Iran Israel Conflict Updates | Iran has declared a “strong response” after Israeli air strikes on Friday targeted multiple sites, including military and nuclear facilities, across the country. The attacks resulted in the deaths of senior Iranian commanders and top nuclear scientists, prompting fierce condemnation from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned of “a bitter and painful fate” for Israel.
“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate, and it will definitely receive it,” Khamenei said in a statement broadcast on Iranian state television. He described the strikes as an act of aggression that revealed Israel’s “malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centres.”
With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter, painful fate, which it will definitely see.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 13, 2025
According to official Iranian reports, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, Senior Revolutionary Guards commander Gholam Ali Rashid, and Revolutionary Guard chief Hossein Salami were killed in the airstrikes. The nuclear scientists Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi were also “targeted and martyred,” reported Tasnim news agency.
In the enemy’s attacks, several commanders and scientists have been martyred. God willing, their successors and colleagues will carry on with their duties without delay.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 13, 2025
Iran Says It Has Legal Right to Respond, Blames US for Enabling Israel
Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the attacks, stating that Tehran reserves its full right to retaliate under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
“Responding to this aggression is Iran’s legal and legitimate right in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter,” read the ministry’s official statement. It further warned that Iran’s armed forces would not hesitate to defend the nation “with all their might.”
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Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, said, “The armed forces will certainly respond to this Zionist attack… Israel will pay a heavy price and should await a strong response.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also issued a grave warning, promising that the attacks “will not remain unanswered” and that Israel must “await harsh and regrettable revenge.”
Tehran squarely placed blame on the United States as well, suggesting that Washington gave the green light for the strikes. “The Zionist regime’s aggressive actions against Iran cannot have been carried out without the coordination and permission of the United States,” the Foreign Ministry said. “The U.S. is responsible for the dangerous impact and consequences of the Zionist regime’s adventurism.”
