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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump connected Tuesday demanded “unconditional surrender” from Tehran and warned the United States could easy assassinate its ultimate person arsenic Iran and US state Israel traded devastating occurrence for a 5th day.
The comments fueled questions implicit whether Washington volition articulation Israel’s attacks aft insisting it had nary manus successful the campaign.
Israeli warplanes targeted drone and rocket sites with astatine slightest 2 waves of strikes successful occidental Iran connected Tuesday, the subject said.
It besides said it had killed elder Iranian commandant Ali Shadmani successful an overnight onslaught connected a “command centre successful the bosom of Tehran”, conscionable 4 days aft his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, was killed successful Israel’s archetypal astonishment attack.
The caller attacks drew retaliatory occurrence from the Islamic republic, with explosions heard implicit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and aerial raid sirens sounding astir Dimona, a confederate municipality location to a atomic powerfulness plant. There were nary contiguous reports of hits.
Days aft a elder US authoritative said Trump had told Israel to backmost down from plans to assassinate apical person Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the US president appeared to reverse course.
“We cognize precisely wherever the alleged ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an casual target, but is harmless determination -- We are not going to instrumentality him retired (kill!), astatine slightest not for now,“ Trump said connected his Truth Social platform.
Warning Iran against targeting US interests, helium besides posted:
“But we don’t privation missiles changeable astatine civilians, oregon American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin,“ helium added, aboriginal posting a connection saying: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Trump and his National Security Council met connected Tuesday to sermon the conflict, ending aft an hr and 20 minutes with nary contiguous nationalist statement.
‘Punitive operations’
Despite planetary alarm, neither broadside has backed disconnected from the long-range blitz that began Friday, erstwhile Israel launched an unprecedented bombing run targeting Iranian atomic and subject facilities.
Iranian media reported respective explosions Tuesday successful the cardinal metropolis of Isfahan, location to atomic facilities. Blasts were besides heard crossed Tehran.
The Iranian equipped forces warned residents successful the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa to evacuate “for the involvement of their lives”, informing of “punitive operations” to come.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched an onslaught targeting Israeli aerial bases.
Residential areas successful some countries person suffered deadly strikes since the warring broke out, and overseas governments person scrambled to evacuate their citizens.
A cyberattack connected Tuesday crippled Sepah Bank, 1 of Iran’s main state-owned banks, the Fars quality bureau reported.
Fearing the violence, galore residents person fled Tehran.
On Tuesday, agelong queues stretched extracurricular bakeries and petrol stations arsenic the remaining residents rushed to banal up connected substance and basal supplies.
Trump precocious Monday warned connected societal media that the full colonisation of Tehran should evacuate “immediately,“ without offering immoderate explanation.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States was deploying “additional capabilities” to the Middle East, with a US craft bearer reportedly heading to the region.
China accused Trump of “pouring oil” connected the conflict, portion Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israeli person Benjamin Netanyahu of being “the biggest menace to the information of the region.”
‘Direct impacts’
After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadiness war, Israel said its astonishment aerial run was aimed astatine preventing Iran from acquiring atomic weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies.
The UN’s atomic watchdog said determination appeared to person been “direct impacts connected the underground enrichment halls” astatine Iran’s Natanz facility.
Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its ain atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 atomic warheads.
The struggle derailed a moving bid of atomic talks betwixt Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying aft the commencement of Israel’s run that it would not negociate with the United States portion nether attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a captious relation successful restarting diplomacy with Tehran and that attempts astatine authorities alteration would bring “chaos.”
Since Friday, astatine slightest 24 radical person been killed successful Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office.
Iran said connected Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed astatine slightest 224 people, including subject commanders, atomic scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.
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