US President Donald Trump is considering a range of options, including a potential US strike against Iran, and met with top advisers in the Situation Room at the White House on Tuesday, said media reports citing senior administration officials.
This comes as Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day.
A major explosion could be heard around 5 am in Tehran Wednesday morning, following other explosions that boomed earlier in the predawn darkness.
Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrike campaign has intensified since they began on Friday, reported AP.
At least one strike appeared to target Tehran’s eastern neighborhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy.
The Israelis earlier warned they could strike a neighbourhood south of Mehrabad International Airport, which includes residential neighbourhoods, military installations, pharmaceutical companies and industrial firms.
Israel also claimed that it had killed Iran’s Gen. Ali Shadmani, whom Israel described as the country’s most senior remaining military commander, in Tehran.
The death toll in Iran rose to above 450, according to a human-rights group. In Israel, 24 people have died as a result of Iranian strikes.
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, reported Reuters.
Iran has over the last six days launched some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel.
Israel asserts its sweeping assault is necessary to prevent Iran from getting any closer to building an atomic weapon.
As the US sent warplanes to the Middle East, Trump made a series of statements about the conflict, including warning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that the US knows where he is hiding but that there were no plans to kill him “at least not for now.”
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone on Tuesday, reported Wall Street Journal, citing a White House official.
Meanwhile, the White House has made it clear that the US isn’t joining Israel’s attacks on Iran, amid speculation fueled by recent military buildup in the region.
A third US Navy destroyer entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea to help defend Israel, and a second US carrier strike group is heading toward the Arabian Sea.
While the Pentagon says the military buildup is purely defensive, it puts the US on a firmer footing to join Israeli attacks on Iran should Trump decide to do that. Alternatively, it could be a tactic to pressure Iran to capitulate or make concessions, stated the report.
