Smoke rises from the Iranian internal security headquarters in Tehran following an Israel Air Force strike on June 18, 2025. Credit: X Screenshot.

Israel targets Iran’s police HQ and nuclear-related sites; Katz says campaign will continue to hit “symbols of the regime.”

By David Brummer, World Israel News

Israeli airstrikes intensified across Iran on Wednesday, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announcing a fresh wave of attacks that included the destruction of Iran’s police headquarters in Tehran and facilities linked to its nuclear and missile programs.

Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces was hit in the capital, describing the building as “the main arm of the Iranian dictator’s oppression.”

“As we promised, we will continue to target symbols of [Iran’s] rule and strike the Ayatollah regime wherever it may be,” Katz said.

סופת הטורנדו ממשיכה להכות בטהרן. מטוסי חיל האוויר השמידו עכשיו את מפקדת ביטחון הפנים של המשטר האיראני – זרוע הדיכוי המרכזית של הדיקטטור האיראני. כפי שהבטחנו – נמשיך לפגוע בסמלי שלטון ונכה במשטר האייתולות בכל מקום. — ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 18, 2025

The strikes marked the sixth consecutive day of open hostilities between Israel and Iran, with the IDF reporting that more than 1,100 Iranian assets have been targeted in hundreds of sorties since Israel’s lightning strikes began early Friday.

According to the IDF, the Israeli Air Force launched a significant overnight operation involving more than 50 fighter jets, which struck military infrastructure in the Tehran area, including a centrifuge production facility.

The military said the targeted site played a key role in Iran’s efforts to accelerate uranium enrichment for potential nuclear weapons development.

“Civilian nuclear programs do not require enrichment at such levels,” the IDF said in a statement, emphasizing the military objective to degrade Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Additional strikes were carried out early Wednesday in western Iran, where some 25 fighter jets hit approximately 40 military targets, including missile launchers, storage facilities, and Iranian troops.

Among the weapons destroyed was an Emad ballistic missile system reportedly prepared for an imminent launch against Israel.

Approx. 25 fighter jets struck over 40 missile infrastructure components directed toward Israel this morning, including missile storage sites and military operatives of the Iranian Regime. A loaded and ready-to-launch “Emad” missile launcher was also struck overnight. pic.twitter.com/8oHQYCW2A1 — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 18, 2025

The IDF released video footage of the strike on the Emad launcher, as well as other attacks on missile sites and military personnel.

While Israeli leaders have signaled they would welcome regime change in Iran, they have insisted that the ongoing campaign is focused on dismantling Tehran’s military threat—particularly its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

Meanwhile, reports from Iran indicated growing panic in the capital, with thousands fleeing Tehran amid fears of further Israeli bombardments.

War Summary, Day 618: Missile hits in Eretz Yisroel with miraculous results, Israel’s Air Force continues to control Iran skies, strikes on Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant buried underneath a mountain, three significant Iranian officials eliminated today, Iranian civilians evacuating Tehran en masse, Trump backs Israel, and Syria supporting Israel in attacking Iran.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

53 held captive in Gaza.

31 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.

148 living hostages rescued.

54 hostage bodies rescued.

1,870 Israelis killed.

429 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.

88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.

18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.

31,135 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.

10,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.

1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Rescue operations are ongoing after direct hits in central Israel. Please take a moment to pray for the victims.

Iran – Homefront:

Home Front Command instructions remain: No school, no non-essential workplaces (including beaches), no gatherings.

Most of Israel is still currently under instruction to stay near a bomb shelter.

The total death toll in Israel from the Iran war is now 14. Nobody was killed in a bomb shelter, even in direct hits.

—> Nine people were killed by the Iranian strike on an apartment building in Bat Yam last night. The last two bodies were pulled from the rubble nearly 24 hours after the strike. Efrat Saranga, 44, a resident of Bat Yam, was one of those killed. Five Ukrainian (non-Israeli) citizens were killed, amongst them three children.

Miraculously, the remaining 36 people who were buried under the rubble were pulled out alive, thank G-d!

In the same attack, the Weizmann Institute in Rechovot suffered a direct hit. Thank G-d no one was hurt, but important research labs—including a cancer research lab—were destroyed.

— An attack after 4pm of several missiles towards central Israel was completely intercepted, with no hits made.

— In an attack after 8pm with dozens more missiles, one hit was reported in Haifa where large fires were started, and one in the south destroyed a synagogue. Only light to moderate injuries were reported, and the Torah scrolls remained untouched.

