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Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.Here are the latest developments:- New missile salvo -Israel’s army on Wednesday said it had detected new missiles launched from Iran, adding that its defensive systems were operating to intercept the threat.The announcement came after Iran issued an evacuation warning for residents of the Israeli city of Haifa, with state TV subsequently reporting launches of Fattah hypersonic missiles.The Israeli military later said it was “flying over surface-to-surface missile launch and storage sites… (and) striking those attempting to reactivate sites that have already been hit”.Israel’s air defence systems appear to have been largely successful in intercepting the daily barrages of Iranian missiles and drones.An Israeli military official, who asked not to be named, said that Iran had fired around 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones since Friday. About 20 missiles had struck civilian areas in Israel, the official added.- Near-total internet blackout -Iran was in a “near-total national internet blackout”, London-based watchdog NetBlocks wrote on X.Iran announced last week that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet, with the communication ministry saying Wednesday that heavier limits were being imposed due to Israel’s “abuse of the country’s communication network for military purposes”.Iranian media later reported that Israel briefly hacked the state television broadcast, airing footage of women’s protests and urging people to take to the streets. Numerous sites and apps have remained at least partially inaccessible.State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users’ location and personal data and “communicates them to the Zionist enemy”.A WhatsApp spokesperson hit back against the claims, expressing concern the “false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked”.- Trump on strikes, talks -President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was considering whether the United States would join Israel’s strikes, and said that Iran had reached out to seek negotiations on ending the conflict.”I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump told reporters. “I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate.”Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program in a bid to end Israel’s air assault.Asked if it was too late for negotiations, he said: “Nothing is too late.”In a televised statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump a “great friend” of Israel, and thanked him “for the support of the United States in defending Israel’s skies”.- Khamenei warns US -Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech read on state television: “This nation will never surrender.”He added: “America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”Trump had said on Tuesday that the United States knows where Khamenei is located but will not kill him “for now”.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday his country was committed to “diplomacy” but was acting in “self-defence” against Israel’s assault.- Israel says hit security HQ -AFP journalists reported hearing blasts across Tehran throughout the day on Wednesday, with smoke billowing over parts of the city.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in the afternoon that air force jets had “destroyed the internal security headquarters of the Iranian regime — the main arm of repression of the Iranian dictator”.French President Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to end strikes on targets in Iran not linked to nuclear activities or ballistic missiles, his office said.- ‘Painful losses’ -Foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries, with US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announcing plans on Wednesday to get Americans out by air and sea.Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.Residential areas in Israel have also been hit.Netanyahu acknowledged suffering “painful losses” on Wednesday, but added: “The home front is solid, the people are strong.”The prime minister’s office said Monday that at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded since Iran’s retaliatory strikes began Friday.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.- Putin eyes ‘solution’ -Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that a deal to end the fighting between Israel and Iran was possible.He also claimed Israel’s strikes on Iran had led to a “consolidation” of support in Iranian society around its leaders.”We see that today in Iran there is a consolidation of society around the country’s political leadership,” Putin told foreign journalists, including AFP, in a televised event.”This is a delicate issue, and of course we need to be very careful here, but in my opinion, a solution can be found,” he added, referring to a possible deal that was in the interests of both Israel and Iran.He had previously proposed to act as a mediator in the conflict, prompting both Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron to question his suitability given Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Wall Street stocks treaded water Wednesday after the Federal Reserve met expectations and kept interest rates steady while oil prices nudged higher following a volatile session amid ongoing clashes between Iran and Israel.The Fed held interest rates unchanged for a fourth consecutive meeting, as Chair Jerome Powell said more time was needed to monitor the …

