#Iran Fires First
#Hypersonic Missiles At Israel.
TEHRAN – Iran said on June 18 it has fired hypersonic missiles at Israel in the latest round of overnight strikes between the archfoes, hours after US President Donald Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.
In response to Mr Trump’s ultimatum, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a post on X: “The battle begins.”
“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” he said.
Mr Trump insists Washington has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned Iran his patience is wearing thin as the conflict enters a sixth day.
Israeli warplanes targeted the Iranian capital before dawn on June 18 after the military issued a warning on social media for civilians in an area known as District 18 to evacuate.
Iranian state media reported explosions ricocheting in the Piroozi, Sabalan and Sayyad areas of Tehran.
Israel’s military said it struck an Iranian centrifuge production facility and multiple weapons manufacturing sites.
Iranian news websites said Israel was also attacking a university linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in eastern Iran and the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran.
In retaliation, Iran told residents of Tel Aviv to prepare for an attack, with the Revolutionary Guards claiming its hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles were “repeatedly shaking the shelters” in the commercial hub.
“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 manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area.
World powers have scrambled for an offramp, hoping to prevent the conflict from spiralling into a region-engulfing war.
In separate phone calls with his Iranian counterpart and US envoy Steve Witkoff late on June 17, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged a diplomatic solution.
Back in Washington on June 17, Mr Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.
He also boasted that the US could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader.
“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,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.
While he has repeatedly vowed to avoid wading into the “forever wars” of the Middle East, Mr Trump ordered the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region along with a number of US military aircraft.
US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention.
Evacuations
Despite international alarm, neither side has backed off from the long-range blitz that began on June 18, when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities.
Israel claims its attacks have killed senior Iranian commander Major-General Ali Shadmani, as well as his predecessor, Major-General Gholam Ali Rashid.
Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the fighting broke out, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens.
More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.
Among those evacuated were citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the US, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam, a government source said.
China evacuated its first batch of Chinese citizens from Iran on June 17 via a land route into Turkmenistan.
The US said it was closing its embassy in Jerusalem until June 20 amid the growing conflict, but there was no announcement about helping Americans leave the “crisis area”.
The first in a wave of special flights carrying Israelis stranded abroad landed in Tel Aviv early on June 18. Israel closed its airspace to civilian flights on June 13, leaving about 150,000 travelers with no way to return.
Fearing violence, many residents of Tehran have fled.
#Iran Fires First #Hypersonic Missiles At Israel.
TEHRAN – Iran said on June 18 it has fired hypersonic missiles at Israel in the latest round of overnight strikes between the archfoes, hours after US President Donald Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.
In response to Mr Trump’s ultimatum, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a post on X: “The battle begins.”
“We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy,” he said.
Mr Trump insists Washington has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned Iran his patience is wearing thin as the conflict enters a sixth day.
Israeli warplanes targeted the Iranian capital before dawn on June 18 after the military issued a warning on social media for civilians in an area known as District 18 to evacuate.
Iranian state media reported explosions ricocheting in the Piroozi, Sabalan and Sayyad areas of Tehran.
Israel’s military said it struck an Iranian centrifuge production facility and multiple weapons manufacturing sites.
Iranian news websites said Israel was also attacking a university linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in eastern Iran and the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran.
In retaliation, Iran told residents of Tel Aviv to prepare for an attack, with the Revolutionary Guards claiming its hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles were “repeatedly shaking the shelters” in the commercial hub.
“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 manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area.
World powers have scrambled for an offramp, hoping to prevent the conflict from spiralling into a region-engulfing war.
In separate phone calls with his Iranian counterpart and US envoy Steve Witkoff late on June 17, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged a diplomatic solution.
Back in Washington on June 17, Mr Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.
He also boasted that the US could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader.
“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,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.
While he has repeatedly vowed to avoid wading into the “forever wars” of the Middle East, Mr Trump ordered the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier to the region along with a number of US military aircraft.
US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention.
Evacuations
Despite international alarm, neither side has backed off from the long-range blitz that began on June 18, when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities.
Israel claims its attacks have killed senior Iranian commander Major-General Ali Shadmani, as well as his predecessor, Major-General Gholam Ali Rashid.
Residential areas in both countries have suffered deadly strikes since the fighting broke out, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens.
More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.
Among those evacuated were citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the US, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam, a government source said.
China evacuated its first batch of Chinese citizens from Iran on June 17 via a land route into Turkmenistan.
The US said it was closing its embassy in Jerusalem until June 20 amid the growing conflict, but there was no announcement about helping Americans leave the “crisis area”.
The first in a wave of special flights carrying Israelis stranded abroad landed in Tel Aviv early on June 18. Israel closed its airspace to civilian flights on June 13, leaving about 150,000 travelers with no way to return.
Fearing violence, many residents of Tehran have fled.