— after a very large attack at 4am, there are reports of up to four hits in Haifa and Central Israel. Iran is making a strong effort to hit the oil refinery in Haifa, and harm civilians.

Search and rescue operations are underway in urban areas—more details have not yet been cleared for publication. Several injured have already been treated.

— Several drone attacks were also successfully intercepted throughout the day.

Iran – Rising Lion:

Israel’s Air Force continues to control the skies over Iran, with incredible ingenuity. While drones patrol the skies, allowing intelligence soldiers back in Israel to search for suspicious activity, fighter jets remain in the air, on standby, ready to hit targets.

Separately, the jets launch decoys, which confuse Iranian air defenses, and cause them to fire at false targets, and give away their locations for the jets to shoot down. (The remaining air defenses at this point are mainly regime soldiers desperately shooting in the air, trying to hit something, but not.)

In this way, the Air Force has been able to dramatically decrease Iran’s firing power. At midnight, the intelligence soldiers spotted movement indicating that he regime was preparing to launch missiles towards Israel. Fighter jets immediately moved in, and began striking launch sites. Four hours later, the missiles have not yet been launched.

**

Nuclear facilities:

According to reports in Iran, Israel is striking the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in Qom—the one that lays around 70–80 meters underground, underneath a mountain. Iranian air defenses were seen activated at the site. At the reported time of Israel’s strike, a 2.5 earthquake was reported in Qom.

Natanz, which is Iran’s main uranium enrichment site, and is considered the heart of the nuclear program has sustained significant damage. It can contain up to 50,000 centrifuges in its central underground facility, located about 8 meters below ground. According to Reuters, there are now “only” 16,000 remaining.

Heavy strikes were also reported at the Parchin weaponization plant this evening.

Remember: These facilities lay deep under ground, and will take repeated bombing until they are fully destroyed.

**

Israel’s attacks today focused primarily on harming the regime’s ability to produce weapons. A signifiant number of attacks were in and around Tehran.

In addition to production facilities, the IDF bombed:

Regime intelligence and national security headquarters

Police headquarters in Tehran

Several buildings belonging to the IRGC, the Guards’ Quds Force, and Iran’s armed forces.

Targeting the regime police may also give freedom to the Iranian people to call for a regime change.

**

Amongst others, the IDF eliminated three significant regime officials today:

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Kazemi

IRGC intelligence chief

Hassan Mohaqiq

Deputy (successor) to the IRGC intelligence chief

Sardar Radan

Iran’s police chief

Will Israel target Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei? Israeli officials have hinted that they are capable of doing it, but initially wanted to give him a chance to surrender and make a nuclear deal. Iranian media reports that he’s now hiding in an underground bunker in northeast Tehran.

Netanyahu told Fox News that regime change in Iran is possible as a result Israel’s campaign.

There are somewhat credible but unconfirmed reports of two or three incidents of armed people on foot in Tehran eliminating IRGC officials from up close.

Iran’s health ministry reports 224 dead and over 1,000 injured since the start of Israel’s attacks.

**

The IDF issued a few evacuation warnings today for very specific sites containing weapons in Tehran. A wider range of warnings is expected tomorrow, when Israel might start targeting nuclear facilities that are hidden under civilian infrastructure.

Iranian civilians have begun evacuating Tehran en masse, but face serious challenges: Extreme traffic, a fuel shortage, empty grocery stores, no running water, and a shortage of cash at the banks.

**

The U.S. still stands strong behind Israel, and is continuing to send bombs to Israel even while Israel’s airports are closed. U.S. President Trump told reporters that while he would like a peace deal, “sometimes you gotta fight to the end.” He added that the U.S. will continue to support Israel’s defense.

Trump did not rule out the U.S. joining in the attacks against Iran in the future.

While Iran is desperate for a ceasefire, they are also refusing to talk until Israel stops strikes. Israel is not interested in a ceasefire until the nuclear facilities are gone anyway.

Hostages:

The IDF published the name of the hostage whose body was retrieved from Gaza last week:

Master Sergeant (Res.) Aviv Atzili, of blessed memory

Gaza:

IDF troops have made significant advancements in recent days, particularly in Khan Younis and Gaza City.

The Gaza Humanitarian Fund distributed more than 2 million meals today.

Syria:

Remarkably, Syria is not only allowing, but is in communication with Israel, allowing free and safe usage of its skies in the attacks against Iran.

Sponsored in honor of the birth of our newest grandson Dov Ber Saul. From Sharon and Chaim Saul.

