Israel strikes Iranian capital, western regions, as dozens killed in Gaza

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The Israeli military said moments ago it has started a new wave of attacks in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran.

China's embassy in Israel will assist Chinese citizens who want to evacuate to leave in batches beginning on Friday, the embassy said in a notice on Thursday.

The evacuation operation will bring Chinese nationals to the Taba Border Crossing into Egypt via bus, about 360 km (224 miles) from Tel Aviv.

"The Israel-Iran conflict continues to intensify, with increasing casualties, the possibility of further deterioration cannot be ruled out," the embassy warned.

The Israeli military said overnight on Thursday that it downed two Iranian drones in the Jordan Valley.

Iran has not asked its ally Russia for military help amid its escalating air war with Israel, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

"Our Iranian friends have not asked us about this," Putin said in response to a question from an AFP reporter at a televised press conference in Saint Petersburg.

(AFP)

North Korea on Thursday slammed Israel's attack against Iran, and warned the United States and European powers against "fanning up the flames of war", according to a foreign ministry spokesperson.

The North expressed "serious concern" over "Israel's military attack and resolutely denounces it," the spokesperson said, adding that Israel's killing of civilians was "an unpardonable crime against humanity."

"The illegal act of state-sponsored terrorism by Israel [is] raising the danger of a new all-out war in the Middle East region," said the statement, which was published by state-run news agency KCNA.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The US military has moved some aircraft and ships from bases in the Middle East that may be vulnerable to any potential Iranian attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the move was a part of planning to protect US forces. They declined to say how many aircraft or ships had been moved and where they would be going.

One of the officials said US naval vessels had been moved from a port in Bahrain, where the military's fifth fleet is located, while aircraft that were not in hardened shelters had been moved from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

"It is not an uncommon practice. Force protection is the priority," the official said.

(Reuters)

President Donald Trump informed his aides on Tuesday that he has approved plans to attack Iran but is waiting to see if Tehran agrees to re-enter nuclear talks before giving the order to strike, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump has been ambiguous about whether he favours joining Israel in its war against Iran. He has reiterated his preference for a diplomatic solution and proposed a meeting between senior Iranian and US officials, but has issued a series of threats on his social media channels, demanding that Iran surrender.

"I may do it, I may not do it," the president told journalists on Wednesday in response to a question about whether he intends to go to war.

"The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week."

Iran is open to accepting Donald Trump's offer for a meeting with US officials, a senior Iranian official told the New York Times on Wednesday as the US president mulled joining Israel in its attack on the country.

Trump on Monday had proposed a meeting between Iranian officials and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier today rejected negotiations with Washington and warned that Iran would attack US assets if it got involved in Israel's war.

But the Iranian official said that the country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, could accept Trump's offer to discuss ending the war and sealing a nuclear deal.

Araghchi has previously indicated willingness to re-enter negotiations with the US - but only if Israel stopped its attacks.

US President Donald Trump appeared Wednesday to rebuff Vladimir Putin's offer to mediate in the Israel-Iran conflict, saying the Russian president should end his own war in Ukraine first.

"I spoke to him yesterday and... he actually offered to help mediate, I said 'do me a favor, mediate your own,'" Trump told reporters as he unveiled a giant new flag pole at the White House.

"Let's mediate Russia first, okay? I said, Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first, you can worry about this later."

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov disputed the timing that Trump gave for the call.

"He (Trump) was speaking figuratively. Life is so eventful right now that looking back a few days is like looking back to yesterday," Peskov told Russian state news agency TASS.

(AFP)

Croatia’s president said Wednesday that the Israeli government is "made up of criminals," and is carrying out "a criminal policy" with US backing, according to local media.

"Israel is pursuing a criminal policy and we should not have anything to do with such a state because part of its leadership is made up of criminals," Zoran Milanovic told journalists in the Croatian capital, Vecernji news outlet reported.

The UN Security Council will convene Friday to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, council president Guyana said.

Following a first, urgent meeting after Israel attacked last Friday, this second session was requested by Iran, with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday.

