Israel, United States strike Islamic Republic, targeting heart of regime

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video address, accusing Tehran of decades of attacks against US forces and allies and of continuing efforts to rebuild its nuclear program.

Trump said the operation would target Iran’s missile capabilities, naval forces and what he called its “terrorist proxies,” vowing to “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground” and to “annihilate their navy.”

He said the United States would ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.

The president cited past attacks blamed on Iran or its proxies, including the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and assaults on US forces in Iraq, and accused Tehran of backing militant groups across the region.

Trump acknowledged that US casualties were possible, saying American service members could be at risk as the operation unfolds. He said his administration had taken steps to minimize threats to US personnel in the region.

In a direct appeal to Iranian security forces, Trump urged them to lay down their weapons, warning they would face “certain death” otherwise.

He also addressed the Iranian public, telling them to remain sheltered during the strikes and saying “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”

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.

Manouchehri was buried the following day under tight security in the village of Lazerban near Tonekabon, in Iran’s northern Mazandaran province.

Born on April 14, 1985, Monouchehri was a father of one and originally from Lazerban but had been living alone in Tehran. His family says they were unaware that he had taken part in the protests.

“There was no idea exactly when, where, or under what circumstances Vahid was killed,” the family said.

On Thursday, the Kahrizak forensic medical center contacted the family and asked them to travel to Tehran to collect their son’s body.

When they asked about the cause of death and why they were being contacted only after such a long delay, they say they were told: “There are many bodies here and we don’t know; just come and take the corpse.”

After arriving at Kahrizak, the family received the body along with a death certificate stating that the cause of death was “respiratory failure.”

Before handing it over, however, security officials required them to sign a written pledge not to present any account of his death other than the explanation given in the certificate.

The family then transported the body to his hometown. As it was being washed and prepared for burial, they say they discovered clear signs of severe violence: bullet wounds on his back, deep cuts to his side and a head riddled with shotgun pellets.

“It seems he was shot in the back, fell to the ground, and then officers shot him in the head at close range and hacked his body with a butcher’s cleaver,” a source close to the family said.

“The injuries make clear that the cause of death was not respiratory failure, but a state-ordered killing.”

The family also reported that the heart and kidney areas had been surgically opened and crudely stitched with large sutures. It remains unclear by whom or under what circumstances the procedure was carried out.

The operative who prosecutors say tried to hire two men to kill Trump for $5,000 upfront demonstrated the plan by placing a vape pen on a napkin to signify his “target,” the hidden camera video released by the New York Post shows.

“This is the target. How will it die?” Asif Merchant said in the meeting.

Merchant, 47, a Pakistani national who entered the United States in April 2024, is accused of attempting to recruit individuals he believed were hired killers.

Prosecutors said he offered cash payments and discussed staging a protest near a campaign rally to create confusion and allow the attackers to escape.

• 

  Iranian official says Trump could face drone attack at Mar-a-Lago

Although Trump was not explicitly named in the recorded exchanges, court documents show that he – then a leading candidate – was the intended target, the Post reported.

Prosecutors allege Merchant believed Trump’s policies had harmed Muslim-majority countries and acted with backing from individuals allegedly connected to Iran.

The scheme began to unravel when a Pakistani-American acquaintance, a former US Army linguist, alerted authorities after growing suspicious of Merchant’s plans. The FBI then arranged undercover meetings that were secretly recorded.

Merchant was arrested in July 2024 at an airport while attempting to leave the United States, authorities said.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.

In November 2024, the US Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges regarding a thwarted plot by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate Donald Trump prior to the 2024 presidential election.

• 

  Iranian clerical call to kill Trump spreads, attracts alleged fundraising

Trump has been a target for assassination threats since he ordered the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force in Iraq.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency has been unable to verify the status and location of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium since military strikes by the United States and Israel hit several nuclear sites in June.

The IAEA said it has not been granted access to Iran’s four declared enrichment facilities and has therefore lost “continuity of knowledge” over previously declared nuclear material at affected sites. As a result, it cannot verify whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities or confirm the current size, composition or whereabouts of its enriched uranium stockpile.

Grossi said his agency “will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful” until Iran improves its cooperation.

Inspectors have observed regular vehicular activity at bombed sites, including the underground complex at Isfahan and the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow, through satellite imagery. However, Grossi said that without on-site inspections the agency cannot determine the nature or purpose of those activities.

According to the IAEA, Iran holds 440.9 kg (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Grossi has previously said that while such material does not mean Iran has a nuclear weapon, it could, in theory, be sufficient for multiple bombs if further enriched.

The warning comes as Iran and the United States continue indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear activities. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.

Lotfollah Dezhkam, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in Fars province, said indirect negotiations do not guarantee results and warned that “if negotiations do not succeed, the next option, which is war, is on our table,” according to state media. Iran speaks “from a position of power,” he added, arguing that talks only make sense if the other side understands the consequences of conflict.

Dezhkam’s remarks were echoed by other senior religious figures, suggesting a coordinated hardening of tone from the clerical establishment.

Rasoul Falahati, Khamenei’s representative in Gilan province, said the United States fears Iran’s cyber, drone and missile capabilities and warned that any action would draw a tougher response. “If the enemy makes a mistake, we will give them a lesson harsher than the 12-day war,” he said, adding that Israel understands it would face “difficult conditions” in any confrontation.

In northern Iran, Kazem Nourmofidi, Friday prayer leader of Gorgan, dismissed US military threats as political maneuvering. “These threats are more a show of power and a political bluff than reality,” he said. “They have no choice but to negotiate with Iran.” Nourmofidi pointed to Iran’s military strength and its strategic position over the Strait of Hormuz, warning that closing the waterway could send oil prices soaring and trigger global economic disruption.

Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ahmad Khatami reinforced the red lines on the nuclear file itself, ruling out any suspension of uranium enrichment. “The Islamic Republic has never accepted suspension of enrichment and will not accept it,” he said, rejecting what remains a central US demand.

Military echoes clerical warnings

The religious rhetoric was mirrored by the armed forces. Iran’s military spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi warned that in the event of conflict, “American soldiers and their equipment will be destroyed,” cautioning that any “foolish action” could ignite wider regional escalation.

Even as the tone sharpened, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said progress in talks requires the United States to avoid “miscalculation and excessive demands,” state media reported after a call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. Araghchi briefed him on the latest round of indirect negotiations in Geneva.

US and region brace for fallout

The clerical warnings coincided with precautionary moves by Washington. The US State Department authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel and their families from Israel, citing security concerns. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged embassy staff who wished to leave to do so immediately.

Hospitals across Israel began preparing contingency measures in case of war, while China advised its citizens to leave Iran while commercial routes remain open.

The simultaneous escalation in rhetoric and precautionary actions abroad showed the volatility of the moment: negotiations might continue, but Iran’s religious leadership is publicly signaling that compromise has limits – and that confrontation remains firmly within view.