Israel continues strikes on Iran as Araghchi arrives in Moscow for talks

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Monday that Canberra supported the United States strike on Iran's nuclear sites and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy.

"We support action that the U.S. has taken to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Wong said in a television interview with Seven Sunrise.

In a series of television and radio interviews on Monday, Wong said the strike was a unilateral action by its security ally the United States, and Australia was joining calls from Britain and other countries for Iran to return to the negotiating table.

Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people and wounded 3,450 others, a human rights group says.

France is to send military A400M aircraft to Israel to fly any of its citizens who wish to leave out to Cyprus, the foreign and defence ministries announced on Sunday.

The flights will be carried out subject to Israel's clearance and will supplement the chartered civilian flights already operating, the ministries added.

France has some 250,000 of its citizens in Israel, of whom 100,00 are registered on consular lists.

A crisis team at the foreign ministry has received more than 4,500 phone calls over the last week.

At least three people were killed on Sunday after an ambulance was hit by an Israeli strike in central Iran, local media reported, as fighting raged between the two foes for the 10th day.

"The ambulance... was en route to transfer a patient when it was severely damaged by a drone strike," ISNA news agency reported quoting Hamidreza Mohammadi Fesharaki, the governor of Najafabad county in the central Isfahan province.

"All occupants of the ambulance - including the driver, the patient, and the patient's companion - were martyred."

He added: "The impact of the drone caused the ambulance to veer off course and collide with a passing vehicle."

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday slammed the United States for its strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

"The United States, a permanent member of this Council... has now once again resorted to illegal force, waged a war against my country, under a fabricated and absurd pretext: preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," Amir Saeid Iravani told the UN Security Council.

Trump says "why wouldn't there be a regime change" in Iran.

Air France KLM said on Sunday it has cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday, the latest upheaval of travel in the Middle East following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.

Israel is "very, very close" to achieving its goals in Iran after US President Donald Trump ordered overnight bombing raids on the Islamic republic's nuclear sites, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

Restating his objectives as destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities, Netanyahu told a press conference that "we are moving step by step towards achieving these goals, we are very, very close to completing them".

He added that "when they have been reached, the operation will finish".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that returning the remaining captives in Gaza will take "a bit more time".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Moscow on Sunday for talks after a US attack on key nuclear facilities, state media reported on the tenth day of the war with Israel.

"Abbas Araghchi ... arrived in Moscow to hold consultations with the (Russian) president and other senior officials of Russia regarding regional and international developments following the military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran," the official IRNA news agency said.

The Israeli air force "is currently striking military infrastructure sites in Tehran and western Iran," it said in a statement.

Brigadier General Esmail Kowsari, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Sunday that "the Islamic Consultative Assembly ( parliament ) has reached a conclusion to close the Strait of Hormuz, but the final decision on this matter rests with Iran's Supreme National Security Council," according to Iranian media reports.

Advisor to Iran's Khamenei says US bases used to strike Iran 'legitimate' targets

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany on Sunday urged Iran not to take any actions that would further destabilise the region following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities overnight.

"We have consistently been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no longer pose a threat to regional security," the government heads of the three countries said in a joint statement. 

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that the country still had its stockpile of enriched uranium despite attacks by the United States on key nuclear sites.

"Even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn't over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain," said Ali Shamkhani in a post on X.

He added that the "political and operational initiative is now with the side that plays smart, avoids blind strikes. Surprises will continue!"

Pakistan condemned on Sunday the strikes ordered on its neighbour Iran by Donald Trump, a day after Islamabad had said it would nominate the U.S. President for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pakistan on Sunday said Trump's decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities violated international law and that diplomacy was the only way to resolve the Iran crisis.

“The unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran is deeply disturbing. Any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Also on Sunday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and “conveyed Pakistan’s condemnation of the U.S. attacks," a statement from the Pakistani leader said.

The Israeli military said its fighter jets had struck "dozens" of targets across Iran on Sunday, including a long-range missile site in Yazd in the centre of the country for the first time.

A statement said that "approximately 30 IAF (air force) fighter jets struck dozens of military targets throughout Iran" -- including "the 'Imam Hussein' Strategic Missile Command Center in the Yazd area, where long-range Khorramshahr missiles were stored".

The statement also confirmed strikes on missile launchers in Bushehr province, where a "massive explosion" was reported by Iranian media on Sunday, as well as in Ahvaz in the southwest and central Isfahan.

Isfahan is home to a uranium conversion facility targeted by more than two dozen missiles fired from a US submarine in the Middle East overnight.

