Iran-Israel Conflict Update: Killed Second Iranian Elite Quds Force Commander says Israel, Over 400 killed in Israeli Strikes– Iran

A flight from Mashhad, Iran, carrying 290 Indian students, mostly from Jammu and Kashmir, landed at the Delhi Airport late Friday. The Indian government has launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate its nationals from the Middle Eastern country as hostilities escalate between Israel and Iran.

"Heartfelt thanks to the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs, and all concerned authorities for their timely intervention and support. A great relief for families who had been anxiously awaiting their return," the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association said in a statement.

A high-level meeting was held on Friday in Geneva between Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, and top European diplomats, and it has led to hopes of further talks. However, no indication of any immediate concrete breakthrough has come yet.

The meeting takes place exactly a week after Israel attacked Iran in an escalation of the crisis that had been centred around Tehran's nuclear program.

Foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany, as well as the European Union's foreign chief, along with Iran's Abbas Araghchi participated in the talks at a Geneva hotel that went for about 3 and a half hours.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

On June 13, Israel unleashed an unprovoked attack on Iran called Operation Rising Lion. The scale of the assault carried an echo on the lines of Amos in the Jewish Torah—the first five books of the Hebrew Bible—The lion has roared, who will not fear? Israel hit sites across the country, including the Natanz Nuclear Facility—located 150 km south-west of the religious city of Qom—and government buildings and civilian neighbourhoods in Tehran.

Iran responded with missile and drone attacks that struck Tel Aviv, Israel’s capital. Israel has an ‘ambiguous’ nuclear weapons programme, with no public scrutiny, but it possesses about a 100 nuclear warheads in violation of international law.

An Israeli aircraft has bombed a residential building in the Iranian city of Qom, south of Tehran, according to the Quds 카지노 사이트 Network.

Iran's underground nuclear facility Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is near Qom.

Source: Al Jazeera

Amid the spiralling conflict, Iran has filed a complaint with the United Nations Secretary-General and President of the Security Council against the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, CNN reported.

In his letter, Iranian UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani took issue with Grossi’s “approach regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities” and what he said was a “failure” to condemn Israel’s military action, according to the semi-official Iranian news outlet Fars 카지노 사이트.

US President Donald Trump presided over a national security meeting about Iran with top aides at the White House on Friday evening, a US official told Reuters. The official also told the news agency that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is in regular contact with the Iranians, both directly and indirectly, with Qatar acting as an intermediary.

US President Donald Trump has said that his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was “wrong” to say that the US believed Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon. Trump added that he thinks it would be “very hard to stop” Israel’s strikes on Iran in order to negotiate a possible ceasefire, reported Associated Press.

Speaking on Iran's nuclear capability, Trump said: “My intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?” When informed that it was Gabbard's testimony, Trump said, “She’s wrong.” In a post on X, Gabbard said her statement was taken out of context “as a way to manufacture division”.

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit northern Iran on Friday, June 20, reported the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake occurred amid Israel airstrikes on the country.

Iran’s  Tasnim news agency said the quake measured at 5.2, struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, around 37 km southwest of the city of Semnan, the USGS reported.

A day after saying he would decide within a fortnight on whether to take military action on Iran, American President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid the possibility of US air strikes on the country, reported AFP.

“I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Mr. Trump told AFP reporters when asked if he might strike Iran.

AFP has reported that at least 657 people, including civilians and members of the security forces have been killed in Iran since Israel began its airstrikes on June 13. The AFP report is based on statistics released by the US-BGO The Human Rights Activists 카지노 사이트 Agency (HRANA) which has said that at least 263 of 657 people were civilians that had been killed across Iran since Israel began its airstrikes on June 13.

The Israeli military has shared a statement on social media claiming that its air force warplanes targeted the commander, referred to by the Israelis as Amin Pour Jodkhi, whom it has accused of overseeing the launch of “hundreds” of UAV drones towards Israel from the southwest of Iran.

The Israeli military said it had earlier assassinated Tahar Fur, another commander of the IRGC’s drone force, on June 13, and Jodkhi had “assumed a central role in the command’s operations” since then.

Source: Al Jazeera

Two more special evacuation flights will arrive in Delhi today from Mashad.

Source: Jammu and Kashmir Students Association

The head of Qom province’s intelligence police has said the force has arrested 22 people “on charges of being connected to the Zionist regime’s spy services” since Israel’s assault on the country began on June 12, the Fars news agency reports.

The news agency, run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the charges also include “disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime [Israel]”.

Source: Al Jazeera

The Israeli military has said it has downed an Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace, triggering sirens in several communities in the occupied Golan Heights.

The drone crashed in an unpopulated area and no injuries have been reported, it added.

Source: Al Jazeera

Iran said on Friday it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel, as Europe tried to coax Tehran back into negotiations and the US considers whether to get involved in the conflict.

A week into its campaign, Israel said it had struck dozens of military targets, including missile production sites, a research body it said was involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran and military facilities in western and central Iran.

Source: Reuters

UN Security Council members, including China, Pakistan, Russia and Algeria, condemned Israeli attacks on Iran, warning that it threatens regional peace and risk setting dangerous precedent by targeting nuclear facilities.

Source: Anadolu English

Israeli airstrikes on Saturday targeted Iran’s nuclear research complex in Isfahan, the country’s largest, the deputy provincial governor told the semi-official Fars news agency.

Several other areas of Isfahan province were also targeted, but no casualties have been reported, the deputy governor said.

The “majority of explosions heard during the attacks were emanating from air defense systems’ engagements, and others were due to enemy attacks,” the Fars report quoted the official as saying, without naming them.

The deputy governor said that there was no leakage of hazardous materials because of the attack, but residents were advised to avoid the area so rescue and crisis management personnel could do their jobs.

Source: CNN

According to the Israeli military, they have assassinated a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

His name is Amin Pour Jodkhi, and according to that statement from the Israeli army, he is responsible for or commands the second UAV brigade in the  Revolutionary Guards.

They say that after the assassination of the senior commander of the unit on June 13, when Israel commenced this crisis, [Jodkhi] has taken up a more senior, more prominent role.

Iran’s drones are, of course, a prominent part of this confrontation, even though they might not have a serious military impact, as most of them have been shot down.

Source: Al Jazeera

A Mahan Air flight carrying 290 Indian students, including 190 from Kashmir, landed in Delhi at 11:30 PM last night, marking the successful conclusion of the first phase of 'Operation Sindhu'. 

This operation, initiated by the Indian government to evacuate citizens from Iran amidst escalating tensions, brought relief to many anxious parents. The students were safely brought to Delhi from Mashhad, Iran, following a special exception granted by Iran to lift airspace restrictions for the evacuation flights. 

Source: Jammu Kashmir Students Association

The Islamic Republic of Iran will not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while Israel continues its air strikes on the country, it said on Friday. However, European leaders continue to press for a diplomatic solution to the escalating tensions in the middle-east as Iran and Israel attack each other.  

Russia repeatedly informed Israel that there was no envidenceof Iran's alleged intent to obtain nuclear weapons, says Russian President Putin.

Source: Anadolu English

Following formal requests from the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy in Tehran will be evacuating Nepalese and Sri Lankan nationals from Iran.

Amid escalating tensions in Iran due to its conflict with Israel, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has broadened Operation Sindhu to include citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka, following formal requests from their respective governments.

Source: The Times Of India

Putin told Sky 카지노 사이트 Arabia that Russia supports Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, emphasizing that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no evidence suggesting Tehran seeks to build nuclear weapons.

“The fatwa in Iran banning nuclear weapons is of great importance,” he added, underscoring the religious ruling as a key element in Iran’s stance.

Putin also stated that Russia is prepared to assist Iran in the development of its civilian nuclear program.

Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched airstrikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Source: Anadolu English

Iran and Israel have traded fresh air attacks as their conflict pushes into a second week, with diplomatic efforts on Friday showing no signs of meaningful progress.

An Iranian official told CNN that US President Donald Trump could end it with one call to the Israeli side – adding that Iran will only return to US negotiations if Israel stops attacking it.

This all follows fruitless efforts to de-escalate the conflict in Geneva, where top European diplomats met with their Iranian counterpart on Friday.

Source: CNN

Israel’s military said it shot down several drones on Saturday morning local time, in a fresh wave of Iranian attacks.

An alert was triggered after an aircraft was spotted flying over several valleys in northern Israel while others were intercepted in the south, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

The IDF did not specify how many drones had been launched or intercepted.

Source: CNN

Sirens sound in southern Israel’s Wadi Araba area after detection of drone, according to Israeli media.

