https://arab.news/43w6u
- President Donald Trump hinted Sunday at interest in changing Iran鈥檚 system of government
- Evin prison is often used to hold foreign nationals and Iranians that are seen by rights groups as political prisoners
TEHRAN: Israel hit Revolutionary Guard sites and Evin prison in Tehran on the 11th day of the war Monday, in what it said were its most powerful strikes yet on the Iranian capital.
Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel and vowed retaliation against the United States after American strikes on the Islamic republic鈥檚 nuclear sites a day earlier.
Loud explosions rocked Tehran, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military hit sites with 鈥渦nprecedented force,鈥� adding to speculation that it is seeking to topple Iran鈥檚 clerical leadership.
The targets included Evin prison, which Katz said 鈥渉olds political prisoners and regime opponents,鈥� as well as command centers for the domestic Basij paramilitary and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian media and the Israeli military said Israel also struck Fordo, a key nuclear enrichment facility buried deep in the mountains south of Tehran.
The military said it had struck Fordo on Monday 鈥渋n order to obstruct access routes鈥� to the site, which Israel鈥檚 ally the United States hit the previous day with massive bunker buster bombs.
President Donald Trump boasted that Sunday鈥檚 US strikes on three key sites had 鈥渙bliterated鈥� Iran鈥檚 nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the impact on Iran鈥檚 atomic program, which Israel and some Western states consider an unacceptable threat.
Sirens sounded across Israel on Monday and AFP journalists reported blasts over Jerusalem and people fleeing to shelters in Tel Aviv.
Iranian media said Israel鈥檚 strikes hit a power supply system in Tehran, triggering temporary outages.
In Israel, the national electricity company reported 鈥渄amage near a strategic infrastructure facility鈥� in the south that disrupted the power supply, without naming the location or specifying the cause.
Israel鈥檚 military censorship rules bar the publication of some details about damage in Israel.
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran鈥檚 health ministry has said. Iran鈥檚 attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.
After the US strikes, global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday but dipping later in the day.
China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout.
Iranian armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said in a video statement published on state TV that Washington鈥檚 bombing 鈥渨ill not go unanswered.鈥�
鈥淲e will take firm action against the American mistake,鈥� he added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world鈥檚 oil supply.
The European Union鈥檚 foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said closing the strategic strait would be 鈥渆xtremely dangerous.鈥�
With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad.
In Bahrain, home to a major US naval base, the US embassy said it had 鈥渢emporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework,鈥� citing 鈥渉eightened regional tensions.鈥�
Meanwhile, international oil firms including BP and Total evacuated some of their foreign staff from southern Iraq, the state-owned Basra Oil Company said.
After the Pentagon stressed the goal of US intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea.
鈥淚f the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn鈥檛 there be a Regime change???鈥� Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
His press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump was 鈥渟till interested and engaging in鈥� diplomacy.
She suggested, however, that Iranians could overthrow their government if it did not agree to a diplomatic solution.
At a Pentagon press briefing, top US general Dan Caine said 鈥渋nitial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.鈥�
Speaking ahead of a NATO summit this week, the alliance鈥檚 chief Mark Rutte said Tehran should not be allowed a nuclear weapon, calling it his 鈥済reatest fear,鈥� while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said 鈥渢here is no reason to criticize what America did.鈥�
Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage.
鈥淎rmed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place,鈥� he added.
Iran has consistently denied seeking an atomic bomb, and Grossi has said there was no evidence to suggest it was doing so despite the Islamic republic being the only non-nuclear armed state to enrich uranium to 60 percent.
The IAEA said on Monday that Tehran had informed it of 鈥渟pecial measures to protect nuclear material鈥� when the Israeli campaign began.
The UN agency also said it was seeking access to Iranian nuclear sites to 鈥渁ccount for鈥� stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States and Israel of deciding to 鈥渂low up鈥� nuclear diplomacy with their attacks.