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The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they unfolded.
In first since start of conflict, 24 hours pass without Iranian missile fire at Israel
For the first time since the start of the conflict between Israel and Iran on June 13, a full 24 hours has passed without any missile fire from the Islamic Republic at the Jewish state.
The last missile barrage was launched shortly before 3 a.m.
However, the last several hours have seen repeated launches of explosive-laden Iranian drones at Israel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say ‘vast wave’ of drones launched at Israel
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announces the launch of suicide drones towards Israel, the latest wave of attacks as fighting between the two foes entered the 10th day.
“A vast wave of attack and suicide drones has been heading for hours towards their (Israeli) strategic targets throughout the regime’s territory, from the north to the south of the occupied territories,” Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini is quoted as saying by state television.
Iranian media reports Israeli strikes in southern city of Shiraz
Iranian media says that Israel had launched strikes on the southern city of Shiraz, which hosts military bases, triggering the air-defense systems.
“Shiraz’s air defenses have been activated in some areas of the city and have been engaged in fighting hostile targets and Zionist aircraft,” Mehr news agency reports.
El Al to also offer up to 50 seats on flights departing Ben Gurion Airport
An El Al plane parked at Ben Gurion Airport, May 7, 2025. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
El Al says it is preparing to operate outgoing flights, which will be limited to 50 passengers per plane departing from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, set to start on Monday.
The flagship carrier says it has opened registration on its website for departures from Israel subject to an outline by state authorities. According to the outline, the number of passengers on each flight will be limited to only 50 people.
El Al plans to operate flights to eight major destinations: Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Bangkok.
Passengers are asked to fill out the registration form on the El Al website, including the destination they wish to fly to. The airline emphasized that the registration is not a reservation or seat confirmation. Following registration, customers will be updated via email, El Al says.
Israel pressing for swift action on Fordo nuclear site, may act without US — sources
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordo enrichment facility in Iran on January 24, 2025. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
Israeli officials have told the Trump administration they do not want to wait two weeks for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle key parts of its nuclear program and Israel could act alone before the deadline is up, two sources say, amid a continuing debate on Trump’s team about whether the US should get involved.
The two sources familiar with the matter say Israel has communicated its concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what they described as a tense phone call.
The Israeli officials say they do not want to wait the two weeks that US President Donald Trump presented on Thursday as a deadline for deciding whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran war, say the sources, who speak on condition of anonymity. The Israeli participants on the call included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir, according to a security source.
The Israelis believe they have a limited window of opportunity to move against the deeply buried site at Fordo, the crown jewel of Iran’s nuclear program, say the sources. The United States is the only country with the bunker-busting bombs powerful enough to reach the facility, which is dug into the side of a mountain.
A person in Washington familiar with the matter says Israel has communicated to the US administration that it believes Trump’s window of up to two weeks is too long and that more urgent action is needed. The person doesn’t say whether the Israelis made that point during the high-level call.
During the call, Vice President JD Vance pushed back, saying the United States shouldn’t be directly involved and suggesting that the Israelis were going to drag the country into war, say the sources. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also participated in the call, says a security source. Reuters couldn’t determine who else took part in the call, which came a day before Trump publicly suggested Israel lacks the means to destroy Fordo alone.
Publicly, Netanyahu has not ruled out Israel attacking Fordo alone, though officials have not provided any details on how that would be achieved.
Four sources say it is now increasingly likely that Israel will launch a solo military operation. Israeli air superiority over much of Iran makes an operation more feasible, though still risky, say two of the sources.
The Israelis feel they have the momentum and have limited time given the costs of the war, one source adds.
“I don’t see them waiting much longer,” says the source.
It isn’t clear whether such an operation would involve bombing, ground forces, or both. Two of the sources say that rather than attempting to destroy the entire site, Israel could instead do significant damage to it.
That could mean focusing on destroying what is inside the site rather than the site itself, says one of the sources, declining to elaborate.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Mahmoud Khalil feted by AOC as he vows to resume anti-Israel activism after release from jail
Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, right, speaks to US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, after arriving at Newark International Airport, June 21, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NEWARK, New Jersey, — Mahmoud Khalil vows to resume his pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel activism as he returns to New York a day after he was released on bail from a jail for immigrants, even as US President Donald Trump’s administration says it will continue its efforts to deport the recent Columbia University graduate.
He arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon to cheers and ululations from friends and supporters. Khalil, 30, is reunited with his wife, a US citizen, and greeted at the airport by US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York.
“Not only if they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine again,” Khalil says, holding a bouquet of flowers. “I just want to go back and just continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights, speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished.”
Khalil, who recently graduated from Columbia University in Manhattan, was a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement that swept campuses last year. Federal immigration agents arrested him in the lobby of his Columbia apartment building on March 8, making him the first target of Trump’s effort to combat antisemitism by deporting international students with pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel views.
Ocasio-Cortez, speaking alongside Khalil at the airport, condemns the Trump administration for what she calls “persecution based on political speech.”
“Being taken is wrong. It is illegal,” she says. “It is an affront to every American.”
“Free Palestine!” Khalil said with a raised fist as he left the airport.
IDF says strikes targeting drone storage sites and weapons depots at south Iran port city
The Israeli Air Force is carrying out strikes on Iranian drone storage facilities and other weapon depots in Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, the military says.
Footage posted to social media purports to show a fire burning in the area of the port city.
فوری/ گزارشهای اولیه:
ارتش اسرائیل به چند کشتی و کانتینر نیروی دریایی سپاه در بندرعباس حمله کرده.
جزئیات بیشتری بیرون نیومده. pic.twitter.com/90XQvjgJ4U
— Pouria Zeraati (@pouriazeraati) June 21, 2025
With gatherings restricted, hostage families rally online for their loved ones’ freedom
Amid restrictions on the size of public gatherings due to the war with Iran, the families of Hamas hostages and their supporters hold an online rally in place of the weekly demonstrations, urging the return of the 53 remaining captives.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, over 2,000 people took part in the event, one of several online gatherings in support of the hostages.
“This is the moment when decision-makers must understand that there’s a specific point on the timeline where a decision has to be made — to focus on their return,” says Kobi Ohel, father of hostage Alon Ohel. “Only then will we be able to grow, recover, and rebuild — when the right decision is made.”
“I turn to our leadership and ask: make the right decision now. Bring them back. Address this, too — show how we bring them home today.”
The sister of freed hostage Yarden Bibas, whose wife Shiri and young sons Ariel and Kfir were murdered in captivity, Ofri Bibas-Levy, says that “it feels like the 53 hostages have disappeared from the conversation” as a result of the fighting with Iran.
“They’re still there, while people move on to the next front. It’s important for the public to know: the hostages could be home now — we are one political decision away,” adds Bibas-Levy. “Just as there was a brave decision to strike in Iran, and just as leaders showed courage to bring closure in Lebanon — now we are one just decision away from bringing them all home.”
She also says that such a decision “will bring our brave soldiers home” and “allow us to shift focus and resources to Iran.”
“The story in Gaza can end.”
Israir readying to offer limited number of seats on flights leaving Israel
An Israir flight takes off from Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, August 25, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
Israeli carrier Israir says it is preparing to sell a limited number of seats on outward flights, which are set to start on Monday, to a few destinations in Europe, subject to the guidelines and outline by the Transportation Ministry.
