Camille Naredo

Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. AFP

Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. Iran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities early on June 16, after Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran, with both sides threatening further devastation. (Photo by AFP)

Article (news)

IRAN

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1750685907819AFP__20250616__62J2962__v2__Preview__IranIsraelConflict.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Smoke billows for the second day from the Shahran oil depot, northwest of Tehran, on June 16, 2025. <em>AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>TEHRAN, Iran -- Israel hit Revolutionary Guard sites and the notorious Evin prison in Tehran on Monday, calling them its most powerful strikes yet on the Iranian capital on the 11th day of the war.</p><p>Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel and vowed retaliation against the United States after it struck the Islamic republic&#x27;s nuclear sites a day earlier.</p><p>Loud explosions rocked the Iranian capital, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military hit &quot;regime targets&quot; with &quot;unprecedented force&quot;, adding to speculation that Israel may seek to topple Iran&#x27;s clerical leadership.</p><p>The targets included Evin prison, which Katz said &quot;holds political prisoners and regime opponents&quot;, as well as command centers of the domestic Basij militia and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.</p><p>The Israeli military said in a statement that the targets belong to Iranian forces &quot;responsible... for defending the homeland security, suppressing threats, and maintaining the regime&#x27;s stability&quot;.</p><p>Iranian media and the Israeli military said Israel also struck Fordo, a key nuclear enrichment facility buried deep in the mountains south of Tehran.</p><p>The military said it had struck Fordo on Monday &quot;in order to obstruct access routes&quot; to the site, which Israel&#x27;s ally the United States hit the previous day with &quot;bunker buster&quot; bombs.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/6/22/us-says-strikes-devastated-iran-s-nuclear-program-0013">READ: US says strikes &#x27;devastated&#x27; Iran&#x27;s nuclear program</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/6/23/iran-threatens-us-bases-in-response-to-strikes-on-nuclear-sites-0948">READ: Iran threatens US bases in response to strikes on nuclear sites</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Obliterated&#x27; -</strong></div><p>President Donald Trump boasted Sunday&#x27;s US strikes had &quot;obliterated&quot; Iran&#x27;s nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the impact on Iran&#x27;s nuclear program, which Israel and some Western states consider an existential threat.</p><p>Sirens sounded across Israel on Monday and AFP journalists reported blasts were heard over Jerusalem.</p><p>Katz said the Israeli military was &quot;carrying out strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government oppression in the heart of Tehran&quot;.</p><p>Iranian media said Israel&#x27;s strikes hit a power supply system in Tehran, triggering temporary outages.</p><p>In Israel, the national electricity company reported &quot;damage near a strategic infrastructure facility&quot; in the south that disrupted power supply, without naming the location or specifying the cause.</p><p>Some details of the damage in Israel are barred from publication due to military censorship rules.</p><p>An AFP photographer in Tel Aviv saw people rush to a bomb shelter after sirens sounded.</p><p>Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran&#x27;s health ministry said. Iran&#x27;s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/23/marcos-jr-calls-for-peaceful-talks-diplomacy-following-us-strikes-on-iran-nuclear-sites-1659">READ: Marcos calls for peaceful talks, diplomacy after US strikes in Iran</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Extremely dangerous&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dUldXNcYQ-8?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>After the US strikes, global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday but dipping later in the day.</p><p>China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout.</p><p>Iranian armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on state television that the US &quot;hostile act&quot;, following more than a week of Israeli bombardments, would &quot;pave the way for the extension of war in the region&quot;.</p><p>&quot;The fighters of Islam will inflict serious, unpredictable consequences on you,&quot; he warned.</p><p>Oman, a key mediator in the stalled Iran-US nuclear talks, condemned the US strikes and called for calm.</p><p>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world&#x27;s oil supply.</p><p>The European Union&#x27;s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said closing the strategic strait would be &quot;extremely dangerous&quot;.</p><p>With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad.</p><p>In Bahrain, home to a major US base, the US embassy said it had &quot;temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework&quot; citing &quot;heightened regional tensions&quot;.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/23/253-filipinos-seeking-repatriation-from-israel-ph-envoy-1505">READ: More Filipinos seeking repatriation after US joins Israel-Iran fight -- ambassador</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Trump touts &#x27;regime change&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/24BfVpPJCpA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>After the Pentagon stressed the goal of American intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea.</p><p>&quot;If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn&#x27;t there be a Regime change???&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.</p><p>Hours later he posted: &quot;Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran... Obliteration is an accurate term!&quot;</p><p>At a Pentagon press briefing earlier in the day, top US general Dan Caine said &quot;initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage&quot;.</p><p>Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage.</p><p>&quot;Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place,&quot; he added.</p><p>Iran has consistently denied seeking an atomic bomb, and Grossi has said there was no evidence to suggest so despite the Islamic republic&#x27;s advanced uranium enrichment and other activities.</p><p>The IAEA said on Monday that Tehran had informed it of &quot;special measures to protect nuclear material&quot; when the Israeli campaign began.</p><p>The UN agency also said it was seeking access to Iranian nuclear sites to &quot;account for&quot; stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.</p><p>Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States of deciding to &quot;blow up&quot; nuclear diplomacy with its intervention in the war. -- <strong>Ahmad Parhizi and Sebastien Ricci with Alice Chancellor in Jerusalem</strong></p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Israel hit Revolutionary Guard sites and the notorious Evin prison in Tehran on Monday, calling them its most powerful strikes yet on the Iranian capital on the 11th day of the war.</p>

Israel hit Revolutionary Guard sites and the notorious Evin prison in Tehran on Monday, calling them its most powerful strikes yet on the Iranian capital on the 11th day of the war.

Israel targets Iran Guards, Tehran prison in fresh wave of strikes

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

World

Israel targets Iran Guards, Tehran prison in fresh wave of strikes

Agence France-Presse

Published Jun 23, 2025 10:27 PM PHT

Read More:

absnews

Iran

Israel

United States

United Nations

Revolutionary Guard

Israel Katz

Middle East

conflict

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.