Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Fresh attacks as Trump sets two-week deadline for U.S. action

As tensions in Iran rise, young Iranians are turning to TikTok to voice their anxiety and anger about the escalating conflict.

One widely viewed video — verified by NBC News and viewed 1.5 million times — shows a young woman in a car fleeing the capital. "It's war in Iran but you're eating chips and your cousins got 50 cent on full blast while heading north,“ text on the video read. "Leaving tehran I can’t stand this anymore…,” it reads.

The owner of the TikTok account @nusey.bah declined to comment until she crossed the border.

The Israeli government approved a plan recently to build 1,000 shelters throughout the country and renovate 500 others, according to Defense Ministry said.

"In light of the security situation, the government recently approved a plan in a telephone poll to accelerate protection in the home front," it said in a statement.

Trump broke with his intelligence community and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard over Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Asked by NBC News why he disagreed with the assessment of his own intelligence agencies, who said they had no evidence Iran was building a nuclear weapon, Trump responded, "Well, then my intelligence community is wrong." 

Trump — who was on the tarmac in Morristown, New Jersey, this afternoon, after Air Force One landed at the airport — then asked, "Who in the intelligence community said that?"

When told it was Gabbard, he said, "She's wrong."

NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell interviewed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva about the growing tensions among Israel, the United States and Iran.

Araghchi said Iran does not know whether the United States can be trusted anymore and called the Trump administration’s actions a “betrayal to diplomacy.”

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters today that a return to negotiations between Israel and Iran should include a push toward no nuclear enrichment by Iran.

It is the first time Macron has said Iran should not be allowed to enrich nuclear material. He has previously said Iran should not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

Macron also said a return to talks should grant the International Atomic Energy Agency access to all nuclear-related sites in Iran, a framework to limit Iran's ballistic missile capability, an end to financing of groups France considers terrorists and the release of hostages.

A foreign ministry spokesperson in Paris added that France is proposing a ceasefire, a de-escalation and negotiations with Iran.

Following Macron's comments, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Geneva. The meeting provided hope that a return to talks is possible but did not give any concrete indication that that is the case, The Associated Press reported.

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake was reported in central Iran this evening. The earthquake struck about 22 miles southwest of Semnan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake was felt in Tehran, Karaj, Qom, Sorkheh and Damavand.

The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog today warned that Israeli attacks on Iran's Natanz nuclear site have caused radiological and chemical contamination within the facility.

"So far there is no radiological release affecting the public, but there is a danger this could still happen," International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told the U.N. Security Council.

Grossi added that a direct hit on the Bushehr power plant could also cause a dangerous meltdown and radioactive leak.

"A hit that disabled electrical power could cause its reactor’s core to melt, which could result in a high release of radioactivity to the environment," he added, according to a written statement.

Strikes against the Tehran Nuclear Research Reactor could also be very dangerous for large areas of the capital, Tehran, the statement added.

Switzerland decided to temporarily close its embassy in Tehran because of the fighting between Israel and Iran, the Foreign Affairs Department said.

"Expatriate staff have left Iran and are safe. As soon as the situation permits, the staff will return to Teheran," it said in a statement.

Switzerland, which has long been an intermediary between the United States and Iran, said it would keep U.S. citizens in Iran notified about the risks of being there.

The Israeli military said it struck targets belonging to Iran-linked Hezbollah in Lebanon today. These military sites in the south of the country contained rocket and missile launchers and weapons storage facilities, it said.

Israel has seriously degraded the capabilities of Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy in the region, since the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

If Trump does decide to use the United States’ largest conventional bomb to destroy Iran’s fortresslke Fordo nuclear enrichment facility, the colossal force of the explosion would be likely to cause casualties among workers or anyone else still at the site.

But it wouldn't trigger a nuclear explosion or a widespread radiological or chemical spill, according to former nuclear officials and experts.

Sitting to the south of Iran’s capital, Tehran, the Fordo plant is used to enrich uranium for the production of nuclear energy or, potentially, a bomb. But although the uranium and its chemical byproducts can be harmful to ingest or touch without protective equipment, they wouldn’t create a wider blast or regional contamination, analysts say.

