Live updates: Israel and Iran trade strikes as Trump weighs US involvement
Update:
Date: 5 min ago
Title: UN nuclear watchdog findings are not a basis for military action, organization's head says
Content:
Evidence gathered on Iran's nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency can 'hardly be a basis for any military action,' the organization's head said Thursday.
'Military action, from wherever it comes, is a political decision that has nothing to do with what we're saying,' Rafael Grossi told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
After launching its first wave of strikes on Iran, Israel pointed to a recent IAEA report that acknowledged Iran is enriching uranium to a higher level than other countries without nuclear weapons programs, in violation of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations.
But Grossi told Cooper there was no indication of a 'systematic program in Iran to produce a nuclear weapon.'
This week, US President Donald Trump said he thought Iran was 'very close' to having a nuclear weapon.
Israel would need US help to take out Iran's Fordow nuclear site, buried deep in the Iranian mountains, as only the US military has the massive 'bunker buster' bombs thought to be capable of effectively striking an underground target at such depths.
Asked by Cooper whether he is concerned about the possible consequences of a US strike on Fordow, Grossi said 'diplomacy is the way forward.'
'Physical structures can be destroyed, but you cannot destroy knowledge. You cannot destroy technological advancements, advancements being made in a country,' Grossi said.
Israel's military said it had killed nine Iranian nuclear scientists. Iran has acknowledged nuclear scientists were killed by Israel in the attack, without saying how many.
Grossi this week rebuffed Iranian claims the IAEA has presented a 'misleading narrative' over its nuclear program and said the organization stood ready to 'closely monitor and assess the situation regarding the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites.'
Update:
Date: 5 min ago
Title: Marches of "wrath" and "victory" planned across Iran for Friday
Content:
Iranians are being urged to take part in nationwide marches of 'wrath' and divine 'victory' on Friday, to demonstrate the nation's anger at Israel's strikes on it, according to Iranian media.
People throughout Iran are expected to band together in support of its military forces in an 'outcry of the people's rage' against Israel, according to a poster for the nationwide event shared by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The marches will take place after Friday prayers, a key weekly religious event for Muslims that often draws large crowds in Iran, especially during periods of heightened tension, and which Iran's Islamic regime frequently uses for political theatre.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei often participates in Friday prayers in Tehran and has often used these appearances to express strong criticisms of the US, Israel and the West.
But any public appearance by Khamanei could be risky for the Iranian leader.
Israel has refused to rule out the possibility of targeting him, with defense minister Israel Katz saying on Thursday that Khamenei 'cannot continue to exist.'
Update:
Date: 5 min ago
Title: Fire erupts near Microsoft office in Israel's Beer Sheva after Iranian attack
Content:
Emergency services in Israel are responding to fires in Beer Sheva after Israel's military said it intercepted an Iranian missile.
Several fires can be seen burning in a street in the southern city, close to a tech park that houses a Microsoft office, according to video released by Israel's emergency services agency Magen David Adom.
Israel Police said it had received reports of the fall of munitions in the country's Southern District in open areas, adding that there was property damage but no reports of casualties.
Yesterday, a major hospital in Beer Sheva, the Soroka Medical Center, was damaged in an Iranian attack.
Beer Sheva is in the Negev desert, where Israel's Nevatim airbase is located.
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