Israel's strikes on Tehran broaden as Trump issues ominous warning
[June 17, 2025]
By JOSEPH KRAUSS, JON GAMBRELL and NATALIE MELZER
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel appeared to be expanding its
air campaign on Tehran five days after its surprise attack on Iran's
military and nuclear program, as U.S. President Donald Trump posted an
ominous message warning residents of the city to evacuate.
“IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump wrote Monday night before
returning to Washington early from a Group of Seven summit in Canada.
“Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” he added.
Trump later denied reports that he had rushed back to Washington to work
on a ceasefire, saying his early departure “has nothing to do with a
Cease Fire. Much bigger than that,” without elaborating.
Earlier, the Israeli military had called for some 330,000 residents of a
neighborhood in the city center to evacuate. Tehran is one of the
largest cities in the Middle East, with around 10 million people,
roughly equivalent to the entire population of Israel. People have been
fleeing since the hostilities began.
Israel says its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear
scientists, uranium enrichment sites and ballistic missile program is
necessary to prevent its longtime adversary from getting any closer to
building an atomic weapon. The strikes have killed at least 224 people
since Friday.
Iran has retaliated by launching more than 370 missiles and hundreds of
drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel and more
than 500 wounded. The Israeli military said a new barrage of missiles
was launched on Tuesday, and explosions could be heard in northern
Israel.
Shops closed, lines for gas in Iran’s capital
Downtown Tehran appeared to be starting to empty out early Tuesday, with
many shops closed. The city’s ancient Grand Bazaar was also closed,
something that has only happened in the past during anti-government
demonstrations or at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic stood bumper to bumper.
Many appeared to be heading to the Caspian Sea area. Long lines also
could be seen at gas stations in Tehran.
Authorities within Iran’s government continued to insist everything was
under control and did not offer any guidance for the public on what to
do.
The Israeli military meanwhile claimed to have killed someone it
described as Iran's top general in a strike on Tehran. Iran did not
immediately comment on the reported killing of Gen. Ali Shadmani, who
had just been named as the head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central
Headquarters, part of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Iran has named other generals to replace the top leaders of the Guard
and the regular armed forces after they were killed in earlier strikes.
Trump leaves G7 early to focus on conflict
Before leaving the summit in Canada, Trump joined the other leaders in a
joint statement saying Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon” and
calling for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East,
including a ceasefire in Gaza.”
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that discussions were
underway on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, but Trump appeared to
shoot that down in his overnight social media post.
Macron “mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back
to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran," Trump wrote.
"Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it
certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth headed to the White House
Situation Room to meet with the president and his national security
team.
Hegseth didn’t provide details on what prompted the meeting but said on
Fox News late Monday that the movements were to “ensure that our people
are safe.”
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Smoke billows after an Iranian missile struck an oil refinery in
Haifa, northern Israel, early Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel
Schalit)
Israel says it has ‘aerial superiority’ over Tehran
Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Monday
that his country’s forces had “achieved full aerial superiority over
Tehran’s skies.”
The military said it destroyed more than 120 surface-to-surface
missile launchers in central Iran, a third of Iran’s total,
including multiple launchers just before they launched ballistic
missiles towards Israel. It also destroyed two F-14 fighter planes
that Iran used to target Israeli aircraft, the military said.
Israeli military officials also said fighter jets had struck 10
command centers in Tehran belonging to Iran’s Quds Force, an elite
arm of its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducts military
and intelligence operations outside Iran.
Israel’s military issued an evacuation warning to a part of central
Tehran that houses the country’s state TV and police headquarters,
as well as three large hospitals, including one owned by the Guard.
It has issued similar evacuation warnings for parts of the Gaza
Strip and Lebanon ahead of strikes.
Health authorities reported that 1,277 people were wounded in Iran.
Rights groups such as the Washington-based Iranian advocacy group
Human Rights Activists have suggested that the Iranian government’s
death toll is a significant undercount. The group says it has
documented more than 400 people killed, among them 197 civilians.
Israel says strikes have set back nuclear program
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes have set
Iran’s nuclear program back a “very, very long time,” and told
reporters he is in daily touch with Trump.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, and the U.S.
and others have assessed that Tehran has not had an organized effort
to pursue a nuclear weapon since 2003. The head of the International
Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that the country has
enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs should it
choose to do so.
So far, Israel has targeted multiple Iranian nuclear program sites
but has not been able to destroy Iran’s Fordo uranium enrichment
facility.
The site is buried deep underground — and to eliminate it, Israel
may need the 30,000-pound (14,000-kilogram) GBU-57 Massive Ordnance
Penetrator, a U.S. bunker-busting bomb that uses its weight and
sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets. Israel does not
have the munition or the bomber needed to deliver it. The penetrator
is currently delivered by the B-2 stealth bomber.
No sign of conflict letting up
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, appeared to make a veiled
plea Monday for the U.S. to step in and negotiate an end to
hostilities between Israel and Iran.
In a post on X, Araghchi wrote that if Trump is "genuine about
diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are
consequential.”
“It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like
Netanyahu,” Iran’s top diplomat wrote. “That may pave the way for a
return to diplomacy.”
The message to Washington was sent as the latest talks between the
U.S. and Iran were canceled over the weekend after Israel's surprise
bombardment.
On Sunday, Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel
does the same.
___
Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. Associated Press writers
Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, Melanie Lidman in Tel
Aviv, Israel, and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this
report.
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