That would be the case only if Fordo housed nuclear reactors or warheads, which international watchdogs and experts say isn't the case.

Read the full story here.

Iran's air defenses were activated in central Tehran, Iran's Nour News reported tonight.

During a U.N. Security Council session today, Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, said Israel will not stop its attacks on Iran.

"Not until Iran’s nuclear threat is dismantled, not until its war machine is disarmed, not until our people and yours are safe," he said.

Iran's U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid, asked the Security Council to act, adding that reports that the United States might join the war have been concerning.

"Israel apparently declared that it will continue this strike for as many days as it takes. We are alarmed by credible report that the United States ... may be joining this war,” he said.

United Nations experts today condemned Israel for its attacks on Iran targeting nuclear facilities, residential infrastructure and the media, according to a news release.

“These attacks represent a flagrant violation of fundamental principles of international law, a blatant act of aggression and a violation of jus cogens norms,” the experts said in a statement, referring to fundamental, universally accepted rules for which excpetions are not permitted. The statement added that they violate the U.N. Charter.

The experts reported 224 deaths in Iran, which they say are approximately 90% civilian, and urged all parties to abide by international law.

"We are particularly alarmed by reports of the deaths and injuries of women and children, who are among the most vulnerable in armed conflict and disproportionately bear the brunt of such violence,” the experts said.

During an economic forum in St. Petersburg today, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked if he was concerned about the world heading towards World War III.

Putin expressed concern, mentioning the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, which involved nuclear facilities in Iran where the Russians are building new nuclear reactors.

“It is disturbing," Putin said. "I am speaking without any irony, without any jokes. Of course, there is a lot of conflict potential, it is growing, and it is right under our noses, and it affects us directly. And this requires, of course, not only our careful attention to the events taking place, but also the search for solutions, the search for solutions, preferably by peaceful means, in all directions."

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi shared concerns today that although attacks by Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities have not yet led to a radiological release that can affect the public, there is a possibility it can happen.

Grossi specifically shared concerns about the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, located in southwestern Iran.

"This is the nuclear site in Iran where the consequences of an attack could be most serious," Grossi said. "It is an operating nuclear power plant and as such it hosts thousands of kilograms of nuclear material. Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In case of an attack on the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant a direct hit could result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment."

Grossi encouraged the end of the conflict with a "diplomatic solution," and reiterated that the IAEA "can guarantee, through a watertight inspections system, that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran."

"Nuclear facilities and material must not be shrouded by the fog of war," Grossi said.

Iran has arrested three people whom they have accused of allegedly spying on the country, according to Tasnim News, a news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

One person, who has only been identified as a citizen of a European country, allegedly entered Iran as a tourist and "had a mission to collect information from sensitive and critical centers under the cover of tourism," according to the outlet. The person was arrested by the IRGC and pictures of "sensitive areas in the country's desert regions and other locations were discovered and confiscated" from them.

The individual was using a SIM card registered under the name of an Iranian citizen and had several cellphones, according to Tasnim News.

The remaining two are allegedly operatives for the national intelligence agency of Israel, Mossad, who entered the country illegally and were in the city of Karaj.

The purported operatives were alleged to have shared locations of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting and the home of a government official in Tehran via WhatsApp, according to Tasnim News. They were in the process of sharing another government official's location when they were arrested.

Israel is ready for "a prolonged campaign" against Iran, according to IDF Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir.

"We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude, against such an enemy, we must be ready for a prolonged campaign," Zamir said during remarks today.

Israel launched its campaign against Iran a week ago, which has received criticism and support from many countries around the world. The country's escalation has resulted into a week of back-and-forth attacks, killing at least 639 Iranians and 24 Israelis.

The top section of the reactor dome at the Arak heavy water reactor facility in Iran has collapsed after Israeli airstrikes, satellite images from June 18 and today show. Iran has said the facility is in compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards.

President Donald Trump may have given a two-week window to decide what to do about Iran, but from an Iranian point of view nothing really has changed. 

Iran has always wanted to negotiate, and was in talks with the U.S. before the war broke out a week ago. One official told me at the time that he was cautiously optimistic about the negotiations but the Iranians were worried about the “Bibi factor,” using the common nickname for Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

They feared that Israel would attack to try and stop the talks.  

Just a few weeks ago, Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told me that Iran was prepared to give up the enriched uranium, the very same uranium the U.S. is now considering bombing. 

The Trump administration issued sanctions today on one person and eight entities that it believes help Iran produce weapons, according to a news release from the Treasury Department.

One of the entities is the Rayan Fan Group, which "produced technical components for the IRGC’s unmanned aerial vehicle program and software for the IRGC’s aerospace program," according to the Treasury Department.

The IRGC, or Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, are a powerful arm of the Iranian military officially established by the father of the Islamic Republic, the former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

Sanctions have also been placed on Rayan Fan Kav Andish, who is believed to own the company.

Shun Kai Xing, a vessel owned by a Hong Kong-based company, which the U.S. believes carried "sensitive goods bound for Iran," is also on the list of entities being sanctioned.

Iranians rallied against Israeli attacks today in Tehran in front of a model of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock mosque. The mosque and its golden dome are a potent symbol for many Muslims, Palestinians and their supporters around the world.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is meeting today with his European counterparts from Britain, Germany and France, along with the European Union's high representative, Kaja Kallas, for nuclear talks in Geneva.

The talks, aimed at creating a pathway back to diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program and de-escalating the conflict with Israel, will see the European ministers meet with Kallas before holding a joint meeting with Araghchi.

While Trump has said he would like to find a negotiated solution to the conflict and the issue of Iran's nuclear program, Araghchi maintains that he would not speak to the U.S. as it is a “partner to Israeli crime against Iran.”

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today that 24 people had been killed and a further 1,217 injured in the week since it launched its first attack on Iran.

Among those injured, 12 people were seriously injured while 49 were in moderate condition.

It added that Israel's military operation, dubbed "Operation Rising Lion," had so far launched over 450 ballistic missiles and over 400 drones.

Over 8,000 people were evacuated from their homes, while the Israeli tax authorities received over 30,000 damage claims related to buildings, vehicles and other property.

The Iranian military said it launched several ‘Sejjil-3’ ballistic missiles targeting Israeli broadcaster Channel 14’s field broadcast headquarters in the Israeli port city of Haifa, the state-run Nour news agency reported today.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Israel launched strikes on the heavy water nuclear facility in Arak that was under construction and in compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguards, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

Heavy water is a form of water used in nuclear reactors.

Referring to the U.N. Security Council’s resolution 487 and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Araghchi said “language in that resolution is unambiguous: any military attack on nuclear facilities is an assault on the entire IAEA safeguards regime and ultimately the NPT.”

Urging the Council to uphold and enforce that directive, he added, “If the Council now fails to act, it must explain to the international community why its legal principles apply only selectively on such a crucial matter.”

A 16-year-old boy was in "serious condition" after strikes on Israel, the country's Magen David Adom ambulance service said on X.

A 54-year-old man was also in a moderate condition with shrapnel wounds, it said, adding that EMTs and paramedics were providing medical treatment and evacuating the wounded to the hospital.

In a separate post on Telegram, the MDA said that 17 people had been injured, including 40-year-old man who was in serious condition with shrapnel wounds to his lower limbs.

A further 14 injured people were in a less serious condition, it said.

Comparative satellite images indicate the removal of U.S. warplanes from one of the main U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

The image on the left of Al-Udeid air base in Qatar was captured on June 5 before the war between Iran and Israel broke out and shows several aircraft parked on the runway. By contrast, the image on the right, captured yesterday, shows no planes.

NBC News has added red circles to the right hand image to highlight areas where planes no longer appear to be.

The images were provided by Planet Labs, which operates a fleet of Earth-imaging satellites.

The Israeli military said it had identified incoming missiles launched from Iran and issued alerts in most areas in the country, instructing the public to “enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.”

