Israel says it has killed three more Iranian commanders as war drags into second week

Israel said Saturday it had killed three more Iranian commanders in its unprecedented bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic, which Foreign Minister Gideon Saar claimed had delayed Tehran's alleged progress towards a nuclear weapon by two years.
Israel's military said a strike in Qom south of Tehran successfully targeted top Iranian official Saeed Izadi, in charge of coordination with Palestinian militant group Hamas, adding two other commanders from Iran 's Revolutionary Guards were also killed overnight.
The Revolutionary Guards said five of its members died in attacks on Khorramabad, according to Iranian media. They did not mention Izadi, who was on US and British sanctions lists, but said Israel had also attacked a building in Qom, with initial reports of a 16-year-old killed and two people injured.
As Israel continued to strike Iran's nuclear facilities and military targets, Saar said in an interview that by his country's own assessment, it had "already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb".
"We will do everything that we can do there in order to remove this threat," Saar told German newspaper Bild, asserting Israel's onslaught would continue.
02:49
Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon – an accusation the Islamic Republic has denied.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has said Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 percent.
But he added that there was no evidence Tehran had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead.
Grossi told CNN it was "pure speculation" to say how long it would take Iran to develop weapons.
Israel said it had attacked Iran's Isfahan nuclear site for a second time after its air force announced it had also launched salvos against missile storage and launch sites in the centre of the country.
The army later said it was striking military infrastructure in southwest Iran.
US President Donald Trump warned on Friday that Tehran had a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes, as Washington weighs whether to join Israel's campaign.
'Not prepared to negotiate'
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict.
Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday, and urged him to resume talks with the United States that had been derailed by Israel's attacks.
But Araghchi told NBC News after the meeting that "we're not prepared to negotiate with them (the United States) anymore, as long as the aggression continues".
Trump, dismissive of European diplomatic efforts, also said he was unlikely to ask Israel to stop its attacks to get Iran back to the table.
"If somebody's winning, it's a little bit harder to do," he said.
Iran: Israel strikes key nuclear site of Isfahan, authorities report no hazardous leak
01:33
Any US involvement would likely feature powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses to destroy an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo.
A US-based NGO, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, said on Friday that based on its sources and media reports at least 657 people have been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.
Iran's health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed and 3,056 in the Israeli strikes.
Nasrin, 39, who was receiving treatment at Hazrat Rasool hospital in Tehran and who gave only her first name, said she had been thrown across a room in her home by an Israeli strike on the Iranian capital
"I just hit the wall. I don't know how long I was unconscious. When I woke up, I was covered in blood from head to toe," she told AFP from her hospital bed.
Iran's retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures.
Israel's National Public Diplomacy Directorate said more than 450 missiles have been fired at the country so far, along with about 400 drones.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they have targeted military sites and air force bases.

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Euronews

42 minutes ago

• Euronews

Tehran says 'war starts now' after US strikes three nuclear sites

"War starts right now", the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Tehran's main army branch, said overnight on Sunday after the US forces struck three nuclear sites in Iran, according to US President Donald Trump. Trump posted on his Truth Social account that a "full payload of bombs was dropped" on the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear sites. "Congratulations to our great American warriors," Trump said, adding that it is now "time for peace". In turn, top US Republican lawmaker Lindsey Graham said Trump "made the right call". The Tehran regime "deserved it," the senior US senator from South Carolina added. "Well done, president," Graham said. "To my fellow citizens: We have the best Air Force in the world. It makes me so proud." Top Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, said Trump has "mislead the country," however. "Donald Trump promised to bring peace to the Middle East. He has failed to deliver on that promise. The risk of war has now dramatically increased, and I pray for the safety of our troops in the region who have been put in harm's way," Jeffrey said in a statement. The US has between 40,000 and 50,000 troops stationed in the region, who are expected to be put on high alert after the strikes. The IRGC responded by saying this has further escalated what has been an exchange of missile and drone attacks by Iran and Israel since last Friday, now escalating beyond conflict to a full-blown war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Israel's Defence Ministry said it elevated its state of alert even further, cancelling all "educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, except for essential sectors." Trump's decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that aimed to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive military capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. On Saturday, multiple US B-2 bombers appeared to be airborne and heading west from the US. B-2 bombers are the only aircraft that carry the larger bunker buster bombs. Aside from an on-the-ground raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but American bunker-buster bombs. Both US and Israeli officials said that American stealth bombers and a 15,000-kilogram bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground. The bunker buster bombs are believed to be able to penetrate some 60 metres below the surface before exploding. They can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. However, the Fordow nuclear site might be buried deep, with some parts of it reaching hundreds of metres beneath the surface, according to reports. Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used, but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The US has been shifting its military aircraft towards the Middle East for days, as Euronews reported. Although Trump initially said he would decide whether to strike Iran in "two weeks", the decision came within around two days. Iran had previously pledged to retaliate if the US joined the Israeli assault. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday the US that strikes targeting his nation would "result in irreparable damage for them."

LeMonde

an hour ago

• LeMonde

Trump says US has struck 3 Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israeli air campaign

President Donald Trump said Saturday, June 21, that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. Iran's nuclear agency on Sunday confirmed the attacks. The decision to directly involve the US in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that aimed to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. "We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on social media. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home." Trump added in a later post that he would address the nation at 10 pm Eastern time, writing, "This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!" Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify what types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The strikes are a perilous decision, as Iran has pledged to retaliate if the US joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally. He won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. Trump told reporters Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran, saying it's "the last thing you want to do." He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks. Iran's nuclear agency on Sunday confirmed attacks took place on its Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz atomic sites, but is insisting its work will not be stopped. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued the statement after Trump announced the attack on the facilities. "The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped," it said in its statement. 'Irreparable damage' Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States on Wednesday that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will "result in irreparable damage for them." And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared "any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region." Help us improve Le Monde in English Dear reader, We'd love to hear your thoughts on Le Monde in English! Take this quick survey to help us improve it for you. Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully. The Israeli military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the US attack that American military involvement "would be very, very dangerous for everyone." The prospect of a wider war loomed. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joined Israel's military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced that the US had begun "assisted departure flights," the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump planned to make his decision on the strikes within two weeks. Instead, he struck just two days later. Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, Israel appealed to Trump for the bunker-busting American bomb known as the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The bomb is currently delivered only by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. If deployed in the attack, it would be the first combat use of the weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Republican leaders praise Trump Following Trump's announcement on Saturday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who was briefed by the White House ahead of the strike, said in a statement, "President Trump has been consistent and clear that a nuclear-armed Iran will not be tolerated ... That posture has now been enforced with strength, precision, and clarity." US Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Iranian regime's "misguided pursuit of nuclear weapons must be stopped." Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime Iran hawk and Republican from South Carolina, wrote online: "This was the right call. The regime deserves it." Meanwhile, elected Democrats and some far-right Republicans questioned the move, particularly without authorization from the US Congress. "Horrible judgment," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. "I will push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war." Said conservative Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, "While President Trump's decision may prove just, it's hard to conceive a rationale that's Constitutional."

France 24

3 hours ago

• France 24

Trump says US bombed three Iran nuclear sites, including Fordow

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb. bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on social media. "All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism.