Explosions reported in Tehran as US carrier said to sail to war zone

Blasts across Tehran have followed an evacuation warning by Israel as a US carrier reportedly heads for the war zone.

Smoke rises from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by an Israeli strike on Saturday. AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

Loud blasts were heard Monday in western Tehran as a rapidly escalating air war between Iran and Israel raged for the fourth consecutive day.

A large cloud of black smoke billowed over the area of the Iranian capital, an AFP journalist said.

The news agency said explosions were heard “”across Tehran’’.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that Iran’s state television and radio were “about to disappear” after an evacuation warning was issued for the district in Tehran where the broadcaster is based.

“The Iranian propaganda and incitement megaphone is about to disappear,” he said in a statement. “Evacuation of nearby residents has begun.”

Later the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building was struck in an Israeli attack on Monday, cutting live coverage briefly.

The blast occurred as the presenter was live on TV lambasting Israel before she was seen leaving the live broadcast, Iranian media reported, which shared a video of the incident.

Israel’s military urged residents in a portion of the capital’s northern District 3 to evacuate “immediately” on Monday, saying it intended to carry out air strikes there.

“In the coming hours, the (Israeli military) will operate in the area, as it has in recent days throughout Tehran, to strike military infrastructure of the Iranian regime,” the military said in a post on X in Persian.

The area marked for evacuation is an upmarket part of the Iranian capital home to at least four hospitals and medical centres, a major police building and state broadcaster IRIB.

It also houses several embassies, including those of Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, as well as UN offices and the Agence France-Presse bureau.

Earlier Monday, the Israeli army said that it had achieved “total air superiority in the skies over Tehran”.

The longtime foes have fought a prolonged shadow war through proxies and covert operations, with Israel battling several Iran-backed groups in the region, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.

The flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz during flight operations in the South China Sea in May. Picture: US Defence Department/AFP

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was leaving Southeast Asia on Monday after cancelling plans to dock in Vietnam, amid reports it is headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence as Israel and Iran do battle.

The carrier was travelling through the Malacca Strait toward the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking site.

The movement of one of the world’s largest warships came on day four of the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, with no end in sight despite international calls for de-escalation.

Israel’s strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities.

In retaliation, Iran said it had struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of “effective, targeted and more devastating operations” to come.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday said that Iran’s missile barrage had lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran was not winning its conflict with Israel and should re-enter negotiations “before it’s too late”.

“They have to make a deal, and it’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late,” Mr Trump told reporters at the G7 Summit in Canada.

AFP

The Wall Street Journal reports early today: Residents of Iran’s capital piled onto roads heading north to seek shelter from the fourth day of bombardment.

Iranians are now carpooling away from one of the most active war zones in the country, sharing rides with strangers they meet via social media.

Video corroborated by Storyful showed bumper to bumper traffic on Road 77, one of the main routes to Iran’s northern Alborz mountains and the coast of the southern Caspian Sea.

The freeway north was currently operating one-way, Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency reported on Monday. It said routes leading out of Tehran province were experiencing heavy traffic and cautioned that stalled cars were exacerbating traffic jams.

After seven hours on the road Monday morning, a 42-year-old mother of two said she had reached less than 160km outside the city due to congestion. She was heading toward Mazandaran province with her husband, their children and some friends who had hurriedly packed cash, valuables and important documents along with food and water for a few days. They have no immediate plans to return.

Despite the danger, many Tehran residents are staying in place. Some said they would like to leave but couldn’t find a ride with pets who they refused to abandon. Others just refuse to run. One insisted that Tehran is their home, and they wouldn’t leave.