Israeli strikes target Iranian centrifuge and missile production sites overnight
ISRAEL'S MILITARY HAS said strikes it launched into Iran overnight struck a centrifuge production site and multiple weapon manufacturing facilities in capital Tehran, as missile fire between the two countries continued.
In an early morning attack, Israel said it targeted weapon production facilities with strikes, claiming to hit a facility for manufacturing centrifuges used to enrich uranium for atomic bombs.
More than 50 Israeli jets fired on missile production sites in Iran, the military said this morning.
Iran also sent a 'swarm of drones' towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area.
Iran said launched a hypersonic missile at Israel, telling residents in Tel Aviv to seek shelter before firing Fattah-1 rockets.
Hypersonic missiles travel at over five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
Advertisement
World powers have scrambled for an off-ramp, hoping to prevent the conflict from spiralling into a region-engulfing war.
In separate phone calls with his Iranian counterpart and US envoy Steve Witkoff last night, Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty urged a diplomatic solution.
US President Donald Trump fuelled speculation about American intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies jointly called for a ceasefire.
Back in Washington yesterday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic's 'unconditional surrender'. He also boasted that the United States
could easily assassinate Iran's supreme leader
.
'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He met with his National Security Council last night to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.
Includes reporting by AFP
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
Gaza's civil defence agency says 30 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire
THIRTY PALESTINIANS HAVE been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, including 11 who were seeking aid, according to the territory's civil defence agency. It comes after 51 people were killed and more than 200 were wounded yesterday while waiting to receive flour from the United Nations near a distribution site in Khan Younis. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded 'after the occupation forces opened fire and launched several shells… at thousands of citizens' who had gathered to queue for food in central Gaza. In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza amid deadlock in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May. Since then, chaotic scenes and a string of deadly shootings have occurred near areas where Palestinians have gathered in hope of receiving aid. The civil defence agency said another 19 people were killed in three Israeli strikes today, which it said targeted houses and a tent for displaced people. When asked for comment by AFP, the Israeli military said it was 'looking into' the reports. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency. Advertisement The UN humanitarian office OCHA said on Monday that its partners 'continue to warn of the risk of famine in Gaza, amid catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity'. The civil defence agency reported that at least 53 people were killed on Tuesday, as they gathered near an aid centre in the southern city of Khan Younis hoping to receive flour. After Israel eased its blockade, the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing aid in late May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and dozens of deaths. In a statement on Tuesday, the organisation said that 'to date, not a single incident has occurred at or in the surrounding vicinity of GHF sites nor has an incident occurred during our operating hours'. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. The Gaza Strip has been ravaged by more than 20 months of Israeli siege, bombardment and widespread destruction caused by fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups. The health ministry said yesterday that 5,194 people have been killed since Israel violated the ceasefire on 18 March. The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out in October 2023 has reached 55,493 people, according to the health ministry. With reporting from © AFP 2025 Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal


Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Iran's Khamenei rejects Trump's call for 'unconditional surrender'
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that his country will not accept US President Donald Trump's call for an unconditional surrender In his first remarks since Friday, Khamenei said peace or war could not be imposed on the Islamic Republic. 'Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender,' he said in a statement read by a television presenter on Wednesday. He said Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be "accompanied by irreparable damage.' Referring to Mr Trump's previous threats, he said those who know Iran's history know that Iranians "do not answer well" to the language of threats. Khamenei also said people will not forget the blood of "martyrs" and the attack on their territory by Israel. A man looks at flames rising from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Meanwhile, thousands of people continued to flee from the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday after Israeli warplanes bombed the city overnight. According to a Reuters, President Trump is reportedly considering options that include joining Israel in attacking Iranian nuclear sites. Mr Trump initially distanced himself from the Israeli attacks on Iran but has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something 'much bigger' than a ceasefire agreement. The US has also sent more warplanes to the region. Read More Israeli warplanes hammer Iranian capital

The Journal
5 hours ago
- The Journal
Judge orders Trump administration to resume issuing passports for trans Americans
A FEDERAL US judge has ordered the Trump administration to resume issuing passports to transgender Americans with 'X' as their gender designation, a practice suspended since Donald Trump's return to the White House. Following Trump's executive order in January, the State Department said it would only recognise two genders – male and female – ending official policies that recognised a third gender, denoted by an X on US passports. The move prompted Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs to update its advice for transgender people planning to travel to the US. It advised travellers who have an X marker on their passport or whose sex on their passport differs from sex assigned at birth to contact the US Embassy in Dublin 'for further details on specific entry requirements'. In April, US District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston issued a preliminary injunction against that policy, but that ruling applied only to six transgender and non-binary people who had sued the government over the passport policy. The State Department appealed that move Friday. Advertisement On Tuesday, Kobick went further in her ruling by extending it to all transgender and non-binary Americans affected by the policy change and ordered the State Department to resume issuing these passports pending a judgment on the merits of the case or a decision by a higher court. The State Department first issued such a passport in October 2021 under President Joe Biden, with the X gender marker reserved for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals. In his inauguration speech at the US Capitol, Trump said 'as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.' The US State Department's website states: 'We will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer's biological sex at birth.' It states that anyone who submits a passport application requesting an X marker may experience delays in getting their passport or receive a request for more information. 'We will issue you a new passport that matches your biological sex at birth, based on your supporting documents and our records about your previous passports.' In February, US actress Hunter Schafer, who is trans, shared on social media that the gender marker on her new passport was changed to male despite submitting identity documents marked female. With reporting from © AFP 2025 Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal