Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, stated in a press conference on Monday that there are no signs of further damage at the Natanz or Fordow enrichment facilities in Iran. “The agency is and will remain present in Iran. Safeguards inspections in Iran will continue as soon as safety conditions allow, as is required under Iran’s NPT safeguards obligations,” Grossi told journalists. He also informed that the electricity infrastructure at Nazans was destroyed, and the loss of power to a cascade hall may have damaged the centrifuges there.
Israel strike reportedly hits Iran’s gas sector, halting production at world’s largest field….. Israel’s Haifa Oil Refinery Damaged in Missile Strike
Iran has partially suspended production at the South Pars gas field — the world’s largest — after an Israeli airstrike triggered a fire at the site, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on June 14, according to Reuters. If confirmed, it would mark the first Israeli strike targeting Iran’s vital oil and gas infrastructure. The South Pars field, located offshore in southern Bushehr province, is responsible for the bulk of Iran’s gas output. Tehran shares the field with Qatar, which refers to its portion as the North Field. A strike on South Pars represents a significant escalation, coming after oil prices surged 9% on June 13 following Israel’s initial wave of attacks, which had not targeted energy infrastructure, Reuters reports. Israel launched its air offensive against Iran on June 13, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites, in what it described as an effort to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The Iranian oil ministry said the fire caused by the strike has been extinguished. According to Tasnim, the fire broke out in one of four units of Phase 14 at South Pars, halting the production of 12 million cubic meters of gas. Iran, the world’s third-largest gas producer after the United States and Russia, produces around 275 billion cubic meters of gas per year, about 6.5% of global output. Due to international sanctions, the country consumes most of this domestically. Qatar, which operates the majority of the shared field with support from global firms such as Exxon and Shell, produces 77 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually, supplying both European and Asian markets.
Israel’s Haifa Oil Refinery Damaged in Missile Strike
Iranian missile attack caused damage to the Haifa refinery in Israel over the weekend, prompting a partial shutdown, Israeli media reported, saying the facility remained operational. The damage, according to the Haifa refinery’s operator, Bazan, was localized at pipelines and transmission lines, the Times of Israel reported. The publication added that Iran launched some 40 missiles at the Haifa area on Saturday night. “The refining facilities continue to operate, while some downstream facilities at the complex have been shut down,” Bazan said in a statement, as quoted by Argus. Israel, meanwhile, struck two gas treatment plants in southern Iran and an oil storage site in Tehran, which caused fires at two or three storage tanks. Missiles continue flying, with Iran targeting Tel Aviv and Haifa, with worry rising that the conflict will continue escalating, possibly culminating in disruption of oil flows via the Strait of Hormuz, which handles over 20 million barrels daily in oil exports. Further Israeli attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure are also a distinct possibility. “If Iranian crude exports are disrupted, Chinese refiners, the sole buyers of Iranian barrels, would need to seek alternative grades from other Middle Eastern countries and Russian crudes,” S&P Global Commodity Insight’s head of near-term oil analysis, Richard Joswick, said, as quoted by Reuters. “This could also boost freight rates and tanker insurance premiums, narrow the Brent-Dubai spread, and hurt refinery margins, particularly in Asia,” Joswick added. Tanker owners are already refusing to send their vessels to the Persian Gulf and pulling out the ones that are already there, with the chief executive of Frontline, the world’s largest tanker operator, saying that “Trade is going to become more inefficient and, of course, security has a price.”
This Is The Beginning For Israel….. US helps Israel shoot down Iranian missiles
In the wee hours of Friday morning, Israel launched not merely a string of attacks on Iran, as had been the case with recent incursions, but the start of an all-out war, whose goal seems to be the destruction of not just the country’s nuclear facilities but also its military command and, possibly, the Islamic regime itself. The question now is what happens next. Iran has pledged to inflict “severe punishment” against Israel, but its first retaliatory strike, involving 100 drones, did little if any damage. Will Iran soon launch hundreds of ballistic missiles, as it has in the past? Will this trigger a wider war in the region? Will the U.S. get pulled into the fight, despite President Donald Trump’s deep reluctance to get directly involved in a war? And how will Israel’s campaign—by far the largest and most ambitious it has ever mounted against Iran—reshape the dynamics of the entire Middle East?
US helps Israel shoot down Iranian missiles amid growing conflict
Iran considers closing Strait of Hormuz
Around one-third of global oil, 20% of LNG trade pass through Strait of Hormuz, making its potential closure due to possible wider conflict in region detrimental to Iran’s trade, market prices
Global markets are closely monitoring the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), amid fears that a widening conflict between Israel and Iran could disrupt traffic through the narrow waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz, positioned in between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is a narrow but critical sea route that approximately one-third of global oil trade, accounting for 17 million to 20 million barrels of crude oil and condensate passes through daily. Around 70% of oil volume goes to Asia via this route, with China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, and the Philippines among the largest recipients, according to the International Energy Agency. The route is also essential for LNG exports, especially from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which account for 20% of global LNG trade. Europe is a key destination for LNG that transits through Hormuz. While Iran has previously threatened to close the strait in response to geopolitical tensions, it has yet to act on such threats. However, the prospect of a broader regional conflict following Israel’s airstrikes on Iran has renewed concerns over possible supply disruptions and rising energy prices.
