Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

June 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump early Tuesday announced a cease-fire between Israel and Iran was in effect, seven hours after he announced plans for the truce, half a day after Iran struck a U.S. military base in Qatar and 11 days after Israel’s first airstrikes.

After his 6 p.m. Monday truce plans, Trump posted on Truth Social after 1 a.m. EDT: “THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!”

On Tuesday morning in Iran and Israel, media in both countries reported the cease-fire began after strikes were reported on both sides.

Earlier, Trump posted on Truth Social that the war pause would take effect just after midnight on the U.S. East Coast, with the war slated to officially end a day later.

The U.S. president said there are two 12-hour cease-fire periods, starting with Iran and then Israel.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his nation would stop fighting if Israel stops strikes, posting on X: “The military operations of our powerful Armed Forces to punish Israel for its aggression continued until the very last minute, at 4 a.m. [8 p.m. EDT[.”

Israel hadn’t confirmed the cease-fire and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting with his security cabinet, a source told CNN.

“During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.” Trump wrote. “On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR’. This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

Trump later told NBC News in an interview that “I think the cease-fire is unlimited. It’s going to go forever.” Trump said he doesn’t believe Israel and Iran “will ever be shooting at each other again.”

And in a follow-up post on Truth Social at 10:18 p.m., Trump wrote: “Israel & Iran came to me, almost simultaneously, and said, “PEACE!” I knew the time was NOW. The World, and the Middle East, are the real WINNERS! Both Nations will see tremendous LOVE, PEACE, AND PROSPERITY in their futures. They have so much to gain, and yet, so much to lose if they stray from the road of RIGHTEOUSNESS & TRUTH. The future for Israel & Iran is UNLIMITED, & filled with great PROMISE. GOD BLESS YOU BOTH!”

Trump and his U.S. Vice President JD Vance negotiated with top Qatari leaders, who took the proposal to Iran, a diplomat told NBC News and CNN. Trump spoke with Netanyahu and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

“We were actually working on that just as I left the White House to come over here,” Vance told Fox News. “So that’s good news, that the president was able to get that across the finish line.”

Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also is Trump’s National Security adviser, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff negotiated the terms, CNN reported.

The United States entered the war early Sunday with B-2 bomber airstrikes on three nuclear sites two days ago in an effort to present Iran from having an atomic bomb. The seven planes took 18 hours to fly from Missouri to Iran. Decoys also flew west to Guam.

After Trump’s announcement, Israel military told residents in the Tehran neighborhoods of Mehran and District 6 that it will carry out operations there. And Iran warned people in the Ramat Gan suburb of Tel Aviv to evacuate, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency.

A residential building in southern Israel took a “direct hit” from an Iranian missile strike early Tuesday in the city of Beer Sheva , according to Israel’s emergency services, Magen David Alom. At least three people were killed and six others were being treated with light to moderate injuries,.

Before Trump’s announcement, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted on X: “Those who know the Iranian people and their history know that the Iranian nation isn’t a nation that surrenders.”

It was his first comments since U.S. struck the nation.

Iran strikes major U.S. base

Iran retaliated though it gave the United States advance notice it would strike the U.S. airbase in Qatar.

Qatar’s defense ministry said its air defenses “successfully” intercepted the missiles, and there were no deaths or injuries. The U.S. also used Patriots to stop the missiles.

The base in Doha was attacked “by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran,” a U.S. defense official told CNN.

“At this time, there are no reports of U.S. casualties,” the official said. “We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available.”

Iran’s Armed Forces said they “targeted the Al Udaid base in Qatar with destructive and forceful missiles,” according to a statement obtained by The New York Times.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on Almighty God and the faithful, proud people of Iran, will never leave any aggression against its territorial integrity, sovereignty, or national security unanswered,” the statement read.

Iran said it used the same number of bombs the U.S. used to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said. The seven B-2’s dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators. U.S. Tomahawk missiles also were used.

Trump thanked Iran for giving advance notice of the airstrikes.

“Iran has officially responded to our Obliteration of their Nuclear Facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There have been 14 missiles fired – 13 were knocked down, and 1 was ‘set free,’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done. Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their “system,” and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.”

Qatar called the attack “a flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace.”

“We affirm that the state of Qatar reserves the right to respond directly, proportionate to the nature and scale of this blatant aggression and in accordance with international law,” Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said in a statement Monday.

Video by CNN shows burning debris falling next to a highway in Qatar after Iranian missiles fired at US base Al-Udeid were intercepted.

Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, which is close to Qatar and where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is headquartered. In addition to Qatar, United Arab Emrites, Kuwait and Iraq closed their airspace. But they later were reopened.

Airspace remains closed in Iran but flights resumes in Israel on Monday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine were in the Situation Room, a White House official told CNN.

The New York Times reported loud booms were heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Lights were going upward, apparently part of a missile defense system, and some objects were seen falling to earth.

The base, which is heavily fortified, has been on high alert in the past few days for Iranian retaliatory attack after missiles targeted nuclear facilities early Sunday local time.

The base is the headquarters of U.S. Central Command and has 10,000 military and civilian personnel.

Non-sheltered American planes were moved from the base, according to a satellite image taken Thursday that shows tarmacs nearly empty.

Also, all U.S. Navy ships deployed at the base Bahrain left port last week. The U.S. has two aircraft carriers in the region — the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Nomitz — and the USS Ford, the newest carrier in the 11-ship fleet, will deploy from Norfolk Va., this week. Destroyers are part of the strike group.

The State Department has also begun organizing departure flights from Israel, and Americans can leave through Jordan via land crossings. Approximately 250 U.S. citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members departed Israel on U.S.-facilitated flights, a State Department official said Monday.

The United States has not fought Iran since the B-2 bombers’ attacks.

Israeli attacks

Israel’s military targeted Iran’s Evin prison in Tehran where dissidents and political prisoners are held.

France’s foreign minister condemned the strikes on the prison, which houses two French nationals.

“The strike aimed at Evin Prison in Tehran put in danger two of our nationals, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, hostages for the past three years. It’s inacceptable,” Jean-Noël Barrot said in a post on X.

The Israeli strikes on Tehran also damaged the main power lines in the northern part of Iran’s capital, according to the Iranian government-affiliated Mehr news agency. The area has more than 1 million people.

In Vienna, Rafael Grossi, the head of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, warned on Monday at an emergency meeting in Vienna that “violence and destruction could reach unimaginable levels” if Iran, Israel and the United States do not find a pathway to diplomacy.

June 23 (UPI) — Oil futures declined and U.S. stock indexes rose despite fears Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for transporting oil around the world.

Oil prices climbed on Sunday in response to the U.S. joining Israel’s campaign against Iran but investors hope Iran will avoid escalating the situation.

The price of U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil for August was $68.47, a $5.27 drop from Friday, before American B-2 bombers struck three Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday.

WTI climbed to $80 per barrel earlier this year but was under $60 per barrel in May. When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, prices reached $120 per barrel.

“I think people realize that things in the Middle East will eventually de-escalate and will be in place of a much safer, a much more stable Middle East and world as a whole,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in crediting President Donald Trump‘s foreign policy.

The Dow Jones Industrials, Standard & Poor’s and Nasdaq Composite were all up less than 1%. Of the 11 CNBC sectors, only energy and health declined with Utilities rising the most at 1%.

U.S. gasoline prices have risen, with the national average at $3.22 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. That’s up from $3.14 a week ago and $3.20 one month ago.

For every $10 rise in oil prices, inflation goes up roughly 0.4 percentage points and cuts economic growth by roughly 0.1 percentage point, Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital, estimated.

“As it stands, it is arguably not in Iran’s best interests to close the Strait,” David Oxley, chief climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, told USA Today.

The Iranian parliament moved Sunday to approve a measure to close the Strait in response to the American strikes on Iran over the weekend. The strait serves as a critical route for oil being shipped from Persian Gulf countries, but ultimately it will come down to whether Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei decides to move forward with such a plan.

Close to 30% of the world’s seaborne oil shipments are moved through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. China took nearly 90% of Iran’s crude oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Producers in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirites ship crude oil through the strait.

Alternative routes include the Red Sea, but there’s only limited pipeline capacity available, Oxley said.

“Given that most oil flows originating from Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran, itself, can’t be diverted, we estimate that no more than 30% of existing oil flows could be redirected,” Oxley said. “Meanwhile, LNG flows from the region cannot be diverted. The lack of an alternative for rerouting LNG flows has contributed to the sharp rise in natural gas prices since the start of the conflict.”

The United States doesn’t import oil from Iran.

More than half of U.S. crude oil comes from the United States and coastal waters, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For imports, the United States mainly relies on Canada and Mexico to refine oil with less than 10% from Persian Gulf countries.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday that closing the strait and striking airbases would be a “catastrophic mistake.”

“It would be a huge, catastrophic mistake to fire at U.S. bases in the region at this time. We have forces in the region at this time,” said Lammy in an interview with BBC Breakfast.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also commented Sunday against Iranian interference with movement through the strait. He spoke with Fox News and called on China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” said Rubio, as China is a key oil customer of Iran.

