Will Trump decide to drop a bomb on Iran?
President Trump left the G7 early in the middle of the night, rushing back to Washington where he will attend a meeting of his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room.
This secure crisis centre below the President's official residence has been the scene of countless high stakes meetings, but today's promises to be one of the most consequential in recent years.
Israel's Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu has long wanted to take out Iran's nuclear facilities, particularly the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, buried around 90 metres beneath a mountain towards the north-west of the country.
But Israel doesn't possess the B2 bombers which are the only aircraft capable of carrying the MOAB bombs needed to penetrate deep into the earth. The abbreviation stands for Massive Ordnance Air Blast and is also colloquially referred to as Mother Of All Bombs.
Now Donald Trump faces the 'mother of all decisions' on whether to drop a 15-tonne bomb on Iran in an attempt to end its nuclear programme, or whether he will give a diplomatic push one last try.
There is a significant part of his Republican Party which hates the idea of the US getting involved in another Middle East war. Donald Trump himself has boasted how no conflicts have started under his Presidency. But his social media posts today are bellicose.
When he wrote today on Truth & Social, 'We have complete and total control of the skies over Iran' and 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding' many inside his own MAGA movement were alarmed.
This feels like the US is not just defending Israel but is actively preparing to go on the offensive against Iran, with all the unintended consequences that may follow.
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President Trump responded to a report in the Wall Street Journal that claimed he had approved attack plans for Iran but had withheld a final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear programme. Posting on Truth Social for the first time today, he wrote: 'The Wall Street Journal has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!' The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has told his people not to be scared in a message on social media. He wrote on X: 'I would like to tell our dear nation that if the enemy senses that you fear them, they won't let go of you. 'Continue the very behaviour that you have had up to this day, continue this behaviour with strength.' Iran's internet blackout has lasted over 24 hours and is the longest restriction in six years, according to a monitoring group. NetBlocks, which tracks internet blackouts, said the nationwide restriction in Iran had lasted over 24 hours as of Thursday afternoon, making it the most severe disruption since anti-government protests erupted in November 2019. In further comments outside the hospital, Binyamin Netanyahu, when asked about American involvement in the war, said that the United States was 'already helping a lot, because they're participating in the protection of the skies over Israel and its cities'. He added: 'President Trump will do what's best for America. I trust his judgment.' Binyamin Netanyahu has said that all Israelis are 'paying a personal price' because of the 'blitz' inflicted by Iran, including his own family — his youngest son had to cancel his wedding. 'The entire people of Israel are paying a price,' said the Israeli prime minister. 'We are going through a blitz, and we are going through it in an astonishing way. There are personal costs, people have been hurt, families have lost their loved ones. 'Each of us bears a personal cost, and this did not escape my family. This is the second time that Benny Avner has cancelled a wedding due to missile threats. It is a personal cost for his fiancée as well, and I must say that my dear wife is a hero, and she bears a personal cost.' The wedding was meant to go ahead on Monday but was cancelled because of the escalating Israeli leader has three children, two sons including Avner, and a daughter Binyamin Netanyahu has vowed to 'remove' the nuclear and ballistic missile threat posed by Iran. 'We are committed to destroying the nuclear threat, the threat of a nuclear annihilation against Israel,' the Israeli prime minister told reporters in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit during an Iranian missile attack. 'Our goal is twofold — nuclear, ballistic missile. We're going to remove them. 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Starmer's spokesman stressed that Britain was working to ensure 'de-escalation' and added: 'We would not want to see anything that ramps up the situation.' David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has flown to Washington for 'high-level' meetings with figures including Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state. Israel Katz said earlier that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, 'cannot continue to exist'. Now he has called him 'the modern Hitler'. At the site of a missile strike in Holon, Israel's defence minister said: 'I compare it to the scenario in which, during the horrific Holocaust, if the state of Israel had existed and a strong Israel Defence Forces had existed, and we knew we could send the IDF into a bunker to capture the enemy of the Jewish people, Hitler, in order to thwart his plan to annihilate the Jews, we would have done it. 'We would have sent the IDF, extracted him, and eliminated him. And just like that, correspondingly, I see the current situation — Khamenei is the modern Hitler.' Shlomi Kodesh, the director of Soroka hospital, said that 40 people were injured in the Iranian attack. 'Several wards were completely demolished and there is extensive damage across the entire hospital with damage to buildings, structures, windows, ceilings across the medical centre,' he said. When a Iranian missile crashed into the largest hospital in southern Israel, doctors on the ground floor's gastroenterology department were preparing to accept patients. 