Iran-Israel latest: IDF issues evacuation warning for areas of Tehran ahead of strikes
Israel has issued unprecedented evacuation orders for parts of Tehran as it prepares to unleash a fresh wave of strikes on the fourth day of the deadly conflict.
Sparked by Israel's strikes on Iran on Friday morning, the exchange of fire has seen more than 200 people have been killed in Iran and more than 20 in Israel, their respective authorities have reported.
The Israeli military said it would strike District Three of Tehran to 'attack the Iranian regime's military infrastructure'. Remaining in the area 'puts your life at risk', it told Iranian residents.
The military said on Monday it had 'full aerial operational control' over Tehran, but it failed to bat away attacks on Tel Aviv and Haifa overnight on Sunday, with the US embassy among the buildings damaged.
Meanwhile, Iranian lawmakers are preparing a bill to leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which prevents Iran from developing nuclear weapons, the foreign ministry has said.
While Tehran remains officially opposed to developing nuclear weapons, Iranian officials have suggested the country's rights under the treaty have not been respected. Iran ratified the deal in 1970.
Israel, along with India, Pakistan and South Sudan, are the only countries who are not signed up to the treaty.
Trump declines to sign G7 statement on Israel-Iran
Reports are beginning to emerge that the G7 countries, who are currently convening in the Canadian Rockies, have pulled together a draft statement on Israel and Iran.
But Donald Trump appears not to have signed off on the statement, sources told Reuters news agency.
The statement affirms Israel's right to defend itself and states that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, according to Reutes news agency,
It calls on the the countries to deescalate the conflict and avoid compromising regional stability.
16 June 2025 15:41
Iran exercising right to self-defence, says Moscow
Russia believes Iran is exercising its right to defend itself against attack by Israel, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Monday.
There are dangerous and obvious consequences of Israel's strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Mr Ryabkov added.
He was also quoted as saying that Russia was discussing the crisis with the United States as well as maintaining contacts with both Israel and Iran.
Alex Croft16 June 2025 15:18
Iran seeking talks with US and Israel to end conflict - WSJ
Iran has been sending messages to Israel and the United States that it seeks an end to the conflict, the Wall Street Journal cited officials as saying.
Tehran is also seeking a resumption of talks over its nuclear programme, the report claimed, adding that the messages had been sent through Arab intermediaries.
Alex Croft16 June 2025 15:08
Mapped: Israeli evacuation orders for Tehran residents
Alex Croft16 June 2025 14:56
Israel issues evacuation notice for part of Tehran
An Israeli military spokesperson issued an evacuation warning for a designated area in Tehran, according to a post by the spokesperson on X.
'Immediate warning to all individuals present in the area indicated on the attached map in District 3 of Tehran,' the IDF's Farsi account said on X, alongside a map of the evacuation zone.
'Dear citizens, for your safety, we ask that you immediately leave the aforementioned area in District 3 of Tehran.
'In the coming hours, the Israeli army will take action in this area to attack the Iranian regime's military infrastructure, just as it has done in recent days around Tehran. Your presence in this area puts your life at risk.'
The Israeli military appears to have resumed heavy strikes in Iran, posts on social media show.
We'll bring you more as it comes in.
Alex Croft16 June 2025 14:43
What is the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
Negotiated in the mid-to-late 1960s and first ratified in 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
It was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a UN-sponsored organisation, and first came into force in 1970. At the time, it signalled in new era of warmer relations during the Cold War, following the escalation of an aggressive arms race between the US and USSR.
The treaty is based on three pillars:
nuclear non-proliferation; pledging not to engage in or assist in the development of any nuclear weapons
disarmament; undertaking to bring an end to the nuclear arms race with a final goal of general and complete disarmament
peaceful uses of nuclear energy; reaffirming the right for all parties to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes
Israel is one of four countries to have never signed the treaty, alongside India, Pakistan and South Sudan.
Alex Croft16 June 2025 14:38
Senator seeks to limit Trump's war powers in Iran
A Democratic senator has introduced legislation to prevent Donald Trump from using military force against Iran without Congress's authorization on Monday.
Tim Kaine of Virginia has tried for years to wrest back Congress's authority to declare war from the White House.
During Trump's first term, in 2020, Mr Kaine introduced a similar resolution to rein in Trump's ability to wage war against Iran. That measure passed both the Senate and House of Representatives, winning some Republican support, but did not garner enough votes to survive the Republican president's veto.
Mr Kaine said his latest war powers resolution underscores that the US Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the sole power to declare war and requires that any hostility with Iran be explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of military force.
"It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States. I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict," Mr Kaine said in a statement.
Alex Croft16 June 2025 14:08
Watch: Israelis huddle in Tel Aviv bomb shelters as air raid sirens blare ahead of Iran missile strike
Alex Croft16 June 2025 13:51
Erdogan and Putin discuss Israel-Iran conflict
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and Russian president Vladimir Putin have held a phone call discussing the conflict between Israel and Iran.
A statement from the Turkish presidency said the pair had agreed the conflict must end and diplomacy be put into action as soon as possible.
Mr Erdogan repeated his view that the only solution to the crisis was a return to nuclear talks, the statement said.
The Kremlin said: "Both sides expressed the most serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and is fraught with serious long-term consequences for the entire region.
