Live. EU foreign ministers hold emergency talks on Iran war, energy and stranded nationals

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that Trump had spoken to the leaders of all three countries, but didn’t provide further details.

Trump has spoken to leaders throughout the region since the start of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The European Commission activated the EU’s Local Consular Cooperation networks, a Commission spokesperson told L’Observatoire de l’Europe.

The network, which operates through EU delegations, is aimed at facilitating Member States coordination in the provision of consular assistance.

EU member states discussed offering consular help for thousands of European nationals in the war zone and in the wider region.

Currently, thousands of flights have been cancelled in the Middle East.

The Israeli military says it is increasing its attacks on Iranian government targets in Tehran.

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said at a briefing that 100 fighter jets simultaneously struck government targets in the Iranian capital on Sunday.

He said the targets included buildings belonging to Iran’s air force, its missile command and its internal security force, which violently quashed anti-government protests in January.

“Our message to the Iranian regime is clear,” he said. “No one is immune.”

Defrin also said Israel has activated an additional 100,000 reservists to fortify Israel’s borders. He said there was a special focus on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which so far has stayed on the sidelines of the latest war.

“We are keeping a close eye on Hezbollah,” he said.

US President Donald Trump says that nine ships in the Iranian navy have been sunk.

Trump said on social media that nine ships in the Iranian navy had been “destroyed” and sunk, “some of them relatively large and important.”

Trump said the rest of Iran’s fleet of military vessels “will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also!”

The president said that in a separate attack that Iran’s naval headquarters was “largely destroyed.”

The extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council has concluded, and a statement will follow soon. For the moment, it is not clear whether the ministers reached a joint position on Iran.

Earlier, diplomats told L’Observatoire de l’Europe that Spain and Slovenia had reservations. The reasons behind their opposition were not clear.

Both countries were among the most vocal critics of Israel within the EU during the war in Gaza, and both recognised Palestine as a state in 2024.

Ministers were discussing the situation in Iran and in the wider region via video call since 17,00. The meeting was called by EU High Representative Kaja Kallas.

The ministers also discussed the situation of EU nationals in Iran and in the region and considered options for repatriating them.

A senior White House official says that “new potential leadership” in Iran has suggested they are open for talks with the United States after U.S. and Israeli forces launched a major attack on Iran, killing its supreme leader and other high-ranking officials.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said President Donald Trump says he is “eventually” willing to talk, but for now the military operation “continues unabated.”

The official did not say who the potential new Iranian leaders are or how they made their alleged willingness to talk known.

Trump told The Atlantic in an interview on Sunday that he planned to speak with Iran’s new leadership.

“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” he said, declining comment on the timing. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington to have talks with President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Merz announced this on his social media account.

The German Chancellor added he is in close contact with his European partners, with Israel and the wider region.

« This is not the moment to lecture our allies, but to stand together in unity, » Friedrich Merz said.

The CIA had been tracking the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for months.

That’s according to a person familiar with the operation who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke Sunday on condition of anonymity.

The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of this weekend’s strikes was adjusted in part because of that information, the person said. The New York Times earlier reported about the CIA’s efforts ahead of the Israeli-U.S. strikes.

A diplomat familiar with the discussions underway between the EU’s 27 member states told L’Observatoire de l’Europe that there is hope to reach a joint statement.

The source said that there are no operational decisions foreseen, and member states need to coordinate on the repatriation of EU citizens.

Earlier, another EU source told L’Observatoire de l’Europe that the ministers will aim to release a joint statement, but said that member states had not revealed their positions yet ahead of the meeting.

Ministers are also discussing questions related to the energy market. Iran exports a significant amount of crude oil and also controls a main shipping route at the Strait of Hormuz.

French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrine confirmed that a French military base in the United Arab Emirates was hit in an Iranian drone attack targeting the port of Abu Dhabi.

« The damage is limited and only material. No injuries have been reported » the minister said in a post on social media, adding that French forces are maintaining maximum vigilance.

Iran launched counterstrikes against American and Israeli targets in the region after Israel and the US launched strikes over Iran, killing its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

France opened the military base in 2009, after reaching an agreement with the authorities of the Emirates.

Israeli police say they are still searching for 11 people following an Iranian missile strike in central Israel.

