{"id":154213,"date":"2025-06-21T23:48:58","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T23:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/israel-launches-fresh-strikes-on-central-and-southern-iran-on-ninth-day-of-conflict-bbc\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T23:48:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T23:48:58","slug":"israel-launches-fresh-strikes-on-central-and-southern-iran-on-ninth-day-of-conflict-bbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/israel-launches-fresh-strikes-on-central-and-southern-iran-on-ninth-day-of-conflict-bbc\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel launches fresh strikes on central and southern Iran on ninth day of conflict – BBC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel Attacks Military Targets In Southwest Iran
BBC News
This video can not be played
Israel and Iran continue to exchange fire through the night; earlier Israel said it had targeted a "weapons depot" and "military infrastructure"<\/a>
The US is reportedly sending B-2 stealth bombers<\/a> to the US island of Guam – the only aircraft capable of carrying the bombs needed to destroy Iran's Fordo nuclear facility
Earlier, Iran's foreign minister said US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict would be "very very dangerous"<\/a> while in Istanbul to meet the Turkish president
Israel's military said they killed three top Iranian military officials<\/a> – including Saeed Izadi, described as being one of the architects of the 7 October attacks
BBC Verify has identified fresh damage<\/a> to several buildings at an Iranian nuclear plant in the central city of Isfahan
In Iran, more than 400 people have been killed and 3,056 injured by Israeli strikes, authorities say; in Israel, 25 people have been killed by Iranian strikes and 2,517 injured since the conflict began, officials said
This video can not be played
Multiple explosions filmed from Ahvaz in Iran
Edited by Chris Graham
Ghoncheh Habibiazad<\/strong>
BBC Persian, World Service reporter<\/span>
A London-based Persian-language news channel has accused Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of arresting family members of one of its female presenters.
Iran International says the IRGC has detained the family of an unnamed presenter \u201cto pressure her into ceasing work with the channel\u201d.
The network said the presenter received a call from her father, who urged her to resign. Iranian officials were \u201cdictating what her father should say\u201d, the channel added.
In a statement, Iran International said that it \u201cwill not back down despite attempts to silence its voice\u201d.
Tehran said in November 2022 that it would treat Iran International as a \u201cterrorist entity\u201d, following the channel\u2019s coverage of anti-establishment protests.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has recently warned about a surge in threats against journalists working at Persian-language broadcasters based in London, namely Iran International and BBC Persian, along with their families who live in Iran.
Earlier this month the BBC accused Iran of escalating a campaign of intimidation<\/a> against its Persian journalists. Tehran is yet to respond to the latest allegations.
The Iranian regime has previously been accused of conducting unlawful operations against journalists abroad. It has denied those allegations and accused the BBC of spreading false information to encourage its overthrow.
It is now after 02:00 in Israel and Iran. As we enter the tenth day of hostilities between the two nations, there seems to be little indication that an end to the conflict is in sight.
Israel said it had launched fresh strikes on southern and central Iran, targeting a "weapons depot" and "military infrastructure". Iranian media said, as a result, air defences were being engaged in southern and Israeli drones were being "monitored" and "destroyed"<\/a>.
Earlier, Israel said it had killed three senior Iranian commanders, including Saeed Izadi – described as being one of the architects of the 7 October attacks – and Quds Force commander Behnam Shahriyari.
The UN's nuclear watchdog confirmed Israel had hit the Isfahan facility in the centre of Iran, and the head of the agency released a statement saying the attack will have "no radiological consequences". BBC Verify identified fresh damage<\/a> to several buildings at the site with satellite imagery.
The ongoing strikes in the region were accompanied with strong rhetoric, as Iran's president asserted his country's right to develop peaceful nuclear programmes, according to the country's official IRNA news agency.
Iran's foreign minister also warned of the consequences if the United States entered the conflict, saying it would be "very, very dangerous" while in Istanbul for talks with the Turkish president.
Stick with us as we continue to follow the latest developments.
The Israeli Air Force says it has intercepted an unmanned aerial vehicle launched "from the east" towards Israel.
Sirens sounded after midnight in response to a "hostile aircraft infiltration" in the areas of Ramat Magshimim and Haspin, according to a post on X.
This comes after Iran announced that a new drone assault was under way on "strategic targets" in Israel.
Iran's military says it has launched a new drone attack on Israel.
IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini was quoted by state TV as saying the drones were headed towards "strategic targets throughout the regime's territory".
Naimeh Namjoo<\/strong>
BBC Persian<\/span>
A British travel blogger and his family detail how they fled Iran just 24 hours after their arrival, as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensified.
Nadia, who travelled to Tehran with her husband Irfan and their three-year-old son Zakariya, told BBC Persian that \u201cthey decided to leave Iran after witnessing missiles and hearing drones from their hotel balcony".
The family landed in Iran on 12 June but, by the following morning, they found themselves caught in the middle of the conflict.
