US president Donald Trump has said he will make a decision on whether to strike Iranian nuclear facilities within the next two weeks.
Mr Trump said he would make the call on whether to order US warplanes to strike Iranian nuclear sites depending on whether Tehran engages in talks over ending its nuclear weapons programme.
“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,” he said.
It comes after Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz vowed that Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei “cannot continue to exist” said after the latest wave of Iranian missiles struck an Israeli hospital.
Mr Katz 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".
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Key points
- Trump will make decision on US strikes within two weeks
- Khamenei 'cannot continue to exist', says Israeli minister
- Dozens wounded in Iran's missile strike on Israeli hospital
- Israeli military backtracks on claimed strike on Iranian nuclear plant
- Israeli strikes kill 640 Iranians - report
Israeli airstrikes reach city of Rasht
03:03
,
Katie Hawkinson
Israeli airstrikes reached the city of Rasht in Northern Iran, according to the Associated Press.
It’s unclear what the Israeli military is targeting in the city, the AP reports.
Trump relying on small group of advisers for Iran strategy: report
02:01
,
Katie Hawkinson
President Donald Trump is increasingly relying on a small group of advisers to decide whether or not to strike Iran, NBC News reports.
He’s also crowdsourcing opinions from various allies who don’t have formal positions in his administration, according to the outlet.
Earlier today, the president said he would make the call on whether to order US warplanes to strike Iranian nuclear sites depending on whether Tehran engages in talks over ending its nuclear weapons program.
“I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,” he said.
IDF intercepts Iranian drone: report
01:21
,
Katie Hawkinson
The Israeli military intercepted an Iranian drone over the Dead Sea, according to a report from The Guardian.
Iran says Israel struck industrial complex in north
01:10
,
Katie Hawkinson
Iranian state media said Israeli strikes hit an industrial complex in the Sefid-Rud area in Northern Iran, The New York Times reports.
State media also reported strikes around Rasht, a city in northern Iran.
Netanyahu faces backlash for describing 'personal cost' of war
Friday 20 June 2025 00:30
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Katie Hawkinson
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing backlash after describing the “personal cost” his family has paid for the war.
“There are people who were killed, families who grieved loved ones, I really appreciate that,” he said in a television interview at the site of a hospital destroyed by an Iranian missile strike.
“Each of us bears a personal cost, and my family has not been exempt,” he added. “This is the second time that my son Avner, due to missile threats and rocket fire, has cancelled a wedding. It is a personal cost for his fiancee as well, and I must say that my dear wife is a hero, and she bears a personal cost.”
Knesset member Gilad Kariv called the prime minister a “narcissist” following his remarks.
“I know many families who were not forced to postpone a wedding, but who will now never celebrate the weddings that were once meant to take place,” the lawmaker said, according to The Guardian.
Yehuda Cohen, whose son is being held hostage in Gaza, also criticized Netanyahu’s remarks, according to The New York Times. He said his son “can’t breathe, he can’t see daylight and has been in danger of death for more than 20 months.”
German chancellor urges Israel to use restraint: report
Friday 20 June 2025 00:10
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Katie Hawkinson
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz privately urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use restraint in the campaign against Iran, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
The German chancellor said he supports Israel’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities while emphasizing the importance of a diplomatic solution, according to Reuters.
Lammy calls for de-escalation over Iran-Israel conflict
Thursday 19 June 2025 23:45
The Foreign Secretary said he will join European leaders in Geneva on Friday for talks with the Iranian foreign minister as the UK continues to call for de-escalation over the Iran-Israel conflict.
David Lammy met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Thursday and said they discussed a deal to find a diplomatic solution.
Mr Lammy said: “The situation in the Middle East remains perilous. We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon.
“Meeting with Secretary of State Rubio and special envoy to the Middle East Witkoff in the White House today, we discussed how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict.
“A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution.
“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.”
White House: Trump to decide on Iran action 'within two weeks'
Thursday 19 June 2025 23:30
,
Alexander Butler
Ukrainians who fled from war to Israel facing new conflict
Thursday 19 June 2025 22:45
,
Jane Dalton
“I don’t stop seeing dreams that I’m hiding somewhere, running from Shahed drones, bombs, and looking for shelter somewhere,” said a Ukrainian woman whose new life has been shattered:
Analysis: Rhetoric heats up and modern missiles evade defences as the conditions are set for yet more violence in the Middle East
Thursday 19 June 2025 22:30
,
Alexander Butler
By World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley:
Israel's politicians have increased their threats against the lives of Iran's leaders and compared Tehran's rulers to Nazis after a rocket hit a hospital in southern Israel.
The growing campaign to stigmatize a regime, which has threatened genocide against Israel, is being matched by popular support for the mass removal of Palestinians from their lands.
