Iran fires 10 missiles at US airbases in retaliation for Trump bombing

Footage shared to social media appears to show air defenses have been activated over Doha, Qatar after Iran fired missiles at US military bases.

The footage showed a number of missiles appearing to be intercepted in the night sky, similar to how Israel’s Iron Dome operates.

At least 10 missiles have been launched toward US military bases in Qatar and Iraq.

One of the attacks was aimed at the Al Udeid base in Qatar – America’s largest base in the Middle East – with missiles launched just after 12:30pm eastern time.

The missiles were intercepted, and no injuries or deaths were reported, according to Qatari officials.

Iran’s Armed Forces said that the attack on the US bases were carried out by the Revolutionary Guards Corps, announcing that ‘we warn our enemies that the era of hit and run is over.’

Al Udeid air base is heavily fortified by a multitude of air defenses, which have been on alert since tensions escalated between Iran and the US over the weekend.

Donald Trump attacked three Iranian nuclear plants on Saturday night in Operation Midnight Hammer, significantly damaging the country’s nuclear capabilities.

Iran’s missile barrage response on Monday was same the number as bombs used by the US during their strike, which experts said showed Tehran’s desire to de-escalate.

Al Udeid is the main hub for American and British air operations in the Persian Gulf, hosting some 11,000 American troops and more than 100 aircraft, including strategic bombers, tankers and surveillance assets.

President Trump praised his strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in his first posts since Iran retaliated on US military bases, but did not directly address the counter-missile launches on Monday.

‘The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it,’ the president said.

‘Only the Fake News would say anything different in order to try and demean, as much as possible — And even they say they were “pretty well destroyed!’

Trump went on to slam several American journalists for their coverage of his military action on Saturday night.

‘Working especially hard on this falsehood is Allison Cooper of Fake News CNN, Dumb Brian L. Roberts, Chairman of “Con”cast, Jonny Karl of ABC Fake News, and always, the Losers of, again, Concast’s NBC Fake News,’ he wrote.

‘It never ends with the sleazebags in the Media, and that’s why their Ratings are at an ALL TIME LOW — ZERO CREDIBILITY!’

Stunning footage captured the moment terrified shoppers fled from a mall in Qatar as Iran launched missiles at US military bases in the country.

People were seen scrambling out of the building as air raid sirens sounded.

Qatar later said that all missiles shot by Iran were intercepted by its air defense systems, and there are currently no reports of any injuries or deaths.

The Trump administration was anticipating Iran would retaliate to the president’s strikes on nuclear sites over the weekend, and Trump has no desire to now escalate the conflict, an official said.

A White House official told CNN that Trump ‘knew they’d retaliate.’

‘They had a similar response after Soleimani,’ the official said, referencing Trump’s air striking of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020 that resulted in Iran sending a small number of missiles at American bases that were intercepted.

Qatar has said its air defenses intercepted all Iranian missiles that were targeted at the Al Udeid base on Monday.

They added that although Trump does not want more military engagement in the region, he has not ruled it out if necessary.

The president has convened his national security team to the White House.

The Al Udeid military base in Qatar was targeted with ‘short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles originating from Iran’, a defense official told CNN.

‘At this time, there are no reports of US casualties,’ the official added.

‘We are monitoring this situation closely and will provide more information as it becomes available.’

Kuwait and Iraq have closed their air spaces, following similar actions from a number of Middle East nations.

Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have also closed their air spaces in response to the Iranian strikes on US military bases on Monday.

The Ministry of the Interior for the Kingdom of Bahrain has urged all residents to seek shelter amid the Iranian strikes on US military bases.

The ministry said on X: ‘Seek shelter in the nearest building or take cover in a safe, enclosed area until the danger has passed.’

Air raid sirens have sounded in Bahrain and it has closed its airspace, however there are currently no reports of any missiles striking the country, which borders Qatar.

Iran coordinated its attacks on US military bases in Qatar with Qatari officials and gave advanced notice of the launches to minimize casualties, Iranian sources told the New York Times.

Three Iranian officials said that Iran had to symbolically strike back at the US bombing raid on Saturday night, but wanted to counter in a way that gives all sides an ‘exit ramp’, the outlet said.

Iran has named the strikes on Monday as ‘O Abu Abdullah’, meaning ‘Blessings of Victory.’

Qatar has raised the possibility of firing back at Iran after US military bases were targeted by Iranian missiles.

‘We affirm that Qatar reserves the right to respond directly in a manner equivalent with the nature and scale of this brazen aggression, in line with international law,’ Majed Al Ansari, the spokesman of the Qatari foreign ministry, said on X.

Qatar said that its air defenses had successfully intercepted the Iranian attack.

US personnel in embassies in Qatar and Bahrain are in ‘duck and cover’ positions as Iran launches missiles at US military bases in the Middle East.

The protective measure is issued by authorities when they are notified of ‘imminent danger.’

At least 10 missiles were fired at the Al Udeid base in Qatar and another at a base in Iraq, with air raid sirens sounding in Kuwait and Bahrain bases.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement after sending a barrage of missiles at US bases in the Middle East that the attacks are in response to ‘blatant military aggression’ from President Trump.

The IRGC branded the Trump administration a ‘criminal regime’ and said its nuclear program was ‘peaceful.’

A number of ‘loud booms’ have been heard in the Qatari capital city of Doha, reports say.

