LIVE UPDATES: Khamenei says Iranian army ready to defend homeland as Israel continues strike against Tehran - Region

Al-Ahram Weekly

6 hours ago

Ahram Online provides live coverage of the unfolding military confrontation between Israel and Iran as the two sides wage deadly strikes against one another for a sixth day.
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Israel escalated its 'Operation Rising Lion' on Tehran six days after bombing residential and military areas in Iran, killing over 200 people and wounding over 1,200.
As US President Donald Trump urged residents to evacuate—echoing Israeli calls for 330,000 people to leave central Tehran—the capital began to empty, with shops shuttered and traffic clogging westbound roads.
In retaliation, Iran intensified its 'Operation True Promise III,' launching multiple waves of missiles into central Israel, where large explosions were reported overnight and air raid sirens wailed throughout the night.
Earlier Iranian strikes forced the shutdown of the Haifa oil refinery, other industrial facilities, and the local power plant. At least 24 people have been killed in Israel, with hundreds more wounded.
Meanwhile, Israel has imposed a ban on live TV feed streaming, preventing networks from broadcasting images of incoming Iranian missiles and the damage caused by the strikes.
The US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz departed Southeast Asia as the Pentagon announced deploying 'additional capabilities' to the Middle East. Israeli Channel 11 claimed US forces had begun attacking targets inside Iran, an allegation Washington denied, stating American forces in the region remain in a "defensive posture and that has not changed."
15:30 Multiple explosions were heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday, AFP journalists said, and black smoke rose in the east.
The series of blasts was heard shortly before 3:30 pm (1200 GMT), on the sixth day of the most intense exchange of fire between arch-foes Iran and Israel.
15:00 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday Iran had the "legitimate" right to defend itself in the face of Israel's ongoing bombing campaign, now in its sixth day.
"It is a very natural, legitimate and legal right for Iran to defend itself against Israel's thuggery and state terrorism," the Turkish leader said, a day after referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "the biggest threat to the security of the region".
The long-range blitz began early Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to hit back with missiles and drones, including hypersonic missiles.
"These attacks were organised while the Iranian nuclear negotiations were taking place," Erdogan said.
"Israel, which possesses nuclear weapons and does not recognise any international rules.. did not wait for the negotiations to end, but carried out a terrorist act without waiting for the result," he added.
"We are closely following Israel's terrorist attacks on Iran. All our institutions are on high alert regarding the possible effects of these attacks on Turkey," Erdogan said.
"We are making preparations for every kind of scenario," he said.
"Nobody should dare to test us."
On Monday, Erdogan said he had ordered the defence industry to increase production of medium and long-range missiles to "increase its level of deterrence" in light of the air war between Israel and Iran.
14:20 Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, said the Iranian armed forces, backed by the people and the authorities in the state, are ready to defend the homeland.
In a televised message to the nation on Wednesday, Khamenei said that "Iran would not forgive the Zionist entity for violating its airspace and would not forget the blood of our martyrs."
Khamenei stated that Iran would neither accept peace nor war imposed upon it, addressing the United States with the warning: 'They must know that Iran will not surrender, and any American attack will have dire, irreparable consequences.'
He emphasized that the Iranian people remain steadfast in the face of the war being waged against them, reiterating that the country will not accept any externally imposed peace or conflict.
He added that the Iranian people will not yield to diktats from any party.
Referring to the US threats, Khamenei said, 'Those who know Iran's history understand that Iranians do not respond well to the language of threats.'
He further cautioned Israel, stating that it had made a 'grave mistake' by attacking Iran and stressing that Tel Aviv 'will face the consequences of its actions.'
14:00 Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that direct US military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East.
In separate comments, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Iran and Israel was now critical, as reported by Reuters.
Ryabkov warned the US against direct military assistance to Israel or even considering such "speculative options," according to Russia's Interfax news agency.
"This would be a step that would radically destabilise the entire situation. "
13:10 The UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear programme near Tehran.
The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran's nuclear programme in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday.
In another strike on a site in Tehran, "one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested", the agency added in a post on X.
12:45 Iranian state television says it will broadcast a message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a few minutes.
This handout picture released by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shows him speaking to the air force members in Tehran. AFP
11:45 The airport authority said that the first aircraft bringing home Israelis stranded abroad by flight cancellations resulting from the conflict with Iran landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday.
This picture shows the empty departure hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. AFP
"Just a short while ago, the first flight of Operation Safe Return landed at Ben Gurion Airport," a statement said, adding that the flight had been operated by national carrier El Al and brought Israelis home from Larnaca in Cyprus.
Transport Minister Miri Regev said Tuesday that between 100,000 and 150,000 Israelis were stuck abroad, as Israel and Iran traded deadly fire in their most intense confrontation ever.
The ministry said all of Israel's commercial aircraft had been sent abroad to avoid them during the air war with Iran.
After suspending flights last week, El Al said it was "preparing rescue flights" starting Wednesday with planes departing from Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan, and Paris.
The low-cost Israeli airline Arkia also announced special flights this week to repatriate Israelis.
A statement from the airport authority said Wednesday that the return operation "is being managed in stages based on the level of risk and current security assessments, with a strong emphasis on the safety of passengers, aircrew, and aircraft. "
