Breaking News:Iran-US news live: US military destroyer docks at Israel’s Eilat port, Erdogan offers to mediate– What Just Happened

US-Iran tensions live: A US Navy destroyer has docked at the Israeli port of Eilat, an Israeli media report said on Friday, citing the military. The development comes amid tensions between Washington and Iran. The report said that the arrival of the destroyer at the southern port on the Gulf of Aqaba, near Israel’s borders with Egypt and Jordan, was pre-planned and part of ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli militaries.

US-Iran tensions live: Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Turkey was ready to play a facilitator role between Iran and the United States to ease the tensions between the two sides.

“President Erdogan emphasised that Turkey was ready to take up a facilitator role between Iran and the United States to ease tensions and resolve issues,” the presidency said in a statement on X.

US-Iran tensions live: A US Navy destroyer has arrived at the port of Eilat, Israel’s ynet news website reported on Friday, quoting the military, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to rise.

The report said the vessel’s stop at the southern port on the Gulf of Aqaba, close to Israel’s border crossings with Egypt and Jordan, had been planned in advance and was part of ongoing cooperation between the Israeli and US armed forces.

US-Iran tensions live: Iran’s chief diplomat Abbas Araghchi arrived in Istanbul on Friday for talks, as Turkey prepared to offer its support in easing tensions with the United States, which has raised the prospect of a possible military strike.

During the trip, Araghchi was expected to meet Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan and also hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement confirming his arrival.

The visit took place hours after US President Donald Trump said he hoped to avoid military action against Iran, which has warned it would target American bases and aircraft carriers if it comes under attack.

US-Iran tensions live: Iran said it has deployed 1,000 new “strategic drones” across the four branches of its armed forces as it prepares for possible US strikes, Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported.

US President Donald Trump has sent what he described as an “armada” of warships to the Middle East and has warned of military action against the clerical regime in Tehran.

US-Iran tensions live: On Wednesday, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the violence in Iran has killed at least 6,373 people in recent weeks, with many more feared dead. Its count included at least 5,993 protesters, 214 government-affiliated forces, 113 children, and 53 civilians who were not demonstrating. More than 42,450 have been arrested, it added.

Iran’s government, as of January 21, put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labelled the rest “terrorists.”

US-Iran tensions live: Iran on Thursday warned of a “crushing response” to any attack after US President Donald Trump said time was running out for a nuclear agreement, and as the European Union moved towards declaring the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organisation.

Iran’s army chief Amir Hatami repeated the warning on Thursday, state television reported. The broadcaster said 1,000 “strategic drones” had been added to the combat units.

US-Iran tensions live: Witness accounts suggest that the main force seen on the streets was the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Iran International reported.

The UK-based outlet said it has received new information showing that the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, along with allied proxy groups in the region, played a role in the killing of Iranian protesters on January 8 and 9.

US-Iran tensions live: Dutch foreign minister David van Weel said on Thursday ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers that recent footage from Tehran showing a harsh crackdown had gone beyond limit for EU nations.

Van Weel said videos showing the repression had crossed “a big line” for EU countries.

US-Iran tensions live: Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi welcomed the European Union’s decision to label the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. He said it was a clear sign that the Islamic Republic does not have international legitimacy and called for more practical steps to safeguard Iranians.

“This important step sends a message to the criminal regime that it has no global legitimacy,” he wrote on X. “We now need further concrete action to protect the Iranian people and to support a legitimate transitional government leading Iran to democracy.”

US-Iran tensions live: Plainclothes Iranian security forces have detained thousands of people in a wave of arrests and pressure aimed at stopping further protests, sources told news agency Reuters. The move comes after the deadliest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in the country.

“They are arresting everyone,” one activist said. “No one knows where they are being taken or where they are being held. With these arrests and threats, they are trying to inject fear into society.”

US-Iran tensions live: The European Union on Thursday listed Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the designation as a “PR stunt” and said Europe would be affected if energy prices surge as a result of the sanctions.

“Several countries are presently attempting to avert the eruption of all-out war in our region. None of them are European,” he wrote on X.

US-Iran tensions live: The US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, said on Thursday that Iranian officials and their families should not be allowed to live in the United States while, he said, people in Iran face repression.

“The families of Iranian regime elites live lives of luxury in the U.S. while their people are massacred. Not any more!” Waltz posted on X.

The comments came after the state department said earlier that Washington had taken steps to remove the ability of senior Iranian officials and their family members to stay in the country. No details were given on how many people are affected or how the move would be put into effect.

US-Iran tensions live: The World Health Organization (WHO) chief said on Thursday that the United Nations agency had verified recent attacks on a hospital in Iran. He added that several health centres were damaged during the unrest, leaving dozens of paramedics hurt.

