Summary

Media caption,

'I have to be back', says Trump on his early G7 departure

  1. Israel reports striking missile infrastructure in western Iranpublished at 19:35 British Summer Time 16 June

    We have an update to bring you now from the Israeli military.

    The Israeli Air Force is "currently striking surface-to-surface missile infrastructure in western Iran," the Israel Defense Forces says.

    We'll bring you more details on this when we have them.

  2. BBC Verify

    Satellite imagery reveals damage to Iranian missile sitespublished at 19:24 British Summer Time 16 June

    Israeli strikes have damaged structures at two missile sites among other military targets, satellite images examined by BBC Verify have shown.

    The Bid Kaneh military facility 30km (19miles) west of Tehran has apparently sustained damage to multiple buildings including the one below, where you can see the roof of a large structure penetrated, with further damage to another building alongside.

    Satellite image of Bid Kaneh military facility in Iran showing damage to the roof of a large building.

    We’ve looked at images of a missile base in the western province of Kermanshah where several buildings at the facility have apparently been destroyed.

    There is also damage to what appears to be two tunnel entrances, likely to store sensitive equipment away from attacks.

    Composite satelllite images of Kermanshah missile base with damage highlighted.

    For more about what the latest satellite imagery reveals: Satellite images show damage to Iran missile sites

  3. Can Trump persuade Netanyahu to stop targeting Iran?published at 19:14 British Summer Time 16 June

    Abbas AraghchiImage source, Getty Images

    Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi believes so.

    In a social media post, he says that if US President Donald Trump "is genuine about diplomacy" and wants to stop the fighting, "it takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu".

    Alternatively, the foreign minister warns, getting the US "mired" in the violence will "destroy any prospect for a negotiated solution".

    Earlier on today, Trump refused to respond to a question about what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily.

    In a separate social media post, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene after Israel targeted Iran's state broadcaster.

    Israel has justified the attack by saying that the media centre was being used for military purposes, however Baqaei calls it a "war crime".

  4. Netanyahu says targeting Iranian leader 'not going to escalate the conflict'published at 18:51 British Summer Time 16 June

    Benjamin Netanyahu raises his hand in gesture as he speaks into a microphoneImage source, Getty Images

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to rule out killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

    In an interview with US broadcaster ABC News, Netanyahu says any potential plan to assassinate the Iranian leader is "not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict".

    And, pressed directly on whether Israel would target the supreme leader, Netanyahu replies: "We're doing what we need to do".

    "We've targeted their top nuclear scientists," he adds. "We still have work to do on other sites."

    The Israeli leader also suggested that his decision to target Iran is done "in the service of mankind" to protect against Iran's alleged nuclear threat.

    "Today it's Tel Aviv, tomorrow it's New York," he says. "I understand America first, I don't understand America dead."

  5. Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons of its ownpublished at 18:30 British Summer Time 16 June

    An aerial satellite image of a nuclear facility in Israel's desert.Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Maxar satellite imagery of the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center in the Negev desert.

    Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu has long claimed Iran is close to building a nuclear weapon.

    But what he hasn't confirmed publicly is what is already widely believed to be an open secret – that Israel has nuclear weapons of its own, stretching back to the 1960s.

    Most estimates put Israel's arsenal at about 90 nuclear warheads, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, external.

    The country is also not a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an international agreement designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

    Analysts believe the country's nuclear program is centred on a nuclear facility in Dimona, a city in the Negev desert.

    Israel has an official policy of ambiguity, and has always neither confirmed nor denied it has nuclear weapons of any kind.

  6. Removing nuclear threat from Iran 'very difficult' - former Israeli PMpublished at 18:19 British Summer Time 16 June

    Lucy Williamson
    Middle East correspondent, reporting from Tel Aviv

    Ehud Barak speaks to the camera

    Israel’s former prime minister, Ehud Barak, was involved in some of Israel’s earliest planning to counter a nuclear threat from Iran.

    He said the first few days of this operation were “extremely impressive” – the result of far-sighted planning, very detailed preparation and a determined, aggressive execution.

    But removing the nuclear threat would still be very difficult, he told me, because Iran was already a nuclear threshold state.

    “Israel cannot delay their capability by more than two or three weeks, and even the Americans cannot delay it for more than a few months, and that’s a sensitive issue,” he said. “It means that, if there is a serious intention to block Iran from turning into a military nuclear power, the only way is to announce a full-scale war on the regime itself, an carry it on until they are toppled.”

