A call between the sheikh and Iranian officials was held after Iran’s strikes on a US air base in Qatar on Monday, an official told Reuters early on Tuesday.

The phone call came after President Trump told Qatar’s emir that Israel had agreed to the ceasefire and asked for Doha’s help in persuading Tehran to also agree to the deal, the official said.

The Israel Defence Force has issued a warning to civilians of upcoming military operations in Mehran and District 6 areas of Tehran, saying that it would continue to operate in these areas.

The pre-warning the Iranians gave the Trump administration before their strike on the US base in Qatar was a sign they didn’t want to escalate, Vance said.

He said: “As the president said, they actually gave us some warning here, and we think they gave us some warning because they didn’t want to kill Americans and they didn’t want to escalate”. He added that there was “symbolism” to the Iranian retaliation but that “our bombs were a little bit bigger than their bombs” and succeeded in eliminating the Iranian nuclear programme.

He also said the pre-warning was delivered by “some sort of intermediary” which is “consistently true of the Iranians”, but said the administration would “love” to talk to them about how to move the peace process forward.

The vice-president rejected claims that Trump was presenting mixed message when he posted suggesting regime change in Iran might be possible.

JD Vance told Fox News that although the administration “support freedom fighters all around the world”, Trump was referring to a decision which would rest with the Iranian people.

He said: “I think what the president is saying very clearly is if the Iranian people want to do something about their own leadership, that’s up to the Iranian people. But the American national security interest here is very simple, it’s to destroy the nuclear programme — that’s what we’ve done.”

JD Vance declined to say if he knew the location of all the highly enriched uranium in Iran but that the strikes on Iranian facilities constituted “mission success”.

He told Fox News that discussion of the location of enriched uranium was “not the question before us”, but rather the capability of the regime to use that to create a weapon, which he said the strikes had destroyed.

He said: “What we know is that uranium is something that exists in very large supply. Our goal was to bury the uranium, and I do think the uranium is buried, but our goal was to eliminate the enrichment and eliminate their ability to convert that enriched fuel into a nuclear weapon.”

Strikes between Israel and Iran might continue “for another few hours” but “tomorrow really is a new day”, JD Vance said as he welcomed President Trump’s claim of a ceasefire deal.

The vice-president told Fox News: “Right now for the American people watching, it’s dark over there. That’s typically when the Israelis and the Iranians had been shooting at each other. I think there’s some recognition that that might continue for another few hours and tomorrow really is a new day.

“The end of the 12-day war, the end of the Iranian nuclear programme, and I really do believe the beginning of something very big for peace in the Middle East.”

Trump made the announcement as his vice-president, JD Vance, appeared on Fox News. “The president was able to get that across the finish line,” Vance told the host, Bret Baier.

Trump explained that Iran would begin the ceasefire at 8.30am local time on Tuesday, with Israel following suit 12 hours later.

The US president called for the war to be named “the 12-day war”.

He wrote: “This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

President Trump has taken to Truth Social to announce that Israel and Iran agreed a ceasefire.

He wrote: “CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED!

“Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.

“On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, ‘THE 12 DAY WAR’. This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

The Secret Service said it would maintain a greater security presence around the White House after the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Patrols around the presidential home were stepped up before Iran’s retaliatory missile strike on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq, the Secret Service told the Associated Press.

The Department of Homeland Security has warned of an increased threat of cyber and terrorist attacks in the wake of the Middle East conflict.

In a further post, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said: “Those who know the Iranian people and their history know that the Iranian nation isn’t a nation that surrenders.”

Qatar’s civil aviation authority has announced that the nation has reopened its airspace.

Hundreds of flights were diverted after Qatar temporarily closed its airspace on Monday afternoon as reports of an Iranian missile attack were imminent.

Qatar Airways said in a social media post that it had deployed additional staff at Doha’s Hamad international airport to help stranded travellers.

The US and the UK have lifted a shelter-in-place order for citizens in Qatar.

The Foreign Office has lifted a shelter-in-place order for British nationals in Qatar.

“Following interceptions of Iranian missiles fired towards Qatar, the [Foreign Office] has been in touch with the local authorities and international partners, and reviewed the security situation,” it said in a statement.

“British nationals do not need to shelter in place and should continue to follow advice from the local authorities.”

Prior to the Iranian missile attack today, British citizens in Qatar had been advised to shelter in place “until further notice”.

The Israeli military has told residents of a neighbourhood in Tehran, known as District 7, to evacuate immediately and not return for several hours.

“The Israeli army will operate in this area, as it has done in recent days throughout Iran to attack the Iranian regime’s military infrastructure,” said the Israel Defence Forces on X. The post was written in Farsi, Iran’s official language.

“Your presence in this area puts your life at risk.”

Iran could pressure criminal gangs in Sweden to carry out attacks against Israeli and US interests, the US State Department has said.

“US citizens in Sweden are advised to exercise increased caution and maintain awareness of their surroundings, particularly near the US embassy,” the US embassy in Stockholm said in an alert.

According to Swedish media reports, a notorious drug trafficking gang known as the Foxtrot Network may come under pressure from Tehran to carry out attacks. The Foxtrot Network’s fugitive leader, Rawa Majid, has previously worked with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security to carry out attacks on Jewish targets in Europe, according to US officials.

The State Department urged US citizens in Sweden to monitor local news reports, avoid crowds and maintain a low profile.

By David Charter, Assistant Editor, US

President Trump spoke to US troops at the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar a month before it was targeted by Iranian missiles

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP

Donald Trump never let Joe Biden forget the 13 American service members killed during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan as he built his campaign around becoming a “peacemaker” president. Trump claimed, falsely, that not a single American soldier was killed in Afghanistan during the last 18 months of his presidency after he agreed a deal with the Taliban.

Not only did this deny the fact of the 12 soldiers who lost their lives in hostile action during this period but it revealed one of the greatest threats to his carefully nurtured image — the deaths of American soldiers overseas on his watch. Any casualties in the Middle East as a direct result of his actions will shatter his image with his adoring Make America Great Again (Maga) base.

• Read in full: Trump is breaking his promises — and it will cost him supporters

A Qatari military official has said that Iran fired 19 missiles at the Al Udeid airbase, with 18 being shot down and one hitting the base.

Major General Shayeq Al Hajri told reporters that Iran initially fired seven missiles, which were intercepted over the water between the two countries by Qatari air defences. Iran then fired 12 more missiles and 11 were intercepted over Qatari territory, with one hitting the US base, Al Hajri said.

The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but Al Hajri confirmed there were no casualties. President Trump said earlier that Iran had fired 14 missiles.

Satellite images taken on June 5, left, shows military planes stationed at Al Udeid airbase. Images taken on June 19, right, show the base almost empty of aircraft

HANDOUT/PLANET LABS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Satellite images taken of Al Udeid airbase in Qatar on June 5, before Israel began its military campaign against Iran, showed a number of aircraft parked near airstrips.

Images taken two weeks later on June 19 by Planet Labs appear to show the facility almost empty of jets.

A wide range of US and Qatari military planes are stationed at Al Udeid, the target of an Iranian missile strike today, including B-52 Stratofortress bombers, C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes and F-15QA Strike Eagle fighter jets.

President Trump confirmed that no Qataris had been killed or wounded in the Iranian missile strike, in a post on Truth Social.

“I’d like to thank the Highly Respected Emir of Qatar for all that he has done in seeking Peace for the Region,” the US leader wrote.

President Trump has thanked Iran for giving the US “early notice” about its missile attack on its military bases in Qatar and Iraq.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump added that Iran’s response to US strikes on three nuclear facilities over the weekend was “very weak”.

He said of the 14 missiles fired by Iran, 13 were “knocked down” and one was allowed to pass because it was non-threatening.

“I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done,” Trump said. “Most importantly, they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.”

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said that Iran did not harm anyone with its attacks and Tehran will not succumb to aggression “from anyone under any circumstances”.

“This is the logic of the Iranian nation,” he wrote on X. The post was accompanied by an illustration of buildings on fire with the American flag ablaze.

The UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain have announced they have reopened their airspaces after the earlier missile attacks.

President Trump at Al Udeid military base, Qatar, in May

ALEX BRANDON/AP

When President Trump visited the Al Udeid military base on May 15, he told US troops stationed at the facility his priority was to “end conflicts, not start them”.

“But I will never hesitate to wield American power, if it’s necessary, to defend the United States of America or our partners. And this is one of our great partners right here,” he said, referring to Qatar, which is home to the largest US base in the Middle East.

“When we’re threatened, America’s military will answer our enemies without even thinking about it. We have overwhelming strength and devastating force.”

Iranians in Tehran fly flags to celebrate strikes on US bases in the Middle East

MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA/REUTERS

MOHAMMED ATY/REUTERS

Iranians have gathered in Tehran to celebrate missile attacks targeting US military bases in Qatar and Iraq, images on state TV showed.

Demonstrators were seen waving the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and chanting “death to America”, while others honked their car horns in celebration, footage showed.

The national security committee of Iran’s parliament approved the general outline of a bill meant to fully suspend Tehran’s co-operation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the Iranian news agency Tasnim has reported.

Ebrahim Rezaei, the committee spokesman, said installing surveillance cameras, allowing inspections, and submitting reports to the International Atomic Energy Agency would be suspended as long as the security of nuclear facilities was not guaranteed, according to the bill. Parliament still has to approve the bill in a plenary.

The top Democrat in the House of Representatives has cast doubt on President Trump’s claims to have “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme.

Hakeem Jeffries said he and other senior Democratic politicians had not received a briefing from the Trump administration on the intelligence that led them to take military action, or whether the mission had been successful.

“There’s zero evidence that I’ve seen that the nuclear programme was completely and totally obliterated, as Donald Trump has claimed,” he told reporters.

“It’s not clear to me what the administration is hiding from the Congress and from the American people. If they have a case to make, come up to Capitol Hill and make it.”

Remnants of an Iranian missile intercepted over Qatar lies on a pavement in Doha

AFPTV/ AFP

Qatar says the security situation in Doha is “stable” after an Iranian missile attack that targeted a US base on its territory.

“The Ministry of Interior confirms … that the security situation in the country is stable, and there is no cause for concern,” the government said in a statement.

A senior Iranian official has told Reuters that Tehran’s retaliatory strikes will continue.

The official added that Iran has the “necessary rationality” to begin efforts at diplomacy after it had punished “the aggressor”.

Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, US envoy to the Middle East, has remained in contact with Iranian officials since the US bombed three of the nation’s nuclear facilities over the weekend, according to CNN.

Mike Johnson, the House Speaker and a close Trump ally, said he had been briefed on potential retaliatory strikes from Iran on Monday morning, hours before they were carried out.

“This is the retaliation that was expected,” he told reporters. “So far, so good, no casualties, so far as we know.”

Johnson added that he was against holding a vote in Congress to authorise Trump’s power to declare war on Iran.

• Sleeper cells: threat of Iranian attacks in US ‘has never been higher’

The Israeli Defence Forces have said that Iran’s retaliatory attack on US military bases proved that the country was a threat to “the entire world”.

“I want to say that this is further proof of hostility and violence and of the fact that Iran is a terrorist state, which threatens not only Israel, but the entire Middle East, including its neighbours and the entire world,” Effie Defrin, the IDF spokesman, told reporters in a televised press conference.

Israel has been attacking Iran from the air since launching a surprise operation on June 13.

President Macron of France has called for the “spiral of chaos” to end after Iranian missile strikes on US interests in Qatar and Iraq.

“I express France’s solidarity with Qatar, which has been struck by Iran on its soil,” Macron wrote on X.

“I am in close contact with the country’s authorities and our partners in the region. I call on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, de-escalate, and return to the negotiating table. This spiral of chaos must end.”

Luke Pollard, the UK armed forces minister, told the Commons the war in the Middle East was a “fast-changing situation” and that Britain had not ruled out sending further capabilities if required.

He told MPs: “The UK government utterly condemns any escalation. We have put force protection measures at its highest level to safeguard personnel in the region. We have robust measures in place to protect our armed forces personnel. Their safety is our top priority.”

He said the government was calling for diplomacy and de-escalation and it was a “critical moment” for the Middle East. “The only off ramp for Iran is to get serious and return to diplomacy.”

• Iran steps up repression amid warnings of terror attacks in UK

Debris from an Iranian missile attack on a US airbase in Qatar has reportedly fallen in Doha.

Al Jazeera news channel said that it had verified a video that has been widely circulated on social media showing debris from the missile attack.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has said that the Al Udeid base was a significant distance from urban and residential areas in Qatar, and the strikes were not intended to endanger civilians.

President Trump has hit out at “fake news” media outlets for their reporting of US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.

“The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on US military bases.

“Only the Fake News would say anything different in order to try and demean, as much as possible — And even they say they were ‘pretty well destroyed!’”

He went on to list several journalists from CNN, ABC New and NBC News, who he said had been “working especially hard on this falsehood”. He wrote: “It never ends with the sleazebags in the Media, and that’s why their Ratings are at an ALL TIME LOW — ZERO CREDIBILITY!”

Trump is said to be monitoring the Iranian missile attacks with Pete Hegseth, US defence secretary, Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior officials.

Saudi Arabia has condemned the “unjustifiable” Iranian attack on Qatar and said it offers its “full support” to Doha.

Saudi Arabia is the only country which shares a land border with Qatar.

No American personnel were killed or injured in Iran’s attack on the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, Reuters has reported.

US officials have said the Iranian attack was carried out by short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles.

Qatar has called for the “immediate cessation of all military actions and for a serious return to the negotiating table and dialogue” in the escalating crisis between the US, Israel and Iran.

A statement from Majed al-Ansari, the foreign ministry spokesman, said: “The continuation of such escalatory military actions will undermine security and stability in the region, dragging it into situations that could have catastrophic consequences for international peace and security.”

Kuwait has closed its airspace “temporarily” after Iran attacked at US military base in Qatar. Bahrain has also suspended air traffic over its territory.

A US military base in Syria is on high alert for a possible missile strike, according to Reuters.

Qasrak base, located in northeastern Syria, has been fully mobilised for a possible attack, the news agency reported, citing a Syrian security source.

There are approximately 2,000 US troops stationed in Syria, primarily in the northeast of the country.

