Middle East

Iran has carried out a barrage of missile attacks against Israel, hours after the United States attacked key Iranian nuclear sites.

Loud explosions were heard in coastal hub Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Sunday shortly after the Israeli military reported incoming Iranian missiles and activated air defences.

Sirens rang in Israeli cities, with rescue services and media reports saying at least 20 people were injured.

Israeli police reported “the fall of weapon fragments” in an area near the northern port of Haifa, where local authorities said emergency services were heading to an “accident site”.

Tel Aviv, Haifa, and the southern city of Beersheba have been the three Israeli areas targeted by Iran frequently.

Reporting on missile strikes is subject to strict military censorship rules in Israel, where at least 50 impacts have been officially acknowledged nationwide and 25 people have been killed since the war started on June 13, according to official figures.

Iran has warned of “everlasting consequences” after President Donald Trump claimed the US attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz.

Meanwhile, Iran’s National Nuclear Safety System Centre and the United Nations nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), say there has been no increase in radiation levels following the US strikes.

The United States has bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, further escalating the war between Israel and Iran.

President Donald Trump late on Saturday said the US attacks “obliterated” the Iranian facilities in Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz as he threatened more strikes to eliminate the country’s nuclear enrichment capacity if Tehran “does not make peace”.

Iran acknowledged the attacks, saying its personnel working at the nuclear sites were evacuated before the attacks.

The US strikes came more than a week after Israel launched a military campaign against Iran, which retaliated with missile attacks, resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides.

Here are some key reactions from around the world following the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites:

Iran

In his first public remarks after the strikes, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi accused the US of breaching international law.

“The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” Araghchi said in a social media post.

“The events this morning [Sunday] are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior.”

He added that Iran “reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people”.

Israel

“Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement.

“History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime the world’s most dangerous weapons.”

United Nations

“I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

“This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security”, he said, adding that there is a “growing risk” that this conflict could “rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world”.

Guterres called on member states to “de-escalate” and “uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law”.

“At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace.”

Hamas

In a statement, the Palestinian armed group said it condemned “in the strongest terms the brazen aggression of the United States against the territory and sovereignty of Iran”.

“The US aggression against Iran is a dangerous escalation, blind obedience to the occupiers’ agenda, and a clear violation of international law,” Hamas said.

“We declare our solidarity with Iran, its leadership, and its people, and we have full confidence in Iran’s ability to defend its sovereignty.”

US Democrats

The top Democrat in the House of Representatives accused Trump of pushing the country towards war.

“President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East,” Congressman Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement.

“Donald Trump shoulders complete and total responsibility for any adverse consequences that flow from his unilateral military action.”

China

A flash commentary from China’s government-run media asked whether the US is “repeating its Iraq mistake in Iran”. The online piece by CGTN, the foreign-language arm of the state broadcaster, said the US strikes mark a dangerous turning point.

“History has repeatedly shown that military interventions in the Middle East often produce unintended consequences, including prolonged conflicts and regional destabilization,” it said, citing the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.

It said a measured, diplomatic approach that prioritizes dialogue over military confrontation offers the best hope for stability in the Middle East.

Australia

“We have been clear that Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security,” the Australian government spokesperson said.

“We note the US President’s statement that now is the time for peace,” he said, adding that the security situation in the region is “highly volatile”.

“We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy,” the spokesperson said.

New Zealand

“We acknowledge developments in the last 24 hours, including President Trump’s announcement of US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran”, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

“Ongoing military action in the Middle East is extremely worrying, and it is critical further escalation is avoided,” he said, adding that New Zealand “strongly supports efforts towards diplomacy”.

“We urge all parties to return to talks. Diplomacy will deliver a more enduring resolution than further military action.”

Mexico

“The ministry urgently calls for diplomatic dialogue for peace between the parties involved in the Middle East conflict, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on their X account.

“In keeping with our constitutional principles of foreign policy and our country’s pacifist conviction, we reiterate our call to de-escalate tensions in the region,” the ministry said.

“The restoration of peaceful coexistence among the states of the region is the highest priority.”

Venezuela

“Venezuela Condemns US Military Aggression Against Iran and Demands an Immediate Cessation of Hostilities,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in a Telegram post.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela firmly and categorically condemns the bombing carried out by the United States military, at the request of the State of Israel, against nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan complexes,” he said.

US groups CAIR and AIPAC

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US Muslim rights group, said the US attack is an “illegal and unjustified” act of war that comes under pressure from the “out-of-control” Israeli government, and despite the longstanding conclusion of the US intelligence that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

On the other hand, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel group in the US, praised the strikes ordered by Trump and said the US “must now work with our allies to protect our troops and regional interests against Iranian attacks”.

Cuba

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel strongly condemned the US bombing, saying it constituted a “dangerous escalation” and a serious violation of the UN Charter.

He added that it “plunges humanity into a crisis with irreversible consequences”.

Chile

Chilean President Gabriel Boric also called the US action illegal.

“Chile condemns this US attack,” he wrote on X. “Having power does not authorise you to use it in violation of the rules that we as humanity have given ourselves. Even if you are the United States.”

President Donald Trump has announced that United States forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a “very successful attack”, adding that the heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility is “gone”.

Trump’s decision on Saturday to join Israel’s military campaign against Iran represents a major escalation of the conflict.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the military planes were now on their way home.

“NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE!” he added.

Later, in a televised Oval Office address that lasted just more than three minutes, Trump said that Iran’s future held “either peace or tragedy”, and that there were many other targets that could be hit by the US military.