    Israel, he says, cannot do this alone.

    “The only way to execute it successfully is by coordinating intimately with America and having them fully, actively on your side.”

    The US, in his view, does not currently have an appetite to enter into a major war.

    “The best scenario is that the regime will collapse,” he says. “Second best, that the Iranians will turn into a softer negotiator. Let’s hope it works.”

    Otherwise, he says, the current conflict will turn into a long war of attrition, with Israel’s allies helping to defend it, but not actively involved in the war.

    The worst case of all, he says, is that Iran will say it is left with no choice but to “go as fast as it can towards a nuclear weapon”.

  7. UK foreign secretary urges de-escalation from Israel and Iranpublished at 18:04 British Summer Time 16 June

    David Lammy speaking in the House of CommonsImage source, UK Parliament

    UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is speaking now in the House of Commons, giving an update on the situation in Iran and Israel.

    He says the government is asking all British nationals in Israel to "register their presence" with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for updates on the situation and leaving the country.

    "I want to be clear," Lammy says. "The UK was not involved in the strikes against Iran. This is a military action conducted by Israel," he continues.

    He tells the Commons that "no military action can put an end to Iran's nuclear capabilities".

    "Israel has a right to defend itself and its citizens, but our priority now is de-escalation," the foreign minister says.

    "Our message to both Israel and Iran is clear - step back, show restraint, don't get pulled ever deeper into a catastrophic conflict whose consequences nobody can control".

  8. Iranian broadcaster being used for military purposes, says IDFpublished at 17:49 British Summer Time 16 June

    We're now hearing more about the strike on Iran's state broadcaster.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says in a statement that the air force targeted a "communication centre that was being used for military purposes by the Iranian Armed Forces".

    It goes on to say the building was being used "under the guise of civilian activity" and that is strike "directly harmed the military capabilities of the Iranian Armed Forces".

    "Prior to the strike, the IDF provided an effective advanced warning to the civilian population, including phone calls, and conducted the strike in a precise manner in order to mitigate harm to civilians as far as feasible."

  9. Injuries reported in Israel’s attack on Iran state TVpublished at 17:41 British Summer Time 16 June

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian

    Iran state TV says that “a number” of its staff have been injured in an Israeli strike on its headquarters in Tehran.

    A reporter for the state broadcaster says that they were “working until the very last moment before the attack”.

    Peyman Jebeli, head of the broadcasting, has just appeared on state TV showing a blood-stained paper. He says that the state TV and its employees are “standing until the end”.

    Thousands work in something of a mini village that the state TV is based in. Israel had previously published a map showing a part of Tehran’s District 3 telling citizens to evacuate before the attack - and state TV was also included there.

    • Update at 18:40 BST: This post has been updated to say Iranian state TV has reported that staff were injured, rather than killed.
  10. Signs at the G7 that consensus on Israel-Iran isn't quite therepublished at 17:25 British Summer Time 16 June

    Gary O'Donoghue
    Chief North America correspondent, reporting from the G7

    It’s clear that attempts are being made at the G7 summit to produce some kind of joint statement on the conflict between Israel and Iran.

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters that he believed there was a consensus for de-escalation.

    But in a sign that there was still work to do on turning that into something concrete, he added: "Obviously, what we need to do today is to bring that together and to be clear about how it is to be brought about”.

    In other words, a consensus on the ends, perhaps, but maybe not quite on the means.

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested that European leaders would propose a communiqué that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons, and Israel had the right to defend itself.

    No clear mention of de-escalation – an indication that the consensus may not be quite there.

    The BBC’s US partner, CBS, is reporting that President Trump does not intend to sign such a document.

    Expect other members of the G7 to try to change his mind over the course of today – not a task that will be easy.

  11. Israel confirms attack on Iranian state mediapublished at 17:11 British Summer Time 16 June
    Breaking

    Israel's defence minister has confirmed it has attacked Iran's state broadcaster.

    In a statement, Israel Katz says the attack occurred after a "large-scale evacuation of local residents", adding that Israel will "strike the Iranian dictator wherever he is".

  12. Iran wants to talk about de-escalation, says Trumppublished at 17:07 British Summer Time 16 June

    Donald Trump and Mark CarneyImage source, Reuters

    We’ve just been hearing US President Donald Trump speak at the G7 conference in Canada.

