June 18, 2025 – Israel-Iran conflict

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

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter speaks to the media in Washington, D.C. on May 22, 2025

Israel’s ambassador to the US said Wednesday that Israel must eliminate not only Iran’s ability to make nuclear weapons, but also its ability to produce ballistic missiles.

“They come cruising out of the sky and create incredible damage,” Yechiel Leiter told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, referring to Iran’s missiles. “That production capacity has to be eliminated as well.”

“They cannot have the weapons that can destroy Israel, which they claim and which they want to do every day,” he added.

Asked about Israel’s ability to destroy Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment site, buried deep under a mountain near the city of Qom, Leiter said “it might require multiple strikes, it might require something else or it might require one of our surprises,” without going into details.

“We have a few tricks up our sleeves,” he said, when asked about Israel’s response if the US were not to get involved in the conflict.

“If we have to pursue this and prosecute this by ourselves, we’re going to know what to do. We’re not going to allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he told Collins.

Australia reiterated its call for Iran to halt any nuclear weapons programs as it begins evacuations from Israel, with nearly 3,000 of its citizens registered for help in the Middle East.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters Thursday in Canberra that Australia is focused on getting a small group out of Israel by land and hopes to move more in the next 24 hours amid an “increasingly dangerous” situation in the Middle East.

A small group was evacuated from Israel via land on Wednesday and the government has pledged to assist more crossings where possible.

Iran has long maintained the objectives of its nuclear program are peaceful.

“In relation to Australians in the region and what I would say is this is a very stressful and risky situation, and we are very focused on doing whatever we can to assist you,” Wong said.

“Obviously, there are real limits, hard limits, on what the government can do. The airspace remains closed.”

Australia’s official travel advice remains the same, with 1,500 of its citizens registered for assistance in Iran and 1,200 in Israel, Wong confirmed.

“Leave if it is safe to do so, if not, shelter in place,” Wong said.

“In relation to Israel, again, we are seeking to assist Australians where we can.

“But please again, listen to the travel advice, and if you need assistance to leave, please register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

“Emergency consular assistance is available to Australians.”

Satellite image showing the Arak heavy water reactor, located 155 miles southwest of Tehran on June 14, 2025.

The Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation warning to residents in western Iran’s Arak and Khondab early Thursday.

“The IDF continues to operate in the area, as it has in recent days across Iran, targeting the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure,” the statement from the IDF’s Farsi channel said.

The IDF warned residents to “evacuate immediately from the marked area in the vicinity of the Arak-Khondab cities.”

The section marked by a red circle on the IDF statement matches Google satellite imagery of the Arak nuclear facility, which comprises a heavy water reactor and a heavy water production plant.

The site has concerned the West because heavy water (or deuterium oxide) can be used to produce plutonium — a second pathway to a potential nuclear bomb.

Around 100 Indian students evacuated from Iran amid Israeli airstrikes arrived back in India on Thursday morning from Armenia as part of an Indian operation to evacuate its nationals.

Indian media reported the first batch of 110 students arrived in Delhi during the early hours local time under Operation Sindhu, having been evacuated by road to Armenia on Tuesday and later boarding a special flight from the capital, Yerevan.

Indian nationals are advised to stay in touch with the embassy in Tehran through its emergency helpline and a 24/7 control room set up by the ministry.

Iran is a popular destination for many university students from India, particularly those studying medicine.

Below is an image of what the plant looks like.

Israel’s Air Force is currently conducting “a series of strikes” in Tehran and other areas of Iran, the Israel Defense Forces said early Thursday.

Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said air defense systems had been activated over Tehran.

The US Embassy in Israel said in its latest security alert that it has “no announcement about assisting private U.S. citizens to depart at this time.” This came hours after US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X that the embassy was “working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures.”

The updated alert from the embassy, sent Thursday local time, said the State Department “is always planning for contingencies to assist with private U.S. citizens’ departure from crisis areas.”

The alert states Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and gave guidance on land crossings.

Air defense systems have been activated over Tehran, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posted on Telegram just before 4 a.m. local time.

Smoke and fumes rise into the sky in the Iranian capital after an Israeli attack on Wednesday.

Iran and Israel continue to trade strikes as President Donald Trump’s decision on whether the US would get involved looms large. The American president’s Situation Room meeting ended just a short while ago.

Trump has reviewed attack plans for Iran but is holding off to see if Tehran steps back from its nuclear program, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for “standing by our side” as Israel pushes ahead with its fight against Iran.

The US on Wednesday evacuated some embassy personnel and family members from Israel on a US military aircraft, three sources told CNN.

Here are the key headlines from the last few hours:

CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Jeremy Diamond, Tamar Michaelis, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Catherine Nicholls, Michael Rios, Jennifer Hansler, Oren Liebermann, Kylie Atwood and Hira Humayun contributed reporting.

President Donald Trump has reviewed attack plans for Iran but is holding off to see if Tehran steps back from its nuclear program, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

The plans were among an array of options the president’s military advisers discussed with him in the Situation Room this week, though officials stressed no decision has been made, as Trump said publicly on Wednesday.

“I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven’t made a final — I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, you know, because things change. I mean, especially with war, things change with war. It can go from one extreme to the other,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in the Oval Office.

CNN reported Tuesday that Trump was growing increasingly receptive to using US military assets to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. On Wednesday, CNN reported that discussions were underway among his top officials over how the US could do so without becoming embroiled in a full-scale war.

This post has been updated with Trump’s comments from the Oval Office.

Registered voters in the US are split on Israel’s decision to launch military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday, with 49% saying they approve of the strikes and 46% that they disapprove.

A 73% majority of Republican and Republican-leaning voters approve of the strikes, falling to 32% among Democratic-aligned and independent voters alike.

The poll finds that 53% of voters favor the US providing financing aid to the Israeli government for its military, with 43% opposed. Support for such aid is down from 60% in November 2023 following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, with the erosion largely coming among Democratic-aligned and independent voters. The survey did not ask about direct US military involvement in Iran.

The Fox News poll was conducted June 13-16 and surveyed 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file, online or by phone. Results among the full sample have a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister, appears on CNN on Wednesday.

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s former defense minister, said he believes US involvement in the Iran conflict would “create a better future” for the world.

He told CNN Wednesday that he believes Israel has taken Iran’s nuclear program back “a few years” with its strikes in the country, but that to create a better future for the Middle East and beyond, “there is a potential for the United States to be involved.”

He said he believes US President Donald Trump has proven himself to be a “courageous and bold” leader that can make decisions in “difficult times” — and that he would “pick this opportunity.”

Gallant went on to say that Trump would do what is best for the American people.

“In this specific issue, what is good for the American people is exactly what is good for the world and for Israel,” he said.

As Trump weighs whether to join Israel’s strikes on Iran — including by potentially using bunker-busting bombs to target nuclear facilities deep underground — a discussion is underway among his top officials over how the US can strike those targets without becoming embroiled in a full-scale war, sources familiar with the matter said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn’t “even want to discuss” the possibility of the US killing Iran’s leader.

He made the comment in response to a question while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an economic conference in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

It comes after reports that US President Donald Trump rejected an Israeli plan to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In response to another question about Russia’s “strategic partnership” with Iran, Putin said it “does not include a clause on defense cooperation.”

Senior Senate Democrats emphasized the need for Congress’ role in any potential conflict with Iran and pushed for a diplomatic approach in a statement released Wednesday.

Signees of the statement included Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the top Democrats on the Senate Intelligence, Armed Services, and Appropriations committees.

“We need a clear, detailed plan outlining the goals, risks, cost, and timeline for any proposed mission, as well as how he will ensure the safe evacuation of Americans in harm’s way all across the region,” the statement read.

“Congress is an equal partner in preserving and defending U.S. national security around the world, and Congress has not provided authorization for military action against Iran — we will not rubberstamp military intervention that puts the United States at risk,” the statement read.

The senators emphasized their continued support for Israel and the need to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, however they pushed for a diplomatic approach.

“We urge President Trump to prioritize diplomacy and pursue a binding agreement that can prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and reduce the risk to our diplomats, our service members, and the hundreds of thousands of Americans living in the Middle East,” they wrote.

Sen. Mark Warner appears on CNN on Wednesday.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, suggested President Donald Trump is contradicting what he described as the consensus opinion of the intelligence community.

His comments come as the president said on Wednesday that he believes Iran was “a few weeks away” from having a nuclear weapon – and as the administration has sent mixed signals on what intelligence it has around Iran’s nuclear progress.

Warner said that even he — as part of a high-ranking group in Congress who has access to classified national security information — does not know what the Trump administration’s plans are for US involvement in the conflict.

“We’re supposed to know,” Warner said. “I have no foggy idea what this administration’s plans are or what the foreign policy is vis-a-vis Iran.”

A White House official responded to Warner’s comments by pointing to a post from the administration’s rapid response X account.

The post mentions recent comments from US Central Command chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla citing the International Atomic Energy Agency saying, “Should the Regime decide to sprint to a nuclear weapon, it is estimated that current stockpiles and the available centrifuges across several enrichment plants are sufficient to produce its first 25 kg of weapons-grade material in roughly one week and enough for up to ten nuclear weapons in three weeks.”

Remember: When Israel launched its series of strikes against Iran, it also issued a number of dire warnings about the country’s nuclear program, suggesting Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in its quest to obtain nuclear weapons and that the strikes were necessary to preempt that outcome.

But CNN reported that US intelligence assessments had reached a different conclusion: Not only was Iran not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, it was also up to three years away from being able to produce and deliver one to a target of its choosing, according to four people familiar with the assessment.

This post was updated with a response from the administration.

A general view shows the reactor at the nuclear power plant in Bushehr,Iran on February 25, 2009.

Israel has agreed to ensure the safety of Russians working at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters Wednesday night.

“Our experts are in the field, we’re talking about over 200 people,” Putin said on the sidelines of an economic conference in St. Petersburg, referring to Russian engineers helping Iran construct two new reactors at the Bushehr plant.

“We agreed with the Israeli leadership that their security will be ensured,” Putin said.

Putin also called for the international community to “seek ways to end hostilities” between Iran and Israel while maintaining Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear activities and Israel’s security.

“There is a consolidation of [Iranian] society around the political leadership of the country,” Putin said. “It happens virtually everywhere all the time, and Iran is no exception here.”

Putin added that he had discussed these issues with US, Iranian and Israeli officials and told them that it is possible to “ensure” Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.

CNN has reached out to Israeli authorities for comment.

ran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, center, gives a statement in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 3.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran’s actions are purely in self-defense, but his country “remains committed to diplomacy.”

He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “manufacturing this war to destroy diplomacy” and cautioned the world against Israeli attempts to expand the conflict.

“Iran will continue to exercise its right to self-defense, with pride and bravery, and we will make the aggressor regret and pay for its grave error,” Araghchi said.

Despite the ongoing conflict with Israel, Araghchi said his country “remains committed to diplomacy,” adding: “As before, we are serious and forward-looking in our outlook.”

President Donald Trump’s Wednesday afternoon meeting in the Situation Room has concluded, according to the White House.

The president told reporters in the Oval Office earlier Wednesday he was convening with his team soon to discuss options in the Israel-Iran conflict.

The White House did not say what time the meeting began or how long it lasted.