
Israel-Iran live: Iran will not surrender, supreme leader says - as he condemns Trump's 'ridiculous' statements
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Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke and international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn will be answering your questions on the Israel-Iran conflict in a live Q&A this afternoon.
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Thousands flee deserted Tehran after Trump warning
The streets of Iran's capital have been largely deserted today amid Israeli attacks.
Occasional cars and men on scooters sped by the closed shops and stores, after Donald Trump warned everyone should evacuate "immediately".
Israel, repeating a tactic employed frequently in Gaza, has also told residents in a southwestern part of Tehran to evacuate so it could strike military installations.
Combined, they have led to large numbers fleeing Tehran.
Iranian media has reported heavy traffic on roads leaving the capital, heading north.
Iran will not surrender, supreme leader tells Trump
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is giving remarks now, according to Iranian media.
The country's supreme leader has just said Israel has made a "huge mistake", promising they will be "punished".
He added people will not forget the blood of "martyrs" and the attack on their territory.
Mehr News Agency reported he "praised the steadfast, courageous, and timely behaviour of the Iranian nation".
He also warned "any US military intervention will undoubtedly cause irreparable damage", hitting out at "threatening and ridiculous statements" made by Donald Trump.
The US should know Iran will not surrender, he added.
It comes after Trump called for an "unconditional surrender" and reports he is considering a strike on Iran.
Israeli drone shot down - as Iranian attack intercepted
An Israeli drone has been shot down in Iran, the Israeli Defence Forces has said.
No injuries were reported after it was blown out the sky by a surface-to-air missile, the force added.
Meanwhile, seven drones launched towards Israel from Iran were shot down in the occupied Golan Heights area this morning, according to the IDF.
Our Middle East correspondent Ali Bunkall explained earlier that the night had seen less fighting than before - see our 8.56 post.
Despite this, tit-for-tat strikes have continued.
Watch: What could US involvement look like and why are Iran's attacks faltering?
As speculation grows about a possible US strike on Iran, Military analyst Michael Clarke explains what US intervention in Israeli attacks could look like and why Iran's attacks seem to be faltering...
Centrifuge sites in Iran hit, nuclear watchdog says
We brought you news earlier on Israeli claims it had struck centrifuge sites in Iran overnight - see our 5.55 post.
Centrifuges are machines that can be used to enrich uranium. Enriched uranium can be used as fuel for nuclear plants, and for nuclear bombs.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that two such sites in Iran were hit.
These are the TESA Karaj workshop, just west of Tehran, and the Tehran Research Centre, in the capital.
The IAEA added: "At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested.
"At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured."
It seemingly continues Israel's efforts to cripple Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
But as we've explained in our 8.26 post, if Israel wants to go all the way it'll likely need US help.
Iran's supreme leader speaking shortly
A televised message by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is expected to be broadcast shortly, according to state media.
We'll bring you text updates here, as he speaks in his first public appearance since shortly after Israel's attack on Iran last Friday.
Iran envoy: 'Israeli attacks are war against humanity'
We brought you some quotes earlier from Ali Bahreini, Iran's ambassador to the UN, who has been speaking to reporters.
He echoed lines from Iran's foreign minister, promising retaliation to any attacks on the country.
"We will not show any reluctance in defending our people, security and land. We will respond seriously and strongly, without restraint," Bahreini said.
He also warned Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear structures risked a "possible hazardous leak".
"This is not an act of war against our country, it is war against humanity," he said.
Watch: The options for Trump as he ponders his next step
To completely destroy Iran's nuclear programme, Israel would need to take out Fordow, the best protected facility.
Israel would likely need huge "bunker buster" bombs, so would the US actually provide these devastating weapons?
There is also a diplomatic option - so how does Donald Trump come to a decision here?
Our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn breaks it down...
Family members of British embassy staff withdrawn from Israel
Family members of British staff at the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consulate in Jerusalem have been temporarily withdrawn.
The embassy and consulate will continue its work, but it reflects moves taken by other embassies as fighting remains ongoing.
The US has shut its embassy in Jerusalem until at least Friday, according to its state department.
Oil prices rise again as Trump weighs up US military involvement in Middle East
By James Sillars, business and economics reporter
Oil prices have been bubbling upwards again due to developments in the Israel-Iran conflict.
The cost of a barrel of Brent crude ticked up near to $77 - a 4% rise - late yesterday after it became known that Donald Trump was considering US military involvement.
He has since urged Iran to accept an "unconditional surrender".
Brent has slipped back slightly, but the market remains glued to events.
UK natural gas costs are matching the upwards trend with LSEG data for day-ahead delivery contracts currently 16% up on levels seen earlier this month.
If sustained, it doesn't bode well for the next energy price cap review and bills from October - but it's early days.
More widely on the financial markets, the FTSE 100 has risen 0.1% at the open to 8,844 following yesterday's decline of almost 0.5%.
The rally, if you can call it that, is quite broad-based.
The pound is being supported by a weakening dollar ahead of the US interest rate decision this evening.
No change is widely anticipated. Trump is demanding a cut. There could be fireworks...
