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In brief: The latest on the situation in the Middle East

By Hannah Hammoud

Thank you for following our ongoing live coverage of the rapidly developing conflict between Israel and Iran.

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Here’s a quick overview of the latest developments from today:

• The Israel-Iran conflict has intensified, with both nations exchanging missile strikes. Iran has reportedly launched missiles targeting Israeli cities, while Israel claims to have killed a senior Iranian general.
• CBS News has reported the US is considering military involvement, including potential strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump has demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and warned Tehran residents to evacuate.
• At the G7 summit in Canada, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after Trump’s early departure. Albanese criticised US tariffs, saying they harmed US consumers more than Australian exporters. He also announced that Australia would begin negotiations with the European Union on a security and defence partnership.
• Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 585 people and wounded 1326 others, a human rights group says. Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimised casualties in the past. Its last update, issued on Monday, put the death toll at 224 people killed and 1277 wounded.
• In response to the escalating conflict, about1000 Australians in Israel and 870 in Iran are seeking help to leave, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
• The New York Times is reporting that Iran is preparing missiles to strike US bases in the Middle East should Trump join the conflict.

• Trump posted on Truth Social that the US knew where Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was hiding. “He is an easy target, but is safe there. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote about 2.30am. Trump also posted on social media: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
• Iranian news websites are reporting Israeli strikes have targeted Imam Hossein University in eastern Tehran. Israel warned earlier today that it could strike a neighbourhood south of Mehrabad International Airport, which includes residential areas, military installations, pharmaceutical companies and industrial firms.
• Meanwhile, in Gaza, more than 50 people were reportedly killed by Israeli tank shellfire after they tried to get aid from trucks in Khan Younis.

You can catch up with everything we know about the Israel and Iran conflict on our regularly updated “what we know so far” page.

7.46pm

‘Very bad consequences’: Iran ambassador’s warning

Iran’s ambassador to Australia has warned of “very bad consequences” if Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refuses to condemn Israel’s attack on the country.

Speaking on ABC’s 7.30 program, Ahmad Sadeghi defended Iran’s response to Israel’s “unprovoked” June 13 attack as “its inalienable right to just defensive measures”.

He called on Albanese to condemn the attack.

“You have to have the punishment of the aggressor,” Sadeghi told 7.30.

“If you let it go unpunished [and] the prime minister of this regime [Benjamin Netanyahu] declared publicly and arrogantly that ‘I ordered such an attack against Iran’.

“If you just let them go free, it has very bad consequences.”

Host David Speers pressed the ambassador about whether Iran was working towards a nuclear weapon.

“Of course not. It has been prohibited by our Supreme Leader,” Sadeghi said.

Sadeghi said the process of cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency was long-lasting and continuous.

“Suspicions should be removed by diplomacy talks and cooperation,” he said.

“Iran declared quite a few times that it does not have any nuclear program in terms of military aspects.”

7.20pm

‘My heart was pounding’: Evacuations by air, road, sea

As we reported earlier, countries have begun evacuating their citizens from Israel and Iran, and Chinese nationals are making their way by road.

The first Chinese evacuees from Iran have started sharing on social media their desperate efforts to reach the Islamic republic’s borders and the safety of Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Several thousand Chinese nationals are thought to reside in oil-rich Iran, according to state media reports.

“My heart was pounding but amid the haze of war, everything became clear: I packed my bags and tried to evacuate to the embassy,” a Chinese travel blogger under the alias Shuishui Crusoe wrote.

China started evacuating its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by overland bus on Tuesday, a distance of 1150 kilometres, state-run China News Service reported.

The first Polish flights with repatriated citizens landed in Warsaw earlier today, flying from Tel Aviv via Egypt.

Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski welcomed the Polish nationals home on social media, saying: “Tomorrow, another flight. Come back safely.”

Some yacht owners in Cyprus have reportedly offered to take Israelis home.

Reuters