Source: Anadolu English

At least five people were killed in Israeli attacks in the Iranian city of Khorramabad, local media outlets quoting the IRGC have reported.

Iran’s Nour 카지노 사이트 Agency also reported that 15 officers and soldiers from the country’s air defence forces have been killed since the start of the conflict.

Israel’s attacks on Iran since June 13 have targeted nuclear and military facilities in various regions, assassinated prominent military leaders and nuclear scientists, and targeted civilian and government facilities, including the state television building.

Source: Al Jazeera

Iran is uncertain about trusting the United States in peace talks, its foreign minister has said, suggesting President Donald Trump’s negotiations were a “cover” for Israeli attacks on his country.

Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of “a betrayal to diplomacy,” saying US officials “must show their determination for negotiating a solution,” in an on-camera interview with NBC 카지노 사이트 on Friday.

“We have come to the conclusion that negotiations by the US was in fact a cover for what the Israelis did,” he added.

Source: CNN

As tensions escalate in West Asia, talk of regime change in Iran is once again surfacing in capitals across the world. The question is, if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is taken out, as Israel wants to do, who will replace him?

Israel launched attacks targeting multiple locations in Iran’s Isfahan province, including the city’s crucial nuclear facility Strikes also hit areas in Lenjan, Mobarakeh, Shahreza, and Isfahan County.

Source: Anadolu English

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has warned the conflict risks setting back the Gulf region.

“The longer a war takes, the more dangerous it becomes,” said, adding that, "I think any extended confrontation or war between Israel and Iran will only bring a very difficult aftermath.”

Gargash said de-escalation was “extremely important” and that there was “a path back to negotiations on these issues”.

“This war flies in the face of the regional order the Gulf countries want to build, which is focused on regional prosperity,” he said, adding that, the UAE feel "that this (the Iran-Israel conflict) is setting us back, not only us in the UAE, but I would say the region.”

Source: Al Jazeera

Israel has claimed to have killed another Iranian commander from the Quds Force.

The IDF said it targeted and killed Behnam Shahriyari as he was travelling in a car through western Iran overnight.

Shahriyari was a commander in the Quds Force's weapons transfer unit, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the IDF.

Israel has alleged that Shahriyari was responsible for transporting Iranian missiles and rockets to proxy groups across the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Quds Force built up a network of Arab allies known as the Axis of Resistance, establishing Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982 and supporting the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the Iran-aligned network has suffered major blows over the last two years in Israeli attacks.

Source: BBC

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that US involvement in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran would be "very very dangerous".

Araghachi was speaking to reporters in Istanbul.

The Iranian FM had earlier said the country could not negotiate with America whilst still under bombardment from Israel.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump had approved plans to attack Iran, but held off from strikes in case Iran agreed to abandon its nuclear programme.

Source: The Associated Press

Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that Israel under Prime Minister Netanyahu is the biggest obstacle to regional peace.

“This incident also shows that Netanyahu [and his government] …. do not want any issues or any matters to be solved diplomatically,” said Erdogan, speaking at the OIC summit in Istanbul.

“I call on countries with influence over Israel not to listen to its poison. A solution must be found via dialogue,” he said, referring to attacks on Iran, Gaza, and other Middle East states.

Source: Al Jazeera

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed hope that Israel and Iran would stop attacking each other soon and resolve their issues through dialogue.

"We can only hope and pray that the war stops. The situation is bad. This should not have happened," Abdullah told reporters in central Kashmir's Ganderbal, his assembly constituency.

The chief minister said he did not understand on what basis Israel attacked Iran.

Source: PTI

Israel has hit a military installation in the city of Shiraz in the Fars province, southern Iran, the country’s semi-official ISNA news agency is reporting.

No casualties were immediately reported, while smoke was observed from the site following the hit, the agency said.

Source: Al Jazeera

Israel has targeted eight emergency centres and three relief bases during its airstrikes on Iran, the Islamic Republic's head of Atomic Energy Organisation has said. “So far, three relief bases and eight emergency centre ambulances in different parts of the country have been seriously damaged and destroyed,” Jafar Miadfar, Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation told state news agency IRNA.

“Fourteen members of the emergency organisation nationwide have also been injured in the explosion and the resulting injuries from these attacks, two of whom have been hospitalised due to their serious condition and traumatic injuries," he added.

