Iran war live: Tehran retaliates after US launches attacks across Iran

Fox News is reporting that Trump said if Tehran doesn’t sign an agreement put forward by US negotiators, the US will again bomb “tomorrow night”, reportedly using an expletive.

Trump also told the US news channel that “49 Tomahawk missiles were used to hit targets inside of Iran, some of them as close as 40 miles [64km] from the Iranian capital of Tehran”.

“The president said the US fighter jets are also operating over the skies of Iran, taking out radar systems and air defence systems in the southwestern part of the country, close to the Persian Gulf,” Fox reported.

According to the report, Trump also said that top Iranian officials called him and asked the US to stop bombing.

This is what the Iranian media have been reporting over the last couple of hours.

The claim by the American president of having direct discussions or phone calls with senior Iranian officials is categorically false.

There has been no such communication between the two sides, and what is going on here right now in Iran is only in self-defence and preparations for a crushing retaliation against what the Americans have done over the last few hours.

We have the Joint military Headquarters saying the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will deliver crushing and decisive responses to any aggression and mischief by the aggressive and terrorist American army in the region.

There is an official statement from the IRGC about the total closure of the Strait of Hormuz,

So, there is no mention here of talks, negotiations or phone calls between the Americans and the Iranians.

There is only a mention of Iranians preparing for a crushing retaliation after those attacks tonight.

We understand that several cities, several areas and locations have been hit in this wave of strikes, including Kish, Minab, Bandar Abbas and some areas in central Isfahan.

Trump said earlier today that there was a real possibility they would have to attack Iran again.

This was not about the downing of the helicopter on Monday. This was about forcing them back to the negotiating table.

Trump felt, in his words, that Iran had been stringing the US along and they weren’t moving quickly enough, even though he himself had said on at least 38 occasions that they were very close to a deal.

Then we heard from Pete Hegseth … saying that the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) was going to be busy tonight.

He talked about how they were going to take action to expand the diplomatic field for the negotiators for Donald Trump by using bombs to get Iran back to the negotiating table.

Then we had this statement a short time after that from CENTCOM saying that operations were under way in Iran.

An Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon killed two people and sparked a fire that spread to nearby cars.

Israel has continued to attack Lebanon despite a US-announced ceasefire on April 16.

Watch the video below:

• For a second day, the US military’s CENTCOM announced that it had carried out “self-defense” attacks throughout Iran.
• In response to the most recent US strikes on Iran, the country’s senior military leadership announced that the Strait of Hormuz has been completely closed.
• Iran’s IRGC Navy said it targeted two “offending vessels” attempting to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz.
• According to Iranian media reports, the sounds of blasts and the activation of air defence systems were heard throughout southern Iran, as well as in the western parts of Tehran.
• Following regional developments, the US embassy in Baghdad issued a safety warning urging American citizens to “keep a high-level of vigilance and monitor local news updates”.

Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, as well as Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.

Stay with us for the latest news and analyses from across the Middle East and beyond.

You can find our updates from Wednesday, June 10, here.