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Benjamin Netanyahu has called Donald Trump "a great friend of Israel" and thanked him for "defending the skies of Israel".

In a video address to the nation, the Israeli prime minister said he and the US president "speak constantly, including last night".

"We had a very warm conversation," he said.

Netanyahu added: "We control the skies over Tehran. We are striking the Ayatollahs' regime with tremendous force.

"We are striking the nuclear weapons, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of power."

Israel launched three waves of aerial attacks on Iran in the last 24 hours, military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin has said.

Israel deployed dozens of warplanes to strike over 60 targets in Tehran and western Iran, including missile launchers and missile-production sites, he said.

"The aim of the operation is to eliminate the existential threat to the State of Israel, significantly damage Iran鈥檚 nuclear program in all its components, and severely impact its missile array," he explained.

Vladimir Putin has said all sides should look for ways to end the fighting between Israel and Iran.

The Russian president said Moscow had conveyed its ideas on how to achieve peace to the parties involved.

He said he was in contact with Donald Trump and Israel on the conflict.

Putin said Iranian society was "consolidating around its political leadership" and Russia and Iran "would be able to continue work in nuclear energy".

It comes as North Korea denounced Israel's attack on Iran, state media said.

Donald Trump has told senior aides he approves of US attack plans for Iran, but was holding off on giving the go-ahead to see if Tehran will abandon its nuclear programme, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Three sources told the paper the US president is hoping that threatening to join Israel's strikes on Iran will make Tehran agree to his demands.

Earlier, the US president said: "I may do it. I may not do it."

The US has begun evacuating nonessential diplomats and their families from the US embassy in Israel as the air war between Israel and Iran intensifies.

A government plane evacuated a number of diplomats and their family members who had asked to leave the country, two US officials told the Associated Press.

The evacuations happened shortly before US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, announced on X that the embassy was making plans for evacuation flights and ships for American citizens (see 16.59 post).

Missiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel, the Israeli military says.

Donald Trump does not want to go to war with Iran and has left the door open for Tehran to resume negotiations, a former chief of staff of the US National Security Council has told Sky News.

Speaking on The World With Yalda Hakim, Fred Fleitz said the US president "is going to make Iran a pretty good deal for a peaceful nuclear programme".

But he said if Iran does not give up its enrichment programme then "the clock is running out" and Trump will send US bombers to drop bunker-buster bombs on its Fordow nuclear site.

"Trump is a man of his word," he said. "He gave the Iranians 60 days. And if they don't agree soon on this, Trump has concluded that an Iranian nuclear weapon will be here soon.

"And it is not just a threat to Israel. It is a threat to the United States. And that's why I think there's a good chance Trump will drop bunker-buster bombs on the Fordow facility."

He said Iran would have to agree to give up the site and agree to stop enriching uranium: "If it wants a peaceful nuclear programme, the US will help it build one."

David Lammy is travelling to Washington for talks with his US counterpart Marco Rubio.

The foreign secretary will meet the US secretary of state after Donald Trump said he was considering whether to join Israeli strikes against Iran.

You can watch The World With Yalda Hakim in the live stream above.

During the show you can see her speaking with a former director of intelligence at Israeli spy agency Mossad, who told her it was "shocking" how quickly Israel "took down" Iran's air defences.

By Cordelia Lynch, Asia correspondent, in Tel Aviv

Israel has the firm edge in this conflict.

It's taken out Iran's top brass and their replacements. It's taken control of the skies over Tehran and it's not ruling out regime change either.

And Benjamin Netanyahu, who just a week ago was facing huge political opposition, now has the public and even his opponents backing him. But Iran's supreme leader isn't backing down - vowing to stand firm and warning the United States there will be huge risks if it joins the battle.

Yaakov Amidror, former head of the Israeli National Security Council, believes that's an empty threat.

"I think that the Iranians are using irrelevant language. They are bluffing. They don't have the capabilities they had two years ago. Hezbollah is gone. Hamas doesn't exist as a threat," he told me.

Amidror, who participated in high-level talks with US officials about the Iranian nuclear programme when he was national security advisor, believes Israel only needs the US for one thing - bunker-busting bombs to destroy Iran's Fordow nuclear facility.

"We don't have the capabilities to destroy from the air. The Americans have better capabilities to do it from the air. And for that, we need the Americans," he said.

Striking support for Israeli offensive on streets of Tel Aviv

The big question is just how involved the US is willing to be.

Donald Trump spent the first months of his term holding back Israel's push for an assault on Iran鈥檚 nuclear program. Now he appears to be seriously considering using American aircraft in the fight.

Whatever he decides, on the streets of Tel Aviv, there is striking support and even a bit of swagger around the Israeli offensive.

Iran recently issued an evacuation notice to the residents of Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish neighbourhood built outside of the old port city of Jaffa. And yet I met people who not only seem unfazed by that threat, but also confident about the days and possibly weeks ahead.

"I'm very relaxed here, this is Israel you know, we are safe here," Adi told me as he sat outside a cafe.

Israelis believe Netanyahu has moved at a critical time

Many people I've spoken to recently in Israel believe Netanyahu has moved at a critical time and successfully - even if they have been critical of his leadership on many other fronts.

For Adi's friend Jackie, tackling Tehran is long overdue.

"For 45 years Iran has said to all the world we are going to destroy Israel," he said.

It is a country he says "manufactures weapons and little else".

Many Israelis have been raised on the belief Iran is an existential threat. But this is a perilous moment. And there's no white flag yet. All eyes are now on the United States and a leader who can so quickly turn.