By Steven Scheer, Steve Holland and Parisa Hafezi
(June 18, 2025, REUTERS) – Thousands of people were fleeing Tehran and other major cities, Iranian media reported, as Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other despite U.S. President Donald Trump calling for Tehran’s unconditional surrender.
The Israeli military said two barrages of Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel in the first two hours of Wednesday morning. Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv.
Israel told residents in a southwestern area of Tehran to evacuate so its air force could strike Iranian military installations. Thousands of people were fleeing the capital and major cities, with heavy traffic congesting roads and some routes suspended, Iranian media reported.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported clashes early on Wednesday between security forces and unidentified gunmen in the city of Rey, south of Tehran, adding the assailants may be linked to Israel and intended to carry out “terrorist operations in densely populated areas of the capital”.
Iranian news websites said Israel was also attacking a university linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the country’s east, and the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran, which was also targeted by Israeli airstrikes last October.
An Israeli military official said 50 fighter jets struck around 20 targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.
The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence says Iran is armed with the largest number of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. Iran has said its ballistic missiles are an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the U.S., Israel and other potential regional targets.
Trump warned on social media on Tuesday that U.S. patience was wearing thin. While he said there was no intention to kill Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “for now,” his comments suggested a more aggressive stance toward Iran as he weighs whether to deepen U.S. involvement.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” he wrote on Truth Social. “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now … Our patience is wearing thin.”
Three minutes later Trump posted, “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Trump’s sometimes contradictory and cryptic messaging about the conflict between close U.S. ally Israel and longtime foe Iran has deepened the uncertainty surrounding the crisis. His public comments have ranged from military threats to diplomatic overtures, not uncommon for a president known for an often erratic approach to foreign policy.
A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team are considering a number of options, including joining Israel on strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
A White House official said Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone on Tuesday.
Trump also met for 90 minutes with his National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the conflict, a White House official said. Details were not immediately available.
The U.S. is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, three U.S. officials told Reuters. The U.S. has so far only taken indirect actions in the current conflict with Iran, including helping to shoot down missiles fired toward Israel.
A source with access to U.S. intelligence reports said Iran has moved some ballistic missile launchers, but it is difficult to determine if they were targeting U.S. forces or Israel.
However, Britain’s leader Keir Starmer, speaking at the Group of Seven nations summit in Canada that Trump left early, said there was no indication the U.S. was about to enter the conflict.
REGIONAL INFLUENCE WEAKENS
Khamenei’s main military and security advisers have been killed by Israeli strikes, hollowing out his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.
The strikes, which constitute the most dangerous security breach targeting Iranian leaders since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, have prompted the country’s cybersecurity command to ban officials from using communications devices and mobile phones, Fars news agency reported.
Ever since Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and triggered the Gaza war, Khamenei’s regional influence has waned as Israel has pounded Iran’s proxies – from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq. Iran’s close ally, Syria’s autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad, has been ousted.
Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it had concluded the Islamic Republic was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the international Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel, which is not a party to the NPT, is the only country in the Middle East believed to have nuclear weapons. Israel does not deny or confirm that.
Netanyahu has stressed that he will not back down until Iran’s nuclear development is disabled, while Trump says the Israeli assault could end if Iran agrees to strict curbs on enrichment.
Before Israel’s attack began, the 35-nation board of governors of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years.
The IAEA said on Tuesday an Israeli strike directly hit the underground enrichment halls at the Natanz facility.
Israel says it now has control of Iranian airspace and intends to escalate the campaign in the coming days.
But Israel will struggle to deal a knock-out blow to deeply buried nuclear sites like Fordow, which is dug beneath a mountain, without the U.S. joining the attack.
Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians had been killed. Residents of both countries have been evacuated or fled.
Global oil markets are on high alert following strikes on sites including the world’s biggest gas field, South Pars, shared by Iran and Qatar.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Nia Williams and Lincoln Feast; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