Itamar Ben Gvir, an Israeli minister and extreme rightist said: “If the Nazis [in Iran] who launch missiles at hospitals, at the elderly and at children had atomic weapons, they would fire them in a heartbeat without even thinking. This is the most just campaign that Israel has ever embarked on in history."
The same minister is an open advocate of driving Palestinians out of Gaza, where the IDF has conducted relentless waves of air strikes against medical facilities often claiming they have been used as military bases by Hamas. He is under sanctions imposed by the UK recently.
Read the full analysis here:
Lammy meets Rubio
Thursday 19 June 2025 22:19
,
Alexander Butler
The Foreign Secretary has met his US counterpart Marco Rubio to discuss the conflict in the Middle East.
The pair were joined by British ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson and Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, for the meeting at the White House.
Mr Rubio’s spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, said: “They discussed the conflict between Israel and Iran and agreed Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.
“They reviewed other key areas of US-UK co-operation, including efforts to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. The secretary (Mr Rubio) and Foreign Secretary (David) Lammy also talked about the upcoming Nato summit and reaffirmed the importance of increased defence spending to secure peace and stability.”
Iran's divided opposition senses its moment but activists remain wary of protests
Thursday 19 June 2025 22:00
,
Alexander Butler
Iran's fragmented opposition groups think their moment may be close at hand, but activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack.
Exiled opponents of the Islamic Republic, themselves deeply divided, are urging street protests. In the borderlands, Kurdish and Baluchi separatist groups look poised to rise up, with Israeli strikes pummelling Iran's security apparatus.
While the Islamic Republic looks weaker than at nearly any point since soon after the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year rule would likely require some form of popular uprising.
Starmer’s options as Trump threatens to join conflict
Thursday 19 June 2025 21:45
,
Jane Dalton
The PM’s options range from do nothing to full military intervention. Kate Devlin reports:
Israeli strikes hit Iranian reactor being built, nearby plant, IAEA says
Thursday 19 June 2025 21:15
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Alexander Butler
Israeli military strikes hit Iran's Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor, a project under construction that had not begun operating, and damaged the nearby plant that makes heavy water, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Thursday.
Israel has struck several nuclear facilities in Iran. The heavy water reactor as originally designed would have been able to easily produce plutonium that could eventually have been used in a nuclear weapon, though Iran denies seeking such weapons.
Under a 2015 deal with major powers, however, the plant was redesigned to reduce the proliferation risk and its core was removed and filled with concrete. Iran had informed the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency the reactor would start operation in 2026.
"IAEA has information the Khondab (former Arak) heavy water research reactor, under construction, was hit. It was not operational and contained no nuclear material, so no radiological effects," the IAEA said in a post on X.
Heavy water reactors use heavy water, also known as deuterium oxide, as a moderator, a material that slows down fast-moving neutrons released during the nuclear fission process that generates heat in the reactor.
Tucker Carlson is doing a better job than Democrats of countering Trump on Iran: ‘We’re in such a bizarro world’
Thursday 19 June 2025 21:00
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Alexander Butler
Editorial: Starmer must refuse to follow Trump into war
Thursday 19 June 2025 20:45
,
Jane Dalton
On the ground in Tel Aviv: Sam Kiley reports on the latest developments in the Israel-Iran conflict
Thursday 19 June 2025 20:30
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Alexander Butler
Who could lead Iran if Ayatollah Khamenei is deposed
Thursday 19 June 2025 20:20
,
Alexander Butler
Starmer warns Trump against ‘ramping up’ conflict
Thursday 19 June 2025 20:01
,
Jane Dalton
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged Donald Trump to step back from the brink of a direct strike on Iran:
Starmer meets Crown Prince of Bahrain
Thursday 19 June 2025 19:40
Sir Keir Starmer has met the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, in 10 Downing Street as uncertainty continues to overshadow the Middle East.
Hailing the UK's 200-year relationship with Bahrain and new agreements on defence and investment, Sir Keir said the meeting was a "historic day" that would take relations "to a new level".
He said: "We have also got the opportunity to discuss the really pressing issues of the day, not least the developing conflict in the Middle East, which I would very much appreciate your views on.”
Prince Salman, on his second visit to Downing Street since Sir Keir became Prime Minister, said Bahrain had been "part of the international rules-based order" since 1816.
He added that new agreements were "a historic moment for our two nations" and "building on a great partnership".
What happens next if Trump attacks Iran
Thursday 19 June 2025 19:20
,
Jane Dalton
Opinion: There's one concerning detail we shouldn’t ignore – Jack Straw
Thursday 19 June 2025 19:00
,
Jane Dalton
Military action alone will not wipe out the accumulated knowledge and skills of Iran’s nuclear scientists, says the Iran expert and former foreign secretary:
Trump will make decision on US strikes within two weeks, says White House
Thursday 19 June 2025 18:51
,
Alexander Butler
US president Donald Trump has said he will make a decision on whether to strike Iranian nuclear facilities within the next two weeks.
