Israel power supplier reports damage near 'strategic' facility in south

Israel power supplier reports damage near 'strategic' facility in south
by AFP Staff Writers
Jerusalem (AFP) June 23, 2025

Israel's state power company reported supply disruptions in the south of the country after damage near a "strategic infrastructure facility" on Monday, as Iran launched a fresh wave of missiles.

"Due to damage near a strategic infrastructure facility of the Israel Electric Corporation in the south of the country, disruptions in electricity supply are being reported in several communities in the area," the IEC said in a statement, without specifying the cause.

Fresh sirens in north Israel warning of Iran missiles: army
Jerusalem (AFP) June 23, 2025 - Sirens sounded in several areas of northern Israel on Monday, after the army reported a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles, at least the third salvo in less than two hours.

"A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas in northern Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel," a military statement said, adding in another statement about 10 minutes later that people were allowed to leave shelters.

Earlier on Monday, sirens wailed across Israel for over 30 minutes as the military warned of multiple missile barrages launched from its arch-foe.

"Search and rescue forces are operating in several locations across the country in which reports of fallen projectiles were received," the military added.

Following the first wave, Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service reported no casualties "except a number of anxiety cases and people injured while seeking shelter".

Israeli media reported an impact in the area of Ashdod in the south.

The full extent of the damage in Israel after 11 days of war with Iran is not known due to military censorship rules, but at least 50 impacts have been acknowledged nationwide and 24 people have died, according to official figures.

Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran on June 13 targeting its missile and nuclear facilities, as well as military leaders and security services.

Aerial assaults raged between the two foes early Monday, while Tehran vowed retaliation over the bunker-buster bombs American warplanes unleashed at the weekend on three nuclear sites.

Iran-Israel war: latest developments
Jerusalem (AFP) June 23, 2025 - Israel struck Tehran and Iran fired missiles on Monday, as the war between the longtime foes raged for its 11th day after the United States sent bombers to attack the Islamic republic's nuclear sites.

Here are the latest developments:

- Iran Guards, Tehran prison -

Israel carried out "strikes of unprecedented force against regime targets and agencies of government oppression in the heart of Tehran", Defence Minister Israel Katz said as an AFP journalist heard loud blasts in the north of the Iranian capital.

Katz said the targets included the notorious Evin prison in the city's north, known to hold political prisoners and dissidents as well as foreign detainees.

Iran's judiciary confirmed Evin was struck, reporting "damage" and stressing the situation was "under control".

Israel also carried out a strike on Fordo, according to the military and Iranian media, a day after US "bunker buster" bombs hit the underground nuclear site south of Tehran.

In Israel, air raid sirens sent people to bomb shelters on Monday, with the military reporting at least three missile barrages in less than two hours.

The state power company said that "damage near a strategic infrastructure facility" in Israel's south caused outages. In Tehran, authorities said electricity supply disrupted by an Israeli attack was restored.

Israeli strikes on Iran since June 13 have killed more than 400 people, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.

- 'Extension of war' -

Iran's armed forces threatened on Monday to inflict "serious, unpredictable consequences" on the United States in retaliation for its strikes on the Isfahan, Natanz and Fordo nuclear sites.

"This hostile act... will widen the scope of legitimate targets of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and pave the way for the extension of war in the region," said armed forces spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces "in the region or elsewhere" could be attacked.

The US embassy in Bahrain -- home to a major US military base -- reduced on-site staffing citing "heightened regional tensions".

- 'Spillover' -

China on Monday warned against "the spillover of war", urging the international community to do more to prevent the fighting from impacting the world's economy, noting the global importance of the Gulf maritime trade routes off the Iranian coast.

Oil prices briefly fell into the red on Monday after surging, as traders weighed possible retaliation by Iran.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said closing the strait would be "extremely dangerous".

Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed attacks on Iran as "unprovoked" and "unjustified" in a Moscow meeting with Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, without announcing any concrete support to his key ally in the Middle East.

- Nuclear stockpiles -

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency demanded Monday the return of inspectors to Iran's nuclear sites in a bid to "account for" its highly enriched uranium stockpiles.

"Allow IAEA inspectors... to go back to Iran's nuclear sites and account for the stockpiles of uranium" including the "400 kilograms enriched to 60 percent", said agency chief Rafael Grossi.

At an emergency meeting of the organisation's headquarters in Vienna, he said Tehran had sent him a letter on June 13 announcing the implementation of "special measures to protect nuclear equipment and materials".