Monday Briefing: The U.S.’s strikes in Iran

June 23, 2025

	By Natasha Frost

Good morning. We’re covering American strikes in Iran and a fire brigade of farmers in Canada.

Plus: Pixar’s worst opening weekend.

People holding signs and shouting slogans during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel protest in Tehran.

Demonstrating against the U.S. and Israel in Tehran yesterday. Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

Uncertainty after U.S. strikes on Iran

At 2:10 a.m. in Iran yesterday, the U.S. entered the war, stoking fears of a dangerously escalating conflict across the Middle East. American warplanes and submarines bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites, including Fordo, causing what Pentagon officials called “severe damage” to that top-secret facility, which is buried deep inside a mountain.

This morning, hours after President Trump raised the prospect of regime change in the Islamic Republic, Israel launched new strikes on Iranian cities, and its military said it had identified missiles fired toward the country from Iran. Here’s the latest.

Whether Iran still retains the ability to make a nuclear weapon is unclear, as is the country’s capacity for a counterstrike. The director of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said he believed Iran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium had been moved before the strikes, and U.S. officials said they did not know where it was.

Response: Iranian officials denounced the U.S., and the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said it “reserves all options to defend its security interests and people.” As of yesterday, U.S. officials had already detected signs that Iran-backed militias were preparing to attack U.S. bases in Iraq, and possibly in Syria.

What’s next? America’s move is likely to kick off a more dangerous phase of the war. Here is a look at Iran’s options. It’s possible that the attack may harden the country’s resolve to build a nuclear weapon.

The U.S. strikes are likely to dim hopes for a negotiated solution to end the fighting between Israel and Iran.
Trump’s decision to attack Iran makes it clear where he stands in the ideological war between MAGA isolationists and pro-Israel hawks — at least for now. Read about his decision-making process.

America’s allies and adversaries issued condemnations and calls for restraint, while Gulf nations expressed dismay amid fears of retaliation. In Israel, the U.S. bombings were seen as a victory — especially for the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Is the U.S. at war with Iran? Here’s what to know.
Iranians said they were “in shock.” “None of us expected that, within six or seven days, we’d reach this point,” one man said.

A Greek Orthodox priest and others standing in a dark church, the floor littered with paper and dirt.

The Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, after the attack. Louai Beshara/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A suicide bombing killed at least 20 in Damascus

A suicide bomber attacked a Greek Orthodox church in the Syrian capital, Damascus, yesterday, killing at least 20 people. Syrian officials said the bomber appeared to have ties to the Islamic State.

The assailant opened fire at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood, then detonated an explosive vest, the authorities said. It was the first known suicide bombing in the capital since December, when a rebel coalition ousted Syria’s autocratic president, Bashar al-Assad.

Three people walk in a public space surrounded by disused industrial equipment.

A former steel plant, now an urban park, in Duisburg, a western city that’s long been at the heart of Germany’s steel industry. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

Germany’s far right looks to the country’s west

To reach voters outside its eastern heartlands, the far-right Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD, is putting a new gloss on its anti-immigrant message. One talking point is that mass immigration strains city budgets and schools. The core agenda, however, is still the same: the denigration of immigrants and refugees.

MORE TOP NEWS

An instructor wearing a camouflage balaclava is standing in front of a blackboard at the front of a classroom. Several students are seated at desks.

Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

War in Ukraine: As Russian intelligence targets Ukrainian teenagers on social media, security officials have created classes to teach young people what to watch out for.
Gaza: The bodies of three Israelis taken hostage by Hamas were recovered, the Israeli government said. More than 500 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s war with Iran began over a week ago, Palestinian officials said.
U.S.: Here’s a deep dive into the 14 days that killed U.S.A.I.D.
Brazil: At least eight people died when a hot-air balloon caught fire in the sky and crashed, the authorities said.
Immigration: Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate and pro-Palestinian activist whom the Trump administration is trying to deport, returned to New York after months in detention.
Food: Drought has joined war, tariffs and inflation as a major threat to global food supplies.
Britain: A heat wave has Britons looking for new ways to cope, like buying air-conditioners.

Science & Technology

Astronomy: A powerful telescope named for a female astronomer will usher in a new era of cosmic discovery. Here’s how scientists will manage a universe of data.
Energy: U.S. oil companies are trying to fight climate lawsuits by claiming that their right to free speech is being violated.
Health: Companies are racing to develop the next wave of obesity and diabetes drugs.

SPORTS NEWS

Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz beat Jiri Lehecka to win his second Queen’s title, and Alexander Bublik beat Daniil Medvedev to win the Halle Open.
Soccer: The game has the potential to soon be the No. 1 sport in America, FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, said.
Formula 1: This is why Ferrari can’t win in F1, but it can win Le Mans.

MORNING READ

A man wearing a cowboy hat and holding a piece of machinery in a forest. Two other people are holding water hoses.

Nasuna Stuart-Ulin for The New York Times

A wildfire crept ominously close to Jake van Angeren’s farm in British Columbia. Choosing to stay, rather than let his livelihood burn, he and his neighbors formed an ad hoc fire brigade.

Lives lived: Edward Anders, a cosmochemist who unraveled the solar system’s mysteries and then, in retirement, uncovered the identities of thousands of Jews killed in the Holocaust, died at 98.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

In a scene from the movie “Jaws,” a shark hangs from its snout by a hook as the actor Richard Dreyfuss gazes into its open mouth. Roy Scheider stands behind them.

Universal Pictures/Getty Images

The ‘Jaws’ effect: Shark researchers see the attention created by the landmark 1975 film, starring Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss, above, as a blessing and a curse.
Back together: The members of BTS have completed their military service and could soon resume their reign as the chief exporters of K-pop.
Choosing a bitter path: When might forgiveness not be the answer?
Something lavish: For the rich and famous, the days of having understated second weddings are long gone.

ARTS AND IDEAS

A scene from the movie “Elio" in which a young boy with a blue patch over his eye is in front of a floating blue blob that’s smiling.

Disney/Pixar

Pixar’s worst opening weekend at the box office

On its face, “Elio,” a space adventure, is a good movie. Critics and audiences alike have rated it highly, but turnout in its first weekend was much worse than expected.

Original animated movies are expensive to make and market, and they’re a gamble for theatergoers at a time when streaming services dominate and the broader economy is unsettled. Instead, viewers are flocking to remakes and sequels.

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