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Here’s where things stand on Friday 20 June 2025:
- Israel and Iran continue to exchange missile attacks as conflict between regional adversaries enters eighth day.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to meet counterparts from France, Germany and the United Kingdom in Geneva for talks on Iran’s nuclear programme and ending Israel’s attacks.
- The White House says, due to “chance of negotiation”, President Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the US will join Israel in attack in Iran.
- Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem says the threatened assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is an “aggression” against all the people of the region.
Qatar PM says Israeli targeting of Iran’s economic facilities ‘dangerous’
Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, has spoken to Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, according to Qatari state media.
During the phone call, Sheikh Mohammed expressed Qatar’s condemnation of the “repeated Israeli violations and attacks in the region”, which “undermine peace efforts and threaten to drag the region into a regional war”, Qatar News Agency reported.
He also expressed the “seriousness” of Israel’s targeting of economic facilities in Iran, warning of its “disastrous” regional and international repercussions, it added.
Macron: Nothing justifies attacks on civilians, infrastructure
The French president says attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructures have to stop in the weeklong conflict between Israel and Iran, adding Tehran should show its willingness to return to the negotiating table concerning its nuclear programme.
“For several days now, France has had a clear, simple voice: there is no justification for strikes against energy infrastructures and civilian populations,” he told reporters when he arrived at the Paris airshow.
Macron said talks with Iran over a potential deal that would end the war “must” include Iran’s financing of proxy groups across the region, as well as the release of “hostages” held by Iran.
Iranian nuclear scientist killed in Tehran attack: Reports
An attack on a building in Iran’s capital killed an Iranian nuclear scientist, Israeli media, including public broadcaster Kan, report.
The reports could not be independently verified, while there have been no comments by the Israeli military or Iranian officials.
Israel has killed several nuclear scientists since it started attacking Iran on June 13.
Israeli defence minister orders intensified attacks on Iran government targets
Israel Katz says in a statement that he has instructed the military to intensify attacks on “symbols of the regime” in Tehran, aiming to destabilise it.
“We must strike at all the symbols of the regime and the mechanisms of oppression of the population, such as the Basij [militia], and the regime’s power base, such as the Revolutionary Guard,” Katz said in a statement.
His words today are in line with the gradual shift of Israeli war goals from limited strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme towards destabilisation of the country’s government. Yesterday, Katz said publicly that Israel seeks to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
No ‘give and take’ expected in Geneva talks
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is due to meet European counterparts in Geneva for talks, rather than negotiations, and there will be no “give and take” in the discussions, according to an Iranian academic.
Foad Izadi, professor of international relations at the University of Tehran, told Al Jazeera that it was clear that Araghchi was not prepared to hold any negotiations while Israeli strikes were continuing.
“When you negotiate, it’s give and take,” he said. “Iran cannot engage in that style of give and take when we have bombs falling” on Tehran and other parts of the country.
“This is force used to gain concessions,” Izadi added. “Iran is an independent country, a very old country and it’s not going to do that.”
He said Araghchi was in Geneva “to have talks, which is different from negotiations”. He expected the foreign minister to remind the European officials that the type of concessions they wanted from Iran, such as giving up its ballistic missiles, is “not going to happen, because Iran cannot be defenceless”.
“If Iran did not have ballistic missiles, I think you would have Israeli and American soldiers in Tehran today,” he said.
Izadi said he also expected Araghchi to stress “some of these facts” to his counterparts, and then it was “up to them to … go back and come up with a setting where you can negotiate”.
Hospital attacked in Tehran, says Iran’s Health Ministry
Another hospital in Tehran was targeted by Israeli bombs today, according to the head of Iran’s Health Ministry.
“This is the third hospital in Iran to be attacked. Six ambulances and a comprehensive health service center have also been brutally attacked by the Zionist enemy,” the ministry’s PR head said in a statement carried by IRNA.
“In seven days of cowardly aggression, there were more than six cases of violation of international conventions by [Israel].”
Pezeshkian says Iran to give ‘more forceful’ response if Israel keeps attacking
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said the only way to end the conflict is for Israel to stop its air attacks.
“We have always pursued peace and stability,” he said in a statement cited in Iranian media.
“Under the current circumstances, lasting peace will only be possible if the Zionist enemy ceases its hostilities and provides firm guarantees to end its terrorist provocations.”
Pezeshkian warned that “failure to do so would result in a far more forceful and regrettable response from Iran”.
Pro-Palestinian activists say they broke into UK military base, damaged planes
Pro-Palestinian activists say they have broken into a military base and damaged two aircraft in a protest in the UK.
The Palestine Action group says two activists broke into the Royal Air Force Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire, before damaging two Voyager aircraft used for refuelling and transport.
