Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, delivered a stark warning on Wednesday, stating Israel’s determination to eliminate not only Iran’s capacity to develop nuclear weapons but also its ability to produce ballistic missiles.
They [Iranian missiles] come cruising out of the sky and create incredible damage. That production capacity has to be eliminated as well. They cannot have the weapons that can destroy Israel, which they claim and which they want to do every day.
Commenting on Israel’s capability to destroy Iran’s deeply buried Fordow nuclear enrichment facility near Qom, Leiter suggested varied approaches. “It might require multiple strikes, it might require something else or it might require one of our surprises,” he stated, offering no specifics.
Regarding potential independent Israeli action should the US not engage, Leiter asserted, “We have a few tricks up our sleeves.”
We’re not going to allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
Military actions and evacuation warnings
In the early hours of Thursday morning, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) escalated its operations within Iran, issuing an urgent evacuation warning to residents in the vicinity of Arak and Khondab in western Iran.
“The IDF continues to operate in the area, as it has in recent days across Iran, targeting the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure,” the statement from the IDF’s official channel said. The warning instructed residents to “evacuate immediately from the marked area.”
Your presence in this area puts your life at risk.
Analysis of the area marked by a red circle in the IDF statement corresponds with satellite imagery of the Arak nuclear complex. This facility, housing a heavy water reactor and production plant, has long been a concern for Western nations. Heavy water can be utilised to produce plutonium, representing a potential alternative pathway for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.
International reaction and evacuations
Australia intensified its diplomatic stance while initiating citizen evacuations. c Penny Wong, speaking in Canberra on Thursday, reiterated calls for Iran to cease any nuclear weapons programmes.
Iran has a choice here, and it should make the choice to discontinue its programme, any programme, and to return to talks.
Wong confirmed that approximately 1,500 Australian citizens are registered for assistance in Iran and 1,200 in Israel. “This is a very stressful and risky situation,” she acknowledged, detailing that a small group was evacuated from Israel by land on Wednesday with efforts underway to assist more.
US President Donald Trump reportedly approved plans for potential US strikes against Iran but remained undecided on final action, according to US media. The focus is on the critical Fordow enrichment site, an underground facility potentially only vulnerable to US weaponry. Publicly, Trump maintained ambiguity:
I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I want to do. But I can say this: Iran’s got a lot of trouble and wants to negotiate.
This unfolds as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepares for talks in Geneva with European counterparts.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a diplomatic perspective, asserting that resolving the Iran-Israel conflict must balance both nations’ interests. He advocated for finding a way to halt hostilities, noting social consolidation in Iran despite the attacks and claiming the underground facilities remain intact.
This [diplomatic] path must both ensure Iran’s interests in peaceful nuclear activities and guarantee Israel’s interests in terms of the unconditional security of the Jewish state.
