Iranians flee their capital as Trump urges unconditional surrender
Residents of Iran s capital were seen leaving the city as shops and the historic Grand Bazaar in Tehran were closed Tuesday the fifth day of the intensifying conflict started by Israel President Donald Trump urged Iran to surrender unconditionally and announced the U S knows where Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding but doesn t want him killed for now Trump s post on social media came a day after he urged the immediate evacuation of Tehran home to several million people Israel claimed Tuesday to have killed a top Iranian general as it traded more strikes with its longtime foe Eyewitnesses disclosed strong explosions rocked buildings in western and eastern parts of Tehran on Tuesday evening An Associated Press reporter could hear sounds of explosions and anti-aircraft batteries firing from all directions On the roads out of Tehran to the west traffic stood bumper to bumper and long lines also could be seen at gas stations It looks like no one is living in this city one resident notified the AP by phone Here s the latest US to shut embassy in Jerusalem The U S State Department broadcasted Tuesday that the U S Embassy in Jerusalem will be shut from Wednesday through Friday In a message posted on its website the department disclosed that the closure is due to the current defense situation and ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran The closure includes the Consular Sections in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv It also means there will be no passport services available The embassy also instructed all U S establishment employees and their family to continue to shelter in place More sirens in Israel A new round of sirens has gone off in parts of Israel There are no immediate reports of casualties Israel s fire and rescue utility notes reports of several fires in open areas Dow drops nearly after oil prices jump as Trump urges Iran s unconditional surrender U S stocks are slumping under the weight of a jump for the price of oil The S P fell Tuesday following signals that Israel s conflict with Iran may be worsening and that one of the U S financial sector s main engines is weakening That nearly erased the S P s gain for the week The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down points or as of p m Eastern time and the Nasdaq composite was lower How Israel used spies smuggled drones and AI to stun and hobble Iran Israel stunned Iran last week with an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision Guided by spies and artificial intelligence the Israeli military unleashed a nighttime fusillade of warplanes and armed drones smuggled into Iran to incapacitate plenty of of its air defenses and missile systems With greater freedom to fly over Iran Israel bombarded key nuclear sites and killed top generals and scientists By the time Iran mustered a response hours later its ability to retaliate already weakened by past Israeli strikes was greatly diminished This account is based on conversations with current and former Israeli intelligence and military authorities a few of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss clandestine operations Read more about Israel s surprise attack on Iran A task force will help Americans who want to leave the Middle East The State Department has created a special task force to assist Americans seeking to leave Israel and other Mideast countries amid the conflict with Iran although no executive evacuations are right now planned The task force run by the Bureau of Consular Affairs is operating hours to provide information to U S citizens and lawful permanent residents wanting to return to the United States State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce wouldn t tell reporters Tuesday how multiple people had sought advice from the task force There are specific Americans a great number of of them dual U S -Israeli citizens now in Israel and thousands more in other Mideast countries including Iran Iran s military leaders vow Israel will soon see more attacks The operations carried out so far have been solely for the purpose of warning and deterrence Gen Abdul Rahim Mousavi the commander in chief of Iran s army announced in a video The punishment operation will be carried out soon Another round of Israeli strikes in Iran As Israel s military spokesman Brig Gen Effie Defrin reported a new wave of strikes on Iran at p m local time a series of explosions and anti-aircraft fire boomed throughout Tehran shaking buildings across the capital The Israeli military stated its warplanes had targeted missile launch sites and storage facilities in the country British warplanes are arriving in the Middle East U K Defense Secretary John Healy explained that the additional fighter aircraft the U K reported it was sending to the Middle East have begun arriving Healey advised a defense conference in London that he is ensuring force protection is now at its highest level and revealed the move is to protect our personnel it s to reassure our partners and it s to reinforce the urgent need for de-escalation U K Prime Minister Keir Starmer informed at the weekend that the U K would be deploying more military aircraft including Typhoons and air-to-air refuelers to the Middle East Iran is likely clamping down on internet traffic group says NetBlocks a group that tracks internet disruptions by nations explained it detected a reduction of internet access in Iran Analysis of telemetry shows a notable reduction in internet traffic in Iran it announced The matter comes amid an escalating conflict with Israel and is likely to limit the masses s ability to access information at a critical time Trump says US knows where Iran s Khamenei is hiding urges Iran s unconditional surrender Trump says the U S knows where Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding but doesn t want him killed for now He urged in a social media posting on Tuesday Iran s UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER as the five-day Israel-Iran conflict escalates Iran tells people to delete WhatsApp over fears it s sending records to Israel Iranian state television on Tuesday afternoon urged the constituents to remove the messaging app WhatsApp from their smart phones alleging without offering any evidence the app gathered user information to send to Israel In a announcement WhatsApp explained it was concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the the bulk WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption meaning a utility provider in the middle can t read a message We do not track your precise location we don t keep logs of who everyone is messaging and we do not track the personal messages people are sending one another it added We do not provide bulk information to any leadership WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms the parent company of Facebook and Istagram
