First Thing: Trump demands Tehran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as Israel continues pounding Iran with airstrikes

Israel-Iran conflict is at a critical juncture as thousands flee Tehran. Plus, Alex Padilla makes speech about being handcuffed

Good morning.

Israel’s war on Iran appeared to be approaching a pivotal moment on Tuesday night after five days of bombing and retaliatory Iranian missile strikes, as Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from Tehran and weighed his military options.

Trump convened a meeting of his national security team in the White House situation room after a day of febrile rhetoric in which the president gave sharply conflicting signals over whether US forces would participate directly in Israel’s bombing campaign over Iran.

He told journalists in the morning that he expected the Iranian nuclear program to be “wiped out” long before US intervention would be necessary. Later he took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, to suggest that the US had Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in its bomb-sights, and could make an imminent decision to take offensive action.

What’s the latest in the conflict? Israel’s defence forces said they launched a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday morning, warning residents in parts of the city to urgently evacuate.

What’s the situation on the ground? Some Tehran residents are fleeing the capital, with witnesses citing strong explosions hitting buildings in western and eastern parts of Tehran on Tuesday evening, the Associated Press reports.

This is a developing story. Follow our live updates here.

‘It’s time to wake up’: Senator recounts being handcuffed at Trump administration briefing

Alex Padilla took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to deliver a deeply personal speech, formally entering into the congressional record his account of being restrained and forcibly removed as he attempted to ask a question at a press conference held by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, in Los Angeles last week.

Meanwhile, Brad Lander, New York City’s comptroller and a mayoral candidate, was arrested on Tuesday by masked federal agents while visiting an immigration court and accompanying a person out of a courtroom.

What did Padilla say? “If that is what the administration is willing to do to a United States senator for having the [audacity] to simply ask a question, imagine what they’ll do to any American who dares to speak up.”

What did Lander’s wife say? In a news conference after the arrest, Meg Barnette said she was “extraordinarily proud” of her husband and called the ordeal “shocking and unacceptable.”

Appeals court likely to keep Trump in control of national guard deployed in LA

A federal appeals court on Tuesday seemed ready to keep Donald Trump in control of California national guard troops after they were deployed following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids.

Last week, a district court ordered the US president to return control of the guard to the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, who had opposed their deployment. US district judge Charles Breyer said Trump had deployed the guard illegally and exceeded his authority. But the administration quickly appealed, and a three-judge appellate panel temporarily paused that order.

Tuesday’s hearing was about whether the order could take effect while the case makes its way through the courts, including possibly the supreme court.

How unprecedented is this? It’s the first time a US president has activated a state national guard without the governor’s permission since 1965, and the outcome of the case could have sweeping implications for Trump’s power to send soldiers into other US cities.

In other news …

A volcano in eastern Indonesia has spewed a colossal ash tower into the sky, forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from Bali.

PEN America has condemned the detention and deportation from the US of an Australian writer as “gravely concerning”. Alistair Kitchen was last week detained at Los Angeles airport before being deported back to Melbourne.

Federal police have formally accused Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro of presiding over an illegal spying network that allegedly snooped on political rivals, journalists and environmentalists.

Stat of the day: Cannabis use could double risk of heart deaths, study suggests

An analysis published in the journal Heart suggested heightened risks for cannabis use: 29% higher for acute coronary syndrome, 20% higher for stroke, and a doubling in the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Researchers at the University of Toulouse reviewed studies including about 200 million people.

Don’t miss this: The shorter man’s search for love

Tinder is trialling a height filter. But what is behind the “6ft fixation” on dating apps, Leah Harper asks, and could it be blocking true connection? “I’ve worked with couples where there is a significant height difference and it makes no difference to their physical, emotional or sexual compatibility,” says one relationship therapist.

Climate check: Turning coalmines into solar energy plants?

Turning recently closed coalmines into solar energy plants could add almost 300GW of renewable energy by 2030, according to a Global Energy Monitor report. If 312 surface coalmines, closed since 2020, were filled with solar panels and developed into energy plants, the report claims, it could generate enough energy to power Germany.

Last Thing: ‘I stepped into the boxing ring – and decades of quiet anger lifted’

“I cried out loud as I punched – an ugly, guttural sound, so different to everything I’d been taught. In that moment, I didn’t have to be demure, delicate or diplomatic,” writes Kia Abdullah. “I could be as fierce and angry as I wanted … Over the course of those three minutes, I felt my anger lift: the years, maybe decades, of it.”

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