Interim summary
Thank you for following our live coverage of the conflict between Israel and Iran.
We are pausing this blog for now, but will return as soon as there are any new developments.
Here is a quick recap of where things stand:
Israel’s defence forces said they launched a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning, warning residents in parts of the city to urgently evacuate. “Dear citizens, for your safety and well-being, we urgently request that you immediately evacuate the designated area in Tehran’s Area 18. Your presence in this area puts your life at risk,” the IDF posted on social media.
Residents in Tehran are fleeing the capital, with witnesses citing strong explosions hitting buildings in western and eastern parts of Tehran on Tuesday evening, the Associated Press reported. On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic stood bumper to bumper, and long lines also could be seen at gas stations. However, the impact and extent of any damage from the latest round of Israeli strikes remains unclear.
In Israel, the IDF said that families across the country had sought shelter due to missile launches from Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that hypersonic missiles were used during the latest attack on Israel. The extent to which they caused any damage also remains unclear.
Responding to the ongoing conflict, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei vowed on X that Iran would retaliate. “We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” he said.
Those messages were posted after Donald Trump wrote on social media that the United States knows the location of the Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that the US would not kill him “for now” but called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.
In an apparent response to the president’s post, senator Bernie Sanders said the president “must not take illegal military action against Iran”. Yesterday, Democratic senator Tim Kaine also introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorisation from Congress or a declaration of war.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s supreme leader could face the same fate as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and was eventually hanged after a trial.
Following a Situation Room briefing with members of his national security team, Trump is evaluating whether to lend his support to Israel by targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility is located beneath a mountain that will be difficult for Israeli forces to penetrate without the assistance of the United States, which is the only country that possesses bombs that can break through the underground bunker.
As Donald Trump considers direct intervention in Israel’s conflict with Iran, another war has broken out in Washington between conservative hawks, calling for immediate US strikes on uranium enrichment facilities, and Maga isolationists, who are demanding Trump stick to his campaign pledge not to involve the US in new overseas wars, writes the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, Andrew Roth.
Amid that tension, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has interviewed Republican senator Ted Cruz about his views on Iran, a preview of which shows Cruz caught embarrassingly unaware about some basic facts about Iran.
Watch the excoriating clip below:
Ted Cruz on Iran. Full interview tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/hJNwAHAnxZ
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) June 18, 2025
Republicans are not the only politicians weighing in on the debate, with Democratic senator Tim Kaine earlier delivering an urgent speech imploring Congress to exercise its “Constitutional responsibility” and debate military engagement with Iran before it is too late.
The United States said it will close its embassy in Jerusalem until Friday amid the growing military conflict between Israel and Iran, as speculation mounts about possible American intervention.
“Given the security situation and in compliance with Israel Home Front Command guidance, the US Embassy in Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, June 18) through Friday (June 20),” the embassy said in a statement posted Tuesday to its website.
On the fifth day of conflict between the Middle Eastern foes, officials also “directed that all US government employees and their family members continue to shelter in place in and near their residences until further notice.”
As the conflict between Israel and Iran threatened to draw the US into war, Senator Tim Kaine delivered an urgent speech imploring Congress to exercise its “Constitutional responsibility” and debate military engagement with Iran before it is too late.
We should not allow a war of the magnitude of this to begin with Congress hiding from the responsibility that was put on Congress’s shoulders in 1787,” the Virginia Democrat said in lengthy remarks on Tuesday evening.
On Monday Kaine introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress or a declaration of war.
The resolution would not prevent the US from defending itself against imminent threats but would require congressional approval for offensive action.
The bill likely faces an uphill climb in the Republican-controlled chamber, with the majority loath to challenge Trump’s powers. But it will get a vote, a week from Thursday, by Kaine’s count.
Under Senate rules, war powers resolutions are considered “privileged”, guaranteeing a floor debate and vote.
As the conflict intensified, Kaine told his colleagues they would hear from him frequently over the next 10 days,.
“I will be asking my colleagues to support it and uphold the oath we’ve all taken to support the Constitution that established that most unusual principle, most unique principle that is part of what makes this nation special,” he said.
Updated
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that hypersonic missiles were used during the latest attack on Israel, reports Agence France Presse.
“The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles” was carried out, the Guards said in a statement carried by state television, claiming that Iranian forces “have gained complete control over the skies of the occupied territories”.
There was no indication this was true at the time of posting.
Updated
As questions abound about whether the US may intervene in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, president Trump has posted this update on his Truth Social platform.
It is my Great Honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House, North and South Lawns. It is a GIFT from me of something which was always missing from this magnificent place. The digging and placement of the poles will begin at 7:30 A.M. EST, tomorrow morning. Flags will be raised at approximately 11 A.M. EST. These are the most magnificent poles made – They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality. Hopefully, they will proudly stand at both sides of the White House for many years to come!”
Updated
US national intelligence officer, Tulsi Gabbard, left no doubt when she testified to Congress about Iran’s nuclear program earlier this year, telling lawmakers that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, and its supreme leader had not reauthorised the dormant program even though it had enriched uranium to higher levels.
But, as the Associated Press reports, President Trump dismissed the assessment of US spy agencies during an overnight flight back to Washington as he cut short his trip to the G7 summit in Canada to focus on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
“I don’t care what she said,” Trump told reporters. In his view, Iran was “very close” to having a nuclear bomb.
Trump’s statement aligned him more closely with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has described a nuclear-armed Iran as an imminent threat, than with his own top intelligence adviser.
Administration officials have downplayed the apparent inconsistency, saying that enriching uranium can put Iran on track to having a nuclear weapon.
Residents of Iran’s capital were seen leaving the city as shops and the historic Grand Bazaar in Tehran were closed on Tuesday, the fifth day of the intensifying conflict started by Israel, reports the Associated Press.
Witnesses said strong explosions rocked buildings in western and eastern parts of Tehran on Tuesday evening. An Associated Press reporter could hear sounds of explosions and anti-aircraft batteries firing from all directions.
On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic stood bumper to bumper, and long lines also could be seen at gas stations.
“It looks like no one is living in this city,” one resident told the AP by phone.
The Israel-Iran conflict, in pictures.
Smoke rises from a fire in Tehran, Iran, on 17 June.
People take shelter in an underground metro station near Tel Aviv, Israel, on 17 June.
People run along a street amid smoke following the Israeli strikes in Tehran on 15 June.
People evacuate after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv on 16 June.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has posted another message on X vowing that Iran will respond in no uncertain terms to Israel.
We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.”
Israel launches fresh strikes on Tehran
The IDF says it has now “begun a wave of strikes in the Tehran area”.
Updated
Media outlets such as the New York Times and CNN are reporting that US president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have spoken on the phone, as questions remain about whether the US may intervene in the conflict.
No readout of the conversation was made available.
One of the pressing questions regarding the Israel-Iran conflict is whether the US will intervene.
As the Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh, writes:
“Only the US is considered to have a bomb large enough – the GBU 57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator – to possibly destroy Fordow, one of Iran’s two main uranium enrichment sites, estimated to be 80-90 metres below a mountain.”
Read more on the Fordow underground facility here, and what clues military movements show about possible US involvement.
In the last 30 minutes the IDF has also said that for the 2nd time in less than an hour, “families across Israel are running for shelter as sirens sound due to a missile launch from Iran.”
Israel’s defense forces (IDF) has issued a warning, via a social media post on X, urging residents in Tehran to evacuate before planned military strikes.
Urgent warning to employees and all individuals located in Area 18 of Tehran, as indicated on the attached map. In the coming hours, the Israeli army will take action in this area, as it has done in recent days in the Tehran region, to strike the military infrastructure of the Iranian regime. Dear citizens, for your safety and well-being, we urgently request that you immediately evacuate the designated area in Tehran’s Area 18. Your presence in this area puts your life at risk.”
Updated
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has posted a message on X about the ongoing conflict with Israel, a message that comes after US president Trump said he had no intention of killing the Iranian leader “for now”.
Citing a verse from the Qur’an, Ali Khamenei wrote:
Help from Allah and an imminent conquest” (Holy Quran: 61:13).