President Donald Trump is heading to the Situation Room to meet with his top generals amid the Iran nuclear crisis.

Trump said he was going from the Oval Office ‘downstairs’ for a ‘war room’ meeting.

The president added that he had not yet made a decision whether to engage U.S. forces against Iran.

It came as at least three Iranian planes landed on Wednesday in the capital of Oman – the previous site of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks.

Al Jazeera verified flight data that showed two Iranian government planes and one from Iran’s privately-owned Meraj Airlines landing in Muscat.

The Iranian government has not released details on an official trip to Oman.

It was unclear if the movements signify a diplomatic outcome could still come out of the current crisis.

Trump on Wednesday suggested that he had run out of patience with the Iranian regime.

‘It’s already run out,’ he said. ‘They had 60 days … plenty of time, and they made a mistake.’

Live updates below

Israel launched a blistering assault on Iran overnight, striking 100 targets including bombing Tehran’s nuclear and military sites and killing senior military figures.

The strikes came as a shock to onlookers, who predicted a vague threat of kinetic military action would be enough to gain leverage in talks over a new nuclear accord.

But with startling efficiency, Israeli intelligence is said to have gone behind enemy lines to disable Iranian defences, clearing the way for the Israeli Air Force (IAF).

‘Operation Rising Lion’ is said to have been ‘years’ in the making, the culmination of careful research and planning by the military, Mossad and Israel’s defence industries.

Israeli security sources have now revealed how commandos infiltrated Iran with ‘special weapons’ to knock out Tehran’s defences as jets flew overhead.

Elite soldiers allegedly smuggled in precision-guided weapons systems near surface-to-air missile batteries to paralyse any Iranian response.

As some 200 fighter jets unleashed hell on the Natanz nuclear facility, pre-positioned weapons fired to disable Iran’s protective shield.

Mossad had reportedly loaded cars with explosives across Iran, detonating to further hamper Iranian air defences.

And in a brazen stealth operation, Israeli intelligence was said to have set up a secret base of drones laden with explosives, tasked with striking defences near Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the overnight strikes had struck at the ‘heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme’.

They also killed Iran’s highest ranking military officer, their armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, and the head of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, Iranian media reported.

It appeared to be the most significant attack Iran has faced since its 1980s war with Iraq and raises the prospect of an all-out war.

Netanyahu said strikes would ‘continue as many days as it takes’, and secondary strikes were reported in Shiraz, Kermanshah and Tabriz today.

Experts believe that Israel has the appetite and capacity for more strikes – and have said ‘what comes next may define the regional security order for years to come’.

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Video shared by the agency today showed what appeared to be special forces dressed entirely in black and equipped with night vision goggles in a remote, undisclosed location

Drone footage shows Mossad’s operation targeting air defence and missile launchers

The Mossad spy agency reveals footage showing its actions against Iranian air defences

Smoke rises up after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 13, 2025

How Israel paralysed Iranian defences

The operation, code-named ‘Rising Lion’, was years in the making, a senior Israeli security source told Israel National News.

To bring it together, Israel’s military – the IDF – worked closely with Mossad and Israel’s defence industries to coordinate simultaneous strikes with the attacks on defence infrastructure.

Mossad commandos are understood to have worked behind enemy lines in central Iran to topple surface-to-air missile batteries threatening the Israeli strikes.

Video shared by the agency today showed what appeared to be special forces dressed entirely in black and equipped with night vision goggles in a remote, undisclosed location.

Israel’s defence sector was said to have also offered advanced technologies to help carry out the sabotage missions.

Explosives concealed in civilian vehicles across Iran detonated overnight, degrading Iran’s air defences as explosive drones targeted surface-to-surface defences.

The secret base of drones, set up in the centre of Iran, was able to cripple missile launchers at the extensive Esfajabad base near the capital.

Video shared by Mossad purported to show drones targeting vehicles inside the complex. One clip showed what appeared to be a drone closing in on what appeared to be a mobile launcher.

Footage shared later by the IAF was said to show aerial strikes on ballistic missiles ‘aimed at the state of Israel’ in Iran, location unknown. The military said it had carried out a large-scale strike against Iran’s air defences, destroying ‘dozens of radars and surface-to-air missile launchers’.

According to the IDF, the jets dropped more than 330 ‘various munitions’ in the first wave.

Explosions were soon reported in cities including Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Kermanshah.

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei accused Israel of targeting residential areas. State media said residential buildings in Tehran were hit as well, killing a number of civilians including women and children.