Source: FirstPost

Even as the United Nations says to give peace a chance, the Israeli military has reported that struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight, and killed three senior Iranian commanders. The war between Iran and Israel has continued into a second week.

AP reported that on early Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where a local official said Israel had twice attacked the nuclear research facility.

The IDF has said it conducted precision strikes and that its target was two centrifuge production sites. The Israelis have been resolute about their attacks on Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Over the last few days, the IDF has claimed to hit several other centrifuge production sites across Iran, reported AP.

Read Full Story

Israel’s air force intercepted about 40 drones overnight, the military says, claiming a near-perfect shoot-down rate since it launched the attack on Iran.

“Last night, the air force intercepted approximately 40 unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory,” it said in a statement.

“This figure adds to the interception of more than 470 unmanned aerial vehicles since the beginning of the operation, which constitutes a 99 percent successful interception rate.”

Fighter jets, under the direction of the intelligence branch, also attacked “a twin-barreled unmanned aerial vehicle launcher” in Isfahan, it added.

- Al Jazeera

After Israeli Defence Forces notified that they were attacking military sites in southwestern Iran.

Local Iranian media outlets have reported that explosions were heard in the city of Ahvaz, located in Khuzestan province.

According to the UN’s refugee agency, more than four million Afghans who escaped war and fear of persecution are living in Iran.

But the fighting between Israel and Iran has raised safety concerns with some Afghans forced to return to a country they left decades ago.

“The war in Iran has changed everything. As the violence grew closer, we feared for our lives and had no choice but to leave early,” said Nasima Ghaffari, an Afghan returnee. “Now that we’re back in our own country, we’ve returned with nothing — no money, no home, just uncertainty.”

It’s not just the Afghans fleeing. Hundreds of Pakistanis have also been crossing the border each day to reach Pakistan.

Aljazeera

The Israeli military says it has “eliminated” Behnam Shahriyari, the second Iranian commander in the elite Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be targeted in Israeli strikes overnight.

The Israeli Air Force killed Shahriyari in his vehicle while he was traveling in western Iran, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Saturday.

It said Shahriyari was responsible for weapons transfers from Iran to its proxies across the Middle East, and worked for years to arm various militant organizations.

Shahriyari is sanctioned by the United States and, according to the UK government, has been involved in hostile activity by an armed group backed by the Iranian government, facilitating “the destabilization of Israel, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.”

The Quds Force is an arm of the IRGC responsible for operations outside Iran and is tasked with coordinating with allied militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations at Iran’s Health Ministry, has provided an update about the number of casualties from Israeli attacks on the country.

In a statement on social media, he said nine days of attacks have killed more than 400 Iranians, including 54 women and children, and wounded 3,056 others.

Kermanpour added most of the casualties have been civilians.

“Among the injured, 2,220 have been treated and discharged from Ministry of Health hospitals, while 232 received outpatient care at the scene of the attacks. During this period, our dedicated medical teams across the country have performed 457 surgeries on the wounded.”

Source Aljazeera

Israel claimed to have killed two commanders in Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in strikes overnight.

The Israeli military said it has “eliminated” Behnam Shahriyari , who was reportedly responsible for weapons transfers from Iran to its proxies across the Middle East. The Israel Defense Forces earlier said it killed Saeed Izadi, who is sanctioned by the United States and, according to the UK government, is the head of the Palestine branch of the Quds Force.

More about the force: The Quds (Jerusalem) Force is an arm of the IRGC responsible for operations outside Iran and is tasked with coordinating with allied militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.

The IRGC was established in the aftermath of the country’s revolution in 1979 and reports to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Since the October 7 attacks in 2023, Israeli government officials have sought to emphasize Hamas’ ties to Iran. At the time, the US said Iran was surprised by the October 7 attacks and that the US did not have direct evidence linking Iran to the planning and execution of the assault. Both Israel and the US have said Iran is broadly culpable because of its historic support for the group.

In 2020,Qaseem Solemani— head of the Quds Force at the time since 1998, was killed in an air crash  ordered by President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport.

The US designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation in 2019

Source CNN

Israel’s military says it has intercepted 99% of the Iranian drones launched at the country since the start of the conflict more than one week ago.

The country’s layered aerial defense system has intercepted more than 470 one-way attack drones, the Israel Defense Forces said, including approximately 40 that were launched overnight.