“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to the attacks, accusing Washington of breaching international law.

“The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” Araghchi said in a social media post.

“The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior.”

He added that Iran “reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people”.

The strikes came as Israel and Iran have been engaged in more than a week of aerial combat, with deaths and injuries in both countries.

Israel launched the attacks on Iran, saying that it wanted to remove any chance of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.

‘Will not stop’

Iran’s nuclear agency on Sunday said that radiation system data and field surveys do not show signs of contamination or danger to residents near the sites.

“Following the illegal US attack on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, field surveys and radiation systems data showed: No contamination recorded,” the organisation said in a social media post.

“There is no danger to residents around these sites. Safety is in a stable state.”

Shortly after the attacks, the agency insisted that its work would not be stopped.

“The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped,” it said in a statement.

CBS News reported that the US reached out to Iran diplomatically on Saturday to say the strikes were all it planned and that the US did not intend on regime change efforts.

Trump told Fox News that six bunker-buster bombs were dropped on the Fordow nuclear site, while 30 Tomahawk missiles were fired against the others, Esfahan and Fordow.

US B-2 bombers were involved in the strikes, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

‘Awesome and righteous US might’

Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said that Trump was advised that the bombings would allow for the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Donald Trump has been advised that, as commander-in-chief, this will not lead to escalation,” Halkett reported from Washington, DC. “But he knows there is a chance that there could be an escalation as a result of his action.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s decision to attack Iran.

“Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli military officials said earlier on Saturday that they had completed another series of strikes on dozens of military targets in southwestern Iran.

Israel launched attacks on June 13, saying that Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Israel is widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Iran does not plan to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the “dangerous escalation” of the US strikes.

“There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world,” he said in a statement.

At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the Ministry of Health.

In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst direct conflict between the longtime enemies. More than 450 Iranian missiles have been fired towards Israel, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Israeli officials said that 1,272 people have been injured since the beginning of the hostilities, with 14 in serious condition.

After announcing the “very successful” US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, United States President Donald Trump addressed the nation.

Here is the full transcript of his speech on Saturday evening:

A short time ago, the US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.

Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace.

If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.

For 40 years, Iran has been saying, “Death to America, death to Israel”.

They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs – that was their speciality.

We lost over a thousand people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate, in particular, so many were killed by their general, Qassem Soleimani.

I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen.

It will not continue.

I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel.

I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they’ve done and, most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight, and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades.

Hopefully, we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that’s so. I also want to congratulate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan “Razin” Caine – spectacular general – and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack.

With all of that being said, this cannot continue.

There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.

Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight’s was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal, but if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.

There’s no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago.

Tomorrow, General Caine, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, will have a press conference at 8am (12:00 GMT) at the Pentagon, and I want to just thank everybody, and in particular, God.

I want to just say, “We love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them.” God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel, and God bless America.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

“There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.” US President Donald Trump thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and God after the US conducted strikes on Iran.

Israel and Iran are in the second week of the conflict.

As well as inflicting damage, both countries are putting their economies under strain.

Israel has spent billions of dollars on its war on Gaza and has upped its spending considerably with its largely air-based attacks on Iran.

Iran was already struggling with the years of sanctions and now its oil and gas facilities are being hit.

So can the two nations sustain the conflict? Which is likely to be worst affected?

And will the conflict eventually damage the global economy?

Presenter: Neave Barker

Guests:

Aly-Khan Satchu – Geoeconomic analyst and investor

Eyal Winter – Professor of economics at the Hebrew University and Lancaster University

Nader Habibi – Professor of practice in the economics of the Middle East at Brandeis University

Here are the key events on day nine of the Israel-Iran conflict.

Here’s where things stand on Saturday, June 21:

Fighting

• Israeli air strikes hit a key nuclear site in Iran’s Isfahan province. An Israeli army spokesperson said the air force “struck the central facility along with buildings used to produce centrifuges”.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop at the site was hit, adding that there was no nuclear material at the site and therefore no radiological consequences.
• The deputy governor of Isfahan said the cities of Lanjan, Mobarakeh, Shahreza and Isfahan were targeted.
• Iranian media reported a drone attack on Isfahan later.
• Israeli forces also hit a military installation in Shiraz.
• Fars news agency reported attacks on two cities in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, saying “frightening explosions” were heard in the provincial capital of Ahvaz and a large column of smoke had risen above the port city of Mahshahr.
• In other Israeli attacks, defence systems were activated over Najafabad, while explosions were reported in Malard. There were also reports of attacks on Tehran.
• The Israeli military’s chief spokesperson said the army had been told to be prepared for a “prolonged campaign” to destroy Iranian targets.
• The Iranian army said that the seventh and eighth stages of launching dozens of “destructive” drones towards Israel had been carried out, with a report saying “most of the drones hit the intended targets”.
• Iran’s armed forces threatened to strike shipments of military aid to Israel, warning that “any military or radar equipment by boat or aircraft from any country to assist the Zionist regime” would be considered a “legitimate target”.
• The Israeli army said it had shot down approximately 40 drones launched from Iran.
• German newspaper Bild reported that Israel’s foreign minister claimed that attacks on Iran had delayed the country’s prospects of creating a nuclear bomb by “at least two or three years”.
• Explosions were heard above Tel Aviv, where buildings were seen on fire. In central Israel, the emergency services released images showing fire on the roof of a multistorey residential building.
• A spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthi group, in a video statement, threatened to attack US “ships and warships” in the Red Sea should Washington get involved in Israel’s campaign against Iran.

Casualties and disruptions

• Israel’s defence minister said that Israeli forces killed three senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
• The IRGC said five of its members had died in Israeli attacks.
• At least five people were killed in Israeli attacks in the Iranian city of Khorramabad.
• An Israeli aircraft struck a residential building in Qom, killing a 16-year-old and injuring two people.
• Hussein Khalil, a former bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in an Israeli strike on Tehran.
• Iran’s Fars news agency quoted Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarghandi as saying Israel had struck six ambulances and three hospitals, killing two health workers and a child in the attacks.
• Iran’s deputy health minister said the department was preparing to treat any victims suffering from the effects of Israel’s continued targeting of the country’s nuclear capability, “in the event that nuclear reactors are targeted”.
• Tasnim News Agency reported Iran’s information minister as saying that access to “international” internet should be fully restored across the country by 8pm on Saturday.
• Iran’s health ministry said that Israeli strikes over the past nine days had killed at least 430 people and wounded approximately 3,500.
• In Israel, Iran’s strikes have killed at least 25 people.
• The head of Qom province’s intelligence police said the force had arrested 22 people “on charges of being connected to the Zionist regime’s spy services” since Israel’s assault on the country began on June 12.

Protests

• In Berlin, more than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of the city in support of Gaza.
• More than 1,000 protesters joined a rally in front of Berlin’s Reichstag, seat of the German Bundestag, to call for the leadership in Iran to be deposed.
• In London, pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through the city centre waving Iranian flags and calling for the UK government to stop allowing arms exports and military cooperation with Israel.
• A pro-Palestine march also took place in Stockholm.
• A mass rally took place in Baghdad’s Shia district of Kadhimiya, under the slogan “Iran is not alone”.

Politics and diplomacy

• Iran’s president spoke with his French counterpart, warning of a “more devastating” retaliation should Israel’s bombing campaign continue, saying that Iran would not halt its nuclear programme “under any circumstances”.
• Macron said that the pair had agreed to “accelerate” nuclear negotiations between European powers and Iran. Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons, and it is up to it to provide every assurance that its intentions are peaceful,” he said.
• Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said no country has violated international human rights more than Israel, which “has always felt complete immunity from punishment for its crimes”.
• Attending a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Iran’s foreign minister said the United States had been involved in Israel’s “aggression” from “day one”, despite denials from Washington.
• Addressing the OIC summit, Turkiye’s president said Netanyahu was the “biggest obstacle to regional peace” and that Israel’s attacks on Iran aimed to sabotage nuclear talks with the US.
• Qatar’s state news agency reported that Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors expressed concerns to UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi about the “dangerous repercussions” of Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities close to their countries.
• A German Foreign Ministry official said the country had temporarily relocated the staff of its embassy in Tehran abroad.
• India’s embassy in Iran said it was “evacuating all Indian Nationals in Iran”.
• Hundreds of US citizens have departed Iran using land routes over the past week.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says that in the last 48 hours, 202 people have been killed in Israeli attacks.

At least 26 people, including more aid seekers, have been killed in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The attacks come as desperate Palestinians under Israeli blockade continue to wait at food distribution points amid an ongoing hunger crisis.

Among those killed during Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave on Saturday, 11 were aid recipients at distribution centres run by the United States-and-Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which the United Nations has condemned for its “weaponisation” of aid.

Meanwhile, Wafa news agency reported that at least three people were killed and several others wounded by an Israeli drone strike that targeted displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, southern Gaza.

The report said that the attack targeted a tent sheltering displaced members of the Shurrab family. The tent was located in an area the Israeli military had previously designated as a “safe zone”.

In the last 48 hours, at least 202 people have been killed, including four recovered bodies after Israeli attacks, and 1,037 wounded by Israeli attacks across Gaza, the Health Ministry reported.

Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 55,908 people have been killed, and 131,138 have been wounded in Israeli attacks.

Attacks on aid sites

In recent days, Israeli attacks on aid distribution sites in Gaza have ramped up as thousands of Palestinians gather daily in the hope of receiving food rations following a two-month Israeli blockade of aid deliveries.

On Saturday, three people were killed at a GHF site in Khan Younis after Israeli forces opened fire. Several people were also wounded and taken to medical facilities.

Omar al-Hobi, a displaced Palestinian in Khan Younis, told Al Jazeera from a hospital that walking to those sites means you “enter the point of death”.

“I call it the point of death. The tank is in front of us, the machinegun is in front of us, and the quadcopter is above us, and there are soldiers on the ground with snipers. Anyone who moves before the time is shot, and the moment the tank retreats, we start running,” al-Hobi said.

Israel claims its attacks at the aid sites have been to control crowds, but witnesses and humanitarian groups have said that many of the shootings took place unprovoked, resulting in hundreds of casualties.

The Red Cross said on Thursday, the “vast majority” of patients who arrived at its field hospital in the enclave since the GHF aid system began at the end of last month had reported that they were wounded while trying to access aid or around distribution points.

Meanwhile, Wafa, citing the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority in the Gaza Strip, reports that there has been a disruption in internet and landline services affecting the governorates of Gaza, which include Gaza City, and north Gaza.

There is currently an ongoing outage in the southern and central areas of the Gaza Strip that has lasted for more than three days.

The three largest European nations by population, Germany, France and the UK, held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, in an effort to avert a protracted war in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump, who has said he will decide within two weeks whether to join the assault on Tehran, denounced the talks with European leaders as a failure.

“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one,” he told reporters.

Araghchi had said Iran was not attending the talks in Geneva to negotiate anyway, only to listen.