Oil prices fell sharply after Iran’s retaliatory strike against a military US base in Qatar.

WTI crude oil futures dipped by 5 per cent to $70 a barrel, while Brent crude futures sank nearly 4 per cent to $69.70. The response suggested that markets were relieved that Iran opted to retaliate with a missile strike, rather than close the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar’s Ministry of Defence said its air defences had “successfully intercepted” a missile attack on the Al Udeid air base and there were no reports of injuries.

Bahrain has suspended air traffic “temporarily” after the Iran attack on US base in neighbouring Qatar.

The nation has also told citizens to seek shelter after nearby explosions set off air raid sirens.

“We urge all citizens and residents to exercise caution and review the following immediate precautions to be taken in the event of a loud explosion or the sounding of warning sirens,”
the country’s interior ministry said in a post on X.

The US Fifth Fleet, which oversees naval operations in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean, is based in Bahrain.

Traces of explosions seen in the skies in Doha, Qatar

REUTERS

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has said that the missile strike against the Al Udeid airbase was not an attack on “brotherly” Qatar.

“This action does not pose any threat to the friendly and brotherly country, Qatar, and its noble people, and the Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to maintaining and continuing warm and historic relations with Qatar,” the council said in a statement.

The two countries share close ties and jointly control the world’s largest natural gas field situated in the Persian Gulf.

Qatar’s Ministry of Defence says its air defences intercepted a missile attack targeting Al Udeid airbase and confirmed the country’s skies and territory remain secure.

“We confirm that the airspace and territory of the state of Qatar are secure and that the Qatari armed forces are always on full combat readiness.”

The New York Times has reported that Iran co-ordinated the attacks on the American airbase in Qatar with Qatari officials.

It also stated that Tehran gave advanced notice that attacks were imminent in an attempt to minimise casualties. Officials told the newspaper that Iran wanted to be seen to symbolically strike back at America.

Iran also targeted the Ain al-Asad airbase, which houses American troops, in western Iraq, an Iraqi security official told the Associated Press news agency.

Qatar has said the Iranian attack on the US base is a “flagrant violation” of it sovereignty.

The Gulf state said it reserves the right to respond directly and in accordance with international law after Iran targeted the Al Udeid military base in Doha in retaliation to the American attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has confirmed that it launched a retaliatory missile attack targeting an American military base in Qatar, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The Iranian operation, dubbed “Annunciation of Victory”, targeted the Al Udeid base in Qatar and a US military facility in Iraq.

Residents of Doha have reported that they received stay-at-home orders this afternoon, before the Iranian missile strike. Residents have said they have heard loud explosions and windows shaking.

The US and Britain had been scaling back their presence at Al Udeid for days, which is situated southwest of Doha, the capital of Qatar.

It is not immediately clear whether Iran had warned of the attack, perhaps hoping to avoid casualties that would invite severe US retaliation.

The base is vast and is said to have housed up to 11,000 US troops.

Iran’s armed forces say they have targeted the Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, with a “devastating and powerful” missile attack.

Al Udeid, a US airbase, was visited by President Trump last month.

The White House and the US Defence Department are closely monitoring potential threats to Al Udeid airbase in Qatar, an American facility, a senior White House official has said.

“The White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid airbase in Qatar,” the official said.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency has said that Tehran has launched a missile operation called “Annunciation of Victory”, targeting airbases in Qatar and Iraq.

Explosions could be heard across Doha on Monday evening, according to the AFP news agency.

The attacks have been reported less an hour after Qatar closed its airspace over fears of Iranian retaliation against US airstrikes on its nuclear bases over the weekend.

The blasts could be heard in central Doha and in Lusail, the town north of the Qatari capital which hosted the 2022 World Cup final, and projectiles could be seen moving across the night sky.

Al Jazeera, the broadcaster which is based in Qatar, has reported that there are flares visible over Doha. It said it did not know if it is from missiles or air defence systems.

Reuters has just reported that explosions have been heard over Doha, the Qatari capital.

Axios, the American news website, is reporting that Iran has launched six missiles towards US bases in Qatar.

President Trump is scheduled to meet with his national security team to discuss preparations for a suspected Iranian attack on US military bases in the Middle East at 1pm ET (6pm BST).

The president has previously warned that any retaliation “will be met with force far greater than what was witnessed” during US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

Iranian officials had said they were reserving “all options” on how to respond, which could include targeting US military bases in the region or disrupting global trade by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump at Al Udeid last month

ALEX BRANDON/AP

Earlier, the US embassy in Qatar advised Americans living in the Gulf State not to go out, with other Western embassies echoing the warning.

“Out of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice,” the US embassy said on its website.

Iran has threatened American forces at Al Udeid in the past, but not after Sunday’s strike, though state television has mentioned American bases in its broadcasts.

President Trump spoke to US troops at Al Udeid last month.

US officials are aware of an imminent threat of Iranian airstrikes on a US military base in Qatar, according to a Fox News report.

Qatar is home to Al Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East which hosts more than 10,000 American personnel and serves as the forward headquarters of United States Central Command.

British military personnel are also stationed at Al Udeid on rotation.

Dozens of flights bound for Doha have been diverted after Qatar closed its airspace amid threats of retaliation from Iran.

Qatar Airways flight QR330 from Gatwick airport was rerouted to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, while flights from San Francisco, Athens, Sofia and Belgrade were also diverted to airports across the Middle East.

More than 100 flights were bound for Doha when the airspace was temporarily closed, according to Flightradar24.

The last flight to land in Doha before the closure was the Qatar Airways flight QR740 from Los Angeles at 6.31pm local time (4.31pm GMT).

Yvette Shmilovitz, 95

FACEBOOK

A Holocaust survivor was killed by an Iranian missile which struck Israel last week.

Israeli media outlets reported that Yvette Shmilovitz, 95, was one of four people killed in the city of Petah Tikva.

Qatar has temporarily shut down its airspace, the nation’s foreign ministry has confirmed on X.

It said the measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of Qatari residents and visitors, as tensions escalate between Iran and Israel.

Iran has repeated earlier threats to retaliate against the United States after President Trump orchestrated strikes on its nuclear sites.

There are about 20,000 Britons living and working in Qatar.

President Trump has turned his attention to Russia’s relationship with Iran, in a swipe at Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president.

In a post on Truth Social, the US leader wrote: “Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran?

“Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS.'”

France’s foreign minister has accused Israel of putting two of its citizens in danger after an air strike hit Tehran’s Evin prison.

Jean-Noel Barrot said all strikes had to stop immediately to open the door to renewed diplomacy.

“The strike targeting Evin prison in Tehran, put our citizens Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held for three years, in danger. It is unacceptable,” Barrot said on social media.

He said the two French citizens had not been affected by the damage on the site, but called for diplomats to be given immediate consular access to them.

“All strikes must stop now to open the way for negotiations and diplomacy,” he added.

The Israeli military said on Monday that it would keep up its air strikes on targets in the Iranian capital, urging residents to stay away from security installations.

The army “will continue to strike military targets in the Tehran area in the coming days,” read a statement posted in the Persian language on X, adding: “For your safety, we urge you to keep your distance from the regime’s weapons manufacturing facilities, military headquarters, and the security institutions.”

