State Department says it has provided guidance to more than 25,000 people in Israel, West Bank and Iran
The State Department said Friday it had provided "information and support" to over 25,000 people in Israel, the West Bank or Iran seeking guidance on what to do and how to get out.
When pressed on the matter during a State Department briefing Friday afternoon, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce declined to go into further detail about how many of those 25,000 people are American citizens or any other breakdown of the number.
News of the number of people the State Department has assisted comes after the agency announced the formation of a task force to assist Americans looking to leave Israel or other Middle Eastern countries.
Bruce said during a press briefing Friday that the United States does not intend to help transport American citizens directly from Iran, and they will have to make it out first before they can be assisted by the government.
Tugboats, Cruise Ships And Flights: Israel Begins Emergency Evacuation Of Citizens Amid Iran War
United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said earlier this week the embassy in Jerusalem was "working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures" for Americans trying to leave Israel.
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Huckabee released his statement hours after the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem wrote in its own X post that there was "no announcement about assisting private U.S. citizens to depart at this time," but it simultaneously acknowledged "the Department of State is always planning for contingencies to assist with private U.S. citizens' departure from crisis areas."
So far, the U.S. has not engaged in a large-scale effort to help Americans get out of Israel. But, according to ABC News, the military did assist in flying some American diplomats and family members from the U.S. Embassy this week.
1,500 Jewish Americans Evacuated From Israel As Desantis Sponsors Rescue Flights To Tampa
Private flights for American citizens did begin landing in Florida Thursday after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dispatched four planes to pick up U.S. citizens stuck in Israel during the ongoing violence. Other private options to get out of Israel are also available.
On Monday, the State Department raised its travel warning for Israel to the highest level possible.Original article source: State Department says it has provided guidance to more than 25,000 people in Israel, West Bank and Iran
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CNN
14 minutes ago
- CNN
June 20, 2025 – Israel-Iran conflict
Update: Date: Title: Content: Our live coverage of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has moved here. Update: Date: Title: There's 'no question' the US will be dragged into a regional war if it strikes Iran, former CIA director says Content: There is 'no question' the United States would be plunged into a regional war if it strikes Iran, former CIA director Leon Panetta told CNN. The former head of the intelligence agency said the US made a 'terrible mistake' by going into Iraq two decades ago, starting a war that lasted years. 'It's a lesson that the president needs to learn, because if he goes in and attacks Iran, then there's no question that the United States would be in a regional war at that point,' Panetta told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. Panetta, also a former defense secretary, warned that Iran is bound to retaliate. 'So make no mistake about it. It may be an airstrike, but it would definitely involve the United States in a war with [Iran],' he said. Update: Date: Title: Explosions heard in Isfahan, Iranian state media says Content: Explosions have been heard in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, Iranian state media reports. The news comes shortly after the Israel Defense Forces said it had begun a new wave of attacks in Iran. Semi-official news agency Fars reported that the air defense system in the city had been activated. Isfahan is the home of Iran's largest nuclear research complex, which has been previously targeted by Israeli strikes. Update: Date: Title: 2 killed in strike on residential building in Qom, Iranian state media reports Content: A strike on a residential building in the central Iranian city of Qom killed two people and injured four others on Saturday, according to reports from state media. The strike, which hit the building's fourth floor, was reported shortly after the Israel Defense Forces said it had begun a new wave of attacks in Iran. The holy city of Qom is close to Iran's secretive Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. One of those killed was a 16-year-old, according to a statement from Morteza Heydari, spokesman for the Qom Provincial Administration, made to Iranian media. Video geolocated by CNN shows impact damage to a building in southwestern Qom. In the video a fire can be seen burning on the upper floors of a multistory building. At the same time, semi-official Nour News reported air defenses were active over the capital Tehran, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. Update: Date: Title: Video shows building on fire in Holon after latest Iranian strikes on Israel Content: Video released by Israel's national emergency services showed a building on fire in the city of Holon, near commercial hub Tel Aviv, following Iran's latest missile strikes on the country. Israeli fire and rescue services confirmed in a statement on Telegram that they were working to extinguish a blaze on the roof of a three-story building in Gush Dan, the wider metropolitan area around Tel Aviv, which includes Holon. The statement did not specify the city. The fire was caused by shrapnel after a missile was intercepted, according to the statement. Emergency agency Magen David Adom said no injuries were reported. Update: Date: Title: Israel says it has begun a new wave of attacks in Iran Content: Israel has begun a new wave of attacks in Iran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Saturday, local time. 