Doha residents told the New York Times that lights were streaking upward in what is believed to be the activation of Iron Dome-style air defense systems.

Some objects could be seen falling to earth.

The extent of the damage is not yet clear.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an X post that US ‘aggression’ will not go unanswered as Iran launched at least six missiles on US bases in Qatar.

‘We will stand by the security of this beloved nation and respond to every wound on Iran’s body with faith, wisdom and determination,’ Pezeshkian said.

US bases in Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain have sounded their air raid sirens shortly after the Al Udeid base in Qatar was targeted by Iranian missiles.

The White House has confirmed it is aware of an ‘imminent attack’ on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

‘The White House and the Department of Defense are aware of, and closely monitoring, potential threats to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar,’ an official told the New York Times.

President Donald Trump is convening his national security team as a US military base in Qatar is believed to be under ‘imminent threat’ of attack.

The pre-scheduled meeting is to take place at 1 p.m. in the Oval Office.

CNN additionally reported that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were among the officials huddled in the Situation Room Monday.

The US military Al Udeid base in Qatar has been placed under an ‘imminet threat’ alert, shortly after the country closed its airspace.

The facility is the largest US military base in the Middle East, and reports say troops have been put on a state of high readiness in anticipation of possible Iranian strikes on Monday.

Iran’s mission to the UN warned that the UK and France will also ‘bear full responsibility’ for the recent strikes in Iran from the US and Israel.

The escalatory remarks were made as the UN held an emergency summit following President Trump’s strikes on Saturday night.

Although Trump’s attacks did not kill or injure any civilians, Iran said at the UN that the Western nations would bear responsibility for ‘the death of innocent civilians.’

President Trump threatened Russia in a scathing social media post after its former President Dmitry Medvedev said other nations are ‘lining up’ to supply Iran with nuclear weapons.

In a post to his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump wrote: ‘Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!) and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran?’

The president said that he would want to know ‘IMMEDIATELY’ if Medvedev made the remarks.

‘The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS.’

Trump went on to boast of the capabilities of the US military following Saturday’s strikes, saying that America also has nuclear submarines that are ’20 years advanced over the pack.’

‘They are the most powerful and lethal weapons ever built,’ he said.

Qatari authorities have temporarily suspended all air traffic over the country’s air space.

The Middle East nation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that it was taking the precaution ‘to ensure the safety of citizens, residents and visitors.’

It comes after the UK and US Embassies in Qatar ordered their nationals in the country to ‘shelter in place’, amid fears that Iran will retaliate against the US strikes on Saturday night.

Experts have raised the possibility that Iran could attack US military bases in revenge, with Qatar hosting 19 US bases including the Al Udeid base, the largest base in the Middle East.

It is the main hub for American and British air operations in the Persian Gulf, hosting some 11,000 American troops and more than 100 aircraft, including strategic bombers, tankers and surveillance assets.

US oil markets opened in the red on Monday but performed better than experts had expected amid fears Iran will shut the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil spiked as much as 6.2 percent on Sunday to $78.40 a barrel, however the markets later plunged, and as of Monday morning it stands at $73.15 a barrel.

The market fluctuations come as the potential closing of the Strait of Hormuz jeopardizes up to 20 percent of the world’s oil channels, which could cause havoc to global energy markets.

On Monday morning, Trump said on Truth Social that he was closesly watching how oil prices react to the crisis in the Middle East.

‘EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN,’ the president wrote.

‘I’M WATCHING! YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON’T DO IT!’

On Monday, Republican Tom Cotton, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, admitted that Americans ‘have a right to be concerned’ about the threat of terrorist sleeper cells.

‘Joe Biden had a wide-open border policy for four years, we know that terrorists tried to enter our country,’ Cotton told Fox News. ‘Iran has a long history of terrorizing America.’

The Arkansas senator pointed to intelligence that said Iran was behind attempts on President Trump’s life last year, as well as the fatwa Iran put on journalist Salman Rushdie that also resulted in an assassination attempt on him in 2022.

‘It is important that we remember, Iran did not become a terrorist state because Donald Trump bombed their nuclear bunkers, he bombed their nuclear bunkers because they’re a terrorist state,’ he continued.

‘And we cannot allow a terrorist state to have nuclear weapons.’

France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned Israel’s strike on Iran’s Evin prison on Monday as he said two French nationals were inside.

Barrot said the strike put the two inmates, accused spies Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, in danger.

France has denied Iran’s allegations that Kohler and Paris are spies, and has worked to free them since they were incarcerated in Evin over three years ago.

Israel’s targeted the notorious prison as the facility has long been seen as a hold for dissidents and enemies of the Iranian regime. It is unclear if anyone was killed or injured in the strike.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz said Saturday night’s strikes from Donald Trump were only necessary because former President Joe Biden’s policies allowed Iran’s nuclear program to thrive.

Cruz told Fox News on Monday that Biden, as well as former President Barack Obama, are to blame for the spiraling crisis in the Middle East.

‘Under Barak Obama and under Joe Biden, the Democrat Party has become the party of appeasement, and in particular appeasement of Iran,’ Cruz said.

The former presidential contender pointed to Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran as an example, which he said was ‘disastrous’ for American foreign policy.

‘What happened on Saturday started under Barak Obama, because he flooded the cash into that regime to enable them to start building nuclear weapons, and then under Joe Biden it accelerated,’ Cruz said.

