Here’s the latest.

 

Adam Rasgon Richard Pérez-Peña David E. Sanger and Ephrat Livni

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/17/world/israel-iran-trump

 

Here’s the latest.

Fears of a wider war were growing on Tuesday after President Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” cited the possibility of killing its supreme leader and referred to Israel’s war efforts with the word “we” — all apparent suggestions that the United States could enter the conflict against Iran.

 

As the Trump administration contemplates next steps, in Israel and Iran, the conflict continues unabated into its sixth day. Past midnight, on Wednesday, sirens sounded in areas of Israel and the Israeli military said it had detected Iranian missile launches, on two occasions in short succession.

 

Around the same time, the Israeli military published an evacuation warning for an industrial area in Tehran, the Iranian capital, saying it would be taking action in the coming hours to attack military infrastructure there, and shortly afterward said its Air Force was conducting a series of strikes in the area of Tehran.

 

Mr. Trump’s comments, in social media posts on Tuesday, came as Israel has been pressing the White House to intervene militarily in the conflict with Iran to put an end to that country’s nuclear program. The president has long professed opposition to getting involved in foreign wars and has expressed hopes for a negotiated agreement with Iran. He held a national security meeting on Tuesday afternoon in the White House Situation Room.

 

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, wants the United States to drop its largest bunker-busting bombs on Iran’s Fordo nuclear site, which lies deep underground. Israel has neither bombs that big nor warplanes big enough to carry them. Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu spoke on the phone on Tuesday afternoon, according to a Trump administration official who did not provide details — but the call came as the president has been considering options for U.S. involvement in Israel’s efforts to damage Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

 

In a post on Truth Social earlier in the day, Mr. Trump wrote, “we know exactly where” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, “is hiding,” but added, “we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least for now.” Boasting of Israel’s air superiority, which he suggested was based on American technology, he wrote, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” associating himself with Israel’s war effort.

 

Should the United States join the war, Iran has prepared missiles and other military equipment for possible retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East, according to American officials who have reviewed intelligence reports.

 

Here’s what else to know:

Iranians flee: Evacuations from Tehran have intensified in the hours since the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for a large part of northeastern Tehran, saying it planned to target “military infrastructure” in the area.

 

Iranian general: Israel said it had killed Maj. Gen. Ali Shadmani in an airstrike, describing him as Iran’s top military commander, just four days after he was appointed to replace another general killed in a separate airstrike. Iran has not confirmed the death of General Shadmani, but its military hierarchy has been decimated by the Israeli bombing.

 

Natanz nuclear site: Israeli airstrikes achieved “direct impacts” on the underground area of the Natanz nuclear site, where Iran enriches uranium, the United Nations’ chief nuclear monitor said on Tuesday, based on new satellite images.

 

Internet disrupted: Internet services across Iran are suffering severe disruptions, according to experts and Iranians, who say the government is likely restricting access to limit the spread of information about strikes and for fear of Israeli cyberattacks.