Iranian-backed militias join fight as war on Iran widens
Dubai: Iran fired missiles at Israel and Arab states on Monday, and the war expanded to include militias Tehran backs in the Middle East with an attack by Hezbollah on Israel, which struck back against the group in Lebanon, and the United States pounded targets in Iran. As the American and Israeli airstrikes kept hitting the country, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani said on X: “We will not negotiate with the United States.” Trump, who a day earlier had encouraged Iranians to “take over” their government, signalled on Sunday that he was open to dialogue with Iran's new leadership. Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister suggested earlier that military units were acting independently from any central government control after being pressed about attacks on Gulf Arab nations that have served as intermediaries for Tehran in the past. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.
Here is the latest:
Qatar Airways flights remain suspended
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Qatar Airways said its flights remain suspended, with its next update planned for Tuesday morning.
Iran's state media shows footage of damage at Tehran hospital
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Iranian state media published footage showing damage at the Gandhi Hospital in Tehran.
Several loud explosions were heard in Irbil, the capital of northern Iraq's Kurdish region
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Associated Press journalists heard several loud explosions Monday morning in Irbil, the capital city of Iraq's semiautonomous region of Kurdistan.
WHO calls for the protection of civilians and health care facilities
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The World Health Organisation called for the sparing of civilians and health care facilities in the Middle East amid a regional conflict triggered by Israeli-US strikes on Iran over the weekend.
“The protection of civilians and health care must be absolute,” Hanan Balkhy, regional dietitian at WHO, wrote on social media.
“All parties must … ensure medical facilities remain protected.”
The Lebanese government holds an emergency meeting
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Lebanon's government is holding an emergency meeting after Hezbollah's attack on Israel triggered Israeli airstrikes in different parts of the country.
The meeting started Monday morning and is being attended by the army chief, Gen. Rudolph Haikal.
The state-run National News Agency reported that the Cabinet will discuss the volatile situation and the measures it plans to take.
Strike hits Iranian state TV, witnesses say
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Strikes across Iran continued into Monday, with one apparently taking Iranian state television off air.
Witnesses said an attack in northern Tehran's Niavaran neighbourhood struck one of the transmitters used for Iranian state TV.
Since then, its satellite signals have dropped.
State media had said hospitals and residential areas had been hit in strikes by the Americans and Israelis.
Iran has not offered any details on its materiel losses.
UAE closes stock exchanges
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The United Arab Emirates is shutting its main stock exchanges for the start of the trading week as the regional war intensifies.
The country's Capital Market Authority said the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market would be closed on Monday and Tuesday.
It says it will closely monitor the regional situation and take any further steps as necessary.
Another market, the Nasdaq Dubai, also said it was halting trading on both days.
Dubai is the Gulf's main business hub, though the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi is also an important regional financial centre and home to some of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds.
The benchmark index for the Saudi Exchange, the region's largest stock market, fell 2.2 per cent on Sunday.
