Israel and Iran trade shots overnight

As we enter the second week of the Israel-Iran conflict fighting continues to rage as the two countries traded missile strikes overnight.

Six people sustained minor injuries in strikes in southern Israel - which was where Iran struck the Soroka Hospital yesterday, according to the country's emergency services.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces claim to have hit at "the heart of Tehran". It said it was aiming for missile sites and research facilities. It also said it was targeting the "development of Iran's nuclear weapons project".

The IDF added that it had also knocked down four drones.

Australia closes its embassy in Tehran

Australia closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated staff and their families due to the “deteriorating security environment,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that also urged Australian citizens still in Iran to leave quickly.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and they agreed to work “closely” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and to pursue peace.

“There is an opportunity … over the next two weeks for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy,” Wong said from Adelaide on Friday.

"We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon"

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is travelling to Geneva for a meeting with his French and German counterparts, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is also expected to attend.

Last night he wrote on X: "Tomorrow, I will be heading to Geneva to meet with the Iranian Foreign Minister alongside my French, German and EU counterparts. Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one."

The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. Meeting with @SecRubio and @SteveWitkoff in the White House today, we discussed how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict. A window now exists within the next two… pic.twitter.com/UKAOsnDAm8

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 19, 2025

Evacuation efforts so far

Countries are evacuating their nationals from Israel and Iran by air, land and sea as conflict rages between the bitter rivals. Here's the latest numbers:

• A groupof 89 Bulgarians was evacuated from Israel by plane to Sofia, along with 59 nationals from Slovenia, the U.S., Belgium, Albania, Kosovo and Romania.
• China said it has evacuated more than 1,600 nationals from Iran and “several hundred others” from Israel.
• The European Union has helped evacuate some 400 people from Israel via Jordan and Egypt as part of its efforts to coordinate an emergency response within the 27-nation bloc.
• Germany flew 171 people out of Amman on a special flight on Wednesday. A further 174 people returned on Thursday and another flight is planned this weekend.
• Greece’s Foreign Ministry said 141 Greeks and other nationals have been evacuated from Israel via Egypt.
• India said it evacuated 110 students by road from northern Iran to the Armenian capital, Yerevan. They left on a special flight on June 18.
• Oman said Thursday it had evacuated 245 of its citizens and nationals from other countries via the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas.
• Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Friday that a total of 87 Japanese nationals and their families have safely evacuated from Iran and Israel to neighboring Azerbaijan and Jordan.
• South Korea’s Foreign Ministry says 18 South Korean nationals and two Iranian family members were evacuated from Iran and arrived in Turkmenistan late Wednesday by land.

Israel reopens urgent flights as panic grows over Iran strikes

As Israel and Iran continue to trade deadly blows, the war has closed airspaces, preventing people from leaving the country. But the Israeli Transportation Minister announced that outgoing flights will begin on Monday to return stranded Israelis and foreigners to their homes.

Tourists, Israelis with medical needs, diplomats, sports groups, and youth groups are among those given top priority to leave first.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev said: "At the bottom line of the priority list will be Israelis who want to leave the country because they want to go on holidays, as our focus is first to bring back the 100,000 Israelis who are abroad. The exceptions committee will also examine approvals subject to urgent humanitarian and medical needs of passengers."

Girl, 7, dies in missile strike while in Israel for cancer treatment

Nastya Buryk, from Ukraine, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer on August 29, 2022 and she underwent her first course of chemotherapy in Ukraine. Nastya's condition improved, but then she suffered a relapse.

Earlier this year Nastya's mother Maria decided to give the new treatment a chance and flew out to Israel. But tragedy struck when a missile struck the apartment block where Nastya's family had been staying.

Read the full story here.

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Iran boasts its nuclear material has been moved to 'a safe place'

Iranian commander Mohsen Rezaei said on Thursday: "Israel hit Natanz, Isfahan, Khandab, and Arak, but they were already evacuated. All the materials have been moved to a safe place," according to MailOnline.

