All posts tagged: strikes

How to Assess the Damage of the Iran Strikes

Published by José

[ad_1] In August 1941, the British government received a very unwelcome piece of analysis from an economist named David Miles Bensusan-Butt. A careful review of photographs suggested that the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command was having trouble hitting targets in Germany and France; in fact, only one in three pilots who claimed to have attacked the targets seemed to have dropped their bombs within five miles of the sites. The Butt report is a landmark in the history of “bomb damage assessment,” or, as we now call it, “battle damage assessment.” This recondite term has come back into public usage because of the dispute over the effectiveness of the June 22 American bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump said that American bombs had “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear program. A leaked preliminary assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency on June 24 said that the damage was minimal. Whom to believe? Have the advocates of bombing again overpromised and underdelivered? Some history is in order here, informed by a bit of personal experience. From …

Deadly Russian Drone Strikes Have Increased On Ukraine’s Odesa 

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Russian drones slammed into the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight, killing two people and injuring at least 17 others, Ukrainian officials announced Saturday. Emergency services said a drone struck a residential high-rise, damaging three floors and trapping residents inside, with the regional governor identifying that the victims were a married couple, with three children among the wounded. Via Reuters “Rescuers pulled the bodies of two people from the rubble who died as a result of a hostile drone strike on a residential building,” Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. Russia’s Defense Ministry was silent on the attack, on saying that it had intercepted more than 40 Ukrainian drones overnight sent over Russian territory, as well as in Crimea. This comes as both sides increasingly rely heavily on smaller, short-range drones for battlefield operations and missions along their roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line – but the key port city of Odesa has been coming under more regular attacks, something which wasn’t a feature of the opening years of the war. Also Saturday Kherson Governor …

Nuclear talks ‘more difficult’ after US strikes: Top Iran diplomat

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Iran’s top diplomat said Thursday that peace talks involving the U.S. have been “more complicated and more difficult” after U.S. airstrikes over the weekend.  Days before the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, officials met in Geneva to discuss the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program. But Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said hopes of returning… [ad_2] Source link

Iran warns US strikes to have ‘everlasting consequences;’ Europe urges calm – POLITICO

Published by Sam

[ad_1] British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meanwhile, called for deescalation and urged Iran to return to diplomatic negotiations to address the “grave threat” of its nuclear program. French President Emmanuel Macron echoed that call and urged Iran “to exercise the utmost restraint in this dangerous context.” But Araghchi accused both Israel and Washington of deliberately sabotaging diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program. “Last week, we were in negotiations with the U.S. when Israel decided to blow up that diplomacy. This week, we held talks with the E3/EU when the US decided to blow up that diplomacy,” Araghchi said on X. “What conclusion would you draw?” Russia’s Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned” the U.S. airstrikes, calling them “a gross violation of international law.” In its statement on Telegram, the ministry said the attacks marked “a dangerous escalation … fraught with further undermining of regional and global security.” China also condemned the U.S. action. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, reported no increase in off-site radiation levels following the …

‘Israel strikes everywhere, at any hour’

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Photos of civilians and senior Iranian officials killed in Israeli attacks are displayed in the streets of Tehran, on June 19, 2025. FATEMEH BAHRAMI/ANADOLU VIA AFP Since the night of June 13, Sanam (who requested to have her name changed) has not slept. Around 3 am, the tower in northern Tehran where Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, lived was hit by an Israeli attack. “At first, I thought it was a thunderclap, but I soon saw objects in the sky. A few seconds later, a huge explosion rang out,” said Sanam, 30, an IT specialist whom Le Monde contacted via WhatsApp. Since then, she has had many sleepless nights, staying awake restlessly watching the news and constantly scanning the sky, “because Israel strikes hard at night.” Since June 13, 2025, Israel has been carrying out strikes on Iranian military and strategic infrastructure. These attacks have, however, also caused significant civilian casualties. Two hospitals were hit, one in the western city of Kermanshah and another in Tehran. On the …

Maps: See Where Israeli Strikes Damaged Iranian Nuclear and Military Facilities

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Israel’s largest attack ever against Iran has targeted nuclear and military facilities, gas and oil depots and the government-run broadcaster. More than 200 people have been killed and hundreds more injured. Iranian facilities hit by Israeli attacks Sources: Nuclear Threat Initiative, International Atomic Energy Agency, Global Oil & Gas Features Database and New York Times reporting The New York Times Here is what is known about the damage to Iran’s strategic infrastructure so far. Nuclear facilities Israel launched its most recent attack against Iran last Friday with waves of coordinated airstrikes hitting nuclear sites and killing much of the country’s military chain of command, along with several nuclear scientists. Iran’s nuclear industry is well established, with over 30 facilities spread over the country, and some buried deep underground. On Wednesday morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said Israel had struck two centrifuge production facilities. Iranian nuclear facilities attacked Other nuclear facilities in Iran Sources: Nuclear Threat Initiative, International Atomic Energy Agency and New York Times reporting The New York Times …

Aid effort underway as Israel braces for more missile strikes

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Joseph Project International, largest importer of aid, unleashes ‘truckloads of compassion’ TEL AVIV, Israel — The largest importer of humanitarian aid in Israel is delivering crucial supplies across the country to Israelis facing Iran’s deadly ballistic missile onslaught. Truckloads of aid are on their way to the city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv — where at least nine Israelis were killed by a missile strike on Sunday — as well as Haifa and other communities targeted by Iran’s ferocious missile barrage over the past four days. Joseph Project International is dispatching convoys of aid — including food, clothing, household and medical supplies — from its 16,000-square-foot warehouse near Jerusalem. The organization has a giant shipping container of aid in port in Israel, with six more container ships on the way. Aid comes from donors in the U.S. and around the world. “This is all-out war,” said Joel Chernoff, the organization’s founder and executive board chairman. “Our teams on the ground are moving as fast as they can in extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances to …

Putin speaks to Trump, condemns Israel’s strikes on Iran, Kremlin says

Published by Sam

[ad_1] Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with students during a visit to the Bauman Moscow State Technical University in Moscow, Russia April 16, 2025. Kristina Kormilitsyna | Via Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, focusing on hostilities between Israel and Iran and calling for efforts to bring them to an end. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressed concern about the risks of escalation. Trump, in his account on Truth Social, said most of the discussion centered on the Middle East, but that he also told Putin that Russia’s war in Ukraine should end. “Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Ushakov told reporters. Ushakov said Trump described events in the Middle East as “very alarming”. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear programme, Ushakov …

World leaders react to Israel’s strikes on Iran

Published by Sam

[ad_1] People look over damage to buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Majid Saeedi | Getty Images News | Getty Images World leaders are calling for restraint after Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Iran early Friday morning, in an escalation of regional tensions. Israel has said that the strikes were targeting Iran’s nuclear program. Leading nuclear scientists and high-ranking military officials were killed in the strikes, according to Iranian media. While the U.S. did not partake in the strikes, President Donald Trump was briefed on them beforehand. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. Washington, which has been carrying out negotiations to reach a new nuclear agreement with Tehran, has previously said it would prefer a brokered deal to an armed offensive. As of the latest, Iran has launched around 100 drones toward Israeli territory that the Jewish state was working to intercept, according to an Israeli military spokesperson. …