The Islamic Republic will triumph over the Zionist regime by the will of God.”
Today So Far
As the world awaits Donald Trump’s decision on whether the United States will enter the Israel-Iran conflict by lending military support to Israel or push for negotiations between the two countries, here are the headlines we’ve been following today so far.
Donald Trump posted on social media that the United States knows the location of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He added that the US would not kill Khamenei “for now” but called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”. In an apparent response to the president’s post, senator Bernie Sanders said the president “must not take illegal military action against Iran”. Yesterday, Democratic senator Tim Kaine introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress or a declaration of war. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s supreme leader could face the same fate as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and was eventually hanged after a trial.
Following a Situation Room briefing with members of his national security team, Trump is evaluating whether to lend his support to Israel by targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility is located beneath a mountain that will be difficult for Israeli forces to penetrate without the assistance of the United States, which is the only country that possesses bombs that can break through the underground bunker.
In a lengthy post on social media, JD Vance responded to concerns from longtime members of Donald Trump’s far-right Make America Great Again coalition about US involvement in foreign wars. Later, he met with Republican senators at a private lunch where North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer said the message was: Trump “remains committed to Iran not having a nuclear capability,” and “would rather negotiate than drop bombs”.
The State Department has established a task force to assist US citizens and permanent residents trying to leave the Middle East as hostilities continue between Israel and Iran. A task force operated by the Bureau of Consular Affairs is operating 24 hours a day, however the United States is not planning any evacuation flights.
World leaders, including Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French president Emmanuel Macron, reacted to the unfolding conflict. In a phone call with the Emir of Qatar, Erdogan called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “greatest threat to the region’s security”. Later, speaking on the sidelines of the G7, Macron cautioned that “the biggest error would be to use military strikes to change the regime because it would then be chaos”.
US intelligence assessments have found Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon and would have been up to three years away from being able to deliver one, CNN is reporting. The assessments, sourced to four people familiar with them, are in stark contrast to the narrative being pushed by Israel that Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in acquiring nuclear weapons.
Updated
Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman is a “hell yes” on the United States targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, NBC News reports.
The Democrat, who has grown increasingly close with Donald Trump since his election in 2022, told reporters “I’ve been saying, ‘Oh, hell yes,’ for I think it’s almost six weeks”. He added, “bombing and destroying their nuclear facilities, that’s about peace” and noted that he opposes the war powers resolution introduced by his Senate colleague Tim Kaine.
Following a lengthy social media post that appeared aimed at quelling the fears of conservative detractors of Donald Trump’s involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, JD Vance met with Republican senators at a private lunch.
After the event, North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer told the Associated Press the message had been: Trump “remains committed to Iran not having a nuclear capability,” and “would rather negotiate than drop bombs”.
Senate majority leader John Thune added that Trump is acting within his authority “to do what he’s done so far” and that a war powers resolution like that proposed by Democratic senator Tim Kaine is premature.
Trump considering options including US strike on Iran, reports say
Following a Situation Room briefing with members of his national security team, Donald Trump is evaluating whether to lend his support to Israel by targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
After the meeting, multiple current and former administration officials told NBC News that the president is considering various options, including a US strike.
“We are waiting for the decision of the president,” a senior Israeli official told CNN.
Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility is located beneath a mountain that will be difficult for Israeli forces to penetrate without the assistance of the United States, which is the only country that possesses bombs that can break through the underground bunker.
Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes Trump offers that support of his own accord, rather than pressuring him into it.
Updated
Iran has arrested a “terrorist team” tied to Israel carrying explosives in a town southwest of Tehran, Reuters reports, citing Iran’s state-run news agency.
The news comes just a few hours after Reuters also reported that Iran arrested a foreigner for filming “sensitive” areas near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, citing the Iranian news site Eghtesad Online, which claimed the foreigner was acting on behalf of Israel.
Air raid sirens were activated briefly across northern Israel on Tuesday, warning of an incoming barrage of Iranian missiles, the military said.
“A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” the military said in the seventh such warning since midnight local time.
Israeli authorities issued a statement around 15 minutes later saying residents could leave their shelters, with no reports of strikes published by officials.
Updated
Iran says it is attacking air bases where Israeli attacks were launched
Iranian attacks are targeting Israeli air bases used to launch military strikes on Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has said in a statement.
The statement said the strikes would “continue in a successive, complex, multi-layered and gradual manner”.
In response to the Iranian government’s warning that its citizens halt use of “location-based applications” like WhatsApp and Telegram, Meta has issued a statement saying the tech conglomerate does not share data with Israel.
Iran’s state-run news agency IRIB said today that Israel uses such apps to “identify and target individuals", citing “recent targeted assassinations” that indicate that Israel “uses mobile phone tracking to target people in Iran”. The news agency added that “people should refrain from taking their mobile phone to sensitive places” and “avoid using insecure software”.
For its part, Meta said it is “concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most” and that it does “not provide bulk information to any government”.
Houthis reiterate support to Iran against Israel
A member of Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Al Jazeera Mubasher TV moments ago that the group will intervene to support Iran against Israel, similarly to the way it did in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement’s political bureau, also reiterated to Al Jazeera Mubasher TV, a 24-hour news and events channel based in Doha, that the group is coordinating with Tehran, Iran’s capital, during its ongoing military escalation with Israel, Reuters reports.
The Houthis, which have been launching attacks against Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza, said on Sunday that they targeted Israel in coordination with Iran, the first time an Iran-aligned group has publicly announced joint cooperation on attacks with Tehran in this current conflict.
Oil prices are at their highest since January as markets respond to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. US oil futures closed at $74.84 per barrel today, up 4.28% from yesterday.
The crisis had already triggered the largest single-day oil price surge in the last three years.
Here are my colleagues Jillian Ambrose and Lisa O’Carroll with more:
Macron says military action to change Iran regime could be 'chaos'
French president Emmanuel Macron called for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, saying “military strikes” could be “chaos”, Reuters reports.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G7 gathering in Canada, Macron said “we don’t want Iran to get a nuclear weapon” but cautioned that “the biggest error would be to use military strikes to change the regime because it would then be chaos”.
Updated
Turkish president calls Netanyahu 'greatest threat' to regional security
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu the “greatest threat to the region’s security” during a phone call with the Emir of Qatar, according to a social media post from the Turkish Presidency.
Erdogan, who has been deeply critical of Netanyahu since the war in Gaza began, also told the Qatari leader that the Israel-Iran conflict “cannot overshadow the humanitarian crisis and genocide in Gaza”.
Updated
The Israeli Defence Force struck “deep” within in Iran and killed one of the nation’s lead security figures, according to an IDF spokesperson.
During a press conference this afternoon, spokesperson Effie Defrin said "Israel killed Iran’s wartime chief of general staff Ali Shadmani, who ascended to the position after Israel killed his predecessor last week.
Defrin added, “We have struck deep, hitting Iran’s nuclear, ballistic and command capabilities”.
The State Department has established a task force to assist US citizens and permanent residents trying to leave the Middle East as hostilities continue between Israel and Iran.
A task force operated by the Bureau of Consular Affairs is operating 24 hours a day, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a press briefing.
“We continue to monitor the complex and rapidly evolving situation on the ground as we continue to assess and address the needs of US citizens,” she said. The spokesperson declined to share how many Americans had contacted the task force to date, and added that the US was not planning any evacuation flights.
Earlier today, the US embassy in Jerusalem said it is not in a position to “evacuate or directly assist” Americans in departing Israel and that it will be closed on Tuesday.
'Intense' explosions reported in Tehran
“Intense” explosions are taking place in Tehran, reports Iranian state news agency IRNA.
Updated
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have called for caution as hostilities between Israel and Iran enter their fifth day, Reuters reports.
In a statement, UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed warned that “uncalculated and reckless steps” could inflame a wider, regional conflict.
Meanwhile, Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty called for a ceasefire during phone calls with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.
The United Kingdom has deployed Royal Air Force fighters to the Middle East as the country “seeks to better protect its presence” in Cyprus and Oman “from any threat from Iran”, UK defense secretary John Healey said.
