Iran to the UN Security Council: “Our attacks on Israel are self-defense. The “Seven” countries in a joint statement: “We call for a solution to the crisis with Iran that reduces tensions in the region and puts an end to the shooting in Gaza. We have made clear that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons and we reaffirm our support for Israel’s security. Israel has the right to defend itself.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency: “We have identified additional evidence indicating direct damage to the underground uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. There is no change in our view regarding the Fordow and Isfahan nuclear facilities.”
Two US administration officials told Reuters that the tanker planes sent to Europe were intended to give Trump the ability to act in the Middle East if he wanted. Wall Street Journal: US to send more warships to the eastern Mediterranean capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. According to Israeli TV station i24News, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered preparations for the potential US joining Israel’s ongoing operations against Iran, if President Trump gives the green light. It is also noted that US Central Command (CENTCOM) officials, likely including CENTCOM commander General Michael E. Kurilla, support US intervention in Iran, but there is opposition from other senior Trump administration officials.
US source: “It was a crazy night in Washington: everyone was working in the White House and the Pentagon. This may really be the last chance for the Iranians before the United States actively intervenes.” The US military is raising the alert level at all US military bases in the Indo-Pacific region, from Alpha to Bravo.
Israeli Ambassador to the US: “When the dust settles, you’ll have surprises on Thursday and Friday evening that will make the pager operation look easy.”
Israel and US Intelligence Positions Divergence. CNN reports that contrary to Israel’s position, US intelligence did not believe Iran was actively developing nuclear weapons and that it would take about three years to develop and deploy them.
On the afternoon of June 17, a huge amount of firepower was heading towards the Middle East. 12 US tankers are flying east. US Air Force KC-135 tankers and their escorts, said to be headed towards the Middle East, were spotted over Italy. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth officially announced the deployment of F-22A Raptor fighters and F-35As in the Middle East. 32 refueling aircraft are en route or have already landed in the Middle East, with another 17-23 en route. With the exception of two carrier strike groups, this is perhaps the largest demonstration/threat/warning conducted by the United States to date, far surpassing the demonstration with the B-52H and B-2A bombers on the island of Diego Garcia.
A former Turkish army colonel has claimed that NATO and the United States are actively helping Israel: “They are using the NATO radar station at Kureci in the southeastern province of Malatya to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles launched at Israel.”
G7 leaders issued a statement on the standoff between Israel and Iran, calling on both sides to reduce tension. The statement said Israel has the right to defend itself and that Iran should not obtain nuclear weapons. US President Trump did not sign the joint statement.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain will hold a telephone conversation with the Iranian foreign minister on Monday evening, a European diplomatic source told Reuters. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar spoke to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and briefed her on IDF activities in Iran and civilian casualties in Israel: “Israel’s actions against Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic weapons, missiles and drones contribute directly to European security.” British tankers have started refueling Israeli attack aircraft.
324 people have been evacuated from Iran due to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, Moskalkova said. Several groups have been evacuated. Among those evacuated are Russians, including cultural figures and relatives of graduatesas well as citizens of states friendly to Russia. From Iran, you can evacuate via Azerbaijan, and from Israel via Jordan or Egypt. The evacuation of the Chinese embassy in Tehran has begun. Pakistan announces the immediate evacuation of the families of diplomats and all non-essential personnel from its embassies and consulates in Iran.
The National Directorate for Information Security of Israel clarifies that fraudulent text messages called OrefAlert, urging people not to stay in shelters, as well as notifications about the interruption of fuel supplies, were widely distributed in the afternoon. The National Directorate for Information Security, in coordination with the Home Front Command, clarifies that these are fake messages and an attempt to create panic, and that official messages are not sent in this way. The information should be received only from official channels and the Home Front Command app. Cyber fighters emphasized that receiving the message itself does not harm the phone.
After the Israeli Air Force bombed the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster in Tehran, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will “attack the Iranian dictator everywhere.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also warned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on June 17 “of a fate similar to that of Saddam Hussein” during an assessment of the situation this morning with IDF leaders, his office said in a statement.
