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Israel and Iran exchanged missile fire for a fifth consecutive day Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump abruptly left the G7 summit and warned Tehran residents to “immediately evacuate” amid rising fears of a wider conflict.The Israeli military said it targeted multiple missile and UAV sites in western Iran, including surface-to-surface missile infrastructure, surface-to-air launchers and drone storage facilities, in a statement accompanied by black-and-white footage showing missile launchers exploding.Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded in parts of Israel. Loud booms were heard over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, AFP journalists reported, as the Israeli army warned of incoming missiles launched from Iran. “Sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran,” the military said, adding the air force was “operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat.”Around 20 minutes later, the army said people could leave protected spaces. Police said shrapnel fell in Tel Aviv, causing damage but no casualties. The fire service said its teams were on the way to battle a blaze in the commercial hub.Despite mounting calls to de-escalate, neither side has backed off from the missile blitz that began Friday, when Israel launched an unprecedented aerial campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities.A new wave of Israeli strikes on Tehran — including a dramatic hit on state television’s headquarters that the broadcaster said killed three people — prompted both sides to activate missile defence systems overnight.Israel’s army briefly urged citizens to seek shelter, amid growing fears of a regional war.Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the US was deploying “additional capabilities” to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left Southeast Asia Monday, scrapping a planned Vietnam stop, amid reports it was heading to the region.A White House spokesman said US forces remained in a defensive posture.The US leader Trump has repeatedly declined to say whether the United States would support Israeli military action and has insisted Washington was not involved in the initial strikes.After calling for talks, Trump issued an extraordinary warning on his Truth Social platform: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” He left the G7 in Canada early to return to Washington.Later, he dismissed reports that he left to broker a ceasefire, lashing out at French President Emmanuel Macron.”Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron… mistakenly said I left the G7… to work on a ‘cease fire,'” Trump posted on Truth Social.”Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that.. Stay Tuned!”- ‘One after the other’ – After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel launched its surprise air campaign last week, saying it aimed to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — a charge Tehran denies.Iran has responded with multiple missile salvos. The Revolutionary Guards vowed Monday night the attacks would continue “without interruption until dawn”.The escalation has derailed nuclear talks and stoked fears of broader conflict. Trump urged Iran to return to the negotiating table.US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said a missile strike lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv. The State Department warned Americans not to travel to Israel.At least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to the prime minister’s office.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was eliminating Iran’s security leadership “one after the other”.”We are changing the face of the Middle East, and that can lead to radical changes inside Iran itself,” he said.- ‘Stop’ civilian strikes -International calls for calm have mounted.At the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies, leaders including Trump called Monday for “de-escalation” while stressing Israel had the right to defend itself.”We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”, G7 leaders said in a joint statement that also affirmed “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon”.China called on Israel and Iran to both “immediately take measures to cool down the tensions” and avoid plunging the region into deeper turmoil.The United States and Iran had engaged in several rounds of indirect talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme in recent weeks, but Iran said after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate while under attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that “absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue”. “It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy,” he wrote on X.A senior US official told AFP Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.But Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility when asked about the reports during an interview with ABC News.”It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” he said.burs-dv/yad

G7 leaders on Monday called for “de-escalation” in the Middle East starting with the Israel-Iran conflict, as US President Donald Trump hastily left the group’s summit.Trump, who was making his return to the international diplomatic calendar, departed the gathering in the Canadian Rockies a day early as ally Israel pounded Iran.After a day of statements backing diplomacy, Trump ominously took to social media to sound a warning to people in the Iranian capital, whose population is nearly 10 million.”Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.Having earlier hesitated at backing a joint statement on the crisis, Trump relented during a dinner at a forested lodge under the snow-capped mountains in Kananaskis.”We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” said the joint statement released by Canada.The statement said Israel “has a right to defend itself” and stressed “the importance of the protection of civilians,” as the growing attacks kill civilians on both sides.The leaders of the club of industrial democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — stated their conviction that Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon.”Trump for weeks said he favored diplomacy, and his envoy Steve Witkoff met five times with Iranian envoys, but he quickly backed Israel’s strikes and said Tehran’s clerical state should have agreed to his terms.At a group photo with fellow G7 leaders before the dinner, Trump said: “I have to be back as soon as I can. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff.”French President Emmanuel Macron suggested the United States was ready to make a diplomatic overture.”There was an offer made for a meeting and an exchange,” Macron told reporters.”If the United States can obtain a ceasefire, it is a very good thing,” he added.Soon after his early exit, Trump rebuked his French counterpart, accusing Macron of mischaracterizing the reason for his departure.”Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.”Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay tuned!”Before his decision to leave early was announced, Trump had told reporters: “As soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something.”He has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he has said Washington was not involved in initial strikes and the White House said US forces remained in a defensive posture.- Onus on Iran -Trump earlier said Iran would be “foolish” not to agree to a negotiated settlement.”It’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late,” Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.The US president will miss a day of G7 meetings that was expected to include discussions with the leaders of Ukraine and Mexico.Since Friday, Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel.Macron voiced objections to what increasingly appeared to be Israel’s goal — toppling the clerical state that took power after the 1979 revolution toppled the pro-Western shah.”All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken,” he said.Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not yet at levels to create an atomic bomb. Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly.- Tariff talks -The summit comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Trump’s return to the White House.Seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, Trump has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until July 9.But Trump voiced optimism about a resolution with Canada and signed documents with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to confirm an agreement with Britain.Trump has previously mocked host Canada, stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state.But Trump has appeared to show more respect to Canada since Carney, a staid former central banker, took over from the more flamboyant Justin Trudeau in March.Trump had taken office seeking diplomacy both on Iran and Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.He has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire.

G7 leaders on Monday called for “de-escalation” in the Middle East starting with the Israel-Iran conflict, as US President Donald Trump hastily left the group’s summit.Trump, who was making his return to the international diplomatic calendar, departed the gathering in the Canadian Rockies a day early as ally Israel pounded Iran.After a day of statements backing diplomacy, Trump ominously took to social media to sound a warning to people in the Iranian capital, whose population is nearly 10 million.”Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.Having earlier hesitated at backing a joint statement on the crisis, Trump relented during a dinner at a forested lodge under the snow-capped mountains in Kananaskis.”We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” said the joint statement released by Canada.The statement said that Israel “has a right to defend itself” and stressed “the importance of the protection of civilians,” as the growing attacks kill civilians on both sides.The leaders of the club of industrial democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — stated their conviction that Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon.”Trump for weeks said he favored diplomacy, and his envoy Steve Witkoff met five times with Iranian envoys, but he quickly backed Israel’s strikes and said that Tehran’s clerical state should have agreed to his terms.At a group photo with fellow G7 leaders before the dinner, Trump said: “I have to be back as soon as I can. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff.”French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that the United States was ready to make a diplomatic overture.”There was an offer made for a meeting and an exchange,” Macron told reporters.Trump told reporters before his decision was announced to leave early: “As soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something.”He has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he has said Washington was not involved in initial strikes and the White House said that US forces remained in a defensive posture.- Onus on Iran -Trump earlier said that Iran would be “foolish” not to agree to a negotiated settlement.”It’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late,” Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.The US president will miss a day of G7 meetings that was expected to include discussions with the leaders of Ukraine and Mexico.Since Friday, Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel.Macron voiced objections to what increasingly appeared to be Israel’s goal — toppling the clerical state that took power after the 1979 revolution toppled the pro-Western shah.”All who have thought that by bombing from the outside you can save a country in spite of itself have always been mistaken,” he said.Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not yet at levels to create an atomic bomb. Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly.- Tariff talks -The summit comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Trump’s return to the White House.Seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, Trump has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until July 9.But Trump voiced optimism about a resolution with Canada and signed documents with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to confirm an agreement with Britain.Trump has previously mocked host Canada, stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state.But Trump has appeared to show more respect to Canada since Carney, a staid former central banker, took over from the more flamboyant Justin Trudeau in March.Trump had taken office seeking diplomacy both on Iran and Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.He has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire.Trump said Monday that Putin was “very insulted” by Russia’s 2014 expulsion from the G8 and that if Russia were still a member, “you wouldn’t have a war right now.”