In a , one drone struck the town of Beit Shean in northern Israel Saturday morning and another landed in an open area in southern Israel.

Iran has fired more than 1,000 drones since the start of the conflict, many of which have fallen short or been intercepted by other countries.

source CNN

Germany has temporarily relocated the staff of its embassy in Tehran abroad due to the current threat situation, a Foreign Ministry official said, according to the Reuters news agency.

The embassy remains operational and can be contacted via phone by Germans who are still in Iran, the official said, adding it would continue to advise on possible options for leaving the country by land.

The UK made a similar move yesterday, along with other countries, as Israel’s strikes on Tehran continue to escalate.

Source Aljazeera

Israel's military announced on Saturday that it had carried out an overnight strike on an Iranian nuclear research facility—marking the second such attack on Isfahan since the war began.

The initial strike took place within the first 24 hours of the conflict as part of Israel's broader objective to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.

According to Akbar Salehi, Isfahan province’s deputy governor for security affairs, the attack caused damage to the facility, though no casualties were reported.

Source Aljazeera

Iranian media has acknowledged that another nuclear scientist has died in Israeli strikes on the country, rising the official death toll announced to 10.

The death of the scientist named Isar Tabatabei Ghomsheh was first announced by the newsletter of Tehran’s Sharif University, where he was an alumni.

The newsletter of the university said that he was killed “late last week in his home” alongside his wife, Mansoureh Hajisalem.

Iran previously confirmed the death of nine other nuclear scientists.

Source BBC

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has met Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Istanbul.

During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed reiterated Qatar’s “strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli aggression against Iranian territory”, deeming it a “violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security” and a breach of international law, according to a statement by the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

Source Aljazeera

Wafa, citing the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in the Gaza Strip, reports that there has been a disruption in internet and landline services affecting the governorates of Gaza, which include Gaza City, and North Gaza.

There is currently an ongoing outage in the southern and central areas of the Gaza Strip that has lasted for more than three days.

Source Aljazeera

Israel has struck an Iranian nuclear plant in Isfahan, the UN's nuclear watchdog has confirmed.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, says Israel struck a centrifuge workshop, which made the machines used to enrich uranium.

“We know this facility well. There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences,” Grossi says.

Source BBC

The Iranian army has said that the seventh and eighth stages of launching dozens of “destructive” drones towards Israel have been carried out, the official Islamic Republic 카지노 사이트 Agency (IRNA) reported.

“Information received indicates that most of the drones hit the intended targets,” IRNA stated.

Source Aljazeera

According to the US military, a number of aircraft carriers moving into the region are doing so on a normal rotation or to relieve those already there.

However, in the last 24 hours, it has been reported that two  have moved from the US, from their base in Missouri, to Guam in the Pacific, with the intention of moving to the base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

So why is this important? Well, Diego Garcia puts them within one refuelling stop of hitting Iran.

And the B-2 stealth bombers are really the only planes that can carry the so-called bunker buster bombs, which would target Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Source Aljazeera

Yemen’s Houthi rebels will target US ships in the Red Sea if Washington gets involved in Israel’s attacks on Iran, the group’s military spokesperson says.

Yemeni state media reported the statement, which the spokesperson said reaffirmed the group’s firm stance against “Zionist aggression” directed at any Arab or Islamic country.

Since 2023, the Houthis have launched attacks on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea in what they say is support for Palestinians in Gaza.

Some of Iran’s internet access restrictions have been eased, after the country earlier this week was sent into a near-total blackout, according to Iran’s communications minister.

“Connectivity and communication between Iranians abroad and inside the country via domestic messaging apps has been enabled,” Sattar Hashemi said in a statement on Telegram Saturday.

According to the ministry, Iranians abroad can now contact their families inside Iran through domestic messaging apps including Baleh, Rubika, Eitaa and Soroush.

Source CNN

For the past three hours, the entire Gaza Strip has been in a telecommunications blackout due to the ongoing deliberate attacks on the telecommunications division.

There is also a sense that the Israeli army is taking advantage of the diverted attention away from Gaza to carry out more deadly attacks on Palestinians.

At food distribution centres, there has been a daily routine, a pattern of ongoing deliberate shooting and killing of aid seekers.

There’s also the drone attacks. A recent one in the city of Khan Younis killed three people from the same family.

Source Aljzeera