Israel-Iran conflict in second week amid renewed strikes, Trump sends mixed signals

Iran's atomic agency chief Mohammad Eslami said Saturday that the Arak heavy water reactor hit by Israel earlier this week was dedicated to "health and medicine".

"The products of the Arak heavy water plant are used in the fields of health and medicine. You (Israel) are targeting a centre active in the field of medical radiopharmaceutical research," said Eslami, according to a government statement.

Iran has announced the launch of dozens of drones toward Israel over the past 24 hours.

According to an Iranian army statement, carried by Tasnim International News Agency, the seventh and eighth waves of drone attacks against Israel have been carried out. The available information indicates that most of the drones hit their intended targets.

The Israeli military Saturday said it launched a fresh wave of strikes on Saturday in the area of southern Iran's Bandar Abbas, targeting drones storage sites and a weapons facility.

Israeli forces are "currently striking UAV storage facilities and a weapons facility in southwestern Iran in the area of Bandar Abbas," a military statement said.

Iranian media said an Israeli strike on Saturday hit a military base in Qom province south of Tehran, wounding one person, as fighting between the two foes raged for the ninth day.

"A few minutes ago, one of the evacuated military bases... was hit by projectiles from the Zionist regime," ISNA news agency reported quoting an official statement from Qom province, with another news agency, Tasnim, saying one person was injured.

A former bodyguard for Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, was killed Saturday in an Israeli strike in Iran, said an official from the Tehran-backed militant group.

Hussein Khalil - commonly known as Abu Ali, and nicknamed Nasrallah's "shield" - was killed near the Iraqi border after crossing into Iran, the Hezbollah official told AFP on condition of anonymity. An Iraqi armed group said one of its commanders was killed in the attack, and confirmed the death of Khalil and his son.

Iran's armed forces threatened on Saturday to strike shipments of military aid to Israel during the ongoing fighting between the two foes.

"We warn that sending any military or radar equipment by boat or aircraft from any country to assist the Zionist regime will be considered participation in the aggression against Islamic Iran and will be a legitimate target for the armed forces," a spokesman said in a video statement broadcast on state TV.

An Israeli attack on Saturday in Iran's west killed at least five army personnel and wounded nine others, Iranian media reported.

"Five army officers were killed and nine others were wounded in today's attack by the Israeli regime on the western city of Sumar" in Kermanshah province, the Fars news agency reported, quoting a provincial official.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country will not halt nuclear activity "under any circumstances" amid ongoing fighting with Israel which hit nuclear sites.

"We are ready to discuss and cooperate to build confidence in the field of peaceful nuclear activities, however, we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances," said Pezeshkian during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian warned Saturday that his country's response to continued Israeli "aggression" will be "more devastating", as fighting raged between the two foes for a ninth day.

"Our response to the continued aggression of the Zionist regime will be more devastating," said Pezeshkian during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Iranian media reported that an emergency centre in Hoveyzeh, Khuzestan province, was targeted by Israel today.

The province’s emergency services and Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences issued statements on the 115 Hoveyzeh emergency centre, with the university saying the centre was “completely” destroyed.

However, the attack caused no casualties or injuries.

Israel said Saturday that an Iranian plot to attack Israeli citizens in Cyprus had been foiled, as the war between the two arch-rivals raged for a ninth day.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on X that Iran's Revolutionary Guards "tried to carry out an attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus", but "thanks to the activity of the Cypriot security authorities, in cooperation with Israeli security services, the terror attack was thwarted."

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed today that there were no radiation-related consequences following Israel's strike on a centrifuge manufacturing facility in Isfahan, Iran. This marked the second time the facility has been targeted since the escalation of the conflict.

In a statement issued by IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, the agency said that the site in question was a centrifuge production workshop in Isfahan, the third such facility to be targeted in Israeli attacks on locations associated with Iran's nuclear programme.

Grossi said, "We know this facility well. There were no nuclear materials at the site, and therefore, the attack has not resulted in any radiological consequences."

Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi rebels threatened to attack US vessels in the Red Sea in spite of a recent truce should Washington get involved in Israel's campaign against Iran.

"If the US gets involved in an attack and aggression against Iran with the Israeli enemy, the armed forces (Houthis) will target its ships and warships in the Red Sea," the group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.

