Latest news with #Hakimiyeh
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Israel hits 'centrifuge site' in Tehran as Trump weighs launching US strikes on Iran
Intense Israeli air strikes targeted Tehran on Wednesday as Donald Trump was said to be considering whether to order US attacks on Iran. Israel said more than 50 fighter jets took part in the morning strikes and claimed to have hit a centrifuge manufacturing facility in Tehran. Residents of Tehran fled their homes in droves on the sixth day of Israel's air campaign aimed at Iran's military and nuclear programme - which a human rights group says has killed at least 585 people across Iran and wounded 1,326 others. Iran has retaliated against Israel's airstrike campaign by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel. A major explosion could be heard around 5am in Tehran on Wednesday morning, following other explosions that boomed earlier in the predawn darkness. Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrike campaign has intensified since it began on Friday. At least one strike appeared to target Tehran's eastern neighborhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy. Traffic stood bumper to bumper on roads to the west and central Tehran emptied out, with many shops shuttered as well as the ancient Grand Bazaar. The Bazaar has closed only in times of crisis, such as during the 2022 anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic. Israel has also claimed that it had killed Gen. Ali Shadmani, whom it described as Iran's most senior remaining military commander. Shadmani was little known in the country before being appointed last week to a chief-of-staff-like role as head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters following the killing of his predecessor, Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, in an Israeli strike. Israel asserts it had to launch its airstrike campaign to stop Iran from getting closer to being able to build a nuclear weapon. The US president is reportedly considering if the US should join Israeli strikes on Iran. Trump is weighing a range of options, including a possible strike, following a meeting with his national security team inside the Situation Room, NBC News reported, citing unnamed officials. The US sent more warplanes to the Middle East as Trump made a series of statements about the conflict that fuelled confusion about the US's role, including demanding 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' in a post on social media. He also warned Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the US knows where he is hiding but that there were no plans to kill him 'at least not for now.' Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the evolving situation over the phone on Tuesday, according to a White House official. Iran offered no immediate response to the president's posts, but the country's military leaders vowed that Israel would soon see more attacks. 'The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence,' Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran's army, said in a video. 'The punishment operation will be carried out soon.' Israel's military warned the population to stay close to shelters as Iran fired new salvos of missiles on Wednesday, but officials said most were intercepted and Israel's rescue services had no immediate reports of injuries. Sirens blared in southern Israel, including in the desert town of Dimona, the heart of Israel's never-acknowledged nuclear arms programme. The US State Department announced that the US Embassy in Jerusalem will remain closed through Friday. Iran has fired fewer missiles in each of its barrages, with just a handful launched into Wednesday. It has not explained the drop in missiles fired, but the decline comes after Israel targeted many Iranian launchers.
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Israel-Iran conflict: major explosion reported in Tehran as Israel says it targeted ‘centrifuge production' site
Israel claims to have hit a 'centrifuge production' site in Tehran following reports of a large explosion in the city. Posting on X, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says that it has attacked 'a centrifuge production site and several weapons manufacturing sites' in Iran overnight. The Iranian government has not acknowledged the attacks. The IDF wrote that more than 50 fighter jets 'completed a series of strikes on military targets in the Tehran area in recent hours'. READ MORE 'During the wave of attacks, several weapons manufacturing sites were targeted. Among the weapons production facilities attacked was a site for producing raw materials and components for assembling surface-to-surface missiles.' A major explosion could be heard around 5am in Tehran on Wednesday, following other explosions earlier, according to reports. At least one strike appeared to target Tehran's eastern neighbourhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy. Traffic stood bumper to bumper on roads to the west and downtown Tehran emptied out, with many shops shuttered as well as the ancient Grand Bazaar. Announcing the fresh wave of strikes on Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning, the IDF warned residents in parts of the city to urgently evacuate. 'Dear citizens, for your safety and well-being, we urgently request that you immediately evacuate the designated area in Tehran's Area 18. Your presence in this area puts your life at risk,' the IDF posted on social media. In Israel, the IDF said that families across the country had sought shelter due to missile launches from Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that hypersonic missiles were used during the latest attack on Israel. The extent to which they caused any damage also remains unclear. Responding to the ongoing strikes, Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, vowed on X that Iran would retaliate. 'We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,' he said. Those messages were posted after Donald Trump wrote on social media that the United States knows the location of the Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that the US would not kill him 'for now' but called for Iran's 'unconditional surrender'. – Guardian