‘Joe Biden lifted all the sanctions, he refused to enforce the sanctions, and over $100 billion flowed into Iran as a result of the Democrats’ foreign policy.’

The UK Government has urged British nationals in Qatar to ‘shelter in place’ in line with US advice.

The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice following guidance issued by the US Embassy earlier today.

Following a US security alert for US nationals in Qatar, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that British nationals in Qatar shelter in place until further notice. Follow instructions from local authorities. The FCDO is in contact with local authorities and international partners, and will provide further updates as the situation develops.

It comes after the US Embassy in Qatar ordered Americans in the nation to ‘shelter in place’ as fears grow of an Iranian retaliation to the US strikes on Saturday night.

The Embassy warned Americans to seek shelter ‘out of an abundance of caution.’ It did not say how long the shelter in place order is expected to last.

The Iranian government is estimating its war with Israel could last up to two years and wants the US to ‘pay directly for the war’, a senior official told CNN.

According to the official, the Iranian people have shown ‘unprecedented’ and ‘immense’ demand to strike Israel, while the intervention by Donald Trump had resulted in a wave of anti-American sentiment across the country.

Speaking to CNN, they said Iran believed calls for a pause in fighting or de-escalation were a ‘deception in order to assess Iran’s preparedness for continuing the war.’

The Iranian government is said to have estimated the war could last up to two years and that it is prepared for that length of time.

Following Trump’s intervention, the official said he wants the US to ‘directly pay for the war, rather than standing behind Israel and pursue its project without having to pay the cost.’

US President Donald Trump has today urged for oil prices to be kept down as they fluctuated while the world eyes Tehran’s response to US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

‘EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I’M WATCHING!’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform minutes after Wall Street started trading, with major US indexes treading water.

Trump cautioned against ‘playing right into the hands of the enemy.’

Iran has vowed to retaliate after US air strikes on its nuclear facilities, and its options include closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Disrupting traffic through the vital route for oil and gas – which carries one-fifth of global oil output – would send energy prices soaring in a global inflationary shock.

Trump urged the US Energy Department in a separate social media post to ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!’

Iran is the ninth-biggest oil-producing country globally and exports just under half of the 3.3 million barrels it produces each day.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has confirmed that 63 British nationals have been evacuated from Israel to Cyprus.

The group will be ‘brought home’ later this evening, with more flights expected in the coming days.

Lammy also said that one British national has been injured in Israel amid the war.

Read more from MailOnline’s Deputy Political Editor David Wilcock here:

Israel’s Defence Forces have warned residents of Tehran that they are planning more attacks on the city over the coming days.

The IDF’s Arabic language spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a statement on X.

Dear citizens of Tehran, In the coming days, the Israeli army will continue its attacks on military targets in the Tehran area.

For your personal safety, we ask you to stay away from weapons production centers, military headquarters, and security institutions affiliated with the regime.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed that Tehran should not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb hours after Israel and Iran traded fresh missile strikes.

He said his ‘greatest fear’ was that Tehran had a nuclear weapon which would give it a ‘stranglehold’ on Israel and the rest of the world.

Speaking ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague, Rutte said:

When it comes to NATO’s stance on Iran’s nuclear programme, allies have long agreed that Iran must not develop a nuclear weapon.

He dismissed suggestions that the war in the Middle East would deflect attention from the summit of the 32 NATO leaders starting on Tuesday.

Rutte also noted that Iran was ‘heavily involved’ in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Iranian drones are killing innocent Ukrainians every day in cities, in communities without any respect for life.

Reza Pahlavi, whose supporters call him the ‘Crown Prince of Iran’, has appealed to the international community to help end the theocratic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pahlavi, who is the son of Iran’s last shah and was exiled during the Iranian Revolution in 1979, reiterated his calls for a democratic Iran in a speech today.

Speaking directly to the Iranian people in Persian and English, Pahlavi said:

The regime is defeated, teetering on the edge of collapse, and must not be allowed to continue. The time has come to end this ruin and begin a new era for Iran.

In a message directed at Khamenei, he said:

Step down. And if you do, you will receive a fair trial and due process of law. Which is more than you have ever given any Iranian.

To the international community he said:

Now is the moment to stand with the Iranian people. Do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Do not throw this regime a lifeline.

And he described the current situation as ‘our Berlin Wall moment’:

But like all moments of great change, it comes fraught with danger. We stand at a crossroads. One road leads to bloodshed and chaos. The other – to a peaceful and democratic transition.

Read the full speech here:

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said Iran was an ‘imminent threat’ and that Donald Trump is the ‘first president with the guts to actually do something about it.’

She was definitive about the outcome of US strikes, saying they ‘took away Iran’s ability to create a nuclear bomb.’

Over the weekend, American stealth bombers, fighter jets and a submarine struck Iran with bombs and missiles – joining Israel’s attempt to wipe out Iran’s nuclear programme.

Leavitt said US operations in the Middle East haven’t changed despite Trump raising the possibility of toppling Iran’s theocratic leaderships.

‘The president was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking,’ she told reporters on Monday morning.

She added: ‘If they refuse to engage in diplomacy moving forward, why shouldn’t the Iranian people rise up against this brutal terrorist regime?’

The US bombardment of three sites in Iran sparked debate in Congress over Trump’s authority to launch the strikes, with Republicans praising him for decisive action as many Democrats warned he should have sought congressional approval.

Leavitt rejected accusations that Democrats were not given a heads-up about the US attack on Iran.

