LIVE West Asia crisis: 'Nobody knows' — Trump won't say if he will move ahead with US strikes on Iran

Intense Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran's capital early on Wednesday in a conflict that a human rights group said had killed at least 585 people across Iran and wounded 1,326 others. The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 239 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 126 as security personnel.

Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the death toll at 224 people killed and 1,277 others wounded.

Uncertainty roiled the region and residents of Tehran fled their homes in droves on the sixth day of Israel's air campaign aimed at Iran's military and nuclear programme.

Israel asserts it had to launch its airstrike campaign to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon. It came as Iran and the US had been negotiating over the possibility of a new diplomatic deal over Tehran's programme, though President Donald Trump has said Israel's campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks.

Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme was peaceful, though it was the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60 per cent, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent. US intelligence agencies as well have said they did not believe Iran was actively pursuing the bomb.

Iran has retaliated against Israel's airstrike campaign by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel.

India on Wednesday announced it was launching Operation Sindhu to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran as the Persian Gulf nation's conflict with Israel showed no sign of letting up.

Even as India kicked off the evacuation mission, there were reports of some Indian students sustaining injuries in a strike on a medical students' dormitory in the Keshavarz Street area of Iran's capital Tehran.

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President Donald Trump would not say Wednesday whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran, a move that Tehran warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens.

“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the White House . “I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.”

Trump added that it's not “too late” for Iran to give up its nuclear programme as he continues to weigh direct US involvement in Israel's military operations aimed at crushing Tehran's nuclear programme.

“Nothing's too late,” Trump said. “I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble. Nothing is finished until it is finished. The next week is going to be very big — maybe less than a week.”

Trump also offered a terse response to Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's refusal to heed to his call for Iran to submit to an unconditional surrender. “I say good luck,” Trump said.

Asserting that Iran is always in favour of peace and security, a senior Iranian diplomat on Wednesday said Tehran is "ready" for any peace negotiation but with a condition that Israeli military action should first be "condemned".

In an interaction with PTI Videos in New Delhi, Iran's deputy chief of mission to India Mohammad Javad Hosseini also said Americans should "put pressure" and bring the other side back to the negotiating table.

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Explosions were heard in Iran's capital as Israeli warplanes pounded Tehran overnight and into Wednesday. Less than a week into the conflict, Israel says its aircraft have free rein over the city's skies.

Iran launched a small barrage of missiles at Israel with no reports of casualties, and Israel has eased some restrictions for civilians. Meanwhile, fear has gripped the Iranian capital as the streets are empty, businesses closed and communications patchy at best. Thousands have fled.

Iran's supreme leader on Wednesday rejected US calls for surrender and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage” to them.

US President Donald Trump initially distanced himself from Israel's surprise attack on Friday that triggered the conflict, but in recent days has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something “much bigger” than a ceasefire. The US has also sent more military aircraft and warships to the region.

Israeli ministers on Wednesday asserted that there will be "no negotiations" with Iran as they vowed to carry on with Operation Rising Lion till it achieves its objectives.

In an X post, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz also hinted at the possibility of a regime change in the Islamic nation. "A tornado passes over Tehran. Symbols of government are being bombed and destroyed -- from the Broadcasting Authority and soon other targets -- and crowds of residents are fleeing. This is how dictatorships collapse," Katz wrote.

Minister of foreign affairs Gideon Sa'ar briefed foreign ambassadors at the site of the Iranian ballistic missile attack in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, on Sunday, in which at least nine persons were killed and dozens others injured.

"The Iranian regime deliberately targets population centres and murders civilians. They are making a mistake. They do not understand that the Israeli people are strong and massively support Operation Rising Lion," Sa'ar stressed.

The CPI(M) Politburo has condemned US president Donald Trump's statement on Iran, calling it "belligerent", and said it is highly deplorable that he is "openly threatening" to assassinate Iranian leaders.

The Left party also said that the statement issued by the G7 (Group of Seven) countries in Canada was reprehensible, as it blames Iran while it shuts its eyes to Israel's acts of aggression.

