Iran armed forces urge evacuation of residents in major Israeli cities
TEHRAN: Iran's armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi urged on Tuesday residents of the major Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv to evacuate, warning of imminent 'punitive' attacks.
'Punitive operations will be carried out soon,' Mousavi said in a video statement carried by state TV on the fifth day of the deadly confrontation triggered by Israeli air raid on Friday.
He added that previous attacks on Israel have so far only been for 'deterrence' purposes.
Referring to Israel, Mousavi said that 'residents of the occupied territories, especially Tel Aviv and Haifa, are strongly urged to leave these areas for the sake of their lives'.
Mousavi told Israelis not to 'fall victim' to 'animalistic desires' of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which Tehran blames for the escalation.
Trump says US won't kill Iranian leader 'for now' as Israel-Iran air war rages on
After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel launched a surprise attack in the early hours of Friday, saying it was targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities.
So far it has killed at least 224 people in the Islamic republic, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
Iran has retaliated with barrages of drone and missiles that have killed at least 24 people in Israel, according to the latest figures from the prime minister's office.
On Monday, Israel warned residents to leave a northern district of the Iranian capital before striking the headquarters of state television, in an attack the broadcaster said killed three people.
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Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Trump demands Tehran's 'unconditional surrender' as Israel-Iran air war continues
Listen to article US President Donald Trump called on Tuesday for Iran's "unconditional surrender" and warned US patience was wearing thin as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said meanwhile that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a US-led invasion and hanged in 2006 after a trial. "I warn the Iranian dictator against continuing to commit war crimes and fire missiles at Israeli citizens," Katz told top Israeli military officials. Explosions were reported in Tehran and the city of Isfahan in central Iran, while Israel said Iran had fired more missiles towards it late on Tuesday, and air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and southern Israel. The Israeli military said it had conducted strikes on 12 missile launch sites and storage facilities in Tehran. Trump's sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict between close US ally Israel and longtime foe Iran has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures, not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to foreign policy. Trump said on Monday that he might send US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet Iranian officials. The president said his early departure from the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada had "nothing to do" with working on a ceasefire deal, and that something "much bigger" was expected. Vance said the decision on whether to take further action to end Iran's uranium enrichment programme, which Western powers suspect is aimed at developing a nuclear bomb, "ultimately belongs to the president". Britain's leader said there was no indication that the US was about to enter the conflict. Trump met for 90 minutes with his National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the conflict, a White House official said. Details were not immediately available. The US is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, three US officials told Reuters. The move follows other deployments that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as defensive in nature. The US has so far only taken defensive actions in the current conflict with Iran, including helping to shoot down missiles fired towards Israel. REGIONAL INFLUENCE WEAKENS Khamenei's main military and security advisers have been killed by Israeli strikes, leaving major holes in his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process. The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had killed Iran's wartime chief of staff Ali Shadmani, four days after he replaced another top commander killed in the strikes. With Iranian leaders suffering their most dangerous security breach since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country's cybersecurity command banned officials from using communications devices and mobile phones, Fars news agency reported. Israel launched a "massive cyber war" against Iran's digital infrastructure, Iranian media reported. Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran's nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment. Before Israel's attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years. The IAEA said on Tuesday an Israeli strike directly hit the underground enrichment halls at the Natanz facility. The Iranian news website Eghtesadonline, which covers economic news, reported on Tuesday that Iran arrested a foreigner for filming "sensitive" areas at the Bushehr nuclear power plant for Israel's spy agency Mossad. Israel says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in the coming days. But Israel will struggle to deal a knock-out blow to deeply buried nuclear sites like Fordow, which is dug beneath a mountain, without the US joining the attack, according to analysis echoed by Germany's leader. Israel's Katz said Fordow was an issue that will "of course" be addressed. Iran has so far fired nearly 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones towards Israel, with about 35 missiles penetrating Israel's defensive shield and making impact, Israeli officials say. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had hit Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate and foreign intelligence service Mossad's operational centre early on Tuesday. There was no Israeli confirmation. Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Residents of both countries have been evacuated or fled.
