US joining Israeli strikes would cause hell, Iranian minister tells BBC

His comments came after the Soroka hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack. Iranian state media reported that the strike targeted a military site next to the hospital, and not the facility itself.

He said US involvement would turn the conflict into a “quagmire”, continue aggression and delay an end to the “brutal atrocities”.

Saeed Khatibzadeh said this is “not America’s war” and if US President Donald Trump does get involved, he will always be remembered as “a president who entered a war he doesn’t belong in”.

The US joining Israeli strikes would cause “hell for the whole region”, Iran’s deputy foreign minister has told the BBC.

Israel’s Ministry of Health said 71 people were injured during the attack on the Soroka Medical Centre.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it had targeted Iran’s nuclear sites including the “inactive” Arak heavy water reactor and Natanz facility.

Tehran has not given an update on casualties in Iran from Israeli strikes.

The latest attacks come at a critical time. On Thursday, the White House said Trump would decide whether or not the US gets directly involved in the conflict within the next two weeks.

Speaking to the BBC, Khatibzadeh insisted that “of course, diplomacy is the first option”, but said but while bombardment continues “we cannot start any negotiation”.

He repeatedly called Iran’s attacks on Israel “self defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter” and said “we were in the middle of diplomacy” when in a major escalation of the conflict on 13 June, Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, killing several top generals and nuclear scientists.

The deputy foreign minister called the conflict “unprovoked” and “unnecessary”.

Responding to Trump’s repeated comments that the conflict could have been avoided if Iran had accepted a nuclear deal, Khatibzadeh said they were negotiating until Israel “sabotaged” discussions by launching attacks Iran.

“We were planning to have the sixth round of nuclear talks in Muscat, and we were actually on the verge of reaching an agreement,” he said.

“President Trump knows better than anybody else that we were on the verge of reaching an agreement.”

He also criticised Trump’s “confusing and contradictory” social media posts and interviews, which he said indicated “that Americans have been aware and have participated” in the conflict.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi have reportedly spoken on the phone several times since Friday, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis, Reuters reported.

According to three diplomats who spoke to the news agency and asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, Araqchi said Tehran would not return to negotiations unless Israel stopped the attacks.

Israel has alleged Iran has recently “taken steps to weaponise” its enriched uranium stockpile, which can be used for power plants or nuclear bombs. Iran has always claimed that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the UN’s nuclear watchdog – said Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched up to 60% purity – a short technical step away from weapons grade, or 90% – to potentially make nuclear bombs.

“This is nonsense,” Khatibzadeh said in response. “You cannot start a war based on speculation or intention.

“If we wanted to have a nuclear bomb, we would have had it way before.

“Iran has never developed any programme for nuclear weaponisation of peaceful nuclear activities. Bottom line.”

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that nuclear facilities “must never be attacked, regardless of the context or circumstances, as it could harm both people and the environment”.

Khatibzadeh also discussed potential diplomatic channels after a G7 summit in Canada.

He said: “What we are hearing from Europeans is that they would like to get back to diplomacy at a ministerial level”.

“They are going to have a meeting in Geneva and we are very much happy that finally they have to come and talk at the table about the issues at hand.”

Israel strikes unfinished Arak heavy water reactor in Iran

2 hours ago Share Save David Gritten BBC News Share Save

Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters Satellite imagery showed a large whole in the Arak reactor building’s domed roof

Israeli jets have bombed a nuclear reactor under construction in central Iran during a wave of air strikes on the seventh day of the conflict between the two countries. The Israeli military said it targeted the Arak heavy water reactor’s core seal to stop it being used for “nuclear weapons development”. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the reactor was hit and that it contained no nuclear material. Spent fuel from heavy water reactors contains plutonium suitable for a nuclear bomb. Iran – which says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful – agreed under a 2015 deal with world powers to redesign and rebuild Arak so it could not produce weapons-grade plutonium.

