Israeli minister changes tone on targeting Tehran residents

Defence Minister Israel Katz says Israel has no intention of deliberately harming people in Tehran, walking back threatening comments he made earlier.

“I wish to clarify the obvious: there is no intention to physically harm the residents of Tehran as the murderous dictator does to the residents of Israel,” Katz said in a statement on X.

“The residents of Tehran will have to pay the price of dictatorship and evacuate their homes from areas where it will be necessary to attack regime targets and security infrastructures in Tehran.”

Katz warned earlier that people in Iran’s capital will “pay the price – and soon” for deadly Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel.

‘We cannot accept the situation in Iran’

Yossi Beilin, Israel’s minister of justice between 1999 and 2001, says Netanyahu made “a huge mistake” by inviting far-right “lunatics” into his government.

“They should’ve never been part of the government. They represent a small proportion of the Israeli public opinion. It’s very problematic,” Beilin told Al Jazeera.

“Netanyahu has made huge mistakes in the last years, and one of them was convincing Trump to withdraw from the [nuclear] agreement with Iran.”

He added, however, “the Iranian threat is a real threat”.

“In the past, we were friendly countries. Since 1979, we became the devil for whatever reason – because they hate the Jews and they want us to disappear. They don’t want to negotiate with us. This is the view of the enemy that you cannot tolerate. We cannot accept the situation in Iran,” Beilin said.

Maybe you should look into the 'whatever reason' instead of manifesting your fears by bombing Iran. But that would require to face your ongoing occupation, oppression and destruction of the Palestinians.

Netanyahu says Israel ‘on the path to victory’

The Israeli prime minister says his country’s air force is “in control of the skies over Tehran”.

Netanyahu made the remarks as he visited the Tel Nof airbase in central Israel with Defence Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, according to the Israeli media.

“We are on our way to achieving our two objectives: eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat,” he said.

He also threatened the citizens of Tehran, telling them to leave the capital. “We are taking action,” said Netanyahu.

Dozens of women and children killed in Israeli attacks, Iran says

The Iranian government’s spokeswoman, Fatemeh Mohajerani, has provided an update on Israeli attacks across the country, according to the official IRNA news agency.

Here is a summary of her translated comments:

Explosions reported in eastern, western Tehran

Iran’s Fars news agency is reporting that an Israeli attack has targeted a military base in western Tehran. Iranian media are also reporting explosions in eastern parts of the capital.

This comes after the Israeli army issued a threat for parts of Tehran.

‘Critical’ moments in Tehran as escalation ramps up

The situation in the Iranian capital appears to be very critical. From time to time, we are hearing the sounds of explosions related to the interception and activation of air defence systems.

A few hours ago, I was at the scene of one of the Israeli strikes that targeted civilian areas and saw a huge amount of destruction. I also saw a dismembered arm which was said to be belonging to the body of a woman that was killed.

Earlier in the morning, in the southern part of the capital, there was a massive explosion, with thick and heavy smoke pouring into the air from that scene. And right now the tension is escalating after the statement from the Israeli army, with a message of warning to citizens living in District Three of the capital,

Meanwhile, a proportion of Iranian citizens living in the capital have decided to evacuate the city. In the streets, one can see less traffic compared to the ordinary days.

It comes as the escalation is ramping up between Iran and Israel and as Iran is retaliating and striking back. Last night, Iranian missiles landed in Israeli territories and the statements we’re hearing from Iranian officials are very harsh, saying that if Israel decides to continue, they are also there to continue and strike back.

Erdogan, Putin agree diplomacy is needed between Iran and Israel: Turkiye

The Turkish and Russian presidents have discussed regional issues during a phone conversation, according to the presidency in Ankara. Erdogan and Putin agreed that the conflict between Iran and Israel must end and space must be given to diplomacy as soon as possible, it said in a statement.

The Turkish president also repeated his view that the only solution to the crisis was a return to nuclear talks with Iran. Separately, the Kremlin said Putin and Erdogan condemned Israel’s “act of force” against Iran, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

“Both sides expressed the most serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and is fraught with serious long-term consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin added.