In a statement issued in New Delhi, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) urged the international community to act urgently to pressure the US and Israel to cease their aggressive actions and return to diplomacy.

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The first repatriation flight that arrived from Cyprus is but one of the ways Israel's tens of thousands of citizens are being repatriated from overseas amidst the recent escalation of its conflict with Iran.

Emergency airlifts and ferries are being deployed, with the authorities carefully rationing flights due to concerns over missile threats.

The full rescue mission is expected to take weeks to complete, as approximately 150,000 Israelis were travelling when the conflict erupted. Currently, 2,500 people are returning daily by air and a similar number by sea. Meanwhile, around 40,000 tourists remain stranded within Israel, as no passenger flights are departing the country.

Read in full the story of Indian professor-mountaineer Falguni Dey's harrowing experience.

Thousands of people are reportedly fleeing Tehran after Israeli warplanes bombed the city overnight, with roads north of the capital jammed with traffic, news agencies claim.

“We left Tehran this morning. My children were frightened, and we’re going to stay at my brother’s house near Karaj,” Alireza, 37, a businessman, told Reuters over the phone.

An Israeli military official had stated that 50 Israeli jets struck around 20 targets in Tehran overnight. Others reported from Tehran that the streets were mostly empty — despite the overnight protestors. Occasional cars and men on scooters sped past the closed shops and stores, where only hours ago people were seen stocking up on supplies.

Iran's ambassador in Geneva has derided as “hostile” and “unwarranted” US president Donald Trump's comments calling for Iran's “unconditional surrender”.

Ambassador Ali Bahreini told reporters the Israeli campaign “has not been able to bring big damage to our nuclear facilities” because it had taken precautions to protect them.

Bahreini insisted that Iran has no intention to produce nuclear weapons, purportedly a top concern for Israeli authorities. He said, “We will continue to produce the enriched uranium as far as we need for peaceful purposes”.

The ambassador rejected any talk of a “setback” on Iran's nuclear research and technological activities caused by Israel's military action, saying “our scientists will continue their work”.

Iranian officials did acknowledge the loss of a major radar system, though. Both the semi-official Fars and ISNA news agencies report that a replacement system had been installed to replace its Soubashi radar site in western Iran.

The original Soubashi radar, located in the heights of Kaboudarahang county in Iran's Hamedan province, played a crucial role in Iran's air defence network, providing extensive coverage for western, northwestern and southwestern Iran. Hamedan has been repeatedly targeted in Israeli strikes since Israel's campaign began Friday.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement read by a television presenter that his country will not accept US president Donald Trump’s call for an unconditional surrender.

In his first remarks since Friday, 13 June, when he delivered a speech broadcast on state media after Israel began bombarding Iran, Khamenei said neither peace, nor war can be imposed on the Islamic Republic from outside.

“Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation and its history, will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender,” he says.

“The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”

The remarks from Khamenei came after Trump demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a social media post and warned Khamenei that the US knows where he is but has no plans to kill him, “at least not for now”.

Hundreds of Pakistanis living in Iran arrived at the Taftan border crossing on Wednesday as they make their way back home to Pakistan amid the conflict.

Telecom worker Ghulam Mustafa Ijaz said he was advised to leave Tehran with his family because the situation was becoming dangerous.

“We left everything behind and carried just one bag containing some necessities and food items,” Ijaz said. “We are five family members, but we carried just one bag. We just left, and left everything else there.”

Iran and Pakistan share a 905 km border. Although Pakistan shut some of the formal crossings at the start of hostilities by Israel, the ones at Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan in southwest Balochistan province remain open for nationals seeking to return home.

Pakistan has strongly condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, along with 20 other Arab and Islamic nations, mostly from West Asia. It has also denied military assistance to Iran, including nuclear weapons, however.

Israel's military said it has destroyed five Iranian AH-1 attack helicopters at a base in western Iran in the Kermanshah area.

The Israelis published black-and-white video of the bombing destroying the helicopters.

Iran did not immediately comment.

Iran under the Shah had purchased some 200 of the Bell AH-1 SuperCobras before the Revolution, which still remain in service as Iran is sanctioned internationally and largely unable to purchase new weaponry.

