5 key questions on Israel's strikes, Iran's response, and the risk of a wider war
The strikes are a major escalation that threatens to expand into a wider regional conflict.
These are five key questions in the wake of Israel's air war.
Israel's widespread airstrikes on Iran effectively damaged the country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which officials said was a primary goal.
The strikes hit over 100 targets, including Iran's air defense systems, missile launchers, and senior military leadership.
Now, all eyes are on Tehran's response and the specter of a wider conflict. And there are questions over whether the US will get pulled into the fight.
Here are some main questions stemming from the attacks.
How has Iran responded?
Iran initially responded to the attack by firing 100 drones at Israel on Friday, which the Israel Defense Forces said were mostly intercepted.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel "should anticipate a severe punishment" in response to the strikes, and that Iran "won't let them go unpunished."
Hours later, the IDF said Iran had launched "dozens" of missiles at Israel in what appeared to be several waves. The military said its air defenses were actively intercepting threats, and video footage captured several impacts.
"The Iranian response might be delayed or split into multiple phases," said Matthew Savill, the director of military sciences at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute think tank.
"But their main weapon will be ballistic missiles," he added, "which have the best chance of inflicting damage on Israel, whereas drone and cruise missile attacks will face more extensive Israeli defences."
It is not unprecedented for Iran to launch powerful weapons at Israel; Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at its foe in April and October last year. However, those strikes were mostly intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the US.
Beyond direct strikes, another way that Iran could retaliate is through the so-called "Axis of Resistance," a vast network of militias it is aligned with throughout the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis.
Israel has been battling these forces, and Hamas in Gaza, since the October 7, 2023, attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long advocated for destroying Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran claims is for civilian purposes.
The US, however, has been trying to reach a new deal with Iran (and has threatened violence if a deal isn't done). The strikes could derail those efforts and even goad Iran into racing to build a nuclear arsenal.
Could this trigger a wider conflict?
Israel's strikes threaten to spark a wider regional conflict, analysts at London's Chatham House think tank warned Friday.
"Far from being a preventive action, this strike risks triggering a broader regional escalation and may inadvertently bolster the Islamic Republic's domestic and international legitimacy," Sanam Vakil, Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa program director, said.
Last year, Tehran reportedly threatened to target Gulf state oil facilities if they allowed Israel access to their airspace for strikes against Iran. It's unclear what routes Israeli aircraft used in the attacks, but there's been speculation Israel could exploit the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria to get its aircraft directly over Iraq for strikes.
Russia is also a close ally of Iran, and the two have increased their defense cooperation since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, Nikita Smagin, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment, said in December that the Kremlin is unlikely to come to Iran's direct aid in order to avoid direct confrontations with Israel and the US.
Will the US be pulled into a fight?
The US has helped arm and defend Israel, notably in the wake of Hamas' October 7 attacks. The world will be watching to see how President Donald Trump responds.
Trump has sought to broker a new nuclear deal with Iran, and in the wake of the Israeli attacks overnight, warned of "even more brutal" strikes from Israel if Iran refuses a new agreement.
Last year, the US Navy helped shoot down Iranian missiles fired at Israel in two major attacks, and it has rotated multiple aircraft carriers and many warships into the region since 2023, in a show of support for Israel and to deter its enemies, including Iran.
The US and other NATO countries have also defended international shipping routes in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
What forces does the US have in the region?
The US has a substantial military presence in the Middle East, including naval forces, ground troops, and strike aircraft.
A Navy spokesperson told BI that the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group — consisting of an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, and three destroyers — is in the Arabian Sea.
There are also three American destroyers in the Red Sea and another in the Eastern Mediterranean.
All of these warships, and the carrier's dozens of embarked aircraft, are capable of carrying out air defense missions to defeat incoming drones and missiles.
Were the strikes effective?
IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israel's strikes "significantly harmed" Iran's main uranium enrichment site at Natanz.
"For many years, the people of the Iranian regime made an effort to obtain nuclear arms in this facility," he said, adding that the site "has the necessary infrastructure to enrich uranium to a military grade."
