Donald Trump has urged Iran to pursue immediate talks with Israel to de-escalate hostilities, warning that continued conflict could have dire consequences.
“Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it’s too late,” the U.S. President told reporters Monday at the beginning of a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada.
The comments came after at least 8 people were killed in the latest round of Iranian missile strikes on Israeli cities.
The ongoing exchange of attacks has brought the regional death toll to at least 24 in Israel and 224 in Iran.
Israel achieves “full aerial control” above Tehran; Iran warns of massive retaliation
Israel’s military has “achieved full aerial control above Tehran” and destroyed roughly one-third of Iran’s surface-to-surface missile launchers, an Israeli government spokesperson said Monday.
Air raid sirens were reported in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv—where two of the latest casualties occurred.
In response to the latest round of hostilities, Iranian state media claimed the country is preparing for what it called “the largest and most intense missile attack in history on Israeli soil.”
The same outlets also reported that an Israeli airstrike hit Farabi Hospital in Kermanshah, western Iran, killing civilians. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the attack a “war crime” and a violation of international law.
Behind the scenes however, Tehran is understood to be signaling its interest in ending hostilities and resuming nuclear negotiations, sending messages to Israel and the United States via Arab intermediaries.
Oil prices fell more than $2 per barrel Monday amid the reports Iran is seeking to end the conflict.
Iranian state TV office hit in Israeli strike
Israel attacked the offices of Iranian state TV Monday, interrupting a live IRIB broadcast and sending debris and dust through the studio.
“The Iranian regime’s propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of residents in the area,” Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed in a statement.
“We will defeat the Iranian dictator everywhere,” he said.
Anchor Sahar Emami is seen talking live, saying: “This sound you heard, it is the sound of aggression against the homeland, the sound of aggression against truth and righteousness,” followed by a loud explosion and the screen behind her turning black.
Emami then leaves the studio set, as debris and dust fills the studio. Hours before the attack, the IDF issued an evacuation notice for Tehran’s District 3, where the state television headquarters are located in the IRIB Organization building.
In response to the strike, a senior official at the state broadcaster has said: “The regime [Israel] was unaware of the fact that the voice of the Islamic revolution and the great Iran will not be silenced with a military operation.”
Trump ‘rejected Israeli plan to kill Iranian leader’
Trump also reportedly rejected a recent proposal from Israel to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to U.S. media citing unnamed officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the option to Trump during a call over the weekend.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Netanyahu declined to confirm or deny the proposal.
“There are so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that,” Netanyahu said. “But I can tell you I think we do what we need to do. We will do what we need to do, and I think the United States knows what is good for the United States.”
Trump reiterated Sunday that the United States was not involved in the Israeli strikes that began early Friday. In a post on Truth Social, he added: “We can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called for U.S. military involvement, saying it “would be in everyone’s interests” to target Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. “We trust that President Trump will do the right thing—not only for the United States but for the world,” Lapid said.
Putin and Erdogan condemn Israeli actions against Iran
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israeli military actions during a phone call on Monday, according to the Kremlin.
“Both sides expressed the most serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and is fraught with serious long-term consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin also said in a statement.
Erdogan also warned that Israel’s June 13 airstrikes have placed the region’s security “at grave risk,” according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Read more: Israel Gets the War It Wanted
Nuclear agency warns of radiological and chemical contamination inside Iran’s main nuclear site
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Monday of potential radiological and chemical contamination at Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz following Israeli airstrikes.
Radiation levels outside the site remain normal, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told an emergency session in Vienna. However, he stressed that the agency lacks critical technical information to assess the full extent of the damage.
“Amid these challenging and complex circumstances, it is crucial that the IAEA receives timely and regular technical information about the facilities and their respective sites,” Grossi said.
Without this access to information, the IAEA “cannot accurately assess the radiological conditions and potential impacts on the population and the environment and cannot provide the necessary assistance,” he said.
Electrical facilities at the Natanz plant have been seriously damaged according to the IAEA, including the main power supply building and back up generators which have been destroyed.
The agency has also reported that strikes appear to have only impacted facilities above ground, but have not been able to verify any damage to underground areas of the plant.
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