Summary

Media caption,

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

  1. 'I have nothing left to lose', says Iran residentpublished at 15:40 British Summer Time 16 June

    The BBC's Persian service has been hearing from people in Iran about their experiences since Israel first launched strikes against the country last week.

    "All the nightmares from my childhood have come back," says one woman, who was born in 1979 during the Iranian Revolution.

    "These past two or three nights, every little sound — like something in the alley, the sound of a motorbike, or something falling, even if I dropped something — makes me jump in fear," she says.

    "I'm terrified. But beyond that, the years of pressure and hardship in life have left me with such a deep sense of hopelessness.

    "I’m exhausted. I have nothing left to lose."

    Another person, speaking from the city of Pakdasht - about 50km (31 miles) from Tehran - says he is incapable of feeling any emotion about what is happening.

    "Because of the intense hardships we’ve endured throughout the Islamic Republic’s rule — and I think this applies to most people — to be honest, there’s no real feeling left in us anymore, no good feeling, that would allow us to even understand fear or happiness."

  2. Watch: Huge traffic queues as people flee Tehranpublished at 15:28 British Summer Time 16 June

    As Iranian officials continue to urge the public not to panic in the wake of Israeli attacks, videos posted on social media in recent days show queues for fuel and gridlocked traffic as people try to leave the capital, Tehran.

    And now, the Israeli military has issued an "urgent warning" for people to "immediately" leave a significant area of the city - meaning such scenes are likely to continue.

  3. Tehran's District 3 home to more than 300,000 peoplepublished at 15:19 British Summer Time 16 June

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian

    In the last half-hour, we reported that the Israeli military has issued an urgent evacuation notice for Tehran's third district.

    Tehran is divided into 22 districts, with District 3 located in the north-east. According to its official website, over 330,000 people live there.

    It is one of the largest districts, covering around 4.5% of the city’s area.

    The district houses the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). It is included in the map of the area that Israel has asked citizens to evacuate, which covers a significant proportion of the district.

  4. Ghana orders evacuation of citizens in Iranpublished at 15:13 British Summer Time 16 June

    Thomas Naadi
    Reporting from Accra

    Before we heard the IDF evacuation warning and reports of explosions in western Tehran, Ghana announced the closure of its embassy in Iran and the immediate evacuation of its nationals due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.

    The exact number of Ghanaians living in Iran is unknown but Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has given a statement saying embassy staff, students and other Ghanaians residing in Iran will be evacuated through land borders.

    Meanwhile, the government of Ghana has urged both Israel and Iran to seek diplomatic solutions and "end hostilities".

  5. IDF tells people in large area of Tehran to leave 'immediately'published at 14:48 British Summer Time 16 June
    Breaking

    The Israeli military has issued an "urgent warning" for people to "immediately" leave a significant area of Tehran, Iran's capital.

    "In the coming hours, the IDF will operate in the area, as it has in recent days throughout Tehran, to strike military infrastructure of the Iranian regime," Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee posts on X.

    He attaches a map to the warning saying people in parts of the city's District 3 should leave the area.

    "Your presence in this area endangers your life," the warning ends.

  6. Blasts heard in western Tehranpublished at 14:45 British Summer Time 16 June
    Breaking

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian

    I’m hearing from people in western Tehran that they have heard loud explosions.

    Videos and images emerging on Iranian social media of smoke rising appears to show the nearby mountains being targeted.

    Iranian outlets have reported that the city’s air defence has been activated in western Tehran, while the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency says Israel has targeted a military base in the area.

  7. 'We're on the way to achieving victory' - Netanyahupublished at 14:27 British Summer Time 16 June

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says "we are on the way to achieving victory".

    Visiting an Israeli air base, he reiterates a claim we have heard from Israel today - that it "controls the skies of Tehran".

    "We are on the way to achieving our two goals: elimination of the nuclear threat and elimination of the missile threat," he says.

    Netanyahu also seeks to draw a distinction between Israeli strikes and those by Iran, saying these are the Israeli targets and claiming Iran is targeting civilians.

    "We say to the citizens of Tehran: 'Evacuate' – and we act," he says.

    He tells those working at the air base: "Thank you, and with God's help – we will act and succeed, and continue until victory."

    Iran's health ministry has reported that at least 224 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Friday - BBC journalists are unable to report from inside Iran due to restrictions by the country's government

  8. Residents survey damage to building in Haifapublished at 14:15 British Summer Time 16 June

    Ione Wells
    Reporting from Haifa

    People stand outside the wreckage of a building in Haifa, Israel.

    This is the site of one of the direct hits in Haifa, in northern Israel, yesterday evening on a residential road.

    There were no deaths here but there is significant damage to buildings and cars. Elsewhere in the city, authorities say three people were killed overnight.

    People, including children, have gathered in the rubble to survey the damage and gather belongings.

    They're piling books and other salvaged items into bags. There is a large hole in the ground where the missile reportedly hit.

    Children stand in the shadow of a building struck by Iranian strike in Haifa, Israel.
  9. 'We are running away': A nine-year-old Iranian girl tries to make sense of the warpublished at 14:04 British Summer Time 16 June

    Tom Joyner
    Live reporter

    A handwritten note in Persian.

    The note was written by hand using red marker on a page torn from a book. When Farhad found it, he was taken aback.

    "We are running away," his nine-year-old daughter had written. "[This is] war number two between Israel and Iran."

    For days, Farhad tells me, he's struggled to shield his two young children from news of the conflict unfolding around them. He gives them cartoons to watch, hoping they won't feel his stress.

    Things became real when the father-of-two learned of Israel's evacuation notice on the messaging app Telegram.

    He doesn't want to use his real name for fear of retribution from Iran's feared security forces.

    From his home in Isfahan, Farhad gathered his family and rushed to his father's apartment to plan his next move.

    Then came the explosions – day and night. Isfahan is home to a nuclear plant Israel says has been among its targets.

    Stricken with fear, he now plans his next move. Maybe he'll be able to take his family over the border to Turkey, and then to someplace safe.

    "I want to escape from this country," he says.

  10. Hospital in western Iran reportedly attacked by Israelpublished at 13:53 British Summer Time 16 June

    We brought you reports earlier from Iranian state media about new Israeli attacks in western Iran.

    Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, says that Farabi Hospital in the city of Kermanshah was targeted and, in a post on X, called the attack a "grave violation of international law" and a "war crime".

    International humanitarian law states that hospitals should not be attacked during armed conflicts - with some exceptions - and a violation of this can constitute a war crime.

    The BBC has verified footage of damage to the hospital but cannot say if it was directly targeted.

    The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) did not report any casualties, but said rescue teams had been sent to the hospital.

    The ICU ward is thought to have been the worst affected. Farabi Hospital is the main neurology centre in Kermanshah province and also has psychiatry departments.

  11. While attention is on Iran, 20 people are killed in Gazapublished at 13:34 British Summer Time 16 June

    Sebastian Usher
    Middle East analyst

    Reports from Gaza say that more than 20 people have been killed near aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by Israel and the US.

    Gaza's Civil Defence agency says that 20 people were killed by Israeli fire near one centre in Rafah. The IDF has told the BBC that it's looking into the reports.

    Two other Palestinians waiting for food are also reported to have been shot dead near another GHF site in the centre of Gaza.

    The UN human rights chief has said that Israel's methods of warfare in Gaza are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering.

    The latest incident is reported to have happened near Al-Alam roundabout, a kilometre or so away from a centre in Rafah.

    It's been the scene of several similar deadly incidents since the new Israeli-backed food distribution system began operating several weeks ago.

    Rescue workers accused Israeli troops of opening fire - the IDF says it's looking into the reports.

    The other incident was reported near another site in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza.

    The UN human rights chief Volker Turk has accused Israel of weaponising food and called for a full investigation into the deadly attacks near the aid distribution sites.

    The head of UNRWA - the UN agency for Palestinian refugees - Philippe Lazzarini has said that in Gaza "tragedies go on unabated while attention shifts elsewhere".

  12. Watch: BBC reports from scene of missile strike in Israelpublished at 13:25 British Summer Time 16 June

    As we've been reporting, at least four people were killed overnight when a missile struck a 20-storey building in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva.

    BBC Middle East correspondent Hugo Bachega reports from the scene - watch below.

  13. Iran says evacuation order is Israeli 'psychological operations'published at 13:12 British Summer Time 16 June

    Ghoncheh Habibiazad
    BBC Persian

    Israeli messages asking people to evacuate cities are part of the "enemy’s psychological operations", an Iranian government spokesperson has said.

    Fatemeh Mohajerani also confirms that Iran's internet has been "slowed down" for "combating cyber-attacks" on the country.

    Israel's defence minister has warned that Tehran's residents will "pay the price" for Iranian attacks on Israeli citizens and asked residents to evacuate.

    Yesterday, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning asking Iranians living near weapons production facilities to leave the area.

    Meanwhile, from what I’m hearing from people in Tehran, there’s still heavy traffic on roads leading out of the city and people have been queuing up for fuel like yesterday.

    A resident told me that they would be staying in Tehran because they have “no friends or family in other provinces and no other place to go”.

    AA line of more than a dozen cars waiting to buy fuel in TehranImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    There were long queues of people waiting to fill up their cars in Tehran yesterday

  14. No further damage to two Iranian nuclear sites, UN's nuclear watchdog sayspublished at 12:58 British Summer Time 16 June

    Bethany Bell
    Reporting from the IAEA in Vienna

    The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, says there has been no further damage to Iran’s nuclear sites at Natanz and Fordow, following Israel’s attack on Friday.

    He urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint.

    Grossi told the IAEA's board of governors radiation levels outside Natanz and Fordow remained normal. He said while the above-ground pilot site at Natanz had been destroyed, there was no indication of an attack on the underground parts of the facility.