“The leaders spoke in favour of an immediate cessation of hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to the Iranian nuclear programme, exclusively by political and diplomatic means.”

EU dismisses Russia as mediator between Israel and Iran

The European Union says Russia has “zero credibility” as a potential mediator between Iran and Israel, after Trump suggested yesterday that Putin could play a role.

“There has been a recent Russia-Iran partnership agreement, which signals deepening cooperation across multiple areas, including foreign policy and defence,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said.

“In light of such, Russia cannot be an objective mediator.”

Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Trump said he would be open to Putin being a mediator in the conflict. “He is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it,” the US president said.

Neither can the US nor Europe. China seems to be the most neutral but doesn't seem willing to enforce any ceasefire.

Iran going it alone in the fight against Israel

Lina Khatib, a Middle East expert at the Chatham House think tank in London, says Iran is squaring off against Israel without any regional or international backing.

“Iran is battling it out alone,” said Khatib.

Russia will not come to Iran’s aid, she added, pointing out Moscow didn’t help Iran last year when Israel destroyed Russian-supplied air defences or when Iran’s ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was ousted.

Russia is likely to limit its support for Iran to “strongly worded statements” and will use the conflict to present itself as a mediator, Khatib said.

Israeli arms firms banned at Paris Air Show

Organisers at the Paris Air Show have blocked access to the stands of several Israeli arms manufacturers for exhibiting “offensive weapons”.

Large black walls were erected around the stands of five Israeli companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael and Elbit Systems.

Reporting from the event, Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said the organisers took the decision after determining the weapons on display did not comply with the show’s rules. “Some of these companies do supply weapons to the Israeli military that are used in Gaza, things like very high-end drone systems,” she added.

According to Butler, one of Rafael’s executives was left “quite shocked” by his stand being “completely blacked out”. “He said they were given no notice at all. He was obviously outraged,” she added.

The Defence Ministry denounced the decision in a statement, calling it a form of “segregation” against the Israeli companies. “This outrageous and unprecedented decision reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations,” it added.

Iran ‘never willing’ to accept ‘maximalist’ US nuclear proposal

Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, says the proposal put forward by the US during the nuclear negotiations with Iran was always going to be rejected by the Iranian side.

“The problem is that Trump has allowed himself to be so influenced by the Israelis that the demands the United States put forward for Iran, the proposal that was put forward, was maximalist: No enrichment of uranium whatsoever on Iranian soil,” she told Al Jazeera.

“And if there’s anything we’ve learned from more than a decade of watching nuclear negotiations with the United States is that the country insists on retaining an indigenous uranium enrichment programme,” said Slavin, who is also a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University.

“So this was a proposal the Iranians were never willing to accept.”

Slavin added that Trump has seemingly accepted “Netanyahu’s logic that somehow these military strikes would convince Iran to come back to the table and accept what they had not accepted before”.

“That hasn’t happened so far. We will see.”

For Iranian leaders, ‘if there is no cost to attacking Iran, Tehran would look like Gaza’

Foad Izadi, a professor of international relations at University of Tehran, says Iran has not used all its military capacity in its retaliatory attacks on Israel so far.

“The message is that they are hoping for the Israelis to stop and they are gradually going to increase the pressure, if the Israelis don’t stop,” he told Al Jazeera.

“They haven’t used some of their most advanced weapons, they haven’t used other means of confronting the Israelis,” Izadi said.

He added the hope is that under international pressure, Israel will stop its attacks.

“If that doesn’t happen, the missiles are going to get bigger in terms of size and more in terms of quantity – until you have the other side stopping,” Izadi said, noting that the calculation of the Iranian leadership is that “if there is no cost to attacking Iran, Tehran would look like Gaza”.

Israeli attacks on Gaza intensify as fighting with Iran rages

We are still witnessing another round of escalation on the ground today after repeated Israeli attacks. Much of the fighting has been concentrated in the northern part of Gaza, where Israeli ground operations are intensifying in all towns near Israel.

