
Iranian President Issues New 'Response' Warning to US
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued a new warning that the United States must face consequences for its attacks on nuclear facilities within the country.
During a Sunday phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said that the U.S. must "receive a response to their aggression," according to Iran's official news agency, IRNA, as reported by The Times of Israel.
Earlier in the day, President Pezeshkian could be seen in videos joining demonstrators in Tehran protesting the recent U.S. strikes. State television broadcast footage of the president walking through a crowd gathered in a central square.
Iranian President Masoud #Pezeshkian has joined a student-led protest in #Tehran's Revolution Square, voicing opposition to the ongoing war on #Iran.
Earlier this month, "Israel" launched an unprovoked attack on Iran, primarily targeting residential areas and civilian… pic.twitter.com/FXXuKkqxfv — Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 22, 2025
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the U.S. attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the U.S. attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Associated Press
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.

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New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
Iranian Officials Try to Project Sense of Normalcy, Though Nothing Is Normal
Iran was reeling from American military attacks on its three main nuclear sites early Sunday, with four officials describing the mood in the government as one of defeat and national humiliation, amid divisions about how to respond. Publicly, Iranian officials have tried to project a sense of normalcy even though nothing is normal. They have tried to downplay the damage to the nuclear facilities at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, even though satellite images show the mountainous site of Fordo's underground facilities punctured with huge holes. But Hamid Hosseini, a member of the country's Chamber of Commerce energy committee, said in a phone interview from Tehran that Iran did not have the upper hand — militarily and technologically — and that it was time to stand down. 'We need to make national interests the priority,' he said. 'We are not supposed to be at war forever.' On Sunday, Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, made public rounds in the capital, stopping at an anti-American demonstration in downtown Tehran and visiting patients of victims of the attacks at a hospital. A heart surgeon and former health minister, he praised the medical staff members for their service during the war. In a post on social media, Mr. Pezeshkian wrote: 'We will walk this path together. We will protect Iran and show the world that our great people are undefeatable.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
How the US bombarded Iranian nuclear sites without detection
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — It was an unprecedented attack years in the making, with some last-minute misdirection meant to give the operation a powerful element of surprise. U.S. pilots dropped 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear program that Israel views as an existential threat and has been pummeling for more than a week. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site. Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, U.S. officials say the plan was characterized by a 'precision strike' that 'devastated the Iranian nuclear program,' even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing. For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate. Taking off from the U.S. heartland, B-2 stealth bombers delivered a total of 420,000 pounds of explosives, aided by an armada of refueling tankers and fighter jets — some of which launched their own weapons. U.S. officials said Iran neither detected the inbound fusillade, nor mustered a shot at the stealthy American jets. The operation relied on a series of deceptive tactics and decoys to maintain the secrecy, U.S. officials said hours after the attack, which was preceded by nine days of Israeli attacks that debilitated Iran's military leadership and air defenses. A decoy plan Even before the planes took off, elements of misdirection were already in play. After setting parts of the plan in motion, Trump publicly announced Thursday that he'd make a decision within two weeks on whether to strike Iran — ostensibly to allow additional time for negotiations, but in actuality masking the impending attack. One group of B-2 stealth bombers traveled west from Missouri on Saturday as decoys, drawing the attention of amateur plane spotters, government officials and some media as they headed toward a U.S. air base in the Pacific. At the same time, seven other B-2s carrying two 'bunker buster' bombs apiece flew eastward, keeping communications to a minimum so as not to draw any attention. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at Sunday's briefing that it was all "part of a plan to maintain tactical surprise' and that only 'an extremely small number of planners and key leaders' knew about it in Washington and Florida, where U.S. Central Command is based. After 18 hours of furtive flying that required aerial refueling, the armed B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, arrived on time and without detection in the Eastern Mediterranean, from where they launched their attack runs. Before crossing into Iran, the B-2s were escorted by stealthy U.S. fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft. A graphic released by the Pentagon showed the flight route as passing over Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. It was unclear whether those countries were notified of the U.S. overflight in advance. Most U.S. lawmakers were also kept in the dark, with some Republicans saying they were provided a brief heads-up by the White House before the strike. 