Mojtaba Khamenei, son of former supreme leader, named successor

Iranian state TV early Monday said Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor.

He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.

• Iran names son of former supreme leader as successor
• Crude oil surpasses US$100 a barrel for first time in more than 3 years
• Federal Liberals propose debate on Iran war

Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader, and the younger Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy.

U.S. President Donald Trump told ABC News earlier Sunday he wants a say in who comes to power once the war is over; a new leader “is not going to last long” without his approval, he said.

Here is the latest:

Asian shares sink on high oil prices

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index has plunged more than six per cent after oil prices soared to over US$100 a barrel due to disruptions from the war in the Middle East.

The Nikkei tumbled 6.2 per cent to 52,166.92 shortly after trading began early Monday.

South Korea’s Kospi sank 6.3 per cent and shares in Australia and New Zealand more than three per cent.

Crude prices are at their highest level in more than three and a half years as the war ensnares major oil-producing countries and hinders exports from the Persian Gulf.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude was at $109.46 a barrel, and U.S. benchmark crude traded at $107.37 a barrel.

Both were 18 per cent above their Friday closing prices.

Attacks in Gulf countries

Qatar’s Defense Ministry reported a missile attack on the country early Monday.

In Saudi Arabia, the Defense Ministry said forces early Monday destroyed two drones that were targeting its vast Shaybah oil field.

Meanwhile, fire broke out at an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates early Monday following an attack in Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, authorities said.

The fire in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone was extinguished, they said.

Woman injured after Iranian missiles launched toward Israel

One woman was injured by flying debris in Rishon LeZion city in central Israel and is in moderate condition, the country’s emergency service, Magen David Adom, said early Monday, following the launch of Iranian missiles toward Israel.

The service added that it provided the woman with medical treatment at the scene. A video circulating on social media showed a car with shattered glass and debris scattered across the road.

Trump says oil prices will ‘drop rapidly’ once Iran conflict ends

U.S. President Donald Trump offered assurance to consumers as oil prices eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years Sunday, with the Iran war hindering production and shipping in the Middle East.

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Trump said in a social media post. “ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY.”

Iran‑aligned Iraqi Shiite militia hails new Iran leader

The Kataib Hezbollah militia praised the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader, calling him “a figure possessing the leadership qualifications and competence necessary to shoulder the responsibilities of this great trust in these critical times.”

In a statement, the group said the choice “is further proof of the vigilance of the Assembly of Experts and their deep foresight regarding the existential challenges facing the nation in confronting global arrogance,” adding that he is “the best successor for the best predecessor.”

Israeli helicopter landing reported in eastern Lebanon

An Israeli landing by helicopter on the eastern ridge near the Lebanese-Syrian border was reported early Monday, with heavy fighting ensuing, according to the state-run National News Agency.

In a statement, Hezbollah said that Israeli helicopters were observed approaching from Syria, with some landing troops in the Sarghaya plain. The group said its fighters engaged the helicopters and ground forces, and the clashes were ongoing.

No statement from Israel was immediately available regarding the reported landing and clashes.

Officials: U.S. to order nonessential diplomats and families to leave Saudi Arabia

Two U.S. officials say the State Department will order nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia as Iran escalates its retaliation for U.S.-Israel military operations.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement, said the “ordered departure” status would be announced on Sunday.

Eight other U.S. diplomatic missions in the Middle East and South Asia already have ordered all but key staff to leave, called “ordered departure status.” That designation is in place in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.

Of those, only two — Embassy Kuwait City and Consulate General Karachi — have fully suspended operations.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard pledges allegiance to the new Supreme Leader in a statement

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard announced its allegiance to the new Supreme Leader in a statement early Monday.

“The Guard as a powerful soldier and arm of the Supreme Leader is ready to follow the orders of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei while supporting the selection by the assembly,” said the Guard in a statement broadcast by state media outlets.

The Guard is in charge of missiles operation in the war against the U.S. and Israel.

