United States President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: "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 not regime change??? MIGA!!!"
United States President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: "The damage to Iran's nuclear facilities has been called 'monumental.' The strikes were powerful and precise. Our military has shown great skill. Thank you," the BBC reports.
French President Emmanuel Macron called today, following the US attack on Iran, for avoiding "uncontrolled escalation" in the Middle East.
Macron made the remarks at the start of a meeting of the French Defense Council, and earlier asked Iranian President Massoud Pezizian to show "utmost restraint" in order to "enable a return to the diplomatic path."
"No strictly military response can produce the desired results," the French president said at the start of the Council meeting at the Elysee Palace.
This is the third meeting since the start of the war, which was initiated by Israel on June 13th, citing the danger of Iran developing nuclear weapons.
"Continuing diplomatic and technical talks is the only way to achieve the goal we all strive for - to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but also to prevent uncontrolled escalation in the region," Macron said.
The US announced it had destroyed Iran's nuclear program by bombing three of its main facilities last night, joining an offensive launched by Israel.
Macron spoke of "a difficult moment for peace and stability in the Near and Middle East, with very clear implications for collective security," following the US attacks, which he said opened "a new phase that clearly requires vigilance and decisive action on the French side."
The French president had previously held telephone conversations with most of his counterparts in the region and Europe. He called on Iranian President Massoud Pezizian "to calm down and show the utmost restraint" in order to "facilitate a return to diplomatic channels."
In a joint statement with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Macron called on Iran to "not take further actions that could destabilize the region" in response to the US attacks.
"We call on Iran to engage in negotiations leading to an agreement that addresses all concerns regarding its nuclear program. We stand ready to contribute to this goal in coordination with all parties," confirmed the three European leaders, who advocate resolving the problem through diplomatic channels, but this has so far been unsuccessful.
Macron also spoke today with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
In a message from Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on the X platform, France expressed "concern" after the US attacks and called on "the parties to show restraint in order to avoid any escalation that would lead to a prolongation of the conflict."
Barrot expressed his belief that a lasting solution to this issue requires negotiations within the framework of the international Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1968.
The minister recalled that France did not participate in the attacks on Iran, nor in their planning.
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Downing Street announced that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and United States President Donald Trump spoke by phone this evening, the BBC reports.
"The leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East and reiterated the serious risk that Iran's nuclear program poses to international security. They discussed actions the United States took last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons," the statement said.
The leaders reiterated "the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible to move towards a lasting solution," the statement added, and the two agreed to "remain in close contact" in the coming days.
Israel is very close to achieving its goal of eliminating the twin threats of Iran's ballistic missiles and nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today, Reuters reports.
He promised not to allow Israel to be drawn into a war of attrition, but he also said he would not end the Iranian campaign prematurely.
"We will not continue our actions beyond what is necessary to achieve them, but we will also not end prematurely. When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is over and the fighting will stop. I have no doubt that this is a regime that wants to destroy us, and that is why we started this operation to eliminate two specific threats to our existence: the nuclear threat, the ballistic missile threat. Step by step, we are moving towards achieving these objectives. We are very close to completing them," he said.
He also said that Iran's Fordo nuclear site had been severely damaged by US bunker-busting bombs overnight, but that the extent of the damage had yet to be seen. Tehran has vowed to defend itself at all costs.
Asked about the whereabouts of Iran's 60% enriched uranium, Netanyahu said: "We are monitoring it very closely. I can tell you that it is an important component of the nuclear program."
"It's not the only component. It's not a sufficient component. But it is an important component and we have interesting information about it, you'll excuse me if I don't share it with you," he said.
At least until the first Israeli strikes on its enrichment facilities on June 13, Iran had been refining uranium to 60% purity, a small step up from the roughly 90% bomb-grade level and far above the 3,67% limit imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal, which Iran respected until a year after US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018.
Air defenses were activated in Tehran, the northwestern city of Tabriz and the central city of Yazd, according to Iranian media, the BBC reports.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two military zones in Yazd province were targeted earlier today, killing seven IRGC members and two recruits, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.
British Airways today canceled flights from London's Heathrow Airport to Dubai and Doha due to the possible consequences of last night's attack by the United States (US) on Iran.
"Following recent events, we have adjusted our flight schedule to ensure the safety of our customers and crew," a British Airways spokesperson said.
All flights scheduled for Sunday to Dubai and Doha have been cancelled, as have all return flights, and the company is informing its customers of their options, the spokesman added.
Passengers who planned to travel to and from these destinations by Tuesday are advised to rebook their tickets.
British Airways has not indicated when flights will resume. The airline has three daily flights from Heathrow to Dubai and two to Doha.
Emirates and Qatar Airways continue to fly from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports to Dubai and Doha.
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Tunnel entrances to Iran's vast nuclear complex in Isfahan were hit in US military strikes overnight, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
"We have determined that the entrances to underground tunnels at the site were hit," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Officials said, before Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13, that much of Iran's most highly enriched uranium was stored underground in Isfahan.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he spoke to his Iranian and Israeli counterparts today and said he "called for a diplomatic, negotiated solution to end this crisis," the Guardian reports.
"Iran must never have nuclear weapons. The United States of America (US) has now taken measures to mitigate that threat," Lamy added.
At least nine members of the Revolutionary Guard, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, were killed today in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported.
