JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON/DUBAI: Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict.
President Donald Trump said he was considering whether the United States will join Israeli strikes on Iran and said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations on ending the conflict.
"I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump told reporters. "I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate."
Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House for talks on Tehran's nuclear program in a bid to end Israel's air assault, but added that it was "very late".
His comments came after Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech read on state television that his nation would "never surrender", while warning the US it would suffer "irreparable damage" if it intervenes in the conflict.
Trump said on Tuesday that the US knows where Khamenei is located but will not kill him "for now." He demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender."
A fresh salvo of Iranian missiles were launched at Israel Wednesday evening, with initial Israeli military assessments saying it was a small attack with no reports of major urban areas being hit.
Iran had earlier issued an evacuation warning for residents of the Israeli city of Haifa.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said air force jets had destroyed Iran's "internal security headquarters" during Wednesday's strikes. Explosions were hear in Tehran and other parts of the country throuhout the day.
Iran was in a "near-total national internet blackout", London-based watchdog NetBlocks wrote on X.
Iran announced last week that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet for the duration of the conflict, placing heavier limits on Wednesday.
The communication ministry said the limits were imposed due to Israel's "abuse of the country's communication network for military purposes."
Numerous sites and apps have been at least partially inaccessible.
State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users' location and personal data and "communicates them to the Zionist enemy".
Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani addresses delegates during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday. (Reuters)
UN Security Council to meet Friday over Israel-Iran conflict
The United Nations Security Council will convene Friday to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Iran.
Following a first, urgent meeting after Israel attacked last Friday, this second session was requested by Iran, with support from Russia, China and Pakistan.
The decision was made after the Iranian mission to the UN wrote to the security council president calling on the world body to condemn and reject the 'unlawful use of force' against Iran's sovereignty.
The letter also hit out at the United States, accusing President Trump of threatening to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, and threatening to launch strikes on the country.
Earlier, the Iranian mission at the UN said: "Iran does not negotiate under duress and shall not accept peace under duress."
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US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as workers install a large flag pole on the South Lawn of the White House. (AFP)
’Nobody knows’: Trump won’t say whether he will move forward with US strikes on Iran
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 program as he continues to weigh direct US involvement in Israel’s military operations aimed at crushing Tehran’s nuclear program.
“Nothing’s too late,” Trump said. “I can tell you this. Iran’s got a lot of trouble.”
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Iran’s supreme leader says Israel would be punished for ‘huge mistake’
US President Donald Trump said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was currently not at risk. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed on Wednesday that his country would show no mercy toward Israel’s rulers, hours after US President Donald Trump demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender.”
“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” Khamenei posted on X.
Israel last week launched an unprecedented bombing campaign hitting Iranian nuclear and military facilities, as well as residential areas.
Iran has responded by launching missiles and drones, and early Wednesday said it had fired hypersonic missiles at Israel.
On Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender” and boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Khamenei.
- For full story on Supreme Leader's comments click here
Jordan intercepted Iranian missiles over Amman overnight
Iran’s former economy minister calls for Iranian control of Strait of Hormuz
Former Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi has said that tankers and LNG cargoes should only transit the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian permission and this policy should be carried out from “tomorrow for a hundred days.”
It was not immediately clear whether Khandouzi was echoing a plan under the Iranian establishment’s consideration or sharing his personal opinion.
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Iran arrests five for ‘tarnishing’ country’s image
Tehran: Iran said Wednesday it had detained five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online, Iranian news agencies reported.
“These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online,” the Tasnim and ISNA news agencies quoted a statement from the Revolutionary Guards as saying.
They added that the arrests had been made in the western province of Lorestan.
Pope Leo makes call to end all wars
Regional influence weakens
Khamenei’s main military and security advisers have been killed by Israeli strikes, hollowing out his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.
With Iranian leaders suffering their most dangerous security breach since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country’s cybersecurity command banned officials from using communications devices and mobile phones, Fars news agency reported.
Israel launched a “massive cyber war” against Iran’s digital infrastructure, Iranian media reported.
Ever since Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and triggered the Gaza war, Khamenei’s regional influence has waned as Israel has pounded Iran’s proxies — from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq. Iran’s close ally, Syria’s autocratic president Bashar Assad, has been ousted.
Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran’s nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment.
Before Israel’s attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.
The IAEA said on Tuesday an Israeli strike directly hit the underground enrichment halls at the Natanz facility.
Israel says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in coming days.
But Israel will struggle to deal a knock-out blow to deeply buried nuclear sites like Fordow, which is dug beneath a mountain, without the US joining the attack.
Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Residents of both countries have been evacuated or fled.
Global oil markets are on high alert following strikes on sites including the world’s biggest gas field, South Pars, shared by Iran and Qatar.
Beijing evacuates almost 800 Chinese citizens from Iran
Almost 800 Chinese citizens have been evacuated from Iran since Israel launched military strikes against the country last week, Beijing said Wednesday.
“Currently... 791 Chinese nationals have been relocated from Iran to safe areas,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular news conference.
“More than 1,000 other people are in the process of relocating and withdrawing,” Guo added.
