Israel - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

June 21, 2025

Tel Aviv 6:47 am

22°C

Retired Israeli general and Executive Director of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Amos Yadlin attends a session at the Manama Dialogue security conference in the Bahraini capital on December 5, 2020. (Photo by Mazen Mahdi / AFP) (Photo by MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Interview

Amos Yadlin: Israel's goal to enable Trump to reach Iran deal better than 2015

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former head of the Israeli military intelligence directorate Amos Yadlin talks about the extent of the damage Israel has thus far inflicted on Iran and the strategic goals of the war.

A drone flies beside a damaged building following a strike by an Iranian missile in the Israeli city of Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, early on June 15, 2025.

Analysis

Israel's war in Iran redefining AI’s warfare role: The Gulf is taking notes

Israel’s AI-driven assault on Iran signals a new era of warfare in the Middle East, and Gulf states are watching closely.

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (C) gives a statement during his visit to the mausoleum of slain Lebanese Hezbollah's Leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in September 2024, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 3, 2025.

EU FMs hold talks with Iran's Araghchi as US mulls strike: What to know

The meeting in Geneva follows President Donald Trump saying on Thursday that he will decide within two weeks whether to involve the United States directly in the Israel-Iran conflict.

Latest News

Oil prices stabilize after Trump hints at diplomatic off-ramp with Iran

A plume of heavy smoke and fire rise over an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025.

Analysis

Gulf growth forecast bright but Israel-Iran war threatens to derail outlook

A view of the Dubai skyline, May 12, 2025.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Analysis

As Netanyahu pushes Trump to join Iran war, will Israel strike Fordow alone?

Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel's waves of strikes against Iran, on Sunday, June 15, 2025.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Analysis

What Iran’s hospital strike reveals about Israel’s missile defense limits

ISRAEL-IRAN-CONFLICT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19, 2025. Israel's defence minister warned that Iran's supreme leader "can no longer be allowed to exist" after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on June 19, spiking tensions in the week-old war. (Photo by Marc Israel SELLEM / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images

Israel calls Iran's hospital missile strike war crime, vows escalation

Israeli officials have condemned the Iranian strike at a hospital as a war crime and vowed to intensify its attacks against Iran.

ROMAIN COSTASECA/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Crypto looted, TV hijacked: Iran grapples with wave of cyberstrikes

Iranian authorities had their work cut out for them on Wednesday, addressing at least three different cyberattacks linked to Israel.

Ground staff prepare a Middle East Airlines flight for departure on the tarmac at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on May 2, 2025.

From Lebanon to Qatar, Israel-Iran war disrupts flights, airport traffic: What to know

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines canceled all flights to Iraq through Thursday as the ongoing Israel-Iran war forces widespread disruptions across Middle East aviation.

GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images

US Embassy to help Americans evacuate from Israel

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the embassy will help arrange evacuation flights and cruise ship departures.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prepares to cast his ballot during the runoff of the presidential elections in Tehran on July 5, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's Khamenei threatens US with 'irreparable damage' if Trump joins war

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded to US President Donald Trump’s call for Iran to surrender without conditions, saying Iran will not yield.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrive for a documents signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 17, 2025. (Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Russia broker Iran-Israel deal as Putin looks to divert West from Ukraine?

A mediating role between Tehran and Tel Aviv could help the Kremlin boost its credentials as well as turn attention away from ongoing war in Ukraine.

Kasia A. Houghton

By Kasia A. Houghton

Flags flutter along a bridge as a plume of heavy smoke and fire rise from an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. Iran fired a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel, state television announced early on June 15, as the rivals exchanged fire for a third day. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

With over 85% imported, Turkey braces for energy ripples of Iran-Israel war

Rising oil prices threaten Turkey’s fragile economy amid escalating regional tensions, while energy supply risks grow.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Smoke rises from the rubble of an Iranian state media building in Tehran after an Israeli airstrike on June 16, 2025.

China, India, EU countries evacuate citizens from Iran and Israel

Some countries are urging citizens to leave Israel and Iran via land borders as the airports remain closed.

TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 15: People observe fire and smoke from an Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot on June 15, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's foreign minister said the country would respond "decisively and proportionally" to a wave of attacks that Israel launched beginning in the early hours of June 13. The attacks targeted multiple military, scientific and residential locations, as well as senior government officials. (Photo by Stringer/Getty Images)

Analysis

As Israel-Iran strikes escalate, Russia weighs risks and opportunities

With evacuations underway and investments at risk, the Kremlin still sees a chance to benefit by boosting gas exports and mediating US-Iran talks.

Nikita Smagin

By Nikita Smagin

In this handout photo provided by the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transits the Strait of Hormuz as an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Nightdippers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 lifts off from the flight deck, Nov. 19, 2019.

First ships pull back from Hormuz as Israel-Iran war drags on: What to know

Missile fire between the Middle East’s two biggest foes continued into its fifth day on Tuesday, with more than 220 people killed in Iran and more than 20 in Israel.

Ben Gurion International Airport is seen mostly empty after flights were canceled following Israel's early morning attack on Iran on June 13, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Iran's barrages hit at least 10 Israeli cities, towns: What to know

Iran’s latest wave of strikes on Israel reflects an escalation in strategy since its 2024 strikes, targeting urban centers and involving a broader range of missiles and drones.

Smoke rises from locations targeted in Tehran amid the third day of Israel's waves of strikes against Iran, on Sunday, June 15, 2025.

State TV to IRGC elite: Here are Israel’s main targets in Iran war

At least seven senior Iranian officials have been killed in the Israeli strikes, which have expanded to include government institutions and energy facilities in recent days.