However, he added, “There is no room for negotiations with the US [either] until the Israeli aggression stops,” as Iran and Israel traded salvoes of missiles and drones.

The US has been Israel’s chief ally and supporter in all its wars, and is the only country with major military assets deployed in the region, which might be able to alter the course of the war.

Why are the Europeans getting involved?

Germany, France and the UK – referred to as the E3 in the context of Iran talks – helped negotiate a 2015 treaty with Iran.

The 2015 treaty, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saw Iran agree to develop only peaceful nuclear programmes and to submit to independent monitoring. Russia, China and the United States also helped negotiate it, as did the UN.

But Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA in May 2018, during his first term as president. The E3 tried to keep the treaty alive but failed. Iran abandoned it a year after the US did.

On Saturday, the EU high commissioner for external action, Kaja Kallas, who also attended the talks on Friday, issued a statement reaffirming “commitment to Israel’s security” and “longstanding concerns about Iran’s expansion of its nuclear programme, which has no credible civilian purpose, in violation of almost all the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) provisions”.

But Israel’s war in Gaza has divided the E3 over their approach to Israel, weakening European foreign policy unity further, although all want to avoid another war on Europe’s doorstep.

How are the E3 divided in their approach towards Israel?

The E3 positions on Israel have diverged since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023.

Germany has remained the most ardently pro-Israel, refusing to criticise Israel for indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Gaza and halting its funding to UNWRA, the UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees, which Israel accuses of aiding Hamas.

Originally pro-Israel, the UK somewhat changed its stance after Labour’s election victory last year. Earlier this month, the UK joined four other countries in formally sanctioning Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for “incitement of violence” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Israel called the decision “outrageous” and “unacceptable”.

France is even more sceptical towards Israel. It was one of four EU members that started calling for a Gaza ceasefire in April last year. A year later, on April 9, French President Emmanuel Macron said he would formally recognise the state of Palestine within months, partly because “at some point, it will be right”, and partly to encourage Arab states to recognise Israel. France was reported to be lobbying other European nations to follow suit. Spain, Norway and Ireland all formally recognised Palestine the following month.

What leverage do the E3 have with Iran or Israel?

They are the three biggest economies in Europe, with a collective gross domestic product (GDP) of about $11 trillion.

Two of them, France and the UK, possess aircraft carriers and expeditionary forces that have deployed to the Middle East and North Africa regions. They are also nuclear powers.

Ultimately, though, none of these things is enough to sway either Iran or Israel on matters of national security. The true value of the E3 lies in their “acceptability” to both Iran and Israel as good-faith mediators and their ability to work towards common goals with the US.

“Germany, France and the UK have attempted to mediate for more than 20 years, and their approach has been milder than that of the US,” George Tzogopoulos, a lecturer in international relations at the European Institute in Nice, told Al Jazeera. “The same is happening now. We have a war crisis, and these three prioritise diplomacy for the conflict to stop if possible and for negotiations to restart.”

Could the E3 broker a deal between Iran and Israel?

It would be difficult, given their failure to resuscitate the JCPOA without the US.

“The main reason [the E3 failed with the JCPOA] is the conclusion, made by both the Trump administration, President Trump himself, and the Israeli government that diplomacy cannot work in the case of Iran and, therefore, the role of the three was sidelined,” said Tzogopoulos.

But it is also difficult for them to coordinate with the US. Trump has now sidelined his own intelligence community to adopt the Israeli view that Iran is developing a bomb. On Friday, Trump told reporters that his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was “wrong” when she testified that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had not re-authorised the country’s suspended nuclear weapons programme.

“If Israel has evidence that Iran was dashing for a bomb, I think it needs to come out more publicly and share that, because nobody else is confirming that assessment,” said Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, a nongovernmental organisation based in the US.

“If there is some coordination between the US and the E3, we might be more optimistic, but for Europe, for the E3 to act autonomously, I wouldn’t bet my money on their potential success,” he said.

“The Europeans have very low chances,” agreed Angelos Syrigos, a professor of international law at Panteion University in Athens. “The only people who can intervene seriously are the Americans. But I don’t know if the Iranians are open to that. To have final peace, you usually need a decisive defeat,” he said, referring to the Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt of 1973, which led to the Camp David agreement six years later, and US intervention in the Yugoslav War, which led to the Dayton Accord in 1995. “One party has to understand there is no military solution.”

Could the United Nations Security Council find a diplomatic solution?

No, say experts, because China, Russia and the US disagree on Israel and Iran.

“The Security Council won’t find a solution to this,” said Syrigos. “Either the US or Russia or China will veto it. The difference is mainly between the US and China. The Chinese have invested a lot in Iran in recent years. That’s where they buy most of their oil; they send [Iran] materials for nuclear weapons. It’s China that is mostly connected to Iran.”

Russia has called on the US not to attack Iran, because of the risk of destabilising the region. But Russia also does not have the power to come to Iran’s aid, said Syrigos.

“Right now, Russia is going along with the US. It doesn’t want to get involved. It hasn’t the power. So, it’s turning a necessity into a voluntary act,” he said.

“The logic of war will guide diplomatic efforts at this point, and we cannot know how the war will go, or the extent of the damage to Iran’s nuclear programme,” said Tzogopoulos.

Accusing Western leaders of ‘unconditional support’ to Israel, Turkish leader says his country will not allow Middle East borders to be redrawn ‘in blood’.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the “biggest obstacle to regional peace” and that Israeli attacks on Iran right before a new round of nuclear talks with the United States aimed to sabotage the negotiations.

Addressing Arab League diplomats during a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan urged countries with influence over Israel not to listen to its “poison” and to seek a solution to the fighting via dialogue without allowing a wider conflict.

Israeli attacks on Iran show that Netanyahu “and his government … do not want any issues or any matters to be solved diplomatically,” said Erdogan.

“Netanyahu’s Zionist ambitions have no other purpose than to drag our region and … the whole world into a big disaster,” he added.

Erdogan accused the Western leaders of providing “unconditional support” to Israel. He said Turkiye would not allow borders in the Middle East to be redrawn “in blood”.

“It is vital for us to show more solidarity to end Israel’s banditry – not only in Palestine but also in Syria, in Lebanon and in Iran,” he told the OIC gathering.

The 57-member OIC, founded in 1969, says its mission is to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony”.

Speaking before Erdogan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of leading the Middle East towards “total disaster” by attacking Iran.

“Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster by attacking Iran, our neighbour,” he said. “There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem.”

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said Turkiye as the current OIC chair sees itself well-placed in helping to find a resolution to the Israel-Iran conflict.

“It is a NATO member country placed between the Western and Muslim worlds, and has strong bilateral relations with Iran, the Western world and the United States. And until a few years ago, it had strong relations with Israel,” she said.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was only prepared to engage with the US if Israel stops its attacks on Iran.

“Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,” said Araghchi.

“We support the continuation of discussion with [Britain, France, Germany and the EU] and express our readiness to meet again in the near future.”

It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict enters a second week, killing at least 430 people in Iran and 24 in Israel.

A key nuclear site in Iran’s Isfahan province has come under Israeli attack, with local officials saying there were no radiation leaks.

Early on Saturday, smoke could be seen rising from an area near a mountain in the city of Isfahan after Israeli air strikes hit the nuclear site overnight, triggering the air defence system.

It was the second attack on Isfahan as the conflict between the Middle Eastern nations entered a second week, killing at least 430 people and wounding nearly 3,500 others in Iran, according to Iran’s health ministry.

No casualties were reported in the Isfahan attack, authorities said.

Israeli forces also hit a military installation in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz in Fars province, according to Iranian media.

On the Israeli side, explosions were heard above Tel Aviv, where buildings were seen on fire.

In central Israel, the emergency services released images showing fire on the roof of a multi-storeyed residential building. Local media reports said the blaze was caused by falling debris from an Iranian missile that was intercepted.

At least 24 people have been killed by Iranian missile attacks in Israel, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Israel has killed Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) overseas arm, in a strike on an apartment in the Iranian city of Qom.

Calling his killing a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force”, Katz said in a statement that Izadi had allegedly financed and armed the Palestinian group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

IRGC said five of its members died in Israeli attacks, according to Iranian media. They did not mention Izadi, who was on United States and British sanctions lists.

Hostilities broke out on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Israel claims it attacked Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb, although Iranian negotiators were engaged in talks with the US to curb its enrichment programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The International Atomic Energy Agency and US intelligence have both said there were no signs that Iran was building a nuclear weapon, despite Tehran having enriched uranium beyond the threshold needed for civilian purposes.

However, Trump on Friday said US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard was “wrong” in saying that Iran was not developing a nuclear bomb.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Al Jazeera that Tehran remains open to dialogue at the United Nations and other such forums.

“We believe in listening to the other side. That’s why our diplomats are present in Geneva, to hear the other side out,” Mohajerani said, adding that any diplomacy must begin with global recognition of Israel’s attack on Iran.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said Iranians are angry over Israel “not just targeting nuclear facilities and military complexes”.

“The reality on the ground is ordinary people are being attacked on a daily basis,” he said.

“Many in the Iranian capital have chosen to leave, but we have to keep in mind we’re talking about 10 million people living in Tehran city and 14 million in Tehran province. It’s putting pressure on surrounding areas.”

Israel’s war on Iran was one that many have expected, and yet with nuclear talks between the United States and Iran ongoing, few saw it coming. Propaganda from the Netanyahu government and credulous reporting in the Western media have played a major part in how we got here.

Contributors:
Narges Bajoghli – Author, Iran Reframed
Matt Duss – Executive Vice President, Center for International Policy
Assal Rad – Non-Resident Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC
Mohammad Ali Shabani – Editor, Amwaj Media

On our radar

As Israeli media cheerlead for the war on Iran, military censors are tightening their grip on local and foreign media outlets alike. Ryan Kohls reports.

The war on Iran feels eerily familiar – from justifications that hold no water to the uncritical reporting in the media. Chris Hedges joins us to unpack the unsettling parallels with the 2003 Iraq War.

Featuring:
Chris Hedges – Former Middle East Bureau Chief, The New York Times

A young boy in Gaza was filmed wailing over the boy of his father, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on Jabalia. Israel’s bombing of Gaza has not subsided despite it’s escalating military campaign on Iran.

Gilan, Iran – The prospect of war seemed to creep nearer to reality with each passing day, but perhaps few of the millions who have been forced to abandon their homes across Iran in the past week – including myself – could have known this new reality would impose itself so harshly or abruptly.

The first explosions jolted people awake in Tehran shortly after 3am on June 13, when a large number of Israeli fighter jets and drones attacked dozens of areas across the country, and explosives-laden quadcopters and anti-fortification Spike guided missiles were launched by Israeli agents from inside Iran.

Entire residential buildings were levelled in the capital, military sites and air defence batteries were targeted, and above-ground facilities supporting nuclear enrichment halls buried deep inside mountains in Isfahan province’s Natanz were bombed. Dozens of civilians were killed, as were a large number of top military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Tehran was in shock the first morning after the attacks, as people struggled to process the terrifying news and evaluate their options while the authorities scrambled to mount a concerted response to the surprise hits.

