Stocks sell off, oil surges in the wake of Israeli strikes

Oil prices have surged more than 9 percent, hitting their highest in almost five months after Israel struck Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and raising worries about disrupted oil supplies.

Brent crude futures jumped $6.29, or 9.07 percent, to $75.65 a barrel by 0315 GMT after hitting an intraday high of $78.50, the highest since January 27. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $6.43, or 9.45 percent, at $74.47 a barrel after hitting a high of $77.62, the loftiest since January 21.

Friday’s gains were the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, causing energy prices to spike.

“The question now is whether this is a typical geopolitical knee-jerk reaction from markets, which results in lots of hype with no delivery. Or if the US really is on the brink of navigating a Middle East war”, Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index in Brisbane, Australia, told Reuters news agency.

In other markets, stocks dived in early Asian trade, led by a selloff in US futures, while investors scurried to safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc.

“The heightened geopolitical risks are being strongly felt in the FX [foreign exchange] market. With the rise in risk-off sentiment, the Japanese yen is likely to be bought”, said Hirofumi Suzuki, chief FX strategist at SMBC in Tokyo.

Iran says six nuclear scientists killed in strikes

Iran’s Tasnim news agency is reporting that six Iranian nuclear scientists were killed in the Israeli strikes.

In a post on X, the agency reported that six scientists – Abdulhamid Minouchehr, Ahmadreza Zolfaghari, Seyyed Amirhossein Faqhi, Motlabizadeh, Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi – had been killed in the attacks.

“The Zionist regime showed that … it has come to war against our scientists using the tool of terror,” read the post.

Widespread support in Iran for retaliation against Israel

Mohammad Eslami, a research fellow at Tehran University, said Iranian leaders are preparing an imminent strike on Israel targeting military and nuclear facilities.

“The Iranian military were thinking about this scenario for many years and also in recent days we have heard lots of statements by the Defence Ministry of Iran that they are ready for any strike by the Israelis,” he told Al Jazeera from Tehran.

The government also has the support of all Iranian political parties, much as during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. “Most Iranian political parties support defending the country because all Iranians [know] the history of Iraq attacking Iran. This is not about political points of view,” he said.

Iran launches 100 drones on Israel: Army spokesperson

Israel’s Brigadier General Effie Defrin says Tehran launched the attacks following Israel’s massive early morning attack on Iran with about 200 planes. The interception efforts against the Iranian strikes are continuing, the spokesperson added.

Iran says strikes justify uranium enrichment, missile programmes

Iran says that Israel’s attacks on Friday, which have reportedly killed six nuclear scientists and struck the Natanz nuclear site, underscored its need to pursue uranium enrichment and missile development programmes.

“One should not speak to such a predatory regime except in the language of power,” Iran’s government said in a statement, referring to Israel. “The world now better understands Iran’s insistence on the right to enrichment, nuclear technology, and missile power.”

US embassy in Israel tells staff to shelter in place as Israel warns of ‘acts of revenge’

The US embassy in Israel has reminded its citizens of the “continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness” as it warned of potential “mortar, rocket, and missile fire, and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) intrusions” following Friday’s wave of attacks on Iran.

“As a result of the current security situation, the US Embassy has directed all US government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice,” it said in a post on X. Israel’s National Security Council has also told Israelis abroad to avoid “attending large-scale events connected to Israel or Judaism” as it warned of potential “acts of revenge”.

Israeli, Jordanian militaries say intercepting drones launched from Iran

Israel’s military says it has begun intercepting Iranian drones in the wake of its strikes early on Friday, The Associated Press is reporting. Israel’s public broadcaster and Channel 12 are reporting that Israel has started intercepting drones over Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Jordan’s state news agency is reporting that it had intercepted a number of missiles and drones that entered its airspace this morning.

‘Palestinians will do their best to prepare for nearby strikes’

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank know that the neighbouring illegal Israeli settlements, about 200 of them across the occupied territory, have the shelters, the military instructions, the protection, the safeguards. They do not.

They will most likely – as in the past – look to see how Israeli citizens are being instructed. They will try to figure out what to do.

First of all, they will try to secure some extra food – flour, canned food, water and the like, in order to have enough food to safeguard the safety of their families. Then they will probably try to guess where is the safest location in their family home in case a nearby settlement is attacked or shrapnel falls in the vicinity.

