The China Mail - Israel vows intensified attacks: latest developments in US-Iran war

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 on Monday, claiming to have killed a "senior Hezbollah terrorist" in Beirut, after the militant group said it had launched rockets and drones at Israel.

The Israeli military had said the Lebanese group would "pay a heavy price" as it told residents of about 50 towns and villages to evacuate -- an AFP journalist witnessed some South Lebanon residents fleeing by car.

However, the army said there was no reason for a Lebanon ground invasion for now.

- Israel strikes Tehran -

The Israeli military said it had launched "large-scale strikes" on Tehran on Monday and later vowed to step up its attacks.

"We will increasingly strike the key elements of the regime and continue to intensify the damage," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said during a televised briefing.

- 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 -

The Iranian Red Crescent said Monday that "131 cities have been affected to date" by US-Israeli strikes "and, regrettably, 555 of our compatriots have been killed".

Iranian officials confirmed the killings of three Iran Guards members and five army personnel.

- 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.

- UNESCO site 'damaged' -

Iran's UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran has been damaged in US and Israeli strikes, local media reported.

"Following the joint US-Israeli attack on Arag square in southern Tehran on Sunday evening, parts of the Golestan Palace... were damaged," the ISNA news agency reported, adding that windows, doors, and mirrors were hit by reverberations from blasts.

- Nuclear sites undamaged -

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi on Monday said his agency had "no indication" that any nuclear installations in Iran had been damaged or hit in the US-Israeli strikes.

- 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, including on the cities of Dubai, Doha and Manama, as Iran's army said it had used 15 cruise missiles in attacks on a US air base in Kuwait and vessels in the Indian ocean.

"Missile units of the army's ground and naval forces operating from various locations targeted the US Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait as well as enemy vessels in the northern Indian Ocean over the past hours," the army said in a statement.

Smoke billowed over a power station in northern Kuwait, three witnesses told AFP on Monday, as Iran carried out a third day of retaliatory strikes in the Gulf.

- Saudi attack -

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said some operations at its massive Ras Tanura refinery on the Gulf coast had been halted on Monday, following an attack that caused a fire at the complex.

"Some operational units at the refinery were shut down as a precautionary measure, without any impact on the supply of petroleum products to local markets," an official source at the ministry said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency.

- 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.

- 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".

- Gas price surge -

European gas prices soared more than 20 percent Monday on fears that the conflict will cut supplies in the Gulf region, notably exports from Qatar.

Despite the surge, the price was below the level it reached in January during the northern hemisphere winter.

- 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.

- 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.

- 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."

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A.Zhang--ThChM