In the southernmost city in Israel, Eilat, sirens were sounded shortly afterwards.

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said in the statement.

Australia said today that it has directed the evacuation of all its diplomats and their family and suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran.

Only Ian McConville, Australia’s Ambassador to Iran, will stay to support the country’s response to the crisis, the embassy said in a statement.

“We urge Australians who are able to leave Iran to do so now, if it is safe,” it said. “Those who are unable to, or do not wish to leave, are advised to shelter in place.”

Australia has deployed defense forces, including aircraft, to the Middle East as part of contingency plans to help evacuate citizens once airspace opens, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said today at a briefing.

An Iranian missile struck the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, sparking a fire and causing damage to nearby residential buildings.

Paramedics at the scene said at least six people had been injured in the blast but that first responders were still searching apartments.

The Israeli military said it is currently striking military infrastructure in central and western Iran.

It comes after it said earlier today that it struck dozens of military targets using 60 fighter jets. The sites "were developed over many years and served as a key industrial center for the Iranian Ministry of Defense," it said.

The headquarters of Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, was among the targets, the IDF said, adding that it supported military production.

Missile systems and radar installations near Tehran and Isfahan were hit, the IDF said in a statement, adding that its fighter jets "continue to operate freely in Iranian skies, striking military targets of the Iranian regime in western and central Iran."

Both Iran and Israel claimed superiority over each others airspace over the past week. NBC News is unable to independently verify either claim.

American military personnel, diplomats and other U.S. interests n the region will be attacked if any harm comes to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an Iraqi militia group has warned.

Such a move would also make the U.S. a “legitimate target,” according to Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, the secretary-general of the al-Nujaba Movement, a militant group designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. His words were carried by Iran’s state-run Mehr news agency.

The movement has pledged loyalty to Iran and Khamenei, according to the State Department.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been criticized after he called the cancellation of his son's wedding a “personal cost” of the country's conflict with Iran.

In televised remarks in front of hospital building hit by an Iranian strike on the southern Israeli city of Beersheba yesterday, Netanyahu said, “Each of us bears a personal price. It hasn’t skipped over my family.”

He added that his son Avner had endured a “heavy personal cost” of cancelling his wedding twice due to the threat of missile fire from Iran.

His remarks drew rebuke from opposition lawmaker, Kariv Gilad. “I know many families who didn’t just have to postpone a wedding — they will never celebrate the weddings that were supposed to take place,” he said in a post on X.

There will be “no talks” with the U.S. Iran's nuclear program as long as Israel continues its military attack, the country's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said today.

“The Americans have sent serious messages asking for serious talks. But we have no words for America,” Araghchi said in an interview posted by state broadcaster IRIB. He added that the U.S. was part of Israel’s “crimes” and “aggression” against Iran.

In a separate interview with the BBC, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, warned there would be “hell for the whole region," if the U.S. joined Israel's attacks on the Islamic Republic.

“This war is not America’s war,” Khatibzadeh told the British broadcaster. “But if they would like to get into this war, President Trump will be remembered forever for the war that is not his war.”

China has evacuated almost 300 citizens from Israel via land border crossings with Jordan and Egypt, the country's embassy in Israel said in a statement today.

China also is also willing to play a “constructive role in restoring peace and stability in the Middle East as soon as possible,” Guo Jiakun, a foreign ministry spokesperson said at a regular briefing in Beijing today.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy had a meeting at the White House yesterday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

They discussed “how Iran must must make a deal to avoid a deepening conflict,” Lammy said in a statement. “A window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution," he added, referring to the deadline Trump has set for himself to make a decision on whether the U.S. will join Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

Both he and Rubio said in their statements that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon. Rubio also had calls yesterday with his counterparts in Australia, Italy and France.

Lammy will be in the Swiss city of Geneva today to meet with the Iranian foreign minister as well as his French, German and European Union counterparts. “Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one,” he said.

Key buildings at Iran's Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor were damaged in an Israeli attack yesterday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the distillation unit was among the buildings damaged at the reactor, which was still under construction. The Israeli military said it had targeted the reactor, which it said was capable of producing weapons-grade plutonium for use in nuclear weapons, to prevent it from being operationalized.

