The Isreal-Iran war escalated sharply into its eighth day, as Israeli forces conducted another wave of large-scale airstrikes on military and nuclear targets deep inside Iran, while the regime responded with increasingly aggressive missile and drone barrages. A total internet blackout in Iran has now lasted over 24 hours, triggering alarm over public safety, lack of communication, and media censorship.
According to the Associated Press, Iranian missiles struck a major hospital in southern Israel early Thursday morning, causing extensive damage and wounding 27 people. Among the injured were Palestinian Arab patients, according to early reports. Additional Iranian missiles hit a residential tower in Tel Aviv and several urban centers in central Israel, leaving at least 40 wounded—six of them in critical condition.
Sources quoted IDF reporting that the regime in Iran has so far launched over 400 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 drones at Israel, resulting in 25 deaths and around 600 injuries. Israeli defenses reportedly intercepted approximately 800 drones before they entered Israeli airspace. The ongoing bombardments have displaced nearly 4,000 civilians in Israel.
President Trump will allow two weeks for diplomacy before deciding on a US strike against Iran, the White House sayshttps://t.co/ZhJmRAv0ST
— CNN (@CNN) June 19, 2025
On the Iranian side, the Israeli military confirmed overnight attacks on over 20 military targets in Tehran, including the Arak heavy-water reactor and the Khondab nuclear complex. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization admitted that the Khondab facility had been struck, but claimed the site had been evacuated and posed no radiation risk. Israel stated the strikes aimed to disable plutonium production infrastructure and prevent the site from regaining weapons-grade capability.
According to Al Arabiya and Reuters, Israeli fighter jets also hit weapons development sites and missile production facilities, including the SPND (Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research), which has long been suspected of playing a central role in Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Domestic Iranian targets were also hit. Reports confirmed strikes on an IRGC barracks and weapons depot in Shiraz, a military base in Fardis (Alborz Province), a Basij compound in Karaj, and the headquarters of the regime’s police force (FARAJA), where several officers were reportedly wounded. The Mehr News Agency confirmed that 639 people have been killed in Israeli strikes so far, including 263 civilians, with more than 1,300 wounded.
Europe strains to give Trump an off-ramp on bombing Iran https://t.co/R3TZWgLCxi
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) June 20, 2025
Inside Iran, the situation is growing more chaotic. The internet shutdown, tracked by NetBlocks, is the most severe since the November 2019 protests. Public fear has intensified due to the loss of access to information and communication. Explosions and anti-air defense activity were reported in Isfahan, Karaj, and Rasht overnight. In Rasht, four blasts were heard and widely shared on social media before the blackout deepened.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for its 15th wave of missile strikes against Israel, stating that it used over 100 attack and suicide drones, primarily targeting air-defense systems in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Israel, in turn, said it had intercepted more than 480 drones just in the past 48 hours.
The Jerusalem Post reported early Friday that at least 70 people were injured and 2 killed in the latest round of Iranian missile strikes. Meanwhile, Israel said most of the missiles either missed their targets or were intercepted. At least 18 homes were damaged in the latest barrage, according to Israeli emergency services.
Iran’s ageing supreme leader remains defiant in the face of US and Israeli demands to surrender, but he confronts powerful enemies from a position of weakness
https://t.co/JB7WHQiCOY— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) June 19, 2025
Internationally, the fallout continues. Australia closed its embassy in Tehran due to security concerns. The European Parliament issued a formal condemnation of Iran’s human rights abuses, including executions and hostage-taking, and renewed its call to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
According to the New York Times, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed that President Trump will decide “within two weeks” whether the U.S. will launch military action. Trump has reopened diplomatic channels but warned that Iran is dangerously close to nuclear weapons capability. U.S. CENTCOM chief General Michael E. Kurilla told Congress that Iran could produce enough fissile material for one nuclear bomb in a week and ten in three weeks, based on current stockpiles.
The regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded by replacing top IRGC commanders. Brigadier General Mohammad Karami was appointed to lead the IRGC ground forces, replacing Mohammad Pakpour, who has been promoted following the death of IRGC chief Hossein Salami.
Meanwhile, the regime summoned the Swiss and German ambassadors in Tehran to protest recent statements from U.S. President Trump and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X, repeated the regime’s claim that it “never sought nuclear weapons” and vowed that “the aggressor will pay dearly.”