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Here’s where things stand on Saturday 21 June 2025:
- Iran has launched an early morning missile attack on central Israel, resulting in a fire in Holon, as several Israeli attacks were reported including on Iran’s Isfahan, home to a key nuclear research centre.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran’s nuclear programme is peaceful and his country remains open to diplomacy, but Israel’s attacks must stop first.
- Israel’s military chief Eyal Zamir warns that his country should be prepared for a “prolonged campaign” against Iran as Israeli attacks on the country enter their ninth day.
- United States President Donald Trump has publicly rebuked his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, saying she was wrong to state there was no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warns of danger from “radiological and chemical contamination” inside Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility following Israeli attacks, but there is currently no change to radioactivity outside the site.
US ambassador accidentally says Israel ‘spreading terror’
US ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea corrected herself after accidentally saying Israel had “spread chaos, terror and suffering” across the Middle East during a statement to the UN Security Council.
She went on to blame Iran for the conflict with Israel, saying Tehran should have agreed to a deal to curb its nuclear programme.
aIsrael says it assassinated commander of Palestinian Corps in Qom attack
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Saeed Izadi, the commander of the Palestinian Corps in Iran’s Quds Force, has been assassinated in an attack on an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom.
Earlier, we reported that an Israeli aircraft bombed an apartment in the city, 140km (87 miles) south of Tehran, killing a 16-year-old. It’s not immediately clear if both individuals were killed in the same attack.
Announcing Izadi’s death, Katz said he had “funded and armed Hamas ahead of the October 7 massacre”.
“[Izadi’s assassination is] a huge achievement for Israeli intelligence and air force, justice for the murdered and kidnapped. Israel’s long arm will reach all its enemies,” he said.
Iran’s UN ambassador says Israeli attacks on nuclear sites an ‘assault on global non-proliferation’
At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for an end to the fighting and a return to negotiations.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told the council he is most concerned about the ramifications if Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is attacked.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, reminded the council that while Iran has opened its nuclear facilities up to inspection, Israel has not.
Israel’s ambassador later received a warning after levelling a personal attack against his Iranian counterpart.
China and Russia continued to condemn Israel’s attack on Iran, which they said led to the escalation.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN also told the council that Israel’s strikes on his country’s nuclear facilities are a complete assault on the global non-proliferation regime.
India says evacuation starts of citizens from Iran
In post on X, India’s embassy in Iran said it is “evacuating all Indian Nationals in Iran”.
There are just over 10,700 Indians living in the country, according to India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The embassy added it would also facilitate the evacuation of Nepalese and Sri Lankan nationals, per the request of their governments.
Provincial official says no casualties reported in Israeli strikes on Isfahan
The deputy governor of Isfahan has provided more details on Israel’s strikes early today on the province.
The official said that the cities of Lanjan, Mobarakeh, Shahreza and Isfahan were targeted, according to the Fars news agency.
He added that the nuclear site in Isfahan was also targeted, adding there were “no l
Iranian military official says nuclear material moved to prevent its destruction: Monitors
Iran is presenting the spectre of a “long and challenging hunt for hidden Iranian nuclear material” as part of its approach to negotiations to end Israel’s attacks and get back to diplomacy, monitors say.
US-based defence think tanks, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP), said in their latest joint assessment of the conflict that a senior IRGC commander has stated that nuclear material was relocated to secure locations to prevent its destruction.
“Protecting Iranian nuclear material by hiding the material” would make “a US or Israeli effort to destroy the material more difficult,” the ISW/CTP said.
“This statement is presumably intended to suggest to a Western audience that destroying all of Iran’s nuclear material would require a long, challenging, and possibly futile hunt for hidden material and that therefore the West should negotiate with Iran,” it said.
Iranian drone downed in the occupied Golan Heights
The Israeli military said it has downed an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace, triggering sirens in several communities in the occupied Golan Heights.
The drone crashed in an unpopulated area and no injuries have been reported, it added.
Iranian officials say 22 arrested for alleged connections to Israel
The head of Qom province’s intelligence police has said the force has arrested 22 people “on charges of being connected to the Zionist regime’s spy services” since Israel’s assault on the country began on June 12, the Fars news agency reports.
The news agency, run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the charges also include “disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime [Israel]”.
It did not provide details of the alleged offences or the accused individuals.
Israeli minister claims attacks set back Iran’s nuclear weapon by two years
The statements from Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have been reported by the German newspaper Bild.
“According to the assessment we hear, we already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb,” Saar said.
He further indicated Israel had no intention of ceasing its operation.
“We will do everything that we can do there in order to remove this threat,” he said.
Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking to build a nuclear bomb, long maintaining its nuclear programme is meant only for civilian use.
Fears rising over economic impact of conflict
Nader Habibi, an economics professor at Brandeis University in the US state of Massachusetts, said the escalation between Iran and Israel has not yet had a serious impact on the global economy, as evidenced by the reaction of the global oil market and the financial capital markets, but that could change.
“In the past seven, eight days, there is fear that if the conflict is spread to the Persian Gulf, to the Strait of Hormuz, it might have a more severe impact on the oil market by disrupting the supplier,” he said.
About 20 percent of the global oil supply travels through the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
“Iran has not moved in the direction of focusing on the region in terms of targeting any sites or economic assets in the region, and it appears Israel is also reluctant to attack Iran’s export capacity for crude oil,” Habibi said.
Iran seems to ‘lack confidence’ in its ability to hit significant Israeli military sites
Former Pentagon official David Des Roches told Al Jazeera that Iran’s missiles seem to be mostly aimed at relatively poorly defended or undefended Israeli assets, rather than key military facilities.
“The targets are different from things like command and control headquarters or airbases, which are defended by key point defence systems,” he said.
US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard comments after scolding by Trump
She just released a statement on X saying that it is the media that is quoting her out of context when, indeed, she did say specifically that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon – back in March.
But she said the difference is that Iran can produce one within weeks, if it so chooses, and she said that she and the president are in agreement that Iran cannot produce a nuclear weapon.
Certainly, Gabbard is representative of that isolationist wing of Trump’s MAGA supporters, and she has been really sidelined out of this conversation as he’s trying to decide whether or not the US should join Israel in directly attacking Iran.
Israeli forces shoot young Palestinian man during West Bank raid
Israeli forces stormed the occupied West Bank town of Kafr Ein, northwest of Ramallah, and opened fire, wounding the 19-year-old Palestinian in the back, the Wafa news agency reports.
A Palestine Red Crescent Society crew transported the young man to Salfit Hospital on Friday night, where his injuries have been described as serious.
We will bring you more information when we have it.
If you’re just joining us
Here are the latest updates:
- Iran and Israel have again traded aerial attacks, with a 16-year-old killed in the Iranian city of Qom.
- Tehran has sent an official complaint to the UN over the International Atomic Energy Agency chief’s “failure” to condemn Israel’s attacks.
- A person was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon, in the latest attack despite a ceasefire reached with Hezbollah in November.
- The Palestinian ambassador to the UN has marked 620 days of Israel’s war in Gaza, calling for the international community to end the violence and the humanitarian aid blockade.
A simple visual guide to Iran and its people
Iran’s history spans millennia, making it one of the world’s most ancient and culturally rich nations, continuously inhabited and influential throughout history.
- It’s the 17th-largest country in the world by population and land area, with a population of 92 million.
- Most of Iran’s 92 million people live in the western half of the country, where the terrain features rugged mountains alongside fertile valleys and river basins that sustain much of the population.
- Iran is also a highly diverse country, both ethnically and culturally.
- Persians make up approximately 61 percent of the population, while significant minority groups include Azerbaijanis (16 percent), Kurds (10 percent) and others, such as Lurs (6 percent), Arabs (2 percent), Baloch (2 percent) and Turkic groups (2 percent).
Learn more about Iran and its people here.
Israeli air force intercepts drone in north, at least 16 target Israel in 24 hours
The latest interception of an unmanned aerial vehicle took place in the Ghajar area of Israel’s north, according to local Israeli media reports.
The military said the drone entered Israeli airspace at 4:56am local time (01:56 GMT) on Saturday and was taken down shortly after.
The Israeli military said earlier that air force fighter jets, attack helicopters and air defence systems on the ground had destroyed 15 drones from Iran that had targeted Israel over the past 24 hours.
Israel claims second IRGC drone warfare commander killed
Israel’s military said it has killed a second commander in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
In a statement shared on social media, the Israeli military said air force warplanes targeted the commander – referred to by the Israelis as Amin Pour Jodkhi – whom it accused of overseeing the launch of “hundreds” of UAV drones towards Israel from the southwest of Iran.
The Israeli military said it had earlier assassinated Tahar Fur, another commander of the IRGC’s drone force, on June 13, and Jodkhi had “assumed a central role in the command’s operations” since then.
US citizens flee Iran, Israel
Hundreds of US citizens have departed Iran using land routes over the past week as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates, according to an internal State Department cable seen by the Reuters news agency.
While many left without problem, “numerous” citizens had faced “delays and harassment” while trying to exit the country, the cable said. One family had reported that two US citizens attempting to leave Iran had been detained.
The US and Iran do not have diplomatic ties, complicating any evacuation efforts.
Meanwhile, the US evacuated 79 staff and family members from the US embassy in Israel on Friday, according to a State Department memo obtained by The Associated Press.
Explosions heard in Iranian city of Isfahan
There have been reports of an explosion in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, according to the Fars News Agency, which is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The city is home to the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, Iran’s largest nuclear research complex.
We will bring you more information when we have it.
Iran files UN complaint against IAEA chief Grossi
Iran has filed a complaint to the UN secretary-general and president of the Security Council against the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head, Rafael Grossi.
Iranian UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani condemned Grossi’s “approach regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities” and what he said was a “failure” to condemn Israel’s military action against Iran, according to the semi-official Iranian news outlet Fars News.
Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran’s atomic energy agency, threatened legal action on Thursday against Grossi for alleged “inaction” during Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
In early June, Grossi said Iran had continually evaded providing details on its nuclear programme, meaning the agency “will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful”.
Speaking to the UN Security Council on Friday, Grossi warned that attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites had caused “sharp degradation in nuclear safety and security”.
Iran sends missiles to Israel; judge orders Mahmoud Khalil release
A fire has broken out in Israel’s capital Tel Aviv after Iran launched a new wave of missiles.
Several explosions were reported in the skies above Tel Aviv as the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its second week.
Israeli, Iranian diplomats clash at UN meeting over conflict
Iranian and Israeli officials clashed during a heated UN Security Council session on Friday.
Iran said it would continue to defend itself until Israeli attacks end, while Israel pledged to keep striking until Iran’s “nuclear threat” is dismantled.
Iran largely offline for 60 hours: Monitor
Iran has been mostly disconnected from global internet access for 60 hours, according to the NetBlocks monitor.
The internet shutdown “continues to severely limit the public’s ability to express political viewpoints, communicate freely, and follow safety alerts”, the monitor said.
The outage appears to be the result of blockages imposed by Iran’s government, which has said the move is needed to protect against Israeli cyberattacks.
Iranian foreign minister arrives in Turkiye for Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting
Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Ankara for the gathering, which is set to include more than 40 foreign ministers, according to the Young Journalists Club, a state media agency.
The meeting comes after Araghchi met with European counterparts in Geneva on Friday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly held two calls with US President Trump in the wake of Israel’s initial attack on Iran, in an apparent effort to de-escalate the conflict.
Speaking on Friday, Trump appeared to downplay the prospect of pressuring Israel to cease its military operations against Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps release details of latest ‘combined’ attack on Israel
Iranian media outlet Tasnim has just published an announcement from the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on the latest missile attack on Israel that took place a little earlier.
According to the IRGC statement, the attack was the 18th against Israeli targets and was focused on military sites and operational support centres in central Israel, including Ben Gurion international airport.
The attack involved Iran’s domestically designed Shahed-136 drones, which “continuously carried out missions in the skies” over the occupied territory, as well as solid- and liquid-fuelled Iranian missiles.
“The most advanced defence systems were unable to intercept them,” the IRGC said.
“Combined drone, missile operations will continue continuously and purposefully,” the IRGC said in the statement.
One killed in Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon
Lebanon’s National News Agency has reported the strike, which killed a person riding a motorcycle in Baraachit.
Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement in November of last year, but Israel has continued near-daily strikes on Lebanon, including in the capital, Beirut.
Israel has accused Lebanese authorities of failing to properly oversee provisions of the agreement, a claim Lebanon’s leaders have rejected.
Palestinian ambassador to UN marks 620 days of Israel’s war in Gaza
Ambassador Riyad Mansour has delivered letters to the UN secretary-general, the president of the UN General Assembly and the president of the UN Security Council marking 620 days of Israel’s war in Gaza, as reported by the Wafa news agency.
