Israel-Iran live: US completes 'very successful attack' on nuclear sites in Iran, Trump says
Donald Trump has said the US has carried out attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran. Watch Sky News in the stream below.
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The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Airlines avoiding Middle East airspace after US bombs Iran
Airlines are continuing to reroute flights away from significant swathes of Middle Eastern airspace, following recent US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites and ongoing missile exchanges in the region. The persistent avoidance of these key flight corridors was evident on Sunday, according to data from the flight tracking website FlightRadar24. FlightRadar24 confirmed the situation on social media platform X, stating: "Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, commercial traffic in the region is operating as it has since new airspace restrictions were put into place last week." The website's live tracking data showed a clear absence of commercial flights over Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Israel. Instead, carriers are opting for alternative routings, either north via the Caspian Sea or south through Egypt and Saudi Arabia. These detours, while ensuring safety, come at a cost, resulting in higher fuel and crew expenses, alongside extended flight times for passengers and cargo. At about 8 p.m. ET, Trump put out a message on his Truth Social website saying that 'very successful' strikes had been carried out on the nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. 'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,' Trump said in a brief address on Saturday evening. Missile and drone barrages in an expanding number of conflict zones globally represent a high risk to airline traffic. Since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, carriers have suspended flights to destinations in the affected countries, though there have been some evacuation flights from neighbouring nations and some bringing stranded Israelis home. Japan 's foreign ministry said on Sunday it had evacuated 21 people, including 16 Japanese nationals, from Iran overland to Azerbaijan. It said it was the second such evacuation since Thursday and that it would conduct further evacuations if necessary. New Zealand's government said on Sunday it would send a Hercules military transport plane to the Middle East on standby to evacuate New Zealanders from the region. It said in a statement that government personnel and a C-130J Hercules aircraft would leave Auckland on Monday. The plane would take some days to reach the region, it said. The government was also in talks with commercial airlines to assess how they may be able to assist, it added.
Sky News
28 minutes ago
- Sky News
What happens next is largely in Iran's control - but there are no good choices
As the sun rises above Jerusalem this morning, Israelis will be waking to the news that America has joined their war and attacked Iran. It will be met with mixed feelings. For the first night in over a week there was no Iranian missile attack on Israel, but while the new day brings a comfort in US military support there will also be deep trepidation that this war has entered a dangerous and potentially uncontrollable phase. Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement praising the US president and saying peace comes through strength; Donald Trump addressed the American nation and warned Iran he would not hesitate to order further action if it retaliates. What happens next is largely in Iran's control. What they choose to do, will determine the future of this region. The question is now whether they will respond, but how? 2:48 Iran has faced a humiliating pounding from Israeli jets over nine days and now suffered massive attacks on their celebrated nuclear facilities by a country they call "The Great Satan"; there will be a feeling of national humiliation and anger, and the government will need to show its people it remains strong. Developing a nuclear programme has taken many decades and comes at vast cost: billions and billions of dollars and heavy international sanctions. That all now lies in tatters. How does the government explain that to its people, many of whom have suffered at the expense of these grand ambitions and are opposed to the draconian leadership they live under? Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is often described as the world's longest-serving dictator. He hasn't survived by being reckless but even though the US strikes weren't aimed at regime change, Khamanei's future is now more precarious than ever. The government rhetoric and state television channels will promise fire and victory, but the reality isn't simple. There will be voices close to the Supreme Leader, especially in the Revolutionary Guard, encouraging a strong response. The moderates will likely urge caution, wary of dragging the US into a wider, more sustained conflict that Iran couldn't win. It's unclear how much more Iran can throw at Israel. Ballistic missiles have been fired at the country every day since the war began, but in decreasing numbers as Israel has systematically targeted launch sites and stockpiles. Iran's proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, are severely degraded and the Assad regime in Syria is no more. This was all supposed to be the first line of defence, a deterrence against an Israel attack. That shield has collapsed. The Houthis remain defiant but their firepower is limited. 1:44 The US attacks were against Iran's nuclear sites, not senior Iranian officials. Strikes on US bases in the region would therefore be the most logical 'like-for-like' response. If they choose to widen the conflict, Iran could now target oil facilities in the Gulf or try to close off the globally important Strait of Hormuz. Either of those options would have international consequences. Shia militia in Iraq could be hard to control if they decide to act unilaterally. Iraqi security forces have reportedly surrounded the US Embassy in Baghdad in anticipation of violence. There is a possibility Iran could do something smaller and symbolic as a way of saving face, having the final word and giving the region an off-ramp. That will be the hope in Washington. But even in that best-case scenario, it will surely have to be something more than a token response; Iran is reeling, severely weakened internally and externally. If they escalate, they risk a severe US response that could be a death blow. If they capitulate, the government faces major domestic dissent and reputational damage from which it might never recover.
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump shows flashes of vulnerability in wartime leader address
In a three-and-a-half-minute address to the nation, Donald Trump threatened Iran with more strikes if it does not agree to a peace deal as he announced that its nuclear facilities had been 'completely obliterated.' It was a flinty performance on the night he became a war-time president, although it came with flashes of vulnerability. 'Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success,' he said in the East Room of the White House, flanked by JD Vance, his vice-president, Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, his defence secretary. 'Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,' Mr Trump said. 'Iran, the bully of the Middle East must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.' The decision to send US service personnel into action came after eight days of strikes by Israel that aimed to degrade the country's air defences, weaken its offensive missile capabilities, and destroy its nuclear enrichment facilities. But American and Israeli officials said that only US stealth bombers and the 13,500kg bunker buster bomb had any chance of hitting fortified sites deep underground. And when it came, analysts and journalists were taken by surprise. The White House had called a 'lid' on Saturday evening at 6.44pm local time, meaning that the president was expected to have no further public engagements. Reporters, producers and camera crews left for the night. So the usual 'press pool' was not present to watch when the president strode down the red-carpeted cross corridor, before grasping both sides of his lectern with a stern-face and announcing 'massive precision strikes' on three key Iranian sites. He thanked and congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and the country's armed forces. It was a telling comment for a world leader with whom he has not always seen eye to eye. 'And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades,' he said. Mr Trump was elected on a promise to avoid foreign wars in favour of an ' America First ' agenda. He may have to reckon with some of his own allies in the weeks and months ahead over his decision. The intelligence community has long assessed that Iran ended its nuclear weapons programme years ago, so Mr Trump will have to own his decision to send American forces into action. He spelled out again what was at stake for Iran as he reminded viewers of how extremists had chanted 'death to America' for decades. 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' he said. 'Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. 'But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill, most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.' Just for a moment at the end of his address, he showed a moment of emotion. Associates say last year's assassination attempt, which saw a bullet graze his ear, left a profound psychological mark. He believes he was spared in order to complete the mission he started during his first term. 'And I want to just thank everybody, and in particular God,' he said, his voice straining and his bottom lip quivering briefly under the weight of the moment. 'I want to just say we love you God and we love our great military. Protect them.'
