Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday stubbornly refused US President Donald Trump’s call for the Islamic Republic’s “unconditional surrender.” Too cowardly to speak in person, he issued a statement that was read by a TV host on Wednesday as a “message to the Iranian nation.” “Intelligent people who know Iran and the Iranian nation and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening rhetoric because the Iranian nation will not surrender,” the statement said. “The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable consequences.” Khamenei’s statement comes amid reports that US President Donald Trump is considering joining Israel in the war against Iran and its nuclear program. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Residents of the Pardes Katz neighborhood in Bnei Brak told B’Chadrei Chareidim about the tremendous neis they experienced when an Iranian missile hit a school building. The missile struck the Otzer HaChaim Bais Yaakov school, causing it to collapse and seriously damaging the neighboring ALEH rehabilitation center and the Mishkenot Shimon shul and other nearby apartment buildings, killing Avraham Cohen, H’yd. The school, which only a few days ago was bustling with hundreds of students, is now a pile of rubble. Several hours before the missile strike, several teachers cleaned out the school’s bomb shelter so that the neighbors could use the shelter during the sirens.

Israel is running low on defensive Arrow interceptors, the Wall Street Journal claimed on Wednesday, citing a US official. The dwindling supply raises concerns about Israel’s ability to defend against long-range ballistic missiles if the war doesn’t end soon, the report says. The US has been aware of the issue for months, and the Trump administration has been bolstering Israel’s defenses with systems on the ground, at sea, and in the air. According to the report, there is now concern that the US could also run out of interceptors. “Neither the U.S. nor the Israelis can continue to sit and intercept missiles all day,” said Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

For the first time since the start of Israel’s war against war, Iranian forces succeeded in downing an Israeli Hermes 900 UAV (Kochav) overnight Tuesday. The UAV was shot down in the Isfahan region in central Iran while on a mission to hunt missile launchers and surface-to-surface missiles. It was downed by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. The IDF confirmed that a drone was downed in Iran but said that there is no fear of information being leaked. “During operational activity, surface-to-air missiles were fired at an Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle,” the IDF stated. “The aircraft crashed in Iranian territory.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on Wednesday morning issued a sharp threat to the Islamic Republic ahead of further IDF attacks in Iran. He wrote on X: “A tornado is sweeping through Tehran. Symbols of government are bombed and collapsing—from the broadcasting authority and soon more targets—and masses of residents are fleeing. This is how dictatorships collapse,” he said. The statement came after dozens of air force fighter jets bombed a centrifuge production site and a number of weapons production sites of the Iranian regime in the Tehran area overnight Tuesday. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Dramatic details are now being revealed behind the scenes of the preparations for Israel’s war against Iran, with Ynet reporting that only a few months ago, Israel’s preparations for a conflict with Iran were partial—and in fact almost nonexistent. Sources in the IDF said that until February, “the target bank was almost empty,” and the assumption in the defense establishment was that the operation would be carried out mainly in covert missions and not through a large-scale military campaign. Serious preparations began in October—amid the war with Hezbollah. The IDF then decided to launch operational preparations for a campaign against Iran.

In an operation deep inside Iranian territory, the IDF announced on Wednesday that it carried out a large-scale aerial assault targeting Iran’s nuclear weapons development infrastructure and missile production industry. “Over the past few hours, more than 50 IAF fighter jets completed a series of intelligence-based strikes on military targets in the area of Tehran,” the IDF said in an official statement. The primary target was a centrifuge production facility in Tehran. According to the IDF, “the IAF struck a facility used to manufacture centrifuges in Tehran that was designed to enable the Iranian regime to expand the scale and speed of its uranium enrichment to develop nuclear weapons.” The Israeli military made clear that Iran’s nuclear ambitions are not for peaceful purposes.

The first flight carrying Israeli citizens back home since international air travel was halted due to the war with Iran has landed safely at Ben Gurion Airport. The flight, operated from Larnaca, Cyprus, is part of a national effort to bring back tens of thousands of Israelis who were stranded abroad after Iranian missile attacks and the ensuing closure of Israeli airspace caused widespread disruption to commercial flights. Israeli airlines—including El Al, Arkia, Israir, and the newly operational Air Haifa—are all participating in the coordinated repatriation campaign. Flights are scheduled throughout the week as the airspace gradually reopens under heavy security and with military coordination.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke out in support of Israel’s war against the Islamic Republic. Speaking to the press at the G7 conference in Canada on Tuesday, Merz said, “This is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us. We are also victims of this regime. This mullah regime has brought death and destruction to the world.” “I can only say I have the greatest respect for the fact that the Israeli army and the Israeli government had the courage to do this,” Merz asserted. Merz also told Welt TV that he thinks the war could bring about a regime change in Iran. “I assume that the attacks of the last few days have already weakened the mullah regime considerably and that it is unlikely to return to its former strength, making the future of the country uncertain,” Merz said.

Iran has prepared missiles for potential strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East, according to reports. The New York Times reported that the Iranian military is planning possible attacks against American forces if the U.S. joins Israel as it continues to launch strikes against the Islamic Republic, citing American officials. As an example, if the U.S. strikes Fordow, a key Iranian nuclear facility, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could attack ships in the Red Sea, as they have done since Oct, 7, 2023, the Times of Israel reported. The US has thousands of troops deployed in the region. Meanwhile, Iran has missile bases within range of some of the American forces.