KEY POINTS
- US-Iran nuclear talks set for Sunday in Oman cancelled
- Missile hits apartments in Israel’s Bat Yam, 35 missing
- Apparent Israeli strike hits South Pars gas field
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that it is “possible” the United States could become involved in the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel and expressed openness to Russian President Vladimir Putin acting as a mediator between the two adversaries.
“It’s possible we could get involved” in the ongoing battle between the Middle East’s arch-foes, Trump said in an interview as reported by ABC News. The news outlet reported that the US President stressed that the United States is “not at this moment” involved in the military action.
Trump added that Putin had contacted him about the conflict and was ready to play a mediating role. “He called me about it. We had a long talk about it,” Trump said as quoted by ABC News.
Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, as the US president said the conflict could be easily ended while warning Tehran not to strike any US targets.
Israeli rescue teams combed through the rubble of residential buildings destroyed in Iran’s strikes, using flashlights and sniffer dogs to look for survivors after at least seven people were killed, including children, authorities said.
Iran cancels nuclear talks with US
Tehran has called off nuclear talks that Washington had said were the only way to halt Israel’s bombing, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks by Israel so far were nothing compared with what Iran would see in the coming days.
“If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said in a message on Truth Social.
“However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict.”
Trump gave no details of any possible deal.
“The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight. If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before. However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and… pic.twitter.com/9F10xj1xU8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 15, 2025
Iran has said 78 people were killed there on the first day of Israel’s campaign on Friday, and scores more on the second, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children.
Israel-Iran exchange fresh strikes
The Shahran oil depot in Tehran was targeted in an Israeli attack, Iran said but added the situation was under control.
A fire had erupted after an Israeli attack on an oil refinery near the capital while Israeli strikes also targeted Iran’s defence ministry building, causing minor damage, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Sunday.
In Israel, the latest wave of Iranian attacks began shortly after 11 pm on Saturday (2000 GMT), when air raid sirens blared in Jerusalem and Haifa, sending around a million people into bomb shelters.
Around 2:30 am local time (2330 GMT Saturday), the Israeli military warned of another incoming missile barrage and urged residents to seek shelter.
Explosions echoed through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as missiles streaked across the skies and interceptor rockets were launched in response.
The military lifted its shelter-in-place advisory nearly an hour after issuing the warning.
Yemen’s Houthis said on Sunday that they targeted central Israel’s Jaffa with several ballistic missiles in the last 24 hours, the first time an ally of Iran has joined the fray.
Israel’s ambulance service said at least seven people were killed overnight and more than 140 injured in multiple attacks.
Israeli media said at least 35 people were missing after a strike hit Bat Yam, a city south of Tel Aviv.
A spokesperson for the emergency services said a missile hit an 8-storey building there and while many people were rescued, there were fatalities.
It was unclear how many buildings were hit overnight.
So far, at least 13 people in Israel have been killed and over 300 others injured since Iran launched its retaliatory attacks on Friday.
A round of US-Iran nuclear talks that was due to be held in Oman on Sunday was cancelled, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the discussions could not take place while Iran was being subjected to Israel’s “barbarous” attacks.
Gas field attack
In the first apparent attack to hit Iran’s energy infrastructure, the Tasnim news agency said Iran partially suspended production at South Pars, the world’s biggest gas field, after an Israeli strike caused a fire there on Saturday.
The South Pars field, offshore in Iran’s southern Bushehr province, is the source of most of the gas produced in Iran.
With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and Netanyahu urging Iran’s people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers.
Tehran has warned Israel’s allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. – Agencies