In a statement, the group said its activists had ridden electric scooters to swiftly reach the aircraft, then used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray red paint, symbolising blood, over the aircraft and runway. Further damage was caused to the aircraft with crowbars, the statement said.
“Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets,” a spokesperson for the group said in a statement.
Both activists avoided being detained by security at the base, the statement said. There has been no immediate response from the UK’s Defence Ministry or police.
The group shared a video on social media of the activists carrying out their protest.
‘Children will begin to die of thirst’: Gaza facing man-made drought
The besieged Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli attacks since October 2023, is facing a man-made drought as its water systems collapse, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has warned.
“Children will begin to die of thirst,” spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
“Just 40 percent of drinking water production facilities remain functional,” he said.
Israeli attack hits car in south Lebanon
An Israeli drone targeted a car in the town of al-Abbassieh in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon, the country’s state-run National News Agency reports.
One person was killed in the attack, NNA said.
Israel continues its frequent attacks on what it says are Hezbollah targets in the country, including in the capital, Beirut, despite a ceasefire being in effect since November of last year.
The below video, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit, shows a targeted car on fire.
Israeli drone strike hits Tehran: Report
Iranian news outlet Asriran says that a drone attacked an apartment in a residential building in the Iranian capital’s central Gisha district
Hostilities between Iran and Israel are now in their eighth day, with both sides trading constant attacks.
We will bring you more on this incident as information comes in.
More than 8,000 Israelis left homeless due to conflict with Iran: Report
Iran’s retaliatory attacks have resulted in the displacement of more than 8,000 Israelis, Yedioth Ahronoth reported, citing the Israeli Property Tax Compensation Fund.
Some 30,000 requests have been made for compensation for damage to buildings or vehicles, the daily reported.
German foreign minister says more talks possible if Iran ‘serious’ on assurances
Germany and its European partners are open to further talks with Iran if it is willing to give assurances over its nuclear and missile programmes, Germany’s foreign minister says.
Speaking before a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, Johann Wadephul said he and his counterparts from the UK and France, along with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, had “always said that we are ready to talk”.
“This requires Iran’s serious willingness to renounce any enrichment of nuclear material, which could lead to nuclear weaponisation,” he said, according to Reuters.
“This also requires that the missile programme can be included. If this serious willingness exists, then the consequence on our part will also be that we are prepared to hold further talks,” he added.
Araghchi has said he is in Geneva to listen to the Europeans, but will not negotiate while Israeli strikes on Iran continue, and that Iran’s missile programme is non-negotiable.
Egyptian foreign minister discusses conflict with Iranian counterpart, US envoy
Badr Abdelatty has discussed the Iran-Israel conflict with Iranian and US officials, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
In a statement, the ministry said Abdelatty discussed ways to de-escalate tensions in the region during separate calls with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, and the US special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
Abdelatty emphasised the importance of a ceasefire and diplomacy to contain the escalating situation and limit the risk of a full-scale confrontation in the region, it added.
Iran’s foreign minister in Geneva ‘to listen’, not negotiate
Abbas Araghchi is in Geneva for a meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as Israel continues its strikes across the country.
Iranians are saying that, first, they’re not going to negotiate while those strikes continue, and that, second, they’re going to strike back and continue with their retaliatory measures.
Araghchi has said, first of all, he is there to listen to what the Europeans have to say – he is not there for negotiations as long as the strikes continue.
But at the same time, the Iranians are trying to send out a message that they’re not closing the door to the possibility of diplomacy, and that’s the fundamental reason for Araghchi being in Geneva.
He’s said Iran’s missile programme is not going to be negotiable while we’re being targeted on a daily basis.
While Iran is trying to keep the door open to diplomacy, the chance for a diplomatic trajectory to get a tangible achievement looks really low from an Iranian perspective.
You have to keep in mind that Iran was already in the middle of a diplomatic conversation with the Americans, with the sixth round of talks scheduled before they were disrupted by the Israeli strikes.
Russia fears Iran’s destabilisation would work to prevent ‘regime change’
Israel’s attacks on Iran, from the Russian perspective, “is a clear attempt to initiate regime change in Iran”, says Nikolay Surkov, a Russian political scientist.
“This is what Russia would do its best to prevent, because we fear very serious destabilisation, not only in the Middle East, not only in the Gulf, but also in the South Caucasus and in the Caspian region, because Iran is an important partner in many areas and in many regions,” Surkov told Al Jazeera, speaking from Moscow.
The destabilisation of Iran could mean that some strategic projects for Russia will be abandoned, he added.
