Israel-Iran conflict: Ten maps tracking key nuclear sites, targets and US military bases

Iran and Israel continue to exchange missiles almost one week after Israel first struck Iran, with President Donald Trump giving himself two weeks to decide if the United States will join Israel’s war.

It’s been reported by The New York Times that Iran is preparing missiles to strike American military bases in the Middle East should the US directly join Israel’s cause. Here’s a visual guide to how the rapidly escalating conflict is unfolding.

Where has Israel struck in Iran?

In addition to targeting vital Iranian oil, gas and nuclear facilities, Israel has also hit residential areas. A building used by the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, part of Iran’s state television broadcaster, was also struck by a missile on Monday, with at least two employees reportedly killed in the attack.

Establishing the extent of the damage to key Iranian nuclear, military and energy sites is challenging not just due to the repeated Israeli strikes targeting them, but also because both sides are supplying contrasting assessments on the success of the Israeli operation. One thing that is clear is that oil prices have jumped as a result of the airstrikes.

A key element of Iran’s defence systems is the Ghadir radar, which is a high-frequency over-the-horizon system capable of detecting threats beyond the line of sight, tracking incoming ballistic and cruise missiles up to about 1094km, and aircraft up to about 595km. Since June 13, at least six Ghadir radars in Iran have been struck and damaged by Israel.

Israel struck the Natanz nuclear facility, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site, on Friday during the first wave of attacks.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, told the BBC on Monday the centrifuges underground in Natanz were “severely damaged if not destroyed altogether.”

Iranian state television reported on June 20 that Israel had attacked the unfinished Arak heavy-water reactor, with the IAEA confirming the reactor had been hit and that it had not contained any nuclear material.

Iran’s fallback site, Fordow, remains a stronghold, and likely will remain unless the US joins the conflict in earnest. Despite Israel’s repeated airstrikes on the facility, only the US has the “bunker buster” bombs, and the planes to transport the bombs, that could damage the subterranean facility.

By June 20, about 3200 Australians in Iran and Israel had registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade for support, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a press conference.

The Australian embassy in Tehran is closed, Wong confirmed on June 20, with staff leaving Iran by road.

Australian Defence Force personnel were also deployed to assist with evacuations, not for combat, Wong emphasised.

“We urge Australians who are able to leave Iran to do so now,” Wong said.

Where has Iran struck in Israel?

In response to Israel’s attacks on Friday, Iran launched Operation True Promise III, firing missiles and drones on targets including the Kirya compound, one of the most sensitive and heavily guarded sites in Israel.

On June 13, it was reported at least one Iranian missile had struck near the skyscraper Marganit Tower, a major communications hub inside the compound.

Established in Tel Aviv in 1948, the Kirya is Israel’s central military headquarters. It’s often described as Israel’s equivalent to the United States’ Pentagon, serving as a symbol of national security as much as it functions as the hub of the Israel Defence Force’s operations.

By Wednesday morning, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released a statement claiming it had “gained complete control over the skies of the occupied territories” after launching two missile barrages at Israel overnight. According to live broadcasts, however, Israel’s Iron Dome was still intercepting missiles.

On June 19, southern Israel’s main hospital, Soroka Medical Centre, was hit by an Iranian missile, leaving several wounded and causing extensive damage, according to a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, meanwhile, said after the strike that the ballistic missile was supposed to hit the nearby Israeli military and intelligence quarters.

Where are Iran’s nuclear facilities?

South of Tehran lies the Natanz Nuclear Facility, a complex at the heart of Iran’s enrichment program housing several buidings including: the underground Fuel Enrichment Plant and above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant.

The Fordow enrichment facility is also south of Tehran, and is notably underground, making it harder to destroy.

Further south, on the outskirts of Isfahan, Iran’s second-largest city, is a large nuclear technology centre that includes the Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant and uranium conversion and storage facilities.

On the Gulf Coast is the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which is Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant and uses Russian fuel that Russia takes back once it is spent.

Further north, in addition to Tehran’s nuclear research reactor, is the partially built heavy-water research reactor in Khondab, formerly known as Arak, which Iran previously informed the IAEA it planned to start operating in 2026.

Why is Iran’s Fordow nuclear base a target?

Dug deep into a mountain near Qom is the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is one of Iran’s most heavily fortified nuclear sites, built in secrecy and designed for survivability.

It was exposed through Western intelligence in 2009, and its capacity to enrich uranium levels close to weapons-grade is what alarms the superpowers and makes it critical to Iran’s nuclear program. In 2023, according to the IAEA, uranium enriched to a purity of 83.7 per cent was found at Fordow. Nuclear weapons need an enrichment level of 90 per cent.

The fact that Fordow was designed as a fallback facility should other nuclear sites be compromised makes it a key stronghold for Iran, and a prime target for Israel – but it’s understood Israel would be hard-pressed to destroy it without help from the US.

Why does Israel need the United States’ assistance to target Fordow?

Fordow’s underground nuclear facilities are understood to be 80 to 90 metres beneath the mountain’s surface. It’s impenetrable, even if Israel used the most advanced “bunker buster” bombs in its arsenal for targeted aerial strikes.

The 13,608-kilogram GBU-57A/B MOP (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) is thought to be the only “bunker buster” bomb that could reach the core buried below Fordow’s surface, though that would still be likely to require multiple strikes.

Capable of burrowing through 60 metres of steel and rock before detonating, it was developed by the US and is its largest non-nuclear bomb.

Israel has requested it from the US, and the request has been denied multiple times.

Only a B2 Stealth Bomber, 20 of which are in the US Air Force’s active fleet, could carry the bomb due to its sheer size.

How large is the United States’ military presence in the Middle East?

Iran has said it would target American military bases in the Middle East should Trump enter the conflict on Israel’s side.

The US has a significant military presence in the Middle East. The Council on Foreign Relations says there is a broad network of sites spanning at least 19 locations, eight of which are permanent.

The permanent sites are understood to be in Israel, Syria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Since October 7, 2023, several attacks purportedly by Iran-backed forces have occurred. Notably, in January 2024, three American soldiers were killed after a drone hit the Tower 22 military base in Jordan, near the Syrian border.

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