Israel targets nuclear site as Iran claims hypersonic missile attack
Israel said it struck a nuclear site near Tehran on Wednesday, while Iran said it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day.
Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Iran's surrender, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed his country would show "no mercy" towards Israel's leadership.
Trump insists the United States has played no part in ally Israel's bombing campaign, but also warned his patience was wearing thin.
The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.
After the Israeli military issued a warning for civilians to leave one district of Tehran for their safety, Israeli warplanes hit the capital early Wednesday.
"More than 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets... carried out a series of air strikes in the Tehran area over the past few hours," the Israeli military said, adding that several weapons manufacturing facilities were hit.
"As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons development program, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted."
Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear reactor.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv.
"The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles" was carried out, the Guards said in a statement broadcast on state television.
Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can maneuver mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, despite Iran's claims that its attacks were "repeatedly shaking the shelters", though AFP photos showed Israel's air defense systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.
Iran also sent a "swarm of drones" towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones launched from Iran.
It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran.
- 'Unconditional surrender' -
Trump fueled speculation about U.S. intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies called for de-escalation but backed Israel's "right to defend itself".
Back in Washington on Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic's "unconditional surrender".
He also boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there -- We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict. There was no immediate public statement after the hour and 20 minute meeting.
U.S. officials stressed Trump has not yet made a decision about any intervention.
Hours later, Khamenei responded with a post on X, saying: "We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy."
- Evacuations -
Israel's attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.
Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.
Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu's office.
Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.
More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.
On Tuesday in Tehran, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.
Iran's ISNA and Tasnim news agencies on Wednesday reported that five suspected agents of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency had been detained, on charges of tarnishing the country's image online.
With air raid sirens regularly blaring in Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall.
"We've decided to permanently set camp here until it's all clear, I guess," Mali Papirany, 30, told AFP.
- Nuclear facilities -
After a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran denies.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been "direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls" at Iran's Natanz facility.
Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel's campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where any attempts at "regime change" would bring "chaos".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
32 minutes ago
- Nahar Net
Israel pounds Gaza City after offensive gets green light
by Naharnet Newsdesk 12 hours Israel hammered Gaza City and its outskirts overnight, residents said Thursday, after the defense ministry approved an expanded offensive to target the remaining Hamas strongholds in the strip. The newly approved plan authorizes the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists, deepening fears the campaign will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. "We are not waiting. We have begun the preliminary actions, and already now, IDF (army) troops are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," the Israeli military said in a statement. Israel's plans to expand the fighting and take control of Gaza City have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition. Ahead of the offensive, the Israeli military said the call-up of the reservists would begin in early September. Gaza City residents described relentless bombardments overnight. "The house shakes with us all night long -- the sound of explosions, artillery, warplanes, ambulances, and cries for help is killing us," one of them, Ahmad al-Shanti, told AFP. "The sound is getting closer, but where would we go?". Another resident, Amal Abdel-Aal, said she watched the heavy strikes on the area, a week after being displaced from her home in Gaza City's Al-Sabra neighborhood. "No one in Gaza has slept -- not last night, not for a week. The artillery and air strikes in the east never stop. The sky flashes all night long," she added. Gaza civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said air strikes and artillery fire overnight targeted areas to the northwest and southeast of Gaza City. Late Thursday, the Israeli military detailed a range of operations across the Gaza Strip in recent weeks. It said the maneuvers and strikes "created the conditions" for the military to intensify pressure on Hamas and lay the groundwork for the next stages of the campaign. As Israel tightened its grip on the outskirts of Gaza City, mediators continued to wait for an official Israeli reaction to their latest ceasefire proposal that Hamas accepted earlier this week. - 'Ball' in Israel's court - Israel and Hamas have held a string of indirect negotiations throughout the nearly two-year conflict, paving the way for a pair of short ceasefires during which Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Of the 251 captives kidnapped during Hamas's October 2023 onslaught on southern Israel that triggered the war, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Sources from Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad told AFP this week that the latest ceasefire proposal calls for the release of 10 hostages and 18 bodies from Gaza. The remaining hostages would be released in a second phase alongside talks for a wider settlement. Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have overseen several rounds of shuttle diplomacy. Qatar said the latest proposal was "almost identical" to an earlier version approved by Israel, while Cario said Monday that "the ball is now in its (Israel's) court". Late Wednesday, Hamas lambasted the Israeli defense ministry's approval of plans to take control of Gaza City, saying it showed its "blatant disregard" for efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal. "Today's announcement by the terrorist occupation army of the start of an operation against Gaza City and its nearly one million residents and displaced persons... demonstrates... a blatant disregard for the efforts made by the mediators," it said in a statement. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,122 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military.
