Prince Pahlavi calls on Iranians to get ready to return to streets

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States had begun “major combat operations” in Iran, vowing to eliminate what he described as imminent threats from the Iranian regime.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video message shared on social media.

Trump said the United States would ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon and accused Tehran of attempting to rebuild its nuclear program and develop long-range missiles that threaten the United States and its allies.

“We will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon,” he said. “We’re going to annihilate their navy. We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground.”

Trump also addressed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directly, urging its members to lay down their arms.

“You should lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death,” he said.

The office of Iran's Supreme Leader, the main headquarters of Ali Khamenei in downtown Tehran, has been targeted in an attack on Saturday.

The outcome of the attack is not yet clear.

Khamenei is not in Tehran and has been transferred to a secure location, Reuters reported citing an Iranian official.

The body of a protester who disappeared during the demonstrations in Tehran last month has been returned to his family nearly fifty days later, according to information collected by Iran International from relatives and witnesses.

The victim, Vahid Lazer Monouchehri, had gone missing since widespread protests on January 8,9.

His body was handed over to relatives on Thursday with marks of gunfire and blows from a butcher’s cleaver, the family said.

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Two UK-registered cryptocurrency exchanges allegedly processed billions of dollars for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards using a fabricated chief executive built from stock footage, according to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

The report said the companies, Zedcex and Zedxion, listed a supposed director and person with significant control named “Elizabeth Newman,” but investigators found no passport records, migration history or other evidence that such a person exists.

Promotional materials for the exchanges used stock video footage labeled “Pretty black woman talking to camera” from Shutterstock to portray the fictitious executive, while other “team members” also appeared to be generic stock clips.

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The FBI said on Friday it is coordinating with federal and international partners to return Americans held in Iran and prosecute their captors, following the United States’ designation of Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention.

"Today, the U.S. has designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention. The FBI remains committed to working with our federal and international partners to return Americans who are being held captive home and bring their captors to justice. The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell (HRFC) coordinates efforts dedicated to recovering Americans held hostage abroad and supporting the hostages and their families during and after release," FBI official account posted on X.