– Strait of Hormuz’ closure to be ‘absolute nightmare’
The UK Maritime Trade Organization said on Wednesday that the rising tensions in the region could escalate the military activity in critical waterways and affect maritime transport, while the Baltic and International Maritime Council also warned that any attack could directly impact maritime transport. Some analysts say that Iran has a lot at stake should they close the route, as almost all the country’s oil exports and a large portion of China’s oil imports comes through the Strait of Hormuz. Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst and head of research at Global Risk Management, said that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be an “absolute nightmare” for the oil market. “If Iran blocks this narrow chokepoint, it could affect up to 30% of global oil flows,” he said. “A closure would likely send oil prices above $100.” Following Israel’s attacks early Friday on Tehran, the Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan, and cities including Lorestan and Kermanshah, oil prices surged more than 7%, hitting $73.58, a nearly five-month high. Senior Iranian military officials, including Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, were reportedly killed in the strikes. Israel also reportedly struck residential areas in Tehran, resulting in numerous civilian deaths. Several nuclear scientists were also killed in the attack on the Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan.
NN: see blackmask pod cast Titled: Look no further than the straights
Israel: Iran fired 200 missiles since escalation…… Significant damage’ after IDF headquarters hit by Iranian missile attack
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) revealed in a statement on Saturday that since Iran started its retaliatory attacks, it had launched 200 ballistic missiles toward Israel. According to the Israeli army, the objects were sent flying in several barrages, with most of them shot down by air defense systems. It was further detailed that around 25% of the missiles weren’t intercepted “according to protocol” and were permitted to crash into open areas, without damaging infrastructure.
IDF did mention, however, that a “small number” of these missiles passed through the air defenses, with three Israelis being killed, while some 70 were wounded.
NN: not a small number if your one of the people killed or injured
Significant damage’ after IDF headquarters hit by Iranian missile attack
Iron Dome Fails to Block Missile That Hits Tel Aviv Military Zone
Israel’s military headquarters were struck after Iran’s Islamic Republic unleashed a barrage of missiles on central Tel Aviv late Friday night, causing “significant damage” to the Jewish state’s equivalent of the Pentagon. Alarming footage shared on social media — and verified by The New York Times — showed a strike slamming into an area that houses several military sites, including the Israel Defense Forces’ main command center. The dramatic clips captured interceptor missiles firing into the sky moments before a blinding flash, a thunderous boom, and the explosion of an incoming warhead.
Iran Fires Hundreds of Missiles at Israel as Conflict Escalates
Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in response to an unprecedented attack on its nuclear facilities, escalating a conflict between sworn enemies that threatens to engulf the oil-rich Middle East. The Islamic Republic targeted Israeli cities with multiple waves of missiles and a barrage of drones starting Friday evening, some of which breached the country’s air defenses. US forces helped shoot down the projectiles. Three people were killed in the Tel Aviv area and at least 40 were injured in multiple strikes, according to police and emergency services. There was video footage of at least one large explosion in Tel Aviv and reports of blasts over Jerusalem. The full extent of the damage is still being assessed. Israel’s air defense systems including the Iron Dome and David’s Sling boast an interception rate upward of 90%. If combined at varying altitudes, the chance of a successful shoot-down increases exponentially. The intensity of the fighting represents a turning point for both Israel and Iran, testing new limits in terms of their aggression and willingness to escalate. When the pair targeted each other on two occasions last year, there was a greater time lag and a sense that after an exchange of fire, there would be a détente. Israel has indicated this operation could last weeks, while Iran has signaled no letup in its retaliation. Further escalation — particularly any targeting of American military or diplomatic facilities in the region — could rally domestic political support for Iran’s rulers and dramatically intensify the conflict. It’s unclear if Tehran is entertaining last-resort options — such as blocking the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s vital oil arteries, a scenario that would ratchet up concern among investors. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to “act forcefully” in a pre-recorded video message carried by state TV. Israel “should not think that it is over. We won’t allow them to escape unscathed from this great crime they have committed,” he said in a statement released after Iran started its retaliation.
The semi-official Fars news agency citied an unnamed military official as saying the conflict will soon “expand” beyond Israel to US bases in the region. So far, Iran has chosen to keep the US out of the conflict — a decision that an analysis by Bloomberg Economics suggested was the most likely since Tehran can’t afford to go to war with the world’s biggest economy and most powerful military. The damage to Iran’s regional standing and its military command structure is considerable. The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and the military’s chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, were both killed in Israeli strikes. At least two other senior IRGC members died and several nuclear facilities were targeted. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace division, was also slain, Iranian state TV reported.
Israeli Strikes Kill Top Iranian Military Leaders
Leaders confirmed dead after June 13 attacks
Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that Israel struck the nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan as part of its latest wave of attacks, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the UN Security Council on Friday.The IAEA doesn’t have information beyond indications that military activity took place around those facilities, Grossi said. If the facility at Isfahan is disabled, it would seriously crimp Iran’s ability to enrich uranium in large quantities.
