The Latest: Israel strikes Iranian government targets as Trump muses about regime change
Israel hit Iranian government targets Monday in Tehran, including the notorious Evin Prison, the Israeli Defense Ministry said, as other strikes targeted Iran’s underground enrichment site at Fordo for a second time.
Iran meanwhile fired a salvo of missiles and drones at Israel and warned the United States that its military now has a “free hand” to attack American targets in the wake of the Trump administration’s massive strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday.
Fears of a wider regional conflict loomed large after the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war by attacking Iranian nuclear sites, raising urgent questions about what remains of Tehran’s nuclear program and how its weakened military might respond. The price of oil rose as financial markets reacted.
President Donald Trump, who has warned of additional strikes if Tehran retaliates against U.S. forces, has mused about the possibility of “regime change ″ in Iran, despite administration officials earlier indicating they wanted to restart talks with Iran.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said any country used by the U.S. to strike Iran ”will be a legitimate target for our armed forces,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Tens of thousands of American troops are based in the Middle East.
Here is the latest:
US Embassy in Qatar urges American citizens to shelter in place
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar issued an alert on its website Monday urging American citizens in the energy-rich nation to “shelter in place until further notice.”
The embassy did not elaborate, nor did it respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press on the message, which comes as tensions are high in the Middle East after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday.
Qatar, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, is home to Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command. Iran has threatened American forces at Al Udeid in the past, but not after Sunday’s strike. Qatar maintains diplomatic relations with Iran and shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran.
After the U.S. strikes in Iran, security officers at all U.S. embassies and consulates had been instructed to conduct reviews of their post’s security posture and report back to the State Department by late Sunday. It wasn’t immediately clear if that was connected to the alert.
Evin Prison situation under control, Iran’s judiciary says
The situation at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison is under control, Iran’s judiciary said, following an attack by Israeli forces.
“The situation in the prison is under control and all means have been used to manage the prison complex,” the judiciary announced via its Mizan news agency.
It said parts of the prison had been damaged, without elaborating. Video footage showed a gate being blasted open at the site.
Putin meets Iranian foreign minister in show of support for Tehran
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the Kremlin on Monday, calling the U.S. strikes an “absolutely unprovoked aggression” and reaffirming Russian support for Tehran.
“This is an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran; (it) has no basis or justification,” Putin said at Monday’s meeting.
“We, for our part, are making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people,” Putin said, noting Russia’s “long-standing, good, reliable relations with Iran.”
Araghchi thanked Russia for condemning the actions of Israel and the U.S. against Iran.
“These aggressive actions by Israel and the U.S. are completely illegitimate and violate international rules and international norms. We are defending our sovereignty and country, and our defense is legitimate,” he said.
Araghchi said that Russia has always been Iran’s partner in the peaceful nuclear energy sector and played a positive role in negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“In the sphere of Iran’s nuclear program, Russia has always been a partner for us. It built the Bushehr nuclear power plant,” he said.
Iran says attacks on nuclear facilities damage non-proliferation efforts
Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, condemned the “unprecedented act of aggression” against Iranian nuclear facilities by Israel and the U.S. and said that this act “delivered a fundamental and irreparable blow” to the international non-proliferation regime, including the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Najafi was speaking to reporters at an emergency meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog board that addressed the situation in Iran.
Najafi said that Iran reserves its right to self-defense. “As long as the source of the threat persists, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue to undertake the necessary, resolute and proportionate measures to neutralize it at the time, place and manner of its own choosing.”
Israel strikes Evin Prison and other Iranian targets
Israel’s Defense Ministry said Israel is currently attacking Iranian governmental targets deep inside the Iranian capital of Tehran, including the notorious Evin prison.
Other targets include the security headquarters of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, Palestine Square, and the paramilitary Basij volunteer corps, which is a part of the Revolutionary Guard.
Iranian state TV reported on the strike earlier, sharing what appeared to be black-and-white-surveillance footage. Iranian media speculated the strike may be from a drone.
Evin prison is known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
Political prisoners and those with Western ties are held in specialized units, run by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The facility is the target of both U.S. and European Union sanctions.
Russia says it stands ready to assist Iran
Russia is ready to help Iran in various ways, depending on what Tehran requests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.
“Everything depends on what Iran needs,” Peskov said in response to a question at a briefing. “We have offered our mediation efforts. This is concrete.”
Peskov added that Russia has openly declared its stance on the Iran-Israel war, calling it an important form of support for Tehran.
“We have stated our position. This is also a very important manifestation, a form of support for the Iranian side,” he said.
He also noted that Iran has been a recurring subject in recent talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The topic of Iran itself was repeatedly discussed by the presidents during their recent conversations,” Peskov told reporters.
Iran’s Fordo site was again attacked, Iran state TV says
Iran’s underground enrichment site at Fordo was again attacked Monday, Iranian state television reported.
The report, also carried by other Iranian media, offered no word on damage, nor who launched the assault.
However, Israel has been conducting airstrikes throughout the day in Iran.
The United States launched a major attack Sunday on three Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordo, which required the use of sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.
Tehran experienced some electricity cuts after the Israeli airstrikes in the capital.
Officials in Qom province issued a statement confirming the attack on Fordo, saying there was no immediate danger to the public.
UN nuclear agency says significant damage expected at Iranian underground site
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Monday that “very significant damage” is expected at Iran’s underground facility at Fordo after a U.S. airstrike there this weekend with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the statement in Vienna.
“Given the explosive payload utilized and the extreme vibration sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred,” Grossi said.
Germany’s top diplomat calls again for direct Iran-US talks
Germany’s foreign minister is renewing calls for Iran to agree to direct talks with the United States but says Europe still has a role to play.
Johann Wadephul, his French and British counterparts and the European Union’s foreign policy chief met the Iranian foreign minister in Geneva on Friday.
He said Monday: “We already made it very clear to the Iranian side that a real precondition for a settlement to the conflict is that Iran be ready to negotiate directly with the U.S.
“Iran says it only wants to negotiate with Europe, and that is a good sign for us, but we say that isn’t enough – we want to have the United States of America included.”
EU focuses on diplomacy
The European Union is “very much focused on the diplomatic solution” for Iran, the bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Monday following U.S. strikes on Iran over the weekend.
“The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge,” Kallas said at the start of a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels where Iran has jumped to the top of the agenda.
“Especially closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody,” Kallas said, referring to a maritime route crucial for oil transport.
The EU has been a key player in diplomatic negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
France FM rejects leadership change in Iran through force
France’s foreign minister says it would be “illusory and dangerous” to try to bring about a change of government in Iran through military force.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot delivered the French assessment on Monday after President Donald Trump mused on social media about the future of Iran’s ruling theocracy.
Barrot did not mention Trump by name or his post but said: “We reject all attempts to organize a change of regime by force.”
“It would illusory and dangerous to think that such a change can be provoked through force and bombs,” the French minister said.
Iranian attack targets Haifa and Tel Aviv
Iran described the new missile barrage targeting Israel as a new wave of its operation “True Promise 3,” saying it is targeting Haifa and Tel Aviv.
Iranian state television said Tehran used a mix of missiles and drones.
UK’s Lammy says US not going after Iran’s ‘civilian leadership’
Britain’s foreign minister says he is confident the U.S. is not seeking to overthrow Iran’s government despite a social media post from President Donald Trump suggesting it might be a good idea.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday that “it’s clear from Israel and the United States that they’re not going after the civilian leadership” in Tehran. He said “that’s not what’s under consideration at this time.”
Lammy said he spoke to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, and the U.K. is pushing to “get the Iranians back to serious diplomacy.”
Lammy told the BBC he has “not seen an assessment yet” of whether the strikes “seriously degraded Iran’s ability to come up with a nuclear program.”
He added that “ultimately this has to be dealt with by diplomacy.”
Iran has a ‘free hand’ to act against US interests, top general says
Iranian Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of joint staff of armed forces, warned the U.S. on Monday that its strikes gave a “free hand” to Iranian armed forces to “act against U.S. interests and its army.”
Mousavi stressed Iran would not hesitate to do so after the U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday.
He described the American attack as violating Iran’s sovereignty, entering the Israeli war on the country and being tantamount to invading the country.
The state-run IRNA news agency reported Mousavi’s remarks.
Iran’s judiciary says it executed another alleged Mossad spy
Iran on Monday hanged a third man accused of being a spy of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service since Israel’s war on the Islamic Republic began.
Activists fear more people will be executed in Iran, particularly after its theocracy issued a Sunday deadline for people to turn themselves in over spying.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency identified the executed man as Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh. Amnesty International previously had raised his case, saying he was held in Ghezal Hesar prison in Iran’s Alborz province.
On Sunday, Iran hanged another man, Majid Mossayebi, whose case only became public after his execution.
On June 16, Iran hanged Esmail Fekri.
North Korea condemns U.S. strikes on Iran
North Korea says it “strongly condemns” the U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling it an egregious violation of Iran’s territorial integrity and security interests.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that the United States and Israel were escalating tensions in the Middle East through the use of military force, and called on the “just-minded international community” to raise a unified voice against their “confrontational behavior.”
Trump claims ‘monumental damage’ inflicted on Iranian nuclear sites
President Donald Trump asserted on his Truth Social platform that Iran’s nuclear sites sustained “monumental damage” in the American attack, though a U.S. assessment on the strikes is still underway.
“The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!” he wrote.
U.S. defense officials have said they are working to determine about just how much damage the strikes did.
Iran as well has not said how much damage was done in the attack, though Tehran has not offered any details so far on the strikes it has faced from Israel in its war with that country.
Iran likely filled in tunnels at nuclear sites ahead of U.S. strikes
An analysis of satellite photos by a nuclear nonproliferation group based in Washington shows Iran likely filled in tunnels at its nuclear site at Isfahan ahead of U.S. strikes early Sunday.
The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security published satellite images taken by Airbus it assessed showed trucks dumping soil into tunnels at the site on Friday.
The U.S. attack likely targeted the tunnel entries, the group said.
“At least three of the four tunnel entrances are collapsed,” it said. “The status of the fourth one is unclear.”
By The Associated Press
