Trump calls for Iran's 'unconditional surrender' as Israel-Iran air war rages on
US president Donald Trump on Tuesday called for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and warned that US patience was wearing thin, but said there was no intention to kill Iran's leader "for now", as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said meanwhile that Iran's supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and hanged in 2006 after a trial.
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"I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens," Katz told top Israeli military officials.
Explosions were reported in Tehran and the city of Isfahan in central Iran, while Israel said Iran had fired more missiles towards it late on Tuesday, and air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and southern Israel. The Israeli military said it had conducted strikes on 12 missile launch sites and storage facilities in Tehran.
Mr Trump's comments, delivered via social media, suggested a more aggressive stance toward Iran as he weighs whether to deepen US involvement.
"We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," he wrote on Truth Social. "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now...Our patience is wearing thin."
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Three minutes later, he posted, "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"
Mr Trump's sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict between close US ally Israel and longtime foe Iran has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures, not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to foreign policy.
Mr Trump said on Monday that he might send US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff or vice president JD Vance to meet Iranian officials.
People take shelter at a station of the Carmelit underground funicular railway in Israel's northern city of Haifa on June 17th, 2025 amidst fears of an Iranian missile attack. Photo: AFP via Getty Images
The president said his early departure from the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada had "nothing to do" with working on a ceasefire deal, and that something "much bigger" was expected.
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Mr Vance said the decision on whether to take further action to end Iran's uranium enrichment programme, which Western powers suspect is aimed at developing a nuclear bomb, "ultimately belongs to the president".
Britain's leader said there was no indication that the US was about to enter the conflict.
Mr Trump was meeting with his National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the conflict, a White House official said.
The US is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, three US officials told Reuters.
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The move follows other deployments that US defence secretary Pete Hegseth described as defensive in nature. The US has so far only taken defensive actions in the current conflict with Iran, including helping to shoot down missiles fired towards Israel.
Regional influence weakens
Khamenei's main military and security advisers have been killed by Israeli strikes, leaving major holes in his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had killed Iran's wartime chief of staff Ali Shadmani, four days after he replaced another top commander killed in the strikes.
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.
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Israel launched a "massive cyber war" against Iran's digital infrastructure, Iranian media reported.
Ever since the Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 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.
And Iran's close ally, Syria's autocratic president Bashar al-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.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran's nuclear development is disabled, while Mr 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.
The Iranian news website Eghtesadonline, which covers economic news, reported on Tuesday that Iran arrested a foreigner for filming "sensitive" areas at the Bushehr nuclear power plant for Israel's spy agency Mossad.
Oil markets on alert
Israel says it now has control of Iranian air space and intends to escalate the campaign in the 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, according to analysis echoed by Germany's leader.
Israel's Katz said Fordow was an issue that will "of course" be addressed.
Iran has so far fired nearly 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones towards Israel, with about 35 missiles penetrating Israel's defensive shield and making impact, Israeli officials say.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had hit Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate and foreign intelligence service Mossad's operational centre early on Tuesday. There was no Israeli confirmation.
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.
World oil markets are on high alert, following strikes on energy sites including the world's biggest gas field, South Pars, shared by Iran and Qatar.
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Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Israel-Iran air war enters sixth day, Trump calls for Iran's 'unconditional surrender'
JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON/DUBAI, June 18 (Reuters) - Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day despite a call from U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran's unconditional surrender. The Israeli military said two barrages of Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel in the first two hours of Wednesday morning. Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv. Israel told residents in the area of Tehran to evacuate so its air force could strike Iranian military installations. Iranian news websites said explosions were heard in Tehran and the city of Karaj west of the capital. Trump warned on social media on Tuesday that U.S. patience was wearing thin. While he said there was no intention to kill Iran's leader "for now," his comments suggested a more aggressive stance toward Iran as he weighs whether to deepen U.S. involvement. "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," he wrote on Truth Social, referring to Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now ... Our patience is wearing thin." Three minutes later Trump posted, "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" A White House official said Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone on Tuesday. Trump's sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict between close U.S. ally Israel and longtime foe Iran has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures, not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to foreign policy. Britain's leader Keir Starmer, speaking at the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada that Trump left early, said there was no indication the U.S. was about to enter the conflict. Trump met for 90 minutes with his National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the conflict, a White House official said. Details were not immediately available. The U.S. is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, three U.S. officials told Reuters. The U.S. has so far only taken defensive actions in the current conflict with Iran, including helping to shoot down missiles fired toward Israel. 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 al-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 U.N. 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 U.S. 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.
