From 1h ago 17.31 BST Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ and says US won’t kill supreme leader ‘for now’ Donald Trump has posted on social media that the United States knows the location of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He added that the US would not kill Khamenei but called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”. “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!” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. He followed up with a second post a few minutes later, writing: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” In a post published about thirty minutes earlier, Trump said, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” Share Updated at 17.34 BST

6m ago 18.47 BST The United Kingdom has deployed Royal Air Force fighters to the Middle East as the country “seeks to better protect its presence” in Cyprus and Oman “from any threat from Iran”, UK defense secretary John Healey said. The primary purpose of the military deployment was “to reinforce deescalation in the region, to reinforce security in the region”, Healey said in a statement, adding that “they may also be used to help support our allies”. Share

24m ago 18.29 BST Donald Trump is currently meeting with his national security team in the White House Situation Room, CNN reports, citing a White House official. The meeting comes about an hour after Trump posted on social media that he knew the location of Iran’s supreme leader but had opted not to kill him “for now”. Share

34m ago 18.20 BST Iran’s senior army commander has called for residents of Haifa and Tel Aviv to evacuate immediately, Reuters reports, citing the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr. Iran has previously struck the two Israeli cities over the course of the five days of fighting that began Friday. Share

41m ago 18.13 BST In an apparent response to Donald Trump’s recent social media post, senator Bernie Sanders says the president “must not take illegal military action against Iran.” “The Constitution of the United States is very clear. There is no ambiguity. It is Congress that determines whether we go to war, not the President,” Sanders wrote on social media. The Vermont Independent’s statement comes just a day after Democratic senator Tim Kaine introduced a war powers resolution that would prohibit US armed forces from taking direct action against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress or a declaration of war. Democratic senator proposes curbing Trump’s war powers amid Israel-Iran conflict Read more Share

1h ago 17.45 BST In a lengthy post on social media, JD Vance responded to “a lot of crazy stuff” concerning the United States’ involvement in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, including fears from longtime members of Donald Trump’s far-right Make America Great Again coalition. “The president has shown remarkable restraint in keeping our military’s focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens,” Vance wrote. “He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment. That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.” Share Updated at 17.46 BST

1h ago 17.31 BST Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ and says US won’t kill supreme leader ‘for now’ Donald Trump has posted on social media that the United States knows the location of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He added that the US would not kill Khamenei but called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”. “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!” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. He followed up with a second post a few minutes later, writing: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” In a post published about thirty minutes earlier, Trump said, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” Share Updated at 17.34 BST

2h ago 17.14 BST The day so far US president Donald Trump said he wanted a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, according to comments that were posted by a CBS News reporter on X. Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven nations summit on Monday, the CBS News reporter said early on Tuesday.

US intelligence assessments have found Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon and would have been up to three years away from being able to deliver one, CNN is reporting. The assessments, sourced to four people familiar with them, are in stark contrast to the narrative being pushed by Israel that Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in acquiring nuclear weapons.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that the leadership in Tehran has been weakened by Israel’s attacks in the past few days and will probably not return to its former strength. “This regime is very weakened and will probably not return to its former strength, making the future of the country uncertain. We will have to wait and see,” Merz said in an interview with broadcaster Welt at the G7 summit in Canada.

Keir Starmer has rejected the idea that Donald Trump might want to directly involve the US in helping Israel attack Iran , saying that his discussions with the US president at the G7 summit made him convinced Trump genuinely sought peace, pointing to Trump’s decision to also sign a leaders’ statement about the need for de-escalation. Speaking to reporters at the summit in Kananaskis, Canada, Starmer said he was sitting next to Trump at Monday evening’s leaders’ G7 dinner at which the statement was drafted, “so I’ve no doubt, in my mind, the level of agreement there was in relation to the words that were then issued immediately after that”.

Iran ’s ambassador to the UK insisted his country had no intention of building a nuclear weapon as he clashed with MPs on Tuesday. Seyed Ali Mousavi told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that Iran’s nuclear programme was “only peaceful”, insisting: “There is no desire, not any intention, to produce a nuclear bomb.”

