Trump may send US VP, Middle East envoy to talk with Iran: Report

The US president is considering sending his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet with officials in Iran, a news reporter says.

According to a CBS News reporter on board a flight from Canada with Trump, the dispatch of Witkoff or Vance “depends what happens when I get back” to Washington, DC, the US president said.

Trump added he wants a “real end” to the nuclear problem with Iran that involves Tehran “giving up entirely” on nuclear weapons, CBS reporter Jennifer Jacobs posted on X.

The US leader predicted Israel would not be slowing its attacks on Iran. “You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far,” the CBS journalist quoted Trump as saying on Air Force One.

Trump made the comments during his midnight departure from Canada, where he attended the Group of Seven summit on Monday.

‘Fanning the flames’: China warns US against escalating Iran-Israel conflict

China has accused Trump of “pouring oil” on the mounting conflict between Iran and Israel, after the US leader warned Tehran residents to “immediately evacuate”.

“Fanning the flames, pouring oil, making threats and mounting pressure will not help to promote the de-escalation of the situation, but will only intensify and widen the conflict,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said when asked about Trump’s remarks at a regular news conference.

Spanish foreign minister calls for a return to talks

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says he sees no indication of a de-escalation between Israel and Iran. Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Albares called for a return to “negotiation on the nuclear file” and said, “Let’s stop this exchange of missiles.”

Qatar condemns Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites

Qatar “strongly condemns” Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and calls them “an uncalculated measure that will have very dire repercussions”.

The attacks were carried out at a time when Iran was “progressing in a positive diplomatic course” with Washington, negotiations that many regional countries were engaged in, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.

Qatar remains involved in mediation with the United States and “believes there is an American desire for an agreement”. “We will continue to work for a ceasefire between the warring parties – Israel and Iran,” he said in Doha.

Israel using ‘psychological warfare’ against Iranians

Abas Aslani, a Tehran-based analyst of Iranian affairs, says Israel is waging “psychological warfare” in Iran through assassinations and increasingly harsh threats.

Israel has “been trying to intimidate the public and increasing the level of their threats in order to stop Iran from responding to Israeli attacks,” said Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies. “But the fact is that Iran so far has not come with full force yet because they have kept open the possibility the US might engage in this conflict.”

Rather than stir fear or chaos, Israel’s attacks and threats have actually created a stronger sense of national unity in Iran, he said.

The Israeli strikes “will not deter the country [Iran] from responding”.

Trump’s mixed signals part of ‘psychological warfare’ against Iran

The US president is engaging in psychological warfare with his conflicting comments on the Israel-Iran confrontation, says Adel Abdel Ghafar from the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.

“Things can escalate, but I think ultimately President Trump wants this to wind down because if US facilities are attacked, if the Strait of Hormuz is closed, there’s going to be an impact on the US economy and the global economy,” he told Al Jazeera.

A war in the Middle East will not serve Trump’s interests of economic growth, Ghafar said. Israel, however, has its own agenda, including Netanyahu “fighting for his political survival and wanting perpetual war”.

Other Israeli objectives include “some sort of regime change” in Iran and “pulling the world’s attention away from Gaza”, he added.

“We have the use of famine as a tool of war, which is clearly a war crime. But unfortunately, now the world’s attention is focused on the conflict between Iran and Israel and not on the crisis in Gaza.”

More than 600 foreigners flee Iran into Azerbaijan

Hundreds of foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighbouring Azerbaijan since Israel began striking the country.

“Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,” an unnamed government official told the AFP news agency.

The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and “flown to their home countries on international flights”, the source said.

Among those evacuated are citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam.

Iran’s IRGC says it targeted Israeli army centre, Mossad operations hub

In a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed its missile strikes in Israel hit a military intelligence centre and a Mossad operations planning centre.

Earlier, Israeli reports described a missile impact in the central coastal city of Herzliya as targeting a sensitive site – often code for a military or strategic target.

Iran recalls all doctors, nurses from leave

Iran’s deputy health minister has announced that all doctors and nurses on leave must report back to work.

“All leave for doctors and nurses has been cancelled, and they have been asked to be continuously present at medical centres to not only provide services but also play an effective role in boosting the morale and psychological stability of treatment teams,” said Deputy Health Minister for Treatment Seyed Sajjad Razavi.

“The Ministry of Health stands with you and is ready to provide support and assistance should any need arise,” he added in comments carried by the Tasnim news agency.

