- By Supratik Das
- Sat, 21 Jun 2025 10:27 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Israel-Iran conflict reached its ninth day with escalated missile attacks, growing civilian and military deaths, bogged-down diplomacy, and ongoing evacuations across the world. The two arch-enemies' tension has now extended to major cities, attracting worldwide responses with the specter of broader regional escalation looming large.
Here are the top 10 key developments in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict as of Saturday:
1. Iranian Missile Salvo Hits Tel Aviv
Early on Saturday morning, Iran fired a new wave of ballistic missiles into central Israel, such as Tel Aviv and the occupied West Bank. Five ballistic missiles were confirmed to have been launched by the Israeli armed forces, all of which were intercepted by air defenses. Debris from an intercepted rocket caused a fire on the roof of a multi-storey residential apartment building in central Tel Aviv, but no one was injured. Air raid warning sirens sounded in large Israeli cities, causing alarm among locals. At the same time, Israeli warplanes responded by bombing several missile depots and launch sites in Iran, such as in Tehran and western provinces. Warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran, including missile-manufacturing sites, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, sending plumes of smoke billowing over the Mediterranean port and wounding at least 31 people.
2. Israeli Strikes Nuclear Sites , Kill Over 600 in Iran this week
On Saturday, Iran's Isfahan nuclear site was targeted by Israel, Iran's Fars news agency reported. According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Israel's airstrikes in the last week have killed a minimum of 639 individuals in Iran, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 have been wounded. Israeli airstrikes precisely targeted nuclear and military sites, top generals, and nuclear scientists. The report cited by Reuters constitutes one of the highest death tolls in a regional war in years. Khamenei's main advisers from the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's elite military force: the Guards' overall commander Hossein Salami, its aerospace chief Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who headed Iran's ballistic missile program, and spy chief Mohammad Kazemi, were killed in the strike.
3. Iranian Attacks Leave 24 Dead in Israel, Says IDF
In retaliation, Iran's missile and drone strikes have killed 24 Israeli civilians, as reported by Israeli officials. The strikes targeted primarily strategic military installations and urban areas, prominently Tel Aviv.
4. Nuclear Tensions Spike as Iran Denies Talks Under Fire
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced that there will be "no negotiations with the US" while Israeli attacks persist. He cautioned that Iran will not settle for any proposal forbidding uranium enrichment, particularly during ongoing strikes. In spite of his participation in emergency peace negotiations in Geneva with European officials, minimal headway was made.
5. Donald Trump Announces US Will Determine Role in Two Weeks
US President Donald Trump stated on Friday that Washington would take up to two weeks to determine whether or not to join the war in favor of Israel. Trump admitted continuing backchannel talks with Tehran but indicated he was "unlikely to press Israel to de-escalate" with its seeming upper hand. “We’re ready, willing and able. We’ve been speaking to Iran. Let’s see what happens,” Trump said, while reiterating his mistrust of European-led negotiations.
6. United Nations Sees Tensions at Breaking Point
At a blistering United Nations Security Council session, Israeli representative Danny Danon said that Israel "will not stop" until Iran's nuclear threat is eliminated. In turn, Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani called for international intervention, fearing an American entry into the war. Nations like Russia, China and India already demanded immediate de-escalation.
7. Evacuations of Indian, US, and Other Nationals Continue
India's "Operation Sindhu" successfully repatriated 290 Indian nationals from Iran, including students and pilgrims, on a chartered flight to Delhi last night. This was the second evacuation flight from the conflict zone. In the meantime, hundreds of American citizens have also left Iran by road through neighboring countries, but some were subjected to harassment and detention, according to a leaked State Department cable cited by Reuters. US officials are also making contingency plans for evacuations from Israel, with thousands of Americans already signed up for evacuation aid.
8. Oil Prices Volatile Amid Fears of Supply Disruptions
Global oil markets have reacted sharply to the war. Although Brent crude futures fell to 77.01 USD per barrel on Friday on hopes of diplomacy, prices are still uncertain. Experts said to Reuters that any further escalation, especially disruption of shipping by way of the Strait of Hormuz, would drive prices above 100 USD a barrel. The US also imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, on 20 entities, five individuals, and three vessels, which may indicate a dual-track strategy of pressure and negotiation.
9. Iranian Airspace Closed, Airports Shut, Stranding Thousands
Iran has shut its airspace because of the ongoing conflict, and most evacuation efforts have had to depend on ground routes from Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. With the airports closed, international students, pilgrims, and foreign citizens, particularly Indians and Americans, have been severely delayed from returning home. The country opened its airspace, in a special gesture, for three flights to evacuate about 1,000 Indians.
10. Fears of Wider Middle East Conflict as Nuclear Shadow Grows
With Israel being the only nuclear-armed country in the Middle East and Iran a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), analysts told Reuters that miscalculations in the current war could have wider regional implications. The actions of Israel are said to be designed to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons, while Iran insists that its program is purely peaceful.
As the Israel-Iran war reaches its ninth day, neither side gives any indication of giving in. Although diplomatic efforts are still ongoing in Europe, combat realities, mounting casualty counts, and fiery rhetoric at the UN indicate that a ceasefire is still in the distant horizon. Meanwhile, civilians, both local and foreign, keep enduring the horrors of a war that has put the entire Middle East on edge.