The missile slammed into a synagogue in the town of Beit Shemesh on Sunday, and police confirmed nine deaths and 45 injured.

It’s the deadliest attack on Israel since it launched attacks on Iran jointly with the U.S. on Saturday.

France is postponing an international conference meant to bolster Lebanon’s security because of the widening conflict in the Middle East.

 »Conditions are not met’’ to hold the conference as scheduled in Paris on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said. It said Macron spoke Sunday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and they jointly decided to delay it until April.

The conference is meant to strengthen international financial and technical support for the Lebanese army.

Macron is holding an emergency security meeting later Sunday about U.S-Israeli strikes on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks.

Top diplomats from Russia and China slammed Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran as a gross violation of international law.

Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi “condemned the massive military strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iranian territory, carried out despite Tehran’s openness to dialogue,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministers said they would coordinate actions at the U.N. Security Council, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other bodies. They did not specify steps that Moscow and Beijing plan to take.

The Foreign Minister of Cyprus, Nikos Christodulides, denied reports that Iran targeted the island with rockets.

Earlier, UK Defence Secretary John Haley said that two missiles were fired from Iran towards Cyprus. Haley said this shows how indiscriminate Iranian missile attacks are.

Christodulides, in his response on social media, said he called UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who confirmed that Cyprus was not a target.

Identified as a pragmatic hardliner, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had a place in the upper echelons of Iran since the early 1980s.

All of that came to an end early on Saturday when he, along with dozens of other senior leaders, were killed in joint US-Israeli air strikes on Tehran.

Omid Lahabi takes a look at his slow rise and sudden fall in the article below.

Three members of the US military have been « killed in action » and five « seriously wounded » in the operation against Iran, the Pentagon said on Sunday, without providing further detail.

These were the first casualties of any kind among US personnel to be announced since the United States launched massive bombardments against Iran and killed its supreme leader on Saturday.

The US military says it struck an Iranian warship at a port on the Gulf of Oman.

Central Command said in a statement on X that US forces attacked an Iranian Jamaran-class corvette.

“The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman” at the southern port of Chahbahar, the statement said.

There was no immediate comment from Iran.

Italy blamed Iran for provoking the US and Israeli attack, saying its hardening position about its nuclear and long-range missile aspirations had “posed a threat to everyone.”

“The obvious issue was the atomic bomb and the increase in the production of long-range missiles that posed a threat to everyone,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Sunday.

“This is the key element. Without any clear sign that Iran intended to take a step back, it’s obvious that the situation degenerated.”

Tajani strongly condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes as “senseless” and said they had only served to further isolate Tehran.

He said those countries hit by Iran had the right to respond. “I hope the situation doesn’t worsen but I sensed a strong irritation of all the ministers and leaders of countries hit by Iran about the Tehran regime.”

Iran’s foreign minister says he has appealed to his Persian Gulf counterparts for understanding following Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, which he says are only intended to target US military bases and personnel.

Iran has struck several countries in the Middle East as US and Israeli jets pounded the Islamic Republic, including US bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

But the attacks have also hit outside of military installations, including a Dubai hotel and Kuwait’s international airport.

Oman, which has mediated nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, said Duqm Port was struck by two drones.

“I wish they would understand what is going on in the region it is not our fault,” Abbas Aragchi said in an interview with Qatari news network Al Jazeera. He said that his counterparts were largely “not happy.”

Aragchi also said that Iran’s military units are “somehow isolated and they are acting based on general instructions given to them in advance.”

“I have talked to our military leaders and commanders to be careful about the targets they choose,” Aragchi said.

The US embassy in Baghdad warned on Sunday of threats against US interests in Iraq and said protests near its compound could become violent.

The embassy said on X that it is « tracking active threats to US interests in Iraq including restaurants, businesses and individuals. »

US « citizens should remain alert to their surroundings and avoid large crowds, as demonstrations may turn violent, » it said.

Saudi Arabia intercepted Iranian missiles targeting Riyadh’s international airport and the Prince Sultan Airbase, which houses US military personnel, a Gulf source briefed on the matter told the AFP news agency on Sunday.

« Air defences successfully intercepted Iranian missiles near Riyadh airport and Prince Sultan Airbase on Sunday afternoon, » the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, adding that the interception did not disrupt navigation or cause any human or material losses.

