Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has warned the United States that joining Israeli strikes on his country would “result in irreparable consequences” for the US as his and US President Donald Trump’s war of words accelerates and the Israel-Iran hostilities have now raged for one week.
His remarks came as the military called on people in Israel to go to shelters early Thursday as defence systems worked to intercept Iranian missiles. Iran’s Fars news agency reported that bunker-busting drones have been used to target Israel. Israel also reported that Iran launched a barrage earlier on Wednesday evening and that it intercepted eight missiles.
Israel carried out multiple strikes on the Iranian capital, Tehran, and other parts of the country throughout the day.
In his first televised address since Israel began its attacks on Friday, Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran “will not surrender to anyone” and “will stand firm against an imposed war, just as it will stand firm against an imposed peace”.
Responding to threatening remarks made a day earlier by Trump, Khamenei said those who know Iran and its history “know that Iranians do not answer well to the language of threat”.
In recent days, Trump has strongly hinted that the US could join in Israel’s military operation against Iran, saying he is seeking something “much bigger” than a ceasefire.
In comments made on Wednesday on the White House lawn at a flag-raising ceremony, Trump said: “I may do it. I may not do it,” when asked if the US was moving closer to striking Iran. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” he added.
He claimed, without offering any evidence, that Iran is “totally defenceless. They have no air defence whatsoever.” Iran has said it has had success in bringing down Israeli drones and fighter jets.
“The next week is going to be very big, maybe less than a week,” Trump said without elaborating.
The US has in recent days sent more warplanes to the Middle East and is also sending the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.
The US president claimed Iranian officials reached out to him and suggested visiting the White House, something Iran denies.
“No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader,” the Iranian mission at the United Nations said in a post on X.
No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House. The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to “take out” Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT…
— I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) June 18, 2025
Trump’s comments came after he demanded on Tuesday Iran’s “unconditional surrender”, saying: “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.” He also boasted that the US could easily assassinate Khamenei.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei echoed Khamenei’s sentiments, warning: “Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”
Iran is “under an attack by a genocidal” government, and it will defend itself with “full force” against Israel’s “war of aggression”, Baghaei said.
Significantly, he added he trusted that Iran’s Arab neighbours would not allow the US to launch attacks on Iran from their countries.
Day 6 of Israel-Iran hostilities
The warnings were issued as Israel and Iran exchanged fire for a sixth consecutive day. The Israeli military said it struck 40 sites in Iran, including centrifuge production and weapons facilities.
The strikes targeted two centrifuge production sites – one in Tehran and one in Karaj, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said explosions were heard near Payam international airport in Karaj as well as in areas in eastern Tehran.
ویدیوی دریافتی: "حمله دوباره به حوالی همان نقطه قبلی در شمال شرق #تهران.
بزرگراه صدر در تصویر مشخص است."#iran #israel https://t.co/DAYs7Qmtb3 pic.twitter.com/vV6jlM199W— Vahid Online (@Vahid) June 18, 2025
Translation: Another attack near the same previous location in northeast Tehran. Sadr Highway is visible in the footage.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli jets “destroyed the Iranian regime’s internal security headquarters” without providing evidence.
Israel’s military confirmed one of its remotely piloted aircraft had fallen in Iran after being shot at by a surface-to-air missile. “No injuries were reported, and there is no risk of an information breach,” the military said. Iranian state media earlier had said Iranian forces shot down an Israeli drone and fighter jet.
Israeli strikes continued to target other areas of Iran, including the central province of Isfahan. An Israeli strike on a vehicle in Najafabad killed six people, including a pregnant woman and two children, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
According to Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, at least 240 people, including 70 women and children, have been killed since Israel began attacking the country.
Meanwhile, as Iran continues to launch barrages of missiles at Israel, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said Iran’s attacks are creating an unprecedented “disruption” of life.
“Over the past six days, the Israeli public has experienced something they haven’t in the past: a formidable army that is firing ballistic missiles at Israeli cities and sensitive Israeli sites,” Odeh said.
In another development, Iran’s Ministry of Communications said it will temporarily limit internet access to prevent “the enemy from threatening citizens’ lives and property”. The announcement follows an earlier report from the London-based internet watchdog Netblocks stating that there was a “near-total national internet blackout”.
Putin weighs in
The attacks have continued to cause global concern, and many countries have expressed a need for de-escalation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated the need to end the fighting, and his country’s willingness to help broker an agreement to end the crisis in a way that addresses the interests of both Iran and Israel.
Speaking to international journalists in St Petersburg on the sidelines of an economic forum, he said he has been in contact with Trump, and said that Russia has workers at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran, but that Israel has agreed to ensure their safety.
When asked, he said he “doesn’t even want to discuss” the potential assassination of Khamenei by Israel or the United States. Iranian society, Putin added, is “consolidating” around the country’s leadership.
Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabari said Russia started construction on the Bushehr nuclear plant in 2005, and it “came online in 2011”.
“Russia clearly has a very important role in Iran’s nuclear programme. They have already signed a 20-year strategic agreement with Iran that includes building at least three more nuclear facilities inside Iran,” Jabari said, adding that the latest developments “really do affect Russia”.
“It is in Russia’s best interests that there is no complete collapse of Iran as a result of this conflict,” she added.
Speaking to members of his governing Justice and Development Party in parliament, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said his country wants to see the crisis resolved diplomatically and Ankara could play a constructive role.
Erdogan accused Israel of waging “crazed” attacks against Iran that amount to “state terrorism”. Iran’s response, he said, has been natural, legal and legitimate.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the conflict on Friday. Iran requested the meeting after it said the situation “has dangerously escalated due to mounting and undeniable evidence of direct US involvement in this unlawful campaign”. Iran’s request was supported by Russia, China, Pakistan and Algeria.
