Iran and Israel have launched intense waves of attacks and missile strikes after Donald Trump raised the prospect of regime change in Tehran, further provoking a situation that was drastically inflamed by US strikes on nuclear sites over the weekend.
Israel’s military said on Monday it was attacking around Iran’s western city of Kermanshah. It said 15 fighter jets had struck missile launchers and storage sites close to the border with Iraq. One of its drones was downed during an operation, it said.
Iran later launched two waves of long-distance missile and drone attacks, with sirens sounding in Israel and the thuds of anti-missile rockets heard in several parts of the country. Local media reported that the Israeli electric company was struggling to supply power in the south after sustaining damage.
By late morning, Israel was again striking Iran, this time in the capital, Tehran – where Iranian state media reported that a suspected airstrike hit the gate of the notorious Evin prison – and the nearby city of Karaj.
Evin is known for holding dual nationals and westerners often used by Iran as bargaining chips in negotiations with the west.
Trump shocked US allies – including powerful Gulf states that have long wanted to contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but not in such explosive fashion – when he sent B2 bombers to attack Iran on Saturday, inserting the US into Israel’s spiralling war against Iran.
The US president claimed that Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites had been “totally obliterated” by the strikes over the weekend, but even if that was the case, experts reject the idea that a knowledge-based nuclear programme can be destroyed through military means.
Israel has long sought regime change in Iran, but previous US administrations have sought to contain its belligerent impulses. US allies and foes alike fear that the US joining Israel’s war will pour fuel on an increasingly global conflict.
In a post on the Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump took things a step further by addressing the issue of regime change in Iran, applying his Maga rhetoric to the Middle East.
“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??? MIGA!!!” he wrote.
His comments, as is often the case, contradicted his senior government officials.
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, had previously said the mission “was not and has not been about regime change” but instead “a precision operation” targeting Iran’s nuclear programme. The vice-president, JD Vance, said the US was “not at war with Iran, we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear programme”, while the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said the US was “not looking for war in Iran”.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said the US strikes revealed Washington was “behind” Israel’s campaign against the Islamic republic and vowed a response.
US defence officials were still working to determine just how much damage Operation Midnight Hammer had caused. Gen Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, said earlier it was not clear whether Iran retained some nuclear capability, and he stopped short of using the same language as Trump.
The UN’s nuclear chief, Rafael Grossi, said: “At this time, no one, including the [International Atomic Energy Agency], is in a position to assess the underground damage at Fordow.”
Meanwhile, unprecedented attacks continued to send shockwaves through the Middle East and further afield. Airlines sought to help thousands of travellers stranded in the region, while many countries arranged repatriation flights for citizens. The US Department of Homeland Security issued a terrorism bulletin on Sunday warning of cyber-attacks and violence in the US, including antisemitic hate crimes.
It said there were “no specific credible threats against the homeland” but noted that a “heightened threat environment across the United States” was expected to last throughout the summer.
Oil prices briefly surged early on Monday amid concerns that Iran might seek to inflict economic pain on the US by closing the strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway through which over a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
Iran’s parliament reportedly approved the closing of the route, although any decision would be made by Iran’s supreme national security council.
Tehran’s next move may be influenced by advice from Russia. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, landed in Moscow early on Monday to discuss “common threats” with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Earlier, Araghchi warned there would be no return to diplomacy until it had retaliated. “The US showed they have no respect for international law. They only understand the language of threat and force,” he said.
Amid continuing turmoil, France said on Sunday it would send military aircraft to Israel to fly any of its citizens who wish to leave out to Cyprus. France has 250,000 citizens in Israel. A crisis team at the French foreign ministry has received more than 4,500 phone calls in the past week.
On Monday, the first group of Filipinos will be repatriated, mainly from Israel. At least 30,742 Filipinos are living and working in Israel, many of them in the care sector, while 1,180 are living in Iran. The number of Australian citizens seeking government help to evacuate the Middle East reached 3,800 as of Sunday morning, including 2,600 people in Iran and 1,200 in Israel. Australia said it had sent two defence planes to the region to assist with any civilian evacuations.
Air France KLM said on Sunday it had cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday. British Airways also cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Doha for Sunday.
The Middle East route has become more important for flights between Europe and Asia as a result of the Ukraine war.
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