Israel-Iran conflict LIVE | I may, or may not: Trump on joining 'war' against Iran
US President says Iran is trying to negotiate, but he says it's unlikely
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (June 18) hinted at potential negotiations with Iran but insisted that the country must agree to "unconditional surrender''.
Interestingly, Trump remained ambiguous US' future plan, saying, "I can't say that. I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I want to do. But I can say this: Iran's got a lot of trouble and wants to negotiate."
He claimed that Iranian negotiators had floated the idea of visiting the White House, though he described the prospect as uncertain.
Iran's warning to Trump
Iran issued a stern warning to Donald Trump, declaring that any form of American military intervention would result in "irreparable harm," according to an official statement.
The statement by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Iran would not yield to threats, asserting that the nation and its people have a long history of resilience. "Wise individuals who understand Iran, its people, and its history never address this nation with threats, because Iranians do not surrender," it read.
The remarks come amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington, though no specific military action has been indicated by the U.S.
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Live Updates
- 18 Jun 2025 12:02 PM IST
Oil prices rise as escalating Iran-Israel crisis hits Wall Street
Asian shares were mixed and oil prices advanced on Wednesday (June 18) after the escalation of conflict in the Middle East hit Wall Street.
US benchmark crude oil was up 24 cents at $73.51 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 28 cents at $76.71 per barrel. Crude prices rose more than 4 per cent on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump left a Group of Seven summit in Canada early and warned that people in Iran's capital should evacuate immediately. Within about eight hours, Trump went from suggesting a nuclear deal with Iran remained “achievable” to urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives.
The fighting has driven prices for crude oil and gasoline higher because Iran is a major oil exporter and it sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude passes. Past conflicts in the area have caused spikes in oil prices, though they've historically proven brief after showing that they did not disrupt the flow of oil.
- 18 Jun 2025 9:17 AM IST
Israeli strikes killed nearly 600 in Iran, human rights group says
Israeli strikes have killed at least 585 people across Iran and wounded 1,326 others, a human rights group said Wednesday.
The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 239 of the dead as civilians and 126 as security personnel.
The group, which also provided detailed casualty figures during the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports in the Islamic Republic against a network of sources it has developed in the country.
Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the death toll at 224 people killed and 1,277 others wounded.
- 18 Jun 2025 8:36 AM IST
Intense Israeli strikes hit Tehran after Trump demands 'unconditional surrender'
Intense Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran's capital early Wednesday after it issued a warning about a new area it could target, a day after US President Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender.” Uncertainty roiled the region and residents of Tehran fled their homes in droves on the sixth day of Israel's air campaign aimed at Iran's military and nuclear programme.
As the US sent warplanes to the Middle East, Trump warned Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the US knows where he is hiding and called for Iran's “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a post online, without elaborating.
Israel asserts its sweeping assault is necessary to prevent Iran from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon. The strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran.
Iran has retaliated by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel.
A major explosion could be heard around 5 am in Tehran Wednesday morning, following other explosions that boomed earlier in the predawn darkness.
Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrike campaign has intensified since they began on Friday.
The Israelis earlier warned they could strike a neighborhood south of Mehrabad International Airport, which includes residential neighborhoods, military installations, pharmaceutical companies and industrial firms.
- 18 Jun 2025 8:33 AM IST
US spies said Iran wasn't building nuclear weapon; Trump dismisses it
Tulsi Gabbard left no doubt when she testified to Congress about Iran's nuclear program earlier this year.
The country was not building a nuclear weapon, the national intelligence director told lawmakers, and its supreme leader had not reauthorized the dormant program even though it had enriched uranium to higher levels.
But President Donald Trump dismissed the assessment of US spy agencies during an overnight flight back to Washington as he cut short his trip to the Group of Seven summit to focus on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
“I don't care what she said,” Trump told reporters. In his view, Iran was “very close” to having a nuclear bomb.
Trump's statement aligned him more closely with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has described a nuclear-armed Iran as an imminent threat, than with his own top intelligence adviser. Trump met with national security officials, including Gabbard, in the Situation Room on Tuesday as he plans next steps.
Administration officials downplayed the inconsistency between Trump and Gabbard, saying that enriching uranium can put Iran on track to having a nuclear weapon.
Gabbard blamed the media for misconstruing her earlier testimony, asserting that “President Trump was saying the same thing that I said." “We are on the same page," she told CNN. Asked for comment, Gabbard's office referred to those remarks.
In her March testimony to lawmakers, Gabbard said the intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.”
- 18 Jun 2025 8:32 AM IST
Several Israeli spies arrested in Iran: Report
Al Jazeera, quoting Iran’s Tasnim News Agenc,y said that several people have been arrested for spying for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and for planning attacks.
One of them, a foreign national, was arrested in the southern port city of Bushehr while recording images of a “sensitive nuclear area”, the report said.