Specialised guides on treating mass-casualty victims have been sent to medical centres and universities, Razavi said.

_{Wounded Iranians receive treatment after an Israeli strike in downtown Tehran}

Iran blasts G7 for ignoring Israel’s ‘cruel aggression’

Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has criticised the G7 leaders for disregarding what he described as Israel’s “blatant aggression” against his country.

At the summit of the informal grouping of wealthy nations that was held in Canada, leaders including Trump on Monday called for “de-escalation” while stressing that Israel had the right to defend itself.

“The G7 member states, especially the three permanent members of the UN Security Council, must assume their legal and moral responsibility for this blatant act of aggression against a UN member state,” Baghaei said in a social media post.

“Hundreds of innocent people have been killed, our public and state facilities and people’s homes are brutally demolished and hospitals & health centres are targeted. Iran is defending itself against a cruel aggression. Does Iran really have any other choice?”

Baghaei said stability in the region will only come after an “immediate end to Israel’s aggression”.

Anger at Israel builds in Tehran as attacks continue

The sound of explosions can be heard from time to time here in the capital, Tehran. Smoke can also be seen rising, with initial reports suggesting Israel has targeted a fuel depot.

A group of people has decided to leave Tehran, but still, part of the population has decided to stay. There is considerably less traffic, but there are long lines at petrol stations.

People are anxious – that goes without saying – but at the same time, they are extremely angry.

Iran open to negotiation ‘only if red lines respected’: Security official

I have spoken to a high-ranking Iranian security official who told me that Iran is not going to agree to stop striking back under the circumstances. However, he said Iran is ready to start a line of negotiation – only if its red lines are observed and considered.

The official said Israel’s current strategy has not fulfilled its objectives and they are starting new ways of attacking. The official also said any potential US intervention would run the risk dragging the entire region into war. That sounds like a very clear message to the Americans.


Pressure on Iran ‘to backfire’

Analyst Abas Aslani says Iran has long been familiar with contradicting messages coming out of the US, adding that he expects the pressure on the Iranian leadership to “backfire”.

“If the United States and the American president want to somehow get more compromises from Iran following this military aggression, meaning if they want zero enrichment, I think this won’t be accepted by Iran,” he told Al Jazeera.

“During the George Bush administration, Iran was facing pressure but from a couple hundred centrifuges now we are seeing thousands of advanced machines which are producing a significant amount of enriched uranium,” said Aslani, a Tehran-based senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies.

He added that it also depends on what Trump would want to achieve on any negotiations. “If it is the nuclear issue and if he means to eliminate Iran’s nuclear programme, I think this will not be achievable.”

Israel says its ‘on verge of destroying’ 10 more nuclear targets

In comments carried by The Times of Israel, Katz said Israel’s air force will wage more “very significant” attacks in Tehran today against “targets of the regime and infrastructure”.

Thanks to Israel’s air power, he said Israel is “on the verge of destroying” at least 10 nuclear targets in the Iranian capital.

Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment facility – built so deep underground that only US bunker-buster bombs are believed capable of seriously damaging it – is “an issue that will certainly be addressed”, added Katz.

 
UN nuclear watchdog says ‘no change’ at Iran’s Esfahan and Fordow nuclear facilities

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it has conducted more satellite imagery analysis of Israel’s recent attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.

Based on its research, the watchdog said it has further evidence indicating “direct impacts” on the “underground enrichment halls” in the Natanz facility.

However, the IAEA said its analysis did not show any such change at two of Iran’s other major nuclear facilities targeted by Israel – Esfahan and Fordow.

Trump dismisses US intelligence showing Iran was not building nuclear weapons

When asked about the assessment by his own intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard that Iran is not building a nuclear bomb, the US president said: “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.”

In March, Gabbard had testified before Congress that the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon”.

Attacking Iran’s nuclear sites could have long-term impacts: WHO

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of a devastating toll on civilians and potential health risks associated with Israel’s nuclear-site attacks on Iran.

“The escalation of violence between Israel and Iran is extremely concerning – and is costing the lives of civilians, including children,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

“Targeting of nuclear sites … may have immediate and long-term impacts on the environment and health of people in Iran and across the region.”

Jordanian King says Israel is expanding its ‘battleground’

Speaking to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Jordan’s King Abdullah has called for an end to the Israel-Iran conflict, describing it as a global threat.

“With Israel’s expansion of its offensive to include Iran, there is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end, and that is a threat to people everywhere,” said King Abdullah.

