Israel, Iran Exchange Missile Strikes as Conflict Enters Sixth Day; Trump Demands Tehran’s ‘Unconditional Surrender’
thefridaynews 
Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the warfare between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day, with US President Donald Trump calling for Iran’s unconditional surrender and fuelling questions about US involvement in the war.
Israel launched wide-scale air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences on Friday, killing top commanders, scientists, and civilians. It claimed the strikes are part of a broader operation codenamed ‘Rising Lion’ to deter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, which the latter has consistently denied, saying its uranium enrichment programme is for civilian purposes.
The Israeli military said two barrages of Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel in the first two hours of Wednesday morning. Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv.
Israel told residents in the area of Tehran to evacuate so its air force could strike Iranian military installations. Iranian news websites said explosions were heard in Tehran and the city of Karaj, west of the capital.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said that hypersonic missiles were used during the latest attack on Israel, AFP reported.
“The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles” was carried out, the Guards said in a statement carried by state television, claiming that Iranian forces “have gained complete control over the skies of the occupied territories”.
More than 224 Iranians have been killed and over 1,000 injured, most of them civilians, as of Monday. Israel says 24 people have been killed, mostly civilians. Residents of both countries have been evacuated or have fled.
Trump says ‘we now have total control’ of Iran skies
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump’s increasingly irate tone and choice of words indicated that the US was not far from intervening to support Israel, its closest ally in the region.
“We now have completely and total control of the skies over Iran,” he posted, prompting many to question what he meant by “we”.
The US president has maintained that his country is not involved in the Iran-Israel conflict yet, but threatened Iran with severe consequences if it targeted US troops and assets in the Middle East.
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