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The United States is “complicit” in Israel’s strikes in Iran, Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations claimed Wednesday, vowing that his country would respond if Washington crosses a “red line”.After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel says its surprise air campaign that began on June 13 is aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran denies.Iran said early Wednesday that it fired hypersonic missiles at Israel in the latest round of overnight strikes between the arch foes.US President Donald Trump has said that Washington has played no part in the bombing campaign by its ally Israel, but has also warned Iran that his patience is wearing thin.”We firmly believe that the United States is complicit in what Israel is doing,” Iranian ambassador Ali Bahreini told a press conference.”And at any time, at any point, if we come to the conclusion that the United States is directly involved in attacks against Iran, we will start responding to the United States.”He said Tehran was “vigilant” about Trump’s “completely unwarranted” and “hostile” remarks.”There is a line which, if crossed, there should be a response on our side… once the red line is crossed, the response will come,” Bahreini said.- ‘We will respond strongly’ -“We will respond strongly and we will stop aggression from any side, be it Israel or the United States,” he told the UN correspondents’ association.”And we have given a message to the United States that we will respond very firmly and will stop the aggression by anybody — including the United States.Bahreini also said Tehran was “resolute in responding to Israeli attacks”.”We will respond very, very, very seriously and strongly, and that is what we are doing now. Nobody should expect Iran to show any kind of restraint,” he said.He also criticised the attitude of Western and European nations.”Not only they are not condemning the attacks and aggression, they are trying to justify the aggression,” he said.Asked about a possible resumption of negotiations with Washington over Iran’s nuclear programme, the ambassador said that for now, Iran was “not thinking about any scenario” other than “defending ourselves”.Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, Bahreini issued a warning to Israel’s allies.”The Israeli regime’s supporters, and the United States at the forefront, should know that supporting this regime means directly supporting international humanitarian and human rights law violations,” he said.

Near the once-bustling Iraqi border crossing of Bashmakh, Iranian driver Fatah stocked up on rice, sugar and tea, staples that have become increasingly hard to get back home.Fatah — who like others in this story is being identified by a pseudonym — was among dozens of truck drivers waiting impatiently to cross back into Iran from Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, hauling not only their commercial cargo, but also essential goods for their families after days of Israeli attacks.AFP spoke with at least 30 Iranians near the Bashmakh crossing. They all refused to be interviewed on camera, and the few who agreed to describe life back home asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals back in Iran.”There are shortages of rice, bread, sugar and tea,” Fatah said Tuesday.Finding fuel has also become a major problem, with long queues of cars waiting hours in front of gas stations hoping the fuel did not run out, the 40-year-old driver added.A long journey awaits Fatah, who must deliver his load of asphalt to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas about 1,700 kilometres (1,060 miles) away, before turning around and driving almost the same distance back to the western city of Marivan, where his family lives and which has so far been spared bombardment.But “my route passes near the Natanz nuclear facility”, Fatah said, referring to one of Iran’s underground uranium enrichment sites that Israel has struck several times since the start of its campaign last week.- Panic buying -Israel launched a devastating surprise attack on Friday targeting Iran’s military and nuclear sites and killing top commanders and scientists. Israel says its attacks are aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran denies. At least 224 people, including women and children, have been killed in the Israeli strikes, according to official figures.The assault has prompted retaliatory barrages of missiles from Iran that have killed at least 24 people in Israel, according to the prime minister’s office.Aram, 28, keeps calling his wife, fearing for his family’s safety after they had to flee their home when a strike hit a military site nearby in the city of Sanandaj.”My family is safe, but they had to move in with relatives in a village,” Aram said.His wife told him that many families who lived near military sites in the area had been similarly displaced. The father of two said the shortages back home were mostly due to panic-stricken Iranians who rushed to markets to stockpile basic supplies.- ‘Shocked and distraught’ -Back in Iran, car dealer Shwan recalled how Israeli jets struck several military sites near his city of Bukan in the west. “People are shocked and distraught, they don’t know what they should do,” the 35-year-old told AFP via a messaging app from inside Iran.”We have a major problem with bread shortages,” he said.People were queuing at bakeries for hours to get loaves of bread, sometimes to no avail, Shwan said.”Sometimes four members of one family go around bakeries looking for bread,” he added.”It is also difficult to find rice or oil,” and many civil servants have not received their salaries yet, he said.Avin, a 38-year-old seamstress, told AFP via a messaging app that the war “has spread fear among residents”, even though the bombs have not touched her town of Saqqez in northwest Iran.”Some families with children left to villages outside the city,” she said. Like others, she fears more shortages to come.”Most of the provisions come from Tehran,” which has seen a massive exodus and is also grappling with scarcity.”Because of this, the market in our city came to a standstill.”

