How did latest conflict start and where could it lead?

Israel and Iran have continued to trade strikes of their newest battle, which started on Friday.

There was indignant rhetoric from each side, and US President Donald Trump is now contemplating whether or not to hitch Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear websites.

It began when Israel attacked nuclear and navy websites in Iran, after which Iran retaliated with aerial assaults focusing on Israel.

Greater than 220 folks have been killed in Israeli strikes thus far, in keeping with Iran’s well being ministry, whereas Israel says Iranian assaults have killed 24 folks.

On Thursday 12 June, the Israel Protection Forces (IDF) advised folks in Tehran’s District 18, which incorporates navy buildings and residential neighbourhoods, to evacuate.

Hours later, the primary volley of strikes was reported in Tehran at about 03:30 native time (01:00 BST) on Friday, with residential areas within the capital hit, Iranian state tv reported.

BBC journalists are unable to report from inside Iran on account of restrictions by the nation’s authorities, making it troublesome to evaluate the harm attributable to Israel’s offensive.

Israel focused the Natanz nuclear facility – about 225km (140 miles) south of Tehran, inflicting important harm, the IDF mentioned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned the assault – referred to as Operation Rising Lion – focused “the center” of Iran’s nuclear programme.

“If not stopped, Iran might produce a nuclear weapon in a really brief time,” Netanyahu claimed. Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceable.

Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mentioned Israel “ought to anticipate a extreme punishment”, whereas its overseas minister referred to as the strikes a “declaration of struggle”.

Iran’s retaliation started hours later, when ballistic missile assaults have been launched on “dozens of targets, navy centres and air bases” in Israel, in an operation it referred to as True Promise 3.

The IDF mentioned about 100 missiles have been launched in the direction of Israel, and most had been intercepted by its Iron Dome system.

These exchanges have continued for days.

On Thursday 19 June, an Iranian missile straight hit Soroka hospital in Beersheba, southern Israel, injuring at the least 32 folks in keeping with Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom.

Iran mentioned it aimed to focus on an IDF command centre and intelligence camp adjoining to the constructing, in keeping with state media – however Sharren Haskel, the Israeli deputy overseas affairs minister, accused Iran of intentionally focusing on a hospital.

On the identical day Israel mentioned it had carried out an assault on the nuclear reactor in Arak, north-western Iran, which it mentioned was “inactive”.

The reactor is designed to supply high-yield plutonium, the IDF mentioned, which is a cloth used to make nuclear weapons. It added the strike was meant to “stop the reactor from being restored”.

It justified its assaults by saying Iran was reaching the “level of no return” in its nuclear programme.

After days of very restricted impression with its strikes, the size of Iranian assaults had appeared to decrease just lately, presumably indicating the impression that Israeli strikes has had on Iran’s navy, stories the BBC’s Hugo Bachega.

Thursday’s assaults show Iran nonetheless has the flexibility to fireplace missiles and trigger hurt.

In its first wave of strikes, Israel killed a number of high Iranian navy figures, together with Hossein Salami, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and a number of other nuclear scientists, together with Fereydoon Abbasi, former head of Iran’s Atomic Power Group.

Iran mentioned civilians, together with kids, have been additionally amongst these killed.

The Israeli navy declared on Tuesday that it had achieved “full air superiority” over Tehran, and had destroyed a 3rd of Iran’s missile launchers.

It got here after Iranian missiles struck 4 totally different areas within the northern and central Israel, killing at the least eight civilians, in keeping with the navy.

Iran’s well being ministry mentioned at the least 224 folks had been killed since Friday.

Israel has reported 24 deaths in the identical interval. They have been in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tamra, Rishon LeZion and Bat Yam, the place a 10-storey block of flats was hit.

These newest assaults come at a crucial time, as President Trump considers the potential of direct American involvement in Israel’s marketing campaign.

According to the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, Trump is contemplating becoming a member of Israel’s marketing campaign to focus on Iranian nuclear websites.

The American arsenal comprises a bomb able to considerably damaging Iran’s secretive Fordo nuclear enrichment plant, situated in a mountainous area near town of Qom deep underground.

Washington’s 13,000kg (30,000lb) GBU-57 Large Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) – generally known as a “bunker buster” bomb, is designed to assault deeply-buried bunkers and tunnels, in keeping with the US Air Drive.

Whereas the US has already helped shoot down Iranian missiles which have been despatched in the direction of Israel, it has not been straight concerned in any of the assaults on Iran thus far.

The most recent assaults on the Israeli hospital will most likely be utilized by Israeli officers and people in favour of navy motion to place stress on Trump to behave.

Trump and Netanyahu spoke on the telephone on Tuesday following a gathering of the US Nationwide Safety Council.

The US president had earlier taken to social media to name for Iran’s “unconditional give up” and mentioned the US knew the place Iran’s Supreme Chief Khamenei was situated, however wouldn’t kill him, “for now”. This adopted stories on Sunday that Trump had rejected a plan by Israel to kill Iran’s chief.

For his half, Khamenei warned Trump of “irreparable hurt” if the US navy intervened within the battle.

Netanyahu mentioned on Friday that the strikes have been “a targeted military operation to roll again the Iranian risk to Israel’s very survival”.

He mentioned the operation would “proceed for as many days because it takes to take away the unfold”.

An Israeli navy official advised the BBC Iran had sufficient nuclear materials to create nuclear bombs “inside days”. Iran has mentioned it has by no means sought to develop a nuclear weapon and that its nuclear actions are peaceable.

The strikes started as US talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, which began in April, appeared to have stalled. Trump had hoped to strike a deal to cease Tehran growing a nuclear weapon, however the newest spherical of talks was cancelled in mild of the current escalation in hostilities.

Final 12 months, Iran and Israel launched a number of air strikes against each other in April and October – although Israel’s strikes final 12 months weren’t believed to have been as wide-ranging as its present operation.

Iran has lengthy maintained its nuclear programme is for peaceable, civilian functions solely. It has a number of amenities round Iran, at the least a few of which have been focused within the Israeli strikes.

However many nations – in addition to the worldwide nuclear watchdog, IAEA – will not be satisfied the programme is for civilian functions alone.

Earlier in June, the watchdog’s board of governors formally declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the primary time in 20 years.

It cited Iran’s “many failures” to supply full solutions about undeclared nuclear materials and its stockpile of enriched uranium.

An earlier IAEA report mentioned Iran had enriched uranium to 60% purity, close to weapons grade, to doubtlessly make 9 nuclear bombs.