On June 16, 2025, World Leaders met to talk about the current conflict between Israel and Iran, both countries in the Middle East. On June 13, Israel carried out military strikes on Iran. In response, Iran sent hundreds of drones to Israel as a strike. The countries have long been enemies, due to many reasons such as Israel occupying Palestine. However, the conflict is now escalating.

Israel carried out strikes on Iran a few days ago, which the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to be targeted strikes to thwart Iran’s attempts to build a nuclear weapon. He said that the strikes were a “targeted military operation” and that “if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time“ (BBC). Afterwards, Iran launched a strike and also asked other countries to condemn Israel. This series of strikes provoked leaders from the G7, a group of seven countries, to meet together and discuss the issue.

Iran also blamed the US for supporting Israel in its actions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed to have “solid evidence” of U.S. support for these attacks (Aljazeera). Despite this, President Donald Trump claimed that the US played no part in the Israeli strikes.

Iran has long been suspected of building a nuclear bomb. Iran has denied it every time and claimed that its nuclear research was harmless. However, a United Nations body, the IAEA, said that Iran was not complying with the rules on nuclear programs.

Many also believe that Israel owns a nuclear bomb.

Responding to the strikes, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel “should anticipate a severe punishment” (BBC). The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Keir Starmer urged the conflicting countries to “step back and reduce tensions urgently” and also expressed concern for the strikes (BBC).

“Stability in the Middle East must be the priority, (BBC)” Sir Keir Starmer additionally stated.

President Donald Trump of the US told Fox News that he hopes that Iran might keep negotiating with the US to hold back on its nuclear programme.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced the belief that America did not provide any assistance in the strikes.

A spokesperson speaking on behalf of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says that Guterres is “particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran’s nuclear programme are underway (BBC).”

He asks both sides to be constrained and avoid a deeper conflict. If the situation becomes worse, the area will barely be able to afford it.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/15/solid-evidence-iran-says-us-bears-responsibility-for-israels-aggression (Aljazeera)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c9wg9k9w059o (BBC)