7,000 targets hit
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they would target US-linked industries, urging evacuations
washington
United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that over 7,000 Iranian targets were hit as the conflict between the two countries drags on.
Trump was briefing reporters on the latest on Iran ahead of a lunch meeting with board members of the Trump Kennedy Centre. He said the US military operations in Iran had continued “in full force” over the past few days, adding that the US had stuck more than 7,000 targets across Iran.
“They have been literally obliterated,” the US president said.
“Since the beginning of the conflict, we’ve struck more than 7000 targets across Iran. And these have been mostly commercial and military targets. We’ve achieved a 90% reduction in their ballistic missile launches and a 95% reduction in drone attacks.”
He added that the US military hit three missile and drone manufacturing sites on Monday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they would target US industries in the region in the coming hours, asking people to evacuate nearby areas, Tasnim news agency reported.
“We warn the failed American regime to evacuate all American industries in the region, and we call on the people of the areas surrounding the industrial plants in which the Americans are shareholders to evacuate those areas so that no harm comes to them. These industries will be attacked and hit in the coming hours,” the Guards said in a statement carried by the state media.
Iran FM demands prompt clarity
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi demanded immediate clarity over what he said were reports of neighbouring countries “actively encouraging” attacks by the United States on his country.
In a post on X, he said: “Hundreds of Iranian civilians have been killed in Israel-US bombings, including over 200 children.
“Reports claim that some neighbouring states which host US forces and permit attacks on Iran are also actively encouraging this slaughter. Stances should be promptly clarified.”
Iran has maritime borders with the Gulf states, which also host US bases.
Earlier, Iran vowed at the United Nations that it would not submit to “lawless aggression”, and said its citizens were in “grave danger” from US and Israeli strikes.
At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where countries were discussing the rights situation in Iran — notably following its deadly crackdown on protesters in recent months — Tehran said the focus instead should be on the Middle East war.
“The most urgent and fundamental human rights issue concerning Iran is the imminent threat to the lives of 90 million people whose lives are in immediate and grave danger under the shadow of reckless military aggression,” said Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva.
He called it “an aggression that is carried out by some of the most lawless and unscrupulous actors on the international stage”.
Bahreini said that if such “reckless militarism” was met with indifference, “Iran will most certainly not be the last country to suffer such treatment”.
During a session on Iran’s record, Bahreini urged the UN’s top rights body to instead discuss the Iranian cultural heritage under “indiscriminate” attack and “the innocent children massacred at their school desks”.
The ambassador said more than 1,300 people had been killed in Iran and more than 7,000 injured since the US-Israeli strikes began.
“Under such circumstances, what exactly is Iran expected to do?” he asked, stating: “Iran is not a nation that submits to coercion, intimidation or lawless aggression.”
Iran FM says ready to take war with Israel, US ‘as far as’ necessary
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that Tehran had shown it was ready to take the war with Israel and the United States as far as necessary.
“I think by now they have learned a good lesson and understood what kind of nation they are dealing with, one that does not hesitate to defend itself and is ready to continue the war wherever it may lead, and take it as far as necessary,” said Araghchi during a weekly foreign ministry briefing.
Strait of Hormuz cannot be used to strike Iran: Esmaeil Baghaei
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday said the Strait of Hormuz will not be open to any country seeking to strike Iran, adding that Iran’s armed forces control the passage and no country can use it to launch attacks on Iran.
He said the passage of ships through the strait would take place under special conditions due to insecurity created by Israel and the US in the region, Al Jazeera reported.
Baghaei said that Iran, as a coastal country, has the right to take necessary measures in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure national security and prevent what he described as aggressors from misusing the waterway.
He stated that Iran has historically been the guardian of safe passage through the strait but blamed the US and Israel for creating the current conditions.
According to Al Jazeera, Baghaei further said Iran never trusted the US during their talks. The spokesperson said that negotiations with the US had been conducted with Tehran’s eyes wide open and with absolute distrust of the other side.
He added that Iran had shown it does not hesitate to engage in talks despite what he described as US crimes being a stain on history.
Drone attack causes building fire in a northern emirate of UAE: statement
A drone attack caused a fire in a building in the north of the UAE on Monday, authorities said, amid a slew of nationwide attacks that disrupted Dubai’s airport, hit an oil hub and killed a civilian.
“A building in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain was targeted by a drone, causing a fire but resulting in no injuries,” the Umm Al Quwain Government Media Office said in a statement published by the official WAM news agency, without naming the building.
EU announces $525m in humanitarian aid for Middle East
The European Union has announced €458 million in humanitarian aid for the Middle East, Al Jazeera reported.
The aid comes in response to the conflicts in the region including the US-Israeli war with Iran and the Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
“In a war-torn Middle East, the European Union is stepping up while others step back,” said Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s commissioner in charge of humanitarian crises.
Iran needs to stop attacks: Qatar’s FM spokesperson
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters in Doha that Iran needs to “stop the attacks” on the country, Al Jazeera reported.
Al-Ansari stated that Qatar’s coordination with Egypt and other Arab countries is part of broader Arab coordination and should not be interpreted as coordination under the framework of the Joint Arab Defence Agreement.
