June 19, 2025 – Israel-Iran conflict

Our live coverage of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has moved here.

The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in central Iran, seen on June 14.

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.

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 — who has been weighing up American involvement in the conflict — 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.”

In the days after its initial strikes on Iran, the Israel Defense Forces claimed it had “eliminated” 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.”

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.

Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya holds a news conference on the evacuation of Japanese nationals from Israel and Iran, at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Friday.

Around 90 Japanese nationals and their families have safely evacuated from Israel and Iran to neighboring countries in response to escalating tensions in the Middle East, according to Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Iwaya said 66 people who left Iran arrived safely in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku and 21 people from Israel arrived safely in Amman, the capital of Jordan.

The Japanese government is planning a second round of evacuations by bus from Iran as early as Saturday, he said.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has stressed the importance of diplomatic efforts to calm the situation and said earlier this week, after the Group of 7 summit, that “Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.”

The Israeli military said Friday it had detected new missiles launched toward its territory from Iran.

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said.

The military did not say how many missiles were launched or if any reports of damage. It urged the public to seek shelter until further notice.

Hundreds of Chinese workers, students and tourists have fled or been evacuated from Iran to neighboring countries as the conflict with Israel spirals.

Masa Li, a 24-year-old Chinese citizen who has lived and worked in Tehran for the past few years, fled the city on Monday after three days of bombing.

On the final day, Li decided to flee with nine colleagues and friends. It took them more than 30 hours to reach a border crossing in Armenia — a drive stalled by repeated car breakdowns and frequent stops for questioning and phone checks by police and military officers.

Many Chinese in Iran work for Chinese companies that have invested in the oil-rich country. China has for years been Iran’s largest trading partner and the biggest buyer of Iranian oil. The Middle Eastern nation is an enthusiastic supporter of Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative,” a global infrastructure and investment drive.

The Chinese Embassy started evacuating Chinese citizens from Tehran on Tuesday, according to state media.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that more than 1,600 Chinese nationals had been relocated from Iran, while several hundred Chinese citizens had been evacuated from Israel.

China, a key diplomatic and economic backer of Iran, has condemned Israel for violating Iran’s sovereignty and escalating tensions in the Middle East by launching the attack. It has urged both sides to de-escalate tensions and offered to play a “constructive role” in resolving the conflict.

David Lammy visits New Delhi on June 7.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy says a “window now exists” to end the escalating crisis in the Middle East, as he heads to Geneva for key nuclear talks between Iran’s foreign minister and counterparts from the UK and Europe.

“A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution,” Lammy added, in reference to US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would allow two weeks for diplomacy before deciding on whether to launch a US strike on Iran.

Foreign ministers from France and Germany, as well as the European Union’s high representative Kaja Kallas, will all attend the Geneva meeting on Friday with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, as they press for a diplomatic solution over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The trip to Switzerland follows Lammy’s visit to Washington Thursday, where he discussed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff “how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict,” the statement said.

A White House official on Thursday kept the door open to progress in the Geneva talks. “This is a meeting between European leaders and Iran. The President supports diplomatic efforts from our allies that could bring Iran closer to taking his deal,” the White House official said.

CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed reporting.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour examines what could happen next in Iran as the country exchanges strikes with Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to topple the current regime.

You can also view the video on YouTube Shorts here.

Editor’s note: This video has been updated to reflect Iranian missiles directly striking a hospital in Beer Sheva, Israel.

Israel’s strikes not only took out top Iranian leaders, they also caused civilian deaths. CNN’s Katie Polglase breaks down the human toll at the locations where top Iranian officials were killed.

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Watch: CNN investigates Israel’s strikes on key Iranian officials — and their civilian toll

03:02 • Source: CNN

Watch: CNN investigates Israel’s strikes on key Iranian officials — and their civilian toll

03:02

CNN’s Fred Pleitgen is reporting on the ground in Tehran, where his team is witnessing increased aerial activity over the city as the Israel-Iran conflict continues.

Watch Pleitgen’s report below:

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CNN team hears increase in aerial activity over skies in Tehran, Iran

01:14 • Source: CNN

CNN team hears increase in aerial activity over skies in Tehran, Iran

01:14

The head of Iran’s atomic energy organization is threatening legal actions against the United Nations nuclear watchdog chief.

In a letter shared by Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency, Mohammad Eslami slammed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi for “inaction” during Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The letter comes after Israel attacked Iran’s Arak nuclear facility in overnight strikes.

The IAEA head later said the agency was continuing to “closely monitor and assess the situation regarding the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites” in Iran and that inspectors will remain in the country, ready to be deployed to nuclear sites when possible.

Grossi added that he was ready to “travel immediately and engage with all relevant parties” to help make sure nuclear facilities are protected and being used for peaceful purposes.

Iran’s foreign ministry has also criticized the IAEA chief, accusing him of peddling a “misleading narrative” about Iran’s nuclear program and becoming complicit in Israel’s military campaign. Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei slammed the UN nuclear watchdog for declaring on June 12 that Iran was violating its nuclear non-proliferation obligations, hours before Israel launched its first attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Baqaei said the report was “absolutely biased” and had been used as a “pretext” for Israel to strike Iran’s “peaceful nuclear facilities.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera earlier on Thursday, Grossi denied that the IAEA’s findings gave Israel a green light to strike Iran.

The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for people in the industrial area of the Kalash Taleshan village in northern Iran.

It warned it would launch attacks against what it described as military infrastructure.

“Your presence in this area puts your life at risk,” the military said.

Australia has suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran and told its officials and their dependents to leave Iran amid the deteriorating security situation.

In a statement on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the country’s ambassador to Iran would stay in the region to help with Australia’s response to the Iran-Israel conflict.

Consular staff will be deployed to Azerbaijan to support Australians leaving Iran, the minister added.

Australia currently has very limited ability to provide consular services to citizens in Iran, the minister said.

New Zealand has also temporarily closed its Tehran embassy starting Thursday until “further notice” according to its foreign ministry website. Citizens needing consular services are directed to contact the embassy in Ankara.

Over the weekend, Switzerland also announced the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran due to the conflict. Switzerland has represented US interests in Iran since Washington and Tehran cut ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

An Iran-backed powerful Shiite militia in Iraq vowed on Thursday to attack US military bases in the Middle East if the Trump administration enters the Israel-Iran conflict.

Al-Askari also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, as well as the narrow Bab-el-Mandeb waterway leading into the Red Sea from the south. He went on to say that “oil ports along the Red Sea will cease operation — not to mention the unforeseen surprises that may await its aircraft in the skies.”

More on the militia group: In January 2024, the US said Kataib Hezbollah was likely to have carried out a drone attack that killed three US Army soldiers and wounded more than 30 service members on a small US outpost in Jordan known as Tower 22 near the border with Syria.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of a number of Iran-backed militias in the country, including Kataib Hezbollah, said it attacked several targets along the Jordan-Syria border, including the Al-Rukban camp. The camp is in close proximity to the US outpost Tower 22.

Trump said earlier that he will allow two weeks for diplomacy to proceed before deciding whether to launch a strike in Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, talks to US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reasserted President Donald Trump is “a tremendous friend of Israel” after Iranian missiles struck Soroka Hospital. CNN’s Clarissa Ward reports from Tel Aviv on what officials are saying publicly and privately.

You can also view the video on YouTube Shorts here.

Iran plans to attack the offices of Israel’s Channel 14 news station, which it accuses of being Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “propaganda channel,” Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said today.

IRIB said Iran will target the television offices in the coming days, urging all workers to evacuate them.

On Monday, the Israeli military attacked the studio complex of Iran’s state news channel IRINN, calling it a “communication center that was being used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces.”