The following year, the IAEA said Iran had removed Arak’s calandria, or reactor core, and rendered it “inoperable”. The global nuclear watchdog’s latest quarterly report from late May said minor civil construction work was ongoing at the reactor, and that Iran expected it to be commissioned this year and to start operating in 2026. The Israeli military said Iran’s government had “deliberately ordered [workers] not to complete the conversion… in order to exert pressure on the West”. “The strike targeted the component intended for plutonium production, in order to prevent the reactor from being restored and used for nuclear weapons development,” it added. Black-and-white aerial footage of the attack released by the military appeared to show a bomb hitting the domed roof of the reactor building and several large explosions from Arak, which about 250km (155 miles) south-west of Tehran and is also known as Khondab. Daytime video broadcast by Iranian state TV showed two large plumes of white smoke rising from the facility. It also cited Iranian officials as saying that the site had been “secured in advance” and that there was “no contamination resulting from the attack”. Satellite imagery showed a large hole in the reactor building’s roof. Also visible were what analysts identified as destroyed distillation towers belonging to the adjacent heavy water production plant. The IAEA initially reported that damage to the heavy water plant was not visible. But the agency later said it had assessed that key buildings at the facility were damaged, including the distillation unit.

Reuters Iranian state TV broadcast footage showing smoke rising from the Arak facility

The Israeli military also announced on Thursday that its fighter jets had struck a “nuclear weapons development site” at Natanz. It is the location of Iran’s main plant producing enriched uranium, which is used to make reactor fuel for power stations but, if further enriched, can be used in nuclear weapons. The first wave of Israeli strikes last Friday destroyed the above-ground part of Natanz’s Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant (PFEP), where cascades of centrifuges were enriching uranium, as well as electricity infrastructure at the site. The IAEA also found indications of direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls. Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director general, told the BBC on Monday that the sudden loss of power at the underground enrichment halls was likely to have severely damaged, if not destroyed, the centrifuges operating there. Four buildings were destroyed in a separate attack on Friday on the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre, he said. But very little, if any, damage was visible at Iran’s underground enrichment plant at Fordo, he added. President Donald Trump is said to be weighing up whether the US should participate in a strike on Fordo because it is the only country with a conventional bomb large enough to destroy it. Sources told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that his mindset was that disabling the facility was necessary.

Trump to decide on US action in Israel-Iran conflict within two weeks

Watch: Trump to make decision on Iran strikes within two weeks, White House says

Earlier, Iran’s deputy foreign minister told the BBC it would cause “hell” in the region if the US got involved, adding: “This is not America’s war.”

“Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”

US President Donald Trump will decide whether or not the US gets directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict within the next two weeks, the White House has said.

The news comes 24 hours after Trump said he had not made up his mind on joining the conflict.

Asked what the message was for “everyday Trump supporters” who have concerns about US involvement, Leavitt said to “trust in President Trump”.

She added that the president’s “top priority” is ensuring that Iran does not successfully construct a nuclear weapon.

The press secretary has so far repeatedly declined to discuss “hypotheticals”, including on whether Iranian officials could come to the White House, or whether Trump would seek approval from Congress over any US involvement.

Trump and his administration have sought to maintain an air of strategic ambiguity – not revealing much publicly about their thinking or potential courses of action.

“I may do it,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “I may not do it.”

The administration has maintained it believes that Iran has “never been closer” to successfully building a nuclear weapon.

Trump has dismissed intelligence assessments – including some given by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in Congress earlier this year – that Iran was not planning to do so.

Speculation mounted about Trump’s intentions on Wednesday after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected his demand for surrender.

The BBC’s US partner CBS reported that Trump had approved plans to attack Iran, but had not made a final decision on whether to go ahead.

The US president was holding off in case Iran agreed to abandon its nuclear programme, an intelligence source said.

On Thursday Trump responded on Truth Social, saying the Wall Street Journal, where the reports first appeared, had “no idea what my thoughts are concerning Iran”. He did not address whether plans had been approved.

The president is reportedly considering strikes on the Iranian nuclear site Fordo, a subterranean uranium enrichment facility.

Iran insists Fordo is used for civilian purposes only.

The site’s location, hidden away in a mountainside, puts it out of reach of Israel’s weaponry. Only the US is considered to have a bomb that might be large enough to destroy Fordo.