'Our shift had just started when we heard a massive boom and the door blew in,' a doctor said. 'We were all ok, but it was a shock.' Another doctor said: 'We ran upstairs to the wards and had to carry patients four to five floors down to the bomb shelters.' It was unclear how many patients had been taken to shelters before the early morning attack, which came after air raid sirens had sounded across the city. The hospital reception area was also affected by the blast, which shattered windows and destroyed parts of the ceiling. Outside, medical staff evacuated elderly patients to safer areas of the hospital while exhausted emergency workers lay in the shade, taking refuge from the relentless sun. Israel says it has struck Iran's only functioning nuclear power plant on the coast of the Persian Gulf — which may represent a major escalation in its air war against Iran. Israel has struck a number of Iranian nuclear targets since launching its attacks last week. But a strike on the Bushehr plant, which is on the opposite coast to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, and employs technicians from Russia, would be seen as a big step. The Israeli military said it had struck nuclear sites in Bushehr, Isfahan, and Natanz, and continued to target other facilities. Bushehr uses Russian fuel. Russia takes back spent fuel, to reduce risk of nuclear proliferation. Targeting hospitals is a crime, the Israel Defence Forces have said, and claims on Iranian media that the medical centre hit by a ballistic missile this morning was being used as a military facility were 'lies'. In a Persian-language statement, the IDF said: 'The claim of an attack on an intelligence base or the presence of military equipment under the hospital is another lie. We are not so despicable as to endanger civilians. Attacking hospitals is a crime. Fabricating a reason does not justify it.' Soroka hospital was heavily damaged and several people were wounded in the strike. Israel has been widely criticised for its strikes on hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza. Last year, a UN commission of inquiry said that attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza amounted to war crimes. It accused Israel of carrying out a 'concerted policy to destroy Gaza's healthcare system' during its war with Hamas. Israel has accused the militants of using hospitals for military purposes. 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Moscow and Beijing believed the end to the hostilities 'should be achieved exclusively by political and diplomatic means', he said Israel's defence minister has said that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, 'can no longer be allowed to exist'. Israel Katz was speaking after an Iranian missile attack struck an Israeli hospital. 'Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed — he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals. He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal,' Katz said. 'Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist.' The Iranian missile that struck a major hospital in southern Israel destroyed the top two floors of a building at the rear of the facility. 'Luckily, we think the upper two floors were empty when it hit. There were lots of laboratories there,' a member of the Israel Defence Forces said. 'We don't know if all the patients were in the shelters at the time.' 'This is horrifying,' another said. 'Why try to kill doctors? They save lives. And some idiot's missile could just take it in an instant.' Iranian state media said Tehran had targeted a nearby military facility, a claim that was rejected by Israel. The media have so far not been allowed into the hospital. However, widespread damage could be seen from outside. An Israeli soldier who had just left the hospital shrugged when asked what she had seen. 'It's all destroyed,' she said. Some locals said the attack had made them decide to leave Israel with their families as soon as possible. 'We are going to try and get out here. Maybe through Egypt,' said a construction worker as he carried supplies into the building. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that Iran's Khondab heavy water research reactor has been hit by Israeli missiles, but no radiological effects have been reported. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, will join German and French foreign ministers in talks with their Iranian counterpart tomorrow in Geneva. The three European ministers are expected to meet Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, before meeting Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister. President Trump will have one mission on his mind if he decides to join the war against Iran — destroying Fordow, its most heavily fortified nuclear site. Buried deep beneath a mountain, only the Americans have the weapon capable of annihilating it. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb has a thick steel outer casing that can penetrate fortifications up to 60m below ground. It is delivered by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the only aircraft in the US air force inventory that is certified to carry the 'bunker-buster' bomb, which has never been fired in anger. • Read in full: How the US military could destroy Iran's Fordow nuclear site A patient at the Israeli hospital that was hit today by an Iranian ballistic missile described scenes of 'total destruction.' 