suggest that Israel and Iran would have some time to complete any missions that are underway, at which point the ceasefire would begin in a staged process. "On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, 'THE 12 DAY WAR'," he wrote on his Truth Social site. Trump declared a ceasefire minutes after each side threatened new attacks. CNN reported shortly before Trump's post that Iran had not received any ceasefire proposal and saw no reason for one, citing a senior Iranian official. The attack strained Iran's relationship with its Arab neighbours: Qatar condemned it, as did Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. Earlier on Monday, Trump said he would encourage Israel to proceed towards peace after dismissing Iran's attack on an American air base that caused no injuries and thanking Tehran for the early notice of the strikes. There was no immediate comment from Israel on Trump's statement. Hours earlier, three Israeli officials had signaled Israel was looking to wrap up its campaign in Iran soon and had passed the message on to the United States. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% late on Monday, suggesting traders expect the U.S. stock market to open with gains on Tuesday. Israel earlier said it carried out its most extensive wave of attacks on Tehran ever on Monday. Targets included a Tehran prison where Iran's leadership holds political opponents, in a renewed demonstration of its willingness to strike beyond its previously stated military and nuclear targets to target key pillars of Iran's ruling system. Despite Iran's threats to challenge oil shipments from the Gulf, oil prices fell 7% in volatile trading, suggesting traders doubted the Islamic Republic would follow through on any action that would disrupt global supplies. Qatar, situated just across the Gulf from Iran, closed its airspace after receiving the advance warning from Iran, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Tehran sought backing from one of its last major power friends for its next steps. STRIKING 'REGIME TARGETS' Israel made clear that its strikes on Evin prison and other targets in Tehran were intended to hit the Iranian ruling apparatus broadly, and its ability to sustain power. Iran's IRIB state broadcaster released video showing rescue workers combing the flattened wreckage of a building at the prison, carrying a wounded man on a stretcher. The Mizan news outlet of Iran's judiciary said urgent action was being taken to protect the health and safety of inmates there. Evin has long been Iran's primary prison for political detainees and people accused of espionage, as well as the site of executions that remain strong memories for the opposition. Several high-profile foreign prisoners are also held there. Israel's military said it had also struck Revolutionary Guard command centres responsible for internal security in the Tehran area. The military was "currently striking, with unprecedented force, regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. Much of Tehran's population of 10 million has fled after 10 days of bombing. Tasnim News Agency reported a strike at an electricity feeder station in the Evin neighbourhood. Power company Tavanir reported some areas in the capital experienced electricity cuts. LIMITED OPTIONS Since the US joined Israel's campaign by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear production sites on Sunday morning, Iran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. "Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it," Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in a recorded, English-language video statement. "Iran was bound to retaliate so as not to appear to have surrendered and look weak," Dennis Ross, a former Middle East negotiator for both Democratic and Republican US presidents, wrote in a post on X. "But (Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei knows, especially if Americans have not been killed, that there is a good chance to end the war with the US and to preserve the regime – always his 1st priority." The Trump administration maintains that its aim is solely to destroy Iran's nuclear programme, not to open a wider war. But in a social media post on Sunday, Trump spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington's principal foes in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Five insiders with knowledge of the discussions said efforts had been ramped up to anoint a successor for Iran's 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His son Mojtaba, 56, and Hassan Khomeini, 53, grandson of the revolution's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, are now seen as the frontrunners, they said. Americans are anxious over a brewing conflict between the US and Iran and worry the violence could escalate after President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday.