“Ultimately, this conflict must end. If the world fails to act decisively it will be complicit in Israel’s crimes.”

China’s Xi ‘deeply worried’ about Israel’s military action against Iran

Chinese state media is carrying some quotes by President  Xi Jinping said during a meeting with his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in Kazakhstan.

“Israel launching military action against Iran has caused a sudden escalation in tension in the Middle East, China is deeply worried about this,” Xinhua quoted him as saying in Astana.

“We oppose any act that infringes upon the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of other countries.”

Russia offers to mediate between Israel and Iran, says Israel ‘reluctant’

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia is ready to act as a mediator between Iran and Israel, both of whom it has relations with.

“President Putin has said that Russia is ready to provide mediation services if necessary,” Peskov said during a daily news briefing.

“At present, we see a reluctance, at least on the part of Israel, to resort to any mediation services or to embark on a peaceful path towards a settlement,” he added.

Iran is one of Russia’s top allies, but has also been keen not to alienate Israel, with which it has maintained good relations over the years.

“It’s a very difficult balancing game that Russia is trying to play,” Nikolay Surkov, assistant professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, told Al Jazeera. “And Russia is sincerely trying to achieve some kind of a political solution.”

Iraq treads tightrope to avoid spillover from Israel-Iran conflict

With Iraq an ally of Iran and a strategic partner of the United States, Baghdad may struggle to avoid the fighting spreading to its territory, an analyst warns.

“There is a sizeable risk of a spillover escalation in Iraq,” said political analyst Sajad Jiyad. “Iraqis have a right to be worried.”

Jiyad said if the US supports Israel’s attacks, it “may lead to pro-Iran elements inside Iraq targeting US troops” or other American interests such as the embassy in Baghdad or the consulate in Erbil.

This could lead to the US and Israel taking retaliatory actions within Iraq, he added. Israel’s use of Iraq’s airspace to attack Iran has angered pro-Tehran groups, who accused US forces of allowing it.

_{Iraqi forces stand guard in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Baghdad amid anger at the US}

Israeli soldier killed, three seriously wounded in southern Gaza

Israel’s military has confirmed that one soldier has been killed and three seriously injured in the southern Gaza Strip.

The military identified the deceased as a 20-year-old sergeant in Israel’s Golani Brigade’s 12th battalion, while the three “seriously injured” soldiers were also from the same unit. All three have been evacuated from the Palestinian territory.

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military reported that a 28-year-old captain from the Golani Brigade’s engineering battalion was also killed in southern Gaza.

Israeli forces kill 45 Palestinians waiting for aid in southern Gaza

At least 45 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli forces as they waited for aid at the al-Tahlia Roundabout in Khan Younis.

“Emergency, intensive care and operating rooms [at Nasser Medical Complex] are overcrowded with the large number of casualties and deaths,” said the Health Ministry in Gaza.

The latest carnage came at controversial aid sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the United States and Israel, which operate in areas tightly controlled by the Israeli military and that critics have slammed as “human slaughterhouses”.

Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, said on Monday that Israel’s “means and methods of warfare are inflicting horrifying, unconscionable suffering on Palestinians in Gaza”.

More than 20 months of Israeli attacks have killed at least 55,362 Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children, women and elderly people.

Witnesses describe Israeli ‘massacre’ at Gaza food site

The death toll from yet another attack near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza has risen to at least 51 with witnesses saying Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of people searching for food.

“Tens of thousands of hungry civilians gathered for the aid. Two Israeli shells were dropped in the middle of the crowd. Dozens of civilians, including children, were killed, and no one could help or save lives,” survivor Saeed Abu Liba, 38, told Al Jazeera. “May God punish the Israelis for their crimes.”

Yousef Nofal, another witness, said he saw many people motionless and bleeding on the ground. “It was a massacre,” he said, adding Israeli soldiers continued firing on people as they fled the area.

Mohammed Abu Qeshfa said he heard a loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire and tank shelling. “I survived by a miracle,” he said. Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said more than 200 people were wounded as thousands of Palestinians gathered to receive flour.

“Israeli drones fired at the citizens. Some minutes later, Israeli tanks fired several shells at the citizens, which led to a large number of martyrs and wounded,” he said.

Many of those wounded in Israel’s attacks at Gaza aid site are in critical condition

We have just received confirmation from the Gaza Health Ministry that 51 Palestinians have been killed in the attack on the city of Khan Younis, while at least 200 others have been wounded. Of those, 21 are in critical condition.