As the attacks came on a Friday morning – the last day of the weekend in Iran – most city streets were eerily quiet in the immediate aftermath, except for those where Israeli bombs had made an impact.

Soon, however, hours-long queues had formed at almost every single fuel station across the sprawling capital, which has a population of nearly 10 million people and holds more than 15 million during busy workdays, as millions also commute from neighbouring cities like Karaj.

I went out to visit a few of the targeted sites in western Tehran: Multiple homes had been destroyed in the Patrice Lumumba neighbourhood, several floors of a 15-storey building providing accommodation for university professors had caved in at Saadat Abad and adjacent buildings were damaged, while the top two floors of another residential building had been completely wiped out in Marzdaran. All were successful targeted assassinations – including of several top nuclear scientists – and many civilians were also killed.

Later that night, Iran’s armed forces began launching hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation. Nearly one week on, at least 16 rounds of Iranian strikes have been launched, with no immediate end in sight as Tehran says it will continue to hit back so long as Israel is attacking. Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump teases triggering an all-out regional war by directly entering the war alongside Israel, which he and Washington’s Western allies already support with cutting-edge munitions, a massive fleet of refuelling planes and intelligence efforts.

For the next few days, the Israeli attacks were ringing out across Tehran and the country during the daytime, terrorising civilians who saw the smoke and heard the explosions get closer to their homes or places of work. Both at home and at Al Jazeera’s Tehran bureau, I heard many explosive impacts, with some of the closer ones only about 2km (1.2 miles) away.

Most of Tehran was shut down after the Israeli attacks ramped up, and the streets and petrol stations were more crowded than ever after Israel and Trump told people to evacuate immediately. The government said metro stations and mosques were opened as 24-hour shelters since it has built no dedicated shelters or come up with any clear security protocols, despite the ever-present threat of war.

On Monday, after three days of evaluating the situation, my family and I decided to join the countless others who had already fled Tehran.

After hurriedly packing some clothes and a few belongings in a suitcase, I drove from my own place to my girlfriend’s house to pick her up at about 4pm. Her parents, who work in healthcare, needed to stay in Tehran that day but they have since left as well, after Israeli air strikes intensified in their neighbourhood.

We then picked up my mother – along with our four cats who have been staying with her – from her home in western Tehran, close to a major road which exits the capital.

Israeli bombs were falling on multiple areas across western Tehran as we scurried to grab the cats and put them in their boxes.

The unmistakable sounds of the explosions, which leave a sickening, sinking sensation in your stomach no matter how many times you hear them, only added to the urgency – especially since the Israeli military had issued a new evacuation threat at about the same time and then bombed the state television headquarters.

Fleeing north

We left Tehran with heavy hearts, not knowing when we might return. The buildings were already mostly empty of residents.

The feeling that we may not return to the same intact neighbourhoods was unavoidable, as was the terror we feel for those who wanted to leave but could not, whether because they are nursing a sick family member or because they simply lacked the means to do so. Iran’s ailing economy has been dragged under the weight of years of local mismanagement and US sanctions.

The journey north, which usually takes about four hours, took close to 12. The highways were a sea of vehicles filled with families, pets and belongings. Roadside diners and service areas brimmed with people who had no idea when or how they might return. Many worriedly followed news of the latest air strikes.

Close to our destination in the north of Iran, checkpoints set up by armed and masked security forces made the traffic even worse. They were stopping some vehicles, mostly pick-up trucks, since those are what have been used by Israeli agents to smuggle explosive quadcopters and other weapons inside Iran.

I am writing this from a small but vibrant city in the province of Gilan in northern Iran. The northern provinces, also including Mazandaran and Golestan, are where most Iranians have opted to go. They are relatively close to Tehran, have far fewer places that could be potential targets for the Israeli army, and were already popular travel destinations with a large number of hotels that many have visited before.

Many here have opened their homes to people displaced from other provinces, too. Six million people have entered Mazandaran alone since last week, according to Iran’s deputy police chief, Qasem Rezaei.

The authorities are trying to reassure the population, especially Iranians who have fled to the northern provinces, that the government faces no problems in providing for their basic needs, especially food and fuel.

But in the meantime, 90 million Iranians have been thrown into a state of uncertainty, frustration and anger while trying to maintain hope for a semblance of normal life when the country is not constantly under threat of military action or isolated from the international community.

For ordinary civilians, the situation is seriously compounded by the fact that they have been completely cut off from the internet for days, with internet observatory NetBlocks confirming on Friday that 97 percent of the country’s connectivity was down. Barring a handful of small daily updates gleaned from state media or local sources, Iranians have little idea about the extent of the Israeli military strikes across the country.

The Iranian authorities began imposing internet restrictions from the first day of the Israeli strikes, but increased them as Israel expanded its offensive and a pro-Israeli hacking group also launched cyberattacks.

Several of the country’s top banks have been taken offline as a result of the cyberattacks, as well as Iran’s top cryptocurrency exchange, Nobitex, which said its “hot wallet” had been compromised but promised it would return any lost money.

Iranian officials, who also took the country offline during the deadly nationwide protests in November 2019, claimed disconnecting the internet was necessary to fend off Israeli quadcopters and other projectiles, but gave no timeline as to when they would restore full connectivity.

