Israel targets Iran nuclear reactor as dozens killed in ongoing Gaza offensive

This live blog on the Israel-Iran war, Gaza war and Middle East developments has now ended, thanks for following.

An Israeli drone was shot down in the Kahrizak district in the Tehran province, Tasnim news agency quoted a commander of the Revolutionary Guards in the Hazrat Ruhollah region as saying.

Air defences are "confronting hostile targets" in the northeast Iran province of Golestan, the Tasnim news agency reported early Friday.

Footage shared online alleged that the air defences were attempting to shoot down projectiles.

🔴 آزادشهر استان گلستان - شامگاه پنجشنبه ۲۹ خرداد#تهران #اسراییل#قیام_تا_سرنگونی#Iran #Israele pic.twitter.com/D0HipSU0Xm

— Freedom Messenger (@freedommesenger) June 19, 2025

A large explosion was heard in the northwestern Iranian city of Rasht in the early hours of Friday.

Footage shared online allegedly shows a blast light up the night sky..

While not much information has yet been revealed, some reports claimed the Israeli military attacked an IRGC carbon fiber plant in Rasht’s industrial zone used for Iran's missiles, drones and nuclear programme.

‼️ just now; a large explosion in #Rasht

Very little information and footage are coming out of #Iran due to a near-total blackout...#Tehran pic.twitter.com/2Hmk4KDOWr

— Homo Revolutionarius (@ItsBlank17) June 19, 2025

Violence against children caught in multiple and escalating conflicts reached "unprecedented levels" last year, with the highest number of violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti, according to a United Nations report released late Thursday.

The U.N. kept Israeli forces on its blacklist of countries that violate children’s rights for a second year, citing 7,188 verified grave violations by its military, including the killing of 1,259 Palestinian children and injury to 941 others in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry has reported much higher figures, but the U.N. has strict criteria and said its process of verification is ongoing.

Iranian media reported a series of airstrikes on several areas east of the capital, Tehran.

Footage shared online shows smoke billowing from these areas.

ویدیو دریافتی و گزارش‌ها از "شنیده شدن صدای چند انفجار در شرق تهران، ساعت ۱۲:۴۰"#iran #israel pic.twitter.com/WklgUwa6kd

— Vahid Online (@Vahid) June 19, 2025

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will travel to Geneva on Friday for talks with his French and German counterparts, as well as EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Iran's foreign minister, to push for a diplomatic resolution over Iran's nuclear programme, its foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and follows Lammy's visit to Washington, where he met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

"A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution," Lammy said in the foreign ministry statement.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the crown prince of Gulf Arab state Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, agreed on the need for closer relationships to support stability in the Middle East, a spokesperson for Starmer's office said on Thursday.

"The leaders called for de-escalation and both agreed on the need for enduring and closer relationships across the region to support stability," the spokesperson said, referring to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Starmer and Prince Salman met in London on Thursday to discuss strengthening UK-Bahrain ties through new security, defence and investment agreements.

Dozens of US military aircraft are no longer on the tarmac at a major US base in Qatar, satellite images show - a possible move to shield them from eventual Iranian air strikes, as Washington weighs whether to intervene in Tehran's conflict with Israel.

Between June 5 and 19, nearly all of the aircraft visible at the Al Udeid base are no longer anywhere in plain sight, according to images published by Planet Labs PBC and analysed by AFP.

Nearly 40 military aircraft - including transport planes like the Hercules C-130 and reconnaissance aircraft - were parked on the tarmac on June 5. In an image taken on June 19, only three aircraft are visible.

🚨JUST IN:🇺🇸🇮🇷| Satellite images show U.S evacuated all of its aircrafts from the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar.

This includes jets from the US, UK and Qatar. This could mean that the US is preparing for attacks against Iran, just like how they evacuated their diplomatic staff from… pic.twitter.com/YtXguDDikx

— SANTINO (@MichaelSCollura) June 18, 2025

Iran appointed a new chief of intelligence at its Revolutionary Guards on Thursday, the official Irna news agency said, after his predecessor was killed in an Israeli strike last week.

Major General Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), appointed Brigadier General Majid Khadami as the new head of its intelligence division, Irna said.

He replaces Mohammed Kazemi, who was killed on Sunday alongside two other Revolutionary Guards officers - Hassan Mohaghegh and Mohsen Bagheri - in an Israeli strike.

Pakpour had himself been recently appointed after Israel killed his predecessor Hossein Salami in a strike on June 13.

"During the years that our martyred commanders Kazemi and Mohaqeq led the IRGC Intelligence, we witnessed significant growth in all aspects of intelligence within the IRGC," said Pakpour.

Iran fired at least one missile at Israel that scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties, the Israeli military claimed on Thursday, the first reported use of cluster munitions in the seven-day-old war.

Israeli military officials provided no further details.

Israeli news reports quoted the Israeli military as saying the missile’s warhead split open at an altitude of about 4 miles (7 km) and released around 20 submunitions in a radius of around 5 miles (8 km) over central Israel.

One of the small munitions struck a home in the central Israeli town of Azor, causing some damage, Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian reported. There were no reports of casualties from the bomb.

The IDF Home Front Command confirms that Iran launched at least one ballistic missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead at central Israel today.

The missile's warhead split while descending, at around 7 kilometers altitude, spreading around 20 smaller munitions in a radius of… https://t.co/PF5RCpLfvH pic.twitter.com/2wyrH2JJM3

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 19, 2025

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning to residents in an industrial area of Iran's Kolesh Taleshan village.

The military said its warning comes as it prepares to strike "Iranian military infrastructure."

🔴 هشدار فوری به کلیه افرادی که در ناحیه قرمز رنگ نقشه در شهرک صنعتی سفیدرود در محدوده روستای کلش طالشان قرار دارند:

⭕️ ارتش اسرائیل همچنان که در روزهای اخیر در سراسر ایران برای حمله به زیرساخت های نظامی رژیم ایران اقدام کرده است، بزودی در این ناحیه فعالیت خواهد نمود.

⭕️… pic.twitter.com/KGBq9QOqeD

— ارتش دفاعی اسرائیل | IDF Farsi (@IDFFarsi) June 19, 2025

The UK has updated its travel advice to Lebanon, saying there is a risk of disruption to air travel to and from Beirut Airport due to the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.

Like several countries in the region, Lebanon had to temporarily close its airspace and has seen flights cancelled due to the air war between Tel Aviv and Tehran. Lebanese flag carrier MEA has made some flights to repatriate Lebanese nationals that were stuck abroad.

An Iranian rocket that hit Ramat Gan near Tel Avi  broke a window at the Dutch embassy, the Dutch foreign ministry said on Thursday, adding no personnel had been hurt.

Lithuania will evacuate family members of its diplomats in Israel as well as non-essential staff after an Iranian missile struck Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan neighbourhood, the Lithuanian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday identified Isfahan, home to one of Iran's biggest nuclear facilities, as the location of a uranium enrichment plant that Iran said it would soon open in retaliation for a diplomatic push against it.

He did not say where exactly in Isfahan the planned plant was, but he said the nuclear complex there is "huge".

Australia has suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran due to the deteriorating security environment in Iran and has directed the departure of all Australian officials, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday.

Australia's ambassador to Iran will remain in the region to support the government's response to the crisis, Wong said.

"We are continuing planning to support Australians seeking to depart Iran, and we remain in close contact with other partner countries," Wong said in a statement.

An explosion occurred at the residence of the Norwegian ambassador to Israel on Thursday evening in Tel Aviv, the Norwegian foreign ministry said.

"We have been in contact with the embassy tonight. No staff with the embassy was injured during the incident," the foreign ministry said in an emailed statement. It did not say what caused the explosion.

Iranian police announced the arrest of 24 individuals on charges of spying for Israel and working to tarnish the country's image, according to a statement reported by the Tasnim news agency.

"Twenty-four individuals were arrested for spying for the Zionist enemy, both on the ground and online. They were attempting to destabilise public opinion, tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and destroy it," West Tehran police chief Kiomars Azizi said in a statement.