The primary purpose of the military deployment was “to reinforce deescalation in the region, to reinforce security in the region”, Healey said in a statement, adding that “they may also be used to help support our allies”.
Donald Trump is currently meeting with his national security team in the White House Situation Room, CNN reports, citing a White House official.
The meeting comes about an hour after Trump posted on social media that he knew the location of Iran’s supreme leader but had opted not to kill him “for now”.
Iran’s senior army commander has called for residents of Haifa and Tel Aviv to evacuate immediately, Reuters reports, citing the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr.
Iran has previously struck the two Israeli cities over the course of the five days of fighting that began Friday.
In an apparent response to Donald Trump’s recent social media post, senator Bernie Sanders says the president “must not take illegal military action against Iran.”
“The Constitution of the United States is very clear. There is no ambiguity. It is Congress that determines whether we go to war, not the President,” Sanders wrote on social media.
The Vermont Independent’s statement comes just a day after Democratic senator Tim Kaine introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress or a declaration of war.
In a lengthy post on social media, JD Vance responded to “a lot of crazy stuff” concerning the United States’ involvement in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, including fears from longtime members of Donald Trump’s far-right Make America Great Again coalition.
“The president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military’s focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens,” Vance wrote. “He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.”
Updated
Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ and says US won’t kill supreme leader ‘for now’
Donald Trump has posted on social media that the United States knows the location of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He added that the US would not kill Khamenei but called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
He followed up with a second post a few minutes later, writing: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
In a post published about thirty minutes earlier, Trump said, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”
Updated
The day so far
US president Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, according to comments that were posted by a CBS News reporter on X. Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, the CBS News reporter said early on Tuesday.
US intelligence assessments have found Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon and would have been up to three years away from being able to deliver one, CNN is reporting. The assessments, sourced to four people familiar with them, are in stark contrast to the narrative being pushed by Israel that Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in acquiring nuclear weapons.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that the leadership in Tehran has been weakened by Israel’s attacks in the past few days and will probably not return to its former strength. “This regime is very weakened and will probably not return to its former strength, making the future of the country uncertain. We will have to wait and see,” Merz said in an interview with broadcaster Welt at the G7 summit in Canada.
Keir Starmer has rejected the idea that Donald Trump might want to directly involve the US in helping Israel attack Iran, saying that his discussions with the US president at the G7 summit made him convinced Trump genuinely sought peace, pointing to Trump’s decision to also sign a leaders’ statement about the need for de-escalation. Speaking to reporters at the summit in Kananaskis, Canada, Starmer said he was sitting next to Trump at Monday evening’s leaders’ G7 dinner at which the statement was drafted, “so I’ve no doubt, in my mind, the level of agreement there was in relation to the words that were then issued immediately after that”.
Iran’s ambassador to the UK insisted his country had no intention of building a nuclear weapon as he clashed with MPs on Tuesday. Seyed Ali Mousavi told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that Iran’s nuclear programme was “only peaceful”, insisting: “There is no desire, not any intention, to produce a nuclear bomb.”
US forces have pulled out of two more bases in northeastern Syria, visiting Reuters reporters found, accelerating a troop drawdown that the commander of US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said was allowing a resurgence of Islamic State. Reuters reporters who visited the two bases in the past week found them mostly deserted, both guarded by small contingents of the Syrian Democratic Forces - the Kurdish-led military group that Washington has backed in the fight against Islamic State for a decade.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and was eventually hanged after a trial. “I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens,” Katz told top Israeli military officials.
The Israeli military said its forces struck on Tuesday several locations in western Iran, hitting “dozens” of missile launchers as the arch-foes traded fire for a fifth straight day, AFP reports. The Israeli air force “completed a series of strikes in western Iran” in which “a number of sites and dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers were struck”, a military statement said, hours after announcing “several extensive strikes” overnight on military targets in the Islamic republic’s west.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday that it believes Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s Natanz enrichment site have had “direct impacts” on the facility’s underground centrifuge halls, the Associated Press (AP) reports. The strikes are part of an air campaign Israel launched against its longtime foe five days ago, targeting Iran’s military and nuclear programme.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a centre of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. In a statement aired on state television, the Guards said they “struck the military intelligence centre of the Zionist regime’s army, Aman, and the Zionist regime’s terrorist operations planning centre, the Mossad, in Tel Aviv”.
Israel struck dozens of targets linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes overnight and has got Iran’s military leadership “on the run”, an Israeli military official said on Tuesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Israeli air force had not targeted Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility, but said that still might happen, Reuters reported.
More than 600 people of 17 nationalities have fled into Azerbaijan from Iran in the five days since the start of the air war between Israel and Iran, an Azerbaijani source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday. The source said they included citizens of Russia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, China, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Israel’s El Al Airlines said on Tuesday it had received the government’s permission to start flights to bring back people stranded abroad during the conflict with Iran. The Israeli flag carrier was referring to people who had flights to Israel cancelled when its airspace was closed.
A Slovak government plane with 73 passengers – mostly Slovaks, but also Poles, Czechs, Austrians, Slovenians and others – landed in Bratislava on Monday before 17:00 GMT after leaving Israel, said Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. Slovakia is sending another plane on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, with both expected to bring back Slovaks and foreigners.
An image of Iranian state TV presenter Sahar Emami, who was targeted live on air during an Israeli attack, has been displayed on a banner in Veliasr Square in Tehran. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that her image, with her finger raised in defiance, was paired with a verse from the Persian poet Ferdowsi, celebrating the courage of women “on the battlefield”.
Qatar said on Tuesday its gas production at the South Pars field is steady and supply is proceeding normally, after the world’s largest gas field was struck by Israel on Saturday, prompting Iran to partially suspend its production, Reuters reports.
One of Iran’s largest banks, Bank Sepah, appears to be facing technical problems, with videos and reports suggesting customers have been unable to use its ATMs to withdraw money or use their bank cards.
Sepah, Iran’s first bank, had been sanctioned by the US and UK for providing support for Iran’s Ministry of Defence and armed forces logistics.
An Israel-linked “hacktivist” group, calling itself Predatory Sparrows or Gonjeshke Darande in Farsi, have claimed initial responsibility. Reports from Iranian state-linked Fars News appear to confirm the issues customers were facing, but have not confirmed details of any cyber-attack.
Earlier today, the Iranian Cybersecurity Command prohibited all officials and security teams from using digital devices connected to communication networks, including phones, smart watches, portable computers, and to take necessary precautions. On Sunday, the hacktivist group made a post online claiming to have also hacked into Iranian government servers. It is unclear if these are linked.
As the news of the issues facing Bank Sepah spread on social media, the online forum where the group post often was flooded with messages and discussions celebrating the cyber-attack in Hebrew. The group itself does not claim any state affiliation but claims to hit out at Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei.
In response to reports attributing the cyber-attack on Bank Sepah to Israel, a member posted on the hacking group’s channel: “Why is this claimed as an Israeli attack? It’s Predatory Sparrow.” But the hacker group’s past attacks, due to its sophistication and timing, were linked to the Israeli state by two unnamed US defense officials.
This is not the first time Predatory Sparrow has disrupted Iran’s state-linked infrastructure, affecting Iranian civilians. The hacker group previously orchestrated a serious cyber-attack in 2021 that disabled Iran’s fuel distribution system by disabling sales at more than 4,000 gas stations, taking the country almost two weeks to recover.
It was also responsible for paralysing Iran’s railway system networks, and committing cybersabotage on Iranian steel mills, which caused a fire in the facility. The latter was captured using hacked surveillance cameras with a message from the hackers claiming responsibility.
Iran’s ambassador to the UK insisted his country had no intention of building a nuclear weapon as he clashed with MPs on Tuesday.
Seyed Ali Mousavi told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that Iran’s nuclear programme was “only peaceful”, insisting: “There is no desire, not any intention, to produce a nuclear bomb.”
His comments come less than a week after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations intended to stop it developing a nuclear weapon.
Tehran is reported to have enriched uranium up to 60%, requiring only a short technical step to reach the weapons-grade level of 90%.
Updated
US forces have pulled out of two more bases in northeastern Syria, visiting Reuters reporters found, accelerating a troop drawdown that the commander of US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said was allowing a resurgence of Islamic State.
