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Israel says it killed a top Iranian general as Trump warns people to flee Iranian capital

Live Israel says it killed a top Iranian general as Trump warns people to flee Iranian capital
President Trump left the G7 summit early. (AP)
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Updated 18 June 2025

Israel says it killed a top Iranian general as Trump warns people to flee Iranian capital

Israel says it killed a top Iranian general as Trump warns people to flee Iranian capital
  • Trump leaves G7 summit early to deal with Mideast crisis
  • White House proposes ceasefire, nuclear talks this week between US’ Witkoff and Iran FM Araghchi

DUBAI: Israel claimed Tuesday to have killed a top Iranian general as it traded more strikes with its longtime foe, and US President Donald Trump warned residents of Tehran to evacuate while demanding that Iran surrender without conditions.

Trump left the Group of Seven summit in Canada a day early to deal with the conflict between Israel and Iran, telling reporters on Air Force One during the flight back to Washington: “I’m not looking at a ceasefire. We’re looking at better than a ceasefire.”
When asked to explain, he said the US wanted to see “a real end” to the conflict that could involve Iran “giving up entirely.” He added: “I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”

Later on social media, he warned Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the US knows where he is hiding and called for Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”

It was not clear what Trump meant by urging Iran to surrender or if he was suggesting that the country give up its nuclear ambitions.

No immediate response from Iran, but military leaders vowedIsrael would soon see more attacks

“The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence,” Gen. Abdul Rahim Mousavi, the commander in chief of Iran’s army, said in a video. “The punishment operation will be carried out soon.”

Trump’s hard line added to the uncertainty roiling the region on the fifth day of Israel’s air campaign aimed at Iran’s military and nuclear program.

Residents of Tehran fled their homes in droves, and the UN nuclear watchdog for the first time said Israeli strikes on Iran’s main uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz had also damaged its main underground section, not just an above-ground facility, as previously acknowledged.

Israel says its sweeping assault is necessary to prevent its adversary from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon. The strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran.

Iran has retaliated by launching some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel. So far, 24 people have been killed in Israel.

EU foreign ministers all agreed on need for urgent de-escalation in Middle East, says Kallas

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Tuesday reaffirmed the need for an urgent de-escalation in the Middle East, where Iran and Israel have been firing missiles at each other since Friday, while also saying Tehran should not develop a nuclear bomb.

“We all agreed the urgent need for de-escalation, Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and diplomacy is the solution to prevent this and the EU will play its part,” she told reporters after a meeting with EU foreign ministers.

“We cannot be lenient when Iran accelerates its nuclear program.”

Israel says killed top Iran commander and aide to supreme leader

The Israeli military said Tuesday it killed Iran’s top military commander, Ali Shadmani, in an overnight strike, calling him the closest figure to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.




Ali Shadmani was apparently killed over Monday night. (Internet)

In a statement, the military said following “a sudden opportunity overnight, the (Israeli air force) struck a staffed command center in the heart of Tehran and eliminated Ali Shadmani, the war-time Chief of Staff, the most senior military commander, and the closest figure to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.”

The Israeli military said Shadmani had commanded both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian armed forces.

Trump team proposes Iran talks this week on nuclear deal, ceasefire

The US is discussing with Iran the possibility of a meeting this week between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss a nuclear deal and an end to the war between Israel and Iran, Axios reported on Monday citing four sources briefed on the issue.

Trump to depart the G7 early as conflict between Israel and Iran shows signs of intensifying

President Donald Trump is abruptly leaving the Group of Seven summit, departing a day early Monday as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies and the US leader has declared that Tehran should be evacuated “immediately.”

World leaders had gathered in Canada with the specific goal of helping to defuse a series of global pressure points, only to be disrupted by a showdown over Iran’s nuclear program that could escalate in dangerous and uncontrollable ways.

Israel launched an aerial bombardment campaign against Iran four days ago.

At the summit, Trump warned that Tehran needs to curb its nuclear program before it’s “too late.” He said Iranian leaders would “like to talk” but they had already had 60 days to reach an agreement on their nuclear ambitions and failed to do so before the Israeli aerial assault began. “They have to make a deal,” he said.