(AFP)

UK prime minister Keir Starmer has put his government on alert for a possible US entry into the war against Iran amid uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump will join Israel in the attack, according to The Financial Times

British officials described the situation as "grave and volatile" following an emergency committee meeting in Whitehall on Wednesday, voicing caution about taking any action that could jeopardise the country's diplomatic presence in Tehran.

Starmer's team have discussed whether Trump might seek to use the joint US-UK air base at Diego Garcia to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities.

Participants in the meeting included senior cabinet ministers, military and intelligence leaders, and US ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson.

The prime minister has refused to rule out joining a potential US attack and responded to Israel's unprecedented attack by asserting its right to self-defence. He has also called for both sides to de-escalate and for Iran to re-enter nuclear talks.

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.

The ministers will first meet with the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, at Germany's permanent mission in Geneva before holding a joint meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, the source said.

The aim of the talks, which the source said are taking place in coordination with the United States, is to persuade the Iranian side to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear programme solely for civilian purposes.

According to the source, the talks are to be followed by a structured dialogue at expert level.

(Reuters)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani reiterated on Wednesday the need for de-escalation in the Middle East amid the Israel-Iran conflict, a spokesperson for Starmer's office said.

"Underscoring the deep defence and security relationship between the two countries, the prime minister reiterated the UK's support for Qatar and leaders discussed how both countries could further support regional stability," the spokesperson said following a call between the two leaders.

Starmer also spoke to the Qatari emir about the "intolerable situation" in Gaza and underlined Britain's support for an immediate ceasefire, the spokesperson added.

(Reuters)

France is planning along with European partners to push for an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, President Emmanuel Macron's office said Wednesday.

At a national security council meeting, Macron ordered Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to draw up in the coming days "an initiative with close European partners that would propose a demanding negotiated settlement to put an end to the conflict", it said, without giving details on the nature of the plan.

Barrot has been in regular touch with his German and British counterparts since Israel launched massive air strikes against Iran on Friday.

All three countries were involved in talks that led to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Iran's foreign ministry summoned Germany's ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz supporting Israel's attacks on the Islamic republic.

"Following the shameful statements made by the German Chancellor in support of Tel Aviv's aggression against our country, the country's [Germany's] ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry," state TV reported.

Merz on Tuesday praised the attack on Iran, calling it "dirty work that Israel is doing for all of us".

"I can only say: the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli leadership had the courage to do this," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

(AFP and TNA staff)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday said he was "profoundly alarmed" by the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran and called for an immediate ceasefire.

"I reiterate my call for immediate de-escalation leading to a ceasefire. I strongly appeal to all to avoid any further internationalization of the conflict," Guterres said in a statement.

"Any additional military interventions could have enormous consequences, not only for those involved but for the whole region and for international peace and security at large."

An Israeli soldier was killed by sniper fire in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Wednesday, the Israeli military announced earlier.

French president Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday urged Israel to end strikes on targets in Iran not linked to nuclear activities or ballistic missiles, his office said.

At a national security council meeting, Macron expressed "concern" at the escalating conflict and the mounting civilian death toll, the statement said.

Macron said it was "necessary to urgently end these military operations, which pose significant threats to regional security".

(AFP and TNA staff)

The Israeli military said Wednesday it had launched a new wave of attacks targeting missile systems and storage sites in western Iran, as it kept up its barrage of strikes across the country.

"Aircraft are flying over surface-to-surface missile launch and storage sites. They are striking those attempting to reactivate sites that have already been hit," the military said in a statement.

(AFP)

French president Emmanuel Macron has asked the foreign ministry to prepare to evacuate French citizens who want to leave Iran and Israel, his office said on Wednesday.

"We strongly advise against all travel to these two countries," it added.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Iran launched hypersonic missiles in a new wave of attacks against Israel on Wednesday, state TV reported, as fighting between the two foes raged for the sixth day.

The Fattah hypersonic missiles "have successfully penetrated the Israeli regime's defenses," state TV reported.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The US is preparing to evacuate its citizens from Israel, the US ambassador announced on Wednesday, amid daily missile fire from Iran.

"Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel-  US Embassy in Israel is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures," Mike Huckabee wrote in a social media post.

Israel is trying to prevent the prospect of a mass exodus of dual citizens from the country and has instructed domestic airlines not to let Israelis leave.

"We will not approve Israelis’ departures abroad at this stage," Transport Minister Miri Regev said on Monday.

Israeli airspace has been closed since the military launched its war against Iran on Friday, preventing people from fleeing the country.

Several hundred thousand US citizens are thought to be resident in Israel.

The use of the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to distribute food in the Palestinian territory is "outrageous", the head of a UN inquiry said Wednesday.

Navi Pillay, who chairs the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Israel and the Palestinian territories, joined a growing chorus of criticism of the GHF's operations, and cited its US links.

"In every war, the siege and starvation surely leads to death," the former UN rights chief told journalists.

"But this initiative of what's called a foundation, a private foundation, to supply food, is what I see as outrageous, because it involves the United States itself, the government, and it turns out, as we watch daily, that people who go to those centres are being killed as they seek food."

Hundreds of people have been massacred and thousands wounded by Israeli forces since the GHF began operations three weeks ago, with aid seekers being fired on by soldiers, drones and tanks on almost a daily basis.

The UN, aid agencies and experts in international humanitarian law have expressed outrage at the Israeli scheme, which they say is designed to militarise aid delivery and facilitate the mass displacement of Palestinians.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Iran was on Wednesday in a "near-total national internet blackout" as tensions deepened between Tehran and Israel, a London-based online watchdog said.

"Live network data show Iran is now in the midst of a near-total national internet blackout; the incident follows a series of earlier partial disruptions and comes amid escalating military tensions with Israel after days of back-and-forth missile strikes," NetBlocks wrote on X.

The Israeli military says a new barrage of missiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel.

An Israeli drone strike targeted a motorcycle on Wednesday in the south Lebanon village of Barish, killing at least one person, local media reports said.

Commercial ships are sailing close to Oman and are being advised by maritime agencies to avoid Iran's waters around the Strait of Hormuz, with the risk of the conflict between Israel and Iran escalating, shipping sources said on Wednesday.

In the latest measure, ships sailing towards Hormuz are looking to minimise risks and are sailing close to Oman's coast for much of the journey.

Journeys will still need to be made through Hormuz itself, which is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point. The two shipping lanes are just 2 miles (3 km) wide in either direction.

A larger cluster of ships was sailing closer to the Omani coast on Wednesday, while mainly Iranian-flagged vessels were sailing within Iranian waters, according to ship-tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform.

The U.S. military is ready to carry out any decision that President Donald Trump may make on Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday, suggesting that the U.S. direction could become more clear in the coming days.

Testifying before a Senate committee, Hegseth was very cautious in his public testimony, declining to say whether the Pentagon had prepared strike options against Iran.

But when pressed by lawmakers, he acknowledged being ready to carry out any orders on Iran and cautioned that Tehran should have heeded Trump's calls for it to make a deal on its nuclear programme prior to the start of Israel's strikes on Friday.

When asked if he has been prompted to provide options to Pres. Trump about a strike in the Middle East amid the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth said: "If I had or had not, I wouldn't disclose that in this forum." https://t.co/S0d9Jfxs7M pic.twitter.com/TgFNTxKMhD

— ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2025

Iran issued an evacuation warning on Wednesday for the residents of the Israeli city of Haifa, state television reported, on the sixth day of fighting between the two foes.

"A few minutes ago, an evacuation notice was issued to Zionist settlers in Haifa to protect them from Iranian missile attacks," state TV said.

It showed an image of the area to be targeted accompanied by Hebrew text saying: "Please leave the reported area immediately - in the next few hours, armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will operate in this area... to attack the military infrastructure of the Zionist regime."

🚨جمهوری اسلامی هشدار تخلیه برای ساکنین اراضی اشغالی صادر کرد

هشدار فوری به کلیه أفراد حاضر در ناحیه مشخص شده نقشه ضمیمه در حیفا.

از ناحیه مذکور در منطقه مشخص شده فورا خارج گردید.

وجود شما در این ناحیه جانتان را به خطر میاندازد pic.twitter.com/ufWOkHsYaX

— خبرگزاری میزان (@MizanNewsAgency) June 18, 2025

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday China was "deeply concerned" that the conflict between Israel and Iran "may get out of control".