The airline says it will sell a limited number of tickets for departure from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport to the following destinations: Athens, Larnaca, Tbilisi, Budapest, and Rome. Departure flight tickets will be purchased on the company’s website, the airline says.
Israir emphasizes that details of departure flights are subject to the outline and guidelines by the Transportation Ministry, which have not yet been made public, as well as final approvals from relevant authorities.
Gazans ‘desperately need more aid,’ says humanitarian group backed by US and Israel
Palestinians carry bags containing food and humanitarian aid packages delivered by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization, in Rafah, southern Gaza, June 16, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an organization backed by the United States and Israel that began distributing food rations in the Palestinian territory last month, says that more aid is needed.
“The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most,” GHF interim executive director John Acree is quoted as saying in a statement.
IDF says some 950 Iranian drones destroyed before being launched at Israel
The Israeli Air Force has destroyed some 950 Iranian drones before they were set to be launched at Israel, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press conference.
“In the past week, more than 1,000 drones have been launched from Iran at Israel, only a few breached [Israeli airspace]. Most of the drones are intercepted outside of Israel’s borders. This is an unprecedented achievement,” he says.
“In addition to the defensive actions, the air force is systematically eliminating the chain of command of [Iran’s] drone unit. These strikes have disrupted the synchronized attacks and hit some 950 explosive drones before they were launched,” Defrin says.
Iran’s missile launching capacities heavily degraded by strikes over past week — IDF
Iran’s ballistic missile launching capabilities have been heavily degraded, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press conference.
“The missile launching capabilities that they possess today are far from the capabilities they had when we set out for this operation,” he says.
IDF spokesman says three Iranian F-14 fighter jets destroyed in latest strikes
Iranian soldiers take a picture with a Winnie the Pooh character next to a F-14 fighter jet in an exhibition of achievements and equipment of Iran's air force in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Some 60 Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a wave of strikes in central Iran this evening, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press conference.
He says that as part of the strikes, IAF jets destroyed three more Iranian F-14 fighter jets on the ground. Last week, Israeli strikes in Tehran destroyed two F-14s.
The US-made F-14 Tomcats were supplied to Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and are believed to be the last ones still in operation.
The IDF releases footage of the strikes.
Israeli Air Force fighter jets destroyed three more Iranian F-14 fighter jets in a strike a short while ago in central Iran, the military says. pic.twitter.com/siwEYVfyOp
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 21, 2025
IDF keeps home front restrictions in place; exemption to be made for university exams
Following a fresh assessment, the IDF Home Front Command says there are no changes to its guidelines amid the conflict with Iran.
Gatherings in most areas of the country are permitted up to 30 people, provided a shelter can be reached in time. On Israel’s borders, gatherings are permitted up to 50 people outdoors and 100 people indoors
Nationwide, workplaces will also be able to operate under the same conditions, but schools and other educational institutions remain closed.
Despite the guidelines, exceptions will be made tomorrow to allow exams to take place at universities nationwide, in accordance with the gathering restrictions, and if a shelter can be reached in time.
Additionally, the Home Front Command is preparing for the possibility that, from Monday, daycares and special education schools will be able to operate in locales on Israel’s borders.
The current guidelines remain in effect until Monday night, when the Home Front Command will conduct another assessment.
Germany temporarily moves staffers at Tehran embassy out of Iran
Germany has temporarily relocated the staff of its embassy in Tehran abroad due to the current threat situation, a foreign ministry official says.
The embassy remains operational and can be contacted via phone by Germans who are still in Iran, the official says, adding it will continue to advise on possible options for leaving the country by land.
AFP journalists report loud blasts in Tehran
Loud blasts are heard in the Iranian capital, AFP journalists say, as fighting rages between Israel and Iran for the ninth day.
It’s not immediately clear whether the blasts heard in central and northern Tehran are the result of incoming Israeli strikes or Iranian air defense fire.
Israel believes Trump ‘will act’ if Iran doesn’t surrender, Israeli official says; Isfahan ‘destroyed’ today
US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One upon arriving at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey, on June 20, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)
Most senior Israelis familiar with the matter believe that the US will enter the war, mainly because the Iranians are giving no indications of a willingness to accept the conditions the US and Europe are demanding for a ceasefire, unnamed senior Israeli officials tell Channel 12 and Kan news this evening. Trump has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons and cannot have a uranium enrichment capacity.
“Trump has created a ‘win-win’ situation,” Channel 12 quotes an Israeli source familiar with the Israeli-US contacts as saying. Either the Iranians surrender, “or he acts,” the source says. “He’s given a timeframe of up to two weeks [for diplomacy] and there is no indication whatsoever that the Iranians are using this ladder. Quite the reverse. They are kicking it in a way that prevents any possibility of using it. Our assessment is that Trump will not blink in the end.”
Channel 12 also cites what it says is material from Israeli security consultations that explains why earlier talk of a conflict lasting for just a few days has now seen the war continuing into its second week, with the IDF Chief Eyal Zamir warning of prolonged conflict.
As the conflict has progressed, the report says, “new operational opportunities have arisen,” based on intelligence material that has enabled breakthroughs not previously available, including the possible widening of targets, as evidenced by the latest targeted strikes on key Iranian military figures.
The war is expected to continue through the coming week — “offense and defense,” the Channel 12 report says. But toward the end of the week, a “strategic assessment” consultation will be held on next steps. Decisions will be affected by the American position, the IDF’s progress in the conflict, Iran’s responses, and other factors.
It quotes a senior Israeli diplomatic source saying that the Isfahan nuclear site was destroyed today, following what it says was the destruction of the Natanz facility and attacks on other targets. “Only Fordo remains” among key Iranian nuclear weapons-related facilities.
Ultimately, the goal is to bring Iran to the negotiating table, the source is cited saying — echoing Israel’s official war goals, which do not provide for the complete military destruction of Iran’s rogue nuclear weapons program by the military, but rather for Iran to itself agree to abandon the program and destroy its facilities or for the US to oversee their destruction.
“We won’t continue [the military campaign] without a clear purpose. We won’t tempt fate. We are not pushing for regime change in Tehran,” it quotes the source as saying.
The correct exit point will be when the nuclear and ballistic missile threat has been averted, Channel 12 cites the source saying, and Israel is getting closer to that point.
Kan’s source is quoted offering a more bleak assessment, saying that if the US does not join the conflict, and Iran decides to use all the military means at its disposal, “we are likely to get drawn into a lengthy conflict.”
The report says Israel assesses that Iran will drag Israel into a war of attrition, with an exchange of blows continuing for a long time.
“The continuation of the campaign and its result depend [in part] on Israel, but mainly on President Trump,” Kan’s source is cited as saying.
Report: Trump, Erdogan sought to arrange US-Iran talks but Iranian officials couldn’t reach Khamenei
Then-US President Donald Trump (L) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) leave the stage after the 'family photo' at the NATO summit at the Grove hotel in Watford, northeast of London, December 4, 2019. (Peter Nicholls/Pool/AFP)
An effort by US President Donald Trump and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to schedule a sit-down next week between American and Iranian officials failed to bear fruit because Iranian officials were unable to reach Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Axios.
