Israel Bolsters Defenses as Strikes Exchange with Iran Intensifies

TEL AVIV — In a dramatic escalation spanning the last three days, Israel and Iran have traded increasingly severe air and missile strikes, prompting Israel to shore up its defenses even as Washington hesitates to join the conflict directly. According to Axios, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged President Donald Trump to deepen American military involvement, a request the White House has so far declined.

Since June 13, Israel has launched a series of precision strikes against what it described as Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps command centers and nuclear-related facilities. American officials publicly distanced themselves from the attacks, but Trump warned on his social media platform, Truth Social, that any Iranian assault on U.S. bases or interests in the region would draw “a swift and forceful” American response.   

Tehran, for its part, maintained that Israel would not have undertaken the raids without explicit U.S. approval. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasized that Iran had no intention of broadening the conflict into neighboring states, even as Tehran issued threats against American, British and French military installations should they permit Israel to use their bases for further operations.   

The Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen joined the fray this week, firing a salvo of ballistic missiles at sites in southern Israel. Israeli military spokesmen credited Iranian support for the attack, which Israeli air defenses said they largely intercepted.   

On Saturday evening, the confrontation reached new heights when Israeli warplanes struck targets in downtown Tehran, in what officials called a “measured retaliatory operation.” Iranian state media reported at least 78 dead and more than 300 wounded, while hospitals in northern Israel treated four fatalities and 20 injuries from cross-border rockets. In Tel Aviv’s Bat Yam district, officials said six civilians were killed and more than 200 wounded; dozens remained missing.   

Netanyahu told reporters on Sunday that Israel would sustain its campaign “until the permanent removal of Iran’s nuclear threat.” He reiterated his demand that Washington provide additional air defenses, intelligence support and logistical backing, arguing that only U.S. engagement could deter further Iranian reprisals.   

The Israeli Defense Forces, meanwhile, issued an urgent warning to residents near suspected weapons-production facilities: civilians should evacuate within 48 hours ahead of planned strikes. In a statement, the military said it aimed to “degrade Iran’s capacity to rearm its proxies” across the region without causing undue civilian harm.

Analysts caution that the conflict risks drawing in neighboring governments and nonstate actors, from Lebanon’s Hezbollah to militias in Syria and Iraq. For now, Israeli officials insist they remain focused on a limited objective: dismantling Iran’s strategic foothold beyond its borders. Yet with both capitals braced for further reprisals, the potential for miscalculation—and a wider regional conflagration—has never seemed higher.