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17:26
What Comes Next: Iran's Options After US Strikes On Its Nuclear Sites
US air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities have upended the already tense standoff between Tehran, Washington, and Israel, raising urgent questions about what comes next -- and just how far Iran might go in its retaliation.
Tehran faces the difficult task of crafting a response that is neither too weak to appear powerless nor too forceful to risk further escalation.
Analysts warn that Iran's options are varied, but all carry significant risks of escalation.
Iranian Army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami (center) attends a meeting in the military's War Command Room at an undisclosed location in Iran.
"Iran could retaliate in a number of ways. First, and most obvious, is the option to attack US military bases in the region, especially Iraq," said Colin Clarke, director of research at The Soufan Group.
He told RFE/RL that the Iranians could either do this on their own or through the prominent Iraq-based Shi'ite militia Kataib Hezbollah.
While targeting US bases is a threat often voiced by Iranian military figures, the risks associated with the move are not lost on the Iranian authorities. That could explain why Fars news agency, an outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), on June 22 tried tosuggestthe US strikes were merely a distraction to goad Iran into attacking US bases and shift its attention away from Israel.
To read more, clickhere.
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16:52
Iranian UN Mission Accuses US, Israel Of 'Destroying' Diplomacy
Iran's mission to the United Nations says the United States and Israel have "destroyed" diplomacy with their air strikes on Iran, calling attempts to negotiate over Tehran's nuclear program "nothing more than deceitful ploy."
In aposton X on June 23, the mission also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "dragging" the United States into another war.
The post also accuses the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, and Rafael Grossi, the general director of the UN nuclear watchdog, for the death of "innocent civilians."
While Israel and the United States have undertaken air strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, neither France nor the UK have been involved. Grossi is the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The mission did not specify what France, the UK, or Grossi were accused of doing.
The United States and Iran were scheduled to hold a sixth round of indirect nuclear negotiations on June 15 in Oman. Iran withdrew from the talks after Israeli jets launched air strikes on several Iranian military and nuclear sites on June 13.
Both sides have since launched daily air strikes at each other.
Grossi has appealed for all sides to return to dialogue and diplomacy, warning that if they don't, "violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels, and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall."
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16:32
Verified Footage Shows Israeli Strikes On Tehran
Verified footage posted on social media shows Israel's air strike on the Iranian capital on June 23. Watch here:
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15:52
NATO Chief Rutte Says Iran Must Not Develop Nuclear Bombs
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the 32-nation military alliance's member states "have long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon."
"Allies have repeatedly urged Iran to meet its obligations under the nonproliferation treaty," Rutte told reporters ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague.
Rutte also pointed out that Iran is "heavily involved" in Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying Tehran has delivered drones that Moscows forces are using to attack Ukraine and kill Ukrainian civilians.
"Iranian drones are killing innocent Ukrainians every day in cities, in communities without any respect for life," said Rutte.
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15:45
Son Of Iran's Last Shah Calls On Ayatollah To Resign, Calls For New Government
Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Iran's last shah, said he had volunteered to become an interim leader for the country if the current regime were to fall.
Pahlavi, 64, made the comments during a news conference in Paris on June 23 -- a day after US Air Force jets bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, plunging the entire Middle East into new uncertainty. It comes as US President Donald Trump hasmused openlyabout trying to force out the current theocratic regime.
"We are a proud, ancient, and resilient people,"Pahlavi said. "To my compatriots: This is our moment. I am with you. Let us build this new Iran together."
He also directly addressed the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling on him to resign.
"Step down. And if you do, you will receive a fair trial and due process of law. Which is more than you have ever given any Iranian," he said.
"This is our Berlin Wall moment," he said.
Pahlavi is a controversial figure among Iran's global diaspora. For some, he symbolizes the brutal dictatorship that his father led until the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For others, he is a genuine alternative to the theocratic government that has ruled since 1979.
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14:55
No Specific Plans To Target Iranian Infrastructure, Says IDF
Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Ephraim Dufferin has been holding apress briefingin Tel Aviv.
After an Iranian strike on southern Israel caused a major power outage this morning and suggested Tehran was now targeting Israeli infrastructure, Dufferin was asked whether the IDF intends to respond in kind.
Radio Fardareportsthat he answered by saying Israel's operations will continue based on a predetermined plan and against symbols of the Iranian regime.
The Israel electricity authority announced that it had "quickly restored" power to 8,000 customers in the south of the country whose supply had been cut off.
Previously, Iranian media reported a missile had hit the Ashdod power plant in southern Israel.
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14:24
Israeli Military Publishes List Of Targets Hit In Iran on June 23
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14:23
'Caught Off-Guard By US Strikes On Iran, Europe Still Looking For Role
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers on June 23.
Europe is still looking for a role in the Israel-Iran conflict after it was caught by surprise following the United States' strikes on Iran over the weekend.
But it's fair to say there is a sense of humiliation as the American attack on various nuclear facilities in Iran came some 24 hours after the foreign ministers of the E3 (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas met with their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqhchi, in Geneva on June 20.
Those talks didn't lead to much, not even an agreement for a new rendezvous.
But Kallas was adamant when pressed on the issue going into the EU foreign affairs council on June 23 that Tehran has been opening up on nuclear and broader security issues.
Not that US President Donald Trump agreed. He claimed European efforts had gone nowhere and the Iranians werent even that keen to speak to them.
So what now?
European foreign ministers will be discussing the issue in Brussels, and there are a few contours of a common position -- even if it may not have much impact on the ongoing conflict.
Read morehere.
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14:03
Some black-and-white video that seems to be CCTV footage has been released, apparently showing the moment of the Israeli strike near Evin prison. (Video embed taken from theInstagram pageof RFE/RL's Radio Farda)
Hours after the Israeli attack, the Iranian state-run news agency released a video report of the damage caused by the attack. The footage shows images of the ruins and at least one injured person.
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13:33
Some more UGC footage has been posted of an apparent Israeli strike on Seppah Square in the city of Karaj in nothern Iran in a part of the city associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
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