'It was chaos. Nurses were crying, patients were crying, it felt as if the whole room was shaking,' said Oscar, an elderly man, as he waited to be evacuated. The Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, the largest in southern Israel, was 'extensively damaged' in an attack, a spokesperson said. The hospital was closed to the public and the media. From the street outside, a faint cloud of smoke could be seen rising from inside the facility. Emergency officials said they were evacuating dozens of patients who had been injured in the strike. The families of other patients could be seen arguing with security guards as they tried to visit those who remained on wards that were unaffected by the blast. Some ultra-orthodox Jews and religious nationalists in Israel are seeing the war with Iran as evidence of the impending end of the world. 'This is the start of the end of days,' said Meriev, a woman who lives near the hospital. 'After this war, God will send a new temple.' Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, has criticised Rafael Grossi, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and accused the UN watchdog of being partner to an 'unjust war of aggression' initiated by Israel. Baghaei responded on X to an interview with CNN in which Grossi said there was no evidence of a systematic Iranian effort to develop nuclear weapons. 'This is too late, Mr Grossi,' Baghaei wrote. An IAEA resolution declaring Iran in breach of its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty had been used as a pretext for Israel to strike Iran, he claimed. 'Misleading narratives have dire consequences, Mr Grossi, and demand accountability. You betrayed the non-proliferation regime; you've made IAEA a partner to this unjust war of aggression.' • Iran will never surrender, ayatollah tells Trump The UK can not 'hide behind legal advice at a time of crisis' Dame Priti Patel has told Times Radio. Lord Hermer, the attorney general, has reportedly warned Sir Keir Starmer that the UK's involvement in US attacks on Iran could be illegal. Patel said: 'I don't think we can hide behind legal advice at a time of crisis and national security when we have to work alongside our biggest ally in the world, the United States, when they look to us for potentially — I say this, potentially — setting out operational activities through our own military bases. 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Nastia Borik, her mother Maria Peshkurova, 30; her grandmother Lena Peshkurova, 60; and two of her cousins, Konstantin Totvich, 9, and Ilya Peshkurov, 13, died when missiles hit the city of Bat Yam on Saturday. The girl's father, named by media as Artyom, is thought to be fighting at the front in Ukraine. He had helped raise money for his daughter to fly to Israel for treatment. The Ukrainian embassy in Israel confirmed that five of its citizens had died in the attack, which also killed four other people. China says it is opposed to the 'use of force' by the US after President Trump said he was weighing up military intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict. Beijing 'opposes any act that … infringes upon the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of other countries, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations', Guo Jiakun, foreign ministry spokesman, said. Jiakun called for an end to the war in the Middle East, urging 'especially Israel' to desist. 'China strongly calls on all parties involved in the conflict, especially Israel, to put the interests of the region's people first, immediately cease fire and stop fighting,' he said. President Trump has probably 'already taken the decision to hit' Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, according to Sir Niall Ferguson, the historian. Sir Niall, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard, told The Times CEO Summit: 'My Israeli sources and some of my sources in Washington think it happens tonight.' • Sir Niall Ferguson: Iranian regime in death throes risks a major economic shock President Putin, asked how he would react should Israel kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, with the assistance of the United States, said: 'I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to.' All sides should look for ways to end hostilities in a way that ensured Iran's right to peaceful nuclear power and Israel's right to the unconditional security of the Jewish state, he said. The Conservatives have signalled that they would support Sir Keir Starmer if he considers it necessary to join the military fight. Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, told ITV: 'While we want peace in the region, we're crystal clear that Iran should not be able to obtain nuclear weapons. 'And if the government judges that such action is necessary to avoid that then we would absolutely support the government if it deemed it necessary to ensure that we can defend our country, our citizens and effectively a lot of our strategic equities in the Middle East region.' She added that she believed the opposition would be able to hold the government to account without a vote in parliament on military action. Sir Keir Starmer will keep a 'cool, calm head' and prioritise a 'diplomatic solution' to ending the current conflict between Israel and Iran, a minister has said. The prime minister's top priority is 'de-escalating the situation', said Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy minister. Events were 'very volatile' and 'fast moving', and Starmer and David Lammy, the foreign secretary, were 'monitoring the situation and calibrating our response'. • UK considers military support as Trump threatens to bomb Iran The prime minister was also in regular contact with President Trump as he weighed up whether to launch a US attack on Iran, Fahnbulleh told Sky News. She said the government was working 'to make sure that we are doing our bit to work with all sides in order to de-escalate — that has got to be the objective — and to get people negotiating away again so that we can find a diplomatic solution'. Fahnbulleh would not be drawn on reports that the attorney general, Lord Hermer, had cautioned against Britain launching offensive action. Gaza's civil defence agency said that Israeli forces have killed at least 18 people today, including 15 who had gathered at a food aid distribution site in central Gaza. Mohammad al-Mugghayyir, a civil defence official, said that '18 people have been killed due to ongoing Israeli shelling on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 15 of whom were waiting for aid'. The other three were killed by shelling near Gaza City. Earlier this week, Gaza's health ministry, run by Hamas, said 397 Palestinians had been killed while trying to get food and more than 3,000 had been wounded since aid deliveries restarted in late May, Iran's deputy foreign minister has warned against any direct US involvement in the escalating conflict, saying Iran had 'all the necessary options on the table'. 