Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday defiantly rejected President Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender,” and warned against any American military intervention in Israel’s escalating war with Iran, now in its sixth day.
“Intelligent people who know Iran, the nation and the history of Iran, will never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation cannot be surrendered,” the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a televised statement, according to state media. “The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”
His remarks came a day after Mr. Trump raised the possibility of killing Mr. Khamenei but said he would not do so, “at least for now.” On Wednesday, Mr. Trump continued to hold out the possibility that the United States might join Israel’s war against Iran.
“Nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he said.
Even as they traded threats, U.S. and Iranian officials sent conflicting signals on Wednesday about their willingness to engage in diplomacy.
Mr. Trump said the Iranians had reached out to him and that the two sides might meet, though he did not provide details. While he castigated the Iranians for not agreeing sooner to a deal to limit their nuclear program, he told reporters on the White House lawn that “nothing’s too late.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations appeared to dismiss the possibility of talks with the United States. “No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House,” it said.
“Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance,” the mission said in a statement on social media, calling Mr. Trump’s threat against the country’s supreme leader “cowardly.”
But a senior official from Iran’s Foreign Ministry, who asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said that Iran would be open to meeting with U.S. negotiators. The official said the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, would accept such a meeting to discuss a cease-fire with Israel.
On Wednesday evening, two planes belonging to the Iranian government landed in Oman after leaving Iranian airspace, according to FlightRadar24, a flight tracking service. A third plane, owned by Meraj Airlines, an Iranian company, also landed in Oman on Wednesday evening. Oman regularly mediates between Iran and the United States during times of tension. It was not known who was on the planes.
Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, told reporters that “no negotiations” were taking place with Iran, and that Israel’s military campaign would continue “until we will achieve our goals.”
Mr. Trump, who has promised to keep the United States out of foreign wars, had been trying to negotiate a deal with the Iranians to curtail its nuclear program when Israel began bombing Iran on Friday. Iran then put those talks on hold.
Since then, Israeli forces have carried out round after round of airstrikes, killing at least 11 senior Iranian military commanders and several Iranian nuclear scientists, damaging nuclear enrichment sites, missile launchers and some energy infrastructure. Israel says it is determined to continue attacking Iran to eliminate the threat from its missiles and to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb, which it says would threaten Israel’s survival.
Iran has responded by firing missiles and drones at Israel, including about 30 ballistic missiles that were launched in two barrages after midnight and two waves of drones on Wednesday morning. Most of the missiles and all the drones were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses, Israeli officials said. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and Iran’s missile salvos appeared to be limited, compared with earlier attacks.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday that more than 50 of its warplanes had hit targets in the Iranian capital, Tehran, including a nuclear centrifuge plant. The Iranian authorities did not immediately comment on the claim, although the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that two centrifuge plants had been hit.
One building was struck at the Tehran Research Center, where advanced rotors for devices used to enrich uranium have been manufactured and tested, the I.A.E.A. said. Two buildings were destroyed at a workshop in Karaj, northwest of Tehran, where other components were manufactured, it said.
After those strikes, the Israeli military said that more military jets were flying over western Iran, targeting Iranian operatives it says were trying to collect munitions from sites that Israel had previously struck.
In a videotaped statement on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel praised Israelis, who have been running into bomb shelters over the past several days, for their “steadfast spirit.” He also thanked Mr. Trump.
“I thank him for standing by our side, and I thank him for the support that the United States is providing us in defending the skies of Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We talk continuously, including last night. We had a very warm conversation.”
Some American diplomats have begun leaving Israel amid the war. On Wednesday, Mike Huckabee, the American ambassador to Israel, issued an “urgent notice” to American citizens hoping to leave Israel, informing them that the United States Embassy in Jerusalem was working to evacuate them on planes and cruise ships.
Despite the danger from Iran’s ballistic missiles, morale among Israelis appeared to be soaring, with many expressing support for the war.
“There is unity from wall to wall in Israel over the campaign to remove the Iranian nuclear threat,” Matan Kahana, a centrist lawmaker and former fighter pilot who is part of the opposition to Mr. Netanyahu, said in an interview. “Now people are asking, ‘Why didn’t we do it earlier?’”
In Iran, the Israeli strikes have spurred thousands to flee Tehran. Asad, an engineer from Tehran in his 20s, who asked to use only his nickname for security reasons, said in text messages that many residents who had not left were huddling in their homes, and that the city felt “deserted.” Shops have closed and security forces have been enforcing checkpoints on the streets, he said.
Although he does not know anyone who had been hurt in Israeli airstrikes, Asad said, a friend’s windows were shattered in a blast. The danger, he said, “keeps getting closer and closer.”
Reporting was contributed by Farnaz Fassihi, Qasim Nauman, Tyler Pager, Ephrat Livni, Isabel Kershner, Patrick Kingsley, Johnatan Reiss, Liam Stack, David E. Sanger, Richard Pérez-Peña and Leily Nikounazar.
Matthew Mpoke Bigg is a London-based reporter on the Live team at The Times, which covers breaking and developing news.
Natan Odenheimer is a Times reporter in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
Michael Levenson covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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