'The Air Force has now begun a wave of attacks against missile storage and launch infrastructure in central Iran,' the IDF said in a statement. Update: Date: Title: Iran files complaint with United Nations against nuclear watchdog chief Content: Iran has filed a complaint with the United Nations secretary-general and president of the Security Council against Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In his letter, Iranian UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani took issue with Grossi's 'approach regarding Iran's peaceful nuclear activities' and what he said was a 'failure' to condemn Israel's military action, according to the semi-official Iranian news outlet Fars News. The complaint comes after Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran's atomic energy agency, on Thursday threatened legal action against Grossi for alleged 'inaction' during Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. That threat came after Israel attacked Iran's Arak nuclear facility in overnight strikes. 'It is necessary to fulfil your constitutional duties by immediately ending this inaction and condemning these actions of the Zionist regime that are contrary to international regulations,' Eslami's letter read, according to Fars, adding that Iran 'will pursue appropriate legal measures, especially in relation to the inactions taken by your Excellency.' The IAEA head said later on Thursday that the agency was continuing to 'closely monitor and assess the situation regarding the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites' in Iran and that inspectors will remain in the country, ready to be deployed to nuclear sites when possible. Update: Date: Title: Israel and Iran's UN ambassadors vow to keep fighting Content: Both Iran and Israel's UN ambassadors say that their countries will continue to fight during a tense United Nations Security Council meeting. Both Iran and Israel's UN ambassadors say that their countries will continue to fight during a tense UN Security Council meeting. #cnn #news You can also watch the video on YouTube Shorts here. Update: Date: Title: Israeli military identifies missiles launched from Iran and tells public to shelter Content: Israel's military said it identified missiles launched from Iran and that defense systems are working to intercept them. The military called on the public to 'enter a protected space' and stay there until further notice. Leaving is only allowed after an 'explicit directive,' the military statement added. In a separate statement the military said it is working to intercept and 'strike where necessary to eliminate the threat.' Update: Date: Title: Gabbard says testimony on Iran intelligence taken "out of context" to sow division with Trump Content: Hours after President Donald Trump said publicly that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was 'wrong' in her assessment of Iran's efforts on obtaining a nuclear weapon, Gabbard asserted on X that media outlets were unfairly sowing division between her and Trump. 'The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division,' Gabbard said in a post to social media that highlighted video of her prior testimony on the issue on Capitol Hill. She continued, 'America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree.' What she testified: On Capitol Hill in March, Gabbard had testified that the US intelligence community 'continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.' More context: CNN has previously reported that US intelligence assessed Iran was up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver a nuclear weapon to a target of its choosing, according to four people familiar with the assessment. The International Atomic Energy Agency, a top international watchdog, said last week that Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched at levels just below weapons-grade to potentially make nine nuclear bombs, which it termed 'a matter of serious concern.' The challenge for Iran is producing not merely a crude nuclear weapon — which experts say Iran could potentially do within the space of months if it decided to — but also producing a working delivery system, which could take much longer. Update: Date: Title: Hundreds of Americans have fled Iran and others face difficulties leaving as Trump weighs US military action Content: Hundreds of Americans have fled Iran as the conflict with Israel has escalated, an internal State Department report said. The detail in the Friday situation report underscores that US citizens in Iran are at risk as President Donald Trump weighs US military action. The exact number of Americans in Iran is not known, and the State Department does not require US citizens to register their presence abroad. Unlike in Israel, where the US is working to establish transportation options out of the country for the estimated hundreds of thousands of Americans there, no such options are available for US citizens in Iran. The US does not have a diplomatic presence there. 'We do not anticipate offering direct US government assisted departure from Iran,' State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce noted at a press briefing Friday. The situation report described some Americans facing difficulties leaving Iran. 'Security alerts also note Americans seeking to depart should be prepared to encounter checkpoints and questioning from authorities,' the report states. 'Numerous US citizens have described delays and harassment along their exit route.' The report also notes that two Americans were reportedly detained while attempting to depart the country. One source trying to get a US citizen family member out of Iran expressed frustration at the State Department earlier this week, saying the agency seemed to defer everything to seemingly overwhelmed US embassies. This person wanted to see the department apply more pressure to Iran's neighboring countries to approve Americans' entrance. They also suggested dispatching embassy officials closer to the Iranian border to help. Update: Date: Title: Local hospitals report 33 injuries after Iranian strike on Haifa Content: A total of 33 people were physically injured by an Iranian strike on Haifa in northern Israel Friday, according to figures shared with CNN by local hospitals. One person is in serious condition and two others are in moderate condition after the attack, the city's Rambam hospital said. A further 16 mildly injured patients were treated at Rambam, it said. A spokesperson for the Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa said that it admitted 14 people in 'light condition' after the strike. According to a Friday update by Israel's emergency services, 685 people have been taken to the hospital with physical injuries since Israel began its 'Rising Lion' operation last week and Iran retaliated with its own missile strikes. Of those, 643 people were 'lightly injured,' Magen David Adom (MDA) said in a statement. A total of 24 people have been killed in Israel since the conflict began last week, MDA said. Update: Date: Title: Trump tells reporters they're in danger while discussing potential Iran retaliation Content: President Donald Trump warned reporters they were personally in danger as he discussed possible Iranian retaliation on Americans stemming from the conflict with Israel. When asked by a reporter whether he would expect Iran to launch attacks against Americans if he ordered military action, Trump said: 'We're always concerned about that, and we have to take them out and be very strong.' 'You're even in danger, talking to me right now,' Trump said to the reporters. 'Do you know that you are in danger talking to me right now? So I should probably get out of here,' Trump added. Update: Date: Title: Iran expressed concerns about "inaction" of E3 in condemning Israel at Geneva meeting Content: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed 'concerns' about the UK, France and Germany's 'inaction' in condemning Israel's attacks when he met with their foreign ministers in Geneva on Friday, according to Iranian state-affiliated media. Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Araghchi as saying he also stressed to the ministers that Iran would continue to 'exercise its legitimate right of self defense against the Zionist regime, with the objective of stopping the aggression and preventing future recurrences.' The minister said he told his counterparts Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and remains under the supervision of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. 'If the attacks are ceased and the aggressor is held accountable for its blatant crimes, Iran will be ready to consider diplomacy,' Araghchi said, according to ISNA. Update: Date: Title: Trump says 2-week timeframe is the "maximum" to decide on US involvement in Iran Content: President Donald Trump indicated that his two-week timeline for a decision on US military involvement in Iran is the 'maximum' amount of time — and that he could make up his mind sooner. 'I'm giving them a period of time. We're going to see what that period of time is. But I'm giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,' Trump told reporters in New Jersey. It's the president's first comments on the self-imposed deadline since his press secretary yesterday read aloud his statement setting that time frame for a diplomatic solution. Trump suggested, however, that he is not considering the possibility of US ground troops as he weighs an attack on Iran's nuclear sites. 'I'm not going to talk about ground forces. The last thing you want to do is ground forces,' he said when asked if that was on the table. He also appeared to suggest he does not believe Israel has the capacity to take out all of Iran's nuclear facilities alone: 'They really have a very limited capacity. They could break through a little section, but they can't go down very deep. They don't have that capacity. And we'll have to see what happens. Maybe it won't be necessary.' Officials and experts have suggested using the US' unique bunker-busting capabilities toward those ends. Trump also said he will 'always a peacemaker,' but 'sometimes, you need some toughness to make peace.' Update: Date: Title: "Diplomacy just for the sake of talks" will not work, Israel's UN ambassador says Content: Israel's ambassador to the United Nations struck a dismissive tone when asked about the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran, saying 'diplomacy just for the sake of talks' would no longer work. Ambassador Danny Danon told CNN's Boris Sanchez the Iranians have been 'the masters of deception for so many years.' He added that diplomacy would not work until Iran commits to 'actually take out their capabilities, to neutralize them completely, to not enrich uranium.' 