Israel-Iran Conflict Highlights: Trump to decide on US involvement ‘within two weeks’ as Iran-Israel conflict enters 7th day

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul, where Islamic nations will discuss Israel’s recent strikes.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman has accused IAEA chief Rafael Grossi of being complicit in the ongoing conflict. This is because the IAEA earlier said that Iran has failed to comply with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

“We did not have any evidence of a systematic effort [by Iran] to move into a nuclear weapon,” he said in a TV interview.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said that its embassy in Israel was not damaged after an Iranian missile struck Tel Aviv.

“The ambassador has confirmed that the embassy is not damaged, but the strike hit buildings 200 metres from the embassy”, a ministry spokesperson said.

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Any intervention by the United States in the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict would mark a “terrible spiral of escalation”, Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

After the Israeli military was ordered to “intensify strikes” against Iran, it said that it struck Iran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.

This includes an Inactive nuclear reactor in Arak, which is a key component in plutonium production; a nuclear weapons development site, Ballistic missile & air defense production facilities, and Radar systems & missile storage sites.

IDF has shared a video, which it called “raw footage” from the hospital which was struck by an Iranian missile.

Israeli Minister of Defence, Israel Katz, said that he and Prime Minister Netanyahu have ordered the IDF to “intensify strikes” on Iran after it attacked a 1,000-bed hospital.

He added that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “will be held accountable” after the strike on Soroka hospital. 

“The cowardly Iranian dictator sits in the depths of the fortified bunker and fires aimed shots at hospitals and residential buildings in Israel. These are war crimes of the most serious kind – and Khamenei will be held accountable for his crimes. The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to increase the intensity of attacks against strategic targets in Iran and against government targets in Tehran in order to remove threats to the State of Israel and undermine the Ayatollahs’ regime,” he said on X.

The Israeli Air Force said that it has eliminated terrorist Muhammad Ahmed Kharis in southern Lebanon.

“The Air Force attacked and eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Ahmed Kharis, the anti-tank commander at the Shebaa compound of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, in the Nabatiya region in southern Lebanon,” it said in a post on X.

It added, “The terrorist carried out numerous firing attacks against the State of Israel, including the anti-tank missile attack on Mount Dov in 2024.”

Iran has bombed Israel stock exchange.

Iran’s state-run media, the IRNA news agency, said that it targeted an Israeli military site and not the hospital, adding that the “blast wave” of the missile struck the hospital, AP reported.

“We will not stand by. We will continue doing what must be done to defend our people,” said Israel on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle after Iran struck a hospital in south Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Iran’s missile strikes on Thursday, calling them acts of terrorism. In a post on his official X account, Netanyahu said, “This morning, Iran’s terrorist tyrants launched missiles at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba and at a civilian population in the center of the country. We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.”

An Iranian missile struck the main hospital in southern Israel early Thursday, causing extensive damage and injuring multiple people, the medical facility confirmed. Israeli media broadcast footage showing shattered windows, charred walls and thick black smoke rising from the site.

In separate strikes, Iranian missiles also hit a high-rise apartment building in Tel Aviv and several locations in central Israel. According to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service, at least 40 people have been wounded in the attacks. Emergency teams continue to assess damage and respond to the unfolding crisis amid escalating hostilities between the two nations.

AP

On Thursday night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed they targeted Iran’s Arak heavy‑water nuclear reactor following evacuation warnings earlier in the day. Iranian state television reported that the facility had been evacuated in advance, and there is “no radiation danger whatsoever.” This strike is part of a broader campaign by Israel against Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure, including ongoing attacks on sites like Natanz, Isfahan and Tehran-area military facilities.

Reuters

The US military has repositioned aircraft and naval assets from bases in the Middle East that could be vulnerable to a potential Iranian strike. The precautionary moves come as President Donald Trump remains noncommittal on whether the US will back Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Iranian nuclear and missile sites, which has forced residents to flee Tehran on the sixth day of attacks.