Diplomatic efforts are under way as the conflict continues, with European foreign ministers set to meet their Iranian counterpart in Switzerland on Friday.

Leavitt said that correspondence between American negotiators and the Iranians was continuing.

Reuters earlier reported that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had spoken on the phone several times since Israel began its strikes on Iran last week, in a bid to find a diplomatic end to the crisis.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the BBC he was hoping for diplomacy as a “first option”, but that while bombardment continues “we cannot start any negotiation”.

He said US involvement would be “hell for the whole region”, that would turn the conflict into a “quagmire”, continue aggression, and delay an end to the “brutal atrocities”.

This is “not America’s war” and if Trump does get involved, he will always be remembered as “a president who entered a war he doesn’t belong in”, Khatibzadeh added.

Trump’s two-week deadline came after a hospital in southern Israel was hit during an Iranian missile attack on Thursday morning.

Iranian state media reported that the strike targeted a military site next to the hospital, and not the facility itself.

Israeli hospital hit by Iranian missile strike

4 hours ago Share Save Ruth Comerford BBC News Share Save

BBC on the scene at Israeli hospital struck by Iranian missile

A hospital in the Israeli town of Beersheba has been hit as Iran fired a barrage of missiles at the country, with the conflict between the two nations continuing into a seventh day. Iran said it had targeted a military site close to the Soroka hospital, not the facility itself. Israel said 271 people were injured in strikes reported across the country. Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it had targeted Iran’s nuclear sites including the “inactive” Arak heavy water reactor and Natanz facility. Israel said at least 24 people had been killed in the country since the start of the conflict. Iranian state media last updated its death toll on 15 June, when it said 224 people had been killed.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – a Washington-based human rights organisation that has long tracked Iran – has said 639 people have been killed in Iran since Friday. The conflict began on 13 June, when Israel launched attacks on Iranian nuclear sites and killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Israel’s deputy foreign affairs minister said Iran’s hit on the Soroka hospital on Thursday was “deliberate” and “criminal”. In a post on X, Sharren Haskel said the site was the main medical centre for Israel’s entire Negev region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran”. Israel also threatened Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist”. Katz told reporters: “Khamenei openly declares that he wants Israel destroyed – he personally gives the order to fire on hospitals.” Khamenei is Iran’s spiritual leader and its highest authority, with final say over all government matters in the country. In response to a question from Israeli broadcaster News 12 about whether Khamenei was a target, Netanyahu replied: “I have instructed that no one is immune.” Netanyahu told reporters at the site that Israeli forces had harmed “the nuclear program very strongly” but claimed that there are “other nuclear targets” and “nuclear missiles” in Iran. “We will remove the nuclear threat, just as I promised. By the end of this operation, there will be no nuclear threat to Israel, nor will there be a ballistic missile threat.” He also told broadcaster Kan that Israel had destroyed “more than half” of Iran’s missile launchers but that “all help” would be welcome in destroying nuclear sites.

BBC correspondents reporting from the hospital described the damage as extensive, with debris and plumes of smoke floating through the air long after the blast. Several wards were completely destroyed as fire spread through one of the buildings, causing windows to smash and ceilings to collapse, hospital authorities said. About 200 patients will be transferred to other hospitals centres, Prof Shlomi Codish, chief executive of the Soroka hospital said. Elsewhere on Thursday morning, an Iranian ballistic missile struck the business district of Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv – causing a large sheet of glass to fall several floors from a skyscraper and part of an electrical pylon to crash to the ground. About 20 people are believed to have been injured by the blast in the area, authorities have said.

Israel’s military, which targeted the Arak heavy water reactor on Thursday, said it told people living in the nearby Iranian cities of Arak and Khondab to leave the area “as soon as possible” prior to the attack. Heavy water reactors produce plutonium, which – like enriched uranium – can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. Iranian media reported two projectiles hitting an area near the facility. There were no reports of radiation threats. In a separate announcement, Israel’s military said it also struck a site in the area of Natanz, which it said contains “unique components and equipment used to develop nuclear weapons”. Israel has alleged Iran has recently “taken steps to weaponise” its enriched uranium stockpile, which can be used for power plants or nuclear bombs. Iran has always claimed that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. Iran’s armed forces said their response to the Israeli attack will have “no limits”. Iran has lodged a complaint with the UN nuclear watchdog, accusing Israel of “continuing its aggression and actions contrary to international laws that prohibit attacks on nuclear facilities,” Iranian state media reported.