Spokesperson of Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah militia Abu Ali al-Askari, threatened on Thursday to close the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait if the United States enters the war between Iran and Israel.

"We reaffirm, more clearly this time, that if the United States enters the war, the madman Trump will lose all the trillions he dreams of seizing from the region — practical plans have already been put in place for that," Askari said in a post on X seen by the Associated Press.

"Without a doubt, American bases in the region will turn into something like duck hunting grounds, the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab will be closed, oil ports in the Red Sea will cease operations, not to mention the surprises that may happen to their aircraft in the skies."

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday that it is continuing to closely monitor and assess the situation regarding the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites in Iran.

Earlier in the day, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said it had information that Iran's Khondab heavy water research reactor had been hit but reported no radiological effects.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said on Thursday that the militant group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between its main backer Iran and Israel.

In a statement, Qassem said Hezbollah was "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression".

This comes after the US special envoy for Syria warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war.

The Czech foreign ministry said on Thursday it was temporarily closing its embassy in Tehran for security reasons due to the ongoing conflict in Iran.

There are no signs that China is getting involved military in the Israel-Iran war, the White House said Thursday.

Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in the space of a "couple of weeks," the White House claimed Thursday, as US President Donald Trump debated whether to take military action against the Islamic republic.

"Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon. All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that, and it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

The body of a Ukrainian woman was recovered Thursday from a site in central Israel four days after an Iranian missile strike, municipal officials in Israel's Bat Yam said.

"The municipality of Bat Yam sadly announced that, in the past few minutes, a body was found at the site of the missile impact in the city," a statement said, identifying the victim as Maria (Marina) Peshkarova, 31, who arrived in Israel in December 2022.

Including her, nine people were killed in the Sunday strike. Since the war began with Israeli attacks on Iran on Friday, 25 people have been killed in Israel, according to authorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he welcomed "all help" with destroying Iran's nuclear sites, nearly a week into major Israeli air raids on the Islamic republic.

Israel is "capable of striking all of Iran's nuclear facilities" but "all help is welcome", Netanyahu told public broadcaster Kan, also saying that US President Donald Trump "will do what is good for for the United States, and I will do what is good for the State of Israel".

The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump will make a decision on whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks.

Citing a message from Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "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."

Iranian state media said air defence systems were activated Thursday against "hostile targets" over the capital Tehran, a week into a war triggered by major Israeli attacks.

"Iran's air defences confront hostile targets in northern Tehran," said official news agency IRNA without elaborating. Another news agency, Mehr, gave the same report.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel was "changing the face of the world" in its war with Iran, now in its seventh day.

"I said that we're changing the face of the Middle East, and now I say we're changing the face of the world," he told public broadcaster Kan, adding that Israel had destroyed "more than half" of Iran's missile launchers.

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," Netanyahu told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

(Reuters) 

The United Nations said Thursday it was appalled to see civilians being treated as collateral damage in the conflict between Iran and Israel and urged maximum restraint on all sides.

"It is appalling to see how civilians are treated as collateral damage in the conduct of hostilities. Threats and inflammatory rhetoric by senior officials on both sides suggest a worrying intention to inflict harm on civilians," UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.

The WHO's leader on Thursday denounced attacks on health facilities in the conflict Iran-Israel war as "appalling", urging all sides to protect hospital buildings, staff and patients.

"The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran is putting health facilities and access to health care at risk. The reports on the attacks on health so far are appalling," World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

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, three diplomats told Reuters.

According to the diplomats, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, Araqchi said Tehran would not return to negotiations unless Israel stopped the attacks, which began on 13 June.

They said the talks included a brief discussion of a US proposal given to Iran at the end of May that aims to create a regional consortium that would enrich uranium outside of Iran, an offer Tehran has so far rejected.

US and Iranian officials did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the matter.

(Reuters)

Ottawa is planning commercial options for Canadians in Israel, the West Bank and Iran to leave the region via neighbouring countries, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on Thursday.

"We are developing further options with our allies," she said in a post on X, but gave no details.

