No de-escalation. The conflict continues unabated. conflict between Israel and Iran, which has reached its fifth consecutive day of bombing. The latest operation conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces (Idf) hit the Central Command of the Iranian Armed Forces, causing the death of General Ali Shadmani, who had been in office for just four days at the head of the General Staff. Shadmani had taken over after the killing of General Gholamali Rashid, which took place on first day of war along with leading figures such as Hossein Salamis, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, and Mohammad Bagheri, head of the regular army.
“We have neutralized the Iranian regime's main military emergency headquarters,” he said. Oded Basiuk, head of the IDF Operations Directorate. The senior officer reiterated that the Israeli army will continue to strike strategic targets in Iran until, he says, the nuclear threat is eliminated. “We will not allow a nuclear Iran to turn the Middle East into a graveyard. We hit the regime, not the people, who deserves a better future,” he added.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, issued a stern warning to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei"He could suffer the same fate as Saddam Hussein".
Missiles on Israel, Explosions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
Iran responded intensifying missile attacks. I'm over 370 missiles and drones launched from Tehran in the first five days of the war. Between last night and this morning alone, 30 missiles were directed at Israel, most of them intercepted. Loud explosions were heard in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. So far, the provisional toll is 24 dead and over 500 injured in Israel.
Iranian forces claim to have struck “strategic objectives” in Tel Aviv and Haifa with precision drones. Sources in Tehran also report a Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down in Tabriz, but the news has not been confirmed by independent sources. Iranian media also speak of successful attacks against the Mossad Headquarters in Herzliya and the intelligence logistics center in Glilot.
Iranian General Kioumars Heidari announced a'even more intense escalation in the next few hours, speaking of “new advanced weapons” already employed.
Alarm at the Natanz nuclear site
One of the most sensitive targets of theIsraeli offensive was the Natanz underground nuclear siteThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that some deep-sea uranium enrichment halls were affected. No damage was reported at the Isfahan and Fordow facilities.
According to CNN, for US intelligence Iran was not close to acquiring a nuclear weapon: they would have been useful at least three years.
450 dead in Iran, escape from Tehran
Il Iran Death Toll Worsens: according to the NGO Human Rights Activists in Iran, they are at least 452 the dead and about 650 injured, of which over 220 civiliansThe Iranian Health Minister instead spoke of 1.800 wounded, mostly civilians.
In the meantime, Tehran is emptying. Thousands of people are leaving the capital later to Donald Trump's call for evacuationThe city centre is almost deserted, with shutters down and traffic congested on the roads towards the Caspian Sea, where many Iranians are trying to flee towards Azerbaijan, where they have already been About 600 foreign citizens evacuated residents in Iran. Long queues form at petrol stations, while local authorities continue to claim that the situation is under control.
In the night, a Israeli raid hit the headquarters of Iranian state TV, causing three deaths and a fire that has regained strength due to the wind. The column of smoke was visible for hours above Tehran.
Hacker Attack on Iranian Bank: War Comes to Cyberspace
The conflict has now spread to cyberspace as well. Bank Sepah, one of Iran's major public banks, was hit by a cyber attack claimed by the hacker group “Gonjeshke Darande”. The operation would have destroyed the databases of the institute, linked to the Revolutionary Guards.
The attack has ATMs and payment systems crashed, leaving thousands of citizens without access to their accounts. The impact was immediate, further worsening the climate of panic in the capital.
Trump: “I want an end to the war, not a ceasefire”
Donald Trump, aboard Air Force One Back from the G7 in Canada, declared that he wanted to “a real end"of the war and not just a ceasefire: "I am not seeking a ceasefire, but a real end to the war." Trump said he was willing to send a special emissary, maybe Steve Witkoff or the vice president JD Vance, for a dialogue with Iran, but also has issued a warning: “If they attack American interests, we will respond firmly”. However, rumours of contacts already initiated with Tehran were denied: “Fake news. If they want to talk, they know how to find me”.
Tehran, for its part, it is said available to negotiate di new nuclear deal only if its “red lines” are respected.
China, EU and Russia push for de-escalation
From the rest of the world Calls for calm are multiplying. The Chinese president Xi Jinping expressed “deep concern” and called for a immediate de-escalation, while the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has Donald Trump accused to “throw gasoline on the fire.”
The European Union too, through the High Representative Kaja kallas, reiterated that Iran must not obtain nuclear weapons and urged all parties to reopen diplomatic channels. Iran officially called on the EU to condemn what it called “Israel’s shameless aggression.”
Archived, at least for the moment, the Putin's possibility as a mediator in the conflict, a proposal strongly opposed by Macron and other Western countries. "Putin should first put an end to the invasion of Ukraine" before being able to aspire to a mediation role, explained the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani. From the Kremlin, the spokesman Dmitri Peskov He described the escalation as “galloping” and accused Israel of rejecting any attempt at mediation.
Il king of Jordan, speaking at the European Parliament, defined the conflict as “a threat to the entire world”, calling for a return to a peace based on international law and mutual recognition.