In the letter, Mansour said 500 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began its controversial delivery scheme in the enclave. Meanwhile, he said, Israel continues to obstruct UN-backed humanitarian missions in Gaza.
Mansour called on the international community to take immediate action to end Israel’s war in Gaza and to ensure “immediate, full and impartial” access to aid.
What happened when Iran’s foreign minister met with top European diplomats?
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his French, German and British counterparts, as well as European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, in Geneva on Friday.
The European diplomats said the talks in Switzerland sought to test Tehran’s readiness to negotiate despite there being scant prospect of Israel ceasing its attacks soon.
All sides said they would continue discussions, but Araghchi expressed “grave concern” over the failure of European countries to condemn Israel’s attacks on his country.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, told reporters on Friday that “Europe is not going to be able to help” in ending the fighting.
Read more here.
Teenager killed in Israeli attack on building in Qom
Earlier, we reported that an Israeli aircraft had struck a residential building in the Iranian city of Qom.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency now reports that a 16-year-old was killed in the attack, while two people were also injured and transferred to hospital. The target of the strike is not immediately clear.
Israel has carried out several other attacks across Iran over the past hour, according to local media sources in Iran and Israeli officials, including:
- Israel has claimed strikes against missile storage and launch infrastructure in central Iran.
- Explosions have been reported in the sky over the provinces of Isfahan and Tehran.
- Defence systems have been activated over the city of Najafabad, while explosions have also been reported over the city of Malard near Tehran.
‘Conflicting messages’ from Trump administration on contact with Iran
There seems to be conflicting messages here because Iran specifically said it would not engage in direct talks with the US until Israel ceases its air strikes.
But the White House has said previously that the US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has maintained correspondence with Iran even in these last few days, while all these air strikes were happening.
So which is it? It’s pretty unclear.
But certainly we heard Trump there mention two things:
He says that Israel is winning, and we know that he likes to be on the winning side.
He also enjoys taking credit for things and saying that Europe has no role in trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran – that the US, and, namely, Trump himself alone, is capable of doing that.
Both of these statements are really reflective of the more muscular stance he has taken on this issue. And whatever decision he chooses – whether to join these air strikes against Iran or not – he has said that he does not like to make a decision until the very last minute.
Israeli officials now preparing public for a ‘prolonged’ conflict with Iran
Some Israeli security assessments that came out just this afternoon said that this conflict is going to be longer than the Israelis had expected, and the Israeli army chief of staff told the Israeli public that this could be a prolonged conflict, and everyone should be preparing themselves.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said that regime change in Iran is not really one of the goals of this conflict. He wants primarily to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme so that they don’t acquire any sort of nuclear weapons.
The Israeli defence minister echoed that sentiment but also said that regime change could be part of this and that maybe it is one of those goals.
So the Israelis are saying that however long this takes, that’s how long they are going to continue … that they have the manpower, and they have the capabilities militarily both on offence and on defence.
Israeli aircraft strikes residential building in city of Qom
We have been reporting on the latest exchange of attacks by Iran and Israel over the past hour.
An Israeli aircraft has bombed a residential building in the Iranian city of Qom, south of Tehran, according to the Quds News Network.
We will bring you more information when we have it.
Videos show explosions over Isfahan and Tehran provinces
Social media posts verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency show explosions in the sky over Iran’s central provinces of Isfahan and Tehran.
As we reported earlier, Israel’s air force has said it has launched a new wave of attacks on central Iran.
One social media post is said to show the city of Najafabad’s defence system responding to the strikes. Others showed explosions over Malard in Tehran province.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rally against Israeli attacks
Hundreds of thousands of people have protested in cities across Iran over Israel’s attacks across the country, which continued for an eighth day on Friday.
Released Columbia pro-Palestine protester says ‘justice prevailed’
Mahmoud Khalil has been released from US immigration custody after being targeted for deportation in March for his pro-Palestine advocacy.
Speaking outside of the Louisiana facility where he was detained, Khalil told reporters “justice prevailed, but it’s very long overdue”.
“This shouldn’t have taken three months.”
Khalil, a Columbia University student and US permanent resident, was among the first students targeted by the Trump administration for taking part in pro-Palestine protests on US campuses.
