Tehran's fate up in air as Trump vows 'a real end'
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has called on residents of Tehran to evacuate the city immediately on Tuesday, in another warning that followed a series of ominous messages posted by US President Donald Trump.
With the conflict between Israel and Iran in its fifth day and showing no signs of de-escalating as Israel further increased its strikes, the tone of these messages has been intensifying, with concerns that Washington might also imminently enter the conflict between the two continuing to grow.
Trump on Tuesday said he was 'not too much in the mood to negotiate now" and that "we're looking at better than a ceasefire".
It came after the president on Monday night issued an urgent call for people to immediately evacuate Tehran, putting out the message shortly after Israeli forces told residents in parts of the capital's north-east to leave ahead of planned strikes on what they described as 'military infrastructure'.
"Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, Iran can not have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran," he posted on Truth Social.
He then repeated his message that "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon" on Tuesday, alongside a post denying reports that he had reached out to Tehran to seek a ceasefire, adding: "If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table - Would have saved a lot of lives!!!"
The flurry of threatening messages comes after the US president left the G7 meeting early on Monday, with Trump denying reports that he did so in order to work on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran. The US president said the reason for his departure was 'much bigger' and unrelated to any ceasefire efforts.
In a further sign of that the conflict appears to be intensifying, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that he was not ruling out assassinating Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Netanyahu claimed that doing so was "not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict".
Asked if Israel would target Khamenei, Netanyahu told the outlet that Israel was "doing what we need to do".
Katz also said threatened that Khamenei could meet the same fate as Saddam Hussein, who was executed after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
'I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and launching missiles at Israeli civilians,' Katz said on Tuesday, according to local media.
Katz issued another warning, saying that Israel would continue to strike "against regime and military targets in Tehran, just as we did yesterday against the propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority," and called on residents of Iran's capital to leave nearby areas.
Israel has claimed to have gained control of Tehran's skies and warned that 'Tehran will burn' if more missiles are fired at its territory, but the Iranian leadership continued to vow a 'more severe and powerful response' and threatened to widen the war by striking targets of Israel's allies.
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France 24
37 minutes ago
- France 24
What Israel really wants in Iran
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out his goals after launching strikes on Iran on Friday last week, he said that the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons and existing ballistic missiles were the primary targets of the Israeli operation. The goal was to end the 'existential threat' Israel says it faces from Iran, which has long denied Israel's right to exist. But the latest air strikes seem to tell a different story. Israeli attacks targeted an Iranian foreign ministry building and the defence ministry in Tehran on Sunday. Police headquarters in the city centre were also hit by Israeli jets that same day. On Monday, Israel said it had struck the command centre of Iran's Quds Force, the branch of the elite Revolutionary Guards that coordinates operations outside the country and reports directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. These new targets are much more closely tied to the heart of the Iranian regime's military and political decision-making fulcrum than to its nuclear programme. Priorities Israel on Saturday also targeted the massive South Pars gas field, which is the world's largest reservoir of natural gas. 'The logic [for the Israeli government] is incremental. There is a priority of targets,' explained Clive Jones, professor of regional security at Durham University's School of Government and International Affairs. The first is to significantly slow down – or potentially end – Iran's nuclear programme. 'The second is to target military delivery systems and the leadership that controls them,' Jones said. Jones believes the second priority was the reasoning behind Israel's attacks on the gas field. 'If you look at the strikes Israel has conducted, what they've tried to do is hit fuel plants that supply the Iranian military – those associated with their rockets programmes, for example, or refuelling tankers,' Jones said. 'They've not yet really hit civilian energy infrastructure. That may be something that comes later, depending on what happens next.' Other targets might be chosen for shock value, according to Middle East expert Filippo Dionigi of the University of Bristol. Attacks on buildings linked to the regime or the targeted assassinations of officials can be seen as an attempt by Israel to 'shock the enemy and try to subvert its chain of command and create chaos, so that it slows down its capacity to react', Dionigi said. 01:33 The Octopus Doctrine Israel's multi-pronged strategy is also known as the 'Octopus Doctrine', which was first established by former prime minister Naftali Bennett in 2021, said Veronika Poniscjakova, an expert on conflicts in the Middle East at Portsmouth University. 'Iran is the octopus with tentacles all around the Middle East,' Poniscjakova said, with proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in Gaza. Its new approach means that Israel will 'no longer go after the tentacles of the octopus, [targeting these groups] or carrying out covert attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities [as with] the Stuxnet computer virus, but go for the octopus's head directly … striking at the source of the threat – the regime itself'. But the scope of Israel's strikes on Iran could suggest the country has broader geopolitical goals, some analysts believe. 