It has become clear that Israel’s strategy in this part of Gaza is aimed at destroying what remains of residential buildings and pushing civilians further towards the western edge of Gaza City.

It is increasingly obvious to everyone that these attacks are no longer about the defeat of Hamas, but rather inflicting further destruction on the already-battered Gaza Strip.

According to the latest update shared by the Gaza Government Media Office, more than 60 percent of the territory’s buildings have been destroyed.

UN rights chief speaks out on Israel’s attacks on Iran, war on Gaza

Volker Turk has expressed deep concern over the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran and urged them to engage in “urgent diplomatic negotiations to end these attacks and find a way forward”.

“The military escalation between Israel and Iran is deeply worrying,” the UN rights chief said as he presented his annual report to the 59th Human Rights Council in Geneva. He also called “for full respect of international law by both sides, in particular the protection of civilians in densely populated areas”.

Separately, the UN high commissioner for human rights slammed Israel’s conduct in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“Israel’s means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza,” he said.

“Israel has weaponised food and blocked lifesaving aid. I urge immediate, impartial investigations into deadly attacks on desperate civilians to reach food distribution centres,” he added. “Disturbing, dehumanising rhetoric from senior Israeli government officials is reminiscent of the gravest of crimes.”

Israeli forces again kill starving aid seekers as they search for food

Gaza’s Civil Defence says Israeli troops shot dead at least 20 hungry Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others while they waited for food at a GHF distribution site.

Agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal said “20 martyrs and more than 200 wounded by occupation gunfire … were transferred to the Red Cross field hospital in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, then to Nasser Hospital” in Gaza’s south.

The desperate people had been waiting to reach the aid centre in Rafah, “when the occupation forces opened fire” near the al-Alam Roundabout.

The Israeli military said it’s checking the reports.

IRGC issues tit-for-tat evacuation warning for Tel Aviv residents

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued a statement warning residents of Tel Aviv to evacuate as soon as possible for their “safety and security”, Iranian state media report.

The warning was issued shortly after Israel released an evacuation threat for Tehran’s District Three.

Iran’s state TV attacked

Iranian state TV says it has come under an Israeli attack.

Attack on Iranian state TV part of Israel’s escalatory approach

This is not the first time Israel has attacked media organisations.

We have seen it repeatedly in attacks against Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar in Lebanon. During its genocidal war on Gaza and even before it, Israel systematically took out the headquarters of local outlets that it claimed were associated with groups antagonistic to its occupation.

The attack on the Iranian state TV is part of Israel’s escalatory approach that it is adopting in its war on Iran.

‘Calling someone a mouthpiece doesn’t give you permission to kill them’

Foad Izadi, professor of international relations at the University of Tehran, says he fears there are going to be “a lot of casualties” following the attack on the building of Iran’s state-run television.

Footage from the scene shows the building engulfed in flames. “It’s a huge building,” Izadi told Al Jazeera. “Iran’s news channel is located on the first floor. It has four floors, and on every floor you have at least 200-300 people working,” he said.

“They were getting ready for the evening programmes. This is going to result in a lot of civilians – generally young people, young journalists – getting killed,” he added, noting that people who are not working as journalists would also have been in the building at the time of the attack.

Izadi said he expected the attack to spark international outrage and be condemned by international media outlets.

“Calling someone a mouthpiece doesn’t give you permission to kill them,” he said.

“If you don’t like the content of the news channel, it doesn’t give you permission to eliminate the people who work there,” Izadi added, describing Sahar Emami – the presenter who was live on air at the moment of the attack – as “a true journalist”.

“[She is] very unbiased and very fair in her reporting.”

Israel confirms bombing Iranian state TV

In a statement on social media, Defence Minister Israel Katz has confirmed the Israeli military attacked Iran’s broadcasting authority in Tehran.

Yeah why not outright confirm war crimes at this point, total impunity.