“The Persian Gulf and nearby waters are important route for international trade in goods and energy. Keeping the region safe and stable serves the common interests of the international community,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a news conference Monday.

“China calls on the international community to step up effort to promote de-escalation of the conflict and prevent the regional turmoil from having a greater impact on global economic growth.”

June 18 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump was weighing overnight whether to take the country to war with Iran after an emergency meeting of his national security team in the White House.

The 80-minute Situation Room meeting of Trump’s key Cabinet officials Tuesday evening concluded without a clear consensus, CBS News reported, but one option on the table was sending U.S. bombers to destroy underground nuclear sites that are impenetrable to Israeli warplanes.

The network said senior intelligence and Defense Department officials had told it that Iran’s heavily fortified Fordow uranium enrichment plant, 300 feet under a mountain near Qom and 85 miles south of Tehran, was one possible target.

Fordow was believed to be the facility most likely to reach a critical threshold where Iran’s nuclear development program — which it has always insisted is for civilian purposes only — crosses into a program capable of producing a nuclear warhead.

However, there was disagreement at the meeting attended by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and CIA Director John Ratcliffe over exactly what the United States’ next step should be.

Israeli airstrikes on the facility with bunker-busting bombs have thus far failed to penetrate the facility, with the International Atomic Energy Agency saying it had sustained no damage as of Monday.

“No damage has been seen at the site of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant or at the Khondab heavy water reactor, which is under construction. Bushehr nuclear power plant has not been targeted nor affected by the recent attacks, and neither has the Tehran Research Reactor,” IAEA Secretary General Rafael Grossi told the agency’s board.

However, he said Israeli strikes had caused considerable damage to above-ground facilities at Esfahan and Natanz, with one of the plants having produced U-235 uranium enriched up to 60%.

Naturally occurring U-235 uranium contains only a tiny proportion of chain-reacting U-235 isotope and must be “enriched” 3% to 5% for nuclear power purposes. To become weapons-grade, U-235 needs to be enriched to above 90%, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, although the super-enriched uranium is also used to produce isotopes used for nuclear medicine scans and radiotherapy.

The United States has powerful weapons that could, with repeated hits, penetrate a facility such as Fordow.

The BBC reported that would require deployment of America’s so-called Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a 30,000-pound bomb delivered by the U.S. Air Force’s B-2 stealth bomber, which can carry two of the monster munitions.

As the conflict entered its sixth day, Israel said it launched airstrikes involving 50 fighter jets overnight against a uranium centrifuge production site and multiple weapons facilities critical to Iran’s nuclear weapons and missile programs.

In a post on X, the Israel Defense Forces said the centrifuges made at the plant were for enriching uranium beyond civilian levels. Other sites hit included a facility making parts for surface-to-surface missiles used against Israel and another plant making surface-to-air missile components used to target aircraft.

The IDF said the strikes “directly degraded” Iran’s ability to threaten Israel and the wider region.

“We have delivered significant blows to the Iranian regime, and as such, they have been pushed back into central Iran. They are now focusing their efforts on conducting missile fire from the area of Isfahan. We are aiming at military targets; they are attacking civilian homes,” IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.

Air raid sirens sounded across large swathes of central and northern Israel just before midnight local time after Iran launched a salvo of missiles at the country, including so-called “Fattah-1” hypersonic missiles.

Warnings sounded again across a smaller area in the north-east about 4.30 a.m. due to what the IDF called “hostile aircraft infiltration.”

Trump and Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei embarked on a war of words Tuesday with the Trump saying Khamenei would be an “easy target” if the United States and Israel chose to take him out. Trump also called for Tehran’s “unconditional surrender.”

“The battle begins,” Khamenei threatened in a social media post invoking Shia Islam’s Haider, the first Shia Imam and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, accompanied by an image of fire raining down on a city.

We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.”

June 17 (UPI) — Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is an “easy target,” and Iran should surrender unconditionally, President Donald Trump said Tuesday before Iran’s leader countered with his own warning, “the battle begins.”

As Iran fired two hypersonic missile barrages into Israel on Tuesday night, Khamenei wrote in a post on X, “In the name of the noble Haidar, the battle begins,” along with an image of fire raining down on an ancient city.

In a separate X account, he wrote in English, “We must give a strong response to the terrorist Zionist regime. We will show the Zionists no mercy.”