Trump has called new Iranian supreme leader ‘a lightweight’

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader, but Trump has previously stated he has a dim view of Mojtaba Khamenei.

Trump has derided the 56-year-old who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as “a lightweight.”

“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said in an interview with Axios last week.

“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump said, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodríguez took power in January after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolás Maduro and whisked him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges.

Trump earlier on Sunday repeated that he expects to have a say in picking Iran’s next leader, warning that a new leader “is not going to last long” if the person doesn’t have his approval.

Iran names new supreme leader, state media report

Iranian state TV on Sunday said Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor.

He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.

Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader, and now the younger Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy.

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Saudi Arabia intercepts at least 3 drones and a missile

The Kingdom’s Defense Ministry said Sunday night it had intercepted a missile headed toward Prince Sultan Air Base, and two drones in northern Riyadh city

In an earlier post on X, it said it intercepted a drone over the Empty Quarter desert while heading toward the Shaybah oil field.

A separate post had the same details for the latter drone, but it was unclear if that was a different event.

The ministry also shared footage it said showed Saudi air defenses intercepting and destroying “a number of drones” launched at it in recent days.

7th American killed in Iran operations, military confirms

The U.S. military announced an American service member has died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on troops stationed in Saudi Arabia.

The seventh American service member killed in the Iran war was an Army soldier, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press.

The service member died on Saturday from injuries sustained during a March 1 Iranian attack on the kingdom

The American death toll since the start of combat operations now stands at seven. Six Army reservists were also killed in the March 1 attack on Kuwait.

All seven casualties from the war in Iran were Army soldiers. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed in a March 1 attack on a command center in a Kuwaiti port.

Israel says it destroyed headquarters of IRGC air force

The military said in a statement that the headquarters struck in Teheran operated “the ballistic missile command, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) array, and other air force units.” The army’s spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the headquarters were “destroyed.”

Israel has pounded Iran with widespread airstrikes for days, hitting more than 140 targets on Sunday alone, according to Defrin. (edited)

Israel’s army chief tells Israeli public to prepare for war to take ‘a long time’

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke at an assessment held with the Home Front Command chief and other military officials, in comments provided by the army.

“Israel has already been in a state of prolonged emergency for two years,” Zamir said. “What we mainly need right now is perseverance and patience. It will take a long time yet, you need to be prepared for that, and however long it takes, it will take.”

Israel confirms it struck hotel in central Beirut, says 5 Iran-linked commanders killed

The military said the overnight strike by its navy killed five top commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while they were “hiding in a civilian hotel.”

It said they served in the Guard’s Quds Force’s Lebanon and Palestine corps and were involved in funding, arming and providing intelligence to Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Quds Force works heavily with Iran’s allied militant groups in the region.

Last week the Israeli military said it killed the acting commander of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps in an airstrike in Tehran.

Macron urges Iran to halt strikes in phone call with the country’s president

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had talks with Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian on Sunday and urged him to stop the strikes.

“I stressed the need for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region,” Macron said on X.

He also called on Iran to guarantee freedom of navigation by “putting an end to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Macron also mentioned the case of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French nationals who were released from an Iranian prison in November and transferred to the French Embassy in Tehran, after more than three years in detention on spying charges. He called for their return to France as an “absolute priority.”

Macron also stressed deep concern regarding the development of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic program and said a diplomatic solution is necessary.

Both leaders agreed to remain in contact, according to Macron’s post on X.

Macron is the first Western leader to talk to Iran’s president since the beginning of the war.

Macron speaks with Iranian president

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He also had separate talks with President Donald Trump, Macron’s office said.

No other details provided.

Lebanon says over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah

Lebanon says over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

The actual number is likely higher. Lebanon’s count of 517,000 refers to those who registered on the government’s online portal. The cash-strapped government has struggled to accommodate the large number of people who have fled their homes in large parts of southern and eastern Lebanon.

Israel over the past week has called on residents in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate as the fighting intensifies.