Earlier Sunday, military spokesman Effie Defrin vowed there would be no let-up in Israel's offensive against Iran despite overnight US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites which President Donald Trump claimed had been "obliterated."

"We are continuing and are determined to achieve the objectives of the operation: eliminating the existential threat to the state of Israel, damaging Iran's nuclear programme and destroying its missile systems," Defrin said.

The military statement said Israeli fighter jets had also targeted a drone command centre and surface-to-air missile facilities.

Israel has reopened its airspace after a temporary shutdown early Sunday, which followed U.S. airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli news site Haaretz reported.

Israel Railways stated that train services to the station near Ben-Gurion International Airport would also resume.

In parallel, the Israeli aviation authority and local airlines are preparing to restart repatriation flights.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Rubio's comments on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" show came after Iran's Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas flows.

"I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil," said Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.

"If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours."

Rubio said a move to close the strait would be a massive escalation that would merit a response from the US and others.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately provide comment.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian took part in a protest in Tehran on Sunday denouncing US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to images broadcast on state TV.

"Revenge, revenge!" protesters shouted with their fists raised, as the president was seen making his way through the crowd gathered in a square in central Tehran.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is among demonstrators in Tehran's Revolution Square condemning the American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. pic.twitter.com/yrUyBbFzBK

— Séamus Malekafzali (@Seamus_Malek) June 22, 2025

 The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said on Sunday it would set up a ministerial contact group to establish regular contact with international and regional parties to support de-escalation efforts and "stop the aggression against Iran".

In a joint declaration following a meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Istanbul, the 57-member group condemned "the aggression of Israel" against Iran, stressing "the urgent need to stop Israeli attacks and their great concern regarding this dangerous escalation".

It made no mention of the overnight U.S. strikes on Iran.

It also urged the international community to take "deterrent measures to stop this aggression and make Israel accountable for crimes committed". 

A series of unprecedented US strikes against Iran "devastated" its nuclear programme, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday, as he asserted Washington was not seeking regime change in Tehran.

The Pentagon chief urged Iran's leaders to find an off-ramp to the conflict after President Donald Trump announced the strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

"We devastated the Iranian nuclear programme," Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation "did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people".

Trump "seeks peace, and Iran should take that path", Hegseth continued. "This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change," he added.

The United Nations Security Council will meet later on Sunday - at the request of Tehran - after the United States hit Iran's main nuclear sites in strikes with massive bunker busting bombs, diplomats said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned US strikes on nuclear sites Sunday, saying in his first response that the attack revealed Washington was "behind" Israel's military campaign in the Islamic republic.

"This aggression showed that America is the main factor behind the Zionist regime's hostile actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said, according to IRNA news agency, adding that the United States acted after seeing Israel's "obvious inability".

Iranian media reported that a "massive explosion was heard" Sunday in Bushehr province, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant, hours after the US bombed nuclear sites across the country.

Shargh newspaper reported the blast, while the Fars news agency said two locations in the city were attacked by Israel. Iranian news agencies also reported strikes in Yazd province.

The UN's nuclear watchdog warned the day before that striking the Bushehr plant would trigger a "a very high release of radioactivity".

Seven stealth bombers were used in the US attack against Iranian nuclear sites, which apparently saw little response by Iran's military, top general Dan Caine said Sunday.

Describing the complex operation, dubbed "Midnight Hammer," Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the "main strike package comprised of 7 B-2 Spirit bombers" flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings.

"Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface to air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise," Caine added.

The head of Iran's Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said there were no fatalities in the US strikes Sunday on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Fortunately, we did not have any martyrs in last night's events of the US aggression against Iran's nuclear facilities," he said according to state television.

France expressed concern Sunday over US air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and urged "restraint" as President Emmanuel Macron planned to convene a meeting of the defence council.

Together with European partners, France has advocated a diplomatic solution in a bid to end the conflict between Israel and Iran.

"France has taken note with concern of the strikes carried out last night by the United States of America against three sites of Iran's nuclear programme," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot posted on X on Sunday.

He said that France did not take part in planning the strikes.

Barrot added that France was urging "all parties to exercise restraint to avoid any escalation that could lead to an extension of the conflict".

Macron had said Saturday that France and its European partners planned to step up talks with Iran.

The French presidency said Macron would convene a meeting of the defence and national security council from 1730 GMT Sunday.