Israel and Iran traded missile fire for a fifth straight day Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump warned Tehran residents to “immediately evacuate” and left a G7 summit early.Despite growing calls for the longtime foes to end hostilities, neither Israel nor Iran showed any signs of cutting short the missile blitz kicked off Friday, when Israel launched an unprecedented series of aerial raids targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities.After a new wave of Israeli strikes on Iran’s capital — including a dramatic attack on a state TV building — both countries activated their missile defence systems overnight into Tuesday, with Israel’s army briefly urging residents to seek shelter from incoming Iranian missiles. The Chinese embassy in Tel Aviv warned its citizens to leave the country immediately, as the United States said it was deploying “additional capabilities” to the Middle East, according to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz departed Southeast Asia on Monday after cancelling plans to dock in Vietnam, amid reports it was headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence there.But a White House spokesman stressed that US forces in the Middle East remained in a defensive posture, despite the flurry of activity. Trump has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he says it was not involved in the initial strikes.After calling on the two sides to make a deal, the US leader issued an extraordinary warning on his Truth Social platform. “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Trump wrote without offering further details, before cutting short his attendance at the G7 in Canada to head back to the White House.- ‘One after the other’ – After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel launched a surprise aerial campaign against Iran last week, with the stated aim of preventing Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons — an ambition it denies.Iran has launched several waves of missiles in retaliation for Israel’s attacks, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards boasting Monday evening that the attacks would continue “without interruption until dawn”.The sudden flare-up has sparked fears of a wider conflict, with Trump urging Iran back to the negotiating table after Israel’s attacks derailed ongoing nuclear talks.US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said a missile strike lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv, while the US State Department warned citizens on Monday not to travel to Israel due to security concerns.At least 24 people have been killed in Israel so far and hundreds wounded, according to the prime minister’s office.Israel’s strikes have killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities.Netanyahu told a press conference Monday evening that Israel was eliminating Iran’s security leadership “one after the other”.”We are changing the face of the Middle East, and that can lead to radical changes inside Iran itself,” he said. – ‘Stop’ civilian strikes -International calls for calm have mounted.At the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies, leaders including Trump called Monday for “de-escalation” while stressing Israel had the right to defend itself.”We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”, G7 leaders said in a joint statement that also affirmed “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon”.China called on Israel and Iran to both “immediately take measures to cool down the tensions” and avoid plunging the region into deeper turmoil.The United States and Iran had engaged in several rounds of indirect talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme in recent weeks, but Iran said after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate while under attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that “absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue”. “It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy,” he wrote on X.A senior US official told AFP Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.But Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility when asked about the reports during an interview with ABC News.”It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” he said.

The White House insisted Monday evening that US forces remained in a “defensive” posture in the Middle East, despite a military buildup over the Israel-Iran war and a shock warning from President Donald Trump to evacuate Tehran.Trump’s brief warning on social media, without further details, raised speculation that the United States may be readying to join Israel in attacking Iran.Those suspicions rose further after it was announced that Trump would be leaving a G7 summit in Canada and returning to the White House a day early over the mounting Middle East conflict.But White House and Pentagon officials reiterated that US forces in the region remained in a “defensive” posture.White House spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer, replying to a post on social media that claimed the United States was attacking in Iran, said: “This is not true.””American forces are maintaining their defensive posture, and that has not changed,” he said.Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth similarly told Fox News in a televised interview that “we are postured defensively in the region, to be strong, in pursuit of a peace deal, and we certainly hope that’s what happens here.”Earlier in the day, Hegseth had announced that he had “directed the deployment of additional capabilities” over the weekend to the Middle East.”Protecting US forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,” he wrote on X.His post on social media came after the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was tracked leaving Southeast Asia on Monday, and amid reports that dozens of US military aircraft were heading across the Atlantic.A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Hegseth had ordered the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group to the Middle East, saying it was “to sustain our defensive posture and safeguard American personnel.”The movement of one of the world’s largest warships came on day four of the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, with no end in sight despite international calls for de-escalation.

