Head of Iran's judiciary raises possibility of executing "those who say or do anything" backing U.S.-Israeli airstrikes
Iran's judiciary chief on Wednesday threatened "those who say or do anything" in support of the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign now targeting the Islamic Republic.
Gholam Hosseini Mohseni Ejehei made the comments in an interview with Iranian state television.
His remarks raised the possibility of those detained facing death-penalty charges, as cooperating with an enemy can carry execution if convicted.
"As we said during the unrest, riot cases are a priority," Ejehei said, referring to January's nationwide protests that Iran violently suppressed. "We have now also announced that those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy."
He added: "Those who say or do anything in line with the will of America and the Zionist regime are on the enemy's side and must be dealt with on revolutionary, Islamic principles and in accordance with the time of war."
Israel says it shot down Iranian fighter jet over Tehran
The Israeli military said its air force shot down an Iranian fighter jet over Tehran on Wednesday.
"An Israeli Air Force F-35I fighter jet ('Adir') shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet a short while ago over the skies of Tehran," the Israel Defense Forces said on social media.
"This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 "Adir" fighter jet," the statement pointed out.
The F-35 is the newsest fighter jet in the U.S. and Israeli arsenals.
"No to war," Spain's prime minister tells Trump
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hit back Wednesday at President Trump's criticisms of Madrid's refusal to let U.S. planes use Spanish bases to attack Iran.
"The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war," he said in a televised address, a day after Mr. Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain.
"We will not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation," Sanchez said.
"This is how humanity's great disasters start. ... You cannot play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions," Sanchez said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Israel defense minister: Any successor to Khamenei would be "target for assassination"
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened on Wednesday to assassinate any Iranian leader picked to succeed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
"Any leader selected by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan for Israel's destruction, threatening the United States, the free world and countries in the region, and suppressing the Iranian people, will be a certain target for assassination, no matter his name or where he hides," Katz said in a post on X.
Air strike hits Hezbollah bastion in Beirut after Israeli warning: AFPTV
An air strike hit Hezbollah's bastion in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday, AFPTV footage showed, after an evacuation order from the Israeli army.
The strike follows a series of deadly raids that, for the first time, targeted a Beirut neighborhood near the presidential palace, as well as areas south of the Lebanese capital and the ancient city of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, leaving 11 people dead.
State funeral for Ayatollah Khamenei to begin Wednesday evening
Iran will hold a three-day state funeral for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, official news agency Irna said.
"The faithful will be able to pay a final homage to the body of the martyred guide of the nation, by visiting the Imam Khomenei grand mosque" in Tehran, Irna said, citing a statement from the Islamic Development Coordination Council.
Khamenei will be buried in his home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
Arrangements for the funeral procession to Mashhad will be announced when they are finalized, state media added, according to the Reuters news agency.
Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
Israel launches fresh round of strikes on Tehran
Explosions sounded in Tehran Wednesday as Iran's war with the U.S. and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region.
The explosions around Tehran came at dawn, according to Iran state television, while Israel's military said its air defenses had been activated to intercept incoming Iranian missiles and explosions were heard around Jerusalem.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a social media post that Israel's strikes targeted "regime-affiliated sites across Tehran."
Adraee said the Israeli Air Force struck dozens of buildings belonging to Iran's Basij forces. The Basij is a paramilitary branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Missile launch platforms and defensive systems were also targeted.
Israel issues warning to 16 Lebanese villages, indicating strikes coming
The Israeli military issued an "urgent warning" to the residents of 16 southern Lebanese villages and towns early Wednesday morning local time, indicating that it was likely planning to conduct strikes in their region.
Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for Israel Defense Forces, wrote in a social media post in Arabic that residents were urged, for their safety, to evacuate their homes immediately and stay at least 1,000 meters outside of the villages listed.
"Protect your safety and the safety of your loved ones, evacuate immediately, and do not return to the villages and towns at this stage," Adraee wrote.
On Tuesday, Israel had issued a similar warning to dozens of southern Lebanese towns to evacuate.
The militant group Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based proxy of Iran, began launching missiles and drones into northern Israel Monday.
