US evacuates embassy in Kuwait City

“They’re calling. They’re saying, how do we make a deal?” Trump said in remarks to reporters. “I said, you’re being a little bit late, and we want to fight now more than they do.”

The comments came after nearly a week of escalating exchanges in which US and Israeli forces struck targets across Iran while Tehran retaliated with missile and drone attacks across the region, raising fears of a broader Middle East war.

Trump framed the campaign as a decisive military effort, boasting of American power and claiming Iran had suffered sweeping losses.

“Their navy is gone,” he said. “Their anti-aircraft weapons are gone. So they have no Air Force. They have no air defense.”

Earlier Wednesday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran was not seeking a ceasefire and saw no reason to negotiate.

“We are not asking for ceasefire. We don’t see any reason why we should negotiate when we negotiated with them twice and every time they attacked us in the middle of negotiations,” Araghchi told NBC News.

He also challenged Washington to attempt a ground invasion, saying Iran was prepared to confront US forces.

Araghchi later wrote on social media that Washington had squandered a diplomatic opening.

“Plan A for a clean rapid military victory failed, Mr. President. Your Plan B will be even bigger failure,” he said, adding that a “unique deal” had been lost after what he called the intervention of an “‘America Last’ cabal.”

Trump also urged defections from within Iran’s security establishment, calling on members of the Revolutionary Guards, military and police to lay down their arms and promising immunity to those who did so.

He said he wanted to see Iranians “take back” their country and added that the United States would ensure whoever leads Iran next “will not threaten America or its neighbors.”

The exchange underscored the widening gap between Washington and Tehran as diplomacy gives way to a fast-moving military confrontation whose scope continues to expand.

Iran’s government has condemned what it says was a US-Israeli strike on the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran, reporting that the 12,000-seat stadium at the site was heavily damaged.

Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali visited the site and called the attack a violation of international law and the Olympic Charter, urging global accountability.

The United States and Israel have not commented on the claim.

US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said Iranian ballistic missile attacks have fallen by around 90 percent since February 28 as US and Israeli operations intensify.

Speaking at a press conference in Tampa, Florida, Cooper said US forces had also struck what he described as Iran’s equivalent of a space command facility. He warned the pace of attacks would “surge” in the coming period and urged Iranians to lie low while the campaign continues.

Cooper added that Tehran “doesn’t know what they’re up against,” praising US military capabilities and personnel as operations expand across the region.

President Donald Trump called on members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, military and police to lay down their arms or face death, offering immunity to those who defect and urging Iranian diplomats abroad to seek asylum.

Trump also said Iran was “calling” for negotiations while appearing to praise Iran's fight back.

"They have no air defense. All of their airplanes are gone. Their communications are gone. Missiles are gone. Launches are gone. About 60% and 64%, respectively. Other than that, they're doing quite well. I said, what's left? But they're tough, and they want to fight." he said.

"And they're calling. They're saying, how do we make a deal? I said, you're being a little bit late, and we want to fight now more than they do.

Trump added that Washington would ensure whoever leads Iran next “will not threaten America or its neighbors.”

Human rights groups and families of detainees warn that wartime conditions inside Iranian prisons could trigger another tragedy like the June strike on Tehran’s Evin prison.

Activists say the situation inside prisons has become increasingly chaotic. While some non-political detainees have reportedly been released on bail and many staff have reportedly left their posts for safer locations, authorities have refused to grant furlough to political prisoners or people detained during recent protests or accept bail.

The volunteer lawyers’ website Dadban also warned that periods of intense political or military tension in Iran often lead to harsher treatment of political prisoners.

“In the Islamic Republic, during times of severe political or military tension, the risk of intensified repression and even retaliation against political prisoners increases,” the group said. In such circumstances, detainees may face greater restrictions, violence or additional pressure.

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