Trump weighs U.S. strike as Iran's supreme leader says the 'battle begins'

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.

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.

Trump's circle split over potential Iran strike

02:21

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.

Read the full story here.

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.

Read the full story here.

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.”

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

The Israeli military says its jets struck more than 20 targets within Tehran, including nuclear weapons development project sites.

According to the IDF, the targeted sites in the capital were part of a "broad" effort against the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons development, which it said were intended "to expand the scale and pace of its uranium enrichment purpose of developing nuclear weapons."

"The Iranian regime enriches uranium far more than the needed amount for civilian use, with an emphasis on enrichment to high levels," the IDF said.

Images show smoke rising after a reported Israeli strike on Tehran police headquarters today.

Another reported strike hit an area adjacent to a Red Crescent facility in Tehran.

Trump just told reporters that he has another meeting in the White House Situation Room in an hour, after he held one yesterday for about 90 minutes.

"We're having a meeting in an hour," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "I have a meeting in the war room in a little while, Situation Room, as some people call it."

Trump, however, suggested that he hasn't yet made a final decision about how to handle the conflict between Israel and Iran.

"I have ideas as to what to do," he said. "I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change, especially with war. Things change with war. It can go from one extreme to the other."

Iran is staring down the possibility of its most important nuclear facilities' being hit by a 30,000-pound American bomb.

White House officials told NBC News yesterday that Trump is considering a range of options, including striking Iran directly, after he repeatedly asserted that his administration would not allow Iran to continue its nuclear program or reach bomb-making capability.

A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber after a mission over Iraq in 2003.  Cherie A. Thurlby / U.S. Air Force via Getty Images

But destroying Iran’s nuclear program — which Tehran asserts is for civilian energy purposes only — would be no easy feat.

Iran’s most advanced and hardened nuclear facility, the Fordo plant in the country’s northwest, is a fortress.

Built inside a mountain 300 feet underground and reinforced by layers of concrete, the plant — which is the likeliest target of a potential American strike — is impenetrable by any bomb except the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The United States is the only country that has that “bunker buster” weapon, as well as the only country with the aircraft capable of transporting and deploying it: the B2 Spirit stealth bomber.

Read the full story here.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in testimony this morning that the Defense Department is prepared to execute any military decisions Trump makes as president, though he declined to share details about plans under consideration when it comes to Iran.

"As I've said, there's only one person that was elected president of the United States, and the American people elected him to make these decisions on their behalf, and if and when those decisions are made, the department is prepared to execute," Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He declined earlier in the hearing to share information about the options on the table in a public setting but suggested he could share more details with senators during the closed session afterward.

The Iranian Communication Ministry has placed "temporary restrictions" on internet use within the country, according to Mehr News, a semiofficial Iranian news outlet.

According to the ministry's reported statement, the decision was made in part because of the "enemy’s misuse of the national communication network." There was no evidence provided to support the claim.

NetBlocks, an independent global monitor, said earlier today that Iran is near a complete internet blackout based on connectivity data.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that Iran launched missiles toward Israel as the conflict drags into its sixth day.

A missile is fired from Iran toward Israel this evening, local time.  Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images

"A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel," the IDF said in a statement.

Fars, an Iranian semi-official news agency affiliated with the military, had earlier reported that Iran was launching missiles toward Israel.

WASHINGTON — Right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson clashed with Ted Cruz in an interview and posted a clip last night in which the senator was unable to answer questions about Iran.

“How many people live in Iran, by the way?” Carlson asked the Texas Republican.

“I don’t know the population,” Cruz responded.

“At all?” Carlson asked, prompting Cruz to reiterate that he did not know. “You don’t know the population of the country you seek to topple?”

Tucker Carlson clashes with Cruz: 'You don't know anything about Iran'

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The clip immediately caught fire online, with Carlson’s post racking up more than 22 million views and thousands of comments, according to X analytics.

Read the full story here.

International agencies should question what would happen if an Israeli strike hits Iran’s nuclear materials, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said today.

“What if they [Israelis] miss the target by a millimeter, a centimeter or a meter? Can you imagine what we are talking about?” Zakharova told reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"There is enough experience for the entire world to shudder and ask one question, in particular, addressed to the Israeli side: What would happen if this strike hits the relevant materials?” Zakharova added.

The U.S. is coordinating planes and cruise ships to take American citizens out of Israel, according to Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee wrote in a post on X that those who want to leave must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to be alerted about updates.

  Iranian Army Media Office via AFP - Getty Images

Iran's army has released a picture of what it says is an Israeli air force Hermes drone that was hit by a surface-to-air missile near the central city of Isfahan.