“I am deeply concerned by multiple reports of health personnel and medical facilities in Iran being impacted by the recent insecurity, and prevented from delivering their essential services to people requiring care,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, adding that it was “imperative that health facilities are protected and be able to deliver their critical health services in an unimpeded manner”.

US-Iran tensions live: US President Donald Trump has been given an expanded set of military options against Iran, including possible commando operations at nuclear facilities, strikes aimed at leadership to support a change in government, and fresh attacks on ballistic missile units, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

The report said these choices go further than those outlined two weeks ago. It added that no action has yet been approved.

US-Iran tensions live: Qatar’s emir and Iran’s president spoke by phone on Thursday about steps to ease tensions in the region, as Tehran and Washington remain at odds.

“During the call, they also discussed the latest regional and international developments, particularly the current situation and the efforts being made to de-escalate tensions and establish stability,” the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) said about the conversation between Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

US President Donald Trump told reporters: “We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now. And it would be great if we didn’t have to use them… Well, I told them two things. Number one, no nuclear. And number two, stop killing protesters. They’re killing them by the thousands. You know, I stopped 837 hangings two weeks ago. But they’re going to have to do something. Nobody’s seen anything like it.”

He said later that he hoped to avoid military action against Iran, which has threatened to strike American bases and aircraft carriers in response to any attack.

Iran-US news live: The arrival of a US aircraft-carrier strike group in the Middle East has given US President Donald Trump stronger options to act on his warnings to attack Iran. However, these choices come with serious risks of retaliation from Tehran.

US military action against Iran still appears possible, according to Becca Wasser and Dina Esfandiary of Bloomberg Economics. They said the buildup has widened the range of options available to Trump and helped strengthen US and allied defences against any response from Iran.

Beyond nuclear facilities, a US operation could focus on key military sites, missile and drone production centres, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps positions and leaders, as well as government buildings and senior officials, Wasser said.

Iran-US news live: Turkey will offer to step in as a mediator between Washington and Tehran during a visit by Iran’s foreign minister on Friday, officials told news agency AFP. Ankara is also looking at strengthening security along its border in case the dispute worsens.

Foreign minister Hakan Fidan will tell his Iranian counterpart Araghchi on Friday that his country “is ready to contribute to resolving the current tensions through dialogue”, a Turkish diplomatic was quoted as saying by the agency.

Iran-US news live: Russia is prepared to pull out its staff from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant if the need arises, Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, was quoted as saying on Thursday by state news agency TASS.

President Vladimir Putin said last year that hundreds of Russian nationals are employed at the site, which is Iran’s only working nuclear power station and was constructed by Moscow.

Iran-US news live updates: The European Union on Thursday imposed sanctions on Iran’s interior minister Eskandar Momeni, prosecutor general Mohammad Movahedi Azad, and presiding judge Iman Afshari, the Council of the European Union said.

“They were all involved in the violent repression of peaceful protests and the arbitrary arrest of political activists and human rights defenders,” the Council said in a statement.

Iran-US news live updates: The United States is continuing its maximum pressure approach towards Iran to limit the government’s funding for military and nuclear programmes, while keeping diplomatic channels open, state department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said on Thursday.

“Instead of funding water, food, energy infrastructure, the regime there has wasted their wealth on terrorist proxies, on a nuclear weapons program that was obliterated by the President,” Piggott told News Max.

“We’re seeing a maximum pressure policy from day one of this administration to deny the regime the revenues to do those malign activities. And we see a force posture in the region, as the Secretary said, in order to defend America’s interests,” he added.

Iran-US news live updates: Israel wants the United States to join in fresh strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile programme. Intelligence officials told The New York Times that Iran has largely rebuilt the system since Tel Aviv heavily damaged it during a 12-day conflict last June.

Rear Adm Ali Shamkhani, who leads a newly formed body that oversees military operations in Iran, said on Wednesday that any strike by the US would be treated as an act of war. He warned that Iran would respond strongly and target Tel Aviv.

Because of this, Israeli officials remain highly concerned about Iran’s missile programme, which they say is capable of reaching both civilian and military sites across Israel.

Iran-US news live updates: UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday urged the use of diplomacy to ease rising tensions between Iran and the United States, as both sides exchange military warnings during US President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Tehran.

“We believe that it’s important that there is a dialogue allowing for an agreement in relation, namely, to the nuclear question and that we can avoid a crisis that could have devastating consequences in the region,” Guterres told reporters.

Iran-US news live updates: The decision by the European Union has already led to a warning from Tehran, which said it could lead to “destructive consequences”.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi described it as “another major strategic mistake”.

Iran’s military criticised what it called “the illogical, irresponsible and spite-driven action of the European Union”, and claimed the bloc was acting in “obedience” to Iran’s rivals, the United States and Israel.