Iranian-backed militias join fighting as conflict widens
Dubai: Iran and Iranian-backed militias fired missiles at Israel and Arab states, apparently hitting the US Embassy compound in Kuwait, while Israel and the United States pounded targets in Iran as the war expanded Monday with statements of defiance and increasing casualties.
In the chaos, the US military said that Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission.
At least 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the US-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country have come under attack. In Israel, 11 people have been killed, with 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities.
Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi, delivering his first public remarks since he was made a member of Iran’s temporary leadership council, said he hoped that a new supreme leader would be “quickly” appointed to replace Ali Khamenei.
Putin speaks to the UAE president — Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Monday to the United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss “the unprecedented tragic events in the Middle East in the context of the American-Israeli aggression against Iran and Tehran’s harsh retaliatory actions,” the Kremlin said.
Putin noted that Russia had sought to help facilitate a settlement of the situation regarding the
Iranian nuclear program, but those efforts were “thwarted by an unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign UN member state, in violation of the fundamental principles of international law.”
Al Nahyan described the Iranian strikes on the Emirates as completely unjustified, noting that the country’s territory wasn’t used for launching attacks on Iran. Putin expressed his readiness to convey these signals to Tehran and to provide all possible assistance to stabilise the overall situation in the region, the Kremlin said.
Greece sends naval vessels to Cyprus Greece is sending two frigates and two fighter jets to Cyprus after attacks against a British base on the island.
Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said one of the frigates was equipped with an anti-drone system recently tested in a European Union-led deployment in the Red Sea to protect international shipping.”
(Greece) will contribute in every possible way to the defence of the Republic of Cyprus, in order to confront the threats and unlawful actions taking place on its territory,” Dendias said.
