The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
US military, intelligence detect signs Iran-backed militias preparing to attack US bases – NYT
A US official says American military and intelligence officials have detected signs of Iran-backed groups preparing to attack US bases in Iraq and possibly Syria, according to The New York Times.
So far, the groups have held off on striking the American targets, and Iraqi officials are working to dissuade them from attacking, the official says.
US warns of ‘heightened threat environment’ after strikes on Iran, warns citizens abroad to be cautious
The US Department of Homeland Security warns Americans that the “ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States.”
Iranian and pro-Iran actors are likely to launch cyberattacks against US networks, DHS says in a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin.
“The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland,” it adds.
“Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks.”
Meanwhile, the US State Department “advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution,” amid “the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad.”
The US has also begun flights to evacuate US citizens from Israel, and provides a form online for Americans looking to join one.
No such flights are expected for citizens looking to leave Iran, the State Department notes.
Police arrest Tel Aviv resident, tourist on suspicion of documenting missile impact sites
Police arrest a Tel Aviv resident and a tourist who have in their possession “suspicious documentation” of impact sites, amid daily ballistic missile and drone attacks by Iran during the ongoing war.
“Officers from Rishon Lezion and Border Police began searches this evening, upon receiving a report of a suspicious couple on a motorcycle documenting impact sites in the Shfela region,” the police say in a statement.
“Police managed to locate the two near Kfar Chabad and to arrest them, after the two tried to flee and, it is suspected, hide their recording equipment.”
“The two have been transferred to the Rishon Lezion police station” for questioning, and may ultimately be transferred to a security body, the statement adds.
Macron tells his defense council diplomacy ‘is the only way’ to stop Iran getting nuclear weapon
French President Emmanuel Macron warns against an “uncontrolled escalation” in the Middle East.
“No strictly military response can produce the desired effects,” Macron tells a French defense council meeting in Paris.
“The resumption of diplomatic and technical discussions is the only way to achieve the goal we all seek, which is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” he adds.
The French leader, however, does not directly condemn the strikes.
Germany’s Merz calls on Iran to ‘immediately enter into negotiations’ with US, Israel
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls for a swift return to diplomacy after the US’s strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.
Iran must “immediately enter into negotiations with the US and Israel and to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” Merz says, according to his spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
The German government believes “large parts of Iran’s nuclear program have been damaged by the airstrikes,” Kornelius notes.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul tells the ARD broadcaster “no one thinks it’s a good thing to keep fighting” and Berlin will “keep doing everything we can to make sure we get serious negotiations going.”
“Everyone knows there has to be a negotiated solution. I think everyone’s ready for that,” he says.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius earlier told ARD that “a major threat has been eliminated, and I can only repeat that this is good news for the Middle East, but also for Europe.”
Israeli strikes reported in Tabriz, in northwest Iran
Israeli strikes target several parts of northwest Iran, Iranian media report.
The strikes target “two locations in the southwestern part of Tabriz” city, capital of the East Azerbaijan province, the semi-official ISNA news agency says, quoting Majid Farshi, the province’s crisis management authority chief.
It is not immediately clear what locations are targeted, but Farshi says air-defense systems had been activated to counter the attack.
Israel’s UN envoy blasts countries that criticized US strike on Iran: ‘Where were you when Iran raced toward the bomb?’
“Last night, history changed,” declares Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
“The United States, the leader of the free world, removed the greatest existential threat facing the free world,” he says. “This was not a war of choice; this act was a necessity; it was a righteous act.”
Danon rails against states who criticized the US strike: “Where were you when Iran raced toward the bomb?
“Where were you when it enriched uranium far beyond the point of civilian use? When it buried entire fortresses beneath mountains to prepare for our extermination? Where were you when Iran turned negotiation into theater and deceit into strategy?”
“You were silent. You were complicit. You were afraid. You were bystanders,” he charges.
His comments come after Iran’s envoy blasts Israel’s “barbaric assault” on Iran, saying “history will not forget these tragic days,” identifying Iran as a “peace-loving” and a “non-nuclear state,” and Israel as a “criminal regime.”
Amir-Saeid Iravani says that “internationally wanted war criminal Netanyahu succeeded in hijacking US foreign policy, dragging the United States into yet another costly baseless war.”
“Iran reserves its full and legitimate right under international law to defend itself against this blatant US aggression and its Israeli proxy. The timing, nature and scale of Iran’s proportionate response will be decided by its armed forces,” he says.
Trump, in online post, entertains idea of regime change in Iran: ‘Why wouldn’t there be?’
US President Donald Trump publicly entertains the idea of regime change in Iran, just hours after Vice President JD Vance and others in his administration insisted that Washington’s fight was limited to Iran’s nuclear program and that it wasn’t trying to topple the regime.
“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???MIGA!!!” Trump writes on Truth social.
In separate posts, Trump says the B-2 bombers that struck Iran’s nuclear sites have “just landed, safely, in Missouri,” hailing “a job well done” and claiming “monumental” damage to the facilities.
“The hits were hard and accurate. Great skill was shown by our military. Thank you!”