Recall the last time there were missiles launched from Iran into Israel, the only casualties that were reported were a Palestinian in Jericho, who happened to hail from Gaza, as well as a Palestinian Israeli citizen who died from shrapnel wounds – because Palestinian Israeli citizens are not adequately prepared or provided with the shelters they need.

Israeli airlines move aircraft from Ben Gurion airport

Israeli carriers Israir, Arkia and El Al say they are evacuating and relocating aircraft from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, adding that the move is part of a contingency plan developed over the past few days. The airlines say they are moving their planes out of the country.

European shares drop amid caution after Israel’s attacks on Iran

European shares opened sharply lower this morning after Israel’s attack on Iran dented global risk sentiment and sent investors flocking to safe-haven assets.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 1.2 percent, at 543.54 points, as of 07:07 GMT. The benchmark is on track to log a fifth session in the red, setting it up for a weekly decline. The tensions add to caution in global financial markets as they grapple with the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy.

The travel and leisure sector was down 3.1 percent. British Airways owner ICAG tumbled 4.8 percent, Lufthansa was down 4.6 percent and EasyJet dropped 4.3 percent. Cruise operator Carnival’s London-listed shares slipped 5 percent.

On the flip side, energy stocks soared, with Shell and BP up 1.9 percent each. Shares of defence companies were also higher, with France’s Dassault Aviation up 1.3 percent and Italy’s Leonardo up 2.3 percent.

Israel is turning the whole world into a war economy...

Germany involved as well

Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear bomb, Germany’s Merz says

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reaffirmed Germany’s belief in Israel’s right “to defend its existence” and reiterated that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear bomb while calling for both sides to refrain from escalation.

Merz said in a statement that he was informed of the Israeli attack and its objectives in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this morning. It was not immediately clear whether that call took place before the attacks, as Germany’s Spiegel news magazine reported.

Merz said that after the phone call, he had convened a meeting of the government’s security cabinet, which had agreed to ramp up protection of Jewish and Israeli facilities in Germany and take all necessary measures to protect German citizens.

He added that Germany was coordinating closely with its partners, including the US, UK and France.

Iran nuclear talks stalled for now due to what Tehran sees as US culpability

Iran is unlikely to resume nuclear talks with US officials soon after pulling out of this weekend’s negotiations in Oman, says Mohammad Eslami, a research fellow at Tehran University.

“The only thing that the Israeli attack destroyed totally was the diplomatic solution that was under way between the Iranian [diplomats] and the Americans. Right now, there is no decision by the Iranians to come back to the negotiations because … from the Iranian point of view this attack was with the support of the Americans,” Eslami said from Tehran. 

“Even if the Americans did not engage directly, it does not mean that they were not supporting [Israel] in the operation,” he said.

The future of any talks will depend on how Israel and the US respond to Iran’s forthcoming counterattack, he added, and whether they escalate further.

Israeli attack ‘designed to kill chances’ of striking a nuclear deal

Israel’s attacks on Iran are designed to derail nuclear talks between the US and Iran, an analyst says.

“Israel’s unprecedented strikes across Iran overnight were designed to kill President Trump’s chances of striking a deal to contain the Iranian nuclear programme,” says Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

“While some Israeli officials argue that these attacks aimed to strengthen the US leverage in the diplomatic path, it is clear their timing and large-scale nature was intended to completely derail talks,” she said.

New attack on Iran’s Tabriz: Report

Iran’s Tasnim news agency is reporting a new Israeli attack in the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran.

Israelis ‘hysterical’, panic buying as they await Iran’s response

Israeli political scientist Ori Goldberg has told Al Jazeera that the Israeli government’s warning to citizens to stock up on enough essentials to last for two weeks seems to have been taken to heart.

“I live above a small grocery store [in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv]”, he said. “I went down there at around 10am (07:00 GMT). It was like the fall of Saigon. “There was a line stretching out forever and only the meanest dry goods left. It’s profoundly hysterical, but at the same time, people are rallying around the flag,” he added.

Iran launched more than 100 drones towards Israel as an initial response to its strikes, but a much stronger response is expected in the coming hours.

Iran’s supreme leader names new IRGC chief

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Major General Mohammad Pakpour as the new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the killing of Hossein Salami, the Tasnim news agency reports.

Iran requests emergency meeting of UN Security Council

Iran has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in the wake of Israeli attacks targeting its nuclear programme and military this morning, state media report.

Amir Saeed Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, made a written request for an emergency meeting of the council, calling for it to take “decisive action … against these criminal acts”, Iran’s Tasnim state news agency reported.

“In a reckless, illegal and premeditated act, the Zionist regime has carried out a series of coordinated military attacks against the nuclear facilities and civilian infrastructure of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which are considered a clear violation of the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of international law, and whose dangerous consequences seriously threaten regional and international peace and security,” the letter said.

Israel is ‘going for broke’ to distract the world from Gaza

Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg tells Al Jazeera that Israel’s attack is a desperate move to distract the world from Gaza and its recent blunders with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

“The IAEA report did not reveal new or dramatic information so nothing imminent, nothing inevitable. The timing I think is a combination of domestic and foreign political reasons. I would say that the single biggest factor has to do with an attempt to divert global attention from what Israel is doing in Gaza,” he said.

The attacks on Iran prove that Israel is now “going for broke”, he said, to see how much further it can push the international community.

“Israel doesn’t have another opportunity to strike Iran. Once Israel has committed to doing so now, it is all or nothing,” he said. “This is an attempt to convince the world that all is well despite Gaza. … This is Netanyahu, the final attack of despair, trying to show that all is well.”

Yep, the reporting on Gaza has evaporated, nothing for June 13th so far.

Israel striking Shiraz, Tabriz in new wave of attacks: Iranian media

Israel has struck targets in the cities of Shiraz and Tabriz, as well as at the Natanz nuclear site, in a new wave of attacks, Iranian media has reported.

We reported earlier that Israel had struck the city of Tabriz, in northwestern Iran, in a new attack following early strikes across Iran earlier today.


_{Smoke rises from Tabriz airport in Iran}

Israel to shut missions around world, its embassy in Sweden says

Israel will close its diplomatic missions around the world in light of recent developments, and consular services will not be provided, according to a statement. The embassy did not say how long the missions would be closed.

France defends Israel, condemns Iran nuclear programme, Macron says

The French president says that France had repeatedly condemned the Iran nuclear programme and reaffirmed its belief in Israel’s right to protect itself, after Israel launched attacks on Iran and Tehran promised to retaliate.

Writing in a post on social media platform X, Macron said he had spoken with several world leaders, including Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, and US President Donald Trump.

US, UK, France, Germany all involved.

Maritime security agency says likelihood of regional conflict significant

The events over the past 24 hours have increased the likelihood of regional conflict to significant, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC) says The JMIC added that the Strait of Hormuz remained open and commercial traffic continues to flow uninterrupted.

Israeli strike hits Kermanshah facility storing ballistic missiles

Videos confirmed by Al Jazeera show fires breaking out in western Iran after Israel this morning struck an underground facility storing ballistic missiles in Kermanshah near the Iraqi border.

Iranian media say more than 70 killed in Israeli attack

Fars news agency reports “unofficial statistics” saying that more than 70 people were killed and more than 320 were injured in Israel’s attacks. Fars is managed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and considered semi-official state media of the Iranian government.

‘Israeli strikes have made war inevitable’

Israel’s strikes have caused the Iranian public to “rally around the flag” and made war inevitable, says an Iranian academic. Foad Izadi, a professor at the University of Tehran, told Al Jazeera that there was strong public sentiment in Iran that the country must “hit, and hit back hard”.

“Iran didn’t want to have a war,” he said. “But the other side has given Iran no choice but to respond. And the response should be at a level to make sure that … the same thing doesn’t happen again. He continued, “So you have the very sad situation where we’re going to see … another war.”

Izadi said that the attacks were viewed as “a joint American-Israeli venture”, and that US installations in the region would likely be viewed as legitimate military targets. “Iran did not want to have a military confrontation with the United States,” he said. “But if Iran decides to attack American bases, they have very legitimate reasons to do that.”

Air raid sirens sound in northern Israel

Israeli army radio has reported that air raid sirens are currently active in the Galilee region.

