The China Mail - 'Severe blow' dealt to Iran command centres: latest developments

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that air strikes on Tehran will intensify in the coming days while President Donald Trump said he be talking to Iranian leaders, without specifying a timeline.

The European Union meanwhile warned the Middle East region "stands to lose greatly" from a long war, after an emergency meeting of the 27-nation bloc's foreign ministers.

Powerful explosions rocked the Iranian capital on the second day of the war, with media reports that people were trapped under the rubble of a police station.

Here are the latest developments:

- 'Severe blow' to Iran -

The Israeli military said it had dealt a "severe blow" to Iran's command and control centres after a fresh wave of strikes on military targets in the Islamic republic.

The military said it "struck dozens of the regime's military command centres, including headquarters belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence headquarters, IRGC Air Force command centres, and internal security headquarters".

- Revolutionary Guards HQ 'destroyed' -

The US military announced it had destroyed the IRGC headquarters.

"America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters," the US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said in a statement, adding that the strike had occurred on Saturday.

- EU 'long war' warning -

The EU's top diplomat warned that the Middle East "stands to lose greatly from any drawn-out war", urging Iran to refrain from indiscriminate attacks in retaliation to US-Israeli strikes.

"The events unfolding in Iran must not lead to an escalation that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond, with unpredictable consequences, also in the economic sphere," Kaja Kallas said, speaking on behalf of the EU's 27 nations after an emergency meeting of foreign ministers.

- Tehran police station hit -

Iranian media reported that a police station in a city on the outskirts of Tehran was hit, killing an unspecified number of people, with others said to be trapped under debris.

"According to initial reports, a number of citizens were martyred and some were trapped under the rubble," the Tasnim news agency reported.

- Tehran hospital struck -

Iranian news agency ISNA reported that Gandhi hospital in northern Tehran was targeted by strikes.

"Tehran's Gandhi hospital was attacked by Zionist-American air strikes," ISNA reported, while the Fars and Mizan agencies published a video, presented as being from inside the facility, showing debris on the floor among wheelchairs.

- UAE withdraws ambassador -

The United Arab Emirates shut its embassy in Iran and recalled the ambassador, following a barrage of Iranian attacks targeting the Emirates.

The decision was made in response to "the blatant Iranian missile attacks that targeted the country's territories, which constitute aggressive assaults that struck civilian sites, including residential areas, airports, ports, and service facilities, and exposed defenceless civilians to danger".

- Deadly Pakistan protests -

At least 17 people were killed across Pakistan as protesters outraged over the death of Iran's supreme leader took to the streets, with some attempting to storm US diplomatic buildings.

In the Pakistani megacity of Karachi, an AFP journalist witnessed hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters trying to enter the US consulate, prompting clashes with police.

At least 10 people had died and over 70 were injured as of Sunday evening, the office of the Karachi police surgeon said.

- UAE markets closed -

Dubai's and Abu Dhabi's stock exchanges will be closed "until further notice" due to the ongoing conflict in the region, the United Arab Emirates' regulator announced

The Emirates have been hit by Iranian strikes since Saturday in response to the joint Israeli-US attacks.

- First US casualties -

Three members of the US military have been killed and five others wounded in the operation against Iran, the Pentagon said, the first American deaths in the campaign that killed the Islamic republic's supreme leader.

"Three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury," said US Central Command (CENTCOM).

- Strikes to 'intensify' -

Netanyahu vowed to intensify strikes on Tehran in the coming days as the army announced it had called up 100,000 reservists.

"Our forces are now striking at the heart of Tehran with intense power, and this will only escalate in the days ahead," he said in a video statement.

- Iranians 'want to talk' -

Trump said he would be talking to Iranian leaders but was vague on the timing and noted that much of the country's leadership was dead.

"They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner," Trump was quoted as saying by The Atlantic.

He told Fox News that 48 Iranian leaders had been killed and that the results of the offensive so far were "very positive".

- Iran kills 9 in Israel -

Iran strikes on Israel killed at least nine people in the city of Beit Shemesh, first responders said. Another 28 were wounded, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. Police said there was a direct hit on a building.

In the UAE, the defence ministry said three people had been killed and 58 wounded since Iran's strikes began Saturday.

In Kuwait, one person has been killed and 32 wounded since the start of Iran's retaliation campaign, the health ministry said.

- Sinking oil tanker -

Two ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, one off Oman and the other off the UAE, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said.

Iranian state television said an oil tanker was struck and was sinking after trying to "illegally" pass through the strait, which Iran's Revolutionary Guards have declared closed.

Major container shipping companies including MSC and Maersk have suspended navigation in the region.

- US sinks Iranian warship -

US forces struck and sank an Iranian warship in the Gulf of Oman at the start of its operations against the Islamic republic, the US military said Sunday.

"An Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was struck by US forces during the start of Operation Epic Fury. The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier," US Central Command posted on X.

- Iran denies targeting neighbours -

Iran's powerful security chief denied Tehran was targeting its neighbours, insisting its retaliation was aimed at US bases.

Gulf countries were to hold virtual talks late Sunday to discuss a unified response, two Gulf diplomats told AFP.

- NATO adjusting forces -

NATO's top commander in Europe said Sunday he was "closely" following developments in Iran and the Middle East to defend against "potential threats".

US General Alexus Grynkewich "has and will continue to adjust NATO's very strong force posture to ensure the security of its 32 member nations and to defend the Alliance from potential threats", said NATO on X.

- More deaths announced -

Iran's police intelligence chief Gholamreza Rezaian was killed during US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic, Iranian media reported Sunday.

So too was its armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi along with other senior generals, state TV reported Sunday.

It listed the name of Mousavi along with defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and others.

Iran's judiciary confirmed the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, and another top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani, had also died in the strikes.

- UN nuclear agency to meet -

The United Nations' nuclear agency will hold an extraordinary meeting on Iran on Monday.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the meeting was at the request of Russia, a key ally of Tehran.

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