"Following the aggression of the barbaric Zionist regime and its mercenaries on two military centers in the city of Yazd, seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two recruits were martyred," the statement said, according to the Tasnim news agency.
It is added that there were also injured in the attack, but the number is not given.
Fars News Agency reported earlier today that the Israeli attacks targeted two military facilities in Yazd.
In addition to the Israeli attacks that began on June 13, US forces targeted three nuclear facilities in Iran this morning.
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United States President Donald Trump has posted a lengthy message on the Truth Social network, targeting Republican Congressman Thomas Massie - who has criticized US strikes on Iran as "unconstitutional", the BBC reports.
Trump writes: "Yesterday we had a spectacular military success, taking the 'bomb' right out of their hands (and they would have used it if they could!) but, as usual, and despite all the praise and accolades he has received, this 'lightweight congressman' is against what was so brilliantly accomplished last night in Iran," Trump wrote.
The president concludes: "MAGA (Make America Great Again) is not about lazy, pompous, unproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one. Thank you to our incredible military for the incredible job they did last night. It was truly special," Trump said.
Iranian President Masoud Pazakhstani today promised a "response" to last night's attack by the United States (US) on Iran's nuclear facilities, stating that it was aggression.
The IRNA news agency reported that Pezeshkian made the remarks in a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.
"The Americans must receive a response to their aggression," the Iranian president said.
Pezeshkian was at an anti-American demonstration in Tehran today, where people chanted "Revenge, revenge!" with raised fists.
US forces attacked Iran this morning, and the goal of the operation, called "Operation Midnight Hammer", was to destroy the nuclear facilities in Ford, Natanz and Isfahan.
Iran is ready to defend itself "by all necessary means," a spokesman for its Foreign Ministry said today after last night's US bombing of nuclear facilities in Iran.
"Iran is firmly determined to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, national security and people by all necessary means," spokesman Esmail Bagaj wrote on the X platform.
He assessed the aggression committed by "a nuclear-weapon state (the US) against a non-nuclear-weapon state (Iran)."
The US attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran this morning - Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz - thus entering a war with that country alongside Israel, which aims to destroy Iran's nuclear program.
US President Donald Trump then said that key Iranian nuclear sites had been "completely wiped out".
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The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry today supported the attacks by the United States (US) and Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities, assessing that these attacks are "a consequence of aggressive actions" by the Iranian authorities.
"The measures taken by the US with Israel against Iranian nuclear facilities send a clear signal to the Iranian regime: that it is unacceptable to continue the policy of destabilizing the security situation in the Middle East," the ministry said.
It recalled that Iran is complicit in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and provides military assistance to Moscow.
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Seven members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two recruits were killed in today's attacks, according to a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Al-Ghadir unit in Iran's Yazd province, the BBC reports.
As reported by the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the unit added that several people were injured in the attacks.
Earlier today, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement that Israel had targeted two military zones in the province, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported on Telegram.
Israel says it has killed several senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since June 13, including Hossein Salami, the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of its Air Force, and Mohammad Kazemi, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence unit.
Britain, France and Germany have urged Iran not to take any further actions that could "destabilise" the Middle East, the BBC reports.
In a joint statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they were "consistently clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon" and supported Israel's security.
The statement referred to the US strikes and added: "Our goal remains to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."
The leaders are calling on Iran to "engage in negotiations" to secure an agreement that "addresses all issues related to its nuclear program."
"We are ready to contribute to this goal in coordination with all parties," they say.
A spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the country's knowledge of nuclear energy "cannot be destroyed," the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported, as reported by the BBC.
Behruz Kamalvandi says the nuclear industry has roots in Iran and "those roots cannot be destroyed."
"We have suffered damage, but this is not the first time the industry has suffered damage," he adds.
Similarly, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran's nuclear program is based on "domestic nuclear knowledge" that cannot be "destroyed by bombing," the BBC reports.
The Iranian Red Crescent said 11 people suffered minor injuries during US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and that seven of them had been released from hospital, the BBC reported.
It added that no radiation was detected at the nuclear sites targeted by the United States (US).
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pirosein Kulivand, says three rescue workers were also killed in separate Israeli attacks at various locations in the country and that a Red Crescent helicopter was hit.
Kulivand accused Israel of targeting hospitals, medical centers and a nursing home for the disabled.
The United Nations Security Council will meet today at Tehran's request after the United States attacked Iran's main nuclear sites with massive bunker-busting bombs, diplomats told Reuters.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council with veto power are the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France.
US President Donald Trump announced earlier today that the US had bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in Ford, Natanz and Isfahan.
"We have completed a very successful attack on three nuclear facilities in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. All aircraft are now out of Iranian airspace," Trump wrote on the Truth social network.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran reserves the right to all self-defense options after the US bombing of nuclear facilities.
He stated on Platform X that the US attacks are outrageous and will have lasting consequences.
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Israel said its warplanes struck "dozens" of targets across Iran today, including a long-range missile site in Yazd in the center of the country for the first time, Agence France-Presse reported, as reported by the British newspaper The Guardian.
The military statement said that "approximately 30 IAF (Air Force) fighter jets struck dozens of military targets across Iran" - including "the 'Imam Hussein' Strategic Missile Command Center in the Yazd region, where long-range Khorramshahr missiles were stored".
The statement also confirmed attacks on missile launch systems in Bushehr province, where Iranian media reported a "massive explosion" today, as well as in Ahvaz in the southwest and in Isfahan.
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