Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025 — Iran-Israel conflict: In a bold escalation of hostilities, Israeli forces launched a devastating airstrike early Friday morning on an underground facility in Kermanshah, western Iran, near the Iraqi border. Verified video footage obtained by Al Jazeera revealed massive fires engulfing the area, indicating extensive damage to a site reportedly used to store ballistic missiles.
Public Fury Ignites as Iranians Demand Retaliation
Within hours, outrage swept across Iran. In Tehran and other major cities, thousands of citizens took to the streets, waving national flags and chanting anti-Israel and anti-American slogans. State television broadcast scenes of defiant crowds roaring, “Death to Israel, death to America,” as emotions ran high.
Ahmad Moadi, a 62-year-old retiree, expressed his frustration: “How much longer do we have to live in fear? Iran must deliver an overwhelming response—a scathing one.” Like many others, he dismissed the ongoing nuclear negotiations, arguing that diplomacy has failed in the face of open aggression.
Abbas Ahmadi, a 52-year-old Tehran resident, added with fury, “We can’t let Netanyahu continue like this, or we’ll end up like Gaza. Iran must act. It must strike back.”
Top Iranian Commanders and Scientists Killed in Strike
The Israeli attack marked one of the deadliest strikes in recent memory. It eliminated several of Iran’s top military and nuclear leaders, including Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Gen. Hossein Salami, and Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh—key figures who shaped Iran’s strategic defense capabilities.
In addition, six leading nuclear scientists perished in the assault. Among them were Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranji, a respected physicist and university president. As a result, their deaths ignited a wave of national mourning and amplified public demands for swift retaliation.
In direct response, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stern warning to Israel, vowing “severe punishment” for what he labeled an act of war.
Also See : Missile Retaliation: Iran Strikes Israel After Major Losses
Region Edges Toward Wider Conflict
Following the strike, tensions across the region intensified rapidly. Regional and international observers sounded the alarm, while the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC) warned that the risk of a broader war had become “significant.” Nevertheless, the Strait of Hormuz remains operational, and commercial shipping traffic continues, at least for now.
At the same time, Hamas’s military wing aligned itself with Iran. In an official statement, Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida condemned the Israeli attack, describing it as a “strategic error” that would only accelerate Israel’s “inevitable demise.”
War Clouds Gather Over the Middle East
With each passing hour, this strike has propelled the Iran-Israel conflict into an unprecedented phase of hostility. Although diplomacy technically remains an option, it now appears increasingly irrelevant amid escalating military aggression and widespread public outrage. Consequently, the Middle East stands at a perilous crossroads—just one step away from full-scale regional war.