"Israel's acts of disregarding international law and international rules has caused the situation in the Middle East to suddenly become tense, and China is also deeply concerned that the situation may get out of control," Wang told his Egyptian counterpart in a phone call, China's foreign ministry said.

In a separate phone call with Oman's foreign minister Wednesday, Wang said the two countries "cannot sit idly by and let the region slide into an unknown abyss", the foreign ministry said.

Amnesty International on Wednesday urged Israel and Iran to spare civilians as their conflict escalates and alarm grows over the death toll.

"As the number of deaths and injuries continue to rise, Amnesty International is urging both parties to comply with their obligations and ensure that civilians in both countries do not further pay the price of reckless military action," said Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard.

As more and more civilians bear the cruel toll of the terrifying military escalation in Iran and Israel since 13 June 2025, and amid threats of further escalation in the conflict, Amnesty International is urging the Israeli and Iranian authorities to abide by their obligations…

— Amnesty MENA (@AmnestyMENA) June 18, 2025

US President Donald Trump appeared Wednesday to rebuff Vladimir Putin's offer to mediate in the Israel-Iran conflict, saying the Russian president should end his own war in Ukraine first.

"He actually offered to help mediate, I said 'do me a favor, mediate your own. Let's mediate Russia first, okay?'" Trump told reporters at the White House. "I said 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first, you can worry about this later.'"

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that air force jets had destroyed Iran's "internal security headquarters" after the army announced it was striking military targets in Tehran.

"Air Force jets have just destroyed the internal security headquarters of the Iranian regime - the main arm of repression of the Iranian dictator," Katz said in a statement, vowing to "strike symbols of governance and hit the Ayatollah regime wherever it may be".

در پی حمله اسرائیل به تهران، یسرائیل کاتز، وزیر دفاع این کشور اعلام کرد که جنگنده‌های اسرائیل ستاد امنیت داخلی جمهوری اسلامی را نابود کردند.

تصاویری که در شبکه‌های اجتماعی منتشر شده وقوع چندین انفجار را در مناطق مختلف تهران نشان می‌دهد.https://t.co/m4iZColWhH pic.twitter.com/8YsaKyAUSM

— افغانستان اینترنشنال (@AFIntlBrk) June 18, 2025

The head of an Iranian opposition group outlawed by Tehran said Wednesday that it was for the Iranian people to overthrow her country's Islamic regime, as Israel conducts an unprecedented air campaign.

"The solution to this war and crisis lies in the overthrow of this regime and regime change by the Iranian people and their resistance," Maryam Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told a press conference at the European Parliament. The NCRI is the political wing of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, which Tehran regards as a "terrorist" group.

Rajavi, who lives in exile, warned against negotiating with Khamenei, saying the regime "will never relinquish its uranium enrichment programme".

But she added that "an alternative cannot be imposed from above, as was done a century ago when Britain installed a monarch by appointment. Nor can it be forced upon the people like the 1953 coup d'etat by the United States".

Speech at the European Parliament- Strasbourg
Today, from the home of the peoples of Europe, a unified voice was heard in support of the people of Iran, the Iranian Resistance, and the network of Resistance Units in Iran. That voice declared that the only solution to this crisis… pic.twitter.com/CyF5WJtcnk

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) June 18, 2025

The Iranian Red Crescent said Wednesday that an Israeli attack took place near its building in Tehran, noting that the strike appeared to not be targeting the aid group.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, the Red Crescent reporting an "attack by the Zionist regime near the Red Crescent Peace building."

حمله هوایی اسرائیل در نزدیکی ساختمان «صلح» هلال احمر در تهران

کمپین فعالین بلوچ| امروز ۲۸ خرداد ماه ۱۴۰۴، اسرائیل در نزدیکی ساختمان صلح جمعیت هلال احمر در تهران با استفاده از جنگنده های خود حمله کرده که منجر به انفجار و ستون دود سیاه در این منطقه شده است.

حملات هوایی اسرائیل به… pic.twitter.com/O5KUoN4Sul

— کمپین فعالین بلوچ (@balochcampaign) June 18, 2025

President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to answer reporters' questions on whether the U.S. was planning to strike Iran or its nuclear facilities, and said the Iranians had reached out but he feels "it's very late to be talking."

