Latest news with #EbrahimZolfaqari
Middle East Eye
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Iran's military warns US of heavy consequences for entering war on Israel's side
Recent hostile action by the United States expanded the scope of legitimate targets for Iran's armed forces, a spokesperson for its Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a video shared on Monday. Ebrahim Zolfaqari said the US should expect heavy consequences for its actions. "Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it," Zolfaqari said in English at the end of his recorded statement.
Observer
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Observer
Iran's military warns US of heavy consequences for entering war on Israel's side
Recent hostile action by the United States expanded the scope of legitimate targets for Iran's armed forces, a spokesperson for its Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a video shared on Monday. Ebrahim Zolfaqari said the U.S. should expect heavy consequences for its actions. "Mr. Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it," Zolfaqari said in English at the end of his recorded statement.
India Today
9 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Iran fires fresh barrage of missiles at Israel, blasts heard over Jerusalem
Iran launched a fresh wave of ballistic missiles at Israel on Monday, a day after the US conducted precision strikes targeting three key nuclear facilities in Tehran, according to preliminary Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were heard over Jerusalem, while sirens blared across northern Israel, news agency AFP reported. In the south, Israeli medics responded to reports of a missile strike in Ashdod. The Israeli military confirmed multiple launches from Iran amid rapidly escalating to the Times of Israel, Iran fired around 15 ballistic missiles, some of which made direct impacts on Israeli territory. Tensions in the Middle East escalated to new heights after the United States joined Israel's military campaign against Iran and conducted precision airstrikes to bomb the Islamic Republic's three nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and EAST CONFLICT | TOP DEVELOPMENTS The Israeli military on Monday instructed civilians to take shelter and remain in protected spaces as sirens blared across the country following the launch of several ballistic missiles from Iran. "A short while ago, sirens sounded in several areas across Israel following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel," the IDF said in a statement. The exchange marked the 11th straight day of cross-border fire between the two adversaries. advertisement Iran said its latest missile and drone barrage on Israel marked a new phase of its military campaign, dubbed "True Promise 3", targeting Tel Aviv and Haifa. Iranian state media reported that the strikes involved a combination of ballistic missiles and drones. Earlier in the day, the Israeli military claimed it had struck six Iranian military airports, destroying 15 fighter jets and helicopters, including F-14, F-5, and AH-1 aircraft. The IDF said its strikes also damaged runways and underground facilities at the targeted sites. "As part of the effort to deepen air superiority in Iranian skies, the IDF attacked six Iranian regime airports in western, eastern, and central Iran," the IDF said in a statement. Iran warned that the US strike on its nuclear sites has expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces, lashing out at "gambler Trump" for joining Israel's war effort. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said Washington should brace for 'heavy consequences.' advertisement'Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,' he declared in English at the end of a video statement. Iran and Israel exchanged air and missile strikes, as global anxiety mounted over Tehran's retaliation to a US attack on its nuclear facilities over the weekend — an operation President Donald Trump claimed could mark the beginning of regime change in Iran. Commercial satellite imagery suggested massive damage to Iran's heavily fortified Fordow nuclear site, including possible destruction of uranium-enriching centrifuges housed deep underground. However, experts said the full extent of the damage could not yet be independently verified. Meanwhile, Trump, in his recent social media post asserted that Iran's nuclear sites sustained "monumental damage" in the American attack. "Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!" he wrote. advertisementThe US President earlier called on Iran to forgo any retaliation and said the government "must now make peace" or future attacks would be "far greater and a lot easier". As American B-2 stealth bombers approached Iranian airspace on Saturday night, a US Navy submarine fired over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles to take out key air defence systems. Minutes later, the bombers released 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators —30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs — targeting three underground nuclear sites deep inside Iran. Several countries have voiced alarm over the escalating tensions in the Middle East, urging immediate diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and expressed India's "deep concern" over Iran's ongoing conflict with Israel. PM Modi called for swift de-escalation through "dialogue and diplomacy". advertisement China condemned the US strikes on Iran, calling them a grave breach of international law that risked further destabilising the region. Beijing urged collective global