Pakistan shuts borders with Iran 'indefinitely'; hundreds evacuated as missile attacks in Israel-Iran conflict continue
Iran-Israel conflict: Pakistan has shut all border crossings with Iran 'indefinitely' as missile attacks in Israel-Iran conflict continue, said officials, as per reports.
Hundreds of Pakistani students and pilgrims have also been evacuated from Iran, reported The Dawn.
Earlier in the day, Iran had claimed that Pakistan has 'asserted' that it would attack Israel with a nuclear bomb if the nation launches a nuclear strike against Iran.
Pakistan's Defence Minister, however denied the claims.
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The Hindu
36 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Israel hits Iranian nuclear research facility as war continues into second week
Israel's military said Saturday (June 21, 2025) it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks as the war between the two nations continued into a second week. Early Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where a local official said Israel had attacked the nuclear research facility in two waves. The target was two centrifuge production sites, and the attacks came on top of strikes on other centrifuge production sites elsewhere in recent days, according to an Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity under army guidelines to brief reporters. It was the second attack on Isfahan, which was hit in the first 24 hours of the war as part of Israel's goal to destroy the Iranian nuclear program. Israel-Iran conflict LIVE updates Akbar Salehi, Isfahan province's deputy governor for security affairs, confirmed the Israeli strikes had caused damage to the facility but said there had been no human casualties. Iran launched a new wave of drones and missiles at Israel but there were no immediate reports of significant damage, and the Israeli official called it a 'small barrage' that was largely intercepted by Israel's defenses. The official said part of the reason that Iran's overnight attack had been relatively small was that the military had been targeting its launchers, and estimates it has now taken out more than 50% of them. 'We've been able to take out a large amount of their launchers, creating a bottleneck — we're making it harder for them to fire toward Israel,' he said. 'Having said all that, I want to say the Iranian regime obviously still has capabilities.' Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said Saturday an Iranian drone hit a two-story building in northern Israel, but there were no casualties. The ongoing fighting comes after talks in Geneva on Friday failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough. European officials expressed hope for future discussions, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasizing that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the U.S. while Israel continued attacking. 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes,' he told reporters. No date was set for the next round of talks. U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing active U.S. military involvement in the conflict, which Araghchi said Saturday 'would be very unfortunate.' 'I think that it would be very, very dangerous for everyone,' he said in Istanbul, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing more than 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue 'for as long as it takes' to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without U.S. help. Barring a commando raid or even a nuclear strike, Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. In Israel's opening attack, it killed three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. The targeted killings of senior commanders continued, with Israel's defense minister saying Saturday that the military had killed a commander in Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the Iranian Quds Force, an elite arm of the Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran, and that he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. Iranian officials did not immediately confirm the death, but the Qom governor's office did say there had been an attack on a four-story apartment building and local media reported two people had been killed. Israel also said it had killed the commander of the Quds Force's weapons transfer unit, who it said was responsible for providing weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas. Behnam Shahriyari was killed in his car while traveling in western Iran, the military said. A commander of Iran's drone force was also killed overnight, the Israeli official who briefed reporters said. On Friday, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog warned at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. 'I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment,' said Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. 'This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences could be most serious.' Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% — and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it. Leaders in Iran have blamed Grossi's statements about the status of Iran's nuclear program for prompting Israel's attack. On Saturday, a senior adviser for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, Ali Larijani, said in a brief social media post without elaboration that Iran would make Grossi 'pay' once the war with Israel is over..
