Israel-Iran News Highlights: WH says Iran has everything needed for a nuke—only Supreme Leader’s decision remains

Israel Iran News Highlights: Updates to this blog have ended

Iranian missile struck Israel's premier research institute ‘Weizmann Institute of Science’ early Sunday. The institute, known for its work in life sciences and physics, was targeted after Iranian nuclear scientists were killed in missile strike.

Iran-backed Shia militia Kataib Hezbollah gave a stern warning on Thursday. It threatened to strike US military bases across West Asia if the United States joins the ongoing conflict between arch rivals — Iran and Israel, CNN reported.

The statement issued by the group's security leader Abu Ali al-Askari stated, “We reaffirm, with even greater clarity, that should the United States enter into this war, the deranged (US President Donald) Trump shall forfeit all the trillions he dreams of seizing from this region.” 

It added, “Undoubtedly, American bases throughout the region will become akin to duck-hunting grounds.”

"Let's be very clear, Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at her briefing. "All they need is a decision from the supreme leader to do that."

"And it would take a couple of weeks to complete the production of that weapon, which would, of course, pose an existential threat not just to Israel but to the United States and to the entire world," she continued.

More than two dozen US military planes have left Al Udeid airbase in Qatar in recent days.

Over a dozen US Navy boats left the base in Bahrain earlier this week but remain within territorial waters.

The naval vessels have not been assigned a mission but remain on standby, according to a US official.

The military adjustments are intended to protect US personnel amid rising tensions in the region.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the US is adopting a defensive posture due to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. (ABC News)

At least 23 people have been killed in Israel due to Iranian strikes.

More than 600 individuals have been injured in the attacks.

The casualties occurred since Israel launched its operation against Iran on June 13.

The figures were provided by Zaki Heller, spokesperson for Israeli Emergency Services.

European foreign secretaries will meet with their Iranian counterpart to discuss the growing conflict.

President Donald Trump is awaiting the outcome of the talks before making a decision on Iran, expected within two weeks.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed questions about the talks during a media briefing.

Leavitt said the world agrees that "Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon", except for "the Iranian terrorist regime themselves."

Trump expects European leaders to deliver a firm message to Iran opposing nuclear armament.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "I have a message directly from the president: 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.'"

American Airlines has suspended its service to Doha, Qatar.

United Airlines has halted its daily flight to Dubai, UAE.

The suspensions come as both airlines monitor rising tensions and instability in the Middle East.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Amid the Iran Israel conflict, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the attacks on healthcare facilities and hospitals was “appalling.”

“This morning's attack on Soroka Medical Center in Israel -- the only major hospital in the south -- resulted in dozens of patients being injured, some severely; 250 patients being evacuated to other health facilities; and damage to the facility, leaving it only partially functional,” he wrote on X.

“Following an airstrike on Tehran three days ago, three Iranian Red Crescent Society health workers were killed while reportedly rescuing injured people. On the same day, a hospital in Kermanshah was impacted by a nearby explosion, causing damage to the intensive care unit. As a result, around 15 staff and patients were injured,” the WHO chief added further.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed to intensify attacks against Israel.

As per state media reports, the IRGC announced a “a new round of combined missile-drone attacks against military targets and industrial centres related to the military industry in the cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv has begun.”

It added that drone operations continue with more than 100 types of combat and suicide drones launched against military targets in Israel.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, currently outside Tehran, has called for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Iran and Israel.

As per an exclusive message to Time magazine published on Thursday, Mohammadi urged fellow Nobel laureates and human rights organizations to unite in advocating for peace, saying the conflict has already caused "devastating" destruction and forced millions of Iranians from their homes.

"The scale of destruction already resembles that of a months-long conflict," she added.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Oil prices rose on Thursday after Israel and Iran continued to exchange missile attacks overnight. As per Bloomberg, Brent crude futures rose $1.60, or 2.1%, to $78.29 a barrel by 1030 ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July was up $1.64, or 2.1%, at $78.34.

Brent had surged to its highest in nearly five months at $78.50 on June 13, when Israel began its attacks.

Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran on Thursday and Iranian missiles hit an Israeli hospital overnight, as the week-old air war escalated with no sign yet of an off-ramp.

Following the strike that damaged the Soroka medical centre in Israel's southern city of Beersheba, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tehran's "tyrants" would pay the "full price".

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Israel reported at least 10 missiles were launched by Iran in its fresh attack. Military spokesperson have stated that no injuries have been reported and people are now allowed to exit their shelters.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Tehran MP Ali Yazdikhah said on Thursday that Iran reserves the right to close the Strait of Hormuz if the United States joins Israel in military action against it.

“If America enters the war, closing the Strait of Hormuz is our legitimate right,” Yazdikhah said.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Sirens sounding in northern Israel due to a barrage of ballistic missiles fired from Iran, said Israel Defense Forces. 

Israel-Iran News LIVE: The Israeli military on Thursday said that Iran had used a missile with multiple warheads in its attack, which posed new challenges for their defence systems, reported Associated Press.

Instead of having to track one warhead, missiles with multiple warheads could challenge Israel's air defense systems, such as the Iron Dome.

Israel-Iran News LIVE: Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday stated that a possible US intervention shows sign of weakness for Israel.

“The very fact that the Zionist regime’s American friends have entered the scene and are saying such things is a sign of that regime’s weakness and inability,” he wrote on X.

UK President Keir Starmer has urged Donald Trump to step back from military action against Iran which could deepen the crisis in the Middle East. 