(Reuters)

Israel's military stood down an alert of incoming Iranian missile fire on Thursday, telling citizens they could now leave their shelters.

Air raid sirens had sounded across large parts of northern Israel after the latest launch on Thursday afternoon, the army's Home Front Command said.

However, around 20 minutes later, the army released a statement stating that people were permitted to leave their shelters.

A hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba was hit in a Thursday morning strike, injuring 40 people, its director said.

Iranian police announced the arrest on Thursday of 24 people accused of spying for Israel and of seeking to tarnish the country's image, according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.

"Twenty-four individuals who were spying for the Zionist enemy offline and online, and who were... trying to disturb public opinion, and to tarnish and destroy the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, were arrested," said police commander for west Tehran Kiumars Azizi.

Nine European Union countries have called on the European Commission to come up with proposals on how to discontinue EU trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The letter, addressed to EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas, was signed by foreign ministers from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.

"We have not seen a proposal to initiate discussions on how to effectively discontinue trade of goods and services with the illegal settlements," the ministers wrote.

"We need the European Commission to develop proposals for concrete measures to ensure compliance by the Union with the obligations identified by the Court," they added.

Israel's diplomatic mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reuters)

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that "hospitals must be respected" after a hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack on day seven of the war.

"Under international humanitarian law, the wounded and sick, medical personnel and hospitals must be respected and protected", the ICRC said on X after the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba was hit.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Thursday to "remove" the nuclear and ballistic missile threat posed by Iran, on the seventh day of war between the arch foes.

"We are committed to destroying the nuclear threat, the threat of a nuclear annihilation against Israel," Netanyahu told reporters in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit during an Iranian missile attack.

"Our goal is twofold, nuclear, ballistic missile. We're going to remove them. We are in the process of completing the (removal of) this threat."

Israeli attacks have killed at least 69 in Gaza over the past 24 hours, including injuring at least 221 others.

The ministry reveals that over 55,706 Palestinians have been killed and another 130,101 wounded since October 2023.

China's President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for all parties but "especially Israel" to stop hostilities in a phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin, Chinese state media reported.

"Parties to the conflict, especially Israel, should cease hostilities as soon as possible to prevent a cyclical escalation and resolutely avoid the spillover of the war," Xi said, according to Xinhua.

China's President Xi Jinping said Thursday a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was the 'top priority' during a phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin, Chinese state media reported.

"Promoting a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities is the top priority. Armed force is not the correct way to resolve international disputes," Xi said, according to Xinhua.

China's President Xi Jinping urged more diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict between Israel and Iran in a call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

Xi, without naming the United States, said "major countries" with "special influence" in the region should step up diplomatic efforts to cool down the situation, the report said, emphasising Israel's role in bringing about a ceasefire.

(Reuters)

Turkey has increased the security of its border with Iran as the Israel-Iran conflict continues, a Turkish Defence Ministry source said on Thursday, adding Ankara had not seen any irregular migration flow from Iran.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkey was continuing to develop a layered and integrated air and missile defence system, using domestically produced radar and weapon systems, adding that the aim was to keep its potential combat readiness at a high level.

The source also said Turkey's Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft had taken off after Israel launched its attacks on Turkey's southeastern neighbour, Iran, adding that the aircraft continued to patrol borders amid the possibility of Israeli airspace violations. 

(Reuters)

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed at least 25 people on Thursday, including 15 who had gathered near an aid distribution site.

Civil defence official Mohammad al-Mughayyir told AFP that 15 people were killed and 60 wounded, while waiting for aid in central Gaza's Netzarim corridor, where thousands of people have gathered daily in the hope of receiving rations.

The Israeli army told AFP it was "looking into" the reports.

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.

Pressed further on Bushehr, the official said he could neither confirm nor deny that Israel had struck the location, where Iran has a reactor.

(Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone call on Thursday during which both leaders condemned Israel for its strikes on Iran and agreed de-escalation was needed, the Kremlin said.

Both men "strongly condemn Israel's actions, which violate the U.N. Charter and other norms of international law," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

"Both Moscow and Beijing fundamentally believe that there is no military solution to the current situation and issues related to Iran's nuclear programme.

"This solution must be achieved exclusively through political and diplomatic means," said Ushakov.

(Reuters)

France is preparing to help its citizens in Israel and Iran to leave those countries amid a week of strikes exchanged between the two rivals, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday.

Barrot told reporters that a convoy will be arranged by the end of the week to transport French nationals without their own means of transportation to the Turkish or Armenian borders from Iran, allowing them to access airports in those countries.

French citizens in Israel will be able to board buses starting Friday morning from the Jordanian border for airports in Jordan, with a flight chartered from Amman by the end of the week to aid the passage of French citizens who are vulnerable or in emergency situations, Barrot said.

Separately, Barrot reiterated that France was committed to holding a conference on a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, after France postponed one scheduled for this week.

(Reuters)

Bulgaria has closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated diplomatic staff and their families to neighbouring Azerbaijan as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensifies, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov told local media on Friday.

Zhelyazkov said 12 people from the embassy and their families were evacuated after Israel advised residents to evacuate the third district of Tehran.

"The Bulgarian embassy is in the immediate vicinity of this area and we decided to have our diplomats leave the country," he said, adding that the embassy would continue to operate from Baku.

The staff drove six hours in a convoy to the border, where they waited for another six hours due to border checks, he said.

(Reuters)

A top US official visiting the Lebanese capital on Thursday discouraged Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah from intervening in the war between Iran and Israel, saying it would be a "very bad decision".

After meeting Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah, Barrack was asked what may happen if Hezbollah joined in the regional conflict.

"I can say on behalf of President (Donald) Trump, which he has been very clear in expressing as has Special Envoy (Steve) Witkoff: that would be a very, very, very bad decision," Barrack told reporters.

(Reuters) 

Any intervention by the United States in the Iran-Israel conflict would mark a "terrible spiral of escalation", Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Thursday.

(Reuters)

A senior Kenyan official said foreign diplomatic missions must be protected by Iran and Israel after a strike on Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan area on Thursday hit within several hundred metres of the East African country's embassy.

"Foreign missions are inviolable under international law and must be excluded and protected from armed conflict at all times," Korir Sing'Oei, the principal secretary at Kenya's foreign affairs ministry, told Reuters.

Sing'Oei also shared a message from Kenya's ambassador to Israel, saying embassy staff had been working from home and were safe.

(Reuters)

Iran said Thursday the main target of a missile attack that hit a hospital in southern Israel was an Israeli military and intelligence base, not the health facility.

"The main target of the attack was the Israeli Army Command and Intelligence Base (IDF C4I) and the Army Intelligence Camp in Gav-Yam Technology Park, located in the vicinity of the Soroka Hospital," state news agency IRNA said.

It said the hospital was "exposed only to the blast wave", and that the "direct and precise target" was the military facility.

China urged countries in the Middle East, "especially Israel", to cease fighting on Thursday after fresh exchanges of fire with Iran, and as US President Donald Trump warned he was weighing US military action in the conflict.

"China strongly calls on all parties involved in the conflict, especially Israel, to put the interests of the region's people first, immediately cease fire and stop fighting," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Only the United States has the clout to engage Israel and Iran in negotiations as the two countries continue to trade air attacks, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.

"Europe alone does not have the necessary influence to bring the parties concerned to the (negotiation) table. Only the United States can do that. So I think it is up to the President of the United States to decide which path to take," Mitsotakis said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Athens.

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.

"We are all very concerned about any factor that will push inflation up and significantly disrupt energy markets," Mitsotakis said.

(Reuters)

Israel's defence minister said Thursday that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be "held accountable" after an Iranian strike on a hospital in Israel, adding he had ordered the army to "intensify strikes" on the Islamic Republic.

"These are some of the most serious war crimes -- and Khamenei will be held accountable for his actions," Israel Katz said, adding that he and the prime minister ordered the military "to intensify strikes against strategic targets in Iran and against the power infrastructure in Tehran, in order to eliminate the threats to the state of Israel and to shake the Ayatollahs' regime".