    Appearing alongside Canada’s leader Mark Carney, Trump says Iran is “not winning this war” wants to talk about de-escalating the conflict with Israel, which he describes as “painful for both parties”.

    “They should talk immediately before it’s too late.”

    Trump was then asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, to which he responded that he didn’t want to talk about that.

  13. First pictures of attack on Iranian state media complexpublished at 16:59 British Summer Time 16 June

    A reporter working for Iranian state media has shared a clip of the building on fire following the Israeli attack.

    In the clip, Younes Shadlou says he is not sure how many of his colleagues were killed in the strike.

    We've shared a still from the video illustrating the damage to the building below.

    Man standing outisde pointing at the IRIB building on fire.
  14. Watch: Debris falls in Iranian state TV studio as Israel strikes Tehranpublished at 16:55 British Summer Time 16 June
    Breaking

    We earlier brought you still pictures of the moment debris fell in an Iranian TV studio as Israeli air strikes hit Tehran.

    The news anchor presenting at the time was seen live on air shortly after the incident.

    We can now bring you the full clip from The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network:

    Media caption,

    Moment debris falls in Iran state TV studio after Israeli strikes

  15. Trump doesn't intend to sign G7 statement on Israel-Iran - CBSpublished at 16:54 British Summer Time 16 June
    Breaking

    US President Donald Trump does not intend to sign the G7 statement on Israel-Iran, officials tell the BBC's US partner CBS News.

    We'll bring you more on this shortly.

  16. 'I'm afraid we'll lose sight of the hostages'published at 16:41 British Summer Time 16 June

    Mallory Moench
    Live reporter

    A relative of one of the 7 October hostages tells the BBC he is afraid the Israeli “government and the public eye is going to lose sight of the hostages and just forget about them” as focus turns to Iran.

    Gil Dickmann’s cousin Carmel Gat was taken hostage on 7 October. Her body has been recovered - Israel says she was killed by Hamas.

    Dickmann says it is very hard to determine whether the decision to strike Iran was the right one, but adds: “I think most of us feel that it was correct.”

    He cites the Israeli claim that Iran was developing nuclear weapons - something Iran denies.

    Dickmann says he has access to safe rooms and shelters, but says he is worried that the hostages in Gaza do not.

    “I think we would have felt a lot safer if we would have closed the Gaza front and focused only on the Iran front,” he says, questioning whether Netanyahu has the legitimacy to take Israel into a drawn-out war with Iran.

  17. State TV broadcasting again after Israeli attack put it off airpublished at 16:30 British Summer Time 16 June

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian

    Iranian state TV is now back to broadcasting live after going off air for a few minutes following Israel's attack.

    The broadcaster says in text being displayed on screen that all its programmes "are resuming live without any interruptions".

    Another news ticker says Israel "in a brutal violation targeted one of the buildings of Iran’s state TV”.

    The broadcaster says that Israel was trying to "silence the voice of truth" by attacking it.

  18. Iranian state TV says it has been attacked by Israelpublished at 16:21 British Summer Time 16 June
    Breaking

    The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, part of Iran's state TV broadcaster, says it has been attacked by Israel, according to reports in Reuters.

    It follows threats earlier today from the Israeli defence minister, who said the state broadcaster was "about to disappear".

    Below are screengrabs from the moment debris fell in the studio, and the presenter headed off camera - we'll have a full clip later.

    The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network screengrabImage source, The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network
    The studio after the presenter leftImage source, The Islamic Republic of Iran News Network
    Image caption,

    The studio after the presenter left

  19. British government creates portal for British nationals in Israelpublished at 16:04 British Summer Time 16 June

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    The British government is setting up what is described as a ‘Register Your Presence Portal’ for British nationals in Israel.

    British officials want to build a clearer picture of who is in the region and may need assistance, and are urging people to sign up to it once it is up and running. It is expected to be live later today.

  20. Israel's defence minister says state TV 'about to disappear'published at 15:59 British Summer Time 16 June
    Breaking

    Iranian state TV and radio are "about to disappear", Israel's defence minister Israel Katz says.

    "The Iranian propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear. Evacuation of nearby residents has begun," he adds, referring to the evacuation order issued earlier for parts of Tehran's District 3.

    The headquarters of Iran's state broadcaster, IRIB, is within the evacuation zone.