War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The UK has said it does not want the US-Israel conflict with Iran to spiral into “wider regional conflict”, AFP reports.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior has posted on X a public safety reminder urging motorists to respond appropriately when hearing emergency alarm sirens while driving.

“When you hear the sound of the alarm siren while driving your car, you must follow these instructions:

“Adhere to the speed limit, drive cautiously, and clear the left lane to avoid accidents,” it said.

“Continue driving and make way for emergency vehicles, such as civil defence vehicles, ambulances, traffic police, and security patrols, so that they can perform their duty,” it added.

Iran has said it will “respond decisively” after Israel and the United States launched strikes on the country despite talks underway on Tehran’s nuclear programme, AFP reports.

“The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond decisively to the aggressors,” a foreign ministry said in a statement, insisting Iran had done “everything necessary to prevent war”.

“Just as we were ready for negotiations, we are now more prepared than ever to defend the Iranian nation,” it said.

The US has named its sweeping strikes against Iranian military targets “Operation Epic Fury”, the Pentagon says.

The Defence Department announced the name in a social media post that included an American flag emoji, but has otherwise provided no details so far on the strikes.

Australia supports US action against Iran, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, AFP reports.

“It has long been recognised that Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to global peace and security,” Albanese posted on X.

“We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security,” he said.

The US Mission in the UAE has issued a security alert, instructing its staff in the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the US Consulate in Dubai to “shelter-in-place (ie, take cover)”.

“We recommend all Americans in the UAE do the same until further notice.”

The Israeli army has warned Iranians in or near military infrastructure across Iran to evacuate, after announcing it was conducting a “broad strike” on multiple military targets, AFP reports.

“To all individuals who are inside or in the vicinity of military weapons production factories and military infrastructure facilities across Iran: You are located near weapons and military facilities that are considered dangerous,” the army said on its Farsi X account.

“For your safety and well-being, we urge you to immediately evacuate these areas and remain outside of them until further notice. Your presence in these locations puts your lives at risk,” it added.

A bombing that targeted an Iraqi military base housing a pro-Iran group killed at least two fighters, sources from the powerful group Kataeb Hezbollah told AFP.

“There are two martyrs from Kataeb and another five wounded in the aggression” on the Jurf al-Sakher base, also known as Jurf al-Nasr, in southern Iraq, a Kataeb Hezbollah source said.

Another source said three fighters were killed.

A bombing that targeted an Iraqi military base housing a pro-Iran group caused casualties, a security official and sources in the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi told AFP.

The Jurf al-Sakher base in southern Iraq belongs to Hashed al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) but mostly hosts the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah.

“The bombing targeted the 47th brigade of Kataeb Hezbollah,” a source in the Hashed al-Shaabi told AFP. A security official and another Hashed source confirmed that the base was targeted.

All sources reported casualties.

AFP correspondents in the Saudi capital Riyadh have heard loud explosions, after Qatar and a US base in Bahrain were struck.

Two correspondents in Riyadh said they heard a loud bang and several explosions, after Iran vowed retaliation following US and Israeli attacks.

Qatar’s defence ministry has said the country has “repelled a number of attacks” targeting its territory, AFP reports.

Explosions have been reported in Doha, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Manama, officials and news outlets said.

This comes after the US and Israel jointly struck Iran, with the IRGC saying the first wave of retaliatory missile and drone attacks has been launched.

A Qatari official said Qatar has intercepted two Iranian missiles over its country.

A centre for the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain has been hit in a “missile attack”, Bahrain said.

A centre for the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain has been hit in a “missile attack”, Bahrain has said, as Iran vowed retaliation following US and Israeli strikes.

“The Fifth Fleet’s service centre was subjected to a missile attack. We will provide you with details later,” Bahrain’s National Communication Centre said, in a statement.

AFP correspondents reported a new explosion was heard in Manama.

Iran confirmed it conducted missile attacks on a US base in Bahrain, CNN quoted the semi-official Fars news agency as saying.

CNN quotes a Qatari official as saying that Qatar has intercepted two Iranian missiles over its country.

“The development indicates Iran is seeking to retaliate amid US-Israel strikes,” the outlet noted.

AFP journalists said explosions were heard across Doha.

Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE have closed their airspace after the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran, Al-Jazeera says.

Explosions have been heard in Kuwait, Al-Jazeera reported, amid heightened hostilities between Iran and the US.

Sirens have been activated, the report said.

Abu Dhabi residents told AFP they heard loud explosions in the Emirati capital, after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, which has vowed retaliation.

Two residents told AFP they heard the blasts. Abu Dhabi is home to a base housing US personnel.

Earlier, the UAE said it had closed its airspace “temporarily and partially” as an exceptional precautionary measure.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has been favouring intervention in Iran, called the joint US-Israel operation “necessary and long justified”.

“The end of the largest state sponsor of terrorism is upon us,” Graham posted on X.

“God bless President Trump, our military and our allies in Israel. Freedom for the long-suffering Iranian people. This operation is necessary and long justified.”

The Israeli military has said its strikes on Iran, in coordination with the United States, targeted dozens of military sites and followed months of joint planning between the allies, AFP reports.

“The strike targeted dozens of military targets and was carried out as part of a broad, coordinated, and joint operation against the regime,” the army said in a statement.

“In the months preceding the strike, close and joint planning was conducted between the IDF and the US military, enabling the execution of the broad strike in full synchronisation and coordination between the two militaries,” it added.

Tehran airspace has been closed to civil flights today between 11:30am and 5pm PKT, according to NOTAM A0715/26 issued by Iranian authorities.

Subsequently, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has issued a statement, saying that “Pakistani air traffic control remains fully operational”.

“All flights are proceeding normally,” it said, adding that “no delays or safety concerns reported” and that it was closely monitoring the situation.

“Should Iranian authorities decide to extend the Notam beyond 5pm PKT, we anticipate a noticeable uptick in overflight traffic rerouting through Pakistani airspace, primarily during the usual nighttime hours as airlines adjust long-haul international schedules to avoid the closed Iranian airspace,” the PAA cautioned.

The PAA said it continues to “coordinate with national and international aviation partners to ensure safe and efficient air traffic management”.

Warplanes and missiles have been seen flying through Iraqi airspace as Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, witnesses and a military source told AFP.

Iraq had announced earlier that it was closing its airspace.

The military source said on condition of anonymity that “our forces detected warplanes from the direction of Israel that crossed the airspace over Baghdad” and other provinces, adding that missiles were also seen flying over the northern province of Kirkuk.

“We saw several missiles flying at a low altitude” near the district of Daquq in Kirkuk, two witnesses said. A soldier in the city of Ramadi in western Iraq told AFP he saw warplanes flying overhead.

Resident Saman Zelwan, 20, told AFP he saw “more than 10 missiles flying over the Dokan district towards the Iranian border” in Sulaimaniyah province in the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Sirens have been heard in the Jordanian capital after the US and Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran, AFP reports.

The public security directorate in Amman said the “meaning of the sirens will be as follows: three intermittent sirens mean there is a threat, and one siren means the threat has passed”.

“When you hear the three sirens, it is advisable to stay where you are and not move. If you are outside your home, you should take shelter in the nearest building until the threat has passed,” it added in a statement.

AFP journalists heard several blasts over Jerusalem following air raid sirens in the city, after the Israeli military said it had detected barrages of missiles launched from Iran.

Israel’s emergency service, Magen David Adom (MDA), said it had received no reports of missile impacts.