Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Trump to make decision ‘within the next two weeks'
Welcome to our live coverage of the escalating situation in the Middle East.
Israel's Defence Minister warned that Iran's supreme leader 'can no longer be allowed to exist' after a hospital was hit in an Iranian missile strike on Thursday, spiking tensions in the week-old war.
Israel, fearing Iran is on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch enemy last week, triggering a conflict that has left more than 200 people dead on both sides.
As President Donald Trump dangled the prospect of US involvement, Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba was left in flames by a bombardment that Iran said targeted a military and intelligence base.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would 'pay a heavy price' for the hospital strike, while Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
'Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed – he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals,' Mr Katz told reporters.
'He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal. Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist.'
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump will make a decision about the country's potential involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict within the next two weeks.
But Russia has warned the US not to get involved, stressing it 'would radically destabilise the entire situation'.
Follow on for more updates.
Originally published as Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Trump to make decision 'within the next two weeks'
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ABC News
44 minutes ago
- ABC News
Donald Trump has delayed making a decision on attacking Iran. What's his strategy?
Deal-making? Decisive? Dithering? Or just momentarily deferred? Everyone will take their pick trying to determine why Donald Trump has bought himself time to make the most consequential decision a US president can make — whether to plunge his forces into another foreign conflict of unknown risk and uncertain duration. As ever with Trump pronouncements, there's a little something in this for everyone. "Within the next two weeks" is a timeline vague enough to simultaneously exasperate the Netanyahu government, confound the Iranian leadership, delight nervous allies and bewilder financial markets. On the domestic front, it could prolong the civil skirmish among Republican MAGA (Make America Great Again) forces over whether armed conflict passes as a form of American "greatness" or not these days. Why the US president settled on a timeline of an ill-defined decision-making period of anywhere between one and 14 days is anyone's guess. Make no mistake, leaders and officials in almost every government, not to mention military and foreign policy analysts the world over, are feverishly making their best guesses right now. So here are a few entries to guide this global guessing game. Trump is taking strategic and tactical ambiguity to a new level and has been for days. Earlier this week on the South Lawn of the White House, we probably got the most revealing insight into his mindset when asked by reporters about direct US military involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. In any event, he scoffed at publicly telegraphing any decision he may make on bombing missions in Iran so that the world's media could "be there and watch". The obvious conclusion is that advance notice would not be given. This, at least, would be consistent with the approach taken by most commanders in chief — think George W. Bush in Iraq, Obama on killing Osama bin Laden, or more recently, Biden's authorised strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Taking the current president at his word, we're not likely to know until after US forces have fired any shots. If they never do, we may be left to deduce ourselves whether this was the result of an active decision Trump took, or a passive one that passed with the moment into the mists of time. The White House has offered very limited reasoning on the significance of the time allocated for extra presidential musing. The clearest explanation for settling on it was offered was by press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who's suggested two weeks is the difference between an latent nuclear weapon program and an active one. "Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that," she said. "And it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon, which would of course pose an existential threat, not just to Israel, but to the United States, and to the entire world." A US deferral carries with it no apparent obligations on Israel or Iran to cease their missile assaults on one other. It does allow time for diplomacy to do its work. According to the Reuters news agency, that work's been quietly going on in the background throughout the week since Israel launched Operation Rising Lion with its attacks on Iran. Quoting diplomatic sources, Reuters has reported that Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi"have spoken several times by phone" during the week. Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hitting the phones to counterparts from Canberra to Paris, trying to build consensus around a campaign of maximum pressure on the Iranians. Through another channel, the so-called "E3" group of European foreign ministers from Germany, France and the UK are holding their own in-person talks with Araghchi in Geneva to explore a possible nuclear deal. Crucially, any extra time available also allows the Pentagon to ready its plans, forces, weapons, ships, planes and intelligence for potential strikes. Despite his ambiguity, those strikes deliberately and firmly remain as options underpinning the US president's prolonged timeline. Israel's Operation Rising Lion, together with Tehran's ferocious missile response, has already proved costly in lives, injuries and damage inflicted in both countries, but ripples into the broader global economy have so far been minimised. Oil prices are marginally up by about 3 per cent and shipments are still getting through the Strait of Hormuz, regardless of Iranian threats to blockade it if necessary. As they've proven before, ongoing uncertainty about military escalation doesn't mean financial markets will remain calm or rationally in an extended "holding pattern". The White House seems to be alert to the brittleness of oil pricing, with Leavitt giving an assurance that Trump is "paying attention and monitoring that". It's prudent to consider oil price sensitivities because it's via the fuel tank and the family budget that many Americans will decide on the merit or folly of another foreign military venture. The possibility of direct US miliary involvement is tearing at the seams of the MAGA movement which has twice propelled Trump to office on a foreign policy of war avoidance. "America First" is the guiding principle behind MAGA's approach to all things defence and security related. The idea that after only five months in the White House their president might see greatness in the deployment of a "bunker-busting" bomb half a world away in the interests of what they call "neo-con warmongers" is staggeringly incomprehensible to keepers of the flame, like commentator Tucker Carlson and Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. They're pitched against more hawkish pro-Israeli Republican figures including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Texas senator Ted Cruz. Perhaps unintentionally, Cruz exposed the size of the rift within the MAGA clan in a combative on-camera interview with Carlson, revealing that for all his swagger, the Texan knew dangerously little about the foe he would have bombed into nuclear submission — unable to place any figure on simple facts including Iran's population. The internal MAGA fight might cause Trump some political discomfort at home, but he's just guaranteed the combatants can slug it out for a couple more weeks, or longer, until he makes a final decision.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Lunch Wrap: ASX dragged down by sinking China steel and flying missiles
ASX falls as China steel sinks miners Iran hits Israeli labs with cluster bombs Oil jumps then eases on Trump's comments The ASX was down 0.55% at around lunch time in the east on Friday, and you can't blame Wall Street for this one. The Yanks were out celebrating Juneteenth with the markets shut. But Europe was wide awake, and the headlines coming out of the Middle East were enough to wipe the smile off any trader's face. Iran is apparently lobbing missiles with cluster bombs into Israeli suburbs. These things burst mid-air and scatter mini-bombs over a wide area, with one landing in someone's backyard in Azor. Tehran also targeted Israel's scientific crown jewel, the Weizmann Institute of Science. Years of research in life sciences and physics gone up in smoke. With that as the backdrop, Brent crude spiked as punters braced for a possible US strike on Iran. But then Trump walked it back a bit. His team now reckons there's a 'substantial chance' of negotiation, with a decision 'within two weeks'. Those comments took the edge off, with oil prices coming back down a tad. Elsewhere, the Bank of England kept rates on hold at 4.25% last night. Three policy members wanted a cut, and there's now a decent chance of a trim come August. Over in Russia, the Kremlin's economy minister just admitted the country's 'on the brink' of recession, pointing to weakening indicators. Not something you usually hear from Putin's camp. Back home, the ASX was already on the ropes before the opening bell thanks to China's steel numbers. Steel production slumped nearly 7% in May, way below expectations, and that sent our iron ore stocks tumbling once again. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) fell 0.5% and Bluescope Steel (ASX:BSL) dropped 1% this morning. And, Web Travel Group (ASX:WEB) slipped 1.5%, though it wasn't all bad. 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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Who are Iran's key allies in the Middle East and globally?
Iran has spent decades propping up militant groups and political regimes across the Middle East, forming its so-called "Axis of Resistance", while pursuing close relationships with other global powers. Yet after Israel attacked multiple sites in Iran last weekend, sparking a fierce exchange of missiles, those allies were largely silent. Israel's powerful ally the US has openly discussed attacking, yet only one Iran-backed militant group has stepped in to defend it. Here's a closer look at the key alliances in the Iran-Israel conflict and how these allies are responding. Iran's so-called 'Axis of Resistance' Since the 1970s, Iran has projected its power across the Middle East using a network of close allies that share its aim of countering US and Israeli influence across the region. This so-called "Axis of Resistance" threatened that any strikes against Iran or its affiliates would trigger a formidable response. The network grew to include Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, some armed groups in Iraq and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. But over the past two years, the "axis" has been dealt some severe blows, with many of Iran's allies in the region either weakened or ousted from power. Andreas Krieg, a security expert and associate professor at King's College London, says Iran's ties have unravelled. "It is not really an 'axis' anymore as [much as] a loose network where everyone largely is occupied with its own survival," he says. According to Ian Parmeter, a Middle East scholar at the Australian National University (ANU) and a former Australian ambassador to Lebanon, that leaves Iran in its "weakest state" in more than 40 years. "None of its allies are able to support it in a way that they could previously," he says. "That's why the Israel Defense Forces have been able to launch these attacks on Iran now." Click on the cards below to read more about Iran's remaining allies. Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem vowed retaliation for recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon would be carried out in central Tel Aviv. ( Reuters: Al Manar TV ) Hezbollah has long been considered Iran's first line of defence in case of a war with Israel, but the Lebanese militant group has stayed out of the latest conflict. At one point, Hezbollah was believed to have around 150,000 rockets and missiles, and its former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, once claimed to have 100,000 fighters. The group was drawn into a full-scale war with Israel last September after it tried to help its ally, Hamas, fight off Israel's offensive in Gaza, which was sparked by the Palestinian militants' October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. Israel's daring attack, which involved remotely detonating pagers and walkie-talkies armed with explosives that had been distributed to Hezbollah members, killed key members of the armed group as well as some civilians. While a US-brokered ceasefire halted the Israel-Hezbollah conflict last November, Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and carries out near-daily air strikes. Hezbollah's current leader, Naim Qassem, has condemned Israel's attacks on Iran and offered condolences for the senior Iranian officers who were killed. But Qassem