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Iran International is receiving eyewitness reports from explosions in eastern Tehran including areas close to Khojir and Parchin facilities as well as Isfahan, Parand, Malard, Bidganeh, and also intense air defense activity in northern Tehran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pushed back against French President Emmanuel Macron’s appeal for de-escalation during a call on Sunday following US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, saying Tehran has no choice but to respond, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.
“The US has attacked us. What would you do if you were in our position? Naturally, they must receive a response to their aggression,” Pezeshkian said, according to the report.
“We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the ‘bomb’ right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!),” US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
At the request of the Trump administration, the Israeli Air Force took out several Iranian air defense systems in the 48 hours before the US strike on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, Axios reported, citing three US and Israeli officials.
President Trump made the request directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, after deciding to proceed with a strike unless a diplomatic breakthrough emerged.
According to the report, the US provided Israel with a list of targets to neutralize, focusing on air defense systems in southern Iran to pave the way for incoming US B-2 stealth bombers.
“In the 48 hours before the US operation, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) conducted several strikes in the area to degrade Iranian defenses,” an Israeli official was quoted as saying by Axios.
Israel does not anticipate a drastic response from Iran following US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Times of Israel reported citing an Israeli official on Sunday.
“We expect more of the same, like what they’ve done this morning,” the official was quoted as saying.
The official added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed of the US operation “at least 24 hours before” the attack.
Israel is prepared to halt its bombing campaign if Iran agrees to dismantle its nuclear program. “It depends on Iran, not on us,” the official said. “We are happy to wrap it up now. If there’s an agreement at the end, Israel will be content with the result.”