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The United States has thousands of troops deployed on bases across the Middle East, a region in which Washington’s forces have carried out repeated military operations in recent decades.Israel launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran last week, and US President Donald Trump has said he is weighing whether to join Israel in the fight.US involvement in the conflict would likely result in attacks by Tehran on American troops in the region, who were already targeted by Iran-aligned forces in the course of the Israel-Hamas war.Below, AFP examines countries with major concentrations of US forces in the Middle East, which falls under the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM).- Bahrain -The tiny Gulf kingdom hosts an installation known as Naval Support Activity Bahrain, where the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and US Naval Forces Central Command headquarters are based.Bahrain’s deep-water port can accommodate the largest US military vessels, such as aircraft carriers, and the US Navy has used the base in the country since 1948, when the facility was operated by Britain’s Royal Navy.Several US ships have their home port in Bahrain, including four anti-mine vessels and two logistical support ships. The US Coast Guard also has vessels in the country, including six fast response cutters.- Iraq -The United States has troops at various installations in Iraq, including Al-Asad and Arbil air bases. The Iraqi government is a close ally of Iran, but also a strategic partner of Tehran’s arch-foe the United States.There are some 2,500 US troops in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group. Baghdad and Washington have agreed on a timetable for the gradual withdrawal of the coalition’s forces from the country.US forces in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by pro-Iran militants following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, but responded with heavy strikes on Tehran-linked targets, and the attacks largely subsided.- Kuwait -Kuwait has several US bases, including Camp Arifjan, the location of the forward headquarters for the US Army component of CENTCOM. The US Army also has stocks of prepositioned materiel in the country.Ali al-Salem Air Base hosts the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, the “primary airlift hub and gateway for delivering combat power to joint and coalition forces” in the region. Additionally, the United States has drones including MQ-9 Reapers in Kuwait.- Qatar -Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar includes the forward components of CENTCOM, as well as of its air forces and special operation forces in the region. It also hosts rotating combat aircraft, as well as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which includes “airlift, aerial refueling intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and aeromedical evacuation assets.”- Syria -The United States has for years maintained troop presences at a series of installations in Syria as part of international efforts against the Islamic State group, which rose out of the country’s civil war to overrun large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq.The Pentagon announced in April that it would roughly halve the number of its forces in the country to less than 1,000 in the coming months as part of a “consolidation” of US troops in the country.- United Arab Emirates -Al Dahfra Air Base in the UAE hosts the US 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, a force that is composed of 10 squadrons of aircraft and also includes drones such as MQ-9 Reapers.Combat aircraft have rotated through Al Dhafra, which also hosts the Gulf Air Warfare Center for air and missile defense training.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said 33 people were killed by Israeli fire in the Palestinian territory on Wednesday, including 11 who were seeking aid. The war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel has ravaged the Gaza Strip and resulted in severe shortages of food, fuel and clean water.Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 11 people were killed and more than 100 wounded “after the occupation forces opened fire and launched several shells… at thousands of citizens” who had gathered to queue for food in central Gaza.The military told AFP that its forces operating in central Gaza identified “a group of suspicious individuals” approaching “in a manner that posed a potential threat to the forces.”It said its troops then fired “warning shots”, but that it was “unaware of injuries”.In early March, Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, amid a deadlock in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May.- Soldier killed -Since then, chaotic scenes and a string of deadly shootings have occurred near areas where Palestinians have gathered in hopes of receiving aid.The civil defence agency said another 19 people were killed in three Israeli strikes on Wednesday, which it said targeted houses and a tent for displaced people.The Israeli military told AFP regarding one of those attacks that its troops were “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities”.Later Wednesday, the Israeli army said a soldier — staff sergeant Stav Halfon — had been killed during an operation in the southern Gaza Strip. In another incident, three more people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a neighbourhood northeast of Gaza City on Wednesday, Bassal said.Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.The agency reported that at least 53 people were killed on Tuesday, as they gathered near an aid centre in the southern city of Khan Yunis hoping to receive flour.After Israel eased its blockade, the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began distributing aid in late May, but its operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and dozens of deaths.- ‘Acute food insecurity’ -UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.However, the UN humanitarian office OCHA pointed out Tuesday that incidents “are also increasingly occurring along routes used by the UN to deliver humanitarian supplies”, not just GHF.It added that its humanitarian partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP), have reported that fuel in Gaza was reaching “critically low levels”.”Without immediate resupply, essential services — including the provision of clean water — will grind to a halt very soon,” the statement added.OCHA said on Monday that its partners “continue to warn of the risk of famine in Gaza, amid catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity”.The Hamas attack which triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to Israeli official figures.The Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday that 5,334 people have been killed since Israel resumed major operations in the territory on March 18, ending a two-month truce.The overall death toll in Gaza since the war broke out has reached 55,637 people, according to the health ministry.

