Genocide in Gaza, Iran conflict ‘reaching point of no return’: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Israel’s conflict with Iran and genocide in Gaza are “quickly reaching the point of no return”. “This madness must end as soon as possible,” said Erdogan, warning the consequences could affect the region, Europe and Asia “for many years”.

“Israel complained about damage to its hospitals today, yet it has so far carried out over 700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza alone,” he added during a speech to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Youth Forum, as he reiterated his call for a ceasefire.

Iran says Geneva talks ‘respectful, serious’, not the end of diplomacy

Iran’s IRNA news agency is reporting that Iranian and European officials have taken a break in their talks in Geneva “for internal consultations by the European parties”.

IRNA said the Iranian delegation to the talks emphasised “that only a halt to aggression can open the path to diplomacy”.  “The first round of talks was held with a respectful and serious approach, encompassing the perspectives of all parties involved,” IRNA’s report said.

“Some of the issues raised could benefit from greater clarity to help pave the way for diplomacy,” it continued. “In particular, the E3 countries [the UK, Germany and France] and Europe, who were initiators of the nuclear talks with Iran, still hope to play a historic role and gain another opportunity to advance diplomatic efforts.”

IRNA added that the Iranian delegation “stressed that Iran has not walked away from the negotiating table, and this round of talks does not mark the end of dialogue”.

Iran ready for diplomacy ‘once aggression is stopped’: Araghchi

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been speaking to reporters in Geneva. Here’s what he had to say:

“Iran’s nuclear programme is peaceful and has always been under the IAEA safeguards and monitoring. Hence, armed attacks against safeguarded nuclear facilities by a regime which is not a party to any WMD treaties is a serious crime and violation of international law.”

He said he expressed “grave concern” of the failure of the E3 countries – Germany, UK and France – and the European Union to condemn those attacks.

Israeli attorney general asks ministers to clarify directive on media censorship: Report

Israel’s attorney general has instructed National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to clarify their directive requiring foreign journalists to obtain prior approval from Israel’s military censor for any broadcasts from Israel during wartime, and to disclose their location, Haaretz reports.

The newspaper said Ben-Gvir and Karhi responded by accusing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of trying to undermine their efforts “to the point of harming state security”.

In a joint statement released earlier today, the two ministers said: “Broadcasting without such approval from combat zones or missile strike sites will be considered a criminal offence and a violation of censorship rules.”

Israeli army says it completed wave of attacks on western Iran

The military says 15 fighter jets and more than 30 weapons were used in the wave of strikes. It said the attacks targeted “missile launch sites”, without providing additional details.

As we’ve been reporting, Israel’s attacks on Iran have killed hundreds of civilians over the past week across the country.

Israeli military says it struck Hezbollah sites in Lebanon

The Israeli military in its latest war update says it has attacked Hezbollah military sites and rocket launchers in southern Lebanon. In the update, it claimed Hezbollah had been “trying to restore its activity at these sites”, which was a “violation” of the ceasefire agreement.

Israeli attacks continue to kill dozens across the Gaza Strip

Here is a reminder that alongside its strikes on Iran, Israel has been continuing its attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

A medical source at al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat told Al Jazeera that 35 people were killed and a number of others wounded after being targeted by the Israeli army while waiting to receive aid near the Netzarim Corridor.


_{Bodies of aid seekers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza arrive at al-Shifa Hospital}

Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities a ‘dangerous precedent’: China’s UN envoy

Fu Cong, speaking at the UN Security Council earlier, said that Israel should “cease fire as soon as possible” to prevent the situation from escalating.

Cong said Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities set a “dangerous precedent” that could have “catastrophic consequences”. He said the nuclear issue must be returned “to the track of dialogue and negotiation”.

‘A war to preserve Israel’s nuclear monopoly in Middle East’

Iran doesn’t have nuclear weapons, but the US and its allies in the West paint it as the biggest threat to the region. Meanwhile, they fully support Israel, the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons, as it carries out a genocide in Gaza and attacks Iran.


US intelligence assessment on Iran nuclear programme ‘sound’

As we’ve just reported, Trump has dismissed the conclusion of his own national intelligence chief, who said in April that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, explained that Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, who issued the determination on Iran, “does not speak for herself” or her team alone.

“She speaks for all the intelligence agencies combined,” Bishara stressed. “This intelligence is supposed to be sound. This is not just one person or one team saying something. It’s the entire intelligence community in the United States. He [Trump] would dismiss them? For what?

“For a lie by a rogue element called Benjamin Netanyahu, who has lied all his life, a con artist who is indicted for his crimes in Gaza? It’s just astounding.”

Not that surprising since Trump is a con artist as well, a convicted felon on 34 charges.
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/30/g-s1-1848/trump-hush-money-trial-34-counts

Netanyahu is on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust by him and close political allies within his inner circle during his fourth and fifth terms as Israel's prime minister.

