BLOG New Iranian attack on Israel: Injured in Haifa, explosions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

Regime change in Iran could be the result of Israeli military strikes on the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Tuesday, saying Israel would do whatever it took to eliminate the "existential threat" posed by Tehran.

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Detail from Haifa, Photo: Reuters
Detail from Haifa, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.
Ažurirano: 16.06.2025. 00:14h
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00h01PM

Iran has launched a new attack on Israel, with emergency services saying at least 15 people have been injured in Haifa, Al Jazeera Balkans reports.

Missiles were also spotted in the skies over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where explosions were also heard.

Tel Aviv
Tel Avivphoto: Reuters
22h57PM

The Swiss embassy in Iran said today that it would remain temporarily closed until further notice due to the ongoing conflict in the region, Reuters reports.

This announcement was made on the social network X.

The Swiss Embassy in Tehran represents the interests of the United States of America (US) in Iran.

Switzerland, which maintains a policy of neutrality, has held that mandate since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979.

22h43PM

Iran's Health Ministry has said that 224 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across the country since Friday, the BBC reports.

That's almost a hundred more than the 128 deaths as of noon Saturday, as previously reported.

Reuters reported that state media reported that the death toll in Israeli attacks on Iran since Friday had risen to 224, 90 percent of whom were civilians.

Change: 22:59 p.m
22h03PM

The head of the intelligence service of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy were killed in today's Israeli attacks on the Iranian capital, Tehran, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, Reuters reports.

22h02PM

Iranian state television said tonight that Iran had attacked Tel Aviv, Haifa and other cities in Israel with "dozens of Iranian missiles and drones," the BBC reports.

It also states that the missiles overcame "layers of the Israeli defense system."

21h54PM

The BBC reported that Israel's emergency services, Magen David Adom (MDA), responded to the latest rocket attack, which hit several parts of the country, including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.

An MDA spokeswoman said that in Haifa, 10 people were treated for "minor injuries" and transferred to hospitals in Bnei Zion, Carmel and Rambam.

In southern Israel, one injured person was evacuated, while the MDA said eight people were injured elsewhere.

21h52PM

Another wave of rockets was fired from Iran at Israel tonight, with reports indicating that a building in Haifa was hit, the BBC reports.

As reported by Sebastian Asher, the BBC's regional editor for the Middle East, an apartment building was destroyed in the coastal city of Bat Yam, where seven people, including two children, were killed in an earlier attack.

Residents told the BBC they were shocked to see the destruction Iran could cause, despite Israel's Iron Dome air defense shield.

Asher reported that in Iran, people are stuck in huge traffic jams as they try to leave Tehran, which is increasingly becoming the target of relentless Israeli bombing - and which is intensifying by the day.

21h48PM

BBC Jerusalem correspondent Jonah Wells reported tonight that there had been an attack on the city.

She reported that most of the rockets had been intercepted and that the sirens in Jerusalem had stopped.

She also stated that there had been a direct attack in Haifa – a coastal city in northern Israel with a strategically important port. 

Emergency services are on the scene, and Israel has also confirmed that it is continuing to strike other targets in Iran.

20h15PM

The Iranian armed forces, in a video statement broadcast on state television tonight, around the time Iran launched a new barrage of missiles towards Israel, called on Israeli residents to leave the vicinity of "vital areas" for their safety, Reuters reports.

"We have a database of vital and critical areas in the occupied territories (Israel) and we urge you not to allow the brutal regime to use you as human shields. Do not stay or travel near these critical areas," the armed forces spokesman said.

19h21PM

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Montenegro announced today that it is closely monitoring the development of the security situation in Israel, Iran and the wider region, and advises citizens to avoid all travel to these countries until further notice, due to the deteriorating security situation and increased risk to personal safety.

"According to currently available information, no Montenegrin citizens have been injured. The Ministry has been informed that a Montenegrin citizen, residing in Jordan, has contacted the Honorary Consul of Montenegro in that country to inquire about the possibilities of possibly leaving the territory of Jordan," the statement said.

19h01PM

United States President Donald Trump has vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in recent days, two US officials told Reuters today.

18h42PM

Regime change in Iran could be the result of Israeli military strikes on the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Tuesday, saying Israel would do whatever it took to eliminate the "existential threat" posed by Tehran, Reuters reported.

Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion" with a surprise attack on Friday morning that destroyed the highest echelons of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear facilities, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in the coming days. Iran has vowed to "open the gates of hell" in retaliation.

The Israeli military has said that the current goal of the campaign is not regime change, but rather the dismantling of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Asked by Fox News' Bret Bayer on his "Special Report" show whether the regime change was part of Israel's military efforts, Netanyahu said: "Certainly it could be a result because the Iranian regime is very weak."

"We are ready to do whatever it takes to achieve our dual goal, to eliminate... two existential threats - the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat," Netanyahu said in one of his first interviews since the start of the Israeli attacks.

"We acted - to save ourselves, but also, I think, to not only protect ourselves, but to protect the world from this incendiary regime. We cannot allow the most dangerous regime in the world to have the most dangerous weapons in the world," he said.

Israel has said its operation could last weeks, and Netanyahu has openly called on the Iranian people to rebel against their Islamic clerical rulers.

Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight Saturday, killing dozens of people and raising fears of a wider conflict, as US President Donald Trump said it could easily end, while warning Tehran not to attack any US targets.

Asked about a Reuters report that Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Netanyahu said: "I won't get into that."

But he said he informed Trump before the military action on Friday.

He also said that American pilots are shooting down Iranian drones heading towards Israel.

With concerns about the regional conflagration growing, Trump praised the Israeli offensive while denying Iranian claims that the United States was involved. He warned Tehran not to expand its retaliation to American targets or face the "full force and power" of the US military.

Trump has repeatedly said that Iran could end the war by agreeing to strict limits on its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb.

The latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the US, which were scheduled to take place on Sunday, were canceled after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack.

Change: 19:27 p.m
17h33PM

The Israeli military said on Monday it had shot down a mid-air refueling plane at Mashhad airport in eastern Iran, describing it as its longest-range strike since launching operations against Iran last week.

16h41PM

Iran and Israel will soon have peace, US President Donald Trump said on social media today, adding that there had been many vague meetings and that the two countries should reach an agreement, Reuters reports.

Israel and Iran launched new attacks overnight and Sunday, killing dozens of people.

"Ran and Israel should make a deal and they will make a deal," Trump said on Truth Social, adding that "we will have peace soon."

Trump did not offer any details about the meetings or evidence of progress toward peace, according to Reuters.

His claim contradicts comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said on Saturday that Israel's campaign against Iran would intensify.

A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump and the White House are working to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.

Trump, who presents himself as a peacemaker and has been criticized by his political base for his inability to prevent the Israeli-Iranian conflict, cited other disputes he has taken responsibility for resolving, including those between India and Pakistan, and expressed regret that he did not receive more praise for them, according to Reuters.

"I do a lot of work and never get credit for anything, but that's okay, the people understand. Let's make the Middle East great again!" Trump wrote.

15h26PM

Iran's response to Israeli attacks will be "more decisive and harsh" if Israel's hostile actions continue, Iranian President Masoud Pazakhstani said on Monday, according to state media.

Pezeskian
Pezeskianphoto: Reuters

Pezeshkian added that the Iranian military has so far responded "strongly and appropriately," according to the report.

14h34PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said today that he has "solid evidence" of US forces' support for the attack that Israel launched on Friday on Iranian territory.

"We have solid evidence of support from American forces and bases in the region for attacks by the Zionist regime's forces," Aragshi said in a meeting with foreign diplomats broadcast on state television.

US President Donald Trump reiterated late last night that Washington was in no way involved in Israeli attacks on Iran.

Araghchi told foreign diplomats that Iran would defend itself against aggression and that its defense was "completely legitimate."

"If the aggression stops, our response will of course also stop," he said today, on the third day of an unprecedented military escalation between Iran and Israel.

The Iranian minister believes that Israel has "crossed a new red line" by attacking Iranian nuclear facilities, Beta reports.

He assured that Iran is ready to conclude any agreement that guarantees that it does not seek nuclear weapons, but he reiterated that Tehran will not accept any agreement that would deprive it of its "nuclear rights." Iran says it has the right to develop nuclear capabilities for peaceful purposes.

The Iranian foreign minister said that the Israeli attack on Iran is an attempt to undermine diplomacy and block negotiations.

"It is absolutely clear that the Israeli regime does not want any agreement on the nuclear issue, that it does not want negotiations," Aragshi said.

Oman, which served as a mediator between the US and Iran in talks on the nuclear issue, confirmed on Saturday that the sixth round of talks between the two countries, scheduled for today, had been canceled.

The Iranian foreign minister also assessed that the UN Security Council was "indifferent", and criticized the governments of Western countries which, as he said, condemned Iran instead of Israel, "even though Iran is the attacked party".

He also warned of the expansion of the conflict to the Persian Gulf after yesterday's Israeli attack on the South Pars refinery in southern Iran.

"Expanding the conflict to the Persian Gulf region is a major strategic mistake, and it is probably intentional with the aim of spreading the war beyond Iranian territory," Araghchi said.

13h48PM

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke this morning with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al Said and they agreed that it is important to prevent the further spread of conflict in the Middle East, a German government spokesman said.

"The Chancellor thanked the Sultan for Oman's efforts to mediate with the aim of ending Iran's nuclear program. He stressed that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons," the statement said.

Both leaders, it added, stressed their willingness to contribute to ending the conflict through diplomatic means, Reuters reports.

13h46PM

Britain could provide support to Israel in its conflict with Iran, but the decision to send additional military aircraft to the Middle East was made primarily to protect British bases and personnel, British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said.

Israel and Iran exchanged fresh attacks overnight between Saturday and Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the attacks Israel has carried out so far are nothing compared to what Iran can expect in the coming days.

Speaking to Sky News, Reeves called for a de-escalation of the conflict and added that the decision to deploy additional aircraft was a "preventive measure", Reuters reports.

When asked if the UK would help Israel if asked, Reeves replied: "We have supported Israel in the past when rockets were fired at it."

She added: "We are sending resources and equipment to protect ourselves, but also potentially support our allies."

Britain took part in defending Israel from Iranian missile attacks last year. In April, British planes shot down Iranian drones flying towards Israel, and in October it was reported that two fighter jets and a refueling plane took part in an attempt to intercept Iranian missiles. At that time, they did not open fire on the targets.

13h45PM

Iran's nuclear program poses a threat to the security of Israel, but also of Europe, and diplomacy is the only way to avoid an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

"Iran's nuclear program is an existential threat to the security of Israel, and more broadly to the security of Europe. We have always maintained that the best way to prevent and contain this threat remains diplomacy," Barrot told French radio RTL, Reuters reported.

Earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful said that Germany, France and the United Kingdom were ready to immediately start talks with Iran about its nuclear program, with the aim of calming the situation in the Middle East.

12h40PM

Israel still has a long list of targets it plans to hit in Iran, an Israeli military official said, as the two countries continued to exchange missile strikes that began on Friday.

He did not want to specify how long the attacks on Iran would last, but added that the military had hit about 80 targets in Tehran on Saturday evening, Reuters reports.

Among those targets were two Iranian "dual-use" fuel facilities, which he said support military and nuclear operations.

He also stated that the Chief of General Staff of the Yemeni Houthi group was also targeted during the night.

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