Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says Iran is ‘for the time being’ focused on targeting Israeli sites only as conflict enters sixth day.

Iran has warned that any intervention by the United States in its conflict with Israel would risk an “all-out war”, as the regional rivals traded missile fire for a sixth day.

After President Donald Trump hinted at greater US involvement in the conflict and sent warplanes to the region, Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday pledged that Iran would defend itself with “all force”.

Here are some key takeaways from an exclusive interview the Iranian official gave to Al Jazeera.

Will Iran attack US forces?

Baghaei said Iran is “under an attack by a genocidal regime”, adding it will defend itself with “full force” against Israel’s “war of aggression”.

He said Iran is “for the time being” focused on targeting Israeli sites only, and Tehran trusts its neighbours would not allow the US to use their territory for attacks against it.

“Right now, we focus on defending ourselves from attacks from Israel, and that is why we have been very careful, very responsible, very calculated in our response to these attacks. We have targeted military bases, security bases inside the occupied lands, so for the time being, we are focused on that,” he said.

“We have very good relations with Arab countries, and they are very cognisant of the fact that Israel has been trying to drag others into the war … We are sure our Arab countries hosting US bases would not allow their territory to be used against their Muslim neighbours,” he added.

“I trust that the understanding between Iran and our neighbouring countries would not allow any third party to abuse their territory,” he said.

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Is Iran willing to engage in diplomacy?

According to Baghaei, “diplomacy never ends”. But he said Tehran no longer trusts Washington.

“We were in the middle of [nuclear] negotiations [with the US], and all of a sudden, Israel started attacking Iran. And no one can imagine in our region, not only in Iran, that Israel started this war without a prior green light from the US,” he said.

“So I think what is at stake is the credibility of a country that is supposed to be a global power. What is at stake is the international law that has been almost annihilated because of all the atrocities committed in occupied Palestine and in Syria and elsewhere,” he noted.

Baghaei said Iran is in contact with other countries, including Russia, because it is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. “We expect everyone that has leeway, that has a mandate under the UN Security Council, to act to help achieve a resolution in condemnation of this attack,” he said.

Will Iran give up its nuclear programme?

Israel has said its attacks on Iran came to stop Tehran from building nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly denied that it seeks nuclear bombs and that its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Baghaei argued: “Where are the IAEA’s violation reports? The true criminals bomb inspected facilities.”

“Our nuclear programme has been part and parcel of our right under the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty]. So we have not done anything wrong under international law. Our nuclear programme started in the 1950s and it has continued for the past five decades completely peacefully,” he said.

He accused Israel of attacking a “peaceful installation” in Iran and questioned why members of the NPT allowed the attack to happen.

“This is completely banned under international law. This is completely criminal. And in accordance with Article 573 of [the UN convention on nuclear safety, as adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA … the threat of attack against a country’s peaceful installation constitutes a threat to peace and security,” he noted.

“Now, we are witnessing a serious breach of peace … so I think the international community must make Israel and its supporters accountable for what they have done in their aggression against Iran.”

Israel and Iran exchanged fire again on Wednesday, the sixth day of strikes in their most intense confrontation in history, fuelling fears of a drawn-out conflict that could engulf the Middle East.

Here are the latest developments:

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that air force jets had destroyed Iran’s “internal security headquarters” after the army announced it was striking military targets in Tehran.

AFP journalists reported hearing blasts in the north and east of the Iranian capital.

“Air Force jets have just destroyed the internal security headquarters of the Iranian regime — the main arm of repression of the Iranian dictator,” Katz said in a statement, vowing to “strike symbols of governance and hit the Ayatollah regime wherever it may be”.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his nation would “never surrender”, while warning Israel ally the United States it would suffer “irreparable damage” if it intervenes in the conflict.

“This nation will never surrender,” Khamenei said in a speech read on state television. “America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”

US President Donald Trump had stepped up his rhetoric, saying on Tuesday that the United States knows where Khamenei is located but will not kill him “for now”.

In another post, Trump also appeared to demand Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” as he fuelled speculation over whether the United States would join Israel’s attacks.

US officials stressed he has not yet made a decision about any intervention.

The Israeli military said it targeted a centrifuge facility in overnight strikes on Tehran.

