Israel Iran News Highlights: The war rages on for the eight straight day after Israel's June 13 surprise attack on Iran. Nuclear reactor facility of Iran was blasted on Thursday while a missile strike caused grave damage to Israel's main hospital and to two towns near Israel's capital Tel Aviv. Iran claimed that the "direct and precise target" was the military facility and the hospital was “exposed only to the blast wave”. As per reports, 47 people were injured in the latest attacks on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the latest Iranian strike on the main hospital and said, “This morning, Iran's terrorist dictators fired missiles at Soroka Hospital... and at civilians in the centre of the country. We will make the tyrants in Tehran pay a heavy price.”
Amid intensifying tensions between Isarel and Iran, Israel Defence Force claimed that it struck nuclear weapons development site near Natanz, ballistic missile and air defence production facilities and radar systems and missile storage sites.
Alerts were sounded across various regions of Israel a day after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused to surrender despite US President Donald Trump's warning.
On Wednesday, Iran's supreme leader made his second public appearance since the Israeli strikes began and rejected US' calls for surrender. He issued a warning stating that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them." Meanwhile, European diplomats are preparing to hold talks with Iran on Friday.
On Tuesday, Israel claimed responsibility for the killing of the most senior military commander of Iran — General Ali Shadmani. He was appointed to the top leadership position a week ago after the death of his predecessor, General Gholam Ali Rashid in Israel’s surprise attack.
Israel Iran News Highlights: Updates to this blog have ended
Iranian missile struck Israel's premier research institute ‘Weizmann Institute of Science’ early Sunday. The institute, known for its work in life sciences and physics, was targeted after Iranian nuclear scientists were killed in missile strike.
Iran-backed Shia militia Kataib Hezbollah gave a stern warning on Thursday. It threatened to strike US military bases across West Asia if the United States joins the ongoing conflict between arch rivals — Iran and Israel, CNN reported.
The statement issued by the group's security leader Abu Ali al-Askari stated, “We reaffirm, with even greater clarity, that should the United States enter into this war, the deranged (US President Donald) Trump shall forfeit all the trillions he dreams of seizing from this region.”
It added, “Undoubtedly, American bases throughout the region will become akin to duck-hunting grounds.”
"Let's be very clear, Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her briefing. "All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that."
"And it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon, which would, of course, pose an existential threat not just to Israel but to the United States and to the entire world," she continued.