Israeli official says Tehran should sign nuclear deal or risk collapse

Among those killed was Revolutionary Guards chief Hossein Salami, prompting jubilation from many in the Iranian diaspora. Kaveh Shahrooz, a Canadian human rights lawyer and activist, posted on X:

“His hands dripped with the blood of 176 people aboard flight #PS752. May this be true. May there be a hell for him to burn in,” referring to an airliner shot down by the military unit in Tehran in 2020.

Actress and human rights activist Nazanin Boniadi warned that ordinary Iranians—already caught between an authoritatian government and years of economic pressure—now face the added threat of war.

"There was a 3rd path: strangle the regime, empower the people," Boniadi wrote, "Few committed to it. Now, innocent Iranians—who yearn for freedom—are caught b/w foreign firepower & domestic tyranny."

Former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes also weighed in, calling the strikes senseless and warning of a cycle of violence that could derail any remaining path to diplomacy.

Iran analyst and author Arash Azizi pointed out that a new round of nuclear talks was just days away, arguing that the decision to launch a strike now undermines diplomatic efforts and could plunge the region into broader conflict.

“Even if we take Netanyahu at face value here, Iran was months away from developing a nuclear weapon ... there was a round of diplomatic talks scheduled in THREE DAYS.... what justifies an attack before that?”, Azizi wrote on X.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman responded bluntly to reports of General Hossein Salami’s death, posting “thank u, next” on X after confirmation of the IRGC commander’s killing in the Israeli strikes.

"Homes of senior military and political officials were targeted in Israeli airstrikes in Tehran," a senior Israeli political official told Iran International, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Civilians are not the intended targets," the official added.

Iran International was the first media outlet to publish official confirmation of the Israeli attack on Iran and its targets.

State news outlet IRNA reported that Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with another top commander and two senior nuclear officials were killed.

Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was seriously wounded during an attack on his residence and has been transferred to a hospital in Tehran in critical condition, Nour News, a media outlet close to the Supreme National Security Council reported.

Khamenei is alive and being briefed on the situation following Israel's attack on Iran, Reuters reported citing a security source.

"Homes of senior military and political officials were targeted in Israeli airstrikes in Tehran," a senior Israeli political official told Iran International, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Civilians are not the intended targets," the official added.

Speaking at White House press conference, Trump said an Israeli attack on Iran was possible but that he hoped for a negotiated solution to the nuclear impasse.

Responding to reporter's question, Trump said, "Well I don't want to say imminent, but it looks like it's something that could very well happen."

"I'd love to avoid a conflict. Iran's going to have to ... give us some things that they're not willing to give us right now," Trump said. Tehran and Washington remain at loggerheads over whether Iran can keep enriching uranium on its own soil.

Trump added the two sides are "fairly close to a pretty good agreement," but struck an ambivalent note about the impact of a potential Israeli strike.

"As long as I think there is an agreement, I don't want them (Israel) going in, because I think that would blow it. Might help it actually, but it also could blow it."

Israel is weighing a potential attack on Iran within days, ABC News reported on Thursday citing three sources familiar with the situation.

The network cited the sources as saying they were unaware of any specific US role but added it was possible the United States could share intelligence or support logistics.

A sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks is due to convene in the Omani capital Muscat on Sunday, in what could be a decisive moment for the war-weary region.

Trump on Thursday cited the possibility of a potential "massive conflict" in the region for drawing down US personnel from the Middle East, a day after US officials said the embassy in Baghdad would be partially evacuated.

"There's a chance of massive conflict. We have a lot of American people in this area, and I said we've got to tell them to get out, because something could happen soon," Trump said. "I don't want to be the one that didn't give any warning and missiles are flying into their buildings."

"He's going to drag us into a war"

Iranian rhetoric had ratcheted up on Wednesday as Defense Minister Aziz Nassirzadeh said Tehran would strike American bases in the region if nuclear negotiations fail and conflict breaks out.

"Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don't come to fruition. If a conflict is imposed on us... all US bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries," Nassirzadeh said during a press conference.

Iranian officials also bristled at a resolution passed against it at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Thursday finding Tehran non-compliant with proliferation obligations.

The move put the Islamic Republic further at odds with the United Nations nuclear watchdog which inspects its nuclear facilities and would be a key player in any deal.

Meanwhile a prominent Democratic lawmaker urged the US Defense Secretary not to allow Israel to embroil the United States in a conflict and unsuccessfully sought to extract a pledge from Pete Hegseth not to strike Iran unless attacked.

"Will you commit to us not bombing (Iran) ... unless we're directly hit?" California representative Ro Khanna asked at a House hearing on Thursday.

"Would you agree ... that Netanyahu is itching for a fight? If Netanyahu uses American missiles to hit Iran, he's going to drag us into a war there," Khanna added.

The remarks were a rare public intervention by a Democratic lawmaker on Trump's Iran policy.

Hegseth said Trump sought peace but understood what he called the Iranian threat.

"The President has been earnestly and completely committed to a peace process. He's given Iran every opportunity, those talks are ongoing, but he also fully recognizes the threat that Iran poses."

"The first set of documents obtained from the Israeli regime shows that Grossi, the Secretary General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had full cooperation and close coordination with this regime and fully implemented its orders," the Tasneem news agency wrote on X.

The outlet, which is affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, included images of email exchanges in Hebrew and and what appeared to be a printed letter from Meirav Zafary-Odiz, Israel's ambassador to the IAEA, to its now chief Raphael Grossi.

Dated 2016, the alleged letter requests a meeting.

Other documents appeared to be email exchanges between Zafary-Odiz and an Israeli academic using an University of Washington email address and focused on panel discussions on nuclear topics.

Iran's intelligence ministry said last week it had obtained a trove of sensitive material from Israel, including documents it says are related to the Jewish state's nuclear and strategic facilities.

Israeli security experts cast doubt on the assertion, saying it was likely part of a state attempt to sway opinion as US-Iran nuclear talks enter a critical phase.

Amir Rashidi, director of cyber security and digital rights of the Iran-focused human rights NGO the Miaan Group, said the documents released on Thursday appeared dubious.

"There are several red flags that raise questions about the authenticity and origin of these materials," he wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

Their presentation as screenshots impairs verification through metadata and timestamps, pages are numbered in Persian-Arabic script and Iranian hackers' past compromising of academic accounts makes the university email address suspect, Rashidi said.