Centrifuges are vital for uranium enrichment, the sensitive process that can produce fuel for reactors or, in highly extended form, the core of a nuclear warhead.

The UN nuclear watchdog later said two centrifuge production facilities had been destroyed at Karaj, just outside Tehran.

Israel’s attacks have hit nuclear and military facilities around Iran, as well as residential areas.

Residential areas in Israel have also been hit, and foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens from both countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that at least 24 people have been killed in Israel and hundreds wounded since Iran’s retaliatory strikes began Friday.

Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that “regime change is not an objective of this war — it can be a result, but it’s not an objective”.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned that any attempt to change the government in Iran would result in “chaos”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed support for the campaign Tuesday, saying in an interview that “this is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us” against Iran’s “mullah regime”.

Iran said Wednesday it had detained five suspected agents of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency on charges of tarnishing the country’s image online, Iranian news agencies reported.

“These mercenaries sought to sow fear among the public and tarnish the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran through their calculated activities online,” the Tasnim and ISNA news agencies quoted a statement from the Revolutionary Guards as saying.

Iran announced last week that it was placing temporary restrictions on the internet for the duration of the conflict. Numerous sites and apps have since been at least partially inaccessible.

The authorities appealed to the public on Tuesday to “minimise their use of equipment connected to the internet and to take appropriate precautions” online.

State television appealed to Iranians on Tuesday to delete WhatsApp from their phones, charging that the messaging app gathers users’ location and personal data and “communicates them to the Zionist enemy”.

A WhatsApp spokesperson hit back against the claims, saying: “We’re concerned these false reports will be an excuse for our services to be blocked at a time when people need them the most.”

As the Israel conflict with Iran escalates, Iran’s supreme leader issued a warning on Wednesday that U.S. intervention would cause “irreparable damage.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s warning came after President Donald Trump on Truth Social and alerted the leader that the U.S. knows where he is but has no plans to kill him, “at least not for now.”

“The US entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter,” the supreme leader

In recent days, Trump has hinted at greater American involvement, telling reporters aboard Air Force One after the G7 summit that he indicating a preference for a decisive resolution over temporary peace.

He met with his team on Tuesday in the Situation Room at the White House to discuss the next steps.

So far, the U.S. has provided defensive support to Israel and additional resources, including aircraft carriers and fighter jets.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also warned on Wednesday that U.S. intervention would risk “all-out war.”

Israel against Iran last week to head off what they described as an imminent threat that Iran would build nuclear bombs.

Earlier this week, the United States elevated its travel advisory for Israel to “do not travel.”

“The security situation in Israel, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is unpredictable, and U.S. citizens are reminded to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire and armed UAV intrusions and missiles, can take place without warning,” the .

Americans were also warned against traveling “for any reason” to the West Bank due to “terrorism and civil unrest” and to Gaza because of “terrorism and armed conflict.”

The latest Israeli strikes hit a facility used to make uranium centrifuges and another that made missile components, the Israeli military said. It said it had intercepted 10 missiles overnight as Iran’s retaliatory barrages diminish. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said Israel had struck two centrifuge production facilities in and near Tehran.

The Israeli military said it also carried out strikes in western Iran, hitting missile storage sites and a loaded missile launcher.

Israeli strikes have hit several nuclear and military sites, and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded.

Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones in retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 24 people in Israel and wounded hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage, and air raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to run for shelter.

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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Iran bluntly threatened the US on Wednesday that any involvement in its conflict with Israel would trigger an “all-out war” — as Tehran reportedly started prepping missiles for retaliatory strikes on American bases.

“Any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei warned in an interview with Al Jazeera.

The foreign ministry spokesman stopped short of elaborating, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran’s weapons.

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4 A handout picture provided by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office shows him greeting a crowd. KHAMENEI.IR/AFP via Getty Images

4 The Iran state radio and television building was hit by an Israeli strike. BERNO/SIPA/Shutterstock

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei echoed the threat on Wednesday, warning that any US strike would have “serious irreparable consequences.”

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Khamenei vowed too that Iran would never back down and said his country “does not answer well to threats” as he rejected President Trump’s earlier call for an unconditional surrender.

“Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender,” he said in a statement read out on state media.

