Iran, US, Israel officials give conflicting directives to civilians to drop bombs | the news

Tehran, Iran – Iranians are being addressed directly by leaders inside and outside the country after the United States and Israel launched attacks across Iran, prompting Tehran to respond with an ongoing wave of missile and drone attacks across the region.

“In light of the ongoing joint operations by the US and the Zionist regime against Tehran and several other major cities, while remaining calm, please travel to other centers and cities.

All roads leading out of the capital have been congested since morning, shortly after the US and Israel launched joint strikes targeting more than 20 of Iran’s 32 provinces.

Inside Tehran, people formed long queues in front of petrol stations as government officials stressed they were under control, saying food and fuel supplies would not be a problem and that contingency plans were in motion.

Authorities accommodated citizens trying to leave the city by setting up roadside fueling stations. Many families moved to the three provinces north near the Caspian Sea, as they did during the 12-day war with Israel.

Last June, during the war, US President Donald Trump directly warned all Tehran citizens to evacuate immediately.

But in a video message released shortly after the strikes began on Saturday, he urged Iranians to stay in their homes and wait for the right time to upend and topple the theocratic establishment that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. He framed it as “perhaps your only chance for a generation.”

Similar sentiments were echoed in separate video messages released by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the US-backed shah who was ousted by clerics led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during the revolution.

“Be alert and ready, so that at the appropriate time, which I will tell you precisely, you will be back on the street for the final attempt,” said Pahlavi.

It refers to nationwide protests in Iran in January, during which thousands of civilians were killed, many on the nights of January 8 and 9.

Iranian officials say civilians have been killed by “terrorists” and “rioters” armed, funded and trained by the US and Israel. But the United Nations and international human rights groups have blamed state forces for an unprecedented crackdown on peaceful protesters and say tens of thousands have been arrested and some face the death penalty.

Last week student protests took place in major cities including Tehran and the holy Shiite city of Mashhad to the northeast and Shiraz to the south of Iran. Several students were suspended, while others were arrested or summoned by intelligence officials.

Following the strike on Saturday, universities and schools were declared closed until further notice as per the directives of the Supreme National Security Council. Most have already moved online until the end of the Iranian calendar year on March 20 in response to unrest at other universities.

But dozens of people, many of them children, were killed after two schools were struck in southern Iran’s Minab and Tehran.

State media showed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) paramilitary Basij patrolling the streets of downtown Tehran on motorcycles and vehicles and waving flags on Saturday afternoon.

A similar gathering was recorded in Palestine Square, where pro-state groups chanted “Death to America” ​​and “Death to Israel”.

Iranians forced another internet blackout

The initial salvo in Tehran targeted the Pasteur neighborhood, a downtown area where government offices are located.

Satellite images and videos of the area showed that the premises of the Supreme Leader’s offices were largely destroyed in the strikes. It was not immediately clear that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was present during the attack, but the foreign minister later told NBC News that Khamenei and President Masoud Pezheshkian were alive “as far as I know.”

Minutes after the war began, Iranian authorities began shutting down Internet connections and mobile phone connections in many areas of Tehran. Some mobile connectivity was restored, but the internet blackout extended across the country, with almost all traffic blocked and only a few proxy connections working to access the global internet.

The Islamic Republic imposed an unprecedented 20-day total internet blackout in January and heavy state filtering was in place before the shutdown on Saturday.

Iranian authorities on Saturday urged citizens to follow only official state media, report any suspicious activity and refrain from collaborating with “enemies” under pain of heavy punishment.

As daylight waned, the streets of Tehran emptied, but the sounds of explosions continued to ring loudly.