'Israel is aiming for a regime collapse in Iran. That is the only reason they would attack energy infrastructures, to increase social unrest against the Islamic Republic by the Iranian people,' said Shahin Modarres, director of the Iran Desk at the International Team for the Study of Security Verona. And if Israel decides to target civilian energy infrastructure exclusively, power cuts across the country could become more frequent, widespread, and eventually 'undermine the trust the population has in its leaders', Dionigi said. The Iranian health ministry has said that 90 percent of casualties so far are civilians. Strikes on political buildings and the targeting of the state-run TV during a live broadcast could be seen as a way to signal to the Iranian opposition that '[they] can exploit the opportunity to stand up against the regime', Poniscjakova explained. 09:40 Most tellingly, Netanyahu issued a direct appeal to Iranians as the Israeli offensive began on Friday, saying he hoped the military operation will 'clear the path for you to achieve your freedom'. "This is your opportunity to stand up [to the regime]," he added. Netanyahu's 'social media post aimed at the Iranian people, in which he effectively says Israel is paving the way and targeting a regime that has kept you repressed', Jones said, adding that the post made it pretty clear the Israeli premier is hoping for regime change. But whether an internal revolt is something that can be encouraged by a competing regional power that has long been at odds with Iran is far from certain. An 'existential war' for Iran Israel's bombing of Iranian police headquarters in Tehran and its subsequent attacks on the ministry of intelligence and security 'could degrade the regime's ability to maintain internal security and social control' on a practical level, according to a report published by the Institute for the Study of War on Monday. But it remains to be seen whether Iranian leadership can be weakened to the point where it is no longer capable of halting an uprising. 'That's the ultimate question that nobody can really answer, at least for now,' Jones said. Any interference from abroad could also backfire. 'External interference in the political affairs of a country rarely has the effect of simply provoking a reaction against the leadership,' Dionigi said. 'Interference could have the opposite outcome and awaken a sense of national awareness, national pride and regrouping.' In other words, in positioning himself as a supporter of the Iranian opposition, Netanyahu could actually strengthen the regime – at least for the duration of the war. The Israeli prime minister is taking a 'huge risk' by going beyond his initial aim of dismantling Iran's nuclear programme. 'When countries are under attack, there is a tendency for people to rally around the flag, even if they dislike the regime,' Jones said. 'For the Iranian regime, this is an existential war,' Dionigi added. 'They will use all of their military capacity for as long as necessary to guarantee their existence.' For Netanyahu there is also the looming threat of greater escalation that could lead to 'a higher number of civilian fatalities [in Israel], which could put more political pressure on the government', Modarres said. 'It all depends on how [Netanyahu] ends this war. Either he dismantles the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme and manages to conduct a regime change, or it backfires and his political career ends,' he added.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Iranian pilgrims in Iraq long to return home
The more than 400 Iranians had recently completed their hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and since crossing the border by land into Iraq, they had not received any updates. One woman dressed in black collapsed in tears after receiving a message informing her that her son was missing after Israeli strikes on Tehran, and that her son-in-law -- an official killed in a bombardment -- had been laid to rest in her absence. Other women sighed with relief when they finally connected with children and grandchildren via video call. "We fear for our children," Amna Hammudi said, her voice trembling, before finally managing to reach her kids in Iran after two days of silence. "We are all worried about our families, our cities and our country," the mother of four added. In a parking lot in Ayn Tamr, near the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 10 buses wait for permission to transport the pilgrims to the Mehran border crossing between Iraq and Iran. 'They brought war on us' Iraq is expected to receive 76,000 Iranian pilgrims by land after they were stranded in Saudi Arabia by airport closures following the surprise Israeli attack on Iran last week. It will welcome 2,500 Iranian pilgrims a day in the hope of facilitating their return home, according to Sami al-Massudi, the head of the Iraqi body for pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. Aziz Yussef, 55, said he was still in Saudi Arabia when he learned that a strike hit one kilometre (0.6 miles) from his house in the western city of Kermanshah. "They brought war on us. They are not only fighting us, but also Gaza and Syria, and the Americans are not stopping them," Yussef said. Yussef urged the Iraqi government to speed up the process of getting pilgrims like him home, but even if he crosses into Iran, he doesn't know how he will reach Kermanshah. Whenever an internet connection is available, Yussef and his wife are glued to their phones and the television, hoping for good news. 'God knows' On Friday, Israel launched a surprise attack on its arch foe Iran, hitting military and nuclear facilities and killing top commanders and atomic scientists. It has kept up its bombing campaign since then, with at least 224 people killed in strikes, according to Iranian authorities. Iran has responded with multiple missile salvos targeting Israeli cities, killing at least 24 people there, according to the prime minister's office. Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes, and large numbers of people have fled Iran's capital. US President Donald Trump warned early Tuesday that Tehran residents should "immediately evacuate" amid fears of a broader conflict that could engulf the region. Kadir Ansari, 70, had just contacted his family back home. "They are good," he said with relief. In residential areas, "there are no armies and no bombs. You are sleeping, and they hit you," he added. Ansari was still in Medina in Saudi Arabia when he learned about the Israeli assault, and now he fears what may come next. Nonetheless, he insists on going back to Kermanshah. "God knows" what will happen after that, he said. © 2025 AFP