Iran's government said on Sunday that urban patrols of Basij paramilitaries and other forces had been increased to ensure security, on the 10th day of the Iran-Israel war.

"In line with the increased security that is needed, especially at night, the number of urban patrols has increased, and here we should express our gratitude to the Basij forces and all the popular forces (for that)," government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on state television.

The Israeli army said Sunday it had "other goals" in Iran and intended to continue its military offensive.

"We have other goals and we will continue to act until we attain them," army spokesman Effie Defrin told reporters in a televised press conference.

Switzerland on Sunday urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and immediately return to diplomacy, after the United States joined Israel's war with Tehran by striking Iranian nuclear sites.

"Switzerland is deeply alarmed by the dangerous escalation between Israel and Iran since June 13, including today's attacks by the US," the foreign ministry said on its website.

"Switzerland emphasises the importance of full respect for international law, including the UN Charter and international humanitarian law.

"Switzerland urges all parties to exercise the maximum restraint, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and immediately return to diplomacy."

Talks took place in Geneva on Friday between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union.

The European powers had urged Tehran to revive diplomatic efforts with the United States to find a solution in the stand-off over its nuclear programme.

However, Iran said it could only consider diplomacy once Israel halted its bombardment of the Islamic republic.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday following the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"I'm going to Moscow this afternoon" and will hold "serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow" morning, Araghchi said at a press conference in Istanbul on the sidelines of an OIC summit.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned the United States on Sunday to "expect regrettable responses" to its strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites, in a statement carried by state TV.

Iran, it said, would "use options beyond the understanding... of the agressor front, and the aggressors of this land must expect regrettable responses".

The Guards also said they would continue to target Israel, which has been hit by multiple waves of missile and drone attacks since it struck Iran on June 13.

The military escalation in the Middle East risks sparking warfare with irreversible consequences, the head of the ICRC said on Sunday, following US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites.

"The intensification and spread of major military operations in the Middle East risk engulfing the region -- and the world -- in a war with irreversible consequences," Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement.

The Israeli military said Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of three hostages in Gaza more than 20 months after they were abducted by Hamas operatives.

"In a special operation... the bodies of the hostages Ofra Keidar, Yonatan Samerano and Staff Sergeant Shay Levinson were recovered from the Gaza Strip yesterday," the military said in a statement.

Samerano's father had announced earlier Sunday that his son's body, which was taken into Gaza after he was murdered in a kibbutz by the territory on October 7, 2023 had been recovered by the Israeli army.

Keidar, a 71-year-old mother of three, was also killed in a kibbutz and abducted, while 19-year-old tank commander Levinson "engaged and fought terrorists on the morning of October 7 and fell in combat," a statement from the military said.

 Kuwait's finance ministry said it has set up shelters in the country's ministries complex following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The shelters can accommodate around 900 people, the ministry said in a statement on X.

The United States has a military presence across the major oil-producing region, with bases in Kuwait as well as in Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Yemen's rebel government said on Sunday it supported a vow by its armed wing a day earlier to hit US ships in the Red Sea should Washington launch strikes on Iran.

"We affirm the Republic of Yemen's commitment to the armed forces' declaration that they were ready to target US ships and warships in the Red Sea," the government said in a statement after the United States launched attacks on Iran.

Oman, which was mediating nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran, on Sunday strongly condemned US strikes on nuclear sites in Iran.

The Gulf sultanate "expresses deep concern, denunciation and condemnation of the escalation resulting from the direct air strikes launched by the United States on sites in the Islamic Republic of Iran", the official Oman News Agency said.

Bahrain urged citizens and residents to use main roads only when necessary to "allow relevant authorities to use roads efficiently" following strikes by the U.S. against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The Gulf country hosts a U.S. military base.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Iran to "return to the negotiating table" over its nuclear ambitions after the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

"Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat," Starmer said on X, adding that "stability in the region is a priority".

"We call on Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis."

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Sunday he was calling an emergency meeting of his agency's 35-nation Board of Governors after the United States said it carried out military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

"In light of the urgent situation in Iran, I am convening an emergency meeting of the (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors for tomorrow," IAEA chief Grossi said on X. 

In light of the urgent situation in Iran, I am convening an emergency meeting of the @IAEAorg Board of Governors for tomorrow.

— Rafael Mariano Grossi (@rafaelmgrossi) June 22, 2025

Saudi Arabia expressed "great concern" on Sunday after US air strikes on nuclear facilities in its giant neighbour Iran.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the developments in the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran, represented by the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States of America," the Saudi foreign ministry posted on X.