Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The Israel-Iran war continues with fewer missile barrages from Iran even as Israel continues to use innovative ways of using its technology to destroy nuclear and military infrastructure in Iran. We begin the episode by speaking about how Israel has tweaked its aerial missile capabilities, specifically its standoff munitions, to turn them into far-flying, guided ballistic missiles.

Rettig Gur speaks about the many, deep reasons why Russia did not want this Israel-Iran war to take place, including the notion that Israel has shown the lack of capabilities of Russian anti-aircraft tech as the IAF sails through Tehran airspace. We hear what else had Russian President Vladimir Putin concerned.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed words of support yesterday for Israel’s war against Iran, saying, “This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us. We are also victims of this regime. This mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world. As Merz appers to be urging the United States to enter the fray, we also hear about France's support for Israel's military operations in Iran.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Israel will achieve goals in Iran within a week or two, including in Fordo, IDF says

The US bunker-buster bomb that could destroy Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility

Germany’s Merz threatens destruction of Iran’s nuclear program if it bucks talks

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Portraits of Iranian military generals and nuclear scientists, killed in Israel's June 13 attack are displayed above a road, as a plume of heavy smoke rises from an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/writers/haviv-gur/">Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur</a> joins <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/writers/amanda-borschel-dan/">host Amanda Borschel-Dan</a>&nbsp;for today's episode.
The Israel-Iran war continues with fewer missile barrages from Iran even as Israel continues to use innovative ways of using its technology to destroy nuclear and military infrastructure in Iran. We begin the episode by speaking about how Israel has tweaked its aerial missile capabilities, specifically its standoff munitions, to turn them into far-flying, guided ballistic missiles.
Rettig Gur speaks about the many, deep reasons why Russia did not want this Israel-Iran war to take place, including the notion that Israel has shown the lack of capabilities of Russian anti-aircraft tech as the IAF sails through Tehran airspace. We hear what else had Russian President Vladimir Putin concerned.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed words of support yesterday for Israel&rsquo;s war against Iran, saying, &ldquo;This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us. We are also victims of this regime. This mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world. As Merz appers to be urging the United States to enter the fray, we also hear about France's support for Israel's military operations in Iran.
<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-18-2025/">Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.</a>
For further reading:
<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-will-achieve-its-goals-against-iran-within-a-week-or-two-idf-officials-say/">Israel will achieve goals in Iran within a week or two, including in Fordo, IDF says</a>
<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-us-bunker-buster-bomb-that-could-destroy-irans-fordo-nuclear-facility/">The US bunker-buster bomb that could destroy Iran&rsquo;s Fordo nuclear facility</a>
<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/germanys-merz-threatens-destruction-of-irans-nuclear-program-if-it-bucks-talks/">Germany&rsquo;s Merz threatens destruction of Iran&rsquo;s nuclear program if it bucks talks</a>
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-times-of-israel-daily-briefing/id1547404042"> Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1vhvFPvN0fFn5YRHCEcxrn">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnR6FOcOvFdMbb0w1n0Ev0orcVkufgZ89">YouTube,</a> or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.
IMAGE: Portraits of Iranian military generals and nuclear scientists, killed in Israel's June 13 attack are displayed above a road, as a plume of heavy smoke rises from an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Welcome to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing: Your update on what’s important in Israel, the Middle East and The Jewish World.

Welcome to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing: Your update on what&rsquo;s important in Israel, the Middle East and The Jewish World.