Strikes also rocked the nuclear facilities in Natanz, Khondab and Khorramabad.

An Israeli military official said the strikes had achieved a great deal but assessments were continuing and Israel was prepared to keep the operation going for days. Among the targets were ballistic missiles pointed towards Israel, they added.

Vehicles appear to be targeted by drones in clips shared since the attacks

Video appears to show attacks on military equipment in Iran overnight

The operation, codenamed ‘Rising Lion’, was years in the making, a senior Israeli security source said

Smoke and flames rise, following Israeli strikes on Iran, in Piranshahrm, on June 13, 2025

People look over damage to buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025 in Tehran, Iran

How Israel crippled Iran’s nuclear infrastructure

Iran had long prepared for possible strikes on Natanz. It had cited the possibility of an air attack in its decision to shelter the site with some 22 metres of earth and 2.5 metres of concrete.

Another 12 metres of reinforced concrete shielded the facility from attack, though Israel had already proven the devastating effect of its ‘bunker buster’ bombs in Gaza and Lebanon.

In 2023, satellite imagery appeared to show a new construction underway to the south, which experts said would be so deep underground that US weapons likely could not reach it.

But the Israeli military said that its overnight strikes had penetrated through to the facility’s underground uranium enrichment centrifuges.

‘The underground area of the site was damaged. This area contains a multi-storey enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms and additional supporting infrastructure,’ the military said in a statement.

‘In addition, critical infrastructure enabling the site’s continuous operation and the Iranian regime’s ongoing efforts to obtain nuclear weapons were targeted,’ it added.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said Natanz had sustained damage but no casualties had been reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency said there was no increase in radiation levels at the Natanz nuclear site, citing information provided by Iranian authorities.

Darya Dolzikova, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, assessed: ‘Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear programme do not look to have been simply a signalling exercise or as a way of generating additional leverage US-Iran negotiations.

‘Their targeting of Iran’s main enrichment facility and a number of senior Iranian scientists suggests an intent to inflict serious damage on the programme and to roll back Iran’s ability to push towards weaponisation.

‘It is too early to tell to what extent Israel may have succeeded in that.’

Notably, she said, Iran appears not to have targeted the main enrichment facility at Fordow – nor a number of other key facilities across the country. Fordow is believed to be built between 80 and 90 metres underground.

Israel did attack the Parachin military base, about 30km southeast of Tehran, which it also struck in October. The site had once held weapons-relevant research and may or may not have still be operational.

Dr Andreas Krieg, Associate Professor of Defence Studies at King’s College London, told MailOnline: ‘These strikes can set the nuclear program back years but will not ultimately destroy it.

‘This is a very different scenario from Operation Opera when Israel destroyed an Iraqi reactor in 1981. The Iranian program is more resilient, and it will require the Israelis to keep striking targets continuously for days.

‘Iran’s air defences are all but destroyed and Israel has nearly complete control of the air, which makes these continuous sorties possible. The greatest concern for Israel will be the retaliation from Iran.’

Satellite image courtesy of Planet Labs PBC shows the Natanz nuclear facilities before strikes

A view shows Natanz after the Israeli airstrikes overnight

Iran’s nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz in 300 kms 186 (miles) south of capital Tehran, Iran, Monday April, 9, 2007

How Israel toppled Iran’s military leadership

Beyond hitting nuclear targets, the strikes also managed to cripple the Iranian military’s top brass.

Strikes killed Iran’s highest-ranking military officer, Mohammad Bagheri, and IRGC chief, Hossein Salami, according to Iranian media.

Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei today named General Ahmad Vahidi as the new commander of the Revolutionary Guards, succeeding Salami.

Amichai Stein, a reporter for Israeli outlet i24 News, said that the majority of the senior leadership of the IRGC’s air force had been killed at a meeting at an underground headquarters.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed today that its aerospace commander, Major General Amirali Hajizadeh, had also been killed in the strike on their command centre.

And the Tasnim news agency said six nuclear scientists were killed in the attacks.

To coordinate the assassinations, the IDF and Mossad reportedly worked together to gather intelligence on senior defence officials and nuclear scientists.

Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences at RUSI, said today that the breadth and scale of the strikes suggest the operation was intended not only to dissuade Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, but to also cripple any potential military response – and potentially even destabilise the regime.

‘Israel has once again demonstrated its considerable conventional military superiority, and the size of the force allegedly assembled for this series of attacks represents the overwhelming bulk of their longer-range strike aircraft,’ he assessed.