"There's a big difference between now and a week ago," Trump told reporters outside the White House. "Nobody knows what I'm going to do."

Asked when his patience would run out, Trump told reporters: "It's already run out. That's why we're doing what we're doing."

Trump said that Iran had proposed to come for talks at the White House. He did not provide details. He described Iran as totally defenceless, with no air defence whatsoever.

Reporter: "Mr. President, what do you say to the Supreme Leader of Iran who says that they will not surrender?"

Trump: "I say, 'Good luck.'" pic.twitter.com/KYJ1bS95kW

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 18, 2025

Russia and the United States are in contact regarding the conflict between Iran and Israel, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying on Wednesday.

Ryabkov earlier warned that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Iran and Israel has raged for six days.

Israel will ease domestic restrictions imposed on its population due to the ongoing war with Iran and will "reopen its economy", Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

"While we continue our intense fight against Iran until the threats are removed, we will also reopen the economy, ease restrictions, and restore Israel to paths of creativity, activity, and security," Katz was quoted as saying in a statement after approving the changes for most of the country starting Wednesday evening.

A series of explosions rocked northeastern Tehran late Tuesday near the Sadr Expressway, according to local reports.

The Israeli military said on X that its air force is currently attacking "Iranian regime military targets in the Tehran area". 

Israel is trying to strategically encircle Turkey by targeting Iran in its ongoing military campaign, the head of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli warned. 

On Tuesday, Bahçeli, an influential ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Israel's "real objective" was to destabilise and sabotage the country's ambitions of securing a region free from terrorism.

"The political and strategic goal of Israel is clear: to surround the Anatolian geography and sabotage Turkey’s path toward a terrorism-free future on behalf of its masters," he said. 

The remarks came after Israel launched its cross-border offensive on June 13 following a fresh round of hostilities with Iran. While Israeli officials have framed the attacks that have already killed at least 585 people and wounded 1,326 others as "defensive", Bahçeli warned that the consequences could be far more dangerous.

At least 144 Palestinians have been killed and 560 others wounded in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. 

The latest death toll brings the total number of Palestinians killed by Israel since March to 5,334, with more than 17,800 wounded. 

The Health Ministry also warned that hospitals were days away from shutting down due to fuel shortages, accusing Israel of blocking international and UN agencies from accessing designated fuel storage sites.

"Israel is once again preventing international and UN organisations from reaching fuel storage points for hospitals, citing their location in so-called red zones,"  the ministry said.

Multiple blasts are being heard in Tehran as smoke is visible in the east of the city.

ویدیوی دریافتی: "همین الان شرق تهران، حوالی لویزان"#iran #israel pic.twitter.com/YSQyhXY4YE

— Vahid Online (@Vahid) June 18, 2025

The leaders of Russia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday warned of "extremely negative consequences" from the ongoing Iran-Israel war, as President Vladimir Putin pushed himself as a possible mediator.

In a phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Putin "confirmed Russia's readiness to provide mediation assistance to promote dialogue between the parties to the conflict," the Kremlin said in a statement.

The two leaders "expressed deep concern over the continuing escalation of the Iranian-Israeli conflict, which could have extremely negative consequences for the entire region," Moscow added.

Putin has held phone calls Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian offering his role as a peacemaker.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long left Hitler behind in terms of genocide, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

Germany's foreign minister appealed to Iran's leaders to make credible assurances that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon and to show it is willing to find a negotiated solution as fears mount of further military escalation between Iran and Israel.

"We are still ready to negotiate a solution. However, Iran must act urgently ... it is never too late to come to the negotiating table if one comes with sincere intentions," Johann Wadephul said at a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart on Wednesday.

Wadephul said Israel's fear that Iran would develop nuclear weapons was justified and it had a right to self-defence.

"The Israeli decision to do something against this threat is comprehensible," he said, adding civilian deaths on both sides were regrettable after air attacks between Iran and Israel.

His ministry was arranging special flights later on Wednesday and on Thursday to each repatriate about 180 German citizens via Amman, he said.

The Israeli military said it was striking more targets in Iran's capital and other parts of the country on day six of the war.

The army said it struck 40 missile sites and destroyed five military choppers in the western Kermanshah province, which has seen heavy attacks.

