Iran warns foreign weapons deliveries to Israel are ‘legitimate target’: Live Updates
The Iranian military has warned that it will target any foreign weapons shipments destined for Israel and view such deliveries as the participation of third countries “in the aggression against” the Islamic Republic.
A military spokesperson in Tehran, citing Iranian intelligence, claimed on Saturday that Israel had lost much of its “radar and defense capabilities” as a result of the Iranian retaliatory missile strikes, leading to a supposed dearth of ammunition and equipment.
Earlier in the day, the UN warned that the conflict between Israel and Iran could result in a new migrant crisis and called for de-escalation.
US President Donald Trump previously stated that he will decide within two weeks “at maximum” whether the US will join Israel’s campaign against Iran, adding that it is difficult to push for a ceasefire and negotiations when one side is clearly “winning.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that if Washington is serious about a peaceful resolution, Trump only needs to make one phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 430 Iranians, with more than 3,500 civilians injured, according to the Health Ministry in Tehran, although other sources have given a higher estimate of the death toll. Israeli officials have reported 25 deaths and more than 2,500 injuries.
As the conflict enters its second week, Israel launched a new wave of strikes on dozens of targets in Iran, including missile production sites, while Iran fired a barrage of missiles that struck the strategic port city of Haifa.
Netanyahu has said Operation Rising Lion – a series of missile attacks on Iran – has significantly damaged the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Israel claims to have struck key nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan, and the Arak heavy water reactor. The IAEA has confirmed damage to facilities in Natanz and Isfahan.
Russia has condemned Israel’s initial airstrikes and called for de-escalation. President Vladimir Putin spoke with Trump by phone and held separate conversations with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Netanyahu to explore measures for de-escalation and the possibility of reviving negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
21 June 2025
23:30 GMTThe UN nuclear watchdog has unveiled more details about the damage at a facility in Esfahan, central Iran, which came under Israeli attack for the second time in just over a week.
Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said that at least six additional buildings were struck in the latest raid, including a natural and depleted uranium metal production facility, a fuel rod production unit, a low-enriched uranium pellet production lab, two laboratories, a workshop handling contaminated equipment, and an administrative office.
The same site had previously been targeted on June 13, when four key buildings were damaged: the central chemical laboratory, a uranium conversion facility, a fuel manufacturing plant, and an enriched uranium metal processing site still under construction.
Grossi downplayed the significance of the attack, stating that the targeted buildings housed only small quantities of natural or low-enriched uranium and posed no risk of radiation leakage.
“Based on our analysis of the nuclear material present, we don’t see any risk of off-site contamination,” he said, while also stressing that “nuclear facilities should never be attacked.”
- 23:14 GMT
US President Donald Trump has shared another Fox News segment on his Truth Social account, highlighting his policies and potential plans to involve the US in Israel’s war with Iran.
“Only time will tell!” the US commander-in-chief wrote in a cryptic message.
- 21:52 GMT
US Presidential Envoy for Special Assignments Richard Grenell has urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to provide free Starlink access across Iran so that his “friends” can have uninterrupted access to information.
“Can you turn on Starlink for free in Iran for the next few weeks, @elonmusk? My friends inside Iran don’t have regular access to information right now. I’ll chip in a donation and I think others would, too,” wrote Grenell, the former Acting Director of National Intelligence, in a post on X.
Starlink’s constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites was originally promoted as a solution for providing high-speed, low-latency internet access to remote and rural areas – but it has also proven crucial for frontline coordination and drone warfare.
SpaceX has supplied the Ukrainian military with Starlink access since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, delivering more than 40,000 terminals over the years. Kiev’s forces have become fully dependent on Starlink, and turning it off would lead to the collapse of the “entire frontline,” Musk claimed in March.
- 21:24 GMT
Israeli forces conducted a major wave of airstrikes deep inside Iranian territory earlier on Saturday, targeting strategic military assets including missile storage facilities, air defense systems, and radar installations, according to IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin.
“Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked three F-14 fighter jets of the Iranian army in the heart of the country,” Defrin told a press conference on Saturday evening, as cited by Ynet News, adding that about 60 Israeli Air Force fighter jets participated in the strikes.
The US-made F-14 jets were supplied to Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel previously claimed to have destroyed two F-14s in an earlier strike on Tehran last week.
“We are striking all components of missile production and preventing the Iranian military from rebuilding its strategic capabilities. At the same time, our forces are intensifying strikes on the firing capabilities of their artillery arrays. The missile launching capabilities they have today are far from the capabilities they had when we began the operation,” Defrin added.
- 20:51 GMT
Israeli officials have urged the Trump administration to act swiftly against Iran’s nuclear program, warning they may strike the heavily fortified Fordow facility before the end of the US’ two‑week decision window, Reuters has reported, citing sources.
In a recent call involving US Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Israel highlighted the urgency of targeting the facility, which is built deep within a mountain, signaling readiness to act independently if necessary, the agency claimed.
Earlier on Saturday, Reuters reported that the US deployed B‑2 bombers capable of penetrating Iran’s hardened sites to the Pacific island of Guam.
Iran has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful means only.
- 20:30 GMT
The Israeli military has reported that it is striking “UAV storage facilities and a weapons facility” near Bandar Abbas in southwestern Iran.
- 20:14 GMT
Turkish President Erdogan phoned former US President Trump on Monday, proposing a meeting in Istanbul the following day between senior US and Iranian officials, Axios media outlet has claimed, citing sources.
The US president reportedly agreed to dispatch his Vice President J.D. Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff, or even attend the meeting in person to sit down with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.
According to Axios, Iran signaled interest via back channels. However, attempts to secure Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s approval reportedly failed – he had “gone dark” amid Israeli airstrikes – leading Iran to decline the meeting.
- 19:42 GMT
A spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces has warned that the delivery of “military or radar equipment by ship or plane by any country to aid the Zionist regime will be considered participation in the aggression against” the Islamic Republic. The official clarified that such shipments would be treated as a “legitimate target for the [Iranian] armed forces.”
According to the spokesperson, citing Tehran’s intelligence, Israel has lost a “significant part of its radar and defense capabilities” as a result of the “effective and devastating” Iranian strikes. He claimed that Israeli forces have “faced a shortage of ammunition and equipment.”
- 18:40 GMT
The IDF has claimed that its warplanes destroyed three Iranian F-14 fighter jets in the central part of the Islamic Republic, with more strikes targeting military infrastructure ongoing.
⭕️The IDF struck F-14 fighter jets belonging to the Iranian Armed Forced in central Iran. Additionally, IAF fighter jets are currently striking military infrastructure in central Iran. pic.twitter.com/N8ZvKYzuY0
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 21, 2025 - 18:30 GMT
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has announced the start of “assisted departure flights” from the country.