'But I'm not sure that they are there yet,' Danon said. Danon, who has described the Iranian attack that hit Israel's Soroka hospital as a war crime, was asked about his response to those who argue Israel has committed war crimes by striking hospitals in Gaza. 'You cannot make that equation because, you know, we chased terrorists and we allow people to evacuate those places,' he said. The ambassador said Israel gives civilians advance notice, including in Iran, and that the military tries to 'minimize civilian casualties.' Update: Date: Title: Trump says Gabbard is "wrong" on Iran nuclear intelligence Content: President Donald Trump took direct aim at his director of national intelligence on Friday, saying Tulsi Gabbard 'is wrong' about Iran's efforts on obtaining a nuclear weapon. The comment comes as Gabbard's standing in the administration diminishes, according to sources who spoke with CNN this week. Trump was asked Friday about his intelligence community's assessment that Iran is not close to building a nuclear weapon. 'Well then, my intelligence community is wrong,' Trump told reporters in New Jersey, asking the reporter who in the intelligence community had said that. Told that it was Gabbard, Trump said, 'She's wrong.' Gabbard testified to Congress in March that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon — a direct contradiction of Israel's claims that Iran was racing toward a bomb. More background: Though Gabbard has been among the most visible voices for the president's national security policy, she has struggled behind the scenes to carve out her own place in the Trump White House, CNN reported this week. Recently, Trump has come to see her as 'off message' when it comes to the conflict in the Middle East, according to one senior White House adviser. CNN's Katie Bo Lillis and Kristen Holmes contributed reporting to this post. Update: Date: Title: Trump said it would be "very hard" to ask Israel to end its Iran strikes as he pursues diplomacy Content: President Donald Trump said it would be difficult for him to request Israel stop its airstrikes in Iran, even as he pursues a diplomatic solution to end the conflict. 'I think it's very hard to make that request right now if somebody is winning,' the president told reporters in New Jersey, where he will attend a fundraiser at his golf course.'It's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing. But we're ready, willing and able. And we've been speaking to Iran and we'll see what happens,' the president said. Trump repeated a bit later that it would be a hard ask, given Israel's military successes so far. 'It's very hard to stop, when you look at it — Israel's doing well in terms of war,' he said. 'I think you would say that Iran is doing less well, it's a little bit hard to get somebody to stop.' Trump dismissed European efforts to engage diplomatically with Iran, saying they hadn't helped efforts to end the conflict. 'They didn't help,' he said. 'Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want — they want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help on this one.' Update: Date: Title: US State Department "can't speculate" on whether Trump will push for Iran-Israel ceasefire talks Content: US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said she 'can't speculate' on whether the Trump administration will press for a ceasefire between Iran and Israel to allow US-Iran nuclear talks to move forward. 'I'm not going to characterize what's happening now, or the reaction by the president or the secretary of state to what those negotiations might be,' Bruce said at a news briefing Friday. The Iranians have said that they will not return to talks with the United States until Israel stops its military strikes. Bruce reiterated that US President Donald Trump 'still holds out the hope for negotiations.' She also underscored that Iran and its proxies 'should not target US interests or personnel, and if they do, the consequences will be dire.' Update: Date: Title: Explosions rock several areas of Iran's Khuzestan province, semi-official media says Content: Israeli attacks caused explosions in several parts of the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan on Friday, according to Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency. Three cities, Ahvaz, Mahshahr and Andimeshk, were targeted in the attacks, Mehr News Agency reported, though the attack on Mahshahr did not reach the city, instead causing an explosion in an area outside of it. Residential houses were damaged in the Ahvaz attack, according to the agency. An empty shed may have been the target of the attack, it said.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran: Justifying 'outrageous' Israeli attacks on Iran is complicity