US deploys warships to Middle East amid Iran threat
The United States is repositioning military assets in the Middle East following Israel’s strike on Iran and the growing threat of retaliation from Tehran, two officials told the Associated Press on Friday. According to these sources, the Navy has ordered the USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, to head toward the Eastern Mediterranean, while a second destroyer is moving into position to be deployed if needed. One official said President Trump is meeting with his National Security Council to discuss the unfolding situation, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the plans.Iran has pulled out of nuclear talks with Washington in Oman, which were set for Sunday, as Washington warned Tehran against targeting American forces in the region.
US said to pretend to oppose Israeli strikes on Iran
United States President Donald Trump and other officials from his administration allegedly only pretended to be against Israel’s attacks on Iran in public, Axios reported on Friday, citing two Israeli officials. “We had a clear US green light,” one source claimed, adding that there was no opposition to Israel’s moves behind closed doors. It was further explained that the tactic was employed in order to surprise Tehran and make sure that all the individuals on the target list remained in specific locations in Iran. The sources also added that aides of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli press that Trump was trying to dissuade Israel from going after Iran during a telephone call, which was supposedly a farce as the call was reportedly about coordination before the attacks. Meanwhile, the US officials previously denied any involvement in Israel’s actions.
Trump: Iran must make deal before nothing is left
United States President Donald Trump urged Iran on Friday to make a deal “before there is nothing left and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.” In a post on Truth Social, the US head of state wrote that he gave Tehran “chance after chance” to come to an agreement, but it couldn’t be done. His comments come after Israeli strikes. “I told them it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come – And they know how to use it. Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse,” if the conflict continues, he warned, cautioning that the next attacks might be “even more brutal.”
nn: do not screw with GOD’S CHOSEn people because they screw back bigger and badder
Israel has launched a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear program…… destroying Iran’s nuclear program
Decades of Israeli warnings against Iran’s nuclear program and preparations for military action to thwart it culminated early Friday morning with the Jewish state launching a major offensive against the Islamic Republic, striking nuclear sites, military facilities, missile bases and senior leadership. Jerusalem said it had engaged in a “precise, preemptive strike” against Iran, declaring an imminent threat from its nuclear program and announcing a domestic state of emergency as citizens braced for retaliation. Top officials warned of a potential prolonged conflict, noting that Tehran had the power to inflict significant pain upon Israel. Multiple waves of Israeli strikes were reported throughout Iran for several hours, starting at around 3 a.m. and into the morning. Over 200 Israeli Air Force aircraft were involved in the opening strikes, and fighter jets dropped over 330 munitions on some 100 targets, the IDF said. The operation, dubbed “Rising Lion,” was directed at Iran’s nuclear program — the military assessed Iran currently has enough enriched uranium to build 15 nuclear bombs — as well as its ballistic missile factories and its military capabilities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the military said.
Israel said it had no choice but to attack Iran, adding that it had gathered intelligence that Tehran was approaching “the point of no return” in its pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
“The Iranian regime has been working for decades to obtain a nuclear weapon. The world has attempted every possible diplomatic path to stop it, but the regime has refused to stop,” the military said in a statement.Confirmed killed in the strikes was Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that the chief of Iran’s military, Mohammad Bagheri, was also dead. Jerusalem assessed that other top brass and senior nuclear scientists were killed as well.Blasts were reported in Natanz, the site of a key nuclear facility, as well as in and around the capital Tehran. All Israeli Air Force pilots and aircrews who participated in the strikes returned to their bases unharmed, the military said late on Friday morning. The Israeli operation was expected to last days, according to military officials, who added that the IDF was preparing for heavy fire from Iran, but asserted that “at the end of the operation, there will be no nuclear threat” from the Islamic Republic. The IDF said dozens of aircraft took part in “the opening blow, which included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear-related sites in various areas in Iran.”
Netanyahu and Iranian state TV confirmed that one target of the strikes was the Natanz enrichment facility, one of two underground nuclear sites in the country, the other being at Fordo. The “Natanz enrichment facility has been hit several times,” state TV reported Friday morning, showing footage of heavy smoke billowing from the site. The extent of the damage was not definitively clear. Iranian state television only briefly showed the live picture with a reporter.
Israeli defense officials indicated they believed Natanz was significantly damaged.
The official IRNA news agency also reported a number of deaths in Tehran, naming neighborhoods in multiple locations in the capital, after residential buildings were hit by strikes. Israel spent years preparing for the operation against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, a security official told The Times of Israel, including building a drone base inside Iran and smuggling precision weapons systems and commandos into the country. The effort hinged on tight joint planning between the IDF and the Mossad intelligence agency. According to the official, Mossad agents set up a drone base on Iranian soil near Tehran. The drones were activated overnight, striking surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel.In addition, vehicles carrying weapons systems were smuggled into Iran. These systems took out Iran’s air defenses and gave Israeli planes air supremacy and freedom of action over Iran.