LIVE West Asia crisis: Putin says Russia ready to guarantee peace

As the Iran-Israel conflict enters day 8, the crisis shows no sign of abating. Iran appears to have gone dark online overnight, adding to global unease over the information vacuum. The conflict, triggered by Israel’s initial air assault on 13 June, has escalated sharply in the past 24 hours.

Israel confirmed it struck the "inactive" nuclear reactor in Arak and launched renewed strikes on Natanz. In retaliation, Iran scored a direct hit on Israel’s Soroka Hospital. Both countries remain tight-lipped on casualty figures from last night’s attacks.

Former US President Donald Trump claimed Tehran has reached out to him for mediation, but maintained ambiguity on whether he would commit US forces, saying he “may or may not” join Israel’s strike force. His comment followed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s firm rejection of Trump’s call for “unconditional surrender.”

Amid growing concerns, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has urged Indian nationals in Israel to register with the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv, or contact its 24/7 control room at +972 54-7520711 / +972 54-3278392, or via email at cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in

More in yesterday’s blog

Iran’s Supreme Security Council has issued a final warning: “Those deceived into cooperating with Israel, knowingly or not, have until Sunday, 22 June to turn themselves in to intelligence or police stations and surrender drones, weapons, or equipment. After the deadline, anyone caught aiding the enemy will be treated as collaborators during wartime and face the harshest penalties.”

Social media was set abuzz on Friday evening with rumours of another aborted assassination attempt on Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva. Earlier, Iranian media had claimed that ‘unknown soldiers of the homeland’ had foiled an assassination attempt on Araghchi a few days ago, sparking speculation that the attempt was made on Friday morning when he was preparing to fly to Geneva to meet his counterparts from UK, Germany and France.

On Iranian social media, agitated Iranians wondered why Araghchi had to go to a ‘known Jewish hub’ like Switzerland for talks. There were prayers for his long life as Iranians spilled on to the streets for Friday prayers and a rally in support of the nation. An upsurge of national sentiment is seemingly sweeping through Iran and any assassination attempt inspired by Israel is likely to derail ongoing attempts at diplomacy.

Iranian missiles continued to strike Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem among other places. An Iranian missile hit a chemical plant in the Negev. The mayor of Haifa was quoted by the media as saying, "I feel deeply depressed. The Iranians have bombed two strategic points." One of the buildings hit in Haifa is said to be the National Insurance (Social Security) branch in the Kiryat Haim neighbourhood. There were more hits on Beer Sheva. An Israeli woman died of a heart attack during the missile attack.

Meanwhile, in a statement Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Friday: "The 17th wave of missile and drone attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Wave 17 targets military targets, military industries, and command centers of the Zionist entity. This operation is carried out using very long-range and heavy missiles, attack drones, and suicide drones."

In a special gesture, Iran has lifted airspace restrictions for three charter flights to evacuate about 1,000 Indian nationals, mostly students, from the Iranian city of Mashad.

Mohammad Javad Hosseini, the deputy chief of mission at the Iranian embassy, said more evacuation flights could be operated in the coming days to bring back Indians if required.

"Iran's airspace is closed but because of this issue, we are making arrangements to open it for the safe passage of Indian nationals," Hosseini said at a media briefing. "We consider Indian nationals to be our own people. They are like Iranians," he added.

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Russia News reports that President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Russia is in direct touch with both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, and that Israel has agreed to 'secure' the 200 Russian engineers still working in Iran to build a nuclear plant.

Putin also asserted that Israel has failed to destabilise Iran and that Iranian people are uniting around the leadership, and claimed that underground nuclear facilities in Iran remain intact.

Russia, he said, is ready to guarantee Iran's peaceful nuclear programme and also Israel's security. Russia had helped build the Bushehr nuclear power plant and two more units are coming up with Russian help. “We TRUST Iran and will support peaceful nuclear technology — in Agriculture, medicine and energy, he added. While a peaceful solution exists, the final choice lay with Iran and Israel, he asserted.

Iran released a propaganda video on Friday suggesting that an all-female Iranian crew controls and launches the destructive missiles at Israel.

Despite Israel’s claims, Iranian state media on Friday broadcast a message from Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, declared dead by Israel on 13 June. "I am alive and ready to sacrifice my life…the day of victory is near..." the message said.

Asked about the conflict between Israel and Iran, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic — who earlier this week hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — said, “Croatia should recognise Palestine…Israel is pursuing a criminal policy and we should not have anything to do with such a state because part of its leadership is made up of criminals.

"Israel can do whatever it wants, it has been doing so for decades. I think that with such a state and such state leadership we should have nothing to do. It is simply a criminal policy that leads nowhere and which, unfortunately, has the support of Washington. Israel is currently led by a criminal clique that wants to drag the world into war.”

Russian nuclear energy head Alexei Likhachev says conditions at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, where hundreds of Russian experts are stationed and where they continue to work, remain "normal" and is fully under control.

Asked about the plant’s status, Likhachev told reporters: "So far the situation is completely under control, everything is normal. The night passed in the usual anxious but manageable atmosphere. We continue to work in pre-mobilisation mode and very much hope that all our signals from yesterday reached the Israeli leadership."

Now in Geneva, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said, "Some countries have called me and asked us to ‘return to diplomacy’; and I replied to them: 'But we were already in the middle of diplomacy when we got attacked…so, what diplomacy? ...Washington asked us to negotiate and we refused, but we have no problem with dialogue with other countries."

He is in Geneva to listen to what the Europeans have to say — he is not there for negotiations as long as the strikes on Iran continue. His presence, however, signals that Iran has not closed the door to the possibility of diplomacy. Araghchi indicated that Iran’s missile programme is not negotiable while Iran is being targeted on a daily basis.

However, Tehran appears to believe that a diplomatic breakthrough is unlikely. “You have to keep in mind that Iran was already in the middle of a diplomatic conversation with the Americans, with the sixth round of talks scheduled on 15 June before they were disrupted by the Israeli strikes on 13 June,” Araghchi reminded the media.

"What exactly did Iran do that forced Israel to attack?," wondered Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah today, adding, "The sooner this conflict ends, the better."

Taking a dig at Israel, he added, "Two months ago, Israel’s intelligence chief said that Iran is nowhere close to building a nuclear bomb. That was the evidence then. And now, after two months, Israel has suddenly launched an attack on Iran."

He also addressed the complaints regarding the state of buses sent to bring home Kashmiri students being evacuated from Tehran.

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Near Lucknow’s Bara Imambara, protestors — largely of the Shia Muslim community — gathered with placards bearing portraits of Ayatollah Khamenei and ‘I stand with Iran’ posters today, Friday, 20 June.

Posters in Hindi also declared 'Trump murdabad (Down with Trump)', 'Netanyahu kaatil hai (Netanyahu is a murderer)' and 'Israeli aatankbad murdabad (down with Israeli terrorism)'

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to be en route to Geneva for meetings with the European Union's top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. A plane with his usual call sign took off from the Turkish city of Van, near the Iranian border, flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed. (Iran typically acknowledges his departure hours afterward.)

Britain's foreign secretary said he met with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff at the White House to discuss the potential for a deal that could cool the conflict.

Before his flight, Araghchi said on Iranian state television that his country was “not seeking negotiations with anyone” so long as Israel's attacks continued. He also accused the US of being “companions and collaborators” with Israel, noting that Trump regularly used “we” in social media posts and interviews talking about the attacks on Iran.

Yesterday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he trusted that Trump would “do what's best for America”. Speaking from the rubble and shattered glass around the Soroka Medical Center in Tel Aviv, he added: “I can tell you that they're already helping a lot.”

Australia was of the nations to close its embassy in Tehran and evacuate staff and families due to the “deteriorating security environment”, its foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday, 19 June, that also urged Australian citizens still in Iran to leave quickly.

Foreign minister Penny Wong said she spoke with US secretary of state Marco Rubio and they agreed to work “closely” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and to pursue peace.

“There is an opportunity… over the next two weeks for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy,” Wong said.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic's foreign ministry also closed its embassy in Tehran, as did the Slovak foreign ministry, whose remaining diplomats and staffers are leaving Iran today.

The Israeli military said it had destroyed missile systems and radar installations around Isfahan.

This does correspond to the sounds of anti-aircraft fire heard in the area into Friday morning. Iran has not offered any acknowledgment so far of its military losses in the war.

Isfahan has one of Iran's largest and oldest Jewish communities, with 14 synagogues and a spectacular ancient cemetery.

However, the Washington-based Human Rights Activists put the numbers at least 657 dead and 2,037 wounded.

Anti-aircraft batteries also began firing on Friday morning in Tehran. It wasn't immediately clear what they were firing at.

French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot reportedly spoke on the phone with US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Thursday evening, 19 June.

A French diplomatic official, who was not allowed to speak publicly on the issue, said Barrot detailed the purposes of the Geneva meeting between Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and his counterparts from the European Union, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Rubio reportedly “stressed the US was ready for direct contact with the Iranians at any time".

The French official said they “jointly stressed the threat posed by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programme to Israel, the region and Europe”.

Meanwhile, Iran shared footage of the 14th wave of missiles it has fired into Israel as part of Operation True Promise 3

Will any of Iran's allies — China, Russia, or any of the Gulf states — actually step up to defend it if, should the US join the Israeli bombardment?

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Israeli airstrikes reached the Iranian city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early this morning, Iranian media reports say.

Social media videos posted online appeared to show explosions around the city.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported local air defence systems were firing into the night sky against the Israelis.

Ahead of the strikes, the Israeli military put out a warning urging Iranian residents to flee the area around Rasht's Industrial City, which sits a few kilometres south-west of downtown.

The Israelis did not immediately describe what they sought to target in the area. However, with Iran's internet shutdown for at least 2 days now, it is unclear how many people in Iran would see the IDF warning.

Speculation suggests an IRGC carbon fibre plant, essential for Iran’s missile, nuclear and drone programmes, might have been the target.

Douglas Macgregor, a retired US colonel and veteran of the Gulf Wars, has posted on X claiming a third of Tel Aviv has been damaged or destroyed and "Israel is in worse shape then [sic] people think".

He claimed he had been told that many Israeli aircraft are being flown to Cyprus to keep them safe from Iran's retaliatory strikes.

"Israel was not prepared," he concluded, though it was Israel that first struck Iran on 13 June.

Macgregor is a well-known TV personality, an author and a consultant known as a Trump man through several controversial appointments. He is also known for his regret that the US did not force a regime change in Iran in 1991, for cheering its war on Iraq, and for his racist views with regards to African-American slavery and immigrants in general.

With Donald Trump calling for Iran's 'unconditional surrender' and several European and North American leaders arrayed against him as well, scant practical support from allies like China and West Asian Arab and Islamic nations, Ayatollah Khamenei faces his greatest challenge yet.

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Senior IRGC general and politician Mohsen Rezaei said in a TV interview on Thursday, 19 June: “We have punished the Israelis severely until today, but it is not enough.

“Our punishment must be an insurance for the future so that the enemy does not dare to do this a second time.”

He said that Israel’s intention has been “to create chaos in the country by assassinating senior military commanders, but this attempt was thwarted in the first 48 hours. In the next stage, it intended to turn Iran into Syria and plunge it into a 10-year period of insecurity”.

The Embassy of Iran in India has shared on its X timeline the images of 15 children it says were martyred in Israel's first strikes on 13 June — which targeted residential buildings to take out key military leaders and scientists.

Two of them appear to be infants.

Earlier, netizens on Wednesday, 18 June, had shared images of billboards put up around the city of Tehran with images of various people killed in the strikes.

The North American Punjabi Association has appealed to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and the broader Panthic leadership to safeguard the sacred 'saroops' of the Guru Granth Sahib kept at a gurdwara in war-hit Iran's Tehran.

