At least 555 people have been killed across 131 Iranian cities since Saturday following joint US and Israeli military strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).
The escalating conflict, triggered by coordinated US-Israeli attacks on Iran, has rapidly expanded across the Middle East, with casualties and destruction reported in at least nine countries.
US President Donald Trump said American forces are continuing large-scale operations inside Iran and warned the campaign could last four to five weeks or longer. He outlined objectives including “destroying Iran’s missile capabilities,” “annihilating their navy,” and preventing Tehran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons.
“Tehran cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside their borders,” Trump said, citing stalled diplomatic negotiations as further justification for the strikes. In comments to CNN, he warned that a “big wave” of attacks was still to come. “We haven’t even started hitting them hard. We’re knocking the crap out of them,” he said.
Trump also declined to rule out deploying US ground troops if necessary, though Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said there were currently no plans to put American service members on the ground. “We’re not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, adding that the US “didn’t start this war but we’re finishing it.” He stressed that regime change was not the stated goal and said the operation was not intended to engineer a democratic transition in Iran.
Israeli and US warplanes launched fresh strikes across Iran on Monday, targeting what Israeli officials described as command-and-control centres and senior regime figures. In Israel, authorities said 11 people had been killed by Iranian missile fire.
The violence has spilled into neighbouring countries. Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least 52 deaths and more than 150 injuries following Israeli strikes, launched after Iran’s ally Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel.
Missile and drone attacks attributed to Iran were reported across a wide swathe of the region, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Loud explosions were heard in Dubai and near Abu Dhabi in the UAE, as well as in Doha, Qatar’s capital. Saudi Arabia temporarily shut down its largest oil refinery after a drone strike caused a fire.
In Kuwait, air defences mistakenly shot down three US F-15 fighter jets involved in Iran-related operations, according to US Central Command. All six crew members ejected safely and were recovered in stable condition.
A drone strike also hit Britain’s Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus, marking the first attack to reach a US ally in Europe. British and Cypriot officials said the damage was limited and no casualties were reported.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil trade — has been halted following threats and attacks on oil tankers. Oil prices surged sharply while global stock markets fell amid fears of wider regional instability.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said there was no indication that nuclear facilities in Iran had been hit, despite earlier claims from Iranian officials. “We have no indication that any of the nuclear installations have been damaged or hit,” Grossi told the agency’s board.
Inside Iran, uncertainty surrounds the country’s leadership following the reported killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. President Masoud Pezeshkian announced that a temporary leadership council — comprising himself, the judiciary head and a member of the Guardian Council — has assumed the duties of the supreme leader.
Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran would not negotiate with Washington, declaring that Iran was prepared for a prolonged conflict.
The conflict marks one of the most significant US foreign policy gambles in decades. While some European allies initially distanced themselves from Washington’s decision to strike, several have since indicated support in countering Iran’s retaliatory capabilities after attacks on regional partners.
With mass evacuations underway in several cities and warnings from international officials about potential risks to nuclear facilities, fears are mounting that the war could further destabilise the Middle East in the weeks ahead.