The Prime Minister said there is a “real risk of escalation” in the conflict as he urged all sides to seek a diplomatic outcome. 

Senior US officials are preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in coming days, according to sources known to Bloomberg. 

Some of them pointed to potential plans for a weekend strike. Top leaders at a handful of federal agencies have begun getting ready for an attack. 

An Israeli military official said on Thursday that "it was a mistake" for a military spokesperson to have said earlier in the day that Israel had struck Bushehr, the only operating nuclear power plant of Iran.

The official would only confirm that Israel had hit the Natanz, Isfahan and Arak nuclear sites in Iran.

Pressed further on Bushehr, the official said he could neither confirm or deny that Israel had struck the location, where Iran has a reactor.

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday warned the United States not to aid Israel with military assistance against Iran, amid speculation over whether Washington will enter the war alongside Israel.

"We would like to particularly warn Washington against military intervention in the situation, which would be an extremely dangerous step with truly unpredictable negative consequences," the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.

An Israeli military spokesperson said on Thursday that the military had attacked nuclear sites in Bushehr, Isfahan, and Natanz, and continued to target additional facilities.

Bushehr is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant, which sits on the Gulf coast, and uses Russian fuel that Russia then takes back when it is spent to reduce proliferation risk, Reuters reported. 

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 and Reuters reported.

"This solution must be achieved exclusively through political and diplomatic means," said Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. 

The US special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack on Thursday warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the Iran and Israel conflict.

"I can say on behalf of President Donald Trump... that would be a very, very, very bad decision," Barrack said, responding to a question on what the US position would be on any involvement of Hezbollah in the war.

Governments worldwide are evacuating thousands of their nationals stranded in the rapidly escalating Israel-Iran conflict by organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot.

With Israel's air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated via neighbouring countries.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei  bashed U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday and accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of being a partner to an "unjust war of aggression" initiated by Israel.

"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," Baghaei said on X. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to join OIC meeting in Istanbul, Islamic Nations to discuss Israel's strikes, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources cited by Reuters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the strike on the hospital and vowed a response, saying: “We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.”

Iran has fired  a wave of missiles and drones at Israel, though most have been shot down by Israel's multi-tiered air defenses. Israeli officials acknowledge it is imperfect.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement that “We have also maintained communication with Iran, Israel, Oman, Call on all parties to de-escalate tensions as soon as possible,” reported Reuters.

"We saw missiles and heard bombings. It was a war zone. Our building shook during the attacks. I hope no student has to face what we did," recounted MBBS student Mir Khalif. 

Khalif  was among the 110 Indian students who arrived in Delhi early Thursday in the first evacuation flight as part of the special operation launched by the Indian government in response to the escalating Iran-Israel conflict.

Iran launched a missile on the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, wounding people and causing “extensive damage".

Separate Iranian strikes hit a high-rise apartment building in Tel Aviv and other sites in central Israel. At least 40 people were wounded, according to AP.

Gold prices rose on Thursday as investors move towards the safe-haven asset amid the Iran-Israel conflict which entered its seventh day. 

However, the U.S. Federal Reserve's cautious stance on future rate cuts kept gains in check.

Israel has attacked Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor.  As per reports of Iranian state television, there is “no radiation danger whatsoever” and that the facility had already been evacuated before the attack.

The warning came in a social media post on X. It included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle like other warnings that preceded strikes. 

North Korea on Thursday condemned Israel's recent air strike on Iran, calling it a "hideous act of aggression" and warned that it risks triggering a bigger war in West Asia, reporter ANI.

Shell Plc, revealed that it is “being very careful” with shipping oil and natural gas in the Middle East due to the rising tensions between Israel and Iran, said the company’s CEO.

Iran has launched a new wave of missiles towards Israel as the conflict enters its seventh day, reported Reuters citing Israel's Fars news

Oil price fell after a volatile trading week as the market is focused on whether US President Donald Trump will plunge the US into the conflict between Israel and Iran, reported Bloomberg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday offered to negotiate a settlement to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran. Putin said, “It's a delicate issue,” on Israel-Iran conflict, adding he said, “in my view, a solution could be found,” AP reported.

This comes after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Wednesday warned the United States against offering direct military aid to Israel or even speculating about such actions. 

Ryabkov said, “We caution Washington against even speculative, hypothetical options of this kind. It would be a step that would radically destabilize the entire situation.”

Japan's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday said, "In view of the increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, we have decided to move Self-Defense Forces aircraft to Djibouti," AFP reported.

According to Japan's foreign ministry, around 1,000 Japanese nationals are currently in Israel and around 280 in Iran.

Amid intensifying hostilities between Israel and Iran, US is evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the US embassy in Israel, AP reported. This comes after US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on X that the embassy was making plans for evacuations by plane and ship for private American citizens.

Israel’s military is preparing to strike Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor and issued warnings on Thursday to this effect. This warning was issued through a social media post on X which included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle, AP reported.

As per Bloomberg's report, senior US officials are preparing for the possibility of a strike on Iran in the coming days. On Wednesday Donald Trump said, “I may do it. I may not do it,” over possibility of attacking Iran.

Donald Trump reacted after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused to surrender. The US president on Wednesday said, “I have a plan for everything... anything could happen.” Expressing frustration over Iran's decision, he remarked, “They should have made the deal. I had a great deal for them.”

According to Washington-based human rights organisation, Human Rights Activists, at least 639 people have been killed and 1,329 injured in the strikes in Israeli strikes on Iran.