JERUSALEM/DUBAI, June 14 – Iran and Israel traded missiles and airstrikes on Saturday, the day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against its old enemy, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.

In Tehran, Iranian state TV reported that around 60 people, including 20 children, had been killed in an attack on a housing complex, with more strikes reported across the country. Israel said it had attacked more than 150 targets.

In Israel, air raid sirens sent residents into shelters as waves of missiles streaked across the sky and interceptors rose to meet them. At least three people were killed overnight. An Israeli official said Iran had fired around 200 ballistic missiles in four waves.

U.S. President Donald Trump has lauded Israel’s strikes and warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear programme that the U.S. has demanded in talks that had been due to resume on Sunday.

But with Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and urging Iran’s people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers.

The United States, Israel’s main ally, helped shoot down Iranian missiles, two U.S. officials said.

“If (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

Iran had vowed to avenge Friday’s Israeli onslaught, which gutted Iran’s nuclear and military leadership and damaged atomic plants and military bases.

REUTERS

TEHRAN – The Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran says it has successfully destroyed targets in the occupied territories of Israel in the wake of Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic.

In a statement on Saturday, the Army said that its forces hit the targets inside the occupied territories early on Saturday.

The Army penetrated the Zionist territories with suicide drones named Arash.

Israeli media reported the launch of a fifth wave of Iranian missile strikes against locations across the occupied territories, including positions in Tiberias, occupied Golan, and Lower Galilee.

The reactions come as the Israeli regime waged a series of military strikes in and near the Iranian capital, Tehran, as well as other Iranian cities overnight on Friday. In a major escalation, the Tel Aviv regime also targeted residential buildings in and near Tehran.

The Israeli military also carried out targeted strikes against Iran’s top military brass.

IRNA

TEHRAN – The Iranian Army’s air defenses have shot down another F-35 fighter jet of the Israeli regime that had intruded into the country’s airspace.

The Iranian Army’s Air Defense units shot down the Zionist regime’s F-35 fighter jet in the sky of western Iran on Saturday.

Reports suggest that the pilot of the intruding fighter jet has ejected, but is still unaccounted for.

TASNIM

TEHRAN – The Iranian Army’s ‘Arash’ suicide drones detonated Israeli targets in the occupied territories.

The drone attack was carried out on Saturday morning.

The Iranian Army’s Arash suicide drones were used in the operation to hit the targets in the occupied territories.

Arash has a range of 2,000 kilometers.

Iran on Friday night launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at the Israeli targets during Operation True Promise III.

Hundreds of missiles were fired by Iran and successfully breached the Zionists’ much-touted multi-layered air defense system.

It came after the Israeli regime attacked a number of residential neighborhoods of Tehran and locations in other parts of Iran in the early hours of June 13.

TASNIM

TEHRAN – Two other high-ranking officials of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces were confirmed to have been martyred in the military strikes that the Zionist regime launched on Iran in the early hours of Friday.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Operation, Brigadier General Mahdi Rabbani, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Intelligence, Brigadier General Gholamreza Mehrabi were declared on Saturday to have been martyred in the Israeli strikes.

The Israeli regime attacked a number of residential neighborhoods of Tehran as well as military and nuclear sites in other parts of Iran in the early hours of June 13.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Major General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and at least six Iranian nuclear scientists have been martyred in the strikes.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned the Zionist regime that it will receive a severe punishment for the strike, saying, “With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.”

TASNIM

TEHRAN – A second round of strikes has begun on targets inside Israel, with Israeli media reporting huge explosions as Iranian missiles rain down.

Reports say missiles were launched from the capital, Tehran, and Kermanshah, in western Iran, toward targets deep in Israel.

Iran began retaliatory strikes on Israeli targets on Friday evening local time, after Israeli aggression targeted locations, including residential buildings, inside Iran.

Vivid images and footage captured by Israelis show Iranian missiles exploding upon impact and creating massive fireballs.

A senior Iranian military official, General Ahmad Vahidi said “Operation True Promise 3” — as the Iranian retaliatory strikes are dubbed — will continue for as long as necessary.

Overnight on Friday, the Israeli regime began a series of military strikes in and near the Iranian capital, Tehran, as well as other Iranian cities. Simultaneously, and anticipating a devastating Iranian response, Israeli minister for military affairs Israel Katz declared a state of emergency across Israel.

The Israeli military also carried out targeted strikes against Iran’s top military brass. Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri and Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami were killed in Tehran.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed new top military brass on the same day.

According to Iran’s Envoy to the United Nations Sa’eed Iravani, 78 people, including senior military officials, have been killed and 320 injured so far in Israeli strikes.

Meanwhile, in central Tehran, air defense systems were engaging Israeli drones and quadcopters, whizzing over neighborhoods in the night sky.

IRNA

TEHRAN – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Israel’s aggression against Iran on Friday will undoubtedly receive an appropriate response.
In a telephone conversation on Friday evening, Putin condemned the Israeli attacks on Iran and expressed condolences and solidarity with the Iranian government and people over the deaths of civilians, nuclear scientists, and military officials in the attacks.

The Russian president said that he had conveyed his concerns about the attacks to Israeli authorities.

