Iran vows 'proportionate' response to US strikes, Trump defends claim nuclear sites 'obliterated'
• Following air strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, US President Trump said the sites were 'obliterated'. Iran's UN Ambassador vowed 'proportionate' retaliation.
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Daily Mail
8 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Russia warns Trump has opened 'Pandora's box' with strike on Iran
Russia last night warned Donald Trump had opened 'Pandora's box' after the US President launched a 'bunker buster' raid on Iran 's nuclear programme - as the Iranian regime arrived in Moscow for talks. Trump said the audacious attack by a squadron of stealth bombers in the early hours of yesterday had 'taken the bomb right out of [Tehran's] hands'. But Moscow 's United Nations ambassador Vassily Nebenzia issued an ominous warning at an emergency meeting of the Security Council as he said: 'No one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring.' It comes amid fears Iran will launch terror attacks on the West in revenge and as Iran's foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin. And he claimed Russia had offered mediation talks to find a peaceful and mutually agreeable solution to Iran's nuclear program, but the US, especially its leaders, are 'clearly not interested in diplomacy today'. 'Unless we stop the escalation,' Nebenzia warned, 'the Middle East will find itself on the verge of a large-scale conflict with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security system, plus the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster .' Trump has sensationally called for a regime change in Iran as he held crisis talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday. The US president took to his Truth Social page to share updates about the country's military attacks on Iran, when he suggested that the current regime 'is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN'. 'Why wouldn't there be a regime change,' Trump asked, rhetorically - even as he and Starmer urged Ayatollah Khameini to 'return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.' Russian ex-president Dmitriy Medvedev claimed in a post on X/Twitter early on Sunday that the US strikes on three sites in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow had backfired and led to the opposite result from what Trump had set out to achieve. Medvedev claimed: 'Enrichment of nuclear material - and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons - will continue.' Medvedev, who has served as President of Russia from 2008 to 2012, further stated that 'Iran's political regime has survived - and in all likelihood, has come out even stronger'. He continued to claim that Iranians are 'rallying around the country's spiritual leadership, including those who were previously indifferent or opposed to it'. His anti-US and pro-Iran social media rant was posted in English and broken down into ten points - gathering more than three million views. There are fears Britain and other allies could face a terror backlash from the regime's supporters. Seven B-2 stealth bombers swept into Iranian airspace undetected yesterday, dropping 14 'bunker-buster' bombs on nuclear facilities as the US joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution. The UK was informed of the mission, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, but played no part. Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds last night warned that Iranian activity in the UK was already substantial, and it was 'naive' to think it won't escalate. Britain's military bases in the region, such as RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus, were on the highest state of alert last night for revenge attacks, including by Iranian swarm drones. Defence Secretary John Healey said: 'The safety of UK personnel and bases is my top priority. Force protection is at its highest level and we deployed additional jets [to Cyprus] this week.' Other experts warned of a 'new era of terrorism' and US Vice President J D Vance said the FBI and law enforcement were on alert for threats on American soil. Sir Keir Starmer and President Trump discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table in a phone call last night, No 10 said. In an address to the nation as the B-2s were flying home, Mr Trump said: 'Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. 'Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. 'If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.' President Trump boasted the US had 'taken the bomb right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)', while his Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the US had offered Iran a civil nuclear programme but 'they rejected it'. He added: 'They played us. They wouldn't respond to our offers. They disappeared for ten days. The President had to take action as a response. 'We are not declaring war on Iran. We're not looking for war in Iran. But if they attack us, I think we have the capabilities they haven't even seen yet.' Last night, despite widespread calls to de- escalate , Iran president Masoud Pezeshkian said the US 'must receive a response for their aggression'. And a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, warned: 'There will no longer be any place for the presence of the United States and its bases' in the region. Abbas Araghaci, Iran's foreign minister who described the US government as 'lawless and warmongering', is expected to meet Putin in Moscow today to discuss how to respond. Speaking hours after the US strikes, Business Secretary Mr Reynolds told Sky News the risk from Iran in the UK was 'not hypothetical'. He said: 'There is not a week goes by without some sort of Iranian cyber-attack on a key part of the UK's critical national infrastructure. 'There is Iranian activity on the streets of the UK , which is wholly unacceptable. 'It's already at a significant level. I think it would be naive to say that that wouldn't potentially increase.'