They had only a few hours to explore the Iranian capital on Friday. Irfan said: \u201cIt was in the evening, when we were driving back to our hotel, that the bombing got worse."
In the early hours of Saturday, their tour guide offered to drive them to the nearest border with Turkey. A few hours later, they arrived at the Bazargan checkpoint. The family is now in a safe country.
Irfan said they had chosen to visit Iran based on recommendations from friends and their own previous positive travel experiences.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad<\/strong>
BBC Persian, World Service reporter<\/span>
A satellite image of the Arak heavy water reactor facilities after Israeli strikes
Iran has said that a nuclear reactor which was targeted by an Israeli strike was going to be used for \u201chealth and medicine\u201d purposes.
Israel said it bombed the Arak heavy water reactor in central Iran, which was under construction, on Thursday to stop it being used for "nuclear weapons development".<\/a>
The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, has now accused Israel of targeting a \u201ccentre that operates for radiopharmaceutical research with the products used in the fields of health and medicine\u201d.
Eslami added that Iran \u201cno longer trusts\u201d the inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) because he says all of its inspections \u201chave been used to espionage on behalf\u201d of Israel.
Eslami had previously said that Tehran will pursue legal action against the IAEA for its "inaction" over Israel's targeting of Iranian nuclear sites.
He added that none of recent Israeli attacks have led to any radioactive leakage, therefore \u201cthere is no cause of public concern\u201d.
Previously, the head of the IAEA Rafael Grossi said that Israel's strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have led to some radiological leaks. There is currently \u201cno danger to the public\u201d, but Grossi said that \u201cthere remains a risk that this could still occur".
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Max Matza<\/strong>
BBC News, Washington<\/span>
The US military has sent American B-2 stealth bombers to the US island territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, as President Donald Trump continues to decide whether to join Israel in launching offensive air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
The large jets are considered to be the only aircraft capable of carrying the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 30,000lb (13,608kg) bunker-busting bomb that experts say is required to destroy Iran's deep nuclear facility at Fordo.
US officials have not commented on whether the deployment is linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
The facility is thought to be buried around 100m below the surface, protected by reinforced concrete. Despite their overwhelming aerial superiority, Israel lacks the munitions to damage the facility, hence requiring US support.
Read more on the possible implications of the B-2 movements in our full article<\/a>.
Air defences are being engaged in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas in response to Israeli strikes, Iranian media is reporting.
According to the Tasnim news agency, a media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Israeli drones were monitored, intercepted and destroyed.
A similar story has also been reported in Bandar Lengeh, a little way from Bander Abbas on Iran's southern coast.
The Israeli military says it has launched strikes on Iran's southern city of Bandar Abbas, targeting a "weapons depot" and sites for "unmanned aerial vehicles".
A little earlier the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was also targeting "fighter jets belonging to the Iranian Armed Forces" and "military infrastructure" in central Iran.
This video can not be played
Watch: Multiple explosions filmed from Ahvaz in Iran
Video shared on social media shows explosions in the western Iranian town of Ahvaz.
Huge plumes of smoke are visible on the skyline, above large buildings, and local media reported explosions.
The Israeli military said it was conducting operations on "military infrastructure" in the area, which lies on the border with Iraq and is Iran's main oil-producing region.
The footage has been verified by our specialists who geo-located the area shown in the footage.
Ghoncheh Habibiazad<\/strong>
BBC Persian, World Service reporter<\/span>
Iran has arrested a German national accused of \u201cspying in sensitive military and nuclear areas\u201d, according to state TV Channel Two which aired a report on him yesterday.
He was described as a "Jewish German dual national and a spy", with the report showing him detained in the central Markazi Province. Officials alleged he had "dozens of instances of espionage and\/or sabotage".
The report said he had entered Iran \u201cunder the disguise of a tourist\u201d but alleged that he \u201chad been filming sensitive areas across the country".
There has been a major escalation in arrests linked to Israel in Iran in recent days.
An unspecified number of people in several provinces including Markazi, Isfahan and Tehran have been detained on related charges since Israel\u2019s attacks on Iran started.
The BBC cannot independently verify the allegations against these individuals.
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Hugo Bachega<\/a><\/strong>
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem<\/span>
As diplomacy seems to be going nowhere, de-escalation is elusive. Israel says it has assassinated another three top Iranian military officials, further proof of its deep penetration of Iran\u2019s security forces.
One of them was Saeed Izadi, described as being one of the architects of the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October. The Israeli military called his killing a major achievement.
Iranian military official Saeed Izadi was assassinated by the IDF, according to the Israeli military
Another commander Israel says it killed was Benham Shariyari, of the Revolutionary Guards overseas arm. He was believed to have been responsible for weapons transfers from Iran to its regional proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
IDF spokesman Effie Defrin, an Israeli military spokesman, said both men were at the forefront of the Iranian project to take the war to Israeli territory. In this operation, he said, we took the war to their territory.
