Iran-Israel war: Latest developments
JERUSALEM: Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.
Here are the latest developments:
New missile salvo
Israel's army on Wednesday said it had detected new missiles launched from Iran, adding that its defensive systems were operating to intercept the threat.
The announcement came after Iran issued an evacuation warning for residents of the Israeli city of Haifa, with state TV subsequently reporting launches of Fattah hypersonic missiles.
The Israeli military later 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".
Israel's air defence systems appear to have been largely successful in intercepting the daily barrages of Iranian missiles and drones.
An Israeli military official, who asked not to be named, said that Iran had fired around 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones since Friday.
About 20 missiles had struck civilian areas in Israel, the official added.
Near-total internet blackout
Iran was in a "near-total national internet blackout", London-based watchdog NetBlocks wrote on X.
Iran announced last week that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet, with the communication ministry saying Wednesday that heavier limits were being imposed due to Israel's "abuse of the country's communication network for military purposes".
Iranian media later reported that Israel briefly hacked the state television broadcast, airing footage of women's protests and urging people to take to the streets.
Numerous sites and apps have remained at least partially inaccessible.
State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users' location and personal data and "communicates them to the Zionist enemy".
A WhatsApp spokesperson hit back against the claims, expressing concern the "false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked".
Trump on strikes, talks
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was considering whether the United States would join Israel's strikes, and said that Iran had reached out to seek negotiations on ending the conflict.
"I may do it, I may not do it," Trump told reporters. "I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate."
Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House for talks on Tehran's nuclear program in a bid to end Israel's air assault.
Asked if it was too late for negotiations, he said: "Nothing is too late."
In a televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump a "great friend" of Israel, and thanked him "for the support of the United States in defending Israel's skies".
Khamenei warns US
Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech read on state television: "This nation will never surrender."
He added: "America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage."
Trump had said on Tuesday that the United States knows where Khamenei is located but will not kill him "for now".
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday his country was committed to "diplomacy" but was acting in "self-defence" against Israel's assault.
Israel says hit security HQ
AFP journalists reported hearing blasts across Tehran throughout the day on Wednesday, with smoke billowing over parts of the city.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in the afternoon that air force jets had "destroyed the internal security headquarters of the Iranian regime -- the main arm of repression of the Iranian dictator".
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to end strikes on targets in Iran not linked to nuclear activities or ballistic missiles, his office said.
'Painful losses'
Foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries, with US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announcing plans on Wednesday to get Americans out by air and sea.
Israel's attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.
Residential areas in Israel have also been hit.
Netanyahu acknowledged suffering "painful losses" on Wednesday, but added: "The home front is solid, the people are strong."
The prime minister's office said Monday that at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded since Iran's retaliatory strikes began Friday.
Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
Putin eyes 'solution'
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that a deal to end the fighting between Israel and Iran was possible.
He also claimed Israel's strikes on Iran had led to a "consolidation" of support in Iranian society around its leaders.
"We see that today in Iran there is a consolidation of society around the country's political leadership," Putin told foreign journalists, including AFP, in a televised event.
"This is a delicate issue, and of course we need to be very careful here, but in my opinion, a solution can be found," he added, referring to a possible deal that was in the interests of both Israel and Iran.
He had previously proposed to act as a mediator in the conflict, prompting both Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron to question his suitability given Russia's war in Ukraine.
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New Straits Times
24 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Iran, Israel trade deadly strikes as Trump hesitates US involvement
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But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city. Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear programme?" A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. But the prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war. Senior US Senate Democrats urged Trump to prioritise diplomacy and seek a binding agreement to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, while expressing concern about his administration's approach. "We are alarmed by the Trump administration's failure to provide answers to fundamental questions. By law, the president must consult Congress and seek authorization if he is considering taking the country to war," they said in a statement. "He owes Congress and the American people a strategy for US engagement in the region." DRONE ATTACKS On Thursday morning, a missile warning was issued by Israel's military and explosions were heard over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli military said several civilian areas, including a hospital, were hit by Iranian missile strikes. In Iran, the ISNA news agency reported that an area near the heavy water facility of the Khondab nuclear facility was targeted by Israel. Earlier, air defences were activated in Tehran, intercepting drones on the outskirts of the capital, the semi-official SNN news agency reported. Iranian news agencies also reported it had arrested 18 "enemy agents" who were building drones for Israeli attacks in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was "progressing step by step" towards eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. "We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime," Netanyahu said. Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Netanyahu also thanked Trump, "a great friend of the state of Israel," for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact. Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei. Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran's Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: "I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to." Putin said all sides should look for ways to end hostilities in a way that ensured both Iran's right to peaceful nuclear power and Israel's right to the unconditional security of the Jewish state. Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defences, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defences, killing Israelis in their homes. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
New Straits Times
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an hour ago
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A satellite image shows the aftermath at Iran's Piranshahr facility after it was struck by Israeli airstrikes. (AP pic) TEHRAN : The UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes on Wednesday destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear programme near Tehran, while Iran said it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day. Hours after US President Donald Trump demanded Iran's surrender, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed his country would show 'no mercy' towards Israel's leadership. Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, was to deliver a televised speech Wednesday. Trump insists the US has played no part in ally Israel's bombing campaign, but also warned his patience was wearing thin. The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones. After the Israeli military issued a warning for civilians to leave one district of Tehran for their safety, Israeli warplanes hit the capital early Wednesday. 'More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets… carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours,' the Israeli military said, adding that several weapons manufacturing facilities were hit. 'As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted.' Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead. The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear programme in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday. In another strike on a site in Tehran, 'one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested', the agency added in a post on X. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv. Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept. No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, despite Iran's claims that its attacks were 'repeatedly shaking the shelters', though AFP photos showed Israel's air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub. Iran also sent a 'swarm of drones' towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones launched from Iran. It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran. 'Unconditional surrender' Trump fuelled speculation about US intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies called for de-escalation but backed Israel's 'right to defend itself'. Back in Washington on Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic's 'unconditional surrender'. He also boasted that the US could easily assassinate Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict. There was no immediate public statement after the hour and 20 minute meeting. US officials stressed Trump has not yet made a decision about any intervention. Hours later, Khamenei responded with a post on X, saying: 'We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.' Evacuations Israel's attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas. Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries. Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu's office. Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then. More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures. On Tuesday in Tehran, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies. Iran's ISNA and Tasnim news agencies on Wednesday reported that five suspected agents of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency had been detained, on charges of tarnishing the country's image online. With air raid sirens regularly blaring in Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall. 'We've decided to permanently set camp here until it's all clear, I guess,' Mali Papirany, 30, told AFP. Nuclear facilities After a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons – an ambition Tehran denies. The UN nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been 'direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls' at Iran's Natanz facility. Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads. The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel's campaign that it would not negotiate with the US while under attack. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where any attempts at 'regime change' would bring 'chaos'.