‘We did make bipartisan calls,’ Leavitt told Fox News. She said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ‘couldn’t be reached.’

Traditionally, there are bipartisan briefings for congressional leaders, even for classified missions.

Leavitt insisted the White House was ‘not obligated to tell anybody’ about the plans but ‘we gave these calls as a courtesy.’

The US Embassy in Qatar has ordered Americans in the nation to ‘shelter in place’ as fears grow of an Iranian retaliation to the US strikes on Saturday night.

The Embassy warned Americans to seek shelter ‘out of an abundance of caution.’ It did not say how long the shelter in place order is expected to last.

There are up to 15,000 American residents in Qatar, and the United States also has 19 military facilities in the Middle East nation.

Al Udeid in Qatar is the largest US military base in the Middle East, built in the wake of the first Gulf War. It is the main hub for American and British air operations in the Persian Gulf, hosting some 11,000 American troops and more than 100 aircraft, including strategic bombers, tankers and surveillance assets.

Read the full story by Will Potter here:

An Israeli government spokesperson has said the war on Iran will end when Israel’s objectives relating to Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme are met.

They said that while Israel’s goal in the conflict is not regime change, this may come as a byproduct of the strikes, which have seriously impacted Iran’s military leadership.

But they added that a change of government is up to the Iranian people.

A US official has told Reuters there is a ‘high risk’ of Iranian retaliation against American troops in the ‘next day or two’.

It comes after Iran warned the United States should expect ‘heavy consequences’ with 40,000 soldiers across the Middle East said to be vigilant against an Iranian threat.

The White House has today said it has a ‘high degree of confidence’ that US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities struck the country’s stores of enriched uranium.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told ABC News’ Good Morning America that Operation Hammer was a ‘resounding success’ as she faced the cameras this morning.

Donald Trump said said the strikes were a ‘spectacular military success’ when he announced them in a televised address on Sunday.

Leavitt said:

We have a high degree of confidence that where those strikes took place is where Iran’s enriched uranium was stored. The president wouldn’t have launched the strikes if we weren’t confident in that. So this operation was a resounding success.

Analysts have been closely monitoring the strait, a key passage of water between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, since the US bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday.

Iran’s parliament was reported to have backed a move to close the strait late on Sunday, threatening around a fifth of all global oil movements.

Iranian state television reported that the legislature had come to an agreement, but Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei would have to make the final decision, it said.

The closure of the strait, a chokepoint between Iran and Oman, would threaten petroleum shipments from Persian Gulf countries, likely spiking prices.

Analysts have warned that a decision to close the Strait would meaningfully impact global oil flows and be tantamount to a declaration of war.

It comes after two huge supertankers U-turned in the strait on Sunday.

The Coswisdom Lake and South Loyalty, each capable of transporting about two million barrels of crude, entered the passage on Sunday before abruptly changing course and leaving, according to Bloomberg.

It was unclear what caused the two empty ships to head south, away from the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

These pictures show British nationals leaving Israel in one of the first emergency evacuations since the US attacked nuclear sites in Iran.

Sir Keir Starmer has urged British nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to make contact with the Foreign Office as it prepares for an evacuation flight.

Today at around 3pm local time, Royal Air Force plane carrying around 50 people took off from Tel Aviv airport, headed for a base in Larnaca, Cyprus, before the passengers board another plane returning to the UK.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said Donald Trump believes the Iranian people can control their own destiny after the President floated the idea of regime change on his Truth Social page.

Speaking on Fox News this morning, Leavitt said Trump was speaking ‘complete sense’ when Trump posed the idea of regime change if the current leaders were unable to ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN’.

Leavitt said:

If the Iranian regime refuses to come to a peaceful, diplomatic solution, which the President is still interested in engaging in why shouldn’t the Iranian people take away the power of this incredibly violent regime that has been suppressing them for decades.

The Israeli Defence Forces have shared a statement about today’s attacks on Tehran.

More than 50 fighter jets attacked military targets in Tehran in the latest wave of attacks, and as part of the IDF’s extensive operations to damage the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, Air Force fighter jets attacked, under the direction of the Intelligence Directorate, Iranian regime military headquarters, missile and radar production sites, and missile storage infrastructure in the Tehran area, Iran.

The IDF continues to intensify its attacks on the Iranian regime’s military capabilities and will continue to work to achieve air superiority in order to maintain the security of the State of Israel.

Sir Keir Starmer has denied he was blindsided by US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Asked if the Prime Minister had any idea what the US president planned to do next after his assessment that Mr Trump wanted to push for de-escalation was proved wrong, his spokesman said:

My answer to that is he acknowledges that it is a very fast-moving situation, he has an excellent relationship with President Trump, as detailed at the G7 last week when the President spoke about the strength of that relationship, but it is a fast-moving situation.

The Prime Minister has been consistent that de-escalation and diplomacy for him is the order of the day.

Asked whether the Government believed Iran would listen to Britain’s calls to de-escalate, the spokesman said:

Well, I think our message to Iran has been very clear, which is that it is absolutely necessary for Iran to take the opportunity presented by the US to re-enter talks, and we would urge them to do so.

The US embassy in Qatar has told Americans to shelter in place until further notice

The recommendation is ‘out of an abundance of caution’, according to the announcement, which offers no further information.

Qatar said it stands ready to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its citizens and residents amid the spiraling tensions.

