What's next for Iran after Israel attacks? – DW – 06/13/2025
Tehran has said it considers Israeli strikes on military leaders and nuclear sites as a "declaration of war." A diplomatic de-escalation seems like a distant prospect.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said Israel will suffer a "bitter and painful" fate, following attacks Friday on Iranian targets. Iran's military has warned there will be "no limits" to its response.
Israel's military has said over 100 targets in Iran were struck overnight, which were followed up later in the day by another series of strikes.
The targets included at least six leading nuclear scientists and four senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who were killed in attacks on residential buildings in the capital, Tehran.
Iranian media have reported that the IRGC commander-in-chief, Hossein Salami, was among those killed, along with top Khamenei aide and diplomat Ali Shamkhani, who also led a committee coordinating nuclear talks.
Iran has characterized the Israeli strikes as a "declaration of war."
Failed nuclear diplomacy with Iran
"The current situation is the result of a lack of effective and functioning diplomacy between Iran and the US in the nuclear negotiations," Mohammad Sadegh Javadi Hesar, a former Iranian parliamentarian and editor in chief of the dissident Tus newspaper, told DW.
"This situation has created a space in which Israel is behaving undiplomatically and has drawn both negotiating parties into a military confrontation that neither was desired nor is desired by Iran," he added.
Israel struck several targets in Tehran on Friday Image: MEGHDAD MADADI/TASNIM NEWS/AFP/Getty Images
The US in recent months had restarted negotiations with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program with the aim of reaching a deal to keep Iran away from developing a nuclear weapon. In 2018, during his first term, US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear agreement with Iran that traded sanctions relief for a verifiable Iranian drawdown of uranium enrichment.
Israel views the Iranian nuclear program as an existential threat. The Iranian leadership does not recognize the state of Israel and regularly threatens to destroy it.
However, Tehran officially emphasizes that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a different perspective. According to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, Iran is enriching uranium to an extent that exceeds that of all other non-nuclear weapon states.
In a resolution on June 12, the UN nuclear watchdog declared for the first time in almost 20 years that Iran had violated its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. This provides an opportunity to refer the case to the UN Security Council.
In response to the IAEA's condemnation of the lack of cooperation, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Agency jointly announced their intention to build a third uranium enrichment facility "in a safe place."
Javadi Hesar, an Iran-based political critic, told DW that the IAEA ruling has allowed Israel to legitimize its strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
"Israel can now claim that even the IAEA has determined that the Iranian nuclear program is neither predictable nor controllable. Therefore, it is necessary to strike preemptively and destroy Iranian nuclear facilities out of self-protection," Hesar said.
"To prevent this escalation from turning into a major war, and to keep the confrontation between Iran and Israel at a low and limited level, the US government — as Iran's negotiating partner — should quickly condemn Israel's actions and make it publicly clear that it was not involved in this attack," he added.
IAEA chief Grossi, meanwhile, condemned the attack on Iran's nuclear program.
On Friday, he stated that, according to the Iranian authorities, the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz had been hit by the Israeli attacks.
Israel claimed the facility had been "significantly" damaged. The IAEA has not seen increased radiation levels at the site.
A second facility in Fordo and the nuclear center in Isfahan were not affected as of Friday afternoon.
An aerial photograph of the Natanz nuclear facility from January 2025 Image: Maxar Technologies/Handout/REUTERS
How could Iran respond to strikes on nuclear program?
Iran has spread its nuclear facilities over several locations, some of which are in underground bunkers, which makes it difficult to completely destroy them.
If Iran's nuclear facilities are attacked, Iran has little choice but to strike back for internal political reasons, according to Arman Mahmoudian, Iran expert at the University of South Florida.
He added Iran is concerned about a development similar to the Syrian war, in which Israel destroyed several nuclear facilities under construction.
"Iran feels compelled to send at least a limited but clear countersignal in order to prevent further attacks. Israel, in turn, could expand its operations and target Iran's electricity and oil infrastructure in order to increase the pressure on Tehran on a daily basis," Mahmoudian told DW.
Iran's first reaction was to fire more than 100 drones at Israel, all of which were intercepted outside Israeli territory, according to the Israeli military.
The Iranian armed forces released a statement saying that Tehran had "no restrictions" in its response to Israel's strikes.
Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh has said that "new" weapons had been tested and handed over to the armed forces. Iran has also called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
What is the role of the US?
US President Trump on Friday took to his Truth Social social media platform and called on the Iranian leadership to make a "deal" and warned otherwise of "even more brutal" attacks.