Meanwhile, Iranian media claimed that Iran's forces shot down an F-35 fighter jet.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday the nation would never surrender as demanded by President Donald Trump and warned the United States it would face "irreparable damage" if it intervenes.

"This nation will never surrender to imposition from anyone," Khamenei said in a speech read on state television. "America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage."

The US President threatens us. With his absurd rhetoric, he demands that the Iranian people surrender to him.
They should make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 18, 2025

Poland on Wednesday said it had evacuated around 160 people from Israel as that country's conflict with Iran escalates, adding that another plane would bring home dozens more on Thursday.

"The first group of Poles has just landed in Warsaw.... They arrived in Poland via Egypt. Another flight tomorrow," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X.

Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters there were around 160 people, most of them Poles, on the plane, "including small children".

"Tomorrow (Thursday) there will be another flight and that plane will fly from Amman... It will be 65 people, and this time it will only be Polish citizens," she added. She said some employees of the Polish embassy in Iran would also fly home, along with a few private citizens.

Moscicka-Dendys said that group was currently on its way overland from Tehran to the border with Azerbaijan, for a flight from Baku.

Germany and Syria agreed to establish a joint economic coordination council to bolster cooperation in the economic, investment fields, the Syrian foreign ministry said on Tuesday, reporting on a phone call between the countries' foreign ministers.

Europe and the US have taken steps to strengthen ties with the new government in Damascus, which faces several challenges in a country torn apart by 14 years of conflict.

The war has left Syria's economy and infrastructure in ruins, and the new government is trying to unite armed factions under a unified military, amid continued security threats.

Israel will resume its natural gas exports when the country's military gives its permission, Israel's Energy Ministry Eli Cohen told Reuters on Wednesday, as the Israel-Iran air war continues.

Qatar's emir has received a letter from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Wednesday, without revealing the content of the letter.

Qatar is among countries that have appealed to Washington to press Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to resume talks with Tehran towards a nuclear deal, a source told Reuters on Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday Iran had the "legitimate" right to defend itself in the face of Israel's ongoing bombing campaign, now in its sixth day.

"It is a very natural, legitimate and legal right for Iran to defend itself against Israel's thuggery and state terrorism," the Turkish leader said, a day after he referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "the biggest threat to the security of the region".

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is to deliver a televised speech "in a few minutes", the official IRNA news agency reported, on day six of an unprecedented air war with Israel.

Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, has made few public pronouncements since Israel launched its assault on Friday.

Greece has repatriated 105 of its citizens and foreign nationals from Israel, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, as the Iran-Israel conflict raged.

"The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes," it said in a statement.

Along with Greek citizens and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, it said.

Britain said on Wednesday it was temporarily withdrawing the family members of staff who work at the country's embassy and consulate in Israel due to the significant risks posed from the conflict between Iran and Israel.

"Family members of staff at the British embassy in Tel Aviv and the British consulate in Jerusalem have been temporarily withdrawn as a precautionary measure," Britain's foreign office said on its travel advice page for Israel.

"The embassy and consulate continues with essential work including services to British nationals," it added.

Israeli military strikes have hit two facilities in Iran that made parts for centrifuges, the machines that enrich uranium, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday, identifying them as the TESA Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Center.

"At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested. At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured," the International Atomic Energy Agency said on X.

The Israeli military admitted on Wednesday that one of its drones had been downed by a surface-to-air missile while operating over Iran.

An army statement said the drone "fell in Iran. No injuries were reported and there is no risk of an information breach."

Iran's state TV shared footage of what it said was the shooting down of an Israeli Hermes drone in the central Isfahan province.

Iran appears to have finally managed to down its first aircraft with the Israel Air Force, a “Hermes 900” Long-Endurance Tactical Drone, which they claim to have downed last night over the Isfahan Province of Central Iran. Footage from Iranian state-run media appears to confirm… pic.twitter.com/rAgF7tHo6G

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 18, 2025

The families of Russian diplomats have left Israel, Russia's ambassador to Tel Aviv Anatoly Viktorov said on Wednesday, as Israel and Iran traded fire for a sixth day.