Commenting on the message, Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said in a statement that the security situation in the country remained stable, adding that the embassy’s advisory did not suggest any specific threat.

Al Ansari said Qatar was ready to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its citizens and residents.

Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest US base in the Middle East, which serves as the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command and accommodates approximately 10,000 troops.

Iranian state TV is reporting that around 500 people have been killed ince Israel launched its attack on the country on June 13.

More than 3,000 have been injured, according to the reports, which cite to country’s health ministry.

It comes after the health minister said at least 13 children and 44 women have been killed during 11 days of relentless strikes.

American troops across the Middle East will be on high alert as Iran warns the United States should expect ‘heavy consequences’ for striking its nuclear sites.

One Iranian television mouthpiece has warned up to 50,000 American soldiers will be returned to Washington in ‘coffins’ as hardliners press for immediate retaliation.

Across the region there are an estimated 40,000 US soldiers stationed on bases and warships.

The United States has permanent military facilities in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

This is the moment Israel targeted Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

The Israeli military has carried out ‘unprecedented’ strikes against regime targets across Tehran including key military and governmental assets.

These included Evin prison – ‘which holds political prisoners and regime opponents’.

The Mizan news outlet of Iran’s judiciary confirmed that the prison had been hit. It said part of the building was damaged but the situation was under control.

A video posted by Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar on X showed an explosion at a building with a sign identifying it as an entrance to Evin prison in northern Tehran and the accompanying words: ‘Viva la libertad!” – Spanish for ‘Long live liberty.’

Watch the video below:

Iranian officials are said to be considering removing their supreme leader from power after the United States waded in to Israel’s growing conflict with Iran on Sunday.

Two sources involved in talks told The Atlantic that officials are now contemplating deposing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but said it’s just ‘one idea’ among many ‘plots’.

‘Everybody knows Khamenei’s days are numbered,’ one official told the American outlet. ‘Even if he stays in office, he won’t have actual power.’

The Atlantic suggested that Iranian officials had sought to displace the 86-year-old supreme leader even before the U.S. intervention.

Read the full story by MailOnline Foreign Reporter James Reynolds here:

Donald Trump became the central focus of Israel-Iran coflict at the weekend after the U.S. sent a fleet of B-2 bombers to take out three Iranian enrichment sites.

In Tel Aviv, huge banners declaring ‘Thank you, Mr President’ bearing Trump’s face have sprung up as a show of Israeli gratitude.

While in Tehran, a billboard bearing a painting that represents various categories of the Iranian society is deployed against the facade of a building in Tehran, with a message that reads in Farsi: ‘we are all soldiers of Iran’.

And in New York yesterday, protesters against the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and in support of Palestinians demonstrated in Times Square with some placards stating Trump is a ‘war criminal’.

An Israeli strike on Tehran’s Evin prison has been branded ‘completely irresponsible’ by the family of a French inmate.

Noemie Kohler, the sister of French national Cecile Kohler, said the attack ‘puts our loved ones in mortal danger’.

Cecile has been incarcerated in Iran for three years after she was accused of spying with her partner Jacques Paris.

The 40-year-old teacher and partner Paris (both pictured above), who is in his 70s, were arrested on May 7, 2022, on the last day of a holiday to Iran.

Her sister told the AFP news agency:

We have no news, we don’t know if they are still alive, we’re panicking.

She is urging the French authorities to ‘condemn these extremely dangerous strikes’ and secure the release of the French prisoners.

Dashcam footage has caught the terrifying moment a missile exploded near a roadside in Ashdod.

It comes following the latest barrage of Iranian missiles to strike Israel this morning.

A graphic of Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility

The Israeli military said it launched new air raids on Iran’s enriched uranium facility in Fordow to ‘obstruct access routes’ and prevent the transfer of materials.

The latest attacks come a day after the United States launched unprecedented strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities including Fordow and sites at Isfahan and Natanz.

US President Donald Trump said the strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the true impact on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran condemned the attack and vowed retaliation, noting there were ‘no signs of contamination’ after the US strikes.

‘The aggressor attacked the Fordo nuclear site again,’ Tasnim news agency reported, quoting a spokesperson for the crisis management authority in Qom province where the site is located.

America waded into another Middle Eastern conflict this weekend, sending its fearsome B-2 stealth bombers to drop the world’s largest non-nuclear weapons on Iran while striking with ship-launched Tomahawk missiles.

It remains unclear whether the US strikes were able to ‘obliterate’ their targets – the Natanz and Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plants (FEPs) and the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre – as President Donald Trump has claimed.

Satellite images have shown signs of damage at the sites but are largely inconclusive, and the UN’s nuclear watchdog (IAEA) has said it is unable to verify the status of the Fordow facility, buried some 90 metres under a mountain near the holy city of Qom.

Now, the world watches with bated breath to see how Iran will respond.

On one hand, the Islamic Republic will be loath to provoke a full-scale war with the United States, a conflict it cannot hope to win.

But total inaction is also intolerable for Khamenei and his clerics.

The US Embassy in Qatar has emailed a message to American citizens in Qatar recommending they shelter in place until further notice.

The message noted the recommendation was ‘out of an abundence of caution’ and offered no further information.

Qatar, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, is home to Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the U. military’s Central Command.

Iran has threatened American forces at Al Udeid in the past.

Qatar maintains diplomatic relations with Iran and shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran.

Iran’s health ministry has said at least 13 children have been killed since Israel started attacking Iran on June 13.

