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Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Iran, Israel trade missiles; blasts, air raid sirens rock Tehran, Tel Aviv
Explosions and air raid sirens are being heard again in Iran and Israel as the two nations continue to exchange missiles and drones, a day after the Israeli military killed top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists in the worst such escalation in decades. Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least four people and wounded more than 200 others in Israel since Friday, as a barrage of dozens of Iranian missiles lit up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv overnight. On the Iranian side, at least 80 people, including women and children, have been killed and more than 320 others injured, as the Israeli army targeted residential areas in capital Tehran, military sites and nuclear facilities, killing at least nine nuclear scientists so far. Accusing Israel of initiating a war, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said it 'must expect severe punishment' for killing several top-level military commanders and scientists. In a message on state TV, he said Israel 'should not think that it is over because they attacked and it is finished'. 'No. They started this and initiated the war. We won't allow them to escape unscathed from this great crime they have committed,' Khamenei said. Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz warned on Saturday that 'Tehran will burn' and its residents will pay dearly if Iran continues its missile strikes against Israeli civilians. 'The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and bringing about a reality in which they – especially the residents of Tehran – will pay a heavy price because of the criminal harm to Israeli civilians,' said Katz. 'If Khamenei continues to fire missiles towards the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,' the minister added. On Saturday, two projectiles hit Tehran's Mehrabad airport which hosts an air force base with fighter jets and transport aircraft, and is located close to key Iranian government buildings. 'The attacks caused explosions at the airport but did not affect any runways, buildings or facilities,' Iran's state-run news agency IRNA said. The Israeli military also continued to launch strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran. 'There has been limited damage to some areas at the Fordow enrichment site,' ISNA news agency reported Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying on Saturday. 'We had already moved a significant part of the equipment and materials out, and there was no extensive damage and there are no contamination concerns.' Meanwhile, several Iranian missiles penetrated Israel's Iron Dome defence system and struck central Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and Ramat Gan areas. Air raid sirens blared in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, sending residents rushing into shelters. An Israeli official said Iran had fired about 200 ballistic missiles in four waves. A high-rise building was hit overnight in a densely populated area of central Tel Aviv. At least nine buildings were also destroyed in Ramat Gan, according to Israel's Haaretz newspaper. Mike Huckabee, the United States ambassador to Israel, said he had to go to shelters five times overnight amid Iran's missile barrage. 'It's now Shabbat here. Should be quiet. Probably won't be. Entire nation under orders to stay near shelter,' he posted on X. The Israeli army on Saturday said seven of its soldiers were wounded in a ballistic missile attack on central Israel. They were taken to hospitals and have since been released, according to a military statement. This is the first confirmation of Israeli military casualties since the escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel began two days ago. Meanwhile, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that five people in the occupied West Bank were also injured as rocket shrapnel fell near the town of Sa'ir near Hebron. The five injured included three children, aged six, seven and 12. Wafa earlier reported that Israel had imposed widespread closures across the occupied West Bank amid the escalating conflict with Iran. Israeli forces have shut down roads, set up checkpoints and prevented freedom of movement for the Palestinians. Iran has also warned Israel's allies – the United States, the United Kingdom and France – that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help defend Israel. 'Any country that participates in repelling Iranian attacks on Israel will be subject to the targeting of all regional bases of the complicit government, including military bases in the Persian Gulf countries and ships and naval vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea by Iranian forces,' a government statement said, according to Iran's semiofficial Mehr news agency. Iran has already accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences. Shahram Akbarzadeh, professor of Middle East politics at Deakin University in Australia, said both Israel and Iran appear to be 'settling in for the long haul' and more attacks could be expected. He said the US would also be dragged into the conflict. 'When Israel launches attacks on Iran, Iran has to respond, and I think Israel is actually banking on this dynamic – that once the conflict starts, the United States has an obligation and a commitment to Israeli security,' Akbarzadeh told Al Jazeera. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged people in Iran to stand up to the 'evil and oppressive' regime under Khamenei and seek 'freedom'. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Tohid Asadi said according to the people in Iran, Netanyahu's message was unwelcome. 'We have to remember that Iranian people are living under the shadow of war, which is now getting translated into a real war. They are also under the pressure of sanctions,' he said. 'People are angry, specifically at the fact that it's not just military officials and nuclear scientists but very ordinary citizens who were affected by the recent strikes.'
