Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, yesterday, said the nation would never surrender and warned that the United States would suffer irreparable damage if it intervenes, even as Israel said it had destroyed the internal security headquarters in Tehran.
Khamenei’s speech came six days into the conflict, with Trump saying his patience with Iran had already run out, but declined to say whether US would intervene in the conflict.
This is even as Amnesty International has urged Israel and Iran to spare civilians as their conflict escalates and alarm grows over the death toll.
Delivering a national address, Khamenei described Trump’s request for Iran’s unconditional surrender as unacceptable, while criticizing Israel for launching its military campaign while Iran was engaged in nuclear talks with the United States.
“This nation will never surrender to any imposiotion from anyone. America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage,” he said.
Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, had earlier vowed the country would show no mercy towards Israel’s leaders.
Repeating similar threat, Iran’s Mission to the United Nation said Iran would not negotiate or accept peace under duress.
Writing in an X post, the Mission said: “No Iran’s official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of White House. The only thing more despicable as his (Trump) lies is his threat to take out Iran’s supreme leader.
“Iran does not negotiate under duress, shall not accept peace under duress, and certainly not with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance. Iran shall respond to any threat with a counter-threat, and to any action with reciprocal measures.”
Israel Air Force bombs Iran’s internal security hqtrs —Defence Minister, Katz
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said their air force jets had destroyed Iran’s internal security headquarters after the army announced it was striking military targets in Tehran.
“Air Force jets have just destroyed the internal security headquarters of the Iranian regime, the main arm of repression of the Iranian dictator,” Katz said in a statement, vowing to “strike symbols of governance and hit the Ayatollah regime wherever it may be”.
Earlier, Israeli attacks destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme near Tehran, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.
“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 and a centrifuge production site were hit.
The strikes destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme in Karaj, a satellite city of Tehran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
In another strike on a site in Tehran, “one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested”, the agency added in a post on X.
Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.
Finding fuel has become a problem in Iran, with long queues of cars waiting hours in front of petrol stations, a 40-year-old Iranian driver told AFP at the Iraqi border crossing of Bashmakh.
“There are shortages of rice, bread, sugar and tea,” said Fatah.
“People are shocked and distraught, they don’t know what they should do,” car dealer Shwan said via a messaging app.
Iran launches hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles at Tel Aviv.
Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
No missile struck Tel Aviv overnight, though AFP photos showed Israel’s air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.
Spare civilians, Amnesty International pleads
Urging both nations to spare civilians in the conflict, Amnesty International said: “As the number of deaths and injuries continue to rise, Amnesty International is urging both parties to comply with their obligations and ensure that civilians in both countries do not further pay the price of reckless military action.
“Further escalation of these hostilities risks unleashing devastating and far-reaching consequences for civilians across the region and beyond,” said the global human rights group’s Secretary General, Agnes Callamard.
She accused the United States and other G7 members of failing to recognise the catastrophic impact escalation would have on civilians in both countries.
“Instead of cheering on one party to the conflict over another, as if civilian suffering is a mere sideshow, states must ensure the protection of civilians,” she added.
Foreign governments scrambling to evacuate citizens from Israel, Iran
Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and countries around the world are evacuating their citizens from Israel and Iran as flights are scrapped and airspace closed due to the air strikes.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or delayed. Most European evacuees leaving Israel have been taken by bus to Jordan or Egypt before flying to their home country.
China, India, Pakistan and other states have started the process in Iran.
Israeli flies back home citizens stranded abroad
Israeli government has also started evacuating its citizens stranded abroad.
The US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, yesterday, said the US is working to arrange evacuation flights and cruise ship departures for Americans who want to leave Isreal.
“Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel- US Embassy in Israel @usembassyjlm is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures,” Huckabee wrote on his personal X account, which was later reposted on official accounts.
The revelation that these efforts are underway comes as the US embassy in Jerusalem is closed until at least Friday.
Huckabee added that the Americans must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) so that they can be alerted with updates. He did not say when these evacuation efforts would begin.
Also, the British government said it has temporaily started withdrawing the family members of its embassy staff from Israel.
Relatives of staff working at the UK embassy in Tel Aviv and consulate in Jerusalem were “temporarily withdrawn as a precautionary measure”, the Foreign Office said, adding that staff at the mission remain.
China evacuates 800 citizens
China has evacuated nearly 800 citizens and has started moving some others from Tehran to Turkmenistan by bus, a distance of 1,150km, the state-run China News Service reported.
A representative for the country’s foreign ministry said it had not received any reports of Chinese casualties. A total of 791 Chinese nationals “have already been relocated from Iran to safe areas, and over 1,000 more are in the process of being evacuated,” the representative said.
India’s Foreign Ministry said Indian students in Tehran have been moved out of the city, with media reports suggesting 110 have been relocated.
“Other residents who are self-sufficient in terms of transport have also been advised to move out of the city in view of the developing situation,” the ministry said. Some Indians have also been able to leave Iran through the Armenian border, it added.
Hundreds of Pakistanis living in Iran arrived at the Taftan border crossing on Wednesday as they make their way back home.
Although Pakistan has shut some of the formal crossings, the borders at Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan in south-west Balochistan province remain open for nationals seeking to return home.
Bulgarian authorities said that 148 people to 89 Bulgarian citizens and 59 foreign nationals were successfully evacuated from Israel yesterday. The foreign ministry said a chartered flight from Egypt was arranged after the evacuees were transported from Israel to Egypt by road.
Germany has said its citizens must travel by their own means to Amman before boarding charter flights to Frankfurt. Around 4,000 of its citizens in Israel and 1,000 in Iran have registered on a crisis list, the ministry said.
Israel to ease domestic restrictions imposed due to Iran war —Minister
Israel said it would ease domestic restrictions imposed on its population due to the ongoing war with Iran and will reopen its economy, the Defence Minister said.
“The decision to gradually reopen the economy and various regions is a message of victory over the Iranian enemy,” Katz claimed in a statement.
“They come to harm and shut us down, while we are not only launching offensive actions against them and defending our population, but also starting a gradual process of reopening the economy and various regions, all while considering security needs,” he added.
The army said the changes to domestic security guidelines would be effective from 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on Wednesday until 8:00 pm on Friday.
It said guidelines in most areas of the country would be changed from “essential” to “limited” activity, meaning businesses would be allowed to reopen provided they have shelters that are accessible to employees.
Schools and beaches remain closed, however, while large gatherings of people are also prohibited.
After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, the war began Friday when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.
At least 24 people were killed in Israel and hundreds wounded since Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday.
Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 42 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
VANGUARD.