Daily Mail
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The only way Israel can possibly take out Iran's most heavily fortified Fordow nuclear enrichment facility - with Trump's help - and why it could push Tehran CLOSER to getting a nuke
Israel will not be able to scupper Iran's nuclear capabilities without US help and further attacks might even encourage Tehran to accelerate its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons, experts have warned. Targets across the Islamic Republic were battered with yet more strikes on Tuesday after Israel's air force declared it had achieved aerial superiority over Tehran. US-made warplanes have now struck hundreds of targets linked to Iran 's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and Israeli military officials have boasted the Islamic Republic's military leaders were now 'on the run'. But despite Israel's early success, questions have already arisen over whether the Jewish state is capable of reaching its targets as described by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking on Monday, Netanyahu said Israel was 'pursuing three main objectives' in Iran: 'The elimination of the nuclear programme, the elimination of ballistic missile production capability, and the elimination of the axis of terrorism.' Unless Israel's most powerful ally decides to enter the fray, then Jerusalem is likely to fall at the first hurdle. 'Without active US military participation, Israel's operational ceiling remains constrained,' said Dr Andreas Krieg, an expert in Middle East security and senior lecturer at King's College London's School of Security Studies, told MailOnline. 'Destroying Iran's deeply fortified sites like Fordow or Isfahan requires bunker-busting capabilities that only the United States currently possesses. Israel cannot ensure the decisive elimination of Iran's enrichment capability without them.' Krieg also warned that continued attacks by Israel may have the opposite of their intended effect. Going after Iran's nuclear programme could 'reinforce Tehran's belief that a nuclear deterrent is not only justified but essential for regime survival'. 'Rather than halting Iran's nuclear trajectory, the strikes may serve as a powerful vindication of the logic that drives Iran's long-term nuclear ambition - deterrence through capability,' he said. Though Israeli jets have damaged several above-ground nuclear-related facilities and other key strategic assets, the bulk of Iran's nuclear resilience lies underground in labyrinthine complexes designed to survive. The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP), buried deep beneath the mountains near the holy city of Qom, is one of Iran's most secretive and heavily fortified nuclear facilities. Built in defiance of international pressure and revealed to the world only after Western intelligence agencies exposed its existence in 2009, the site was deliberately constructed far underground to shield it from aerial bombardment. Enrichment centrifuges housed within its fortified chambers are capable of producing uranium at near-weapons-grade levels. Access to the site is tightly controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and inspections by international observers have long been a flashpoint in negotiations. So far, Israel has targeted multiple Iranian nuclear sites and has damaged the Natanz FEP. But Israeli security officials confirmed on Tuesday that the air force has not targeted Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility. To have any hope of eliminating it without resorting to its own nuclear weapons, Israel would likely need to harness the power of some of the world's most powerful conventional bombs. The 30,000-pound (14,000-kilogram) GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a US-made bunker-busting bomb that uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets, could manage to take Fordow out. This terrifying munition can penetrate some 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. In theory, the MOP could be dropped by any plane capable of carrying the weight. But Israel has neither the bomb, nor the capability to deliver it. 'Only the US Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is capable of deploying the MOP,' Krieg explained. 'Without these assets, Israel's capacity to destroy the core of Iran's enrichment infrastructure is severely limited.' And, even if Fordow could be destroyed, a successful strike would not erase Iran's nuclear ambitions, according to Krieg. 'The fundamental challenge remains that Iran's nuclear programme is not just a collection of facilities. It is also a body of knowledge, personnel, and dispersed technical infrastructure. Much of the scientific expertise survives the bombings. 'Iran has long decentralised and concealed aspects of its programme precisely in anticipation of such scenarios. 'This means that unless there is sustained international pressure, robust inspections, and political change within Iran, the regime can, and likely would, rebuild over time thanks to its scientific base and global black-market procurement networks,' Krieg said. This handout satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in central Iran on June 14, 2025. Launched early on June 13, 2025 In a worst-case scenario, Netanyahu's insistence that Israel will not stop bombing until Iran's nuclear programme is wiped out could backfire, driving Tehran closer to the very weapon Jerusalem is trying to prevent. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons and says it has a right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons - a point Iranian commentators have long raised as an example of blatant hypocrisy. But with the Israeli campaign exposing major strategic vulnerabilities for Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and his group of trusted hardliners may feel that obtaining a nuclear deterrent is the only way to stop Netanyahu's campaign. The dismantling of Iran's air defence capacities, the assassination of senior military commanders and the destruction of supposedly secure infrastructure has badly damaged Iran's reputation as a highly capable military power. That could decisively shift the internal debate among Iran's ruling elite. 'Even factions that were previously cautious about weaponising the nuclear programme may now see deterrence through nuclear capability as the only reliable shield against regime decapitation,' Krieg warned. 