On the morning of June 13th the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page had little to offer its visitors in the way of reporting on the strikes that Israel had carried out in Iran in the early hours of that day. Coverage on that page itself was limited to a live page:
In the ‘updates’ section of the ‘Middle East’ page, visitors found two filmed reports and two written items relating to the incidents themselves: [emphasis added]
“Watch: Netanyahu says Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear and military sites”, 13/6/25
“In a video statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has launched Operation Rising Lion, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to “Israel’s very survival”.
He said that Israel had targeted Iranian scientists “working on the Iranian bomb” and that the strikes “would continue for as many days as it takes.”
“Watch: Footage shows explosions and buildings ablaze in Iran”, 13/6/25
“Israel says it has carried out strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme, with explosions seen in Tehran and elsewhere.
Security cameras captured the moment a large, bright blast hit the capital.
Iranian state media showed footage of fires burning in buildings and plumes of smoke rising from the city’s skyline, and also the scene at a nuclear facility in Natanz.”
“Hossein Salami, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief, killed by Israel” by Kelly Ng, 13/6/25
“Israel launched widescale strikes against Iran, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders, despite US President Donald Trump warning its ally against scuppering talks on a potential nuclear deal.”
“What we know about Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and military commanders” by Lana Lam, with Sofia Ferreira Santos and Jaroslav Lukiv later added to the credits, 13/6/25
“Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. It has several facilities around Iran, at least some of which have been targeted in the Israeli strikes.
But many countries – as well as the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – are not convinced Iran’s programme is for civilian purposes alone.”
Visitors to the ‘Middle East’ page on the morning of June 14th found the same live page, together with reports likewise pertaining to events on June 13th and overnight:
“Watch: Footage shows explosions and buildings ablaze in Iran” 13/6/25
“Israel says it has carried out strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme, with explosions seen in Tehran and elsewhere.
Security cameras captured the moment a large, bright blast hit the capital.
Iranian state media showed footage of fires burning in buildings and plumes of smoke rising from the city’s skyline, and also the scene at a nuclear facility in Natanz.”
“Watch: Israel strikes targets across Iran as leaders vow to fight” 13/6/25
“Millions of people in Israel and Iran are bracing for an escalation in fighting between the two countries after Israel launched a wave of strikes overnight.
Israel’s military said it had hit multiple nuclear sites, and killed top Iranian commanders.
Local media reported a number of drones launched by Iran in response were successfully intercepted.
In a recorded statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability, which he said posed a “clear and present danger” to his country’s survival.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran’s response to Israeli attacks would be “legitimate and powerful”.”
“What satellite imagery and verified video tell us about the Israeli strikes on Iran” 13/6/25
“Israel’s wave of strikes against Iran, which began on Thursday night, has continued throughout Friday on sites across the country.
The Iranian foreign minister has called the attacks a “declaration of war”.
BBC Verify’s Merlyn Thomas has been examining video footage and satellite imagery of the strikes and the damage they’ve caused.”
“Explosions and huge plumes of smoke in Tel Aviv as Iran retaliates” 13/6/25
“Explosions and huge plumes of smoke can be seen in Tel Aviv on Friday night, after Iran launched a fresh wave of missiles towards the country.
It comes as Iran has vowed to “inflict heavy blows” in retaliation for Israel’s overnight strikes the night before – the biggest in years.”
“‘A very long night of attacks, with fears of more to come’” 14/6/25
“There has been a night of intense fighting between Israel and Iran, with the two sides trading fire and explosions heard in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Tehran.
Ballistic missiles hit parts of Israel, with three people killed and dozens injured, according to Israeli authorities.
Iran launched its attack in retaliation for Israeli strikes which targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities and military bases on Friday.
The country’s representative to the UN said 78 people were killed in Friday’s strikes and at least 320 injured, with the “overwhelming majority” civilians.
The BBC’s Hugo Bachega is in Jerusalem.”
“Israel’s overnight strike on Iran in maps and images” Visual Journalism Team, 13/6/25
“Who were the Iranian commanders killed in Israel’s attack?” Kasra Naji and Alys Davies, 13/6/25
“In Iran, grief for civilian casualties but little pity for commanders” Baran Abbasi, 13/6/25
Additional items – initially appearing in the ‘updates’ section, with some later promoted on the ‘Middle East’ page itself – purported to provide BBC audiences with analysis – and hence framing – of the events.
“Analysis: Why has Israel chosen to attack Iran now?” 13/6/25
“Israel has launched a major attack on Iran, targeting nuclear facilities and the capital Tehran.
The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega looks at why Israel chose to strike now, and why the move may have come as a surprise.”
“Israel has inflicted unprecedented damage on Iran’s elite – why now?” Sebastian Usher, 13/6/25
“Why he [Netanyahu] decided to go ahead with the attack right now – one that he has for so long advocated – could be for the reasons he has given.
In a statement released not long after the operation began, he said that it was a matter of Israel’s survival.
But Netanyahu has been making the argument for many years that Israel faces existential threat if Iran gets a nuclear bomb. To underline the renewed urgency, a senior Israeli military official has said that there was information that Iran had enough material to make 15 nuclear bombs within days.
