Research chief of Iran suspected nuclear weapons program killed in airstrikes

Iranian media and eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions across Tehran on Saturday evening, with blasts heard in the northeast, west, center and east of the capital.

There are reports of airstrikes against the military facilities in Parchin, southeast of Tehran.

At the same time, some witnesses reported an attack on Bushehr airport.

Reports sent to Iran International also indicated explosions in Birjand and Mashhad in the east and Kermanshah in the west.

“No more nuclear threats; No more terrorism; No more hostage taking; No more closing of the Strait of Hormuz; No more blackmailing of the global economy," he said when speaking of a free Iran.

"We must finish the job. This regime, in its entirety must go. If we do not finish the job and leave a rump of the regime in place, the threat posed by this Islamic Republic will not be solved," he added.

"Can you imagine Iran going from “Death to America” to “God Bless America”?
I can. Because I have seen the true soul of my people."

He said "unlike the regime that worships death and destruction, the Iranian people celebrate life and liberty."

"That’s why I can imagine an Iran that exports engineers instead of extremists."

Pahlavi said after all the massacres including the January killings of over 36,500 protesters, Iranian people will never agree to swap one tyrant for another.

"And another anti-American tyrant will not serve American interests either."

He promised that Iran is not Iraq and that the catastrophic mistake of de-Baathification will not be repeated. "There will be no dissolution of bureaucratic institutions, no power vacuum, no chaos."

"What we ask of America now is simple: stay the course. Do not throw this crumbling regime a lifeline. Pave the way for the Iranian people to finish the job."

US Central Command said Sailors and Marines aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli arrived in its area of responsibility on March 27, deploying a force that includes roughly 3,500 personnel.

The Tripoli serves as the flagship of the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which also brings transport and strike fighter aircraft along with amphibious assault and tactical capabilities.

The deployment comes amid speculation that US Marines could be used in a potential ground operation, including scenarios involving Iran’s Kharg Island.

US Vice President JD Vance said on Saturday that Washington had achieved most of its military objectives against Iran and suggested the campaign could continue for a short time longer.

In an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Vance said, “we've achieved most of our military objectives against Iran. You could argue we've achieved all of them.”

He added that President Donald Trump would continue a bit longer to make sure the United States would not have to return “for a very long time.”

US Central Command said on Saturday that Iranian naval vessels had threatened and harassed global shipping in regional waters for decades, but that “those days are over.”

The statement, posted on X, came as CENTCOM released video it said showed strikes targeting Iranian naval assets.