Hossein Kermanpour, the head of public relations at the ministry, said the youngest victim was just two months old.

He added that 44 women had also been killed in the Israeli attacks, including two who were pregnant.

The update did not provide an overall death toll, but in an earlier post on Saturday, he said that more than 400 people had been killed since the start of the conflict, with at least 3,056 others wounded.

‘The majority of casualties and the injured have been civilians,’ he said.

A huge wave of strikes hit targets including an IRGC headquarters in Tehran.

The IDF has provided more details on its ‘unprecedented’ attacks in Tehran today after the Iranian regime’s military and governmental headquarters were targeted in airstrikes.

The Israeli Air Force has launched strikes on the Revolutionary Guards and Iran’s internal security forces which the IDF said was responsible for ‘preserving the regime’s stability’.

In a translated post on X, the IDF said:

As part of the attack, the Basig headquarters was attacked, which is one of the Revolutionary Guards’ power bases and is responsible, among other things, for enforcing the Islamic code and reporting to the authorities about citizens who violate it.

In addition, the “Albarez” Brigade, which is responsible for protecting several cities in the Tehran province from various threats and maintaining the stability of the regime, and the Intelligence and General Security Police of the Internal Security Forces, which are also part of the Iranian regime’s military forces, were attacked.

These headquarters are significant from both a military and a governmental perspective, and attacking them harms the Iranian regime’s military capabilities.

Vladimir Putin today vowed to back Iran and condemned ‘groundless’ aggression against its ally after the U.S. joined Israel in striking nuclear facilities on Sunday.

‘This is an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran,’ Putin told Abbas Araghchi, who travelled to Moscow on Monday seeking support in mediation.

Putin called recent strikes ‘unjustified’ and added that Russia was ‘making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people.’

The comments came as Israel again struck the Fordow nuclear facility and ‘government targets’ in Tehran, with no sign of the conflict abating.

Read our breaking news story here:

China urged Iran and Israel to de-escalate in order to prevent a ‘spillover’ of their war, as fighting between the two foes raged for the 11th day.

Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in a statement:

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.

Maintaining security and stability in this region is in the common interests of the international community.

China calls on the international community to make greater efforts to promote the de-escalation of the conflict and prevent regional instability from having a greater impact on global economic development.

Israeli strikes on Tehran have hit headquarters belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to an IDF spokesman.

Hundreds of Revolutionary Guard members have been killed in the ongoing attack, Israel claimed.

Defence minister Israel Katz said the IDF is also attacking other regime targets ‘in the heart of Tehran.’

He confirmed they were targeting the Evin Prison for political prisoners and opponents of the regime, as well as the so-called ‘Israel Destruction’ clock in Palestine Square.

He said the internal security headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards was also being hit.

In a statement on X he added:

For every shot fired at the Israeli home front, the Iranian dictator will be punished and the attacks will continue with full force. We will continue to act to protect the home front and defeat the enemy until all war goals are achieved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in talks in Moscow that aggression against Iran was groundless.

Putin made the comments at the start of Kremlin talks and said Russia was ready to help the Iranian people.

Araqchi thanked Putin for condemning the US strikes on Iran, telling him Russia stood on ‘the right side of history.’

He told the Russian leader that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian had asked him to convey their best wishes.

We are hearing more from Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Speaking at the IAEA board of governors meeting, Grossi stressed ‘armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place’, as they can lead to radiation leaks that extend beyond the targeted state’s borders.

‘I therefore again call on maximum restraint. Military escalation not only threatens lives, it also delays us from taking a diplomatic path,’ he said.

‘To achieve the long-term assurance that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon… we must return to negotiations,’ Grossi said.

If the diplomatic path fails, he said, ‘violence and destruction could reach unimaginable levels.’

He added: ‘I’m ready to travel immediately to Iran. We need to keep working together despite existing differences.’

Israelis visiting the beach in Tel Aviv

The Daily Mail’s Special Correspondent David Patrikarakos has been reporting on the Israel-Iran conflict from Tel Aviv.

Here he reveals the mood of the country after the US made the historic decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities:

People in Israel are starting to understand the enormity of what has happened. The US went against all of its previous statements and directly struck Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The extent of the damage remains unclear, the extent of Iran’s reaction remains unclear, the trajectory of this war remains unclear.

For now Israelis are rallying around their government which remains deeply unpopular to many. They understand their enemy is a far larger, far more populous country. It is not Hamas, it is not Hezbollah, it is not the Houthis – it is not even Bashar al-Assad, it is Iran and it is a serious country that poses a serious threat to the State of Israel.

This is a new Middle East. People on the ground here understand it, the belief is what happened had to happen but everyone is very much is watching and waiting to see what happens now.

Iranian media is reporting that Israel has launched news strikes on the Fordow nuclear site in the wake of US strikes on the site early Sunday morning.

According to the Qom Province Crisis Management Headquarters, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization officials said ‘there will be no danger or threat to citizens.’

It comes after the IAEA said there was likely already very heavy damage at the facility.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said that ‘very heavy damage’ is expected at Iran’s underground facility at Fordow after the US hit it with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the statement in Vienna at an emergency meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors.

‘Given the explosive payload utilized and the extreme vibration sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred,’ Grossi said.

He added that ‘craters are now visible at the Fordow site… indicating the use of ground-penetrating munitions.’

