The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.
Muslim NY mayoral candidate reports threats; Jewish Ohio lawmaker was threatened separately
The New York City Police Department says its hate crime unit is probing anti-Muslim threats against mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, while in another incident, US Representative Max Miller of Ohio says he was “run off the road” by another driver with a Palestinian flag.
These marked the latest US incidents to raise concerns about the rise in hate against Americans of Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian heritage since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in late 2023.
An NYPD spokesperson says police received reports that on Wednesday at 9:45 a.m., Mamdani, a Democratic state assembly member and mayoral candidate, reported that he “received four phone voicemails, on various dates, making threatening anti-Muslim statements by an unknown individual.”
There have not been any arrests so far, and the investigation remained ongoing, the NYPD added. The New York Daily News reported that a man threatened to blow up Mamdani’s car. Mamdani has no immediate comment.
Separately, Republican US Representative Max Miller from Ohio say on X he was “run off the road” in the city of Rocky River on Thursday while he and his family were threatened by a person with a Palestinian flag. He said he had filed a police report.
“Today I was run off the road in Rocky River, and the life of me and my family was threatened by a person who proceeded to show a Palestinian flag before taking off,” says Miller, who is Jewish and pro-Israeli. He labeled the incident, which was also condemned by top congressional Democrats, as antisemitic.
Ortagus departing deputy Mideast envoy post to become senior adviser at US Mission to the UN
Morgan Ortagus is departing her post as US deputy envoy to the Mideast to become a senior policy adviser at the US Mission to the United Nations, a US official confirms to The Times of Israel.
As deputy Mideast envoy, Ortagus had been the Trump administration’s point person on Lebanon, traveling there several times this year.
Ortagus’s move is the latest extension of a shakeup in the Trump administration’s national security team that began with Mike Waltz being removed from his position as national security adviser. Waltz was subsequently nominated to become the US ambassador to the UN, so Ortagus will work under him.
UK foreign secretary to attend Geneva talks on Iran nuclear program
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will travel to Geneva on Friday for talks with his French and German counterparts, as well as EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Iran’s foreign minister, to push for a diplomatic resolution over Iran’s nuclear program.
The meeting comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and follows Lammy’s visit to Washington, where he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
“A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution,” Lammy says in the foreign ministry statement.
After White House meeting, British FM says ‘window now exists’ for diplomacy with Iran
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy says after talks at the White House with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that there is still time to reach a diplomatic solution with Iran over its nuclear program, to avert a wider conflict.
“The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon,” Lammy says in a statement released by the UK embassy in Washington.
“We discussed how Iran must make a deal to avoid a deepening conflict. A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution,” Lammy says of his talks with Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. Meeting with @SecRubio and @SteveWitkoff in the White House today, we discussed how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict. A window now exists within the next two… pic.twitter.com/UKAOsnDAm8
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 19, 2025
US military aircraft no longer visible at base in Qatar, satellite images show
Dozens of US military aircraft are no longer on the tarmac at a major US base in Qatar, satellite images show — a possible move to shield them from eventual Iranian air strikes, as Washington weighs whether to intervene in Tehran’s conflict with Israel.
Between June 5 and 19, nearly all of the aircraft visible at the Al Udeid base are no longer anywhere in plain sight, according to images published by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by AFP.
Nearly 40 military aircraft — including transport planes like the Hercules C-130 and reconnaissance aircraft — were parked on the tarmac on June 5. In an image taken on June 19, only three aircraft are visible.
The US embassy in Qatar announced Thursday that access to the base would be limited “out of an abundance of caution and in light of ongoing regional hostilities,” and urged personnel to “exercise increased vigilance.”
The White House says US President Donald Trump will decide sometime in the next two weeks whether to join ally Israel’s strikes on Iran. The Islamic Republic could then respond by striking US bases in the region.
US Warplanes Quietly Pulled from Qatar Airbase
Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press show an unusually empty runway at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, suggesting the U.S. military has redeployed many aircraft. The move follows similar naval dispersals in Bahrain, seen as… pic.twitter.com/TVqqdcGnei
— Ahmad Algohbary (@AhmadAlgohbary) June 19, 2025
Iran appoints new IRGC intel chief after two predecessors killed by Israel
Iran has appointed a new chief of intelligence at its Revolutionary Guards on Thursday, the official Irna news agency says, after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli strike last week.
Major General Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), appointed Brigadier General Majid Khadami as the new head of its intelligence division, Irna says.
He replaces Mohammed Kazemi, who was killed on Sunday alongside two other Revolutionary Guards officers — Hassan Mohaghegh and Mohsen Bagheri — in an Israeli strike.
Pakpour had himself been recently appointed after Israel killed his predecessor Hossein Salami in a strike on June 13.
Revolutionary Guard Commander Mohammad Pakpour appointed Majid Khadami as head of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence organization. pic.twitter.com/qBQF9fnlYC
— Niv Calderon (@nivcalderon) June 19, 2025
“During the years that our martyred commanders Kazemi and Mohaqeq led the IRGC Intelligence, we witnessed significant growth in all aspects of intelligence within the IRGC,” says Pakpour.
Upon his appointment by Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei last Friday, Pakpour threatened to open “the gates of hell” in retaliation for Israel’s attacks.
IDF issues evacuation order ahead of strikes in northwest Iran
The IDF issues an evacuation warning for Iranian civilians in the Sefidrood Industrial Park and the village of Kalash Taleshan in the country’s northwest.
The warning is issued ahead of what the IDF says is a continuation of its strikes on Iranian military infrastructure across the country.
IDF says it intercepted Iranian UAV over Haifa area
The Israeli Air Force just intercepted over the Haifa area a UAV that was launched from Iran, the army says.
No sirens were triggered, as there was no threat posed to civilians, the IDF adds.
Former hostage Edan Alexander returns home to New Jersey
Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli who was released from Hamas captivity last month, returns home to jubilant crowds in New Jersey.
A video shared by the local branch of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum shows hundreds lining the streets of Alexander’s hometown of Tenafly. The crowd cheers, waves Israeli flags, holds signs that say “Welcome home,” and chants “Edan.”
Alexander drives through the crowd in the passenger seat of a black SUV, escorted by a police motorcade.
Zelensky: Russia’s defense of Iran shows need to tighten sanctions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Russia’s defense of Iran’s authorities underscores the need for intensified sanctions against Moscow.
Zelenskiy says Russia’s deployment of Iranian-designed Shahed drones and North Korean munitions was proof that Kyiv’s allies were applying insufficient pressure against Moscow.
“Now Russia is trying to save the Iranian nuclear programme. There cannot be any other possible explanation for their public signals and their non-public activity on this,” Zelenskiy says in his nightly video address.
“When one of their accomplices loses their capability to export war, Russia is weakened and tries to interfere. This is so cynical and proves time and again that aggressive regimes cannot be allowed to unite and become partners.”
When Russia deploys weaponry from Tehran and Pyongyang, he says, “it is a clear sign that global solidarity and global pressure are not strong enough.”
Russia signed a strategic partnership with Iran this year. Moscow has denounced Israeli strikes against Iran and offered to mediate. A Russian deputy foreign minister said Moscow was urging Washington to refrain from direct involvement.
In his address, he says he is “very much counting on” US President Donald Trump to consider tougher sanctions and boost diplomatic efforts to end the war. Trump has so far ruled out calls to intensify sanctions against Moscow.