An eyewitness near the airport said they « saw and heard the air defence intercept the missile in the sky ».

Residents and AFP correspondents earlier reported hearing explosions in eastern Riyadh.

Maersk, one of the world’s biggest container shipping companies, said on Sunday it was halting passage through the narrow Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf next to Iran, for « safety » reasons.

« We are suspending all vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz until further notice, » the Danish group said in an online advisory.

« The safety of our crews, vessels and customers’ cargo remains our key priority, » it said.

It made the announcement after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards declared the strait closed, and state media in Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait, said on Sunday an oil tanker off its coast was targeted and four of its crew hurt.

The US Central Command and the Pentagon have denied claims by Iran that it hit the USS Abraham Lincoln with four ballistic missiles in the Gulf.

« The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close, » Central Command said in a post on X.

« The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime. »

Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that they had attacked the Lincoln after US and Israeli strikes killed the country’s supreme leader.

« The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles, » the Guards said in a statement carried by local media, warning that the « the land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors. »

The USS Abraham Lincoln is one of America’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which the Navy calls “the largest warship in the world.” In a statement, the Pentagon denied it had been hit.

It makes up the ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in the US, known as the Nimitz-class.

Nimitz-class carriers are 333 metres long, can move approximately 100,000 tons of equipment, including 65 aircraft and multiple missile mounts, according to the US Navy.

The USS Abraham Lincoln was sent to the Gulf towards the end of January as part of what President Donald Trump called an “armada” which was moved to the region “just in case” as tensions spiked over Iran’s crackdown on protesters angry about the country’s economy.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had destroyed roughly half of Iran’s missile stockpiles in the previous conflict in June 2025, adding the Islamic republic had been producing dozens of surface-to-surface missiles each month.

« During the operation (in June 2025), we destroyed approximately half of the Iranian regime’s missile stockpiles and prevented the production of at least 1,500 additional missiles, » military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised statement.

« The regime had recently been producing dozens of surface-to-surface missiles per month and intended to increase production to hundreds per month. »

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that an interim leadership council established after the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has begun its work.

« The interim leadership council started its work…we will continue with all our strength along the path set by Imam Khomeinei, » the founder of the Islamic republic, Pezeshkian said in a recorded video statement broadcast on state TV.

He added that the Islamic republic’s military « will forcefully crush the enemy’s bases. »

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the Qatar-based media network Al Jazeera on Sunday that a new supreme leader would be chosen within one to two days. 

Israel intercepted an Iranian missile over Syria on Sunday, a Syrian interior ministry source told the AFP news agency, causing a loud explosion which was heard across Damascus.

« The loud explosion in Damascus was an Israeli interception of an Iranian missile, » the source said, requesting anonymity.

A US-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday triggered a retaliation from Tehran, which has been firing rockets at Israel and at US military assets in countries across the Persian Gulf since then.

Debris from missiles fell in southern Syria, which borders Israel, on Saturday according to state media.

Syria, whose new authorities are hostile to Tehran, extended the closure of its airspace on Sunday for 24 hours, the official SANA news agency reported.

Its national carrier suspended all flights to and from the Damascus and Aleppo international airports on Saturday until further notice.

Israel struck and destroyed much of the Syrian army’s infrastructure including its air defences after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, fearing it would fall into the hands of the new Islamist authorities.

One person has been killed and 32 others injured in Kuwait, the health ministry said on Sunday, since the start of Iran’s retaliation campaign against US and Israeli strikes that killed its supreme leader.

Health ministry spokesman Abdullah al-Sanad said 32 people, all of them foreigners, had been injured since Saturday, and « one death was reported. »

L’Observatoire de l’Europe journalists in Dubai are reporting heavy bombardments in the city with explosions every 10 seconds and jets flying overhead.

UAE officials said on Sunday that three people have been killed in Iranian attacks on the country.

The UAE Defence Ministry also said that Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed.

Thirteen fell into the sea, it added. Iran also launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed.

Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. Another 58 have been wounded.

Afghanistan said on Sunday that the war in neighbouring Iran would negatively impact the whole region and expressed « deep regret » over the violence flaring in multiple countries.