US President Donald Trump was on Monday leaving a Group of Seven summit early as he hinted of greater involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict and warned Tehran residents to evacuate.Before flying out of Canada in the middle of the G7 gathering, Trump took to social media to back Israel and issue an alert to the Iranian capital of nearly 10 million people.”Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.At a group photo with fellow G7 leaders in the scenic mountain resort of Kananaskis, he said: “I have to be back as soon as I can. I wish I could stay for tomorrow, but they understand, this is big stuff.”White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump would attend the leaders’ dinner before returning to the White House.The US president will miss a day of meetings that was expected to include discussions with the leaders of Ukraine and Mexico.He has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he says it was not involved in initial strikes.Trump told reporters before his decision was announced to leave early: “As soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something.”The president, who has praised Israel’s strikes despite his stated preference for diplomacy, said Iran would be “foolish” not to agree to a negotiated settlement.”It’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late,” Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.US forces in the Middle East remain in a defensive posture, a White House spokesman stressed. – Onus on Iran -Israel has struck major nuclear and military sites and killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel.Canada and European leaders had hoped to draft a G7 statement on the crisis, but diplomats said that Trump had not committed the United States to joining it.Leaders of the club of industrialized democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — have mostly backed Israel, but concern has mounted as the violence intensifies.French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to reporters at the summit on Monday, pleaded with Israel to spare civilians in Iran.Any G7 statement would be expected to put the onus on Iran and stop short of calling for an immediate ceasefire.”We’ll highlight the legitimate right of the state of Israel to defend itself and we will also discuss potential additional measures to reach a diplomatic solution,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that G7 leaders share concern about Iran’s nuclear program but also: “I do think there’s a consensus for de-escalation.”Iran, since Trump pulled out of an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has ramped up uranium enrichment but not yet at levels to create an atomic bomb. Israel is widely known to have nuclear weapons but does not acknowledge them publicly.- Tariff talks -The summit at a wooded lodge under snow-topped mountains comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Trump’s return.Seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, Trump has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until July 9.But Trump voiced optimism about a resolution with Canada and signed documents with Starmer to confirm an agreement with Britain.Trump has previously mocked host Canada, stating that the vast but less populated neighbor should become the 51st US state.But Trump has appeared to show more respect to Canada since Carney, a staid former central banker, took over from the more flamboyant Justin Trudeau in March.Trump had taken office seeking diplomacy both on Iran and Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022.He has since voiced frustration that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not accepted a US proposal for a ceasefire.Trump said Monday that Putin was “very insulted” by Russia’s 2014 expulsion from the G8 and that if Russia were still a member, “you wouldn’t have a war right now.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Monday that Israel’s campaign against Iran was “changing the face of the Middle East”, as the two countries traded heavy strikes for a fourth day. The remarks came hours after a dramatic attack on an Iranian state TV building, which forced a presenter to flee mid-broadcast and prompted a threat of retaliation against Israeli news channels.After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel launched a surprise aerial campaign against Iran last week, with the stated aim of preventing Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons — an ambition it denies.The sudden flare-up has sparked fears of a wider conflict, with US President Donald Trump urging Iran back to the negotiating table after Israel’s attacks derailed ongoing nuclear talks.While Trump has maintained that Washington has “nothing to do” with its ally’s campaign, he issued an extraordinary warning on Monday for all residents of Tehran to “immediately evacuate” — echoing a narrower warning by Israel’s army for people to flee the capital district where the TV station was later hit. Israel’s strikes have killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities.Netanyahu told a press conference Monday evening that Israel was eliminating Iran’s security leadership “one after the other”.”We are changing the face of the Middle East, and that can lead to radical changes inside Iran itself,” he said. Iran has launched several waves of missiles in retaliation for Israel’s attacks, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards boasting Monday evening that the attacks would continue “without interruption until dawn”.Inhabitants of Tel Aviv were briefly told to seek shelter early Tuesday, a day after Iranian strikes on multiple Israeli cities pushed the death toll above two dozen in Israel. – ‘Very scared’ -Earlier, the live feed of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) was interrupted when an Israeli strike hit its Tehran building on Monday.The presenter was in the midst of lambasting Israel when an explosion rocked the facility, causing the monitors behind her to cut out and sending debris raining from the ceiling. Prior to the strike, Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Iran’s “propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear”.IRIB resumed its broadcast shortly after the strike, with a senior official at the service saying “the voice of the Islamic revolution… will not be silenced with a military operation”.Iran later “issued an evacuation warning for the N12 and N14 channels of Israel”, state TV reported, calling the order a “response to the hostile attack” on IRIB.Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak, Petah Tikva and Haifa on Monday, leaving behind shattered homes, smouldering wreckage and stunned residents picking through debris.”I have four children, four boys. We’re very scared, but everyone is OK,” said Idan Bar, whose building in Petah Tikva was among those hit.US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said a nearby missile strike lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv, while the US State Department warned citizens on Monday not to travel to Israel due to security concerns.The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was also leaving Southeast Asia on Monday after cancelling plans to dock in Vietnam, amid reports it was headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence there.- ‘Takes one phone call’ -International calls for calm have mounted.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters at the Group of Seven summit in the Canadian Rockies on Monday that he believed his fellow leaders were united in wanting de-escalation, adding the “risk of the conflict escalating is obvious”.French President Emmanuel Macron called for both sides to “end” strikes on civilians and warned that aiming to overthrow Tehran’s clerical state would be a “strategic error”.China called on Israel and Iran to both “immediately take measures to cool down the tensions” and avoid plunging the region into deeper turmoil.Trump had initially urged Iran to come back to the negotiating table, but then wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Shortly afterwards, the White House said Trump would return to Washington, cutting short his stay at the G7 summit and hinting at greater US involvement in the conflict.The United States and Iran had engaged in several rounds of indirect talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme in recent weeks, but Iran said after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate while under attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that “absent a total cessation of military aggression against us, our responses will continue”. “It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu. That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy,” he wrote on X.A senior US official told AFP Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.But Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility when asked about the reports during an interview with ABC News.”It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” he said.burs-smw/tym/lb

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was leaving Southeast Asia on Monday after canceling a Vietnam visit, as the Pentagon announced it was sending “additional capabilities” to the Middle East amid a ramp up of the Iran-Israel conflict.At 13:45 GMT, the carrier was traveling through the Malacca Strait toward the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking site.A Vietnamese government official confirmed to AFP that a planned reception aboard the USS Nimitz on June 20, as part of the ship’s expected June 19-23 visit to Danang, had been cancelled.  The official shared a letter from the US embassy announcing that the Defense Department was cancelling the event due to “an emergent operational requirement.” The movement of one of the world’s largest warships came on day four of the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, with no end in sight despite international calls for de-escalation.Hours after the US embassy letter, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the United States was reinforcing its military presence in the Middle East to enhance its “defensive posture.””Over the weekend, I directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the United States Central Command Area of Responsibility,” Hegseth posted on X. “Protecting US forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region.”Israel’s strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities.In retaliation, Iran said it had struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of “effective, targeted and more devastating operations” to come.US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday said that Iran’s missile barrage had lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv.With tensions high, US President Donald Trump issued an unspecified warning from the G7 summit in Canada where he is scheduled to remain until Tuesday.”As soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something. But I have to leave here,” Trump told reporters. Meanwhile open source intelligence analysts have taken to social media to post flight-tracking software grabs of about two dozen US Air Force air tankers taking off since Sunday and heading east over the Atlantic ocean.Defense news and analysis website TWZ reported that the US tankers could be heading toward the Middle East to provide aerial refueling support for Israel’s air operations over Iran, or they could be positioning to provide an air bridge from the United States to the region.