What happened
Iranian missiles struck the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa Monday morning after Israel bombarded Tehran, pushing the escalating fight between the longtime regional foes into a fourth day. Israeli strikes have killed at least 10 Iranian generals and several nuclear scientists. But President Donald Trump stopped Israel from assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, U.S. officials told The Associated Press and Reuters on Sunday. Iran said Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people since Friday while Israel put its death toll at 24.
Who said what
Israel told the U.S. it had a credible shot at killing Khamenei, "but Trump waved them off of the plan," Reuters said. "Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No," a senior U.S. official told the news service. "Until they do, we're not even talking about going after the political leadership." The White House has been "desperate to keep Israel's military operation" from "exploding into an even more expansive conflict," the AP said.
Israeli officials called the Khamenei report "fake news" and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News there were "a lot of false reports about conversations that didn't take place." But "we'll do what we need to do," he told anchor Bret Baier, and regime change "could certainly be the result" of the conflict because Iran's government "is very weak."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
"I hope there is going to be a deal" between Israel and Iran, Trump told reporters before departing yesterday evening for a G7 summit in Canada, "and we'll see what happens, but sometimes they have to fight it out." Iran told mediators in Qatar and Oman they "will not negotiate while under attack," an official told Reuters.
-
October 19 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelagoThe Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
Gaza’s reconstruction: the steps to rebuildingIn The Spotlight Even the initial rubble clearing in Gaza is likely to be fraught with difficulty and very slow
-
‘Extraordinary asymmetry’: the history of Israeli prisoner swapsIn The Spotlight Exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is the latest in a series of trades in which Israeli lives appear to count for more
-
Can Gaza momentum help end the war in Ukraine?Today's Big Question Zelenskyy’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles hints at ‘warming relations’ between Ukraine and US
-
Remaking the military: Pete Hegseth’s war on diversity and ‘fat generals’Talking Point The US Secretary of War addressed military members on ‘warrior ethos’
-
How does the Nobel Peace Prize work?The Explainer Activist María Corina Machado wins prestigious prize, despite public campaign by Donald Trump
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
-
Prime minister shocks France with resignationSpeed Read French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu submitted his government’s resignation after less than a month in office
-
Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