UN experts condemn Israel’s attacks on Iran, urge end to conflict

They say Israel’s attacks “represent a flagrant violation” of international law.

“Israel’s attack and Iran’s response – with successive waves of attacks against each other’s territory – have resulted in many civilian casualties, confirming our grave concerns about this destructive cycle of violence,” the experts said in a statement.

“We are particularly alarmed by reports of the deaths and injuries of women and children, who are among the most vulnerable in armed conflict and disproportionately bear the brunt of such violence.”

The experts also questioned the timing of Israel’s first attacks on Iran, shortly before US and Iranian representatives were set to take part in nuclear talks. “This aggravates the charges against Israel of posing a threat to peace and security in the region and beyond,” they said.

Iran’s foreign minister says ‘don’t know how we can trust’ US any more

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says it is up to the US administration “to show their determination” to reach a negotiated solution.

“Or they have something else in their mind, and they want to attack Iran anyway,” Araghchi said in an interview with NBC News in Geneva, where he took part in talks earlier today with his European counterparts.

“So they had perhaps this plan and they just needed negotiations perhaps to cover it up,” the minister said. “We don’t know how we can trust them any more,” Araghchi continued. “What they did was in fact a betrayal to diplomacy.”

For months, the Trump administration had engaged with talks to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. But that process was suspended after Israel launched its attacks against Iran, shortly before a new round of nuclear talks were scheduled in Oman.

Israeli forces raid village in occupied West Bank six times today: Report

Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that the village of al-Lubban Asharqiya, near Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank, has been raided six times by the Israeli military.

Local sources told Wafa that several young Palestinian men were detained during the raids. Israeli soldiers also fired live ammunition and stun grenades, according to the report.

Palestinians in the West Bank have experienced a surge in Israeli military and settler violence amid the war in Gaza. The northern West Bank has been particularly hard-hit, with thousands of people forcibly displaced from their homes.

Starving Palestinians in Gaza queue for a hot meal


_{Palestinians wait for a hot meal distributed by aid organisations in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, Gaza}

US senators slam Netanyahu as Israel bombs, starves Gaza

Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren, two Democrats in the US Senate, have urged the world to pay attention to what Israel continues to do in Gaza amid its conflict with Iran.

“Don’t look away,” Van Hollen wrote on X. “Since the start of the Israel-Iran war 7 days ago, over 400 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, many shot while seeking food. It’s unconscionable that Netanyahu has not allowed international orgs to resume food delivery.”

For her part, Warren said the Israeli prime minister “may think no one will notice what he’s doing in Gaza while he bombs Iran”.

“People face starvation. 55,000 killed. Aid workers and doctors turned away at the border. Shooting at innocent people desperate for food. The world sees you, Benjamin Netanyahu,” she wrote.

Israel's Prime Minister may think no one will notice what he's doing in Gaza while he bombs Iran.

People face starvation. 55,000 killed. Aid workers and doctors turned away at the border. Shooting at innocent people desperate for food.

The world sees you, Benjamin Netanyahu.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 20, 2025

Main events on June 20th

• Israel has continued its attacks on Iran, with its military stating that 15 fighter jets and more than 30 weapons were used in its latest wave of strikes.
• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired its 17th wave of missiles at Israeli military facilities, including the Nevatim and Hatzerim bases.
• The Iranian foreign minister said Iran would be open to diplomacy and nuclear talks once Israel’s “aggression” stops.
• At a special meeting at the UN Security Council, Israel’s envoy to the UN said the country would not apologise for its attacks across Iran, pledging to continue “until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled”.
• US President Donald Trump told reporters that his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong to suggest there is no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
• The IAEA reported an acute danger from radiation and chemical substances at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran, which has come under Israeli attacks.
• In Gaza, 82 Palestinians – including dozens of aid seekers – have been killed in Israeli attacks across the besieged enclave, the Health Ministry said.
• The Lebanese News Agency said an Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Baraachit in the Bint Jbeil district, killing one person and wounding another.

Released Columbia pro-Palestine protester says ‘justice prevailed’

Mahmoud Khalil has been released from US immigration custody after being targeted for deportation in March for his pro-Palestine advocacy.

Speaking outside of the Louisiana facility where he was detained, Khalil told reporters “justice prevailed, but it’s very long overdue”.

“This shouldn’t have taken three months.”

Khalil, a Columbia University student and US permanent resident, was among the first students targeted by the Trump administration for taking part in pro-Palestine protests on US campuses.

The Trump administration has sought to use an obscure immigration law that allows the US Secretary of State to deport any visa holder deemed adverse to US foreign policy.

Despite his release, Khalil continues to face possible deportation, which he is challenging in separate proceedings in US immigration court.


_{Protesters take part in a rally organised by Jewish activists against the detention Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil in New York City}

And it continues...

