The latest developments in the Middle East war:
Iran’s ambassador to Kuwait urged Gulf states to find a way to avert a “tragedy” as the clock ticked down on US President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to agree a deal or face strikes on civilian infrastructure.
Iran has vowed to retaliate against infrastructure across the region if its own is destroyed.
Meanwhile, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said efforts to end the war were approaching a “critical” stage.
An AFP journalist in Tehran heard a series of blasts coming from the north of the city, without being able to determine what was hit.
Local Iranian media reported that explosions rocked the capital and that 18 people, including two children, were killed in strikes in the Alborz province neighbouring Tehran. Due to reporting restrictions, AFP is not able to independently verify tolls in Iran.
US-Israeli strikes early Tuesday “completely destroyed” the Rafi-Nia synagogue in Tehran, local media reported.
Iran has a small Jewish community, with the majority having fled in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
A strike killed a fighter from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces, in Iraq near the border with Syria, the alliance said, blaming the United States and Israel.
The Israeli army told Iranians to avoid taking trains until 1730 GMT on Tuesday.
“For your safety, we ask you to refrain from using trains or travelling by train throughout the country from now until 9 pm Iran time,” the military wrote on its Persian-language account.
“Your presence on trains and near railway tracks puts your life in danger.”
Traffic across King Fahd Bridge, a major artery connecting Saudi Arabia and the island nation of Bahrain, was temporarily closed as a precaution, authorities said, following the issuance of security alerts in the area.
Overnight attacks on Saudi Arabia hit a petrochemical complex in an industrial area in the eastern city of Jubail, a witness who requested anonymity told AFP, hours after similar installations in Iran were struck.
Earlier, the Saudi defence ministry said air defences intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched toward the country’s east.
A second Philippine national has been killed in the Middle East war after a missile struck a residential building in northern Israel, according to Manila’s foreign affairs department.
The woman was killed in the port city of Haifa on Sunday “alongside her Israeli husband and elderly parents-in-law”, the department said.
Israeli rescue services said Monday that the bodies of four people had been recovered from the rubble of a residential building in the city after it was struck by an Iranian missile the previous day.
Explosions were heard in parts of Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj, Iranian media reported, as the Israeli military said it was carrying out a “wave” of airstrikes on Iran.
“Moments ago, explosions were heard in parts of Tehran and Karaj,” local media outlets Fars and Mehr said on Telegram.
The Israeli military also announced its air defences were activated to respond to missiles fired by Iran.
A drone “coming from Iran” killed a couple in Iraqi Kurdistan after crashing into their home, local authorities reported.
Separately, two blasts were heard near Erbil airport, which hosts advisers from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition, in Iraq’s northern autonomous Kurdistan region, an AFP journalist said.
Some hours earlier, air defence systems downed four missiles headed towards the US consulate in Erbil, a security source told AFP.
The UN Security Council is to vote Tuesday for a resolution addressing Iran’s threats to the Strait of Hormuz, diplomatic sources told AFP.
The latest draft, seen by AFP, demands Iran end attacks on commercial vessels and halt “any attempt to impede transit passage or freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.
Tehran has virtually closed the key waterway since US-Israeli strikes targeting Iran on February 28, sending global oil and gas prices soaring.
Trump told a news conference that “the entire country” of Iran “could be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow night,” if his ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 0000 GMT Wednesday was not met.
“Every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he said, threatening the same for the country’s bridges. “I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock (0400 GMT), and it’ll happen over a period of four hours -- if we wanted to.”
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