The Israeli military also hit the Isfahan nuclear facility for the second time in this conflict. It released footage showing extensive damage to the complex, but there were no reports of radioactive leaks.
In response to the attacks, Iran fired more ballistic missiles at Israel overnight. In the morning, an Iranian drone penetrated Israeli air defences and hit a house in the north, but there were no injuries.
Amid international calls for a negotiated solution to this crisis, the chief of Israel\u2019s armed forces said his country should be ready for a prolonged conflict against Iran. <\/p>\n

An IDF spokesperson has told Fox News that their mission is to keep the pressure on Iran's military and leadership so that they cannot regroup.
Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said their goal was to make sure Iran "is in disarray" so they have "a hard time carrying out operations".
"We're pushing all the time, we're hunting down their commanders, we're hunting down their missile launchers, making sure they don't have a second to regroup," Shoshani said.
At least five army personnel were killed in an Israeli attack on Sumar in western Iran, the Fars news agency has reported.
Nine others were also left injured in the strike, according to Iranian media – quoting the acting governor of the town of Qasr-e-Shirin.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says his country will not stop its nuclear activity nor give up its right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme, according to the country's official IRNA news agency.
In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian is reported to have said Iran was ready to provide guarantees to build confidence in Iran's nuclear activities, but its nuclear programme could not be taken away by threats or war.
Pezeshkian also warned Macron that his country's response to continuing Israeli attacks would be "more devastating", the IRNA reports.
Pezeshkian said Iran is \u201cready for dialogue and cooperation to build trust regarding peaceful nuclear activities\u201d of the country, the agency adds.
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Joe Inwood<\/strong>
World news correspondent<\/span>
The US stealth bomber is the only aircraft capable of carrying the US bomb experts say is required to destroy Iran's Fordo nuclear plant
Reports from the Reuters news agency that B-2 stealth bombers are moving to the island of Guam is not being officially connected to discussions around the US joining Israel\u2019s war on Iran – but few will doubt there is a link.
The huge planes, which have wingspans of more than 50 metres, are the only aircraft capable of carrying the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 30,000lb bunker busting bomb that experts say are required to destroy Iran\u2019s deep nuclear facility at Fordo.
The facility is thought to be buried around 100m below the surface, protected by reinforced concrete. Despite their overwhelming aerial superiority, Israel lacks the munitions to damage the facility, hence requiring US support.
Around 9,500km (5,900m) to the east of Fordo, Guam is maybe not the most obvious base from which to launch any attack.
There had been speculation that the UK facility, Diego Garcia, which is around half the distance, might be used as a staging post. That would have caused a potential political and diplomatic headache for the British government, as they would have to give their blessing to any US attack, which might in turn make UK bases a target for Iranian retaliation.
Members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) "tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus", Israel's foreign minister says.
Gideon Saar writes on X , external<\/span><\/a>that the island's security authorities worked alongside Israeli security services and "thwarted" the attack.
"The Iranian criminal regime is deliberately targeting Israeli civilians both in Israel and abroad," he says.
He concludes the post saying Israel \u201cwill continue to act to remove the existential threat posed\u201d by Iran.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan <\/b>has told Iran's foreign minister that resuming nuclear talks with the US is the only way to solve the conflict with Israel and the dispute over its nuclear programme, according to the Reuters news agency.
Erdogan has met Abbas Araqchi in Istanbul today and says that Turkey is ready to play a facilitator role to help resume the nuclear talks between Iran and the US.
The Turkish president has said Israel's decision to attack Iran just before nuclear talks with the United States was an act of sabotage.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have provided further details on their strikes in southwest Iran. <\/a>
"Earlier today approximately 30 Air Force fighter jets, under intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Department, attacked dozens of military targets in the Mahvaz area in southwestern Iran with more than 50 munitions," they write on X.
A military site storing missile launchers and other military infrastructure were targeted, the statement adds.
"The IDF continues to intensify its attacks on the Iranian regime's military capabilities in order to maintain the security of the State of Israel," the IDF says.
\"\"<\/span><\/span>Joe Inwood<\/strong>
World news correspondent<\/span>
A suspected Iranian spy has been arrested near an RAF base in Cyprus, following intelligence suggesting he was planning a terrorist attack.
Local media are reporting the man is of Azerbaijani descent and has connections to Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards.
He appeared in a district court earlier today and was detained for a further eight days, pending investigations.
Although it\u2019s not in the Middle East, RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus is the UKs most significant base for the region. It is home to fast jets, reconnaissance, transport and refuelling aircraft – and has previously been used to help defend Israeli skies from attack by Iran.
Last week it was announced that further planes would be sent there to protect existing UK assets.
In a statement, the UK's foreign office said \u201cwe are in contact with the authorities in Cyprus regarding the arrest of a British man.\u201d The statement was provided to the BBC following a question regarding the reports in Cypriot media about the counter-terror arrest.
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