The Latest: Israel-Iran war enters a second week with renewed strikes
The second week of the Israel-Iran war started with a renewed round of strikes targeting an Iranian nuclear research facility near Isfahan.
Talks in Geneva on Friday between European foreign ministers and Iran's top diplomat failed to produce a breakthrough. U.S. President Donald Trump continued to weigh his country's military involvement as concerns spiked over potential strikes on Iranian nuclear reactors.
Still, European officials expressed hope for future negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue but stressed Tehran wasn't interested in negotiating while Israel continued attacking.
Here is the latest:
Macron voices deep concern over Iran's nuclear program
The French president said Saturday this happened during a call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, who initiated the call.
'Here again, my position is clear: Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons, and it is up to Iran to provide full guarantees that its intentions are peaceful,' Macron posted on social media, adding that diplomatic efforts should continue to resolve the current crisis.
'To achieve this, we will accelerate the negotiations led by France and its European partners with Iran.'
Macron said he also asked for the release of two French citizens being held in Iran on espionage charges since 2022.
Iranians are left with no internet access again
Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org reported on Saturday that the limited internet access that had come back up in Iran has once again 'collapsed.'
The group said on X that the disconnect came after 'a brief period when residents could exchange messages with the outside world.'
A nationwide internet shutdown has been in place for several days, isolating Iranians.
Iran cited concerns about Israeli cyberattacks for the shutdown of mobile and web services. But many Iranians and activists see it as another example of state information control and targeted internet shutdowns the Islamic Republic has deployed during periods of protests and unrest.
Internet slowly trickles back in Iran
Iranians on Saturday began to see some internet access restored, giving people the opportunity to call friends and family for the first time in days.
Those in the diaspora posted on social media about connecting to FaceTime or WhatsApp to call relatives they had been worried about.
Government officials had disconnected phone and web services earlier in the week for the more than 90 million people who live in Iran, citing cybersecurity threats from Israel. That left civilians unaware of when and where Israel would strike next and if their family or friends were among the victims.
Tasnim News Agency, closely affiliated with Iran's government, quoted the information minister as saying that access to 'international' internet should be restored across the country by 8 p.m.
Turkey urges Islamic unity against 'Israeli problem'
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says the Middle East is faced with an 'Israeli problem' and called on Islamic countries to take a collective stand and show solidarity with Iran.
'Israel's ongoing aggression and occupation policies clearly show that there is an Israeli problem in our region that needs to be addressed,' Fidan said in an opening speech at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul on Saturday.
He also warned that Israel's actions could trigger broader regional instability.
Italians evacuated from Iran arrive in Azerbaijan
The Italian foreign ministry said the 24 Italians are the second group to evacuate via Azerbaijan's Baku.
'After about nine hours of travel and a very long wait at the border, the group was welcomed by representatives of the Italian Embassy in Baku, and then moved to the airport of the Azerbaijani capital to wait to return to Italy with the first available flights,' the ministry said.
The group included an Italian doctor and his partner, an Iranian woman, and their 18-month-old child, the ministry said.
Another convoy from Iran could depart from Tehran as early as Monday.
The first group that arrived in Italy via Baku in recent days had 34 Italian nationals.
Italy's foreign ministry also said it chartered a flight to help evacuate its citizens from Israel via Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday.
Evacuees in Cyprus recall missiles flying overhead
Noah Page says it's one thing to watch missiles crisscrossing the sky on the news and another to experience it firsthand.
'You see it on the news, you see everything, but you never really expect it to actually hit you when you're there,' the Ohio-native told the Associated Press.
'As someone who grew up in Canada, it's so foreign to me to even think about missiles or a war and you hear about it on the news and it's just so separate from you,' said Pe'er, a 23-year-old who didn't want to give her last name. "It sort of felt like fireworks at first until the reality of the situation set in. I need to run or I might end up hurt.'
Page and Pe'er were among an estimated 1,500 other young people from around the world visiting Israel who were evacuated by cruise ship on Saturday to Cyprus, the closest European country to Israel, at around 270 kilometers.
It was the second such trip by the cruise ship bringing people out while ferrying stranded Israelis back to their homeland.
Florida native Alex Rosenblum had been in Israel before in times of war, when the sounds of sirens urging citizens to rush to shelters had become almost routine. But he says this time it was different.
'This situation with Iran has been a lot scarier because there's a big difference between a rocket and a missile,' he said.
