Civilians In Israel, Iran Seek Shelter, Brace For New Waves Of Attacks

By RFE/RL June 15, 2025

Civilians in both Israel and Iran sought cover as waves of air strikes hit major cities late on June 14 and early on June 15, with the latest armed conflict between the archenemies showing no signs of easing despite international calls for peace.

Explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem after midnight, with the Israeli military urging citizens to seek cover in shelters following waves of Iranian drone and rocket strikes that killed at least three people and injured dozens since June 13.

Rescue crews on June 15 said at least 14 people had been injured when an Iranian missile hit a home in northern Israel. Unconfirmed media reports said one person had been killed in the strike.

State-run Iranian news agency Tasnim -- which generally speaks for Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) -- on June 15 confirmed that Tehran had launched a new wave of drones and missiles at Israel.

In Iran, meanwhile, a journalist for German news agency dpa reported seeing citizens lined up for miles in the capital, Tehran, seeking to fuel their vehicles ahead of efforts to leave the city amid renewed Israeli air strikes.

In the initial waves of attacks, Israel had appeared to avoid striking Iran's energy infrastructure amid rising world fuel prices, but Iran's Oil Ministry early on June 15 said Israeli strikes had hit two fuel depots in Tehran.

Earlier, Iranian state media said fire broke out at the South Pars gas field in the southern Bushehr Province during an Israeli attack.

In a video address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "In the near future, you will see Israeli Air Force planes over Tehran. We will attack every location and every target of the Ayatollah regime."

The latest violence comes after nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, planned for June 15 in Muscat, were canceled, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced, although he added that "diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace."

Earlier, Iran described the talks as "meaningless" after the Israeli air strikes over the past two days.

In the wake of the Israeli attacks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state media that continuing the talks would be unjustifiable.

Back-And-Force Air Strikes

The back-and-forth attacks started with a massive, surprise air assault by Israel on Iran's nuclear and missile facilities on June 13 as well as more targeted attacks against top generals and several nuclear scientists.

Among the sites were hit in Iran was the IRGC command site in Tehran, according to Iranian state TV. The strike killed the commander of the corps, Major General Hossein Salami, Iranian officials said.

State radio reported June 14 that two more top generals had been killed: Gholamresa Mehrabi and Mehdi Rabani, who are senior members of the armed forces' general staff, bringing the number of top military officialsreportedly killed to eight.

Israel's military also claimed that its strikes had killed "nine senior scientists and experts" involved with the country's nuclear programs.

The violence has pushed the entire Middle East -- already on edge due to Israel's 20-month-long war in Gaza -- to the cusp of all-out war.

Israel's staunchest ally, the United States, has called on Iran to come to agreement to restrict its nuclear ambitions. Iran has been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels, according to UN monitors, and Israeli spy officials have repeatedly accused Tehran of rushing toward building its own atomic weapon.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been leaning heavily on Iran in high-level negotiations. After the initial Israeli attacks, Trump warned Tehran to reach a deal "before it is too late."

On June 14, Trump wrote on his social media platform that he had a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Middle East situation, along with the Kremlin's war on Ukraine.

"We talked at length [about Iran]. Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week...The call lasted approximately 1 hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end," Trump wrote.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for a de-escalation in the conflict, but he also said additional RAF jets were being sent to the Middle East after Tehran threatened to target U.K., French, and US bases if those countries helped Israel to prevent Iranian strikes on Israel.

Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said he had spoken with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian on June 14 to condemn the Israeli attacks on Iran.

"Our president stated that Israel's attacks are a clear violation of international law, aiming to draw the entire region into the fire, and that Netanyahu is attempting to sabotage the nuclear negotiation process with the attacks," the statement said.

"Turkey is closely following the developments regarding the possibility of a nuclear leak at the facility in Natanz and that the only solution to the nuclear dispute is diplomatic processes," it said.

Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu has said his fight was not with the Iranian citizens and called on them to remove the "brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years."

Dozens Of Deaths, Injuries Reported

At least three people were reported killed and dozens of others injured in Israel from the Iranian strikes, officials said.

An Iranian diplomat told the UN that 78 people had been killed and more than 320 had been injured in the initial Israeli strikes. State TV reported on June 14 that around 60 people, including 20 children, were killed in an attack on a Tehran housing complex.

Pezeshkian later told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Iran would deliver a "more severe and powerful response" if Israel continue its attacks.

Israel's military, meanwhile, announced a new wave of air strikes in Iran, saying it was targeting dozens of missile launchers and air defenses in the Tehran region.

Israel's defense minister issued a stark warning to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"If Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn," Israel Katz said, after meeting with the army's chief of staff.

Trump, who has been pressing for negotiations, earlier wrote on social media: "There is still time to make this slaughter...come to an end."

"Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire," he wrote, using all capital letters. "JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."

In a later interview with ABC News, Trump said that Iran "got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come, a lot more."

Nikolay Mladenov, a former UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, argued that Iran agreeing to "end its nuclear program" and return to negotiations is "the only diplomatic solution" to the conflict.

Without that, "what is likely to happen is that Israel will escalate, Iran will escalate, and there might also be repercussions in the region and beyond," he said in an interview with RFE/RL in Prague.

If Israel's endgame is to topple the Iranian government, he warned there was no guarantee it would succeed.

"Regime change is a very difficult and risky process... In a number of outside interventions, the rate of success hasn't been that great, to put it very mildly," he said.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, AP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-israel- netanyahu-trump-missile-attacks-tehran-telaviv/33443124.html

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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Civilians In Israel, Iran Seek Shelter, Brace For New Waves Of Attacks

Back-And-Force Air Strikes

Dozens Of Deaths, Injuries Reported