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The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Israel's assumption US would get drawn into Iran war is being put to the test
Israel's attack on Iran was carried out with Donald Trump's approval, government officials in Israel claim, and it appears to have been unleashed in the expectation – but not certainty – that the US would ultimately get drawn into the war. That assumption is now being put to the test as the US president weighs a decision on whether to join an assault he has increasingly embraced in his public pronouncements. Israeli officials have said it would have been unthinkable for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have ordered the attack in the early hours of Friday morning against Trump's wishes, and that there was little ambiguity about the US leader's preferences. 'This president makes it pretty clear what he wants,' one of the officials said during a visit to a bomb site near Tel Aviv this week. In the Israeli version of events, an agreement in principle dates back to a letter Trump sent to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in March, giving Iran 60 days to accept tight constraints on its nuclear programme. The clock started ticking on 12 April, the date of the first round of US-Iranian negotiations in Oman. Netanyahu seems to have accepted the same 60-day window to hold off on military action and to give diplomacy a chance. He has said that Operation Rising Lion had originally been planned for April. It was postponed and last Thursday marked day 61 on Trump's calendar. That night some 200 Israeli planes took off on their first sorties. As the deadline approached, the US withdrew non-essential personnel from embassies in the Middle East, but Trump appeared to discourage an Israel attack, saying it might 'blow' the chances for a sixth round of negotiations due on Sunday. It is unclear whether this was a ruse to put Iran off its guard, as some Israeli officials claimed, or a genuine call for a few more days leeway. If the latter, it was already too late. The Israeli attack plan involved precise coordination. Mossad commandos and drones had been pre-positioned, and waiting several days for talks – which Trump was pessimistic about anyway – would have compromised the prospects for the whole operation as well as the safety of Israelis already behind Iranian lines. The diplomatic option was almost certainly doomed from the start. After some initial wavering immediately after the Israeli attack began, Trump stuck to the inflexible and maximalist position that Iran stop enriching uranium permanently - now one of Israel's primary war aims. Once the operation had begun, Trump quickly swung his support behind it, noting on his Truth Social platform: 'Two months ago I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to 'make a deal.' They should have done it! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they just couldn't get there. Now they have, perhaps, a second chance!' The 'second chance' seemed to be an option to return to the table and bow to Trump's demands, using the leverage of Israel's military might to produce a diplomatic triumph for the president. With every passing day of Israel battlefield success however, Trump has warmed to a military solution, declaring himself on Tuesday to be 'not too much in the mood to negotiate', and even claiming ownership of the campaign, announcing 'we now have complete and total control of the Iranian skies'. Israel is now counting on Trump to stake a direct claim to glory and join the operation, now that the risks of failure and downed planes have been minimised. 'The whole operation is premised on the fact that the US will join at some point,' an Israeli official told CNN. 'We are waiting for the decision of the president,' another senior official told the network. Israel has yet to attack Iran's most secure enrichment facility, at Fordow, which is built into a mountain with up to 100 metres of rock above it. Only the US Air Force has penetrating bombs of the size that have the best chance of making a dent in such defences, although even with those 13,000kg (30,000lb) munitions success is not guaranteed. As the war has progressed, so has the clamour in Israel for US involvement, along with uncertainty over whether Netanyahu has a Plan B if Trump opts to watch from the sidelines. 'We need to hope that this actually happens, and possibly very soon,' the veteran commentator, Ben Caspit, wrote in Ma'ariv newspaper on Wednesday. 'Take all the credit, Donald. The important thing is that you ultimately decide to join.' Writing in Yedioth Ahronoth, Shimon Shiffer argued: 'Without the involvement of the United States, the war with Iran will not reach a decisive conclusion that justifies our assault on the ayatollahs' regime and the heavy price that Israeli citizens are paying with their lives and property. 'Mr President, come save the world,' Shiffer wrote. 'Come save us from Iran. Come save us from ourselves.'


Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
West Africa wants deals with Trump but US entry bans a barrier, Nigerian minister says
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BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Nippon and US Steel complete controversial merger
Japanese firm Nippon Steel has completed its long-sought takeover of a smaller American company, after agreeing to yield unusual control to the US government. The $14.9bn (£11bn) purchase of US Steel, will create one of the world's biggest steelmakers and turns Nippon into a major player in the plan, first announced in 2023, had been seen as a lifeline for the storied but struggling 124-year-old US the deal ran into trouble during last year's presidential election, when US President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponents said they were concerned about the foreign acquisition of one of the last major steel producers in the US. However, Trump reversed his stance, after Nippon made concessions which the President said had satisfied his national security gave the official green light to the deal in an executive order on agreed to pay $55 per share and take on the company's debt, a deal worth $14.9bn together. It said it had also promised the government it would invest $11bn in US Steel by 2028, including a new facility that would be completed after that year. It also granted the US government a "golden share" in the company, giving the government say over key decisions, including the transfer of jobs or production outside of the US, and certain calls to close or idle factories. Nippon also committed to maintain its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and install US citizens to key management positions including its chief executive and the majority of its board."This partnership ensures that US Steel will retain its iconic name and headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and that it will continue to be mined, melted, and made in America for generations to come," Nippon and US Steel said in a statement as shares in US Steel stopped trading. They said the deal would "protect and create more than 100,000 jobs". Trump has made protections for the steel industry a key part of his economic agenda, raising tariffs on imports of the metal to 50% to benefit American producers. The president said he changed his mind about deal after hearing from local officials, who were alarmed by warnings from US Steel that it might cut jobs without the investment from Nippon. Leaders of the US Steelworkers union had opposed the takeover, which former president Joe Biden blocked in his final weeks of office. The companies subsequently filed a lawsuit accusing him of improperly politicising a national security review.