Israel and Iran intensify attacks as Trump considers U.S. involvement

Israel and Iran continued to attack each other on Wednesday night and early Thursday as the world waited to see whether the U.S. will join Israel in the conflict.

Tit-for-tat strikes

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Effie Defrin said in a video statement on Wednesday night that the Israeli Air Force launched new attacks in western Iran on Wednesday evening.

There were three waves of Israeli air strikes over Iran in the past 24 hours and the initial overnight operation involved more than 50 fighter jets hitting approximately 40 targets around Tehran, said Defrin. 

In its latest bombing raids, Israel said its air force destroyed Iran's police headquarters. 

Thousands of explosions continue to echo through parts of Tehran and tensions remain high, CMG correspondent Neamatzadeh Hosein said, adding that many residents have started evacuating the city.

The IDF said its jets had struck more than 20 targets within Tehran, including nuclear weapons development project sites.

According to the IDF, the targeted sites in the capital were part of a "broad" effort against the Iranian regime's nuclear weapons development, which it said were intended "to expand the scale and pace of its uranium enrichment purpose of developing nuclear weapons."

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement earlier on Thursday that it launched fresh missile strikes against Israeli targets, using heavy, long-range, two-stage Sejjil missiles for the first time, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency.

The IRGC has so far carried out at least 12 waves of retaliatory missile strikes against Israel as part of Operation True Promise III.

The tit-for-tat strikes have damaged nearly 80 buildings, led to the displacement of 1,500 people in the Bat Yam area, south of Tel Aviv, and also caused widespread internet disruptions in Iran.

Iran announced temporary restrictions on users' access to the internet on Wednesday, accusing Israel of misusing the network for military purposes, the Fars news agency reported.   

Trump: 'I may do it. I may not do it...nobody knows what I'm going to do'

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, defiantly rejected U.S. President Trump's demand for an "unconditional surrender," and warned against any American military intervention in Israel's escalating war with Iran in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday.

"The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," Khamenei said.

Khamenei's remarks came a day after Trump raised the possibility of killing Khamenei but said he would not do so, "at least for now."

The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had told senior aides he had approved attack plans on Iran, but was holding off on giving the final order to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Wednesday, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said.

Trump later said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that." But he added, "It's a little late" for such talks. However, Iran denied it had offered to send officials to Washington.

The United Nations and multiple countries expressed concern about the ongoing Israel - Iran conflict and urged an immediate de-escalation.

On Wednesday, an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers was proposed by Egypt to coordinate Arab positions in light of the rapid developments and to address the current challenges with a spirit of common responsibility.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday at the request of Iran. In addition, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain plan to hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva aimed at persuading Iran to firmly guarantee that it will use its nuclear program solely for civilian purposes, a German diplomatic source told Reuters.

(With input from agencies)