By Agence France-Presse
On Thursday (June 19), Iran launched a fresh salvo of missiles at Israel which reportedly hit a hospital, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned he was weighing military action in the conflict.
AFP journalists heard violent, sustained explosions in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and sirens sounded in several parts of the country to warn of incoming Iranian missiles.
Shortly afterwards, the army said citizens could leave their shelters, while the foreign minister said the Soroka Hospital in southern Israel’s Beersheba had suffered “extensive damage” in a strike. Israeli rescuers said at least 32 people were injured in Iran’s latest missile attack.
The explosions in Jerusalem were the loudest heard by AFP journalists since the conflict began last week. The barrage came after fresh Israeli strikes on Tehran and elsewhere, and with growing speculation about whether Washington would enter the fray.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender”, despite claims from the U.S. leader that “Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate”.
Trump has left his intentions on joining the conflict deliberately ambiguous, saying in a statement on Wednesday (June 18): “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. Next week is going to be very big.”
‘Never surrender’
The White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday (June 19), a U.S. holiday. This, as top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio is set meet his British counterpart for talks expected to focus on the conflict.
Trump said, “I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven’t made a final (decision). I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change. Especially with war.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told aides on Tuesday (June 17) that he had approved attack plans, but was holding off to see if Iran would give up its nuclear program.
Trump told reporters that Iranian officials “want to come to the White House”, a claim denied by Tehran. He had favored a diplomatic route to end Iran’s nuclear program, seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term.
But since Israel unleashed the campaign against Iran one week ago, Trump has stood behind the key U.S. ally.
The United States is the only country with the “bunker buster” bombs needed to destroy Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant, but U.S. military action is deeply unpopular with parts of Trump’s base.
On Wednesday (June 18), Khamenei insisted Iran “will never surrender”, and called Trump’s ultimatum “unacceptable”.
He declared, “America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”
Dozens killed
On Thursday morning (June 19), Israel said it was carrying out fresh strikes on Tehran and other parts of Iran, and warned civilians in two villages, Arak and Khondab, to leave ahead of new attacks.
An Israeli military official, who asked not to be named, said in a statement on Wednesday (June 18) that Iran had fired around 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones since the conflict began on June 13. The official added that about 20 missiles had struck civilian areas in Israel.
Iranian strikes have killed at least 24 people and injured hundreds since they began, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday (June 16).
Iran said on Sunday (June 15) that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians.
Both countries have not issued an updated official toll since then. Israel says its surprise air campaign is aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran had been enriching uranium to 60%—far above the 3.67% limit set by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but still short of the 90% threshold needed for a nuclear warhead.
Israel has maintained ambiguity on its own atomic activities, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads.
‘Immediate de-escalation’
Israel’s strikes have prompted mass evacuations and food and fuel shortages in Iran.
A 40-year-old Iranian driver, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told AFP at the Iraqi border crossing of Bashmakh, “There are shortages of rice, bread, sugar and tea.”
There was also a “near-total national internet blackout” in Iran on Wednesday (June 18), a London-based watchdog said, with Iran’s Fars news agency confirming heavier internet restrictions after initial curbs imposed last week.
The military campaign has sparked calls for a return to diplomacy. In a statement on Thursday (June 19), Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a deal to guarantee both Israel’s security and Iran’s desire for a civilian nuclear program was possible.
He told foreign journalists at a televised event, clarifying that Iran had not asked Russia for military help, “I believe it would be good for all of us together to look for ways to stop the fighting and seek ways for the participants in the conflict to find an agreement.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country remains committed to diplomacy, noting that Iran “has so far only retaliated against the Israeli regime and not those who are aiding and abetting it”.
But there were lingering questions about how the conflict could evolve, with Trump telling reporters that a change in Iran’s government “could happen”, a day after he had boasted that Washington could assassinate Khamenei, but would not, “at least not for now”.
