Israel strikes state-run Iranian TV after Iranian missiles kill eight
In other developments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes have set Iran's nuclear program back a 'very, very long time'. He added that Israel is not attempting to topple the Iranian government, but said he would not be surprised if that happened as a result of the strikes.
'The regime is very weak,' Mr Netanyahu told a news conference. He added that he is in touch with US President Donald Trump daily.
As he spoke, large numbers of explosions were heard in Tehran.
Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people in the middle of Tehran to evacuate ahead of the strike against the TV station, which the military said provided a cover for Iranian military operations.
The warning came on the fourth day of the conflict, when the Israeli military claimed it had achieved air superiority above the Iranian capital and could fly over the city without facing major threats.
The military has issued similar evacuation warnings for civilians in parts of Gaza and Lebanon ahead of strikes.
The warning affected up to 330,000 people in a part of central Tehran that includes the country's state TV and police headquarters, as well as three large hospitals, including one owned by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
'At this time, we can say that we have achieved full aerial superiority over Tehran's skies,' said Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin.
The military said it had destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers in central Iran, a third of Iran's total.
Israeli military officials also said fighter jets had struck 10 command centres in Tehran belonging to Iran's Quds Force, an elite arm of its Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran.
The Israeli strikes 'amount to a deep and comprehensive blow to the Iranian threat', Brig Defrin said.
Iran's state-run news agency reported that state-run television abruptly stopped a live broadcast after an Israeli strike.
During the broadcast, an Iranian state television reporter said the studio was filling with dust after 'the sound of aggression against the homeland'.
Suddenly, an explosion occurred, cutting the screen behind her as she hurried off camera. The broadcast quickly switched to pre-recorded programmes.
Iran, meanwhile, announced it had launched some 100 missiles and vowed further retaliation for sweeping attacks on its military and nuclear infrastructure that have killed at least 224 people in the country since Friday.
One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, with its blast waves causing minor damage, US ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. He added that no American personnel were injured.
So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel and more than 500 injured, Israeli officials said, after Iran launched more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones.
The latest conflict began when Israel launched an assault on Iran's top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists that it said was necessary to prevent its long-time adversary from getting any closer to building a nuclear weapon.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful, and the US and others have assessed that Tehran has not pursued a nuclear weapon since 2003.
But the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that the country has enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs if it chooses to do so.
Iran has retaliated by firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israel.
The back-and-forth has raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.
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But only one member of the group - Yemen's Houthi rebel group known as Ansar Allah - has openly committed to striking Israel on Iran's behalf. The Houthis have launched intermittent attacks on Israel ever since the Jewish state's declaration of war against Hamas in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks. They have also managed to significantly disrupt global shipping by sending missiles, drones and even fast boats to intercept cargo ships in the Red Sea. A spokesperson for the group on Friday told Newsweek: 'We have been at war for some time with the Zionist enemy entity,' before vowing to continue attacking Israel in the wake of Operation Rising Lion against Iran. Hours later, air raid sirens in Israel blared following the launch of a missile from Yemen which ultimately landed in Hebron - a city in the West Bank under partial Israeli control. The other key members of the resistance - Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon - issued scathing retorts to Israel's strikes. But neither group volunteered to fight back in solidarity. This is a testament to the efficacy of Israel's military operations, which have significantly eroded the capacities of both Hezbollah and Hamas. Hezbollah last year suffered a vital blow as thousands of its members were killed or injured when their communications devices exploded in their hands - the product of a stunning operation by Mossad. This, plus a campaign of punishing airstrikes that eliminated senior leadership, including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, forced the Lebanese outfit to strike a peace deal with Israel in November. Hamas meanwhile has suffered horrific losses amid the ongoing war in Gaza, with Israel having bombed much of the territory into rubble and killed most of its senior leadership. There are a smattering of other Shia Islamist militias, including the likes of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) and Ka'taib Hezbollah, that are supporters of the Islamic Republic and would likely fight on behalf of Tehran in event of an all-out war. But it is believed their leaders have been warned by Iraq's central government to avoid getting involved in the conflict. Besides these groups, much of the Arab world has publicly denounced Israel's attacks on Iran. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, and Oman - the nation that this weekend was set to host more talks between US and Iranian negotiators until their cancellation amid Operation Rising Lion - have roundly objected to Israel's aggression. But the support of these countries for Tehran is unlikely to extend beyond words given their relationships with the United States and their desire to expand their own influence in the region. Besides Bahrain, all of the aforementioned countries are also majority Sunni Muslim, split across sectarian lines from Iran's Shia majority population. The position of Russia, whose President Putin is evidently keen to inextricably insert himself into Israel and Iran's affairs, is tied closely to its war in Ukraine. Not only does the conflict between Tehran and Jerusalem distract from the Russian armed forces' incessant assault of Ukraine's territory, but a successful resolution of the Israel-Iran hostilities thanks to Russian mediation would be hugely beneficial for Moscow's profile on the world stage. It would also likely earn Putin a significant amount of good grace from his American counterpart for ongoing ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine. Other key international players to have condemned Israel's attacks are China, Turkey Brazil and South Africa. In a disquieting development, nuclear-armed Pakistan not only harshly criticised Israel's strikes but warned that it would deploy its thermonuclear weapons against the Jewish state should the Israeli military use any of its own nuclear devices on Tehran. Meanwhile, the fall of former Syrian President and close ally of Iran Bashar al-Assad has dramatically weakened Iran's regional support base. Under the leadership of Sunni Islamist group HTS, Syria severed ties with Iran and is now seemingly committed to preventing the flow of funds and arms from Tehran to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Condemning Iran Israel is thus far going it alone in its assault on its arch nemesis, with no country openly taking part in attacking Iran on its behalf. But it has a slew of powerful enemies that have expressed support for Israel's right to self-defence. Others have generally warned against an escalation in the conflict but have not condemned Israel's actions - and all are quietly thankful for Operation Rising Lion amid fears Iran was closing in on developing nuclear weapons. Chief among Israel's supporters is the United States. President Donald Trump had for months cautioned Israel against attacking Iran as he attempted to negotiate with the Islamic Republic, offering sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran abandoning its nuclear enrichment programme. But in the days before the launch of Operation Rising Lion, he reportedly became convinced of the need for Israel to strike - and was convinced on Thursday when the UN's nuclear watchdog officially warned that Iran was in breach of its nonproliferation requirements. In the wake of the attacks he urged Iran to 'make a deal' with the US to avoid more bloodshed and at the weekend told reporters that it was 'possible' Washington could get involved. 'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left,' he said. He also quipped that Israel's punishing attacks 'may have forced a deal to go quicker, actually'. In the meantime, Washington appears to be taking steps to stabilise the situation - and discourage Iran from further aggression. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, set to appear in Vietnam on June 20, has seemingly reversed course and his now heading back West, presumably on course for the Middle East. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer issued a general caution against further hostilities in the hours following initial attacks on Friday. 'Stability in the Middle East must be the priority, and we are engaging partners to de-escalate... Now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy,' he said. But in a phonecall, Starmer told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that London believes Israel has the right to 'self defence' and has 'grave concerns' over Iran's nuclear programme. France took it a step further, with President Emmanuel Macron declaring that Tehran bore 'heavy responsibility in the destabilisation of the whole region'. 'If Israel were to be attacked in retaliation by Iran, France, if in a position to do so, would take part in protection and defence operations,' he said - though he added that Paris would not take part in any offensives on Iran. And German Chancellor Friedrich Merz backed 'Israel's right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens', adding: 'The goal must remain that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.' Other Western aligned nations including Canada, Australia and Argentina equally denounced Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and perceived role in destabilising the region. In Latin America, Javier Milei of Argentina took an opposing tack to neighbours Brazil, siding with Israel and condemning Iran's vile attack. Milei's office also hit out at Iran's appointment of Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi as the new head of the Revolutionary Guard following the assassination of Hossein Salami. Vahidi is one of several Iranian military members that Argentine authorities believe are responsible for the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in 1995 - a terror attack in which 85 people perished. Beyond this, most countries have either issued general calls for de-escalation and restraint, without coming down on either side. One notable abstainer from condemning Israel's attacks was India, which refused to join its fellow members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a pan-Asian political and security bloc, in doing so. New Delhi is playing a balancing act as a leading purchaser of Israeli military technology and defence equipment, but also as a key economic partner of Iran - not to mention its robust relationship with the United States.
