IRAN LAUNCHED HYPERSONIC missiles in a new wave of attacks against Israel on today, state TV reported, as fighting between the two foes raged for the sixth day.
The Fattah hypersonic missiles “have successfully penetrated the Israeli regime’s defences,” state TV reported.
Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
It also reported that Iran issued an evacuation warning for the residents of the Israeli city of Haifa, on the sixth day of fighting between the two foes.
“A few minutes ago, an evacuation notice was issued to Zionist settlers in Haifa to protect them from Iranian missile attacks,” state TV said.
It showed an image of the area to be targeted accompanied by Hebrew text saying: “Please leave the reported area immediately – in the next few hours, armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will operate in this area… to attack the military infrastructure of the Zionist regime.”
The conflict between Israel and Iran has erupted in the last few days, with heavy and frequent attacks and bold statements emerging from both countries.
The United States has also waded in, urging Iran to surrender, which the country’s supreme leader said would never happen and warned the US it would face “irreparable damage” if it intervenes.
This afternoon (Irish time), Trump was asked whether he would join Israeli strikes on Iran. He told reporters, “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” as he supervised the installation of a new flagpole on the White House South Lawn, donning a blue-and-white MAGA hat.
He said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations.
Iran seems set on continuing its retaliatory attack on Israel, despite the death toll in its own nation climbing.
Its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today in an address read on state television, “This nation will never surrender to imposition from anyone. America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”
The UN nuclear watchdog said Israeli strikes overnight destroyed two buildings making centrifuge components for Iran’s nuclear programme near Tehran.
Since Friday, at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then.
Israel said it targeted weapon production facilities with strikes, claiming to hit a facility for manufacturing centrifuges used to enrich uranium for atomic bombs.
More than 50 Israeli jets fired on missile production sites in Iran, the military said this morning.
Iran told residents of Tel Aviv to prepare for an attack, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming its hypersonic Fattah-1 missiles were “repeatedly shaking the shelters” in the commercial hub.
“The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles” was carried out, the Guards said in a statement broadcast on state television.
Iran also sent a “swarm of drones” towards Israel, where the army said it intercepted two over the Dead Sea area.
Trump
World powers have scrambled for an off-ramp, hoping to prevent the conflict from spiralling into a region-engulfing war.
In separate phone calls with his Iranian counterpart and US envoy Steve Witkoff last night, Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty urged a diplomatic solution.
US President Donald Trump fuelled speculation about American intervention with his hasty exit from the G7 summit in Canada, where the leaders of the group of wealthy democracies jointly called for a ceasefire.
Back in Washington yesterday, Trump demanded the Islamic republic’s “unconditional surrender”. He also boasted that the United States could easily assassinate Iran’s supreme leader.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He met with his National Security Council last night to discuss the conflict, ending after an hour and 20 minutes with no immediate public statement.
Irish citizens
The Irish embassies in Iran and Israel have been in touch with Irish passport holders residing in both countries in recent days as the government considers evacuation plans amid the escalating attacks.
It is understood that as of today, there are no plans for the Irish government to launch a rescue of Irish citizens currently residing in either country, nor are there plans to send an Emergency Consular Assistance Team (ECAT) into either Iran or Israel.
It is also understood that there is a scoping exercise ongoing between Ireland and a number of other European countries to assess the situation.
More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel launched its campaign, according to government figures.
The family members of British diplomatic staff in Israel have been “temporarily withdrawn”, Britain’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Relatives of staff working at the UK embassy in Tel Aviv and consulate in Jerusalem were “temporarily withdrawn as a precautionary measure”, the Foreign Office said, adding that staff at the mission remain.