“The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”

4 Esmail Baghaei, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, at a press conference. Foreign Ministry of Iran

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Iran’s spate of menacing remarks came after American officials told the New York Times that Tehran had already started preparing missiles to strike US bases in the Middle East if they joined the war — starting with those in Iraq.

Iran could also mine the Strait of Hormuz — a move that would trap American warships in the Persian Gulf, the officials said.

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It comes after Trump demanded late Tuesday that Iran surrender and warned the supreme leader that the US knew where he was.

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“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,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

“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!”

4 The Iron Dome intercepts missiles being fired from Iran. ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva hit back Wednesday, calling Trump’s remarks “hostile.”

“The remarks made by Donald Trump are completely unwarranted, are very hostile. We cannot ignore them. We are vigilant about what Donald Trump is saying. We will put it in our calculations, in our assessments,” he told reporters.

“There is a line, which if crossed, there should be a response on our side. Once the red line is crossed, the response will come.”

Read the latest on the conflict between Israel and Iran

He added that the US was “complicit in what Israel is doing.”

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“We will not show any reluctance in defending our people, security and land,” he said. “We will respond seriously and strongly, without restraint.”

Thousands of people were fleeing Tehran on Wednesday after Israeli warplanes bombed the city overnight.

Israel’s military said 50 Israeli jets had struck around 20 targets in Tehran, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.

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Iran retaliated with a small barrage of missiles aimed at the Jewish state.

With Post wires

President Trump said Wednesday that he had not yet decided whether the U.S. military should join Israel’s ongoing attacks on Iran, and he didn’t believe it was too late to reach a deal with the Islamic republic on its nuclear program, though he warned it was “very late to be talking.”

“I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Mr. Trump told reporters when he was asked about the U.S. taking part in the strikes on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities.

Asked if he believed it was too late to negotiate a new deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program — which he has made clear he wants the Iranian government to abandon completely — Mr. Trump said: “Nothing’s too late.”

He added that the Iranians had sought talks, and said they had even suggested sending a delegation for discussions at the White House.

President Trump speaks to journalists as workers install a large flag pole on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., June 18, 2025. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty

“I said, ‘it’s really late. You know?’ I said, ‘it’s very late to be talking,'” the president said, adding: “There’s a big difference between now and a week ago,” before Israel started hammering Iran with airstrikes.

In a social media post, Iran’s mission to the United Nations appeared to respond directly to Mr. Trump’s remarks, saying: “No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House.”

“The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to ‘take out’ Iran’s Supreme Leader,” the post said. “Iran does NOT negotiate under duress, shall NOT accept peace under duress, and certainly NOT with a has-been warmonger clinging to relevance. Iran shall respond to any threat with a counter-threat, and to any action with reciprocal measures.”

An Iranian official had warned earlier Wednesday that any U.S. intervention in the conflict with Israel would risk “all-out war,” as the unprecedented exchange of fire with warplanes and ballistic missiles entered a sixth day.

Overnight, a fresh barrage of Israeli missiles streaked across the skies of Tehran. Most were taken out by Iran’s air defenses, but the Israeli military and the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency said another site linked to Iran’s nuclear program was hit.

Missiles fired from Iran are seen streaking across the skies over Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 18, 2025. Wisam Hashlamoun/Anadolu/Getty

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said the “extensive operation” overnight involved more than 50 fighter jets deployed for three waves of strikes, during which “we struck a centrifuge production site that was intended to enable the regime to continue to enhance its uranium enrichment. This complements actions from previous operations we have conducted targeting components of the nuclear program.”

The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said in a social media post that it had “information that two centrifuge production facilities in Iran, the TESA Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Center, were hit,” adding that “both sites were previously under IAEA monitoring and verification as part of the JCPOA” — the international Iran nuclear deal that Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from unilaterally during his first term.

Iran retaliated with another wave of missiles launched at Israel by the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Sirens blared in Israel to warn they were on the way, but the missiles were intercepted, with explosions seen in the skies over Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

The steady exchange of fire has taken an escalating cost in human lives. Iranian authorities have provided no updates since saying over the weekend that more than 220 people were killed. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran organization, which relies on a network of contacts in the country, said Tuesday that it had documented at least 452 deaths in Iran since Israel launched its attacks, including 109 confirmed military personnel, 224 civilians and 119 people it could not immediately identify.

