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In-Depth Issues:
Iran Has Bombed Israel's Cancer Research Center that Saved Thousands of Lives - Henry Bodkin ( Telegraph-UK)
The Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, one of the pre-eminent scientific research centers in the world, suffered two direct hits from Iranian ballistic missiles early on June 15.
In the blink of an eye, years of cutting-edge research into human ageing, cancer prevention, and regenerative medicine went up in smoke at the life sciences and cancer research building. Thousands of vital tissue and DNA samples were lost.
Prof. Roee Ozeri, a quantum physicist who has given nearly 30 years of his life to the institute, said, "We're fighting cancer and heart disease here, which helps all humanity - and they go and do this."
No one was injured in the missile attack at Weizmann, thanks to the time of night and strict adherence to the shelter protocol. But some 45 labs were wrecked, at a potential cost of $100 million to replace.
Sheltering in a Bunker, Iran's Supreme Leader Prepares for the Worst - Farnaz Fassihi ( New York Times)
Wary of assassination, Iran's supreme leader mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications to make it harder to find him, three Iranian officials said.
Ensconced in a bunker, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has picked an array of replacements down his chain of military command in case more of his valued lieutenants are killed.
He even named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed.
Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, is not among the candidates.
In only a few days, the Israeli attacks have been more intense and have caused more damage in Tehran than Iraq's Saddam Hussein did in his entire eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s.
"It is clear that we had a massive security and intelligence breach; there is no denying this," said Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Iran's speaker of Parliament. "Our senior commanders were all assassinated within one hour."
Iranians Rattled by Israeli Strikes as Cash Runs Short and Fear Spikes - Susannah George ( Washington Post)
A week of Israeli strikes has upended the lives of Iranians, battering vital infrastructure like fuel depots, airports and public buildings, and shaking the population's confidence.
Alireza, 40, decided to flee the capital this week. On his way out of Tehran, he said, he encountered chaotic scenes of bumper-to-bumper traffic. Once outside the city, he saw a thick layer of smoke from the airstrikes hanging over the skyline.
Inside Tehran, electricity and water are still available, but cuts have become more frequent. Food prices have soared, cash is in short supply, and the wait at gas stations can be up to five hours.
Palestinians in Gaza Hail Iran for Striking Israel - Einav Halabi ( Ynet News)
Support for Iran appears to be rising in Gaza. Slogans such as "From Gaza to Tehran - One Front" have been spotted in public spaces.
Palestinian factions continue to express solidarity with Iran and Hizbullah.
Majed Abu Hamza, 52, of Gaza, said, "Anyone who attacks Israel is seen as a hero by Palestinians, whether or not we agree with their ideology. Many here see Iran as a form of hope."
"Palestine Action" to Be Banned after RAF Base Break-in - Chris Mason ( BBC News)
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will move to proscribe the Palestine Action group in the coming weeks, effectively branding them as a terrorist organization, the BBC understands.
The decision comes after pro-Palestinian activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint.
If the group is proscribed, it would become illegal to be a member or invite support for it.
Iran's Oil Exports Plummet - Danny Zaken ( Israel Hayom)
Iran's oil exports have plummeted from 2.5 million barrels per day to just 150,000 barrels following the outbreak of war with Israel, threatening to choke off one of the Islamic Republic's most vital revenue streams.
Yet the global price of oil has only risen modestly, thanks to increased output by Saudi Arabia.
How Israel Decided on the Iran War - Itay Ilnai ( Israel Hayom)
Plans for targeting Iran's nuclear facilities had been in development within the Israeli defense establishment for years, shaping the IDF's force buildup over the past two decades.
Yet those plans were discarded at the last moment to make way for a bold, creative, and swiftly-crafted new strategy.
"In reality, we began the operational planning for the strike in its current form only in October 2024," said an official privy to the details.
"That's when we realized the IDF needed to prepare not just for a pinpoint strike in Iran but for an entire campaign."
Until recently, even senior defense officials considered the idea of attacking Iran far-fetched. Then in September 2024, "Operation Pagers," the air campaign to neutralize Hizbullah's rockets, and the successful eliminations of the group's leadership, including Hassan Nasrallah, turned Hizbullah into a weakened force.
Hizbullah was seen as standing at Israel's northern border, "ready to respond fiercely if we attacked" Iran. "Once that [threat] was erased, a new game began."
In October, in response to a major Iranian missile attack, the Israeli Air Force executed widespread strikes on Iran's air defense systems for the first time.
In November, Donald Trump's election further emboldened strike advocates, led by Prime Minister Netanyahu.
By December, Israel's top echelons no longer debated whether the strike would happen - only when.