“I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and launch missiles at Israeli civilians. He should remember the fate of the dictator of the country neighboring Iran who chose the same path against the State of Israel,” Katz said, referring to Iraqi leader Hussein, who was overthrown during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The IAF has begun using 2,000-pound GBU-31/32 JDAM guided bombs against Iran, as well as GBU-39 SDB, Rampage and Spice munitions. Netanyahu on ABC: “We are telling the people of Tehran to leave the city. It is important. Khamenei is like Hitler, he will not stop.” “I am not interested in negotiating with the Iranians. They are lying.”
IDF confirms killing of Ali Shadmani, Iranian Chief of Staff and logistics commander of the Central Command “Khatem al-Anbiya.” Shadmani, who previously held senior positions in the IRGC and oversaw logistics operations during the war, was killed in a targeted attack.
For the first time in years, IDF forces returned to man checkpoints along the border with Jordan, as part of the IDF’s renewed deployment to the Jordan Valley. These checkpoints are located right on the banks of the Jordan River, inside the Israeli enclave behind the perimeter fence. The IDF has not used these fortifications for years, but has returned to prevent possible incursion scenarios from the eastern border. The elite 551st Reserve Brigade was deployed to reinforce border guards on the border with Jordan.
Azerbaijan sent a message to the Israeli side through diplomatic channels today and yesterday. The Azerbaijani side has communicated to Israel, both through the national media and through several other media channels, that it is unacceptable that tensions between Iran and Israel harm civilians. Baku has also expressed concern and protest against Israel for the attacks on areas of Iran where Azerbaijanis live and the deaths of many Azerbaijanis. Baku has openly stated that targeting and harming Azerbaijanis in Iran could jeopardize relations between the two states.
Iranian sources told Reuters: Tehran has asked Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman to pressure the United States to force Trump to try to influence Israel and reach an immediate ceasefire in the war with Iran, in exchange for Iran’s flexibility in the negotiations on the nuclear deal. The Iranians are threatening Israeli channels Channel 12 and Channel 14 and are posting a poster on pro-government channels demanding they leave their studios.
Iranian Foreign Minister: “We will fight honestly until the last breath and the last drop of blood to defend our country, our people and our honor.” Baluchi media now report that after the attack on Bandar Abbas, Israel is expected to strike the southeastern headquarters of the IRGC Quds Force in Zahedan, the capital of Iranian Baluchistan, just 40 km from the border with Pakistan
Ayatollah Khamenei on X: “The Islamic Republic, with the help of God, will defeat the Zionist regime” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to his counterparts in the UK, Germany and France: “We have not left the negotiating table, but now we are focusing on fighting aggression against us.”
Iran is preparing to use Shaded-238 stray ammunition in combat for the first time. Iran’s cyber command issues an unusual directive: all official organizations, employees and their security services are banned from using mobile devices connected to an open communication network.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says: “We have arrested a Mossad agent who worked in a secret center in the western Iranian province of Ilam.”
Hossein Yazdanpanah, leader of the Kurdish organization Freedom Party in Iran, has declared his support for Israeli attacks from the Iraqi city of Erbil and his readiness to participate in an attack on the Islamic Republic. Member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee Abbas Golru: “The Islamic Republic is not seeking nuclear weapons; The enemy’s goal is to stop Iran’s civilizational progress Iran has always followed the path of building trust and, despite accounting for only 3% of the world’s nuclear facilities, has accepted over 25% of international inspections. The nuclear issue, which goes beyond energy and industry, is a civilizational issue for enemies who want to limit Iran’s progress.”
And now a look at the military scenarios updated at 19:00 on June 17. About thirty tankers sent to Europe last night represent less than 10% of the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of KC-135s and KC-46s. The United States has more tankers than the rest of the world combined, and that doesn’t even include other aircraft that can be converted for in-flight refueling, such as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The nuclear aircraft carrier CVN 68 Nimitz passed through the Singapore Strait yesterday, accompanied by the destroyers Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Gridley (DDG 101) and Singapore Navy patrol ship Unity.
On June 16, a ballistic missile launched from Iranian territory fell in Syria. The Syrian Civil Aviation and Air Transport Authority announced that the Syrian government had decided to temporarily close the country’s airspace until Tuesday morning. On June 17, an Iranian drone crashed in the village of Hayt, west of Daraa. It was handed over to the Syrian Ministry of Defense’s reverse engineering units.