The war has also sparked an exodus from Iran’s capital Tehran with video showing thousands of vehicles at a near standstill on primary exit routes. Those frantic escape bids were fueled by Mr. Trump’s direct warning to Tehran’s roughly 10 million inhabitants earlier this week to “evacuate immediately.”

While Israel has been able to inflict far greater damage on Iran, it has not been immune to the suffering. At least 24 people have been killed by Iranian missiles that slip through the country’s robust air defenses.

Bella Ashkinaze, 90, and her husband Chaim were asleep in their apartment building near Tel Aviv on Sunday when an Iranian missile smashed into their home. Bella died and was buried this week in an emotional farewell. Her granddaughter Shani Boana told CBS News her grandparents were both too frail to keep going to their bomb shelters every time the sirens blared.

“I wish I could turn back time and to take her to the safe room,” she said. “I am going to miss her a lot… but I still think that we need to do what it takes to stop that threat [from Iran].”

Israel has advised its citizens to remain close to bomb shelters, and the U.S. embassy said it would be closed from Wednesday until at least Saturday.

Iran warns of “all-out war” if U.S. joins Israeli strikes

“I think any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region with very, very bad consequences for the whole international community,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera English on Wednesday, adding that he did not believe the Trump administration could dictate to Israel what it could and could not do.

Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador in Geneva and a senior diplomat from the country, said Tehran would “respond strongly” to what he called the ongoing Israeli “aggression,” and he warned that Iran would do the same against the United States if U.S. forces join the conflict.

In a statement later aired on Iranian state TV, supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said the U.S. “should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”

“Those who know Iran’s history know that Iranians do not answer well to the language of threats,” Khamenei said, adding that Iran “will never surrender.”

He also said Israel had made a “huge mistake,” which the country would be “punished for.”

Iranian men hold the flags of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and of Iran, along with a portrait of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a rally to condemn Israeli attacks on Iran, in downtown Tehran, June 14, 2025. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty

The defiant messages came after President Trump issued a stern warning on Tuesday, demanding an “unconditional surrender” by Iran’s clerical rulers.

Asked Wednesday at the White House what he meant by those two words, Mr. Trump said: “Very simple — unconditional surrender. That means I’ve had it. I’ve had it. I give up, no more. Then we go blow up all the nuclear stuff that’s all over the place there. They had bad intentions. You know, for 40 years they’ve been saying, death to America, death to Israel, death to anybody else that they didn’t like. They were bullies. They were schoolyard bullies, and now they’re not bullies anymore.”

Mr. Trump had threatened the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, directly on Tuesday, saying the U.S. knew where he was but that it would not kill him, yet. He added: “Our patience is wearing thin.”

Khamenei, in his Wednesday address, called Mr. Trump’s ultimatum “unacceptable.”

The Trump administration has insisted since Israel launched its first strikes on Iran that the U.S. military is not taking part directly in the attacks. But five sources familiar with the matter told CBS News on Tuesday that Mr. Trump is now considering joining the strikes, including potential attacks on Iran’s secretive Fordo nuclear enrichment facility. The site is buried deep under a mountain, and Israel is thought to need U.S. warplanes to effectively strike the facility.

Two sources told CBS News on Wednesday that Israel has not requested that the U.S. join its effort in Iran militarily. They said that decision was for Mr. Trump to make with his advisers, and that Israel has its own plans and feels it is able to proceed alone.

There’s disagreement among Mr. Trump’s close advisers about taking direct action along with Israel, CBS News’ sources said Tuesday, but the U.S. military has sent additional warplanes from their home bases to Europe, which analysts believe could be preparation for a greater role in the Mideast.

CBS News’ partner network BBC News said Tuesday that its own analysis of flight tracking data had verified at least 30 American military aircraft flying from bases in the U.S. to Europe over the previous three days – all tanker aircraft used to re-fuel fighter jets and bombers. Data from the Flightradar24 tracking website showed at least seven of the planes – all KC-135 Stratotankers – had stopped at U.S. bases in Spain, Scotland and England.

Justin Bronk, a senior analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank in London, told the BBC the deployments were “highly suggestive” of U.S. military contingency plans to “support intensive combat operations” in the Middle East in the days ahead.