The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed the site was struck, but the extent of the damage remains unverified.
Satellite imagery appeared to show significant damage at the surface level.
There was also a report Friday that Israel had struck Fordow, a nuclear fuel enrichment site guarded deep under a mountain.
Overnight, Israeli strikes reportedly targeted strategic Iranian sites, including the Natanz nuclear facility, Iran's primary center for uranium enrichment. High-resolution imagery from @AirbusDefence, captured on June 13, 2025, reveals significant damage to the facility. pic.twitter.com/L7y9V64NIq
— Open Source Centre (@osc_london) June 13, 2025
The IDF said that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Hossein Salami and other senior military commanders were also killed in targeted strikes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
16 minutes ago
- The Hill
Van Hollen: ‘A big lie' that UN aid for Gaza has been ‘systematically' stolen by Hamas
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Sunday there is no truth to claims that United Nations aid for Palestinians in Gaza has been 'systematically' stolen by Hamas. 'This is a big lie, the claim that when the U.N. organizations were delivering food to Palestinians, civilians, that it was being systematically diverted to Hamas,' Van Hollen told CBS News's Margaret Brennan on 'Face the Nation.' 'I want to say loudly and clearly, this is a big lie,' the Maryland senator added. On Sunday, Trump said Hamas is stealing food that was meant for people in Gaza, saying to reporters on multiple occasions that goods are being stolen as he was pressed on the hunger crisis in the region. Trump, alongside President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, was questioned about his response to the images of starving children in Gaza. 'When I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything,' the president said. 'It's a mess, that whole place is a mess. The Gaza Strip, you know it was given many years ago so they could have peace. That didn't work out too well,' Trump continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Trump on Sunday's 'Meet the Press' on NBC News. 'This is important to note: Israel, since this war began, has supplied over 94,000 truckloads full of food. It's enough food to feed 2 million people for two years trying to get that into Gaza. But Hamas has stolen the food, a huge amount,' Johnson said. He also criticized 'the system,' calling it 'broken,' adding that beginning tomorrow, the Israeli military will open 'new channels of distribution to get it [food] to those people who are desperately in need.' Former President Obama said on Sunday that 'aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza.' 'There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' the former president added in a post on the social platform X on Sunday.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
U.S. and China to resume tariff talks on Monday in effort to extend truce
Senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators meet in Stockholm on Monday to tackle longstanding economic disputes at the center of the countries' trade war, aiming to extend a truce keeping sharply higher tariffs at bay. China is facing an Aug. 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump's administration, after Beijing and Washington reached a preliminary deal in June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs. Without an agreement, global supply chains could face renewed turmoil from duties exceeding 100%. The Stockholm talks, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, take place a day after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met Trump at his golf course in Scotland to clinch a deal that would see a 15% baseline tariff on most EU goods. Trade analysts on both sides of the Pacific say the discussions in the Swedish capital are unlikely to produce any breakthroughs but could prevent further escalation and help create conditions for Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to meet later this year. Previous U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva and London in May and June focused on bringing U.S. and Chinese retaliatory tariffs down from triple-digit levels and restoring the flow of rare earth minerals halted by China and Nvidia H20 AI chips and other goods halted by the United States. So far, the talks have not delved into broader economic issues. They include U.S. complaints that China's state-led, export-driven model is flooding world markets with cheap goods, and Beijing's complaints that U.S. national security export controls on tech goods seek to stunt Chinese growth. "Stockholm will be the first meaningful round of U.S.-China trade talks," said Bo Zhengyuan, Shanghai-based partner at China consultancy firm Plenum. Trump has been successful in pressuring some other trading partners, including Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, into preliminary deals accepting higher U.S. tariffs of 15% to 20%. Analysts say the U.S.