The Iranian flag was lowered to half-mast at the country’s embassy in Kabul, an AFP journalist said, and a black cloth hung over the entrance following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli attack on Saturday.

« The recent political and security developments in the region have created unprecedented tensions that will have long-term negative effects on the entire region, » foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote on X.

« The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses its deep regret over the attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, and expanded by Iran to target the Gulf countries, » he added.

Balkhi condemned « the killing of innocent civilians » and called for diplomacy « preventing further escalation of the conflict. »

Iran shares a more than 900-kilometre border with Afghanistan and the countries have considerable economic ties.

Gulf countries will convene on Sunday evening to discuss a unified response to Iran’s attacks, two regional diplomats said, as Tehran presses on with a second day of strikes after US and Israeli attacks killed its supreme leader.

« It will be an online meeting of GCC foreign ministers due to the airport closures, » a Gulf diplomat told the AFP news agency, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

He said the discussions will revolve around « Iranian attacks on Gulf states and coordination on a unified response ». Another Gulf diplomat confirmed the information.

A barrage of missiles launched from Iran killed at least eight people in central Israel on Sunday, Israel’s emergency service said.

« Four people were killed in a direct hit on Beit Shemesh, » Magen David Adom spokesman Zaki Heller said in a televised statement.

Saudi Arabia has condemned in the strongest terms Iran’s attacks on its capital, Riyadh, and the eastern region, which it said were successfully intercepted.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday the attacks came “despite the Iranian authorities’ knowledge that the Kingdom had affirmed it would not allow its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.”

A Saudi diplomat told the Associated Press news agency that a message had been delivered to Iran’s leadership in a bid to avert potential Iranian missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The same message was delivered to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person wasn’t authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, says there is “renewed hope” for the people of Iran following the death on Saturday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We must ensure that the future is theirs to claim and shape. At the same time, this moment carries a real risk of instability that could push the region into a spiral of violence,” von der Leyen wrote in a post on X.

“We are engaging closely with all key actors, as well as with our regional partners, to safeguard stability and security and to protect civilian lives.”

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israel will have “a nonstop air train” of strikes against military and leadership targets in Iran.

Israel launched massive strikes that rocked Iran’s capital of Tehran on Sunday morning. Iran simultaneously launched multiple projectiles toward Israel.

France can only « be satisfied » with the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said on Sunday.

« Khamenei was a bloodthirsty dictator who oppressed his people, degraded women, young people and minorities and was recently responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in his country and in the region. We can therefore only be satisfied with his demise, » Bregeon told the French broadcaster RTL.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday that he hopes the ongoing confrontation with Iran will usher in a « new era » for the entire Middle East, including Iran.

« This is a historic effort to change the trajectory in the Middle East to a different future, a future of peace, » Herzog said while inspecting a site in Tel Aviv where an Iranian missile had struck the previous day.

« We shall overcome and hopefully bring a new era to the Middle East and Iran, » he added.

Serbia says its embassy building in Tehran was damaged in military strikes on Sunday but there are no casualties.

Footage aired by state broadcaster RTS showed shattered windows and glass. The report said the apparent target was a military base located in the area.

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić said that the embassy staff was pulling out and moving to Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the « spiral of violence » in the Middle East, after the US and Israel began an attack on Iran that prompted retaliatory strikes.

« Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I appeal to the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable chasm, » the pope told a crowd of faithful in St Peter’s Square.

Iranian missile and drone strikes on Oman are an “attack on the very principle of mediation,” the official spokesperson for the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

“This attack represents a dangerous pattern that threatens the role of mediators and undermines one of the most important tools for containing crises & preserving peace & stability,” Majed Al Ansari said in a post on X.

Oman has mediating talks between the US and Iran as Washington pushed for a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear activities.

The international flight tracker Flightradar24 said that more than 3,400 flights have been cancelled across seven airports in the Middle East on Sunday.

The affected airports include Hamad International Airport in Qatar, Zayed International Airport in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait International Airport.

The cancellations come as the situation in the region remains unpredictable as Iran continues to launch retaliatory drone and missile strikes on US military assets in countries across the Persian Gulf.

Iran has selected a 66-year-old cleric to join the three-member leadership council that will govern the country until a new supreme leader is selected.

Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi has been a member of both constitutional watchdog Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts that will choose the next leader.