A first aircraft bringing home Israelis stranded abroad by flight cancellations resulting from the conflict with Iran touched down on Wednesday, with returnees expressing relief to be back on Israeli soil.A statement from the airports authority said “the first flight of Operation Safe Return” landed at Ben Gurion Airport early Wednesday, with national carrier El Al bringing Israelis home from Larnaca in Cyprus. Transport Minister Miri Regev said Tuesday that between 100,000 and 150,000 Israelis have been stranded abroad, as Israel and Iran traded deadly fire in their most intense confrontation ever.Despite the nightly volleys of Iranian missile fire at Israel since Friday, hotelier Yaakov Bogen, 66, said he would rather be at home with family than abroad.”I belong here, and unfortunately we get used to these fights and war, but we prefer to be here, to support as much as we can,” he told AFP in Tel Aviv after landing back in Israel.Travellers with suitcases disembarked a bus in the coastal hub, after Israel’s airports authority urged the public not to order taxis or greet arriving passengers at Ben Gurion Airport due to “the current security situation”.Stylist Tali Gehorsam, 40, expressed relief to be back after her flight was redirected to Cyprus half an hour before landing in the early hours of Friday.”This is home. There’s no other place,” she said. “To be overseas and to watch the news is not a nice feeling.”After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, the long-range blitz began Friday when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.Ori Abadi, a 35-year-old Tel Aviv resident, said he had family in two areas of central Israel that have been hit by recent deadly missile strikes.”I know that both of the apartments got damaged. It really hurts, it’s really worrying and I’m really glad to be with my family now,” he said.Israel’s transport ministry said all of Israel’s commercial aircraft had been sent abroad to prevent damage during the air war with Iran.After suspending flights last week, El Al said it was “preparing rescue flights” starting Wednesday with planes departing from Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan and Paris.The low-cost Israeli airline Arkia also announced special flights this week to repatriate Israelis.A statement from the airports authority said Wednesday that the return operation “is being managed in stages based on the level of risk and current security assessments, with a strong emphasis on the safety of passengers, aircrews and aircraft”.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday the nation would never surrender as demanded by President Donald Trump and warned the United States it would face “irreparable damage” if it intervenes in support of its ally.The speech came six days into the conflict, with Trump demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender” while boasting the United States could kill Khamenei and fuelling speculation about a possible intervention.The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.”This nation will never surrender,” Khamenei said in a speech read on state television, in which he called Trump’s ultimatum “unacceptable”.”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.The speech followed a night of strikes, with Israeli attacks destroying 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 were hit. “As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted.”Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead.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.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.Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones launched from Iran.It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran.- ‘Unconditional surrender’ -Trump fuelled speculation about US intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies called for de-escalation but backed Israel’s “right to defend itself”.He boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Khamenei.”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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict. There was no immediate public statement after the hour and 20 minute meeting.US officials stressed Trump has not yet made a decision about any intervention.- Evacuations -Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.Many Israelis spent another night disrupted by air raid warnings, with residents of coastal hub Tel Aviv repeatedly heading for shelters when sirens rang out warning of incoming Iranian missiles.In the West Bank city of Ramallah, perched at 800 metres (2,600 feet) above sea level and with a view over Tel Aviv, some residents gathered on rooftops and balconies to watch.An AFP journalist reported cheers and whistles as dozens of missiles flew overhead, with Israeli air defences activating to intercept them, causing mid-air explosions which lit up the sky.Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.On Tuesday in Tehran, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.Iran’s ISNA and Tasnim news agencies on Wednesday reported that five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency had been detained, on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online.- Nuclear facilities -After a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran denies.The UN nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been “direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls” at Iran’s Natanz facility.Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.burs/ser/kir

The UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes on Wednesday destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme near Tehran, while Iran said it fired hypersonic missiles as the arch foes traded fire for a sixth day.Hours after US President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s surrender, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed his country would show “no mercy” towards Israel’s leadership.Khamenei, in power since 1989 and the final arbiter of all matters of state in Iran, was to deliver a televised speech Wednesday.Trump insists the United States has played no part in ally Israel’s bombing campaign, but also warned his patience was wearing thin.The long-range blitz began Friday, when Israel launched a massive bombing campaign that prompted Iran to respond with missiles and drones.After the Israeli military issued a warning for civilians to leave one district of Tehran for their safety, Israeli warplanes hit the capital early Wednesday.”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 were hit. “As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted.”Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead.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 Wednesday.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.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, despite Iran’s claims that its attacks were “repeatedly shaking the shelters”, though AFP photos showed Israel’s air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, while the Israeli military said it had intercepted a total of 10 drones launched from Iran.It said one of its own drones had been shot down over Iran.- ‘Unconditional surrender’ -Trump fuelled speculation about US intervention when he made a hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the club of wealthy democracies called for de-escalation but backed Israel’s “right to defend itself”.Back in Washington on Tuesday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”.He also boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict. There was no immediate public statement after the hour and 20 minute meeting.US officials stressed Trump has not yet made a decision about any intervention.Hours later, Khamenei responded with a post on X, saying: “We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.”- Evacuations -Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Netanyahu’s office.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.On Tuesday in Tehran, long queues stretched outside bakeries and petrol stations as people rushed to stock up on fuel and basic supplies.Iran’s ISNA and Tasnim news agencies on Wednesday reported that five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency had been detained, on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online.With air raid sirens regularly blaring in Tel Aviv, some people relocated to an underground parking lot below a shopping mall.”We’ve decided to permanently set camp here until it’s all clear, I guess,” Mali Papirany, 30, told AFP.- Nuclear facilities -After a prolonged shadow war, Israel said its surprise air campaign was aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons — an ambition Tehran denies.The UN nuclear watchdog said there appeared to have been “direct impacts on the underground enrichment halls” at Iran’s Natanz facility.Israel has maintained ambiguity regarding its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says it has 90 nuclear warheads.The conflict derailed a running series of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, with Iran saying after the start of Israel’s campaign that it would not negotiate with the United States while under attack.French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had a critical role to play in restarting diplomacy with Iran, where any attempts at “regime change” would bring “chaos”.burs/ser/kir

Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.Here are the latest developments:- Night of strikes -The Israeli military said on Wednesday that 50 Israeli fighter jets struck about 20 targets in Tehran overnight, and that it had intercepted a total of 10 drone attacks launched from Iran.”As part of the broad effort to disrupt Iran’s nuclear weapons development programme, a centrifuge production facility in Tehran was targeted,” the Israeli military said.The UN nuclear watchdog later said two centrifuge production facilities had been struck.Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it 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, despite Iran’s claims that its attacks were “repeatedly shaking the shelters”, though AFP photos show Israel’s air defence systems activated to intercept missiles over the commercial hub.- ‘Unconditional surrender’ -US President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against Iran’s supreme leader, saying on Tuesday that the United States knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is located but will not kill him “for now”.In another post, Trump also appeared to demand Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” as he fuelled speculation over whether the United States would join Israel’s attacks on Tehran’s leadership and nuclear facilities.Trump met with his National Security Council to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention.Khamenei is expected to give a televised speech Wednesday.- Rising toll -Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded since Iran’s retaliatory strikes began Friday.Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.- Doing the ‘dirty work’ -Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that “regime change is not an objective of this war — it can be a result, but it’s not an objective”.French President Emmanuel Macron warned that any attempt to change the government in Iran would result in “chaos”.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed support for the campaign Tuesday, saying in an interview that “this is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us” against Iran’s “mullah regime”.- Internet restrictions -Iran said Wednesday it had detained five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online, Iranian news agencies reported.”These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online,” the Tasnim and ISNA news agencies quoted a statement from the Revolutionary Guards as saying. Iran announced last week that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet for the duration of the conflict. Numerous sites and apps have since been at least partially inaccessible.The authorities appealed to the public on Tuesday to “minimise their use of equipment connected to the internet and to take appropriate precautions” online.For their own safety, civil servants and their security teams have been banned from using any connected devices, including smartphones, watches and laptops during the Israeli air offensive.State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users’ location and personal data and “communicates them to the Zionist enemy”.A WhatsApp spokesperson hit back against the claims, saying: “We’re concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.”burs-ser/jsa