Iranian Media Denies ‘Rumors' Israel Struck Home of Supreme Leader
An Iranian semiofficial news agency has denied 'rumors' that an Israeli airstrike targeted the home of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
It is the first time media in Iran has explicitly acknowledged the country's paramount leader was a target.
The report came from the Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Fars described the rumors as showing 'the US and the Zionist regime's anger and confusion in the face of the supreme leader's firm statements made today.'
Khamenei earlier Wednesday warned that the United States that strikes targeting Iran will 'result in irreparable damage for them' and that his country would not heed to US President Donald Trump's call for surrender.
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Arab News
38 minutes ago
- Arab News
Trump keeps world guessing about US military action against Iran
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/JERUSALEM: President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' he said. Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that 'we may do that.' But he added, 'It's a little late' for such talks. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva aimed at persuading Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. But while diplomatic efforts continue, some residents of Tehran, a city of 10 million people, on Wednesday jammed highways out of the city as they sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes. The Wall Street Journal said Trump had told senior aides he approved attack plans on Iran but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program. Asked if he thought the Iranian government could fall as a result of the Israeli campaign, Trump said: 'Sure, anything could happen.' Referring to the destruction or dismantling of Iran's Fordow nuclear enrichment center, Trump said: 'We're the only ones that have the capability to do it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do it — at all.' Military analysts believe that Israel might need US military help to destroy Fordow, dug beneath a mountain near the city of Qom. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The Americans 'should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,' he said. 'The Iranian nation will not surrender.' In its latest bombings, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran's police headquarters. Israel's military said sirens sounded in northern Israel just before 2 a.m. local time on Thursday and that it had intercepted a drone launched from Iran. It said several minutes later that another drone was intercepted in the Jordan Valley area. The Iranian missile salvoes mark the first time in decades of shadow war and proxy conflict that a significant number of projectiles fired from Iran have penetrated defenses, killing Israelis in their homes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, said Israel was 'progressing step by step' toward eliminating threats posed by Iran's nuclear sites and ballistic missile arsenal. 'We are hitting the nuclear sites, the missiles, the headquarters, the symbols of the regime,' Netanyahu said. Israel, which is not a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that. Netanyahu also thanked Trump, 'a great friend of the state of Israel,' for standing by its side in the conflict, saying the two were in continuous contact. Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the war to suggesting the United States might join it. In social media posts on Tuesday, he mused about killing Khamenei. Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked what his reaction would be if Israel did kill Iran's Supreme Leader with the assistance of the United States, said on Thursday: 'I do not even want to discuss this possibility. I do not want to.' A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Iran's mission to the United Nations mocked Trump in posts on X, describing him as 'a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance.' Israel's military said scores of Israeli jets had struck targets in and around Tehran and in western Iran in the previous 24 hours in three waves, hitting sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles. Fleeing Tehran Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out of the city to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. 'My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians,' she said. 'Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear program?' In Israel, sirens rang out anew at dusk on Wednesday warning of further incoming Iranian missiles. A motorist was injured by missile debris, Israeli medics said. The army later advised civilians they could leave protected areas, signalling the threat had passed. At Ramat Gan train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about. 'I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces,' said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter. Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days. Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defenses, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. Leverage Iran has been exploring options for leverage, including veiled threats to hit the global oil market by restricting access to the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important shipping artery for oil. Inside Iran, authorities are intent on preventing panic and shortages. Fewer images of destruction have been allowed to circulate than in the early days of the bombing, when state media showed pictures of explosions, fires and flattened apartments. A ban on filming by the public has been imposed. The communications ministry said on Wednesday that temporary restrictions on Internet access would be imposed to help prevent 'the enemy from threatening citizens' lives and property.' Iran's ability to hit back hard at Israel through strikes by proxy militia close to Israeli borders has been limited by the devastating blows Israel has dealt to Tehran's regional allies — Hamas and Hezbollah — in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon since 2023.
Al Arabiya
44 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
European ministers to hold nuclear talks with Iran on Friday in Geneva, source says
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday in Geneva, a German diplomatic source told Reuters. The ministers will first meet with the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, at Germany's permanent mission in Geneva before holding a joint meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, the source said. The aim of the talks, which the source said are taking place in coordination with the United States, is to persuade the Iranian side to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes. According to the source, the talks are to be followed by a structured dialogue at expert level.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Putin says Russia could help broker a deal between Iran and Israel
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia: President Vladimir Putin offered Wednesday to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns. Speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies, Putin noted that 'it's a delicate issue,' but added that 'in my view, a solution could be found.' Asked how Russia would react if Israel kills Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin refused to answer, saying that 'I don't even want to discuss such a possibility.' Khamenei has rejected US calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause 'irreparable damage to them.' Putin said he shared Moscow's proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States. 'We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,' he said. Russia's help with Iran's nuclear power plant Putin noted that Russia helped Iran finish construction of a nuclear power plant and is currently working on building two more reactors. 'The work is underway, and our specialists are on site. That's over 200 people. And we agreed with the Israeli leadership that security will be ensured,' Putin said. Putin's comments follow a mediation offer that he made in a call with US President Donald Trump last weekend. Putin, meeting with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, emphasized that Russia has a trusting relationship with Iran and built its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr. Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran, a policy that potentially opens opportunities for Moscow to play power broker to help end the confrontation. Praise for Trump's push for peace in Ukraine Putin used Wednesday's session to praise Trump's push for peace in Ukraine, seconding the American leader's repeated claims that the 3-year-old conflict wouldn't have started if he had been in the White House in 2022. 'If Trump had been the president, the conflict indeed might not have erupted,' Putin said. Russia has intensified its aerial campaign in Ukraine in recent months and stepped up ground attacks along the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. Putin has effectively rejected Trump's offer of an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt on Ukraine's mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies. He said he is open for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but repeated his claim that he lost his legitimacy after his term expired last year — the allegations rejected by Ukraine and its allies. 'We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of settlement,' Putin said, noting that the previous round of talks had paved the way for the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers. Asked by AP about Russia condemning Israel's strikes on Iran even as Ukrainian civilians are killed in attacks by Moscow, Putin responded that Russia was targeting the country's arms factories. 'The strikes were carried out against military industries, not residential quarters,' Putin said. AP reporters have documented damage to residential buildings in Ukraine, most recently this week. On Wednesday, emergency workers pulled more bodies from the rubble of a nine-story Kyiv apartment building demolished by a Russian attack, raising the death toll from the strike on the capital to 28. Putin vowed that Moscow will achieve its goal to 'demilitarize' Ukraine. 'We will not allow Ukraine to have armed forces that would threaten the Russian Federation and its people,' he said. 'And if we fail to reach a settlement, we will achieve our goals by military means.' The Russian leader also dismissed Western warnings of Russia's purported plans to attack NATO countries as 'ravings,' noting the alliance's military spending far exceed Moscow's defense budget. The Russian leader has used the annual forum to highlight Russia's economic achievements and seek foreign investment. Western executives, who attended the event in the past, have avoided it after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, leaving it to business leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Putin met earlier with former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who now heads the New Development Bank created by the BRICS alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. He is also set to have meetings with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and He's also expected to confer with top officials from China, South Africa and Bahrain and the head of the OPEC group of oil-producing countries. On Friday, he is set to attend a panel discussion at the forum, a venue he has used to make policy statements.