David Lammy said an RAF A400 has flown British citizens from Tel Aviv to Cyprus, where they will be brought back to Britain on Monday night.

SWNS

The flight became possible with the reopening of Israeli airspace.

Lammy said: “Further flights will follow in the coming days, security allowing. We will prioritise those with greatest need, and contact those allocated a seat directly.”

He urged British citizens to register with the Foreign Office, and said further updates would be sent to them.

The UK has joined the US and other nations in warning citizens in Qatar to “shelter in place until further notice”.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice. Follow instructions from local authorities,” the Foreign Office advice states.

“The FCDO is in contact with local authorities and international partners, and will provide further updates as the situation develops.”

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said earlier that the security situation in the country remained stable.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has confirmed that a British citizen has been injured in Israel during missile attacks by Iran.

Lammy told MPs that the RAF had evacuated 63 British citizens from Israel to Cyprus, and there were more flights to come.

Marc Bennetts in Jerusalem

Jerusalem’s old city, home to some of the most sacred sites for Arabs, Christians and Jews, has been sealed off to non-residents since the start of the war with Iran.

Armed police stand guard at checkpoints, while shops and businesses inside its ancient walls have been ordered to close down because they lack bomb shelters.

On Monday afternoon, an air raid siren wailed in central Jerusalem, sending people running for shelter. There have been no Iranian strikes on the city, however.

Critics say that while police have ordered all businesses in Jerusalem without shelters to close down, the rule is being enforced only in the old city.

The US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were deeply unpopular among the city’s Palestinian Arabs. “Trump has done a very dangerous thing: he didn’t think this through,” said Abed, a middle-aged man.

Iranian authorities arrested a European citizen on Monday on suspicion of spying for Israel, state TV reported.

Judicial authorities were citied as saying that a spy for Israel had been arrested in the western province of Hamadan, adding that the “spy is a citizen of a European country”.

“The spy entered the country disguised as a tourist and continued the mission of networking, gathering information, and disrupting offensive and missile systems in Iran,” the report added.

Iranian media has reported multiple arrests of individuals accused of spying for Israel in several parts of Iran. On Friday a German citizen was reportedly arrested on suspicion of espionage in Markazi province, west of Tehran.

He was also accused of approaching an “ammunition depot, an army barracks, missile tunnels and an air base to get information from them”.

Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of Nato, stressed that Tehran should not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb and suggested that US strikes on the Fordow uranium enrichment facility did not violate international law.

He said his “biggest fear” was that Tehran had a nuclear weapon which would give it a “stranglehold” on Israel and the rest of the world.

Mark Rutte speaking in the Hague on Monday

SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL

“When it comes to Nato’s stance on Iran’s nuclear programme, allies have long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon,” Rutte said before a Nato summit in the Hague, which starts on Tuesday. He also noted that Iran was “heavily involved” in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Pressed on the legality of Washington’s strikes against Iran, the Nato chief replied: “I would not agree that this is against international law, what the US did.”

President Trump’s suggestion of regime change in Iran was intended as a call for the people to overthrow their leaders, rather than a statement of US intent, the White House has said.

Trump wrote on Truth Social last night that “if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told Fox News on Monday: “The president’s posture and our military posture has not changed.

“The president was simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking: if the Iranian regime refuses to give up its nuclear program or engage in talks … if they refuse to engage in diplomacy moving forward, why shouldn’t the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime?”

Video from a security camera circulating online appeared to show a drone crashing in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

According to early reports, the drone was launched by Iran towards Israel but fell short of its target, injuring two bystanders.

President Trump has appealed for oil prices to be kept down.

In a message on Truth Social, he posted: “EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING! YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON’T DO IT!”

The White House has defended the legality of the US bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“The president was acting within his legal authority under article two of the constitution as commander-in-chief of the president of the United States,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokeswoman, said.

This refers to the clause that gives the president power to direct military operations. However, elsewhere in the constitution, Congress is given the sole power to declare war.

A three-man committee tasked with choosing a successor for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has accelerated its planning in recent days since Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate him, according to Reuters.

Citing five insiders with knowledge of the discussions, the news agency said that Khamenei, 86, was being regularly briefed on the talks.

Two frontrunners have emerged, according to the report: Khamenei’s 56-year-old son Mojtaba, long seen as a continuity choice, and a new contender, Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the father of the Islamic revolution.

Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, centre

VAHID SALEMI/AP

The sources said the ayatollah had repeatedly opposed the idea of his son taking over in succession discussions in the past, because of concerns about Iran returning to the kind of hereditary rule that ended with the ousting of the shah.

The committee planning for an eventual handover was created two years ago, but officially the supreme leader must be named by the Assembly of Experts, 88 clerics who are appointed in national elections.

President Trump will push Nato members to increase defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP when he attends the alliance’s summit on Tuesday, the White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said.

“One of the main topics of discussion will be that 5 per cent threshold that our Nato allies have to hit. The president has been calling on our Nato allies to do more for quite some time. He got them to step up and do more in his first term, and you’ll hear the president talk about that on this next historic trip to Europe,” Leavitt said on Monday in an interview with Fox News.

Britain and other Nato members have reportedly agreed to the new target, if it is broken down into 3.5 per cent of GDP spent on pure defence and 1.5 per cent of GDP spent on related areas.

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution, has called for regime change in Iran, suggesting “this is our Berlin Wall moment”.

At a press conference in Paris, he condemned the Islamic Republic for its oppression of the Iranian people, and addressed this message to Ayatollah Khamenei: “Step down. And if you do, you will receive a fair trial and due process of law. Which is more than you have ever given any Iranian.”

Pahlavi, 64, who is a figurehead for some, but not all, critics of the Islamic Republic, announced that he would be forming a communications channel to strengthen Iran’s opposition.

“For those patriotic members of our armed forces, the time is now to join the nation. If you do, I will make sure your service to Iran is not forgotten and is celebrated,” he said.

So much remains unclear about the American bombing of Iran on Sunday and its potential consequences.

President Trump’s decision to allow the US to join the Israeli offensive against Tehran has made the situation more volatile and unpredictable.

We examine the key questions:

• Read in full: Can Iran block the Strait of Hormuz — and other key questions

President Putin said on Monday that the world was moving “to a very dangerous point” amid conflict in the Middle East.

“We see how the situation in the Middle East has sharply worsened, and extra-regional powers are being drawn into the conflict,” he said in a televised address to a graduating class of military cadets.

He accused Nato of “provoking global militarisation and an arms race” and said that Russia would continue to develop its armed forces and increase combat capabilities in response, including ramping up production of high-speed Oreshnik ballistic missiles.

The Kremlin earlier condemned US strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, calling them a violation of international law and saying they signalled a “dangerous new escalation” in the conflict.

At least two supertankers have reversed course near the Strait of Hormuz after the US strikes on Iran, ship-tracking data shows, while others have also diverted away from the area.

Sentosa Shipbrokers, based in Singapore said that over the past week, empty tankers entering the Gulf were down 32 per cent while loaded tanker departures were down 27 per cent from levels in early May.

