🔴 LIVE UPDATES: Arab foreign ministers condemn Israeli strikes on Iran, call for diplomatic solutions - Region
Ahram Online provides live coverage of the unfolding military confrontation between Israel and Iran as the two sides waged deadly strikes against one another for the ninth day in a row.
Related Governments scramble to evacuate citizens from Israel, Iran UN Security Council meets Friday to discuss Israel-Iran war, as Tel Aviv, Tehran conflict escalates - as it happened 'Iran will not surrender, and any American attack will have irreparable consequences' - Khamenei
Israel and Iran exchanged fresh attacks early Saturday, marking the ninth consecutive day of hostilities since Israel launched strikes on 13 June.
Around 2.30am local time, Israel's military reported an incoming missile barrage from Iran, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Explosions were heard over central Israel as air defences responded. An Israeli military official said five ballistic missiles were fired, with no reports of casualties or impacts, according to the Guardian.
Overnight, Israel said it targeted Iranian missile storage and launch infrastructure. The military claimed 'very significant' results, while Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told German newspaper Bild that the strikes had delayed Iran's nuclear capabilities by two to three years.
Iran, which says its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes, rejected calls for 'zero enrichment' as long as Israeli attacks persisted. A senior official told Reuters Tehran remained open to talks on enrichment limits if its right to peaceful nuclear development was recognised.
Since Israel launched attacks, Israeli bombing has killed at least 639 people and wounded 1,326, according to Iranian media, while Iranian missiles have killed at least 25 people and wounded hundreds in Israel, the Guardian reported.
The UN Security Council convened an emergency session Friday at Iran's request. Secretary-General António Guterres warned the world was 'racing toward' a major crisis and urged urgent dialogue. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi reported damage to four buildings at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site and warned a strike on the Bushehr plant could cause a serious radioactive release.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon confirmed the Nimitz carrier strike group is being deployed to the region. The USS Carl Vinson remains in the Middle East, while the USS Gerald R. Ford is scheduled to depart for Europe on 24 June.
US President Donald Trump publicly rebuked intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard for saying there was no evidence Iran was pursuing a nuclear weapon. Gabbard later said her comments were taken out of context.
12:00 Arab foreign ministers strongly condemned recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran during their meeting in Istanbul ahead of the 51st session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers, Tehran Times reported.
The ministers urged an immediate end to the military escalation and warned of dire consequences for regional stability if hostilities continued.
They convened for an emergency session to address escalating tensions, particularly in light of Israel's attacks on Iran that began on June 13.
In a final statement issued Friday, the Arab League called the Israeli strikes 'a blatant violation of the sovereignty of a UN member state and a threat to regional peace and security".
Based on the statement, the ministers appealed to the United Nations Security Council to take urgent action, stressing that continued inaction risks further destabilization of the Middle East.
11:30 Israel's first responders said a drone had hit a residential building in northern Israel after the army reported an intrusion in the Beit She'an valley, AFP reported.
"A drone strike hit a two-storey residential building in northern Israel", the Magen David Adom said in a statement, adding that its rescue teams found no visible casualties as they arrived.
11:00 A senior United Arab Emirates official urged an immediate end to the Iran-Israel war, warning that a prolonged conflict would have severe consequences for the region, AFP reported.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said the war was undermining Gulf efforts to build stability and prosperity.
'The longer a war takes, the more dangerous it becomes,' he told reporters on Friday. 'Any extended confrontation or war between Israel and Iran will only bring a very difficult aftermath.'
Gargash stressed the importance of de-escalation and said a return to negotiations was still possible. He also cited the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq as a warning, saying the region was still dealing with its fallout.
One major risk, he noted, was disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of global oil output.
'This war flies in the face of the regional order the Gulf countries want to build,' he said. 'We feel that this is setting us back—not only the UAE, but the region.'
10:45 Police in Iran's Qom province said 22 people "linked to Israeli spy services" had been arrested since June 13.
"22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime's spy services, disturbing public opinion and supporting the criminal regime," Fars news agency reported, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran's Qom province.
A European national was also arrested for spying,Tasnim reported on Friday, without giving their nationality or the date of the arrest.
10:30 Iran's Revolutionary Guards said five of its members were killed in Israeli attacks on the city of Khorramabad, Iranian media reported, according to Reuters.
Earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military had killed a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force in a strike on an apartment in Qom. The commander, Saeed Izadi, led the force's Palestine Corps, Katz said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
10:00 Israel's military said its navy struck a Hezbollah-linked site near the southern Lebanese city of Naqoura overnight, a day after Israel's foreign minister warned the group against entering the conflict with Iran.
According to the military, the target belonged to Hezbollah's Radwan Force and was described as an infrastructure site used to plan attacks against Israeli civilians. Israel provided no evidence to support the claims.
In a separate statement, the military said it had 'struck and eliminated' a Hezbollah member in south Lebanon on Friday, despite a ceasefire between the two sides.
Lebanon's health ministry said one person was killed in a drone strike targeting a motorcycle in the same village, according to the state-run National News Agency.
9:30 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Istanbul for a meeting with Arab League diplomats to discuss the escalating conflict with Israel, The Guardian reported, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Around 40 diplomats are expected to attend the weekend session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as missile exchanges between Israel and Iran continue, according to AFP.
Araghchi's visit follows talks in Geneva on Friday with counterparts from Britain, France and Germany. 'At this meeting, at the suggestion of Iran, the issue of the Zionist regime's attack on our country will be specifically addressed,' Tasnim quoted him as saying.
According to the Turkish state news agency Anadolu, cited by The Guardian, Arab League ministers are expected to issue a statement following the meeting.
9:00 Iran's Fars news agency reported that Israel attacked the Isfahan nuclear site in the early hours of Saturday. Citing a security official, it said multiple Israeli strikes had been carried out, with most explosions linked to air defence activity. There was no "leakage of hazardous materials," the official was quoted as saying.
Iranian media also said Israel attacked a building in the city of Qom, with initial reports of a 16-year-old killed and two people injured.
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