Trump demands 'unconditional surrender' as Israel hits Khamenei's bunker

Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with US intelligence on the matter.

The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, cautioned that US intelligence has not uncovered evidence that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information.

Still, it’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran a week ago. Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilise in its four-year war against Ukraine.

Tehran, meanwhile, has been isolated for years over its nuclear program and its support of proxy groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, that have wreaked havoc in the Middle East.

Baku’s State Security Service (SSS) claims to have prevented a series of terror attacks allegedly orchestrated by Iran’s SEPAH against 4 targets in the country: the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan, a leader of the Mountain Jews religious community and the "Ashkenazi" synagogue, according to Azerbaijan’s media.

Authorities say explosives were smuggled into the country, including 7.7kg of C-4 and a remote-controlled bomb capable of a 300-metre blast radius. Officials also allege the group planned to assassinate a public figure in Azerbaijan.

Several individuals have been detained, with four already sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. An Iranian colonel was identified as a key organiser, and several Iranian nationals have been placed on the international wanted list.

The announcement comes just a day after a drone attack on the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. President Ilham Aliyev placed the army on "full combat readiness" and instructed the armed forces to prepare response measures.

France has sent a helicopter carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the Iran war, the French military said on Friday.

"An amphibious helicopter carrier has been deployed in the Mediterranean to reinforce the presence of the French armed forces in the context of the Middle East crisis," a spokeswoman said, after France decided to deploy its flagship aircraft carrier and a frigate earlier in the week.

A similar ship was sent off the shore of Lebanon as a precautionary measure to help with repatriations if needed during the 2024 war between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The current conflict has already drawn in Lebanon.

On Thursday, France's Emannuel Macron spoke to Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Greece's Kyriakos Mitsotakis to coordinate the military capabilities they're sending to Cyprus, a source close to the French president said.

The three leaders also agreed to "work together to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea", the source also said.

France, Italy and Greece all participate in Operation Aspides, which aims to secure passage for commercial vessels in the Red Sea, with the first two also taking part in counter-piracy Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa.

An Iranian warship has docked in the southwest Indian port of Kochi, a government source in New Delhi said on Friday, after a US submarine sank another Iranian frigate and a third docked in Sri Lanka.

"IRIS Lavan... docked at Kochi on 4 March. In this context, its crew of 183 are currently accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi," the source said.

The news of Lavan's arrival in India comes after Sri Lankan authorities said a second Iranian warship was heading towards its territorial waters on Thursday, amid fears it might be targeted by US naval assets.

IRIS Dena, its sister vessel, was sunk by a torpedo just off Sri Lanka's southern coast, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday.

At least 87 sailors were killed, while Sri Lankan authorities said 32 rescued sailors were still receiving medical care on Thursday.

Israel's military said Friday it had identified "simultaneous and coordinated" missile launches by Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah aimed at overwhelming Israeli air defences.

Israeli army "identified yesterday simultaneous and coordinated attacks between Iran and Hezbollah, simultaneous missile launching from both Iran and Lebanon in an attempt to overwhelm our aerial defence systems," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.

Shoshani added that there had been no "signficant hits" on Israel in the last 24 hours.

It did not take long for the fallout of the Iran war to spill beyond the battlefield.

On Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared what it called "full control" of the 39-kilometre waterway, warning it would attack any vessel attempting to pass.

US President Donald Trump swiftly pledged to deploy the Navy to escort tankers through the strait — a move that would put American forces on a direct collision course with Iranian forces in one of the world's most strategically vital waters.

And in the eye of the storm, one country is likely watching events unfold with quiet satisfaction: Russia.

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Iranian authorities have issued direct threats against citizens as the US-Israel strikes continue, warning that security forces will use lethal force against protesters, including minors, and "potential thieves".

On Thursday, state broadcaster IRIB aired an interview with a member of Iran's Parliamentary National Security Commission who warned parents to prevent their children from joining protests.

The former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member, Salar Velayatmadar, said parents who did not control their “ignorant and unaware” children who joined demonstrations or "aligned with the enemy" would face consequences, including death.

"We do not want your child to be killed, because your child is ignorant and unaware," he said.

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Israel’s military said Friday that it had pummeled an underground bunker Iranian leaders had planned to use in emergencies, deploying more than 50 fighter jets and 100 munitions.

“The underground bunker was built beneath the compound and was a secure emergency asset for managing the war by the leader, who was eliminated before he managed to use it,” the Israeli army said.

Iran has spent decades constructing underground bunkers for a range of purposes and contingencies. Many of them have been targeted this week.

After strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders on Saturday, Israel’s military has continued to strike their infrastructure.

Israel’s military said its targets have included the Supreme National Security Council’s building — the meeting place for the country’s top security forum — as well as a Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) military academy.

US President Donald Trump on Friday demanded Tehran's "unconditional surrender" as the only acceptable outcome to end hostilities, while promising to help rebuild the country's economy if Iran complied and installed new leadership.

"There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"After that, and the ​selection of a great and 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."

His intention was to "make Iran great again (MIGA)," the US president said.

The United Nations has relocated some of its personnel and their families from Tehran to Azerbaijan, local UN and government sources confirmed to Euronews on Friday.

Igor Garafulic, the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, thanked the Azerbaijani authorities for facilitating the safe movement of staff and their families.

“I would like to express publicly our gratitude on behalf of the UN because we have received much help from Azerbaijani authorities last night, when we relocated some of our UN staff and their families working in Tehran,” Garafulic told Euronews.

“The rest of our team remained in Tehran performing life-saving duties, but it was quite a good gesture on behalf of the Azerbaijani government to welcome our UN colleagues, and for that I want to thank them.”

Explosions were heard on Friday in the Kuwaiti capital, as authorities said they were confronting missile and drone strikes on the country.

"Kuwaiti air defences are currently dealing with missile and drone attacks that penetrated Kuwaiti airspace," the defence ministry said on X, after authorities said 67 soldiers were injured in Iranian strikes over the past week.

Tehran announced earlier on Friday that it launched what it said was an attack on US bases in Kuwait, stating it would continue its strikes "in the coming hours".

Sirens were sounded in the Bahraini capital Manama on Friday as Iran pressed its drone and missile bombardment in the Gulf.

"The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the interior ministry said in a statement on X.

Reports have since come in of several explosions heard in Manama. There is no information at this time on any damage or casualties.

Iranian forces targeted a US-owned oil tanker in the Gulf, and it was now "burning," a military spokesperson said Friday.

"An oil tanker vessel owned by the United States near the borders of Kuwait has been targeted and is burning," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the military's central headquarters, according to state-run TV.

Tehran claims it has full control over the Straight of Hormuz and has threatened to strike US-flagged vessels attempting to traverse it. Some 20% of the world's oil trade passes through the region's naval bottleneck.