Vessels changing course dramatically in the past week include the Coswisdom Lake, a very large crude carrier that veered away from the strait on Sunday before turning back again on Monday, and the South Loyalty, which made a similar U-turn and remained outside the strait on Monday, while en route to Basra.

Italy opposes suspending the pact that governs the relationship between EU and Israel over alleged human rights violations in Gaza.

Spain earlier called for the EU to suspend the agreement and proposed an embargo on weapons sold to Israel as well as sanctions on individuals who are undermining the two-state solution.

The Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said “our position is different from that of Spain,”
and argued that it was important to keep relations open with Israel.

The US embassy in Qatar emailed a message to American citizens in the Gulf state on Monday recommending that they shelter in place until further notice. The message noted that this was “out of an abundance of caution”.

Al Udeid air base, the largest US military base in the Middle East, is in Qatar.

The IDF carried out an air strike on Monday to obstruct access routes to the Fordow enrichment site in western Iran, Israel’s military said.

The US bombed the facility, much of which is buried underground, on Sunday as it joined Israel’s military campaign.

• Offer of talks went unanswered — so Trump sent bombers instead

An Israeli strike on Evin prison in Tehran is “completely irresponsible” and “puts our loved ones in mortal danger,” Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler who is detained in Iran, said on Monday.

“We have no news, we don’t know if they are still alive, we’re panicking,” Kohler told AFP, urging the French authorities to “condemn these extremely dangerous strikes” and secure the release of the French prisoners.

The clock started ticking down towards the US bombing of Iran after the Iranian regime failed to respond within a 60-day deadline set in a private letter from President Trump to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Even as military preparations were in full swing over the past week, senior officials said Trump remained open throughout to a meaningful overture from Tehran, as indicated when he told his press secretary to announce on Thursday that he would decide “within two weeks” whether or not to join Israel’s campaign.

Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, went even further, saying on Sunday that the bombing mission could have been aborted while the planes were in the air if circumstances had changed.

• Offer of talks went unanswered — so Trump sent bombers instead

One key issue underlying the debate over whether to attack Iran in the United States, Israel and beyond is the long-running question of how determined the regime is to actually build a nuclear weapon, and when it could do so if it chose to.

For well over a decade most western intelligence services have held two paradoxical but not contradictory positions on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The first is that Iran, as a result of a nuclear agreement with European powers in 2003, had formally halted its nuclear weapons programme, and has not since made an actual attempt to build a nuclear weapon.

• How close is Iran to actually building a nuclear bomb?

President Putin has condemned “unprovoked aggression” against Iran which he said was “unjustified”.

Putin shook hands with Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, as they met to discuss the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, as well as recent US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Russian leader did not single out the US attacks, talking instead broadly of “strikes” against Iran, though the Kremlin had earlier on Monday said it condemned and regretted the “new escalation of tensions” following the US strikes.

Passing on a message from Ayatollah Khamenei, Aragachi said Iran thanked Russia for being on the “right side of history”.

Earlier, Reuters reported that Khamenei had personally written to Putin to ask for more support from Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed “deep regret” over the “new escalation of tensions in the region,” but dodged a question about whether Russia would offer military support to Iran, saying that any Russian assistance would “depend on what Iran needs”.

“Hundreds” of IRGC members may have been killed in Monday’s strikes on Tehran, Israeli media are reporting.

The Jerusalem Post, citing an Israeli security assessment, said that the “extensive” strikes had caused mass casualties.

Footage on social media showed large explosions and clouds of smoke over the Iranian capital. However there was no immediate confirmation of any deaths from the Iranian side.

Israel’s defence minister has confirmed the air force has been attacking symbolic targets in Tehran on Monday.

Israel Katz said the targets included Evin prison, a clock counting down to the “destruction of Israel” in Palestine Square, the headquarters of the IRGC and Basij militia and “other regime targets”.

The clock referred to was installed in the centre of Tehran in 2017, counting down to Israel’s ostensible demise by 2040.

Ongoing Israeli strikes in Tehran on Monday are hitting headquarters belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, an Israeli military spokesman has said.

The IRGC is both Iran‘s elite military force and a powerful political and economic influence in the country.

Sir Keir Starmer has come under renewed pressure from MPs to designate the corps as a terrorist organisation since the conflict between Israel and Iran has escalated.

Even if its nuclear programme has been crippled for now, Iran still has a formidable weapon at the ready: geography.

On Sunday, hours after the attack on its nuclear sites, Iran was disrupting GPS signals on the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is an energy chokepoint, as narrow as the eye of a needle: barely 24 miles wide, it is the route through which 25 per cent of the world’s oil and 30 per cent of its liquefied natural gas travels.

There has already been talk of Iranian submarines planting mines along the way. A crude way of turning what started as a war between Israel and Iran, which mutated into the US and Israel versus Tehran, into Iran versus the world.

• Iran has the most to risk if it declares war on the world

An Israeli airstrike hit Tehran’s Evin Prison on Monday, according to reports from Iran.

The opposition news outlet Iran International said the strike hit the entrance gate to the prison, apparently to allow prisoners to escape.

The heavily fortified prison is where the Iranian regime has incarcerated political prisoners, journalists, academics and human rights activists since 1979.

Among those previously held there were British-Iranians accused of spying, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was released in 2022.

US bombing probably caused “very significant” damage to the underground areas of Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment plant, though no one can yet tell the extent, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog has said.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that “given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme(ly) vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred,” following the attacks by US B2 stealth bombers, which dropped bunker buster bombs on the site early on Sunday.

A US Air Force F15 fighter jet lands at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk on Monday as US forces remain on alert

BAV MEDIA

Israel carried out a fresh strike on Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear site south of Tehran, Iranian state media reported on Monday.

“The aggressor attacked the Fordow nuclear site again,” Tasnim news agency reported, quoting a spokesman for authorities in Qom province where the site is located.

Shortly after midnight on Saturday, a large “strike package” of American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers set off from the Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, under a mission codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer.

The task for many of the pilots was to fly some 7,000 miles, into Iranian airspace undetected and destroy Tehran’s nuclear programme. Their mission was like no other that had gone before.

“The scope and scale of what occurred last night would take the breath away of almost any American if you had an opportunity to watch it in real time,” said Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, describing the operation as “bold and brilliant” in a press conference at the Pentagon on Sunday.

• Operation Midnight Hammer: how the US strikes on Iran unfolded

The 14 GBU-57 “bunker-busters” dropped by the Pentagon’s B2 stealth bombers on Iran’s nuclear facilities will have done a lot of damage, with about 200 tons of heavy munitions.

They may not have “fully obliterated” all three sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow as President Trump claimed, but they probably did cause “severe damage” in the more modest assessment of the Pentagon.

That does not mean, however, that Iran’s nuclear programme is dead and buried. Apart from anything else, somewhere in Iran is probably a deadly cargo of canisters in secure storage.

• Can Iran still build nuclear weapons after the US bombing?

Iran’s judiciary on Monday announced the execution of a man convicted of espionage for Israel.

Mohammad-Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh was hanged for allegedly collaborating with the “Zionist regime,” as Iran refers to Israel.

He was accused of having connections to Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, and was also found guilty of working with Iran International, a London-based Persian-language TV channel critical of the Iranian government, which Iran claims has ties to Israel.