Asked what it would take for the US to get involved in the conflict militarily, Trump said Monday morning, “I don’t want to talk about that.”

White House says US forces remain in ‘defensive posture’ in Middle East

US forces in the Middle East remain in a “defensive posture, and that has not changed,” the White House said Monday as Israel and Iran traded heavy strikes for a fourth day.

“We will defend American interests,” White House spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer added in a post on social media.

China tells citizens in Israel to leave ‘as soon as possible’

China’s embassy in Israel on Tuesday urged its citizens to leave the country “as soon as possible,” after Israel and Iran traded heavy strikes.

“The Chinese mission in Israel reminds Chinese nationals to leave the country as soon as possible via land border crossings, on the precondition that they can guarantee their personal safety,” the embassy said in a statement on WeChat.

“It is recommended to depart in the direction of Jordan,” it added.

Airports close across the Mideast as the Israel-Iran conflict shutters the region’s airspace

Israel has closed its main international Ben Gurion Airport “until further notice,” leaving more than 50,000 Israeli travelers stranded abroad. The jets of the country’s three airlines have been moved to Larnaca.

In Israel, Mahala Finkleman was stuck in a Tel Aviv hotel after her Air Canada flight was canceled, trying to reassure her worried family back home while she shelters in the hotel’s underground bunker during waves of overnight Iranian attacks.

“We hear the booms. Sometimes there’s shaking,” she said. “The truth, I think it’s even scarier … to see from TV what happened above our heads while we were underneath in a bomb shelter.”


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office warned Israelis not to flee the country through any of the three crossings with Jordan and Egypt that are open to the Israeli public. Despite having diplomatic ties with Israel, the statement said those countries are considered a “high risk of threat” to Israeli travelers.

Iran on Friday suspended flights to and from the country’s main Khomeini International Airport on the outskirts of Tehran. Israel said Saturday that it bombed Mehrabad Airport in an early attack, a facility in Tehran for Iran’s air force and domestic commercial flights.

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.

“The regime is very weak,” he added.

Israel says its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, uranium enrichment sites and nuclear scientists, 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 maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, and the US 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.

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 injured.

The back-and-forth has raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval.

Israel’s military issues evacuation warning affecting up to 330,000 people

Earlier Monday, Israel’s military issued an evacuation warning to 330,000 people in 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 Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The city, one of the region’s largest, is home to around 9.5 million people.

Israel’s military has issued similar evacuation warnings for civilians in parts of Gaza and Lebanon ahead of strikes.

State-run television abruptly stopped a live broadcast after the station was hit, according to Iran’s state-run news agency. While on the air, an Iranian state television reporter said the studio was filling with dust after “the sound of aggression against the homeland.” Suddenly, an explosion occurred, cutting the screen behind her as she hurried off camera.




Heavy traffic on the Karaj-Chalus road as vehicles move westwards in a direction leading out of Tehran, Iran. (Reuters)

The broadcast quickly switched to prerecorded programs. The station later said its building was hit by four bombs.

An anchor said on air that a few colleagues had been hurt, but their families should not be worried. The network said its live programs were transferred to another studio.

Israel claims ‘full 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, as well as two F-14 planes that Iran used to target Israeli aircraft and multiple launchers just before they launched ballistic missiles toward Israel.

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 Revolutionary Guard that conducts military and intelligence operations outside Iran.




Smoke and fire rise at an impacted facility site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, at Haifa, Israel. (Reuters)

The Israeli strikes “amount to a deep and comprehensive blow to the Iranian threat,” Defrin said.

One missile fell near the American consulate in Tel Aviv, with its blast waves causing minor damage, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said on X. He added that no American personnel were injured.

Explosions rock Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva and Haifa oil refinery

Powerful explosions rocked Tel Aviv shortly before dawn Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky over the coastal city.

Authorities in the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva said Iranian missiles hit a residential building there, charring concrete walls, shattering windows and ripping the walls off multiple apartments.

