Iran‘s President said on Friday that some countries had begun mediation efforts to end the war with the US and Israel.
Writing on X, President Masoud Pezeshkian said: ‘Some countries have begun mediation efforts.
‘Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity and sovereignty.’
‘Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict.’
It comes as central Tehran was hit with one of the biggest explosions of the war so far on Friday, after Donald Trump warned Iran that the ‘big one’ is coming
There were deafening bangs and multiple plumes of smoke and fireballs as a huge payload hit the Moqaddad base of the Revolutionary Guards.
Tehran’s famous Azadi Tower can be seen in the centre of a video as the bombs rained down on the Iranian capital.
Debris was thrown across the city centre and some witnesses even claimed have seen bodies thrown up more than 100ft in the air.
Central Tehran was hit with one of the biggest explosions of the war so far on Friday
Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes in a central area of the Iranian capital Tehran on March 6
Israel launched a series of airstrikes late on Thursday and into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut
Iranians filming the bomb blasts could be heard exclaiming at the ferocity of the explosions hours after the US President told the Iranian military to ‘surrender or die’.
Witnesses described the Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
Meanwhile, Israel launched a series of airstrikes late on Thursday and into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified.
Iran unleashed its ‘most intense barrage’ yet on Thursday night with a series of bombardments on Israel and US allies in the Gulf as it threatened to drag even more countries into the Middle East conflict.
The Islamic Republic had vowed the US would ‘bitterly regret’ torpedoing one of its warships as it sent hundreds of drones and missiles at its Arab neighbours.
Iran’s threats were met with fury from President Trump, who said on Friday there would be no deal struck with Iran except ‘unconditional surrender.’
‘After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction,’ Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that they would work to boost Iran’s economy.
Trump previously urged members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military and police to lay down their arms or face the same fate as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He said it was ‘too late’ for Iran to talk and told its diplomats across the globe to defect and be ‘on the right side of history’.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Trump said: ‘I’m once again calling on all members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the military and the police to lay down their arms.
‘Now is the time to stand up for the Iranian people and help take back your country. You’re gonna have a chance after all these years to take back your country. Accept immunity, we’ll give you immunity.
‘You’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity or you’ll face absolutely guaranteed death, and I don’t want to see that.’
Trump also claimed Iran has reached out to ‘make a deal’ to end the US military operation.
He said: ‘They’re calling, they’re saying, “How do we make a deal?” I said, “You’re being a little bit late”, and we want to fight now more than they do.’
Trump has also said he wants to be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.
U.S. B-2 stealth bombers, armed with 2,000 lb. bombs, are among the planes getting ready to strike Iran with British bases set to be used for what are being dubbed ‘defensive strikes’
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), pictured, known as the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, may now be dropped on Iran, experts have said
This comes as the US Air Force’s heaviest bombers are expected to arrive at British bases within hours, suggesting that Donald Trump’s mega-attack on Iran that he dubbed the ‘big one’ is imminent.
The US President warned this week: ‘We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave has not even happened’.
America’s stealth air fleet including its B-1s, B-2s and B-52s are said to be on their way to Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
The strategic bombers, costing up to $2billion each, can carry out long-range missions without detection while carrying the world’s most devastating missiles.
Sources have suggested that Saturday could be D-day for a new gigantic bombardment – exactly a week after America and Israel first attacked Iran as part of ‘Operation Epic Fury’.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that America will now use British RAF bases to ‘dramatically’ up its strikes on Iran after the Prime Minister allowed the Americans to launch defensive strikes from UK-US bases.
‘When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities, and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently’, Hegseth said.
Speaking at a press conference in Tampa on Thursday, Hegseth warned the regime: ‘We have only just begun to fight and fight decisively. If you think you’ve seen something, just wait.’
He said: ‘Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation. Our munitions are full up and our will is ironclad.’
‘The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically.’
After a delay that saw Trump claim that Sir Keir Starmer was ‘unhelpful’ and is ‘no Winston Churchill’, the UK is now letting the US use British bases for ‘defensive’ strikes against missile facilities in Iran.
Experts believe some American bombers could drop the ‘Mother of All Bombs’, a 10-tonne explosive that creates 1,000ft holes in the ground, taking out tunnels and bunkers while simultaneously pulling infrastructures such as bridges down into the giant crater.
America’s army of Reaper drones carrying thousands of pounds of laser-guided bombs to carry our precision strikes will also increase sorties over Iranian cities.
Attacks from aircraft carriers and missiles from US submarines are also expected.