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called on the international community to condemn Israel's attacks on his country. "Any justification for this unjust and criminal war would be tantamount to complicity," the minister told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, shortly before a planned meeting with top EU officials. The attacks were "an outrageous act of aggression by a regime that has been committing a horrible genocide in Palestine for the past two years," Araghchi said. "The world, every state, every UN mechanism and body has to be alarmed and has to act now to stop the aggressor, to end impunity, and to hold the criminals accountable for their unending atrocities and crimes in our region," he said. When it came to the possibility of negotiations, Araghchi pointed out that Iran was "attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process" with the United States. Planned talks over Iran's controversial nuclear programme were cancelled days after the conflict began. Israel says Iran was close to being able to build a nuclear bomb - a charge Iran has always denied. Araghchi referred to Israel's airstrikes targeting nuclear facilities, saying: "Our peaceful nuclear facilities have also been targeted despite despite their being under full monitoring of IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and despite the fact that attacking such facilities are absolutely banned under international law." He pointed out "the danger of environmental and health catastrophe as the result of radiological leakage." According to official figures, 24 people in Israel have been killed and more than 1,200 injured by Iranian attacks since the start of the conflict between Iran and Israel. According to the US-based human rights network HRANA, more than 650 people have been killed and more than 2,000 injured in Iran as a result of the attacks. The network relies on sources on the ground and publicly accessible sources. The Iranian government itself does not publish figures on injuries and fatalities.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tulsi Gabbard now says Iran could produce nuclear weapon 'within weeks'
Tulsi Gabbard says Iran could produce nuclear weapons "within weeks", months after she testified before Congress that the country was not building them. The US Director of National Intelligence said her March testimony - in which she said Iran had a stock of materials but was not building these weapons - had been taken out of context by "dishonest media". Her change of position came after Donald Trump said she was "wrong" and that intelligence showed Iran had a "tremendous amount of material" and could have a nuclear weapon "within months". Iran has always said that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and that it has never sought to develop a nuclear weapon. On Thursday Trump said he was giving Tehran the "maximum" of two weeks to reach a deal on its nuclear activities with Washington. He said he would soon decide whether the US should join Israel's strikes on Iran. Disagreement has been building within Trump's "America First" movement over whether the US should enter the conflict. On Saturday morning, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was "absolutely ready for a negotiated solution" on their nuclear programme but that Iran "cannot go through negotiations with the US when our people are under bombardment". Live updates Was Iran months away from producing a nuclear bomb? In her post on social media, Gabbard said US intelligence showed Iran is "at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months". "President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree," she added. Gabbard shared a video of her full testimony before Congress in March, where she said US intelligence agencies had concluded Iran was not building nuclear weapons. Experts also determined Iran had not resumed its suspended 2003 nuclear weapons programme, she added in the clip, even as the nation's stockpile of enriched uranium - a component of such weapons - was at an all-time high. In her testimony, she said Iran's stock was "unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons". Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) - the global nuclear watchdog - expressed concern about Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons. Gabbard's March testimony has been previously criticised by Trump, who earlier told reporters he did not "care what she said". The US president said he believes Iran were "very close to having a weapon" and his country would not allow that to happen. In 2015, Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with a group of world powers after years of tension over the country's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran had been engaging in talks with the US this year over its nuclear programme and was scheduled to hold a further round when Israel launched strikes on Iran on 13 June, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said targeted "the heart" of Iran's nuclear programme. "If not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time," Netanyahu claimed. Israeli air strikes have destroyed Iranian military facilities and weapons, and killed senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iran's health ministry said on Saturday that at least 430 people had been killed, while a human rights group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, put the unofficial death toll at 657 on Friday. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Israel, killing 25 people including one who suffered a heart attack.
