Trump says it’s ‘too late’ for talks with Iran as Israel strikes Tehran, sparking a rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East. The US and Israel launched military attacks on Iran, targeting Iranian military sites and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. This has led to a wave of violence, with hundreds of people killed, including children and school teachers. The UN has confirmed damage to a nuclear facility in Iran for the first time. The US has closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and warned Americans to leave more than a dozen countries in the region. President Donald Trump indicated he believes the opportunity for negotiations has passed, as his administration has been shifting the goalposts and contradicting itself since the start of the operation. The Israeli military has shut all crossings into and out of the occupied West Bank, leaving Palestinians unable to access urgent aid as settler attacks rise. The German chancellor will become the first leader to meet Donald Trump since the US president ordered attacks on Iran, sparking regional conflict. The UK government appears to be becoming increasingly embroiled in the war, as it plans to deploy a British warship to its military base in Cyprus. The conflict has also caused concern about potential petrol price spikes and fuel shortages, as the price of gasoline in the United States soared 11 cents to $3.11 a gallon, on average, in the latest reading from AAA. The UAE has sufficient munitions to repel Iranian attacks for as long as they continue, a defense ministry spokesperson said. The fragility of Iran’s economy meant the regime was edging toward collapse ‘with or without war,’ a former US treasury spokesperson for terrorism and financial intelligence has told CNN.
