Dozens of US military aircraft are no longer on the tarmac at a major US base in Qatar, satellite images show - a possible move to shield them from eventual Iranian air strikes, as Washington weighs whether to intervene in Tehran's conflict with Israel.

Australia has started evacuating almost 3,000 citizens caught up in the rapidly spiralling conflict between Israel and Iran, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday.

For days, Syrians have watched as Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the skies over their territory, but the new government in Damascus has so far remained officially silent on the unprecedented conflict.

The White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday, a US holiday and top US diplomat Marco Rubio meanwhile will meet his UK counterpart for talks expected to focus on the conflict.

Khamenei's speech came six days into the conflict, with US president Donald Trump saying he may or may not intervene in the conflict, while demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender".

Doha, Qatar -- As Iran and Israel trade strikes and the US weighs joining in, wealthy Gulf states on the conflict's doorstep are engaged in frantic diplomacy to halt the war -- but solutions remain elusive. A spillover of the conflict or the Iranian government's collapse are both worrying outcomes...

Oil prices steadied Wednesday after Trump’s demand for Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ roiled markets and revived supply fears, as regional diplomacy and major Gulf business deals unfolded alongside.

Of particular concern is the possibility of Iran shutting off the Strait of Hormuz, through which around an estimated fifth of global oil supply traverses, according to the Commerzbank note.

Despite international alarm, neither side has backed off from the long-range blitz that began Friday, when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities.

Trump said that he wanted a "complete give-up" by Iran in return for peace, without elaborating on the outcome he seeks. China accused Trump of "pouring oil" on the conflict.

Oil prices rallied Tuesday after Donald Trump urged Tehran residents to evacuate, stoking fresh fears of all-out war as Israel and Iran continued to pound each other with missiles.

The United States and Iran had engaged in several rounds of indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear programme in recent weeks, but Iran said after the start of Israel's campaign that it would not negotiate while under attack.

The G7 statement said that Israel "has a right to defend itself" and stressed "the importance of the protection of civilians," as the growing attacks kill civilians on both sides.

Images verified by AFP, shot by a social media user from an overpass, showed near immobile traffic on a Tehran highway heading north with almost no vehicles in the opposite lane.

Israel's surprise strike against Iranian military and nuclear sites on Friday -- killing top commanders and scientists -- sent crude prices soaring as much as 13 percent at one point on fears about supplies from the region.

The decision added drama to the major aerospace industry event, which was already under the shadow of last week's deadly crash of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Black walls were installed around the stands of five Israeli defense firms at the trade fair in Le Bourget, an airfield on the...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there’s a fresh opening to free hostages held in Gaza, backing a US-mediated proposal for a 60-day ceasefire as Israel continues its unprecedented military exchange with Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he ordered negotiators to "advance" talks on releasing hostages held in Gaza, after sensing an opportunity amid Israel's unprecedented attack on arch-foe Iran.

Mediators Qatar and Oman were told by Iran that Tehran "will not negotiate while under attack", an official briefed on the talks said Sunday, amid a massive exchange of strikes between Israel and the Islamic republic.

Trump has praised Israel's strikes, noting it used US weapons, even though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied his public calls to hold off as the United States sought a negotiated solution with Iran on the state's contested nuclear work.

Israel's military said its air force hit Mashhad airport in Iran's far east, making it the longest-range strike of the conflict with the target "approximately 2,300 kilometers (1,430 miles) from Israel".

Bat Yam, Israel -- A shocked Julia Zilbergoltz said she had never experienced anything like the Iranian missile strike that hit her home in central Israel early Sunday. "I'm stressed and in shock. I've been through hard times in my life, but I've never been in a situation like this,"...

Iran announced it will scale back cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expressing deep dissatisfaction over what it views as the agency’s failure to condemn Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities.

In the central region, at least four people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed and around 100 others wounded in a rocket strike, according to a spokesperson for Magen David Adom (MDA).