The helicopters did not carry nuclear weaponry of any sort

Professor and part-time mountaineer from West Bengal, stranded in Tehran by the conflict and the closure of air spaces, has managed to make it out of the shelling in the city.

With considerable struggle, he made it to the Azerbaijan border, 500 km away—only to find he doesn't have the paper to cross.

What now, with hotel and flight booked, money running out?

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Overnight, the United States moved air force refuelling tankers and C17s to European bases in Prestwick, Scotland, and Aviano in Italy, according to Aurora Intel, a group that reviews open source information in real time in West Asia.

The US has been clearly shifting military aircraft and warships into and around the region to protect Israel from Iranian retaliation, with President Donald Trump warning Tehran to step back from the conflict.

On Tuesday, 17 June, the US had relocated a dozen F-16s from the Italian base to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Haaretz, the leading Israeli newspaper, reports that an Iranian missile strike on Israel's Weizmann Institute has wiped out decades of groundbreaking cardiac and genetic research, destroying labs and irreplaceable samples in minutes.

Haaretz also points out in a commentary that breaking the longest taboo, Israel is requesting not defensive support but direct military involvement: US pilots and planes.

Name: Fattah (Fattah or Fattah-1)

Type: hypersonic ballistic missile

Range: approximately 1,400 km

Speed: up to Mach 13–15 (ultra-high supersonic speed)

Accuracy: according to Iranian reports, very accurate, with high maneuverability upon entry into the atmosphere

Mechanism of attack: Ground launch, with a combined thrust engine (rocket and hypersonic); designed to penetrate advanced defence systems such as Iron Dome, Arrow, Patriot, and THAAD

Israel's attacks on Iranian military capabilities are not new, nor aligned to the US-Iran nuclear talks schedule, as POTUS Donald Trump suggested earlier today (he claimed his deadline to Iran had lapsed before its assault commenced).

Apart from the centrifuge productions facilities hit today, Iranian news websites said Israel was attacking the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran, which was also targeted by Israeli air strikes in October 2024.

Israel earlier struck the Isfahan nuclear site in central Iran, which is the region's largest nuclear research complex.

Israel has also struck other key nuclear and military bases such as the Kermanshah missile facility, the Bid Kaneh missile facility, the Shahid Modarres Garrison rocket production facility.

In the past five days, several other Iranian sites such as the Shiraz missile production facility, Tabriz north missile base as well as the underground Natanz nuclear facility were targeted as well.

The IDF is yet to target the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and the Arak nuclear facility, however, the IAEA had noted earlier. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported yesterday that Israeli strikes may have "severely damaged" the underground centrifuges, if not "destroyed [them] altogether", at the Natanz nuclear facility centre, which is Iran's biggest uranium enrichment centre.

Today it has confirmed that the Israeli strikes have hit two IAEA-monitored centrifuge production facilities — the TESA Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Center.

The day after Israel's assault on Iranian facilities began, IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi had warned that nuclear sites 'must never be attacked'. He said, 'Such attacks have serious implications for nuclear safety, security and safeguards, as well as regional and international peace and security.'

The UN handle on X had amplified his statement.

The Russian foreign ministry has called the Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites “illegal” and stressed that diplomacy is the only way forward.

The Russian foreign ministry called Iran’s nuclear programme “peaceful” and condemned the unprovoked attack on Iran by Israel.

Meanwhile Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has come out in support of Israel in its war against Iran and said that “Tel Aviv is doing the dirty work for all of us”.

‘#Iran has never attacked its neighbours. Israel repeatedly does so.

‘Iran signed NPT and submits to IAEA inspections, #Israel refused.’

These were the lines posted by the Iranian Embassy in India on its X handle this afternoon.

It continued to say: ‘Iran has no nuclear weapon. Israel has.’ and added that ‘So Israel poses the existential threat to Iran.’

The post includes a video, and the lines cited in the post are an amplification of the arguments of Israeli-British historian Avi Shlaim in the video.

Shlaim also says in the video, from 2019, that Israel is believed to have between 75 and 400 nuclear weapons, and yet defies UN direction to disclose its arsenal.