Israel is currently attacking “regime targets” in the heart of Tehran with “unprecedented force,” defence minister Israel Katz said.

Vowing to soon reveal the extent of the damage with photos, Katz said for every Iranian strike on Israel, Iran will be “punished.”

“The IDF is now attacking regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran with unprecedented force — for every shot at the Israeli home front, the Iranian dictator will be punished and the attacks will continue with full force,” a statement published to media read on Monday.

The message comes after a heavy barrage was shot into Israel on Monday morning, causing minor damage and injuries.

Members of the Iranian Red Crescent Society on Monday placed flowers on the Red Crescent vehicle which was attacked during an Israeli air strike

EPA

Israeli forces overnight launched a drone strike that hit an ambulance in Najafabad county, central Isfahan province, Iran, killing all three on board.

“The ambulance … was en route to transfer a patient when it was severely damaged by a drone strike,” the Iranian news agency reported.

Some reports online suggest that the vehicle contained members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Israel’s bombing campaign against Iran began with strikes on nuclear facilities and military commanders on June 13 and has continued with daily attacks on missile launchers, air defence systems and even a state television channel.

Now the United States has directly entered the conflict by bombing three nuclear sites.

Iran responded to Israel’s attacks in kind by firing salvos of ballistic missiles at Israel, including some which have penetrated the Iron Dome missile defence system and sending the population hurrying for shelter at the sound of air raid alerts.

• The Iran-Israel conflict in maps, video and satellite images

Unverified video on social media showed the moment of impact of a ballistic missile sent from Iran that reportedly hit a power station in the southern Israeli port city of Ashdod.

Explosions are now being reported in Iran on the eleventh day of Israel’s military campaign against the country.

Several large blasts were heard in the capital Tehran, as well as Karaj, a city to the west.

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami, centre, attending a meeting with senior commanders

IRANIAN ARMY MEDIA OFFICE/AFP/GETTY

The Israel Electric Corporation has reported power cuts in the wake of Iranian ballistic missile strike near a “strategic infrastructure facility” in southern Israel.

“Teams are on their way to several locations on the ground with the aim of restoring power supply as soon as possible. The operations include infrastructure repairs and the removal of safety hazards, and are being carried out in coordination with security forces,” the IEC said.

Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz last year

MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL/GETTY IMAGES

An Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be dangerous and “not good for anybody”, the European Union’s top diplomat said on Monday.

“The concerns of retaliation and this war escalating are huge, especially closing of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody,” Kaja Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers.

Iran’s Press TV reported on Sunday that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council needed to make a final decision on whether to close the strait, after parliament was reported to support the measure.

About 20 per cent of global oil and gas demand flows through the channel.

China urged Iran and Israel on Monday to de-escalate in order to prevent the “spillover” of their conflict.

“The Chinese side urges the parties to the conflict to prevent the situation from escalating repeatedly, resolutely avoid the spillover of war, and return to the path of political resolution,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had urged China on Sunday to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route, following American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

There are reports that an Israeli power station in Ashdod was among up to seven locations in the country hit during Monday’s missile attack.

Pictures posted online showed a large plume of smoke following the attack, but the power station apparently suffered only minor damage.

Fires also broke out in open areas in northern and southern Israel after the strikes, but health services said no injuries were immediately reported.

The regime’s response to Israel’s operation, Rising Lion, has underscored the limitations of Tehran’s missile programme.

Many of its missile sites were destroyed before Iran even fired a shot in response. And that was before the United States entered the conflict with devastating bombing raids on its nuclear sites.

What was left has so far been used with devastating effect, levelling apartment blocks and killing at least 24 people over three days in a series of strikes that have pierced Israel’s much-vaunted protective shield, the Iron Dome defence system.

Iran, however, cannot maintain the intensity of these attacks which, in turn, have little to no impact on Israel’s ability to strike back at will.

• What weapons does Iran have and how long can it attack Israel?

Israel’s search and rescue teams headed to reported impact sites from Iranian missiles on Monday morning after air raid sirens sounded nationwide for an unprecedented amount of time.

Explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and in southern Israel after at least two missile salvos were fired from Iran.

Israelis take shelter in Tel Aviv on Monday

BERNAT ARMANGUE/AP

Blasts have reportedly been heard over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv after the Israeli military warned of incoming missiles.

Britain does not need to take a view on the legality of US strikes because we were not involved, the foreign secretary said.

David Lammy said that “is for the Americans to discuss those legal issues” as he accepted it was legitimate to ask if the military action breached international law.

Asked why Britain had nothing to say on the issue despite criticising Russia so strongly for attacking Ukraine, he said: “This was not the UK’s action. We were not involved. We were clear when this began and Israel’s attacks began that we were not involved.”

Members of the IRGC march in Tehran

SOBHAN FARAJVAN/PACIFIC PRESS/LIGHTROCKET/GETTY

The former defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said the UK should treat the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “like the terrorists they are”.

“I think we’ve seen the IRGC for too long reach way out of the realms of a conventional force and into terrorism and into disrupting our friends and our allies,” Wallace told Times Radio when asked if the UK government should now proscribe the IRGC.

A proscribed organisation is an organisation or group that is illegal to join or show support for due to its links to terrorism.

“The IRGC will be active in Yemen, helping support the Houthis, attack our friends, the Saudi Arabians and our other allies in the region, the UAE. And we should treat them like the terrorists they are.”

He added that in retrospect the West should have “been tougher early on, then maybe we wouldn’t have got to this position”.

Air raid alerts sounded in northern Israel on Monday after the IDF said missiles were being launched from Iran towards the country.

“At this time, the Air Force is working to intercept and attack wherever necessary to eliminate the threat,” the IDF said.

About 1,000 Britons are asking for government help getting out of Israel, the foreign secretary has said.

David Lammy said he was negotiating with Israel on opening the country’s airspace to evacuate stranded British nationals, saying he hoped it would happen “in the coming days”.

Lammy told BBC Breakfast: “We’ve got about 4,000 or so people who have indicated that they are in Israel, and a quarter of those have said that if we can help them to get out, they would like to take that. So we are negotiating with the Israeli government to ensure that the airspace is opened up to allow us to do.”

The armed forces minister has refused nine times to say if Britain supported the US attack on Iran.

Luke Pollard was challenged repeatedly on the question but insisted he could not comment.

Asked six times by LBC, Pollard said: “The American activity has now happened,” adding that Britain’s “focus is on the diplomatic solution”.

It came after he was asked the same question three times by Sky News, saying: “I’m not going to be able to comment given that question.”

The foreign secretary said he was “an optimist” and believes diplomacy “must and can prevail” in the Middle East.

Asked how worried he was about the situation, David Lammy told BBC Breakfast: “I’m an optimist. You have to be an optimist if you’re the chief diplomat for a wonderful country like the United Kingdom.

“Of course, this is a stressful time. I said it was perilous on Friday, but I still believe that diplomacy must and can prevail.”

David Lammy told BBC Breakfast that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was “somewhere in Iran, in a bunker”.

“Messaging to him cannot be easy, but I would urge them to step back at this point and — given that Iran no longer has any air defences at this time, given that they no longer have the proxies in Hezbollah, Hamas is degraded for all of those reasons and their own vulnerability — let’s deal with the nuclear programme.