A loud explosion was heard while an anchor was presenting live on air, a live feed showed. The IRIB organization later said one of its workers was killed in the strike.

Approximately 12,500 Iranian pilgrims are stranded in Medina, Saudi Arabia, due to the suspension of flights to Iran amid the ongoing conflict with Israel, according to Iranian state media.

Earlier in June, millions of Muslims were in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual Hajj pilgrimage and to celebrate Eid al-Adha on June 6. Some also traveled to Medina during the pilgrimage.

“There have been considerations to use airports in neighboring countries for pilgrims from eastern provinces, but this has not been implemented,” Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Iran said it is coordinating with Saudi Arabia and Iraq to facilitate the pilgrims’ return via land border crossings.

Saudi Arabia has been facilitating “all the needs of Iranian pilgrims and providing them with all services until the conditions are right for their safe return to their homeland and families,” Saudi Arabia’s state-run SPA news said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt answered reporters’ questions on the Israel-Iran conflict and possible US involvement during a news briefing on Thursday.

She read a statement from President Donald Trump saying he will decide whether to launch a US strike on Iran within the next two weeks. He wants to allow diplomatic efforts to proceed before making a final decision on US military action, according to the statement. Leavitt also said a deal with Iran must include no enrichment of uranium.

Here’s what else she said:

On criticism from MAGA allies: Leavitt urged supporters to “trust in President Trump” after some MAGA allies criticized the administration’s consideration of increased US involvement in the conflict.

“President Trump has incredible instincts, and President Trump kept America and the world safe in his first term as president in implementing a peace through strength foreign policy agenda,” Leavitt told reporters during Thursday’s press briefing. “And with respect to Iran, nobody should be surprised by the president’s position that Iran absolutely cannot obtain a nuclear weapon — he’s been unequivocally clear about this for decades, not just as president, not just as a presidential candidate, but also as a private citizen.”

On Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon: Iran has “never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon,” she said, when pressed on Trump’s assessment that Iran is “a few weeks away” from it. Asked later to clarify whether that means Iran is close to starting to build a weapon or completing production of one, Leavitt said, “Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon.”

On Iran’s position: Tehran “is in a very weak and vulnerable position” after eight days of escalating conflict with Israel, the press secretary told CNN. The president “has been very direct and clear: Iran can and should make a deal,” she added.

After days of tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Iran, for the civilians caught up in Israel’s bombing campaign, life is filled with uncertainty.

“This is war,” one 58-year-old father of two in the capital, Tehran, told CNN, adding, “no one really understands what that means.”

A week into the conflict, Iranians’ contact with the outside world is difficult, hampered by sporadic internet and phone coverage. Some — typically wealthy activists — have access to Starlink terminals providing independent internet access.

Speaking through voice recordings, messages and occasional calls, all of those interviewed asked CNN not to reveal their full names for fear of retribution from Iran’s authorities.

Life has found a new wartime rhythm, they said, with local shops still open but some accepting payment on credit, a father of two told CNN. Unable to withdraw money from Iran’s Sepah Bank, this credit has become a lifeline.

“We have electricity but gasoline is useless to us because we have nowhere to go outside Tehran,” he said, after long lines of traffic departing the capital were seen in recent days.

Glued to the TV watching an outlawed Iranian broadcaster based in London, he said his family hadn’t left their house in recent days.

“Daily life is filled with constant fear and distrust,” he said.

Posted in Tehran, he was able to visit family in Karaj during the weekend, but is prohibited in the capital by military rules from using his phone or other devices. “We can’t even check the news,” he said.

Read more here.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday did not rule out targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as part of Israel’s operation against Iran.

Asked by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan to comment on a statement made earlier by his Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said Khamenei “can no longer continue to exist,” Netanyahu said: “I instructed that no one in Iran should have immunity.”

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Khamenei was “an easy target” for the US and Israel.

However, CNN reported last week that Trump opposed an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, which was not launched.