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
Iran-Israel Crisis: IAEA Chief Calls For Access To Damaged Nuclear Sites
23 June 2025 Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was addressing the agency's Board of Governors, amid fresh reports of new Israeli missile strikes on Iranian military sites in Tehran and elsewhere earlier on Monday. Iranian weapons fire has also been reported across Israel. Mr. Grossi - who also addressed an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday - insisted that the agency's weapons inspectors should return to Iran's nuclear sites and account for their stockpiles. There is particular concern about 400 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 per cent by Iran. Under the terms of a 2015 nuclear deal with the international community, Iran is permitted to enrich the naturally occurring radioactive material to less than four per cent. 'Craters are now visible at the Fordow site, Iran's main location for enriching uranium at 60 per cent, indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions; this is consistent with statements from the United States,' he told the IAEA Board of Governors. ' At this time, no one including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow.' Mr. Grossi said that taking into account the highly explosive payload used in the US attacks, 'very significant damage is expected to have occurred' to the highlysensitive centrifuge machinery used to enrich uranium at Fordow. Several sites hit Fordow is one of several nuclear-related sites across Iran that are known to have been damaged in the strikes by the United States, including those in Esfahan, Arak and Tehran. In comments to the UN Security Council in New York on Sunday, the IAEA chief said that although radiation levels remained normal outside these nuclear facilities, deep concerns remained about Iran's operational nuclear plant at Bushehr. Any strike on Bushehr could trigger a massive radiation release across the region - 'the risk is real', Mr. Grossi said. Eleven days after Israel launched air and missile strikes at Iranian military and nuclear sites, some 430 people are believed to have been killed in Iran, most of them civilians. According to Israeli reports, 25 people have been killed and more than 1,300 injured by Iranian missile strikes. Terror and hoarding Inside Iran, many people are sleep-deprived after 10 days of Israeli strikes and afraid that they have nowhere to go. Testimonies shared with UN News of events indicate that internet access is extremely limited and that people are queueing for hours to stock up on food and fuel. 'Even bread has been scarce at times,' said one Iranian national, who noted that many of those with dual nationality have been leaving the country. The crisis has also increased problems for the elderly and infirm – 'not for lack of money, but because their caregivers have disappeared', she added. Meanwhile in Israel, civilians impacted by Iranian missile attacks have spoken of their shock at the destruction of their homes, echoing calls for peace in Iran. 'We came to try to evacuate some equipment left at our flats, which were totally collapsed by the direct heat of the missile yesterday morning,' one Israeli resident said in an online testimony published on Monday. 'So, that's it, the entire house is gone.' Another resident explained that he was returning to his apartment which had been ' totally destroyed by a missile landed under my window - and luckily I wasn't here.' Explained: Why striking nuclear facilities risks catastrophe IAEA safety experts have warned repeatedly that armed attacks on nuclear infrastructure - enrichment facilities or reactors – risk damaging containment systems and could lead to the release of dangerous levels of radioactive or toxic materials. 'Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place and could result in radioactive releases with grave consequences within and beyond the boundaries of the State which has been attacked,' IAEA chief Mr. Grossi told the agency's Board of Governors on Monday. Even well-fortified facilities are not immune from structural or systemic failure when subjected to extreme external force, such as missile strikes, the UN nuclear watchdog has said. A range of threats The potential consequences include localised chemical exposure and far-reaching radioactive contamination, depending on the nature of the site and the strength of its defensive barriers. At enrichment or conversion facilities, the primary hazard often comes from uranium hexafluoride (UF). If struck and exposed to moisture, this radioactive compound of uranium and fluorine can break down into hydrogen fluoride - a highly toxic gas that can cause burns and respiratory damage. Radiation risks at these enrichment sites are typically lower than at reactors, although chemical hazards can have severe local impacts, IAEA said. In contrast, reactor cores and spent-fuel pools hold large inventories of fission products which result from nuclear reactions, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137. A breach here could result in large-scale radioactive dispersal, especially if cooling systems fail. Different sites and risks Iran's nuclear programme includes a range of facilities with varying risk profiles, reports indicate. The Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran's only operational commercial reactor, remains undamaged but contains significant radioactive material under IAEA safeguards. Research reactors including the Tehran facility are smaller, while the Arak heavy-water reactor, struck recently, held no nuclear material at the time. Enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow are fortified and underground, limiting the spread of radiation despite recent damage. However, conversion sites such as Isfahan involve uranium hexafluoride (UF), raising the risk of toxic chemical exposure if containment is breached. International legal frameworks and UN resolutions strongly prohibit military action against peaceful nuclear facilities. The IAEA stresses that any such strike endangers not just national safety, but regional and global stability.