According to Reuters, U.S. forces deployed at the Al-Shaddadi patrol base in northeastern Syria were attacked on Friday by three Iranian-made missiles at the start of Israeli strikes against Iran, with all of the missiles intercepted by air defenses. The missiles were likely launched by Iranian-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq, which reportedly recently received ballistic missiles and other high-precision munitions from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Among the June 16 and 17, Iran was attacked: Iran Broadcasting Corporation killed 16 people. Mehrabad Airport. Tehran. The Israeli Air Force strikes targets in Isfahan and Tabriz. Attacks began against the air defense systems of the naval base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the port of Bandar Abbas. An unknown drone was spotted today over Chingar, Iran. And again a new wave of attacks at 21:00 on Tehran. Iranian air defense activated in Sanandaj. The Israeli army carried out an attack on section 2.3 of the Assaluyeh oil refinery in southern Iran. MAPNA, one of Iran’s largest industrial complexes in the energy sector, was hit; it was reportedly hit by an Israeli attack in Fardis, Karaj. Attacks against the bases of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Ahvaz. New waves of attacks in Tehran on the morning of June 17 June. Attack carried out on Tabriz. The IDF launched a new wave of attacks in western Iran in the afternoon. The Vilashar missile base, located in Najafabad, Isfahan province, was hit by an Israeli strike. Report of an attack on the police and Basij headquarters in the city of Kashan. Huge lines at gas stations in Tehran
In Israel, starting in the afternoon of June 16, images of the destruction of the Haifa oil refinery. Sirens on the evening of June 16 were sounding in the Haifa area and throughout northern Israel after Iran launched ballistic missiles at the country. Civilians in the areas where the sirens were sounding were ordered to remain in bomb shelters until further notice. Launched 10 missiles, in a total of three different salvos one hit an open area, the others were intercepted. Arrivals also recorded in southern Israel. The new salvo on Israel includes about 50 missiles
A commercial skyscraper in Tel Aviv caught fire overnight following recent Iranian attacks. According to Israeli sources, “Iran used a new type of missile that causes large-scale destruction.” “Falling, exploding, target shot down”: At night, the Israeli Air Force intercepted about 30 stray munitions launched towards the State of Israel.
The ninth operation of True Promise 3 arrived in Israel on the 17th in the morning. The Home Front Command: “New launches were detected from Iranian territory. This time, the shots are directed at the center and south.” Arrival in Tel Aviv. About 20 ballistic missiles launched. Firefighters worked all morning to put out a fire at the site of one of the ballistic missiles that crashed into a bus station in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. Iran attacked the Mossad headquarters.
At 19:09 IRGC statement: “The 10th wave of missile attacks hit the Zionist regime’s fighter bases.” “In this wave, a large-scale missile operation was conducted against the Zionist regime’s army air bases, from which the regime’s fighters fly to our beloved country.”
Israeli media reports a “complicated security incident” in the Gaza Strip. Another military group reportedly blew up by a landmine, IDF captain killed by an improvised explosive device in Khan Yunis. 28-year-old Reserve Captain Tal Movshowitz was a Shin Bet (state security) agent, the MGB said. Movshowitz served as a deputy company commander in the 7086th Engineer Battalion in the reserve. He was killed by an explosive device planted in a building in Khan Yunis. The Shin Bet says that outside of his reserve service, Movshowitz was a combat commander in the MGB. He is the 11th Shin Bet officer killed during the war.
Artillery bombardment and demolition of residential homes east of the town of Jabalia in the northern sector and the Shuja’iyya neighborhood in eastern Gaza.
In the West Bank, the IDF, Border Police and Shin Bet launch an operation to counter terrorism in northern Samaria: “Nahal Brigade combat group launches offensive in Judea and Samaria Division. To expand the results of Operation Following the “Iron Wall” in northern Samaria, the Nahal Brigade combat group launched an offensive yesterday evening in the area of the Sha-Nur Valley villages, under the leadership of the Menashe Brigade, under the command of Shin Bet intelligence. The Nahal Brigade has been fighting continuously for a year and eight months and recently moved to Judea and Samaria following heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip. The Nahal Brigade will use the new Eitan armored personnel carrier for the second time in Judea and Samaria. The Nahal Brigade forces will remain in the area for as long as necessary and based on the assessment of the situation,” the IDF statement reads.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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