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LIVE Iran-Israel war: Trump calls to 'Make Iran Great Again', raises spectre of regime change

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National Heraldpublisher-detail-arrow
23rd June, 2025 08:41 IST

At an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by Iran and held in the very early hours of Monday (India time) — to discuss Sunday's US strikes on the three Iranian nuclear facilities of Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz — acting US ambassador Dorothy Shear reiterated President Donald Trump's warning that “any Iranian attack — direct or indirect — against Americans or American bases will be met with devastating retaliation”.

She also said the US acted in defence of Israeli and American citizens to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon after it “obfuscated” about its nuclear weapons programme and “stonewalled good-faith efforts in recent negotiations”, urging the UNSC to call on Iran to end its 47-year effort to eradicate Israel, terminate its nuclear programme, stop targeting Americans and US interests and “negotiate peace in good faith".

Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday seemed to suggest that if Iran’s current regime can’t “Make Iran Great Again”, a regime change might be inevitable, though he had earlier negated that possibility. “It’s not politically correct to say ‘Regime Change,’ but if they can’t do it—why not? MIGA!!!” he posted on his Truth Social handle.

More in yesterday's live updates

Iran says its military will decide 'timing, nature and scale' of its response to US attacks

Iran has said the US “decided to destroy diplomacy” with its strikes on the country's nuclear programme and that the Iranian military will decide the "timing, nature and scale of Iran's proportionate response”.

Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani on Sunday told the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by Iran that “Iran had repeatedly warned the warmongering US regime to refrain from stumbling into this quagmire”.

The US “decided to destroy diplomacy” with its strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and the Iranian military will decide the "timing, nature and scale of Iran's proportionate response”, he said. “We will take all measures necessary.”

Iravani accused Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of succeeding in getting US President Donald Trump to do the West's “dirty work” and hijack US foreign policy, “dragging the United States into yet another costly and baseless war”.

He called US and Israeli aggression against Iran “a clear and flagrant breach of international law”. Iravani said as Iran's foreign minister held talks this week with several European counterparts, “the United States decided to destroy that diplomacy”.

“What conclusion can be drawn from this situation?,” he asked. “From the perspective of Western countries, Iran must 'return to the negotiating table'. But as Iran's foreign minister mentioned, 'how can Iran return to something it never left?'"

Israel to resume outgoing flights

The Israel Airports Authority says 24 daily outgoing flights will start operating on Monday, after the country's airspace was closed for departures since the start of the war with Iran. For the past week, a similar number of daily incoming flights has been bringing back Israelis stranded abroad.

In a briefing with reporters, transportation minister Miri Regev said out of safety concerns, each departing flight will carry no more than 50 passengers, allowing roughly 1,000 people to leave each day.

It wasn't clear who will be eligible for the flights, but she says an exceptions committee will ensure priority for “humanitarian cases”.

UN chief warns the world risks 'descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation'

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by Iran: “We cannot — and must not — give up on peace.”

He urged immediate and decisive action to halt the fighting and return to “serious, sustained negotiations” on Iran's nuclear programme to find a verifiable solution with full access by UN nuclear inspectors and a restoration of trust.

In urging a return to diplomacy and a peaceful solution, Guterres stressed Sunday that one path leads to wider war and the other to de-escalation and dialogue. “We know which path is right,” he said.

Social media account linked to Iran's supreme leader publishes post portraying missile strikes

A social media account associated with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei published a propaganda post early on Monday portraying missile strikes on a darkened city with a giant skull bearing the Star of David on it. “The punishment continues,” the poster read.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported that air defence systems were firing in Tehran, Iran's capital, while explosions could be heard in the nearby city of Karaj.

Iran likely filled in tunnels at nuclear sites ahead of US strikes

An analysis of satellite photos by a nuclear nonproliferation group based in Washington shows Iran likely filled in tunnels at its nuclear site at Isfahan ahead of US strikes early Sunday.

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security published satellite images taken by Airbus it assessed showed trucks dumping soil into tunnels at the site on Friday.

The US attack likely targeted the tunnel entries, the group said. “At least three of the four tunnel entrances are collapsed,” it said. “The status of the fourth one is unclear.”

Iran also is believed to have filled in tunnels at its underground Fordow enrichment facility before the American strike. That may have been to protect the sites from the strikes.

Meanwhile, the US cruise missile strike at the Isfahan site likely destroyed its uranium conversion facility, the Institute for Science and International Security said. The facility takes natural uranium and turns it into uranium hexafluoride, which is what Iran spins in centrifuges to enrich.

Trump claims 'monumental damage' inflicted on Iranian nuclear sites

President Donald Trump asserted on his Truth Social platform that Iran's nuclear sites sustained “monumental damage” in the American attack, though a US assessment on the strikes is still underway. “The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!” he wrote.

US defence officials have said they are working to determine just how much damage the strikes did.

Iran has not said how much damage was done in the attack either, and neither has Tehran offered any details so far on the strikes it has faced from Israel in its war with that country.

Read more here

India debunks social media claims that US used its airspace to launch strikes against Iran

India has dismissed as "fake" claims by certain social media handles that the US fighter jets used Indian airspace to launch strikes against Iran.

"Several social media accounts have claimed that Indian Airspace was used by the United States to launch aircrafts against Iran during Operation #MidnightHammer. This claim is FAKE," PIB Fact Check said in a post on X on Sunday.

"Indian Airspace was NOT used by the United States during Operation #MidnightHammer," said the fact check unit of the Press Information Bureau which functions under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

It said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine explained the route used by US aircraft during a press briefing.

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