Day: June 21, 2025

Saturday’s strikes come after Israeli ambassador tells UN ‘we will not stop’ until Iranian nuclear threat eliminated while Iran vows to keep defending itself

• Israel and Iran launch new attacks as Tehran says it will not negotiate nuclear programme while under threat

Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the Israel-Iran war.

The two countries exchanged fresh attacks early on Saturday, a day after Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear programme while under threat and Europe tried to keep peace talks alive.

The UN secretary general warned on Friday that expansion of the Israel-Iran conflict could “ignite a fire no one can control”. António Guterres called on both sides to “give peace a chance” and said the conflict must not be allowed to expand.

Donald Trump said Europe would not be able to help much in the Iran-Israel war. “Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe, they want to speak to us,” the US president said. “Europe is not going to be able to help in this one.” European foreign ministers urged Iran on Friday to engage with Washington over its nuclear program after talks in Geneva aimed at opening negotiations for a new nuclear deal ended with little sign of progress.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency warned that attacks on nuclear facilities could result in “radioactive releases with great consequences within and beyond boundaries” of the state attacked. Rafael Grossi also called for maximum restraint.

Donald Trump said his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong in suggesting there was no evidence Iran was building a nuclear weapon. Later on Friday Gabbard said on social media that the media had taken her words “out of context” and that she agreed with the president.

Israeli fire killed at least 44 Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, many who were seeking food aid, local officials said. At least 25 people awaiting aid trucks were killed by Israeli action south of Netzarim in central Gaza, the Hamas-run local health authority said. The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots at suspected militants who advanced in a crowd towards them and the Israeli aircraft then fired a missile and “eliminated the suspects”.

The UN’s children’s agency said the scarcity of drinking water in Gaza was at a crisis point and “children will begin to die of thirst”. Unicef said a shortage of fuel to operate wells and desalination plants in the territory meant it “is facing what would amount to a man-made drought”.

The European Union has said “there are indications” that Israel is in breach of human rights obligations over its conduct in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for immediate sanctions. The leaked document from the EU’s foreign policy service, seen by the Guardian, represents a significant moment in Europe’s relations towards a longstanding ally.

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