The Israeli military said today that one of its drones had been downed while operating over Iran, the first such loss it has acknowledged since the start of hostilities last week.

Iran's government denied a Trump's assertion earlier this morning that officials from the Islamic Republic had suggested a meeting in Washington.

Trump made the claim when speaking to reporters in off-the-cuff remarks outside the White House and called it a "courageous" suggestion.

But the Iranian Mission to the United Nations was quick to contradict his claim, posting on X that the regime would not negotiate under duress.

“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” the post said.

Israel’s defense minister said today that Iran's internal security headquarters has been destroyed by his country's air force.

"The tornado continues to hit Tehran,” Israel Katz wrote on X without providing any evidence to back up his claim. “As we promised — we will continue to harm symbols of government and strike at the Ayatollah regime everywhere.”

The big issue right now is whether the U.S. military will get involved in an offensive capacity. 

Let’s not pretend that it hasn’t been in this conflict from the very beginning. In Gaza, it has provided Israel with weapons and intelligence, as well as food aid. 

It has also backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation which has been providing meals to people in the enclave, albeit with limited success as dozens of people have been killed around the aid distribution points.

And on the three recent occasions that Iran has retaliated to attacks from Israel, the U.S. has helped Israel shoot down incoming missiles and coordinate air defenses. American generals have been side by side with their Israeli counterparts to help them out. 

Trump dismissed concerns about the split within the Republican Party over the prospect of U.S. involvement in the conflict.

“I may have some people that are a little bit unhappy now, but I have some people that are very happy, and have people outside of the base that can’t believe that this is happening. They’re so happy,” Trump said.

He also suggested that the divide within his supporters will not sway his decision.

“Very simply, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s not a question of anything else,” he said. “And if you did, you wouldn’t have much of a country, because they would use it on us, and they’d use it on other people, and they’d be a terror all over the world.”

Iran is near a complete internet blackout, according to NetBlocks, an independent internet monitor.

Satellite images taken May 29 and June 17 of a missile base near Tabriz, Iran, reveal the damage done to buildings near the entrance by Israeli airstrikes.

Trump said he has not agreed to give more aid to Israel in recent conversations with the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Asked if he has given Netanyahu “any indication that you may seek to aid them more than you have already,” Trump told reporters at the White House that he had not.

It was unclear if Trump was referring to financial or military aid or both.

Trump said he was still considering a U.S. military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

“I may do it. I may not do it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

01:21

“Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate,” Trump added. “And I said, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Why didn’t you negotiate?’ I said to people, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country.’”

Asked what he meant when he wrote “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” on Truth Social yesterday — within a series of posts about Iran — Trump said, “That means I’ve had it. OK, I’ve had it. I give up. No more.”

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said today that it was unsure of the location of Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium.

Technically, the enriched uranium should be in an underground facility in Isfahan, Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told Bloomberg.

He added that Iranian officials indicated that Iran might take measures to protect the uranium. "It is, in principle, it is stored there," Grossi said. "As you can imagine at a time of war...all nuclear sites are closed."

IAEA inspectors are still in Iran but are unable to conduct their normal inspection activities at this time, Grossi said.

Israelis in the central city of Ramat Gan took shelter in an underground train station as Iran launched a barrage of missiles overnight.

One woman said it was the "safest place" in the city as she waited for the all clear in the station, which was designed to double as a shelter.

01:42

Iran is ready to “respond decisively” if the U.S. directly involves itself in the war with Israel, the country's ambassador to the United Nations told reporters today in Geneva.

“Iran will set a red line and will respond decisively if the United States crosses it,” Ali Bahreini said, adding that it was “closely monitoring” Washington’s response.

Trump’s remarks were “very hostile,” he said without mentioning which ones he was referring to. He added that the Iranian regime was “vigilant” about what the president says.

Iran’s airspace will stay closed until 2 a.m. local time (6:30 p.m. ET) and all domestic and international flights will remain grounded, according to a spokesperson for the country's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.

Travelers were told to "refrain from visiting the country’s airports and to follow news related to flight status only through official sources," per Majid Akhavan, according to a report from the state-funded Borna news agency.

The warning from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that U.S. intervention will bring “irreparable consequences” is aimed at one man — President Donald Trump.

It is clear that Israel cannot quickly destroy Iran’s Fordo nuclear site without American help, specifically the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, known the “bunker buster.”

And Khamenei’s assertion that Iran will show “no mercy” to U.S. forces in the region will also give greater strength to Israel's aim of regime change in Iran.

