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Here’s where things stand on Saturday 21 June 2025:
- Iran says more than 400 people have been killed and at least 3,000 others wounded since Israel launched its attack on June 13.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says it would be “very dangerous for everybody” if the United States joins Israel’s “aggression”.
- US 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 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.
Iran’s economic struggle
Before this most recent conflict began, Iran’s economy was buckling under the weight of crippling Western sanctions.
Rising inflation and a collapsing currency have made everyday life difficult for Iranians, raising questions about whether the country can afford a prolonged conflict.
Iran’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed over 400 Iranians, wounded 3,056
Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations at Iran’s Health Ministry, has provided an update about the number of casualties from Israeli attacks on the country.
In a statement on social media, he said nine days of attacks have killed more than 400 Iranians, including 54 women and children, and wounded 3,056 others.
Kermanpour added most of the casualties have been civilians.
“Among the injured, 2,220 have been treated and discharged from Ministry of Health hospitals, while 232 received outpatient care at the scene of the attacks. During this period, our dedicated medical teams across the country have performed 457 surgeries on the wounded.”
Internet slowly comes back online in Iran
Iranians began to see some internet access restored giving people the opportunity to call friends and family for the first time in days.
Tasnim News Agency, which is closely affiliated with Iran’s government, quoted the information minister as saying access to “international” internet should be fully restored across the country by 8pm.
Those in the diaspora posted on social media about connecting to FaceTime or WhatsApp to call relatives they had been worried about.
Government officials disconnected phone and online services earlier in the week for the more than 90 million people who live in Iran citing cybersecurity threats from Israel. That left civilians unaware of when and where Israel would strike next.
When the missiles landed, lack of internet connection meant not knowing for hours or days if their family or friends are among the victims.
Israel says it attacked centrifuge production site in Isfahan
Israel’s military has released video and photos it says shows an attack on the Isfahan nuclear facility.
“This is what the nuclear facility in Isfahan looks like, which is used to convert uranium, which is the stage that follows the enrichment stage on the way to producing nuclear weapons,” said army spokesman Avichay Adraee in a post.
“The air force struck the central facility along with buildings used to produce centrifuges. We continue to strike the Iranian nuclear project.”
Turkiye’s leader warns against ‘new Sykes-Picot order’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned against a “new Sykes-Picot order” in the Middle East.
“We will not allow the establishment of a new Sykes-Picot order in our region with borders to be drawn in blood,” Erdogan said at a summit of Islamic countries in Istanbul.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement, drawn up in 1916 by Britain and France during World War I, was a secret pact aimed to divide the post-Ottoman Middle East territories into British and French spheres of influence.
Erdogan expressed confidence in the resilience of the Iranian people during the current conflict.
“We have no doubt the Iranian people, with their solidarity in the face of difficulties and strong state experience, will hopefully overcome these days,” he said.
Israeli attacks damage and destroy relief, emergency centres
The head of Iran’s emergency organisation says Israeli attacks have targeted medical and relief facilities in addition to hitting residential areas around the country.
“So far, three relief bases and eight emergency centre ambulances in different parts of the country have been seriously damaged and destroyed,” Jafar Miadfar told state news agency IRNA.
“Fourteen members of the emergency organisation nationwide have also been injured in the explosion and the resulting injuries from these attacks, two of whom have been hospitalised due to their serious condition and traumatic injuries.”
What is Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility and could US weapons destroy it?
Although Israel fired missiles at Fordow, a facility where nuclear fuel can be purified, it is believed to still be fully functional.
This week, speculation has mounted over whether the US would supply Israel with the weapons necessary to strike inside the Fordow plant, which is deep underground and much harder to access than Natanz.
So what is known about the Fordow plant and can it be destroyed?
Read the full story here.
More Western nationals evacuate from Iran and Israel
Two dozen Italians who evacuated Iran have arrived in Azerbaijan, the second group from Italy to escape the war.
“After about nine hours of travel and a very long wait at the border, the group was welcomed by representatives of the Italian Embassy in Baku, and then moved to the airport of the Azerbaijani capital to wait to return to Italy with the first available flights,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The group included an Italian doctor and his partner, an Iranian woman, and their 18-month-old child, the ministry said. The first group that arrived in Italy via Baku in recent days had 34 Italian nationals.
Western evacuees from Israel to Cyprus, meanwhile, are seeing missiles fly overhead for the first time.
“You see it on the news, you see everything, but you never really expect it to actually hit you when you’re there,” Noah Page, an American, told The Associated Press.
A 23-year-old Canadian, who asked to remain anonymous, said the experience was unique.
“As someone who grew up in Canada, it’s so foreign to me to even think about missiles or a war and you hear about it on the news and it’s just so separate from you. It sort of felt like fireworks at first until the reality of the situation set in – ‘I need to run or I might end up hurt.’”
Israel hits military site in Iran’s city of Shiraz: Report
Israel has hit a military installation in the city of Shiraz in Fars province, southern Iran, the country’s semiofficial ISNA news agency says.
No casualties were immediately reported while smoke billowed from the site following the hit, the agency said.
We will bring you more details as we have them.
And what about Iran’s economy?
Here’s what Global Counsel’s Ahmed Helal said about whether Iran’s sanctions-hit economy can survive the conflict:
“Iran is much worse off. It has been under sanctions for decades.
“Inflation is running at 40 percent, the Iranian rial is in freefall and a lot of Iranians are living in poverty. About a third of the population is living in extreme poverty – and this is only going to exacerbate things.
“The Israeli strikes are intending to worsen the economic crisis. They are targeting economic infrastructure, energy infrastructure.
“That’s obviously a signal that they are after more than just the nuclear facilities in Iran, but also after regime change, because blackouts is how you start to fuel unrest within a population and start getting a population to be frustrated.
“We haven’t seen the impact of that yet. The Iranian society still is rallying around the flag and seeing this as an external threat and not seeing it as an opportunity to topple the regime.”
Can the Israeli economy withstand another war?
We’ve asked Ahmed Helal, MENA director of Global Counsel, about whether Israel can afford to be taking the kind of military action it is right now.
Here’s what he said:
“The short answer is yes. They do have the financial reserves and financial buffers.
“Is Israel bleeding? Of course it is. It’s been raising a lot of debt. It’s an economy on a war footing. Its defence expenditure has gone from 4 percent pre-October 7 to about 8 percent now.
“Its debt levels, debt-to-GDP ratio, has gone up by about 8 percent from around 60 percent to 68 percent. And reservists are being called up. So the workforce, the tech workforce that contributes to taxes and to growth and to innovation in the economy, has been taken to the front line.
“So it has taken a hit, but it’s not an economy in crisis. It can withstand it. It is insulated because it’s a diversified, dynamic, tech-driven economy.”
UN refugee agency chief calls for de-escalation
The United Nations is urging peace efforts to prevail in the Middle East after years of war have forced civilians to flee their homes.
“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss, and displacement – we cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.
“The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee there’s no quick way back, and all too often the consequences last for generations.”
Report: At least 430 Iranian civilians killed during Israel’s surprise attack
At least 430 civilians have been killed and 3,500 wounded in Iran since Israel launched its attack on June 13, Iranian state-run Nour News reports, citing the country’s Health Ministry.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based human rights organisation that tracks Iran, Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran. The dead include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed in Iranian missile attacks, according to Israeli authorities.
Middle East faces ‘Israel problem,’ Turkish foreign minister says
Hakan Fidan has told foreign ministers from Muslim nations that Israel is leading the region towards “total disaster” through its attacks on Iran, and urged global powers to step in to prevent the conflict from escalating further.
At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Fidan called on Muslim countries to unite in support of Iran against Israel.
The region faces an “Israel problem” in light of its attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and now Iran, he said.
“Unfortunately, this meeting is being held at a time when the Islamic world is suffering greatly. Israel, which has stained Gaza with blood, is now attacking Iran. We must discuss joint steps to end this suffering,” said Fidan.
Israel wanted to sabotage nuclear talks between US and Iran: Erdogan
We now have more lines from Turkiye’s president speaking in Istanbul. Erdogan says Israeli attacks on Iran were intended to undermine nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
“This incident also shows that Netanyahu [and his government] … do not want any issues or any matters to be solved diplomatically,” he said.
“Netanyahu’s Zionist ambitions have no other purpose than to drag our region and … the whole world into a big disaster.”
He also called on Muslim countries to increase their efforts to impose punitive measures against Israel on the basis of international law and United Nations resolutions.
Israeli attacks on Gaza kill 21 since dawn
Israeli strikes have been ongoing across the Gaza Strip. At least 21 Palestinians have been killed since dawn, sources at Gaza hospitals have told Al Jazeera.
Among those killed, 11 were aid seekers, while three were killed in an attack on Zeitoun neighbourhood in southern Gaza City.
More than 55,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the October 2023 start of the war, with about 65 percent of the dead children, women and the elderly, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The figure is estimated to be far higher with thousands of bodies buried in the rubble.
Erdogan blames Netanyahu government as key hurdle to peace
We have been reporting on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Istanbul.
Speaking to the attendees, Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu is the biggest obstacle to regional peace.
“I call on countries with influence over Israel not to listen to its poison. A solution must be found via dialogue,” said Erdogan, referring to attacks on Iran, Gaza and other Middle East states.
Residential building hit by drone in northern Israel, say rescuers
Israel’s first responders said a residential building in northern Israel has been hit by a drone after the army reported “activity” in the Beit She’an Valley.
“A drone strike hit a two-story residential building in northern Israel,” the Magen David Adom said in a statement, reporting no casualties.
On Friday, an Iranian missile hit Israel’s northern city of Haifa, sending plumes of smoke billowing over the Mediterranean port and wounding at least 31 people.
Israel says it killed another Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander
Earlier, we reported Israel saying the military killed a veteran commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) overseas arm in an attack on an apartment in Iran’s Qom province.
The Israeli army is now claiming it killed a second commander of the IRGC identified as Benham Shariyari in a strike on his vehicle overnight in the capital, Tehran.
It said the commander “was responsible for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East”.
Shariyari supplied missiles and rockets launched at Israel to Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen’s Houthis, according to the Israeli military.
There was no confirmation from the IRGC on the killing of the two commanders.
The Quds Force built up a network of Arab allies known as the “axis of resistance”, establishing Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982 and supporting the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Iran-aligned network has suffered major blows over the last two years in Israeli attacks.
Israel has ‘technological edge’ but Iran the upper hand in prolonged war
While “Israel has the technological edge in this war”, Iran has many other strengths as well, says Muhanad Seloom, an assistant professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Israel has had almost full control of the skies over Iran since the conflict broke out, but Iran is 70 times the size of Israel, he explained.
“[The Iranians] can take a lot of beatings, but they do have their own types of weapons that can actually hurt Israel, and Israel does not have the capacity to go along with this war, so they need a decisive victory or they have to achieve their strategic goals as soon as possible,” Seloom told Al Jazeera.
“We are at the critical stage of this conflict … because both sides did not declare it as a full war yet [but] both sides are increasing the velocity of their weapons.”
From the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, it was made clear Israel’s air defences can be “overwhelmed” – a tactic now being employed by the Iranians, he said.
“If [the war] gets prolonged, it’s not in the interest of Israel. Israel cannot go very long in this war because most of the Israelis are in the bunkers, their economy is affected.”
Iran, on the other hand, has been in “emergency mood” for at least 40 years following the Iran-Iraq war, having active militias in Lebanon and Syria, being under severe sanctions, and having a different economy to that of Israel, Seloom said.
“So what we are looking at are two countries unlike each other [who] are at each other’s throats.”
Senior UAE official warns prolonged war threatens Gulf region’s stability
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has warned the conflict risks setting back the region.
“The longer a war takes, the more dangerous it becomes,” he told reporters.
“I think any extended confrontation or war between Israel and Iran will only bring a very difficult aftermath.”
Gargash said de-escalation was “extremely important” and that there was “a path back to negotiations on these issues”.
“This war flies in the face of the regional order the Gulf countries want to build, which is focused on regional prosperity,” he added. “We feel that this is setting us back, not only us in the UAE, but I would say the region.”
Iran’s allies could bring ‘lots of fire’ to US assets in the region
Zohreh Kharazmi, professor at Tehran University, says the US president is aware of Iran possessing “thousands of different range of missiles” and that its regional allies can bring “lots of fire to American bases”.
“Trump himself is going back and forth, and seems hesitant to enter directly,” she told Al Jazeera.
“Even today, eight in 10 in the United States are thinking about diplomatic solutions and do not agree with the United States entering directly into the war,” Kharazmi said.
“I think that if the West, China, Russia and the Arab states, along with other countries, become much more responsible and accountable for the situation, they can really find a diplomatic solution.”
Can Israel really destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities?
Israel has attacked several key Iranian nuclear sites, but analysts believe Iran’s nuclear capabilities are far from destroyed.
Anger rises among Iranians as Israel attacks residential areas
Last night we heard loud explosions related to interceptions by air defence systems here in the capital. We’ve got reports of Israeli attacks on Isfahan, with facilities being targeted in Qom.
Iran is trying to keep the doors of diplomacy open, but the Iranian side is saying it’s going to continue to strike as long as Israel continues to do so.
We have very different sentiments among the Iranian public, specifically Tehran residents whom we’ve talked to over the past few days. There’s anxiety as the Israeli threats over recent months have now translated into daily strikes.
Many in the Iranian capital have chosen to leave, but we have to keep in mind we’re talking about 10 million people living in Tehran city and 14 million in Tehran province. It’s putting pressure on surrounding areas.
There’s also increasing anger. People are saying Israel is not just targeting nuclear facilities and military complexes and they’ve got nothing to do with military issues. The reality on the ground is ordinary people are being attacked on a daily basis.
This has created a strong sense of solidarity with large demonstrations against the repeated strikes.
US joining aggression would be very dangerous for everybody: Araghchi
We have some comments made by Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation gathering in Istanbul.
Here’s what the Iranian foreign minister told reporters:
- In order for us to come back to diplomacy, the aggression should be stopped.
- It is obvious, I cannot go to negotiations with the United States when our people are under bombardment, under the support of the United States.
- We have come, unfortunately, to the conclusion that the United States has been in this aggression from the beginning.
- They deny, they keep saying they are not involved, but we have many indications they have been involved from day one. And now the interviews by the US president is quite clear, that he’s talking about a US leadership on this question.
- Unfortunately, we have heard that the US may join this aggression; that would be very unfortunate, and I think that would be very dangerous for everybody.
Iran’s sovereignty must be ‘respected’ to ensure diplomacy is successful
Academic Zohreh Kharazmi says Iran has always been eager to keep diplomatic avenues “open” but notes that distrust towards Western countries is growing following the Israeli assault at a time of negotiations with the US.
“We have no trust in the West, particularly when they use negotiations as a clock for giving green light to Israel to attack us,” the professor at the University of Tehran told Al Jazeera.
“I think diplomacy can be efficient if they are really sitting and respecting Iranian sovereignty and integrity.”
Kharazmi said that for diplomacy to work, Iran’s sovereignty had to be “respected” and Israel’s “act of aggression” recognised as such.
Iran’s foreign minister in Istanbul for a meeting with Muslim leaders
Abbas Araghchi has arrived in the Turkish city for a meeting with counterparts at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
“At this meeting, at the suggestion of Iran, the issue of the Zionist regime’s attack on our country will be specifically addressed,” the foreign minister said, according to Tasnim news agency.
About 40 diplomats are expected to join the weekend gathering.
Iran: Israel targeting hospitals and ambulances during attack
Iran’s Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarghandi says Israel has attacked three hospitals during the conflict, killing two health workers and a child, and has targeted six ambulances, according to Fars news agency.
Iran’s Nour News on Saturday named 15 Iranian air defence officers and soldiers it said were killed in the conflict with Israel.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed in Iranian missile attacks, according to Israeli authorities.
Five killed in Israeli attack on Iran’s Khorramabad: Reports
At least five people were killed in Israeli attacks in the Iranian city of Khorramabad, local media outlets quoting the IRGC have reported.
Iran’s Nour News Agency also reported that 15 officers and soldiers from the country’s air defence forces have been killed since the start of the conflict.
Israel’s attacks on Iran since June 13 have targeted nuclear and military facilities in various regions, assassinated prominent military leaders and nuclear scientists, and targeted civilian and government facilities, including the state television building.
Iranian missile attack on Haifa wounds 3: Report
Three people injured in an Iranian missile strike on Haifa on Friday remain hospitalised at Rambam hospital, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.
One person is in a serious condition, the hospital’s spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Several people who sustained minor injuries have been released from the hospital, the report said.
The West’s double standard on nuclear arms in the Middle East
Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons but the United States and its allies in the West paint it as the biggest threat to the region.
Meanwhile, they fully support Israel – the only country in the Middle East with nuclear arms – as it carries out a genocide in Gaza and attacks Iran.
We break down how this double standard is fuelling regional instability – and strengthening the case in Iran for seeking nuclear weapons as a deterrent.
aRussia repeatedly assured Israel Iran not seeking nuclear arms
President Vladimir Putin says Russia has consistently informed Israel that Iran does not intend to acquire nuclear weapons, according to a report by the RIA Novosti news agency.
US President Donald Trump has said his director of national intelligence was “wrong” when she testified that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.
Earlier this week, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Al Jazeera that Putin has “repeatedly” expressed Moscow’s willingness to help mediate the tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
Israeli forces target Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon: Army
“A naval vessel attacked overnight a military structure belonging to the ‘Radwan Force’ of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Naqoura area in southern Lebanon,” Israel’s military has said in a statement.
The site was used by Hezbollah “to promote terrorist plots against the citizens of the State of Israel”, it said. The strike comes after “an investigation into a Hezbollah member several weeks ago”.
The Lebanese armed group has so far not responded to Israel’s allegation. Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire in November, but Israel has continued near-daily strikes on Lebanon, including in the capital, Beirut.
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