"There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end," Trump posted.
Trump told US broadcaster CNN on Friday that the Israeli strikes were a "very successful attack." Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier on Friday had said the US was not involved in supporting or orchestrating the strikes.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the prime minister will speak with Trump at some point on Friday.
"So far, Iran has not wanted to be drawn into a direct military conflict with the US, which would be an extremely risky undertaking," said Iran expert Mahmoudian.
"However, there is a difference between the US merely supporting Israel and actively getting involved in a war with Iran," he added.
To completely destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, Israel would need more advanced weaponry that only the US would be able to provide.
Should such involvement occur, Iranian retaliation would likely also target US facilities in the region, which would further destabilize the already tense situation in the Middle East.
Israel attacks Iran amid growing criticism over Gaza
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This article was originally written in German.
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Int'l Business Times
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DW
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DW
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US must 'receive a response' to strikes Iranian leader says – DW – 06/22/2025
Iran's president has said his country has to respond following US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. The US called operation "Midnight Hammer" an "overwhelming success." Follow DW for President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States must "receive a response" to its attacks on nuclear sites in Iran. "The Americans must receive a response to their aggression," Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency. In a post on X, Macron said that during the conversation with Pezeshkian, he "called for de-escalation and for Iran to exercise the utmost restraint in this dangerous context, to allow a return to diplomatic channels." Pezeshkian called on Iranians to unite in the face of the attacks from Israel and the US. He joined a march in Tehran where demonstrators chanted slogans against Israel and the US, the Fars news agency reported. 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Iran's Supreme National Security Council must make the final decision on whether to close the Strait of Hormuz following US bombing raids, Iran's Press TV said on Sunday. Parliament is reported to have backed the measure, with Iran having long used the threat of closing the Strait, through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows, to fend off pressure from the West. Tensions are at their highest following the overnight US strikes on its nuclear facilities. A decision to close the strait is not yet final. Esmail Kosari, a member of parliament's national security commission, was quoted on Iranian media as saying: "For now, [parliament has] come to the conclusion we should close the Strait of Hormuz, but the final decision in this regard is the responsibility of the Supreme National Security Council." Kosari, who is also a Revolutionary Guards Commander, had earlier told the Young Journalist Club that closing the strait was on the agenda and would be done "whenever necessary." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi had dodged the question when he was pressed, replying: "A variety of options are available to Iran." The strait lies between Oman and Iran and links the Mideast Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond. It is 21 miles (33 kilometers) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just two miles wide in either direction. Israel said that it deployed around 30 fighter jets to carry out massive attacks in Iran on Sunday. With the move, Israel has expanded its offensive launched more than a week ago, a military spokesman said in a statement. The statement said Israel had "struck dozens of military targets throughout Iran," including "the 'Imam Hussein' Strategic Missile Command Center in the Yazd area, where long-range Khorramshahr missiles were stored." The Israeli military also confirmed strikes on missile launchers in the Bushehr province, where a "massive explosion" was reported by Iranian media. It also confirmed strikes in Ahvaz in the southwest and central Isfahan, which is home to a uranium conversion facility targeted by more than two dozen missiles fired from a US submarine in the Middle East overnight. Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin said there would be no interruption in the offensive against Iran after overnight US strikes. "We are continuing and are determined to achieve the objectives of the operation: eliminating the existential threat to the state of Israel, damaging Iran's nuclear programme and destroying its missile systems," Defrin said. The UN's nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told CNN on Sunday that it was not yet possible to assess the damage done after US strikes hit Iran's Fordo enrichment site, which is buried in a mountain. Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also called on all sides to return to the "negotiating table as soon as possible." He added that "inspectors need to be able to return to Iran's nuclear sites." Inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities since the first strikes on them by Israel on June 13. Grossi added the UN nuclear body would hold an "emergency meeting" at the organization's headquarters in Vienna on Monday in response to the US strikes. Meanwhile, the IAEA wrote on the social media platform X that it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at key nuclear sites in Iran after the US strikes. "Following attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran... the IAEA can confirm that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time," the watchdog said on X. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the world was "safer" after the US strikes on Iran. He spoke about the strikes on US broadcaster Fox News' show "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo." Rubio warned Iran against retaliating against the US, saying such an action would be "the worst mistake they've ever made." "I think the world today is safer and more stable than it was 24 hours ago," he said, warning Iran that it risked further reprisals if it insisted on maintaining a "secret" nuclear program. Iran has said its nuclear program serves exclusively civilian purposes. Rubio accused Iran of entering into "fake negotiations" ahead of the strikes in a bid to "play" US President Donald Trump. Officials from the US and Iran had been scheduled to meet on June 15, but that meeting was canceled after Israel launched attacks on Iran on June 13. US Vice President JD Vance said his country was only at war with Iran's nuclear program, adding that the program had been pushed back following US airstrikes ordered by President Donald Trump. "We're not at war with Iran. We're at war with Iran's nuclear program," Vance said in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker." "I think that we have really pushed their program back by a very long time," Vance said. "I think that it's going to be many, many years before the Iranians are going to be able to develop a nuclear weapon." The US had been in diplomatic talks with Iran about Tehran's nuclear program, but Vance accused Iran of not negotiating in good faith, which he said served as a catalyst for US strikes. "We don't want a regime change," Vance added. "We do not want to protract this... We want to end the nuclear program, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here. "I actually think it provides an opportunity to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations and get us in a place where Iran can decide not to be a threat to its neighbors, not to a threat to the United States and if they're willing to do that, the United States is all ears," Vance said. Vance explained that Trump made the final decision to strike Iran right before the strikes took place and that Washington has received some "indirect" messages from Tehran since the strikes. He did not elaborate on the content of the messages. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that by bombing nuclear program sites in Iran, the US had "blown up diplomacy." (See entry below) To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video America's top military officer, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, told reporters on Sunday that overnight US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities had included 14 massive ordnance penetrator or "bunker-buster" bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft. Caine called "Operation Midnight Hammer" the largest B-2 operational strike in US history, explaining that seven B-2 stealth bombers had flown 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran and refueled mid-air several times along the way to carry out the mission. Despite claims from President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth that Iran's nuclear program was "obliterated", Caine said a battle damage assessment was still ongoing. He said US troops in the region were given no advanced warning and remain on high alert. The general said initial assessments indicated "extreme damage and destruction" at three Iranian nuclear sites. Caine said the US troops had used deceptive tactics and completed their mission of delivering some 75 precision-guided weapons to targets inside Iran undetected — maintaining the element of surprise throughout. Adding that "no other military in the world could have done this," Caine advised Iran to refrain from striking back against the US, saying that to do so would be "a poor choice." Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a warning to US military bases in the Middle East after overnight US airstrikes on the country's nuclear sites. "By attacking the peaceful nuclear facilities, [US forces] have de facto put themselves in direct danger," the IRGC said, according to the Fars news agency. Iran, it said, would "use options beyond the understanding... of the agressor front, and the aggressors of this land must expect regrettable responses." The overnight US airstrikes ordered by US President Donald Trump targeted nuclear facilities in three locations in Iran, including the well-fortified uranium enrichment plant at Fordo. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The IRGC also said it would continue to target Israel, which has been hit by multiple waves of missile and drone attacks since Israel struck Iran on June 13. The United States has many bases around the Persian Gulf, including in Bahrain and Qatar. Some are located relatively close to Iran, which could make them targets of retaliation. Around 40,000 members of the US military are currently stationed in the region. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday called military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities "an incredible and overwhelming success" that had "obliterated Iran's nuclear ambitions." Hegseth said neither Iranian troops nor civilians had been targeted in the US operation. Just hours after the airstrikes on Iran, Hegseth echoed President Trump, claiming the US "seeks peace." He went on to say, "We will act swiftly and decisively when our people, our partners or our interests are threatened." Hegseth praised Trump for the operation, which he said had been months in the making: "The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant, showing the world that American deterrence is back. When this president speaks, the world should listen." Iranian media have reported "massive" blasts in the southern city of Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear reactor. Iranian authorities have not yet reported any problem at the plant, which is operated with Russian assistance. The cause of the blasts was not immediately clear. China's Foreign Ministry has criticized the US attacks on Iran, saying they "escalate tensions in the Middle East" and go against the UN Charter. Among other things, it said it condemned the targeting of nuclear facilities supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency. "China calls on all parties to the conflict, especially Israel, to cease fire as soon as possible," the ministry said in a statement. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the US attacks on nuclear sites were the result of an "irresponsible" decision that goes against international law. "The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb attacks, whatever the arguments it may be presented with, flagrantly violates international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council," the ministry said in a statement. "We call for an end to aggression and for increased efforts to create conditions for returning the situation to a political and diplomatic track," the ministry said.
