Israel steps up strikes: Israel intensified airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and factories, fuelling concerns over regional stability and global oil markets. Iran retaliated across the Gulf, disrupting energy supplies and travel.
Mojtaba elected Supreme Leader: Senior clerics of Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected Mojtaba, Ayatollah Khamenei's son 56, as the new Supreme Leader.
Strike on leadership meeting: Israel targeted a session of Iran’s top leadership body as officials gathered to select the new Supreme Leader, reportedly striking while votes were being counted.
Trump claims ‘everything’s been knocked out’: US President Donald Trump said extensive damage had been inflicted on Iran, denied Israel forced his hand, and said a leader from within Iran should take power after the conflict rather than exiled figure Reza Pahlavi.
Ground incursion into Lebanon: Israeli troops advanced into southern Lebanon after Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered forces to seize additional strategic positions. Military spokesperson Effie Defrin said the aim was to create a buffer zone “between our residents and any threat.”
Iran hits Gulf targets: Explosions were reported in Gulf cities as Iran struck industrial and diplomatic sites, including US bases in Bahrain and Qatar. Saudi Arabia said two drones hit the US embassy in Riyadh, causing minor damage and a fire. The embassy suspended consular services.
Strait of Hormuz shut: The IRGC announced closure of the Strait of Hormuz, warning it would “burn” vessels attempting to pass through the waterway that carries about 20% of global oil and gas supplies.
US strikes IRGC assets: The US military said it destroyed IRGC command posts, air defence systems and missile launch sites.
Death toll rises: Iranian state media, citing the Iranian Red Crescent, said more than 787 people have been killed in Israeli and US attacks. Tehran said 165 died in a strike on a girls’ school in Minab. The UN human rights chief called for a “prompt, impartial and thorough investigation.”
Kuwait's health ministry said Wednesday an 11-year-old girl was killed after being hit by falling shrapnel following waves of Iranian attacks across the Gulf.
"Resuscitation was performed in the ambulance while the girl was being transported to the hospital, and attempts continued for nearly half an hour upon arrival at Al-Amiri Hospital. However, she passed away due to her injuries," said the ministry in a statement posted on X.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they had launched around 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets.
"Several hours ago, the 17th wave of operation Honest Promise 4 was conducted with the launch of 40 missiles by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' aerospace forces, towards American and Zionist targets," a statement read on state TV said, without giving further details.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that they have “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil and gas shipping chokepoint, warning that vessels attempting to pass through could face missile or drone strikes.
In a statement carried by Fars news agency, Guards Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh said the waterway was under the full control of the Islamic Republic’s navy.
However, according to a report by The Guardian, Admiral Brad Cooper of US Central Command rejected the claim, saying Washington had effectively neutralised Iran’s naval capabilities. “Today there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman,” he said, adding that US forces had destroyed 17 Iranian vessels.
Trump has said that the US Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the strait if necessary, in a bid to stabilise global energy markets rattled by the conflict.
Admiral Cooper also said the scale of US strikes in the first 24 hours of the war nearly doubled the “shock-and-awe” bombardment of Iraq in 2003, and that nearly 2,000 targets in Iran have been hit so far.
The US State Department said on Wednesday it had ordered non-emergency personnel from US consulates in the cities of Karachi and Lahore and their families to leave Pakistan due to security concerns.
"The Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US Consulates Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to safety risks," the US embassy in Pakistan said in a statement.
It said there was no change to the status of its embassy in the capital Islamabad.
The intensity and frequency of attacks across the Gulf appear to be declining, though security risks remain, reported PTI.
Saudi Arabia said its forces shot down a drone in the eastern region on Tuesday, after earlier intercepting two ballistic missiles headed toward al-Kharj, home to Prince Sultan Air Base, which has hosted US troops.
Analysts note that even a limited number of strikes can force airspace closures and trigger major disruptions. As long as Iran sustains even low-level attacks, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are likely to face continued instability.
A drone was shot down on Wednesday near Baghdad's international airport, a day after a similar attack on the facility, two security sources told AFP.
"A drone was downed near Baghdad airport, with no casualties or material damage reported," an Iraqi security source said. Another security source in Baghdad confirmed the incident.
The airport includes a military base that hosts a US diplomatic facility and previously housed US-led coalition troops.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they control the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gas, and any vessels seeking to pass through the waterway risk damage from missiles or stray drones.
"Currently, the Strait of Hormuz is under the complete control of the Islamic Republic's Navy," said Guards Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh in a statement issued on Fars news agency.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial Gulf shipping route.