US forces have pulled out of two more bases in northeastern Syria , visiting Reuters reporters found, accelerating a troop drawdown that the commander of US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said was allowing a resurgence of Islamic State . Reuters reporters who visited the two bases in the past week found them mostly deserted, both guarded by small contingents of the Syrian Democratic Forces – the Kurdish-led military group that Washington has backed in the fight against Islamic State for a decade.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and was eventually hanged after a trial. “I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens,” Katz told top Israeli military officials.

The Israeli military said its forces struck on Tuesday several locations in western Iran , hitting “dozens” of missile launchers as the arch-foes traded fire for a fifth straight day, AFP reports. The Israeli air force “completed a series of strikes in western Iran” in which “a number of sites and dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers were struck”, a military statement said, hours after announcing “several extensive strikes” overnight on military targets in the Islamic republic’s west.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday that it believes Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s Natanz enrichment site have had “direct impacts” on the facility’s underground centrifuge halls, the Associated Press (AP) reports. The strikes are part of an air campaign Israel launched against its longtime foe five days ago, targeting Iran’s military and nuclear programme.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a centre of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. In a statement aired on state television, the Guards said they “struck the military intelligence centre of the Zionist regime’s army, Aman, and the Zionist regime’s terrorist operations planning centre, the Mossad, in Tel Aviv”.

Israel struck dozens of targets linked to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes overnight and has got Iran’s military leadership “on the run”, an Israeli military official said on Tuesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Israeli air force had not targeted Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility, but said that still might happen, Reuters reported.

More than 600 people of 17 nationalities have fled into Azerbaijan from Iran in the five days since the start of the air war between Israel and Iran , an Azerbaijani source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday. The source said they included citizens of Russia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, China, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Israel’s El Al Airlines said on Tuesday it had received the government’s permission to start flights to bring back people stranded abroad during the conflict with Iran . The Israeli flag carrier was referring to people who had flights to Israel cancelled when its airspace was closed.

A Slovak government plane with 73 passengers – mostly Slovaks, but also Poles, Czechs, Austrians, Slovenians and others – landed in Bratislava on Monday before 17:00 GMT after leaving Israel, said Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. Slovakia is sending another plane on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, with both expected to bring back Slovaks and foreigners.

An image of Iranian state TV presenter Sahar Emami , who was targeted live on air during an Israeli attack, has been displayed on a banner in Veliasr Square in Tehran. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that her image, with her finger raised in defiance, was paired with a verse from the Persian poet Ferdowsi, celebrating the courage of women “on the battlefield”.

Qatar said on Tuesday its gas production at the South Pars field is steady and supply is proceeding normally, after the world’s largest gas field was struck by Israel on Saturday, prompting Iran to partially suspend its production, Reuters reports. Share

2h ago 17.00 BST Manisha Ganguly One of Iran’s largest banks, Bank Sepah, appears to be facing technical problems, with videos and reports suggesting customers have been unable to use its ATMs to withdraw money or use their bank cards. Sepah, Iran’s first bank, had been sanctioned by the US and UK for providing support for Iran’s Ministry of Defence and armed forces logistics. An Israel-linked “hacktivist” group, calling itself Predatory Sparrows or Gonjeshke Darande in Farsi, have claimed initial responsibility. Reports from Iranian state-linked Fars News appear to confirm the issues customers were facing, but have not confirmed details of any cyber-attack. Earlier today, the Iranian Cybersecurity Command prohibited all officials and security teams from using digital devices connected to communication networks, including phones, smart watches, portable computers, and to take necessary precautions. On Sunday, the hacktivist group made a post online claiming to have also hacked into Iranian government servers. It is unclear if these are linked. As the news of the issues facing Bank Sepah spread on social media, the online forum where the group post often was flooded with messages and discussions celebrating the cyber-attack in Hebrew. The group itself does not claim any state affiliation but claims to hit out at Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei. In response to reports attributing the cyber-attack on Bank Sepah to Israel, a member posted on the hacking group’s channel: “Why is this claimed as an Israeli attack? It’s Predatory Sparrow.” But the hacker group’s past attacks, due to its sophistication and timing, were linked to the Israeli state by two unnamed US defense officials. This is not the first time Predatory Sparrow has disrupted Iran’s state-linked infrastructure, affecting Iranian civilians. The hacker group previously orchestrated a serious cyber-attack in 2021 that disabled Iran’s fuel distribution system by disabling sales at more than 4,000 gas stations, taking the country almost two weeks to recover. It was also responsible for paralysing Iran’s railway system networks, and committing cybersabotage on Iranian steel mills, which caused a fire in the facility. The latter was captured using hacked surveillance cameras with a message from the hackers claiming responsibility. Share