At least one Iranian drone intercepted in northern Israel: Report

Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that the Iron Dome defence system has intercepted two Iranian drones in northern Israel. It said a fire broke out in an open area in the occupied Golan Heights as a result of fragments of the drones in the area, and that firefighters are working at the scene.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz and Israeli Army radio report that it was a single drone that was intercepted.

Iran’s FM submits letter to UNSC

Abbas Araghchi has submitted a statement to the UN Security Council ahead of a meeting that is reported to be taking place later today on the subject of Israel’s attacks.

Here are the key points Araghchi made:

‘There’s more to come’: Trump

The US president has praised Israel’s attacks on Iran in a series of brief telephone interviews with television outlets today. “I think it’s been excellent,” Trump told ABC News. “And there’s more to come. A lot more.”

Donald Trump told CNN: “The people I was dealing with are dead, the hardliners.”

Peace president....

US moves military assets to Middle East: Report

Two US officials told The Associated Press that the US is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel’s strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran.

The US Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House.

One of the officials says President Donald Trump is meeting with his National Security Council principals to discuss the situation.

Israeli attacks continue across the Gaza Strip

Here is a reminder that alongside its strikes on Iran, Israel has been continuing its attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

More than 30 have been killed since dawn today, including 11 who had been waiting for aid. In the south, the Israeli military has pushed deeper into Khan Younis, where fighting is ongoing between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian armed groups.

Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, reported that in the past couple of hours, there has been an intensive attack on a residential area in Jabalia in the north.

She said five people have also been killed in an attack on the  Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip.

Khoudary said medical sources have reported that continued attacks in the enclave’s south, where three of the four Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites are located,  mean that they are, in reality, not aid distribution points but a “death trap” for Palestinians.

Why is Egypt deporting March to Gaza participants?



Egyptian authorities have detained and deported scores of foreign nationals arriving in Cairo to participate in the Global March to Gaza, an international initiative aimed at peacefully mobilising thousands to walk to the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip.

At least 40 Algerians were detained at Cairo airport upon arrival and held for 24 hours, before being deported. More than 10 Moroccans were turned back at the airport and several Turkish citizens were also detained from outside their Cairo hotel for holding Palestinian flags. Other nationals, including French and other European nationalities, have also been prevented from entering or detained without explanation.

With more than 55,000 Palestinians killed, and with close to the entire population of the besieged strip being starved, activists say it's time to take matters into their own hands. So why is Egypt blocking a march that publicly supports its own stated position on Gaza?

United Nations slams US- and Israel-backed Gaza aid group as a ‘failure’

The United Nations says the Israeli- and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is a “failure” from a humanitarian perspective.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said aid operations have stalled because the GHF is not delivering supplies safely to those in need.

“GHF, I think it’s fair to say, has been, from a principled humanitarian standpoint, a failure,” Laerke told reporters in Geneva on Friday. “They are not doing what a humanitarian operation should do, which is providing aid to people where they are, in a safe and secure manner.”

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, citing concerns that it prioritises Israeli military objectives over humanitarian needs.

The newly formed private organisation began operations on May 26 after Israel had completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. It says it has distributed more than 18 million meals since then.

That would be food for 3 days for 2 million people....

On Friday, more than 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera’s Tariq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said Israeli forces were targeting parts of Khan Younis in southern Gaza with artillery fire and ground attacks.

“The Israeli military is deepening its ground operations,” Azzoum said, saying there were clashes in the eastern part of the city.

The besieged territory remained under a communications blackout for a second day on Friday. Hamas has denounced what it described as an Israeli decision to cut communication lines in Gaza, calling it “a new aggressive step” in the country’s “war of extermination”.

Israel continues to force civilians into what it calls the “safe zone” of al-Mawasi, a barren coastal strip with no infrastructure, which it has repeatedly bombed. A drone strike on a tent there killed at least two people on Friday.

The attack left “everyone on the ground quite confused about where they can go in order to find safety”, Azzoum said.

Israel locks down occupied West Bank

In the occupied West Bank, Israel sealed all crossings and checkpoints between Palestinian towns and cities early on Friday, shortly after it launched a wave of air strikes on targets in Iran.

Sources told Al Jazeera the closures were imposed without any indication of when they might be lifted.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its ambulances were being denied access to patients, including those in urgent need of medical care.

In occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli forces closed Al-Aqsa Mosque, preventing Palestinians from attending Friday prayers.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa held an emergency cabinet meeting in response and activated crisis committees across the West Bank.