"Almost all the wives and children of embassy employees" left on Tuesday via Egypt "to return to their homeland," Viktorov said, interviewed by pro-Kremlin presenter Vladimir Solovyev.

He also did not rule out the possibility that the Russian embassy could be moved "to a more secure location without leaving Israel," after another night of strikes between Israel and Iran.

Israel is home to a large Russian-born community.

Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

Former Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi has said that tankers and LNG cargoes should only transit the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian permission and this policy should be carried out "tomorrow for a hundred days".

It was not immediately clear whether Khandouzi was echoing the establishment's decision or sharing his personal opinion.

"This policy is decisive if implemented on time. Any delay in carrying it out means prolonging war inside the country," Khandouzi posted on X on Tuesday.

Iran's Oil Ministry and Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

از فردا‌ به مدت ۱۰۰ روز، هیچ نفتکش و محموله LNG نباید بتواند از تنگه عبور کند مگر با تایید ایران.
این سیاست اگر "بموقع" اجرا شود تعیین‌کننده است. هر تاخیر در اجرای آن، یعنی تحمل بیشتر جنگ در داخل خاک.
نبرد ترامپ را باید با ترکیب اقتصاد-امنیت خاتمه داد. https://t.co/BWCIe3sAxz

— سید احسان خاندوزی (@Khandoozi_se) June 17, 2025

The UAE's energy ministry said a collision between two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz was likely caused by a navigational misjudgement by one of the vessels.

In a statement on Wednesday, it cited preliminary information and did not draw any link with an upsurge in electronic interference during the conflict between Iran and Israel.

The Adalynn and Front Eagle oil tankers collided and caught fire on Tuesday 24 nautical miles off the coast of the UAE in the Sea of Oman. No injuries to the crew or any spillage were reported.

After the war erupted between Israel and Iran last week, interference has disrupted navigation systems near the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between Iran and Oman that handles about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil.

'Dark fleet' tanker MV Adalynn (165,000-dwt) on fire after being struck by another tanker MV Front Eagle (300,000-dwt ) just south of Strait of Hormuz in early hours of this morning.

All 24 crew of Adalynn safely evacuated. No casualties on Front Eagle.

Believed to be caused by… pic.twitter.com/shylx7cfHE

— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) June 17, 2025

Iran will respond to Israeli strikes "strongly" and "without restraint," its ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Wednesday.

"We will not show any reluctance in defending our people, security and land. We will respond seriously and strongly, without restraint," Ali Bahreini, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in Geneva, told reporters.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed on Wednesday that his country would show no mercy towards Israel's rulers, hours after US President Donald Trump demanded Tehran's "unconditional surrender".

"We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy," Khamenei posted on X.

On Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic's "unconditional surrender" and boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Khamenei.

Almost 800 Chinese citizens have been evacuated from Iran since Israel launched military strikes against the country last week, Beijing said Wednesday.

"Currently... 791 Chinese nationals have been relocated from Iran to safe areas," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular news conference, adding some Chinese nationals have also safely evacuated from Israel.

Iran said Wednesday it had detained five suspected agents of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency on charges of tarnishing the country's image online, Iranian news agencies reported.

"These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online," the Tasnim and ISNA news agencies quoted a statement from the Revolutionary Guards as saying. They added that the arrests had been made in western Iran.

Iran's police forces intercepted 14 drones and identified hostile drone-producing workshops and drone-carrying vehicles across various provinces, police spokesperson Saeed Montazerolmahdi said on Wednesday according to the Iranian Labour News Agency.

Israel's military said Wednesday it struck a Iranian centrifuge production facility and multiple weapons manufacturing sites, in the latest round of strikes between the archfoes.

"More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets... carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours," an Israeli army statement said. "As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted."

"During the wave of attacks, several weapons manufacturing sites were struck, including facilities for producing raw materials and components used to assemble surface-to-surface missiles," it added.

Intense Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s capital early Wednesday in a conflict that a human rights group said had killed at least 585 people across Iran and wounded 1,326 others.

The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 239 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 126 as security personnel.

The group, which also provided detailed casualty figures during the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports in the Islamic Republic against a network of sources it has developed in the country.

Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the death toll at 224 people killed and 1,277 others wounded.