Israel bombs Tehran’s Evin prison as attacks on Iran intensify

We will end this war, Iran warns ‘gambler’ Trump

Putin slams US strikes on Iran as unjustified

TEHRAN: Iran said on Monday that the US attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called US President Donald Trump a “gambler” for joining Israel’s military campaign against the Islamic Republic.
“Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said on Monday in English at the end of a recorded video statement.
Iran and Israel traded another wave of air and missile strikes on Monday as the world braced for Tehran’s response.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the “unjustified” US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities were pushing the world toward grave danger. He promised to try to help the Iranian people, though he offered no specific commitments.
Putin received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi at the Kremlin alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, and GRU military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov.
“The absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification,” Putin told Araqchi. “We want to discuss ways to de-escalate the crisis. For our part, we are making efforts to assist the Iranian people.”
Araqchi delivered a letter from Supreme Leader Khamenei requesting increased support from Russia. While Moscow did not confirm the letter, Araqchi conveyed best wishes from both Iran’s Supreme Leader and President.
In a later meeting with military cadets, Putin referred to the growing Middle East conflict and the involvement of outside powers — without naming the US directly.
“Extra-regional powers are being drawn into the conflict,” Putin said. “All this brings the world to a very dangerous line.”
Israel bombs Tehran’s Evin prison as attacks on Iran intensify
Israel struck Evin prison in northern Tehran on Monday, a potent symbol of Iran’s governing system, in what Israel called its most intense bombing yet of the Iranian capital a day after the United States joined the war.
Evin has been the primary prison for housing political detainees and security prisoners, notably since Iran’s 1979 revolution, and the site of executions that remain potent symbols for the opposition. It is where several high-profile foreign prisoners are also held.
Israel’s military said Israel had also struck Revolutionary Guard command centers responsible for internal security in the Tehran area.
“The IDF is currently striking, with unprecedented force, regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
There were conflicting reports on Iranian media about the full extent of strikes on Tehran, a city of 10 million people where much of the population has fled after 10 days of bombing.
A strike was reported at an electricity feeder station in the Evin neighbourhood. Power company Tavanir reported some areas in the capital saw electricity cuts.
Iran is prepared to persist in its fight as long as necessary, according to Saeed Khatibzadeh, the deputy minister for foreign affairs in education and research.
In an interview, Khatibzadeh expressed Iran’s firm stance against Israel’s “outrageous, reckless, and rogue actions,” underscoring the nation’s determination to respond to what it sees as unjust and unprovoked Israeli attacks that started on June 13.
“We will keep fighting,” he stated, drawing a comparison to the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war to emphasize Iran’s willingness to continue its defense. “We are prepared to go to the end,” Khatibzadeh added.
Israeli strikes on Iran may have violated international law, UN mission says
A fact-finding mission mandated by the United Nations said on Monday that some of Israel’s strikes on Iran may have broken international humanitarian law, citing the killing of civilians in an apartment block and three aid workers in Tehran.
Israel began airstrikes on Iran in a surprise attack on June 13 that killed many of Iran’s top commanders and has intensified attacks since, prompting an exodus from the capital. The United States joined on Sunday by hitting Iran’s underground nuclear sites.
“Among those killed in Tehran were dozens of residents of an apartment complex and three humanitarian workers from the Iranian Red Cross, while damaged sites included a clinic for children with autism and a hospital in Kermanshah,” the investigative body said in a statement to journalists, referring to the Israeli strikes.
“This, and the reported lack of effective advance warning by Israel, which may affect the population’s ability to reach safety, raise serious concerns in relation to the principles of proportionality, distinction, and precaution under international humanitarian law.”
The mission said that millions had so far fled the capital and that a lack of warning systems, adequate shelters and internet restrictions had increased the dangers.
After Israel struck a notorious jail for political prisoners on Monday, the experts voiced concern about detainees held near the sites of bombings.
“The experts call on the Iranian authorities to relocate prisoners away from locations at risk from the airstrikes,” the statement said.
It also voiced concerns about reports of arbitrary arrests by Iranian authorities of activists, journalists and social media users accused of espionage with Israel – a crime that is punishable by death in Iran. Agencies