Chinese president Xi Jinping called for de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East “as soon as possible”, saying China is “deeply worried as Israel's military operation against Iran has caused a sudden escalation of tensions in the Middle East”.

Xi, on a visit to the Kazakh capital Astana on Tuesday, 17 June, added that China “opposes any actions that infringe upon sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of other countries”.

He added, “China is ready to work with all parties to play a constructive role in restoring peace and stability in the Middle East.”

China has meanwhile called on all its nationals to leave Iran, a nation with which it has long maintained close trade and political ties. Officials urged Chinese citizens to leave as quickly as possible, citing the “increasing scale and intensity of the Iran-Israel conflict” and the possibility that land borders may soon be closed.

Former minister of the economy Khandouzi has said that starting tomorrow (19 June), for a period of 100 days, no oil tanker or LNG shipments should be allowed to pass through the Hormuz Strait without Iran’s approval.

If this policy is implemented “in a timely manner”, it will be a decisive step in the conflict, he claimed, adding that any delay in its implementation means enduring more of the war on domestic soil.

Trump’s war, as he called it, must be ended through a combination of economic and security measures, he said in a report from the state-owned Fars News agency.

Ali Bahreini, Iran's ambassador in Geneva, says his country will “respond strongly” to Israel's “aggression” and likewise to the United States if US forces join the conflict between the rival West Asian powers, which has moved into its sixth day today, 18 June.

He defended Iran’s nuclear programme as being purely peaceful and designed for civilian use, speaking at a long-planned news conference with the United Nations press corps in the Swiss city.

Likewise, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry issued a warning that America joining the ongoing Israeli strikes would spark “an all-out war”. Esmail Baghaei was speaking in a live interview on Al Jazeera English.

“I think any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region with very, very bad consequences for the whole international community,” Baghaei said.

Baghaei's comments also suggested that Iran believes that the Gulf Arab nations wouldn't allow the US to launch attacks from any bases in their countries.

But is he right?

Israelis are flying home for the first time since the country's international airport shut down on 13 June when Israel attacked Iran's military facilities.

Two flights from Larnaca, Cyprus, landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport this morning (18 June), said Lisa Dvir, an airport spokesperson.

Israel had closed its airspace to commercial flights because of the ballistic missile attacks, leaving tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad.

The conflict has disrupted flight patterns across the region. Tehran's airspace remains closed, a concern for Indians as well, with the MEA trying to get students and other nationals out of the country (yesterday, some were able to exit via Armenia and students were shifted out of Tehran to other places presumed safer).

POTUS Donald Trump demanded Iran's “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a post on social media and warned its supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei that the US knows where he is hiding — though there were no plans to kill him, “at least not for now”.

The post claimed America's 'patience is wearing thin' and it does not want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers — of which there has been no verifiable news in the last few days from Iran's side, though there is clear evidence (from Israel itself) of the IDF targeting civilian spaces.

Trump's post, however, seems to have united Iranians in solidarity, as they poured into the streets last night in support of Iran's retaliation.

Palestinian-American law professor, Amer Zahr, told Trump in an X post: 'Everything Israel does seems to be about getting Arabs and Muslims to leave their lands. It won’t work,' the .

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Shops have been closed across Iran's capital, Tehran, including in its famed Grand Bazaar, as people wait in gas lines and pack roads leading out of the city to escape the onslaught.

Iran had fired some 400 missiles and sent hundreds of drones into Israel in retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 24 people in Israel and wounded hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage, and air raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to run for shelter.

Iran has fired fewer missiles in each of its barrages, however, with just a handful launched today. It has not explained the decline, but since Israel had targeted many Iranian launchers earlier, it is possible its capabilities have been reduced.

All eyes are on Washington now, where President Donald Trump—after initially distancing himself from the Israeli attacks—yesterday hinted at greater US involvement, saying he wants something “much bigger” than a ceasefire. The US has also sent more warplanes to the region.

Satellite images analysed by the Associated Press appear to show that there are no longer any vessels anchored off the headquarters of the US Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. The images, taken Tuesday, 17 June, show the main dock there without any ships against it.