Six Palestinians have been killed this week in interactions with Israeli settlers

Palestinian mourners marched down the main street of the West Bank village of Khirbet Abu Falah Sunday, hoisting high the coffins of three men killed in an interaction with settlers.

Earlier in the day, Israeli settlers had attacked Palestinians near the village, which is east of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied territory, the military said. Two Palestinians were killed by gunfire and a third died from suffocation, likely due to tear gas, the military said.

The deaths bring the total number of settler-related killings of Palestinians in the West Bank to six this week, and seven in the roughly nine weeks since the start of 2026.

That’s a major spike. In all of 2025, the UN human rights office reported nine Palestinians killed by settlers.

Sri Lanka plans to issue free visas for evacuated Iranian sailors

Sri Lanka will issue a monthlong visa for the Iranian sailors evacuated outside its waters after a U.S submarine attack sunk another ship in the same area, killing more than 80 sailors.

Public Security Minister Anada Wijepala told the media on Sunday that the government will issue “a free visa” for the Iranian sailors, adding that “it will take sometime for them(sailors) to leave this country.”

On Saturday, 204 sailors were transferred to a Sri Lankan naval base from their ship “IRIS Bushehr” which was taken under Sri Lankan custody.

The ship had sought help from Sri Lanka reporting an engine failure. The appeal followed the sinking of the Iranian warship “IRIS Dena by the U.S. torpedo attack, off Sri Lanka’s coast on Wednesday. The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.

The strike marked one of the rare instances since World War II in which a submarine sank a surface warship.

Tensions on Israel’s northern border as military beefs up presence to counter Hezbollah

Israelis along the northern border with Lebanon Sunday watched and worried as the area grew increasingly militarized during yet another round of fighting with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Military jeeps and trucks with tanks on them could be seen on roads close to the border.

“I believe that our army today will bring order regarding Hezbollah and eliminate them permanently so we can live here in peace,” said Morris Yakuti, a poultry farmer from the area.

Others weren’t so sure.

“Since I have enough experience in this area all my life, I think it’s just another circle of war and it will not end this war, so it will happen again and again,” said Harella Matalon Aizenshtadt.

Israel’s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the war’s opening days.

The subsequent strikes have been the most intense since a November 2024 ceasefire.

The first day of the Iran war was the deadliest, an independent monitoring group says

Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, the U.S-based group known as ACLED, said over 43 per cent of the fatalities were documented that day, Feb. 28, in 10 countries. ACLED has documented over 1,000 incidents in the first week of the war across 16 countries.

The deadliest single strike during the first week was on Feb 28 on a girl’s school near a Revolutionary Guards base in Minab in southern Iran, that killed 168 civilians.

That was followed by another strike on a playground in Shiraz, in central Iran, on March 5, that killed 20 people. Another strike on a residential area in Lamerd, in Fars province, killed 19 on the first day of the war, ACLED said.

Although ACLED recorded fewer strikes on civilian sites in Iran, they caused more causalities, it said. Over 57 per cent of civilian casualties in Iran resulted from 3.4 per cent of the recorded strikes by the US and Israel.

Sirens spread to central Israel in successive barrages from Iran

Moments after residents of southern Israel were warned of incoming ballistic missiles from Iran, sirens sent millions more Israelis in the Tel Aviv metro area and parts of the West Bank into shelters as the army said it had detected another missile attack.

Analyst says separatism will strengthen Iranian government

However disdainful of their government in Tehran, most Iranians are wary of Trump’s courting of Iranian Kurdish groups, said Alex Vatanka, a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Iranians see the U.S. president’s calls to the Kurds and posts on social media as signals that Trump desires not the liberation but rather than the fragmentation of Iran.

“What Iranians are by and large hearing is not regime change in Tehran, not this glorious move to a secular democracy and so forth, but basically the dismantling of Iran,” Vatanka said. Talk of separatism, from the Kurds and other minority groups like Baluchis, Ahwazi Arabs and Azeris “is going to undermine that bigger effort aimed at the regime and it will demoralize the opposition.”

