War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Israeli military said it has launched a wave of strikes targeting Iranian ballistic missile and air defence sites, AFP reports.

Israeli forces began “an additional strike wave targeting the ballistic missile array and the aerial defence systems belonging to the Iranian terror regime”, a military statement said.

The Iranian media has reported that several family members of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, including a daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild, were killed, AFP reports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and expressed sorrow over the Iranian attacks.

The leaders also discussed the latest developments in the region, according to a statement on X.

The US envoy to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, has said diplomacy cannot succeed where there is no genuine willingness to cease aggression and that the US has taken lawful action, reports Reuters.

“The United States has made every effort to negotiate a peaceful resolution of this conflict with Iran, but Iran has failed to take that opportunity.”

He also said Iran had been responsible for a series of unprovoked armed attacks targeting the US and Israel.

“It even attempted to assassinate the US president, President Trump,” he said, referring to claims by Trump and his administration that Iran has denied.

An explosion has been heard and air raid sirens have been sounded in Jerusalem as the Israeli military says it has identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel, prompting warnings for residents to take shelter.

“At this time, the Israeli Air Force is operating to intercept and strike … where necessary to remove the threat,” the military said in a statement.

As conflict escalates in the Middle East after the US-Israel strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel and Gulf states, all parties are obligated to respect international humanitarian law and prioritise civilian protection, said Human Rights Watch in a statement.

United Nations Relief Chief Tom Feltcher has said he is in close touch with humanitarian teams across the Middle East, all of which were ready to respond to the humanitarian impact of strikes swiftly and effectively.

“Civilians must be protected,” he said.

Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah spoke over the phone and condemned the recent Iranian strikes on the two Gulf states.

In a post on X, Salman said the attack undermined “security and stability” in the region.

“ […] we affirmed our solidarity and our stance with the mobilisation of all our capabilities in all the measures we take,” he wrote.

The Israeli Air Force has claimed to have “completed a short time ago another wave of strikes to target the ballistic missile array and air defence systems” of Iran, in additional spaces in central Iran.

The International Federation of Red Cross has expressed deep concern over the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East and announced that all its societies were on high alert for possible emergency responses.

“The IFRC calls for the preservation of humanitarian space so humanitarian and medical personnel can operate safely and reach people in need,” it said in a statement on X.

At least one person was killed, and seven were wounded during an “incident” at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, officials said after Iranian strikes targeting the UAE and Gulf states, per AFP.

“Abu Dhabi Airports confirmed an incident at Zayed International Airport that resulted in the death of an Asian national and seven injuries,” the body that manages the airport said in a statement posted on X.

The board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at 0800 GMT to discuss US and Israeli strikes on Iran, reports Reuters.

The meeting was requested by Russia.

Monday’s emergency meeting will start an hour before a long-scheduled quarterly meeting of the board at which Iran’s nuclear programme was already on the agenda.

The American people are “sick and tired of endless wars built on false promises and paid for with innocent lives”, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said in a post on X.

“Congress must immediately pass Khanna-Massie War Powers Resolution,” she wrote.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will no longer travel to Israel on a trip announced for Monday after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran, the State Department said.

“Due to current circumstances, Secretary Rubio will no longer travel to Israel on March 2,” Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, wrote on X.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon has said Tel Aviv, along with the US, acted to “stop an existential threat to Israel, to our allies, and to global stability”.

“We are stopping extremism before it becomes extreme,” he told an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, highlighting that the objective was to eliminate the immediate threat by the Iranian regime and dismantle its nuclear capabilities.

He added that Israel was not against the Iranian people, nor were they its enemy. “Israel stands with the people of Iran,” he said, adding that the future was in their hands.

The Saudi foreign ministry has said in a post on X that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has held a phone call with US President Donald Trump.

The ministry said that Trump condemned missile attacks on the kingdom and reaffirmed that the US stood with Saudi Arabia, assuring the crown prince of Washington’s support against “Iran’s violations”.

The Dubai Media Office has said in a post on X that authorities have confirmed a drone was intercepted, and debris caused a minor fire on the Burj Al Arab’s outer facade.

“Civil Defence teams responded immediately and brought the incident under control. No injuries have been reported,” the post said.

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the UN, has said that the US and Israel’s attack on civilian installations in several parts of the Islamic republic is not just an act of aggression but also a “war crime” and “crime against humanity”.

He criticised US Ambassador Mike Waltz for “distorting facts” and relying on “misinformation” to justify the blatant agression showed by Israel and the US against Iran.

Iravani said that the justifications provided by the US were “entirely devoid of legal foundation”.

“The invocation to ‘preemptive attack,’ claims of imminent threat, or other unsubstantiated political claims, are unfounded legally, morally and politically,” he stressed.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has said that US-Israeli attacks on Iran would undermine the security of the entire region “with far reaching consequences.”

Addressing the UNSC emergency session, he also condemned Iran’s attacks against Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, stressing that Pakistan stood in solidarity with them. 

He said it was unfortunate that some of those countries had been supporting the effort to find a diplomatic solution between the US and Iran.

The envoy lamented that once again, diplomacy had been “derailed” during efforts to reach a diplomatic solution.