Israel, United States strike Islamic Republic, targeting heart of regime

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said in a video address, accusing Tehran of decades of attacks against US forces and allies and of continuing efforts to rebuild its nuclear program.

Trump said the operation would target Iran’s missile capabilities, naval forces and what he called its “terrorist proxies,” vowing to “destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground” and to “annihilate their navy.”

He said the United States would ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon.

The president cited past attacks blamed on Iran or its proxies, including the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and assaults on US forces in Iraq, and accused Tehran of backing militant groups across the region.

Trump acknowledged that US casualties were possible, saying American service members could be at risk as the operation unfolds. He said his administration had taken steps to minimize threats to US personnel in the region.

In a direct appeal to Iranian security forces, Trump urged them to lay down their weapons, warning they would face “certain death” otherwise.

He also addressed the Iranian public, telling them to remain sheltered during the strikes and saying “the hour of your freedom is at hand.”

Daniel Attard, a Maltese Member of the European Parliament who serves as Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iran, urged European governments to move beyond statements of concern and adopt concrete political and economic measures against Tehran, he said in an interview on Eye for Iran podcast.

“Responsibility to protect is not just a slogan, it is a commitment,” Attard said. “When a regime turns on its own people, when the regime kills its own people to stay in power, sovereignty cannot be used as a shield.”

Rising tensions amid military buildup

Attard’s remarks come as tensions surrounding Iran continue to escalate, with Washington increasing its military posture in the region.

In recent weeks, US naval assets, including aircraft carrier strike groups and advanced fighter aircraft have been repositioned closer to the Middle East, a move analysts say is intended to deter further escalation while signaling readiness should diplomacy fail.

The heightened military presence coincides with ongoing diplomatic talks in Geneva and growing concern in Europe over Iran’s ballistic missile program, which US officials warn could eventually threaten both European territory and American forces abroad.

Against that backdrop, Attard argued Europe cannot remain a passive observer.

“The time for negotiation is over,” he said. “We should be decisive, we should show leadership, we should match the courage of the people of Iran — the students, the women, the youth, the elderly — who have showed great courage.”

A full-spectrum pressure strategy

Attard outlined what he described as a comprehensive pressure strategy targeting the regime politically, economically and diplomatically.

“We need to halt all trade incoming from Iran either directly or indirectly,” he said. “Iranian embassies are still operating like it was business as usual in Europe. So we need to be more decisive. No more business as usual — be it politically, be it economically, and be it diplomatically.”

The European Parliament has already pushed for the designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, a step Attard described as “very long overdue.” But he stressed that enforcement now matters as much as designation.

“We should enforce those sanctions without any possibility of any loopholes,” he said.

He added that EU member states have the authority to take further steps immediately.

“Governments can decide to close or to restrict severely the operation of Iranian diplomatic embassies within the Union. This is something which member states can actually do, and they can do it right now.”

Europe’s credibility at stake

Attard acknowledged that divisions among EU member states and competing geopolitical interests have slowed action in the past but warned that Europe’s credibility now depends on consistency.

“We cannot claim to defend human rights if we look away to what’s happening on the streets of Iran,” he said. “Our credibility demands consistency.”

He expressed confidence that pressure from lawmakers would continue to grow.

“As long as the Iranian regime thinks it can silence its people, we will echo and amplify their voices,” Attard said.

Message to Iranians and to Tehran

Addressing Iranians directly, Attard praised protesters’ resilience and framed their struggle as one rooted in universal values.

“Your courage is seen and we shall not look away,” he said. “This is a fight about universal values — human rights, dignity and equality.”

His message to Iran’s leadership was considerably shorter.

“My message is clear,” Attard said. “Your time is up.”

The victim, Vahid Lazer Monouchehri, had gone missing since widespread protests on January 8,9.

His body was handed over to relatives on Thursday with marks of gunfire and blows from a butcher’s cleaver, the family said.

Manouchehri was buried the following day under tight security in the village of Lazerban near Tonekabon, in Iran’s northern Mazandaran province.

Born on April 14, 1985, Monouchehri was a father of one and originally from Lazerban but had been living alone in Tehran. His family says they were unaware that he had taken part in the protests.

“There was no idea exactly when, where, or under what circumstances Vahid was killed,” the family said.

On Thursday, the Kahrizak forensic medical center contacted the family and asked them to travel to Tehran to collect their son’s body.

When they asked about the cause of death and why they were being contacted only after such a long delay, they say they were told: “There are many bodies here and we don’t know; just come and take the corpse.”

After arriving at Kahrizak, the family received the body along with a death certificate stating that the cause of death was “respiratory failure.”

Before handing it over, however, security officials required them to sign a written pledge not to present any account of his death other than the explanation given in the certificate.

The family then transported the body to his hometown. As it was being washed and prepared for burial, they say they discovered clear signs of severe violence: bullet wounds on his back, deep cuts to his side and a head riddled with shotgun pellets.

“It seems he was shot in the back, fell to the ground, and then officers shot him in the head at close range and hacked his body with a butcher’s cleaver,” a source close to the family said.

“The injuries make clear that the cause of death was not respiratory failure, but a state-ordered killing.”

The family also reported that the heart and kidney areas had been surgically opened and crudely stitched with large sutures. It remains unclear by whom or under what circumstances the procedure was carried out.

The operative who prosecutors say tried to hire two men to kill Trump for $5,000 upfront demonstrated the plan by placing a vape pen on a napkin to signify his “target,” the hidden camera video released by the New York Post shows.

“This is the target. How will it die?” Asif Merchant said in the meeting.

Merchant, 47, a Pakistani national who entered the United States in April 2024, is accused of attempting to recruit individuals he believed were hired killers.

Prosecutors said he offered cash payments and discussed staging a protest near a campaign rally to create confusion and allow the attackers to escape.

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Although Trump was not explicitly named in the recorded exchanges, court documents show that he – then a leading candidate – was the intended target, the Post reported.

Prosecutors allege Merchant believed Trump’s policies had harmed Muslim-majority countries and acted with backing from individuals allegedly connected to Iran.

The scheme began to unravel when a Pakistani-American acquaintance, a former US Army linguist, alerted authorities after growing suspicious of Merchant’s plans. The FBI then arranged undercover meetings that were secretly recorded.

Merchant was arrested in July 2024 at an airport while attempting to leave the United States, authorities said.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.

In November 2024, the US Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges regarding a thwarted plot by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate Donald Trump prior to the 2024 presidential election.

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Trump has been a target for assassination threats since he ordered the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force in Iraq.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency has been unable to verify the status and location of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium since military strikes by the United States and Israel hit several nuclear sites in June.

The IAEA said it has not been granted access to Iran’s four declared enrichment facilities and has therefore lost “continuity of knowledge” over previously declared nuclear material at affected sites. As a result, it cannot verify whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities or confirm the current size, composition or whereabouts of its enriched uranium stockpile.

Grossi said his agency “will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful” until Iran improves its cooperation.

Inspectors have observed regular vehicular activity at bombed sites, including the underground complex at Isfahan and the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow, through satellite imagery. However, Grossi said that without on-site inspections the agency cannot determine the nature or purpose of those activities.

According to the IAEA, Iran holds 440.9 kg (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Grossi has previously said that while such material does not mean Iran has a nuclear weapon, it could, in theory, be sufficient for multiple bombs if further enriched.

The warning comes as Iran and the United States continue indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear activities. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.