Tel Aviv/Dubai, June 17: Israel said on Monday it struck Iran’s state broadcasting authority in Tehran, as the United Nations nuclear watchdog reported severe damage to Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility and Iran appealed to Washington to help end the escalating aerial conflict.
The Israeli military said the broadcaster’s headquarters also served as a communications hub for Iran’s armed forces. Footage aired by Iranian state TV showed a newsreader fleeing her desk during the blast. The conflict entered its fifth day on Tuesday, with air raid sirens sounding in Tel Aviv shortly after midnight as Iran launched another volley of missiles at Israeli cities.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told European counterparts that Tehran remained committed to diplomacy but was currently focused on countering Israeli aggression. Iran says over 224 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since the start of Israeli airstrikes, while Israel reports 24 civilian deaths from Iranian missile attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel aimed to neutralise Tehran’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. “If this can be achieved in another way—fine. But we gave it a 60-day chance,” he told reporters.
President Donald Trump, speaking at the G7 summit in Canada, reiterated that Iran had missed a deadline to halt uranium enrichment and said he believed a deal could soon be reached. “Iran is basically at the negotiating table,” he said.
Two Iranian and three regional sources told Reuters that Tehran had asked Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to urge Trump to press Netanyahu for a ceasefire. In return, Iran would show flexibility in suspended nuclear talks.
“If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy… it takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,” Araqchi said on X.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the BBC on Monday that nearly all of the roughly 15,000 centrifuges operating at Iran’s Natanz facility were likely damaged or destroyed following a power cut caused by an Israeli strike.
Grossi said Iran’s Fordow facility remained largely intact, but the impact on Natanz marked a major setback for Iran’s nuclear programme. Tehran insists its atomic ambitions remain peaceful, though the IAEA recently declared Iran in violation of its obligations.
Israel launched its air campaign with a decapitation strike that reportedly killed top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists. Israeli forces have since claimed control of Iranian airspace and have disabled two of Iran’s three operational enrichment plants.
Monday’s renewed Iranian missile attacks struck Tel Aviv and Haifa, killing at least eight and wounding dozens. Israel’s Bazan energy group said a missile hit its power station in Haifa, killing three workers and forcing a shutdown of refinery operations.
More than 3,000 Israeli civilians have been evacuated from high-risk zones, with 24 buildings deemed structurally unsound, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said. Iranian state television showed scenes of devastation in Tehran, including destroyed presidential buildings, scorched vehicles, and shattered streets. Residents reported fuel shortages, long queues at ATMs, and fear of further escalation.
“I am desperate. My two children are scared and cannot sleep at night because of the sound of air defences and explosions,” said Gholamreza Mohammadi, a 48-year-old civil servant in Tehran.
In a significant escalation, Iran fired missiles directly from its territory for the first time in decades, bypassing Israeli defences using what its Revolutionary Guards described as a new targeting method that confused enemy systems.
Talks scheduled for Sunday between Iranian and U.S. officials in Oman were cancelled, with Tehran stating it could not negotiate “under attack.” Iranian lawmakers have proposed exiting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a move likely to complicate any future diplomacy.
Oil markets reacted cautiously to signs of de-escalation, with crude prices falling by $1 per barrel amid speculation that a truce might be within reach. As both sides weigh further escalation, the possibility of diplomacy remains fragile. “Our responses will continue,” Araqchi said, “absent a total cessation of military aggression.”
