Israel has begun a new “broad strike” in the “heart of Tehran” as the fallout from two days of US-Israeli attacks continues to escalate across the region, with Iranian counterattacks hitting Gulf states and a British military base in Cyprus.
The Israeli military confirmed on Monday it had started fresh attacks after generals vowed to target “key elements of the regime”. Loud explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, shaking apartment buildings in the centre, according to AFP journalists.
US President Donald Trump warned that the war with Iran could last for weeks and vowed to avenge the deaths of four US soldiers killed during operations against the country. “It’s always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so,” he told the Daily Mail during a round of interviews.
The Iranian Red Crescent said Monday that “131 cities have been affected” by US-Israeli strikes “and, regrettably, 555 of our compatriots have been killed”. Iranian officials confirmed the deaths of three Revolutionary Guards members and five army personnel. Iran’s president appointed Revolutionary Guards general Majid Ebnelreza as acting defence minister after his predecessor was killed in the strikes.
Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Israeli targets, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and other sites in Tel Aviv, Haifa and east Jerusalem. The Revolutionary Guards called it a “10th wave” of attacks. A series of new explosions were heard above Jerusalem on Monday.
The conflict spread across the Gulf region, with Iran’s army saying it had launched 15 cruise missiles in strikes on a US air base in Kuwait and vessels in the Indian Ocean. QatarEnergy was forced to halt liquefied natural gas production after a processing base and a power plant were hit. One person was killed when an oil tanker was targeted off Oman, and British officials said a vessel in a Bahrain port had been struck by “unknown projectiles”.
The US embassy in Kuwait, where black smoke could be seen, issued a statement telling people not to come to the diplomatic mission. “Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside,” it said.
Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said some operations at its massive Ras Tanura refinery on the Gulf coast had been halted following an attack that caused a fire at the complex. European gas prices soared more than 30% on Monday on fears that the conflict will cut supplies in the Gulf region.
At least one drone crashed into Britain’s RAF Akrotiri military base in Cyprus in the early hours of Monday and another two were intercepted, prompting an evacuation of the facility. The EU said it stood “firmly and unequivocally” behind member states following the attack. Greece said it was sending two frigates and two F-16 jets to Cyprus.
The incident came after a diplomatic spat between Washington and London over Britain’s initial refusal to allow the US to use British military bases to fire “defensive” strikes at Iranian missile systems. Britain later agreed, but Trump told the Daily Telegraph he was “very disappointed” with the delay. “It took far too much time. Far too much time,” he said.
Three American warplanes crashed in Kuwait on Monday morning but their crew survived. US officials later said Kuwaiti air defence had “mistakenly shot down” the aircraft.
The Israeli military said it was simultaneously attacking the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and claimed to have killed a “senior Hezbollah terrorist” in Beirut. However, the army said there was no reason for a ground invasion yet. The Lebanese government imposed an “immediate ban” on Hezbollah’s military and security activities and called for the group to hand over its weapons to the state, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced.
Iran’s UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran was damaged in the strikes, according to local media. “Following the joint US-Israeli attack on Arag square in southern Tehran on Sunday evening, parts of the Golestan Palace were damaged,” the ISNA news agency reported, adding that windows, doors and mirrors were hit by reverberations from blasts.
However, UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi said his agency had “no indication” that any nuclear installations in Iran had been damaged or hit in the strikes.
The US military announced it had destroyed the Revolutionary Guards headquarters, with US Central Command saying: “America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters.”
Trump called on Iranians to rise up, saying: “America is with you.” He warned the Revolutionary Guards to surrender or face “certain death”.
Iran dismissed the possibility of negotiations. “Iran will not negotiate with the United States,” said Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Tehran’s Supreme National Security Council, denying media reports that Iranian officials had sought to initiate talks. He said Trump’s “delusional fantasies” had plunged the region into chaos.
Top US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make the case to Congress for the attack on Iran on Tuesday. Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and military chief Dan Caine “will brief the full membership of both chambers of Congress,” White House spokesman Dylan Johnson said.
Container shipping company Maersk said it was halting passage through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz for “safety” reasons. The Danish group was the latest of several shipping companies to make similar announcements after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly declared the strait closed on Saturday.
China called for a ceasefire and diplomatic talks to end the conflict, as officials in Beijing confirmed one citizen had been killed in Iran. “The most urgent task is a cessation of military operations and preventing a spill-over of conflict,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference.
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