The UN nuclear agency confirmed on Saturday that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site had been hit, in the latest strike amid Israel's bombing campaign.

"A centrifuge manufacturing workshop has been hit in Esfahan, the third such facility that has been targeted in Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear-related sites over the past week," the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement quoting its chief Rafael Grossi.

"We know this facility well. There was no nuclear material at this site and therefore the attack on it will have no radiological consequences," Grossi was quoted as saying.

Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people since they began last week, Iran's health ministry said in an updated toll on Saturday, as fighting raged between the two foes.

"As of this morning, Israeli attacks have claimed the lives of over 400 defenseless Iranians and left 3,056 others wounded by missiles and drones," health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said in a post on X.

Several "powerful explosions" were heard Saturday afternoon in southwestern Iran's Ahvaz, the daily Shargh reported, on the ninth day of hostilities between the Islamic republic and Israel.

Ahvaz is the capital of Khuzestan province, which is situated on the Iraqi border and is Iran's main oil-producing region. The Israeli military had previously announced it was striking "military infrastructure" in the southwest.

Israel's rescue services said that an Iranian drone had struck a residential building in the north of the country following a wave of attacks reported by the military.

"A drone strike hit a two-storey residential building in northern Israel", the Magen David Adom said in a statement, referring to an impact site in the Beit She'an valley by the northeastern border with Jordan.

Israel's sophisticated air defences have intercepted more than 450 missiles fired at the country by Iran, along with around 400 drones, since the start of the war on June 13, according to official figures.

The locations of strikes in Israel are subject to strict military censorship rules and are not always provided in detail to the public.

The National Public Diplomacy Directorate, which is overseen by Israel's prime minister, has acknowleged 50 impact sites.

Israel's military said it was conducting strikes on "military infrastructure" in Iran's southwest, on the ninth day of the war sparked by Israel's attack on the Islamic republic.

"Fighter jets are currently striking military infrastructure in southwestern Iran," the military said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that France and its European partners would ramp up talks with Iran following more than a week of hostilities between the Islamic Republic and Israel.

"I am convinced that there is a way out of war and to avoid even greater dangers," Macron said on X after holding phone talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. "To achieve this, we will step up the negotiations initiated by France and its European partners with Iran."

The Israeli military on Saturday announced it had killed Saeed Izadi, a senior Iranian commander and head of the Quds Force's Palestine Corps, in a strike near Qom, south of Tehran. Izadi, described as a key link between Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Hamas, was accused by Israel of helping orchestrate the October 7 Hamas attack. He was under US and UK sanctions. Iran has denied involvement in the Gaza conflict.

Four fighters from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed in an Israeli attack on a training centre in northwest Iran, the ISNA news agency reported.

"Four people have died as martyrs and three others were wounded in an Israeli attack against a training camp of the Revolutionary Guards in Tabriz," ISNA reported. The city has been repeatedly targeted since Israel began striking Iran more than a week ago.

While speaking to reporters in Istanbul ahead of continued diplomatic talks, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that US involvement in the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel would be “very, very dangerous.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday accused Israel of leading the Middle East towards "total disaster" by attacking Iran on June 13.

"Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster by attacking Iran, our neighbour," he told a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.

"There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem," Fidan said.

He called for an end to the "unlimited aggression" against Iran, adding: "We must prevent the situation from deteriorating into a spiral of violence that would further jeopardise regional and global security."

Israel targeted "two centrifuge production sites" at Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility overnight in a second wave of strikes on the location since the start of the war, a military official said on Saturday.

"Isfahan we targeted in the first 24 hours of our operation, but we carried out a second wave of strikes there overnight, deepening our achievements and advancing the damage to the facility," the military official told reporters during a briefing on condition of anonymity.

He added that the targeting of two centrifuge production sites in Isfahan was "in addition to a couple more centrifuge production sites that we have been able to strike successfully in recent days".

The repeated raids by the Israeli air force have "dealt a severe blow to Iran's centrifuge production capabilities," the official added.

Israel's first responders said Saturday that a residential building in north Israel had been hit by a drone after the army reported an intrusion in the Beit She'an valley.

"A drone strike hit a two-storey residential building in northern Israel", the Magen David Adom said in a statement, adding that its rescue teams found no visible casualties as they arrived.