Reuters reporters who visited the two bases in the past week found them mostly deserted, both guarded by small contingents of the Syrian Democratic Forces - the Kurdish-led military group that Washington has backed in the fight against Islamic State for a decade.
Cameras used on bases occupied by the U.S.-led military coalition had been taken down, and razor wire on the outer perimeters had begun to sag.
A Kurdish politician who lives on one base said there were no longer U.S. troops there. SDF guards at the second base said troops had left recently but declined to say when. The Pentagon declined to comment.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that the leadership in Tehran has been weakened by Israel’s attacks in the past few days and will probably not return to its former strength.
“This regime is very weakened and will probably not return to its former strength, making the future of the country uncertain. We will have to wait and see,” Merz said in an interview with broadcaster Welt at the G7 summit in Canada.
He added that the Europeans’ offer of diplomatic assistance, should talks resume, still stood as they did before the attacks.
“If a new situation were to arise, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom would again be prepared to provide diplomatic assistance, as they were until last Thursday,” he said.
Keir Starmer has rejected the idea that Donald Trump might want to directly involve the US in helping Israel attack Iran, saying that his discussions with the US president at the G7 summit made him convinced Trump genuinely sought peace, pointing to Trump’s decision to also sign a leaders’ statement about the need for de-escalation.
Speaking to reporters at the summit in Kananaskis, Canada, Starmer said he was sitting next to Trump at Monday evening’s leaders’ G7 dinner at which the statement was drafted, “so I’ve no doubt, in my mind, the level of agreement there was in relation to the words that were then issued immediately after that”.
Asked if the US might help attack Iran, Starmer said:
I don’t think anything that the president said either here or elsewhere suggests that. The wording of the G7 statement is very clear about de-escalation and de-escalation across the region, and obviously including the situation in Gaza for a ceasefire.
So I think that the statement really speaks for itself in terms of the shared position of everybody who was here at the G7 and that was a statement that was agreed.
Asked about Trump’s comments about not wanting a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Starmer said:
I think what he said was he wanted to go beyond a ceasefire, effectively, and end the conflict. And I think he’s right about that. I mean, a ceasefire is always a means to an end.
The end we want to see is the de-escalation and back to negotiations – a deal to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, and, of course, the wider question of conflict across the Middle East, including Gaza.
The risk to vessels, mostly oil tankers, passing through the strait of Hormuz remains “elevated”, the joint maritime information centre has said in its latest advisories to shipowners, captains and masters who guide boats through the narrow waterway.
There is persistent jamming, it added on Tuesday. “As of this report dated 17 June 2025 1300 UTC, the regional threat level remains SIGNIFICANT as strikes continue from both Iran and Israel. The maritime threat level is ELEVATED due to the possibility the Maritime environment, infrastructure and shipping becoming involved should tension increase.
“The region is still experiencing persistently high levels of electronic interference, particularly with the GNSS,” the body which collects coordinates information on threat levels in the Arabian Gulf, the strait of Hormuz and the North Arabian has said.
It added that the strait remains open and it has no information of an imminent blockade.
The number of ships passing through the strait of Hormuz increased 5% in the week up to Sunday with 954 vessels passing through, according to data released by the joint maritime information centre on Monday.
It also reported on going jamming of communications signal in the “broader Arabian Gulf and strait of Hormuz”.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping will discuss the situation in the Middle East in a phone call in the coming days, the Interfax news agency cited a Kremlin aide as saying on Tuesday.
The aide, Yuri Ushakov, was also quoted by TASS as saying that Putin and Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to intensify contacts between their respective foreign and defence ministries in light of the war between Israel and Iran.
More than 600 people of 17 nationalities have fled into Azerbaijan from Iran in the five days since the start of the air war between Israel and Iran, an Azerbaijani source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.
The source said they included citizens of Russia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, China, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Azerbaijan has kept land borders closed since the Covid-19 pandemic, but it allowed the foreigners to enter via a “humanitarian corridor” crossing at Astara in its southeast corner.
The source said people were being taken by bus to the capital Baku to catch flights to home countries.
The Israeli military said its forces struck on Tuesday several locations in western Iran, hitting “dozens” of missile launchers as the arch-foes traded fire for a fifth straight day, AFP reports.
The Israeli air force “completed a series of strikes in western Iran” in which “a number of sites and dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers were struck”, a military statement said, hours after announcing “several extensive strikes” overnight on military targets in the Islamic republic’s west.
Israel’s El Al Airlines said on Tuesday it had received the government’s permission to start flights to bring back people stranded abroad during the conflict with Iran.
The Israeli flag carrier was referring to people who had flights to Israel cancelled when its airspace was closed.
It said it expects to operate flights on Wednesday from Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan and Paris to bring people to Israel.
El Al said that no flights from Israel to foreign countries had yet taken place since flights were grounded.
A Slovak government plane with 73 passengers – mostly Slovaks, but also Poles, Czechs, Austrians, Slovenians and others – landed in Bratislava on Monday before 17:00 GMT after leaving Israel, said Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Slovakia is sending another plane on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, with both expected to bring back Slovaks and foreigners.
One day later, a Czech government plane carrying 66 people from Israel landed in Prague.
A Czech government plane carrying 66 people from Israel landed in Prague on Tuesday morning, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
“I am glad they are all OK. The transport was really demanding in the difficult environment,” Czech defence minister Jana Cernochova said about the Czech flight on social media site X.
Israel closed its airspace last Friday after conducting strikes on Iran.
The defence ministry said most of the 66 evacuees were Czech nationals. It said in a statement that it was “not possible” to send the army plane straight to Israel, citing the airspace closure.
The ministry said:
The evacuees were taken to the airport in the neighbouring country by buses. They crossed the border on foot.
Czech media said a convoy with the evacuees had left Tel Aviv on Monday morning and boarded the plane in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.
WHO warns Gaza's health system is at 'breaking point'
The World Health Organization pleaded on Tuesday for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory’s health system was at “breaking point”, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories, said:
For over 100 days, no fuel has entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones have been denied.
Combined with critical supply shortages, this is pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse.
Peeperkorn said only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were currently minimally to partially functional.
They have a total of about 1,500 beds – about 45% fewer than before the conflict began.
He said all hospitals and primary health centres in north Gaza were currently out of service.
In Rafah in southern Gaza, health services are provided through the Red Cross field hospital and two partially functioning medical points.
Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the 17 partially functioning hospitals and seven field hospitals were barely running on a minimum amount of daily fuel and “will soon have none left”.
WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer Thanos Gargavanis, said from the Strip:
We are walking already the fine line that separates disaster from saving lives. The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day.
An image of Iranian state TV presenter Sahar Emami, who was targeted live on air during an Israeli attack, has been displayed on a banner in Veliasr Square in Tehran.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that her image, with her finger raised in defiance, was paired with a verse from the Persian poet Ferdowsi, celebrating the courage of women “on the battlefield”.
The presenter has been declared a “hero” in the country. Iranian media reported that she was showered with rubble and her studio filled with dust live on air when an Israeli strike hit the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
Footage showed the newsreader fleeing from her desk late on Monday. The station later said its building was hit by four bombs.
The strike killed a staffer, Masoumeh Azimi, who succumbed to severe injuries caused by the shockwave from the attack, Press TV, which is owned by IRIB, reported. Several other journalists were also injured, it said.
It was not possible to independently confirm the report.
Qatar said on Tuesday its gas production at the South Pars field is steady and supply is proceeding normally, after the world’s largest gas field was struck by Israel on Saturday, prompting Iran to partially suspend its production, Reuters reports.
Qatar, the world’s third biggest liquefied natural gas exporter after the US and Australia, shares the South Pars gas field with Iran.
Iran partially suspended production at the field after an Israeli strike caused a fire on Saturday.
Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said during a weekly press briefing in Doha:
So far, gas supplies are proceeding normally. However, the ill-advised targeting raises concerns for everyone regarding gas supplies.
This is a reckless move … The companies operating in the fields are international, and there is a global presence, especially in the North Field.
The South Pars field is located offshore in Iran’s southern Bushehr province and is responsible for the bulk of gas production in Iran, the world’s third largest gas producer after the US and Russia.