He was handpicked by late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a member of the Guardian Council in 2019.

Arafi joins President Masoud Pezeshkian and head of judiciary cleric Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehei on the council.

The EU’s foreign policy chief has called the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “defining moment” in the history of Iran.

“What comes next is uncertain. But there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may have greater freedom to shape,” Kaja Kallas wrote in a post on X.

“I’m in contact with partners, including those in the region that bear the brunt of Iran’s military actions, to find practical steps for de-escalation.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a video on his X account in which he told the people of Iran, “Do not let this opportunity slip away. This is an opportunity that comes only once in every generation.”

The video was published in Persian and produced with artificial intelligence.

“The moment when you must take to the streets, come to the streets in your millions to finish the job, to overthrow the regime of terror that has embittered your lives. Your suffering and sacrifices will not be in vain,” he said.

“The help you have longed for has now arrived. Help has arrived, and now the time has come to unite for a historic mission.”

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has warned that the Middle East could slide into chaos as the conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran entered a second day.

He called for “dialogue and peaceful means” to settle the region’s crises, saying that the escalation has serious consequences that could push the region into chaos.

El-Sissi’s comments came in a phone call Sunday with Oman’s leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, according to the Egyptian leader’s office.

Kuwait says its air defences repelled “a number of hostile aerial targets” on Sunday.

The Defence Ministry said that targets were monitored and intercepted south of the Persian Gulf nation. It did not say if there were casualties or damage.

Iran has targeted US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in response to US and Israeli strikes which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Qatar’s Defence Ministry says the air force and air defence systems intercepted missiles and drones fired from Iran on Sunday, adding there were no casualties.

Iran has launched missiles and drones targeting both Israel and US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, in response to US and Israeli strikes.

The US military has reported no American casualties and minimal damage at its bases.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that avenging the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes was a right and obligation of the Islamic republic.

« The Islamic Republic of Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime, » said Pezeshkian in a statement carried by state TV.

He also called Khamenei’s killing a « declaration of war against Muslims. »

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said on Sunday that « few people will mourn » Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the British government’s first public response to the Iranian supreme leader’s death in US-Israeli strikes.

« Iran and the regime he’s led for so long, it’s a source of evil, murdering its own citizens and sponsoring and exporting terror, including to countries like Britain, » Healey told Sky News in an interview.

He added that « the concern now, of course, is this regime is lashing out…in an increasingly indiscriminate and widespread way, and people will be really concerned that it’s not just military targets. »

Healey also said that around 300 UK armed forces personnel were « within several hundred yards » of drones and missiles that Iran fired at a US military base in Bahrain, while two ballistic missiles were « fired in the direction of Cyprus » on Saturday.

« It demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled in the attacks it’s mounting, » he said.

Air France cancelled its scheduled flights to Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday as a result of Israeli-US strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation, the airline said in a statement.

Those suspensions came on top of the previously announced cancellation of its flights to Tel Aviv in Israel.

« Air France will provide further information on its flight schedule to these destinations for the following days at a later date, » the French flag carrier said in a statement.

Oman said an oil tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz came under attack on Sunday, wounding four mariners on board.

The attack targeted a Palau-flagged vessel called Skylight, the state-run Oman News Agency said.

It described the crew as Indian and Iranian.

It wasn’t clear who attacked the vessel, but it came as authorities have said Iran has been threatening ships traveling the strait via radio since the United States and Israel launched its attack on Iran.

Oman, which had served as a mediator between Tehran and Washington in recent nuclear talks, also said its port at Duqm was targeted in a drone attack.

Oman has generally stayed out of the fray in years of tensions gripping the region.

Footage from social media showed people celebrating in the streets of the Iranian city of Kiraj late on Saturday after it was announced that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in an air strike earlier in the day.

The 86-year-old Ali Khamenei has no known successor and his death is almost certain to create a leadership vacuum in Iran, given that he had final say on all major policies.

The Israeli military’s Home Front Command said on Sunday it had mobilised around 20,000 reservists to assist civilians following Iranian missile attacks.

« The command has called in approximately 20,000 reservists » who have joined over the past 24 hours the Home Front Command forces across the country, it said on its website.

A top Emirati official said on Sunday that Iran’s attacks across the Gulf had isolated the country, warning Tehran not to target its neighbours, as its retaliatory campaign in the region entered its second day.

« The Iranian aggression against the Gulf states was a miscalculation and it isolated Iran at a critical juncture. Your war is not with your neighbours, » said presidential adviser Anwar Gargash.

« Return to reason, to your surroundings, and deal with your neighbours rationally and responsibly before the circle of isolation and escalation widens. »

The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had begun striking targets deep inside Tehran, a day after a joint US-Israeli attack killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

« The IDF is striking targets that belong to the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran, » the military said.

« Over the past day, the Israeli Air Force conducted large-scale strikes in order to establish aerial superiority and to pave the path to Tehran. »

A massive explosion was reported in Tehran earlier on Sunday although it wasn’t immediately clear what the target was.

The blast appeared centered in a neighborhood that is home to the country’s police headquarters and Iranian state television.

A nearly total internet blackout continued in Iran on Sunday morning, the second day of a conflict between Tehran and the US and Israel, a monitoring group said.

NetBlocks said connectivity has flatlined at 1% of its ordinarily levels.

Internet communication and international phone calls in Iran have frequently been disrupted since nationwide anti-government protests started in December last year. 

At least nine people were killed during pro-Iran protests at the United States consulate in the Pakistan megacity of Karachi on Sunday, a rescue service spokesman told the AFP news agency.

« We have moved at least eight dead bodies to Karachi’s civil hospitals, while 20 others were injured in the consulate incident, » said Muhammad Amin, a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation rescue service, adding most had bullet wounds.

Hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters had tried to storm the consulate following the US-Israel strikes on Iran.

Drones targeted a port in Oman, injuring one worker, official media said on Sunday, marking the first such attack on the sultanate since Tehran began its retaliation campaign in the Gulf.

« A security source reported that the commercial port of Duqm was targeted by two drones. One drone struck a mobile workers’ accommodation, injuring one foreign worker, while debris from the other landed near fuel tanks, causing no casualties or material damage, » the Oman News Agency said in a post on X.

After the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran early on Saturday, Tehran’s retaliatory air campaign saw it target American military assets in all countries in the Gulf with the exception of Oman.

Oman has mediated nuclear talks between the US and Iran and on Saturday expressed dismay at the US military campaign.

Tens of thousands of people in Indian-controlled Kashmir staged massive demonstrations on Sundy to denounce Khamenei’s killing by the US and Israel.

Since early Sunday, mostly Shiite Muslims took to the streets in the region as they chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

Some wailed in mourning while carrying Khamenei’s portrait.

The Iranian leader enjoyed a significant following in Kashmir among Shiite Muslims and his portrait adorned several streets prominently across the region.

Kashmiris have long supported Palestinian and other Muslim causes and have often staged large solidarity protests.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a prominent Kashmiri religious leader, voiced deep sorrow and outrage over what he termed the “brutal killing” of the Iranian leader.

In a statement, he said the killing “has shaken the Muslim world” and called for a protest strike in Kashmir on Monday against the killing.

Dubai authorities said two people were injured when debris from Iranian drones shot down by air defences landed in the courtyards of two homes in the city.

The Dubai Media Office also said the booms heard in the emirate were “the result of successful interception operations” by air defences.

After explosions in Dubai, smoke could be seen rising in the area of Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, and the city-state’s Jebel Ali port.

Some airports across the Middle East remained closed on Sunday as the conflict between Israel, the US and Iran moved into its second day.

Emirates Airlines has suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Sunday afternoon.

The Qatar airport is closed until at least Monday morning, according to Qatar Airways.

Israeli airspace also remains closed.

The closures have stranded tens of thousands of travelers around the world.

The Israeli military said it has identified another round of missiles headed toward Israel from Iran.

There were repeated barrages of missile fire across Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, early on Sunday.

According to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services, one person has been killed and 121 were injured in the first 24 hours of the conflict.

Iranian state media confirmed on Saturday night that the Ayatollah had been killed in US-Israeli strikes early on Saturday, confirming an announcement by US President Donald Trump.

It brought an end to hours of speculation about the supreme leader’s whereabouts after his silence throughout the tit-for-tat exchange of air strikes throughout Saturday.

