Trump weighs U.S. strike as Iran’s Khamenei says the ‘battle begins’
‘The battle begins,’ Iran’s supreme leader says, vowing ‘no mercy’ on Israel
Iran “must give a strong response” to Israel, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in English in a post on X yesterday, vowing to show “no mercy.”
In a separate post in Farsi, he said, “The battle begins.”
Iranian Nobel Peace laureates call for end to fighting and Iran’s an uranium enrichment
Several prominent Iranian activists and filmmakers, including Nobel Peace laureates Shirin Ebadi and Narges Mohammadi, called for an immediate end to the fighting between Israel and Iran.
The group, which also included film directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, denounced attacks on civilians by both Iran and Israel, demanded an end to Iran’s uranium enrichment and called for a transition to democracy in Iran.
“Deeply committed to Iran’s territorial integrity and the inalienable right of its people to self-determination under genuine sovereignty, we believe that continuing uranium enrichment and the devastating war between the Islamic Republic and the Israeli regime neither serves the Iranian people nor humanity at large,” it said in an op-ed in French newspaper Le Monde.
They added: “Iran and its people should not be sacrificed for uranium enrichment and the ambitions of the Islamic Republic.”
U.S. embassy and consulate to remain closed in Israel
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the consulate in Tel Aviv will remain closed through the end of the workweek, the State Department said.
“Given the security situation and in compliance with Israel Home Front Command guidance, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday, June 18) through Friday (June 20),” the department’s travel account said on X.
The closure also applies to the consular office in Tel Aviv, it said.
Amid this week’s “do not travel” advisory for Americans planning trips to Israel, the department said information on possible help for private citizens who want to leave the region is unavailable for now, and that it cannot endorse third-party travel options.
The country’s main airport, Ben Gurion International, is closed amid the exchange of air attacks. The State Department said some non-emergency government employees and the family of employees were authorized to leave, but should shelter in place if they were unable to do so.
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