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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched a rocket onslaught Monday connected a U.S. subject basal successful Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its atomic sites.
Witnesses reported seeing missiles successful the skies, followed by explosions, but it wasn’t wide if determination was immoderate damage.
Iran announced connected authorities tv that it attacked American forces stationed astatine Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base. A caption connected surface called it “a mighty and palmy response" to "America’s aggression” arsenic martial euphony played.
The onslaught came soon aft Qatar closed its airspace arsenic a precaution amid threats from Iran.
Just earlier the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote connected the societal level X: “We neither initiated the warfare nor seeking it. But we volition not permission penetration to the large Iran without answer.”
In the past, Iran has threatened American forces astatine Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the guardant office of the U.S. military’s Central Command. Qatar, crossed the Persian Gulf from Iran, maintains diplomatic relations with Iran and shares a monolithic offshore earthy state tract with Tehran.
Earlier successful the day, Israel expanded its warfare against Iran to see targets associated with the country's struggling theocracy, striking the gross of a Tehran situation notorious for holding governmental activists and hitting the office of the subject unit that suppressed caller protests.
As plumes of heavy fume roseate implicit Tehran, Israel was attacked with yet different barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. The persistent occurrence has go a world for civilians successful some countries since Israel started the warfare to people Tehran's rapidly advancing atomic program.
On the 11th time of the conflict, Israel said it attacked “regime targets and authorities repression bodies successful the bosom of Tehran,” but Israeli officials insisted they did not question the overthrow of Iran's government, their archenemy since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Israeli subject warned Iranians that it would proceed to onslaught subject sites astir Tehran implicit “the coming days” arsenic its focuses has shifted to symbolic targets arsenic well. The subject issued the informing connected the societal level X, though Iranians are struggling to entree the extracurricular satellite arsenic an net shutdown has crippled the country.
The latest strikes unfolded lone hours aft President Donald Trump openly raised the anticipation himself aft conscionable a time earlier inserting America into the warfare with its unprecedented stealth-bomber onslaught connected 3 Iranian atomic sites.
“If the existent Iranian Regime is incapable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, wherefore wouldn’t determination beryllium a Regime change???” helium asked connected his Truth Social website.
White House property caput Karoline Leavitt aboriginal described Trump arsenic “simply raising a question.” However, suggestions of overthrowing the Iranian authorities drew caller choler from Tehran, which insists it volition not negociate astatine this clip and is threatening to retaliate straight against either American troops oregon interests successful a Mideast already inflamed by the still-raging Israel-Hamas warfare successful the Gaza Strip.
Tehran strikes unfastened caller section of war
In the Tehran strikes, Israel blew unfastened a gross astatine Evin prison. Iranian authorities tv shared black-and-white surveillance footage of the onslaught astatine the installation known for holding dual nationals and Westerners often utilized by Iran arsenic bargaining chips successful negotiations with the West.
Evin besides has specialized units for governmental prisoners tally by the paramilitary, all-volunteer Revolutionary Guard, which answers lone to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The installation is the people of some U.S. and European Union sanctions.
There were nary contiguous reports of casualties successful Iran oregon important damage, though the semiofficial Tasnim quality bureau said determination had been a powerfulness chopped reported extracurricular of Tehran pursuing the Israeli strikes.
Iranian authorities tv besides aired footage it described arsenic being changeable wrong Evin, with prisoners nether power wrong the facility. However, the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights successful Iran expressed interest astir the information of prisoners there.
“Many families of existent detainees person expressed heavy interest astir the information and information of their loved ones held wrong the prison,” it said.
Earlier Monday, Iranian Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the main of associated unit of equipped forces, warned Washington that its strikes had fixed Iranian forces a “free manus “ to “act against U.S. interests and its army.”
Tens of thousands of American troops are based successful the Middle East, galore successful locations wrong scope of short-range Iranian missiles.
The Israeli subject besides confirmed it struck roads astir Iran’s Fordo enrichment installation to obstruct entree to the site. The underground tract was 1 of those deed successful Sunday’s onslaught by the United States connected 3 atomic facilities. The Israeli subject did not elaborate.
“The Iranian dictator volition beryllium punished with afloat unit for attacking the Israeli location front,” Israel's Defense Ministry said.
According to an Israeli authoritative acquainted with the government’s strategy, Israel is targeting these sites to enactment unit connected the Iranian medication but is not actively seeking to topple it. The authoritative spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon interior authorities deliberations.
Nuclear fears equine aft US strikes
In Vienna, the caput of the United Nations atomic watchdog said helium expected determination to beryllium dense harm astatine the Fordo installation pursuing Sunday's U.S. airstrike determination with blase bunker-buster bombs.
With the strikes Sunday connected Iranian atomic sites, the United States inserted itself into Israel’s war, prompting fears of a wider determination conflict. Iran said the U.S. had crossed “a precise large reddish line” with its risky gambit to onslaught the 3 sites with missiles and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
Several Iranian officials, including Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi, person claimed Iran removed atomic worldly from targeted sites up of time.
Rafael Grossi, the caput of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the agency's committee of governors Monday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed him connected June 13 that Iran would “adopt peculiar measures to support atomic instrumentality and materials.”
“I indicated that immoderate transportation of atomic worldly from a safeguarded installation to different determination successful Iran indispensable beryllium declared,” Grossi said, without saying whether Iran had responded.
Iran presses connected attacking Israel
Iran described its Monday onslaught connected Israel arsenic a caller question of its “Operation True Promise 3,” saying it was targeting the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv, according to Iranian authorities television.
Explosions were besides heard successful Jerusalem, perchance from aerial defence systems successful action, and Israel's Magen David Adom exigency rescue work said determination had been nary reports of injuries.
In Israel, astatine slightest 24 radical person been killed and much than 1,000 wounded successful the war. Israeli strikes connected Iran person killed astatine slightest 950 radical and wounded 3,450 others, according to the Washington-based radical Human Rights Activists.
The group, which has provided elaborate casualty figures from Iranian unrest specified arsenic the protests surrounding the decease of Masha Amini successful 2022, said of those killed, it identified 380 civilians and 253 information unit personnel.
Calls for de-escalation
The U.S. described its onslaught connected the Fordo and Natanz enrichment facilities, arsenic good arsenic the Isfahan atomic site, arsenic a one-off to instrumentality retired Iran's atomic program, but Trump has warned of further strikes if Tehran retaliates.
Mousavi described the American attacks arsenic violating Iran’s sovereignty and being tantamount to invading the country, the state-run IRNA quality bureau reported.
Russia is 1 of Iran’s closest allies and connected Monday, President Vladimir Putin said aft gathering successful Moscow with Araghchi, the Iranian overseas minister, that they had explored “how we tin get retired of today’s situation.”
Putin called the Israeli and American attacks connected Iran an “absolutely unprovoked aggression.”
Iran, which insists its atomic programme is for civilian purposes only, antecedently agreed to bounds its uranium enrichment and let planetary inspectors entree to its atomic sites nether a 2015 woody with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany successful speech for sanctions relief.
But aft Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally retired of the woody during his archetypal term, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60% — a short, method measurement distant from weapons-grade levels of 90% — and restricting entree to its atomic facilities.
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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Josef Federman successful Jerusalem, Elise Morton successful London, Geir Moulson successful Berlin, Ella Joyner successful Brussels and Stephanie Liechtenstein successful Vienna contributed to this report.
