A former director of intelligence at Israeli spy agency Mossad has told Sky News it was “shocking” how quickly Israel “took down” Iran’s air defences.

On 13 June, the Israeli military, in an operation called “Rising Lion”, started carrying out aerial attacks on Iran, hitting sites including some of its most important nuclear installations.

Israel said Iran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb – something Tehran has always denied seeking from its uranium enrichment programme.

Since those air attacks, both countries have been trading daily missile strikes.

Live updates: US prepares evacuation flights from Israel

Ex-Mossad boss Zohar Palti told The World With Yalda Hakim that it took his country’s air force 36-48 hours to “dominate completely” the skies above Iran.

“This is shocking in a way. This is amazing,” he said.

He added: “We thought that it would be much harder, you know, because I don’t want to brag or do things like that. I mean, it was much more fast than we anticipated.”

Israeli ceasefire ‘could be in days’

Mr Palti said he believes that in two days to a week, Israel “can call” a ceasefire.

“We will need of course the international community and when I say the international community, it’s basically the Americans in this case and no doubt we will need the support of the E3, meaning the Europeans,” he added.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and points to its right to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment.

Mr Palti said the Americans have the ability to “take all the [Iranian] regime in a couple of hours”.

He said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was at a “crossroads” and had two options – “the existence of the regime” or “give up his inspiration right now to build a military nuclear bomb. I think it’s an easy decision”.

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Some Israeli officials have admitted Israel won’t be able to completely destroy Iran’s nuclear programme, unless US bombers drop ordnance that can penetrate sites buried deep underground.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any US strikes targeting the Islamic Republic will “result in irreparable damage for them” and that his country would not bow to Donald Trump’s call for surrender.

On Wednesday, President Trump would not say whether he has decided to order an American strike on Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Monday that Israel’s control of Iranian airspace was “a game-changer”.

And national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said pilots could operate “against countless more targets” over Tehran, thanks to the destruction of “dozens and dozens” of air defence batteries.

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In the latest bombing, Israel said its air force destroyed the headquarters of Iran’s internal security service.

A British man – the sole survivor of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad – has been discharged from hospital, the airline has confirmed.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, has since been seen in video as a pallbearer for the coffin of his brother – one of the 241 people killed in the crash – at a funeral in western India.

At least 30 people also died on the ground as the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner struck a medical college hostel shortly after take-off from the airport in the state of Gujarat on Thursday.

In a statement, Air India said it was “in mourning for the tragic loss” of passengers and crew aboard flight AI171 and is in contact with relatives of those killed, including 52 British nationals.

It said it was working to repatriate the deceased to the UK and other parts of the world, adding: “The sole survivor of the accident, also a British national, has been discharged from hospital.”

“The investigation is ongoing,” it said. “We are cooperating with all parties involved and are committed to sharing verified information and will continue to provide updates wherever we can.”

On flight AI171 to Gatwick, there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian among the passengers, along with 12 crew.

The only survivor, Mr Ramesh, was in seat 11A, near the emergency exit. Speaking from his hospital bed on Friday, he said he “still can’t believe” he survived.

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Dozens of anxious family members are waiting to collect the bodies of loved ones as doctors work to gather dental samples and perform DNA profiling to identify victims.

Air India and the Indian government are looking at issues linked to engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained extended, or in the down position, after take-off.

Both the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, also called black boxes, have been recovered. They will be crucial to the crash investigation, which includes air accident investigators from the UK and US.

India’s aviation safety watchdog has asked Air India for the training records of the pilots and dispatchers, while an inspection of Air India’s 787 fleet did not reveal any major issues.

While there has not been an update on the possible cause of the crash, Indian officials have raised concerns about recent maintenance-related issues reported by the airline and advised the carrier to “strictly adhere to regulations”.

This is the highest stakes diplomacy via social media. 

The American president just posted on his Truth Social platform: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.

“He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers.

“Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Israel-Iran live: Trump says US knows where Iran’s supreme leader is ‘hiding’

It was followed minutes later by “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

In real-time, we are witnessing Donald Trump’s extreme version of maximum pressure diplomacy.

He’d probably call it the ‘art of the deal’, but bunker busters are the tool, and it comes with such huge consequences, intended and unintended, known and unknown.

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There is intentional ambiguity in the president’s messaging. His assumption is that he can apply his ‘art of the deal’ strategy to a deeply ideological geopolitical challenge.

It’s all playing out publicly. Overnight, the New York Times, via two of its best-sourced reporters, had been told that Mr Trump is weighing whether to use B-2 aircraft to drop bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, Axios was reporting that a meeting is possible between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.

The reporting came just as Mr Trump warned “everyone in Tehran to evacuate”. The nuclear sites being threatened with bunker busters are not in Tehran, but Trump’s words are designed to stoke tension, to confuse and to apply intense pressure.

His actions are too. He left the G7 in Canada early and asked his teams to gather in the White House Situation Room.

This is a game of smoke, mirrors, brinkmanship and – maybe – bluff. In Tehran, what’s left of the leadership is watching and reading closely as they consider what’s next.

Maybe the Supreme Leader and his regime’s days are numbered. Things remain very unpredictable.

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From history, though, regime change, even when it comes with a plan – and there is certainly not one here, spells civil war and from that comes a refugee crisis.

These are truly tense and chaotic times.