A drone struck the logistical support camp of the US Embassy near Baghdad International Airport, Al Jazeera reported, citing local sources. There were no immediate details on casualties or damage.
Missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday triggered air raid sirens across large parts of Israel, with the military saying it was "operating to intercept the threat".
The order to seek shelter covered Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other areas across the country.
It was lifted after several minutes, with no immediate reports of any direct impact.
Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said it had received no reports of casualties.
Israeli media reported that shrapnel fell in an area near Jerusalem, causing a fire.
Police said officers in the Jerusalem area were "conducting searches to locate impact sites involving fallen munition debris or interceptor fragments".
The Israeli military had reported a previous missile launch from Iran about five hours earlier.
Ministry of External Affairs sets up control room amid rising tensions in West Asia and the Gulf region.
In a press release, the MEA stated that the control room will function from 9 am to 9 pm.
The control room can be contacted at 1800118797 (toll free), +91 11 2301 2113, +91 11 2301 4104, +91 11 2301 7905.
The U.S. State Department said early Wednesday it had authorized non-emergency American government personnel and family members to evacuate Saudi Arabia should they choose due to the war.
The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia has come under attack by Iran in the war.
Fuel prices surged across the US and Europe as the widening Middle East war disrupted oil flows through the Persian Gulf. The average US gasoline price jumped 11 cents overnight to USD 3.11 per gallon (or 4.55 litres), while diesel prices in Europe have risen 27% since Friday, with long queues reported at petrol stations in France. Benchmark US crude climbed 8.6% to USD 77.36 a barrel and Brent crude rose 6.7% to USD 81.29 — the highest levels in over a year.
Israel said its air defenses were activated due to incoming missile fire from Iran.
The Israeli military called on people to leave 16 towns and villages in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, in an "urgent warning" before using force against Hezbollah militants, reported AFP.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately" and head to "open areas", said a statement shared by the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee, listing 16 locations near the border.
Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport is set to reopen for limited inbound flights from Thursday, with one arrival per hour initially. No outbound commercial flights have been approved.
Airspaces over Iran, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria remain closed, while others are partially restricted, according to Flightradar24. Airlines are rerouting flights north and south, increasing costs and delays.
Cruise ships have also been affected amid Strait of Hormuz tensions.
While many remain stranded, some travellers have secured costly private charters to Europe, with demand soaring and prices reportedly reaching 200,000 Euros.
Washington said it is “actively securing” military and charter aircraft to assist nearly 3,000 Americans who have sought help. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said evacuations would take time due to airspace restrictions.
The US Embassy in Jerusalem said it cannot currently evacuate Americans but shared details of Israeli shuttle options to Egypt.
Frustrated travellers scrambled for exits as widening Iran war-related airspace closures entered a fourth day, grounding tens of thousands across the region and beyond.
The conflict, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Saturday, has led to widespread shutdowns across Gulf airspace. The US State Department urged Americans to leave more than a dozen countries using available commercial options, though flights remain scarce.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium said about 18,000 flights, nearly 55% of scheduled traffic in the Middle East , have been cancelled since Saturday, including 3,800 on Tuesday.
“Iran's Assembly of Experts elected Ali Khamenei's son Mojtaba as the next Supreme Leader under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards”, Iran International reported, citing informed sources.
According to a report by The New York Times, some clerics had initially expressed reservations, fearing that naming him could expose him as a direct target for the United States and Israel, consensus ultimately consolidated around his candidacy. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.
The clerics, known as the Assembly of Experts, held two virtual meetings — one in the morning and another in the evening, according to the report. Israel had struck a building in Qum, one of Shia Islam’s main seats of power, where the assembly was originally scheduled to convene and elect the new supreme leader. However, the building was empty at the time of the strike, the report said, citing Fars News agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is an influential but reclusive figure who has long operated in the shadows of his father’s political and religious establishment. His election comes days after Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes.
The Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin Brig. said Tuesday that Israel struck a building in Qom where clerics were expected to meet to discuss the selection of a new supreme leader. He said the army was still assessing whether anyone was hit.
“We’re not going to let this regime rehabilitate its command and control capabilities.,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has affirmed that it will take all necessary measures to defend the country’s security, territory, citizens, and residents, according to a state news agency citing a cabinet statement.
The statement comes amid a barrage of Iranian strikes against targets within the kingdom, including an Iranian attack on the US embassy in Riyadh.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called on Wednesday for the rapid de-escalation of the conflict unleashed by US-Israeli strikes on Iran, urging all parties to respect the international rules of engagement.
