In a series of strikes, Israel targeted more than 20 military installations in Tehran, including facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear program and missile production, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday (June 18, 2025). The IDF reported that over 60 fighter jets attacked weapon production sites, centrifuge manufacturing facilities, and research and development centers tied to Iran’s nuclear weapons program. These locations were reportedly aimed at enabling Iran to expand its uranium enrichment capabilities for nuclear weapon development.
Despite significant progress in uranium enrichment, Iran has repeatedly claimed its nuclear program is peaceful and denies developing an atomic bomb. The attacks also targeted factories producing raw materials and components for missile assembly, as well as sites involved in Iran’s air defense systems.
Iran retaliated Wednesday evening by launching hundreds of rockets toward central Israel. The Israeli military stated it detected incoming projectiles from Iran and is working to intercept them. Red alerts sounded across central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, prompting civilians to seek shelter. According to Israeli officials, recent airstrikes have significantly degraded Iran’s ability to launch large-scale rocket barrages against Israel.
After six days of Israeli airstrikes that destroyed numerous ballistic missile launchers, disrupted Iran’s military command structure, and forced Iran to relocate some of its missile units further east, the latest retaliation consisted of only one ballistic missile fired toward Israel, IDF confirmed. While Israel claims to have destroyed approximately 40% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers and killed senior Iranian air defense commanders, thereby hampering their coordination efforts, uncertainty remains about whether Iran’s capabilities have been permanently diminished or if they will soon resume larger-scale attacks.