Iranian lawmakers urge Supreme Leader to authorize nuclear weapons

The US military is shifting its resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel’s strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, the Associated Press reported citing two US officials.

The Navy has ordered the USS Thomas Hudner destroyer to head toward the Eastern Mediterranean and instructed another destroyer to start advancing, so it can be ready if the White House calls on it.

Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower on Friday as Israel’s deadly strike on Iranian nuclear facilities heightened tensions in the oil-rich Middle East, dampening risk appetite across global markets.

The United Nations Security Council will meet later on Friday over Israel's strikes on Iran following a request by the country’s foreign minister, Reuters reported.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi requested the meeting in a letter to the 15-member body, saying Israel "has now crossed every red line, and the international community must not allow these crimes to go unpunished."

"Iran reaffirms its inherent right to self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter and will respond decisively and proportionately to these unlawful and cowardly acts," Araghchi wrote.

Article 51 of the UN Charter covers the individual or collective right of states to self-defense against armed attack.

US President Donald Trump praised Israel’s strikes on Iran as "a very successful attack" and warned Tehran to return to negotiations before it is too late, during a phone interview with CNN journalist Dana Bash on Friday.

Trump expressed strong support for Israel’s military actions against Iran. "We of course support Israel, obviously and supported it like nobody has ever supported it," Trump said.

He said that Iran had ignored a 60-day ultimatum he had previously issued. "Iran should have listened to me when I said – you know I gave them, I don’t know if you know but I gave them a 60-day warning and today is day 61."

Trump cautioned that Tehran must now "come to the table to make a deal before it’s too late. It will be too late for them. You know the people I was dealing with are dead, the hardliners.”

Responding to whether these deaths were the result of Israel’s strikes, Trump replied sarcastically, "They didn’t die of the flu; they didn’t die of Covid."

Former US envoy Brett McGurk told CNN that fears of a broader war with Iran are “overheated,” citing the deaths of key Iranian figures who would coordinate Tehran’s response.