'Our B-2s went in and out and back without the world knowing at all,' Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters Sunday. A multifaceted attack About an hour before the B-2s entered Iran, Caine said that a U.S. submarine in the region launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles against key targets, including a site in Isfahan where uranium is prepared for enrichment. As the U.S. bombers approached their targets, they watched out for Iranian fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles, but encountered none. At 6:40 p.m. in Washington and 2:10 a.m. in Tehran, the first B-2 bomber dropped its pair of GBU-57 massive ordnance penetrators on the deeply buried Fordo uranium enrichment plant. It was the first time these so-called 'bunker busters' had ever been used in combat. Each 30,000-pound bomb is designed to burrow into the ground before detonating a massive warhead. The Fordo site received the bulk of the bombardment, though a couple of the enormous bombs were also dropped on a uranium enrichment site at Natanz. The U.S. bombs fell for about half an hour, with cruise missiles fired from submarines being the last American weapons to hit their targets, which included a third nuclear site at Isfahan, Caine said. Both Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog said there were no immediate signs of radioactive contamination around the sites. A look at the numbers The mission included: — 75 precision-guided weapons: these included 14 GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs deployed by the seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and more than two-dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from a U.S. submarine. — 125 aircraft, including the B-2 bombers, fighter jets and refueling planes. A female pilot Hegseth said Sunday that 'our boys in those bombers are on their way home right now.' But a U.S. official said one woman was among those piloting the B-2 bombers. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the mission publicly. A bit of history Caine said the use of the bunker-buster bombs made the mission historic, as did other elements. 'This was the largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history, and the second longest B-2 mission ever flown, exceeded only by those in the days following 9/11," he told reporters Sunday. ___ Lolita C. Baldor in Narragansett, Rhode Island and Nicholas Ingram in Knob Noster, Missouri, contributed reporting. Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina.


Boston Globe
38 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Some Israelis expect new era after US strikes on Iran. Others are skeptical.
The differences of opinion played out among supporters and detractors of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, his close ally; among citizens sharing space in bomb shelters; within families; and among bewildered individuals who did not dare to presume the ultimate outcome. Advertisement Around 7:30 a.m., a few hours after the U.S. strikes, Iran launched two barrages of ballistic missiles, sending millions of Israelis into bomb shelters while the Israeli air force continued to strike targets across Iran. Still, many Israelis, including Yair Lapid, the leader of the political opposition, agreed that the events overnight were 'historic,' regardless of the results, and he thanked Trump. 'Israel, the Middle East and the world are now safer,' he wrote on social media. 'I'm happy to the high heavens,' said Eldad Ella, 48, a pest exterminator who was eating breakfast with a friend at a sidewalk cafe in Jerusalem's nearly deserted city center during a break in the missile fire. 'Bibi and Trump are our saviors,' he added, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Advertisement His friend Tomer Shoshani, 49, a businessperson, said, 'On the way here, I said finally, the wars will end, we'll be a normal country and tourists will come.' Israel's air defenses intercepted most of the Iranian missiles fired at it Sunday morning, but at least two direct hits caused widespread damage in a Tel Aviv neighborhood and in a city about 15 miles south. There was also damage in the port city of Haifa to the north. More than 20 people were wounded, mostly lightly. But Israeli authorities had closed schools and all nonessential businesses and services, and much of the population had taken cover in shelters or fortified safe rooms in their homes. Shelly Lixenberg, 61, moved out of her apartment in north Tel Aviv a week ago because mobility problems had made it difficult for her to reach the bomb shelter in the basement of her building. She is staying with her daughter and son-in-law, who have a more accessible safe room in their apartment, in the south of the city. At least four direct hits have since wrought destruction within a mile or so of her old neighborhood, including one on Sunday morning, and several other strikes have fallen near where she is staying now. Lixenberg said she was glad that the United States attacked Iran. 'We could see Israel wasn't going to be able to complete this mission entirely on its own,' she said by phone. 'And once it's started, it needs to be completed.' Yet she was skeptical that Iran's nuclear program had been wiped out and was concerned that the conflict would escalate. 'I can't believe that it's done and dusted so quickly,' she added. Advertisement In Jerusalem, some residents hung Israeli flags from their balconies and windows in a show of patriotism usually reserved for Independence Day each spring. But people's lives were upended even though the city had been spared the worst of the missile threat. Daniel Karni, 21, a music student who rushed to a bomb shelter in Jerusalem early Sunday, said he hoped U.S. intervention would bring an end to the war with Iran closer. 'I think our government didn't have clear goals about how and when the war would end,' he said. 'But the United States is helping us.' Ghassan Bazazu, 24, a Palestinian resident of the Old City, in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, said his formerly full-time job in a luxury west Jerusalem hotel had just been reduced to 16 hours a week because of a dearth of visitors to the country. Tourism from abroad has been down since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Since Israel launched its assault on Iran on June 13, Israeli airspace has been largely closed. 'Nothing will stop the war now,' Bazazu said Sunday, glumly predicting that it could go on for three more years. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.