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
'Nobody deserves to suffer like this': Tehran under Israeli bombardment
Iranian authorities have announced that at least 224 people have been killed since the Israeli attacks began. According to the spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Health, "1,481 people have been injured or killed', with 90 percent of them being civilians. On the night of June 12 to 13, as the first strikes hit, many Iranian social media accounts described experiencing what felt like an earthquake. Starting June 15, the Israeli army called on Iranians living near military or nuclear facilities to evacuate their homes. However, one of our Observers told us: 'We don't know where these facilities are to avoid them. There could be buildings next to me. How should I know?' This opinion was widely shared by other Iranians on social media. 'This is the north side of our apartment,' our Observer says in this video filmed just after a strike hit a neighbouring building. 'As you can see, the building was hit and destroyed, including the kitchen, bedrooms, and only the south side of our bedrooms, which saved our lives.' 'I'm just trying to survive, my brain doesn't work' On June 13, Maral – whose name has been changed to protect her identity – was woken up when a strike hit an adjacent building. The blast from the attack destroyed her kitchen and living room. Only the bedroom is still relatively intact, if you can call it intact. We asked what had happened, and almost all the neighbours said that something had happened in the middle of the alley, and the sirens were going off. We understood that a house that was right behind our house was hit. We stepped on the ruins of the house and came out. I still didn't know what had happened. After a while, some neighbours came up to us to enquire if we were safe. They told us that it looked like Israel had attacked, and later we read on the internet that several places in Tehran had been hit by Israel. 'We are always victims of Israel and all the warmongers of the world' I am experiencing very strong emotions, even now; I am extremely scared, anxious, sad, among other things. And well, I can't understand it, I can't say exactly what I felt. I thought this was the beginning of a war and that bombs would keep raining down on us. I thought that we would be hit again now. In those first moments, I looked up at the sky to see if I could see anything. And while I was having all these feelings, there were also moments when I thought, quite logically, that I should call people to check on them. It's a very, very complicated experience. Nobody deserves to suffer like this. I'm just trying to survive, my brain doesn't work. I can't process and analyse this, but what I can say is that we are always victims of the policies of the Islamic Republic, and we are always victims of Israel and all the warmongers of the world. The ordinary people are always the victims. I hope that everything will end quickly. On June 16, the Israeli army published an evacuation notice for certain areas of Tehran, a city home to approximately 10 million inhabitants. On the same day, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that 'Tehran will burn' if Iran continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front. Amid escalating Israeli airstrikes on residential districts and increasingly threatening rhetoric from Israeli officials, many Tehran residents decided to leave the city. Multiple videos and testimonies gathered by the FRANCE 24 Observers team confirm unprecedented traffic jams on the roads and highways around the capital. 'We evacuated the city, but it took us 30 hours. On an ordinary day, we could get there in 3 hours,' one resident told us. "They struck the apartment across from us," a woman wrote on a video. "A body was thrown into our apartment," she added. 'The city is half empty, lots of people have left, and shops are closed' However, others, like Farshad – whose name has also been changed – opted to stay in the capital. Two nights ago and yesterday at noon, the attacks were horrible, and the explosions were huge. My wife was really scared and we decided that it's better if she left, but I decided to stay at our home. Every attempt to leave the city is not successful, though. My brother also wanted to leave the city. He spent more than 24 hours stuck in traffic and eventually turned back. The city is half empty, lots of people have left, and shops are closed. I'd say that after the Israeli attacks started and until Saturday night, the situation was not like this, even coffee shops were open. However, after the heavy bombing of Saturday night, and more importantly, the car bombings of yesterday, many people decided to leave the city. I think it was the moment when the phrase, 'they don't hit the civilians,' lost its reasoning among people. However, if I tell you that Tehran is a ghost town, it would be an exaggeration; I still see families walking in the streets. I don't see people running or attacking bakeries or grocery shops. The population stayed civilised, at least for the moment. Regarding the general feeling of people, I have to say that I see anger and hatred toward both sides. Before the attack of Israel on Iran, many experts were saying that another massive protest in the coming weeks is inevitable due to the economic crisis and social pressure of the regime. However, as the attacks continue, and especially after the civilians were killed, I see that more and more people who hate the regime are turning against these attacks and Israel. However, it's too soon to say anything; this anger could go toward any side of the conflict.