Nahar Net
32 minutes ago
- Nahar Net
Tunisians rally in support of union in govt's crosshairs
by Naharnet Newsdesk 7 hours Hundreds of members and backers of Tunisia's largest trade union rallied Thursday in support of the organisation, which has faced mounting pressure from President Kais Saied. It was the largest demonstration Tunisia has seen in recent months, coinciding with what rights groups have denounced as a rollback of freedoms in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) -- part of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize-winning "national dialogue quartet" -- remains an influential counterweight to Saied, who has jailed many of his critics since a sweeping 2021 power grab. "With our soul and our blood, we sacrifice ourselves for the UGTT," some protesters chanted, waving the union's red-and-white flag. Others demanded an end to the rising cost of living, and decried the "injustices" of living under a "police state". AFP reporters at the scene estimated the crowd to be more than 2,000 people, while one local media outlet put it at 3,500. Dozens of protesters were seen being barred by the police from joining the rally in downtown Tunis. With some 700,000 members across the country of 12 million, the UGTT maintains its significant power to mobilise people. However, it has increasingly come under fire in recent weeks from the president, as well as a segment of the public frustrated with repeated strikes in transport and the key phosphate production sector. Speaking to the crowd outside of the union's headquarters, UGTT chief Noureddine Taboubi denounced what he called "false information" and a "methodical campaign" against the union. "Our country is going through a delicate phase," he said. "All the foundations of political and civil life have collapsed." Earlier this month, the union said a group of Saied supporters tried to storm its Tunis headquarters, with videos showing several dozen people gathered outside denouncing it for "corruption" and "squandering the people's money". The following night, Saied demanded the union be held accountable, saying he shared the demonstrators' grievances and insisting they had not intended violence. Rights groups, however, said the anti-union gathering was aggressive and sought to intimidate the union. Founded in 1946, the UGTT played a leading role in the struggle against French colonial rule, and later resisted autocratic presidents Habib Bourguiba and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. It was also central to the 2011 revolution that toppled Ben Ali and ignited protests across the Arab world.
L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Israel announces return of citizen held over a year in Lebanon
BEIRUT — The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that Israeli citizen Saleh Abou Hussein, who had been held in Lebanon for about a year, has returned to Israel following negotiations conducted with the help of the Red Cross. Netanyahu's office welcomed his return, an Arab Israeli, calling it "a positive step and an encouraging sign for the future," according to a message posted on X. The prime minister's office did not provide details on the circumstances of Hussein's detention. However, his lawyer told the Lebanese channel LBCI that he had been detained for "more than 13 months, for illegally crossing the border by mistake." "He tried to swim back, but got lost," she said. "There is no file on him before the military court and the Lebanese justice system," she added. The topic of Israeli detainees in Lebanon hasn't been discussed recently in talks about the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. However, the issue of Lebanese detainees held in Israel after the Israeli ground offensive is still being addressed. Their release is part of the plan by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack to enforce the truce. Cross-border infiltrations of Israeli civilians into Lebanese territory are rare. Groups of ultranationalist settlers campaigning for the establishment of settlements entered South Lebanon several times during exchanges of fire, daily strikes and the Israeli ground invasion between September and November 2024.