Tel Aviv district building on fire following latest Iranian missile salvo

Emergency crews are working to extinguish a fire in a residential building in Holon in Tel Aviv district, central Israel, Israel’s Ynet news reports. The Israeli outlet reported that “missile interception booms echoed across central and northern Israel at around 2:40am [23:40 GMT] on Saturday”.

It’s currently unclear if the fire was caused by a missile fragment or a direct hit by a missile.

Breaking | Israeli occupation rescue teams attempt to contain the fire caused by the Iranian missile the struck occupied Holon in central occupied Palestine. pic.twitter.com/QV24mMBoCw

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 21, 2025

Explosions heard over Tel Aviv as Iran-Israel conflict enters ninth day

The Israeli military released two separate statements.

The first one said they identified several rocket launches from Iran. Initial estimates say that there were about 10 projectiles launched from Iranian territory heading towards Israel, according to Israeli forces.

The second statement, a few moments later, said that sirens were sounding in several parts of the country but primarily centred on the central part of Israel and in Tel Aviv where there were several explosions heard in the skies above.

This is now the ninth day of the exchanges of fire between the Iranians and the Israelis.

Israeli officials now preparing public for a ‘prolonged’ conflict with Iran

Some Israeli security assessments that came out just this afternoon said that this conflict is going to be longer than the Israelis had expected, and the Israeli army chief of staff told the Israeli public that this could be a prolonged conflict, and everyone should be preparing themselves.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously said that regime change in Iran is not really one of the goals of this conflict. He wants primarily to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme so that they don’t acquire any sort of nuclear weapons.

The Israeli defence minister echoed that sentiment but also said that regime change could be part of this and that maybe it is one of those goals.

So the Israelis are saying that however long this takes, that’s how long they are going to continue … that they have the manpower, and they have the capabilities militarily both on offence and on defence.

Israeli air force intercepts drone in north, at least 16 target Israel in 24 hours

The latest interception of an unmanned aerial vehicle took place in the Ghajar area of Israel’s north, according to local Israeli media reports. The military said the drone entered Israeli airspace at 4:56am local time (01:56 GMT) on Saturday and was taken down shortly after.

The Israeli military said earlier that air force fighter jets, attack helicopters and air defence systems on the ground had destroyed 15 drones from Iran that had targeted Israel over the past 24 hours.

_{A drone photo shows the damage at the impact site following an Iranian missile attack on Israel, in Holon, near Tel Aviv, on June 19}

Israel launching air attacks on Iran

Israel’s air force has “begun a wave of strikes against missile storage and launch infrastructure in central Iran”, Israel’s military said in a statement.

It did not specify further where it was striking. However, air defence systems have reportedly been activated in Iran’s Tehran, Qom and Karaj areas.

Videos show explosions over Isfahan and Tehran provinces

Social media posts verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency show explosions in the sky over Iran’s central provinces of Isfahan and Tehran.

One social media post is said to show the city of Najafabad’s defence system responding to the strikes. Others showed explosions over Malard in Tehran province.

Breaking | Israeli occupation aircraft strike a residential building in the city of Qom, south of the Iranian capital, Tehran. pic.twitter.com/EExsH1u94q

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 21, 2025

Teenager killed in Israeli attack on building in Qom

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency now reports that a 16-year-old was killed in the attack, while two people were also injured and transferred to hospital. The target of the strike is not immediately clear.

Israel has carried out several other attacks across Iran over the past hour, according to local media sources in Iran and Israeli officials, including:

Explosions heard in Iranian city of Isfahan

There have been reports of an explosion in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, according to the Fars News Agency, which is run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The city is home to the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center, Iran’s largest nuclear research complex.

Palestinian ambassador to UN marks 620 days of Israel’s war in Gaza

Ambassador Riyad Mansour has delivered letters to the UN secretary-general, the president of the UN General Assembly and the president of the UN Security Council marking 620 days of Israel’s war in Gaza, as reported by the Wafa news agency.

In the letter, Mansour said 500 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid since the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began its controversial delivery scheme in the enclave. Meanwhile, he said, Israel continues to obstruct UN-backed humanitarian missions in Gaza.

Mansour called on the international community to take immediate action to end Israel’s war in Gaza and to ensure “immediate, full and impartial” access to aid.

Netanyahu's Jaw-Dropping Hypocrisy: Complains About Israeli Hospitals While Bombing Gaza's

Iran files UN complaint against IAEA chief Grossi

Iran has filed a complaint to the UN secretary-general and president of the Security Council against the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head, Rafael Grossi.

Iranian UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani condemned Grossi’s “approach regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities” and what he said was a “failure” to condemn Israel’s military action against Iran, according to the semi-official Iranian news outlet Fars News.

Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran’s atomic energy agency, threatened legal action on Thursday against Grossi for alleged “inaction” during Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

In early June, Grossi said Iran had continually evaded providing details on its nuclear programme, meaning the agency “will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful”.

Speaking to the UN Security Council on Friday, Grossi warned that attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites had caused “sharp degradation in nuclear safety and security”.