An Israeli military spokesperson said on Thursday that the military had struck nuclear sites in Bushehr, Isfahan, and Natanz, and continued to target additional facilities.

Bushehr is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant, which sits on the Gulf coast.

(Reuters)

Israel's defence minister said Thursday that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "can no longer be allowed to exist" after an Israeli hospital was hit during an Iranian missile attack.

"Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed -- he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals. He considers the destruction of the state of Israel to be a goal," Israel Katz told journalists in Holon near Tel Aviv. "Such a man can no longer be allowed to exist."

China has evacuated more than 1,600 citizens from Iran and hundreds more from Israel as the conflict between the two countries has intensified, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

China has maintained communication with parties, including Iran, Israel, and Oman, spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference, while calling for immediate measures to be taken to de-escalate the tense situation as soon as possible.

(Reuters) 

Iran's deputy foreign minister warned against any direct US involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran, saying Iran had "all the necessary options on the table", in comments reported by Iranian state media on Thursday.

"If the US wants to actively intervene in support of Israel, Iran will have no other option but to use its tools to teach aggressors a lesson and defend itself ... our military decision-makers have all necessary options on the table," Kazem Gharibabadi said, according to state media.

"Our recommendation to the US is to at least stand by if they do not wish to stop Israel's aggression," he said.

(Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Iran would "pay a heavy price" after a missile hit a hospital in Israel's south.

"This morning, Iran's terrorist dictators fired missiles at Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheva and at civilians in the centre of the country. We will make the tyrants in Tehran pay a heavy price," Netanyahu said in a post on X.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had targeted the Arak nuclear reactor in Iran overnight and struck what it said was a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz.

Among its nuclear sites, Iran had a partially built heavy-water research reactor originally called Arak and now Khondab.

Iranian media reported on Thursday morning that air defences were activated in the area of the Khondab nuclear facility, with two projectiles hitting an area close to it.

Officials told Iranian state TV that evacuations were made prior to the strikes and that no risks of radiation or casualties were detected. There was no mention of any damage.

(Reuters)

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said Thursday that at least 32 people were injured following Iran's latest missile strikes, which an Israeli military official said involved "dozens of ballistic missiles".

In a statement, an MDA spokesperson said that medics were "providing medical treatment and evacuating to hospitals two people in serious condition... as well as 30 people in mild condition with blast and shrapnel injuries".

It added that additional MDA teams were treating "several injured individuals at multiple scenes."

A hospital in southern Israel was hit during a barrage of "dozens" of Iranian missiles on Thursday, officials said, while another impact was reported by emergency services in the Tel Aviv area.

"BREAKING: A direct hit has been reported at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, southern Israel. More details to follow," the Israeli foreign ministry posted on X.

A spokesperson for the hospital reported "damage to the hospital and extensive damage in various areas. We are currently assessing the damage, including injuries. We ask the public not to come to the hospital at this time."

As well as serving populations in southern Israel, Soroka hospital is known to treat soldiers wounded in Gaza.

Israel's military said Thursday people were permitted to leave shelters in several parts of the country where they had been told to take cover after Iran launched a new barrage of missiles towards Israel.

"Following the situational assessment, the Home Front Command published that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in several areas across the country," the military said in a statement.

A military official added that "dozens of ballistic missiles were launched at Israel in the last barrage from Iran".

Israel's foreign ministry reported a direct hit on a hospital in the south on Thursday, after Iran fired a fresh salvo of missiles at the country.

"BREAKING: A direct hit has been reported at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, southern Israel. More details to follow," the foreign ministry posted on X.

A spokesperson for the hospital reported "damage to the hospital and extensive damage in various areas. We are currently assessing the damage, including injuries. We ask the public not to come to the hospital at this time."

Iran on Thursday accused the UN's nuclear watchdog of acting as a "partner" in what it described as Israel's "war of aggression".

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran in a report prior to the start of the Iran-Israel conflict of non-compliance with its obligations in its nuclear programme.

