President Donald Trump called for the evacuation of Iran’s capital Tehran on Monday, hours after he urged the country’s leadership to sign a deal to limit its nuclear program and Israel signaled strikes would continue.
It wasn’t clear if Trump knew of a fresh round of attacks Israel may have planned for the city, which has a population of more than 9 million people. Israel had earlier warned one Tehran neighborhood to evacuate and video showed massive traffic jams as people sought to escape. Soon after Trump’s post, Iran’s Fars news agency reported several explosions east of the city.
“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign,” Trump wrote in a social media post from a Group of Seven leaders’ summit in Alberta, Canada. “What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
Earlier in the day, Trump had said Iran wanted to make a deal, and “as soon as I leave here, we’re going to be doing something.” He didn’t provide any more details.
Trump’s comments jolted markets with US equity index futures turning modestly lower and crude contracts erasing declines.
Israeli officials have said their forces have taken control over much of Iranian airspace and severely damaged key facilities used in Iran’s missile and nuclear programs since the assault was launched Friday, sparking fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.
“They want to stop and continue producing the weapons of death, both the nuclear weapons that threaten our existence and the ballistic missiles, but we are committed to destroying these two threats,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a press conference Monday, before Trump’s latest comments. “If that can be achieved in another way, please – but we gave it a chance for 60 days,” he added, referring to the period that ended with Israel’s attacks Friday.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Monday that Tehran has indicated that it wants to de-escalate hostilities with Israel and is willing to resume nuclear talks with the US as long as Washington doesn’t join the Israeli attacks. The newspaper cited Middle Eastern and European officials it didn’t identify. A similar report by Reuters says Iran conveyed the message through Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Oil fell on the WSJ report, with Brent futures dropping around 4% after rising over 10% Friday. US Treasuries pared earlier drops and European bonds gained as traders reacted to diminishing concerns about inflation.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never left the negotiating table,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a phone call with European officials Monday. “But naturally, our focus at this stage is on response to Israel’s aggression that is both effective and leaves them with regret.”
The conflict showed no sign of letting up. Iran fired several waves of drones and missiles over the last 24 hours, while Israel continued hitting Tehran, killing one more senior military official and setting the state-television complex ablaze with a strike during a live broadcast.
About the same time as Trump was speaking in Canada, Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency cited a senior security official as saying the country is prepared to deliver a “major blow” to Israel following its recent strikes on Iranian cities and targets. Shortly afterward, air raid sirens sounded as Israel reported it had detected more missile launches. Later, authorities gave the all clear and there were no reports of new missile strikes.
In a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed that his country will respond to Israel’s ongoing strikes with proportional retaliation.
“We do not seek to escalate the conflict, but we will respond to any attack on Iranian soil in a manner that will make them regret it,” Pezeshkian said.
Since Friday, 224 people have been killed in Iran, according to the government, which said most of the casualties were civilians. Iranian attacks killed 24 people in Israel, according to the Israeli government press office, and injured 592.
Israel’s campaign is “ahead of schedule,” Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday, declining to say how long it’s expected to last.
“We’re going to go about our operation to remove these two threats,” he said, referring to Iran’s missile and nuclear programs. “Whether Iran will decide to meet with the United States and agree to terms that they should have taken a month ago, or two weeks ago, or two months ago, you know, that’s up to Iran to decide.”
Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that his military was seeking to end what he called half a century of conflict, and didn’t rule out targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to achieve the goal. He added that it’s in Washington’s interest to support Israel in the mission to end Iran’s nuclear program.
The exchange of missile salvos between Israel and Iran is the most serious escalation after years of shadow war. Analysts fear it might push the Middle East into a regional conflict, causing wider human loss and potentially disrupting energy flows and vital trade routes.
With assistance from Courtney McBride, Joe Mathieu and Alberto Nardelli.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