“For example, Russia was investing heavily in the North-South corridor, which was supposed to connect Russia to the Gulf States, and to the ports in the Persian Gulf, and at the Sea of Arabia,” Surkov said.
Russia could play a role mediating between Iran and the US, the analyst added.
“From the Russian perspective, without the active US participation in this campaign, Israel will not be able to achieve regime change,” he said.
Russian specialists still working at Bushehr nuclear plant, says official
The head of Russia’s nuclear energy corporation says that Russian specialists are continuing to work at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, and that the situation there remains normal.
Alexey Likhachev said that he hoped that Moscow’s warnings to Israel not to attack the site had been received by the Israeli leadership.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that more than 200 Russians were continuing to work at Iran’s Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant, and that an agreement had been reached with Israel over their safety.
Russia, which has a strategic cooperation agreement with Iran, has strongly urged the US not to join in Israel’s strikes on Israel, warning it would destabilise the region and risk triggering a nuclear catastrophe.
Iran considers the US an accomplice to Israeli strikes
We just saw smoke pouring into the air from the southern parts of Tehran. Last night, we heard sounds of explosions. Despite this, the Iranian foreign minister decided to head to Geneva to continue with diplomatic talks there.
This sends out a clear message about the multifaceted approach that Iran is implementing. It’s going to strike back as long as the Israeli strikes continue. On the other hand, we see Iranian diplomats part of the negotiations.
We’ve also got this recent statement from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said that Iran considers the United States as an accomplice to these strikes. Previously, we saw the same statement coming from different Iranian officials. They’re all putting emphasis on the fact that Israeli strikes couldn’t have happened without the green light of the Americans, and for that reason, they decided not to go ahead with talks with the United States.
And we have to keep in mind that Iran was in the middle of a diplomatic conversation with the Americans, with six rounds of talks scheduled – and which were disrupted due to these strikes.
Israelis fear costly war of attrition, urge Trump to ‘finish the job’
So what does Israel make of how it’s faring in this conflict? There are two things happening at the same time.
On the one hand, you have the Israeli army, the military censor, the ministers, all very keen on painting a picture of superiority.
And that they have – at least as far as the air force is concerned. It is able to launch missiles, to fly almost freely over Iranian airspace. Just recently, there was a statement about targeting launch pads in Tehran that were preparing to fire missiles at Israel.
On the other hand, there’s also a sobering debate about the fear of a war of attrition – that if the US doesn’t intervene and strike Iran, this could drag on.
Netanyahu has refused to say how long this conflict will last – weeks, maybe even months. That’s because a prolonged conflict of this kind would be very costly, very difficult to bear for all involved.
That’s why you see billboards in Tel Aviv, for example, urging the American president to “finish the job”, as the billboards say.
(07:40 GMT)
Araghchi: Iran ‘not prepared for talks’ while Israel’s attacks continue
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has told state television that he is not prepared for talks with anyone while Israeli attacks continue, ahead of a scheduled meeting with European counterparts in Geneva.
Araghchi has arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, for a meeting with the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK, who are seeking to create a pathway back to diplomacy to de-escalate the conflict over Iran’s nuclear programme. The scheduled meeting is the first major diplomatic effort since Israel launched strikes on Iran last week.
But in comments to Iranian state television, Araghchi said that he was not prepared to talk while Israel continued its assault on his country, adding that “after our resistance against Israel, I think countries will distance themselves from this aggression”.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who will take part in the talks in Geneva, said he believes “a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution” after meeting senior US officials in Washington on Thursday.
(07:30 GMT)
IAEA: Khondab reactor damaged, but no ‘radiological consequence’ expected
The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has assessed that Israel’s Thursday strikes on the Khondab heavy water research reactor damaged key buildings at the facility, including the distillation unit.
However, it said, because the Khondab reactor was still under construction and not operational, it contained no nuclear material. Therefore, no “radiological consequence” was expected, IAEA head Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
The statement said damage to the facility, which was previously named Arak, had initially not been visible, but that the agency had later assessed that key buildings in the complex had been damaged.
The Israeli military said it had specifically targeted “the structure of the reactor’s core seal, which is a key component in plutonium production”.
(07:20 GMT)
Israeli defence minister warns Hezbollah against joining conflict with Iran
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah group to exercise caution, saying Israel’s patience with “terrorists” who threaten it had worn thin.
“The Hezbollah Secretary-General is not learning a lesson from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel in accordance with the Iranian dictator’s orders,” Katz said in a post on X.
Hezbollah’s previous leader Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated during Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah last year.
“I suggest to the Lebanese proxy to be careful and understand that Israel has lost patience with terrorists who threaten it.”
The head of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, said on Thursday that the Lebanese group would act as it saw fit in the face of what he called “brutal Israeli-American aggression” against Iran.