You can read more about how Khamenei’s death was announced and what comes next for Iran in this article by Aleksandar Brezar.

Iraq announced on Sunday a three-day mourning period after the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said in a statement that « with deep sorrow, we extend our condolences to the noble people of Iran and the entire Muslim world » after Khamenei was killed in « a blatant act of aggression. »

He said the government had announced three days of mourning, while urging an immediate cessation of military operations that « are driving the region to unprecedented levels of violence. »

Iran wields a significant influence in Iraqi politics and also backs armed groups, whose power has grown both politically and financially.

Iraq has for decades been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran.

The Coordination Framework, a ruling coalition of Shiite groups with varying degrees of links to Iran, said « with deep sorrow and profound grief, we mourn the passing of the martyred leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. »

His « blood will remain a guiding light for all generations » and « the curse will continue to haunt the murderous Zionists for all time », the coalition added.

Influential cleric Moqtada Sadr meanwhile said in a statement « we extend our condolences to the Islamic world. »

The US Embassy in Bahrain said on Sunday that family members and non-essential personnel were authorised to leave Bahrain.

The US has large military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom and three buildings were damaged in the capital, Manama.

About 500 Shiite Muslims stormed the US Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday, smashing windows hours after a major US and Israeli attack killed Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, police said.

Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, said Mohammad Jawad, a police official.

At least one protesters was killed and several others were wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces, he said.

The United Nations’ nuclear agency will hold an extraordinary meeting on Iran on Monday in the wake of the US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic, aimed in part at Tehran’s atomic programme.

In a statement late on Saturday, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the meeting was at the request of Russia, a key ally of Tehran.

Iran had made the same request in a letter to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Saturday following the strikes, which led to the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As a result, the agency will hold a « special session of the IAEA Board of Governors on matters related to military strikes of the United States and Israel against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran », the IAEA said in a statement.

That extraordinary meeting will precede an already scheduled session of the board, which represents 35 countries.

Following the strikes, the IAEA said it was « closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, and urges restraint to avoid any nuclear safety risks to people in the region. »

Western countries led by the United States and Israel, Iran’s arch-enemy, accuse the Islamic republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions, but insists on its right to this technology for civilian purposes.

Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani warned on Sunday against attempts to divide Iran following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli strikes.

« Groups seeking to divide Iran should know that we will not tolerate it, » said Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, in an interview broadcast on state TV, calling on Iranians to unite.

He also said the transition process to select a new supreme leader would begin later on Sunday but it is unclear how long this will take.

The commander of the US Central Command says his forces are taking part in military operations in the region during the first 24 hours of “Operation Epic Fury.”

“The President ordered bold action, and our brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen are answering the call,” a statement quoted the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, as saying.

The United States has thousands of military personnel stationed at bases all across the Persian Gulf and beginning on Saturday, these installations have been the targets of Iranian missile strikes.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said eight people were injured early Sunday in Iranian strikes on the country, bringing the total number of wounded since the attacks began the previous day to 16.

The ministry added that the assaults caused “limited” material damage.

Officials urged residents to remain at home unless absolutely necessary and to keep roads clear for ambulances and emergency services.

US President Donald Trump warned Iran against escalating its attacks in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, after Tehran issued threats following its acknowledgment of the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

You can read more about the US president’s remarks and what could happen next in the article below by Marina Stoimenova.

Hundreds of Iraqis tried to breach Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone, home to the US Embassy, after the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, a security source told AFP.

Footage shared on social media shows demonstrators hurling stones at security personnel, who responded with tear gas. An AFP reporter on the scene saw hundreds of people waving the flags of a pro-Iran armed faction.

The deaths of Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme Defence Council, and Major General Mohammad Pakpour, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in Saturday’s US and Israeli attack on Tehran have been officially confirmed by state television.

An intelligence and a military source told CBS News late on Saturday that around 40 senior Iranian officials were killed in the strikes.

Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said the transition process following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin on Sunday.

« An interim leadership council will soon be formed. The president, the head of the judiciary and a jurist from the Guardian Council will assume responsibility until the election of the next leader, » said Larijani, the head of Iran’s top security body, the Supreme National Security Council, who was an adviser to Khamenei.

« This council will be established as soon as possible. We are working to form it as early as today, » he said in an interview broadcast by state TV.