Here are the key events on day six of the Israel-Iran conflict.
Here’s where things stand on Monday, June 18:
Fighting
- The Israeli army continued to launch attacks across Iran, targeting the capital Tehran, where explosions were reported throughout the day, in the central province of Isfahan as well as near Kahraj.
- Israel said it struck 40 sites in Iran, including weapons facilities. Other strikes targeted two centrifuge production facilities – one in Tehran and one in Kahraj, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
- Israel’s military claimed it is “operating freely” in Iranian skies, while confirming one of its unmanned aircraft was downed in Iranian territory. Iranian state media said Iranian forces shot down an Israeli drone and fighter jet.
- An Iranian drone that entered airspace over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in Syria was also intercepted, Israel said, adding later that a second drone was intercepted in the south of the territory.
- Iran also launched a wave of missile attacks towards Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said long-range Sejjil missiles were used in its 12th wave of firings at Israel.
- The IRGC warned that the skies above “occupied lands” are open to Iranian missiles and drones, adding that the attacks will be “focused and continuous”.
- Explosions were reported in the greater Tel Aviv area and east of the city. Israel said it intercepted eight missiles in that salvo in the evening.
Casualties and disruptions
- An Israeli strike on a vehicle in Isfahan’s Najafabad killed six people, including a pregnant woman and two children, according to local media reports.
- Israel did not report any deaths on Wednesday.
- Iran’s Ministry of Communications said it will temporarily limit internet access to prevent “the enemy from threatening citizens’ lives and property”.
- The London-based internet watchdog NetBlocks also said that there was a “near-total national internet blackout”.
- A spokesman for the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development in Iran announced the extension of domestic and international flight cancellations until early Thursday.
- Public safety guidelines in Israel that heavily restricted activity were eased. Limited gatherings and work operations are now allowed in areas where people can quickly reach a “standard protected place” until Friday evening.
Diplomacy
- Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivered his first televised address since Israel began its attacks on Friday, warning that any United States military intervention in the conflict would be met with “irreparable consequences”.
- Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, warned in an interview with Al Jazeera that any US intervention would be “a recipe for an all-out war in the region”.
- US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on the White House lawn, and when asked if the US was moving closer to striking Iran, he said: “I may do it. I may not do it.”
- Trump also claimed that Iranian officials reached out to him and suggested visiting the White House. Iran has denied this, saying “the only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader”.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for his “support in defending Israel’s skies”, describing him as a “a great friend of the state of Israel”.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his country’s willingness to help mediate the crisis.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country wants to see the crisis resolved diplomatically and Ankara could play a constructive role, but accused Israel of waging “crazed” attacks against Iran that amount to “state terrorism”.
- France is planning along with European partners to suggest a negotiated solution to end the conflict between Iran and Israel, the country’s presidency said, after President Emmanuel Macron chaired a Defence and National Security Council meeting.
- Macron has indicated that military regime change in Iran is a strategic mistake, according to France’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
- Iran’s mission to the United Nations has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting, saying the situation “has dangerously escalated due to mounting and undeniable evidence of direct US involvement”.
- UN chief Antonio Guterres said he remains “profoundly alarmed” and reiterated calls for “immediate de-escalation leading to a ceasefire”.
- Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz defended his comments, which drew outrage in some quarters, terming Israel’s attacks on Iran as “dirty work Israel is doing for all of us”.
- Iran has consistently denied seeking a nuclear weapon, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Al Jazeera that the UN nuclear watchdog has found no evidence that Iran was building one.
- The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday. Iran requested the meeting, saying the situation “has dangerously escalated due to mounting and undeniable evidence of direct US involvement in this unlawful campaign”.
