Iran-Israel conflict LIVE: Iran warns US, UK, France against blocking strikes on Israel
Israel's ongoing airstrikes and intelligence operation and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about all-out war between the countries
Iran announced on Saturday (June 14) that planned nuclear talks with the United States have become "meaningless" in the wake of an Israeli military attack on Iranian territory.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, quoted by a news agency, said, "The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran's territory."
Baghaei further asserted that Israel's strikes constituted a "criminal act" and had crossed all of Iran's "red lines."
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, but it remains uncertain if they will proceed following the Israeli strikes.
Earlier, Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes on Israel into Saturday morning, killing at least two people and wounding others, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear programme and its armed forces.
Israel's assault used warplanes, as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists.
Israel asserted the barrage was necessary before Iran got any closer to building an atomic weapon, although experts and the U.S. government have assessed that Tehran was not actively working on such a weapon before the strikes. It also threw talks between the United States and Iran over an atomic accord into disarray days before the two sides were set to meet Sunday.
Iran retaliated by launching drones and later firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, where explosions lit the night skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below. The Israeli military urged civilians, already rattled by the raging Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, to head to shelter for hours.
78 killed, over 300 injured
Iranian missiles strike Israel Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message Friday: “We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed.” Iran's UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in Israeli attacks.
Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday.
A hospital in Tel Aviv treated seven people wounded in the second Iranian barrage; all but one of them had light injuries. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said they were injured when a projectile hit a building in the city.
Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, killing two people and injuring 19, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged.
Meanwhile, the sound of explosions and Iranian air defence systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight on Saturday. An Associated Press journalist could hear air raid sirens near their home.
Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, with a video posted on X of a column of smoke and orange flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport.
Israel's paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an AP journalist saw burned-out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one where the front was nearly entirely torn away.
US ground-based air defence systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures.
Strikes raise fears of all-out war
Israel's ongoing airstrikes and intelligence operation and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.
Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate deescalation from both sides.
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Live Updates
- 14 Jun 2025 8:24 AM IST
Enough, stop the conflict, says UN
The UN chief has asked Israel and Iran to halt their escalating conflict.
“Enough escalation. Time to stop. Peace and diplomacy must prevail,” Antonio Guterres said on X.
- 14 Jun 2025 8:05 AM IST
UN conference postponed
A top-level UN conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians scheduled for next week has been postponed amid surging tensions in the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.
France and Saudi Arabia were due to co-chair the conference hosted by the UN General Assembly in New York on June 17-20, and Macron had been among leaders scheduled to attend. The Palestinian Authority hoped the conference would revive the long-defunct peace process.
Macron expressed his "determination to recognise the state of Palestine" at some point, despite the postponement. France has pushed for a broader movement toward recognising a Palestinian state in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself.
After Israel's strikes on Iran on Friday, Macron said that France's military forces around the Middle East are ready to help protect partners in the region, including Israel, but would not take part in any attacks on Iran.
Macron told reporters that the two-state conference was postponed for logistical and security reasons, and because some Palestinian representatives could not come to the event. He insisted that it would be held "as soon as possible" and that he was in discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a new date.
The UN ambassadors from France and Saudi Arabia said in a letter to the 193 UN member nations that the delay is "due to the current circumstances in the Middle East that prevent regional leaders from attending the conference in New York".
France's Jerome Bonnafont and Saudi Arabia's Abdulaziz Alwasil said the conference will open on June 17 in the General Assembly hall, but only to propose and agree to its suspension. They invited all countries to attend the opening.
"We are determined to resume the conference at the earliest possible date," the two ambassadors said.
Macron said the aim of the conference "is a demilitarised Palestinian state recognising the existence and the security of Israel". Any such state would exclude any Hamas leaders, he said.
Macron said that the Israel-Iran conflict, the war in Gaza and the situation for Palestinians around the region are all "interlinked".
Macron spoke on Friday with 10 world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the Israeli strikes on Iran and consequences.
- 14 Jun 2025 7:59 AM IST
A recap of what happened
What happened so far? We have a quick recap for you
• Early Saturday saw a dramatic escalation in tensions between Iran and Israel as both nations launched retaliatory air strikes. Air raid sirens blared across Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, while multiple explosions rattled Tehran.
• Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirmed it fired ballistic missiles at Israel, though the IDF reported intercepting some. This came as Iran's supreme leader vowed "heavy blows" following Israel's earlier strikes.
• The aftermath in Israel saw 40 people hospitalized, with two in critical condition.
• Iran's UN envoy claimed the Israeli strikes killed 78, including senior military officials, and injured over 320.
• US President Donald Trump urged Iran towards a nuclear deal, warning of "even more brutal" Israeli attacks.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres implored both sides to halt the "escalation," emphasizing that "peace and diplomacy must prevail."
