Israel, Hezbollah trade fire: Latest developments in Iran war

'Reckless' Gulf strikes

Fresh strikes were heard across the Gulf on Monday as Tehran pressed into a third day of strikes, including on the cities of Dubai, Doha and Manama.

AFP reporters said they heard several loud blasts in the Qatari and Bahraini capitals, as well as in the United Arab Emirates' most populous city.

The United States and its Arab allies earlier condemned Iran for launching a wave of strikes on Gulf states hosting US troops.

"The targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilizing behavior," the US State Department said in a joint statement with Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

 New Iraq strikes

Fresh strikes hit an Iraqi military base housing Kataeb Hezbollah, a source from the pro-Iran armed group said on Monday.

"Three strikes hit Jurf al-Nasr," the Kataeb Hezbollah source told AFP, referring to a military base that serves as one of the main bastions of the powerful armed group that has been repeatedly targeted since the start of the Israel-US campaign on Iran.

Israel strikes Tehran 

The Israeli military said it launched "large-scale strikes" on Tehran two days after the start of a US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic republic.

"The Israeli Air Force... has begun an additional wave of strikes against the Iranian terror regime at the heart of Tehran," the military said in a statement.

Iran security chief: no US negotiation

Iran "will not negotiate with the United States", Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Tehran's Supreme National Security Council said on Monday, denying media reports that Iranian officials had sought to initiate talks.

He said Trump's "delusional fantasies" had plunged the region into chaos.

Trump: three 'choices' to lead Iran

Trump told the New York Times on Sunday that he had "three very good choices" for who could lead Iran, but he did not name them. 

"I won't be revealing them now. Let’s get the job done first," he said.

Hegseth to hold first Iran presser

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth will hold a press conference on Monday morning about the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, the first by a senior US official since strikes began on Saturday.

Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, will also take part, the Pentagon said. 

US officials to make case for war

Top US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will make the case Tuesday to Congress for the attack on Iran.

Rubio, Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and military chief Caine "will brief the full membership of both chambers of Congress," White House spokesman Dylan Johnson said.

Drone strike targets Cyprus base

British forces were responding to a suspected drone strike at its military base in Cyprus, the defence ministry said Monday, with no casualties reported.

The strike hit the RAF Akrotiri base at midnight, said the ministry, adding that its forces were handling a "live situation".

The incident came as Britain agreed on Sunday to allow the United States to use British military bases to fire "defensive" strikes at Iranian missile systems.

Maersk suspends Strait of Hormuz transit

Container shipping company Maersk said it was halting passage through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz for "safety" reasons.

The Danish group was the latest of several shipping groups to make similar announcements after Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared the strait closed on Saturday.

Gulf states vow to defend themselves

Gulf states vowed to defend themselves against Iranian attacks, including by "responding to the aggression" if need be, after the Gulf Cooperation Council convened via video-link to formulate a unified response.

Nine killed in Israeli city

An AFP journalist heard fresh explosions in Jerusalem on Monday, after the Israeli military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran", triggering air raid sirens.

On Sunday, an Iranian missile attack killed at least nine people and injured dozens more in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, medics said.

Three other people were injured in the Jerusalem area following another salvo of missiles fired from Iran, Israeli firefighters said.

EU reinforces naval mission 

The EU plans to reinforce its naval mission in the Red Sea with additional vessels as Iran's retaliation to US-Israeli strikes threatens maritime traffic, a European diplomat said.

Two new French ships will join the EU's Aspides mission, bringing to five the number of warships taking part, the diplomat told AFP.

Trump vows to avenge US military deaths

Trump vowed to avenge the deaths of three US soldiers killed during US operations against Iran, while warning that more casualties were likely.

The US president also called on Iranians to rise up, saying, "America is with you." He warned the country's Revolutionary Guards to surrender or face "certain death."

War could last 'four weeks'

Trump said he envisaged a four-week military operation against Iran, where US and Israeli strikes have killed the country's supreme leader and crippled its defence capabilities.

"It's always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so," he told British newspaper the Daily Mail during a round of interviews.

"As strong as it is, it's a big country, it'll take four weeks -- or less," Trump said.

Revolutionary Guards HQ 'destroyed'

The US military announced it had destroyed the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) headquarters. 

"America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters," the US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said in a statement, adding that the strike had occurred on Saturday.

Israel's military, meanwhile, said it "struck dozens of the regime's military command centres, including headquarters belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence headquarters, IRGC Air Force command centres, and internal security headquarters."

EU warning

The EU's top diplomat warned that the Middle East "stands to lose greatly from any drawn-out war", urging Iran to refrain from indiscriminate attacks in retaliation to US-Israeli strikes.

"The events unfolding in Iran must not lead to an escalation that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond, with unpredictable consequences," Kaja Kallas said, speaking on behalf of the EU's 27 nations after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers.

Tehran police station hit 

Iranian media reported that a police station in a city on the outskirts of Tehran had been hit, killing an unspecified number of people, with others reportedly trapped under debris.

"According to initial reports, a number of citizens were martyred and some were trapped under the rubble," the Tasnim News Agency reported. 

Tehran hospital struck

Iranian news agency ISNA reported that Gandhi hospital in northern Tehran had been targeted by strikes.

The Fars and Mizan agencies published a video, presented as being from inside the facility, showing debris on the floor among wheelchairs.