Israel Iran War Highlights (June 16): Israel activates air defence as barrage of Iranian missiles target Haifa

The U.S. Air Force is relocating "a large number" of aerial refueling tankers to Europe to position them closer to the Middle East, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News. The move is intended to expand strategic options for President Trump and CENTCOM Commander General Erik Kurilla, the official said, as regional tensions continue to escalate.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, warned on Monday that there is a potential risk of radiological and chemical contamination inside Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility following recent Israeli airstrikes. However, radiation levels outside the facility remain normal, posing no immediate threat to the surrounding population or environment. (Read More)

Sirens sounding across northern Israel following another barrage of Iranian missiles - tweets IDF

• Britain on Monday advised its citizens in Israel to register their presence with the British government, saying it wanted to build up a picture of who is in the region in case they need assistance.
• Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear weapon. Iran, which has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful, has retaliated by firing missiles at major Israeli cities.
• "For British nationals in Israel, we're giving advice today to register their presence," Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada.
• Starmer's spokesperson, speaking at a separate briefing in London, said officials wanted to gather information on British citizens in the region. - Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump does not plan to sign the G7 statement regarding the Israel-Iran situation, officials told CBS News, the BBC's U.S. partner.

The Israeli Air Force struck the headquarters of Iran’s state television while a live broadcast was underway. A dramatic moment, when an explosion rocked the studio during the live transmission, has gone viral, with video clips of the incident being widely shared on social media. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera citing Mehr News Agency said that Iranian Broadcasting System anchor Sahar Emami returned to the live broadcast soon after the blast. (Read More)

US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran was not winning its conflict with Israel and should re-enter negotiations "before it's too late." "They have to make a deal, and it's painful for both parties, but I'd say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it's too late," Trump told reporters at a G7 summit in Canada.

• According to the BBC, as Iranian officials continue to urge calm following Israeli strikes, videos circulating on social media in recent days show long queues at fuel stations and heavy traffic as residents attempt to flee the capital, Tehran.
• The situation has intensified after the Israeli military issued an “urgent warning” calling on people to “immediately” evacuate a major part of the city — a move that is expected to further fuel panic and prompt more departures.

Israel army urges evacuation of Tehran district ahead of attack, reports AFP

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday declared that the country’s air force now “controls the skies over Tehran,” during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase.
• “Our air force controls the skies over Tehran. We are hitting regime targets — in contrast to Iran’s criminal regime, which deliberately targets civilians,” Netanyahu said.
• He also delivered a warning to the Iranian public: “We tell the citizens of Tehran to evacuate — and we follow through.”

Pakistan has closed all its border crossings with neighbouring Iran for an indefinite period, provincial officials said on Monday, as Israel and Iran trade intense strikes and threaten further attacks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Monday for an "immediate" end to fighting between Israel and Iran in a phone conversation, the Kremlin said.

• Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow's previous proposal to store Iranian uranium in Russia remains on the table, the Kremlin said on Monday.
• Tehran says it has the right to peaceful nuclear power, but its swiftly-advancing uranium enrichment programme has raised fears in the wider West and across the Gulf that it wants to develop a nuclear weapon.
• Before Israel launched strikes on the Islamic Republic, Russia said last week that it stood ready to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran and convert it into civilian reactor fuel as a potential way to calm the crisis. - Reuters

Iran’s aviation authorities have extended the suspension of commercial flights until 2:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to state media reports. The country’s airspace has remained closed to civilian traffic since last week amid escalating tensions. Meanwhile, Israel claims to have established “full aerial control above Tehran,” with its fighter jets continuing to operate within Iranian airspace to carry out strikes on key targets.

• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have eliminated four senior Iranian intelligence officials in a precision airstrike.
• The strike was carried out by Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, guided by accurate IDF intelligence.
• The targeted structure in Tehran was housing top officials from Iran’s intelligence apparatus.]
• The officials killed in the strike include:
• Mohammad Kazemi – Head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization
• Mohammad Hassan Mohaqiq – Deputy Head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization
• Mohsen Bakri – Head of Quds Force Intelligence
• Abu al-Fadl Nikouei – Deputy Head of Quds Force Intelligence
• These individuals were central figures in Iran’s strategic and terrorist operations targeting Israel, Western nations, and regional countries.
• The strike follows the recent killing of Iran’s Armed Forces Intelligence Chief last Friday, marking another significant blow to Iran’s terror infrastructure.