“Let’s take the diplomatic off-ramp. Let’s get serious and calm this thing down.”

Abbas Araghchi spoke to David Lammy on Sunday

ALAMY

David Lammy said he had told Iran it would be a “catastrophic mistake” to attack US military bases or blockade the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, adding that he thinks the country’s leadership “gets that”.

The foreign secretary said he had urged his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Sunday to “be very careful about not escalating in response to the attack on their nuclear sites”, and that the minister had said “he would take that to the supreme leader”.

Lammy suggested that a harmless symbolic retaliation by Iran could be a face-saving way for Tehran to end the crisis in the Middle East, citing Iran’s response to Israel last October.

“You will remember that they did fire missiles into Israel, but it was a calibrated response that allowed those missiles to be taken down,” he told BBC Breakfast.

Recent hostile action by the United States started a “war” with Iran, a spokesman for Iran’s military has said.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari said on Monday that the American strikes had expanded the scope of legitimate targets for Iran’s armed forces.

“Mr. Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it,” Zolfaqari said in English at the end of a recorded video statement.

The head of the Iranian army has threatened reprisals against US forces.

General Amir Hatami said every time US “committed crimes, they received a decisive response, and it will be the same this time too”, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

Amir Hatami

IRANIAN PRESIDENCY/HANDOUT/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY

The general was speaking to other senior Iranian military commanders and claimed that Israel had “been forced to call upon” the US and “drag it into a direct confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

Some 40,000 US personnel remain in the region. In previous attacks, US bases in Iraq, for example, have previously been targeted with unguided rockets by Iranian-aligned militia groups.

Luke Pollard

MILO CHANDLER/ALAMY

The armed forces minister has declined to say the UK supported America’s strikes on Iran.

Asked whether Britain endorsed the military action taken over the weekend, Luke Pollard told Times Radio: “That was a decision that the US has taken. Our focus has been on the diplomatic effort that is necessary to get a lasting peace.

“That’s why that’s been the focus of the prime minister’s actions over the last few days, it’s why the defence secretary, myself, the foreign secretary and the minister for the Middle East have been engaging in diplomatic activity in the region, because we need to make sure that there is a route to a lasting peace here.

“The way to do that is with a diplomatic solution that brings Iran back to the negotiating table.”

The US is on high alert over concerns of retaliation from Iran after its strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.

On Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security issued an advisory warning of low-level cyber-attacks from “pro-Iranian hacktivists”.

It also warned of larger attacks if Iranian leaders issue a religious ruling “calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland.”

“The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks,” the advisory said.

Wallace said it remained to be seen whether the bombings had succeeded

BEN BIRCHALL/PA

Ben Wallace has said if the US strike were successful, “it was worth it,” but if not “it’s going to be pretty dangerous territory for the next few months and years”.

“There’s no point starting down this path if it’s done by half,” the former defence secretary told Times Radio.

“And that’s the big question for the intelligence assessors right now, the people who’ll be looking over, gathering, looking at the photographs, gathering intelligence, did it, was it successful? If it was successful, then many of us, including myself, would say, well, it was worth it.

“If it isn’t, it’s going to be pretty dangerous territory for the next few months and years, because I suspect what you’ll do is harden the regime and bring the Iranian people together rather than disperse them,” he added.

Six airports were hit in Iran in the latest wave of Israeli airstrikes, according to Israel’s military.

The IDF said: “The strikes damaged runways, underground bunkers, a refuelling plane, and F-14, F-5, and AH-1 aircraft belonging to the Iranian regime.”

The IDF said the aircraft were intended for use in attacks against Israel.

The US State Department has issued a “worldwide caution” alert due to the potential for attacks against US nationals abroad.

“The Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution,” the US State Department wrote.

“There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad.”

Advertising billboards reading “Thank you Mr President” have appeared in Tel Aviv in the wake of Donald Trump ordering US B2 stealth bombers to attack Iran’s nuclear sites with bunker busting bombs.

The president earlier claimed that the targets had been “obliterated” in a social media post, adding “Bullseye!!!”

Huge banners have appeared in Tel Aviv following the US strikes

NIR KEIDAR/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES

An Israeli drone was shot down over western Iran this morning, the IDF confirmed, following Iranian media reports.

“During operational activity, an Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle was downed in Iran. There is no fear of information leaking,” the Israeli military said.

Iranian media reported that the drone, shot down over the Khorramabad area, was a Hermes model.

Iran apparently launched a single missile towards Israel overnight, which was shot down, according to Israeli media.

The overnight launch triggered sirens throughout central Israel, sending millions to bomb shelters around 3 am. It was intercepted, the military said, and there were no reports of injuries as a result of the attack.

Despite another intense night of Israeli airstrikes against targets in Iran, the Islamic Republic’s own retaliation was more limited than previous exchanges of fire.

Oil prices eased back after an initial spike in trading in Asia as investors waited to see how Iran will respond to US attacks on its nuclear sites.

Brent crude prices rose close to $80 a barrel at one stage but is now trading at $77.90 — still a rise of 1.13 per cent — as many analysts still do not expect Tehran to act on its threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, in part because it would be likely to harm Iranian allies and customers more than it would hurt America.

• Business live: Oil price eases back after spike

Charu Chanana, the chief investment strategist at Saxo, said: “That said, any sign of Iranian retaliation or threat to the Strait of Hormuz could quickly shift sentiment and force markets to reprice geopolitical risk more aggressively.”

Bulk carriers and oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran’s parliament has voted to block

ALAMY

Oil prices will surge above $100 a barrel if Iran blocks the world’s most important crude shipping route in retaliation for America bombing its nuclear sites, analysts believe.

Iran’s parliament voted on Sunday to close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint through which tankers carry about a fifth of global oil supplies.

All eyes are on whether Iran’s Supreme National Security Council decides to approve the often-threatened but never-implemented step, which analysts described as a “worst-case scenario”.

• Read in full: Oil ‘will surge above $100 a barrel’ if Iran blocks Strait of Hormuz

Israel launched strikes on military sites in western Iran’s Kermanshah on Monday, as fighting enters its 11th day.

The Israeli air force “is currently striking military infrastructure sites in Kermanshah in Iran”, the country’s military said. Earlier, Israel’s air force said it intercepted an unmanned aircraft launched towards Israeli territory.

It added: “The air force intercepted, a short time ago in the Eilat area, an unmanned aircraft before it crossed into Israeli territory. In accordance with policy, no alerts were activated.”

Pakistan has condemned President Trump’s bombing of Iran, less than a day after declaring he deserved a Nobel peace prize for defusing a recent crisis with India.

Intense diplomatic efforts, led by the US, resulted in a truce between the two nuclear-armed south Asian countries for which Trump took credit.

Pakistan announced its formal recommendation for the US president to receive the Nobel peace prize on Saturday night. However, less than 24 hours later it condemned the US for attacking Iran, saying the strikes “constituted a serious violation of international law” and the statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Canberra backed the US intervention but wanted to avert a spiral into “full-scale war” in the Middle East, the Australian government said Monday.

“The world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, and we support action to prevent that. That is what this is,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference.

“We don’t want escalation and a full-scale war. We continue to call for dialogue and for diplomacy.