Speaking in Sydney, Carney said the war in the Middle East represented "another example of the failure of the international order".
"Canada calls for a rapid de-escalation of hostilities and is prepared to assist in achieving this goal," he said.
"Canada reaffirms that international law binds all belligerents," he said.
Carney has backed the Israeli-US strikes targeting Iran, saying Tehran had failed to dismantle its nuclear program and cease support for militant groups.
He expressed "regret" on Wednesday that international efforts had failed to disarm Iran.
But he noted that "the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the United Nations or consulting with allies, including Canada".
Carney's comment came on the second day of an official visit to Australia, a trip aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a fellow "middle power" partner.
He will address a meeting of the Lowy Institute think tank later in the day.
Israel's military said Wednesday it has launched a "broad wave of strikes" on targets in Iran, after the Islamic republic launched three separate missile barrages at Israeli territory in recent hours.
The military said the targets of its latest strikes include "launch sites, aerial defence systems, and additional infrastructure."
The Pentagon has released the names of four of the six service members who have been killed in the Iran war, saying they died in a drone strike in Kuwait.
All four Army Reserve soldiers were killed Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. That was just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran, which has launched retailatory strikes.
All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, lowa.
Killed were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Spc. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has slammed Iranian attacks targeting the Saudi capital Riyadh after the US embassy was hit earlier.
“Iranian strikes on Riyadh, including on the US embassy, are completely unacceptable. We condemn these reckless and destabilising attacks that target innocent civilians,” Cooper said on social media.
“We stand with Saudi Arabia and our others partners across the region in the face of these attacks.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, said after Tuesday’s closed-door briefing on the Iran operation that he would still vote ‘no’ on a war powers resolution, “unless they were to introduce ground troops.”
He added: “I didn’t hear in there any prediction of ground troops.”
“Personally, I would hope for a very swift conclusion, but I don’t know if that’s going to be the case,” he said.
Hawley said he learned more about the scope of the operation, which he said was “quite large” and “rapidly, rapidly evolving.”
“The briefers emphasized this, it’s really almost changing by the hour,” he said.
The Gulf kingdom has successfully destroyed 74 missiles and 92 drones since Iran began launching attacks on targets throughout the Middle East, Bahrain’s military says.
It didn’t give a figure for failed interceptions.
“The General Command states that the use of ballistic missiles and drones to target civilian infrastructure and private property constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations, particularly the principles of distinction and proportionality,” an update shared on social media reads.
“These indiscriminate and heinous attacks represent a direct threat to regional peace and security.”
The UAE says it has been targeted by more than 1,000 attacks, a number that according to the Foreign Ministry exceeds the combined total of attacks suffered by all other targeted countries.
The emirate has not made a decision to change its defensive posture amid Iran’s attacks, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the country reserves the right to defend itself.
It added that the UAE also has not participated in the war, nor has it permitted the use of its territory, territorial waters, or airspace in any attack against Iran.
Tom Fletcher said civilians must be protected under international law but strikes are hitting homes, hospitals and schools.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure have been under attack in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, the occupied Palestinian territory, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and beyond,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Fletcher said he has activated contingency plans across Iran and the region including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza and the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
He said the U.N. is constantly assessing damage and scaling up the humanitarian response required.
Qatar’s security agencies have arrested two cells of operatives associated with the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the state-run Qatar News Agency reports.
These are the first known arrests of the kind in Qatar since Israel and the US launched their bombing campaign against Iran on Saturday, and since Iran responded by attacking its Gulf neighbours with missiles and drones.
The Qatari Ministry of Defense has said that the country was targeted by two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, one of which was intercepted and another of which struck the Al-Udeid Air Base, which hosts US forces.
“Qatar Ministry of Defense announces that the State of Qatar was targeted by two ballistic missiles launched from the Islamic Republican of Iran,” a statement reads.
“Air defense systems successfully intercepted one of the missiles, while the second missile struck Al-Udeid Air Base without causing any casualties.”
Rafael Grossi says there’s no evidence Iran is building a nuclear bomb but he noted the country’s refusal to grant International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors full access to facilities is a matter of “serious concern”.
“I have been very clear and consistent in my reports on Iran’s nuclear programme: while there has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb, its large stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched uranium and refusal to grant my inspectors full access are cause for serious concern,” Grossi said in a social media post.
“For these reasons my previous reports indicate that unless and until Iran assists the IAEA in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.”
“I’m sure we will be able to show that superiority in the next few days,” Israeli ambassador Danny Danon told reporters at the United Nations.
He cautioned, however, that while U.S.-Israeli attacks have degraded Iranian capabilities and it’s harder for them to launch missiles, “they put missiles underground, in caves, in secret locations.”
He said Israel has told its own citizens and people in the region, “give us some more time” to further degrade the Iranian military and achieve its objectives: “no nuclear weapons, no missile threat, no terror infrastructure.”
“It will not continue forever,“ Danon said.
The French president says the US and Israel violated international law when they launched an unprovoked attack on Iran over the weekend, but Tehran bears “primary responsibility” for the situation.
“The United States of America and Israel decided to launch military operations conducted outside international law, which we cannot approve of,” said Emmanuel Macron.
He nonetheless stated Iran’s “dangerous” nuclear programme, support for regional proxy groups, and shooting “its own people” meant it “bears primary responsibility” for the confrontation.
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency has said there’s no evidence Iran is making a nuclear bomb.
The secretary of state insisted that Trump made the decision to attack Iran because this past weekend presented what he called a unique opportunity for the mission to be successful.
“The president is determined we were not going to get hit first. It’s that simple,” Rubio said ahead of a closed-door briefing for lawmakers.
Rubio was revisiting his remarks from a day earlier that have generated fierce blowback. At the time, he said Trump believed Israel was determined to act and wanted the U.S. to go first with a preemptive strike on Iran to prevent any retaliation on American bases and operations in the region.
“We are not going to put American troops in harm’s way,” he said.
Amid the administration’s shifting reasons for the war with Iran, Rubio also returned to Trump’s initial rationale. “There is no way in the world that this terroristic regime was going to get nuclear weapons, not under Donald Trump’s watch,” he said.
Iran’s indiscriminate retaliatory attacks on targets across the Gulf states are the “wrong strategy”, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says in a televised interview with state-run TRT HABER television.
“Iran’s bombing of Arab countries without making any distinction – Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan — all of them — is, in my opinion, an incredibly wrong strategy,” said Fidan.
“It significantly increases the risk in the region. But from Iran’s own perspective as well, it is an extremely mistaken strategy.”
Iran fired another salvo of missiles at Israel this evening, the Revolutionary Guard says.
“The sixteenth wave of ‘Operation True Promise 4’ has begun with a large number of missiles and drones launched by the aerospace forces of the Revolutionary Guards against the heart of the occupied [Palestinian] territories,” a statement carried by Fars news agency said.
Israel said it launched air strikes against Iranian missile launchers and a nuclear research site on Tuesday.
US President Trump said on Monday the military campaign’s four objectives are to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and ensure it cannot continue to support allied armed groups.
Trump said on social media he ordered the United States’ development finance arm to provide political risk insurance for tankers carrying oil and other goods through the Persian Gulf “at a very reasonable price.”
Political risk insurance is a type of coverage intended to protect firms against financial losses caused by unstable political conditions, government actions, or violence.
He said that, if necessary, the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait. The disruption to that traffic caused by the war has pushed oil prices higher.
The Navy has at least eight destroyers and three smaller littoral combat ships in the region. These ships have previously been used to escort merchant shipping in the region and in the Red Sea.
The United States said Tuesday that it had arranged charter flights to help Americans leave the Middle East after Washington joined Israel in attacking Iran.
US officials have helped arrange charter flights from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates "and will continue to secure additional capacity as security conditions allow," the State Department said.
It said that more than 9,000 Americans have returned from the Middle East since the United States and Israel started the war on Saturday, with more than 300 of them from Israel.
The State Department on Monday urged Americans in all of the Middle East from Egypt eastward to leave commercially for their own safety, though airports are shut down or operating at sharply reduced capacity across much of the region.
A drone attack caused a fire near the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday, a government statement said, a day after the US embassy in Riyadh was hit by an Iranian strike.
"Dubai authorities have confirmed that a fire resulting from a drone-related incident near the US Consulate has been successfully contained," the official Dubai Media Office posted on X.
The Dubai media office says that no injuries have been reported following a “drone-related incident” around the US consulate.
“Dubai authorities have confirmed that a fire resulting from a drone-related incident near the US Consulate has been successfully contained,” the media office said in a social media post. “Emergency teams responded immediately. No injuries have been reported.”
Iran is ready for a long war against the United States and Israel and has so far not fired its most advanced weapons, its Defence Ministry says.
“We have the capacity to resist and to continue an offensive defence longer than what [the enemy] has planned for this imposed war,” ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
“We do not intend to deploy all our advanced weapons and equipment in the first days,” he added.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday the US navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if needed amid the Iran war, and ordered Washington to provide insurance for shipping.
"If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible. No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Israel's transport minister said Tuesday that the country will gradually reopen its airspace overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, after it was closed to civilian flights as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
"The airspace will reopen gradually starting already on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, and of course subject to security developments," Miri Regev said during a press conference at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.
A spokesperson for the ministry told AFP that the airspace will initially reopen for repatriation flights only, and that people will not be allowed to fly out.
The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it struck an underground nuclear site in Iran where it said scientists were "covertly" developing a key component for an atomic weapon.
"The IDF intelligence continued to follow the scientists' activities and located their new location at this site in a manner that enabled a precise strike on the covert underground compound," the military said, displaying a map showing the facility on the western outskirts of Tehran.
"In the site, a group of nuclear scientists operated covertly to develop a key component for nuclear weapons," it said, adding the scientists had been working at the underground location after Israel struck several Iranian nuclear sites during the previous war in June.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that the United States and Israel's military operations in Iran were conducted "outside international law", but placed primary blame on the Islamic republic.
"The United States of America and Israel decided to launch military operations, conducted outside international law, which we cannot approve of," said Macron.
But "the Islamic Republic of Iran bears primary responsibility for this situation," Macron added, citing their "dangerous" nuclear programme, support for regional proxies, and orders to shoot "its own people" during protests in January.
President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that French forces downed drones "in self-defence" during the opening hours of the Middle East conflict sparked by strikes on Iran by the US and Israel.
"We reacted immediately and shot down drones in self-defence in the early hours of the conflict to defend the airspace of our allies, who know they can count on us," Macron said, referring to defence agreements with Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France was sending extra air defence forces and a French frigate to Cyprus following a drone attack on a British base on the Mediterranean island.
"I have ... decided to send additional air defence assets and a French frigate, the Languedoc, which will arrive off the coast of Cyprus this evening," he said in a televised speech, a day after Iranian-made drones hit the British Royal Air Force (RAF) base.
Daoud Alizadeh, the acting commander of the Lebanon Corps in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, was killed on Tuesday in an airstrike in Tehran, the Israeli military said in a statement.
The Quds Force works with Iran’s allied militant groups in the region, including Hezbollah. The army said the Lebanon Corps “supports Hezbollah force-building and functions as the connection between senior IRGC personnel and Hezbollah leadership.”
It said Alizadeh replaced the Lebanon Corps’ previous commander, Hassan Mahdavi, killed in an earlier Israeli strike.
Turkey's foreign minister said Tuesday that the United States should limit its attacks on Iran to degrading its military capabilities as forcing regime change would causes "risks" for the region.
Attacking military targets and regime change were the two main options for the war, Foreign Ministeer Hakan Fidan said in a television interview. "Moving toward the second (regime change) means introducing very different scenarios and risks for the region," he declared.
Israel's military chief on Tuesday said his forces would keep attacking Hezbollah until the Iran-backed Lebanese group was disarmed, as the war in the Middle East raged for a fourth day.
"We are determined to eliminate the threat Hezbollah poses and will not stop until this organisation is disarmed," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir was quoted as saying in a military statement.
The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel started early Monday when Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks on Saturday.
The Spanish government has responded to US President Donald Trump’s threat to cut off all trade with Spain after Madrid refused to let the US military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran. “We have the necessary resources to contain the possible impact of the trade embargo by the US,” it said in a statement. “The US must comply with international law and bilateral EU-US trade agreements.”
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed Saturday in US-Israeli strikes, will be buried in the holy city of Mashhad, the Fars news agency said Tuesday.
Khamenei, who died at 86 after leading for 36 years, was originally from Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city, where his father is buried at the Imam Reza shrine. No date for the burial was disclosed.
Seven children have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon over the past two days, Lebanon’s health ministry said Tuesday.
In total, 40 people have been killed in Lebanon, including a Palestinian militant leader and a Hezbollah intelligence official, and 246 wounded in the new escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The United Nations has condemned the violence inflicted on children during the war in the Middle East, which has seen the US and Israel launch attacks on Iran’s military and civilian infrastructure. “The military operations in Iran and across the region are devastating and present a serious threat to children,” said the UN in a post.
“Civilians, schools and hospitals must not be attacked. Every child has a right to live free from fear.”
Iran held a mass funeral on Tuesday for 165 schoolgirls and staff killed in what it described as a US-Israeli attack on a girls’ school in the southern city of Minab.
It was the deadliest incident in the campaign against Tehran so far.