Israel-Iran live updates: Fresh wave of Iranian missiles hit Tel Aviv as Israel says won’t stop attacks ‘until threat removed’ – UK Times

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said his goals for the summit include for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel’s right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of the conflict and creating room for diplomacy.

“This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit,” Merz told reporters.

His concerns were echoed by the US president Donald Trump who said he answered a question on what he was doing to de-escalate the situation before leaving for the summit.

“I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal,” he told reporters. “Sometimes they have to fight it out.”

Iran has told mediators Qatar and Oman that it is not open to negotiating a ceasefire while it is under Israeli attack, an official briefed on the communications told Reuters yesterday.

Mr Netanyahu, who sought to justify Israel’s recent waves of missile strikes in Iran, asked host Bret Baier whether “these people who chant ‘death to America’” and “tried to assassinate President Trump twice” should “have nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to your cities.”

Mr Baier then pressed Mr Netanyahu about his claim that Iran launched two assassination attempts.

“Through proxies, yes,” he said.

“Through, through their intel, yes, they want to kill him,” he added. “He’s enemy number one.”

Britain has advised against all travel to Israel amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, which has seen deadly strikes traded between the two countries.

The Foreign Office updated its travel advice on Saturday to say that it now advises against travel to anywhere in Israel, where attacks have left at least 10 people dead as sent millions rushing to bomb shelters.

The advice is a change from Friday, when the government said only essential travel was allowed to some areas.

Our correspondent Holly Bancroft explains:

At least two US officials said Donald Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Reuters.

When asked about the Reuters report, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News yesterday: “There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that.”

“We do what we need to do,” he told Fox’s “Special Report With Bret Baier.”

Israel began the assault with a surprise attack on Friday that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will escalate in the coming days.

The intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy were killed in attacks on Tehran yesterday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation.

Israel and Iran kept up their attacks, killing and wounding civilians and raising concern among world leaders at a G7 meeting in Canada this weekend that the biggest battle between the two old enemies could lead to a broader regional conflict.

Group of Seven leaders began gathering in the Canadian Rockies yesterday with the Israel-Iran conflict expected to be a top priority.

In the early hours today, the Israeli military said it had detected more missiles launched from Iran towards Israel.

“At this time, the (Israeli Air Force) is operating to intercept and strike where necessary to eliminate the threat,” the Israeli Defence Forces said. Live video footage showed several missiles over Tel Aviv and Reuters witnesses said explosions could be heard there and over Jerusalem.

At least 10 people in Israel, including children, have been killed so far, according to authorities there.

The Iranian death toll in four days of Israeli strikes, carried out with the declared aim of wiping out Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, had reached at least 224, with 90 per cent of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called a video conference of EU foreign ministers for Tuesday to discuss the Middle East, following Israel’s attack on Iran and Tehran’s counter-strikes.

“In light of the gravity of the situation in the Middle East, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas has convened a meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers via video link for Tuesday,” an EU spokesperson said

“The meeting will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views, coordination on diplomatic outreach to Tel Aviv and Tehran, and possible next steps.”

British maritime security firm Ambrey said fires were observed at the power plant in the vicinity of Israel’s Haifa port today, after Iranian forces launched a ballistic missile attack on port infrastructure amid escalations with Israel.

Ambrey said it observed video footage of the Israeli military intercepting the attack, followed by impacts from two hypersonic missiles.