Image Credentials: Image Title: Israel Threatens Iran’s Supreme Leader After Missile Strike Hits Hospital Source: (sora.chatgpt) Date: June 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (sora.chatgpt), it does not depict a real-world scene.
Beersheba, Israel — June 19, 2025 | Open Chronicle Foreign Desk Staff Writer with Agencies
Tensions between Israel and Iran surged to new and dangerous levels Thursday after a missile barrage from Iran wounded over 240 people across Israel, including dozens at the country’s largest hospital in the south. In a rare and explicit warning, Israel’s Defense Minister threatened Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directly, as Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Arak heavy water reactor.
Hospital in Crosshairs
The Israeli Health Ministry reported that more than 240 people were injured in the latest Iranian missile barrage. The most alarming strike hit Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel’s primary hospital for over a million people in the country’s south. While no fatalities were reported, over 70 people were wounded at the hospital alone.
Hospital officials said a now-evacuated surgical wing was damaged, and emergency protocols have limited admissions to life-threatening cases only. Emergency responders were seen evacuating patients, with smoke visible from several city blocks away.
Doctors at the hospital told The Associated Press the missile struck mere seconds after warning sirens went off. “We felt the entire wing shake. It was a matter of luck that the section was cleared out yesterday,” said one doctor, who requested anonymity due to protocol.
Katz: “This Man Should Not Continue to Exist”
In a stark escalation, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz squarely blamed Iran’s Supreme Leader for the attacks and hinted at possible targeted assassination.
“Our military has been instructed and knows that to achieve all of its goals, this man [Khamenei] absolutely should not continue to exist,” Katz said, referencing a directive that appears to authorize extreme options.
The comment comes amid reports from U.S. officials that President Donald Trump recently vetoed a covert Israeli plan to assassinate the Iranian leader. Trump, speaking from his Florida residence, told reporters there were “no plans to kill him — at least not for now.”
Strike on Arak Reactor Raises Nuclear Tensions
In retaliation, the Israeli Air Force struck Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, a once-decommissioned site central to fears about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Israeli military officials said the strike targeted the reactor’s core seal to prevent plutonium production.
“The component intended for plutonium production was the specific target,” the military said in a statement. “This strike ensures the facility cannot be used in the development of nuclear weapons.”
Iranian state television acknowledged the strike but insisted there was “no radiation danger” and that the facility had been evacuated ahead of the attack. A state journalist reporting from Khondab, near the facility, said no civilian areas were impacted.
Israel also claims to have targeted facilities near Natanz and Isfahan in recent days, as part of a broader campaign against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has condemned the attacks, warning of “serious proliferation risks” and confirming it had inspected the Arak facility as recently as May.
Death Toll Rising in Iran
The Israeli strikes have left a heavy toll on Iran. According to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group, at least 639 people have been killed, including 263 civilians, and over 1,300 wounded in the past week. Iran has responded by launching more than 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones at Israeli cities and infrastructure. Israel’s missile defense systems, including the Iron Dome and Arrow platforms, have intercepted many, but not all, of the incoming threats.
At least 24 people in Israel have been killed since the conflict began last Friday.
Netanyahu: “Full Price” to Be Paid
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the hospital strike, declaring, “We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.” His government lifted some domestic restrictions earlier this week, suggesting Israeli leaders believed the worst of Iran’s missile campaign had passed, a calculation now under fresh scrutiny.
Emergency plans remain in effect across Israeli hospitals, including the use of subterranean wings and parking structures converted into ICU wards. Israel’s underground national blood bank has also been activated, a protocol not used since the Gaza war following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack.
Iran Rejects Surrender, Signals Diplomacy
In a televised address, Khamenei accused the U.S. and Israel of seeking regime change and rejected all calls to surrender Iran’s nuclear program. “Our resistance will continue. Any military involvement by the Americans will cause irreparable damage to them,” he warned.
Despite the rhetoric, diplomatic signals have emerged. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced he will travel to Geneva for emergency talks with the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the EU’s top diplomat. The meeting suggests a new round of negotiations may be taking shape, although expectations remain low.
Trump: Ceasefire, “Not Enough”
President Trump, speaking at a rally in North Carolina, said he wants “something much bigger than a ceasefire” and left open the possibility of direct U.S. involvement.
“We’re watching closely. We have a lot of tools, and we’re not afraid to use them,” Trump said.
Iran, in turn, has vowed “dire consequences” if Washington enters the war, a threat that U.S. intelligence officials are taking seriously, especially in light of recent cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure widely attributed to Iranian-linked groups.
Strategic Stakes Rising
The attack on the Arak reactor is especially significant. Originally restructured under the 2015 nuclear deal to prevent weapons-grade plutonium production, Iran has quietly rebuilt components since the Trump administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
Experts now warn the Arak strike could mark a new phase in the conflict — one in which Israel shifts from targeting proxy groups and field operatives to dismantling Iran’s strategic capabilities outright.
“This is no longer shadow warfare,” said Dr. Laila Farzan, a nonproliferation expert at the Carnegie Endowment. “This is open confrontation between two regional powers, and the world is watching to see where the red lines are.”