But he also said that ‘at this time, no one, including the IAEA, is in a position to have fully assessed the underground damage at Fordow.’

After the IDF confirmed that the Israeli Air Force launched a wave of strikes on military targets in Tehran, Israel’s Defence Minister has now shared an update.

Israel Katz said the IDF is ‘currently striking with unprecedented force regime targets and governmental repression bodies in the heart of Tehran.’

‘Images will soon be released, illustrating the depth of the damage,’ he went on in statement issued by his office.

‘For every rocket fired at the Israeli home front, the Iranian dictator will be severely punished, and the strikes will continue with full intensity. We will continue to act to defend the home front and defeat the enemy until all war objectives are achieved,’ Katz added.

The commander-in-chief of Iran’s conventional army, Amir Hatami, has attended a meeting with generals following the US strikes over the weekend.

He said in a new statement that every time the US had committed crimes against Iran, they were met with a decisive response and the same would be the case this time.

Iran’s Ayatollah has named three potential successors in case he is killed in Israeli strikes as he hides in an underground bunker, according to reports.

Ali Khamenei, 86, has chosen three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, The New York Times reports.

His son Mojtaba, also a cleric who has close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was rumoured to be a front-runner.

But he is not among the selected candidates, officials reportedly told the newspaper.

It comes after Donald Trump raised the prospect of regime change in the country.

Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz last week issued his strongest threat yet to assassinate Khamenei, saying Tehran’s supreme leader ‘cannot continue to exist.’

Several large explosions have been heard in Tehran, according to Iranian outlet Nour News.

Israel’s Air Force confirmed that it had begun a wave of attacks on military targets in Tehran.

According to Iranian media, the IDF targeted the entrance to Evin Prison in the Iranian capital.

The prestigious Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran is also reported to have been targeted.

Outside of Tehran, the city of Karaj in northern Iran was also targeted by Israeli missiles, Fars News reports.

Oil prices have surged as Iran maintains its threat to close its global shipping route after Donald Trump blew up the country’s nuclear bases.

Asian markets traded lower today amid concerns of disruption to energy markets after the US air strikes ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday night.

The dollar strengthened as traders assessed the weekend’s events, with Iran threatening US bases in the Middle East as fears grow of an escalating conflict in the volatile region.

Iran is the world’s ninth-biggest oil-producing country, with output of about 3.3million barrels per day.

It exports just under half of that amount and keeps the rest for domestic consumption.

If Tehran decides to retaliate, observers say one of its options would be to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz – which carries 20 per cent of global oil output.

Read more here:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is due to deliver a letter from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Vladimir Putin, seeking the latter’s support, according to a senior source.

Iran has not been impressed with Russia’s support so far, Iranian sources told Reuters, and the country wants Putin to do more to back it against Israel and the US. The sources did not elaborate on what assistance Tehran wanted.

The Kremlin said that Putin would receive Araqchi but did not say what would be discussed.

Araqchi was quoted by the state TASS news agency as saying that Iran and Russia were coordinating their positions on the current escalation in the Middle East.

Putin has repeatedly offered to mediate between the US and Iran, and said that he had conveyed Moscow’s ideas on resolving the conflict to them while ensuring Iran’s continued access to civil nuclear energy.

The Kremlin chief last week refused to discuss the possibility that Israel and the US would kill Khamenei.

Putin said that Israel had given Moscow assurances that Russian specialists helping to build two more reactors at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran would not be hurt in air strikes.

Russia, a longstanding ally of Tehran, plays a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the West as a veto-wielding UN Security Council member and a signatory to an earlier nuclear deal Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

But Putin, whose grinding war in Ukraine is in its fourth year, has so far shown little appetite in public for diving into a confrontation with the US over Iran just as Trump seeks to repair ties with Moscow.

Keir Starmer is engaged in frantic diplomacy over the Iran crisis today as Donald Trump sounds an increasingly strident message.

The PM and president spoke last night after the US strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites. But Downing Street’s readout notably did not include any reference to the ‘de-escalation’ Sir Keir has been urging in other statements.

Instead No10 said the leaders agreed Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and should return to negotiations.

Soon after the call Mr Trump took to social media apparently endorsing regime change – swiping that it could be time to ‘Make Iran Great Again’.

The stance raises fresh questions about Sir Keir’s influence and the health of the Special Relationship. After meeting Mr Trump in person at the G7 in Canada last week, the premier had insisted he did not believe the US would go ahead with the attacks.

Read the full story by MailOnline’s Political Editor James Tapsfield here:

The Israeli Defence Forces said they have attacked six airfields across Iran.

The attack on bases in western, eastern and central Iran took out 15 jets and helicopters, the IDF said.

Sirens are sounding across Israel amid Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack on the country, according to Israeli Defence Forces.

Loud explosions were heard in Jerusalem after the Israeli military warned a fresh barrage of missiles had been launched from Iran.

Around 10 minutes after announcing the missiles had been identified, the military said ‘additional missiles were launched’ towards Israel and urged people to take cover.

Some 15 ballistic missiles were launched during the barrage, according to the IDF.

They were fired in multiple salvos over nearly 40 minutes, making it one of the longest Iranian missile attacks of the war, according to Israeli media.

Several impacts were reported but the Magen David Adom rescue service did not immediately share information of any casualties.

It comes after an X account associated with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, published a post portraying missile strikes on a darkened city with a giant skull bearing the Star of David on it.

‘The punishment continues,’ the post read.

Trump and Netanyahu pictured in 2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a week to convince President Donald Trump to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to The Jerusalem Post.

‘Four days ago, there was a phone call between Netanyahu and the US president, during which Trump said,”‘I’ve decided to launch a strike,”‘ an Israeli official with knowldge of the conversations told the outlet.

Initially, Trump only planned on striking the Fordow enrichment facility.

But Netanyahu continued to press the president to ‘finish the job,’ an official told the Post, with the U.S. ultimately finding itself able to strike targets that Israeli officials said they could not reach.

Strait of Hormuz, a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman

Two oil supertankers capable of hauling about two million barrels of crude oil each made U-turns in the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats it would shut down the passage on Sunday, according to the Strait Times.

The ships’ electronics and signals were jammed, but the two vessels’ arrivals and turnarounds have the hallmarks of a normal tanker movement.

The situation came hours after Greece’s shipping ministry advised its ships to reassess movements through Hormuz and to instead shelter in safe ports until the situation calms.

Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is believed to take over Iran if the current regime falls, promised swift action if he were put in charge of the country.

‘The minute this regime disappears, everything changes instantaneously,’ he vowed on Fox News.

‘And I know a lot of people are already excited about the prospect of being able to help us rebuild our country and Make Iran Great Again,’ Pahlavi said, using the phrase President Donald Trump had coined just hours earlier.

President Donald Trump announced that ‘monumental damage’ was done to all of Iran’s nuclear sites on his Truth Social page.

‘Obliteration is an accurate term! The whole structure shown is deeply imbedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame,’ the president posted, though it was unclear which images he was referring to.

‘The biggest damage took place far below ground level.

‘Bullseye!!!’ he wrote, hours after suggesting it was time for regime change in the Islamic country.

‘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???’ Trump earlier asked on his Truth Social page.

Iran claims it smuggled nearly all of its highly enriched uranium to a secret location before the United States launched strikes on nuclear bases in the country.

US President Donald Trump declared the operation a success, saying it took the bomb ‘right out of Iran’s hands.’

But it has now been claimed that most of the material, an estimated 400kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium, was moved away from the sites before Saturday night’s raid.

Satellite images show convoys leaving the Fordow site in recent days.

Satellite pictures taken on June 19 and 20 show a convoy of trucks leaving the Fordow nuclear facility in Iran.

A US Air Force B-2 stealth bomber has been pictured landing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, hours after it carried out attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Donald Trump dispatched seven of the bombers to drop massive bunker-busting bombs on three enrichment facilities, Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan,

Trump administration officials said the bombers ‘completely obliterated’ the Fordow nuclear site using 12 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs.

The UK’s foreign secretary David Lammy this morning warned that it would be a catastrophic error for Iran to escalate its response following the US bombing of its nuclear sites.

‘Let’s calm this thing down,’ Lammy said on BBC Breakfast.

‘Clearly this is a moment of peril,’ he went ot.

‘I’m an optimist – of course this is a stressful time – but I still believe diplomacy must and can prevail.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Moscow today, the Interfax news agency said, citing Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.

Araqchi earlier said that Tehran is coordinating with Russia regarding the current escalation.

The two men are set to discuss ‘common threats’ during their meeting, Iran’s IRNA news agency reports.

It comes after Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia argued at an emergency meeting on Sunday that the United States’ airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities ‘has opened Pandora’s box.’

‘No one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring,’ Nebenzia said.

Iranian state media have ramped up calls for attacks on US bases in the Middle East, with one declaring 50,000 US soldiers could be brought back to Washington in ‘coffins’.

According to Al Jazeera, state television’s Channel 3 showed a map of all US bases across the region highlighting facilities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq. All are believed to be in range of Iranian missiles.

In quotes translated by Al Jazeera, the channel’s anchor Mehdi Khanalizadeh (pictured above) is purported to have said:

It is now clearer than ever, not just for the Iranian nation but for the whole peoples of the region, that all US citizens and military personnel are legitimate targets.

We were negotiating and progressing through a diplomatic path, but you chose to spill the blood of your soldiers. The US president in the Oval Office chose to take delivery of the coffins of up to 50,000 US soldiers in Washington.

While Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the hardline Keyhan daily newspaper, wrote: ‘It is now our turn to immediately rain missiles down on the US naval force in Bahrain as a first measure.’

Good morning. Iran and Israel have exchanged missiles this morning as Tehran vowed retaliation for US strikes that President Donald Trump said caused ‘monumental damage’ to the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites.

As the war entered its 11th day despite international calls for de-escalation, here are the latest developments:

• Iran’s military has warned the US of ‘heavy consequences’ for entering its conflict with Israel, saying it has now expanded the scope of legitimate targets.
• Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said ‘the punishment continues’ against Israel, as Tehran launched new missile strikes on the country overnight.
• US President Donald Trump raised the prospect of ‘regime change’ in Iran.
• The leaders of Britain, France and Germany have called for de-escalation and warned Iran ‘not to take any further action that could destabilise the region’.
• At a UN Security Council emergency meeting Sunday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned against ‘descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation’.
• Iran’s foreign minister said the country is ‘co-ordinating with Russia’ as he is set to visit Moscow today.
• Trump said strikes caused ‘monumental damage’ to ‘all nuclear sites in Iran’.
• The UN’s nuclear watchdog could not immediately verify the exact level of damage.