CNN - Live Updates Israel and Iran trade strikes on fifth day of conflict Jessie Yeung Lex Harvey Chris Lau By Jessie Yeung, Lex Harvey and Chris Lau, CNN Updated 1:55 AM EDT, Tue June 17, 2025

 CNN -  Live Updates

Israel and Iran trade strikes on fifth day of conflict

Jessie Yeung Lex Harvey Chris Lau

By Jessie Yeung, Lex Harvey and Chris Lau, CNN

Updated 1:55 AM EDT, Tue June 17, 2025

Iranian state TV attacked by Israel while live on the air

00:42

What you need to know

• Israel and Iran are trading strikes on a fifth day of conflict, with civilians in flashpoint areas facing waves of attacks. In Iran, at least 224 people have been killed since hostilities began. In Israel, 24 people have been killed.

• President Donald Trump has left the G7 summit early to rush back to Washington after directing his team to attempt a meeting with Iranian officials as quickly as possible. Trump denied he left to work on a ceasefire and said something “much bigger” is in the works. Trump also warned Iranians to evacuate Tehran, underscoring the danger to its 10 million residents.

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he believes Israel’s strikes have significantly set back Iran’s nuclear program. “I estimate we are sending them back a very, very long time,” he said. Israel targeted three key Iranian nuclear facilities and scientists, with the extent of the damage unclear.

All  catch up

analysis

7 Posts

3 New Updates

22 min ago

Trump dumps on Macron as he departs Canada, says something "much bigger" than a ceasefire is in the works

From CNN’s Kevin Liptak

US President Donald Trump during the G7 Summit at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 16, 2025.

US President Donald Trump during the G7 Summit at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 16, 2025. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump dumped on French President Emmanuel Macron as he departed Canada late Monday, saying his counterpart erroneously suggested he was returning to Washington to work on a “ceasefire.”

“Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Wrong!”

“He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire,” he went on. “Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay Tuned!”

Earlier, Macron said Trump had made an offer for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

“There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a ceasefire and to initiate broader discussions,” Macron told reporters at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Canada.

“If the United States of America can achieve a ceasefire, it is a very good thing and France will support it and we wish for it,” Macron said, speaking in French.

36 min ago

These are the US military assets that can be used in the Middle East

Retired US Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson breaks down what military assets are available for possible use in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Here's a look at US military assets available for use in the Middle East

04:10

26 min ago

Israel and Iran are trading strikes for a fifth day. Here's the latest

From CNN staff

President Donald Trump has left the G7 summit early after suggesting that he could soon strike a deal with Iran to end the current conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is returning to the US with Trump.

G7 leaders called for a resolution to the crisis in the Middle East in a joint statement that an official familiar with the matter said had gained the support of Trump after language in the draft was adjusted.

The US president also directed members of his team to attempt a meeting with Iranian officials as quickly as possible, according to a person familiar with the matter and a US official.

But Trump also warned Iranians to evacuate Tehran, underscoring the danger to its 10 million residents.

Here are the latest developments in the conflict:

Iran’s latest strikes: Sirens rang out over several parts of Israel in the early hours of Tuesday morning as Iran began its ninth wave of attacks, which will continue until dawn, according to Iranian media. The Israeli military said its air defenses were working to intercept Iranian missiles.

Israel’s attacks: Israel’s strikes in recent days have killed top Iranian military commanders and scientists, and targeted military infrastructure, setting Iran’s nuclear program back a “very, very long time,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. On Monday, Israel attacked Iran’s missile infrastructure and fighter jets.

Media targeted: Israel also struck the studio of Iran’s state television channel IRINN. Nima Rajabpour, a news editor, and Masoumeh Azimi, an administrative staff member, were killed in the attack. The attack prompted Iran to urge two Israeli television channels to evacuate their headquarters.

Mounting casualties: In Iran, at least 224 people have been killed since hostilities began. In Israel, 24 people have been killed.

Iran’s leader at risk: Netanyahu did not rule out targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei when asked by ABC News. Netanyahu has also said that Israel’s operation may lead to regime change in Iran. A US official told CNN that Trump had rejected an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei.

57 min ago

Parents in India-administered Kashmir fear for children studying in Iran

From CNN’s Alysha Bibi and Rhea Mogul

Parents in India-administered Kashmir whose children are studying in Tehran are desperately trying to bring them home as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensifies.