But there may also have been a very different factor at play.”
“Israel’s endgame may be regime change in Iran – but it’s a gamble” Amir Azimi, 14/6/25
“Israel-Iran strikes: What are the worst-case scenarios?” James Landale, 14/6/25
One of those reports is particularly notable:
“Was Iran months away from producing a nuclear bomb?” David Gritten, 14/6/25
Under the sub-heading “Is there evidence Iran was working on a nuclear bomb?” Gritten tells readers that::
“The Israeli military said it had accumulated intelligence showing that “concrete progress” had been made “in the Iranian regime’s efforts to produce weapons components adapted for a nuclear bomb”, including a uranium metal core and a neutron source initiator for triggering the nuclear explosion.”
WINEP has more on that IDF statement.
“In addition, the report noted “concrete progress” in Tehran’s “efforts to produce weapons components adapted for a nuclear attack.” The regime had been making such weaponization progress for some time, but “more so” since the beginning of the Gaza war. Notably, this assessment differs sharply from the conclusion offered in a March report from the U.S. director of national intelligence, namely, that Iran “is not building a nuclear weapon.” According to the IDF, newly revealed intelligence showed that even while negotiating with the United States, Iran has been “advancing a secret plan” to fast-track technological advancement across all elements of its nuclear program, with senior scientists “working to secretly develop all components for developing a nuclear weapon.””
Gritten then quotes a contributor:
“Kelsey Davenport, director for non-proliferation policy at the US-based Arms Control Association, said Israel’s prime minister “did not present any clear or compelling evidence that Iran was on the brink of weaponizing”.
“Iran has been at a near-zero breakout for months,” she told the BBC, referring to the time it would take Iran to acquire enough fissile material for one bomb if it chose to do so.
“Similarly, the assessment that Iran could develop a crude nuclear weapon within a few months is not new.”
She said some of Iran’s nuclear activities would be applicable to developing a bomb, but US intelligence agencies had assessed that Iran was not engaged in key weaponization work.
This March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was “at its highest levels” and “unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons”.
But she also said the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not authorised the nuclear weapons programme that he suspended in 2003”.
“If Netanyahu was purely motivated by Iran’s proliferation risk, Israel would likely have shared that intelligence with the United States and the initial attack would likely have targeted all of Iran’s key nuclear facilities,” Ms Davenport added.”
Gritten does not tell his readers that the same expert ten years ago claimed that the JCPOA agreement under discussion at the time “pushes Tehran back from the brink of nuclear weapons” and dismissed Israeli concerns as follows:
“Under this agreement, every step of Iran’s nuclear program will be under surveillance. From the uranium mines to the enrichment facilities, Iran’s program will be under an international microscope designed to prevent diversion and detect covert activities. Inspectors will have access to a wider range of Iran’s facilities and can conduct short-notice visits to verify compliance.
Steinitz questions why inspectors will not be able to “go anywhere, anytime” if there is suspected weapons activities. No country would grant international inspectors carte-blanche access to military facilities. And that level of access is not necessary in Iran’s case. If the international community has reason to believe that Iran is conducting experiments related to nuclear weaponization, inspectors will be granted access to those sites.”
Two days earlier, Gritten himself had reported on the IAEA board’s declaration that Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation obligations and in this report he goes on to tell BBC audiences that:
“Last week, the IAEA said in its latest quarterly report that Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched up to 60% purity – a short, technical step away from weapons grade, or 90% – to potentially make nine nuclear bombs. That was “a matter of serious concern”, given the proliferation risks, it added.
The agency also said it could not provide assurance that the Iranian nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful because Iran was not complying with its investigation into man-made uranium particles discovered by inspectors at three undeclared nuclear sites.”
As noted by David Albright in relation to that IAEA report:
“Iran has no civilian use or justification for its production of 60 percent enriched uranium, particularly at the level of hundreds of kilograms. Its rush to make much more, quickly depleting its stock of near 20 percent enriched uranium, which has a civilian use in research reactors, raises more questions. Even if one believed the production of 60 percent is to create bargaining leverage in a nuclear negotiation, Iran has gone way beyond what would be needed. Not surprisingly, and in its understated style, the IAEA reiterated in this most recent report: “The significantly increased production and accumulation of highly enriched uranium by Iran, the only non-nuclear-weapon State to produce such nuclear material, is of serious concern.””
The Institute for Science and International Security summarised the findings of the IAEA report as follows:
- Iran can convert its current stock of 60 percent enriched uranium into 233 kg of WGU in three weeks at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), enough for 9 nuclear weapons, taken as 25 kg of weapon-grade uranium (WGU) per weapon.
- Iran could produce its first quantity of 25 kg of WGU in Fordow in as little as two to three days.
- Breaking out in both Fordow and the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), the two facilities together could produce enough WGU for 11 nuclear weapons in the first month, enough for 15 nuclear weapons by the end of the second month, 19 by the end of the third month, 21 by the end of the fourth month, and 22 by the end of the fifth month.
Clearly the BBC could have made better efforts to meet its obligation “to build people’s understanding” of the essential background to this story instead of focusing on its framing.