Satnam Singh Chahal, the executive director of the association, urged the SGPC to immediately arrange a chartered aircraft and deploy a group of five dedicated Sikhs to accompany the 'saroops' (physical copies of the Guru Granth Sahib) back home with full respect.

Reacting to SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami's appeal to the Government of India to arrange for the transportation of the 'saroops', Chahal said the gurdwara management body has the resources and moral responsibility to act independently in the matter.

"This is not the time to rely solely on appeals to the Union government. Time is of the essence, and any delay could lead to irreparable consequences.

"We cannot afford to wait for bureaucratic processes. The safety and sanctity of Guru Granth Sahib Ji's saroops must be our top priority," Chahal said.

IAEA director general Rafael Grossi has rejected Iran’s claims that a recent nuclear inspections report justified Israeli strikes on its nuclear sites. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Grossi said the IAEA’s findings “could never be conceived as a justification for any military activity by Israel”, distancing the agency from the ongoing conflict.

Despite condemning Israel’s strike on Iran, Chinese president Xi Jinping has stopped short of offering Tehran any military backing.

“China may offer economic and rhetorical support, but military help isn’t on the table,” said Wen-Ti Sung of the Atlantic Council.

Currently, Beijing appears wary of getting drawn into a conflict involving the US-aligned Israel.

Amid rising tensions between Iran and Israel, the commerce ministry will hold a high-level meeting today to assess the impact on India’s overseas trade. Chaired by commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal, the meeting will include exporters, shipping lines and container firms to address disruption risks and mitigation measures.

Brent crude futures fell nearly $2 to $76.96 a barrel after the US held off on a decision over direct involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict. Despite the dip, prices remain up 3.8 per cent for the week. WTI crude for July edged higher ahead of contract expiry.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed conducting overnight airstrikes on key Iranian military targets in Tehran, including missile production facilities and the Sepand headquarters linked to nuclear weapons R&D.

Over 60 fighter jets deployed 120 precision munitions in a coordinated assault guided by Israeli intelligence.

Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK Oren Marmorstein has visited Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba and condemned the Iranian ballistic missile strike as a deliberate attack on civilians and hospitals.

He described it as “an Iranian war crime”, emphasising the targeting of essential medical infrastructure.

A statement from Iran yesterday had said the target was not the hospital but the military facilities in that area. It also pointed out that in its 'genocide in Gaza' the IDF had itself incapacitated and in some cases utterly destroyed all of Gaza's hospitals, citing they were aiding and abetting Hamas militants or hiding them.

A veteran Israeli journalist also noted that the IDF as a matter of strategy place their military facilities in residential areas

An Iranian missile strike on Israel’s prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science yesterday destroyed multiple laboratories, dealing a blow to decades of research.

“It’s a moral victory,” Professor Oren Schuldiner told the Associated Press, adding that Iran had struck “the crown jewel of science in Israel”. Professor Sarel Fleishman said several labs were “literally decimated”.

This parallels and seems to avenge Israeli operations for years that have — including on 13 June when this round of conflict began — carried out targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, hoping to choke progress on Iran's nuclear programme by striking at the brains behind it. 

The Weizmann hub’s facilities are more expansive, going beyond nuclear and military research to medical and other work—including a couple of EU-funded projects.

The Weizmann Institute has been one of the biggest players in the EU’s research Framework Programmes, for example, receiving nearly €600 million since Israel associated in 1996 — programmes that might already be in jeopardy if enough of the EU loses sympathy with Israel’s ‘right to self-defence’ against neighbours with pre-emptive strikes.

Countries are rushing to evacuate their nationals from Israel and Iran by air, land, and sea as the conflict intensifies. With airspace shut across much of the region, thousands have fled via road to safer borders. China, France, Germany, and the EU are among those organizing mass evacuations, while Bulgaria has temporarily relocated its Tehran embassy to Baku.

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Israeli minister of defence Israel Katz has caused an uproar by saying, “Dictator Khamenei is a modern-day Hitler who has carved out on his banner the destruction of the state of Israel and is enslaving all of his country's resources to advance this terrible goal. He cannot continue to exist.”

There is outrage in Israel after prime minister Netanyahu’s statement on having made personal sacrifices went viral. Netanyahu made the statement after visiting the districts in Tel Aviv hit by Iranian missiles on Thursday morning, 19 June.

While casually mentioning that some lives had been lost in the missile strikes, he could be heard saying, “We all bear a personal price; it didn't pass by my family… this is the second time my son Avner’s wedding is delayed because of missiles, it's a huge personal price for him, for his fiancé and my family," he said.

Mohsen Rezai, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran told a TV channel in Iran, "All the enriched nuclear materials have been moved and are now in safe locations," reported SNN news agency. He added that Iranian nuclear scientists and facilities continue to operate. The former IRGC commander went on to say, “The enemy thinks they destroyed our nuclear sites — but we had already moved all the uranium. It’s still in our control…we knew as early as March that war was coming…we have punished the Israelis severely until today, but it is not enough. Our punishment must be an insurance for the future so that the enemy does not dare to do this a second time. The enemy intended to create chaos in the country by assassinating senior military commanders, but this attempt was thwarted in the first 48 hours. In the next stage, it intended to turn Iran into Syria and plunge it into a 10-year period of insecurity, but today the Zionist regime itself has become Syria.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova said at a briefing, "Russia calls on the Israeli leadership to immediately cease airstrikes on (Iran's) nuclear facilities... The strong and uncompromising reaction from the global majority to Israel's strikes on Iranian territory, including its nuclear energy infrastructure...reflect broad rejection of Israel's confrontational course and destructive actions," report Russian news agencies

Iran's Supreme National Security Council in a statement overnight reiterated that ‘Retaliation will continue until the enemy is punished and pays the price. Any Israeli aggression employing a different method will be met with a different, pre-planned kind of response. Should any third party intervene in the "Israeli" aggression against Iran, it will be immediately responded to without hesitation, according to a specific plan.

Israel received 14 military cargo planes from US and Germany, Israel’s defence ministry has stated. The cargo aircraft delivered military equipment and supplies to support the IDF amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. According to the ministry, these planes are part of an ongoing air and sea bridge operating since the launch of Israel’s attack on Iran on 13 June. This delivery adds to over 800 cargo planes that have arrived since the war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023. The Israeli Defence Ministry did not specify the types of military equipment received. As of Thursday evening, neither Washington nor Berlin had commented, reported Sputnik.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is likely to travel to Geneva for meetings with his European counterparts on Friday, the first talks since Israel began its airstrike campaign targeting the Islamic Republic. Amidst reports that Israel had tried to assassinate him in the last few days, Araghchi’s visit assumes significance. He is likely to meet his counterparts from UK, Germany and France, countries which have publicly stated that they support Israel and the US to ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.

The US President has been briefed on both the risks and the benefits of bombing Fordow, Iran's most heavily secured nuclear facility, reported Jennifer Jacobs, the CBS White House Correspondent. Trump is aware of the diplomatic effort being undertaken with EU officials meeting with the Iranian foreign minister in Switzerland on Friday. John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, has said in closed-door settings that Iran is viewed as being very close to possessing nuclear weapons, despite the official line from the intelligence community that Iran's leadership hasn't given a formal order to build bombs, according to multiple sources, CBS reported.

Although the White House briefed the media that US President will take a decision on joining Israel’s war against Iran in the next two weeks to give negotiations a chance, the announcement has been greeted with widespread cynicism.

Even as the US President leaves for his Golf Club on Friday after an Intelligence briefing, the US has continued to supply Israel with weapons and ammunition through Belgium, say multiple reports. The US is preparing to hit not just the nuclear facilities in Iran but strike decisive blows, observers point out.

Their suspicion has been aroused because of the casual statements made by Israeli and American politicians about how to assassinate Iranian leaders and ensure a regime change. UK and Germany have also said publicly that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons and are demanding that Iran gives up its uranium enrichment programme itself.