Israel's overnight strike on Iran in maps and images
Israel has hit Iran with its biggest wave of air strikes in years, targeting the country's nuclear programme, and is promising to continue its attacks.
Senior military figures and nuclear scientists were killed in the overnight strikes and there are unconfirmed reports that civilians, including children, were also among the victims. In response, Iran launched about 100 drones towards Israel, most of which were intercepted, according to the Israeli military.
Israel said it had launched a another wave of strikes on Friday evening, with reports of more explosions in Iran, but the scale of that attack and the damage caused is not yet clear.
Video analysed by the BBC shows multiple strikes overnight in the capital Tehran as well near three reported military sites and Iran's main nuclear facility in Natanz.
Israel's military said it had struck "dozens of military targets, including nuclear targets in different areas of Iran".
It later released a map of the sites it said it had hit which included nuclear facilities, missile facilities and radar defences, as well as scientists and military commanders.
Explosions were first reported in Tehran at about 03:30 local time (01:00 BST), with Iranian state TV saying residential areas were among those hit.
Blasts were heard in the north-east of the capital and explosions reported at the airport, according to analysis by the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
The BBC has confirmed one of the locations as the site where Iranian media reported that former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation Fereydoon Abbasi and nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were killed. Iran has confirmed that at least six of its nuclear scientists were killed.
Iranian state media showed footage of fires burning in buildings and plumes of smoke rising from the city's skyline.
Key Iranian commanders have also been killed, including the chief of staff of the armed forces, and the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Among the other sites hit is Iran's main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, in the centre of the country. Iranian state TV said it was struck several times, with pictures showing black smoke billowing from the site.
Israel's military said the strikes had caused significant damage.
The facility, about 225km (140 miles) south of Tehran, has enrichment plants above and below ground.
Uranium can be used to produce fuel for commercial nuclear power plants, research reactors or weapons depending on the level of enrichment.
The Institute for Science and International Security said satellite images show damage and destruction to several buildings around the complex, including the pilot fuel enrichment plant, which holds centrifuges and research facilities, as well as the on site electrical substation that provides power to the facility.
The global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it was informed by Iranian authorities that there has been no increase in radiation levels at the Natanz plant.
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. It has several facilities around Iran, at least some of which have been targeted in the Israeli strikes.
But many countries - as well as the IAEA - are not convinced Iran's programme is for civilian purposes alone. It has nuclear facilities spread across much of the country.
The strikes come as US talks over Iran's nuclear programme, which began in April, appear to have stalled in recent days. The next round of talks was scheduled for Sunday.
US President Donald Trump has urged Iran to "make a deal" on its nuclear programme, "before there is nothing left". Other world leaders have called for restraint on both sides.
IAEA head Rafael Grossi said nuclear facilities "must never be attacked" and such strikes have "serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security".
In a statement to board members, he called "on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation", saying "any military action that jeopardises the safety and security of nuclear facilities risks grave consequences for the people of Iran, the region, and beyond".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Pope Leo XIV says there should be no tolerance for abuse of any kind in Catholic Church
LIMA, Peru — Pope Leo XIV has said there should be no tolerance in the Catholic Church for any type of abuse — sexual, spiritual or abuse of authority — and called for 'transparent processes' to create a culture of prevention across the church. Leo made his first public comments about the clergy sex abuse scandal in a written message to a Peruvian journalist who documented a particularly egregious case of abuse and financial corruption in a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae. The message was read out loud on Friday night in Lima during a performance of a play based on the Sodalitium scandal and the work of the journalist, Paola Ugaz. 'It is urgent to root in the whole church a culture of prevention that does not tolerate any form of abuse – neither of power or authority, nor abuse of conscience, spiritual or sexual abuse,' Leo said in the message. 'This culture will only be authentic if it is born of active vigilance, of transparent processes and sincere listening to those who have been hurt. For this, we need journalists.' Leo is well aware of the Sodalitium scandal, since he spent two decades as a missionary priest and bishop in Peru, where the group was founded in 1971. The then-Bishop Robert Prevost was responsible for listening to the Sodalitium's victims as the Peruvian bishops' point-person for abuse victims and helped some reach financial settlements with the organization. After Pope Francis brought him to the Vatican in 2023, Prevost helped dismantle the group entirely by overseeing the resignation of a powerful Sodalitium bishop. The Sodalitium was officially suppressed earlier this year, right before Francis died. Now as pope, Leo has to oversee the dismantling of the Soldalitium and its sizeable assets. The Vatican envoy on the ground handling the job, Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, read out Leo's message on Friday night, appearing alongside Ugaz on stage. In the message, Leo also praised journalists for their courage in holding the powerful to account, demanded public authorities protect them and said a free press is an 'common good that cannot be renounced.' Ugaz and a Sodalitium victim, Pedro Salinas, have faced years of criminal and civil litigation from Sodalitium and its supporters for their investigative reporting into the group's twisted practices and financial misconduct, and they have praised Leo for his handling of the case. The abuse scandal is one of the thorniest dossiers facing Leo, especially given demands from survivors that he go even farther than Francis in applying a zero-tolerance for abuse across the church, including for abusers whose victims were adults.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Huckabee: State Department is evacuating Americans from Israel amid Iran conflict
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also posted actions people can take to remain safe including learning the location of the nearest bomb shelters. The State Department has begun evacuating American citizens and permanent residents from Israel and the West Bank, U.S Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on social media as the Israel-Iran war enters a second week. 'The Department of State has begun assisted departure flights from Israel,' Huckabee wrote in a post on X on June 21 asking people seeking government assistance to fill out a form. Huckabee also posted actions people can take to remain safe including learning the location of the nearest bomb shelters, avoiding large gatherings and monitoring local media. The State Department did not immediately respond to questions asking about the number of Americans it expects to retrieve from Israel. The conflict started a week ago when Israel began conducting airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military sites, primarily targeting uranium enrichment facilities to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The two countries have been engaged in aerial strikes while President Donald Trump is mulling over the possibility of U.S. involvement to help Israel destroy Iranian nuclear facilities. Hundreds of Americans have left Iran in the last week, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. Trump is expected meet his national security team on the evening of June 21 to discuss possible U.S. involvement in the conflict .
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Iranian government spokesperson says negotiations will be meaningless if attacks continue
Speaking to senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen in Tehran, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani emphasized the need for Israel to halt their attacks for Iran to even "think about" further nuclear negotiations with the US.
