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Iranian Missile Hits Hospital, Wounding 240; Israel Threatens Iran’s Leader

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Iranian Missile Hits Hospital, Wounding 240; Israel Threatens Iran’s Leader
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Arak heavy water reactor in Iran, on Feb. 15, 2025. Maxar Technologies via AP
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Arak heavy water reactor in Iran, on Feb. 15, 2025. Maxar Technologies via AP
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Smoke rises after a reported Israeli strike on a building used by Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, part of Iran's state TV broadcaster, in Tehran, Iran, on June 16, 2025. Over recent days, Iran has been hit by a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting military and nuclear sites, as well as top military officials, prompting Iran to launch a counterattack. Photo by Stringer/Getty Images
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As the Israel–Iran conflict intensifies, China’s reliance on cheap oil from Iran and its $400 billion deal with the Islamic regime may be in jeopardy.

If the Iranian regime is toppled, analysts say, the Chinese communist regime will not only face an economic blow, but its expansionist global strategy that involves using the Middle East as a frontier to contain the West also will be thwarted.

Currently, more than 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports flow to China, the world’s largest oil importer, according to Kpler, an international trade data provider.

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Smoke rises from a building at the Soroka hospital complex in Be'er Sheva, Israel, on June 19, 2025. Leo Correa/AP
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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Iranian leader Ali Khamenei “cannot continue to exist” after an Iranian missile struck a hospital in Be'er Sheva, southern Israel. 

Israeli media carried footage of broken windows and thick black smoke coming from the top floor of a building at the Soroka Hospital.

The hospital said in a statement that several parts of the medical center were damaged and several people with minor injuries were being treated.

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The heavy water facility at Arak, Iran, on Jan. 15, 2011. Hamid Foroutan/AFP/Getty Images
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The Israeli Air Force struck two more of Iran’s nuclear sites on June 19, including a nuclear reactor capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium and the country’s largest uranium enrichment facility.

Just before 5 a.m. local time in Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on its Farsi-language channel, issued a warning urging anyone within 2 kilometers of the inactive Arak nuclear plant, since renamed Khondab, to evacuate immediately. Internet access in Iran has been cut for nearly 24 hours, according to NetBlocks, a global internet monitor. The regime imposed a nationwide shutdown, citing Israel’s alleged misuse of the network for military purposes.

The IDF later said that Israel’s air force had conducted strikes on Arak and another site at Natanz used to enrich nuclear material, as part of a wave of attacks on military targets in Tehran and other areas.

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The Associated Press contributed.