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Biased diplomacy
Listen to article President Donald Trump, perhaps, has a lopsided plan in the name of peace for the Middle East. It is quite unfortunate that rather than acting as honest broker, credible to his stature of a superpower's leader, Trump believes in showcasing bias for Israel and contempt for Iran, as he warned the Islamic Republic of dire consequences in days to come. This is brinkmanship and will certainly not lead to a perpetual peace as the US president wants it to be as he called for "real end" to the conflict and not "just a ceasefire". The point is any baby step towards de-escalation shall begin with pacifying both the sides to return from the brink and not with a carrot and stick approach in extreme coercion. Thus, Trump's initiative to send in either his Vice-President, JD Vance, or the Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Iran is mired in confusion, and necessitates some plain-talking. The G7 summit, nonetheless, could not carry the momentum as the members appeared non-committal to an instant de-escalation. The stance from Canada that Israel has "right to defense" without mentioning the "aggression" that was unleashed on Iran by the Jewish state has led to some crippled diplomacy. Moreover, the G7's conviction that Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon" was out of context at a time when an existential crisis is at hand, and Tehran has officially reiterated more than once that it has no plans for a nuclear weapon. Tehran has rightly condemned the double-talk; and surprisingly, a statement from 20 Muslim nations has come to its rescue, condemning Israel's recent military attacks and a call for de-escalation and swift return to negotiations for a sustainable agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme. The way forward is an immediate cessation of hostilities, and for that to happen, the onus rests with the United Nations. The world body has once again not led from the front, and the Middle East is slipping into the abyss of an unpredictable crisis. Last but not least, the Israeli threat to 'vanish' Tehran, as panic takes roots in the capital, must be attended to instantly, before it gets too late.
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Israeli attacks on Iran are illegal, says Russia
Listen to article Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denounced continued Israeli attacks on Iran as illegal and said a solution to the conflict over Tehran's nuclear programme could only be found through diplomacy. A ministry statement posted on Telegram noted Iran's "clear statements" on its commitment to adhere to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and its willingness to meet with US representatives. The statement also said Moscow was waiting for the International Atomic Energy Agency to provide "unvarnished" assessments of the damage caused to Iranian nuclear facilities by Israeli attacks. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Tuesday that it saw that Israel did not want mediation efforts over its conflict with Iran for now amid what it said was "galloping escalation". Read: IRGC targets Mossad centre in Tel Aviv: Iranian media In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on both sides to exercise restraint and said that the level of uncertainty around what was happening was absolute. Peskov said that Russia's offer to mediate if necessary still stood but that it saw Israel was for now not interested in seeking a peaceful solution. Xi called for de-escalation Earlier on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was "deeply worried" by Israel's military action against Iran, as China also accused US leader Donald Trump of "pouring oil" on the mounting conflict. Xi called for de-escalation of the conflict "as soon as possible" during a meeting with Uzbekistan's President in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, state media reported. "Israel launching military action against Iran has caused a sudden escalation in tension in the Middle East, China is deeply worried about this," Xi said, according to Xinhua. "We oppose any act that infringes upon the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of other countries." Read More: Trump says won't kill Iran supreme leader 'for now' China's embassies in Iran and Israel also urged Chinese citizens to leave the countries "as soon as possible", after Israel and Iran traded heavy strikes. "The Chinese Embassy in Iran has coordinated with the Iranian side to facilitate outbound travel and reminds Chinese citizens currently in Iran to leave the country... as soon as possible", the embassy in Tehran said in an online statement. It suggested border crossings with Turkey, Armenia, and Turkmenistan as possible routes out. China's embassy in Israel urged citizens to depart "in the direction of Jordan" as it warned that the conflict was "continuing to escalate". "Much civilian infrastructure has been damaged, civilian casualties are on the rise, and the security situation is becoming more serious," it said in a post on WeChat. UAE warns of 'uncalculated, reckless steps' The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, has warned of 'uncalculated and reckless steps' that could spill out beyond the borders of Iran and Israel, according to a statement by the foreign ministry on Tuesday. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed in a phone call the Israeli strikes on Iran, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported later in the day. The Emirati president said the Gulf country is conducting intensive talks with concerned parties to calm the situation, WAM said. He also expressed solidarity with Iran and its people during the current circumstances, it added. Jordan king says Israel's Iran attacks threaten region and beyond Jordan's King Abdullah II warned in an address to the European Parliament on Tuesday that Israel's "attacks" on Iran threatened to dangerously escalate tensions in the "region and beyond". Speaking as the arch foes traded fire for a fifth day, Abdullah said that "with Israel's expansion of its offensive to include Iran, there is no telling where the boundaries of this battleground will end". "And that, my friends, is a threat to people everywhere," he told lawmakers in Strasbourg.
