Donald Trump has responded to reports he approved attack plans on Iran but is holding back on the final order. Meanwhile, Iran has denied attacking an Israeli hospital where dozens have been wounded. Scroll down for updates.
Friday 20 June 2025 04:07, UK
Iran has fired a fresh wave of missiles at Israel, according to Israeli military.
It comes after Israel issued an evacuation warning to residents in an Iranian village to the north west of Tehran, as it prepared to strike Iranian military infrastructure.
The warning is for the industrial area of Iran's Kolesh Taleshan village.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
Regime change in Iran is "unacceptable" and the assassination of the country's Supreme Leader would "open the Pandora's box", the Kremlin has said.
In a rare interview with a foreign media organisation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sky News that Russia would react "very negatively" if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
The comments came as US President Donald Trump said he will decide within two weeks whether America will join Israel's military campaign against Tehran, after earlier speculating on social media about killing the Iranian leader.
Earlier we brought you news that Israel attacked a partially-constructed Iranian heavy water reactor roughly 400km west of Tehran.
While it was part of Iran's nuclear programme, the IAEA has said that the site was not operational and contained no nuclear material.
So why did the IDF attack it?
It may have been because Israel is thinking 'longer term', Dr Alexander Bollfrass, an expert in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons at the International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank, says.
"The concern there is that were the reactor to come online and to produce plutonium, in the long run that plutonium could find its use in a nuclear warhead," he told a panel on Thursday afternoon.
Plutonium is an alternative fuel for nuclear weapons.
"That was a much longer term nuclear capability," Dr Bollfrass added.
He also described the Israeli campaign in general in how it is seeking to destroy or disable Iran's nuclear capability in general.
"They are really trying to systematically go through and eliminate the raw materials that would be needed for a nuclear weapon, the intellectual ability in the form of scientists and engineers, as well as things like test results, and also focussing on the longer term ability to produce plutonium."
We reported earlier that an Israeli military official described it as a "mistake" to claim a strike on the Bushehr nuclear site in southern Iran - see our 12.24 post.
The official would only confirm Israel hit the Natanz, Isfahan and Khondab nuclear sites in the west.
Pressed further on Bushehr, the official said he couldn't confirm or deny Israel had struck the location, where Iran has a reactor.
An Iranian diplomat cited by Reuters news agency has commented on those remarks, describing Israeli claims as "psychological warfare", adding the site was not hit.
Bushehr is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant.
Sitting on the Gulf coast, it uses Russian fuel that Russia then retakes when it is spent to reduce proliferation risk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Moscow had agreed with Israeli leaders that the safety of Russian workers at the site would be guaranteed.
The potential consequences of an attack on the plant have long been a concern in the Gulf states.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said there is a "window" to achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Speaking after his meeting in Washington with secretary of state Marco Rubio and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Lammy said: "The situation in the Middle East remains perilous.
"We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon."
Lammy said the meeting saw them discuss "how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict," adding "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution".
Speaking on Thursday night, he said: "Tomorrow, I will be heading to Geneva to meet with the Iranian Foreign Minister alongside my French, German and EU counterparts.
"Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read out a statement from Donald Trump earlier, in which he said he will make his decision "whether or not to go" on Iran in the next two weeks (see 18.28 post).
But what's next for Trump after he set out that timeline? Our US correspondent Mark Stone takes a look...
We can bring you these pictures from earlier today showing the aftermath of an Iranian attack on Holon, central Israel.
It is located just south of Tel Aviv and was one of several areas targeted by Tehran's strikes last night.
By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor
Diplomacy to prevent the conflict between Israel and Iran spiralling further out of control is picking up pace with the UK at its centre.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has met with his US counterpart Marco Rubio and Donald Trump's chief negotiator Steve Witkoff in Washington and flies next to Geneva.
Sources close to the talks say the meeting in the US capital was positive and the Americans are seeking a diplomatic solution while retaining military action as very much an option on the table.
Lammy flies to meet with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and their French and German counterparts in Geneva tomorrow. He will be taking with him a message to the Iranians from the Trump administration.
Their response could be crucial in what happens next in a conflict that threatens to escalate engulfing the region.
There are limitations to the diplomacy underway not least because Israel is not involved in the talks.
Israelis say Iran cannot be trusted and do not want their stunning military progress jeopardised by weeks of delaying diplomacy fearing the Iranians will play for time.
While Starmer hosted Bahrain's crown prince (see 22.25 post), UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been in Washington.
He's been meeting US secretary of state Marco Rubio, with spokesperson Tammy Bruce saying the two sides agreed Iran "can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon".
Our US partner network NBC News was told that Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff would also be present at the meeting (see 17.00 post).
They discussed other key areas of US-UK cooperation, including efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Lammy and Rubio also addressed the upcoming NATO summit, and reaffirmed the importance of increased defence spending to secure peace and stability.
An update to bring you from the Israeli military, which has just issued an evacuation warning to residents in an Iranian village.
The warning is for the industrial area of Iran's Kolesh Taleshan village, which is situated to the north west of Tehran.
Israel says the warning comes as it prepares to strike Iranian military infrastructure.