Vatanka said that territorial losses in Iranian Kurdish areas or perhaps three Iranian islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates would rally Iranians around the flag if not the authorities against foreign interference.

Saudi Arabia reports its first deaths in the war with 2 killed

The Kingdom’s Civil Defense said Sunday evening that a military projectile that fell onto a residential area killed two foreign-born residents and wounded 12 others in Al-Kharj governorate.

The Civil Defense spokesperson said in a statement that the two killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality, and all wounded are Bangladeshi residents.

These are the first casualties to be reported by Saudi Arabia since the war began a week ago.

Analyst says defections final key signal to instability in Iran

Three key signals might signal fatal cracks in the Iranian government, said Farzan Sabet, researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Popular uprisings, foreign intervention, and defections from the political and military elites are key signals of big changes in Iranian history, he said. Foreign intervention is clear in the smoke and flames across Tehran from Israeli and U.S. air strikes, he said, and the latest protest movement in 2026.

But we have yet to see defections that might precipitate change, Sabet said.

Israeli targeting of Iran’s domestic security infrastructure is likely aimed at demoralizing the police and giving opposition groups space to organize, he said.

“It potentially creates a structure where it makes both a kind of popular uprising potentially more likely and more likely to succeed in the future, but it also creates space for the opposition to have organized armed resistance in the core of the country,” Sabet said.

Starmer and Trump discuss military co-operation

British Prime Keir Starmer has spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump about the military co-operation between the two countries in the Middle East.

Trump has rebuked Starmer on several occasions since they last spoke over a week ago over the prime minister’s initial decision not to permit the U.S. military to use British bases in the initial attacks against Iran, describing him at one point as “not Winston Churchill.”

Starmer has now granted permission for “defensive” actions against Iranian missile sites from U.K. bases after Iran started attacking countries throughout the region.

Starmer’s office in No. 10 Downing Street said the pair discussed the military co-operation between the U.K. and U.S. through the use of bases “in support of the collective self-defence of partners in the region.”

Starmer also shared his “heartfelt condolences” following the deaths of six U.S. soldiers.

Israeli drone strike kills three in Gaza, hospital director says

The strike Sunday in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City killed the three Palestinians and wounded several others, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the director of Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Israeli attacks have continued across the strip since the start of the latest war in the Middle East.

More than 72,100 Palestinians have been killed in the war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Part of the Hamas-run government, its statistics are seen as generally reliable by the United Nations and independent experts.

Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the initial attack and took another 251 hostage. The ceasefire deal ended major military operations and led to the release of all remaining captives but left major questions about Gaza’s future unanswered.

Trump says members of Iranian regime ‘could qualify’ to take power

The president in an ABC News interview reiterated that he wants a say in who comes to power in Iran once the war is over, warning anew that the new leader “is not going to last long” if the person doesn’t have his approval.

Trump also expressed openness to someone with ties in the current regime.

“I would, in order to choose a good leader I would, yeah, I would,” Trump said. “There are numerous people that could qualify.”

He did not specify any Iranian figures who fit his criteria.

U.S. defends allowing India buy Russian oil amid reports Moscow is aiding Iran

Trump has faced blowback in Washington after the Treasury Department announced it would allow India to buy Russian oil until April 4.

The move, which temporarily gives Russia a stream of revenue to fund its war against Ukraine that the U.S. only recently managed to cut off, -comes even as Moscow is reportedly sharing information with Iran that could help it target U.S. troops and assets in the Mideast.

But top Trump administration officials say the waiver is motivated by pragmatism.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Russian oil being sold to India had been expected to go to Chinese refineries but had been idling at sea.

“Instead of having it wait six weeks to unload there, let’s just pull that oil forward, have it land at Indian refineries and tamp this fear of shortage of oil, tamp the price spikes and the concerns we see in the marketplace,” Wright said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Ambassador Mike Waltz, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “it was kind of common sense” to let the oil on idling ships go to India.

