China FM tells Iran counterpart Beijing ‘supports Iran defending sovereignty’: state media

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart on a call Monday that Beijing supports Tehran defending itself against US-Israeli strikes, as the situation in the Middle East escalated.

Wang told Abbas Araghchi that Beijing “cherishes the traditional friendship between China and Iran, supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, and national dignity, and supports Iran in protecting its legitimate rights and interests”, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Strikes on senior Hezbollah operative

Israel’s military said Monday it struck a senior Hezbollah operative in Beirut, with the defence minister saying the Lebanese group’s chief Naim Qassem is “a marked target”.

“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) precisely struck a senior Hezbollah terrorist in Beirut,” the military said. AFPTV showed smoke rising from the southern Beirut district of Dahiyeh, a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X that Iran-backed Hezbollah’s chief was now “a marked target for elimination”.

Israel’s military said it was carrying out simultaneous strikes in Iran and Lebanon, warning Lebanese militant group Hezbollah it would “pay a heavy price” for opening fire on Israel.

“Even at this moment, hundreds of Air Force aircraft are striking simultaneously in Lebanon and Iran,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said during a televised briefing.

“Hezbollah opened fire last night. It knew exactly what it was doing. We had warned it – and it will pay a heavy price.”

555 dead

A total of 555 people have been killed across Iran in US and Israeli strikes that began two days ago, the Iranian Red Crescent said Monday.

“Following the Zionist-American terrorist attacks carried out in various regions of our country, 131 cities have been affected to date and, regrettably, 555 of our compatriots have been killed,” the humanitarian group said in a post on Telegram.

Meanwhile, the Iranian military has claimed to have targeted an airbase in Kuwait.

Israel and Hezbollah traded fire on Monday as the fallout from US-Israeli strikes widened, with attacks in Gulf States and a British base in Cyprus.

US President Donald Trump vowed to avenge the deaths of US service members and said the war with Iran could last for weeks.

Here are the latest developments:

Israel and Hezbollah

Israel said it was striking Hezbollah targets across Lebanon after the militant group said it had launched rockets and drones at Israel.

The Israeli military told residents of about 50 towns and villages in Lebanon to evacuate, and an AFP journalist witnessed South Lebanon residents fleeing by car.

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 retaliates

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Monday they had launched missile strikes on Israel’s government in Tel Aviv as well as security and military centres in Haifa and an attack on east Jerusalem.

“Among the targets of this tenth wave were a targeted strike on the Zionist regime’s government complex in Tel Aviv, attacks on military and security centres in Haifa, and a strike on east Jerusalem,” said a Guards statement carried by state TV.

Iranian deaths

An Iranian official said Monday that US and Israeli strikes over two days have left at least 27 people dead in Iran’s northwest.

“The number of martyrs who have fallen over the past two days in the province as a result of Israeli and American attacks reached 27,” said Majid Farshi, director general of the East Azerbaijan province crisis management department, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

Media reported that 35 were also killed in the southern Fars province.

Drone hits Cyprus base

An unmanned Iranian drone crashed into Britain’s RAF Akrotiri military base in Cyprus shortly after midnight, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said Monday, with British officials saying a drone hit the runway.

Britain agreed on Sunday to allow the United States to use British military bases to fire “defensive” strikes at Iranian missile systems.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was “firmly and unequivocally” behind member states following the drone hit.

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.

US warplanes crash

Several American warplanes crashed in Kuwait on Monday morning but their crew survived, Kuwait’s defence ministry said.

“Several US warplanes crashed this morning. Confirming that all crew members survived,” a defence ministry spokesman said in a statement, adding that the cause was under investigation.

Iraq strikes

Loud bangs were heard Monday near Iraq’s Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops, an AFP journalist said.

Since the start of the US-Israel campaign against Iran, drones have repeatedly been intercepted over Erbil, which is also home to a major US consulate complex.

China urges truce

China called on Monday for a ceasefire and diplomatic talks to end the conflict in the Middle East, as officials in Beijing confirmed one citizen had been killed in Iran.

“The most urgent task is a cessation of military operations and preventing a spillover of conflict,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference, urging “a resolution through dialogue and negotiation”.

Gulf condemnation

The United States and its Arab allies earlier issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s attacks on Gulf states: “The targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilising behaviour.”

On Monday morning, the US embassy in Kuwait, where smoke could be seen, said in a statement people should not come to the diplomatic mission: “Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside.”

Iran says 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 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.

Maersk suspends 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

Gulf states vowed to defend themselves against Iranian attacks, including by “responding to the aggression” if need be, after the Gulf Cooperation Council met 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.

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 vengeance

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.

Revolutionary Guards HQ ‘destroyed’

The US military announced it had destroyed the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) headquarters,  US Central Command saying: “America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters.”

Israel’s military, meanwhile, said it had “struck dozens of the regime’s military command centres”, including IRGC headquarters.