In Iran: At least 224 people killed In Israel: 24 people killed

Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social that the U.S. knows the location of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, calling him an “easy target” but saying they won’t kill him — “at least not for now.”

He warned Iran against attacking civilians or U.S. troops, saying American patience is running out. In a follow-up post, Trump demanded Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”

We have total Control Of Skies Over Iran

US President Donald Trump seeks a “real end” to the conflict, not just a temporary truce.

He left the G7 summit early but denied it was to negotiate a ceasefire.

Claimed “something much bigger” is underway.

Warned Iranians to evacuate Tehran, highlighting risks to the city’s 10 million residents.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims their strikes have significantly set back Iran’s nuclear program. Israel has targeted three major Iranian nuclear facilities. The extent of the damage remains unclear.

Israel Iran Attack Live Updates: In a significant escalation on Tuesday night, Iran fired Fattah-1 hypersonic missiles at Israel. In a post on X, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei wrote, “the battle begins”, as the barrage of missile strikes against Israel continued.The six-day conflict has taken a grim toll, with Iran suffering the brunt of the casualties—at least 224 people dead, including 70 women and children, and 1,277 injured, according to official figures. In Israel, the death toll stands between 18 and 20, with more than 390 wounded as emergency crews continue to search through the wreckage in several cities.The countries at G7 Summit called on to end the tensions with similar views against Ira’s nuclear enrichment programme. As for the latest, clouds of smoke seen in Western Iran, news agencies reported, shortly after Israel claimed fresh wave of attacks.In a televised address following the airstrikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel had launched a “targeted military operation” aimed at countering what he called an existential threat from Iran.Iran retaliated late on Friday by unleashing scores of ballistic missiles on Israel, where explosions flared in the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below. “We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message in which he vowed revenge.Israel and Iran continue exchanging strikes for the fifth consecutive day.Civilians in conflict zones are facing repeated attacks. Israel has asked citizens to take shelters as the fight is expected to continue.

Israel Iran War LIVE Updates: Iranian president chairs cabinet meeting amid escalation fears

By CNBCTV18.COM Jun 18, 2025 1:18 PM IST (Updated)

Israel Iran War Live Updates: The Israel Iran conflict has entered its sixth day on Wednesday (June 18). US President Donald Trump has called for “unconditional surrender” of Iran to stop the conflict to escalate in the West Asian region.

Israel Iran War Live Updates: The Israel Iran conflict has entered its sixth day on Wednesday (June 18). US President Donald Trump has called for “unconditional surrender” of Iran to stop the conflict to escalate in the West Asian region.

Israel and Iran both launched new missile attacks on June 18. The Israeli military said two barrages of Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel in the first two hours in the morning, with explosions being heard over Tel Aviv, reported Reuters.

Israel has issued a warning to Iranian citizens living in southwest Tehran, asking them to evacuate as its air force plans to attack on the Iranian military installations in the region.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of more military strikes by IDF, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran has said that a strong response will be given to the attacks.

“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” Khamenei said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on June 18.

Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear programmes in the early hours of Friday (June 13) under Operation Rising Lion. Iran retaliated with missiles and drones and the conflict has posed concerns over stability in the Middle East region.

Stay tuned here for all the minute by minute update on the new developments in Israel-Iran war.

The Israel-Iran conflict further intensified on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump fanning the flames, issuing veiled threats at the Supreme Leader of Iran and demanding the “unconditional surrender” of the Islamic Republic.

Both parties traded fire for the sixth consecutive day, with Israel launching attacks at Tehran’s District 18 area, near the Mehrabad airport. Iran’s missile attacks hit several parts of Tel Aviv on the dawn of Wednesday, causing significant damage.

In a Truth Social post, the US president warned Iran that it had total control over the skies of Tehran and also information on the whereabouts of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. US officials have revealed that Trump had nixed a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to assassinate Khamenei.

In apparent response to Trump’s comments, Khamenei posted on X, “…the battle begins.”

At a G7 summit in Canada, leaders including Trump had on Monday called for “de-escalation,” while also stressing that Israel, which is the sole but undeclared nuclear power in the Middle East, had “the right to defend itself” and that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Meanwhile, China accused Trump of “pouring oil” on the conflict, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu of being “the biggest threat to the security of the region.”

At least 224 people, including 70 women and children, have been killed in Iran since Israel launched a massive and unprovoked attack on the Islamic Republic on June 13. The attack also killed several of Iran’s highest military officials and senior nuclear scientists. Iran’s retaliatory missile attacks have wreaked havoc in central and northern Israel, killing at least 24.

Israeli anti-missile batteries try to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles over the sky of Tel Aviv. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

People take shelter in a carpark in Tel Aviv on June 17. PHOTO: AFP

People take shelter for the night at an underground light rail station in the city of Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, on June 17. PHOTO: AFP

An anti-missile system operates as missiles are launched from Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 18. PHOTO: REUTERS

– Iran said on June 18 it has fired hypersonic missiles at Israel in the latest round of overnight strikes between the archfoes, hours after US President Donald Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.

In response to Mr Trump’s ultimatum, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a post on X: “The battle begins.”