He described the Israeli aggressions as a clear violation of international law and norms and said Russia is ready to mediate to de-escalate tensions.

Pezeshkian, in turn, thanked the Russian president for the call and his expression of sympathy.

He noted that from the very first day of his administration’s term last year, Israel has sought to create tension and escalate conflicts in the region, as seen in the assassination of former Hamas chief Ismail Hanieh, who was an official guest of Iran.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has always stated that it does not seek to build nuclear weapons and is prepared to provide assurances to international legal authorities in this regard, Pezeshkian noted.

The president added that the Zionist regime’s aggression was a blatant violation of international law and will undoubtedly receive an appropriate response.

The Israeli regime attacked a number of residential neighborhoods of Tehran and locations in other parts of Iran in the early hours of Friday.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Major General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and at least six Iranian nuclear scientists have been martyred in the strikes.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned the Zionist regime that it will receive a severe punishment for the strike, saying, “With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.”

TASNIM

TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, June 13 – Iran launched retaliatory airstrikes at Israel on Friday night, with explosions heard in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the country’s two biggest cities, following Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy.
Air raid sirens sounded across Israel as authorities urged the public to take shelter. Missiles were seen over Tel Aviv’s skyline, with the military saying Iran had fired two salvos.

The U.S. military has helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed toward Israel, two U.S. officials said on Friday.

In the Tel Aviv area, Israel’s ambulance service said five people were treated for shrapnel injuries. Live footage of Tel Aviv showed what appeared to be a missile hitting an urban area.
A critically injured woman was admitted to Beilinson Hospital in nearby Petah Tikva, a hospital spokesperson said.

The unprecedented Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent Iranian retaliation raised concerns about a broader regional conflagration, although Iran’s allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been decimated by Israel.

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. Israel’s military said Iran fired fewer than 100 missiles and most were intercepted or fell short.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel of having initiated a war. A senior Iranian official said nowhere in Israel would be safe and revenge would be painful.

Israel’s operation “will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a TV address.

Netanyahu, who for decades has raised the alarm about Iran’s nuclear programme, said he authorised the air assault in an effort to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. Israel and its Western allies have said this is Tehran’s objective but Iran has denied it.

In a video issued by his office, Netanyahu appealed to the Iranian people to stand up against their leaders. “I am with you, the Israeli people are with you,” he said.

“Generations from now, history will record our generation stood its ground, acted in time and secured our common future.”

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 had rejected the last U.S. offer.

REUTERS

DUBAI, June 14 – Air defences in Iran’s capital Tehran were activated early on Saturday to intercept fresh Israeli strikes, state media IRNA reported a day after Israel initiated a number of attacks on Iran’s nuclear programme and military command.

REUTERS

TEHRAN – Iran launched a massive missile attack on the Israeli regime in an operation dubbed “True Promise III”.
Hundreds of missiles were fired by Iran on Friday evening and successfully breached the Zionists’ much-touted multi-layered air defense system.

Photos coming out of Tel Aviv show the missiles have successfully hit targets in the Zionist regime’s capital.

Israeli bases and the regime’s war ministry and ministry of national security have been hit in the attack, the photos reveal.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has vowed a crushing response to Israel’s acts of aggression.

The Israeli regime attacked a number of residential neighborhoods of Tehran and locations in other parts of Iran in the early hours of Friday.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Major General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and at least six Iranian nuclear scientists have been martyred in the strikes.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned the Zionist regime that it will receive a severe punishment for the strike, saying, “With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.”

TASNIM

TEHRAN – Israel began feeling Iran’s wrath on Friday evening as the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces started a wave of strikes on Israel.

The strikes come hours after the Israeli regime, in unprovoked aggression, targeted locations in Iranian territory, including residential buildings.

The Iranian counterstrikes began without notice, and images and footage began to appear of missile after missile penetrating Israel’s missile defenses and exploding upon impact on their targets. Huge fireballs lighted up the night sky in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as they did.

Reports say Israel’s ministry of war has been hit. Israeli air defense batteries around other specific targets were also taken out before missiles came down on the higher-profile targets.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a brief statement after the strikes began that dozens of Israeli targets, including military sites and airbases, were being hit in pinpoint strikes. It said more details would be offered later.

In a second statement later at about midnight, the IRGC said the force’s missile and drone units had targeted the Israeli military bases that had been used to initiate the strikes on Iran, as well as industrial weapon manufacturing and other military sites deep in Israel. The statement said intelligence collected, including through satellite imagery, showed dozens of ballistic missiles had hit their targets.

Overnight on Friday, the Israeli regime began a series of military strikes in and near the Iranian capital, Tehran, as well as other Iranian cities. Simultaneously, and anticipating a devastating Iranian response, Israeli minister for military affairs Israel Katz declared a state of emergency across Israel.

The Israeli military also carried out targeted strikes against Iran’s top military brass. Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri and Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami were assassinated in Tehran.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed new top military brass on the same day.

Just before the Iranian strikes began, Ayatollah Khamenei said in a televised speech to the nation that the Israeli regime would not be able to walk away from the strikes on Iran unharmed.

“Strong action should be taken, and will be taken,” the Leader said. “We will have no leniency on them. Life will undoubtedly turn bleak for them.”

IRNA