Israel's military said Saturday it had killed a top Iranian official in charge of military coordination with Palestinian militant group Hamas in a strike on Qom, south of Tehran.

Israeli "fighter jets struck and eliminated in the area of Qom the commander of the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, and the key coordinator between the Iranian regime and the Hamas terrorist organisation, Saeed Izadi," the military said in a statement.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Group at the United Nations reiterated Saturday its condemnation of the Israeli attacks on Iran and its nuclear facilities, warning of the serious repercussions of these attacks on the security and stability of the region.

The Group described them a clear violation of the principles of international law and the UN Charter.

This came in a speech delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations, Minister Plenipotentiary Faisal Al-Enezi, on behalf of the GCC Group before the emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the escalation between Israel and Iran, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

The GCC Group reiterated the group's firm position on the grave dangerous events taking place in the region, noting that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are continuing their intensive diplomatic efforts to de-escalate and prevent its escalation, out of a desire to prioritise diplomacy and dialogue.

It also called for the utmost restraint and an immediate cessation of hostilities under these delicate and sensitive circumstances, which require vigilance and wisdom from all.

Israel's military said Saturday its navy hit a Hezbollah "infrastructure site" near the southern Lebanese city of Naqoura, a day after Israel's foreign minister warned the Lebanese armed group against entering the Iran-Israel war.

"Overnight, an Israeli Navy vessel struck a Hezbollah 'Radwan Force' terrorist infrastructure site in the area of Naqoura in southern Lebanon", the military said in a statement.

The military said the site was used by Hezbollah "to advance terror attacks against Israeli civilians".

In a separate statement on Saturday, the military said it had "struck and eliminated" a Hezbollah militant in south Lebanon the previous day, despite an ongoing ceasefire between both sides.

The Indian Embassy in Iran has said that the embassy will make efforts to evacuate citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka. The embassy noted that the efforts will be made at the request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka.

"On request of the Governments of Nepal and Sri Lanka, the Indian Embassy's evacuation efforts in Iran will also cover Citizens of Nepal and Sri Lanka," the Indian Embassy in Iran posted on X.

The Indian government has launched Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran, given the deteriorating situation as a result of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Saturday that, so far, 517 Indian nationals have returned to India from Iran under Operation Sindhu.

Jaiswal stated that a special flight from Turkmenistan's Ashgabat carrying Indians from Iran arrived in New Delhi on June 21.

Police in Iran's Qom province said Saturday that 22 people "linked to Israeli spy services" had been arrested since June 13, Fars news agency reported.

"22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime's spy services, disturbing public opinion, and supporting the criminal regime," the agency stated, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran's Qom province.

Iran's foreign minister arrived in Istanbul on Saturday, Tasnim news agency reported, for a meeting with Arab League diplomats to discuss Tehran's escalating conflict with Israel.

Around 40 diplomats are slated to join the weekend gathering of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as Israel and Iran continue to exchange missile strikes.

"The Foreign Minister arrived in Istanbul this morning to participate in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Foreign Ministers' meeting," Tasnim reported.

It comes after Araghchi met with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany in Geneva on Friday.

"At this meeting, at the suggestion of Iran, the issue of the Zionist regime's attack on our country will be specifically addressed," said Iranian foreign Abbas Araghchi, according to the news agency

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi warned of the risk of nuclear contamination from Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Attacks on nuclear sites in Iran have caused a sharp degradation in nuclear safety and security in the country. Though they have not so far led to a radiological release affecting the public, there is a danger this could occur, said Grossi.

In his briefing at an emergency meeting of the Security Council, Grossi said that although the level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site after an Israeli attack has remained unchanged and at normal levels, there is both radiological and chemical contamination within the facility, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The radiation, primarily consisting of alpha particles, poses a significant danger if inhaled or ingested. This risk can be effectively managed with appropriate protective measures, such as using respiratory devices. The main concern inside the facility is chemical toxicity," he said.

Fordow is Iran's main enrichment location for enriching uranium to 60 per cent. The IAEA is not aware of any damage at Fordow at this time, he said.

At the Esfahan nuclear site, four buildings were damaged in the June 13 attack. No increase in off-site radiation levels was reported. As in Natanz, the main concern is chemical toxicity, he noted.

The attacks on other nuclear facilities have had no radiological impact, said Grossi. Read the full story...

The Israeli air force said Saturday it had launched a new wave of airstrikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran, on the ninth day of conflict between the two countries.

In a post on X, the air force said it targeted "missile storage and launch infrastructure in central Iran".

US President Donald Trump dismissed a European diplomatic initiative aimed at de-escalating the conflict between Israel and Iran, asserting that Tehran prefers direct talks with Washington instead of engaging with European powers, CNN reported.

"Iran didn't want to speak to Europe, they want to speak to us," Trump told reporters, expressing scepticism over Europe's ability to mediate in the conflict.

He also acknowledged the limited influence the US has over Israel's military campaign, stating, "Israel is doing well in terms of war, and I think you would have to say Iran is doing less well. It's a little hard to get someone to stop."

As the Israel-Iran war entered its nineth consecutive day with both sides exchanging missile attacks, foreign ministers from Britain, France, and Germany held a three-hour meeting with Iranian officials in Geneva.

The talks ended without any breakthrough, with European leaders urging continued diplomacy to prevent wider regional escalation, CNN reported.

Despite stepping back earlier from threats of a US military strike and creating a two-week window for negotiations, Trump reiterated his intention to act as a "peacemaker."

However, he maintained that only direct talks between the US and Iran could lead to a resolution. "Europe is not going to be able to help," he said.

AI deepfakes, video game footage passed off as real combat, and chatbot-generated falsehoods - such tech-enabled misinformation is distorting the Israel-Iran conflict, fueling a war of narratives across social media.

The information warfare unfolding alongside ground combat - sparked by Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military leadership - underscores a digital crisis in the age of rapidly advancing AI tools that have blurred the lines between truth and fabrication.

The surge in wartime misinformation has exposed an urgent need for stronger detection tools, experts say, as major tech platforms have largely weakened safeguards by scaling back content moderation and reducing reliance on human fact-checkers.

After Iran struck Israel with barrages of missiles last week, AI-generated videos falsely claimed to show damage inflicted on Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport.

The videos were widely shared across Facebook, Instagram and X.

Using a reverse image search, AFP's fact-checkers found that the clips were originally posted by a TikTok account that produces AI-generated content.

There has been a "surge in generative AI misinformation, specifically related to the Iran-Israel conflict," Ken Jon Miyachi, founder of the Austin-based firm BitMindAI, told AFP.

"These tools are being leveraged to manipulate public perception, often amplifying divisive or misleading narratives with unprecedented scale and sophistication."

Israel estimates its strikes on Iran have delayed Tehran's potential to develop a nuclear weapon by "at least two or three years", Israel's foreign minister said in an interview published Saturday.

Israel's offensive, which has hit hundreds of nuclear and military sites, killing top commanders and nuclear scientists, has produced "very significant" results, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told German newspaper Bild.

"According to the assessment we hear, we already delayed for at least two or three years the possibility for them to have a nuclear bomb," said Saar.

"The fact that we took out those people who led and pushed the weaponisation of the nuclear program is extremely important," he told Bild.

"We already achieved a lot, but we will do whatever we can do. We will not stop until we will do everything that we can do there in order to remove this threat."

Iran, which has retaliated against the unprecedented offensive Israel launched on June 13 with drone and missile strikes, denies it is pursuing nuclear weapons.

Saar said the Israeli government had not "defined regime change" in the Islamic republic as "an objective in this war".

"At least until now, we didn't do that," he said.

Donald Trump deepened uncertainty about his readiness to join Israel's week-old war with Iran, signaling he might consider backing a ceasefire but also warning that he could order military action sooner than the deadline he flagged just a day earlier.

"I'm giving them a period of time,"  the US president told reporters in New Jersey, after meeting with his national security team. "I would say two weeks would be the maximum." 

He dismissed European efforts to find a diplomatic solution after foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany met their Iranian counterpart in Geneva Friday. 

Even as he hinted at shortening the deadline for his ultimatum, Trump also suggested he "might"  support a ceasefire while talks were underway.

"I might, depending on the circumstances," the president said when asked if he'd back a halt to fighting to allow negotations. But he questioned whether such a truce would be possible. "Israel's doing well in terms of war, and I think you would have to say that Iran is doing less well. It's a little bit hard to get somebody to stop."