Iranian missiles also hit an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa for the second night in a row. The early morning strike killed three workers, ignited a significant fire and damaged a building, Israel’s fire and rescue services said. The workers were sheltering in the building’s safe room when the impact caused a stairwell to collapse, trapping them inside.

Firefighters rushed to extinguish the fire and rescue them, but the three died before rescuers could reach them.

No sign of conflict letting up

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, appeared to make a veiled outreach Monday for the US 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 US and Iran were canceled over the weekend after Israel targeted key military and political officials in Tehran.

On Sunday, Araghchi said that Iran will stop its strikes if Israel does the same.

The conflict has also forced most countries in the Middle East to close their airspace. Dozens of airports have stopped all flights or severely reduced operations, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded and others unable to flee the conflict or travel home.

Health authorities reported that 1,277 people were wounded in Iran. Iranians also reported fuel rationing.

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.

Ahead of Israel’s initial attack, its Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran. Since then, Iran has reportedly detained several people and hanged one on suspicion of espionage.


Yemen’s Houthi rebels hold funeral for their chief of staff killed in an Israeli strike

Yemen’s Houthi rebels hold funeral for their chief of staff killed in an Israeli strike
Updated 14 sec ago

Yemen’s Houthi rebels hold funeral for their chief of staff killed in an Israeli strike

Yemen’s Houthi rebels hold funeral for their chief of staff killed in an Israeli strike
  • Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim Al-Ghamari was killed in an Israeli airstrike
  • UN had sanctioned Al-Ghamari for his ‘leading role in orchestrating the Houthis’ military efforts’
ADEN, Yemen: Yemen’s Houthi rebels held a funeral Monday for their military chief of staff who was killed in a recent Israeli strike, with more than 1,000 people gathered for the ceremony in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa.
The Iranian-backed rebel group acknowledged last week that one of their senior officers, Maj. Gen. Muhammad Abdul Karim Al-Ghamari, was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with other top leaders. The Houthis did not say when the strike took place but this death further escalating tensions between the rebels and Israel.
The funeral comes as a fragile US-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war is holding in the Gaza Strip and nearly two months after Israeli airstrikes killed senior Houthi government officials in Sanaa, including their prime minister, Ahmed Al-Rahawi, and several other rebel ministers.
The Houthis said Al-Ghamari was killed along with his 13-year-old son Hussain and “several of his companions,” according to the rebel-controlled SABA news agency, which didn’t provide further details.
Hundreds attended funeral prayers at a mosque in Sabeen Square in Sanaa, with many more gathered outside as the caskets were brought out. A poster of Al-Ghamari was was held by the crowd in tribute and several mourners wore sashes bearing his image and the Yemeni and Palestinian flags.
Acting Prime Minister Mohamed Muftah praised Al-Ghamari, saying Monday he had inspired his troops with the highest level of dedication.
Many in the crowd vented their anger at Israel.
One of the mourners, Ayham Hassan, said “Israel is the biggest enemy for Arabs and Muslims.” He spoke to The Associated Press over the phone from Sanaa.
The United Nations had sanctioned Al-Ghamari for his “leading role in orchestrating the Houthis’ military efforts that are directly threatening the peace, security and stability of Yemen, as well as cross-border attacks against ֱ.”
The US Treasury also sanctioned him in 2021 for his responsibility in “orchestrating attacks by Houthi forces impacting Yemeni civilians” and said he had been trained by Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The United States and Israel launched an air and naval campaign against the Houthis in response to the rebels’ missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis said they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians over the war in Gaza in targeting ships. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods pass each year.

