Israel-Iran Conflict Highlights: Trump demands ‘unconditional surrender’, says ‘we know exactly where Khamenei is hiding…’

It is very likely all the roughly 15,000 centrifuges operating at Iran’s biggest uranium enrichment plant at Natanz were badly damaged or destroyed because of a power cut caused by an Israeli strike , the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief told the BBC on Monday. The International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director General Rafael Grossi had previously said the centrifuges at the underground enrichment plant at Natanz may have been damaged as a result of an airstrike on its power supply, even though the hall housing the plant itself did not seem to have been hit.

The government is closely monitoring the situation arising from the Iran-Israel conflict, and a meeting with shipping lines, container firms, and other stakeholders will be held this week to assess the impact on the country’s overseas trade and address any issue, a top official said on Monday.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the impact of the war on India’s trade will depend on how the situation unfolds over a period of time.

“We are watching the situation. We are also calling a meeting (this week) of all the shipping lines, the container organisations and the concerned departments, and stakeholders to understand from them that what are the kind of issues they are facing and how we can sort it out,” he told reporters here.

Exporters have stated that the war, if escalated further, would impact world trade and push both air and sea freight rates.

They have expressed apprehensions that the conflict is expected to impact movement of merchant ships from the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea.

Nearly two-thirds of India’s crude oil and half of its LNG imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has now threatened to close.

US President Donald Trump called for talks between Israel and Iran on Monday — before it was ‘too late’.

“Iran is not winning this war,” he added.

“They should talk and they should talk immediately,” Trump told reporters amidst the G7 Summit in Canada.

” Military targets are currently being struck in Tehran. More details as the situation progresses,” the IDF wrote on X.

Iran’s state TV says it is under an Israeli attack.

The Group of Seven leaders have adopted a draft resolution on the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.

The document insists that Israel has the right to defend itself and reiterates that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The draft also called on both nations to de-escalate the conflict and avoid compromising regional stability.

According to a Reuters update quoting sources, US President Donald Trump has not signed off on the Israel-Iran G7 statement.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Iran has been urgently signaling its desire for an end to hostilities and the resumption of talks over its nuclear programmes. Officials quoted by the publication said Tehran had been sending messages to Israel and the US via Arab intermediaries.

Oil futures extended losses on Monday evening with US crude down by $3 and Brent crude down by $2 a barrel as Iran sought talks with the US and Israel to end hostilities.

“We just published an evacuation warning in Farsi for civilians in Tehran. Israeli civilians do not get evacuation warnings before running to shelters. We aren’t the same,” the IDF added.

According to reports, Israeli strikes have hit multiple cities in Iran. Updates citing videos from the area indicated intense airstrikes in Karaj, Isfahan, Shiraz and Kermanshah.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency said Monday that there is a possibility of both radiological and chemical contamination within Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz following Israeli strikes, although radiation levels outside the complex are presently normal.

The radiation poses a significant danger if uranium is inhaled or ingested, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The risk can be effectively managed with appropriate protective measures, such as using respiratory protection devices while inside the facilities, Grossi said.

“The level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact to the population or the environment from this event,” he said.

“The Israeli Air Force controls the skies of Tehran. We are striking the regime’s targets – not civilians. This is the difference between us and Iran’s terror regime, which aims to murder women and children. On behalf of the people of Israel – I salute you. You are bringing victory,” he wrote on X.

Netanyahu says, we are tell citizens of Tehran to ‘evacuate, and we are taking action. He went on to say that Israel is on its way to achieve two main objective, eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat.

According to reports, dozens of fighter jets conducted airstrikes over central Iran on Monday.

A high-ranking Iranian diplomat told Iran Wire that the country was prepared to give up uranium enrichment to preserve the regime.

“The real priority of the Supreme Leader and our government is survival. The ongoing cycle of attacks and counterattacks between Israel and Iran will inevitably weaken our military, security forces, economy, public morale, and ultimately, the government. But we need a face-saving solution,” he said.

“The army and the IRGC will inevitably lose control of the situation, and no one knows what might happen next. We do not want to repeat Saddam Hussein’s mistake. We are ready to negotiate,” the former intelligence official added.

Iran is reportedly ready to abandon uranium enrichment, but needs a “face saving exit,” per Iranwire.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in a phone call on Monday that the conflict between Iran and Israel must end and room must be made for diplomacy as soon as possible, the Turkish presidency said. In a statement, the presidency also said Erdogan repeated his view that the only solution to the crisis was a return to nuclear talks.

According to an update shared by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart have condemned the Israeli ‘act of force’ against Iran.

Iran fired a new wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday, killing at least five people, while Israel claimed in the fourth day of the conflict that it had now achieved “aerial superiority” over Tehran and could fly over the Iranian capital without facing major threats. After days of attacks on Iranian air defenses and missile systems, the Israeli military said its aircraft now control the skies from western Iran to Tehran and had destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers, a third of Iran’s total, that had been firing at Israel in overnight missions.

French authorities ordered black partition walls erected around some Israeli defense industry exhibits at the Paris Air Show, a move denounced by Israel’s Defense Ministry, which demanded an immediate reversal.A French appeals court had ruled Friday against activist groups who sought to block Israeli companies from participating in the show due to the war in Gaza.