Days ago, a Middle East diplomat confirmed to NBC News that Iran was reaching out to the Trump administration.

In the opening days of the conflict we saw the Israel death toll rise and rise and rise again after a series of Iranian attacks on the country. But in recent days no deaths have been reported, NBC News’ Middle East correspondent Matt Bradley reports.

It comes after Israel said it had complete air superiority over Iran’s capital Tehran and amid reports of cyber attacks on banks in the Islamic Republic.

05:56

Israeli strikes have struck Tehran's Nobonyad Square, home to the headquarters of the Iranian Defense Ministry and several factories.

The metropolitan area of Lavizan was also hit.

President Donald Trump’s call for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” was “threatening and ridiculous,” the country’s supreme leader said in a statement read out on state television.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Majid Saeedi / Getty Images file

“Any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly cause irreparable damage,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned in his speech that was read out by a television presenter. He added that Israel had made a “huge mistake” with its attacks on Iran and that it would be “punished” for its actions.

Khamenei also dismissed Trump’s threats in a later post on X, calling them “absurd rhetoric.”

“The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats,” he said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned the United States against providing direct military aid to Israel as it continues to strike Iran.

“We warn Washington against such even speculative, theoretical options,” Ryabkov told Russian news agency Interfax yesterday while answering a question about possible U.S. intervention in the Middle East conflict.

“This would be a step that would radically destabilize the entire situation,” he added.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said today that two Iranian facilities where centrifuges — specialist machines used to enrich uranium, the key fuel in nuclear weapons — were being produced.

A "building with advanced centrifuge rotors was damaged" at the Tehran Research Center in the country's capital, the nuclear watchdog said today in a post on X. Further north at the TESA Karaj workshop, it said that “two buildings with centrifuge components were destroyed.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his support for Israel's campaign in Iran on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

Merz during the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, on Monday. Michael Kappeler / Pool via AFP - Getty Images

“This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us. We are also affected by this regime,” Merz said in an interview with the German broadcaster ZDF aired yesterday. The Iranian regime had brought "death and destruction to the world," he added.

“I have the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli government had the courage to do this,” he said, adding military interventions could stop if Iran negotiated.

Iran's nuclear facilities are "doing fine," the country's atomic energy organization head, Mohammad Eslami, told a state news agency reporter in televised comments.

"Our people are proud and strong, they’ve never given in to pressure or surrendered," he said, adding Israel "should know that this way also won’t get them anywhere, just like before."

"Our colleagues spirits are high and standing strong in their positions,” he said.

A scene from Tel Aviv this morning, where a series of large billboards addressed President Donald Trump and called on him to “finish the job.”

President Donald Trump is considering a range of options to resolve the worsening conflict in the Middle East, including a possible U.S. military strike against Iran, current and former administration officials said in a fresh sign of rising global tensions on his watch.

Trump cut short his appearance at an international summit meeting in Canada to return to the White House at dawn yesterday and focus on the conflict that has broken out between Israel and Iran. In leaving the summit early, he dropped a planned meeting with Ukraine’s leader about the grinding war with Russia, which Trump once pledged to end on his first day in office.

The fast-moving events suggest that global crises are piling up in ways that are impinging other parts of Trump’s agenda.

Read the full story here.

The almost weeklong conflict with Israel has changed the face of Tehran in a short time, as I found when I went to the city to get some essentials, do some shopping and fuel up my car.

The Iranian capital, home to 10 million people, has the eerie feel of a post-apocalyptic movie, especially in the north. It reminded me of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, when many people travel and the city empties out.

My local supermarket was closed, as were most banks. Many people have left my neighborhood, where about 30 families live. There are maybe only five or six still there.

But most people simply don’t have the option or the money to leave the city.

Air raid sirens warning of incoming strikes by Iran have sent Israeli people to seek shelter underground. Below are scenes from last night in an underground metro station in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv.

President Trump’s National Security Council will be providing him with a range of options for a potential strike on Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility — if he chooses to go for military action. But the site is a difficult and hardened target, built deep under a mountain.

A GBU-57 missile at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri in 2023. U.S. Air Force via AP file

If Trump chooses to take a shot at this facility, he will likely need to rely on one of America’s rarest weapons — the so-called “bunker buster.”

There are actually a few weapons that can be described as such, but Fordo will require the biggest one: the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which can only be dropped by a B-52 or B-2 bomber.

Related to the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, sometimes known as the “mother of all bombs,” the MOP weighs about 30,000 pounds and is more than 20 feet long.

With his country having killed some of Iran’s top military commanders and rattled its leadership, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government’s aerial assault on Iran could trigger the collapse of the regime, opening the door to a popular uprising.

“It’s impossible to predict, but it could be the result of our mighty action,” Netanyahu told reporters. “We are changing the face of the Middle East.”

That scenario, according to scholars who study Iran, as well as former U.S. and Israeli officials, is unlikely. The theocratic government remains deeply unpopular but it still has a tight grip on power, and no organized opposition is poised to seize authority, they say. And if there is change at the top, it might come not from a popular uprising but from a coup within the regime, which might produce an even more authoritarian result.

Still, the Iranian government is struggling to cope with the attacks. Some experts say that even if Israel’s onslaught does not topple the regime, it could inflict permanent damage, leaving it in a weakened state that could embolden opposition activists or fuel internal power struggles inside the theocratic system.

Read the full story here.

Soon, “other targets” in Iran will be bombed and destroyed, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

“Symbols of government are bombed and destroyed — from the Broadcasting Authority and soon other targets, and masses of residents flee,” he said.

“This is how dictatorships collapse.”

NBC News’ Richard Engel visited a bus depot north of Tel Aviv where an Iranian ballistic missile that Israeli defenses failed to intercept had exploded, leaving a large crater and burned-out vehicles.

01:45

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar today on X posted a letter he sent to the United Nations Security Council in which he said that Israel's attack on Iran was justified because Tehran had a “strategic plan to eliminate Israel.”

The operation specifically targets “military facilities and critical components of Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” Sa’ar says in the letter.

He also blamed Iran’s proxy groups, such as Hamas, Yemen’s Houthis, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, saying, “This is all part of the Iranian war plan to encircle Israel with a ‘ring of fire,’ in pursuit of Israel’s annihilation.”

President Trump meets with his national security advisers about escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. NBC News Correspondents Monica Alba, Matt Bradley and Courtney Kube report on the escalating tensions, and former adviser on Arab-Israeli negotiations Aaron David Miller discusses the potential role the U.S. could play in the conflict.

14:58

The Israeli military killed a person who attempted to stab IDF soldiers operating in al-Walaja, a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, and steal their weapons, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement today.

“The soldiers responded with fire and neutralized the terrorist,” the IDF said, adding its soldiers were not injured.

Iran launched new missile barrages against Israel, but none appeared to do significant damage. It comes as Israel destroyed fighter jets, missile launchers and sites related to Iran’s nuclear program. NBC News’ Richard Engel reports.

02:29

Over 50 Israeli fighter jets hit a facility for producing centrifuges that enrich uranium, the key material for making nuclear weapons, the Israeli military said early today in a post on X.

Israeli jets also hit sites manufacturing parts for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. "These strikes directly degrade Iran’s ability to threaten Israel and the region," the IDF said.

Iran "must give a strong response" to Israel, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in English in a post on X yesterday, vowing to show "no mercy."

In a separate post in Farsi, he said, “The battle begins.”

Several prominent Iranian activists and filmmakers, including Nobel Peace laureates Shirin Ebadi and Narges Mohammadi, called for an immediate end to the fighting between Israel and Iran.

The group, which also included film directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, denounced attacks on civilians by both Iran and Israel, demanded an end to Iran’s uranium enrichment and called for a transition to democracy in Iran. 

“Deeply committed to Iran’s territorial integrity and the inalienable right of its people to self-determination under genuine sovereignty, we believe that continuing uranium enrichment and the devastating war between the Islamic Republic and the Israeli regime neither serves the Iranian people nor humanity at large,” it said in an op-ed in French newspaper Le Monde.

They added: “Iran and its people should not be sacrificed for uranium enrichment and the ambitions of the Islamic Republic.”

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the consulate in Tel Aviv will remain closed through the end of the workweek, the State Department said.

“Given the security situation and in compliance with Israel Home Front Command guidance, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, June 18) through Friday (June 20),” the department’s travel account said on X.

The closure also applies to the consular office in Tel Aviv, it said.

Amid this week’s “do not travel” advisory for Americans planning trips to Israel, the department said information on possible help for private citizens who want to leave the region is unavailable for now, and that it cannot endorse third-party travel options.

The country’s main airport, Ben Gurion International, is closed amid the exchange of air attacks. The State Department said some non-emergency government employees and the family of employees were authorized to leave, but should shelter in place if they were unable to do so.

• Israel’s Netanyahu doesn’t rule out targeting Iran’s supreme leader and regime change
• A left-right coalition seeks to limit Trump’s power to get involved in Israel-Iran conflict
• Iran plunged into an internet near-blackout during deepening conflict