Citing US officials and a source with direct knowledge of the matter, the news site reports that Trump told Erdogan he was open to flying to Turkey to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian if needed to secure a deal, or could dispatch his Vice President JD Vance and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Erdogan and his foreign minister, in turn, reportedly informed Pezeshkian and Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, who then sought Khamenei’s okay for the meeting, but they couldn’t reach the Iranian leader as he remains in hiding over fears of being assassinated.
IDF says files from tunnel where Muhammad Sinwar killed show IRGC backing for Hamas amid Gaza war
Saeed Izadi, head of the Palestine Corps in the IRGC Quds Force, in an undated photo. (Social media: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The IDF publishes intelligence documents it says were found in a Hamas tunnel that run underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza — where the terror group’s leader Muhammad Sinwar was killed in a strike — revealing how IRGC official Saeed Izadi was working to arm and fund Hamas during the war, on behalf of the Iranian regime.
“Our forces discovered documents clearly indicating that in recent months, the leadership of Hamas’s military wing continued its ties with Saeed Izadi, its Iranian patron who was eliminated overnight,” the IDF says.
Izadi was the IRGC Quds Force’s Palestine Corps chief and was killed in an Israeli strike in western Iran overnight.
“The documents now being released show correspondence between Muhammad Sinwar and Saeed Izadi, detailing the “Tufan (Deluge) 1” plan, under which Izadi advanced the transfer of weapons to Hamas valued at approximately $21 million, and his intention to advance the “Tufan 2″ plan, for the transfer of weapons valued at approximately $25 million,” the military says.
The IDF says that these two plans “did not materialize as intended” due to operations of the Intelligence Directorate, Southern Command, and Shin Bet.
“For years, Izadi transferred weapons to support Hamas’s terror activities against the State of Israel and continued to do so in recent months. The documents now being revealed join many others uncovered during the war, attesting to Izadi’s role in funding and arming the Hamas terror organization,” the military adds.
Pezeshkian vows Iran won’t halt nuclear activity ‘under any circumstances’
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will not halt nuclear activity “under any circumstances” amid ongoing fighting with Israel, which hit nuclear sites.
“We are ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities; however, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,” says Pezeshkian during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Airport authority head says 21 planes ferrying Israelis stranded abroad landed in Israel today
The head of the Israel Airport Authority says that 21 planes carrying Israelis stuck abroad amid the Iran war landed today in Israel.
Speaking with Channel 12 news, Sharon Kedmi says 26 planes arrived yesterday.
US officials confirm B-2 bombers moved to Guam as Trump mulls striking Iran
In this photo released by US Air National Guard, a US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber takes off from a Royal Australian Air Force base in Amberley, Australia, September 11, 2024. (Staff Sgt. Whitney Erhart/US Air National Guard via AP)
WASHINGTON — The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials tells Reuters, as President Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.
It’s unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.
The B-2 can be equipped to carry America’s 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran’s nuclear program, including Fordo.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, decline to disclose any further details. One official says no forward orders have been given yet to move the bombers beyond Guam. They do not say how many B-2 bombers are being moved.
The Pentagon doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian president claims to Macron that Tehran has nuclear ‘rights’ that ‘cannot be taken away’
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks to navy officials, in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that his country’s right to pursue a civilian nuclear program cannot be taken away by war, as it trades fire with Israel for a ninth day.
“Iran has always announced that it is ready to provide guarantees and build confidence in its peaceful nuclear activities within the framework of international law,” Pezeshkian tells French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call, according to the official IRNA news agency.
“The rights granted to countries and nations by international law cannot be taken away from them by threats or war.”
FM Sa’ar says Iranian plot to attack Israelis in Cyprus was thwarted
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accuses Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of plotting to attack Israelis on Cyprus, hours after the arrest of a terror suspect on the Mediterranean island.
“Thanks to the activity of the Cypriot security authorities, in cooperation with Israeli security services, the terror attack was thwarted. Israel thanks Cyprus for its swift and effective actions,” Sa’ar writes in a post on X.
He also accuses Iran’s “criminal regime” of “deliberately targeting Israeli civilians both in Israel and abroad.”
“Israel will continue to act to remove the existential threat posed by the Iranian terror regime,” Sa’ar adds.
IDF says missile launcher storage facility among targets hit in latest Iran strikes
The Israeli Air Force completed a new wave of strikes in southwest Iran a short while ago, targeting Iranian ballistic missile launchers used in attacks on Israel, the military says.
The IDF says some 30 IAF fighter jets were involved in the strikes, dropping 50 munitions on dozens of Iranian military targets in the Ahvaz area.
As part of the strikes, the military says fighter jets hit a facility where ballistic missile launchers were stored, some of which were previously used in attacks on Israel.
The strikes also hit a radar site and other Iranian military infrastructure, the IDF says.
Huckabee says US has begun assisted departed flights for American citizens in Israel
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee attends a memorial event at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem for two murdered staffers from the Israeli Embassy in Washington, May 26, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says that the State Department has started assisting departure flights from Israel amid its conflict with Iran.
He encourages US citizens and lawful permanent residents in Israel and the West Bank, who want government assistance to department, to complete a form on the department’s website.
Netanyahu to meet tonight with ministers and top security officials amid Iran war
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet later tonight with ministers and senior security officials, according to Hebrew media reports, amid the ongoing aerial campaign against Iran.
IDF releases further footage of Iranian drone interceptions
The IDF releases additional footage of Iranian drone interceptions this morning.
Some 40 drones launched from Iran at Israel were shot down today, according to the IDF, while one hit a home in Beit She’an and at least two others crashed in open areas.
״תמשיך להפלה ותדווח בסוף ביצוע – הופלה, יש תוצאה על הכטב"ם״, תיעודים חדשים מיירוט הכטב״מים הבוקר על-ידי ממטוסי הקרב של חיל האוויר
חיל האוויר ממשיך במאמץ ההגנה האווירית. מערכות ההגנה האווירית יחד עם מערך מטוסי הקרב ומסוקי הקרב, מיירטים ללא הפסקה כטב״מים ששוגרו מאיראן לשטח מדינת… pic.twitter.com/JoQHd2S6h4
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 21, 2025
Air force chief says Israeli drone operators ‘very busy suppressing’ Iran missile fire
IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar speaks to drone operators, in a video released June 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
Speaking to Israeli Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators, IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar says Iranian soldiers “don’t function” when the Israeli drones are overhead.
“We are very busy, with the UAV array to suppress the surface-to-surface missile fire. It’s not at zero, but it prevents a lot, and the Iranians are surprised by this,” Bar says in a video released by the IDF.
“We’re going from one command to another, expanding, and everywhere we see that the UAVs overhead, they [Iranian soldiers] don’t function,” he adds.
Houthis threaten to attack American ships in Red Sea if US joins Israeli strikes on Iran
Houthi supporters shout slogans during an anti-US and anti-Israel weekly rally in Sanaa, Yemen, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Yemen’s Houthi rebels issue a statement threatening the United States if it joins the Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear and military assets.
“If the US is involved in an attack and aggression against Iran with the Israeli enemy, the armed forces will target its ships and warships in the Red Sea,” says the Iran-backed group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree.
Nasrallah’s security chief reportedly killed by Israel after entering Iran from Iraq
The head of security to the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike while in Iran, a Hezbollah official says.
Abu Ali Khalil, better known as Abu Ali Jawad, was killed after he went to Iran from neighboring Iraq, the official says.
For many years, Abu Ali was seen behind Nasrallah during most of his public appearances.
After Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut suburb in September, his bodyguard was put in charge of his tomb in Beirut.
The Hezbollah official, who speaks on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, says the airstrike that killed Abu Ali occurred earlier today.
الشهيد "أبو علي خليل" مرافق الشهيد حسن نصر الله، الذي ارتقى مع نجله؛ جرّاء قصف الاحتلال على إيران. pic.twitter.com/wf6JyQqNG4
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) June 21, 2025
Erdogan tells Iranian FM talks are only way to settle nuclear dispute
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan tells Iran’s foreign minister that resuming Iranian-US talks on Tehran’s nuclear program was the only way to achieve a solution to their dispute and the conflict with Israel, the Turkish Presidency says.
Erdogan meets Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Istanbul. In a statement, his office notes that Erdogan says Israel had to be stopped immediately.
Erdogan says Turkey was ready to play a facilitator role to help resume the nuclear talks, adding “steps should be taken as soon as possible to open up diplomacy via technical and leaders-level talks between Iran and the US,” his office adds.
IAEA chief confirms centrifuge manufacturing workshop in Isfahan hit
Footage released by the IDF on June 21, 2025, shows the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility. (Israel Defense Forces)
VIENNA, Austria — The UN nuclear agency confirms that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site had been hit, in the latest strike amid Israel’s bombing campaign.
“A centrifuge manufacturing workshop has been hit in Esfahan, the third such facility that has been targeted in Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear-related sites over the past week,” the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says in a statement quoting its chief, Rafael Grossi.
“We know this facility well. There was no nuclear material at this site, and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences,” Grossi was quoted as saying.
Hamas-run civil defense agency says Israeli fire kills 8 people near aid distribution sites
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says Israeli fire killed at least 12 people, including eight who had gathered near aid distribution sites in the Palestinian territory suffering severe food shortages.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal, who the military has accused of being a member of Hamas, tells AFP that three people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces while waiting to collect aid in the southern Gaza Strip.
In a separate incident, Bassal says five people were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations.
The Israeli army tells AFP it was “looking into” both incidents, which, according to the civil defense agency, occurred near distribution centres run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Senior Iranian official says European nuclear proposals unrealistic, missile program non-negotiable
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy (R) and Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (2nd R) greet Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L) prior to a meeting on Tehran's nuclear program, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. (Handout / German Federal Foreign Office / AFP)
ISTANBUL, Turkey — The discussions and proposals made by the European powers to Iran over its nuclear program in Geneva were unrealistic, and insisting on them will not bring both sides closer to an agreement, a senior Iranian official tells Reuters.
“In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting,” the official says.
He adds that zero enrichment was a dead end and that Iran would not negotiate over its defensive capabilities, including its missile program.
Iran says it nabbed German-Jewish bicyclist for allegedly taking footage of military area
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran, for the first time, acknowledges detaining a German bicyclist as its war with Israel rages on.
The IRGC-linked Mehr News agency released a heavily edited video yesterday of Marek Kaufman, described as a dual-national Jewish tourist, admitting to taking footage of a military area and that he knew such activity was forbidden.
The narrator of the video, who is under US sanctions for producing forced confessions for Iran, claims that Kaufman was in contact with “American and Jewish commanders” who instructed him where to go.
‘Powerful explosions’ heard in southwestern Iran
TEHRAN, Iran — Several “powerful explosions” are heard in southwestern Iran’s Ahvaz, the daily Shargh reports, on the ninth day of hostilities between the Islamic Republic and Israel.
Ahvaz is the capital of Khuzestan province, which is situated on the Iraqi border and is Iran’s main oil-producing region. The military had previously announced it was striking “military infrastructure” in the southwest.
Heavy #Israeli bombardment on military sites in Bab Hani (Behbahani), #Ahvaz. pic.twitter.com/z5jTbEBQaZ
— Barzan Sadiq (@BarzanSadiq) June 21, 2025
Airbase commander says airstrikes on Iran blunting ballistic missile fire
Air defenses fire interception missiles at missiles fired from Iran, seen from Jerusalem, June 21, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The commander of the Hatzerim Airbase says Israeli Air Force strikes in Iran are reducing the ballistic missile fire on Israel.
“We are targeting the enemy’s missiles, weapon depots, launchers, and personnel, thereby reducing the number of launches at the State of Israel,” says Brig. Gen. “Ayin” in a video, who is only identified by his first initial for security concerns, despite his full name being available on the IDF’s website.
The IAF has conducted over 1,000 sorties over Iran in the past eight days, with fighter jets dropping hundreds of munitions on Iranian ballistic missile launch and storage sites, disrupting its attacks on Israel from western Iran, the military says.
IAF drones have also struck numerous ballistic missile launchers and eliminated dozens of Iranian soldiers at the launch sites, according to the military.
The IDF says these strikes make Iranian soldiers “feel hunted,” adding that they “have been observed abandoning and fleeing” the launchers.
Iran’s forces have been pushed eastward and southward due to the strikes, the IDF says. Each day, new strikes are carried out against the launch sites in western Iran to prevent Iranian forces from returning to them, according to the military.
The IAF estimates it has so far taken out over 200 ballistic missile launchers, or about half what Iran had before the conflict.
UN refugee agency says Iran conflict must not become refugee crisis
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi gives an interview with reporters in Damascus, Syria, on June 20, 2025. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
GENEVA, Switzerland — The United Nations says the Iran-Israel war must not be allowed to trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying that once people fled, there was no quick way back.
UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, says the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries.
Such movements had already been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran, it says, with some people crossing into neighboring countries.
Strikes in Israel had caused people to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and in some cases abroad.
“This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement. We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,” says Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees.
“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.”
IDF says jets carrying out fresh wave of strikes on Iranian military sites
Israeli Air Force fighter jets are carrying out a new wave of strikes on Iranian military sites in southwest Iran, the IDF announces.
Macron: It’s up to Iran to give assurances nuclear program is peaceful
PARIS, France — French President Emmanuel Macron says he had received a call from his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian and that they had agreed to accelerate negotiations between European powers and Iran over its contested nuclear program.
“I am demanding: Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons, and it is up to it to provide every assurance that its intentions are peaceful,” Macron says on social media X.
“I am convinced that there is a way out of the war and to avoid greater dangers.”
The Iranian President @drpezeshkian called me.
I reiterated my firm demand: Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris must be released. Their inhumane detention is unjust. I expect them to return to France.
I also expressed my deep concern about Iran’s nuclear program.…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 21, 2025
Syrian authorities nab cousin of former dictator Assad wanted for drug trafficking
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian authorities have arrested a cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad, who is under US sanctions for his alleged role in drug trafficking and support to forces loyal to the ousted government, the Interior Ministry says.
The ministry does not say when or where Wassim Badi Assad was arrested. It says that he was wanted in cases of drug trafficking and other crimes before insurgents toppled the Assad family in December after a 54-year rule.
The US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Wassim Assad in March 2023. It said Wassim Assad had publicly called for the formation of sectarian militias to support the government and was a key figure in the regional drug trafficking network, partnering with high-level suppliers to smuggle contraband, Captagon, and other drugs throughout the region.
Syria’s conflict that began in March 2011 fragmented the country, crumbled the economy, and created fertile ground for the production of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon. Militias, warlords, and the Assad government transformed the production of the drug from a small-scale operation run by criminal groups into a billion-dollar industrial revenue stream.
חדשות נוספות: וסים אל-אסד, בן דודו של נשיא סוריה המודח, נעצר בידי השלטונות באזור תלכלח' לא הרחק מגבול לבנון – סוריה. משמאל בימים יפים יותר pic.twitter.com/iwjHAzJkQq
— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) June 21, 2025
Gulf envoys voice fears to IAEA head over safety of Iranian nuclear sites near their borders
A worker rides a bicycle in front of the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, just outside the southern city of Bushehr, Iran, Oct. 26, 2010. (Majid Asgaripour/Mehr News Agency via AP)
Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors have expressed concerns to UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi about the safety of nuclear facilities close to their countries amid the Israeli-Iranian crisis, Qatar’s state news agency reports on Saturday.
The ambassadors warned Grossi during a meeting in Vienna about the “dangerous repercussions” of targeting nuclear facilities.
The warning comes after the Israeli military said at one point on Thursday that it had struck the Russian-built Bushehr facility, but later said the comment had been made by mistake. Bushehr is Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant, which sits on the Gulf coast.
The potential consequences of an attack on the plant — contaminating the air and water — have long been a concern in the Gulf states.
IDF chief says killing of Quds Force Palestine Corps chief ‘makes the entire Middle East safer’
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the killing of Iran’s IRGC Quds Force’s Palestine Corps chief Saeed Izadi is “one of the key moments in the multi-front war and makes the entire Middle East safer.”
“Saeed Izadi was one of the confidants involved in planning and executing the October 7 massacre, and on his hands is the blood of thousands of Israelis,” Zamir says during an assessment, in remarks provided by the IDF.
“He led the Iran-Hamas axis and was a confidant of Sinwar and Deif,” Zamir says, referring to the killed leaders of Hamas.
“This is a tremendous intelligence and operational achievement by the Intelligence Directorate and the Air Force,” he says, adding that “there are no more cities of refuge in the Middle East.”
NYT: Khamenei has picked three potential successors, filled senior military posts from bunker
This photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, shows Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a televised speech, under a portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, June 13, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has nominated three clerics as potential successors while hiding in a bunker as he faces threats of assassination by Israel in the ongoing war, The New York Times reports.
Khamenei has also begun filling spots of senior commanders eliminated by Israel, according to the report, which cites three Iranian officials familiar with the plans.
According to the officials, Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, is not among the three clerics nominated to become the supreme leader. Previous reports have said that Khamenei was grooming his son to take over upon his death.
40 Iranian drones fired at Israel downed since last night, IDF says
Since last night, the Israeli air force has shot down 40 Iranian drones launched at Israel, the military says.
One of the drones this morning hit a home in Beit She’an, while another struck an open area near a highway in the south.
Overnight, the IDF reported striking an Iranian truck-mounted drone launcher.
The military says that, excluding the attacks today, it has intercepted 470 drones launched at Israel since June 13, which it says represents a 99% interception rate of drones that posed a threat.
Iran has launched more than 1,000 drones at Israel since June 13, according to the IDF, though many have fallen short or were intercepted by other countries, such as Jordan.
Since last night, the Israeli Air Force has shot down 40 Iranian drones, the military says.
One of the drones this morning hit a home in Beit She'an, while another struck an open area near a highway in the south.
The military says it has intercepted 470 drones launched at… pic.twitter.com/4lJDuF1aOs
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 21, 2025
IDF footage shows result of strikes on Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility
Footage released by the IDF on June 21, 2025, shows the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases footage showing the aftermath of its airstrikes on Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility.
A first strike on Ishafan on June 13 destroyed several critical sections, including uranium conversion infrastructure and labs, according to the IDF.
Strikes overnight were intended to cause further damage to Iran’s nuclear program, the IDF says.
Footage released by the IDF on June 21, 2025, shows the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility. (Israel Defense Forces)
Flight data shows six B-2 bombers taking off from US, flying toward Guam
Six B-2 bombers have taken off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri towards the US military base on the island of Guam, according to flight tracking data.
The bombers have received media attention in recent days due to their unique ability to carry the heaviest US bomb, the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which experts say is needed to destroy Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear facility.
שניים עד ארבעה B2 המריאו מבסיס ווייטמן במיזורי, והם בדרכם מערבה לכיוון הבסיס האסטרטגי גואם – כך לפי נתוני תעופה גלויים והקלטות קשר. המפציצים מלווים ב-4 מתדלקים. לא ברור אם ימשיכו לדייגו גרסיה, המרוחק 3,500 ק"מ מאיראן. טראמפ טרם הודיע אם אישר לתקוף את פורדוhttps://t.co/QdAbQdlQhO
— avi scharf (@avischarf) June 21, 2025
Erdogan: Israeli strikes on Iran aimed at derailing nuclear talks with US
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Israel’s attacks on Iran right before a new round of nuclear talks with the United States aimed to sabotage the negotiations, and it showed Israel did not want to resolve issues through diplomacy.
Speaking at a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Erdogan urges countries with influence over Israel not to listen to its “poison” and to seek a solution to the fighting via dialogue without allowing a wider conflict.
He also calls on Muslim countries to increase their efforts to impose punitive measures against Israel on the basis of international law and United Nations resolutions.
Iranian media says nuclear scientist Isar Tabatabai-Qamsheh killed in Israeli strike
An Iranian nuclear scientist, Isar Tabatabai-Qamsheh and his wife were killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reports.
According to reports, the scientist was killed two days ago in a drone strike on an apartment in Tehran.
BREAKING
An #Israeli drone strike targeted an apartment in the Gisha neighborhood, central #Tehran. pic.twitter.com/ThcBuRHBJP— Barzan Sadiq (@BarzanSadiq) June 20, 2025
Senior Iranian official claims Iran firing more advanced missiles in place of massive barrages
Israeli interceptors are fired at missiles from Iran as it seen from the West Bank city of Hebron, June 20, 2025. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
A senior Iranian official claims that Iran has changed its tactics of firing large missile barrages, and is instead firing more advanced precision missiles against Israeli military sites.
Speaking to CNN, the unnamed official rejects what he calls an Israeli claim that it is running out of missiles.
Israel has said in recent days that while Iran still has significant stocks of missiles, airstrikes have hit at least 50 percent of the launchers needed to fire the projectiles, hampering their capabilities.
The Iranian claim that it is firing more precise missiles comes contrary to the IDF Home Front Command’s confirmation that Iran has launched ballistic missiles carrying a cluster bomb warhead.
Such missiles have a warhead that splits while descending, at an altitude of around 7 kilometers, spreading around 20 smaller munitions at a radius of around 8 kilometers. The munitions do not have their own propulsion, and simply fly away randomly to the ground.