‘Emerging reports about more unconventional activity by Mossad are a reminder of Israel’s expertise in covert operations, its penetration of the Iranian security establishment and its agility in planning ahead with imaginative operations which can be executed at short-notice.’

Savill suggested that Israel would struggle to keep up extended strikes over such a distance – but ‘for now, they certainly have the capacity to go again’.

Chief of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri (right) with IRGC Hossein Salami (left), both reportedly killed in Israeli strikes overnight

Smoke billowing from a site reportedly targeted by an Israeli strike in Tehran

Buildings in residential areas across Tehran are damaged following Israeli strikes

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Will Iran now be able to mount a response?

Dr Burcu Ozcelik, Senior Research Fellow, Middle East Security, at the Royal United Services Institute, said the attack was unprecedented in scale.

‘Pandora’s box has been cast wide open with Israel’s sweeping overnight air campaign against Iranian targets—an escalation that risks reshaping the strategic landscape of the Middle East.

‘By targeting senior IRGC leadership and nuclear infrastructure deep inside Iranian territory, Israel has signalled a willingness to confront Tehran at a scale and depth previously unseen.’

‘The sheer depth and precision of the strikes—reaching into the heart of Tehran and eliminating key figures such as IRGC chief Major General Hossein Salami—underscore the extent of Israeli intelligence penetration and the degraded state of Iran’s air defence systems,’ she said.

‘For Tehran, this is not only a tactical loss but a profound strategic humiliation. The decapitation of senior command is expected to disrupt Iran’s decision-making architecture at a critical moment, complicating (but not completely discounting) any coordinated retaliatory response.’

Iran promised a harsh response to a barrage that killed the heads of both its armed forces and the powerful Revolutionary Guards, and Israel said it was trying to intercept about 100 drones launched towards Israeli territory in retaliation.

Speaking to Iran’s Fars news agency, an Iranian security source denied that Tehran had launched drones towards Israel, but added that retaliatory strikes ‘will take place in the near future’.

But Iran’s capability to mount an effective response is unclear.

‘What comes next may define the regional security order for years to come,’ Ozcelik concluded.

Markets responded quickly to the news, anticipating that a protracted conflict would affect Iran’s ability to produce oil – a lifeline for its staggered economy.

Oil prices surged 12 percent while stocks sank on the Israeli strikes.

Matthew Ryan, Head of Market Strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, said: ‘Thus far, at least, Israel has not directly targeted Iran’s oil supply, which appears to be unaffected.

‘The big fear for investors is that an escalation to the tensions will not only raise the risk of a prolonged conflict, but it could disrupt Iranian oil production.’

Experts had warned before the attack that strikes on oil facilities would risk hurting the cause of popular unrest against the regime within Iran, and neither Israel nor the US would benefit from directly punishing struggling civilians unsympathetic to the government.

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The remains of an Iranian projectile that was headed for Israel after it fell in Syria’s southwestern Daraa province on June 13, 2025

The remains of an Iranian projectile that was headed for Israel after it fell in Syria’s southwestern Daraa province

Debris on cars in the Iranian capital of Tehran after the overnight strikes, on June 13

The clashes come against the backdrop of ongoing nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.

Officials told NBC before the attack that Israel had become more serious about striking as Washington and Tehran edged towards a deal that Israel found unpalatable.

On Thursday, the UN’s nuclear watchdog announced that Iran has failed to meet its nuclear non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years, likely to agitate talks.

Iran had said in response it would open a new uranium enrichment facility ‘in a secure location’.

Bracing for an attack, Tehran had warned that if talks do break down and ‘a conflict is imposed upon us’, they were prepared to target ‘all US bases in the host countries’.

The overnight strikes were the first against Tehran since October 2024, when the Israeli Air Force carried out its largest attack on Iran since the Iran-Iraq War.

Military sites, a UAV factory and missile production facilities were all targeted in three successful waves of attacks, crippling the country’s defense networks.

At the time, Israel avoided damaging Iranian oil infrastructure and nuclear facilities, targets then-US President Joe Biden had urged them to avoid.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel acted alone in its strikes overnight.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Iran had brought the attack on itself by resisting U.S. demands in talks to restrict its nuclear programme, and urged it to make a deal, ‘with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal’.

Iran said in a statement that Israel’s ‘cowardly’ attack showed why Iran had to insist on enrichment, nuclear technology and missile power.

Iran is a signatory to the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel is not, and is believed to have the Middle East’s sole nuclear arsenal.