Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Tuesday that Tehran is facing the most severe siege since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, accusing Washington of seeking to provoke popular protests, according to what Agence France-Presse published today (Thursday).
Iran and the United States have been at war since February 28, when American and Israeli strikes led to the killing of former Iranian guide Ali Khamenei.
In a speech broadcast on state television, Pezeshkian said: “During the forty-eight years since the revolution, we have not faced a siege, war, and difficulties as severe as we face today.”
He accused Washington of seeking to make the lives of Iranians difficult in order to cause popular anger and ignite unrest.
Pezeshkian added that the United States is focusing its efforts on “making the people dissatisfied and facing difficulties, and then social protests appear so that they can achieve their malicious goals.”
The United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports, in response to Tehran's closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, by diverting or stopping ships heading to and from Iranian ports.
In late December last year, Iran witnessed protests against the high cost of living, which quickly spread to various parts of the country and turned into a broader anti-government movement.
The Iranian authorities held the United States and Israel responsible for these disturbances.
Officials said that emergency teams worked throughout the night as part of search and rescue efforts across Istanbul, after massive floods resulted in the death of two people and led to the evacuation of more than two thousand people, according to the German News Agency.
The Turkish Anatolia News Agency said on Thursday that the two victims were a 34-year-old woman who died in the hospital and a 14-year-old child who was electrocuted in a pool of water. Both cases occurred on the European side of the city.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çifçi told reporters in Ankara that the authorities evacuated a total of 2,727 people in Istanbul, while more than 46,000 individuals, 2,288 vehicles and 14 boats participated in the rescue efforts.
He added that the authorities received about 10,000 reports and requests for help, more than 8,500 of which were from Istanbul.
Some areas in Istanbul recorded the heaviest rainfall since 1985, local media reported, citing the Greater Istanbul Municipality.
Çifçi said that studies have been suspended in schools in Istanbul, as well as some cities in the west of the country, namely Kocaeli, Zonguldak, Sakarya, Yalova and Duzce, as heavy rains are expected over the next two days. He urged residents to avoid traveling unless necessary and to stay away from tunnels.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said that 51 flights heading to Istanbul Airport were diverted to other cities and 19 other flights were cancelled.
The United States is considering bombing Iran using its most powerful non-nuclear bomb, if US President Donald Trump decides to start a new round of escalation after the war has reached; Which began in February 2026 with American and Israeli strikes on Iran, to a dead end. According to CNN.
The network quoted informed sources as saying that the army is studying the possible use of the GBU-43/B bomb, known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites.
Last week, Donald Trump ruled out launching an attack on Iran before the midterm elections scheduled for next November 3, and spoke of “fruitful discussions” with Tehran.
This came as the war on Iran and its repercussions on goods and fuel prices caused a decline in Trump’s popularity in opinion polls shortly before the elections.
The United States and Israel said that the aim of the attacks was to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran denies working on, while affirming its right to a peaceful nuclear program.
Washington and Tehran concluded a “memorandum of understanding” last June, mediated by Pakistan, before it collapsed last July with the resumption of Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the United States responded with military strikes on Iran. Since then, negotiations have been stalemate.
However, there have been many media reports that the White House has asked the Pentagon to prepare options for striking targets in Iran before the election.
CNN quoted a source as saying that Trump had given his directives that the plans include targeting “energy infrastructure on a large scale,” and the possibility of using the “mother of all bombs.”
However, some officials doubt the effectiveness of this bomb, especially regarding its ability to destroy Iranian underground nuclear sites.
A source familiar with the plans told CNN that this bomb is “effective in destroying vast areas, but it is unable to do more than that,” noting that it is not designed to be a warhead capable of breaching fortifications.
The use of these bombs also risks civilian casualties.
During Trump's first term, the US military used the “Mother of All Bombs” for the first time in 2017 to target ISIS hideouts and tunnels in Afghanistan. Which resulted in the killing of more than 90 militants.
