Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared “the battle begins” in an ominous post Tuesday, hours after President Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”
“In the name of #Haider, the battle begins. Ali returns to #Khaybar with his Zulfiqar.” Khamenei wrote on X in Farsi, referring to Islam’s first imam, Ali, who won the Battle of Khaybar with the sword Zulfiqar.
Khamenei’s sinister message comes hours after the Islamic Republic’s state media also warned of a “surprise” on Tuesday night into Wednesday that the “world will remember for centuries.”
The Iranian leader addressed his nation in a television broadcast where he fought back Trump’s threats, saying his people don’t surrender.
“Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender,” he said.
“The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”
The Israeli Defense Force reported multiple air raid sirens in northern Israel early Wednesday morning due to a “hostile aircraft infiltration.”
Sirens were heard in the Golan Heights before the IDF announced it shot down three Iranian drones, the Times of Israel reported.
Iran launched two barrages of about 30 missiles total at Israel Wednesday morning as explosions were heard over Tel Aviv.
The IDF says a majority of the missiles were intercepted and no injuries were reported, according to the outlet.
Fifty Israeli fighter jets were flown to Iran, which dropped missiles on a centrifuge production site and multiple weapon manufacturing facilities around the Iranian capital, the IDF wrote on X.
“These strikes directly degrade Iran’s ability to threaten Israel and the region,” the defense force account said.
Israeli officials issued evacuation warnings for Iranian residents living in southwestern Tehran in anticipation of another strike.
Iran’s state news website claimed Israel had attacked several targets including a university in east of Iran that is linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran.
Israel said it struck key elements of Iran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs during an overnight attack on Tehran Wednesday.
Khamenei’s X account has been publishing propaganda posters featuring Iranian missiles being launched at Israel and fireballs raining down on the Jewish state.
The Middle Eastern conflict, entering its sixth day, began when Israel launched Operation “Rising Lion,” where it attacked Iran’s nuclear plants and uranium enrichment facilities.
Israeli forces have wiped out Iran’s anti-air defenses, giving them air space superiority over Tehran.
Trump announced that a majority of Iran’s air defense system had been eliminated in recent attacks, without giving more details.
“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”
The US commander in chief called for the “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” from Iran Tuesday afternoon as he revealed the US knows Khamenei’s location.
“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. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he wrote.
Iran said it would respond firmly if the US became directly involved in the conflict between Israel.
Iran views the US as “complicit in what Israel is doing,” Ali Bahreini, Iranian Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said Wednesday.
Israeli officials said it has hit over 1,100 targets in Iran since it launched Operation “Rising Lion,” the Times of Israel reported.
“We are operating systematically to neutralize the nuclear threat,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters. The strikes are “deepening the significant damage” caused to Iran’s ballistic missiles and air defenses.
Iran has lost a majority of its arsenal during Israel’s attacks on its missile silos and weapon plants, experts determined.
Tehran had launched over 200 missiles during its original six waves but has limited its missiles to only three dozen missiles in each of its last two attacks, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank tracking the fighting.
With Post wires