Iran Warns Trump, Dares Him to Strike Country

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday in a post on X that his country does not fear President Donald Trump’s threats and “absurd rhetoric.” In a separate television address, he vowed that Iran “will not surrender” and said any U.S. military intervention in the conflict would bring “irreparable damage.”

Trump is weighing whether to strike Iran, and the Pentagon has built up U.S. military forces in the Middle East in recent days. On social media Tuesday, Trump demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” from Tehran without detailing what that would mean, and he described the supreme leader as an “easy target.” Israel and Iran continued to trade fire on Wednesday, the sixth day of the direct conflict.

Explosions were heard in Tehran early Wednesday as Israeli warplanes continued to hammer Iran. The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for another district as the exodus from the Iranian capital continued. Israel said it attacked a centrifuge production site and several weapons manufacturing sites overnight.

Iran launched two waves of missiles at Israel overnight and said it used its hypersonic Fattah-1 missile for the first time. There have been no reports of casualties in Israel Wednesday.

The number of missiles Israel has faced in each retaliation barrage appears to have decreased over the past two days. Iran has not explained the decline, but Israel said it has destroyed more than a third of Iran’s missile launchers.

“The battle begins,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, posted on social media early Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump described him as an “easy target.”

As Trump mulls U.S. involvement, Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that “any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”

Trump Claims U.S. Control Over Iranian Airspace, Says Country’s Supreme Leader Will Not Be Killed “For Now”

President of the United States, Donald Trump, has made bold claims that the U.S. military has taken full control of Iranian airspace, escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran. In a series of posts on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Trump asserted that Iran’s Supreme Leader is a visible target but remains unharmed — “for now.”

Trump’s first post simply read, “unconditional surrender,” hinting at pressure being mounted on Iran’s leadership. He later wrote:

> “We know exactly where the so-called supreme leader is hiding. He is an easy target but is safe there. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

He followed up with another declaration:

> “We now have complete and total control of the skies in Iran. Iran had a good sky trackers and defensive equipment, and plenty of it but it does not compare to American made, conceived and manufactured stuff. Nobody does it better than the USA.”

The former president did not provide any evidence to support his statements, nor have any military agencies confirmed a shift in air dominance over Iran. Nonetheless, his posts have sparked serious concern and speculation, especially due to the direct threat implied toward Iran’s highest-ranking official.

Iranian authorities have not issued a formal response, but some affiliated media outlets have accused Trump of engaging in “psychological warfare” and deliberately heightening tensions. Trump’s rhetoric is consistent with his earlier confrontational stance toward Iran during his previous term, which included ordering a drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

Military analysts have warned that such provocative language—especially public threats directed at national leaders—could lead to miscalculation or unintended escalation. Some suggest Trump’s comments may be a political move to project strength amid ongoing conflict in the region and during an election year at home.

While the accuracy of Trump’s claims remains unverified, his words have reintroduced volatility into the already tense U.S.-Iran dynamic and raised alarms across diplomatic and security circles.

Togo on Monday suspended French broadcasters RFI and France 24 for three months, the media regulator said, accusing both of transmitting “inexact and tendentious” content.

“Several recent broadcasts relayed inaccurate, biased, and even factually incorrect statements, undermining the stability of republican institutions and the country’s image,” Togo’s High Authority of Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) said in a statement.

Togolese opposition parties and civil society groups on Thursday demanded Gnassingbe step down, urging a civil disobedience campaign following last week’s youth-led demonstrations.

He “must return power to the Togolese people to whom national sovereignty belongs”, the National Alliance for Change (ANC), Democratic Forces for the Republic (FDR) and civil society groups said in a statement.

The groups urged citizens to launch acts of civil disobedience from June 23 to thwart the “illegitimate” regime.

Protests have been banned in Togo since 2022, following a deadly attack at Lome’s main market, though public meetings are still allowed.