'Hardliners will argue, with new urgency, that only a nuclear weapon can ensure Iran is never again so exposed.' The decision on whether Iran pursues this course of action largely rests with Khamenei, a man deeply influenced by the violence of his political past. Imprisoned by the Shah of Iran prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and later maimed by a bomb attack before rising to power in 1989, Khamenei remains fiercely committed to the Islamic Republic's survival, a sworn enemy of Israel and deeply distrustful of the West. Under Iran's constitution, the Supreme Leader alone commands the armed forces and has the power to declare war. According to insiders, he listens carefully to advice from a trusted few but ultimately makes final decisions based on his own judgment and survival instincts. 'Two things you can say about Khamenei: he is extremely stubborn but also extremely cautious. That is why he has been in power for as long as he has,' said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Programme at the Middle East Institute in Washington. 'Khamenei is pretty well placed to do the basic cost-benefit analysis which really fundamentally gets to one issue more important than anything else: regime survival.' If the US refuses to join Israel in assaulting Iran and manages to orchestrate a deal over the latter's nuclear programme, Netanyahu will find himself in a difficult position. Vali Nasr, an Iranian-American academic and adviser to several US administrations on Middle East policy, told Foreign Policy magazine: 'Israel does not want a scenario in which Iran is accepted as part of the Middle East by the United States, has relations with the United States, and has more breathing room to retain its regional position. 'A nuclear deal would address the nuclear problem, but it would not address Israel's Iran problem... which is that this state is too big, it's too powerful, it's too influential, it's too capable.' With Israel now waging simultaneous military campaigns in Gaza and Iran, concerns will mount over whether the Israeli public can stomach a second protracted war. Tolerance for an ongoing conflict with Iran will likely drop if Israel's civilian population suffers mass casualties due to Iran's ballistic and hypersonic missile strikes. As Krieg put it: 'Netanyahu may have bet on a short, high-impact campaign that would demonstrate Israeli strength and draw Iran to the negotiating table on Israeli and US terms. 'But if Iran absorbs the damage and retaliates asymmetrically, and the US hesitates, Netanyahu risks facing an extended conflict with unclear objectives - one in which Israel bears the brunt of the costs alone.' For now, the US appears unwilling to become embroiled in the conflict, provided that Iran refrains from attacking any American assets. The Trump administration has insisted Israel acted unilaterally when it launched its attacks on Friday, and Trump is said to have personally vetoed an Israeli plot to assassinate Ayatollah Khamenei. Trump said he wasn't ready to give up on diplomatic talks, and could send Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with the Iranians. That said, Trump's declaration that he left a G7 summit early to negotiate 'something better than a ceasefire' between Israel and Iran suggests Washington is losing patience and is expecting to see the conflict resolved sooner rather than later. 'We're looking for an end, a real end, not a ceasefire,' he told reporters, and later warned the US would 'come down hard' on Iran if provoked and that 'if they touch US troops, the gloves are off.' 'The onus is on Washington to shape the outcome of this conflict. Either way, whether through diplomacy or military engagement, Trump has to make the strategic decision for how to advance,' Krieg concluded.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Donald Trump to extend US TikTok ban deadline, White House says
TikTok will live on for at least another three months in the United States, as President Donald Trump is poised to extend a sale or ban deadline for the third time since taking office this year."President Trump will sign an additional Executive Order this week to keep TikTok up and running," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on popular video sharing app was supposed to be banned in the US after its Chinese owner, ByteDance, refused to sell it to a US buyer by a January and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the BBC. Leavitt said the 90-day extension would "ensure this deal is closed so that the American people can continue to use TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and secure."Before Leavitt's announcement, Trump told the BBC that he would "probably" extend the TikTok."We'll probably have to get China approval," Trump said. "I think we'll get it. I think President Xi will ultimately approve it."When asked if he has the legal basis to extend the deadline, he responded: "We do."Trump's extension is at odds with the will of Congress, which passed the sale-or-ban measure last year. His predecessor, former President Joe Biden, immediately signed the bill into law was aimed to address concerns that TikTok, which has 170 million American users, could be used by China as a tool for spying and political Supreme Court agreed with a lower court and upheld the legislation in January just before Trump was set to take platform briefly went dark for a few hours during the weekend before Trump's praised Trump for saving the platform after it became available unilateral deadline extensions have led some analysts to dismiss the notion that a ban might ever take place during his time in office."What ban? There is nothing 'looming' about the potential TikTok ban anymore," said Forrester principal analyst Kelsey Chickering. "TikTok's behaviour also indicates they're confident in their future, as they rolled out new AI video tools at Cannes this week.""Smaller players, like Snap, will try to steal share during this "uncertain time," but they will not succeed because this next round for TikTok isn't uncertain at all," Ms Chickering Trump administration said in April that the US and China had neared a deal that would have placed majority control of TikTok's US operations under American ownership. That deal has yet to materialise."There are key matters to be resolved," a ByteDance spokesperson said at the time. "Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law."Trump has said he would be open to seeing it sold to cloud computing giant Oracle, whose co-founder Larry Ellison is a long-time ally of Trump' Frank McCourt, Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian are part of another team bidding for the the biggest YouTuber in the world Jimmy Donaldson - AKA MrBeast - has said he's also interested in buying TikTok as part of a different investor group. Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