It urged the public not to go to Ben Gurion Airport to greet arriving passengers or order taxis to pick them up from the airport due to "the current security situation".
After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel launched a surprise air campaign against Iran on Friday.
11:15 The foreign ministry said Wednesday that Greece has repatriated 105 of its citizens and foreign nationals from Israel. The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, onboard C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes,' it said in a statement, AFP reports.
File Photo: Sharm El-Sheik International Airport terminal 2. Photo courtesy of Sharm El-Sheik Airport website.
Along with Greek citizens and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, it said.
10:50 Israeli authorities say no people have been reported killed or injured in Israel from the latest overnight volleys of missiles from Iran, despite some damage.
An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man inspects the damage at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv. AFP
The Israeli government says that approximately 400 ballistic missiles have been fired by Iran since Israel began its attack last Friday, with hundreds of drones also launched.
The Israeli authorities say that since last Friday, there have been around 40 impact sites across the country, 3,800 people evacuated, 24 people killed, and more than 800 injured, according to a BBC report.
There have been nearly 16,000 claims related to structural damage and more than 1,000 for damage to vehicles.
Israel's Iron Dome air defence shield costs $250m (£186m) daily.
A report in the Washington Post quotes a source briefed on US and Israeli intelligence, who says that without resupplies or greater involvement by US forces, Israel may only be able to maintain it for another 10 or 12 days if Iran maintains steady attacks.
10:30 Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed on Wednesday that his country would show 'no mercy' towards Israel's rulers, AFP reports.
'We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,' Khamenei posted on X.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Khamenei if it wanted.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters on board Air Force One after leaving early from the G7 Leaders' Summit on June 16, 2025 in Calgary. AFP
10:15 Many Iranians reacted with fear and dismay at Donald Trump's instruction to "immediately evacuate Tehran", according to a BBC report on Tuesday evening.
The capital's almost 10 million residents have now been left to decide whether to shelter in their homes, bracing themselves for what could come next, or attempt to join the heavy traffic leaving the country's capital.
Many who decide to leave Tehran post images of their homes online, a poignant trend in Persian-language social media for those leaving their city behind.
BBC Persian and other BBC correspondents said they have received messages from affected people. They have also conducted interviews and monitored social media to gather people's stories.
Some Iranians had already decided to leave well before Israel issued the first evacuation order for parts of Tehran on Monday.
"Many more Iranians living in Tehran have decided to leave since Monday, braving traffic jams of up to 14 hours and fuel queues to flee - unsure if their homes will still be standing when they return."
According to the BBC report, some residents have decided to stay put because of elderly parents, young children, pets, medical needs, or a lack of options.
This handout picture released by the Iranian Red Crescent on June 17, 2025 shows members of their rescue teams searching the debris inside a buidling in Tehran, targeted by Israeli strikes. Israel and Iran exchanged missile fire for a fifth consecutive day on June 17, with the Israeli military saying in a statement it targeted multiple missile and drone sites in western Iran, including infrastructure, launchers, and storage facilities. AFP
09:45 The US Embassy in Jerusalem will be shut from Wednesday through Friday due to the security situation in the region and to comply with Israeli guidance, the US State Department said.
A road sign shows the way towards the US embassy in Jerusalem on April 19, 2024. AFP
'Given the security situation and in compliance with Israel Home Front Command guidance, the US Embassy in Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, June 18) through Friday (June 20). This includes the Consular Sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,' the State Department said on X.
09:30 Iran said 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 western Iran.
09:15 Iran claimed early Wednesday to have fired hypersonic missiles at Israel in the latest round of overnight strikes between the archfoes, hours after Donald Trump demanded the Islamic Republic's "unconditional surrender".
The US president insists Washington has played no part in ally Israel's bombing campaign, but also warned Iran that his patience is wearing thin as the conflict enters a sixth day.
Israeli warplanes targeted the Iranian capital before dawn Wednesday after the military issued a warning on social media for civilians in an area known as District 18 to evacuate.
Iranian state media reported explosions ricocheting in Tehran's Piroozi, Sabalan, and Sayyad areas.
In retaliation, Iran told residents of Tel Aviv to prepare for an attack, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming its hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles were "repeatedly shaking the shelters" in the commercial hub.
"The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles" was carried out, the Guards said in a statement broadcast on state television.
Hypersonic missiles travel more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
Iran also sent a "swarm of drones" towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area.
09:00 Israel's military said Wednesday it struck an Iranian centrifuge production facility and multiple weapons manufacturing sites, in the latest round of strikes between the archfoes.
This handout satellite image released by Planet Labs on June 15, 2025, shows new vehicle tracks and dirt piles over underground centrifuge buildings at Natanz enrichment facility, southeast of Tehran after airstrikes on June 15, 2025. AFP
"More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets... carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours," an Israeli army statement said. "As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons development program, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted."
"During the wave of attacks, several weapons manufacturing sites were struck, including facilities for producing raw materials and components used to assemble surface-to-surface missiles," it added.
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