Iranian regime currently ‘at its weakest'
Iranian Activist Elaaheh Jamali says the Iranian regime is currently 'at its weakest'.
There are major traffic jams as Iranians flee Tehran after warnings from the US and Israel.
Many Iranians are still hoping for a regime change.
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Perth Now
33 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Aussies in Israel remain defiant despite Iran threat
As the threat of missiles fly overhead, Australians in Israel are vowing to continue living their lives as normally as possible in an act of defiance. For Australian mother-of-three Emily Gian, life in the days since Israel launched strikes on Iran and triggered waves of missile fire in retaliation has been spent in and out of underground bunkers. With only minutes to shelter as sirens signal the arrival of projectiles, sleep has come in dribs and drabs for her family. "We could hear it so loud that my kids thought that it was near our house," Ms Gian told AAP on Wednesday. "It's a really loud boom. You feel the house shake." But unlike earlier conflicts with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, Ms Gian said the fire from Iran came with the added fear that the nation was believed to be working on nuclear weapons. "There's always been a fear in Israel that an escalation with Iran is the ultimate and scariest escalation that could be," she said. Nevertheless, Israelis remained resilient, hardened from many years of wars and conflict, Ms Gian said. "We've been told to stay close to home, and people follow the protocols, but you see people out and about trying to go about their daily life," she said. And she won't flee. Amid suggestions the US is preparing to enter the conflict, more than 1000 Australians in Israel have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs for help to leave, while 870 Australians and family members seek help to leave Iran. "Our plans are to stay here for now because we live here, our house is here, our life is here, our work," Ms Gian said. The conflict began on Friday after Israel moved to wipe out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, claiming the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. US President Donald Trump has since met his national security council and demanded that Iran unconditionally surrender, adding he knew where Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding. Iran has warned if "all-out war" if the US joins the fray. Melbourne lawyer Leon Zweir, who is in Jerusalem attending a conference, had registered with DFAT to be repatriated but will not leave until the event ends on Thursday. "I want to make sure I finish the conference before I leave," he said. He said the mood of Israelis was "resolute", despite the missiles flying overhead. At least 585 Iranians had been killed, mostly civilians, Washington-based organisation High Rights Activists said, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed.
Canberra Times
2 hours ago
- Canberra Times
Trump won't say whether US will join strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump has told reporters he will not say whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran, a move that Iranian officials warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Trump won't say whether US will join strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump has told reporters he will not say whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran, a move that Iranian officials warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens. Speaking outside the White House, Trump declined to say whether he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's bombing campaign against Iran. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said. Trump said Iranian officials had reached out about negotiations including a possible meeting at the White House but "it's very late to be talking," he said. "Unconditional surrender, that means I've had it." Asked for his response to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejecting the idea of surrendering, Trump said: "I say, good luck." Residents jammed the highways out of the capital Tehran, fleeing from intensified Israeli air strikes. In its latest bombing run, Israel said its air force had destroyed Iran's police headquarters. "As we promised - we will continue to strike at symbols of governance and hit the ayatollah regime wherever it may be," Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The United States "should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said. "Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender." Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the five-day-old war to suggesting the United States might join it. A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate committee that the Pentagon was prepared to execute any order given by Trump. Israel's military said 50 Israeli jets struck about 20 targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles. The Israeli military told Iranians to leave parts of the capital for their own safety while it struck targets. Traffic was backed up on highways leading out of the capital Tehran, a city of 10 million people, as residents sought sanctuary elsewhere. Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "We will stay here as long as this war continues. My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear program?" In Israel, sirens rang out warning people of retaliatory Iranian missile strikes. At Ramat Gan city train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses lined along the floor or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about. "I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter. with AP
