3m ago
22.01 BST
Summary
Here’s a
look at where things stand:
Israeli
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is very close to meeting its
goals in Iran of removing the threats of ballistic missiles and the nuclear
programme. Speaking to Israeli reporters, he said: “We won’t pursue our actions
beyond what is needed to achieve them, but we also won’t finish too soon. When
the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting
will stop.”
The UK,
France and Germany have released a joint statement following American strikes
on Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying that they call upon Iran to engage in
negotiations leading to agreement that addresses all concerns associated with
its nuclear program. The three countries also urged Iran “not to take any
further action that could destabilize the region”, adding: “We have
consistently been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no
longer pose a threat to regional security.”
Iran’s
health ministry said that the US strikes on its nuclear facilities had wounded
an unspecified number of people but that none “showed any signs of radioactive
contamination”. “For years, the ministry of health has set up nuclear emergency
units in the nearest medical facilities to nuclear sites,” ministry
spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said on X.
Israel
said that its fighter jets had struck “dozens” of targets across Iran on
Sunday, including a long-range missile site in Yazd in the centre of the
country for the first time, Agence France Presse reports. A military statement
said that “approximately 30 IAF (air force) fighter jets struck dozens of
military targets throughout Iran” - including “the ‘Imam Hussein’ Strategic
Missile Command Center in the Yazd area, where long-range Khorramshahr missiles
were stored”.
US
secretary of state Marco Rubio said that “there are no planned military
operations right now against Iran.” In a new interview with CBS, Rubio added
that “no one will know for days” whether Iran had moved some of its nuclear
materials prior to the strikes.
Iran’s
parliament has reportedly approved the closing of the key strait of Hormuz
shipping lane. Reuters reported Iran’s supreme national security council will
make the final decision on the move, which could hamstring global trade by
shutting the narrow passage between Iran and Oman.
Pete
Hegseth, the US secretary of defence, said the impact of the air strikes was
still being assessed, but that the bombing had hit the areas that had been
identified in the planning of the operation. Hegseth said: “The battle damage
assessment is ongoing, but our initial assessment as the chairman said is that
all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike, and had
the desired effect.”
Pete
Hegseth praised Donald Trump’s leadership, and said he had overseen the
“obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Hegseth said: “Many presidents have
dreamed of delivering the final blow to Iran’s nuclear program, and none could
until President Trump.”
22.04 BST
39m ago
21.25 BST
Edward
Helmore
JD Vance
has said the US is “not at war” with Iran – but is with its nuclear weapons
program, holding out a position that the White House hopes to maintain over the
coming days as the Iranian regime considers a retributive response to
Saturday’s US strike on three of its nuclear installations.
In an
interview Sunday with NBC News’ Meet the Press, the US vice-president was asked
if the US was now at war with Iran.
“We’re
not at war with Iran,” Vance replied. “We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear
program.”
But Vance
declined to confirm with absolute certainty that Iran’s nuclear sites were
completely destroyed, a position that Donald Trump set out in a Saturday night
address when the president stated that the targeted Iranian facilities had been
“completely and totally obliterated” in the US strikes.
Vance
instead said that he believes the US has “substantially delayed” Iran’s ability
to develop a nuclear weapon.
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