2h ago 16.44 BST Iran’s ambassador to the UK insisted his country had no intention of building a nuclear weapon as he clashed with MPs on Tuesday. Seyed Ali Mousavi told the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that Iran’s nuclear programme was “only peaceful”, insisting: “There is no desire, not any intention, to produce a nuclear bomb.” His comments come less than a week after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations intended to stop it developing a nuclear weapon. Tehran is reported to have enriched uranium up to 60%, requiring only a short technical step to reach the weapons-grade level of 90%. Share Updated at 16.47 BST

2h ago 16.30 BST US forces have pulled out of two more bases in northeastern Syria, visiting Reuters reporters found, accelerating a troop drawdown that the commander of US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces said was allowing a resurgence of Islamic State. Reuters reporters who visited the two bases in the past week found them mostly deserted, both guarded by small contingents of the Syrian Democratic Forces – the Kurdish-led military group that Washington has backed in the fight against Islamic State for a decade. Cameras used on bases occupied by the U.S.-led military coalition had been taken down, and razor wire on the outer perimeters had begun to sag. A Kurdish politician who lives on one base said there were no longer U.S. troops there. SDF guards at the second base said troops had left recently but declined to say when. The Pentagon declined to comment. Share

3h ago 16.13 BST German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that the leadership in Tehran has been weakened by Israel’s attacks in the past few days and will probably not return to its former strength. “This regime is very weakened and will probably not return to its former strength, making the future of the country uncertain. We will have to wait and see,” Merz said in an interview with broadcaster Welt at the G7 summit in Canada. He added that the Europeans’ offer of diplomatic assistance, should talks resume, still stood as they did before the attacks. “If a new situation were to arise, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom would again be prepared to provide diplomatic assistance, as they were until last Thursday,” he said. Share

3h ago 16.00 BST Peter Walker Keir Starmer has rejected the idea that Donald Trump might want to directly involve the US in helping Israel attack Iran, saying that his discussions with the US president at the G7 summit made him convinced Trump genuinely sought peace, pointing to Trump’s decision to also sign a leaders’ statement about the need for de-escalation. Speaking to reporters at the summit in Kananaskis, Canada, Starmer said he was sitting next to Trump at Monday evening’s leaders’ G7 dinner at which the statement was drafted, “so I’ve no doubt, in my mind, the level of agreement there was in relation to the words that were then issued immediately after that”. Asked if the US might help attack Iran, Starmer said: I don’t think anything that the president said either here or elsewhere suggests that. The wording of the G7 statement is very clear about de-escalation and de-escalation across the region, and obviously including the situation in Gaza for a ceasefire. So I think that the statement really speaks for itself in terms of the shared position of everybody who was here at the G7 and that was a statement that was agreed. Asked about Trump’s comments about not wanting a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Starmer said: I think what he said was he wanted to go beyond a ceasefire, effectively, and end the conflict. And I think he’s right about that. I mean, a ceasefire is always a means to an end. The end we want to see is the de-escalation and back to negotiations – a deal to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, and, of course, the wider question of conflict across the Middle East, including Gaza. Share

