Iran campaign may take four to six weeks, says White House
The US military campaign against Iran may take as long as four to six weeks, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said a few moments ago, adding that the US is “well on its way” toward controlling Iranian airspace.
Leavitt added that the US would consider Iran in a state of “unconditional surrender” once Donald Trump determines the country no longer “poses a threat” to the United States.
She told reporters at the White House:
double quotation markWhat the president means is that when he, as Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not.
Trump said today that only Tehran’s “unconditional surrender” will bring an end to the joint US-Israeli offensive launched seven days ago.
On timing, the US president has previously suggested the war would take approximately four to five weeks but could go “far longer” and today.
But Pete Hegseth, his defence secretary, said yesterday that the US operation would continue for “as long as it takes” to achieve its objectives in Iran. “Our timeline is ours and ours alone to control,” he said.
Back to Leavitt, speaking ahead of a meeting between Trump and major defence contractors today, she told reporters at the White House that the US has sufficient weapons stockpiles to meet all its operational needs in Iran.
She also noted that the US president “wants to take an interest” in the choice of Iran’s next leader and that the US was looking at a number of potential candidates to lead Iran.
double quotation markI know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at, but I won’t get any further on that.
Trump has previously called the late supreme leader’s son an “unacceptable” option.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters at the White House. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/APShare
Updated at 15.43 EST
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European countries ‘legitimate targets’ if they join US and Israel, says Iran’s deputy FM
Iran’s deputy foreign minister earlier warned European nations that they will become legitimate targets if they become involved in the US and Israel’s war on Tehran.
If any country “joins America and Israel in the aggression against Iran, they will be also legitimate targets for Iran’s retaliation,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi told France 24.
He said Iranian officials had been “negotiating in good faith” with the US before Washington decided to attack with Israel on Saturday.
double quotation markWe do not trust the Americans. Not only did they betray us, but they betrayed diplomacy.
He described Tehran’s latest moves as defensive, saying that “this war was imposed on us” by the US and Israel.
SharePutin spoke with Iranian president and ‘agreed to continue contacts’, says Kremlin
We now have more on that phone call between Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian and Vladimir Putin.
The Russian president expressed his condolences for the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader, other government officials and civilians around the country, the Kremlin said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Putin also reiterated Russia’s stance that the hostilities must end immediately, and that a diplomatic resolution must be found.
Pezeshkian, meanwhile, expressed gratitude for Russia’s support, and provided a detailed report of Iran’s developments.
“It was agreed that contacts with the Iranian side will continue via various channels,” the Kremlin said.
Vladimir Putin in a meeting at the Kremlin on Friday. Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/AP
It comes amid reports that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to target US forces in the region (see my earlier post).
My colleague Shrai Popat reported earlier that, asked whether Russia’s involvement in the Iran conflict affects US efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House still believes peace is “an achievable objective,” but declined to confirm whether Moscow has supplied information to Tehran.
Updated at 16.53 EST
Iravani also said that Donald Trump’s statements about choosing Iran’s next leader violates the principle of non-interference.
“Iran is a sovereign and independent state,” he said. “It does not accept, and will never allow, a foreign power to interfere [in its affairs].”
ShareIran’s UN envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war, and accuses US and Israel of war crimes
Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani has said that at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have lost their lives so far in the US-Israeli war on Iran, with thousands more injured.
He told the reporters at the UN’s headquarters in New York that the US and Israel “have demonstrated that they recognise no red line in committing their crimes”.
He accused the two countries of “indiscriminate” attacks that were “deliberately” targeting “densely populated” civilian areas and infrastructure, including schools, medical, recreational and sports facilities.
double quotation markThese acts constitute clear war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Concluding his remarks, he warned the UN Security Council to “act now, without delay”.
double quotation markFailure to act will have catastrophic consequences. Today, it is Iran. Tomorrow it could be any [UN] member state.
You can watch the clip here.
Updated at 16.57 EST
Trump says US defence manufacturers agree to ‘quadruple production’ of weapons
Donald Trump, who met with leading US weapons manufacturers earlier today, has said the defence companies have agreed to “quadruple Production of ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry”.
The US president wrote on his Truth Social platform:
double quotation markWe have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela. Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels.
The companies in attendance for the White House meeting included the CEOs of “BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Missile Solutions, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon”, Trump said.
ShareIran military says strait of Hormuz remains open, but any US or Israeli ship will be targeted
A spokesperson for the Iranian military has told Iranian state tv that Iran does not plan to close the strait of Hormuz, but will target any ship belonging to Israel or the United States.
double quotation markWe will not prevent any ship wishing to cross the strait of Hormuz, but the responsibility for its security lies with the ship itself.
We will target any ship belonging to the Zionist entity [Israel] and America if it attempts to cross the strait of Hormuz.
Tankers off the coast of Fujairah, UAE, on Tuesday amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters
Traffic has drastically dried up in the strait, effectively closing one of the world’s most vital shipping routes, since the US-Israeli war on Iran began. Amid the ongoing threat of attack, tankers remain stuck on either side of the key waterway, which runs between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and through which a fifth of the world’s oil and a significant amount of natural gas typically passes.
According to an analysis by the New York Times, five tankers have been struck since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on Saturday. The resulting drastic reduction in traffic through the strait has cut the supply of energy products and driven oil prices past $90 a barrel – its biggest weekly gain since the Covid pandemic.
We have a story on that here:
Updated at 16.05 EST
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has spoken on the phone with Russian president Vladimir Putin in the past hour, Iran’s government news service IRNA reports.
I’ll bring you more detail on that as I get it.
Updated at 15.50 EST
Qatar says it has intercepted nine Iranian drones
Qatar’s defence ministry has said that the country’s air defence systems were “subjected to waves of attacks” from Iranian drones on Friday, starting at dawn and continuing until evening.
In a statement on social media, it said that of the 10 drones that were launched towards Qatar, nine were intercepted while the tenth hit an uninhabited area, causing no injuries.
Iran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz but ships linked to Israel or the US cannot pass, a military spokesman told Iranian state TV.
After war broke out last Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it would “set ablaze” any western tanker attempting to transit the strait, a body of water through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes on tankers.
A drone has targeted Erbil Arjaan by Rotana hotel in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Friday, security sources told Reuters.
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad has said earlier that Iran-aligned militia groups may seek to target hotels frequented by foreigners in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
A huge American bomber capable of carrying 24 cruise missiles has landed in the UK after the US defence secretary warned of a “surge” in strikes on Iran.
The 146ft B-1 Lancer has a wingspan of 137ft, weighs 86 tonnes and is the fastest bomber in the US Air Force, according to Boeing, hitting speeds of more than 900mph.
Piloted by a crew of four, “the Bone” – as the aircraft is nicknamed – has advanced radar and GPS systems to help hit targets, and electronic jammers, radar warnings and a decoy system to protect it from enemies.
The B‑1, which has been used in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, can carry up to 34 tonnes of weapons and equipment.
A bomber was pictured arriving at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Friday after Keir Starmer granted the US permission to strike defensively against Iran’s missile facilities from British bases.
Saudi Arabia has intensified direct engagement with Iran to help contain the conflict in the Middle East, Bloomberg News reported, citing several European officials.
Saudi officials in recent days have used their diplomatic backchannel to Iran with increased urgency to ease tensions and keep the conflict from worsening, the report said.