Iran's Khamenei rejects Trump's call for 'unconditional surrender'
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that his country will not accept US President Donald Trump's call for an unconditional surrender
In his first remarks since Friday, Khamenei said peace or war could not be imposed on the Islamic Republic.
'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,' he said in a statement read by a television presenter on Wednesday.
He said Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be "accompanied by irreparable damage.'
Referring to Mr Trump's previous threats, he said those who know Iran's history know that Iranians "do not answer well" to the language of threats.
Khamenei also said people will not forget the blood of "martyrs" and the attack on their territory by Israel.
A man looks at flames rising from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Meanwhile, thousands of people continued to flee from the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday after Israeli warplanes bombed the city overnight. According to a Reuters, President Trump is reportedly considering options that include joining Israel in attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
Mr Trump initially distanced himself from the Israeli attacks on Iran but has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something 'much bigger' than a ceasefire agreement. The US has also sent more warplanes to the region.
Read More
Israeli warplanes hammer Iranian capital
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
40 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
An Post suspends all postal services to Israel and Iran until further notice
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Irish provider said the suspension is due to the "non-availability of flights". "Due to the non-availability of flights into both Israel and Iran, all postal services to these countries have been suspended with immediate effect and until further notice," an An Post spokesperson said. They added that the ongoing updates will be provided on An Post's website. It comes as Israel and Iran have continued to strike each other since Friday, when Israel launched attacks on Iran's nuclear and military structure. Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris said the evacuation of Irish and EU citizens from Iran and Israel needs to be a priority. Speaking to reporters before the Cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr Harris said he spoke to the Irish ambassadors to both Iran and Israel for an update yesterday morning. He added that there are around 30 people registered in Iran as Irish citizens, and 200 in Israel, with some hoping to be evacuated if that option is given to them. 'In both Tehran and Tel Aviv, a number of people, a relatively small number, have indicated that should evacuation options become available, they'd like to be considered to avail of them,' he said. Ahead of a meeting of European foreign ministers yesterday, Mr Harris said the meeting should address 'how we can much better coordinate' efforts to get European citizens out of Iran and Israel 'if and when it is safe to do so'. 'None of this is easy. The airspace is closed, land borders can be treacherous, but the well-being and safety of European, and particularly from my perspective, Irish citizens in Israel and Iran, has to be a priority.' Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected US President Donald Trump's demand for unconditional surrender today. Trump said his patience had run out, though he gave no clue as to what his next step would be. Speaking to reporters, the American President declined to say whether he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic. The Iranians had reached out, but "it's very late to be talking", he said. "There's a big difference between now and a week ago," Trump told reporters outside the White House. "Nobody knows what I'm going to do," he added. Iranians jammed the highways out of the capital Tehran, fleeing from intensified Israeli airstrikes. In the latest bombing, Israel said its air force destroyed the headquarters of Iran's internal security service. Khamenei rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, which was his first appearance since Friday, and said Americans "should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage". Israel's military said 50 Israeli jets struck around 20 targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Britain will NEVER be safe until Iran's nuke scheme is crushed…this is our Churchill moment, Israeli ambassador says
BRITAIN will never be safe until Iran's nuclear scheme is wiped out, Israel's ambassador told The Sun. Tzipi Hotovely said Israel is facing its "Churchill moment" and doing the UK a "huge service" by 8 Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK, told The Sun her country is doing Britain a 'huge service' Credit: Paul Edwards 8 Heavy smoke and fire rises from an oil refinery in Tehran after an Israeli strike Credit: Alamy 8 Israel has continued to blitz Iran after launching operation Rising Lion last week Credit: Reuters She also rebuked The PM - who chaired an emergency Cobra meeting today - has insisted that the UK wants to de-escalate the situation and resolve it through diplomacy. But Amb. Hotovely said Iran had its chance for diplomacy during Donald Trump's 60-day deadline to t And she warned the UK would never be safe until Iran loses any More on Israel The diplomat said Israel is facing its "Churchill moment" as Netanyahu finds himself in a similar position as the British wartime leader did in 1940 - drawing the US into a war with its enemy. Speaking to The Sun at its headquarters in London, she said: "When they're calling for de-escalation, you need to understand that the only way to de-escalate the situation is by removing the threat. "As long as Iran will race faster to have its ballistic missile programme that can destroy cities in Israel, if we will let them continue with that, cities in the UK won't be safe. "If we hadn't stopped them now, we could have woken up one day in the morning having a headline in the news saying Iran reached nuclear capabilities and now it's a nuclear country. Most read in The Sun "And this is too late for everyone to operate. "We were really operating in the last minute for us to save us from a nuclear holocaust." Trump 'considers bombing Iran' as Ayatollah 'prepares for strikes against US bases' & blasts more rockets at Israel "And we're doing a huge service to people in this country as well, because Iran for a long time has been an enemy for the UK as well." Arch-foes Israel and Iran have continued to trade deadly blows since Benjamin Netanyahu began operation Rising Lion last Friday. But the conflict has now reached a critical juncture as Trump mulls whether to unleash US force on the rogue state. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed "irreparable damage" should the US join Israel's blitz as the dictator rejected Trump's demand for unconditional surrender. Trump had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum to make a deal - a deadline that slipped by last week. The US president could now soon pull the trigger and strike Iran as he issued a chilling threat: "We won't take out Khamenei - at least not for now". 8 Israel's ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely with The Sun's Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) Katie Davis in London Credit: Paul Edwards 8 Iran's supreme leader has vowed 'irreparable damage' if the US gets involved Credit: Reuters 8 Partially collapsed residential building after Iranian ballistic missiles hit Bat Yam, central Israel Credit: EPA 8 Amb. Hotovely said Israel will not stop its operation until "the threat from Iran is removed". She also hailed Israeli citizens for their resilience invoking "the spirit of the Blitz". The diplomat said: "The Israeli people know they're facing a very radical enemy like the British people were fighting in the Second World War and that they must get to the point where it's being defeated. The Iranians have proven they have no interest in diplomacy. They were just using diplomacy to keep on running their nuclear programme. "And President Trump kind of lost patience with this type of behaviour. He said it clearly, I don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons. "We gave a chance to diplomacy. We backed up the American diplomatic plan - 60 days expired. "They didn't come to the table. That's what the Prime Minister said, they want to blow up the table, not to sit next to it. "And we are now certain that once this military operation is over, the world, the Middle East, Israel, Europe, everyone will have a safer world. "This is a war to end wars, not to begin wars." 8 Trump is mulling whether to join the strikes against Iran Credit: AP Israel means business with strikes by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) TZIPI Hotovely's powerful words today prove Israel means business. When I was in Israel just a few months ago, top politicians and military brass were clear - the "head of the snake", Iran, must be stopped. So it came as little surprise when Israel pulled the trigger and blitzed Iran's key nuke facilities last week. Western nations have called for calm - but what is now clear is that Israel has no intention of waiting for diplomatic resolution anymore. Trump has now fanned the flames of speculation that the US will join the military campaign as the door he appeared to leave open to nuclear negotiations starts to close. But Israel appears set on ploughing on with its mission to fully disable Iran's nuke scheme with or without the might of the US. The endgame remains uncertain as sirens screech in both Israel and Iran as missiles hurtle through the sky. What is clear though is the Middle East sits on the knife-edge of all-out war as the conflict threatens to drag in other nations.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Donald Trump calls for huge rate cuts as he calls Fed's Powell ‘stupid'
US president Donald Trump has called for a huge reduction in US interest rates and asked whether he can 'appoint myself' at the Federal Reserve , just hours before the central bank is due to release its latest policy decision. 'We should be two [percentage] points lower, it would be nice to be two-and-a-half points lower,' the US president said at the White House on Wednesday morning. Mr Trump added: 'Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I'd do a much better job than these people.' The latest salvo against the Fed and its chief Jay Powell , who he on Wednesday called 'stupid', comes as policymakers were widely expected to hold interest rates steady at the end of their two-day meeting. The Fed cut rates by one percentage point last year, but has held them steady in 2025 as they assess how Mr Trump's tariffs will affect inflation and growth. READ MORE The US president has said that he will not fire Mr Powell, whose term ends next May. The US supreme court has signalled that it believes the executive branch does not have the legal right to fire Fed governors. Fed officials will later on Wednesday publish their latest forecasts for US growth, inflation, employment and interest rates in the coming years. They are widely expected to downgrade their quarterly projections for growth and inflation. In March, the median expectation was for the US economy to expand by 1.7 per cent this year, unemployment to rise to 4.4 per cent and PCE inflation to hit 2.7 per cent. Fed officials have indicated that the news on US tariffs since then has meant that growth and employment will be lower and inflation, higher, than they thought at the start of this year. In March, rate-setters anticipated cutting borrowing costs by a quarter point twice this year. Economists expect the Fed may well stick with those expectations, though there is a chance that the forecast for cuts could be cut to just one this year. Mr Trump has repeatedly called on the Fed to cut borrowing costs, labelling Mr Powell 'Mr. Too Late' and a 'numbskull'. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