Dispersing ships is a common safety technique employed by navies around the world in times of trouble.

Meanwhile local media in Bahrain reported that air raid sirens were tested on Tuesday as well.

Iran had threatened to target US military installations in the region while POTUS Donald Trump berated it for not signing his deal and advised residents of Tehran to evacuate immediately.

Iran has not, however, acted against the US since the Israeli campaign began on Friday, 13 June.

Egypt's top diplomat has been on calls with both Iran's foreign minister and the US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, both Cairo and Tehran have confirmed.

Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff both on Tuesday, 17 June. Abdelatty reportedly stressed “the necessity of working toward de-escalation in the region and resorting to diplomatic and political solutions that contribute to containing the escalating situation and averting the risk of a widespread conflagration in the Middle East.”

Abdelatty also “underscored the imperative of achieving an immediate ceasefire and returning to the path of negotiations as the only means to reach a sustainable agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear programme,” his office said in a statement.

He “further emphasised the absence of military solutions to the crises currently facing the region”.

Reza Pahlavi, former Shah of Iran, has posted for the second time on X to cheer the impending end of the Islamic Republic in Iran and urged its citizens to 'stand up' and 'reclaim Iran'.

He said the impending end of the current regime was nothing to fear as 'we have a plan' for Iran and the nation would not be allowed to fall into chaos.

His posts seem to amplify the Western (especially US) narrative of a regime change being 'due' and forthcoming in Iran.

Pahlavi, who has been living in exile in Egypt since 1980, hoped in his messages to be 'together' with his people soon.

Sources in Iran have claimed that Israel's early morning strikes targeted the Imam Hussein University (IHU) in Tehran, which is affiliated with the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Established in 1986, the institution is known for its nuclear physics department.

The official Israel handle on X put up a post shortly after noon to say, 'The IDF struck a centrifuge production site and multiple weapon manufacturing facilities in the Tehran area, key elements of Iran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.'

It claimed Israel had deployed 50 IAF fighter jets to target a facility for producing centrifuges used to enrich uranium 'beyond civilian levels', as well as sites manufacturing parts for the surface-to-surface missiles Iran has fired at Israel and a facility for surface-to-air missile components used to target aircraft.

Crowds were seen gathering in Palestine Square in Tehran in solidarity and in support of Iranian retaliation against Israeli attacks.

A viral video has emerged on social media that depicts apparently an Israeli family, including a child, singing that for Israel to 'bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran' is 'God's plan' and that those who 'mess with Jews' will always lose.

Explosions were heard in Tehran early this morning, with intense Israeli airstrikes again targeting Iran's capital. A human rights group said these have killed at least 585 people across Iran and wounded 1,326 others.

Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimised casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, 16 June, put the death toll at 224 people and the wounded at 1,277.

Iran has also retaliated against Israel's airstrike campaign by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel per officials.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stark warning to Israel on Wednesday, declaring “the battle begins” in a social media post on X. The message invoked powerful Shia iconography, referencing Imam Ali as “Haydar” and his legendary sword, Zulfiqar. The full post read: “In the name of the renowned Haydar, the battle begins. Ali, with his Zulfiqar, to Khaybar returns”—a reference loaded with religious and historical symbolism.

In a bid to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme, Israel struck a centrifuge production facility in Tehran, not an active enrichment site, the BBC reported. Centrifuges are precision machines that spin uranium gas at high speeds to enrich it for use in power plants or potentially nuclear weapons. Damaging a production site hampers Iran’s ability to expand its enrichment capacity. The Israeli military said the targeted facility was key to accelerating Iran’s uranium enrichment efforts.

The Iran-Israel conflict has extended into cyberspace, with both nations engaging in intense cyber offensives. A pro-Israel hacking group claimed a major cyberattack on an Iranian bank, while Iran accused Israel of targeting its critical infrastructure. Bloomberg quoted Iran’s Fars News Agency reported over 6,700 DDoS attacks in three days, prompting temporary internet restrictions to mitigate disruptions.