Israeli airstrikes reach into the city of Rasht

Israeli airstrikes reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early Friday morning, Iranian media reported as the conflict reached the one-week mark

Videos posted online appeared to show explosions around the city but it wasn’t immediately clear what Israel was targeting in the city in Iran’s Gilan province.

Israel's Iron Dome air defense system

22,000 tourists are seeking evacuation flights from Israel

Amid the conflict, 22,000 tourists are seeking evacuation flights from Israel, according to the country’s tourism ministry.

The ministry’s director-general, Danny Shachar, said the Israeli government was working to co-ordinate flights as part of its “safe return” programme, originally intended for Israelis returning to the country from elsewhere.

The UK Government has urged those in the country to register their presence with the embassy.

Although the Foreign Office advises against all travel to Israel and has evacuated the family members of embassy staff, it has not advised Britons to leave the country.

Donald Trump delays decision on Iran strikes

The US president said he was still hopeful of reaching a negotiated solution with Tehran and would decide on military action within two weeks, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump said he “may” join Israeli strikes against Iran and its nuclear programme, but added: “I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Read the full story here.

240 injured after Israeli hospital hit with missiles

Iranian missiles have hit a major hospital in southern Israel and struck residential buildings in Tel Aviv on Thursday. The strikes resulted in 240 people being injured and causing extensive damage.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz blamed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said the military “has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist.”

Israel, meanwhile, carried out strikes on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, its latest attack on Iran’s sprawling nuclear program. Iranian state television said there was “no radiation danger whatsoever” and that the facility had been evacuated before the attack.

Israel issues evacuation warning to village in Iran

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning to residents of an Iranian village which is located to the north west of Tehran.

The warning applies to the industrial area of Kolesh Taleshan village and comes as Israel is preparing to strike Iranian military infrastructure.

Several US airlines suspend flights to the Middle East

United Airlines said Saturday it has indefinitely paused flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

American Airlines said it is suspending flights between Philadelphia and Doha, Qatar, at least through Sunday and will make "additional adjustments as needed."

Both airlines said they are monitoring the situation and are working to rebook customers.

Last week, Delta Air Lines said it was suspending service to Tel Aviv, Israel, where Ben Gurion Airport remains closed to regularly scheduled passenger flights.

Iran meets with Germany's envoy

Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Germany's envoy following what it called "unwise and irresponsible" statements by the German chancellor supporting Israeli actions that violate international law, state-run IRNA news agency reported.

IRNA reported that the country's foreign ministry conveyed Tehran's "strong protest" to Markus Potzel, over the German chancellor's remarks, which he described as an "implicit endorsement of lawbreaking and the use of force against a peaceful country and government."

In the meeting Thursday, Iran underscored Germany's international commitment, as a signatory to the United Nations Charter, to oppose aggressive acts that breach international law. It asserted that Israel's armed attack on Iran "explicitly violates Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter and is a clear instance of an aggressive act that must be condemned by all UN member states."

Attacks against Palestinians trying to receive aid continue

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Tuesday that widespread bombardment, shelling and shooting continued Gaza, including among those who were trying to receive aid.

Meanwhile, hospitals are struggling to treat scores of injured due to shortages in medical resources and spaces.

Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis has been running out of space this week, with WHO's Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus saying on social media the hospital is hosting twice as many patients as it can handle and had received over 300 injured people on Wednesday alone from food distribution sites.

A WHO-supported tent originally set up for pediatric and surgical care is now being used as an overcrowded trauma ward with 100 beds crammed into a space built for 88.

Gaza’s health ministry said Thursday that 69 killed people, including two recovered bodies, and 221 wounded individuals arrived at hospitals across the territory over a span of 24 hours. Since the war began in October 2023, a total of 55,706 people were killed and 130,101 others injured.

19 killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza

An Israeli airstrike on Thursday on Al-Shati Camp in north Gaza killed a total of 19 people, including three children and five women, and injured 70 others, Mohamed Abu Selmiyah, director of Shifa Hospital told The Associated Press.

He said that the strike targeted a group of citizens in the area.

Italy's foreign minister talks to US secretary of state

Italy's Foreign minister Antonio Tajani had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday in which he reiterated Rome's commitment to a de-escalation to favour a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Tajani and Rubio agreed that "Iran must not have the atomic bomb," Italy's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers also addressed the situation in Gaza. Tajani stressed the urgency of an immediate ceasefire and the full restoration of the entry of humanitarian aid.

Rubio agreed with that and confirmed that "this is the intention of the Trump administration."

Iran asks UN Security Council to condemn Israel's strikes

Iran's mission to the UN demanded on Thursday that the international body condemn the recent Israeli strikes on Iran's various facilities, including its Arak heavy water reactor earlier in the day.

"The international community, in particular, the Security Council must not remain silent as crimes of aggression are committed in broad daylight, as international humanitarian law is widespread and systematically violated, and as peaceful nuclear sites and facilities operating under IAEA safeguards come under direct attack," Amir Saeid Iravani, the Islamic Republic's permanent representative to the UN, said in a letter to the Security Council.

Trump 'always wants to use diplomacy' but not afraid of 'using strength'

Ms Leavitt was asked whether the fact that Trump is giving some time and space to diplomacy by not making a decision just yet and waiting two weeks instead could mean that he wants to try and avoid a direct conflict with Iran.

She replied: "I think the president has made it clear, he always wants to pursue diplomacy but, believe me, the president is unafraid to use strength if necessary."

She added: "And Iran and the entire world should know that the United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world and we have capabilities that no other country on this planet possesses."

Iran in 'weak and vulnerable position'

Ms Leavitt says 'entire world' agrees with Trump

Ms Leavitt told reporters that "the entire world is on the president's side" when it comes to Trump's position that Iran should not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

She said this message "is something pretty much all of humanity, except the Iranian terrorist regime themselves, agree upon."

Iran 'never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon'

During the press briefing, Ms Leavitt said Iran has "never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon."

"It is a fact - and the United States government maintains this fact - that Iran has never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon," she told reporters.

Press secretary outlines Trump's position on Iran

The White House Press Secretary said "nobody should be surprised" by Trump's position that "Iran absolutely can't obtain a nuclear weapon."

She said: "He's been unequivocally clear about this for decades, not just as president, not just as a presidential candidate, but also as a private citizen."

Trump's chilling Iran ultimatum on US involvement

Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump believes there is "a substantial chance of negotiation" with Iran, meaning he hasn't decided yet whether to get involved in the conflict in the Middle East.

The US president said he will make his decision within two weeks.

Sharing a direct message from Trump, the White House Press Secretary said: "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks."

Karoline Leavitt holding press briefing

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is set to address reporters amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East shortly.

Iran's blackout has lasted over 24 hours

NetBlocks, a monitoring group that tracks internet outages, said Iran's nationwide internet blackout had lasted over 24 hours as of Thursday afternoon.

This is now considered the most severe disruption in the country since anti-government protests in November 2019.

UK involvement in US attack on Iran may be illegal, PM warned

The Prime Minister has been told by Attorney General Lord Hermer UK involvement in a US attack on Iran may be illegal, it is believed.

Sir Keir Starmer is understood to have been warned UK forces must stick to protecting their allies from attack.

The possibility for the UK taking part in a US-led strike force was discussed in a crisis COBRA meeting.

But sources say Lord Hermer may be unwilling to agree to offensive operations.

Trump's national security team ready for Situation Room meeting

Donald Trump's national security team is at the White House ahead of a meeting with the US president in the Situation Room, according to CNN.

Among those attending the meeting - which is listed as an "intelligence briefing" on Trump's official schedule - are Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

CNN reported that Mr Witkoff was seen speaking on the phone before entering the White House.

The meeting comes as Trump is considering whether to join Israel in attacking Iran.