Israel appeared to be expanding its air campaign in Tehran five days after a surprising attack on Iran’s military and nuclear program. President Donald Trump has posted an ominous message warning city residents to evacuate.
“Iran cannot have nuclear weapons,” Trump wrote Monday night before returning to Washington early from a group of Canada’s seven summits. “Everyone needs to evacuate Tehran soon!” he added.
Trump later denied reports that he had rushed back to Washington to tackle a ceasefire, saying his early departure “has nothing to do with the ceasefire, it’s much bigger than that.”
Previously, Israeli military had called for the evacuation of approximately 330,000 residents from the city centre neighborhood. Tehran is one of the largest cities in the Middle East, with around 10 million people roughly comparable to the entire population of Israel. People have fled since the hostility began.
Israel says fierce attacks on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites and ballistic missile programs are needed to prevent longtime enemies from approaching building atomic weapons. The strike has killed at least 224 people since Friday.
Iran retaliated by launching more than 370 missiles and hundreds of drones in Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed and more than 500 have been injured in Israel. Israeli forces said a new barrage of missiles was launched on Tuesday, and an explosion could be heard in northern Israel.
Shops are closed and gas lines in Iran’s capital
Downtown Tehran appears to be beginning to vacate early on Tuesday, with many shops closing. The city’s ancient Grand Bazaar has also been closed. This has only happened in the past during anti-government demonstrations or at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
On the road from Tehran to the west, traffic stood from bumpers to bumpers. Many appeared to be heading towards the Caspian Sea region. Long lines were also seen at gas stations in Tehran.
Authorities within the Iranian government continued to assert that everything was under control and that they did not provide guidance to the public on what to do.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces claimed they killed someone who was said to be Iran’s top general on a strike against Tehran. Iran did not immediately comment on the reported killing of General Ali Shadmani, who had just been appointed head of the central headquarters of Qatam al-Ambya, part of the paramilitary revolutionary security forces.
Iran has appointed other generals in place of security guards and top leaders of regular military forces after being killed in previous strikes.
Trump leaves the G7 early to focus on conflict
Before leaving the summit in Canada, Trump joined other leaders in a joint statement that Iran “cannot have nuclear weapons” and called for the “elimination of hostilities in the Middle East, including the Gaza ceasefire.”
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that debate was underway in the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, but Trump appears to have shot it down in his overnight social media post.
Macron “incorrectly said he would leave Canada’s G7 Summit and return to DC to tackle a ‘ceasefire’ between Israel and Iran,” Trump wrote. “I’m wrong! He doesn’t know why I’m on my way to Washington, but that certainly has nothing to do with the ceasefire. It’s much bigger than that.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses headed to the White House situation room to meet with the president and his national security team.
Hegseth did not provide details of what prompted the meeting, but said late Monday on Fox News he “ensures our people are safe.”
Israel says it has a “air superiority” over Tehran
Israeli military spokesman Brigg. General Effy Defflin said Monday that his country’s troops “have achieved a complete aerial advantage over Tehran’s sky.”
The military said it had destroyed more than 120 surface-to-face missile launchers in central Iran, one-third of Iran’s total. The military also said it destroyed two F-14 fighter jets that Iran used to target Israeli aircraft.
Israeli military officials also said the fighters attacked 10 command centres in Tehran, which belong to Iran’s Quds forces.
Israeli military issued evacuation warnings to parts of Central Tehran, which houses the country’s state television and police headquarters, and to house three large hospitals, including those owned by security guards. A similar evacuation warning was issued to the Gaza Strip and parts of Lebanon ahead of the strike.
Health officials reported 1,277 people injured in Iran.
Rights groups, including human rights activists from Washington-based Iranian advocacy groups, have suggested that the Iranian government’s death toll is a significant shortfall. The group says it recorded more than 400 people being killed out of 197 civilians.
Israel says the strike has withdrawn its nuclear program
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli strike has brought Iran’s nuclear program back to “a very, very long time” and told reporters he is touching on Trump every day.
Iran claims its nuclear program is peace, and the US and others believe that Tehran has not made an organized effort to pursue nuclear weapons since 2003. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency repeatedly warned that the country has enough uranium to make some nuclear bombs.
So far, Israel has targeted multiple Iranian nuclear program sites, but has not been able to destroy Iran’s Forduran enrichment facility.
The site is buried deep underground, and to eliminate it, Israel may need a 30,000 pound (14,000 kilograms) GBU-57 giant weapon intruder, a bomb that uses its weight and thin athletic power to crush the US bunkers that reach deep buried targets. Israel doesn’t have the ammunition or bombers needed to deliver it. The intruders are currently being distributed by B-2 stealth bombers.
No signs of conflict are lost
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araguchi appeared to have made a veiled plea on Monday to negotiate the US intervening and end hostilities between Israel and Iran.
In a post in X, Araghchi wrote that Trump “is genuine about diplomacy and if he’s interested in stopping this war, the next step is the consequence.”
“We need to call someone like Netanyahu from Washington at the muzzle once,” writes a top Iranian diplomat. “It could pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”
The message to Washington was sent as the latest talks between the US and Iran were cancelled over the weekend after a surprising Israeli bombardment.
On Sunday, Araguchi said Iran would stop the strike if Israel did the same thing.
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Meltzer reported from Naharia, Israel. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vardat of Tehran, Iran, Melanie Ridman of Tel Aviv, Israel, and Tara Kopp of Washington, contributed to the report.
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