In a separate development, the US embassy in Qatar issued a security alert on Thursday, temporarily restricting its personnel from accessing the Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the region, located just outside Doha.

Reuters

Iranian state television reported on Thursday that Israel has attacked the Arak heavy water reactor. The facility had reportedly been evacuated prior to the strike, and officials confirmed that there is “no radiation danger whatsoever.” The incident marks a sharp escalation in hostilities between the two nations.

AP

Millions of Israelis are rushing to bomb shelters as air raid sirens blare across the country following a missile launch from Iran. The nationwide alert comes amid heightened tensions, with authorities urging citizens to remain indoors and follow emergency protocols. Defense systems have been activated as the situation continues to unfold.

An Iranian missile has reportedly hit a hospital in southern Israel, according to Israeli media. The strike marks a serious escalation in regional tensions, with no immediate confirmation on casualties or damage from Israeli authorities.

Reuters

Iran’s state media displayed a message for viewers after the normal broadcast. It read: “If you see an irrelevant message on the screen, it’s due to a cyber attack by the Zionist regime.”

The State Department has begun evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the US Embassy in Israel as Trump warns of the possibility of getting directly involved in the ongoing conflict in the Mideast.

The first evacuation flight from Iran that landed in New Delhi on Thursday morning comes as a ray of hope for the family members waiting for their loved ones to arrive. A Bengaluru family has said that their daughter is not trained for war like situations.

Iran has once again extended the closure of its airspace, halting all domestic and international flights until 2 pm local time (4 PM IST), according to state broadcaster IRIB. The ongoing conflict has halted air travel across the region. Israel has also imposed similar restrictions on its own airspace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he “don’t want to discuss” the possibility of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei being assassinated.

“I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to. I hear all this, but I don’t even want to discuss it,” he tells journalists on the sidelines of an economic forum in St Petersburg, BBC reported.

“The Air Force has now begun a wave of attacks in Tehran and other areas in Iran,” wrote the Israeli Air Force on X (formerly Twitter).

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning to residents in specific areas of Iran’s Arak and Khandab.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed a willingness to play the role of a mediator in the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. He has offered a diplomatic solution that will consider both countries’ important concerns.

While speaking during a roundtable with senior editors from international new agencies, Putin termed the situation as ”sensitive” but he believes that a negotiated resolve is possible, as reported by AP.

A special flight carrying over 100 Indian students arrived at New Delhi from the conflict-hit Iran to Armenia. A total of 110 students were brought back from Tehran to Armenia. The Indian Embassy in Tehran conducted the evacuation under the government’s Operation Sindhu initiative. The aim was to get back Indian nationals safely from the affected region.

Many of the students were doing higher education in Tehran, called the situation on the ground very disturbing. ”We were extremely anxious. Explosions could be header in nearby areas, and we unsure of what might happen next,” stated one of the students on his arrival, as quoted by PTI.

An anti-Iranian hacking group with possible ties to Israel announced an attack on one of Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges on Wednesday, destroying nearly $90 million and threatening to expose the platform’s source code. A group known as Gonjeshke Darande, or “Predatory Sparrow,” claimed the attack, making it the group’s second operation in two days. On Tuesday the group claimed to have destroyed data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah amid the increasing hostilities and missile attacks between Israel and Iran.

Wednesday’s attack targeted Nobitex, one of Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The platform allegedly helps the Iranian government avoid sanctions and finance illicit operations around the world, the hackers claimed in a message posted to its social media channels early Wednesday.

President Donald Trump would not say on Wednesday whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran.

“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House .

“I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Trump added that it’s not “too late” for Iran to give up its nuclear program as he continues to weigh direct US involvement in Israel’s military operations aimed at crushing Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Nothing’s too late,” Trump said.

“I can tell you this. Iran’s got a lot of trouble.”

“Nothing is finished until it is finished,” Trump added.

But “the next week is going to be very big— maybe less than a week.”

Trump also offered a terse response to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s refusal to heed to his call for Iran to submit to an unconditional surrender.

“I say good luck,” Trump said.