Iran and 'Israel' exchange fire as US weighs direct military intervention
LIVE UPDATES | Iran and 'Israel' exchange fire as US weighs direct military intervention
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'Israel' and Iran continue exchanging fire in aerial attacks since Friday morning, in a massive escalation that evolved into a direct confrontation between the longtime enemies after years of shadow wars.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he will decide whether to join 'Israel's' strikes on Iran within the next two weeks as there is still a "substantial" chance of negotiations to end the conflict.
Iran and European diplomats said nuclear talks will be held in Geneva on Friday, bringing together top diplomats from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union as well as Tehran's Abbas Araghchi.
The Wall Street Journal reported Trump has told aides he has approved attack plans but is holding off to see if Iran will give up its nuclear programme.
Netanyahu told 'Israeli' public broadcaster Kan that 'Israel' had destroyed "more than half" of Iran's missile launchers since Friday.
The death toll from Iranian missile strikes has risen to 25, after the body of a Ukrainian woman was recovered on Thursday from a building struck by an Iranian missile four days earlier in Bat Yam.
Iran said Sunday that 'Israeli' strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Authorities have not issued an updated toll since.
Reports from observers estimate the Iranian death toll to be between 500-700.
23 minutes ago
'Very bad decision': US envoy warns Hezbollah of involvement in Iran-'Israel' war
The US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned Lebanese group Hezbollah on Thursday against getting involved in the war between its main backer Iran and 'Israel'.
Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, is on his first visit to Beirut, where he met top Lebanese officials including parliament speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah.
"I can say on behalf of President (Donald) Trump... that would be a very, very, very bad decision," Barrack said after his meeting with Berri, responding to a question on what the US position would be on any involvement by Hezbollah in the war.
In a statement, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said the group will "act as we see fit".
"Tyrannical America and criminal Israel will not be able to subjugate the Iranian people and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Qassem said.
Hezbollah, he added, still had "the responsibility to stand by Iran and provide it with all forms of support that contribute to putting an end to this tyranny and oppression".
Hezbollah suffered devastating losses in its war against 'Israel' last year, which ended with a ceasefire agreement in November.
36 minutes ago
WHO chief says 'attacks on health' in Iran-'Israel' conflict appalling
The WHO's leader on Thursday denounced attacks on health facilities in the Iran-'Israel' war as "appalling", urging all sides to protect hospital buildings, staff and patients.
"The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran is putting health facilities and access to health care at risk. The reports on the attacks on health so far are appalling," World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
37 minutes ago
Netanyahu says 'all help welcome' in striking Iran's nuclear sites
Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he welcomed "all help" with destroying Iran's nuclear sites, nearly a week into major 'Israeli' air raids on the Islamic republic.
'Israel' is "capable of striking all of Iran's nuclear facilities" but "all help is welcome", Netanyahu told public broadcaster Kan, also saying that US President Donald Trump "will do what is good for for the United States, and I will do what is good for the State of Israel".
38 minutes ago
Iran able to produce nuclear bomb in 'a couple of weeks': White House
Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in the space of a "couple of weeks," the White House said Thursday, as US President Donald Trump debated whether to take military action against the Islamic republic.
"Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that, and it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
39 minutes ago
Hezbollah chief says group will 'act as we see fit' in Iran-'Israel' war
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Thursday that the group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between its main backer Iran and 'Israel'.
In a statement, Qassem said Hezbollah was "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression".
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European, Iranian diplomats to meet as US mulls joining 'Israel' campaign
European foreign ministers will hold talks Friday with their Iranian counterpart, hoping to reach a diplomatic solution to the war with 'Israel' as US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of US involvement. 'Israel', claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, launched air strikes against its arch-enemy a week ago, triggering deadly exchanges. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sworn Iran will "pay a heavy price" for a strike on an 'Israeli' hospital on Thursday, an attack Tehran said was targeting a military and intelligence base. European leaders urging de-escalation have scrambled to hold talks with Iran, as Trump said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in 'Israel's' bombing campaign. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet with his French, German, British and EU counterparts in Geneva on Friday to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", after meeting senior US officials in Washington on Thursday. Lammy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio "agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon", according to the State Department. Netanyahu welcomed the prospect of US involvement in its campaign, while Russia, an Iranian ally, told the United States that joining the conflict would be an "extremely dangerous step". The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan. While Netanyahu has not publicly said that 'Israel' is trying to topple Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, defence minister Israel Katz warned after the strike on 'Israel's' Soroka hospital that Khamenei "can no longer be allowed to exist". A week of deadly exchanges between the two countries has plunged the Middle East into a new crisis, more than 20 months since Oct. 7, 2023. Iran imposed a "nationwide internet shutdown" on Thursday –the most extensive blackout since widespread anti-government protests in 2019– internet watchdog NetBlocks said. The shutdown "impacts the public's ability to stay connected at a time when communications are vital", NetBlocks wrote on X. Any US involvement in 'Israel's' campaign against Iran would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground Iranian nuclear facility in Fordo, using specially developed bunker-busting bombs. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he had approved attack plans but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear programme. The US president had favoured a diplomatic route to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons – an ambition Tehran has consistently denied – seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term. Dozens of US military aircraft were no longer visible at a US base in Qatar on Thursday, satellite images showed -- a possible move to shield them from potential Iranian strikes. Nuclear sites White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Iran was "a couple of weeks" away from producing an atomic bomb. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 percent – far above the 3.67-percent limit set by the 2015 deal, but still short of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. 'Israel' has maintained ambiguity on its own arsenal, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads. A key Iranian government body, the Guardian Council, threatened a "harsh response" if "the criminal American government and its stupid president... take action against Islamic Iran". On Thursday, 'Israel' said it struck "dozens" of Iranian targets overnight, including the partially built Arak nuclear reactor and a uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. Iranian atomic energy agency chief Mohammad Eslami confirmed in a letter to the UN nuclear watchdog that the Arak reactor was hit, demanding action to stop "violation of international regulations" by 'Israel'. Iranian media reported blasts in Tehran late Thursday, while the Revolutionary Guards said more than 100 "combat and suicide" drones were launched at 'Israel'. In the central 'Israeli' city of Bat Yam, the body of a woman was found in a site hit on Sunday, taking the death toll in Israel from Iranian missiles since June 13 to 25 people, according to authorities. Iran said Sunday that 'Israeli' strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Authorities have not issued an updated toll since.
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Oil prices rise as Iran-'Israel' tensions enter 7th day
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US intelligence agencies continue to assess that Iran has not yet decided to build a nuclear weapon, despite possessing enough enriched uranium to do so – according to senior officials cited by the New York Times. This assessment remains unchanged since March, even as 'Israel' steps up attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. Senior officials caution that Iran may pivot toward bomb production if provoked by military action against key sites like Fordo or in the event of the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The debate over Iran's nuclear intentions has reignited amid pressure from hawkish voices in the US and 'Israel'. CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly told the White House that Iran is nearing the technical threshold for a weapon. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt echoed this, saying Iran needs only a political decision to begin building a bomb, which could take as little as two weeks. Some US officials cite 'Israeli' intelligence, particularly Mossad's estimate that Iran is just 15 days away from producing a bomb. However, others within the American intelligence community challenge that timeline, maintaining that Iran would likely need several months to a year to complete a functional weapon Officials also note that no new intelligence has been collected, only new interpretations of existing data – said the NYT report. Iran's current uranium stockpile, enriched to 60%, must reach 90% purity to become weapons-grade. Beyond that, Iran would need to assemble and potentially miniaturize a bomb for missile deployment. While Iran has the technical capacity to build such a device, US officials say there's no clear evidence it has begun doing so. Some experts believe Iran could opt for a simpler, less advanced bomb akin to the Hiroshima-era design, which would not require missile capability. Despite these assessments, concerns persist. General Michael E. Kurilla told Congress that Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one bomb in a week, and enough for 10 bombs within three weeks. Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has warned that Iran's uranium stockpile is at an unprecedented level for a non-nuclear state.