Reuters Arak’s nuclear facility had been evacuated before the attack according to Iranian media

The UN’s high commissioner Volker Türk said it was “appalling to see how civilians are treated as collateral damage” in the conflict. He warned officials against “inflammatory rhetoric”, which he said pointed to a “worrying intention to inflict harm on civilians.” “The only way out of this spiralling illogic of escalation is maximum restraint, full respect for international law, and return in good faith to the negotiating table,” he said.

On X, the International Committee of the Red Cross stressed that hospitals must be “respected and protected” under international law. And the World Health Organization’s director general said in a statement: “We call on all parties to protect health facilities, health personnel, and patients at all times.”

‘I was lying in bed… The ceiling fell in’: At the scene of Israeli hospital hit by Iran strike

7 hours ago Share Save Lucy Williamson Middle East correspondent Reporting from Reporting from Beersheba Share Save

AFP The Soroka hospital in Beersheba was hit by an Iranian strike on Thursday, although Iran denies targeting it

Black smoke was still billowing from the middle of the Soroka Medical Center when we arrived, several hours after Iran’s attack on the building. Pieces of twisted metal shrapnel – some of it apparently from the missile itself – scattered across a 200m (656ft) area in and around the hospital complex. Vehicles carrying medical staff lined the road outside – an emergency response to a situation that many had feared would be worse. Crowds of soldiers, police and rescue teams milled around the hospital entrances, as a stream of ministers arrived to express their outrage at the strike.

Alon Uzi was wandering around outside the hospital entrance with two bags of belongings. He said he had been receiving treatment in the emergency department when the attack happened, and didn’t have time to reach the shelter. “I was lying in bed, and I heard a big boom,” he told us. “And before I could do anything, there was an explosion and part of the ceiling fell and I was covered with white dust. “There was no time to get out of bed. I was just getting ready and then I heard a whistling noise.” Inside the emergency reception area, the air carried the tang of chemicals mixed with dust. Patients were still being evacuated on stretchers from deep inside the building, as emergency teams passed through into the surgical wards that were hit. Medical staff told local media that patients there had recently been moved to the hospital’s emergency shelters underground. Seventy-one people have been injured, according to Israel’s ministry of health.

The BBC spoke to Alon Uzi who was receiving treatment at the time of the blast

Reuters Hospital staff rushed to move patients to safety following damage to the building

Professor Asher Bashiri, director of the maternity ward, said he could see the area of impact from his office. “It looks unbelievable,” he told me. “The upper part of the building is cracked, and fire was coming from it in the first hours. Everything looks broken.” He said they had moved all the patients to a more protected area when the war began. “We were very, very lucky,” he said. “It could have been so much worse. But we are still living in an unbelievable situation. It’s not finished – I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, or the next day. We’re just happy that we’re alive.” The hospital director, Shlomi Codish, said that the northern surgical building was hit and that several wards were demolished, with extensive damage to the entire hospital. “We expect that we will be transferring over 200 patients in the next few hours to other medical centres,” he said. “We’re trying to minimise the number of people; we don’t know if buildings might collapse or if wards might collapse.” Among the stream of ministers visiting the site today was Culture Minister Miki Zohar, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. “All the people need to know what we’re facing – a regime that is trying to kill innocent people,” he said. “When you’re dealing with evil, this is a different war. Believe me, we won’t stop until we win. We’re going to reply and it’s going to be very strong.” Mr Zohar was asked about Israel’s history of bombing hospitals in Gaza – locations its army says are being used as military control centres by Hamas. “We keep innocent people in Gaza safe as much as we can,” he said. “We call them to evacuate before we bomb. This is the big difference between Iran and us.”

BBC on the scene at Israeli hospital struck by Iranian missile