Israeli ambassador envisions transitional Iranian government under U.S.-Israeli ‘guidance’

Michael Leiter, Israeli’s ambassador to the United States, has laid out a vision for a post-theocracy Iran, with Jerusalem and Washington providing “guidance” for a pluralistic transitional government.

“What we’re hoping for is that we move into a period of a transitional government where the minorities come together, where the majority of the people come together, all the various opposition parties come together for a transitional government where they can lead the country for a year or so together with the guidance from the United States and Israel and other regional allies,” Leiter told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning.

Leiter said Israel has cultivated relations with Iranian ethnic minorities, such as the Kurdish and Baluchi communities. But he said the country’s ethnic Persian majority would need to buy in as well.

“We want a united Iran,” he said. “What we’re encouraging them to do is to coalesce.”

Leiter hailed the Israeli-American alliance that launched the ongoing unilateral war, saying, “We’ve reached a level of collaboration that we’ve never seen between our two countries and between our two militaries.”

Iran’s foreign minister dismisses idea of Trump role in picking new supreme leader

Trump has floated the idea of having a say in the selection of Iran’s next supreme leader. The country’s foreign minister is having none of it.

“We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader,” Araghchi told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He adds: “It’s only the business of the Iranian people, and nobody else’s business.”

Trump has been quoted as saying “we want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran” and that he wants to be involved in the appointment, as was the case in Venezuela after U.S. forces captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in January.

Israel renews airstrikes

Israel says it has begun another round of airstrikes on Iran.

It was the second wave of strikes announced by the Israeli military on Sunday.

More on civilian sites Iranian Red Crescent says were struck

Pirhoussein Koulivand, head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, said 65 schools and 32 medical facilities, hospitals and pharmacies have been targeted in the war. They are part of the almost 10,000 civilian sites that Red Crescent claimed earlier Sunday had been damaged in the country.

AP could not independently verify the figures.

It came after the Israeli military said Sunday that it had struck more than 3,400 targets in Iran.

U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, CENTCOM spokesman, denied targeting civilians in a comment to AP Sunday and accused Iran of deliberately doing so.

Israel says it hit Iranian space agency headquarters in new wave of strikes

The Israeli military said it has completed another round of airstrikes in Teheran, in which it “dismantled” the space agency headquarters, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

It said the site was “used by the IRGC to advance terrorist activities and monitor the State of Israel and its residents.”

Targets also included the Guard’s Internal Security’s command center and 50 of its ammunition bunkers, a compound belonging to its Ground Forces, and a base of the Guard’s volunteer Basij force, the army said.

Israel says Iran has fired a new missile barrage

The Israeli military says Iran has launched a new barrage of missiles toward Israel.

It says air defences have been activated to intercept the incoming fire.

Sirens warning of incoming missiles sounded in central Israel, including Tel Aviv and parts of Jerusalem.

Switzerland’s government says attack on Iran constitutes a violation of international law

Swiss Defense Minister Martin Pfister, one of Switzerland’s federal council members, said the government believes the attack on Iran constitutes a violation of international law.

The U.S. and Israel — as well as Iran for its counter attacks — broke international law’s prohibition on the use of force, Pfister said in comments to SonntagsZeitung that were published Sunday. Switzerland is famously neutral.

Switzerland is governed by a seven-member federal council, who each hold portfolios as government ministers and take turns each year holding the top job of president. Pfister is part of the council and can speak on its behalf.

White House tries to soothe anxiety about rising oil prices

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there’s currently a “ fear premium in the marketplace” but sought to assure Americans that surging fuel prices are a short-term problem.

“We never know exactly the timeframe of this,” Wright said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union. “But in the worst case, this is a weeks, this is not a months thing.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a Sunday appearance on Fox News call the rising “a short-term disruption” that will benefit consumers in the long term.

“But ultimately taking out the rogue Iranian regime is going to be a good thing for the oil industry,” Leavitt added. “And those prices are going to come back down just like they have over the course of the past year, because of President Trump’s American energy dominance agenda.”