The three young people found safety in underground shelters when digital alerts were sent out.
Iran's Araghchi says it will be 'very dangerous' if US gets involved in war
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it would be 'very, very dangerous for everyone' if the United States becomes actively involved in the war with Israel.
He spoke to reporters in Istanbul on his way home from talks in Geneva.
Araghchi said American military involvement 'would be very unfortunate.'
UN refugee agency calls for de-escalation
The UNHCR said Saturday that the intensity of the attacks is already triggering population movements in Israel and Iran: Some from Tehran and other parts of Iran have crossed into neighboring countries while shelling has caused people in Israel to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and, in some cases, abroad.
The agency urged states in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety where needed and to facilitate humanitarian access.
'This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss, and displacement — we cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root,' the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said. 'The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there's no quick way back — and all too often, the consequences last for generations.'
Tehran vows to make Grossi 'pay'
A senior adviser for Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, vowed in a social media post Saturday to make the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency 'pay' once the war with Israel is over.
Ali Larijani's threat comes as IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has become a major target for many Iranian officials who say his conflicting statements about the status of Iran's nuclear program incited the Israeli surprise attack last week.
Grossi told the United Nations' Security Council Friday that while Iran has the material to build a nuclear bomb, it appears they have no plans to do so.
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Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US bombed 3 Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says
President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, bringing the U.S. directly into Israel's war with Tehran. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday. It was not immediately clear what damage the strikes caused or how significant a blow was dealt to Tehran's program. It could take some time before the results are clear. Trump said the U.S. used 'a full payload of BOMBS … on the primary site, Fordow,' which is also known as Fordo. The strikes mark the most significant U.S. military attack on Iran in modern history and will have a defining impact on the legacy of Trump's second term in office. Trump said all planes are 'safely on their way home,' and out of Iranian airspace. Trump had said Thursday he would take two weeks to decide whether to bomb Iran's nuclear sites to give diplomacy a chance. 'NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!,' he said in the statement. Trump's decision to directly involve the U.S. military was the culmination of weeks of mixed signals from the GOP president who campaigned on a promise of ending wars started by his predecessors and pledged to resist overseas military involvement. It is likely to exacerbate a fierce debate within the Republican Party about what his 'America First' doctrine means and risks alienating meaningful parts of Trump's base. The U.S has surged forces to the region over the past two weeks, including new squadrons of F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter planes, and the deployment of several destroyers to the Israeli coast. A second aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, is on its way to the Arabian Sea along with its own destroyer escorts and should arrive in the coming days, while a third carrier could soon be on the way, as the USS Ford is slated to leave port in Virginia in the coming days for a planned European deployment. One U.S. defense official said that there has been some concern in the Pentagon that significant open-ended deployments could bog down forces in the region and impact their readiness if they were kept there for an extended period of time. They added these worries weren't a reason for launching the strikes, but some military officials suggested a relatively quick decision on any possible strike in order to avoid keeping forces tied down with no clear mission. Two other U.S. defense officials said it was too soon for a battle damage assessment in the immediate aftermath of the strikes but the Pentagon was immediately turning its attention to protecting American troops still in the region as the Trump administration was guessing at Iran's next steps. There are about 40,000 U.S. troops in the region, with 2.500 in Iraq next door to Iran. The Fordo nuclear enrichment facility is buried deep inside a mountain to shield it from attacks. Israel has been lobbying the U.S. to get involved in the military effort against Iran's nuclear program for months, stepping up the effort after it launched unilateral strikes on Iran's nuclear sites earlier this month. Only the U.S. possesses the 30,000-pound bombs capable of reaching the deep underground site at Fordo, and those can be carried only by American B-2 stealth bombers because they are so heavy. It was not immediately clear if the strikes were successful or what weapons or aircraft the U.S. used. Earlier Saturday, the U.S. moved B-2s toward Guam in the Pacific Ocean, which some analysts saw as a sign the U.S. was preparing to strike Fordo. Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior intelligence official who is now at the Atlantic Council, said whether Iran decides to respond proportionally or not could 'quickly lead to an escalatory spiral.' 'One has to wonder if Iran missed its opportunity in its seeming unwillingness or lack of desire to engage diplomatically. Now Iran's reaction will drive how much further this goes,' he said. With no diplomatic cards left to play, experts said Trump resorted to the military option that was still left. 'Last-chance European diplomacy failed. This wasn't deception by Trump,' said Bilal Saab, who served in the Pentagon during the first Trump administration. 'Now we wait and ideally have planned for Iranian retaliation.' Iran's reaction, 'all depends on what Khamenei decides to do now,' he said, referring to Iran's supreme leader. 'Back down or fight probably until the end. We have signaled to the Iranians this is the extent of the attack but Iran gets a vote on what happens next.' Jon Hoffman, a research fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute which has been against American involvement, said U.S. participation will only bring 'disaster.' 'War with Iran is not America first – it is America last,' he said, adding that Israel's initial strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were 'always a smokescreen designed to drag the U.S. into war as an active participant.' Nahal Toosi and Amy Mackinnon contributed to this report