'If the US wants to actively intervene in support of Israel, Iran will have no other option but to use its tools to teach aggressors a lesson and defend itself … our military decision-makers have all necessary options on the table,' Kazem Gharibabadi said. 'Our recommendation to the US is to at least stand by if they do not wish to stop Israel's aggression.' Israel has struck nuclear facilities, eliminated senior commanders and attacked a state broadcaster, while Tehran has hit back with numerous missile barrages. • Read in full here Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service says that scores of people were injured in Iran's latest missile strikes, 18 of whom were injured 'while running to shelter'. Three people were seriously injured, MDA said. 'An additional 42 people sustained minor injuries from shrapnel and blast trauma, and 18 civilians were injured while running to shelter'. • Israelis lose faith in their safe rooms after Iranian strikes Israel's defence minister has called Iran's attacks a 'war crime' and vowed to hold Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, 'accountable for his crimes'. Israel Katz also said he had instructed Israel's military to intensify attacks in order to 'undermine the ayatollahs' regime'. 'The cowardly Iranian dictator sits in the depths of the fortified bunker and fires aimed shots at hospitals and residential buildings in Israel,' Katz wrote on X. 'These are war crimes of the most serious kind — and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. He added: 'The prime minister and I have instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of attacks against strategic targets in Iran and against government targets in Tehran in order to remove threats to the State of Israel and undermine the ayatollahs' regime.' Israeli president Isaac Herzog said the Soroka Medical Center, which was hit by an Iranian ballistic missile this morning, was a symbol of harmony between Jews and Arabs. 'A baby in intensive care and his caring mother at his bedside, a dedicated doctor going from patient to patient, an elderly woman in a nursing home — these were the targets of the Iranian missile attack on Israeli citizens this morning,' Herzog wrote on X. He said the hospital in Beersheba was one of the best in Israel. 'The dedicated hospital staff — both Jewish and Arab — work shoulder to shoulder in extraordinary harmony, united in the sacred mission: saving the lives of the residents of the Negev of all religions, beliefs and lifestyles — Jews and Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians alike.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Israel says it has targeted the nuclear reactor in the area of Arak in Iran overnight and struck what it called a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz. Among its nuclear sites, Iran had a partially built heavy water research reactor, originally called Arak and now named Khondab. Heavy water reactors pose a nuclear proliferation risk because they can easily produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. At Natanz, Iran built a complex that lies at the heart of its nuclear programme. It includes two enrichment plants, and has already been struck in the six days since Israel launched its air war. Itamar Ben Gvir, the Israeli minister of national security who was recently sanctioned by the UK, said that 'Nazis' had launched missiles at hospitals in Israel. Writing on X after a dawn missile attack hit a hospital in the desert city of Beersheba, Ben Gvir said that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, they would fire it 'without even a second thought.' 'Nazis launch missiles at hospitals, the elderly, and children — if they had atomic weapons, they would fire them without even a second's thought. This is the most righteous campaign that Israel has ever embarked on in history,' he said. Ben Gvir belongs to Netanyahu's hardline coalition government and is a leader of the movement to resettle Palestinian lands in the West Bank and Gaza. The UK and other countries imposed sanctions upon him for incitement of violence and abuses of Palestinian rights. By Marc Bennetts in Beersheba An Iranian attack on a hospital in Israel that injured dozens of people was 'criminal' and 'deliberate,' the Israeli government has said. At least 32 people were injured across Israel on Thursday morning in a barrage of ballistic missile strikes. Emergency services said two people were in serious condition, while 30 had less severe blast and shrapnel injuries. The number of casualties at the hospital was unclear. Binyamin Netanyahu has said Israel will 'exact the full price from the tyrants' in his first response to Iran's missile attack on a hospital in southern Israel. 'This morning, Iran's terrorist tyrants launched missiles at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba and at a civilian population in the center of the country,' he wrote on X. 'We will exact the full price from the tyrants' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. President Trump has told senior aides that he approved plans for a US attack on Iran but was waiting to see if Tehran abandoned its nuclear programme before giving the final order, it has emerged. The Wall Street Journal said that the US military was poised to directly join Israel's war with Iran, pending the president's approval. Trump's separate comments at the White House on Wednesday morning that 'I may do it, I may not do it' confirmed what had been widely reported in the past 24 hours: that the president, who came to power on an electoral platform of ending US involvement in Middle East wars, was considering joining forces with Israel in its bombardment of Iran. Iranian missiles hit a high-rise flat block in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv, and other sites in central Israel. A hospital in Tel Aviv said it was treating 16 wounded people, three with serious injuries. Israeli paramedics at separate scenes in central and southern Israel said one man, aged 60, was in a serious condition with shrapnel injuries. Magen David Adom, of Israel's ambulance service, said one person was seriously injured and 22 more were 'lightly injured' after an Iranian missile hit a hospital in southern Israel, as well as other locations. The Soroka Medical Centre, the main hospital in Israel's south, has reported 'extensive damage'. Israelis are now permitted to leave shelters in several parts of the country, Israel's military said on Thursday. 'Following the situational assessment, the Home Front Command published that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in several areas across the country,' the Israel Defence Forces said in a statement. A military official added that 'dozens of ballistic missiles were launched at Israel in the last barrage from Iran'. The US embassy in Qatar has issued an alert temporarily restricting its personnel from accessing the Al Udeid airbase. The base in the desert outside Doha is the largest US military installation in the Middle East. The embassy on Thursday told personnel and US citizens in Qatar to step up vigilance in 'an abundance of caution and in light of ongoing regional hostilities'. Australia has started evacuating almost 3,000 citizens caught up in the conflict. However, efforts had been hampered by missile barrages that made it 'too risky' for civilian aircraft to land in either country, Penny Wong, the foreign minister, said on Thursday. About 1,500 Australians had registered to be evacuated from Iran, while more than 1,200 were seeking to get out of Israel, said Wong. 'There's no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed,' she told ABC. 'We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing. We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours.' New Zealand closed its embassy in Iran, evacuating two staff members and their families to neighbouring Azerbaijan by land. 'If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency,' the foreign minister, Winston Peters, said. Israel has struck an area near a partially built Iranian research reactor, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) said on Thursday. Officials announced that the Khondab heavy-water facility was evacuated before the attack and there was no radiation risk, ISNA added. The research reactor, part of Iran's nuclear programme, was partially built and previously known as Arak. Tehran had informed the UN nuclear watchdog that it planned to operate the facility next year. Israel came under heavy rocket attack at dawn on Thursday as Iranian missiles hit the Soroka hospital in Beersheba, southern Israel. Video posted on social media showed a direct hit on the hospital, with the sound of impact and a mushroom cloud billowing out the top. The emergency room, from pictures posted, appeared to have sustained damage. A spokesman for the hospital reported 'damage to the hospital and extensive damage in various areas. We are currently assessing the damage, including injuries. We ask the public not to come to the hospital at this time.' Reports also indicated that other sites in Tel Aviv and central Israel had been hit. The rocket barrage came after an air-raid siren was sounded at midnight, with that volley causing no damage or injuries. The Israeli military said it was carrying out new strikes on Tehran and other parts of Iran on Thursday morning, telling two villages, Arak and Khondab, to evacuate. 'The Air Force has now begun a wave of strikes in Tehran and other areas in Iran,' the Israel Defence Forces wrote on X. Israel's military said it was 'flying over surface-to-surface missile launch and storage sites … [and] striking those attempting to reactivate sites that have already been hit'. Air-raid sirens sounded across Israel as Iran's state news reported a new wave of missiles fired at the country. Several explosions were reported over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. '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 a post on Telegram. Earlier, Israel's military said it had intercepted a drone launched from Iran. An Israeli military official said that Iran had fired about 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones since Friday. About 20 missiles had struck civilian areas in Israel, the official added. Donald Trump was still deciding whether to join Israel's strikes on Iran on Wednesday. Claiming Tehran now wants talks at the White House the US President added they may have waited too long. Trump held his second Situation Room meeting in two days with his national security team, leaving the world guessing about his potential order of military action. 'I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' Trump told reporters at the unveiling of one of two giant new flagpoles at the White House. 'I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.' He added that 'the next week is going to be very big' when it comes to determining Iran's fate. The White House said Trump would be briefed in the Situation Room again on Thursday, a holiday in the United States. Trump's comments came after the Islamic Republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected his demands for an unconditional surrender and warned the United States of 'irreparable damage' if it intervenes.