Fire aboard a gas tanker off the coast of Yemen kills two mariners

Fire aboard a gas tanker off the coast of Yemen kills two mariners
Updated 14 min 4 sec ago

Fire aboard a gas tanker off the coast of Yemen kills two mariners

Fire aboard a gas tanker off the coast of Yemen kills two mariners
  • The blaze aboard the Cameroonian-flagged Falcon began on Saturday and appeared to be an accident
  • The Falcon previously had been identified as operating allegedly in an Iranian ‘ghost fleet’ of ships

DUBAI: A fire that erupted on a Cameroonian-flagged gas tanker traveling through the Gulf of Aden killed two mariners on board, authorities said Monday, as the ship remained adrift off the coast of Yemen.
The blaze aboard the Falcon began on Saturday and appeared to be an accident, according to the US Navy-overseen Joint Maritime Information Center. However, there were no other immediate details and the ship had been abandoned at sea, without any time for further investigation.
“The incident resulted from an explosion deemed as an accident and not caused by external factor/influence,” the center said, citing the crew members. “Of the 26 crew onboard, 24 crew members were evacuated safely by responding vessels but two of the crew members have unfortunately passed away.”
The ship’s crew was Indian with one Ukrainian abroad. Photos released by the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority showed the mariners had arrived in Djibouti.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center initially reported the Falcon had been “hit by an unknown projectile” on Saturday, but later said it could not confirm what caused the blast.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed the ship ablaze off Yemen at 0750 GMT Saturday. Photographs released early Monday by the European Union’s Operation Aspides, which patrols the Red Sea corridor, showed flames burning and extensive damage to the piping on its deck, though the ship was not listing, meaning tilting to the side.
The Falcon “remains on fire and adrift,” the EU force warned. It said a private firm would salvage the tanker.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been carrying out attacks targeting ships traveling through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab El-Mandeb Strait connecting the waterways. The Iranian-backed Houthis have gained international prominence during the Israel-Hamas war over their attacks on shipping and Israel, which they said were aimed at forcing Israel to stop fighting.
However, since the ceasefire in Gaza began on Oct. 10, no attacks have been claimed by the Yemeni rebels.
The Falcon previously had been identified by United Against Nuclear Iran, a New York-based pressure group, as operating allegedly in an Iranian “ghost fleet” of ships moving their oil products in the high seas despite international sanctions. The ship’s owners and operators, listed as being in India, could not be reached for comment.


Iraq keeping a small contingent of US military advisers due to Daesh threat in Syria

Iraq keeping a small contingent of US military advisers due to Daesh threat in Syria
Updated 16 min 23 sec ago

Iraq keeping a small contingent of US military advisers due to Daesh threat in Syria

Iraq keeping a small contingent of US military advisers due to Daesh threat in Syria
  • After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December, fears arose in Iraq of an Daeshresurgence taking advantage of the ensuing security vacuum as well as of weapons abandoned by the former Syrian army

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s prime minister said Monday that a small contingent of US military advisers will remain in the country for now to coordinate with US forces in Syria combating the Daesh group.
Washington and Baghdad agreed last year to wind down an American-led coalition fighting Daesh in Iraq by this September, with US forces departing some bases where they have been stationed.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani told a small group of journalists in Baghdad that US military advisers and support personnel are now stationed at the Ain Al-Asad air base in Western Iraq, a base adjacent to the Baghdad airport, and the Al-Harir air base in northern Iraq
Al-Sudani noted that the agreement originally stipulated a full pullout of US forces from Ain Al-Asad by September, but that “developments in Syria” since then “required maintaining a small unit” of between 250 and 350 advisers and security personnel at the base.
He said they would work “to support counter-ISIS surveillance and coordination with the Al-Tanf base” in Syria.
He added that “other US sites are witnessing gradual reductions in personnel and operations.”
After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December, fears arose in Iraq of an Daesh resurgence taking advantage of the ensuing security vacuum as well as of weapons abandoned by the former Syrian army.
Al-Sudani maintained that the extremist group, which seized wide swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria a decade ago “no longer poses a significant threat inside Iraq.”
Iraq has sought to balance Iraq’s relations with the United States and Tehran and to avoid being pulled into regional conflicts, a policy that the prime minister said he will continue.
“We put Iraq first, and we do not wish to act as a proxy for anyone,” he said. “Iraq will not be a battlefield for conflicts.”
At the same time, Al-Sudani urged the US to return to negotiations with Iran, describing the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” approach to curtail Iranian influence as “counterproductive.”
“Iran is an important and influential country that must be treated with respect and through direct dialogue,” he said.
There have been tensions between Baghdad and Washington over the presence of Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of militias that formed to fight Daesh, was formally placed under the control of the Iraqi military in 2016 but in practice still operates with significant autonomy.
The Iraqi parliament has been considering legislation that would solidify the relationship between the military and the PMF, drawing objections from Washington.
Al-Sudani did not directly address the proposed legislation but said his government’s program “includes disarmament and national dialogue to remove any justification for carrying weapons.”
“We encourage all factions to either integrate into state institutions or engage in political life,” which could include becoming political parties and running for election, he said.
Iraq is preparing for parliamentary elections next month that will determine where Al-Sudani serves a second term.
“Armed factions that have transformed into political entities have the constitutional right to participate” in those elections, the prime minister said.


