now 06.54 BST China has also begun organising the evacuation of the first batch of Chinese citizens from Iran, according to China News Service on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters. The Chinese nationals departed from Tehran via land route into Turkmenistan on Tuesday, the state-run news agency said. In his first public comments on the conflict, Chinese president Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that he was “deeply worried” about Israel’s military operation against Iran that has escalated tensions in the Middle East. Share

12m ago 06.41 BST The first aircraft bringing home Israelis stranded abroad by flight cancellations resulting from the conflict with Iran landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, the airports authority said, as reported by Agence France Presse. “Just a short while ago, the first flight of Operation Safe Return landed at Ben Gurion Airport,” a statement said, adding that the flight had been operated by national carrier El Al and brought Israelis home from Larnaca in Cyprus. Share

29m ago 06.24 BST In a clear indication of the strikes that have been occurring in the Middle East, there are gaping holes over the world’s most perilous air zones, as seen in this map published by flight radar. This is what global air traffic looks like right now. Three clear gaps are limiting air traffic. pic.twitter.com/X7dV9KZv9f — Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 17, 2025 Share Updated at 06.26 BST

46m ago 06.08 BST In the span of a few days, Israel has killed more than a dozen of Iran’s top nuclear scientists, taken out much of its military hierarchy, and launched a wave of attacks against its nuclear programme, writes the Guardian’s chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, in this compelling analysis. “It has been a powerful display of Israeli military and intelligence dominance, but has not critically damaged Iran’s widely dispersed and heavily protected nuclear programme, Israeli military commanders and international nuclear proliferation experts agree.” View image in fullscreen Smoke billows in the distance from an oil refinery following an Israeli strike on the Iranian capital Tehran on June 17, 2025. Photograph: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images Read the full piece below. Israel’s gamble on force could push Iran to accelerate nuclear plans Read more Share Updated at 06.12 BST

1h ago 05.50 BST IDF claims hit on ‘centrifuge production’ site in Tehran Posting on X, the IDF says that it has attacked “a centrifuge production site and several weapons manufacturing sites” overnight. The Guardian was unable to verify the claims and the Iranian government has not acknowledged the attacks. The IDF wrote: Over 50 Air Force fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate, completed a series of strikes on military targets in the Tehran area in recent hours.” “During the wave of attacks, several weapons manufacturing sites were targeted. Among the weapons production facilities attacked was a site for producing raw materials and components for assembling surface-to-surface missiles that the Iranian regime has launched and continues to launch toward the State of Israel.” Share

1h ago 05.36 BST Major explosion heard in Tehran before dawn The Associated Press has reported that a major explosion could be heard around 5 am in Tehran on Wednesday morning, following other explosions that boomed earlier in the predawn darkness.

Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrike campaign has intensified since it began on Friday.

At least one strike appeared to target Tehran’s eastern neighbourhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy.

Traffic stood bumper to bumper on roads to the west and downtown Tehran emptied out, with many shops shuttered as well as the ancient Grand Bazaar. The Bazaar has closed only in times of crisis, such as during the 2022 anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic. Share

There’s an awkward tension at the heart of the Kremlin’s relationship with the Middle East.

On the one hand, Russian alliances and economic influence there have traditionally been strong. On the other, as one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers, Russia tends to profit when things in the energy-rich region go awry and the markets get spooked.

On the face of it, Russia has so much to lose.

Iran has been a particularly useful “strategic partner” for the Kremlin, not only sharing a disdain for Western values and influence, but also supplying the Russian military with vast squadrons of Shahed aerial drones, enabling the relentless bombardment of Ukraine.

Much of that drone production has moved to Russia. But with Ukraine’s own drones now striking Russian production facilities deep behind the frontlines, that once reliable Iranian supply may be missed.

There’s also a faint but painful sense of humiliation for the Kremlin to have to stand by and watch another key Middle Eastern ally under ferocious bombardment, unable or unwilling to step in.

A collapse of the Iranian regime would add Iran to the growing Kremlin list of lost Middle Eastern alliances and client states, including Iraq, Libya and Syria.

Moscow has issued strongly worded statements, including that the strikes were creating “unacceptable threats to international security.” But Russia’s supposed alliance with Iran never extended to defending the Islamic Republic and there has been no Kremlin offer of any military support.

And the conflict is opening the door to diplomatic opportunities for a Kremlin that has faced years of international isolation.

Now, the Kremlin has an issue on which it can jointly and productively cooperate with the US, and possibly emerge as an indispensable partner in claming the region.

Read the full analysis.

Donald Trump has made a chilling threat against Iran’s supreme leader, saying he is “an easy target” and that his location his known.

But the US president claimed there are no plans to kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “at least for now”. He posted on Truth Social: “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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

And late on Tuesday evening, officials told CBS News that Trump is considering joining Israel to strike Iranian nuclear sites, including in Fordow. The president is considering a range of options, including a possible strike, following a meeting with his national security team, US media are reporting this evening.

It comes after the US president ordered all of Tehran to evacuate “immediately” this morning. In a scathing social media post, Trump stressed Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. His outburst comes after Israel’s move to strike Iran’s state-run television station during a live broadcast yesterday, forcing a reporter to run off camera.

Trump, who sensationally quit the G7 summit early on Monday, wrote on his social media platform: “Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.”

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US President Donald Trump claimed that the States had taken “complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” He further warned Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei saying that “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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The long-simmering tensions between Israel and Iran have exploded into open warfare since Friday, June 13, 2025, marking an unprecedented period of direct military confrontation. Israel initiated a major campaign of fighter jet and drone strikes across Iran, targeting nuclear and military sites, including surface-to-surface missile production facilities, detection radar sites, and surface-to-air missile launchers. Reports indicate strikes on residential areas and fuel depots, with Iran’s health ministry reporting at least 224 fatalities and over 1,200 injuries, mostly civilians. Israeli forces have also reportedly killed several top Iranian military commanders and atomic scientists. The IDF claims to have destroyed one-third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers and achieved “full air superiority over Tehran,” also striking an Iranian refueling aircraft 2,300 km away.

In retaliation, Tehran has launched barrages of missiles and drones, hitting Israeli cities and towns, causing at least 24 deaths and 592 injuries, with a major oil refinery in Haifa among the targets. The IDF confirmed intercepting over 100 Iranian UAVs.

The international community, including China, Turkey, and G7 leaders, has urgently called for de-escalation, but both sides remain defiant. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts the offensive aims to thwart “existential” nuclear and missile threats and has not ruled out targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggesting it would “end the conflict.” The UN’s IAEA reported physical damage to an above-ground component of Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility but normal external radiation levels, while warning of potential internal contamination. Amidst the crisis, planned nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington were called off.