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Israel and Iran are locked successful an escalating speech of missiles, targeting each other’s information and economical infrastructure portion besides striking colonisation centres.
The existent escalation began aft Israel launched strikes connected Friday greeting involving 200 combatant jets that deed dozens of nuclear, subject and infrastructure targets crossed Iran, including the country’s main atomic installation successful Natanz.
The strikes came amid ongoing negotiations betwixt Iran and the United States, Israel’s cardinal ally, implicit Tehran’s atomic programme, which Iran says is solely for civilian purposes.
Israel’s archetypal question of attacks killed astatine slightest 4 elder commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arsenic good arsenic respective atomic scientists. Israel claims these attacks are aimed astatine crippling Iran’s quality to physique a atomic weaponry — and to militarily respond done the sword limb of its information forces, the IRGC.
But who precisely has Israel targeted, and what is the IRGC?
Who has been killed?
The attacks connected Friday killed respective elder subject leaders, including:
- Hossein Salami, the caput of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
- Mohammad Bagheri, main of unit of Iran’s Armed Forces
- Gholamali Rashid, commandant of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters
- Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commandant of the IRGC Aerospace Forces
(Al Jazeera)Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Abdolrahim Mousavi to regenerate Bagheri arsenic main of unit of the equipped forces, Ahmad Vahidi to instrumentality Salami’s presumption arsenic brag of the IRGC, and Majid Mousavi to regenerate Hajizadeh arsenic caput of the IRGC aerial force.
Separately, state-run quality outlet Nour News said Khamenei’s elder advisor Ali Shamkhani was “critically injured”. Shamkhani was starring Iran’s diplomatic efforts with the US.
Six salient Iranian nuclear scientists were besides killed.
What is the IRGC?
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is simply a subdivision of Iran’s military, established aft the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Operating alongside the regular army, it answers straight to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plays a cardinal relation successful Iran’s defence, overseas operations, and determination influence.
With astir 190,000 progressive unit (and implicit 600,000 including reserves), the IRGC oversees Iran’s ballistic rocket and atomic programmes and supports proxy groups crossed the Middle East.
It was designated a overseas “terrorist” organisation by the US successful 2019 – marking the archetypal clip the US had utilized the designation against a portion of different government.
Beyond its subject role, the IRGC is profoundly embedded successful Iran’s governmental and economical structures.
The now-deceased caput of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace division, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh (left), stands adjacent to the precocious caput of the IRGC, Hossein Salami, attending the unveiling of Iranian-made ‘Fattah’ hypersonic rocket successful Tehran, Iran, connected June 6, 2023 [Handout photograph from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) authoritative website, Sepha News]What locations did Israel attack?
Israeli strikes connected Friday targeted the pursuing confirmed locations:
- The capital, Tehran, and subject sites successful the surrounding area.
- The metropolis of Natanz, wherever explosions were reported astatine the main uranium enrichment facility.
- The metropolis of Tabriz, wherever explosions person been reported adjacent a atomic probe centre and 2 subject bases.
- The metropolis of Isfahan, southbound of Tehran.
- The metropolis of Arak, southwest of Tehran.
- The metropolis of Kermanshah, westbound of Tehran, wherever an underground installation storing ballistic missiles was deed adjacent the Iraqi border.
Iran says Israel’s archetypal strikes killed astatine slightest 80 people, and wounded much than 320 others. Since Saturday, astatine slightest 480 much person been injured. Those killed see 20 children.
A firefighter calls retired to his colleagues astatine the country of an detonation successful a residential compound successful bluish Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025 [Vahid Salemi/AP]Natanz atomic installation damaged
One of Israel’s main targets was the Natanz atomic installation – the largest uranium enrichment tract successful Iran, located successful Isfahan province.
The above-ground conception of a aviator substance enrichment plant, wherever uranium was enriched up to 60 percent, was destroyed, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Key energy infrastructure, specified arsenic the substation, main powerfulness building, exigency supply, and backup generators, was besides destroyed. There was nary nonstop deed connected the underground cascade hall, but the powerfulness nonaccomplishment whitethorn person damaged centrifuges utilized for uranium enrichment.
Radiation levels extracurricular the installation stay normal, though determination is radiological and chemic contamination inside, which are manageable with due protection.
“At present, the Iranian authorities are informing america of attacks connected 2 different facilities, namely the Fordow substance enrichment works and astatine Isfahan,” the IAEA’s chief, Rafael Grossi, told the United Nations Security Council connected Friday.
Israeli attacks connected Iran’s lipid and gas
On Saturday, Iran partially suspended state accumulation astatine its largest field, South Pars, pursuing an Israeli onslaught that triggered a fire.
The fire, present extinguished, broke retired successful 1 of 4 units successful signifier 14 of the gasfield, halting 12 cardinal cubic metres of state production. Located successful Bushehr province, South Pars is cardinal to Iran’s output and is shared with Qatar, which calls it the North Field.
Iran has besides confirmed an Israeli onslaught connected the Fajr Jam state works astir 65 km (40 miles) northwest of South Pars.
(Al Jazeera)Iran fires missiles astatine Israel
In effect to Israel’s strikes, Iran has launched drones and ballistic missiles astatine Israel, with immoderate hitting targets connected the ground.
The decease toll from Iran’s attacks connected Israel has risen to 10, with much than 200 wounded, according to Israeli authorities. Several radical stay missing arsenic a barrage of dozens of Iranian missiles lit up the skies implicit Jerusalem and Tel Aviv overnight.
Iran has developed a scope of ballistic and cruise missiles implicit the past 3 decades. The graphic beneath shows immoderate of Iran’s astir salient missiles and their ranges.
Israel has intercepted galore of the Iranian missiles fired towards its territory, but not each of them, with immoderate causing large harm and casualties crossed the country.
The Israeli aerial defence relies mostly connected what is known arsenic the Iron Dome system, which is equipped with a radar that detects an incoming projectile, arsenic good arsenic its velocity and direction.
Other systems intercept mean and long-range missiles. The David’s Sling intercepts missiles ranging betwixt 40km (25 miles) and 300km (186 miles). The Arrow System intercepts missiles with a scope of up to 2,400km (1,491 miles).
(Al Jazeera)Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei said Israel “must expect terrible punishment” for sidesplitting respective top-level subject commanders and scientists.
In a connection connected authorities TV, helium said Israel “should not deliberation that it is implicit due to the fact that they attacked and it is finished”.
“No. They started this and initiated the war. We won’t let them to flight unscathed from this large transgression they person committed,” Khamenei said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a gathering successful Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025 [Reuters]Following decades of enmity and struggle by proxy, it is the archetypal clip that Israel and Iran person traded occurrence with specified intensity, with fears of a prolonged struggle engulfing the region.
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