War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will no longer travel to Israel on a trip announced for Monday after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, the State Department said.

“Due to current circumstances, Secretary Rubio will no longer travel to Israel on March 2,” Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, wrote on X.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon has said Tel Aviv, along with the US, acted to “stop an existential threat to Israel, to our allies, and to global stability”.

“We are stopping extremism before it becomes extreme,” he told an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, highlighting that the objective was to eliminate the immediate threat by the Iranian regime and dismantle its nuclear capabilities.

He added that Israel was not against the Iranian people, nor were they its enemy. “Israel stands with the people of Iran,” he said, adding that the future was in their hands.

The Saudi foreign ministry has said in a post on X that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has held a phone call with US President Donald Trump.

The ministry said that Trump condemned missile attacks on the kingdom and reaffirmed that the US stood with Saudi Arabia, assuring the crown prince of Washington’s support against “Iran’s violations”.

The Dubai Media Office has said in a post on X that authorities have confirmed a drone was intercepted, and debris caused a minor fire on the Burj Al Arab’s outer facade.

“Civil Defence teams responded immediately and brought the incident under control. No injuries have been reported,” the post said.

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, has said that the US and Israel’s attack on civilian installations in several parts of the Islamic republic is not just an act of aggression but also a “war crime” and “crime against humanity”.

He criticised US Ambassador Mike Waltz for “distorting facts” and relying on “misinformation” to justify the blatant agression showed by Israel and the US against Iran.

Iravani said that the justifications provided by the US were “entirely devoid of legal foundation”.

“The invocation to ‘preemptive attack,’ claims of imminent threat, or other unsubstantiated political claims, are unfounded legally, morally and politically,” he stressed.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has said that US-Israeli attacks on Iran would undermine the security of the entire region “with far reaching consequences.”

Addressing the UNSC emergency session, he also condemned Iran’s attacks against Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, stressing that Pakistan stood in solidarity with them. 

He said it was unfortunate that some of those countries had been supporting the effort to find a diplomatic solution between the US and Iran.

The envoy lamented that once again, diplomacy had been “derailed” during efforts to reach a diplomatic solution.

The UAE said the vast majority of the 137 missiles and 209 drones fired at its territory by Iran were destroyed or intercepted, the defence ministry has said, as Tehran launched a barrage of projectiles at Gulf states after being attacked by the US and Israel.

“The ministry expressed that it is on high alert and readiness to deal with any threats, and that it is taking all necessary measures to firmly confront everything that targets the disruption of the country’s security and stability, and affirmed that the safety of citizens, residents and visitors represents an utmost priority that cannot be compromised,” the ministry said a statement posted on X.

Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom has reported that an Iranian missile strike injured 21 people in the area of Tel Aviv, including one person in critical condition.

MDA said in a statement it evacuated 20 casualties to the hospital, including one man in serious condition, and gave treatment on site to “a woman in her 40s who is unconscious and in critical condition with serious injuries”.

AFP journalists and Israeli television channels reported that first responders and firefighters were deployed in several parts of Tel Aviv, and there was physical damage to the city.

Four people were injured after an incident occurred at Dubai International Airport, the Dubai media office has said, according to Reuters.

“Dubai Airports confirms that a concourse at Dubai International (DXB) sustained minor damage in an incident, which was quickly contained,” the media office said on X, without giving further details.

United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz says the international community has long affirmed a “simple and necessary principle” that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

“This principle is not a matter of politics; it is a matter of global security, and to that end, the US has taken lawful actions,” he tells the UN Security Council.

United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz has said that no nation can ignore persistent aggression.

“Operation Epic Fury is directed towards specific and strategic objectives,” he said at the emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

“As President Trump said last night, for decades, the Iranian regime has destabilised the world, it has killed American forces and citizens, threatened regional allies and jeopardised the security of international shipping upon which the world depends.

“Its massive support for violent proxies, declared terrorist organisations … has brought bloodshed and disorder across the Middle East for far too long.”

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayotallah Ali Khamenei “is dead”.

He made this claim in a post on Truth Social shortly after Israeli officials claimed the Iranian supreme leader had been assassinated.

Iranian media, however, denied the claim.

Trump said Khamenei “was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do”.

Trump stated this was “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country”.

“The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world,” he added.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the Israeli defence ministry and military bases among other targets with a fresh wave of strikes, AFP reports.

“The Israeli army naval base in Haifa Port, the regime’s warship dock in Haifa, the Ramat David air base, the regime’s Ministry of War in the Hakeryat area, the Beit Shams military-industrial complex and the Ishtod military industrial complex are among the targets during the third and fourth waves,” the Guards said in a statement on Telegram.

Speaking at the UNSC emergency session, Bahrain’s Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei has said that his country did not expected to be “targeted by wonton aggressions without any justification.”

He said the attacks targeting vital facilities and residential areas were launched by Iran and described the strikes as a violation of Bahrain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He said the attacks “flagrantly violated international law and the UN Charter”

The envoy expressed the resolve that Bahrain would take a “firm stand against such aggression”, which he called an “attack on the collective security of the entire region”.

Qatar Airways has announced its flight operations will remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace, it said.

Bahrain has confirmed that high-rise buildings in the kingdom were struck by armed Iranian drones.

“The US government has determined that the broader Juffair area, and high-rise buildings in Bahrain, are not safe for US personnel,” the government said in a post on X.

“We encourage everyone to practice personal security awareness, be aware of their surroundings, and avoid large groups and demonstrations,” it added.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned that military action in the Middle East risks triggering uncontrollable consequences in the region.

“Military action carries the risk of igniting a chain of events that no one can control in the most volatile region of the world,” Guterres told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged all parties to return to the negotiating table, notably on the Iran nuclear programme.

“I call on all member states to strictly uphold their obligations under international law, including the UN charter, to respect and protect civilians in accordance with the internationa humanitarian law and ensure nuclear safety.

“Let us all act responsibly and together to pull the region and our world back from the brink,” he said at the UNSC emergency meeting.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has told the UN Security Council that 20 cities across Iran, including Tehran, Isfahan, Kumbh, and Tabriz, were attacked in strikes by Israel and the US.

“In Tehran, large explosions were reported in the district that includes the presidential palace and the compound of the supreme leader,” he said.

“Several high-ranking officials have been killed, including, according to Israeli sources, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom I am not in a position to confirm.

“Iran’s airspace has been closed, and the country is under a near-total internet blackout,” the UN chief said, adding that the attacks have caused significant civilian casualties.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will speak within minutes, Iran’s Al-Alam TV reports.

The United Nations Security Council will convene shortly for an emergency session on the escalating security situation in the Middle East.

Eight people were injured, with one of them in critical condition, in Iranian missile and drone attacks on Qatar, which also damaged a radar system at the Al Udeid military base near Doha.

“Qatar was targeted by 44 missiles and eight drones… with eight injured, including one in critical condition,” a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive details.

Most of the attacks were intercepted, but a long-range radar system was hit in the salvos and damaged, the diplomat added.