Iran is a popular destination for university students from India, particularly those studying medicine. Many of these students are from India-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

Khursheed Ahmad Rather told CNN he has not heard from his daughter, Namoode Saher, a second-year medical student at Tehran’s Islamic Azad University, since early Monday.

“No parent would ever put their children in this situation if they had known the environment could be this volatile,” he said. “We are awake all night till one, two in the morning, watching the news closely.”

Suhail Qadri, whose son and daughter are pursuing a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in Tehran, told CNN his children left the capital and arrived in the city of Qom, about 150 kilometers south, early Monday.

“My children are very brave and resilient,” he said. “The kids over there are in good spirits but of course, there are tensions.”

Qadri said he has intermittently been able to contact his children since the conflict began, but communications have been patchy.

“The logistical challenge of getting them out of Iran is a big one,” Qadri said.

Iran’s airspace has been closed since Israel’s attack began meaning foreign nationals wanting to leave face lengthy journeys through land crossings.

The Indian embassy in Iran is attempting to facilitate evacuations for its citizens from the countrys.

India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said a 24x7 control room has been established.

48 min ago

Why Iran's Fordow plant is key to its nuclear program

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh explains what we know about the key site in Israel’s crosshairs.

57 min ago

Analysis: Does the US have bomb that can destroy Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities? Experts are cautious

From CNN’s Brad Lendon

Israel’s ambassador to the United States says only the US Air Force has the weapon that can destroy Iran’s deeply buried nuclear sites. But analysts are cautious that there’s no guarantee even that bomb could do the job.

The Fordow plant is buried deep in the mountains near Qom, in northern Iran. Its exact depth is not publicly known, but some estimates place it at 80 to 90 meters deep.

“For Fordow to be taken out by a bomb from the sky, the only country in the world that has that bomb is the United States,” Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said.

The bomb Leiter is referring to the GBU-57/B – also known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator.

Also known as a “bunker buster,” it is a 30,000-pound GPS-guided munition with a 5,740-pound high explosive warhead that’s so heavy it can only be dropped from the Air Force’s B-2 bombers.

“The warhead case is made from a special high performance steel alloy,” enabling it to burrow deeply into the ground and destroy hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to a US military fact sheet.

A Royal United Services Institute report said the GBU-57 can penetrate to a depth of 61 meters (200 feet). That would be about 20 meters short of Iran’s Fordow facility, according to the report’s estimates.

“The GBU-57/B would likely require multiple impacts at the same aiming point to have a good chance of penetrating the facility,” the report said.

Other analysts agree, saying, if the US were to try to hit Fordow, it probably couldn’t be done with one bomb.

“I would bank on repeated strikes against Fordow,” CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, a former US Air Force colonel, said.

“Repeated strikes might work, but unsure,” said Peter Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer now a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, adding there would be “no guarantee of success or ability to prove (Fordow) been taken out” if it were hit.

57 min ago

Israel is targeting Iranian nuclear sites. Here's what we know about the damage

From CNN's Dana Karni and Hira Humayun

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he estimates strikes on Iran have set its nuclear program back significantly.

“I estimate we are sending them back a very, very long time,” he said in a news conference Monday. “We have targets and we’re going to do a root canal here.”

Israel has targeted three key Iranian nuclear facilities — Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow — and several top scientists involved in nuclear research and development. The extent of the damage is beginning to come into view, with satellite imagery and expert analysis hinting that the strikes had a significant impact on at least two of the locations.

But the full extent of the damage remains unclear – not least because Iran’s most sensitive nuclear infrastructure is buried deep underground – and each side gave predictably contrasting assessments: An Israeli military official said that strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in Natanz and Isfahan were able to damage the sites “significantly,” while Iran claimed that damage to the facilities was limited.

“The whole (nuclear) supply chain has been disrupted,” Ali Vaez, the Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group, told CNN on Sunday, as Israel and Iran continued to exchange fire. Vaez stressed the significance of each targeted nuclear site, which are all involved in the complex sequence of steps required to create a nuclear weapon.

“This chain is now broken, but it could be put back together in a matter of months, because Iran has both the knowhow and the material that is required for it,” he cautioned. “This is not a problem that will go away simply with aerial strikes.”