Mr Trump said he would make the call on whether to order US warplanes to strike Iranian nuclear sites depending on whether or not Tehran engages in talks over ending their nuclear weapons program.
“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,” he said.
Rhetoric heats up and modern missiles evade defences as the conditions are set for yet more violence in the Middle East
Thursday 19 June 2025 18:40
,
Alexander Butler
Netanyahu says change or fall of Iranian regime not a goal but could be a result
Thursday 19 June 2025 18:30
,
Alexander Butler
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the change or fall of the Iranian regime was not a goal but could be a result.
"The matter of changing the regime or the fall of this regime is first and foremost a matter for the Iranian people.
“There is no substitute for this. And that's why I didn't present it as a goal. It could be a result, but it's not a stated or formal goal that we have," Mr Netanyahu told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.
How Iran has breached Israel’s Iron Dome air-defence system
Thursday 19 June 2025 18:10
,
Jane Dalton
As Trump threatens to join the Israel-Iran conflict, what are Keir Starmer’s options?
Thursday 19 June 2025 18:00
,
Alexander Butler
Opinion: Starmer may pray Trump keeps postponing attack decision
Thursday 19 June 2025 17:50
,
Jane Dalton
The longer the US president takes making up his mind, the more time the prime minister has to decide whether to support the US, writes Mary Dejevsky:
Israel aims to undermine Iran's government, say officials
Thursday 19 June 2025 17:30
,
Jane Dalton
Israel is seeking to shatter the foundations of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's government and leave it near collapse, according to some Israeli, Western and regional officials.
The Israeli government said it had struck Iran's Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites.
It initially said it had also hit Bushehr, site of Iran's only functioning nuclear power plant, but a spokesperson later said it was a mistake to have said this.
An Iranian diplomat told Reuters Bushehr was not hit and Israel was engaged in "psychological warfare" by discussing it. Any attack on the plant, near Arab neighbours and housing Russian technicians, is viewed as risking nuclear disaster.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said regime change in Tehran was not a goal the security cabinet had set "for the time being".
Witkoff and Iranian minister speak several times
Thursday 19 June 2025 17:05
,
Reuters
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have spoken by phone several times since Israel began its strikes on Iran last week, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis, diplomats say.
Araqchi reportedly said Tehran would not return to negotiations unless Israel stopped the attacks, which began last Friday.
They said the talks included a brief discussion of a US proposal given to Iran at the end of May that aimed to create a regional consortium that would enrich uranium outside of Iran, an offer Tehran has so far rejected.
Mapped: Where Iran and Israel’s missiles have struck
Thursday 19 June 2025 16:55
,
Jane Dalton
Israeli strikes on Iran nuclear sites pose limited radiation risks
Thursday 19 June 2025 16:30
Watch: Israeli military hits western Iran
Thursday 19 June 2025 16:05
,
Jane Dalton
Trump mocks US newspaper report quoting him
Thursday 19 June 2025 15:28
,
Jane Dalton
US president Donald Trump has mocked a Wall Street Journal report, saying the respected news website “has No Idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran!"
His statement on Truth Social – his first comments since the overnight attacks – came after the newspaper reported that Mr Trump told senior aides on Tuesday that he had approved attack plans for Iran, but was holding off on the final order to see whether Tehran would abandon its nuclear programme - as all mainstream news outlets correctly reported.
The story cited three people familiar with the deliberations.
“I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do," Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
“I have ideas on what to do but I haven’t made a final—I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due,” he said.
Iran's supreme leader 'modern-day Hitler', says Israeli minister
Thursday 19 June 2025 15:20
,
Jane Dalton
Amid frightening reports from the Israeli Defence Forces alleging that Iran may be using missiles with numerous warheads or even cluster munitions, Israel Katz, the defence minister, said Iran's supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei was “the modern-day Hitler”.
“A man who has led a major power for decades, yet openly calls for the destruction of Israel and uses all resources at the expense of his own people," he said.
Israel has frequently accused Hamas of using hospitals and schools as human shields to explain the spiralling casualty figures from air strikes in Gaza, where at least 69 people were killed in the past 24 hours.
Central Tel Aviv, where the IDF headquarters sits across a city block, has been targeted by Iran and is surrounded by schools – just as the UK's own Ministry of Defence is in central London near schools, and Parliament itself.
In southern Israel, the hospital hit is also close to an IDF facility.
But for Israelis and Iranians alike, the heavy exchanges of missiles and bombs is causing fear, consternation and a growing number of casualties, as foreign governments scramble to get their citizens out of both countries.
UK and EU officials to meet Iran's foreign minister
Thursday 19 June 2025 15:08
,
Jane Dalton
Iran's foreign minister will on Friday meet counterparts from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, Iranian state media and European diplomats say.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Geneva for the meetings, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
"All sides must show restraint, refrain from taking steps which lead to further escalation in the region, and return to diplomacy," read a joint statement by the UK, France, Germany and the EU.
