Israel says its aircraft destroyed 5 Iranian attack helicopters

Jerusalem, Jun 18 (AP) Israel's military said it has destroyed five Iranian AH-1 attack helicopters at a base in western Iran in the Kermanshah area.
     The Israelis published black-and-white video of the bombing destroying the helicopters.
     Iran did not immediately comment.
     Iran under the shah purchased some 200 of the Bell AH-1 SuperCobras, which remain in service as Iran is sanctioned internationally and broadly unable to purchase new weaponry.
    
     Tehran's streets mostly empty
    
     Streets in Iran's capital, Tehran, again were deserted Wednesday amid the Israeli attacks.
     Occasional cars and men on scooters sped past the closed shops and stores.
    
     Hundreds of Pakistanis in Iran flee conflict
    
     Hundreds of Pakistanis living in Iran have arrived at the Taftan border crossing on Wednesday as they make their way back home to Pakistan amid the conflict.
     Telecom worker Ghulam Mustafa Ijaz said he was advised to leave Tehran with his family because the situation was becoming dangerous.
     “We left everything behind and carried just one bag containing some necessities and food items,” Ijaz said. “We are five family members, but we carried just one bag. We just left, and left everything else there.”
     Iran and Pakistan share a 900-km, largely lawless border where smugglers and militants roam freely.
     Although Pakistan has shut some of the formal crossings, the ones at Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan in southwest Balochistan province remain open for nationals seeking to return home.
     Pakistan has strongly condemned Israel's attacks. It has denied that it will provide military assistance to Iran, including nuclear weapons.
    
     Iranian ambassador derides Trump's comments calling for Iran to surrender
    
     Iran's ambassador in Geneva is deriding as “hostile” and “unwarranted” US President Donald Trump's comments calling for Iran's “unconditional surrender”.
     Ambassador Ali Bahreini told reporters the Israeli campaign “has not been able to bring big damage to our nuclear facilities” because it had taken precautions to protect them.
     Bahreini insisted that Iran has no intention to produce nuclear weapons, a top concern for Israeli authorities. He said, “We will continue to produce the enriched uranium as far as we need for peaceful purposes”.
     The ambassador rejected any talk of a “setback” on Iran's nuclear research and technological activities caused by Israel's military action, saying “our scientists will continue their work.”
    
     Iranian officials acknowledge loss of a major radar system
    
     Both the semiofficial Fars and ISNA news agencies reported Wednesday that a replacement system had been installed to replace its Soubashi radar site in western Iran.
     The original Soubashi radar, located in the heights of Kaboudarahang County in Iran's Hamedan province, played a crucial role in Iran's air defence network, providing extensive coverage for western, northwestern, and southwestern Iran.
     Hamedan has been repeatedly targeted in Israeli strikes since Israel's campaign began Friday.
    
     IAEA confirms Israel struck sites associated with Iran's nuclear programme around Tehran
    
     “The IAEA has information that two centrifuge production facilities in Iran, the TESA Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Centre, were hit,” the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on the social platform X.
     Karaj is a city just outside of Tehran.
     “At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested,” it added. “At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured.” (AP) SCY
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)