The administration has sought to use an obscure immigration law that allows the secretary of state to deport any visa holder deemed adverse to US foreign policy.
Despite his release, Khalil continues to face possible deportation, which he is challenging in separate proceedings in US immigration court.
Read more here.
Israeli emergency service says ‘no major incidents’ following Iranian attack
The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said it had not received reports of any injuries following Iran’s latest missile attack on Israel.
“No major incidents have been reported, except for one event in central Israel where a fire was reported on the roof of a building,” the service said in a post on X.
“The residents evacuated the building. So far, no physical injuries have been found. MDA teams are providing medical care on site to several individuals suffering from anxiety and are continuing to search for additional casualties,” it added.
Israel launching air attacks on Iran
Israel’s air force has “begun a wave of strikes against missile storage and launch infrastructure in central Iran”, Israel’s military said in a statement.
It did not specify further where it was striking. However, air defence systems have reportedly been activated in Iran’s Tehran, Qom and Karaj areas.
Explosions heard over Tel Aviv as Iran-Israel conflict enters ninth day
The Israeli military released two separate statements.
The first one said they identified several rocket launches from Iran. Initial estimates say that there were about 10 projectiles launched from Iranian territory heading towards Israel, according to Israeli forces.
The second statement, a few moments later, said that sirens were sounding in several parts of the country but primarily centred on the central part of Israel and in Tel Aviv where there were several explosions heard in the skies above.
This is now the ninth day of the exchanges of fire between the Iranians and the Israelis.
Tel Aviv district building on fire following latest Iranian missile salvo
Emergency crews are working to extinguish a fire in a residential building in Holon in Tel Aviv district, central Israel, Israel’s Ynet news reports.
The Israeli outlet reported that “missile interception booms echoed across central and northern Israel at around 2:40am [23:40 GMT] on Saturday”.
It’s currently unclear if the fire was caused by a missile fragment or a direct hit by a missile.
We will bring you more information when we have it.
Israeli military says residents can leave protected areas
The message from the military indicates the current threats from Iranian strikes are over.
It was not immediately clear if there were any impacts.
Trump appears to narrow timeframe on possible US attacks on Iran
There is this break within the MAGA movement itself among the isolationists, who really support Trump and his impulse, he says, to be a peacemaker who wants to avoid Americans getting further entangled in foreign wars. Of course, of whom Tulsi Gabbard, the national intelligence director, is one of the leading leaders.
Then there are others who are more of the war hawk types.
So, where does that leave us now?
Trump is now listening to a growingly small group of advisers on whether or not the US should join these direct attacks on Iran.
Notably, during those remarks he gave to reporters earlier in the day – on whether the US could strike Iran before the two weeks is up – and his answer was that the two weeks could be the maximum time that Iran would have before potential air strikes.
So perhaps even narrowing that window further.
Iran launches latest wave of missiles at Israel
Sirens have sounded across central Israel as Iran launched its latest wave of missiles at the country a short while ago.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that five missiles had been fired, adding that there has been a “single report of a [missile] fall in central Israel”.
It’s currently unclear if there have been any direct hits from the attack.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service has not treated any injuries so far, The Times of Israel reports. Israelis have been given the all clear to leave their shelters, the Israeli outlet added.
A recap of recent developments
- Israel and Iran have exchanged rocket fire for an eighth day, with the Israeli military stating that 15 fighter jets and more than 30 weapons were used in its latest wave of strikes across Iran.
- Iran said it fired its 17th wave of missiles at Israeli targets, striking the cities of Haifa, Tel Aviv and Beersheba, wounding at least 17 people, including three in serious condition.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Iran is open to nuclear talks with the US once Israel’s “aggression” stops and the “aggressor is held accountable”.
- At a special meeting at the UN Security Council, Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon said the country would not apologise for its attacks across Iran, pledging to continue “until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled”.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency has said there is an acute danger from radiation and chemical substances inside the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran, which has come under Israeli attack.
- US President Donald Trump said his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong to suggest there is no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
- In Gaza, 82 Palestinians – including dozens of aid seekers – were killed in Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave on Friday, the Health Ministry said.
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the conflict between Israel and Iran, as well as Israel’s war on Gaza.
Stay with us for the latest developments, reactions and analyses.
You can find all our updates from Friday, June 20, here.