There were no injuries reported in Iran’s attacks, as Israel Defense Forces issued an evacuation order before a new wave of airstrikes in Tehran.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump urged Khamenei to surrender.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“He is an easy target but is safe there — we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump continued.

“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers,” he said, adding, “Our patience is wearing thin.”

In a subsequent post, Trump simply stated, “Unconditional surrender!” in all capital letters.

Trump said he hasn’t reached out to Iranian leaders and isn’t “in the mood” to negotiate with them, ABC News reported.

He said Israel has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran” due to “American-made, conceived and manufactured” arms.

Trump posted his comments after Israeli and Iranian forces continued exchanging aerial assaults during the fifth day of the active war between the two nations.

The president met with military advisers shortly after returning early from the G7 conference in Canada on Tuesday due to the situation in the Middle East.

Israeli forces are targeting ballistic missile launch sites and command centers in central Iran.

“We’ve struck deep, hitting Iran’s nuclear ballistic capabilities,” Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

“We have delivered significant blows to the Iranian regime, and as such, they have been pushed back into central Iran,” the IDF statement says.

“They are now focusing their efforts on conducting missile fire from the area of Isfahan.”

Meanwhile, Iranian officials have issued warnings to civilians in Tel Aviv and Haifa to evacuate because they are targeted for a “punitive operation.”

“The operations carried out so far have merely been warnings for deterrence,” Iran’s commander-in-chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Tuesday. “A punitive operation will be executed soon.”

He referred to the Israeli cities as “occupied territories” and said residents should leave them “for their own safety and not to become victims of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s barbaric actions.”

The U.S. embassy in Israel announced it will close Wednesday for three days due to the escalating conflict.

“As a result of the current security situation and ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, the U.S. Embassy has directed that all U.S. government employees and their family members continue to shelter in place and near their residences until further notice.”

The embassy, located in Jerusalem, said it had no information to assist private U.S. citizens who want to leave the country, adding that Israel’s largest airport, Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, is closed.

June 17 (UPI) — Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is an “easy target,” and Iran should surrender unconditionally, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“He is an easy target but is safe there — we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump continued.

“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers,” he said, adding, “Our patience is wearing thin.”

In a subsequent post, Trump simply stated, “Unconditional surrender!” in all capital letters.

Trump said he hasn’t reached out to Iranian leaders and isn’t “in the mood” to negotiate with them, ABC News reported.

He said Israel has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran” due to “American-made, conceived and manufactured” arms.

Trump posted his comments after Israeli and Iranian forces continued exchanging aerial assaults during the fifth day of the active war between the two nations.

The president met with military advisers shortly after returning early from the G7 conference in Canada on Tuesday due to the situation in the Middle East.

Israeli forces are targeting ballistic missile launch sites and command centers in central Iran.

“We’ve struck deep, hitting Iran’s nuclear ballistic capabilities,” Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

“We have delivered significant blows to the Iranian regime, and as such, they have been pushed back into central Iran,” the IDF statement says.

“They are now focusing their efforts on conducting missile fire from the area of Isfahan.”

Meanwhile, Iranian officials have issued warnings to civilians in Tel Aviv and Haifa to evacuate because they are targeted for a “punitive operation.”

“The operations carried out so far have merely been warnings for deterrence,” Iran’s commander-in-chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said on Tuesday. “A punitive operation will be executed soon.”

He referred to the Israeli cities as “occupied territories” and said residents should leave them “for their own safety and not to become victims of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s barbaric actions.”

June 17 (UPI) — Israel claimed Tuesday it had killed Iran’s highest-ranking military chief after just days in the job in an airstrike by Israeli warplanes.

“Ali Shadmani, Iran’s senior-most military official and Khamenei’s closest military adviser, was killed in an Israeli Air Force strike in central Tehran, following precise intelligence,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

Shadmani was appointed as the new head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard‘s Emergency Command to replace Gholam Ali Rashid in the hours after Rashid was among five of Iran’s most senior military commanders killed in the initial phase of Israel’s surprise attack early Friday.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.

The development came as both sides continued to trade deadly attacks into a fifth day — Israel leveraging its stranglehold on Iranian airspace to ramp up its airborne assault on key military and nuclear targets while Iran launched 30 ballistic missiles with blasts reported in northern Israel.

Israel’s health ministry said another 154 people had been injured overnight, with 149 admitted to hospital in a moderate condition or with only minor injuries.

However, Israel said there had been noticeably fewer missiles incoming than on previous days.