Israeli airstrikes make 'direct impacts' on Iran's underground enrichment site
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday that it believes Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s Natanz enrichment site have had “direct impacts” on the facility’s underground centrifuge halls, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
The strikes are part of an air campaign Israel launched against its longtime foe five days ago, targeting Iran’s military and nuclear programme.
This marks the first time the UN nuclear watchdog has assessed damage from the strikes in the underground parts of Natanz, which is the main enrichment facility of Iran’s nuclear programme.
The agency said:
Based on continued analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery collected after Friday’s attacks, the IAEA has identified additional elements that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls at Natanz.
Already, an above-ground enrichment hall had been destroyed, as well as electrical equipment that powered the facility.
Updated
In videos seen by the Guardian, dozens of bodies can be seen lying on the streets of Khan Younis following Israeli tank shellfire, with some having been loaded on to trucks.
Pools of blood can be seen as individuals flee the scene while others carry bodies. Damaged vehicles, including vans and trucks, are also visibly parked on the street.
Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at Nasser hospital, said the videos had been taken on Tuesday after “tanks attacked the people who were waiting for food” near an aid distribution site in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
He said:
All of these murdered and wounded were brought to Nasser medical hospital.
You can’t imagine the situation. They treat us as animals. They shoot hundreds of people – women, men, children.
Dr Saqer previously said that nearly 700 casualties had been reported as being treated in hospitals across Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
He said over 300 casualties had arrived at Nasser hospital following the attacks, including 50 who had died.
The EU said on Tuesday that diplomacy was the best path to tackle Tehran’s nuclear programme, after emergency talks between its 27 foreign ministers on the conflict between Israel and Iran, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said following a video call:
We all agreed the urgent need for de-escalation. Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb, and diplomacy is the solution to prevent this, and (the) EU will play its part.
Europe has been left largely on the sidelines in efforts to curb the violence between the two Middle East foes after Israel unleashed its initial strikes on Iran.
Europe played a key role in negotiating and overseeing a 2015 agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme that Trump tore up during his first term in office.
Trump’s administration had been trying to agree a new deal with Tehran before Israel kicked off the latest strikes, and talks are now on hold.
“As the Iran and US talks have run into some kind of standstill”, Europe “has more to say”, Kallas said, adding that she had spoken on Monday to Iran’s foreign minister and key European counterparts.
Kallas said European countries were coordinating efforts to evacuate citizens who wanted to leave the region.
“We have member states that have planes leaving, we have member states who don’t have planes, and we coordinate the efforts so that our citizens are safe,” she said.
The EU’s top diplomat said she had received reassurances from US counterpart Marco Rubio that Washington was not looking to join in Israel’s attacks on Iran, saying that it was in “nobody’s interest”.
Israel has Iran's military leadership on the run, military official says
Israel struck dozens of targets linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes overnight and has got Iran’s military leadership “on the run”, an Israeli military official said on Tuesday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Israeli air force had not targeted Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility, but said that still might happen, Reuters reported.
He added that Israel was taking precautions to avoid triggering a nuclear disaster.
The official said Iran has so far launched about 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel, targeting both civilian and military sites. He said an overnight fall-off in the number of missiles fired showed that Israel had succeeded in damaging Iran’s ability to launch missiles.
US intelligence suggests Iran was 'years away' from nuclear weapon - CNN
US intelligence assessments have found Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon and would have been up to three years away from being able to deliver one, CNN is reporting.
The assessments, sourced to four people familiar with them, are in stark contrast to the narrative being pushed by Israel that Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in acquiring nuclear weapons.
CNN reported:
When Israel launched its series of strikes against Iran last week, it also issued a number of dire warnings about the country’s nuclear program, suggesting Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in its quest to obtain nuclear weapons and that the strikes were necessary to preempt that outcome.
But US intelligence assessments had reached a different conclusion – not only was Iran not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, it was also up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver one to a target of its choosing, according to four people familiar with the assessment.
Another senior US official told CNN that Iran is “about as close as you can get before building (a nuclear weapon). If Iran wanted one, they have all the things they need.”
Meanwhile, after days of Israeli airstrikes, US intelligence officials believe that so far, Israel may have set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a matter of months.
Donald Trump has previously dismissed congressional testimony from the National Intelligence Director of the US, Tulsi Gabbard, who told lawmakers in March that US spy agencies did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon (see post 12.08).
The US president, Donald Trump, said he was aiming for a ‘real end’ to the conflict between Israel and Iran, and not just a ceasefire.
He told reporters shortly after arriving back in the US from a G7 summit: “I’m not looking for a ceasefire, we’re looking at better than a ceasefire.”
Israeli minister warns Khamenei he could face same fate as Saddam
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and was eventually hanged after a trial.
“I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens,” Katz told top Israeli military officials.
Updated
Donald Trump has also dismissed congressional testimony from the National Intelligence Director of the US, Tulsi Gabbard, who told lawmakers in March that US spy agencies did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
The US president said:
I don’t care what she said,
I think they were very close to having it.
Gabbard told the Senate intelligence committee on 25 March that the American intelligence community had assessed that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Israel’s attacks on Iran have broadened its conflicts in the region to a level that poses a global threat, Jordan’s King Abdullah said in a speech in European parliament on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
The Jordanian monarch said:
With Israel’s expansion of its offensive to include Iran, there is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end,
And that is a threat to people everywhere. Ultimately, this conflict must end.
Two oil tankers collided and caught fire on Tuesday near the strait of Hormuz, where electronic interference has surged during conflict between Iran and Israel, Reuters reports.
The agency added that there were no injuries to crew or spillage reported.
With Iran and Israel firing missiles at each other since Friday, interference has disrupted navigation systems near the vital sea route between Iran and Oman, which handles about a fifth of the world’s oil.
The strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the north-west with the Gulf of Oman to the south-east and the Arabian Sea beyond.
Between the start of 2022 and last month, roughly 17.8m to 20.8m barrels of crude, condensate and fuels flowed through daily, according to data from Vortexa.
Tehran has in the past threatened to close the strait to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure.
The multinational, US-led Combined Maritime Force’s JMIC information centre said in an advisory this week that it had received reports of electronic interference stemming from the vicinity of Iran’s Port of Bandar Abbas and other areas in the Gulf region.
Iran has not commented about Tuesday’s collision or reports of electronic interference.
Here are some pictures of foreign nationals gathering to leave Israel coming through on the wires:
Iran claims to have attacked Mossad centre in Tel Aviv
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a centre of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
In a statement aired on state television, the Guards said they “struck the military intelligence centre of the Zionist regime’s army, Aman, and the Zionist regime’s terrorist operations planning centre, the Mossad, in Tel Aviv”.
The Guards added that the centre was “currently on fire”.
Updated
A cyber-attack on Tuesday crippled Sepah Bank, one of Iran’s main state-owned banks, according to Fars news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The agency said:
A cyberattack targeted the infrastructure of Sepah Bank, causing disruptions to the institution’s online services.
It added that the issue was expected to be resolved within the next few hours.
Trump looking for a 'real end' to Israel-Iran conflict
US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was aiming for a “real end” to the conflict between arch-rivals Israel and Iran, and not just a ceasefire, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Trump told reporters shortly after arriving back in the US from a G7 summit in Canada:
I’m not looking for a ceasefire, we’re looking at better than a ceasefire.
The president said he was looking for “an end, a real end, not a ceasefire,” adding that he wanted a “complete give-up” by Iran.
Trump also said on Truth Social that he had not reached out to Iran for peace talks in any “way, shape, or form”, adding that the country “should have taken the deal that was on the table”.
Updated
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that more than 600 foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighbouring Azerbaijan since Israel began striking the country last Friday, a government official in Baku said.
The government source told AFP on Tuesday:
Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan.
Evacuees are transported from the border to Baku International Airport and flown to their home countries on international flights.
The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip while waiting for UN and commercial trucks to enter the territory has since risen to 51 according to Gaza’s Health Ministry and a local hospital, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
The agency added that over 200 people had been wounded.
Palestinian witnesses told the AP that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd in the southern city of Khan Younis.