-China negotiations are far more complex and will require more time. China's grip on the global market for rare earth minerals and magnets, used in everything from military hardware to car windshield wiper motors, has proved to be an effective leverage point on U.S. industries. In the background of the talks is speculation about a possible meeting between Trump and Xi in late October. Trump has said he will decide soon whether to visit China in a landmark trip to address trade and security tensions. A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely derail any plans for a meeting with Xi. "The Stockholm meeting is an opportunity to start laying the groundwork for a Trump visit to China," said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Bessent has already said he wants to work out an extension of the Aug. 12 deadline to prevent tariffs snapping back to 145% on the U.S. side and 125% on the Chinese side. Still, China is likely to request a reduction of the multi-layered U.S. tariffs, which total 55% on most goods, and further easing of U.S. high-tech export controls, analysts said. Beijing has argued that such purchases would help reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China, which reached $295.5 billion in 2024. China is currently facing a 20% tariff related to the U.S. fentanyl crisis, a 10% reciprocal tariff, and 25% duties on most industrial goods imposed during Trump's first term. Bessent has also said he would discuss the need for China to rebalance its economy away from exports toward domestic consumer demand. The shift would require China to put an end to a protracted property crisis and boost social safety nets to encourage household spending. Michael Froman, a former U.S. trade representative during former President Barack Obama's administration, said such a shift has been a goal of U.S. policymakers for two decades. "Can we effectively use tariffs to get China to fundamentally change their economic strategy? That remains to be seen," said Froman, now president of the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Three arrested as demo takes place outside hotel used to house migrants
Three people have been arrested at a protest and counter-protest outside a hotel being used to house migrants. Sunday saw the latest in a series of demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Protesters waved union flags, while Stand Up To Racism counter-protesters marched to the hotel with signs reading: 'Stop scapegoating refugees and migrants'. A 52-year-old man from Loughton was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. It is understood the arrest was in connection with abuse being shouted towards counter-protesters. A 53-year-old woman, also from Loughton, was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence connected with a previous protest, and it is understood she was part of the protest against the use of the hotel. A 27-year-old woman from Deptford was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and a public order offence, and it is understood she was part of the counter-protest. Essex Police Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: 'I want to thank those who attended for the peaceful nature of both protests. 'Our role is to ensure that you can express your democratic right to protest safely and lawfully and we had a proportionate and robust plan in place to ensure that could happen. 'I am pleased that today has passed off without incident and I am grateful to our colleagues from other forces for their support.' Weyman Bennett, co-convener of Stand Up To Racism, told the PA news agency that volunteer security personnel accompanied them. He added: 'We're happy to demonstrate but we're not happy to be attacked by thugs, racists and hooligans.' One man was seen being taken away from the station area by two officers, though it was not clear if he was part of any group. Members of Stand Up To Racism were seen trying to stop people from filming the protesters, as locals watched the march from their driveways. One local man was seen chanting in support of Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as the march went past. He began shouting 'there's only one Tommy Robinson' when a protester approached him. One Stand Up To Racism protester chanted 'fascist scum' at him before police stepped in to ensure they would not come together. Essex Police said it had established protest restrictions due to repeated serious disruption, violence, and harm to the community during previous demonstrations. The force said that there was a ban on anyone wearing face coverings and that there were designated sites opposite the hotel for protesters. A dispersal order was in effect from 12pm on Sunday until 8am on Monday, covering Epping town centre and nearby transport hubs. Both sets of protesters were kept separated by fences. Those protesting outside The Bell Hotel in Epping chose to ignore counter-demonstrators and began singing. They sang Sweet Caroline and Come On Eileen while demonstrators from Stand Up To Racism chanted: 'Nazi scum off our streets'. Essex Police said that residents have reported feeling 'trapped', fearful of leaving their homes and anxious about protest activity previously. Hotel residents and staff have been advised to remain indoors after 5pm as some have experienced verbal and physical harassment, including a resident chased and injured while returning to the hotel, the force added. Essex Police said there was an 'escalation of violence' during protests on July 13, 17, 20 and 24, involving hundreds of people. The force added that officers were assaulted, missiles were thrown, vehicles were vandalised and the hotel sustained broken windows and graffiti. The Epping protest was sparked by the charging of asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, with sexual assault after he allegedly attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl. He denied the charge at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court and will stand trial in August.
