Iran's leader says US intervention would cause 'irreparable damage'

Iran's supreme leader on Thursday rejected US calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause "irreparable damage to them".

European diplomats prepared to hold talks with Iran on Friday.

The second public appearance by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since the Israeli strikes began six days ago came as Israel lifted some restrictions on daily life, suggesting that the missile threat from Iran was easing.

Khamenei spoke a day after US President Donald Trump demanded in a social media post that Iran surrender without conditions and warned Khamenei that the US knows where he is but has no plans to kill him, "at least not for now".

Trump initially distanced himself from Israel's surprise attack on Friday that triggered the conflict, but in recent days he has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something "much bigger" than a ceasefire. The US has also sent more military aircraft and warships to the region.

Senior European diplomats were set to hold nuclear talks with Iran on Friday in Geneva, according to a European official familiar with the matter.

The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss matters freely, said the meeting would include high-ranking diplomats from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union's top diplomat.

There are no plans for American involvement in the talks, although that could change, according to another US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic communications.

Separately, the UN Security Council scheduled a second emergency meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict for Friday at the request of Russia, China and Pakistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help mediate, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement allowing Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns.

"In my view, a solution could be found," Putin said Thursday at a session with journalists.

In a video address to Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Trump's support in the conflict, calling him "a great friend of Israel" and praising US help defending Israel's skies.

"We speak constantly, including last night," he said Thursday. "We had a very warm conversation."

Khamenei dismissed the "threatening and absurd statements" by Trump.

"Wise individuals who know Iran, its people and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender," he said in a low-resolution video, his voice echoing.

"Americans should know that any military involvement by the US will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage to them."

Iran released Khamenei's statement before the video was aired, perhaps as a security measure. His location is not known, and it was impossible to discern from the tight shot, which showed only beige curtains, an Iranian flag and a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei's immediate predecessor, who died in 1989.

An Iranian diplomat had warned earlier that US intervention would risk "all-out war".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei did not elaborate, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran's weapons. The US has threatened a massive response to any attack.

Another Iranian official said the country would keep enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, apparently ruling out Trump's demands that Iran give up its disputed nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Iranian state TV reported late Wednesday that it was under a cyberattack by Israel.

Social media users reported that the regular broadcast on state TV was briefly interrupted and replaced with an anti-government video urging people to take to the streets. After the normal broadcast resumed, a message on the screen said, "If you see an irrelevant message on the screen, it’s due to a cyber attack by the Zionist regime".

Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told a news conference that Israel launched three waves of aerial attacks in the last 24 hours, deploying dozens of warplanes to strike over 60 targets in Tehran and western Iran, including missile launchers, weapon-production sites and a facility that he said produced anti-tank missiles for Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military also struck the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces, without specifying the agency or location. The strike marks a shift toward targeting Iran's domestic security apparatus, which has long cracked down on dissent and suppressed protests.

Iran's police force acknowledged the strike hours later, saying that Israel hit its central command buildings in Tehran and wounded some officers, without saying how many.

In addition, the UN nuclear watchdog agency said, Israel hit two centrifuge-production facilities in and near Tehran.

Israel's air campaign has struck several nuclear and military sites, killing top generals and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1300 wounded.

In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage.

Israeli military officials said their defences intercepted 10 missiles overnight and several more Wednesday evening as Iran's retaliatory barrages diminished. Air-raid sirens forced Israelis to run for shelter. There were no reports of injuries.

Iran has fired fewer missiles as the conflict has worn on. It has not explained the decline, but Israel has targeted launchers and other infrastructure related to the missiles.

Some US diplomats and their families at the US Embassy in Israel were evacuated Wednesday, according to two USofficials who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic movements. A number of diplomats left on a government plane shortly before US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced that the embassy was making evacuation plans for private American citizens, the officials said.

By Thursday, Israel eased some of the restrictions that it had imposed on civilians when Iran launched its retaliatory attack, allowing gatherings of up to 30 people and letting workplaces reopen as long as there is a shelter nearby.

The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said it had identified 239 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 126 as security personnel.

The group, which also provided detailed casualty figures during 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, crosschecks local reports against a network of sources it has developed in Iran.

Iran has not been publishing regular death tolls during the conflict and has minimized casualties in the past. Its last update, issued Tuesday, put the toll at 224 people killed and 1277 others wounded.

Internet service, which has faced repeated disruption in Iran over the past six days, crashed overnight. The internet-monitoring group NetBlocks reported a "near-total national internet blackout".

The Iranian Communications Ministry announced that the government was limiting internet access to prevent Israel's "misuse of the country's communication network for military purposes".

Shops have been closed across Tehran, including in its famed Grand Bazaar, as people wait in gas lines and pack roads leading out of the city to escape the onslaught.

Witnesses reported that more than 10 powerful explosions shook central Tehran around 8pm, sending white smoke into the air. Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which have become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrikes have intensified.

At least one strike appeared to target Tehran's eastern neighbourhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy.

Israel says it launched the strikes to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after talks between the United States and Iran over a diplomatic resolution made little visible progress over two months but were still ongoing. Trump has said Israel’s campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks.