Iran and Israel exchanged fresh attacks early on June 21, triggering air raid sirens across parts of central Israel, including Tel Aviv, after Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear program until Israel stops its attacks.
An incoming missile barrage from Iran began around 2:30 a.m., setting off Israel’s air defense systems, which intercepted missiles in the sky over Tel Aviv.
The emergency service released images showing a fire on the roof of a multi-story residential building in central Israel. Local media reported that the fire was caused by debris from an intercepted missile.
The Israeli military said its forces launched a new wave of attacks against missile storage and launch infrastructure sites in Iran.
Israel said it struck dozens of military targets, including missile production sites, a research body it said was involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran, and military facilities in western and central Iran.
Israel 'Kills Two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commanders'
Israel announced on June 21 that it has killed two commanders from Iran’s elite Quds Force - the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' overseas arm - in the overnight attacks.
It identified them as Saeed Izadi, the leader of the Palestine Corps in the Quds Force, and Benham Shariyari, who the Israeli military says "was responsible for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East.”
Veteran commander Izadi is said to have financed and armed the Palestinian militant group Hamas to enable the US- and EU-designated terrorist organization to carry out the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, which sparked the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Izadi was sanctioned by the United States and Britain over what they said were his ties to Hamas and Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, which also took part in the October 7 attacks.
Israel said Izadi was killed in a strike in an apartment in Iran's Qom Province, while Shariyari was killed during an attack on his vehicle overnight in western Tehran.
There was no confirmation from Tehran on the killing of the two commanders.
The attacks occurred after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi took part in several hours of talks with European foreign ministers in Geneva that yielded only a statement expressing "grave concerns" about the escalation of tensions and a willingness to meet again.
The ministers also reiterated their longstanding concerns about Iran’s expansion of its nuclear program, which they said has "no credible civilian purpose." Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
Israel began attacking Iran on June 13, saying it was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel estimates its strikes since then have delayed Tehran's potential to develop a nuclear weapon by "at least two or three years," Israel's foreign minister said in an interview published on June 21.
Israel's offensive has produced "very significant" results, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told Germany’s Bild newspaper. "We already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb."
But there also has been a human toll. Its air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The dead include the military's top officers and nuclear scientists.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed in retaliatory Iranian missile and drone attacks, according to authorities.
US President Donald Trump reiterated on June 20 that he would take as long as two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel's side, enough time "to see whether or not people come to their senses," he said.
Trump said he was unlikely to press Israel to scale back its air strikes to allow negotiations to continue.
"I think it's very hard to make that request right now. If somebody is winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing, but we're ready, willing and able, and we've been speaking to Iran, and we'll see what happens," he said.
"Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe,” he added. “They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one.”
Araqchi said there would be no room for negotiations with the US "until Israeli aggression stops." In an interview with US broadcaster NBC, he said it’s up to the United States “to show the determination for going for a negotiated solution.”
Asked whether Iran would retaliate against US targets and US forces in the region or elsewhere if the Americans joined Israeli forces, Araqchi said it would be a legitimate act of defense if it did.
“When there is a war, both sides attack each other. That is quite understandable. And self-defense is a legitimate right of every country,” he told NBC.
In New York City, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the Security Council on June 20 his country would not stop its attacks "until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled."
Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani called for Security Council action and said Tehran was alarmed by reports that the US might join the war.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran was ready to discuss limitations on uranium enrichment but that it would reject any proposal that barred it from enriching uranium completely, "especially now under Israel's strikes."
