Iran’s leader rejects calls to surrender and warns that intervention would harm the US

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s supreme leader rejected U.S. calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes Wednesday and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause ‘’irreparable damage to them." European diplomats prepared to hold talks with Iran on Friday.

The second public appearance by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since the Israeli strikes began six days ago came as Israel lifted some restrictions on daily life, suggesting that the missile threat from Iran was easing.

Khamenei spoke a day after U.S. President Donald Trump demanded in a social media post that Iran surrender without conditions and warned Khamenei that the U.S. knows where he is but has no plans to kill him, ‘’at least not for now.’’

Trump initially distanced himself from Israel’s surprise attack aimed at Iran’s nuclear program, but in recent days he has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something ‘’much bigger’’ than a ceasefire. The U.S. has also sent more military aircraft and warships to the region.

Senior European diplomats were set to hold nuclear talks with Iran on Friday in Geneva, according to a European official familiar with the matter.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss matters freely, said the meeting would include high-ranking diplomats from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union’s top diplomat.

There are no plans for American involvement in the talks, although that could change, according to another U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic communications.

‘’In my view, a solution could be found,’’ Putin said Wednesday at a session with journalists.

In a video address to Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Trump’s support in the conflict, calling him ‘’a great friend of Israel’’ and praising U.S. help defending Israel’s skies.

‘’We speak constantly, including last night,’’ he said Wednesday. ‘’We had a very warm conversation.’’

‘The Iranian nation is not one to surrender’

Khamenei dismissed the ‘’threatening and absurd statements’’ by Trump.

‘’Americans should know that any military involvement by the U.S. will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them.’’

Iran released Khamenei’s statement before the video was aired, perhaps as a security measure. His location is not known, and it was impossible to discern from the tight shot, which showed only beige curtains, an Iranian flag and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei’s immediate predecessor, who died in 1989.

An Iranian diplomat had warned earlier Wednesday that U.S. intervention would risk ‘’all-out war.’’

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei did not elaborate, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran’s weapons. The U.S. has threatened a massive response to any attack.

Another Iranian official said the country would keep enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, apparently ruling out Trump’s demands that Iran give up its disputed nuclear program.

Social media users reported that the regular broadcast on state TV was briefly interrupted and replaced with an anti-government video urging people to take to the streets. After the normal broadcast resumed, a message on the screen said, ‘’If you see an irrelevant message on the screen, it’s due to a cyber attack by the Zionist regime.’’

Strikes in and around Tehran

Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told a news conference Wednesday that Israel launched three waves of aerial attacks in the last 24 hours, deploying dozens of warplanes to strike over 60 targets in Tehran and western Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military struck the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces, without specifying the agency or location. The strike marks a shift toward targeting Iran’s domestic security apparatus, which has long cracked down on dissent and suppressed protests.

Iran’s police force acknowledged the strike hours later, saying that Israel hit its central command buildings in Tehran and wounded some officers, without saying how many.

The Israeli military said it began a new round of airstrikes Thursday in Tehran and other areas of Iran, without elaborating.

Israel’s air campaign has struck several nuclear and military sites, killing top generals and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded.

In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage.

Israeli military officials said their defenses intercepted 10 missiles overnight and several more Wednesday evening as Iran’s retaliatory barrages diminished. Air-raid sirens forced Israelis to run for shelter. There were no reports of injuries.

Iran has fired fewer missiles as the conflict has worn on. It has not explained the decline, but Israel has targeted launchers and other infrastructure related to the missiles.

By Wednesday, Israel eased some of the restrictions that it had imposed on civilians when Iran launched its retaliatory attack, allowing gatherings of up to 30 people and letting workplaces reopen as long as there is a shelter nearby.

Casualties mount in Iran

The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 263 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 154 as security personnel.

The group, which also provided detailed casualty figures during 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports against a network of sources it has developed in Iran.

Iran has not published regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Monday, put the toll at 224 people killed and 1,277 others wounded.

The Iranian Communications Ministry announced that the government was limiting internet access to prevent Israel’s ‘’misuse of the country’s communication network for military purposes.’’

Shops have been closed across Tehran, including in its famed Grand Bazaar, as people wait in gas lines and pack roads leading out of the city to escape the onslaught.

Witnesses reported that more than 10 powerful explosions shook central Tehran around 8 p.m., sending white smoke into the air.

At least one strike appeared to target Tehran’s eastern neighborhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy.

Israel says it launched the strikes to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after talks between the United States and Iran over a diplomatic resolution made little visible progress over two months but were still ongoing. Trump has said Israel’s campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks.