Iran claims it has downed two Israeli jets – as it fires missiles in response to Friday’s attacks
Iran claims it has shot down two Israeli jets and that its response to Friday night’s attacks on nuclear and military infrastructure has begun.
The reports emerged as smoke was seen rising from Tel Aviv as Iran launched missiles at the Israeli city.
Air raid sirens had been heard across Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as the missiles neared Israel.
Footage has shown Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system – which uses radars to detect and intercept short-range rockets, missiles and drones – stopping Iranian missiles from striking the city.
However, video also suggests some missiles made it through. According to Israeli medics, a total of 34 people were taken to hospital in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
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How Iran’s retaliatory attack unfolded
In a statement at around 1:50am on Saturday local time (11:50pm on Friday UK time), the Israel Defense Forces said: “In the past hour, dozens of missiles have been launched from Iran toward the State of Israel. Some of the missiles were intercepted.
“Search and Rescue forces are currently operating in a number of locations across the country in which reports of fallen projectiles were received.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian Army had earlier said in a statement that its “defence forces successfully hit and destroyed two F-35 fighter jets belonging to the zionist entity, in addition to a large number of small drones”.
“The fate of the two fighter pilots remains unknown and is being investigated,” the statement added.
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Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv tonight. Pic: AP
Smoke rises in Tel Aviv after Iranian strike
The escalation in the region comes after Israel launched a huge attack on Iran on Friday, which it says was aimed at degrading the country’s nuclear ambitions and weakening its military.
Israel was able to target key facilities and kill top generals and scientists.
It said it airstrikes were necessary before its adversary got any closer to building an atomic weapon.
As Israel braced itself for a retaliation, the IRNA state news agency in Iran confirmed this evening that the country’s response had begun.
It came as a reporter with the Iranian Tasnim news agency said missiles had been fired from Shiraz and Isfahan in Iran towards Israel.
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An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv tonight. Pic: AP Photo/Tomer Neuberg
Sky News correspondent Mark Stone, who used to be based in Jerusalem, has said Iran is trying to “overwhelm the Iron Dome defence system, which has to be manually reloaded again and again”.
He added: “[The Iron Dome] can be overwhelmed. We saw a number of instances in the videos a moment ago where it was clearly overwhelmed and some of those ballistic missiles hit targets in Tel Aviv.”
Three American officials have told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that the US military helped Israel down some Iranian missiles this evening.
Response workers in Tel Aviv. Pic: Magen David Adom
The aftermath of the attack on Tel Aviv. Pic: Magen David Adom
As the barrage of missiles was fired at Israel, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X: “The Zionist regime (Israel) will not remain unscathed from the consequences of its crime.
“The Iranian nation must be guaranteed that our response will not be half-measured,” he said, adding Iran will “inflict heavy blows” on Israel.
Mr Khamenei also said that Israel has initiated a war and that Tehran will not allow it to conduct “hit and run” attacks without grave consequences.
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Smoke rises in Iran after Israeli strikes
It came before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Iranians to stand up to the regime in Tehran and help Israel “clear the path for you to achieve your freedom”.
In a video released during Iran’s missile attack on Israel, Mr Netanyahu said Israel had taken out a “large portion” of Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and its “most significant enrichment facility”.
“More is on the way,” he added. “The regime does not know what hit them, or what will hit them. It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard.”
The Israeli military has told people they can now leave air raid shelters but must stay near them in case of further attacks.
The Israel Defence Forces issued instructions earlier this evening telling residents to stay in shelters and minimise movement in open areas.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump have agreed the mounting conflict between Iran and Israel should be resolved by “diplomacy and dialogue”.
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Israeli ambassador: ‘We were expecting Iran’s retaliation’
The two leaders spoke on Friday evening, as western nations began a diplomatic flurry to calm the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Sir Keir earlier urged Mr Netanyahu to de-escalate and work towards a “diplomatic resolution”.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump urged Iran to quickly reach an agreement on curbing its nuclear program as Israel vowed to continue its bombardment of the country.
Mr Trump framed the volatile moment in the Middle East as a possible “second chance” for Iran’s leadership to avoid further destruction “before there is nothing left and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”
The US president had urged Mr Netanyahu not to attack Iran.
The two leaders had what was described as a heated 40-minute exchange by telephone last Monday.
Speaking just hours before the attack, Mr Trump said he feared such action would destroy US hopes of an agreement with Iran to curtail its nuclear programme.
Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a spokesperson for the royal has said.
Harry, who served 10 years in the British Army, visited the city at the invitation of the Ukrainian government.
The Duke of Sussex travelled to the capital to help with the recovery of military personnel seriously injured in the three-year war with Russia.
Pic: Railway of Ukraine Ukrzaliznytsia/AP
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will also be travelling to Kyiv on Friday in what will be her first foreign trip since being appointed to the job last week.
Her visit coincides with the UK launching a new package of Russia-related sanctions targeting ships carrying Russian oil as well as companies and individuals supplying electronics, chemicals and explosives used to make Russian weapons.
It comes as Russia and Belarus began a major joint military exercise on on NATO’s doorstep on Friday, just two days after Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down suspected Russian drones over its airspace.
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Drones shot down in Poland
The Zapad-2025 exercise – a show of force by Russia and its close ally – will involve drills in both countries and in the Baltic and Barents seas, the Russian defence ministry said.
Meanwhile on the frontline, Russian defence systems intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight,
including nine over the Moscow region, the ministry said on Friday.
The duke told the Guardian while on an overnight train to Kyiv: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.
“We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through.
“We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitised to what has been going on.”
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Harry, who served two tours in Afghanistan, previously travelled to Ukraine in April, when he visited war victims as part of his work with wounded veterans.
The prince visited the Superhumans Center, an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians.
Earlier this week, Harry said the King is “great” after he reunited with him at Clarence House for a private tea.
It was their first meeting in 19 months and lasted just 54 minutes.
The last time the father and son saw each other was in February 2024 when the prince flew to the UK after the monarch announced his cancer diagnosis.
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have lived in California since they quit roles as senior working royals in March 2020.
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat.
The far-right politician, who ruled Brazil between 2019 and 2022, is currently under house arrest in the capital, Brasilia.
A panel of five Supreme Court justices handed down the sentence several hours after they found the 70-year-old guilty on five counts.
The counts were trying to stage a coup, being part of an armed criminal organisation, attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, being implicated in violence, and posing a serious threat to the state’s assets and listed heritage.
Bolsonaro‘s lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.
Pic: AP
The ruling will deepen political divisions in Brazil and is also likely to prompt a backlash from the United States government – with Donald Trump already sharing his thoughts on the vote.
President Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro, has said he was surprised and “very unhappy” with the decision.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, he said he always found Bolsonaro “outstanding” and said the conviction is “very bad for Brazil”.
Mr Trump previously called the case a “witch hunt”, slapped Brazil with tariff hikes, and revoked US visas for most members of Brazil’s high court.
Bolsonaro is the first former Brazilian president to be convicted of attempting a coup.
He has not attended the court proceedings, and on Thursday, he was seen at the garage of his property, but did not talk to the media.
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Justice Carmen Lucia. Pic: AP
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been overseeing the case, said on Tuesday that Bolsonaro was the leader of a coup plot and of a criminal organisation, and voted in favour of convicting him. Justices Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia, and Cristiano Zanin sided with Justice Moraes in the trial.
On Wednesday, another justice, Luiz Fux, disagreed and voted to acquit the ex-president of all charges.
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Justice Lucia said she was convinced by the evidence the attorney general’s office put forward against Bolsonaro, saying: “He is the instigator, the leader of an organisation that orchestrated every possible move to maintain or seize power.”
Bolsonaro had been previously banned from running for office until 2030 in a different case.
He is expected to choose an heir who is likely to challenge President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva next year.
The FBI and officials have released new video and images of a “person of interest” in connection with the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as the manhunt continues.
At a news conference on Friday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox showed video footage showing the suspect walking on the roof of the building from where the fatal shot was fired. He is then seen climbing down and heading toward a wooded area, where police say he abandoned his rifle.
Additional images released by police show the suspect wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a backpack.
Investigators have conducted nearly 200 interviews related to the case as 20 law enforcement partners are working on the investigation, Governor Cox said.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the attacker, he said.
Follow the latest updates on Charlie Kirk’s killing
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
Earlier, authorities said the shooter was thought to have jumped off a roof and fled into a neighbourhood after firing one shot.
They also said the suspect was a male who “appears to be of college age” and blended in on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, where Mr Kirk was killed.
Mr Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing influencer, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday afternoon while speaking to university students at an event. He died in hospital after being shot.
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University where he was later fatally shot. Pic: AP
The rifle suspected of being used in the shooting has been found.
In a briefing on Thursday, FBI agent Robert Bohls said: “I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday’s shooting… is a high-powered bolt action rifle.
“That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. The FBI laboratory will be analysing this weapon.”
Investigators have collected a footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis.
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
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The father-of-two was the chief executive and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a prominent organisation that engages conservative youth on school campuses.
He had millions of followers across social media.
Mr Kirk and Turning Point USA played a key role in driving youth support for Mr Trump in last November’s presidential election. His events at college campuses nationwide typically drew large crowds.
Many people listened both in person and online to Mr Kirk, as he advocated for conservatism among younger generations and became a leading voice in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
President Donald Trump paid tribute to Mr Kirk while on stage at a 9/11 memorial event in Virginia, saying he would be awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Authorities have released additional images of the attacker. Pic: Utah Public Safety
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“Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt,” Mr Trump said.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children.”
He later added the FBI was making “big progress” in finding the shooter and he has “an indication” of the motive, but declined to expand.
“He’s an animal, total animal, hopefully they’ll have him and they’ll get him.”
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