MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/. About 400 ballistic missiles have been launched at Israel from Iranian territory since June 13. Over the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, both sides of the conflict reported to have seized control of each other’s airspace, with Iranian authorities reporting the downing of an Israeli F-35 fighter jet.
TASS has compiled the key developments in the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Airspace control
· On the night of June 18, the Iranian Air Force reported to have seized control of Israeli airspace, IRNA reported, citing a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
· The same morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dismissed Iran’s statement, saying that Iranian forces had not gained control over Israeli skies.
Casualties
· Since the beginning of Iran’s retaliatory strikes, "about 400 ballistic missiles have been fired at Israel, along with hundreds of drones and approximately 40 munition drops," said Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, on June 18.
· A total of 24 civilians have been killed and 804 injured. Nearly 3,800 residents have been evacuated from their homes.
· The Israel Tax Authority has received 18,766 compensation requests, including 15,861 for building damage, 1,272 for vehicles, and 1,633 for other property damage.
· According to Israel’s Health Ministry, 94 people were hospitalized overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday as a result of Iranian shelling.
· Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi reported at least 1,800 people wounded since the conflict began: "As a result of the Zionist regime’s attacks, we have at least 1,800 wounded. The dead and injured are mostly civilians."
New strikes
· On Wednesday morning, 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck Iranian facilities used in the production of uranium enrichment centrifuges.
· The strikes also targeted multiple weapons manufacturing sites. "The targeted weapons factories included the production facility for ground-to-ground missile components, which are used by the Iranian regime to attack the State of Israel," the IDF said.
· Additionally, Israeli forces hit 12 missile launchers and depots in Iran.
· Iran has yet to launch a large-scale operation against Israel, instead issuing limited retaliatory warnings. "We have restricted ourselves to a certain kind of deterrent warning," said Abdulrahim Mousavi, head of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff.
· Iranian air defenses shot down an Israeli F-35 over the city of Varamin, according to city spokesman Hosein Abbasi. It is the fifth F-35 Iran asserts to have downed.
US reaction
· A closed-door meeting at the White House on Tuesday night ended without a decision on launching strikes against Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.
· US officials told ABC News that the next 24-48 hours will be crucial, as a decision may be made soon on whether Washington will join Israel’s military operation.
· If the US enters the conflict on Israel’s side, Iran is prepared to target American military bases in the region, The New York Times reported, citing sources.
· The US Navy has reportedly withdrawn its warships from its base in Bahrain — home to the Fifth Fleet — in what the Associated Press described, based on satellite imagery, as a precautionary dispersal in response to the rising threat level.
Third-party Involvement
· Yemen’s Houthi Ansar Allah movement has pledged to join the conflict. "We will support Iran in repelling Zionist attacks, just as we supported our brothers in Gaza," said politburo member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti in an interview with Al Jazeera.
· According to The Daily Telegraph, China diverted at least three Boeing 747 cargo planes to Iran using concealed flight routes. The first flight occurred the day after the Israeli operation began, with two more arriving later that day.
· "We are carrying out military strikes today," US Republican Senator Ted Cruz told journalist Tucker Carlson, suggesting that Washington is already actively assisting Israel in its campaign against Iran.