This has been an absolute tragedy.

The attack happened as aid seekers gathered at points leading to a recently established point for aid distribution by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in the eastern part of the city of Khan Younis. Witnesses said they had gone to collect food aid but were met with live ammunition and drone attacks without any kind of warning.

This attack was not the only assault on aid seekers this morning.

There was also one near the Netzarim Corridor, where another GHF site turned into a death trap. We know that at least one person was killed there, while 60 others were wounded.

Since morning, 74 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza: Medical sources

At least 74 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the besieged Gaza Strip since dawn, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.

Among them were at least 56 aid seekers.

WHO cites aid distribution after latest Gaza mass killing

The World Health Organization says it received reports of the mass casualty incident in Gaza as people waited for food supplies.

“This is again the result of another food distribution initiative,” said Thanos Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer.

Earlier, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli tank and drone fire killed at least 51 Palestinians as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

The killings are the latest in near-daily mass deaths of desperate people seeking food in the past weeks, including near sites operated by the Israel-US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

“There’s a constant correlation with the positions of the four announced food distribution sites and the mass casualty incidents,” Gargavanis said, saying trauma injuries in recent days were mostly from gunshot wounds.

Half a million people in the Gaza Strip face starvation, a global hunger monitor said last month.

Gaza death toll rises

At least 61 bodies have been brought to Gaza’s hospitals over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry says. Additionally, at least 397 people were injured in Israeli attacks over the same period.

The figures bring the number of people killed in the territory since the start of the war in October 2023 to 55,493, with at least 129,320 wounded.

Israeli attacks have killed 5,194 Palestinians and injured 17,279 others since breaking a ceasefire with Hamas in March.

Gaza death toll rises to 89 after bloody day of Israeli attacks

Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 89 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, with more than 70 people dying while waiting for aid in southern Khan Younis.

“Bodies were strewn in the streets. People were attacked while waiting for aid and flour to arrive … People are hungry and desperate, they just wanted food,” said survivor Awad Barbakh.

Witness Saeed Abu Lebda said civilians were “blown to pieces, body parts were scattered all over the place”. “The number of victims is way more than those brought to the hospital. But no one could reach them to provide help,” he said.

Trump ‘repeating the same mistakes’ as Bush: CAIR

The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned Trump’s call for mass displacement in Tehran, warning that the US president may be using accusations of Iran being close to having a nuclear weapon as a pretext to go to war.

“President Trump is repeating the same mistakes of President George W Bush,” CAIR said in a statement. “Just like Iraq did not have and was not pursuing weapons of mass destruction, Iran does not have and was not pursuing a nuclear weapon.”


‘Very premature’ for US to expect deal that leads to Iran surrender

Hamed Mousavi, a professor of political science at Tehran University, says the Iranian side would be interested in talking even indirectly to the US one, but ultimately that depends on what Trump is seeking.

“If the agreement he wants is a kind of surrender by Iran, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he told Al Jazeera. “However, I think if he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal and that leads to a ceasefire, then I think that’s doable.”

Asked to comment on Trump’s call for a “complete give-up” from the Iranian side, Mousavi replied: “What we’re hearing from Washington looks like a complete surrender by Iran – that’s what Donald Trump seems to want”.

He said he did not believe this would occur “any time soon”, arguing that the Iranian government is “actually quite confident with the way things are going with Israel”.

“They are still able to carry out multiple ballistic missile attacks on Israeli cities, so the balance of power from the perspective of the Iranian government is still not against Iran, and I think it’s very premature for the Trump administration to expect a sort of an agreement that leads to … a surrender of Iran.”

Iran used ‘undetectable’ missile in strike on Israeli intelligence site

Iran’s Defence Ministry says it used a new, undetectable missile in striking an Israeli intelligence facility, claiming the attack penetrated multiple layers of air defences.

“In today’s attack, we deployed missiles that could not be tracked or intercepted,” said Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, the ministry’s spokesperson, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

He described the operation as a surprise for Israelis, warning that they will witness more.

Earlier today, Iran said its missile attacks hit a military intelligence centre and a Mossad operations planning centre.

Talaei-Nik added that Israel is not prepared for prolonged conflict.

“The Zionist regime cannot withstand a long war,” he said, adding that Iran’s military has been equipped with advanced systems – some of which “have not yet even been deployed”.