The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nearly 700 casualties being treated across Khan Younis
Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at Nasser hospital, said nearly 700 casualties had been reported as being treated in hospitals across Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The doctor described the situation as a “mass casualty” incident that occurred approximately two hours ago, when “tanks attacked the people who were waiting for food and humanitarian aid”.
He said that over 300 casualties had arrived at Nasser hospital following the event, including 50 deaths.
Dr Saqer said:
Most of the cases are in serious conditions due to the tanks’ missiles and now the situation at Nasser medical complex is out of control.
We can’t deal with such a high number of cases, so we asked the hospitals around Khan Younis city to support us and send ambulances to transfer cases to those hospitals.
Until now, we are suffering a lot due to lack of medical supplies and instruments in addition to the lack of medical and nursing staff.
We are trying to control the situation but now we can’t do anything more because the situation is really horrible and out of our control.
Updated
China has said some of its citizens have been able to leave Iran, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Bejing:
At present, some Chinese citizens have been safely evacuated to neighbouring countries.
Israel and Iran have both closed their airspace since the conflict broke out when Israel began striking military and nuclear targets in Iran on Friday.
The Thai government has ordered its military to prepare planes to evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran, a spokesperson said Tuesday, as the two sides exchanged missile fire for a fifth day, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
There are an estimated 40,000 Thai nationals currently living in Israel, most working on farms under a government labour scheme, and about 300 nationals living in Iran.
Government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub told reporters after a cabinet meeting:
We are ready to evacuate people and have coordinated with the military to prepare planes to bring them home from Israel and Iran.
He said Thai embassies in both countries have prepared evacuation plans for nationals.
The Thai embassy in Tehran announced on its official Facebook page that it had set up a temporary shelter for citizens outside the capital.
Summary of the day so far
US president Donald Trump has denied that he left a G7 leaders summit in Canada early to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in a social media post in which he also derided Emmanuel Macron as “publicity seeking”. The US president said Macron had “no idea” why he was returning to Washington and that the reason was “much bigger” than a ceasefire. Earlier, Macron had suggested that Trump had made a ceasefire “offer”.
G7 leaders have affirmed that “Israel has a right to defend itself”. The leaders said that they reiterate their support for the security of Israel, in a statement in which they called Iran “the principal source of regional instability and terror”.
Trump also said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, according to comments that were posted by a CBS News reporter on X. Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, the CBS News reporter said early on Tuesday.
Heavy traffic could be seen from Tehran after Trump told Iranians to ‘immediately evacuate’. The comments from the president came not long after Israel told people to evacuate a large part of Tehran ahead of a bombing campaign – similar to its tactics in Gaza where it has killed tens of thousands of civilians.
The Israeli military claimed on Tuesday to have assassinated Ali Shadmani, who it identified as Iran’s wartime chief of staff, Reuters reports. The Israelis described Shadmani as Iran’s “most senior military commander”. Shadmani was appointed to his role after the assassination of Gholamali Rashid last week by Israeli forces, who was the former head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
At least 47 Palestinians have been killed as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory’s civil defence agency said in a statement. The agency added that over 200 had been wounded as a result. The reports come after five Palestinian civilians were killed and several others injured after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in north-west Gaza City.
Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, said 300 casualties had arrived after being attacked by “tanks” while waiting for food. He added that the hospital could “no longer deal with such high numbers of cases”.
A staffer at the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has died after an Israeli attack on the building during a live broadcast, Iranian media has reported. Masoumeh Azimi succumbed to severe injuries caused by the shockwave from the attack, Press TV, which is owned by IRIB, reported. Several other journalists were also injured, it said. It was not possible to independently confirm the report.
US defence ministry spokespeople have denied reports online that the US has joined attacks on Iran. “This is not true”, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X in response to one such post.
Updated
Gaza’s civil defence agency has said that the earlier tank shellfire from Israeli forces has killed at least 47 people gathered near an aid distribution site in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at least 47 people were killed and more than 200 wounded as thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive flour at a charity aid centre in the morning.
He said:
Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded.
The shellfire did not appear to be related to a new Israeli and US supported aid delivery network that rolled out last month, which has been marred by controversy and violence, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Iran said it destroyed strategic targets in Israel overnight using drones, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The move comes as intense strikes between the arch-foes raged for a fifth day on Tuesday.
General Kioumars Heidari, commander of the army’s ground forces, was quoted as saying by state television:
Various types of destructive drones, equipped with precise destruction and targeting capabilities, destroyed strategic positions of the Zionist regime in Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Updated
The Gaza Health Ministry has stated that the 45 Palestinians killed while awaiting aid trunks in Khan Younis died as a result of Israeli tank shellfire, Reuters reports.
The health ministry added that dozens of other individuals were wounded as a result.
Medics said residents said Israeli tanks fired shells against crowds of desperate Palestinians awaiting aid trucks along the main eastern road in Khan Younis.
The medics said they expected the number of fatalities to rise as many of the wounded were in critical condition.
A ministry statement added that the Nasser hospital, where the casualties were rushed to, had been overwhelmed by the number of deaths and injuries.
There was no immediate comment by the Israeli military on the incident.
Nearly 300 casualties arrive at Nasser hospital
Nearly 300 casualties have been reported by a staff member of Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, as shared by my colleagues Julian Borger and Lorenzo Tondo.
Dr Mohammed Saqer, head of nursing at the hospital, said the individuals arriving at the hospital had been attacked by “tanks” while waiting for food.
He said:
Nearly 300 mortalities and casualties have just arrived at Nasser Hospital… The situation is now out of control.
The hospital can no longer deal with such high numbers of cases.
The statement comes alongside reports of Israeli fire killing at least 45 Palestinians in Khan Younis as they awaited aid trucks.
Updated
Trump seeking 'real end' to Iranian nuclear issue
US president Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, according to comments that were posted by a CBS News reporter on X.
Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, the CBS News reporter said early on Tuesday.
Trump predicted that Israel would not be slowing its attacks on Iran.
He said:
You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far.
The president added that he “may” send US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff or vice-president JD Vance to meet with Iran.
However, he added that “it depends what happens when I get back”. Asked on whether US involvement would destroy the Iranian nuclear programme, he said he hoped their programme would be “wiped out long before that”.
Updated
Israeli fire kills at least 45 Palestinians in Khan Younis
Reuters reports that Israeli fire killed at least 45 Palestinians as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory’s health ministry said in a statement.
The health ministry added that dozens of others were wounded as a result.
The event comes after five Palestinian civilians were killed, along with several others wounded, after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in north-west Gaza City on Monday evening.
Monday also saw 37 people being killed in shootings near food distribution centres run by private US contractors guarded by Israeli troops,
Local media have stated that two explosions were heard on Tuesday in Iran’s northwestern city of Tabriz, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Ham Mihan newspaper reported two explosions occurring in the city “five minutes apart”.
“Thick smoke was seen around Tabriz Tuesday morning after the explosion,” Mehr news agency reported, publishing a video from the city, which lies more than 600 kilometres (375 miles) from Tehran.
The city is also home to a major air force base targeted by Israel in recent days.
India has urged its citizens to leave Tehran, while some nationals have already fled across the Iranian border as the country comes under Israeli bombardment, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
With Israel vowing to keep up its attacks four days after launching its assault on Iran, which has launched retaliatory strikes, New Delhi said Indian students have already left Tehran.
The foreign ministry said in a statement:
Residents who are self sufficient in terms of transport have also been advised to move out of the city in view of the developing situation.
The warning came after Donald Trump said “everyone” should “immediately” leave the Iranian capital, which is home to nearly 10 million people.
New Delhi said “some Indians have been facilitated to leave Iran through the border with Armenia”, hundreds of kilometres northwest of Tehran.
The foreign ministry did not share how many of its citizens have been affected in Iran, while government data last year stated there were around 10,000 Indians in the country.
Thousands of Indians are also in Israel, and New Delhi has issued warnings for its citizens there to “stay vigilant”.
Updated
The Israeli military has released a statement saying people have been told they can leave protected spaces in several areas across the country, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The army had previously reported loud booms being heard over Tel Aviv as well as Jerusalem on Tuesday.
