Israel-Iran air war enters second week; Trump says decide on US action within two weeks
World
Putin and Xi hold a call and agree de-escalation is needed
TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters/AFP) – Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week on Friday and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential US involvement would be made within two weeks.
Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying it aimed to prevent its longtime enemy from developing nuclear weapons. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel. It says its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said. Those killed include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have died in Iranian missile attacks. Reuters could not independently verify the death toll from either side.
Israel has targeted nuclear sites and missile capabilities, and sought to shatter the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Western and regional officials.
"Are we targeting the downfall of the regime? That may be a result, but it's up to the Iranian people to rise for their freedom," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Iran has said it is targeting military and defence-related sites in Israel, although it has also hit a hospital and other civilian sites.
Israeli soldiers work at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, in Be'er Sheva, Israel, June 20, 2025.
Israel accused Iran on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilians through the use of cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With neither country backing down, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany along with the European Union foreign policy chief were due to meet in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister to try to de-escalate the conflict on Friday.
"Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," said British Foreign Minister David Lammy ahead of their joint meeting with Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met Lammy on Thursday and held separate calls with his counterparts from Australia, France and Italy to discuss the conflict.
The US State Department said that Rubio and the foreign ministers agreed that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon."
Lammy said the same on X while adding that the situation in the Middle East "remained perilous" and a "window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution."
Emergency services officials inspect damage to buildings hit following a missile strike from Iran, in Be'er Sheva, Israel June 20, 2025 in this screen grab from video obtained by Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both condemned Israel and agreed that de-escalation is needed, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
The role of the United States remained uncertain. Trump's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, has spoken with Araqchi several times since last week, sources say.
The White House said Trump will take part in a national security meeting on Friday morning. The president has alternated between threatening Tehran and urging it to resume nuclear talks that were suspended over the conflict.
MISSILE STRIKES
At dawn on Friday, the Israeli military issued a fresh warning of an incoming barrage of missiles from Iran. At least one made a direct impact in Beersheba, Israel's largest southern city, which has been targeted in recent days.
The missile struck near residential apartments, office buildings, and industrial facilities, leaving a large crater and ripping off the facade of at least one apartment complex while damaging several others.
A building at the campus of the Weizmann Institute of Science remains damaged following an Iranian missile strike on Sunday, in Rehovot, Israel June 19, 2025.
"We have a direct strike next to one of the buildings. The damage here is quite (extensive)," paramedic Shafir Botner said.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan aired footage showing cars engulfed in flames, thick plumes of smoke and shattered windows at apartment buildings.
At least six people sustained light injuries in the blast, according to Botner, who said that first responders were still searching apartments for casualties.
On Thursday, Iran hit a major hospital in Beersheba, Israel's largest city in the south. Iran said it was targeting Israeli military headquarters near the hospital but Israel has denied there were any such facilities in the area.
Israel's military also said it had carried out several overnight strikes in the heart of the Iranian capital. The military said the targets included missile production sites and a facility for nuclear weapons research and development.
Trump has mused about striking Iran, possibly with a "bunker buster" bomb that could destroy nuclear sites built deep underground. The White House said Trump would decide in the next two weeks whether to get involved in the war.
That may not be a firm deadline. Trump has commonly used "two weeks" as a time frame for making decisions and allowed other economic and diplomatic deadlines to slide.
With the Islamic Republic facing one of its greatest external threats since the 1979 revolution, any direct challenge to its 46-year-long rule would likely require some form of popular uprising.
But activists involved in previous bouts of protest say they are unwilling to unleash mass unrest, even against a system they hate, with their nation under attack.
"How are people supposed to pour into the streets? In such horrifying circumstances, people are solely focused on saving themselves, their families, their compatriots, and even their pets," said Atena Daemi, a prominent activist who spent six years in prison before leaving Iran.
Also Read: Trump weighs Iran strike plans as conflict escalates: WSJ
In his separate remarks, he stated that Iran had attempted to reach out for dialogue, but he had made it clear that the opportunity had passed.
“Why didn’t Iran reach out two weeks ago?” Trump questioned. “Now they want to talk, but the time for negotiations is over.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed strong confidence that Iran will achieve a “great victory,” stating that Allah is merciful and supports those who stand for truth and justice.
In a message posted on the social media platform X, Khamenei addressed the Iranian nation, urging them not to fall into despair. “My people, if you become even slightly discouraged, the enemy will intensify its pressure and will not let you go,” he warned.
"And victory comes only from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise" (Quran 3:126). And Almighty God will certainly, definitely grant victory to the Iranian nation, to the truth, and to the side that is in the right, God willing.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 19, 2025
He praised the Iranian people's unity in the face of adversity and called on them to continue their resistance with full strength.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said he would head to Geneva to attend talks on his country's nuclear programme with counterparts from key European powers France, Germany and Britain and the EU's top diplomat.
Israel on Thursday attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities as Iranian missiles struck several sites in Israel, including a “direct hit” on a medical centre in the south of the country. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.
"We will meet with the European delegation in Geneva on Friday," he said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.
Araqchi confirms to IRNA he will meet E3 foreign ministers in Genevahttps://t.co/rmWylaxwq9 pic.twitter.com/kyKIGnRBak
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) June 19, 2025
IRAN ACCUSES UN NUCLEAR AGENCY OF BEING 'PARTNER' TO ISRAEL'S 'UNJUST WAR OF AGGRESSION'
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has criticised UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi and accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of being a partner to an "unjust war of aggression" initiated by Israel.
In a post on X, Baghaei responded to an interview with CNN in which Grossi said there was no evidence of a systematic Iranian effort to develop nuclear weapons.
"This is too late, Mr. Grossi," Baghaei wrote, adding that an IAEA resolution declaring Iran in breach of its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty had been used as a pretext for Israel to strike Iran.
DG @rafaelmgrossi:“We did not have any evidence of a systematic effort [by Iran] to move into a nuclear weapon.”
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) June 19, 2025
This is too late, Mr. Grossi: you obscured this truth in your absolutely biased report that was instrumentalize by E3/U.S. to craft a resolution with baseless… pic.twitter.com/A2cQcyqiFy
"Misleading narratives have dire consequences, Mr. Grossi, and demand accountability. You betrayed the non-proliferation regime; You've made IAEA a partner to this unjust war of aggression," he wrote.
IRAN SAYS 'MAIN TARGET' OF ATTACK THAT HIT ISRAELI HOSPITAL WAS MILITARY SITE
Iran has said the main target of a missile attack that hit the Soroka 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.
New I.R.G.C. announcement: The Iranian Armed Forces have successfully carried out the 14th wave of powerful combined attacks on strategic Israeli targets in the occupied territories.
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) June 19, 2025
It said the hospital was "exposed only to the blast wave", and that the "direct and precise target" was the military facility.
ISRAEL ORDERS MILITARY TO 'INTENSIFY STRIKES' ON IRAN AFTER MISSILE HITS HOSPITAL
Israel's defence minister has said Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be "held accountable" for a missile strike on an Israeli hospital and added that he has 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".
הדיקטטור האיראני הפחדן יושב במעמקי הבונקר הממוגן ויורה ירי מכוון לעבר בתי חולים ובנייני מגורים בישראל.
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) June 19, 2025
אלה הם פשעי מלחמה מהסוג החמור ביותר - וחמינאי יתן את הדין על פשעיו.
ראש הממשלה ואני הנחינו את צה"ל להגביר את עוצמת התקיפות נגד יעדים אסטרטגיים באיראן ונגד יעדים שלטוניים בטהרן…
PUTIN AND XI HOLD A CALL AND AGREE DE-ESCALATION IS NEEDED
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," said Ushakov.
In the call, Xi also urged more diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict, 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.
ISRAEL SAYS IT TARGETED NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN'S NATANZ AND ARAK OVERNIGHT
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.
Natanz, which Israel had previously struck during its six-day-old aerial war with Iran, was the site of a complex at the heart of Iran's nuclear programme that included two enrichment plants.
The Israeli military added that it targeted the structure of the reactor's core seal in Arak, which it identified as a key component in plutonium production.