Brazil said Wednesday it was free of bird flu, paving the way for it to resume chicken exports to China and 20 other countries after a month-long suspension.The world’s top exporter of chicken meat was forced to halt exports to its main client China, the European Union and fellow Latin American countries over an outbreak …

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Nippon Steel and US Steel announced Wednesday they have completed a long-debated transaction granting the US government a “golden share” — a veto-like power over the Japanese company’s strategic decisions.The agreement modifies a transaction originally announced in December 2023 in which Nippon Steel agreed to acquire US Steel for $14.9 billion. But the outright acquisition of …

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As Israel presses its aerial attacks on Tehran, concern is growing over the fate of foreign nationals and Iranians seen by rights groups as political prisoners imprisoned in the capital who have no chance of fleeing to safety.Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals, many of whose cases have never been published, in what some Western governments describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West.Rights groups also accuse Iran of holding dozens of political prisoners whose sole offence has been to criticise the Islamic republic’s clerical leadership.Most are held in Evin prison, a large, heavily fortified complex notorious among activists for rights abuses that is located in a northern district of the Iranian capital. The prisoners have no means to respond to US President Donald Trump’s warning that “everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”For Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler, who has been held along with her partner Jacques Paris since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject, the wait is agonising.”Since May 30, we’ve had no news, no sign of life from Jacques and Cecile, and the French authorities haven’t been able to obtain any information either,” Noemie Kohler told AFP, referring to the date of their last consular visit.”We saw that at least two strikes took place about two kilometres from where they are being held (in Evin prison), so it’s extremely close. We suspect they must have heard the explosions, but we have no idea how they are doing, we have no idea what level of information they have access to.”- ‘Imminent danger’ -Their last phone contact was on May 28, when Cecile Kohler’s parents spoke to her, she said, describing the mood even then as “desperate”, as they “no longer believe that they are going to be released”.”We don’t know if conditions in the prison have deteriorated in connection with the situation. We’re completely in the dark, and we’re truly terrified,” she said.She called for the couple’s “humanitarian exfiltration”, warning that “they are in imminent danger of death”.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in May that 20 Europeans — a higher number than the total of publicised cases — are held in similar circumstances in Iran, including “teachers, academics, journalists, tourists”.He told parliament on Wednesday that France sent messages to the Iranian and Israeli authorities “alerting them to the presence of our two compatriots in Evin prison and to the need, as far as the Iranian authorities are concerned, to release them without delay to ensure their safety”.Among other Europeans known to be held in Iran is Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali, who was arrested during a visit in April 2016 and sentenced to death in 2017 on charges of spying for Israel, which his family says are false.The current conflict, which has already seen one man, Esmail Fekri, executed on Monday on charges of spying for Israel, has made Djalali’s situation especially precarious.Norway-based group Iran Human Rights has warned the lives of Djalali and eight other men convicted on similar charges are at risk.”The risk of execution of these individuals is serious,” said its director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, adding they had all been sentenced after “an unfair, non-transparent process, and based on the orders of security institutions”.- ‘My dad is in prison’ -Tehran residents have fled the city en masse.The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who was serving a prison sentence but was released from Evin last year on medical leave, said she had left Tehran.But Mohammadi’s fellow rights activist Reza Khandan, the husband of prize-winning rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, is still jailed in Evin.Khandan, who long campaigned for his wife while she was in jail, was himself arrested in December 2024.”My dad is in prison. Can you tell me, how can my father evacuate Tehran?” their daughter Mehraveh Khandan said in a tearful message on Instagram.The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran urged “all parties to fully comply with international humanitarian law and take immediate steps to safeguard civilians, including those in custody”.It published a letter by legal activist Mahvash Seydal, seen as a political prisoner by rights groups, calling on authorities to grant detainees such as herself temporary release “to protect the lives and dignity of political prisoners”.