Hamas meets with Gaza truce mediators in Cairo

Hamas meets with Gaza truce mediators in Cairo
Updated 20 October 2025

Hamas meets with Gaza truce mediators in Cairo

Hamas meets with Gaza truce mediators in Cairo
  • Hamas delegation would discuss ‘the dozens of airstrikes that killed dozens in the Gaza Strip’ on Sunday
  • Egypt and Qatar have long played a mediating role in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas

CAIRO: A Hamas delegation was to meet Qatari and Egyptian officials in Cairo on Monday to discuss the continuation of a fragile Gaza ceasefire, a source close to negotiations said.
The Israeli military struck dozens of Hamas positions across Gaza on Sunday after the militants killed two of its soldiers and Israel accused the group of “a blatant violation” of the truce.
Hamas denied any knowledge of an attack and in turn asserted Israel had broken the ceasefire deal in place since 10 October.
The source said that the delegation, headed by Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya, would discuss “the dozens of airstrikes that killed dozens in the Gaza Strip” on Sunday.
Egypt and Qatar have long played a mediating role in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, aiming to bring about an end to the war sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas’ delegation will also meet Egyptian officials to discuss an upcoming intra-Palestinian dialogue hosted by Egypt and aiming “to unify the Palestinian factions,” the source said.
Egypt has hosted several such meetings between Palestinian factions, notably including the two main rival political movements, Islamist movement Hamas and Fatah, whose leader Mahmud Abbas is also president of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas and Fatah have been opposed for decades, all the more so since the former’s violent ousting of the latter from the Gaza Strip in 2007.
“The dialogue aims to unify the Palestinian factions and discuss key issues, including the future of the Gaza Strip and the formation of the independent committee of experts that will assume management of the Strip,” the source said.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire deal an independent transitional authority, run by technocrats, has been proposed to administer Gaza.
Hamas said it did not wish to govern Gaza after two years of war, but its forces have moved back into areas from which Israel has withdrawn since the ceasefire.
Several Palestinian political officials recently raised the possibility of a group of unaffiliated Palestinian managers to run the Palestinian territory.
Another informed source said that “mediators’ contacts and efforts succeeded last night in restoring calm and implementing the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.”


Iran sees the ‘necessary will’ to resolve prisoner issue with France

Iran sees the ‘necessary will’ to resolve prisoner issue with France
Updated 20 October 2025

Iran sees the ‘necessary will’ to resolve prisoner issue with France

Iran sees the ‘necessary will’ to resolve prisoner issue with France
  • Iran has accused France of arbitrarily detaining Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student in Lyon arrested earlier this year over anti-Israel posts on social media

DUBAI: Both Tehran and Paris have the necessary will to resolve the “issue” of prisoners, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, a week after an Iranian court gave heavy prison sentences to two French citizens.
“We are following the issue seriously. We believe both sides have the necessary will to resolve this issue,” Baghaei said when asked at a weekly press conference about the possibility of a prisoner swap.
Cecile Kohler and her partner Jacques Paris are the only two French citizens being held in Iran and have been detained since 2022.

Iran has accused France of arbitrarily detaining Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian student living in the French city of Lyon who was arrested this year over anti-Israel social media posts.