3h ago 15.42 BST Lisa O’Carroll The risk to vessels, mostly oil tankers, passing through the strait of Hormuz remains “elevated”, the joint maritime information centre has said in its latest advisories to shipowners, captains and masters who guide boats through the narrow waterway. There is persistent jamming, it added on Tuesday. “As of this report dated 17 June 2025 1300 UTC, the regional threat level remains SIGNIFICANT as strikes continue from both Iran and Israel. The maritime threat level is ELEVATED due to the possibility the Maritime environment, infrastructure and shipping becoming involved should tension increase. “The region is still experiencing persistently high levels of electronic interference, particularly with the GNSS,” the body which collects coordinates information on threat levels in the Arabian Gulf, the strait of Hormuz and the North Arabian has said. It added that the strait remains open and it has no information of an imminent blockade. The number of ships passing through the strait of Hormuz increased 5% in the week up to Sunday with 954 vessels passing through, according to data released by the joint maritime information centre on Monday. It also reported on going jamming of communications signal in the “broader Arabian Gulf and strait of Hormuz”. Share

3h ago 15.30 BST Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping will discuss the situation in the Middle East in a phone call in the coming days, the Interfax news agency cited a Kremlin aide as saying on Tuesday. The aide, Yuri Ushakov, was also quoted by TASS as saying that Putin and Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to intensify contacts between their respective foreign and defence ministries in light of the war between Israel and Iran. Share

4h ago 15.19 BST More than 600 people of 17 nationalities have fled into Azerbaijan from Iran in the five days since the start of the air war between Israel and Iran, an Azerbaijani source with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday. The source said they included citizens of Russia, the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, China, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Azerbaijan has kept land borders closed since the Covid-19 pandemic, but it allowed the foreigners to enter via a “humanitarian corridor” crossing at Astara in its southeast corner. The source said people were being taken by bus to the capital Baku to catch flights to home countries. Share

4h ago 15.07 BST The Israeli military said its forces struck on Tuesday several locations in western Iran, hitting “dozens” of missile launchers as the arch-foes traded fire for a fifth straight day, AFP reports. The Israeli air force “completed a series of strikes in western Iran” in which “a number of sites and dozens of surface-to-surface missile launchers were struck”, a military statement said, hours after announcing “several extensive strikes” overnight on military targets in the Islamic republic’s west. Share

4h ago 14.56 BST Israel’s El Al Airlines said on Tuesday it had received the government’s permission to start flights to bring back people stranded abroad during the conflict with Iran. The Israeli flag carrier was referring to people who had flights to Israel cancelled when its airspace was closed. It said it expects to operate flights on Wednesday from Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan and Paris to bring people to Israel. El Al said that no flights from Israel to foreign countries had yet taken place since flights were grounded. Share

G7 Summit Live Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Calgary on Tuesday to participate in the G-7 Summit, where he said India would strongly emphasise the needs and priorities of the Global South.

Modi is scheduled to hold four key bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit with the leaders of Germany, Canada, Ukraine and Italy. “Will be meeting various leaders at the summit and sharing my thoughts on important global issues. Will also be emphasising the priorities of the Global South,” he said ahead of the meetings.

The summit is being held amid growing tensions in the Middle East. Leaders of the Group of Seven nations issued a joint statement urging de-escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran and reaffirmed their stance that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. “Israel has a right to defend itself,” the G7 statement said, while focusing on the group’s broader commitment to peace and stability in the region.

US President Donald Trump left the summit early, citing urgent developments related to the Iran-Israel conflict. In a post on Truth Social, Trump urged Iranians to “immediately evacuate” Tehran and criticised Iran for failing to sign a nuclear agreement, calling the situation “a shame”.

What’s on this year’s agenda? This year’s G7 Summit is coming hot on the heels of the Israel-Iran war after Israel carried out massive strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. It also comes after Trump’s Liberation Day’s tariffs, which were later paused, except for China. The two countries, however, were in talks of a rare earths deal, which Trump said was finalised and was in its final stages.