Two dozen people in Israel have been killed since Friday, mainly in missile strikes on residential districts in the center and north of the country, while Iran’s Health Ministry says Israel’s attacks have killed 224 people and injured more than 1,200, mostly in Tehran.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One after cutting short his meeting with world leaders at a G7 summit in Canada to head back to Washington, President Donald Trump, in a somewhat cryptic comment, denied an Israel-Iran truce was afoot, saying “we’re looking at better than a cease-fire.”

Before departing Calgary, Trump had told Iranians they needed to evacuate Tehran immediately.

Analysts were trying to figure out whether Trump intends to try to go the diplomatic route and get Tehran to return to the negotiating table to deal on its nuclear development program or double down on his support for Israel.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued renewed but vague threats Tuesday, warning Iran “will have to show more painful responses,” unless the United States reined in Israeli aggression and repeated the claim that none of what was occurring could take place without Washington’s involvement.

“If the U.S. government does not prevent the spread of insecurity to the region by bridling that savage [Israeli] regime, Iran will be obliged to give heavier and more painful responses beyond what has occurred so far,” Pezeshkian warned in a call with Omani sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

Oman has been hosting talks on Iran’s nuclear program between top U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials that began in April.

Pezeshkian insisted all regime officials, political factions of all persuasions and the people of Iran were willing the armed forces to succeed in their fight against Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, similarly, gave away no indication of wanting to end the conflict any time soon, saying Israeli air power was operating freely while the city of Tehran burned.

“The Israeli Air Force controls the skies over Tehran. We strike regime targets — not civilians. That’s the difference between us and Iran’s terrorist regime that aims to murder women and children,” he said in a post on X.

“I am proud of our security forces and our wonderful people. Together we will win.”

At least two European countries have already begun implementing plans to evacuate their citizens from the region.

A Czech government evacuation flight touched down Tuesday with 66 people on board, according to Defense Minister Jana Cernochova, with another 11 due to be brought out on a Slovakian government flight in the coming hours.

Another flight that landed in Bratislava from Jordan on Monday evening had 14 other Czech citizens aboard.

Poland is sending planes to collect up to 300 of its nationals who have asked to be repatriated from Israel, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Monday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys said initial evacuations would be via Egypt and Jordan, with a government-chartered aircraft due to depart Sharm el-Sheikh early Wednesday, followed by a military flight out of Amman on Thursday.

June 16 (UPI) — Israel and Iran intensified their deadly airstrikes Monday on the fifth day after Israel launched its first attack to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capability.

Hundreds of people have been killed, including 224 in Iran and 24 in Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the strikes a significant setback to Iran’s nuclear program.

“I estimate we are sending them back a very, very long time,” Netanyahu told reporters.

Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv late Monday, the central Israeli city of Bat Yam and the Palestinian-Israeli town of Tamra as Israel Defense Forces told residents to rush to bomb shelters.

“Israel’s defense systems are currently working to intercept the threat,” the IDF said in a statement, before allowing Northern Israel residents to leave.

Iran said its ninth wave of attacks will continue through Tuesday morning, according to Iranian media.

Israel said three workers at the country’s Bazan Group oil company were killed earlier in the day. The power plant, which was significantly damaged, is responsible for steam and electricity production.

Iran also warned Israel to evacuate two Israeli television headquarters after an Iranian state television station in Tehran was struck and one of its workers was killed.

President Donald Trump announced Monday he would leave the Group of Seven summit in Canada to monitor the situation in the Middle East, as he warned Iranians to “immediately evacuate Tehran.”

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social before leaving the summit. “Simply stated, Iran can not have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

As Trump returned to Washington, D.C., U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered “the deployment of additional capabilities.”

“Protecting U.S. forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X.

The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier group was moving toward the Middle East to join the USS Carl Vinson. The Defense Department also announced it would move aircraft to the European and Central Command theaters to support U.S. bases in the region, according to the Navy Times.

While attending the G7 summit, Trump had been in contact throughout the day with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. Trump and Rubio returned to Washington, D.C., on Monday night, according to a State Department spokesperson.

Over the weekend, Israel’s strikes killed top Iranian military commanders and scientists and targeted nuclear infrastructure. While Trump has rejected any plan to kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Netanyahu was not ruling it out Monday, according to ABC News.

Thousands of Israel’s residents have evacuated in response to Iran’s strikes, according to Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

“Our teams have handled, as of Saturday, 14,583 claims for direct damage from the attacks from Iran,” Smotrich said Monday.

“We are assisting 2,775 residents who were evacuated from their homes, most of whom were accommodated in hotels through local authorities in a model we determined in advance,” he added.

So far, we have identified 24 structures, buildings that are designated for demolition.”