Britain is deploying assets, including fighter jets, to the Middle East amid tensions between Iran and Israel, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Saturday heading to Canada for G7 talks.

Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region.

Tensions spiked as Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israeli air raids that killed senior Iranian military leaders and hit nuclear sites. Both nations reported casualties and damage amid calls from the US and UK to pursue dialogue and de-escalation.

Air raids sirens and explosions rang out across Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the airwaves to warn he expected "several waves of Iranian attacks" in response.

Trump warns Tehran that the "next planned attacks" will be "even more brutal" and said Iran should cut a deal to roll back its nuclear program "before there is nothing left".

Washington, United States - The United States still hopes to hold talks Sunday with Iran, even after Israel launched a massive attack on the Islamic republic, a US official said. "We still intend to have talks Sunday," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The official had no further...

Israel's operation struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme", taking aim at the atomic facility in Natanz and nuclear scientists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

"All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries," Iran's Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail.

Iran has said it will present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, which it had criticised for failing to offer sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

In a key sticking point, Iran has insisted on the right to enrich uranium at low levels for civilian use -- as allowed under a 2015 deal negotiated by former president Barack Obama which Trump tore up in his first White House term.

Tehran, Iran -- Iran's parliament speaker said on Sunday that the latest US proposal for a nuclear deal does not include the lifting of sanctions, state media reported as negotiations appear to have hit a roadblock. The two foes have held five rounds of Omani-mediated talks since April, seeking to...

Qatar's foreign reserves rise 3.6 percent year-on-year despite a dip in bonds and treasury holdings, Iraq releases Australian and Egyptian engineers and other developments.

Tehran, Iran - Tehran denounced on Saturday the US travel ban on Iranians and citizens of 11 other mostly Middle Eastern and African countries, saying Washington's decision was a sign of a "racist mentality". US President Donald Trump signed on Wednesday an executive order reviving sweeping restrictions that echo his...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday began a two-day visit to Oman, which is mediating ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.

Paris, France - Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was given a hero's welcome by supporters on his return to Tehran on Monday after winning the top prize at the Cannes film festival, footage posted on social media showed. After being banned from leaving Iran for years, forced to make films underground...

The issue has come into focus in recent weeks, with Iran staunchly defending its right to enrich uranium as part of what it says is a civilian nuclear programme, while the United States wants it to stop.

Tehran, Iran - Long-time adversaries Iran and the United States held a fifth round of Oman-mediated nuclear talks on Friday in Rome, but with no breakthrough reported. However, both sides still described the meeting as constructive and expressed a willingness to continue the discussions. Here are some of the main...

The talks, which began in April, are the highest-level contact between the foes since the United States quit the 2015 nuclear accord during President Donald Trump's first term.

Iran and the United States will hold the next round of talks on the Islamic republic's nuclear programme in Rome later this week, Tehran and mediator Oman said Wednesday.

Both main crude contracts jumped around one percent after CNN reported multiple US officials as saying the government had received intelligence indicating Israel was preparing to target Iranian atomic facilities.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Iran could have civilian nuclear power while importing enriched uranium but that it wanted to keep its enrichment programme as "a matter of national pride" and "as a deterrent".

Jerusalem, Undefined -- US President Donald Trump's decision to skip over Israel in his Middle East tour was just the latest sign of a shifting dynamic between the historic allies. From nuclear talks with Iran, a ceasefire deal in Yemen and the announcement of lifting sanctions on Syria, Trump has...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that Tehran has no objection to US companies operating in the country, including in the oil and gas sector.

The Istanbul meeting follows Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's warning of "irreversible" consequences if the European powers move to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran that were lifted under a 2015 deal.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday a deal was close on Iran's nuclear programme that would avert military action, sending oil prices tumbling, as he boasted of raising "trillions of dollars" on a Gulf tour.

The United States announced new sanctions Monday against Iran over its nuclear program, despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries over the sensitive issue.