While there have been no radiological effects at the reactor or any of the other Iranian nuclear sites Israel has targeted, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi emphasized the nuclear safety and security risks of the conflict.

“There is a lot of nuclear material in Iran in different places, which means that the potential for a radiological accident with the dispersion in the atmosphere of radioactive materials and particles does exist,” he said.

Communication for Iranians has become patchy and increasingly difficult as the country suffers from a near-total internet blackout and cyberattacks from pro-Israeli groups that have hit Iran's financial infrastructure.

"Iran has now been disconnected from the global internet for 36 hours," Netblocks, an internet access monitoring website, said today. "Live metrics show national connectivity remains in the low few percent of ordinary levels," it said.

Only a handful of users can connect to the internet, it said, and that too with a complicated VPN set up.

Iran also imposes strict regulations on journalists working there, who often operate in fear of reprisal. While broadcasting is allowed in Iran, it is controlled by the state.

Regime change in Iran “should be unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told NBC News’ British partner Sky News in an interview that aired today.

"Even talking about that should be unacceptable for everyone,” Peskov said, adding that “the situation is extremely tense and is dangerous not only for the region but globally.”

The Kremlin's comments on its key ally and drone supplier in the region came amid growing calls for a new Iranian government by Israeli and U.S. officials.

While Peskov did not say what Russia would do if Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were killed, he said it would trigger action “from inside Iran.”

“It would lead to the birth of extremist moods inside Iran,” he said, adding that those talking about regime change “will open the Pandora’s box.”

President Trump’s decision not to make a quick decision on strikes on Iran makes sense given the enormous risks to the U.S. of joining Israel in its war against Iran.  

But in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region there was some regret that he had not acted more quickly.  

A few hours before Trump’s announcement, the leader of a small Kurdish group told NBC News that people would rise up “if Iran is weakened.”  

Hossein Panah Zadeh, head of a socialist nationalist PAK Party Azadi Kurdistan party, said American support for an uprising would be crucial. “We would want the U.S. to back us,” he added. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed to Iranian state media that he will be meeting in Geneva today with his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and the E.U. as part of efforts to end the weeklong conflict between Israel and Iran.

Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will not attend, White House officials said.

“This is a meeting between European leaders and Iran,” a White House official told NBC News. “The president supports diplomatic efforts from our allies that could bring Iran closer to taking his deal.”

The Israeli Air Force and Navy have successfully intercepted hundreds of missiles launched toward the country, including more than 95% of those that were considered a danger to Israeli soil, Israeli military officials said.

Air Force and Navy units are “operating in close coordination with IDF aerial defense arrays, aircraft, missile ships, and other security personnel to defend the skies of the State of Israel around the clock,” according to the statement from officials.

In addition to the offensive to “degrade the Iranian regime’s firepower capabilities,” IDF soldiers are helping with interception efforts. Specifically, soldiers are working to intercept surface-to-surface missiles and drones that have been fired toward Israel and target “population centers and are aimed at hitting Israeli civilians,” the officials said.

Entire neighborhoods in Tehran are emptying out as Israel and Iran exchange barrages of missile and drone strikes. Those who remain in Iran’s capital are mostly staying indoors, residents told NBC News.

“Most people in my neighborhood have left their homes; shops are closed because no one wants to be in the streets. People are scared,” Sima, who lives in the wealthy district of Sa’adat Abad, in northern Tehran, told NBC News via WhatsApp.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 639 people in Iran during the weeklong conflict, The Associated Press reported. A spokesperson for the Iranian health ministry said Thursday that more than 2,500 people have been wounded. Twenty-four people in Israel have been killed by Iranian fire.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, should evacuate immediately, but Sima, 35, is hopeful and has decided she’s not leaving.

Read the full story here.

• Tehran neighborhoods empty out as Israel and Iran exchange barrages
• What to know about Israel's nuclear weapons program
• Trump is relying on a small circle of advisers as he weighs Iran strikes