“Iran didn’t come to the table, just as it has repeatedly failed to comply with its international obligations. We urge Iran not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.”

Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said that the US attacks had crossed every red line.

“The warmongering and lawless administration in Washington is solely and fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of its act of ­aggression,” he said.

Araghchi had met David Lammy, the foreign secretary, and European counterparts on Friday for talks aimed at averting Trump’s strikes, but they failed to make progress.

Monitors are concerned over the whereabouts of 400kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium, enough with ­modest further refining for nine ­nuclear warheads. The uranium, which Iran has declared to the United Nations, is believed to have been moved to a safe location.

JD Vance, the US vice-president, ­appeared to confirm this, telling ABC News: “We’re going to work in the ­coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel. They no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium.”

Of more immediate concern is the 400kg of enriched uranium. “I think those cylinders of 60 per cent highly enriched uranium are the most valuable asset in Iran right now,” said Ian Stewart, who monitors Iran’s nuclear programme at the James Martin Centre for Non-proliferation Studies in Washington.

He said that Iran could have kept some enrichment centrifuges at a separate location, to enable the uranium to be processed further for a warhead. As it is at present, it could be fashioned into a crude bomb.

Around 950 Iranians, including security force personnel, have so far been killed by Israeli strikes, a Washington-based human rights group has said.

Over 3,400 people have also been injured, according to the Human Rights Activists group, which cross-checks local reports with its sources in Iran.

It said it had identified 380 of the dead as civilians and 253 as members of the Iranian security forces. It did not identify the remainder

Iran’s health ministry said on Saturday that 400 people had been killed across the country and another 3,000 injured.

Air defence systems were firing early on Monday in Tehran, state media reported, while explosions were also heard in the nearby city of Karaj.

A social media account associated with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave little indication that Tehran was preparing to surrender. The punishment continues,” read a post that was illustrated with an image showing missile strikes on Israel.

Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian foreign minister, is expected to hold talks in Moscow today with President Putin over the war with Israel.

Iran, which has provided Russia with drones and missiles for its war in Ukraine, is a major Kremlin ally. Russia also maintains close links with Israel, however.

Although Moscow and Tehran signed a strategic partnership deal in January, it does not include a mutual defence pact.

The point was highlighted on Sunday by Russian state television, which stressed that: “In the event either party is subject to aggression, the other party shall not provide any military or other assistance to the aggressor.”

Although Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who is now a senior national security council official, has said “a number of countries” are prepared to provide Iran with nuclear warheads, Putin has been far less bellicose in his comments.

“Judging by Putin’s statements in recent days, he is extremely cautious. Maximally so,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, the head of Russia’s Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, which advises the Kremlin.

Praise for President Trump came from his estranged former vice-president Mike Pence, who campaigned against him in last year’s contest for the Republican nomination.

“I couldn’t be more proud of President Trump’s decisive leadership in this moment or the extraordinary professionalism and courage of our armed forces that brought about this historic mission,” Pence told Fox News, adding that he knew Trump was prepared to bomb the nuclear sites in the absence of real concessions from Iran. It was “really a continuation of the policies of our administration where we isolated Iran as never before,” he said.

Pushed in whether he regretted saying he would not support Trump’s reelection, Pence added: “I’m not in the rearview mirror today … I really do want to commend President Trump and his entire national security team for doing what really needed to be done. The very idea that the most dangerous regime in the world would have possession of the most dangerous weapons on Earth has been intolerable.”

Iran launched missiles towards Israel, including at Tel Aviv, early on Monday as the conflict between the two countries entered its 11th day.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the Israeli military gave the all-clear after just a few minutes. It was unclear how many missiles Iran had launched.

At least 24 people have been killed in Israel, but there have been no fatalities since June 16.

When Iranian missiles have evaded Israel’s air defences, they have caused massive damage to civilian infrastructure, including at a hospital in Beersheba, a city in southern Israel that was hit last week.

In Tel Aviv, some people, especially those with small children, left the city when Israel first attacked Iran on June 13, sparking the biggest conflict in the Middle East for years.

Others immediately rush for bomb shelters or safe rooms when air raid sirens wail. The Israeli military has also produced an app that gives warnings of incoming missiles.

North Korea condemned the US strikes on Iran, calling them a violation of the United Nations charter and blaming the tension in the Middle East on the “reckless valour of Israel”.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the US, which severely violated the UN Charter with respect for sovereignty,” said a spokesperson of the North’s foreign ministry, according to a statement carried by the state news agency.

“The just international community should raise the voice of unanimous censure and rejection against the US and Israel’s confrontational acts,” the statement said.

Some of President Trump’s most loyal Maga cheerleaders are trying to make sense of his post last night suggesting a change of regime for Iran.

Trump posted that “if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!”

The idea of a US-sponsored regime change is anathema to a swath of Trump’s support base who are perplexed by his post on Truth Social. It also contradicted flat denials that a regime change is a consideration, made by JD Vance, the vice-president, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state.

Charlie Kirk, founder of the pro-Trump youth movement Turning Point USA, chided Maga supporters criticising Trump, interpreting the post as talking about a “bottom-up revolution” which “rises from the will of the people.”

But he warned: “America cannot get involved in a forceful decapitation effort in Persia.” Matt Gaetz, a former Florida congressman Trump nominated but withdrew for US attorney-general, cautioned on X: “Just remember: every regime change war has been extremely popular at the start. But the historical trajectory isn’t good.”

A B-2 bomber arrives at Whiteman Air Force Base after strikes on Iranian nuclear sites

DAVID SMITH/AP

President Trump responded to growing debate about the extent of damage done by the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in a post late last night.

“Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to his own description of the impact in the immediate aftermath. His senior general, Dan ‘Razin’ Caine, was more cautious on Sunday morning, saying that “final battle damage will take some time but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.”

In his post, Trump continued: “The white structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!”

Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane, as the world braces for retaliation for President Trump’s bombing of the regime’s three key nuclear installations.

The parliament in Tehran voted to block the strait, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply passes, but Iran’s leaders also said they may pause and plan more devastating responses.

Although Saturday night’s strikes are presumed to have caused huge damage to the three sites, Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, Iran said that its nuclear programme would continue.

Israel’s prime minister said Israel will not end the war with Iran before it has eliminated its nuclear and missile threat.

Speaking in a prerecorded press conference broadcast on Israeli news channels late Sunday, Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel is “committed to achieving our goals. When those goals are met, the operation will end and the fighting will stop,” with the caveat that the war would not continue “beyond what is necessary.”

Netanyahu said Israel had taken out over half of Iran’s missile launchers as the country’s air force operated in new Iranian territory on Sunday.

He also vowed a new dawn in the Middle East, with a “massive expansion of peace agreements,” hinting at a much sought-after normalisation with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States.

Abbas Aragachi spoke to David Lammy on Sunday

ALAMY

David Lammy said he had told Iran it would be a “catastrophic mistake” to attack US military bases or blockade the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, adding that he thinks the country’s leadership “gets that”.

The foreign secretary said he had urged his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Aragachi, on Sunday to “be very careful about not escalating in response to the attack on their nuclear sites”, and that the minister had said “he would take that to the supreme leader”.