Scottish Sun
10 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
First vid of Trump's B2s after mammoth 37hr ‘bullseye' Iran blitz… as Russia warns US ‘Pandora's Box has been opened'
VICTORIOUS RETURN First vid of Trump's B2s after mammoth 37hr 'bullseye' Iran blitz… as Russia warns US 'Pandora's Box has been opened' AMERICA'S B-2 stealth bombers have landed back in Missouri after a mammoth 37-hour round trip to blitz the mad mullahs' nuke plants. Donald Trump has hailed the Operation Midnight Hammer as a "bullseye" that caused "monumental damage" to Iran's doomsday plot. 5 A massive banner in Israel thanks US President Donald Trump following the strike 5 Russia has slammed the US as opening 'Pandora's box' 5 A B-2 stealth bomber returns to Missouri 5 5 New video shows the B-2 Spirits landing back at Whiteman Air Force Base after seven flew all the way to Iran and dropped 14 bunker buster bombs on nuke bases. It comes as the Iranian foreign minister is in Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin as he desperately tries to get help from allies. Vlad's man at the UN has warned that America has opened "Pandora's box" and that "no one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring". Russia has a close relationship with Iran and buys drones from the Ayatollah to fire at Ukraine. The terror-stoking Islamist regime in Tehran has already fired a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel on Monday morning. But what the hiding Ayatollah's revenge directly against America looks like is yet to be seen. Some think he will target nearby US bases in Iraq and Syria with rockets or drone strikes. But Iran also threatened to unleash sleeper cells inside the US if it was attacked, according to NBC. The Ayatollah sent the message to Trump through an intermediary while he was at the G-7 meeting last week. Tehran may also close the Strait of Hormuz - a bottleneck entrance to the Persian Gulf where nearly a quarter of the oil shipped around the world passes through. Iran's parliament voted to shut the strait on Sunday - but it's up to the supreme leader to make the final order. Choking off the Gulf would send global oil prices skyrocketing and derail the world economy. It may also lead to fighting with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based nearby, which is tasked with keeping the strait open. Trump has already warned that further action could be taken if Tehran doesn't cut a peace deal. He said in the nationally televised speech at the White House: "Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier." But the Ayatollah's mad nuke plot could live another day after Iran claimed to have smuggled out its enriched uranium before the Fordow plant was bombed. If true, the material could be sent to a secret hidden base where they may be able to turn it into a bomb. Trump suggested early Monday morning that he may topple the Ayatollah to "Make Iran Great Again". Inspired by his Make America Great Again (MAGA) political movement, the president called for "Make Iran Great Again" (MIGA). Trump wrote on Truth Social: "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!" Stay up to date with the latest on Israel vs Iran with The Sun's live blog below...
Daily Mirror
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Iran makes chilling vow to kill 50,000 soldiers as British sites on high alert
US President Donald Trump warned if Iran does not stop its nuclear enrichment programme and strike a deal for peace that regime change could be a distinct possibility Iran has vowed to kill as many as 50,000 American soldiers as British service personnel remain on high alert for a retaliatory attack after the devastating strikes at the country's military sites. Tehran's mullahs have scrambled to assert that they remain a threat to the US and its allies in the Middle East and beyond after President Donald Trump followed Israel's lead by bombing three nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend. State television, which parrots the Islamic regime's talking points, showed a map of US bases across the Middle East with particular focus being paid to ones in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq, which are all in range of Iran's missiles. Al Jazeera reports the channel's anchor Mehdi Khanalizadeh said: "It is now clearer than ever, not just for the Iranian nation but for the whole peoples of the region, that all US citizens and military personnel are legitimate targets. "We were negotiating and progressing through a diplomatic path, but you chose to spill the blood of your soldiers. The US president in the Oval Office chose to take delivery of the coffins of up to 50,000 US soldiers in Washington." The editor of Iran's hardline Keyhan newspaper also attempted to exert strength on behalf of the regime. He wrote: "It is now our turn to immediately rain missiles down on the US naval force in Bahrain as a first measure." But American officials have been defiant, stating the bombings were a huge success that crippled Iran's nuclear programme. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also praised Mr Trump for launching the attack that he said would "change history" and deny Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. British officials have been more cautious and warned that UK military sites were now on high alert. In a column for The Telegraph, Defence Secretary John Healey said: "The safety of UK personnel and bases is my top priority. Force protection is at its highest level, and we deployed additional jets this week." Senior defence officials are concerned Iran could use drones to wreak havoc at UK military sites following the success of Ukrainian operations against Russia. The Ukrainians previously used drones to cripple 40 Russian aircraft, including those capable of carrying nuclear warheads. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously confirmed additional RAF jets would be deployed to the Middle East in a bid to enhance security at its bases. Britain has bases in the Middle East including RAF Akroiri, in Cyprus, where 14 RAF jets are currently stationed, as well as naval hubs in Bahrain and Oman.
