NewsHour

Will the US get directly involved in Israel's military campaign against Iran? We hear from former CIA director and US commander in Afghanistan and Iraq, General David Petraeus. Also: low attendance and low morale at FIFA's Club World Cup; and mounds of clothing turn up in protected conservation sites in Ghana,

(Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. flag is raised on a new flagpole installed on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has warned that any US military intervention in his country will "cause irreparable damage for them". Speaking on state television, the Ayatollah decried what he called "threatening and ridiculous" comments from President Trump, who on Tuesday said Iran should surrender. As Israel's air bombardment of Iran continues for a sixth day, we ask an Israeli minister and a defence official from Mr Trump's first administration whether Israel can achieve its war aims without America's help.

Also in the programme: former tennis superstar Martina Navratilova discusses women’s sport; and French streaming service Deezer tackles fraud involving AI music.

(Photo: A TV screen displays the televised message of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran, June 18, 2025. CREDIT: Reuters)

President Trump demands Iran’s unconditional surrender as Israel and Iran continue their attacks on each other. Also in the programme: Iranian Nobel laureate, Narges Mohammadi on fleeing Tehran; and we pay tribute to the piano virtuoso, Alfred Brendel.

(Photo: Smoke plumes over the Tehran skyline. Credit: Reuters.)

President Trump says he wants "a real end" to the fighting between Israel and Iran, not just a ceasefire. He said Iran should have done a deal with the US over its nuclear programme and he is now little inclined to negotiate. Mr Trump has returned early from the G7 summit in Canada because of the Middle East crisis. Meanwhile, Israel says it has killed Iran’s military chief of staff, Ali Shadmani, in a strike on central Tehran.

Also in the programme: The lost papers of a maths genius, saved from the shredder; and some spectacular finds at a Viking- age burial site in Denmark.

(Photo: Iranian Red Crescent Society members search through the rubble for victims after Israeli strikes, at an unspecified location in Iran, in this undated image released June 17, 2025 and obtained from social media. Iranian Red Crescent Society via Reuters)

Israel warns Tehran residents to evacuate as it continues its strikes on the Iranian capital, hitting Iran TV studios while many residents attempt to flee the capital. Also in the programme: Canada’s foreign minister on the G7 summit, and the athletics trial gripping Norway.

(Photo: Iranian flag in an empty square with images of slain senior commanders. Credit: Reuters)

Israel says eight people have been killed in a third night of Iranian bombardment of Israeli cities, bringing the total to 24. Nearly 300 people are being treated in hospital. Iran meanwhile, has accused Israel of targeting a hospital in western Iran, condemning it as a war crime. Iran's health ministry says at least 224 people have been killed since the Israeli attacks started on Friday. We ask: what is Israel trying to achieve?

Also in the programme: Britain's foreign intelligence service is getting a new boss - the first woman to run the agency in its 116 year history; and we have a report from India, where families are still waiting for news after the Air India crash in Ahmedabad last week.

(Photo: Smoke rises, after what Iran says was an Israeli attack on Sharan Oil depot in Tehran, Iran, June 16, 2025. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA West Asia News Agency via Reuters)

Strikes by Israel and Iran continue as the conflict between the two countries intensifies and stretches into a third day. We’ll hear from the Israeli army, a former senior US envoy and a resident of Tehran.

Also on the programme: we speak to a senior US senator who was friends with the lawmakers killed in the Minnesota shootings; and the writer on writing about being unable, physically, to write.

(Photo: Israelis take shelter at the side of a highway as siren sounds following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in central Israel June 15, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Iran and Israel continue trading strikes, seventy-two hours after Israel launched an attack against Iran's nuclear infrastructure and key military figures. We speak to key figures in the region to understand Israel's aims, the role of US diplomacy and how Iran might respond in the future.

Also in the programme: demonstrations take place across Spain, Portugal and Italy against over-tourism; and we talk to writer Hanif Kureishi about his creative process after becoming paralysed.

(Photo: People drive as fire and smoke rise from Tehran's oil warehouse in Tehran, Iran, after it was hit by an Israeli strike. Credit: Shutterstock).

Israel and Iran threaten to step up their military confrontation, nearly 48 hours after the Israeli strikes began. Newshour analyses Israel's strategy and assesses how close Iran was to making a nuclear weapon.

Also in the programme: two US politicians are shot in Minnesota; and Bangladesh's interim Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus on the ending of aid to his country.

(Picture: Missiles launched from Iran are intercepted, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, June 13, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

The Israeli military is continuing its strikes on Iran - following overnight explosions at Mehrabad airport in Tehran. On Friday Israeli planes struck Iranian nuclear and military sites assassinating several military leaders and nine top nuclear scientists. Iranian state media says sixty civilians including twenty children were also killed in an Israeli air strike on a residential complex in the capital. In response Iran has carried out missile strikes on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Tehran has warned the US, France and Britain that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help stop its strikes on Israel.

Also, we speak to Muhammad Yunus, the interim leader of Bangladesh.

And a new film about the West Virginia town, where people go to avoid the electro-magnetic radiation of modern life.

(photo: Rescuers work at the site of a damaged building, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 14, 2025. Credit: REU)