Iran already has one of the most closed-off and slowed-down internet connections in the world, as almost all major global messaging apps and other services, along with tens of thousands of websites, are blocked and only accessible through workarounds such as virtual private networks (VPNs).

If you are reading this now, it means I managed to find a barely functioning connection to send this out.

Palestinian activist and former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was released after three months in immigration detention, following a judge’s ruling to free him amid growing backlash over Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Since its founding in 1948, Israel’s prime ministers have sought to leave legacies that would outlast them — some through war, others through diplomacy, and a few through historic blunders. David Ben-Gurion secured the state’s independence and built its foundational institutions. Golda Meir presided over a war that cost her office. Menachem Begin signed peace with Egypt while expanding illegal settlements. Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated for trying to make peace with the Palestinians.

Each leader, in some way, left their mark. But none has ruled as long – or as divisively – as Benjamin Netanyahu. And now, more than ever, the question is not just what kind of legacy he wants to leave, but what legacy he is actually creating.

In 2016, I argued that the Arab world had effectively crowned Netanyahu “King of the Middle East” — a title that reflected his success in positioning Israel as a regional power without making any concessions to the Palestinians. Today, I believe he sees an opportunity not only to consolidate that title, but to reshape Israel’s regional position permanently — through force, impunity, and a strategy rooted in securitised dominance.

Since his first term, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel’s security must override all other considerations. In his worldview, a Palestinian state is not merely incompatible with Israel’s security; it is an existential threat. Even were such a state to be created, Netanyahu has made clear that Israel must retain what he calls “security sovereignty” over all of historic Palestine.

This has never been mere rhetoric. It has shaped his every major decision, none more so than the current war on Gaza. The assault has levelled entire neighbourhoods, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, displaced most of its two million people, and created an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel stands accused by human rights groups and United Nations agencies of committing war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. It is facing genocide charges, supported by multiple countries, at the International Court of Justice. The International Criminal Court has also issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

Yet Netanyahu presses on, arguing that Gaza must never again pose a threat to Israel, and that the destruction is necessary to secure the country’s future.

This logic does not stop at Gaza. He has used similar arguments to justify Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, including targeted strikes on Hezbollah figures and the attempted assassination of the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

Using the same rationale, Israel has also launched strikes in Yemen and made clear that it will act in Iraq whenever and wherever it deems necessary.

The security argument has likewise been used to justify the continued occupation of Syrian territory and is currently invoked to legitimise ongoing attacks on Iran, ostensibly to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons and to degrade its missile and drone capabilities.

In every case, the same narrative is repeated: Israel cannot be safe unless its enemies are broken, its deterrence unchallenged, and its dominance undisputed. All dissent, disagreement, or resistance — whether military, political, or even symbolic — is cast as a threat to be eliminated.

Even Netanyahu’s diplomatic efforts follow this logic. The Abraham Accords, signed with the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco during his premiership, were hailed as peace deals but functioned primarily as instruments of regional alignment that marginalised the Palestinians. For Netanyahu, normalisation is not a path to peace — it is a way to cement Israel’s position while avoiding a just resolution to the occupation.

What, then, is the legacy Netanyahu seeks?

He wants to be remembered as the prime minister who crushed all resistance to occupation, permanently ended the idea of a Palestinian state, and enshrined Israel’s dominance in the Middle East through sheer force. In his vision, Israel controls the land, dictates the rules, and answers to no one.

But history may remember him differently.

What Netanyahu calls security, much of the world increasingly sees as systemic violence. The global response to the war on Gaza — millions marching in protest, international legal action, growing boycotts, and diplomatic downgrades — suggests that under his leadership, Israel is not gaining legitimacy but losing it.

Even among its allies, Israel faces growing isolation. While the United States continues to provide diplomatic cover, terms like “apartheid”, “ethnic cleansing”, and “settler colonialism” are no longer confined to fringe activism. They are entering mainstream political discourse and shaping public consciousness, particularly among younger generations.

Many commentators argue that Netanyahu is clinging to power merely to avoid prosecution for corruption or accountability for the failures of the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. But I believe this analysis misses a deeper truth: that he sees this moment — this war, this absence of accountability — as a historic window of opportunity. In his mind, this is legacy work.

The tragedy is that in pursuing this legacy, he may achieve the opposite of what he intends. Not a stronger Israel, but a more isolated one. Not a secure homeland, but a state increasingly seen as a violator of international norms. Not a legacy of strength, but one of moral and political collapse.

Netanyahu will be remembered. Today, as Gaza burns and Iran faces strike after strike, there is no longer any doubt about that. The only question is whether his legacy will be one of national security, or one that leaves Israel more alone, more condemned, and more precarious than ever before.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

The Supreme Court has revived long-running lawsuits against Palestinian authorities from Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

The United States Supreme Court has upheld a statute passed by Congress to facilitate lawsuits against Palestinian authorities by Americans killed or injured in attacks abroad as plaintiffs pursue monetary damages for violence years ago in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

The 9-0 ruling overturned a lower court’s decision that the 2019 law, the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, violated the rights of the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization to due process under the US Constitution.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the ruling, said the 2019 jurisdictional law comported with due process rights enshrined in the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.

“It is permissible for the federal government to craft a narrow jurisdictional provision that ensures, as part of a broader foreign policy agenda, that Americans injured or killed by acts of terror have an adequate forum in which to vindicate their right” to compensation under a federal law known as the Anti-terrorism Act of 1990, Roberts wrote.

The US government and a group of American victims and their families had appealed the lower court’s decision that struck down a provision of the law.