Iranian foreign minister says no plans to increase range of its ballistic missiles

Araghchi says Tehran has intentionally limited itself to a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) for its ballistic missiles “because we don’t want to be felt as a threat by anybody else in the world.”

Araghchi tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” says Iran hasn’t begun any plan to increase that range and that there’s no evidence or intelligence indicating that his country “is going to long-range missiles, let alone those missiles who can reach the United States soil.”

The current range puts all of the Mideast and some of Eastern Europe in range.

Sen. Warner condemns Trump’s ‘war of choice’

Sen. Mark Warner questioned what he says are the administration’s shifting justifications for the attacking Iran.

“We have had four different answers as to the reasons for the war,” the Virginia Democrat told “Fox New Sunday.”

The vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Warner added, “This is a war of choice … There was no imminent threat. There was not even an imminent threat to Israel.”

Warner questioned repeated Trump administration claims that the war would be brief and involve no U.S. ground forces. He asked what would happen mass protests took place in Iran, as Trump has called for, and the Revolutionary Guard slaughtered thousands of protestors.

“That would put an obligation on us that I don’t think Americans want,” he said.

He criticized Trump’s diplomatic approach, saying the president had ignored the warnings of both European and Arab allies to join with Israel and launch a unilateral war.

“We are always better with allies,” Warner said. “Unfortunately, this president has insulted virtually all of our allies.”

Zelenskyy says Ukrainian anti-drone experts will arrive ‘on site’ next week

Ukraine will send experts to advise the United States and other Middle Eastern countries on repelling Iranian drone attacks next week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv alongside Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian experts would be “on site” to assess the situation, but did not specify where they would be located or the exact date of their arrival.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would help Washington and other countries with all “necessary means — first and foremost expertise and the experience of our military in defending against Shahed drones, cruise missiles, and so on.”

The Ukrainian leader said that he wished for the move to be “an opportunity for both sides.”

“You know what capabilities we have, and we understand what capabilities the Gulf countries lack,” he said.

Israeli military says it has targeted several thousand sites in Iran

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had struck more than 3,400 targets in Iran and more then 600 in Lebanon since the Middle East war began last week.

Military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani added that Israel believes it has destroyed 60 per cent of the missile launchers across Iran, which he said is causing a bottleneck of launches and dramatically reducing firepower.

Strikes also destroyed Iran’s two major missile production sites that created the missiles with range to reach Israel, he said.

U.S. military accuses Tehran of endangering the lives of Iranians

U.S. Central Command says the Iranian government “blatantly disregards the safety of innocent people” in its own country.

Central Command says Iran is using areas with high civilian populations for military operations, including launches of drones and ballistic missiles.

“This dangerous decision risks the lives of all civilians in Iran since locations used for military purposes lose protected status and could become legitimate military targets under international law,” according to the statement.

Central Command says the U.S. military “takes every feasible precaution to minimize harm to civilians but cannot guarantee civilian safety in or near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes.”

Iran attacks on Arab countries condemned as ‘grave threat to international peace and security’

Arab foreign ministers on Sunday have strongly condemned Iran attacks on its Arab neighbors as a “grave threat to international peace and security.”

In a final communique following their virtual meeting, the ministers expressed support to Gulf states along with Jordan and Iraq in the “measure they take to deter and respond to these aggressions.”

Iran has said it targets U.S. assets in Arab countries in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes which triggered the war on Feb. 28. However, Iranian attacks hit civilian facilities and disrupted life across the Gulf states.

The ministers called for Iran to immediately stop its attacks and cease “provocative acts or threats to neighboring countries.” They urged the UN Security Council to condemn Iran and force it to “immediately and unconditionally halt its attacks” on Arab countries.

The ministers also voiced support to Lebanese government in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah, and urged the international community to pressure Israel to immediately cease its attacks on Lebanon.

The communique didn’t mention U.S. and Israeli strikes, which triggered the war.