(07:10 GMT)
UK’s Lammy came away with ‘genuine feeling’ Trump wants Iran deal
The meeting that took place at the White House yesterday was between British Foreign Secretary David Lammy with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. We’re told that Lammy came away with a genuine feeling that Trump does want to see a deal [with Iran].
But we also know that Lammy was told the Americans are sceptical the Iranians will buy into what Trump wants, which is giving up any kind of nuclear weapons ambitions.
Later today, Lammy will be meeting the Iranian foreign minister with his French and German counterparts. The idea being that they can soften the ground to see if Iran can be brought back to the negotiating table.
If that does happen, then it’s likely Witkoff will meet with the Iranians at some point in the next two weeks.
But two weeks is a long time in the world of Donald Trump. All it takes is for him to pick up his phone, open Truth Social, write a message, and foreign policy changes, just like that.
Parliament speaker: ‘200 percent sure’ Lebanon will not enter war
Lebanon’s Nabih Berri, the influential parliament speaker, highest-ranking Shia politician in the country and close ally of Hezbollah, spoke to local MTV News last night, expressing his assuredness that Lebanon would not join Iran in any war against Israel.
“I am 200 percent sure Lebanon will not enter a war,” Berri told the network, “because it has no interest in doing so and would pay a heavy price.”
“Iran does not need us,” he added. “It is Israel that needs support.”
His comments come amid talk from both Iran, Israel and the US about whether or not Hezbollah will be activated to support Iran with attacks against Israel.
The group has so far signalled that it is sitting this one out, but its close ally Iran may pressure it to get involved should the US also enter the war on Israel’s side
More countries announce temporary closure of embassies in Tehran
Australia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are suspending operations at their embassies in Tehran due to the deteriorating security environment, their Foreign Ministries say.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government had directed the departure of all Australian officials from its Tehran embassy, while the ambassador would remain in the region to support Australia’’s response to the crisis.
She advised all Australian nationals in Iran to leave if they could do so safely.
Slovakia and the Czech Republic have also announced the temporary closure of their embassies in Tehran, joining countries including Bulgaria, New Zealand and Portugal in suspending their operations.
Senior Khamenei adviser Shamkhani in stable condition
Iranian state media has an update on the medical situation of Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was seriously wounded in an Israeli attack a week ago.
Tasnim news agency said Shamkhani was now in a stable condition thanks to the round-the-clock efforts of doctors.
“I am alive and ready to sacrifice myself,” it quoted him as saying in a message to the supreme leader and the Iranian nation.
Netanyahu started conflict to torpedo nuclear talks between Iran, US
The Israel-Iran conflict is playing out “exactly” the way Netanyahu planned it, says Shahram Akbarzadeh, director of the Middle East Studies Forum at Deakin University in Australia.
“Netanyahu started the conflict to torpedo nuclear talks between Iran and the United States,” Akbarzadeh told Al Jazeera, speaking from Melbourne.
“He would have known, and all observers would have known, that Iran would retaliate, and the Netanyahu plan [has been] to use the retaliation by Iran to drag the United States into the conflict.”
Concerns by European powers about how the US involvement can escalate this conflict are perhaps why we see a pause in the US deciding to get involved and “giving diplomacy a chance”, he added.
There’s a big risk, however, that upcoming negotiations will fail, the expert warned.
As for the US involvement, Akbarzadeh pressed that the US is already involved through supplying weaponry.
“The Israeli military hardware is supplied by the United States, and the United States provides support in shooting down various Iranian missiles,” he said.
Targeting underground nuclear facilities, however, requires more direct US involvement, as only it has weaponry to hit underground, the professor said.
Akbarzadeh added: “And it’s not just a matter of targeting the nuclear facilities … The agenda for Netanyahu is regime change.”
Use of tactical nuclear weapon by US would be catastrophic, warns Russia
The use of a tactical nuclear weapon by the US in Iran would be a catastrophic development, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has warned.
Peskov was commenting on what he called speculative media reports about that possibility, Russian state media reported.
The US has signalled that it has not ruled out joining Israel’s strikes on Iran, with the White House saying on Thursday that Trump would make a decision within the next two weeks.
Russia has been urging the US not to join in the Israeli attacks, warning it would dramatically destabilise the region and risk a nuclear disaster.
Israeli forces turn Palestinian buildings in West Bank into military barracks
The Israeli military has stormed the occupied West Bank towns of Arura and Abwein, as well as the Nubani farms in Ramallah, the Palestinian Information Center reports.
Israeli forces have carried out an arrest campaign in the towns, while they’ve also raided Palestinian buildings, evicted the owners, and turned them into military barracks, according to the news outlet.