Among the plaintiffs are families who in 2015 won a $655m judgement in a civil case alleging that the Palestinian organisations were responsible for a series of shootings and bombings around Jerusalem from 2002 to 2004. They also include relatives of Ari Fuld, a Jewish settler in the Israel-occupied West Bank who was fatally stabbed by a Palestinian in 2018.

The ruling comes even as Jewish settlements on Palestinian-owned land are considered illegal under international law.

“The plaintiffs, US families who had loved ones maimed or murdered in PLO-sponsored terror attacks, have been waiting for justice for many years,” said Kent Yalowitz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

“I am very hopeful that the case will soon be resolved without subjecting these families to further protracted and unnecessary litigation,” Yalowitz added.

Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, and now Iran, served as a backdrop to the case. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, more than 55,000 people have been killed and 130,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

US courts for years have grappled over whether they have jurisdiction in cases involving the Palestinian Authority and PLO for actions taken abroad.

Under the language at issue in the 2019 law, the PLO and Palestinian Authority automatically “consent” to jurisdiction if they conduct certain activities in the United States or make payments to people who attack Americans.

Roberts in Friday’s ruling wrote that Congress and the president enacted the jurisdictional law based on their “considered judgment to subject the PLO and PA (Palestinian Authority) to liability in US courts as part of a comprehensive legal response to ‘halt, deter and disrupt’ acts of international terrorism that threaten the life and limb of American citizens”.

New York-based US District Judge Jesse Furman ruled in 2022 that the law violated the due process rights of the PLO and Palestinian Authority. The New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.

President Joe Biden’s administration initiated the government’s appeal, which subsequently was taken up by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on April 1.

Rafael Grossi, chief of the United Nations’s atomic watchdog, has warned that an Israeli strike on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could trigger a regional catastrophe, as the two countries continue to trade attacks for the eighth straight day.

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the UN Security Council on Friday that a direct hit on Russian-built Bushehr, located on the the Gulf coast, could “result in a very high release of radioactivity”, with “great consequences” beyond Iran’s borders.

“I, therefore, again call for maximum restraint,” said Grossi, telling delegates at an emergency session on the Iran-Israel conflict that armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place.

In a worst-case scenario, a strike on Bushehr, which contains “thousands of kilogrammes of nuclear material”, would require evacuation orders to be issued for areas within several hundred kilometres of the plant, including population centres in other Gulf countries, he said.

Grossi said that a strike on the two lines that supply electricity to Bushehr could cause its reactor core to melt, with dire consequences.

Authorities would have to take protective actions, administering iodine to populations and potentially restricting food supplies, with subsequent radiation monitoring covering distances of several hundred kilometres.

Grossi appealed for a diplomatic solution and repeated his willingness to travel to negotiate a deal.

“The IAEA can guarantee through a watertight inspection system that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran,” he said.

Grossi made his comments as Iranian news portal rouydad24 reported that air defences in the city of Bushehr had been activated. No information about the target of the alleged Israeli attack was initially available.

Israel raising ‘spectre of fear’

Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, claiming Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, an accusation Iran has denied, saying its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes.

Also speaking at the meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Iran-Israel conflict could ignite a fire that no one can control and called on all parties to “give peace a chance”.

Iran’s UN ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani stressed the civilian toll of Israel’s attacks on the country, at one point holding up photos of Iranian children killed in the bombings.

Iravani said Israel’s attacks constituted “gross violations of international law”, urging the UN to take action, warning that if the non-proliferation regime were to collapse, the Security Council would “share responsibility with the Israeli regime”.

Israeli envoy Danny Danon then accused Iravani of “playing victim”. “We do not apologise for defending ourselves. We do not apologise for striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. We do not apologise for neutralising the threat,” he said.

Reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo said that Danon had been “trying to raise the spectre of fear and trying to get more support from other nations for Israel’s actions in Iran”.

Danon, he said, had claimed that Iran had the ballistic missile capability to hit Western Europe and even the east coast of the United States.

Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Israeli attacks on “Iranian peaceful civilian nuclear facilities” were “liable to plunge us into a hitherto unseen nuclear catastrophe”.

“Israel has disregarded the assessments of the specialist international agency, having … single-handedly, decided to carry out strikes against a sovereign country with no regard for the UN Charter,” he added.

A senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency that Iran was ready to discuss limitations on uranium enrichment but that any proposal for zero enrichment – not being able to enrich uranium at all – would be rejected, “especially now under Israel’s strikes”.

Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster

The IAEA’s Grossi spoke a day after an Israeli military official walked back a military spokesperson’s claim that Iran had struck Bushehr, saying the comment had been “a mistake”.

Grossi said he could neither confirm nor deny that Bushehr, Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant, had been hit.

Russian nuclear energy chief Alexei Likhachev had earlier said that any attack on the plant, where hundreds of Russian specialists work, could cause a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster.

Speaking via videolink, Grossi said the IAEA was not aware of any damage at Iran’s underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordow.

He said there had been no nuclear fallout from attacks at the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites and the Natanz enrichment site.

Similarly, no radiological consequences were expected at the Khondab heavy water research reactor, under construction in Arak, which Israel also targeted.

The German leader and European Commission president were quick to back Israel as the conflict began with Iran last Friday.

The European Union has since called for de-escalation, reflecting growing anxiety over what might happen next.

So, what is the thinking in European capitals – and how much influence does Europe really have?

Presenter: Neave Barker

Guests:

Pieter Cleppe – Editor-in-chief at BrusselsReport.eu

Steven Erlanger – Chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe at The New York Times in Berlin

Ellie Geranmayeh – Deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations