Israel, Iran trade fire again as Trump hints at Iranian regime change

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Tel Aviv — Israel said it carried retired much strikes connected Iran connected Monday, targeting missile, outer and radar sites 2 days aft the President Trump ordered American warplanes to articulation Israel successful attacking the Islamic Republic's atomic facilities, fueling interest astir the satellite of an escalating struggle successful the bosom of the Middle East with the imaginable to gully successful large satellite powers.

The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that Israeli warplanes had besides struck six airports successful Iran, "as portion of the effort to grow aerial superiority implicit Iranian skies," targeting runways, assorted craft and underground hangers.

Iran besides launched a caller question of missiles astatine Israel connected Monday, sending radical to weaponry shelters crossed the country. Dozens of missiles were reportedly launched astatine Israel, with impacts successful astatine slightest 2 sites successful the bluish larboard metropolis of Haifa and connected a roadworthy successful the confederate metropolis of Ashdod.

Aftermath of Iran's onslaught connected Israel

Israel Electric Corporation said that, pursuing a onslaught adjacent 1 of its strategical facilities successful confederate Israel, determination was disruption successful the proviso of energy to a fig of communities successful the area.

The attacks came aft U.S. B2 bombers and attacked 3 of Iran's atomic sites implicit the play – the archetypal nonstop U.S. subject enactment against Iran aft a week of Israeli attacks.

Iranian atomic sites "totally obliterated" by U.S. strikes?

President Trump said successful a televised code connected Sunday that Iran's highly fortified Fordo atomic enrichment site, on with the Isfahan and Natanz atomic facilities, had been "completely and wholly obliterated" by the U.S. strikes.

"Initial conflict harm assessments bespeak that each 3 sites sustained highly terrible harm and destruction," the president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said during a quality conference, noting that a afloat appraisal of the harm would instrumentality time.

But portion Mr. Trump said successful a societal media station that the "spectacular subject success" successful Iran had taken "the 'bomb' close retired of their hands," The New York Times reported that the caput of the planetary atomic watchdog, the IAEA, believed Iran could person moved astatine slightest immoderate of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to different determination earlier the U.S. attack, arsenic Iranian officials person claimed.

In remarks to the United Nations Security Council connected Sunday, IAEA main Rafael Grossi did not notation that imaginable specifically, but helium said "no 1 — including the IAEA — is successful a presumption to measure the underground damage" at Iran's astir delicate tract astatine Fordo, wherever the authorities is believed to person carried retired precocious enrichment enactment successful secret.

"We indispensable instrumentality to the negotiating array and let the IAEA inspectors, the guardians of the NPT [nuclear non-proliferation treaty], to spell backmost to Iran's atomic sites and relationship for the stockpiles of uranium, including, astir importantly, the 400kg enriched to 60%," Grossi said, referring to the bulk of Iran's highly-enriched uranium, antecedently known to person been stored astatine the Isfahan facility. Uranium enriched to that level is lone a abbreviated method measurement distant from the 90% purity required to marque a atomic weapon.

"We person a model of accidental to instrumentality to dialog and diplomacy. If that model closes, unit and demolition could scope unthinkable levels and the planetary non-proliferation authorities arsenic we cognize it could crumble and fall," Grossi warned the delegations astatine the U.N.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Sunday connected CBS News' "Face the Nation" it would instrumentality days to corroborate whether Iran's enriched uranium stockpile had been moved, but helium thought it was unlikely.

"No 1 volition cognize for definite for days, but I uncertainty they moved it, due to the fact that you truly can't determination thing close now. They can't determination thing close present wrong Iran. The infinitesimal a motortruck starts driving anyplace the Israelis person seen it, and targeted it and taken it out. So our appraisal is, we person to presume that - that's a batch of 60% enriched uranium buried heavy nether the crushed determination astatine Isfahan. And that truly is key. What they should bash with that is they should bring it retired of the crushed and crook it over. Multiple countries successful the satellite volition instrumentality it and down-blend it. That's what they should bash with that," Rubio said, adding different telephone for Iran to hold to wantonness its enrichment enactment to extremity the crisis.

Rubio said if Iran were to "call close now, and accidental 'we wanna meet, let's speech astir this,' we're prepared to bash that. The president's made that wide from the precise beginning. His penchant is to woody with this contented diplomatically."

Trump suggests authorities alteration for Iran

Rubio besides reiterated connected Sunday President Trump's erstwhile statements that the U.S. strikes connected Iran's atomic sites were carried retired with the sole intent of removing the menace of the authorities obtaining a atomic weapon.

Mr. Trump had, close aft the U.S. strikes, said they would beryllium the grade of America's engagement successful the struggle unless Iran launched retaliatory attacks against U.S. assets successful the region. But precocious connected Sunday, successful a societal media post, Mr. Trump stoked interest astir a imaginable further escalation of the conflict.

"If the existent Iranian Regime is incapable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, wherefore wouldn't determination beryllium a Regime change???" Mr. Trump said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his apical immunodeficiency person besides suggested successful caller days that the subject enactment taken by Israel could make country for an uprising successful the Islamic Republic to topple Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime, and Netanyahu has called straight connected Iranians to instrumentality to the streets.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Iran "reserves each options to support its sovereignty, interest, and people."

Araghchi arrived Sunday evening successful Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has fostered person ties with Iran for years.

About 40,000 U.S. subject unit are deployed successful the Middle East, connected warships and bases crossed the region.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said successful a connection Sunday that "the number, dispersion, and size of U.S. subject bases successful the portion are not a strength, but person doubled their vulnerability."

The U.S. State Department issued a caller alert connected Sunday, meanwhile, to Americans traveling anyplace extracurricular of the state to "exercise accrued caution," owed to the anticipation of the strikes fueling anti-U.S. sentiment oregon protests.

Tucker Reals contributed to this report.