TEL AVIV/TEHRAN — Intense Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s capital, Tehran, early on Wednesday after it issued a warning about a new area it could target.
A major explosion could be heard around 5 am local time in Tehran. Iranian officials offered no acknowledgment of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrike campaign has intensified since it began on Friday.
The Israelis earlier warned they could strike a neighborhood south of Mehrabad International Airport, which includes residential buildings, military installations, pharmaceutical companies and industrial firms.
The attacks come just a day after US President Donald Trump warned Tehran's residents to evacuate and demanded the country’s unconditional surrender.
Trump departed the Group of Seven summit – or G7 – in Canada a day ahead of schedule to address the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. He informed reporters, "I’m not looking at a ceasefire. We’re looking at better than a ceasefire."
When asked to explain, he said Washington is seeking "a real end" to the conflict that could involve Iran “giving up entirely." He added: “I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”
He later issued a warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the US is aware of his whereabouts and his hiding spot and called for Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER”.
It was not clear whether Trump was suggesting Tehran abandon its nuclear ambitions altogether or end the current wave of attacks.
Trump posted that there were no plans to kill Khamenei “at least not for now.” Despite warning that US’ “patience is wearing thin,” he indicated that diplomacy remains an option, adding that he could send Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with the Iranians.
Iran offered no immediate response to the president's posts, but the country’s military leaders vowed that Israel would soon see more attacks.
“The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence,” Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran’s army, said in a video. “The punishment operation will be carried out soon.”
Iran has not provided an immediate response regarding the reported assassination of General Ali Shadmani in the Iranian capital, who was described by Israel as the highest-ranking military commander.
Prior to his recent appointment last week to a chief-of-staff-like position as the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Shadmani was relatively unknown within the country.
This appointment came in the wake of the assassination of his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, during an Israeli airstrike.
Israel announced a new wave of strikes on Tuesday evening as explosions and anti-aircraft fire boomed throughout Tehran, shaking buildings. The Israeli military said its warplanes had targeted 12 missile launch sites and storage facilities.
Israel's military warned the population to stay close to shelters as Iran fired a new barrage of missiles, but officials said most were intercepted.
Sirens sounded in southern Israel, including in the desert town of Dimona, the heart of Israel's never-acknowledged nuclear arms programme. Iran launched another barrage early on Wednesday. Israeli rescue services reported no immediate deaths or injuries.
Early on Tuesday, downtown Tehran saw a significant decrease in activity, with numerous shops closed, including the historic Grand Bazaar, which typically shuts its doors only during periods of crisis, such as the 2022 anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic.
On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic stood bumper to bumper. Many middle- and upper-class Iranians were headed to the Caspian Sea, a popular getaway spot. Long lines snaked from Tehran’s gas stations.
Tehran is one of the largest cities in the Middle East, with around 10 million residents, roughly equivalent to Israel's entire population.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated its belief that Israel's initial aerial assaults on Iran's Natanz enrichment site had a direct impact on the facility's underground centrifuge operations.
Satellite imagery collected after Friday’s attacks showed “additional elements that indicate direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls,” the watchdog said.
The IAEA earlier reported that Israeli strikes had destroyed an above-ground enrichment hall at Natanz and knocked out electrical equipment that powered the facility. Most of Iran's enrichment takes place underground however to protect from airstrikes.
Israel has struck Natanz repeatedly and claims to have hurt its underground facilities, which experts assess contain 10,000 centrifuges that enrich uranium up to 60%.
Iran asserts that its nuclear program is peaceful, while the United States and other nations have determined that Tehran has not engaged in a systematic effort to develop a nuclear weapon since 2003.
The IAEA has routinely warned that the nation possesses sufficient enriched uranium to manufacture multiple nuclear bombs if it so decides to pursue that path.
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities have delayed the nation's nuclear program by a " very, very long time”, Israel has yet to successfully target Iran's Fordo facility, which lies deep within a mountainside.
Hitting Fordo would require the US to get involved militarily and deploy B-2 stealth bombers to drop its bunker-busting bomb. The 14,000 kg GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets. — Euronews
