The war between Israel and Iran continues .
A barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles were launched in particular on Tel Aviv and Haifa and “pierce” Iron Dome, the Israeli defense system, causing eight deaths and dozens of injuries , including a child in very serious conditions. Tehran claims to have “successfully” hit Israel and has promised “more devastating” attacks against vital Israeli targets . “A new wave of attacks by the Revolutionary Guards allowed the missiles to successfully and effectively hit targets” in Israel, the Iranian army said in a statement.
News for Monday, June 16:
Iranian state television announced this evening a new salvo of missiles on Israel, on the fourth day of military escalation . "A new salvo of missiles against the occupied territories has begun," the television reported, referring to Israel. The state television in Tehran itself had been attacked in the past few hours.
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Netanyahu: "Killing Khamenei? Not Ruled Out" – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC that he has not ruled out eliminating Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . According to Netanyahu, targeting Khamenei will end the conflict, not make it worse. Asked for comment on reports that Donald Trump has vetoed Israel's plan to eliminate Khamenei amid fears of an escalation of the conflict, Netanyahu responded: "It won't make it worse, but it will end it."
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G7 Calls for De-Escalation (Without Trump) – G7 leaders have drafted a joint statement calling for de-escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, but Donald Trump has yet to sign it , Reuters reports. The draft includes a commitment to safeguard market stability, including energy markets, and says Israel has the right to defend itself.
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Trump: "Iran should negotiate, it will not win" - "They want to talk, but they should have done it sooner. They have had sixty days, they must make a deal. The Iranians will not win this war, they must talk and they must talk now, before it is too late ." This was said by US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada, responding to those who asked if he had seen signs of de-escalation from Iran.
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Iran Pushes for Ceasefire – Iran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to pressure US President Donald Trump to use his influence with Israel to agree to a ceasefire with Tehran in exchange for Iran's flexibility in nuclear negotiations , Reuters reported on its website.
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IDF Raid on Iranian State TV – An Israeli attack has hit Iranian state TV, according to media reports in Tehran.
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WSJ: "Tehran ready to negotiate" - Iran has signaled its willingness to end hostilities and resume nuclear talks by sending messages to Israel and the United States through Arab intermediaries , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Middle Eastern and European officials. Tehran has signaled intermediaries that it would be willing to return to the negotiating table as long as the United States does not take part in Israel's attacks. Iran has also conveyed messages to Israel that it is in both sides' interests to contain the violence .
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Israel: "We have full superiority in the skies" – Effi Defrin, spokeswoman for the Israeli IDF, stressed that the Jewish state's air force "has established full air superiority over Tehran." The spokeswoman added that Israeli fighters are managing "to thwart a large part of Iran's attacks against Israel." Netanyahu was even more blunt: "In the name of the people and the State of Israel, you are doing extraordinary things: the Israeli Air Force dominates the skies of Tehran. This completely changes the nature of the campaign," the prime minister said, declaring that "victory is near."
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Israel hits Tehran-Qom highway – New Israeli raids and explosions in Tehran in the last few hours. The most affected area appears to be Shahrak-e Gharb, in the western sector of the capital. Bombs also hit the highway that connects Tehran with Qom, the second holiest city of Shiite Islam in the country. Previously, official Iranian media reported that anti-aircraft fire had downed nine more Israeli drones in the skies of Ain al-Soleh, in the province of Ilam.
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Unifil: «Ready for any eventuality»
The alert remains yellow at the moment, but "the situation is complicated and there is a heightened level of attention, even if there are no particular situations. We are ready for any eventuality". This was stated to ANSA by Unifil spokesperson Andrea Tenenti . The mission's activities remain unchanged. "We support the Lebanese army in repositioning itself in the south and we assist the population. Any remodulation of the mission is up to the UN Security Council which - he says - will meet in the coming weeks to negotiate the renewal of the mandate which should arrive at the end of August".
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Israel: "A third of Iran's missile launchers destroyed"
Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets destroyed 20 surface-to-surface missiles minutes before they were launched at Israel last night in a wave of strikes that hit 100 military targets in Isfahan, central Iran , an IDF spokesman said. Fifty fighter jets identified and destroyed command centers, missile warehouses, and struck a team that was about to launch the missiles. Since the start of the operation in Iran, the spokesman said, more than 120 missile launchers have been disabled, a third of the total in Iran's possession.
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Katz: «Tehran residents will pay the consequences»
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Tehran residents will "pay the price" for Iranian attacks on Israeli civilians . "The boastful dictator in Tehran has turned into a cowardly murderer, deliberately opening fire on Israel's civilian home front in an attempt to dissuade (the Israeli military) from continuing the offensive that is crippling its capabilities."
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Explosions north of Tehran
Two massive explosions were reported in Iran north of the capital. According to unofficial sources, several senior officials were killed in Israeli Spike missile attacks in Lavizan and Narmak. The headquarters of the Quds Force, a component of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was hit. The Bidgoneh military site in the city of Malard, near Tehran, was also reportedly attacked. Large-scale explosions were also reported in Qom, near the Fordow nuclear site . According to Iran's Revolutionary Guards , a new method was used in the night attack on Israel that rendered defense systems ineffective . "The initiatives and capabilities employed in this operation, despite the full support of the United States and Western powers and the possession of the most modern and advanced defense technology, led to the maximum success of the missiles on targets in the occupied territories."
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Khamenei evacuated
Iran International, citing informed sources, said that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was evacuated to an underground bunker in northeast Tehran a few hours after the Israeli strikes began on Friday. Khamenei is staying with his entire family in the Lavizan shelter, the sources said. Israel did not assassinate him on the first night of the operation to give him a last chance to completely abandon his uranium enrichment program, the news agency reported, citing a diplomatic source in the region.
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The provisional budget
In Iran since the beginning of hostilities, 224 people have been killed and over a thousand wounded, Tehran says, in Israel 24 victims and 592 people wounded, 10 of whom are in serious condition. "We do not hit civilians unlike Iran," claims Israel, which however this morning launched an attack on the Farabi hospital in Kermanshah, in western Iran.
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Trump: "They will find an agreement"
"I think Israel and Iran will find an agreement," says Donald Trump, who has so far resisted pressure from Israel and Republican hawks to join the war against Tehran . So far, the US has limited itself to supporting Israel's defense, but the president does not rule out direct involvement in the war: "It's possible," he says, implying that if American bases and interests in the area were to come under attack, Iran would be hit by the US military. The commander-in-chief's reticence to take action is also evident in his alleged veto of Israel's plan to kill the supreme leader . The elimination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a red line that Trump has deemed insurmountable, especially after having assured during his trip to the Middle East that the United States is not interested and does not want regime change. "Did the Iranians kill an American? No. Until they do, we will not even talk about taking it out on the political leadership," an administration official told Reuters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, flatly denied the rumor: "There are so many false reports about conversations that never happened that I won't go into details." There is no clear strategy, but Trump's desire is to prevent the conflict from spreading and to reach an agreement. And to resolve a crisis that is becoming increasingly intricate and dangerous, he is open to possible mediation by Putin: "We've talked about it for a long time. He's ready," the tycoon said, raising skepticism among many in his party.
(Unioneonline/Ll.f.)