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- U.S. Strikes Three Iranian Nuclear Sites - Dan Lamothe
The U.S. military carried out sweeping strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, including the subterranean Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, President Donald Trump said Saturday. Trump threatened more attacks on Iran if it decides to retaliate. "This cannot continue. There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days," he said.
(Washington Post)
See also below Commentary: President Trump Announces U.S. Strikes on Iran (AP)
- Europeans Back U.S. Demands that Iran Cease Uranium Enrichment - Summer Said
Top European officials have lined up behind the U.S. demand that Iran give up its uranium-enrichment program, as pressure mounted on Tehran to make deep concessions if it wants a diplomatic off-ramp from the fighting with Israel. Iran has remained defiant, saying it won't end its enrichment of nuclear fuel and won't enter talks with the U.S. unless Israel stops its attacks, Arab and European officials said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said any talks will have to involve Iran giving up the ability to make the fuel that powers nuclear weapons. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made a similar call for a ban, and some British officials indicated they agree with that goal. Previously, Britain, France and Germany had been willing to allow Iran to enrich uranium but under tight limits.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said Friday, "Iran is saying 'we will not negotiate when we are attacked.' But when they were not attacked, nothing happened with the negotiations." (Wall Street Journal)
- U.S. Supreme Court Allows Victims of Terrorist Attacks to Sue the Palestinian Authority - John Fritze
The Supreme Court on Friday said that the families of victims of terrorist attacks in Israel may sue the Palestinian Authority in a decision that will likely make it easier for victims of other overseas attacks with ties to Palestinian groups to seek damages in U.S. courts. The vote was unanimous. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the federal government has "strong interest in permitting American victims of international terror to pursue justice in domestic courts." (CNN)
- Palestinian Authority Daily: Hamas Is Murdering Civilians Who Come to Gaza Aid Distribution Centers
In its June 19, 2025, editorial, the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida accused Hamas of murdering Gaza residents trying to get to the American food aid distribution centers.
"Numerous reports out of Gaza say that Hamas is killing many civilians looking for a sack of flour on the pretext that they are collaborating with the American food distribution centers! This is being revealed...in messages and [social media] posts by families whose relatives have been targeted by the treacherous Hamas."
"Hiba Al-Mishal, the sister of the murdered Osama Al-Mishal...revealed that a group of Hamas members called the Al-Sahm Unit had obstructed a bus in which her brother and several young men were traveling to one of the food distribution centers. [The Hamas members] took them off [the bus] and shot them...[then] followed the wounded to the entrance of Nasser Hospital, where they shot them again [and] prevented the doctors and nurses from treating them." (MEMRI)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Iranian Missiles Strike Israel after U.S. Attack on Nuclear Facilities
25 missiles from Iran in two waves targeted central and northern Israel on Sunday morning, wounding 86 people. Cities targeted included Haifa, Tel Aviv, Rehovot, and Ness Ziona.
(Israel Hayom-Times of Israel)
- Video: Prime Minister Netanyahu Thanks President Trump for Doing "What No Other Country on Earth Could Do"
Following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Sunday, "The United States powerfully continued the IDF and Mossad's strikes on Iran's nuclear program. This program threatened our very existence and endangered the peace of the entire world.... President Trump is courageously leading the free world. He is a tremendous friend of Israel."
Netanyahu called the actions "truly unsurpassed" in having "done what no other country on Earth could do." This "bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history. History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons." (Jerusalem Post)
- Knesset Opposition Leaders Hail U.S. Strikes on Iran - Eliav Breuer
Knesset opposition leader Yair Lapid said Sunday, "Thank you to President Trump. Thank you to the United States. A nuclear Iran is a threat to the whole world...a nuclear arms race in the Middle East was prevented."
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz wrote on X, "The historic U.S. strike in Iran strengthens the security of the world, the Middle East, and Israel. We thank President Trump and the entire American administration for their leadership, determination, and standing alongside Israel in this campaign."
Democrats party (formerly Labor and Meretz) chairman Yair Golan wrote on X, "The American operation last night against Iran's nuclear facilities is impressive, important, and justified. A nuclear Iran is unacceptable, and it is good that the United States made that clear to the entire world....I thank the United States and President Trump for their steadfast stance and brave action." (Jerusalem Post)
- IDF Recovers Bodies of Three Israeli Hostages from Gaza - Yonah Jeremy Bob
The IDF on Sunday announced it had recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages from Gaza. Ofra Keidar, 71, was murdered alongside her husband, Sami, on Kibbutz Be'eri on Oct. 7, and her body was taken to Gaza. Yonatan Samerano, 21, attended the Nova Music Festival and when the attacks began, he fled to Be'eri, where he was killed and his body taken to Gaza. Sgt. Shai Levinson, 19, a tank commander, was killed in combat on Oct. 7. His tank managed to kill 15 terrorists with shells before being overwhelmed.
(Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
War with Iran
- Transcript: President Trump Announces U.S. Strikes on Iran
"A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive, precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan. Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror."
"The strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier."
"For 40 years, Iran has been saying 'Death to America, death to Israel.' They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms and legs with roadside bombs. That was their specialty. We lost over 1,000 people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate."
"I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight, and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades."
"Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes....God bless Israel and God bless America." (AP)
- The U.S. Bombs Three Nuclear Sites to Spare the World from an Intolerable Risk - Editorial
President Trump's decision to strike Iran's three most significant nuclear sites on Saturday helped rid the world of a grave nuclear threat and was a large step toward restoring U.S. deterrence. Trump gave Iran every chance to resolve this peacefully. The regime flouted his 60-day deadline to make a deal.
Then Israel attacked, destroying much of the nuclear program and achieving air supremacy, and still the president gave Iran another chance to come to terms. But the regime wouldn't abandon domestic uranium enrichment. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wanted a bomb more than peace.
Iran and its Iraqi proxies have threatened U.S. regional bases with missile fire, but if the regime values self-preservation, it will give up its nuclear ambitions and stand down. Much of the press has fixated on the idea that Trump has now joined or even started a conflict. But Iran has been waging regional and terrorist war for decades. It's as likely that he has helped end the conflict.
U.S. presidents have been known to kick the can down the road. To his credit, Trump didn't, hitting the Fordow enrichment site as well as Natanz and Isfahan. The president wanted to leave no doubt about Iran's nuclear program and take it all down. He had to act to stop the threat in front of him to protect America.
The Israelis, who proved their strategic value as an ally, would like to complete the mission by destroying what remains of Iran's missile infrastructure. They deserve a green light, especially as those missiles are threatening U.S. bases. Critics had counseled that the world had to bow to Iranian intimidation. The best we could hope for was a flimsy deal that bribed Iran with billions and left open its path to a bomb. They were wrong.
(Wall Street Journal)
- The U.S.-Israel Alliance Has Reached a Whole New Level - Yaakov Katz
The U.S. strikes early Sunday on three Iranian nuclear facilities marked a new peak in U.S.-Israel cooperation.
From the start, Israeli officials understood the limitations of acting alone. The Air Force could hit Natanz and Isfahan and maybe even attempt something at Fordow, but it would be hard to set Iran's program back more than a year. For a long-term delay, American involvement was crucial.
Already in May, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Dermer knew where President Trump stood. They shared intelligence, they laid out the threat and they showed Trump how the pieces fit together. They made the case that the time for action had come and that waiting would come at a cost.
Still, had Israel's initial strike not succeeded, it's unlikely Trump would have gone further.
But as the operation's success became clear - and Iran remained stunned and exposed - Trump moved quickly to reposition himself. He was soon giving interviews and taking credit for what had started without him. He tweeted that "we" controlled Iranian airspace. He was already mentally joining the mission.
The implications of the U.S. operation reshape the strategic map. Trump set a precedent that will echo across the region and beyond. It was a message to every rogue regime weighing a nuclear program of its own or the general benefits of defiance: there is a line, and if you cross it, you will pay a price. What happened Sunday opens the door to a new kind of deterrence, one built not on declarations but on actions.
(Jerusalem Post)
- Arab States Quietly Cheer the War with Iran - Amos Harel
Israel is receiving broad international support (albeit not always declared) for its actions against Iran. The Iranians are perceived by the international community - and justly so - as dangerous and ill-intentioned. Senior officials in neighboring countries are telling their Israeli counterparts, "just keep going," and expressing plenty of appreciation for Israel's operational and intelligence achievements.
In the months before the June 13 attack on Iran, Israel gave the Americans intelligence on secret experiments by the Iranians, including the development of the so-called nuclear trigger. Israel also documented thorough and diversified technological research on the margins of the weapons program.
A security source has told Ha'aretz that the Iranians made significant progress in recent months under cover of the negotiations with the U.S.
Israel also discovered that the bombing of the production line for ballistic missiles in October didn't stop the Iranians, who quickly returned to rapid production. By March 2026 they would have had 4,000 ballistic missiles. Moreover, Iran's plan to destroy Israel - based on huge arsenals of ballistic missiles, along with militias that would invade Israel across the borders - was being consolidated.
(Ha'aretz)
- Why Israel Had to Act - Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin
44 years ago I sat in the cockpit on the Israeli air force mission that destroyed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor.
In 2007, when I was serving as Israel's chief of defense intelligence, we destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria built with North Korea's help.
Today the challenge of Iran's advanced, deeply fortified, multisite nuclear program is far more complex. Yet, a successful Israeli campaign holds the potential not only to neutralize a grave threat but also to reshape the strategic landscape of the Middle East and make the region profoundly safer.
Israel and the U.S. have a rare strategic opening. What has for years been a reactive approach can now be transformed into a proactive vision that curbs Iran's malign ambitions and efforts, stabilizes Gaza, and lays the foundation for a new order built on security, integration and peaceful relations.
The operation in Iran offers decision makers a foundation to leverage military action into a broader diplomatic initiative that aims for a strong, enforceable agreement rolling back Iran's nuclear program. It must also prevent Tehran from enriching uranium for military use, block its path to a nuclear weapon, and impose meaningful constraints on its missile arsenal, which poses a threat to the entire region. Together with crippling Iran's proxy network, these steps would significantly decrease the threat to most of America's regional partners.
The writer is a former chief of Israeli military intelligence. (New York Times)
- Iran Is Down, but Not Yet Out - David Albright interviewed by Tunku Varadarajan
David Albright, an American physicist and nuclear-weapons tracker who is president of the Institute for Science and International Security, says Iran was on track to have enough highly enriched uranium for 22 weapons in five months. Yet Israel's continued pounding of Iranian sites has degraded Iran's capabilities.
Iran's "overall breakout capability has been degraded because of the loss of Natanz," its largest enrichment facility, which Israel struck on June 13.
Israel's attacks have "made it more difficult for Iran to build a nuclear weapon itself. The weaponeer elite has been eliminated. They took out Iran's Oppenheimers....These killings are a huge disruption to the task of pulling a bomb program together." One of those killed was Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, who warned in an interview last month that Iran could deploy nukes against "the U.S., England and the Zionist regime" by means other than missiles and aircraft.
It astonishes Albright that the delusion that Iran suspended its nuclear program persists even after the daring theft of an Iranian nuclear archive by the Israelis in 2018. This intelligence trove revealed the full extent of Iran's nuclear deception. (Wall Street Journal)
- Iran Expert: "I'd Be Surprised If Khamenei Held on to Power" - Itay Mashiach
Prof. Abbas Milani, who was forced to leave Iran in 1986, directs Stanford University's program of Iranian studies. He said in an interview Monday that the Iranian people "find the regime extremely responsible for getting Iran into what I think increasingly seems to the people...to be an unwanted, unwinnable and unreasonable war."
"To me, Khamenei is dead politically. There is no way imaginable that he can emerge from this war untainted. I would be surprised if he survives [in power], but he might find a way short-term....Iranian society has come to the conclusion that this guy is a disaster. This guy has taken the country to hell. We can't defeat Israel. Defeating Israel is not our business." (Ha'aretz)
Observations:
- Israel's go-for-broke attacks on Iran launched just over a week ago - after decades of intense but largely covert conflict between the two powers - have dramatically shifted the strategic balance, according to analysts in Israel, even before American bombers entered the fray.
- Iran - perceived for years by not only Israel but many countries in the Arab Gulf region as the primary menace - has been exposed as a far hollower military force than many in the world believed. The decades-old status quo has been shattered, with Israel now ascendant as the Middle East's unchallenged military power, while Iran and its "axis of resistance" are in disarray.
- The region has already been transformed in several essential ways. Israel no longer faces the intense threats from just across its borders once posed by Hamas and Hizbullah. Syrian rebels have shaken off the tyranny of the Assad regime and with it, the influence of Iran and Russia, which had long dominated Syria. "Both Syria and Lebanon are on a new and hopefully promising trajectory," said Paul Salem, former president of the Middle East Institute in Beirut.
- And Israel has rebounded from the devastating Oct. 7 attacks of 20 months ago. While Israeli hostages are still held by Hamas, Israel is now in its strongest strategic position in decades, operating militarily beyond its borders in Lebanon, southern Syria and now over Iran.
- "We've never used the word 'unprecedented' so often," said Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House in London. "This will be one of those hugely impactful moments in the history books. What emerges after this will not look like it was on Oct. 6. Israel's attack on Iran cements that."
- Especially striking are the rapid deterioration of Iran's strategic position and the collapse of its decades-long enterprise to project power across the region via a network of allied militant armies, including in Iraq and Yemen. "Iran was an imperial power that once boasted of controlling four Arab capitals: Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad and Sanaa," said Salem. "My God, have they come down in the world."
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