Contamination detected in Natanz site after Israeli attack: AEOI

Contamination – whether chemical or radioactive – has been detected inside the Natanz nuclear site, but not outside the complex, after this morning’s Israeli attack, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Mohammad Islami, the head of the organisation, added that there was no cause for concern outside the site, but internal cleaning efforts are necessary.

“As far as we know, the damage is limited to surface-level areas,” he said, adding that there were no human casualties in the Israeli strikes.

Islami stressed: “For years, this [Israeli] regime, with the direct support of the United States, has been recklessly taking steps to destroy global peace and security.”


There are reports Washington may shifting military resources into the region

What we’re learning from the US president is that … the plan by Israel was well-known [to the United States].

In fact, we know that the US president had a telephone call with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, and we are expecting another one to occur, or it’s taking place right now.

We know that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is also speaking with his counterpart, so we’re watching for those readouts right now that will give us a better sense of some of those [military] assets that are being moved in.

In the meantime, the US president said to the Wall Street Journal that the US was informed of plans to attack Iran, and that is really contrary to what we heard less than 24 hours ago from the secretary of state, who said this was really a unilateral action on the part of the Israelis.

Israeli army says it continues to strike Iran

The Israeli army continues to attack targets in Iranian territory, it says in a post on X published a few minutes ago. It also shared footage of an explosion in an unidentified location.

Explosions heard near Tehran: Report

Iran’s Nour news agency says explosions have been heard and smoke seen coming from Alborz province, west of Tehran.

Trump says it’s unclear if Iran still has a nuclear program, not concerned about regional war: Report

Trump has told Reuters in a telephone interview that it is unclear whether Iran still has a nuclear program following Israeli strikes on the country. Trump said the US still has nuclear talks planned with Iran on Sunday but he is not sure if they will still take place. He said it was not too late for Iran to make a deal.

“I tried to save Iran humiliation and death,” Trump said.

He said he is not concerned about a regional war breaking out as a result of Israel’s strikes.

Iran summons envoy representing US in Tehran: State media

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the ambassador of Switzerland, which represents US interests in Tehran, state media says, following this morning’s attacks.

“During the meeting, the Islamic Republic of Iran conveyed its deep outrage and strong protest over this act of aggression by Israel and the support extended to it by the United States,” said the official news agency IRNA.

Reports of strikes in Tabriz

We are now receiving reports that explosions have been heard in the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran. Video clips published on local platforms and verified by Al Jazeera show columns of smoke rising from the site of the attack.

 
Explosions heard across Tehran

We heard the sound of an explosion in the west of Tehran, where our bureau is located.

We have received reports indicating that another explosion was heard in the southern parts of Tehran, along with the activation of the air defence system at a location near Parchin, a military complex belonging to the Ministry of Defence.

Shock and fear in Tehran after Israel bombs residential, military areas

Roya, a 62-year-old resident of Iran’s capital, was jolted awake just after 3am by the sound of explosions in her Marzdaran neighbourhood in western Tehran.

“It was absolutely terrifying. My heart was beating out of my chest,” she told Al Jazeera. “I saw smoke on the horizon and at first thought all the strikes were farther away, but when the images came out, I found that a home just a few streets from us was hit too.”

Across Tehran, residents were grappling with the shock of the first air strikes on heavily populated residential areas across the city since the eight-year Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.

_{A damaged building in Saadatabad in northwestern Tehran where two nuclear scientists were killed in Israel’s strikes}


Influential commentator Tucker Carlson urges Trump to ‘drop’ Israel

Carlson has been a leading voice within right-wing circles calling for Trump to avoid being dragged to war with Iran by Israel. After Israel attacked Iran, the talk-show host, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last year, said the US should not support Netanyahu’s “war-hungry government” in the conflict.

“If Israel wants to wage this war, it has every right to do so. It is a sovereign country, and it can do as it pleases. But not with America’s backing,” the Tucker Carlson Network morning newsletter read.

It added that a war with Iran could “fuel the next generation of terrorism” or lead to the killing of thousands of Americans in the name of a foreign agenda.

“It goes without saying that neither of those possibilities would be beneficial for the United States,” the newsletter said. “But there is another option: drop Israel. Let them fight their own wars.”