According to the Israeli military, more than 50 fighter jets and aircraft carried out air strikes and destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface missile launchers. It claimed that Israeli aircraft now controls the skies from western Iran to Tehran.

“This amounts to one-third of the surface-to-surface missile launchers possessed by the Iranian regime…Now we can say that we have achieved full air supremacy in the Tehran airspace,” military spokesman Brigadier-General Effie Defrin said in a televised statement.

“One thing is very clear and evident for the International community that they (Israel) have invaded our country and have attacked our civilians and the army. We have just responded. It is ideal that the international community put some pressure on the invader country and not us. We are trying to respond to the attack, which happened on our soil… Israel has offended the international treaty, and as far as the nuclear issue is concerned, we have never been looking for nuclear weapons… A number of times we have cleared that Iran has never been looking for those weapons, we were just using them for energy in our country,” Farid Faridasr told ANI in Delhi.

An update shared by the Turkish Presidency indicates that Erdogan has told his Iranian counterpart that the country could play the role of facilitator in nuclear negotiations.

Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow’s previous proposals to store Iranian uranium in Russia remain on the table, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Russia’s previous proposals to resolve the conflict are still on the table, but the outbreak of hostilities has complicated the situation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to a source-based report by Iran International, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was evacuated to an underground bunker in northeastern Tehran hours after Israel began its strikes on Friday. He is believed to be sheltering with family in the Lavizan area.

The publication claimed that Israel had not assassinated Khamenei on the first night of the operation to ‘give him a final chance to completely ditch his uranium enrichment program’.

According to an update shared by Iranian state media, dozens of ‘spies’ and alleged saboteurs linked to Israel have been arrested since the conflict began on Friday.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said parliamentarians were preparing a bill that could prompt Tehran to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A statement also reiterated Tehran’s official stance against developing nuclear weapons.

“In light of recent developments, we will take an appropriate decision. Government has to enforce parliament bills but such a proposal is just being prepared and we will coordinate in the later stages with parliament,” the ministry’s spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, when asked at a press conference about Tehran potentially leaving the NPT.

The NPT, which Iran ratified in 1970, guarantees countries the right to pursue civilian nuclear power in return for requiring them to forego atomic weapons and cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA. Israel began bombing Iran last week, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. Iran has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful, although the IAEA declared last week that Tehran was in violation of its NPT obligations.

(via Reuters)

Israel claims it has achieved “aerial superiority” over Tehran and has control of skies from western Iran to capital, reports AP

Amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran that entered its fourth day, several airlines have suspended operating flights to Middle East destinations.

1- Greece’s Aegean Airlines has cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv up to and including the early morning flight on July 12, as well as all flights to and from Beirut, Amman, and Erbil through the morning arrivals of June 28.

2- Latvia’s airBaltic said all flights to and from Tel Aviv until June 23 had been cancelled.

3- Russia’s Aeroflot said it had cancelled flights between Moscow and Tehran, and made changes to other routes in the Middle East after Israeli strikes on Iran.

4- Air France said it had suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

5- Air India said multiple flights were either being diverted or returning to their origin.

6- The Israeli airline Arkia said that due to the closure of Israeli airspace, it was cancelling all its flights until June 14.

7- Delta Air Lines also issued a statement saying that travel to, from, or through Tel Aviv may be impacted between June 12 and June 30.

8- El Al Israel Airlines said that it had cancelled the entire flight schedule for EL AL and Sundor through Thursday, June 19.

9- Etihad Airways said it had cancelled flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv until June 22.

10- Emirates said it had temporarily suspended all flights to Jordan (Amman) and Lebanon (Beirut) until and including Sunday, 22 June, and Iran (Tehran) and Iraq (Baghdad and Basra), until and including Monday, 30 June.

11- Flydubai said it had suspended flights to Jordan and Lebanon until June 16, Minsk and St Petersburg until June 17, and Iran, Iraq, Israel and Syria until June 20.

12- Israir airline said that it was cancelling all its flights from and to Israel until June 30.

13- ITA Airways said it would extend the suspension of Tel Aviv flights until July 31.

14- Lufthansa said it had suspended all flights to and from Tel Aviv and Tehran until July 31 and to and from Amman, Erbil and Beirut until June 20. The German airline added that it would also avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Israeli airspace for now.

15- The Turkish airline, Pegasus, said it had cancelled flights to Iran until June 19 and flights to Iraq and Jordan until June 16. The company said it would operate flights to Lebanon only during daylight hours.

16- Qatar Airways said it had temporarily cancelled flights to and from Iraq and Iran. Flights to Damascus Airport, in Syria, will be cancelled until the end of June 14.

17- Ryanair said that it had cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until August 31.

18- Romania’s flag carrier, TAROM, said it had suspended all commercial flights to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut and Amman until Monday, June 16.

19- Turkish Airlines and other Turkish operators have cancelled flights to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Jordan until June 16, Turkey’s transport minister said.

20- Wizz Air said it had suspended its operations to and from Tel Aviv and Amman until June 20th.

“The agency is currently present in Iran and will continue to remain there. Safeguards inspections will resume as soon as conditions are safe, in accordance with Iran’s obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.

He added, “I am in contact with the inspectors on the ground, and their safety is our top priority. All necessary measures are being taken to ensure they are protected and not harmed.”