PM Modi on three-nation tour: Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his Cyprus visit on Monday and head to Canada to attend the G7 Summit. PM Modi is on a 3-nation tour to Cyprus, Canada and Croatia. He said that this tour will also provide an opportunity to thank partner countries for their support in the fight against cross-border terrorism.

He said that the Summit will provide space for the exchange of views on pressing global issues and the priorities of the Global South. It will also provide an opportunity to engage with leaders from partner countries.

On 18 June, PM Modi will visit the Republic of Croatia and will be the first Indian PM to do so. The meetings with President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, he said, will open new avenues for bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Live Updates

Group of 7 leaders called for a resolution to the crisis in the Middle East in a joint statement Monday that an official familiar with the matter said had gained the support of President Donald Trump after language in the draft was adjusted.

“We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” said the statement, which was attributed to the “G7 leaders.”

That is typically an indication all had signed on, and an official familiar with the matter said it was issued with Trump’s blessing. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

Earlier Monday, officials said Trump had indicated he did not intend to sign onto the draft statement, which was being organized by European leaders at the conference.

But after changing some of the language in the document — including calls for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis and upholding international law — Trump signed off, according to an official familiar with the matter.

It was released as Trump was departing the summit early to return to Washington, where he said he needed to monitor the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

The statement said the G7 leaders “reiterate our commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.”

A senior White House official told Fox News that President Donald Trump will meet “very soon” with his national security advisers in the Situation Room at the White House.

The official added that U.S. strikes on targets inside of Iran, including nuclear facilities, are on the table.

The development comes after Trump said Tuesday that Iran no longer has control of its airspace.

“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump also said on Tuesday that the U.S. knows where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “is hiding,” and although he is an “easy target,” the U.S. won’t kill him – “at least not for now.”

FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.

The Congress has seized on US President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the G7 summit in Canada a day early, calling the move a “setback for self‑styled Vishwaguru’s Huglomacy” and ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trademark embrace of foreign leaders.

In a post on X, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote, “President Trump has left the G7 Summit a day before the G7 outreach with eight other countries that includes India begins. A setback for self‑styled Vishwaguru’s Huglomacy,” sharpening the party’s long‑running jibe at PM Modi’s “hug diplomacy.”

So now it can no longer be denied by the drumbeaters of the PM and the BJP’s troll army. The man whose incendiary, inflammatory, and provocative remarks were directly linked to the Pahalgam terror attacks is now officially in Washington DC. The question we had asked earlier… — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 17, 2025

President Trump has left the G7 Summit a day before the G7 outreach with eight other countries that includes India begins. A setback for self-styled Vishwaguru’s Huglomacy. — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 17, 2025

Trump’s early departure coincides with heightened tensions in the Middle East. While urging fellow G7 leaders to evacuate Tehran immediately, he asserted that Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon” and called for “de‑escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza.” He later told reporters the Israel‑Iran ceasefire was not the reason for cutting short his visit, hinting at a “much bigger” initiative yet to be disclosed.

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The Opposition also targeted the Modi government over Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s ongoing trip to Washington. In a follow‑up post, Ramesh declared: “So now it can no longer be denied by the drumbeaters of the PM and the BJP’s troll army. The man whose incendiary, inflammatory, and provocative remarks were directly linked to the Pahalgam terror attacks is now officially in Washington DC.”

He pressed further: “The question we had asked earlier needs to be repeated: what is America up to by hosting Asim Munir in this manner? Why are the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister silent on this outrageous American outreach to Pakistan?”

Senior US military officials have argued for retaining ties with both India and Pakistan, citing Islamabad’s role in countering Islamic State–Khorasan Province. During a recent visit by an Indian delegation to Washington, US Central Command chief General Michael Kurilla highlighted Gen Munir’s cooperation against IS‑KP.

The Congress has repeatedly slammed the government for allowing Trump to claim he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last month after the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 escalated military tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours. The government has repeatedly asserted that the matter was resolved bilaterally.