    But he said the power supply had been destroyed there, which may have damaged the uranium enriching centrifuge machines.

    He said four buildings had been damaged at a nuclear facility in Isfahan, but no damage was reported at the Fordow site, which is dug into a mountain.

    Grossi warned that a military escalation threatened lives and increased the chance of a radiological release.

  15. Analysis

    Air power has limitationspublished at 12:41 British Summer Time 16 June

    Jonathan Beale
    Defence correspondent

    Map showing strikes on Tehran – with 15 June strikes highlighted and previous ones also shown

    Israel says it has complete control over Tehran’s skies. Given the Israeli Air Force’s ability to carry out multiple strikes over the capital over the past few days, that appears to be largely true.

    Israeli jets have been dropping guided bombs at relatively short range. In other words, it's not having to rely on long-range stand-off munitions like cruise missiles.

    Iran’s ageing few fighter jets have posed no challenge. Even before this Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear programme, Israel had already destroyed a significant proportion of Iran’s air defences.

    Israel’s attack in October last year targeted Iran’s long-range, Russian-designed S300s. In this latest assault, Israel has continued to hit air defence radar and launchers.

    But Justin Bronk, of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank, says that while Israel may now have air superiority over Tehran, it does not have complete air dominance.

    Shorter-range air defences, like shoulder or vehicle launched portable ground-to-air missiles - of which Iran still has many - could still prove a threat.

    US fighter jets quickly gained air superiority over the Houthis in Yemen - but the Houthis were still able to shoot down a number of admittedly much slower US drones.

    Previous military campaigns in the Middle East, including the US-led strikes on Isis and Israel’s own relentless attacks on Hamas in Gaza, also illustrate the limitations of air power.

    Destruction from the air does not necessarily lead to defeat.

  16. Tel Aviv bar owner scared by attack, but urges Israel to fight onpublished at 12:28 British Summer Time 16 June

    Lucy Williamson
    reporting from Tel Aviv

    A woman with blonde hair and glasses on her head, stood infront of a damaged barImage source, Aakriti Thapar/BBC

    Outside the wreckage of the Tel Aviv bar she’s run for 25 years, Victoria Zikov is still jittery with shock, drawing hard on a cigarette.

    “I feel absolutely terrible,” she tells me. “I don’t know what to do.”

    As we are speaking, a large piece of wood falls from the floors above in a cloud of dust. All along the street, window frames and masonry hang by a thread, and shattered glass covers the floor. At the centre of the impact site next door, cranes lift mangled cars onto a lorry.

    I ask Victoria if she's scared of the Iranian attacks.

    “Yes, very,” she says. “Until yesterday, I thought it won’t happen to me – that we’d just go to the safe room, that this only happened to others.”

    But she is certain that Israel should continue its war with Iran.

    “We need to finish this, so it’s final, and not postpone it again. All the time here you feel you’re under attack, in a dangerous place, that your neighbours are evil. We’ve been fighting and living like this since the establishment of the state of Israel.”

    A small bar, damaged by missile strikeImage source, Aakriti Thapar/BBC
  17. Iran executes man found guilty of spying for Israelpublished at 12:12 British Summer Time 16 June

    Iran says it has executed a man found guilty of spying for Israel's intelligence agency, known as Mossad.

    Officials say Esmail Fekri, who was arrested in 2023, tried to transmit classified information in exchange for money. It's thought to be the third such recent execution.

    Several other suspected Israeli spies have been arrested in Iran since Friday, according to Iranian state media.

    The country's chief justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, says that given the current conflict, trials of suspected Israeli collaborators should happen quickly.

    Meanwhile, two Israelis were arrested on Sunday on suspicion of spying for Iranian intelligence. The authorities also arrested a 13-year-old boy last week in Tel Aviv over similar allegations.

  18. Heightened 'electronic interference' of ships on Strait of Hormuzpublished at 11:57 British Summer Time 16 June

    Jonathan Josephs
    BBC business reporter

    A commercial ship sails on open water.Image source, Reuters

    There is increasing "electronic interference" against commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

    The arm's-length agency of the UK Ministry of Defence acts as a bridge between commercial shipping and the military.

    It says it's received multiple reports of problems with the tracking system used by ships, known as the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which is designed to allow them to mark their positions.

    Around 20% of global oil supplies travel through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow body of water off Iran's coast that links the Persian Gulf with the rest of the world.

    "The levels and intensity [of electronic interference] inside the Gulf are having a significant impact on vessels positional reporting," the UKMTO says in an advistory.

    The agency is urging ships to exercise more caution whilst navigating the area and did not name the source of the increased interference.

  19. Iran extends cancellations of flights in and out of countrypublished at 11:43 British Summer Time 16 June

    Iran's aviation authorities say flight cancellations will be extended to 02:00 local time on Tuesday (23:30 BST Monday), state-controlled media reports.

    Iran's airspace has been closed to commercial flights since last week.

    Israel's military says that it has achieved "full aerial control above Tehran", as Israeli jets use Iranian airpsace to strike targets in the country.