The Iranian official tells CNN that Tehran “launched a missile and the missile easily made its way through American THAAD, Patriot, Arrow 3, Arrow 2, David’s Sling and the family of Iron Dome systems, striking the predetermined target,” without clarifying which target.
Israel “should not be happy about the decrease in the number of missiles fired and better keep silent and merely become an observer in the face of the new balance of Iranian superior power,” the official adds.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
Police in Cyprus nab terror suspect believed to be surveilling British and Cypriot bases
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Police in Cyprus have arrested an individual on suspicion of terror-related offenses and espionage, authorities say.
The individual appeared before a district court today, which ordered an eight-day detention pending inquiries. No further details would be issued, police say, citing national security.
Several Cypriot news outlets report that the suspect was a man of Azeri ethnic descent and had been arrested in the Zakaki suburb of the coastal city of Limassol. The suspect is thought to have had a British RAF military base in nearby Akrotiri, as well as Cyprus’s own Andreas Papandreou Air Base in the western region of Paphos, under surveillance since mid-April, Cyprus’s ANT1 news portal reports.
Cyprus lies very close to the Middle East and has in recent days been used as a transit point for people either leaving or going to the region amid a conflict between regional foes Israel and Iran. Terror-related offenses on the island are very rare.
Turkish FM: Israel dragging region to ‘total disaster’ with Iran strikes
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C-R), Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (C-L), Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and Armenia's Foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan (L) posing during their meeting at the Dolmabahce Presidential office in Istanbul, Turkey, June 20, 2025. (Handout / Turkish Presidency Press Office / AFP)
ANKARA, June 21 (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan tells his counterparts from Muslim countries that Israel was dragging the region into “total disaster” with its attacks on Iran, and added world powers must prevent the war from spiralling into a wider conflict.
Speaking at a foreign ministers’ meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Fidan calls on Muslim countries to stand with Iran against Israel, and said the region had an “Israel problem” after its operations in Gaza and attacks on Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.
Those operations came in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern communities, after which Iran’s proxy groups began attacking Israel in solidarity with Palestinians.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF says Iranian drone struck open area in Negev, two others downed over Arava
An Iranian drone struck an open area in the Negev Desert, near the Route 90 highway, a short while ago, the military says, after attempts to intercept it.
Two more drones were shot down over the Arava area and near Eilat, the IDF adds.
כטב"ם נפל בשטח פתוח בערבה, שני כטב"מים נוספים יורטו. פיקוד העורף: "האירוע הסתיים" @ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/iLaCiMKNLi
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 21, 2025
Iran says 430 killed, 3,500 hurt since start of conflict with Israel
At least 430 people were killed and 3,500 were wounded in Iran since the start of the Israeli-Iranian conflict on June 13, Iranian state-run Nour News reports, citing the country’s Health Ministry.
IDF confirms Iranian drone hit northern city, other one downed over Golan Heights
Ambulances as the site of an Iranian drone impact in Beit She'an, June 21, 2025. (Magen David Adom)
The IDF confirms a drone launched from Iran struck a home in the northern city of Beit She’an, in the first such case since the conflict began.
Attempts were made to shoot down the drone, apparently a Shahed-136 model, but they were unsuccessful.
Additionally, the IDF says it shot down one drone over the Golan Heights a short while ago and attempted to intercept another. The results of the second interception are still under review.
A drone infiltration siren in the Upper Galilee was a false alarm, and sirens in Eilat and the southern Negev area are still being looked into, the IDF adds.
Senior UAE official urges quick end to Israel-Iran war, warns of ‘difficult aftermath’ of prolonged war
The diplomatic advisor to the United Arab Emirates president, Anwar Gargash, arrives to attend the opening ceremony of the summit on peace in Ukraine, at the luxury Burgenstock resort, near Lucerne, Switzlernand, June 15, 2024. (Denis Balibouse/Pool/AFP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A senior United Arab Emirates official urges a quick end to the Iran-Israel war, warning of a “difficult aftermath” if the conflict is prolonged.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the oil-rich UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, says the war was “setting back” the wealthy Gulf region.
“The longer a war takes, the more dangerous it becomes,” he tells journalists in a briefing.
“I think any extended confrontation or war between Israel and Iran will only bring a very difficult aftermath.”
“De-escalation is extremely important,” Gargash says. “We still feel that there is 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,” Gargash says.
“We feel that this is setting us back, not only us in the UAE, but I would say the region.”
MDA says no injuries found after search of home hit by Iranian drone
An Iranian drone impact on a building in Beit She'an, June 21, 2025. (Magen David Adom)
No injuries were found after medics scanned a two-story home in Beit She’an that was hit by an Iranian drone, Magen David Adom says.
Sirens warn of suspected drones infiltrating the Arava and Golan Heights
Sirens continue to sound in communities in the Arava, while alerts are also activated in the Golan Heights due to suspected drone infiltrations.
Footage shows Iranian drone impact damaged home; no reports of injuries in attack
Footage circulating on social media shows the scene of the Iranian drone impact in Beit She’an.
Magen David Adom says it has not received reports of injuries in the attack.
Damage was caused to a home by the impact, in what appears to be the first case of an Iranian drone hitting a populated area since the conflict began on June 13.
Footage circulating on social media from the scene of the Iranian drone impact in Beit She'an.
Magen David Adom says it has not received reports of injuries in the attack. pic.twitter.com/gMLNJGc4EH
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 21, 2025
Medics heading to Iranian drone impact site in Beit She’an, marking first hit since conflict began
An Iranian drone, apparently en route to Israel, is seen over Iraq on June 13, 2025 (Screen grab used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Medics are responding to reports of a drone impact in Beit She’an, after sirens warning of a drone infiltration sounded in the area.
There are no immediate reports of injuries.
It apparently marks the first Iranian drone to impact in a populated area since the conflict began on June 13.
Two drones downed over Arava; more sirens sound in Beit She’an Valley
Two more drones launched from Iran at Israel were shot down over the Arava region in southern Israel a short while ago, the IDF says.
Meanwhile, sirens sound following a new suspected drone infiltration in Beit She’an Valley.
Sirens warning of suspected drone infiltration in Arava activate in more communities
Drone alert sirens sound in additional communities in southern Israel’s Arava region, after the alerts began sounding a short while ago in Tzukim.
Sirens warn of suspected drone infiltration in Arava
Drone alert sirens sound in the community of Tzukim in southern Israel’s Arava region.
Putin says he has repeatedly told Israel Iran has no intentions to build nuke
Russia's President Vladimir Putin is seen on huge TV screens inside ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre as he attends the plenary session during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 20, 2025. (Olga MALTSEVA / AFP)
MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin says in an interview with SkyNews Arabia that Russia has repeatedly notified Israel that Iran has no alleged intentions of obtaining nuclear weapons, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports.
While Iran publicly denies seeking nuclear weapons, it has amassed uranium enriched to 60% — far beyond what is needed for civilian uses and a short step away from weapons-grade.
IDF confirms overnight strike in Iran killed IRGC Palestinian Division chief, says he was Oct. 7 architect
Saeed Izadi, head of the Palestinian Division in the IRGC Quds Force, in an overnight airstrike in the Iranian city of Qom, in an image posted June 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF confirms killing Saeed Izadi, head of the Palestinian Division in the IRGC Quds Force, in an overnight airstrike in the Iranian city of Qom.
