In Tel Aviv, after Iran's retaliation, residents hope for decisive blow to nuclear threat

Irving Kaplan, 92, walked slowly as he left the retirement home. The blast from the Iranian missile, which struck on Sunday morning just a few dozen meters away near Tel Aviv University, in the city's north, caused major damage to the building. Windows shattered, rooms on several floors were ravaged, but the structure remained intact. The alert, issued at 7:30 am – 15 minutes before impact – allowed residents to reach the shelters, and the human toll remained moderate, with around 20 people suffering minor injuries in the neighborhood.
"America did a good thing. Iran is a poison for the world," said the elderly man, who made it down from his fourth-floor room in time, praising the strikes carried out by American bombers on Saturday night into Sunday on Iran's nuclear sites at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. His son Yeremi, age 63, a musician, described the widely shared feeling – even after Iran's retaliation – of the necessity of attacking Iran: "We saw on October 7 that the Iranians do what they say. They sent Hamas, they sent Hezbollah and they were building a nuclear bomb. They don't want us here. They want to devour us. We must defend ourselves."
Tel Aviv once again awoke to the sound of missile alerts on Sunday morning. It was the 24 th alert in the city of four million people since Israel launched its war against Iran, its nuclear program, and the ayatollahs' regime. Residents felt they were living through particularly grave moments. In the shelters, where millions of Israelis had taken refuge, there was anxious anticipation over the scale of Iran's retaliation. The first salvo came a few hours after the American B-2 bombers' airstrikes: Iran launched more than 20 missiles, about 10 of which were not destroyed before impact by the air force and missile defense systems.

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France 24

an hour ago

• France 24

Iran says US will 'receive a response' after strikes on nuclear sites

Iran on Sunday threatened US bases in the Middle East after massive air strikes that Washington said had destroyed Tehran's nuclear program, though some officials cautioned that the extent of damage was unclear. International concern focused on fears that the unprecedented US attacks would deepen conflict in the volatile region after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran earlier this month. Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation. "Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces," he said in a message carried by the official IRNA news agency. "America has attacked the heart of the Islamic world and must await irreparable consequences." 03:37 President Donald Trump urged Iran to end the conflict after he launched surprise strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz. "We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the 'bomb' right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)" he said on social media. And while the US president did not directly advocate regime change in the Islamic republic, he openly played with the idea -- even after his aides stressed that was not a goal of American intervention. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing earlier that Iran's nuclear program had been "devastated," adding the operation "did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people." Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that while it would be "way too early" for him to determine the level of destruction, "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said his country's military strikes will "finish" once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. "We are very, very close to completing them," he told reporters. Tehran protests As Iran's leaders struck defiant tones, President Masoud Pezeshkian also vowed that the United States would "receive a response" to the attacks. People gathered Sunday in central Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans. 07:43 In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was "truly shocked" by the strikes. "Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near," she said. In an address to the nation hours after the attack, Trump claimed success for the operation, and Vice President JD Vance followed up Sunday morning. "We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night," Vance told ABC. But he also suggested Iran still had its highly enriched uranium. "We're going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel," he said. "They no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium." Another Khamenei advisor, Ali Shamkhani, said in a post on X that "even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn't over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain." Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but no one had been able to assess the underground damage. He added that attacks on nuclear facilities could cause radiation leaks, but the IAEA had not detected any. Retaliation risk Israel's military was checking results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was uncertain if Iran had already removed enriched uranium from the site. The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers that flew 18 hours from the American mainland to Iran. Trump said Sunday the planes had landed safely on US soil after the marathon mission. 01:49 In response to the attack, which used over a dozen massive "bunker buster" bombs, Iran's armed forces targeted sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded. Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was also struck. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people so far, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US strikes and called for de-escalation. French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday warned against an "uncontrolled escalation" in the Middle East, as he and his German and British counterparts called on Tehran "not to take any further action that could destabilize the region."

Euronews

2 hours ago

• Euronews

What is the Kheibar Shekan missile, the latest weapon used by Iran?