efforts to restore peace and uphold justice, with the Foreign Ministry saying it was ready to work with the international community to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. "China is willing to work with the international community to pool efforts together and uphold justice, and contribute to the work for restoring peace and stability in the Middle East," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also warned that the US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities marked a "perilous turn" in Middle East tensions, as the UN Security Council convened an emergency session on Sunday to discuss the escalating crisis. "The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling. From the outset of the crisis, I have repeatedly condemned any military escalation in the Middle East," Secretary General Guterres told the UN Security Council. Tune InMust Watch
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Issues Warning to Trump Who Raises Idea of Regime Change
Iran said on Monday that the US attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called US President Donald Trump a "gambler" for joining Israel's military campaign against Iran. Since Trump joined Israel's campaign by dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning, Iran has repeatedly threatened to retaliate. But while it has continued to fire missiles at Israel, it has yet to take action against the United States itself, either by firing at US bases or by targeting the 20% of global oil shipments that pass near its coast at the mouth of the Gulf. "Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it," Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in English at the end of a recorded video statement. Iran and Israel traded another wave of air and missile strikes on Monday as the world braced for Tehran's response. Trump's administration has repeatedly said that its aim is solely to destroy Iran's nuclear program, not to open a wider war. But in a social media post on Sunday, Trump openly spoke of toppling the hardline clerical rulers who have been Washington's principal foes in the Middle East since Iran's 1979 revolution. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" he wrote. Experts surveying commercial satellite imagery said it appeared that the US attack had severely damaged the site of Iran's Fordow nuclear plant, built inside a mountain, and possibly destroyed it and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, although there was no independent confirmation. Trump called the strike a "Bullseye!!!". "Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran," he wrote. "The biggest damage took place far below ground level." MORE ISRAELI STRIKES Israel's airstrikes on Iran have met little resistance from Iranian defenses since Israel launched its surprise attack on June 13, killing many of Iran's top commanders. The Israeli military said on Monday that about 20 jets had conducted a wave of strikes against military targets in western Iran and Tehran overnight. In Kermanshah, in western Iran, missile and radar infrastructure was targeted, and in Tehran a surface-to-air missile launcher was struck, it said. Iranian news agencies reported air defenses had been activated in central Tehran districts, and Israeli air strikes had hit Parchin, the location of a military complex southeast of the capital. Iran says more than 400 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has released few images of the damage since the initial days of the bombing. Tehran, a city of 10 million people, has largely emptied, with residents fleeing to the countryside to escape attacks. Iran's retaliatory missile strikes on Israel have killed 24 people, all civilians, and injured hundreds, the first time a significant number of Iranian missiles have ever penetrated Israeli defenses. The Israeli military said a missile launched from Iran in the early hours of Monday had been intercepted by Israeli defenses. Air raid sirens blared overnight in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel. LIMITED RETALIATION Beyond those missiles, Iran's ability to retaliate is far more limited than a few months ago, since Israel inflicted defeat on Iran's most feared regional proxy force, Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose downfall was swiftly followed by that of Iran's most powerful client ruler, Syria's Bashar al-Assad. Iran's most effective threat to hurt the West would probably be to restrict global oil flows. Oil prices spiked on Monday at their highest since January. But they have not yet shot up to crisis levels, indicating that traders see a path out of the conflict that avoids serious disruption. Brent crude futures were down 0.5% to $76.64 a barrel as of 0830 GMT, after briefly jumping above $80 at the opening. Iran's parliament has approved a move to close the Strait of Hormuz that leads into the Gulf, which would require approval from the Supreme National Security Council, a body led by an appointee of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Attempting to strangle the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet. "It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. As Tehran weighed its options, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. The Kremlin has a strategic partnership with Iran, but also close links with Israel. Speaking in Istanbul on Sunday, Araghchi said his country would consider all possible responses and there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated. TASS news agency later quoted him as saying Iran and Russia were coordinating their positions.
