Trump Encourages Iranians to Overthrow Govt as US, Israel Strike Tehran

Segun Atanda/

President Donald Trump has encouraged Iranians to overthrow their government after confirming that the United States, alongside Israel, launched major airstrikes on targets in Tehran in what he described as a decisive effort to eliminate nuclear and military threats.

In an eight-minute televised address delivered from the presidential podium, Trump announced that American forces had begun large-scale combat operations against Iran.

He said the objective was to defend the American people from “imminent threats” posed by the Iranian regime and to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.

“We will obliterate their nuclear and military capabilities,” Trump declared. “Iran can never have nukes.”

The President said a prior mission, referred to as “Midnight Hammer”, had destroyed key nuclear facilities earlier in June, but claimed Tehran had since attempted to rebuild missile stockpiles capable of threatening the United States and its allies.

The current wave of strikes, he said, targeted missile infrastructure, naval assets, proxy militias and improvised explosive device networks.

Framing the campaign as a response to decades of hostility, Trump cited the 1979 US embassy hostage crisis in Tehran, the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and Iran’s alleged support for regional armed groups, including Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.

He described what he called a 47-year pattern of aggression against Americans and US allies.

In a direct appeal to Iran’s military leadership, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump urged commanders to lay down their arms, offering immunity in exchange for surrender.

“Lay down your weapons or face certain death,” he warned, while acknowledging that US casualties were possible in what he termed a “noble mission”.

Most significantly, he addressed the Iranian public, urging them to act once the strikes had weakened the ruling establishment.

“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations,” he said. “Now is the time to seize control of your destiny.”

Although Trump did not mention him by name, the remarks amount to a direct challenge to the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and holds ultimate authority over defence, foreign policy and the nuclear programme.

Khamenei has led Iran since 1989 following the death of revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini and has consistently rejected US and Israeli pressure.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several districts of Tehran and urged residents to seek shelter.

Officials condemned the strikes as an act of aggression and warned of retaliation, though no detailed public assessment of damage to nuclear or military sites was immediately released.

There was no immediate statement from Khamenei’s office at the time of reporting.

Israeli authorities confirmed participation in coordinated operations against strategic targets linked to Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure, but did not disclose precise locations.

The escalation marks one of the most direct confrontations between Washington and Tehran in years, moving beyond proxy engagements and covert operations into open, coordinated strikes on the Iranian capital.