"You betrayed the non-proliferation regime; You've made IAEA a partner to this unjust war of aggression," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei wrote on X, in a post addressed to the head of the agency, Rafael Grossi.

An area near the heavy-water research reactor in Khondab, part of Iran's nuclear programme, was hit by Israel, the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported on Thursday.

Officials announced the facility was evacuated prior to the attack, and there is no radiation risk, ISNA added.

The research reactor was partially built and previously known as Arak, with Tehran informing the UN nuclear watchdog that it plans operating the facility next year.

(Reuters)

Australia has started evacuating almost 3,000 citizens caught up in the rapidly spiralling conflict between Israel and Iran, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday.

But rescue efforts had been hampered by missile barrages that made it "too risky" for civilian aircraft to land in either country, Wong said.

Some 1,500 Australians had registered to be evacuated from Iran, while more than 1,200 were seeking to get out of Israel, she said.

"There's no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed," Wong told national broadcaster ABC.

"We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing.

"We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours."

President Donald Trump warned he was weighing US military action against Iran, as Israel launched fresh strikes against Tehran on Thursday.

Trump has left his intentions on joining the conflict deliberately ambiguous, saying Wednesday: "I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do."

"The next week is going to be very big," he added, without further details.

The White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday, a US holiday. Top US diplomat Marco Rubio, meanwhile, will meet his UK counterpart for talks expected to focus on the conflict.

"I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven't made a final (decision)," Trump said. "I like to make the final decision one second before it's due, because things change. Especially with war."

The US embassy in Qatar curbed access on Thursday to the Al Udeid Air Base for its personnel, urging greater vigilance by US citizens in "an abundance of caution" amid regional hostilities.

The US base is its largest such military facility in the Middle East.

(Reuters)

Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby to evacuate its nationals from Iran and Israel, Tokyo's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday.

"In view of the increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, we have decided to move Self-Defense Forces aircraft to Djibouti," he told reporters.

Around 1,000 Japanese nationals are believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said, citing the foreign ministry.

The Japanese embassies in Iran and Israel are preparing to use buses to evacuate citizens to neighbouring countries, Hayashi said, as the war entered its seventh day.

That could happen as early as Thursday, Hayashi added, declining to elaborate due to security concerns.

Gaza's civil defence agency said that Israeli forces on Thursday killed at least 18 people, including 15 who had gathered near an aid distribution site in central Gaza.

Civil defence official Mohammad al-Mugghayyir told AFP that "18 people have been killed due to ongoing Israeli shelling on the Gaza Strip since dawn today, 15 of whom were waiting for aid", adding that the remaining three were killed by shelling near Gaza City.

Iraq's Moqtada al-Sadr has called for nationwide protests after Friday prayers to denounce what he described as "Zionist-American terrorism" and regional aggression.

In a statement posted on X, the influential Shia cleric condemned Israel and the United States for their attacks on countries including Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, as well as what he called a wider campaign of hostility against peoples and religions.

Sadr also pointed to recent violations of Iraqi airspace, referring to reports that Israeli aircraft used Iraqi skies to strike Iran. 

On Tuesday, the leader of the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada armed group, Abu Alaa al-Walaei, claimed the US had disabled Iraqi radar systems to allow the passage of Israeli jets.

Sadr's protest calls have historically drawn thousands into the streets, particularly during moments of heightened regional tension.

Iraq's top Shia cleric has warned that Israeli strikes on Iran could trigger serious regional fallout and lead to widespread chaos.

In a statement this morning, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said the attacks threaten to spiral out of control, deepening the suffering of people across the region and damaging the interests of all parties involved. 

He urged Muslim-majority countries and the wider international community to help end what he called an "unjust war" and pursue a just and peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue under international law.

"Such a criminal act… portends dire consequences for the entire region, potentially spiralling completely out of control and leading to widespread chaos that would exacerbate the suffering of its people and harm everyone's interests to the greatest possible extent," he said.

Sistani had earlier described the strikes as yet another sign of Israel's aggression and the dangers it poses.