It said search and rescue teams were operating in several locations where “reports of fallen projectiles were received.”
In a statement on Telegram, the Israeli police reported that “missiles and shrapnel fell in the Tel Aviv area, causing material damage but no injuries.”
The fire and rescue service said there was an initial report of a “missile strike and fire” in the Dan district, an area surrounding Tel Aviv.
The service said in a statement:
Around 08:45 (0545 GMT), numerous calls were received … regarding a missile strike and a fire in the Gush Dan area. Firefighting forces are on their way to the scene.
Israeli military assassinates Iran's wartime chief of staff
The Israeli military claimed on Tuesday to have assassinated Ali Shadmani, who it identified as Iran’s wartime chief of staff, Reuters reports.
The Israelis described Shadmani as Iran’s “most senior military commander”.
Shadmani was appointed to his role after the assassination of Gholamali Rashid last week by Israeli forces, who was the former head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
Updated
Loud booms were heard over Tel Aviv as well as Jerusalem on Tuesday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The explosions came after air raid sirens sounded in several parts of Israel and the military warned of incoming Iranian missiles.
The military said in a statement that the air force was “operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat.”
They said:
A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel
Updated
Explosions have been heard in Jerusalem, while emergency services are reporting a direct hit in central Israel, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported shortly after the Israeli military warned of an incoming wave of Iranian missiles.
The Israeli military says another wave of missiles has been launched from Iran and warned Israelis to find shelter.
Updated
Trump says he did not leave G7 summit to work on Israel-Iran ceasefire
Donald Trump has denied that he left a G7 leaders summit in Canada early to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran in a social media post in which he also derided Emmanuel Macron as “publicity seeking”.
Trump said the French president had “no idea” why he was returning to Washington and that the reason was “much bigger” than a ceasefire. Earlier, Macron had suggested that Trump had made a ceasefire “offer”. Trump’s post in full:
Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a “cease fire” between Israel and Iran. Wrong!
He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!
Updated
The Israeli military claims it destroyed “dozens of ground-to-ground missile storage and launch facilities, as well as ground-to-air missile launchers” in western Iran overnight. In a post on X it added:
Air Force fighter jets completed several waves of strikes last night targeting dozens of military targets of the Iranian regime in western Iran.
It was not possible to verify the claim.
As we reported earlier, one target of Israeli strikes on Monday night was the state broadcaster. Journalists are considered civilians under international humanitarian law and deliberately targeting them is a war crime.
Updated
Here’s our latest gallery from the Israel-Iran conflict:
Heavy traffic from Tehran after Trump tells Iranians to 'immediately evacuate'
A couple of images have come in on the wires showing heavy traffic out of Tehran overnight. The photos show the Karaj-Chalus road with vehicles moving westwards out of the Iranian capital.
US President Donald Trump told Iranians to “immediately evacuate” the capital in a post on social media earlier, not long after Israel told people to evacuate a large part of Tehran ahead of a bombing campaign – similar to its tactics in Gaza where it has killed tens of thousands of civilians.
Updated
Two Filipino nationals are being treated in hospital in Israel, including a woman who is in critical condition, following Iran’s retaliatory air strikes.
The woman, who is being treated in intensive care at the Shamir Medical Center in central Israel, sustained severe injuries to her heart and lungs, according to the Philippines Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Hans Cacdac, secretary of the department of migrant workers, told the Philippine broadcaster GMA she was conscious but remained in critical condition.
According to local media, eight Filipino nationals have been injured in Israel, with six now discharged from hospital.
“We are doing everything within our means to reach and assist our nationals affected by this crisis,” said Philippine ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families, especially our kababayan [fellow Filipino] who is now fighting for her life. We ask the Filipino community to join us in praying for her survival and healing.”
Officials from the department of migrant workers are assisting 14 Filipinos affected by the conflict, including by providing temporary accommodations, GMA reported. At least 109 migrant Filipinos had requested repatriation following the escalation in conflict.
There are about 30,000 Filipino nationals working in Israel, including many who are employed as carers.
Some breaking images of the conflict between Iran and Israel over the last 24 hours.
The US embassy in Jerusalem has said it is not in a position to “evacuate or directly assist” Americans in departing Israel. The embassy said it will be closed on Tuesday.
All US government employees and their family members should continue to shelter in place in and near their residences until further notice, it said.
Planet Labs have released images from before and after Israel’s strikes on the Tabriz north missile base in Iran:
'Israel has a right to defend itself', G7 leaders say, urge a 'resolution of the Iranian crisis'
G7 leaders have affirmed that “Israel has a right to defend itself” and that “We reiterate our support for the security of Israel,” in a statement in which they called Iran “the principal source of regional instability and terror”.
Israel launched a shock attack on Iran on Friday, as Washington and Tehran were in the midst of nuclear negotiations, and has so far killed more than 200 people, mostly civilians and many of them children, Iran says. Retaliatory strikes by Iran have killed 24 people, all of them civilians, Israel says.
Earlier reports had said US President Donald Trump refused to sign a statement that called for restraint, de-escalation and diplomacy.
The statement in full:
We, the leaders of the G7, reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.
In this context, we affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel.
We also affirm the importance of the protection of civilians.
Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror.
We have been consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.
We will remain vigilant to the implications for international energy markets and stand ready to coordinate, including with like-minded partners, to safeguard market stability.
Updated
Five Palestinians waiting for aid shot dead by Israeli troops, Palestinian media report
Five Palestinian civilians have been killed and several others injured after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for aid in north-west Gaza City on Monday evening, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.
It was not possible to independently verify the report as Israel does not allow foreign reporters into the occupied territory.
The latest massacre comes after 37 people were killed in shootings near food distribution centres run by private US contractors guarded by Israeli troops earlier on Monday, the highest yet reported in the near-daily shootings since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operations three weeks ago.
Citing medical sources, Wafa said the number of Palestinians killed while seeking aid had now reached 338, with 2,831 wounded since 27 May.
Updated
Watch French President Emmanuel Macron speaking at the G7:
As we reported earlier Democrats in Washington have moved to reassert congressional authority over US military engagement in the Middle East amid fears of American involvement.
Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator of Virginia, on Monday introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress or a declaration of war.
“I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict,” Kaine said in a statement.
“The American people have no interest in sending service members to fight another forever war in the Middle East. This resolution will ensure that if we decide to place our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way, we will have a debate and vote on it in Congress.”
The measure, like other attempts to claw back power from the executive branch, faces a steep climb in the GOP-controlled Congress, where Republicans have been mostly unwilling to challenge Donald Trump’s authority.
“If diplomacy fails ... help Israel finish the job. Give them bombs, fly with them if necessary,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
However some Republicans have supported the move.
“This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.,” Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky said on X.
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth has told Fox News that Donald Trump still wants a nuclear deal with Iran, just hours after the US president told residents of Tehran to “immediately evacuate”.
“Of course,” Hegseth said on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime show when asked if Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran. “His position has not changed”. He continued:
What you’re watching in real time, is peace through strength and America First … We are postured defensively in the region to be strong in pursuit of a peace deal. And we certainly hope that’s what happens here ...
President Trump has made it clear it [a deal] is on the table, the question is whether Iran will take it.
He insisted Israel’s shock attack on Iran on Friday – which came amid US and Iranian negotiations on a nuclear deal – was “self-defence”.
Fox earlier reported that Trump had directed national security staff to convene in the situation room after leaving the G7 leaders summit in Canada early.
US media reported that secretary of state Marco Rubio has also left the summit early.
Updated
Donald Trump has encouraged vice president JD Vance and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to offer to meet the Iranians this week, the New York Times has reported, citing a US official.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier indicated that Tehran was open to negotiations, also suggesting Trump could stop the war with “one phone call” to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In a post on X he wrote:
If President Trump is genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential. Israel must halt its aggression, and absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue.
It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.
Macron says Trump has made ceasefire 'offer', says overthrow of Tehran regime would be 'strategic error'
French President Emmanuel Macron has claimed Donald Trump is considering the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and said that an attempt to overthrow the Iranian regime would be a “strategic error”. Macron told reporters at the G7:
There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions … We have to see now whether the sides will follow.
Macron described Trump’s early exit as a positive development.
Right now I believe negotiations need to restart and that civilians need to be protected.
He added that he didn’t believe things would change in the next few hours, but “since the US assured they will find a ceasefire and since they can pressure Israel, things may change”.
Macron called on both Israel and Iran to “end” strikes against civilians and warned that aiming to overthrow Tehran’s clerical state would be a “strategic error.” He said:
All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken.
Trump told reporters he had to leave early for “obvious reasons”. Throughout the day he repeated his mantra that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon, an ambition Iran denies, but which Israel insists is Tehran’s true and imminent objective.
Updated
A 'bloodbath' in Tehran
The stream of wounded in Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran had been steady since Friday. On Sunday evening it became a flood. A renewed wave of Israeli strikes on Iran’s capital overwhelmed the hospital’s emergency unit, turning it into what one doctor described as a “bloodbath”.
“It was a bloodbath. We were overwhelmed by chaos and the screams of grieving family members. Dozens upon dozens of people with life-threatening injuries, minor wounds and even bodies were brought in,” a doctor at the emergency unit of the hospital told the Guardian on Monday under condition of anonymity.
As fighting between Israel and Iran entered its fourth day, Iranian hospitals were receiving a surge of wounded people, overwhelming medical facilities and exhausted personnel. Medical staff described scenes of bloody chaos and an influx of injured people that has only seemed to grow as Israeli strikes increased in intensity.
“I’ve seen toddlers, teenagers, adults and the elderly alike. Profusely bleeding mothers were rushing in with their children injured by shrapnel,” the doctor said, adding that some parents did not realise they themselves were injured until they put their children down.
They rattled off a list of injuries: metal lodged in femur bones and the soft tissues of the hip joints, internal bleeding and severe burns. Many of those wounded had been nearby when an Israeli bomb dropped, peppering them with deadly shrapnel.
Staffer killed in Israeli attack on Iranian state broadcaster
A staffer at the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has died after an Israeli attack on the building during a live broadcast, Iranian media has reported.
Masoumeh Azimi succumbed to severe injuries caused by the shockwave from the attack, Press TV, which is owned by IRIB, reported. Several other journalists were also injured, it said. It was not possible to independently confirm the report.
Iranian newsreader Sahar Emami was showered with rubble and her studio filled with dust live on air when the strike hit the broadcaster.
Footage showed the newsreader fleeing from her desk late on Monday.
The station later said its building was hit by four bombs.
Iran condemned the attack on a state television building in Tehran as a war crime, and called on the UN to take action.
The strike was a “wicked act” and a “war crime”, said a foreign ministry spokesperson. “The UN [security council] must act now to stop the genocidal aggressor from committing further atrocities against our people.”
Journalists are considered civilians under international humanitarian law and deliberately targeting them is a war crime.
After the strike, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz wrote on X, “The propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority of the Iranian regime was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of nearby residents. Strike the Iranian dictator everywhere.”
Updated
“You probably see what I see and I have to be back as soon as I can,” Donald Trump said in an apparent nod to the intensifying conflict in the Middle East, when asked why he’s cutting short his G7 trip and heading back to Washington tonight.
President Trump has directed national security staff to convene in the situation room, both CNN and Fox News are reporting, citing a White House official. Trump will be leaving the G7 Summit in Canada early.
There are few other details available.
US defence spokespeople deny US is attacking Iran
US defence ministry spokespeople have denied reports online that the US has joined attacks on Iran. “This is not true”, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X in response to one such post. In another, he wrote:
American Forces are maintaining their defensive posture & that has not changed. We will protect American troops & our interests.
Hours before Trump’s post about evacuating Tehran, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that he had ordered the deployment of “additional capabilities” to the Middle East.
Hegseth did not disclose what military capabilities he sent to the region. But Reuters was the first to report earlier on Monday a deployment of a large number of US military refueling aircraft and the movement of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
In a post on social media Hegseth wrote:
Protecting US forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region.
Updated
Trump leaves G7 early citing situation in Middle East
Moments after Donald Trump’s social media post telling Tehran’s 9 million residents to evacuate, the White House announced he was leaving the G7 leaders summit in Canada early citing the situation in the Middle East.
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.
Trump was originally supposed to arrive back in the US in the early hours of Wednesday morning, according to people familiar with the matter.
Updated
'Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!' Trump says
Donald Trump has said “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” hours after Israel issued an evacuation order to residents of a large part of Tehran on Monday.
“Iran should have signed the “deal” I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!,” the US president said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Washington and Tehran had been in the midst of nuclear negotiations when Israel launched its shock attack on Iran on Friday.
Tehran has a population of about 9 million and it’s currently just after 4am.
Hours before Trump’s comments Israeli forces had issued an evacuation order to residents of a large part of Tehran, warning them of the imminent bombing of “military infrastructure” in the area in a social media post very similar to those regularly directed at Palestinians in Gaza over the past 20 months.
The post on X was from the account of the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesperson, Col Avichay Adraee.
It is a further sign of the evolving nature of the Israeli campaign against Iran, which began with attacks on air defences, nuclear sites and the military chain of command, but appears to have drifted towards a war of attrition focused on Iran’s oil and gas industry and on the capital.
Updated
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East.
Donald Trump has said “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” even as French President Emmanuel Macron said his US counterpart had made an offer for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
“There is indeed an offer to meet and exchange. An offer was made especially to get a ceasefire and to then kick-start broader discussions,” Macron told reporters at the G7.
“We have to see now whether the sides will follow.”
Macron’s remark came only an hour after Trump issued his evacuation warning, adding in a post on his social media platform Truth Social “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life.”
Moments later the White House announced Trump was leaving the G7 leaders meeting in Canada early, citing the situation in the Middle East.
Washington and Tehran had been in the midst of nuclear negotiations when Israel launched its shock attack on Iran on Friday. Trump’s comments came hours after Israel issued an evacuation order to residents of a large part of Tehran.
Iran and Israel have exchanged waves of missiles since Friday. Iran says more than 224 Iranians have been killed, most of them civilians. Israel says 24 people have been killed, all of them civilians.
In other developments:
Israel indicated that its attacks on Iran are unfinished, and that it would not rule out targeting the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in interviews with US media today. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Associated Press that Israeli strikes have set Iran’s nuclear program back a “very, very long time” and he would “not be surprised” if the attacks toppled the Iranian government. Speaking on ABC News, Netanyahu added that killing Khamenei would not “escalate the conflict” but rather “end it.” On social media, Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote that he had told the European Union’s foreign minister Kaja Kallas that its military operation in Iran was unfinished and that “Israel will act to complete it.”
Meanwhile, Iran said its counter-attacks on Israel were self-defense and appealed to Gulf State leaders for aid asking Donald Trump to help negotiate a ceasefire with Israel. Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations told the body’s Security Council that its strikes on Israel are “proportionate defensive operations directed exclusively at military objectives and associated infrastructure”, Reuters reports. Iranian officials have also asked the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to mediate discussions with the United States, Reuters reports.
The United States has relocated refueling aircraft to Europe in order to give Donald Trump military options as hostilities escalate between Iran and Israel, Reuters reports. Reuters and the New York Times also report that the USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrrier, is en route to the Middle East as part of a planned deployment. The news comes even as US senator Tim Kaine introduced legislation to restrict Donald Trump’s war powers.
Group of Seven leaders drafted a joint statement calling for de-escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict, according to two sources and a draft seen by Reuters. The draft commits to safeguarding market stability, including energy markets, and says Israel has the right to defend itself. Donald Trump does not intend to sign the statement, CBS News reports, citing unnamed US officials.
European countries have begun evacuating their citizens from Israel. Germany will evacuate its citizens via Jordan’s capital Amman, with a charter flight scheduled for Wednesday. Meanwhile, the UK is establishing a system for UK nationals to register their presence in Israel.
Russia believes Iran is exercising its right to defend itself against attack by Israel, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said. Russian news agencies also quoted Ryabkov as saying that Russia was discussing the crisis with the United States as well as maintaining contacts with both Israel and Iran.
