Tehran strikes back: Iranian missiles hit Israeli targets as resistance intensifies against U.S.-Israeli aggression

Department of Research, Studies and International News 23-06-2025

Tensions in West Asia have reached a dangerous peak as Iran launches a decisive wave of missile strikes targeting Israeli positions, marking a sharp escalation in the regional resistance against U.S. and Israeli military provocations. The intensifying conflict follows Washington’s direct participation in air raids on key Iranian facilities, a move widely condemned by global voices outside the Western alliance.
In his first public statement since the joint Israeli-American bombardment, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stern warning, pledging that the “Zionist regime will pay a heavy price” for its continued hostility. He reaffirmed Tehran’s unwavering commitment to confronting oppression and defending national sovereignty in the face of foreign aggression.
Speaking firmly in the wake of American strikes on strategic sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the blatant violation of Iranian territorial integrity. “The United States cannot strike our land and expect silence,” he said, adding that a calculated response is underway. “The time has come for the Americans to understand that there will be consequences for their adventurism in this region.”
In an increasingly reckless display, U.S. President Donald Trump stoked tensions further by suggesting regime change in Iran, questioning whether the Islamic Republic is capable of realizing its potential under its current leadership. Observers in Tehran and beyond saw the statement as an open endorsement of destabilization and a desperate bid to reassert U.S. dominance in a region slipping from Washington’s grip.
Israel, a long-standing occupier of Palestinian territory and frequent instigator of regional instability, continues to engage in cross-border military exchanges with Iran. But this time, the tide appears to be turning. In what analysts describe as one of the most direct retaliations from Tehran in recent memory, at least 24 Israeli casualties have been confirmed following a coordinated series of Iranian missile attacks. Sirens wailed across Israeli settlements as defense systems struggled to contain the barrage.
On the Iranian side, the toll has been far more severe. Since June 13, Israeli strikes, now backed openly by the U.S., have claimed the lives of more than 400 people, according to Iranian officials. Over 3,000 others have sustained injuries, many of them civilians. The Iranian public has responded with outrage, rallying around the national leadership in defiance of what is widely seen as a joint Western-Zionist campaign to weaken the Islamic Republic.
Despite the scale of the attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported no abnormal radiation readings following the assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities. This casts doubt on U.S. claims of targeting nuclear threats and strengthens suspicions that the strikes are politically motivated, aiming to pressure Tehran ahead of international negotiations.
In stark contrast to Western media narratives, many countries, including Russia and China, have expressed concern over the destabilizing actions of the U.S. and Israel. Both Moscow and Beijing have reaffirmed Iran’s right to self-defense and condemned unilateral military interventions as violations of international law. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called for immediate de-escalation and a return to diplomacy, stressing that continued aggression only serves to inflame regional insecurity.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged restraint, while reiterating Beijing’s support for a multipolar world order where sovereignty is respected and imperial interventions are rejected. Analysts note that Iran’s deepening ties with these two major powers may serve as a strategic counterbalance to Western hostilities.
Meanwhile, the broader region watches with growing alarm as tensions mount. Resistance factions across the region have voiced solidarity with Tehran, warning that any further acts of aggression by Washington or Tel Aviv could provoke a wider confrontation. In Baghdad, Beirut, and Sanaa, demonstrators have taken to the streets condemning U.S. imperialism and Zionist militarism, echoing calls for regional unity against occupation and foreign domination.
While Washington and its allies may have hoped for a swift show of force to intimidate Iran, the emerging reality suggests a miscalculation. Iran’s military response signals not weakness, but resolve. Backed by an increasingly multipolar alliance of nations unwilling to accept Western hegemony, Tehran stands at the forefront of a new era in regional geopolitics, one where old patterns of aggression are no longer tolerated without consequence.