Iran has reportedly shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone in the western province of Ilam, near the Iran-Iraq border. According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, the unmanned aerial vehicle was intercepted and destroyed over the city of Dehloran. Another report by Russia's TASS cited the province’s deputy governor, who confirmed the drone belonged to the U.S. military and had violated Iranian airspace. (Read More)

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said Monday there was "no indication of a physical attack" on the underground section of Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment site following Israeli strikes that destroyed the plant's above-ground section. (Read More)

France blocks access to Israeli arms stands at Paris Air Show: French government source - AFP

• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had destroyed over 120 Iranian missile launchers—about one-third of Iran's arsenal—during four days of conflict.
• According to IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin, the Israeli Air Force intercepted and destroyed more than 20 surface-to-surface missiles on Sunday evening before they could be launched at Israeli territory.
• Defrin added that around 50 fighter jets and aircraft were deployed to strike approximately 100 military targets in Isfahan, located in central Iran.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that this is not an era of war amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. "We expressed worry over the ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Europe. We believe this is not an era of war," PM Modi said. (Read More)

• Poland is ready to start evacuating around 200 of its citizens who were on visits to Israel via Jordan's capital Amman, a deputy foreign minister said on Monday.
• "We assume we will be ready in the next few dozen hours, (the evacuation) will concern those who are stuck as tourists and those staying for a short stay," Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters. - Reuters

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in an underground bunker since Israel launched attacks on Tehran's nuclear facilities, according to media reports.

Indian medical students stranded in Iran have requested Indian government for urgent evacuation with explosions reported just a few kilometres away from their hostels, according News18.

A weekend series of Israeli strikes on Iran’s main oil and gas facilities set alarm bells ringing over regional energy disruption and increased market volatility. The Iranian and international sources confirmed the attacks, which hit two gas processing plants on Iran’s southern coast, supplied by the gigantic South Pars gas field, and several fuel depots in Tehran, the Financial Times said. Read more

Israel intercepted eight drones launched from Iran by Israeli Navy missile boats overnight using its new air defense system for the first time.

The Israel-Iran conflict has led to a fuel crisis in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan.

U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea on Monday morning heading west, according to data from ship tracking website Marine Traffic, after a reception for its planned port call in central Vietnam was cancelled.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that residents of Tehran will "pay the price" in response to Iranian missile attacks on Israeli civilians that killed several people overnight.

A top Iranian general has claimed that Pakistan will drop nuclear bombs on Israel if Jerusalem takes a similar route against Tehran amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday said that Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.

Iran's judiciary said it hung on Monday a man arrested in 2023 and convicted of being an agent for Israel's Mossad spy agency, reports news agency AFP

Israel Iran War News: Iranian missiles damage US Embassy in Tel Aviv

A weekend series of Israeli strikes on Iran's main oil and gas facilities set alarm bells ringing over regional energy disruption and increased market volatility. The Iranian and international sources confirmed the attacks, which hit two gas processing plants on Iran's southern coast, supplied by the gigantic South Pars gas field, and several fuel depots in Tehran, the Financial Times said. Read more

Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi has told Army Radio that Iran still has “thousands of ballistic missiles”, indicating a higher figure than previously estimated, according to The Times of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of being behind two failed assassination attempts on US President Donald Trump during his 2024 re-election campaign, claiming Tehran sees him as a threat to its nuclear program.

The Israel Defense Forces says that its air force has attacked command centers of Quds Force in Tehran based on precise intelligence, according to The Times of Israel.

The US Air Force appears to be deploying aerial refueling tankers across the Atlantic Ocean from bases in the US, amid the ongoing Israel-Iran war, reports The Times of Israel.

Iran launched a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, triggering air raid sirens across the country,  wounding at least 67 people.

67 people were taken to hospitals after four ballistic missile hit central Israel, according to The Times of Israel.

US President Donald Trump urged Iran and Israel to "make a deal" and bring their deadly exchange of strikes to an end. "Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal," Trump said on his Truth Social media platform, adding that there are "many calls and meetings now taking place" on the issue and that peace could be achieved "soon" between the longtime adversaries. Read more

The Times of Israel has reported that Iranian state media has officially confirmed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence chief, Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi and his deputy, Hassan Mohaqiq, were killed in an Israeli strike.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, president of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, on Sunday expressed concern over reports that a hostel housing Kashmiri students in Iran was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday claimed that Iran sees US President Donald Trump as a threat to its nuclear program and is actively working to assassinate him.

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday assured Kannadigas of their safe and swift return to India stranded in Israel and Iran amid ongoing waves of strikes between the two nations.