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump says US has attacked three nuclear sites in Iran
Donald Trump announced Saturday that the US had completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, directly joining Israel 's effort to destroy the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,' he added. Related: Israel-Iran war live: Trump says US has attacked nuclear sites in Iran including Fordow The White House alerted television networks that Trump would address the nation at 10pm ET. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground at Fordow. Earlier Saturday, Reuters had reported that B-2 bombers were being moved to the Pacific island of Guam, according to two US officials. A US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, that those bombers were involved in the strikes on Iran's nuclear sites. Israel launched the attacks on Iran saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran has argued that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes. The strikes are a perilous decision for the US as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran. He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks, a timeline that seemed drawn out as the situation was evolving quickly. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday the US that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them'. And Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared: 'Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.'
Hamilton Spectator
29 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
US has struck 3 Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel 's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. There was no immediate acknowledgment from Iran of any strikes being carried out. The decision to directly involve the U.S. in the war comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defenses and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But U.S. and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and the 30,000-pound (13,500-kilogram) bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear program buried deep underground. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' Trump added in a later post that he would address the national at 10:00 p.m. eastern time, writing 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!' Trump said B-2 stealth bombers were used but did not specify which types of bombs were dropped. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately elaborate on the operation. The strikes are a perilous decision for the U.S. as Iran has pledged to retaliate if it joined the Israeli assault, and for Trump personally, having won the White House on the promise of keeping America out of costly foreign conflicts and scoffed at the value of American interventionism. Trump told reporters on Friday that he was not interested in sending ground forces into Iran, saying it's 'the last thing you want to do.' He had previously indicated that he would make a final choice over the course of two weeks, a timeline that seemed drawn out as the situation was evolving quickly. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday the United States that strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will 'result in irreparable damage for them.' And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei declared 'any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.' Trump has vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon and he had initially hoped that the threat of force would bring the country's leaders to give up its nuclear program peacefully. Israel 's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, while Iran's foreign minister warned before the U.S. attack that American military involvement 'would be very, very dangerous for everyone.' The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on U.S. vessels in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the U.S. The U.S. ambassador to Israel announced the U.S. had begun 'assisted departure flights,' the first from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza . White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Thursday's press briefing that Trump had said: 'I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' Instead, the U.S. president struck just two days later. Trump appears to have made the calculation — at the prodding of Israeli officials and many Republican lawmakers — that Israel's operation had softened the ground and presented a perhaps unparalleled opportunity to set back Iran's nuclear program, perhaps permanently. The Israelis say their offensive has already crippled Iran's air defenses, allowing them to already significantly degrade multiple Iranian nuclear sites. But to destroy the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant , Israel appealed to Trump for U.S. bunker-busting bomb , which uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. The penetrator is currently only delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber, which is only found in the American arsenal. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, and is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Previous Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on a centrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA has said. Trump's decision for direct U.S. military intervention comes after his administration made an unsuccessful two-month push — including with high-level, direct negotiations with the Iranians — aimed at persuading Tehran to curb its nuclear program. For months, Trump said he was dedicated to a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. And he twice — in April and again in late May — persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on military action against Iran and give diplomacy more time. The U.S. in recent days has been shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the Middle East to protect Israel and U.S. bases from Iranian attacks. All the while, Trump has gone from publicly expressing hope that the moment could be a 'second chance' for Iran to make a deal to delivering explicit threats on Khamenei and making calls for Tehran's unconditional surrender. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump said in a social media posting. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the 'worst deal ever.' The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, U.S. and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran's non-nuclear malign behavior. Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further U.S. involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive and endless wars. ___ Rising reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Matthew Lee and Josh Boak in Washington, D.C.; and Farnoush Amiri and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