did not suggest Hezbollah would take part in any retaliation against Israel. ANU's Mr Parmeter says it is because Hezbollah is still reeling from its losses, with Israel having killed most of its top leaders and destroying much of its arsenal. "Hezbollah has been very badly degraded, and Iran hasn't been able to resupply it with rockets and missiles," Mr Parmeter says. "So Hezbollah is not able to create a diversionary attack on Iran's behalf." Still, Qassem Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, told the Associated Press a role for the militant group in the Israel-Iran conflict should not be ruled out. "This depends on political and field developments," he said. "Anything is possible." Iran-backed: Iraqi militias show solidarity The US launched strikes against the Iranian-backed group Kataib Hezbollah. ( Reuters: Thaier al-Sudani ) Unlike Hezbollah, whose military wing has operated as a non-state actor in Lebanon, the main Iraqi militias are members of a coalition that is officially part of the state defence forces. For their part in Iran's "axis", the Iraqi militias have occasionally struck bases housing US troops in Iraq and Syria. One of these militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was "deeply regrettable" that Israel allegedly fired at Iran from Iraqi airspace in the last week. The armed group called on the Iraqi government to "urgently expel hostile forces from the country," which is a reference to US troops in Iraq, but it made no threat of force. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the British think tank Chatham House, told the Associated Press that Iraq's militias did not want to pull their country into a major conflict. "Things in Iraq are good for them right now, they're connected to the state — they're benefiting politically, economically," Dr Mansour said. "They've seen what's happened to Iran, to Hezbollah, and they're concerned that Israel will turn on them as well." Iran-backed: Houthis still attacking The strike was the third US attack on Houthi targets in Yemen in recent days. ( AP Photo ) The Houthis remain the only Iran-backed group still firing missiles at Israel as part of a campaign that began with the Gaza war in solidarity with Palestinians. "Triumphing for the oppressed Palestinian and Iranian peoples … This operation was coordinated with the operations carried out by the Iranian army," a military spokesperson said after targeting central Israel's Jaffa. The Houthis are mountain fighters who have been battling Saudi-led forces for control of Yemen, in what is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. They have been the de facto government in north Yemen since a 2022 ceasefire. The group has a large arsenal of armed drones and ballistic missiles largely supplied by Iran, which it has previously used to fire at ships in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route. But the ANU's Mr Parmeter says the Houthis are too geographically removed to strategically harm Israel beyond the rebels' sporadic missile attacks. "Yemen is certainly supported by Iran, but it's too far away to be able to do much damage to Israel," he says. The US has thwarted most of the previous attacks and carried out retaliatory strikes with Israel on Houthi bases. Could Iran's global allies step in? Iran is also part of an informal network of "CRINK" countries, which is an acronym for China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. So far, China has condemned Israel's attacks on Iran but it has limited its response to supporting a diplomatic solution. North Korea has also condemned the attacks as a "crime against humanity" without offering Iran further support. It's Russia, however, that has stepped in by offering to mediate the conflict. Vladimir Putin has close ties with both Iran and Israel's leader. ( Reuters: Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool ) President Vladimir Putin has denounced the attacks on Iran and has reportedly warned that any US intervention would be a "terrible spiral of escalation". "Russia is certainly very close to Iran at the moment and it's playing a very important role in supplying drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine," Mr Parmeter says. "So Russia owes Iran for its drones, but, at the same time, Putin and Netanyahu get on very well personally." According to Mr Parmeter, Russia's offer to mediate is unlikely to "go anywhere" and "it's just a good way for Putin to present as an international statesman". Mr Parmeter says it is also unlikely that other Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan or the United Arab Emirates would support Iran because they are not close and would not want further escalation. Israel and US 'extraordinarily close' Donald Trump shares a close relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu. ( Reuters ) As for Israel, it has the militarily and politically powerful United States as a close ally. "Netanyahu won't do anything without first clearing it with Trump, he has an extraordinarily close relationship with him," Mr Parmeter says. US President Donald Trump has called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and raised the idea that its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, would be an "easy target" if he were to be assassinated. But the US says it is maintaining a "defensive" position in the Iran–Israel conflict for now, meaning it is only focused on deterring or intercepting attacks on Israel. Still, Mr Trump has teased that the US "may or may not" strike Iran and would make a decision "within two weeks". The US currently holds a significant military presence in more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries and on ships throughout the region's waters, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr Parmeter says Israel would want the US to get involved because it needs the American "bunker-buster" bombs to finish destroying Iran's nuclear sites. These bombs are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding, making them ideal for attacking hardened bunkers and tunnels. In this case, Mr Parmeter says Israel needs them to significantly damage Iran's Fordow nuclear fuel enrichment plant, built deeply into a mountain. "The big risk is the United States will get involved in some way, but I don't see it getting involved with boots on the ground or much more than using their bunker-buster bombs," he says. That's because Mr Trump is facing domestic pressure from within his own Republican base, which is "divided" on whether to get involved in another war, Mr Parmeter says. Meanwhile, the G7 countries have also expressed their support for the security of Israel, but have urged for "a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza".