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Iran's foreign minister warns US on involvement in Israel war: ‘Dangerous for everyone'
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, stated on Saturday that it would be 'very dangerous for everyone' if the United States were to get involved in the country's war with Israel, reported the Associated Press. Iran foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that US involvement in the country's conflict with Israel would be 'dangerous for everyone'(AFP) His comments emerge as the conflict between Israel and Iran continues for the second week in a row, with both countries trading drone and missile attacks on each other's military infrastructure. Also Read: Donald Trump hints at Israel-Iran ceasefire, warns Iran has 'maximum' two weeks 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes,' Araghchi had said previously. However, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation he told AP that it would be 'very unfortunate' if the US were to start actively engaging in the war. Also Read: Israel warns of 'prolonged war' with Iran as conflict enters ninth day; Donald Trump says Iran only wants US talks Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had stated that the country's military operations against Iran would continue 'for as long as it takes' to eliminate the threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, on Friday, US President Donald Trump stated that he might consider supporting a ceasefire between the two countries but was also weighing military action if matters worsened. Also Read: Tears, cheers, relief at Delhi airport as Indians from Iran reunite with families 'I'm giving them a period of time. I would say two weeks would be the maximum," said Trump after a meeting with his national security team. Regarding backing a truce between the countries, he said, 'I might, depending on the circumstances. Israel's doing well in terms of war, and I think you would have to say that Iran is doing less well. It's a little bit hard to get somebody to stop.' Trump also expressed doubt over Europe's ability to mediate the conflict. "Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe will not be able to help in this one," he said. A meeting in Geneva on Friday between Iran's envoy and diplomats from the EU failed to make any headway in halting the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
US envoy slips up at UNSC, blames Israel for ‘chaos, terror' in Middle East
Amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, a US envoy at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday fumbled and accidentally blamed Jerusalem for causing "chaos, terror and suffering" in the Middle East before correcting herself. US UN envoy Dorothy Shea affirmed support to Israel and said America stands with "Israel and supports its actions against Iran's nuclear ambitions".(AP) The US Chargé d'Affaires ad interim to the UN, Dorothy Shea, was delivering a speech at the UNSC, condemning Iran's actions against Israel. Follow Iran Israel war live updates "Israel's government has also spread chaos, terror and suffering throughout the region," Shea reads out. She then takes an awkward pause, shakes her head as she quickly corrects herself and repeats the sentence, "Iran's government has also spread chaos, terror and suffering throughout the region." She continues with her speech, 'Let us not forget that the Iranian government was an enabling and ideological material force behind Hamas's deadly assault on Israel.' This slip-up by the top US diplomat on a platform as big as the United Nations Security Council went viral on social media. 'Let there be no doubt…': US affirms support to Israel In her speech, Shea also emphasised that it is not too late for the Iranian government "to do the right thing". She reiterated US President Donald Trump's statements and said that Iran "must completely abandon its nuclear enrichment program and all aspirations of acquiring a nuclear weapon". Dorothy Shea stated that Israel has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction as well as for "death to America". Further condemning Iran, she said that, as the Group of Seven (G7) leaders stated earlier this week, Tehran is the principal source of instability and terror in the Middle East region. While she reaffirmed that the US was not involved in the Israeli strikes against Iran, the American diplomat clarified, "Let there be no doubt that the United States continues to stand with Israel and supports its actions against Iran's nuclear ambitions." ALSO READ | Donald Trump hints at Israel-Iran ceasefire, warns Iran has 'maximum' two weeks The US diplomat stated that Iran's leadership could have avoided the ongoing conflict had they agreed to a deal that would have kept them from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon. By refusing to accept the deal, Shea said, Iran has all it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon, adding that the only remaining thing it needs is a decision from its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US diplomat pressed that the UNSC must urge Iran to change course, that the Tehran government has nothing to gain by escalating its rhetoric in this conflict. Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday said that it would be "very, very dangerous for everyone" if the United States becomes actively involved in the war with Israel. Trump's deadline to Iran Earlier in the day, Trump also doubted the possibilities of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, saying that it would be "very hard to stop" Israeli strikes on Iran in order to negotiate a truce. "Israel's doing well in terms of war. And, I think, you would say that Iran is doing less well. It's a little bit hard to get somebody to stop," the US President said. Trump's statement came after the White House said that the US President saw a "substantial chance of negotiations" amid the conflict, as it said Washington was seeking additional time to decide if its military needs to step in. Donald Trump also warned Iran against US military action and said that "I'm giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum."