“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” he said.

Mr Trump insists Washington has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned Iran his patience is wearing thin as the conflict enters a sixth day.

Israeli warplanes targeted the Iranian capital before dawn on June 18 after the military issued a warning on social media for civilians in an area known as District 18 to evacuate.

Iranian state media reported explosions ricocheting in the Piroozi, Sabalan and Sayyad areas of Tehran.

Israel’s military said it struck an Iranian centrifuge production facility and multiple weapons manufacturing sites.

Iranian news websites said Israel was also attacking a university linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in eastern Iran and the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran.

In retaliation, Iran told residents of Tel Aviv to prepare for an attack, with the Revolutionary Guards claiming its hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles were “repeatedly shaking the shelters” in the commercial hub.

“The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles” was carried out, the Guards said in a statement broadcast on state television.

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.

Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area.

World powers have scrambled for an offramp, hoping to prevent the conflict from spiralling into a region-engulfing war.

In separate phone calls with his Iranian counterpart and US envoy Steve Witkoff late on June 17, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged a diplomatic solution.

Mr Trump fuelled speculation about American intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G-7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies jointly called for a ceasefire.

Back in Washington on June 17, Mr Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.

He also boasted that the US could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘supreme leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.

While he has repeatedly vowed to avoid wading into the “forever wars” of the Middle East, Mr Trump ordered the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region along with a number of US military aircraft.

US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention.

US President Donald Trump has boasted that the US could easily assassinate Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. PHOTO: ARASH KHAMOOSHI/NYTIMES

Evacuations

Despite international alarm, neither side has backed off from the long-range blitz that began on June 18, when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities.

Israel claims its attacks have killed senior Iranian commander Major-General Ali Shadmani, as well as his predecessor, Major-General Gholam Ali Rashid.

Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the fighting broke out, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens.

More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.

Among those evacuated were citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the US, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam, a government source said.

China said it has so far evacuated nearly 800 Chinese citizens from Iran via a land route into Turkmenistan.

The US said it was closing its embassy in Jerusalem until June 20 amid the growing conflict, but there was no announcement about helping Americans leave the “crisis area”.

The first in a wave of special flights carrying Israelis stranded abroad landed in Tel Aviv early on June 18. Israel closed its airspace to civilian flights on June 13, leaving about 150,000 travellers with no way to return.

Fearing violence, many residents of Tehran have fled.

Long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.

A cyber attack on June 17 crippled Sepah Bank, one of Iran’s main state-owned banks, the Fars news agency reported.

With air raid sirens regularly screaming over Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground carpark below a shopping mall.

“We’ve decided to permanently set camp here until it’s all clear, I guess,” Mr Mali Papirany, 30, said.

Nuclear facilities

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, an ambition Tehran denies.

Iranian media reported several explosions on June 17 in the central city of Isfahan, home to nuclear facilities.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been “direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls” at Iran’s Natanz facility.

Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.

The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate with the US while under attack.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Mr Trump has a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where attempts at regime change would bring “chaos”.

China accused Mr Trump of “pouring oil” on the conflict, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “the biggest threat to the security of the region”.

Since June 13, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Mr Netanyahu’s office.

Iran said on June 15 that Israeli strikes killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then. AFP

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Israel-Iran Conflict Live Updates: The conflict between the two heavily armed nations, Iran and Israel, has entered its sixth day. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has declared that the “battle has begun” and that they will show no mercy to Zionists.

“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” Khamenei wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). In another post, he wrote, “The battle begins”. It accompanies a poster of a man entering a cave set on fire with a sword and lions on either side as others look at him. It is a reference to the historic Battle of Khaybar.

The stark warning and battle cry come after the US President Donald Trump said that they know Khamenei’s whereabouts and that he is an “easy target”. He also said that the US will not kill him at the moment and demanded an “unconditional surrender” from Iran.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, before demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender” in a separate post.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in contrast, emphasised that their military offensive is not aimed at the Iranian people. “We are doing everything we can to protect them,” he told Iran International, before adding, “That’s the difference between a terrorist regime and a democracy like ours, fighting a just war with just means.”

Why did Israel attack Iran? The attack came after tensions between Iran and the international community escalated sharply after Tehran announced the activation of a third nuclear enrichment facility. The announcement came just hours after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued its first formal censure against Iran in two decades, criticising its failure to meet nuclear non-proliferation commitments.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the attack was on “the heart of Iran’s ballistic missiles program.” He asserted strikes would continue “for as long as it takes to remove this threat.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir emphasised the urgency of the operation, saying, “We had reached the point of no return. Freedom is granted to those willing to fight for it.”

War casualties: Iran’s health ministry reported that at least 224 Iranians have been killed in Israeli strikes since Friday, while the Israeli death toll has climbed to 24. 500 people in Israel have been injured in the ongoing conflict. Despite repeated international calls for de-escalation, tensions continue to spiral.

Live Updates

Israel-Iran Conflict Live Updates: Stay up to date with all the latest updates and breaking news from the region as the Middle East heads into a dangerous war.