Israel, Iran launch more barrages as Israel aims to wipe out Tehran's nuclear program
Missiles launched from Iran are seen from Jerusalem, June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Army air defence firing is seen following the Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS BY A THIRD PARTY
Rescue personnel work at an impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Ramat Gan June 13, 2025 REUTERS/Itai Ron
Israel, Iran launch more barrages as Israel aims to wipe out Tehran's nuclear program
TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON - Iran and Israel targeted each other with airstrikes early on Saturday 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.
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 on Saturday after two salvos on Friday night.
Those were in response to Israel's attacks on Iran early on Friday against commanders, nuclear scientists, military targets and nuclear sites.
Israel's ambulance service said 34 people were injured on Friday night in the Tel Aviv area, most with minor injuries. Police later said one person had died.
The U.S. military helped shoot down Iranian missiles headed for Israel on Friday, two U.S. officials said. Israel's military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles on Friday 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.
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, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council on Friday. He said the U.N. 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 U.N. 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 U.S. of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences.
Israel's U.N. 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 U.N. nuclear watchdog concluded this week that it was in violation of its obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty.
U.S. 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 U.S. offer. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
33 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Baghdad asks Iran to avoid strikes on US targets in Iraq
A demonstrator waves an Iranian flag during a protest against Israel's attack on Iran, in Basra on June 13. PHOTO: AFP Baghdad asks Iran to avoid strikes on US targets in Iraq Baghdad - Baghdad has asked Tehran not to target US interests on Iraqi soil, a senior security official said June 14, as Washington's ally Israel and Iran traded blows, heightening tensions across the region. The government in Baghdad is a close ally of Tehran but also a strategic partner of Iran's arch-foe the United States, which has some 2,500 troops in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition. Fearing being caught up in a regional escalation, the Iraqi government asked Tehran not to strike in its territory, a senior Iraqi security official told AFP. 'The request was made. They promised us positive things,' said the official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The official added that Tehran has shown understanding with regard to Baghdad's request. Before the current escalation, which began early on June 13 with a series of Israeli attacks on military and nuclear sites in Iran, Tehran had threatened to strike military bases hosting US forces in the region in the event of a conflict triggered by the possible failure of nuclear talks with Washington. Throughout the Gaza war, which began in October 2023 and has pitted Israel against Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas, Tehran-aligned armed factions have launched dozens of rocket and drone attacks targeting US forces in Iraq and in neighbouring Syria. Before the wave of attacks began, the United States on June 11 announced it was reducing staffing at its Baghdad embassy, citing security reasons. Several pro-Iran groups in Iraq called on June 13 to accelerate the departure of US forces from the country, with the powerful Kataeb Hezbollah warning of 'additional wars in the region'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Zelenskiy says Ukraine halts Russian troop advance in Sumy region
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a joint press conference with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius (not pictured) after talks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter A resident walks at a street near a building damaged by Russian missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova KYIV - Ukrainian forces have stopped Russian troops advancing in the northeastern Sumy region and are now battling to regain control along the border with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. In remarks released for publication by his office on Saturday, Zelenskiy said that Moscow has amassed about 53,000 troops in the direction of Sumy. "We are leveling the position. The fighting there is along the border. You should understand that the enemy has been stopped there. And the maximum depth at which the fighting takes place is 7 km (4.35 miles) from the border," Zelenskiy said. Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports. Russia's troops have been focusing their assaults in the eastern Donetsk region. But since the start of the month, they have intensified their attacks in the north-east, announcing plans to create a so-called 'buffer zone' in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The Russian war in Ukraine is in its fourth year, but it has intensified in recent weeks. Ukraine conducted an audacious drone attack this month that took out multiple aircraft inside Russia and also hit the bridge connecting Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula using underwater explosives. Moscow ramped up its air assaults after the attack. Zelenskiy said that Ukrainian troops had maintained their defensive lines along more than 1,000 kilometres of the frontline. He also dismissed Moscow's claims that Russian troops had crossed the administrative border into the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. Zelenskiy said that Russia was sending small assault groups "to get one foot on the administrative border" and make a picture or a video, but these attacks were repelled. Dnipropetrovsk borders three regions that are partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia now controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Zelenskiy acknowledged that Ukraine was unable to regain all of its territory by military force and reiterated his pleas for stronger sanctions on Russia to force Moscow into negotiations to end the war. Two rounds of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul produced few results that could lead to a ceasefire and a broader peace deal. The two sides agreed only to exchange prisoners of war. Several swaps have already been conducted this month, and Zelenskiy said he expected them to continue until June 20 or 21. In separate remarks made on communications platform Telegram on Saturday, he said that a new group of Ukrainian prisoners of war had come home as part of another swap with Russia. "We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week," Zelenskiy wrote on his personal account. Ukrainian officials responsible for exchanging prisoners said the vast majority of the soldiers released in the exchange had been held captive since 2022 with many captured during the defence of Mariupol. The officials said Kyiv had, meanwhile, received the bodies of 1,200 of its soldiers killed in the war with Russia. The bodies were handed over to Ukraine on Friday. "The agreement is that the exchanges will be completed, and the sides will discuss the next step," Zelenskiy said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war, but Moscow received no war dead, Russia says
People in hazmat suits carry what is said to be remains of Ukrainian soldiers received from Russia in an unknown location in a screen grab from a Handout video released on June 13, 2025. Security Service Of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war, but Moscow received no war dead, Russia says Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners-of-war (POWs) on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said, and Russia handed over the bodies of 1,200 dead Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv. The exchanges are part of agreements reached by the warring sides during talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Ukraine earlier on Saturday confirmed it had received the bodies of its soldiers killed in action. However, Russian state media reported, citing sources, that Moscow had not received any of its war dead back from Kyiv, echoing a statement Russia made on Friday, when it said it had returned the bodies of 1,200 slain Ukrainian soldiers and received none of its own. The Russian defence ministry did not say how many POWs were involved in the swap with Ukraine on Saturday, but it posted video showing its soldiers holding Russian flags and cheering before boarding a bus. The Russian soldiers are in Belarus, where they are receiving medical treatment before transfer back to Russia, the defence ministry said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