The IRGC today announced it had deployed the Kheibar Shekan, Iran's latest long-range solid-fuel ballistic missile, indicating that the attack did not include "all armed capabilities yet", signalling the possibility of future escalation. According to state-run news agency IRNA, the Kheibar Shekan missile belongs to the fourth generation of the Khorramshahr family of ballistic missiles, with a range of 1,450 kilometres. It is considered one of the most prominent technical developments in the Iranian missile system, boasting a high degree of accuracy thanks to a satellite guidance system, in addition to manoeuvrable warheads. The high-explosive warhead weighs about 1,500 kilograms and is up to four metres long. At the same time, the missile has a speed of more than 19,500 km/h outside the atmosphere and nearly 9,800 km/h inside it, making it very difficult to intercept even for advanced defence systems such as Patriot and David's Sling. Sequential development The first version of the missile dates back to 2017, when Tehran unveiled the Khorramshahr-1, which was 13 metres long and 1.5 metres in diameter, at a military parade on the occasion of "Holy Defence Week". The second generation "Khorramshahr-2" appeared in 2019, with guided warheads and a total weight of 20 tonnes, followed by the fourth generation "Khorramshahr-4" in May 2023, without Iran revealing the details of the third generation "Khorramshahr-3". However, military sources confirmed that it exists and has advanced capabilities that have not been disclosed for security reasons. The Kheibar Shekan is characterised by design features that reduce its ability to be monitored or intercepted, most notably the absence of ailerons, which reduces the area of friction and increases its speed and accuracy. The missile relies on a local engine called "Arond", which is integrated inside the fuel tank to reduce length and increase camouflage. It is launched from a mobile platform and can be prepared for launch in under 15 minutes. The missile operates in three operational phases: takeoff and flight, then guiding the warhead with rear engines after separation, and ending with entry into the atmosphere, where the final guidance engines are activated while maintaining a speed of more than Mach 8. Symbolic and ideological significance The Kheibar Shekan missile derives its name from Arabic, meaning "Breaker of Khyber", a reference to the historical battle of Khyber between Muslims and Jews in Arabia. Imam Ali bin Abi Talib played a prominent role in the battle, which gives the name special religious significance among the Shiite community, and reinforces the Iranian narratives couching the conflict with Israel in a "historical and ideological" context. The Kheibar Shekan was previously used in the "Sadiq Promise 1" attacks in April 2024 and "Sadiq Promise 2" in October of the same year, according to Western media reports, reflecting Iran's increasing reliance on this model in its long-range operations.

LeMonde

4 hours ago

• LeMonde

Trump mentions regime change in Iran, after his administration said that wasn't the goal

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference that America "does not seek war" with Iran, while Vice President JD Vance said the strikes have given Tehran the possibility of returning to negotiate with Washington. "This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Hegseth said. But Trump's post later on Sunday on his Truth Social page marked something of a reversal from Hegseth's Sunday morning news conference. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???" Trump posted on social media. "MIGA!!!" However, the unfolding situation is not entirely under Washington's control, as Tehran has a series of levers to respond to the aerial bombings that could intensify the conflict in the Middle East with possible global repercussions. Iran can block oil being shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, attack US bases in the region, engage in cyber attacks or double down on a nuclear program that might seem like more of a necessity after the US strike. All of that raises the question of whether the strikes will open up a far more brutal phase of fighting or revive negotiations out of an abundance of caution. Inside the US, the attack quickly spilled over into domestic politics with Trump choosing to spend part of his Sunday going after his critics. 'Spectacular military success' The US president, who had addressed the nation from the White House on Saturday night, returned to social media on Sunday to lambaste Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who had objected to the president taking military action without specific congressional approval. "We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the 'bomb' right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)" Trump said as part of the post on Truth Social. At their joint Pentagon briefing, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that "Operation Midnight Hammer" involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance. Caine indicated that the goal of the operation – destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan – had been achieved. "Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," Caine said. Vance said in a television interview that while he would not discuss "sensitive intelligence about what we've seen on the ground," he felt "very confident that we've substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon." Pressed further, he told NBC's Meet the Press that "I think that we have really pushed their program back by a very long time. I think that it's going to be many many years before the Iranians are able to develop a nuclear weapon." The vice president said the US had "negotiated aggressively" with Iran to try to find a peaceful settlement and that Trump made his decision after assessing the Iranians were not acting "in good faith." Partner service Learn French with Gymglish Thanks to a daily lesson, an original story and a personalized correction, in 15 minutes per day. "I actually think it provides an opportunity to reset this relationship, reset these negotiations and get us in a place where Iran can decide not to be a threat to its neighbors, not to be a threat to the United States, and if they're willing to do that, the United States is all ears," Vance said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that "there are no planned military operations right now against Iran, unless, unless they mess around and they attack" US interests.