I thought US strikes would shorten the war, but now I fear what comes next – Tel Aviv resident

Alice Cuddy

Reporting from Jerusalem

I’ve been talking to people in a part of Tel Aviv that was hit by an Iranian missile over the weekend, asking how they’ve been affected and what they want to happen next.

Speech therapist Ayelet tells me: “All my windows were shattered and the front door blew off [on Sunday morning]. I wasn’t at home, I was in the shelter but when I got back I saw what had happened. It was very shocking.”

Ayelet, 32, says she was at first happy when she heard about the US strikes, thinking it would “make the war shorter”, but now she’s worried about what might happen next.

“I’m trying to be optimistic,” she adds. “I hope it will end soon.”

Ran Lotan, 27, came to visit his parents after their home was damaged.

“Their windows were all smashed out so I came to see them,” he says. “For me myself, I’m OK… but you see people who are terrified – babies screaming and children who don’t know what’s happening.”

Nearby, some support the US action and want Israel to keep up its strikes.

“The Iranian regime needs to be totally erased,” one man shouts.

“You keep going until it’s over. You don’t stop in the middle,” says another.

The US state department has issued a “worldwide caution” for Americans, saying the conflict between Israel and Iran could put those travelling or living abroad at an increased security risk.

Vice-president JD Vance had insisted the US was “not at war with Iran, we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear programme” while US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that that the US was “not looking for war in Iran”.

US president Donald Trump has brought up the possibility of regime change in Iran following US military strikes against three of its key nuclear enrichment sites over the weekend, even as top members of his administration insisted the US was not seeking to topple the Iranian leadership. “It’s not politically correct to use the term, “Regime Change,” but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

World leaders are now awaiting Iran’s response to the US attacks. Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told France’s Emmanuel Macron: “The Americans must receive a response to their aggression.” Speaking in Istanbul, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said his country would consider all possible responses. “The US showed they have no respect for international law. They only understand the language of threat and force,” he said. He later flew to Moscow to discuss “common threats” with President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Iran’s parliament has reportedly approved the closing of the key strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Reuters reported Iran’s supreme national security council will make the final decision on the move, which could hamstring global trade by shutting the narrow passage between Iran and Oman. US secretary of state Marco Rubio urged China to advise Tehran against closing the vital trade route, telling Fox News: “I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the strait of Hormuz for their oil. If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake.”

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is very close to meeting its goals in Iran of removing the threats of ballistic missiles and the nuclear programme. Speaking to Israeli reporters, he said: “We won’t pursue our actions beyond what is needed to achieve them, but we also won’t finish too soon. When the objectives are achieved, then the operation is complete and the fighting will stop.” A social media account associated with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, later said Israel has made a “grave mistake” and “must be punished and is being punished”.

The UK, France and Germany released a joint statement after the US strikes, calling upon Iran to engage in negotiations leading to agreement that addresses all concerns associated with its nuclear program. The three countries also urged Iran “not to take any further action that could destabilise the region”, adding: “We have consistently been clear that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and can no longer pose a threat to regional security.”

Iran’s health ministry said the US strikes had wounded an unspecified number of people but that none “showed any signs of radioactive contamination”. “For years, the ministry of health has set up nuclear emergency units in the nearest medical facilities to nuclear sites,” ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said on X.

Israel said its fighter jets had struck “dozens” of targets across Iran on Sunday, including a long-range missile site in Yazd in the centre of the country for the first time, Agence France Presse reported. A military statement said that “approximately 30 IAF [air force] fighter jets struck dozens of military targets throughout Iran” – including “the ‘Imam Hussein’ strategic missile command center in the Yazd area, where long-range Khorramshahr missiles were stored”.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that “there are no planned military operations right now against Iran.” In a new interview with CBS, Rubio added that “no one will know for days” whether Iran had moved some of its nuclear materials prior to the strikes.

The US has been threatened with a “decisive response” after Donald Trump unleashed American bombs on Iran this weekend.

“Every time the Americans committed crimes, they received a decisive response, and it will be the same this time too,” said General Hatami, the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army.

Days before the attack, Iran had reportedly warned the US that it could activate its network of sleeper cells on US soil. The Department of Homeland Security said yesterday that the “Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States”.

They say “if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the homeland” there could be a surge in violence.

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We reported earlier Israelis in the north of the country were being warned to take shelter as missiles launched from Iran.

The Times of Israel is reporting the assault has widened to include central and southern Israel in one of the longest Iranian attacks of the war, and that medics are responding to a ballistic missile impact in the Ashdod area in the south, though there are no reported injuries at this stage.

Missiles have been seen flying over Jerusalem, and loud thuds were heard to the south of capital, according to Reuters.

Overnight Trump suggested regime change unless the current ayatollah can “ Make Iran Great Again ”, despite previous denials from US officials that regime change was a consideration

Iran has vowed revenge on the US , threatening to block a vital shipping lane

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.

Israeli power station ‘hit in Iranian attack’

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.

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

How how long can Iran attack Israel?

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.

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

Iran fires at least two missiles salvos

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 ‘heard over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv’

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

Lammy dodges question of whether US strikes were legal

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

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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.”

Revolutionary Guards ‘should be treated like terrorists’

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.

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“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”.

Israeli air raid alert ‘as Iranian missiles launched’

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.

‘1,000 Brits asking UK to evacuate them from Israel’

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

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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.”

Pollard refuses 9 times to say if the UK supports strikes

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.”

I remain an optimist, Lammy says

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.”

Let’s take diplomatic off-ramp, Lammy urges

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.”

Lammy warns Iran not to retaliate against US

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.

We will end war US started, Iran says

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.

Iranian army chief vows reprisal against US

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.

UK minister declines to back US strikes

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.”

US on alert for Iranian cyberattacks

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.

US strikes are highly risky, Wallace warns

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.

Israel strikes Iranian airports and warplanes

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.

US citizens urged to ‘exercise increased caution’ abroad

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.”

‘Thank you, Mr President’

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

Iran shoots down Israeli drone

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.

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Limited Iranian retaliation overnight

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 steady as investors wait for Iran response

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.”

Oil prices to surge if Iran blocks Strait of Hormuz

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 strikes Iranian military sites

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 condemns Trump after Nobel praise

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.

Australia backs the US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities

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.”

Iran strongly condemns ‘lawless’ US attacks on its ‘peaceful nuclear facilities’

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.

Iran strongly condemns ‘lawless’ US attacks on its ‘peaceful nuclear facilities’, says foreign minister

Concern over whereabouts of Iranian-enriched uranium

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 killed in Israeli strikes

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.

Iranian foreign minister to hold talks in Moscow with Putin

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.

‘I couldn’t be more proud of President Trump’s decisive leadership,’ says former VP Pence

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.”

Iranian missiles fired towards Israel

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 denounces US strikes

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.

Maga loyalist perplexed by Trump’s actions on Iran

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.”

‘Monumental damage’ done to all nuclear sites in Iran, says Trump

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 vows revenge on US as it threatens to block Strait of Hormuz

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.

War will not end until Iran’s nuclear and missile threat is eliminated, says Netanyahu

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, Benjamin 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.

Lammy warns Iran not to retaliate against the US

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”.