The Israeli Defence Forces said more than 50 fighter jets carried out precision strikes on multiple military targets in Tehran, including a centrifuge manufacturing facility tied to Iran’s nuclear programme.

The IDF described the operation as part of a broader effort to counter Iran’s nuclear weapons development. Strikes also targeted facilities producing components for surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles used against Israel, the military said. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Israeli airstrikes damaged the main underground centrifuge facility at Iran’s Natanz uranium-enrichment site, not just the above-ground buildings as earlier reported. This is the first such acknowledgment by the UN nuclear watchdog. Israel maintains the strikes are aimed at halting Iran’s progress toward developing a nuclear weapon.

At least 585 people have been killed and 1,326 injured across Iran in Israeli airstrikes, according to Washington-based Human Rights Activists. The group said 239 of the dead were civilians and 126 were security personnel. Known for its detailed reporting during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, the organisation cross-referenced local reports with its network of sources inside Iran.

While missiles rain across the region, a parallel war of words has erupted online between Donald Trump and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Over the past 24 hours, Trump took to Truth Social to claim “complete and total control of the skies over Iran” and warned the Iranian leader, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding… We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

Trump ended with a dramatic call for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Khamenei responded via multiple posts on X, saying Iran “will never compromise with Zionists” and warning, “The battle begins.”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US knows where Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding during the Israel-Iran conflict, but does not intend to kill him “for now.”

In a social media post, Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” as the five-day conflict continues to escalate.

“We know exactly where the so-called Supreme Leader is hiding,” Trump wrote. “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.”

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi says the operations carried out so far since Friday have served as a deterrent warning, and the actual punitive operations will be executed soon.

The operations carried out so far have been a warning for deterrence, and punitive operations will be implemented soon, Iran's top general emphasized. His remarks came in reference to the Israeli attack on IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) headquarters in Tehran. The top general said that residents of the occupied territories, especially Tel Aviv and Haifa, are warned to leave these areas for the sake of their lives.

“I think the biggest mistake today would be to use military means to bring about regime change in Iran…because that would mean chaos,” said French President Emmannuel Macron in Canada.

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump had lashed out at Macron for suggesting the US could help broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Iran conflict. “Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire,” Trump wrote on social media. “Much bigger than that. Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong. Stay tuned!”

Israel’s operation against Iran “will not end without damaging the Fordow nuclear facility”, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in an interview, according to the Times of Israel. The site in northeastern Iran is 90 metres underground and houses thousands of centrifuges to enrich uranium. Israel’s conventional munitions cannot reach that deep and it would take the US joining the fight to knock it out from the air, the report says.

The US embassy in Jerusalem has closed until Friday, directing that all employees and their family members to continue sheltering “in place in and near their residences until further notice...Given the security situation and in compliance with Israel Home Front Command guidance, the US embassy in Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, 18 June) through Friday (20 June),” the State Department says. “This includes the Consular Sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. There will be no passport (emergency or regular) or Consular Report of Birth Abroad services.”

“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy”, Iran’s supreme leader Imam Ali Khamenei posted on social media hours after US President Donald Trump called for Khamenei to surrender, declaring that the US and Israel controlled the sky over Tehran, that the US knew where Khamenei was hiding and that for the time being it had decided not to ‘take out’ or kill him.

A major explosion shook Tehran around 5am on Wednesday, following earlier blasts in the predawn hours, the Associated Press reported. Iran has yet to officially acknowledge the strikes, a pattern that has become common amid Israel’s intensifying air campaign since Friday.

Israel on Tuesday claimed responsibility for killing General Ali Shadmani—recently appointed head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters—marking the second top commander killed in a week.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Wednesday that it deployed hypersonic missiles in its latest attack on Israel.

In a statement carried by state television, the Guards declared: “The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles” was carried out. They further claimed that Iranian forces “have gained complete control over the skies of the occupied territories”.

Hypersonic weapons, capable of speeds exceeding Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound), pose significant challenges to missile defence systems due to their extreme speed and maneuverability. When the Fattah-1 was unveiled in 2023, Iran described it as being able to reach Mach 15.