“Izadi was eliminated in a safe house in the heart of Iran, following a prolonged intelligence effort,” the IDF says.
The IDF says Izadi was responsible for “military coordination between senior commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian regime, and key figures in the Hamas terror organization,” especially ahead of the October 7 onslaught and during the war.
“Izadi facilitated increased financial support from Iran to Hamas for terror activities against the State of Israel and maintained direct contact with Palestinian terror organizations,” both in Gaza and the West Bank, the army says.
Izadi was “one of the architects” of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, “and among the few who knew of it prior to its execution,” the IDF says.
“During the war, he was responsible for directing Hamas forces in Lebanon… [and] he made it his mission to rebuild Hamas’s military wing and ensure the group remained the ruling power in Gaza,” the statement continues.
According to the IDF, Izadi was “one of the founders and leading figures behind the Iranian regime’s plan to destroy Israel.”
The plan, according to the IDF, “aimed to launch a multi-front attack on Israel in two phases.”
“First, a missile and rocket barrage by the regime and its proxies across the Middle East. Second, a mass invasion of Israeli territory by tens of thousands of terrorists from Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Judea and Samaria (West Bank).”
IRGC Quds Force official in charge of supplying weapons to proxies killed in Israeli strike
Behnam Shahriyari, a senior IRGC Quds Force official, was killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike in western Iran, the military says.
Shahriyari headed the Quds Force’s Unit 190, responsible for the clandestine transfer of weapons to Iran’s proxy groups, especially Hezbollah.
The IDF says he was targeted in a strike while driving in a car, more than 1,000 kilometers from Israel.
Israel has been seeking to target Shahriyari since 2009.
Unit 190 has been in charge of Iran’s efforts to arm Hezbollah in Lebanon, Palestinian terror groups in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen.
“As part of his role, Shahriyari was responsible for all transfers of weaponry from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East and worked for years to arm various terror organizations in order to directly advance the Iranian regime’s plan of destroying the State of Israel,” the IDF says.
“Shahriyari worked directly with the Hezbollah and Hamas terror organizations, as well as with the Houthi regime and other groups, thereby supplying numerous missiles and rockets that were fired at Israeli territory during the war,” the statement continues.
In addition to weapons, the IDF says Shahriyari “oversaw the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars annually to terror organizations through his unique connections in Turkey and Lebanon, using a network of front companies, currency exchanges, and money couriers.”
The military says his killing is a “severe blow to the ability of the terror organizations surrounding the State of Israel to rearm after having suffered heavy losses at the hands of the IDF during the war.”
This video shows a strike on IRGC official Behnam Shahriyari in western Iran, early June 21, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
IAF overnight strikes hit Isfahan nuclear site, missile launchers
(COMBO) This combination of handout satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows (L to R) the Isfahan nuclear enrichment facility in central Iran on June 3, 2025 and on June 14, 2025, after it was hit by Israeli strikes. (Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
The Israeli Air Force carried out a large wave of strikes on dozens of targets in Iran overnight, including the Isfahan nuclear facility and four primed missile launchers, the military says.
Some 50 IAF fighter jets were involved in the strikes, dropping 150 munitions.
The IDF says the strikes at the Isfahan nuclear site, which had been targeted by Israel on the first day of the conflict, were intended to cause further damage to Iran’s nuclear program.
“Within the compound, a centrifuge production facility was also targeted, along with additional military targets of the Iranian regime in the Isfahan area,” the IDF says.
The military says it has caused “significant damage” to Iran’s centrifuge production capabilities.
Meanwhile, four primed ballistic missile launchers were “neutralized” in strikes before a salvo was launched at Israel, the military says.
Additional strikes overnight hit trucks used to launch drones at Israel, along with ballistic missile storage and launch infrastructure, and Iranian radars and air defense sites, the IDF says.
Police in Iran’s Qom say 22 ‘linked to Israeli spy services’ arrested since June 13
Police in Iran’s Qom province said 22 people “linked to Israeli spy services” had been arrested since June 13, Fars news agency reports.
“Twenty-two people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime’s spy services, disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime,” the agency says, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran’s Qom province.
It came after Iranian police announced the arrest on Thursday of 24 people accused of spying for Israel and of seeking to tarnish the country’s image, according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.
A European national was also arrested for spying, Tasnim reported yesterday, without giving their nationality or the date of the arrest.
Iran regularly announces arrests of suspected spies, without providing evidence. Several have been executed in recent weeks.
Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 223 people have been arrested nationwide on charges related to collaboration with Israel, cautioning that the actual figure was likely higher.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Air force downed drone that triggered sirens in Beit She’an valley, northern West Bank, IDF says
Another drone launched from Iran at Israel was shot down by the Israeli Air Force a short while ago, the IDF says.
Sirens had sounded in the Beit She’an valley and the northern West Bank.
Sirens warning of suspected drone attack sound in northern communities
Drone alert sirens sound in several communities and settlements close to the Jordanian border in the north.
Israeli strike in Iran killed IRGC commander who funded and armed Hamas ahead of Oct. 7, Katz says
Saeed Izadi, the head of the Palestinian Division in the IRGC Quds Force, was killed in an Israeli strike on an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom, Defense Minister Israel Katz says.
Katz says Izadi “funded and armed Hamas ahead of the October 7 massacre.”
“A huge achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Israeli Air Force. Justice for the murdered and the hostages. Israel’s long arm will reach all its enemies,” he adds.
Earlier this year, Katz revealed an intelligence document showing that then-Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif had sent a letter to Iran’s IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani in June 2021, seeking support for the terror group’s plans to invade Israel, which were ultimately carried out on October 7, 2023.
“In the document, they (the Hamas leaders) ask of the commander of the [Islamic] Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force to transfer $500 million for destroying the State of Israel,” Katz said.
Izadi “accepted the request and replied to them that Iran, despite its difficult economic situation and the plight of the Iranian population, will continue to funnel money to Hamas, because the struggle against Israel and the US is the top priority of the Iranian regime,” Katz said at the time.
IDF says it intercepted drone that triggered sirens in Golan Heights
The Israel Defense Forces says it intercepted an Iranian drone a short time ago.
The UAV triggered sirens in the Golan Heights.
Facility used by Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in south Lebanon targeted by naval vessel, IDF says
A facility belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in south Lebanon was targeted by an Israeli naval vessel overnight, the Israel Defense Forces says.
The site, in Lebanon’s Naqoura region, was used for the planning of terror attacks against Israeli citizens, and “constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military says.
The facility was targeted as the result of intelligence-gathering, including the interrogation of a detained Hezbollah operative, the army says.
“The IDF will continue to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel,” the military says.
Iran’s FM arrives in Istanbul ahead of Arab League diplomats meeting
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leaves after a meeting on Tehran's nuclear program, with Germany's Foreign Minister, France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Britain's Foreign Secretary at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva on June 20, 2025 (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Istanbul for a meeting with Arab League diplomats to discuss Tehran’s conflict with Israel, Tasnim news agency reports.
Around 40 diplomats are slated to join the weekend gathering of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
“The foreign minister arrived in Istanbul this morning to participate in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ meeting,” Tasnim reports.
It comes after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva yesterday.
“At this meeting, at the suggestion of Iran, the issue of the Zionist regime’s attack on our country will be specifically addressed,” says Araghchi, according to the news agency.
Iran says Isfahan nuclear site targeted by Israel, no leakage of hazardous materials; no comment from IDF
In this March 30, 2005, file photo, an Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site was targeted by Israel, Iran’s Fars news agency reports, adding that there is no leakage of hazardous materials.
Blasts were reported in Isfahan earlier this morning. There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
Iran has said the nuclear facility was previously attacked by Israel during the current round of fighting.
IDF: Iranian drone that triggered sirens in north came down in unpopulated area
The Israel Defense Forces says that an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace, triggering sirens in several communities in the Golan Heights, came down in an unpopulated area.
There were no injuries reported in the attack.
Trump gripes again that he hasn’t won Nobel Peace Prize for mediating conflicts, Abraham Accords
US President Donald Trump walks out of the Oval Office before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on June 20, 2025 in Washington, DC (Kayla Bartkowski / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
US President Donald Trump complains he will not get a Nobel Peace Prize as he takes credit for a peace deal negotiated in Washington between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
The warring African nations said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they had initialed an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC — to be formally signed in the US capital next week.
“This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!” Trump says in a Truth Social post confirming the breakthrough.
But his triumphant tone darkens as he complains that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo.
He also demands credit for “keeping peace” between Egypt and Ethiopia and brokering the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements aiming to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab nations.
Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.
Indian officials have denied that he had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan.
The government of Pakistan, meanwhile, said it would formally recommend Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize “in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during the recent conflict.
However, Trump’s claims for the Abraham Accords being able to “unify the Middle East” have yet to be realized, with war breaking out between Israel and Iran, and no end in sight to the conflict in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.
And critics say the Republican greatly exaggerated the significance of the 2020 Serbia-Kosovo agreements, which were statements of intent that were thin on details and quickly unraveled.
Trump has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award, bringing it up as recently as February during an Oval Office meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Trump complained during his 2024 election campaign that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honor.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Suspected drone sirens sound in several Golan Heights communities
Drone alert sirens sound in several communities in the Golan Heights.
IDF says airstrike killed Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon
The IDF announces that Israeli aircraft killed a Hezbollah operative in the town of Baraachit in southern Lebanon.
IDF says fighter jets struck head of IRGC’s drone unit, a week after killing his predecessor
The IDF says fighter jets killed the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air force’s drone unit, accusing him of overseeing the launch of hundreds of drones at Israel, a week after taking out his predecessor.
IDF says it downed ‘suspicious aerial target’ that set off drones in Ghajar
Following drone sirens in the town of Ghajar, the IDF says the air force intercepted “a suspicious aerial target,” without specifying its origin.
Iran media reports blasts in Isfahan, which houses key nuclear facility
Iranian media reports explosions in the city of Isfahan, where the Islamic Republic has a key nuclear facility.
Suspected drone triggers sirens in town along Lebanon border
Air raid sirens are activated in the town of Ghajar along Israel’s border with Lebanon as the IDF Home Front Command warns of a suspected drone.
Anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil released from US custody as he faces deportation
Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, center, speaks after his release from federal immigration detention in Jena, Louisiana, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University student who was one of the most visible leaders of nationwide pro-Palestinian campus protests against Israel, is released from a federal detention center.
Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, has been in custody since March facing potential deportation.
“This shouldn’t have taken three months,” Khalil, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, tells US media outside an immigration detention center in Jena, Louisiana hours after a federal judge ordered his release.
“(President Donald) Trump and his administration, they chose the wrong person for this,” he says. “There’s no right person who should be detained for actually protesting a genocide.”
The Department of Homeland Security criticizes District Judge Michael Farbiarz’s ruling as an example of how “out of control members of the judicial branch are undermining our national security.”
Under the terms of his release, Khalil will not be allowed to leave the United States except for “self-deportation,” and faces restrictions on where he can travel within the country.
Roof fire caused by interception shrapnel is under control
The roof fire in central Israel caused by missile interception shrapnel has been brought under control.
There does not appear to be damage to apartments in the building on which it occurred.
IDF launches new wave of strikes on missile infrastructure in Iran
The Israeli Air Force has begun new strikes in Iran, the military says.
Fighter jets have “now begun a wave of strikes against missile storage and launch infrastructure in central Iran,” it says.
Iran’s FM: We don’t know how we can trust US, negotiations may have been cover for Israeli attack
Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran doubts it can trust Washington to honestly engage in diplomacy in a bid to end the open war with Israel.
Speaking to NBC News in Geneva, where he met with European leaders to try to find a path out of the conflict, Abbas Araghchi voices suspicion that the US only used previous negotiations with the Islamic Republic as “cover” for Israel’s offensive.
“They had perhaps this plan in their mind, and they just needed negotiations perhaps to cover it up,” Araghchi says. “We don’t know how we can trust them anymore. What they did was, in fact, a betrayal to diplomacy.”
He repeats Tehran’s position that “We’re not prepared to negotiate with them anymore, as long as the aggression continues.”
He also maintains Iran’s refusal to stop uranium enrichment, saying he told US envoy Steve Witkoff “several times zero enrichment is impossible.”
In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said they don’t know how they can trust the US anymore after their “betrayal to diplomacy” pic.twitter.com/BkSJiVaDsq
— The New Region (@thenewregion) June 20, 2025
“This is an achievement of our own scientists. It’s a question of national pride and dignity,” he says.
Araghchi also asserts that contacts with Witkoff are continuing to some extent despite the war.
“There are some direct messages, some indirect messages we’re exchanging,” he states. “And we have explained each other’s positions to each other in order to prevent misunderstandings.”
Fire on roof of central Israel apartment building apparently hit by interception shrapnel
Fire breaks out on the roof of an apartment building in central Israel after an Iranian missile attack, early on June 21, 2025 (National Fire and Rescue Services)
A fire has broken out on the roof of a four-story apartment building in central Israel, apparently as a result of being hit by shrapnel following an interception.
Firefighting teams are at the scene, and are bringing the blaze under control.
There are no reports of people trapped or hurt.
אזעקות הופעלו במרכז הארץ, כ-5 שיגורים זוהו מאיראן: שריפה פרצה על גג מבנה בגוש דן כתוצאה מרסיסי ירוט, לא דווח על נפגעיםhttps://t.co/cEHcQZ9cVn@OrHeller @Yossi_eli pic.twitter.com/4rcpRA5juq
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) June 21, 2025
Israelis given all-clear after missiles intercepted
Israelis are given the all-clear to leave shelters.
Magen David Adom says it has not received reports of injuries.
It appears that all missiles were successfully intercepted.
No reports of missile impacts in latest barrage
Rescue services say they have not received reports of missile impacts following the latest barrage, which apparently included 5-10 missiles.
Blast sounds reported in central Israel amid missile barrage
Sirens have sounded in central Israel as multiple rockets from Iran targeted the area.
Blast sounds have been reported in the area, though it is not clear whether the cause is interceptions or impacts.
Israelis alerted as IDF identifies missile launches from Iran; sirens sounding
The IDF has identified missile launches from Iran, and is alerting Israelis to ensure they are by shelters as it acts to intercept them.
Sirens are starting to sound in areas where missiles are projected to hit.
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