By Samantha M
Today, June 19th, 2025, officially marks a week since last Friday when Israel launched airstrikes on military personnel and nuclear facilities in Iran. The Israel Defense Forces issued a warning for residents who live in western Iran’s Arak and Khondab to evacuate. Iran has nuclear facilities in those areas that have a heavy water reactor and a heavy water production plant which can be used to develop nuclear weapons which could be a potential additional target for Israel.
At least 24 civilians have been killed and 590 injured in Israel from Iran’s missile and drone attacks. Iran has had 224 citizens killed and about 2,000 injured. These numbers are subject to change as the conflict is ongoing.
One of the victims was a Ukrainian girl who fled from Ukraine due to the ongoing war with Russia. She moved to Israel in order to receive cancer treatment. The girl was 7 years old and her family members a were killed from an Iranian missile attack. Family members included her , her mother, her grandmother, and her two cousins. In addition an 8 year old Iranian girl was also killed from an Israel missile attack on Iran. So far, there have been more fatalities of civilians in Iran.
Other countries have taken cautionary steps in protecting their nationals in Iran and Israel. So far India has begun to transport Indian nationals who are living in Iran. Many are college students who live in Iran to attend school. Australia has also taken action to bring back nationals from both Iran and Israel. The US has also taken action to provide evacuations for Americans who are in Israel. The US embassy in Israel has been closed temporarily.
Trump has not yet made a decision on whether the US will get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran. President Trump and the US intelligence committee have had different stances on the threat level of Iran’s production of nuclear weapons. Trump has stated that Iran was weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon meanwhile the US intelligence committee has not detected any increase in activity that could produce those results.
Statements concerning where Iran stands on the conflict were reported to CNN. Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, “Iran’s actions are purely in self-defense, but the country “remains committed to diplomacy”. The Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi told CNN, “If the Americans decide to get involved militarily, we have no choice but to retaliate wherever we find the targets necessary to be acted upon”.
A nuclear deal from 2015 was effective in reducing Iran’s nuclear threat. The deal required Iran to keep its uranium enrichment levels at no more than 3.67%, down from near 20%, dramatically reduce its uranium stockpile, and phase out its centrifuges, among other measures. This was in exchange for lighter sanctions on Iran. When President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, Iran increased their centrifuge installations significantly.
Israel and Iran continue to exchange missile and drone strikes. There is no suspected ending to this conflict and it is ongoing. For the protection of civilians, a ceasefire, diplomacy, and new nuclear deal can only end this conflict.