By Megan Harwood-Baynes, news reporter
The conflict between Israel and Iran – once played out in a series of proxy wars – has escalated.
On Friday morning, explosions hit Tehran as Israel carried out a major attack on its nuclear capabilities.
Iran threatened “severe punishment” and quickly retaliated with a wave of missiles.
Here we plot a timeline of how the conflict has unfolded over the last three days…
Timings below are approximations. They are written in local Israeli time, which is two hours ahead of the UK, unless otherwise specified.
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Israel-Iran: How did it unfold?
13 June 2025
Israel attacks Iran in the early hours of Friday morning
3.30am, local time (1.30am BST): Explosions are heard in Tehran. Israel says it has launched dozens of airstrikes against military targets inside Iran, including its nuclear facilities. Israel’s defence minister declares a state of emergency at home and warns citizens to prepare for retaliatory attacks.
3.45am: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces Operation Rising Lion. He claims Iran has recently taken steps to weaponise enriched uranium, which could be used to make nuclear weapons.
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Netanyahu says in a statement that Israel was facing existential threat
Iranian state media goes on to report the head of the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami, has been killed. Nuclear scientist Fereydoun Abbasi is dead, as is theoretical physicist Dr Mohammed Mehdi Tehranchi and Major General Gholam Ali Rashid.
6am: A statement is released by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in which he warns Israel of “severe punishment” for the attacks.
6.53am: Israel’s president puts out a statement saying the airstrikes were vital. He says Iran is at “the helm of a global terror empire” and wants to “annihilate” his country.
8am: Israel says Iran has launched more than 100 drones.
8.49am (6.49am BST): Sir Keir Starmer urges all parties to “step back and reduce tensions urgently”.
Daylight breaks across the Middle East
Iran fires more drones at Israel
Iran continues to retaliate. Flights around the Middle East are cancelled and delayed.
The extent of the attacks is becoming clear – Israel’s initial blitz has hit the country’s main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz and the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran.
10am (8am BST): British warplanes are not helping defend Israel’s skies from any counterattacks, it is confirmed.
Midday: Iran launches a retaliatory volley of more than 100 drones towards Israel – they will take several hours to make the journey.
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Moment drone shot down by fighter jet
1pm: Donald Trump writes a lengthy post on Truth Social urging Iran to come to a deal with the US and agree not to pursue a nuclear weapon. “No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. God Bless You All!” he writes.
In a later interview with ABC, he calls the Israeli strikes “excellent”.
These are the areas that were targeted in the first wave of strikes
Nournews says 78 people were killed and 329 injured in Tehran, the capital.
5pm: Israel says it is still attacking targets in Iranian territory. Footage shared by the IDF on Telegram claims to show strikes on Iranian surface-to-surface missiles and launchers.
7pm: Explosions are heard in the area of the Fordow nuclear site near Qom, south of Tehran, according to Iranian news agency Fars. Israel says it is continuing its “offensive effort”. Just before 9pm, Israel confirms it has completed an attack on another nuclear site.
9pm: An incoming missile alert is sent to Israeli residents. At the same time, Iran’s supreme leader posts on X saying that Israel has initiated a war and that Tehran will not allow it to conduct such tacks without grave consequences.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it carried out attacks against “dozens of targets, military centres and airbases”.
10pm: Medics say five people have been wounded in Iran’s attack on Israel. Half an hour later, the military tells Israelis they can leave air raid shelters, but they must stay near them in case of further attacks.
Israel’s defence minister says Iran has “crossed red lines” after it “dared to fire missiles at civilian population concentrations”.
Countries gather for talks
As tensions rise, the United Nations Security Council meets
11pm (5pm in New York): The United Nations Security Council holds a meeting in New York on rising tensions between the two countries. The UK’s representative says: “We urge all parties to urgently step back, show restraint and reduce tensions.”
Amir-Saeid Iravani speaking at the UN Security Council. Pic: Reuters
Iran’s representative to the UN then says Israel’s strikes on Iran have killed 78 people and injured more than 320, most of them civilians. Amir-Saeid Iravani accuses the US of providing intelligence and political support for Israel’s strikes on Iran.
14 June 2025
It is now almost 24 hours since fighting began
1am: A loud boom is heard in Jerusalem. Air raid sirens sound in the city, as well as in Tel Aviv.
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While the sky is lit up over Jerusalem, the IDF say that Tehran is being hit simultaneously.
5am: Israel says a new wave of missiles has been launched from Iran, and that it is working to intercept them. It later says 21 have been hurt in the rocket strike.
Fighting enters a second day
Neither side shows signs of backing down
8am: Alerts are activated across Israel, warning of incoming Iranian drones.
Iran says 20 children are among those killed in Israeli strikes. Iran warns the strikes will continue, with a senior military official quoted as saying conflict will spread to US bases in the region over the coming days.
Israel says three people have died, and around 53 have been hurt across multiple cities. It claims “dozens” of jets flew over Tehran overnight.
Midday (10am BST): Iran warns UK, US and France not to help Israel stop its strikes on the country, threatening to retaliate if they do.
2pm: Iran says three more nuclear scientists have been killed. At the same time, five people are arrested in Iran for “collaborating with Israel”.
This is what we know about those who were targeted
4pm: Iran says it is considering closing the world’s most important shipping route for international oil. Blocking the route could push the price of oil from £55 a barrel to more than £74.
8pm (6pm BST): The UK announces it is “moving jets” to the Middle East. RAF and military assets will now be sent to the country, despite warnings from Iran that they could be targeted.
11pm: The IDF warns citizens to remain close to protected spaces.
15 June 2025
A third full night of fighting begins
Midnight: Israeli police say there are several reports from civilians of explosions in northern Israel. The country later reports 14 people have been injured.
1am (7pm in Washington DC): Donald Trump says he spoke with Vladimir Putin about Iran in a call. The US leader said the Russian president called him to wish him a happy birthday and shared his opinion that “this war in Israel-Iran should end”.
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Israel vs. Iran: Who has the best weapons?
2am: The IDF says it is operating to intercept missiles launched from Iran. It says its air force is striking military targets in Tehran.
3am: Israel says a new barrage of Iranian missiles have been fired towards the country. It activates sirens a short while later following strikes from Iran and now Yemen.
Rescue teams are at the scene of a residential building in northern Israel that was hit after missiles were fired from Iran. Pic: Reuters
4am: An eight-storey residential building in Tel Aviv is hit, Israeli authorities say, killing at least one person. The death toll from the night eventually rises to 13, with more than 200 injured.
The multi-storey residential building was hit. Pic: AP
8am (1am in Washington DC): Trump threatens to respond to any attack by Iran on the US with “the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces”. In a post on Truth Social, he says the US had “nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight”.
Pic: Donald Trump / Truth Social
10am: An evacuation warning is issued to all Iranian civilians living near weapon facilities.
2pm (Midday BST): The UK Foreign Office warns against all travel to Israel.
