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'Battle begins': Khamenei threatens Israel as Trump demands Iran's surrender
18 Jun 2025

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a stern warning to Israel.

"The battle begins," he wrote on X while sharing an image of a man holding a sword entering a castle-like gate.

Khamenei's post is a reference to the first imam of Shia Islam and his conquest of the Jewish town of Khaybar in the 7th century.

He warned Israel that they would show "no mercy" to what he called a "terrorist Zionist regime."

Khamenei's post and Trump's declaration
Escalating rhetoric

The threat is Khamenei's first public statement since US President Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender on social media and stated that the US was holding off on assassinating the supreme leader "for now."

"We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," he wrote on Truth Social. "We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now...Our patience is wearing thin."

Minutes later, he posted, "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"

US sending more fighter jets to Middle East
Military escalation

The US is reportedly sending more fighter jets to the Middle East and extending the deployment of warplanes.

Trump is also said to be considering all options for dismantling Iran's underground nuclear bombs.

He has repeatedly stated that Iran must abandon its nuclear program, claiming Tuesday that Iran was "very close" to creating a nuclear weapon, despite his own intelligence chiefs' evaluations that such an outcome was unlikely.

Iran not developing nuclear weapons: Gabbard
Rising tensions

National intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard had made it clear during her March congressional testimony that Iran was not developing nuclear weapons.

But on Tuesday, Trump brushed off her statement, saying, "I don't care what she said," insisting that Iran was "very close" to having a nuclear bomb.

Gabbard is scheduled to testify before Congress once more on Tuesday, in a stroke of serendipity.

Iran has 2 underground nuclear enrichment sites
War

Iran has two known underground nuclear enrichment sites: Natanz, which Israel bombed on the first day of the attack on Friday, and Fordo.

The unprecedented attack by Israel set off the ongoing war between the two nations, which has continued for a sixth day now.

The Israeli military reported that two barrages of Iranian missiles were fired toward Israel in the first two hours of Wednesday morning. Explosions were also heard around Tel Aviv.