News Digest — 6/12/25
Iran vows to ramp up enrichment after UN watchdog finds it breached nuke safeguards
The International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution Thursday declaring that Iran is in noncompliance with its nuclear safeguards obligations, further ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic over its controversial program amid strained negotiations with the US and concerns Israel may strike its facilities.
Iran reacted immediately, saying it will establish a new enrichment facility and scale up uranium enrichment after the vote against it. The announcement said the facility will be “in a secure location” and that “other measures are also being planned.”
The UN nuclear watchdog passed the resolution at its Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, the first such censure against Iran in two decades.
Read more at timesofisrael.com.
IDF kills Hamas terrorists operating in weapons facility near medical site
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) killed Hamas terrorists operating in a weapons production facility in the Shati area in central Gaza, the military said on Thursday.
The military said that the facility was used to produce weapons for Hamas, with the intention of targeting soldiers operating in Gaza, and noted that the facility operators were terrorists who were part of Hamas’s weapons production unit.
The military said that Hamas embedded the weapon production facility in close proximity to a medical site, and that the medical site was not damaged during the strike.
Read more at jpost.com.
Col. Richard Kemp: ‘GHF is a turning point in the war, critical in removing Hamas’
Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of the British military forces in Afghanistan, spoke to Israel National News – Arutz Sheva about the work of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and its impact on the course of the war in Gaza.
“The establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a turning point in the war,” Col. Kemp stated. “It is a critical step towards eliminating Hamas from control in Gaza. Their most important means of controlling the population was dominating supply of aid, which was enabled by UNWRA and other humanitarian agencies who could not prevent supplies from being seized by Hamas. Aid was also a vital money-making machine for Hamas which has lost pretty much all other sources of funding to recruit and pay its terrorists. Hamas would take freely supplied aid and sell it to the civilian population at a heavy premium.”
“So far, the GHF has delivered a remarkable 19 million meals, including nearly 2.6 million today alone. Some Gazans have commented that this is the first free aid they have received since the war began,” he stated. He further noted that the GHF constitutes a “unique and innovative project. It is specifically tailored to deal with the unparalleled challenges that Gaza faces.”
Read more at israelnationalnews.com.
Federal judge orders Mahmoud Khalil to be released by Friday on $1 bond
A federal judge has decreed that Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Columbia University protest leader, cannot be detained or deported and set the stage for him to go free as early as Friday.
Khalil was the first leader of last year’s anti-Israel student protests to be arrested under the Trump administration’s push to deport non-citizens who they said fueled antisemitism on campuses.
Others have already been released on court orders after multiple federal judges ruled that the administration had violated the students’ rights by detaining them despite not accusing them of crimes.
Last month, Judge Michael Farbiarz of the Federal District Court in New Jersey ruled that the law that the State Department cited in justifying Khalil’s deportation — a little-used provision that says the United States can seek to eject non-citizens whose actions undermine U.S. policy — was likely unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, he additionally ruled that Khalil had shown that he was being irreparably harmed by being detained while the government seeks to deport him. Khalil’s son was born in New York since his arrest.
Read more at worldisraelnews.com.
What an Israeli strike on Iran might look like — Yoav Limor
Iran. Three possible scenarios in case Israel ultimately chooses to strike. First, The optimistic scenario:
The strike is an unqualified success. Iran’s nuclear facilities suffer devastating blows and cease to function. All aircraft and pilots return home safely.
Israel doesn’t stop after a single wave, launching multiple strikes to exploit Iran’s inadequate air defenses and the weakened states of Hezbollah and Hamas, which are unable to respond. The result is several rounds of attacks that compound the damage.
Iran retaliates with missile strikes, supported by the Houthis in Yemen, but Israel’s aerial defense network, bolstered by active US and allied support in the region, intercepts most of the projectiles, limiting the damage. Iran also targets US bases, prompting Washington to deepen its involvement. European allies follow suit with sweeping sanctions against Iran, aiming to ensure Tehran remains far from developing a nuclear weapon. Even China and Russia grudgingly align with the effort.
Iran’s currency collapses, food shortages hit the markets, and protests erupt across the country. For the first time since the 2009 Green Movement, the regime faces a serious domestic challenge. External encouragement fuels the unrest, culminating in the fall of the ayatollahs’ regime after 46 years.
Continue reading this analysis at israelhayom.com.