Tehran leaders like Nazis, says Israeli minister
Thursday 19 June 2025 14:56
,
Sam Kiley, in Jaffa
Israel's politicians have increased their threats against the lives of Iran's leaders and compared Tehran's rulers to Nazis after a rocket hit a hospital in southern Israel.
Itamar Ben Gvir, an Israeli minister and extreme rightist, said:“If the Nazis who launch missiles at hospitals, at the elderly and at children had atomic weapons, they would fire them in a heartbeat without even thinking.
“This is the most just campaign that Israel has ever embarked on in history."
The minister is an open advocate of driving Palestinians out of Gaza, where the IDF has conducted relentless waves of air strikes against medical facilties often claiming they have been used as military bases by Hamas.
Iran death toll stands at 639
Thursday 19 June 2025 14:45
,
Jane Dalton
A Washington-based Iranian human-rights group says at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded.
In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds.
Most Iranian drones and missiles have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defences, which detect incoming fire and shoot down missiles heading towards population centres and critical infrastructure. Israeli officials acknowledge it is imperfect.
Iran warns Israelis to leave target areas before strikes
Thursday 19 June 2025 14:30
,
Jane Dalton
Iran's foreign minister has warned Israeli civilians to leave areas around military targets before they are hit.
“We call on Israelis to heed our evacuation orders before strikes and to avoid proximity to military and intelligence sites,” Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media.
“Our powerful Armed Forces will continue to pummel the criminals who target our people until they cease and pay for their criminal aggression against our nation.”
Earlier today, our powerful Armed Forces accurately eliminated an Israeli Military Command, Control & Intelligence HQ and another vital target.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 19, 2025
The blast wave caused superficial damage to a small section of the nearby, and largely evacuated, Soroka Military Hospital. The… pic.twitter.com/39tOeRtgYG
Map: Where Iran has been hit
Thursday 19 June 2025 14:24
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Jane Dalton
Israeli fighter jets hit Iranian soldiers and missiles
Thursday 19 June 2025 14:10
,
Jane Dalton
The Israeli military says about 20 fighter jets have struck in western Iran.
“In all of the strikes, surface-to-surface missile infrastructure sites and soldiers in Iran's military forces were struck,” it said.
In addition, the Israeli Air Force identified the movement of trucks carrying surface-to-surface missiles, it said. “The trucks were struck when they arrived at the launch sites.”
Iran threatens to shut key oil route
Thursday 19 June 2025 13:42
,
Jane Dalton
Iran could shut the Strait of Hormuz to hit back against its enemies, a top politician has said.
Shipping sources said on Wednesday that commercial ships were avoiding Iran's waters around the strait.
"Iran has numerous options to respond to its enemies and uses such options based on what the situation is," a news agency quoted Behnam Saeedi, a member of the parliament's National Security Committee presidium as saying.
"Closing the Strait of Hormuz is one of the potential options for Iran," he said.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Oman and Iran, is the primary export route for Gulf oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Kuwait.
Israeli military backtracks on claimed strike on Iranian nuclear plant
Thursday 19 June 2025 13:05
,
Alex Croft
An Israeli military official said on Thursday that "it was a mistake" for a military spokesperson to have said earlier in the day that Israel had struck the Bushehr nuclear site in Iran.
The official would only confirm that Israel had hit the Natanz, Isfahan and Arak nuclear sites in Iran.
It comes after Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman, demanded that Israel halt strikes on the plant. Ms Zakharova also repeated a Russian warning to the United States not to get involved militarily in the Israel-Iran conflict, saying this would have unpredictable and negative consequences.
Pressed further on Bushehr, the official said he could neither confirm or deny that Israel had struck the location, where Iran has a reactor.
Thursday 19 June 2025 13:01
,
Alex Croft
Asked about reports that Donald Trump has already approved a plan to attack Iran but has not yet decided whether to go ahead, Sir Keir Starmer said: “The situation in relation to Israel-Iran is obviously fast moving and in those circumstances, it’s really important to cling on to the key principles here.
“Obviously all of us, UK included, are very concerned about the nuclear programme that Iran is developing, we’ve long been concerned about that.
“Also, completely recognise Israel’s right to self-defence, but the principle is that we need to de-escalate this.
“There’s a real risk of escalation here that will impact the region, possibly beyond the region, akin to Gaza, and obviously it’s already having an impact on the economy.
“So I’ve been absolutely clear we need to de-escalate this. Yes, the nuclear issue has to be dealt with, but it’s better dealt with by way of negotiations than by way of conflict.”
In pictures: Damage to southern Israel's Soroka hospital
Thursday 19 June 2025 12:50
,
Alex Croft