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Iran warns US, UK and France against helping stop strikes on Israel
Israel launched a major wave of airstrikes targeting over 100 Iranian sites, including nuclear facilities early Friday. High-ranking Iranian officials were killed, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, and nuclear scientists. Iran reported 78 fatalities and over 320 injuries, mostly civilians, due to Israel's strikes. Iran retaliated in the evening with over 100 drones and 100–150 ballistic missiles targeting Israeli cities. Explosions and air-raid sirens were reported in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and even Amman; several missiles bypassed Israeli defenses and caused damage. At least three people were killed in Israel, with 63 injured according to updated figures. Iran says dialogue with the US over Tehran's nuclear program is 'meaningless' after Israel's biggest-ever military strike. Israel's military said Saturday it was striking dozens of missile launchers in Iran. Tehran has warned the US, UK and France that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop Iranian strikes on Israel – Iran state media. CAIRO: Iran has warned the United States, United Kingdom and France that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop Tehran's strikes on Israel, Iran state media reported on Saturday. Iran's state TV also reported that around 60 people, including 20 children, were killed in an Israeli attack on a housing complex in Iranian capital Tehran. Iran's strikes against Israel will continue, with targets set to expand to include US bases in the region in the coming days, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Saturday, citing senior Iranian military officials. 'This confrontation will not end with last night's limited actions and Iran's strikes will continue, and this action will be very painful and regrettable for the aggressors,' Fars reported, citing senior military officials. They were quoted saying that the war would 'spread in the coming days to all areas occupied by this (Israeli) regime and American bases in the region'. The threat of a wider war comes as Iran and Israel continue targeting each other on Saturday after Israel launched its biggest-ever air offensive against its longtime foe in a bid to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran's civil aviation authority has declared the country's airspace closed 'until further notice,' state media reported Saturday, as Israel and Iran continued to trade fire for a second day. 'No flights will be operated at any airports in the country in order to protect the safety of passengers... until further notice,' the official IRNA news agency said.
Arab News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia leads Arab condemnation of Israel attacks on Iran
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia led Arab condemnation Israel's strikes on Iran early on Friday, which targeted multiple sites it linked to the country's nuclear program and killed at least two top military officers, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two bitter Middle East adversaries. The strikes killed Hossein Salami, the chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, along with another top IRGC official and two nuclear scientists in the initial raids. It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq. Saudi Arabia was the first Arab nation to speak out against the attacks, stating that the Kingdom 'expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms,' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The statement added: 'While the Kingdom condemns these heinous attacks, it affirms that the international community and the (UN) Security Council bear a great responsibility to immediately halt this aggression.' #Statement | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and… — Foreign Ministry (@KSAmofaEN) June 13, 2025 The strikes came amid simmering tensions over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and appeared certain to trigger a reprisal, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning that 'severe punishment' would be directed at Israel. Hours later, Israel's military said it had begun intercepting Iranian drones launched in retaliation. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military operation on Iran would 'continue for as many days as it takes' to 'roll back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival.' Israel has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of retaliatory missile and drone strikes. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meanwhile warned that Israel would suffer severe consequences after the deadly attacks. 'With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,' Khamenei said in a statement. Early speculation as to how aware US President Donald Trump was of the attacks soon came to an end after telling Fox News he had received 'advanced notice', stating that 'Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see.' Iran later said it would not be attending talks scheduled to take place in Oman.
Washington Post
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Israel's Iran attack succeeded. But what's the endgame?
By most early indications, Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear program and its military leadership was a stunning success. Significant portions of Iran's nuclear infrastructure have been damaged if not destroyed. The top commanders of the Iranian military and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been eliminated. Scientists behind the nuclear program were killed. And, so far, Iran's retaliation has been less severe than what one might have expected.
Washington Post
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
How Mossad covertly prepared Israel's attack from deep inside Iran
By the time Israeli aircraft were streaking across the sky toward nuclear and military sites in Iran on Friday, secret commando teams, swarms of armed drones and explosives concealed in ordinary vehicles were emerging from hiding deep inside Iran and making their way toward slumbering targets. Among the targets were military commanders, nuclear scientists and leaders of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — many of them 'still in their beds, in their homes,' according to a senior Israeli security official with direct knowledge of the operation who provided previously unpublished details to The Washington Post.
