Israel says it鈥檚 preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war against Iran

Citizens repatriated from Israel disembark a flight from Egypt at Figo Maduro airport in Lisbon on June 19, 2025. (AFP)
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  • Iran FM says Tehran open to further dialogue but no interest in talks with US while Israel continues to attack
  • Netanyahu has said Israeli operation will continue until it eliminates the threat of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program

TEL AVIV: Israel 鈥榮 military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran鈥檚 foreign minister warned that US military involvement 鈥渨ould be very, very dangerous for everyone.鈥�
The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel鈥檚 military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the United States.
The US ambassador to Israel announced the US has begun 鈥渁ssisted departure flights,鈥� the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel鈥檚 military said it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in pursuit of its goal to destroy Iran鈥檚 nuclear program. Smoke rose near a mountain in Isfahan, where the province鈥檚 deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed Israeli strikes damaged the facility.
The target was a centrifuge production site, Israel鈥檚 military said. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the attack and said the facility 鈥� also targeted in the war鈥檚 first day 鈥� was 鈥渆xtensively damaged,鈥� but that there was no risk of off-site contamination.
Iran again launched drones and missiles at Israel but there were no reports of significant damage. An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines, estimated the military has taken out more than 50 percent of Iran鈥檚 launchers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,鈥� he said.
The Israeli military鈥檚 chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, later said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the army to prepare for a 鈥減rolonged campaign.鈥�
US aerial refueling tankers on the move
US President Donald Trump is weighing active US military involvement in the war, and was set to meet with his national security team Saturday evening. He has said he would put off his decision for up to two weeks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said US military involvement 鈥渨ould be very, very dangerous for everyone.鈥� He spoke on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Turkiye. Araghchi was open to further dialogue but emphasized that Iran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continues to attack.
Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran鈥檚 underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered out of reach to all but America鈥檚 鈥渂unker-buster鈥� bombs. The US has only configured and programmed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force.
On Saturday, multiple US aerial refueling tankers were spotted on commercial flight trackers flying patterns consistent with escorting aircraft from the central US to the Pacific. B-2 bombers are based in Missouri. It was not clear whether the aircraft were a show of force or prepared for an operation. The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.
The war鈥檚 toll
The war erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran鈥檚 nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 722 people, including 285 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,500 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group.
One Tehran resident, Nasrin, writhed in her hospital bed as she described how a blast threw her against her apartment wall. 鈥淚鈥檝e had five surgeries. I think I have nothing right here that is intact,鈥� she said Saturday. Another patient, Shahram Nourmohammadi, said he had been making deliveries when 鈥渟omething blew up right in front of me.鈥�
Several Iranians have fled the country. 鈥淓veryone is leaving Tehran right now,鈥� said one who did not give his name after crossing into Armenia.
For many Iranians, it is difficult to know what鈥檚 going on. Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org said Saturday that limited Internet access had again 鈥渃ollapsed.鈥� A nationwide Internet shutdown has lasted for several days.
Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Israel鈥檚 multitiered air defenses have shot down most of them, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and over 1,000 wounded.
No date has been set for more talks after negotiations in Geneva failed to produce a breakthrough Friday.
Iran鈥檚 nuclear program
Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60 percent 鈥� a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 percent. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel鈥檚 military operation will continue 鈥渇or as long as it takes鈥� to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program and ballistic missile arsenal.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that his country will never renounce its right to nuclear power, which 鈥渃annot be taken away from it through war and threats.鈥� Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron via phone that Iran is ready to provide guarantees and confidence-building measures to demonstrate the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, according to IRNA, the state-run news agency.
Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 percent and restricting access to its nuclear facilities.
Iran has insisted on its right to enrich uranium 鈥� at lower levels 鈥� in recent talks over its nuclear program. But Trump, like Israel, has demanded Iran end its enrichment program altogether.
Attacks on Iranian military commanders
Israel鈥檚 defense minister said the military killed a paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commander who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Iranian officials did not immediately confirm Saeed Izadi鈥檚 death, but the Qom governor鈥檚 office said a four-story apartment building was hit and local media reported two people had been killed.
Israel also said it killed the commander of the Quds Force鈥檚 weapons transfer unit, who it said was responsible for providing weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Behnam Shahriyari was killed while traveling in western Iran, the military said.
Iran threatens head of UN nuclear watchdog
Iranian leaders say IAEA chief Rafael Grossi鈥檚 statements about the status of Iran鈥檚 nuclear program prompted Israel鈥檚 attack. On Saturday, a senior adviser for Iran鈥檚 Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, Ali Larijani, said on social media, without elaboration, that Iran would make Grossi 鈥減ay鈥� once the war is over.
Grossi on Friday warned against attacks on Iran鈥檚 nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. A direct hit 鈥渨ould result in a very high release of radioactivity,鈥� Grossi said, adding: 鈥淭his is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.鈥�
Israel has not targeted Iran鈥檚 nuclear reactors, instead focusing on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country鈥檚 Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital.