Iran launches fresh wave of missile strikes on Israel - as UK withdraws embassy staff from Tehran
Iran has launched a fresh wave of missile strikes targeting cities across Israel in the latest wave of violence between the two countries.
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Nationwide alerts were issued on Friday across Israel, with residents advised to take shelter immediately following reports of incoming missiles, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said.
Seventeen people are said to have been injured, including two seriously, during a ballistic missile strike on the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ventured out to the sites of one explosion, holding a short press conference outside the Weizmann Institute of Science, which was hit by missiles fired from Iran.
Retaliatory attacks continued after the Israeli military confirmed it had also carried out a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, with IDF reports suggesting missile launchers in the south-west of the country were the target.
“A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force struck surface-to-air missile batteries in southwestern Iran,” the IDF said.
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“At this time, the Air Force is working to intercept and attack wherever necessary to eliminate the threat," they added.
It comes as UK diplomatic staff based at embassies were withdrawn from Tehran, citing concerns over the “security situation” in the country.
“Due to the current security situation, we have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw our UK staff from Iran," the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement on Friday.
"Our embassy continues to operate remotely,” the foreign ministry said in a statement."
Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump announced the US would make a decision the Israel-Iran conflict "in the next two weeks", as the White House slowed its timeline for any potential involvement.
Speaking from Washington on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt urged the public to "trust in President Trump".
Reciting words from the President from the White House briefing room, Leavitt continued: “Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go in the next two weeks.”
It comes amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel following ongoing retaliatory strikes.
The press conference saw the White House halt speculation surrounding potential US involvement in the conflict, with Leavitt repeating the 'two week' response to all questions on potential military involvement.
Reports emerging on Thursday had suggested Trump had enetered the "situation room" with leading advisors to assess US options on entering the conflict.
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The timeframe gives the US President time to forge a deal with the Iran - including a potential Uranium investment deal.
Early on Thursday, Israel’s defence minister said Iran’s supreme leader “cannot continue to exist" as the two nations continue to exchange missile fire.
It comes as US President Donald Trump continues to mull over joining Israel’s war with Iran, with the Republican reportedly approving a plan to strike nuclear sites in the country late on Wednesday.
Speaking today, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "cannot continue to exist".
Israel Katz said: "A dictator like Khamenei, who heads a country like Iran and has made the destruction of Israel his mission, cannot continue to exist."
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He added for Israel to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist".
In his statement, he confirmed had hit three nuclear sites in Bushehr, Isfahan and Natanz as attacks continue on other facilities.
It comes just days after it emerged Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Ayatollah, saying he will allow the Iranian leader to live “at least for now.”
Israel Katz’s comments follow an Iranian strike on an Israeli hospital early on Thursday morning.
Soroka hospital in southern Israel was directly hit by an Iranian missile. Israel's emergency services said more than 30 people have been injured.
The hospital is said to have suffered "extensive damage" in the strike.
State media in Tehran say the "main target" was an Israeli military facility in the same area.
An Israeli military official said three other sites in civilian areas have also been struck in the barrage.
Dozens of missiles were fired in the attack, triggering sirens across much of the country, according to the Israeli military official.
Israel launched its war on Iran last Friday, attacking both nuclear sites and civilian areas.
At least 224 civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes, as of information released by Iran’s government on Sunday.
US president Donald Trump has insisted he's 'not looking to fight' Iran, but warned that the US wants 'total, complete victory' over the country.
As the world fears Trump will join Israel's war against Iran, the leader of the world's most powerful military remained cryptic about his next move, saying he likes 'to make decisions at the last second'.
While repeating his claim that Iran 'should have made a deal' and that it is 'too late to meet,' Trump suggested the US could still hold diplomatic talks with Tehran.
He added: "They'll even come to the White House. So we'll see. I may do that. But it's a shame it wasn't. (It) could have been done the easy way."
Iran has denied reaching out to White House, as the supreme leader insists his country will never surrender in its war against Israel.
"I'm not looking to fight. But if it's a choice between fighting and them having a nuclear weapon...you have to do what you have to do," Trump said.
"They want to meet and they want to come to the White House," he told reporters at the Oval Office.
Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already warned that any United States strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will "result in irreparable damage for them" and that his country would not bow to Mr Trump's call for surrender.
Mr Trump said earlier this week the US knows where Khamenei is hiding as the the Israel-Iran conflict escalates but does not want him killed - "for now".
"He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," Mr Trump said.
In a video address to Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Mr Trump's support, calling him "a great friend of Israel" and praising US help defending Israel's skies.
"We speak constantly, including last night," Mr Netanyahu said on Wednesday. "We had a very warm conversation."
Mr Trump's increasingly muscular comments toward the Iranian government come after he urged Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives as he cut short his participation in an international summit earlier this week to return to Washington for urgent talks with his national security team.
Mr Trump said that the Iranian officials continue to reach out to the White House as they are "getting the hell beaten out of them" by Israel.
But he added there is a "big difference between now and a week ago" in Tehran's negotiating position.
"They've suggested that they come to the White House - that's, you know, courageous," Mr Trump said.
Iran's mission to the United Nations refuted Mr Trump's claim in a statement on social media.
"No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to 'take out' Iran's Supreme Leader."
Vladimir Putin offered on Wednesday to help mediate an end to the conflict, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic programme while assuaging Israeli security concerns.
The Russian president noted that "it's a delicate issue" but added that "in my view, a solution could be found".
He said he had shared Moscow's proposals with Iran, Israel and the US. His comments follow a mediation offer he made in a call with Mr Trump last weekend.
Mr Trump said he told Mr Putin to keep focused on finding a solution to his own conflict with Ukraine.
"I said, 'Do me a favour, mediate your own'," Mr Trump said he told Mr Putin.
"I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later'."
The Russia-Iran relationship has deepened since Mr Putin launched a war on Ukraine in February 2022, with Tehran providing Moscow with drones, ballistic missiles, and other support, according to US intelligence findings.