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What we know
- INTENSIFYING CONFLICT: Israel, which says it is trying to stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons, said it had struck uranium enrichment sites after the two countries launched another barrage of missiles at each other overnight.
- TRUMP WEIGHS OPTIONS: There are growing signs that the United States could enter the conflict after President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” but later he told reporters: “I may do it. I may not do it. Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
- IRAN’S LEADERSHIP TARGETED: Both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have raised the idea of assassinating Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Trump saying yesterday that he was “an easy target.”
- SUPREME LEADER DEFIANT: Trump's call for Iran's surrender is “threatening and ridiculous,” Khamenei said in a statement that was read out on state television today, which also warned that U.S. intervention would cause "irreparable damage."
- IRAN ARRESTS SPIES: The Revolutionary Guard in Lorestan province arrested five people it said were working for Mossad, the Israeli spy agency.
Israel strikes Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, state television says
Israel has attacked Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, Iranian state television said.
The report said that there was “no radiation danger whatsoever” and that the facility had already been evacuated.
Israel had warned earlier Thursday that it would attack the facility and urged the public to flee the area.
The warning on X included a satellite image of the plant in a red circle like other warnings that preceded strikes.
The Israeli military said Thursday’s round of airstrikes targeted Tehran and other areas of Iran, without elaborating. It later said that Iran fired a new salvo of missiles at Israel, and it told the public to take shelter.
Trump’s circle split over potential Iran strike
MAGA supporters are becoming divided over the potential U.S. role in the Iran-Israel conflict. Conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson publicly clashed with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, over U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
Gabbard at odds with other Trump officials — and the president himself
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, an outspoken critic of past U.S. military interventions abroad, appears to have fallen out of favor with Trump as he weighs military action against Iran, according to multiple senior administration officials with knowledge of the matter.
Gabbard allies insist that, while there is some White House tension, some of the public blowback is overstated, and none interviewed by NBC News expect her to leave the administration as a result of the president’s Iran policy.
Gabbard’s politically perilous position burst into the open this week when Trump brushed her back over her testimony to Congress in March. At that time, she said the U.S. intelligence community did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon — a comment at odds with Trump’s recent public statement about the threat posed by Iran’s potential nuclear program.
A person with knowledge of the matter said the U.S. intelligence community’s view has not changed since Gabbard’s testimony in March.
But the idea that a president would openly refute his director of national intelligence immediately spurred questions about whether she is now iced out of decision-making on the issue.
Experts say Iran isn't weeks away from securing a nuclear weapon
The U.S. assessment of Iran’s nuclear program has not changed since March, when the director of national intelligence told lawmakers that Tehran has large amounts of enriched uranium but has not made a decision to rush toward building an atomic bomb, according to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a source with knowledge of the matter.
Comments by Trump and Netanyahu have painted a different picture, suggesting that Iran is racing toward creating a nuclear weapon.
Trump said today that Iran is “a few weeks” from having a nuclear weapon and Netanyahu said in a recent interview that it is pursuing a “secret plan” to build a bomb within months.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, told reporters he was perplexed by Trump’s assertions as lawmakers have received a different picture from U.S. intelligence officials.
U.N. chief urges immediate de-escalation in Israel-Iran conflict
Saying he is “profoundly alarmed” by the military escalation between the two countries, Secretary-General António Guterres strongly appealed to all parties “to avoid any further internationalization of the conflict.”
And in an indirect warning to Trump, who is debating whether to intervene to support Israel, he said: “Any additional military interventions could have enormous consequences, not only for those involved but for the whole region and for international peace and security at large.”
In a statement today, he stressed, “Diplomacy remains the best and only way to address concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program and regional security issues.”
Guterres also condemned “the tragic and unnecessary loss of lives and injuries to civilians and damage to homes and critical civilian infrastructure.”
Attacks may have set Iran's nuclear program back months
Israel’s airstrikes on Iran have probably set the country’s nuclear program back by a few months, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Since it launched its campaign against Iran last week, Israel has bombed centrifuge plants used to enrich uranium, including a site at Natanz south of Tehran, and labs used to convert uranium gas into metal, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Israeli officials.
Israel says it has killed several nuclear scientists and targeted missile launch and storage sites in its air raids.
Israeli ambassador says Trump ‘will support our efforts’ against Iran
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said U.S. military support of Israel is “important” to the country’s victory over Iran.
Leiter told “Meet the Press NOW” that Trump "will support our efforts" against Iran.
Putin says he can help mediate an end to conflict
Russian President Vladimir Putin offered today to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.
Speaking at a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, Putin said he had shared Moscow’s proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States.
“We are not imposing anything on anyone. We are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” he said.
Situation Room meeting has ended
The Situation Room meeting has concluded, a senior White House official said. It lasted about an hour.
It was not immediately clear what was discussed, who attended and whether any decisions about possible U.S. involvement were made.
Situation Room meeting on Iran has begun, White House official says
A Situation Room meeting Trump referred to earlier today has convened to discuss the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, according to a senior White House official.