"The leaders spoke in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to the Iranian nuclear programme, exclusively by political and diplomatic means."
Alex Croft16 June 2025 13:36
Here's what it means to enrich uranium – and why it raises concerns in Iran-Israel conflict
Late last week, Israel targeted three of Iran's key nuclear facilities – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow – killing several Iranian nuclear scientists.
The facilities are heavily fortified and largely underground, and there are conflicting reports of how much damage has been done.
Natanz and Fordow are Iran's uranium enrichment sites, and Isfahan provides the raw materials, so any damage to these sites would limit Iran's ability to produce nuclear weapons.
But what exactly is uranium enrichment and why does it raise concerns?
Alex Croft16 June 2025 13:20
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Australia urged to press US to ‘act responsibly' as threat of nuclear disaster rises amid Israel-Iran conflict
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) has described the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran as a 'terrifying reminder of how close the world remains to nuclear disaster', arguing Australia should condemn illegal military attacks and ratify the global treaty banning nuclear weapons. Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities violate international law, Ican has alleged, and could cause radioactive contamination with long-term consequences for human health and the environment. 'The prospect of radiation release, the erosion of non-proliferation norms, and the emboldening of nuclear-armed states to act without accountability – this is the deadly logic of nuclear deterrence playing out in real time,' said Gem Romuld, the Australian director of Ican, a Nobel prize-winning anti-nuclear group. 'We need urgent de-escalation and a return to diplomacy. Australia should press its allies, particularly the United States, to act responsibly and stop enabling this cycle of violence.' Israel, the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, is widely believed to be modernising its arsenal. It remains outside the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), but is estimated to have 90 nuclear warheads. Israel has never officially acknowledged that it possesses nuclear weapons. Israel has maintained its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities are lawful and necessary to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and using them in the future. The attacks were 'pre-emptive and precise strikes' against military targets, the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Brig Effie Defrin said. Iran, which had previously proposed a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East, is a state party to the NPT but has now threatened to withdraw. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, insisted Iran's nuclear programme was peaceful and that it sought an end to hostilities: 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again – once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed.' Globally, the nuclear threat is growing. The decades-long trend of the number of dismantled warheads outstripping the deployment of new warheads – resulting in an overall year-on-year decrease in the global inventory of nuclear weapons – appears set to end: the pace of dismantlement is slowing, while the deployment of new nuclear weapons is accelerating. Figures released this week by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) show that of the 12,241 nuclear warheads globally, 9,614 remain in military stockpiles, and 3,912 are deployed on missiles and aircraft, with 2,100 kept on high operational alert. 'The era of reductions in the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which had lasted since the end of the cold war, is coming to an end,' said Hans M Kristensen, an associate senior fellow with SIPRI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme. 'Instead, we see a clear trend of growing nuclear arsenals, sharpened nuclear rhetoric and the abandonment of arms control agreements.' Since before winning office in 2022, Labor has committed to ratifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in government, but it has not yet done so. The government has argued it is 'considering the TPNW systematically and methodically as part of our ambitious agenda to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament'. Globally, 94 countries have signed the ban treaty, and 73 have ratified it. No nuclear weapons states are party to the treaty.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Iran war live: fresh attacks exchanged as Israel says it has set back Tehran's nuclear program by ‘at least two or three years'
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Middle East situation ‘perilous', says Lammy amid calls for more talks
The situation in the Middle East is 'perilous', the Foreign Secretary said as he urged Iran to negotiate with the US. David Lammy flew from Washington to Geneva on Friday to meet Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi alongside his French and German counterparts as the UK continued to press for a diplomatic solution to the Middle East crisis. The talks followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that he would delay a decision on joining Israeli strikes against Iran for up to two weeks. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Lammy told reporters: 'It is still clear to me, as President Trump indicated yesterday, that there is a window of within two weeks where we can see a diplomatic solution.' Urging Iran to 'take that off ramp' and talk to the Americans, he said: 'We have a window of time. This is perilous and deadly serious.' He added that the US and Europe were pushing for Iran to agree to zero enrichment of uranium as a 'starting point' for negotiations. But Mr Araghchi said Iran would not negotiate with the US as long as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes against the country, and insisted his country's nuclear programme was entirely peaceful. Both sides continued to exchange fire on Friday, with Iranian missiles targeting the city of Haifa while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tel Aviv's military operation would continue 'for as long as it takes'. Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country's airspace reopens. Mr Lammy said work is under way to provide the flights 'based on levels of demand' from UK citizens who want to leave the region. The move follows criticism of the Foreign Office's initial response, which saw family members of embassy staff evacuated while UK citizens were not advised to leave and told to follow local guidance. The Government said the move to temporarily withdraw family members had been a 'precautionary measure'. On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely. But the Government continues to advise British nationals in the region to follow local advice, rather than urging them to leave. The US evacuated 79 staff and families from the embassy in Israel on Friday local time, according to the Associated Press. Mr Trump told reporters his national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard was 'wrong' when she told lawmakers in March that US intelligence officials did not believe Iran had been building a nuclear weapon. The president also suggested it would be 'very hard to stop' Israeli strikes on Iran to negotiate a ceasefire.
