Live updates: Iran war spreads as U.S. jets crash and Israel trades fire with Hezbollah
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Iran's top national security official Ali Larijani vowed “we will not negotiate with the United States,” as the conflict intensified after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
What we know
- IRAN WAR INTENSIFIES: The United States and Israel hit thousands of targets inside Iran, pressing their joint campaign after killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s Red Crescent said more than 550 people were killed in the strikes.
- TEHRAN HITS BACK: Iran escalated attacks on Israel and targets across the Middle East, with three U.S. service members killed and Kuwait stating that several U.S. warplanes crashed. 11 people were killed in Israel, authorities said, with deaths reported in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
- CONFLICT SPREADS: Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon fired missiles at Israel, which launched a new campaign in response that has seen dozens killed, according to Lebanese authorities.
- TEHRAN SAYS NO TALKS: Iran’s top national security official Ali Larijani vowed “we will not negotiate with the United States” after President Donald Trump said that Iranian officials do want to talk with the U.S. and “are talking.”
- IRAN LEADERSHIP FLUX: Iran’s Leadership Council, the body temporarily running the country until a successor for Khamenei is picked, is made up of President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and jurist Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi.
- GLOBAL DISRUPTION: The price of oil has already risen sharply as the conflict disrupts shipping and shuts down refineries. Countries are also scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Gulf states under attack from Iran amid widespread flight cancelations and airport closures.
Oil surges 9% as Iran conflict disrupts Middle Eastern flows
SINGAPORE/LONDON — Oil surged 9% on Monday after retaliatory Iranian attacks disrupted shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz following the weekend’s bombing by Israel and the United States that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
A sustained jump in prices would threaten a global economic recovery, spur inflation and could push up U.S. retail gasoline prices, a risky result for President Donald Trump ahead of midterm elections this November.
The price surge on the restart of trading after the weekend, however, was less than some analyst predictions.
Drone buzzes over Beirut as gunfire wakes residents to warn of Israeli strikes
The distinct buzz of a drone could be heard above the Lebanese capital this morning after residents were woken by gunfire to warn them of incoming Israeli strikes.
Local producer Roger Hanna, 53, who lives in the city, told NBC News that he was woken by shots just minutes before air strikes began, coming in three waves.
People inspect a damaged building after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb neighborhood of Haret Hreik today. Ibrahim Amro / AFP via Getty Images
Debris surrounding a building damaged after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb neighborhood of Haret Hreik today. AFP via Getty Images
He said he could feel his windows shaking in the intense noise and his three teenage children were scared. He said he told them: "The war is starting."
U.S. plane crashed inside Kuwait, video shows
At least one U.S. warplane crashed inside Kuwait, NBC News analysis has shown.
A video captured on the western edge of Al Jahra in Kuwait, near the Ali Al-Salem Air Base and posted to Telegram, showed a plane falling straight down and spinning to the ground.
Earlier, Kuwait's Ministry of Defense said several American warplanes crashed with all crew members surviving.
A Pentagon spokesperson said: “We do not have anything additional to share beyond the info on the CENTCOM and SecWar X pages at this time.”
Jerusalem hit by Iranian strike
Drone footage from last night shows emergency services responding to an Iranian missile strike on a road in Jerusalem, which created a large crater in the ground.
Ilan Rosenberg / Reuters
Former Revolutionary Guard commander tells NBC News strikes will continue across the Middle East
We just reached a former commander for Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard who is in Tehran and still has close links to the government. As the war spreads across the region he warns there will be more strikes.
“I know that we are, at this time, ready for more attacks by missiles and drone against the bases of Israel and United States” Hossein Kanani Moghadam told NBC News by video call. “We have a very good situation and equipment and logistic at this time for the defense of the Iran,” he said.
Despite the onslaught Iran is undergoing, he insists, “At this time everything is stable… and we haven’t had, this time, any security problem.”
We asked him about the prospect of replacing Iran’s supreme leader, with the IRGC likely to play an influential role moving forward. “It is very easy for the country to select the new supreme leader,” he says, because there are many "suitable" candidates.
He rejects President Trump’s assertion that many who might have replaced Ayatollah Khamenei are also dead.
“This is a propaganda of Trump," he said. "No, this is not right.”
Iran's Red Crescent says 555 killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes
Iran's Red Crescent said 555 people have been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes since the beginning of the war on Saturday, state-run news agency IRNA reported.
The casualties are from more than 130 cities across Iran, the agency said.
Smoke rises as a series of explosions are heard in Tehran, Iran yesterday. Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images
Millions in Iran without Internet access for over 48 hours
Millions of people in Iran have been left without access to the Internet for over 48 hours, according to cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks.
This isn’t the first time that an Internet shutdown has taken place in Iran this year, with a nationwide crackdown lasting for several weeks during anti-government protests in January.
U.S. military releases video of strikes on Iranian targets
The U.S. military released video on social media reportedly showing missiles striking Iranian ballistic missile threats. In a post accompanying the video, the U.S. said it is “taking bold action to eliminate imminent threats posed by the Iranian regime.”
'Blatant killing' of Khamenei is 'unacceptable,' Chinese foreign minister says
China’s foreign minister criticized the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, as “unacceptable” in a call with his Russian counterpart.
“The blatant killing of a sovereign leader and the incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a call yesterday. “These actions violate international law and the basic norms of international relations.”
People mourn the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran yesterday. Atta Kenare / AFP - Getty Images
China, which has close ties to Iran, says it is “deeply concerned” about the escalation and spillover of tensions in the Middle East, as Iran strikes Gulf countries that host U.S. military bases in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks. At a news briefing today, the Chinese foreign ministry again urged all parties to stop military actions and resume dialogue.
A Chinese national was killed in Tehran during the attack on Iran, spokesperson Mao Ning said, and more than 3,000 Chinese nationals have been evacuated from the country.
Recent protests swept Iran after crackdown on unrest
Protests had re-emerged across Iran in recent weeks after a deadly crackdown on unrest.
Student-led protests had been reported outside universities in the Islamic Republic in mid-February, with video circulating on social media and verified by NBC News appearing to show large crowds of demonstrators rallying outside institutions, including the Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran.
The fresh protests come on the heels of sweeping anti-government demonstrations last month in which rights groups say thousands of people were killed under a brutal crackdown on the nationwide unrest.
U.S. threats of military action on Iran had grown in the wake of those demonstrations, which marked the biggest flare-up of domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
3 U.S. service members killed in Iran military operation
U.S. officials say three American service members were killed in action in Kuwait in the military operation against Iran. Five others were seriously injured. The troops were part of a sustained unit in Kuwait.
Iran won’t negotiate with U.S., country’s national security council secretary says
Iran will not negotiate with the U.S., the secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council said.
Ali Larijani made the comments on X apparently in response to previous Wall Street Journal reporting, citing Arab and U.S. officials, that he had made a push through mediators to resume nuclear talks with the U.S.
Trump earlier told NBC News that Iranian officials were interested in continuing talks with the U.S.
U.K. defends letting U.S. use its air bases after Cyprus strike
LONDON — The United Kingdom's foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, has defended an agreement to allow the American military to use British air bases to strike Iranian ballistic missile strikes.
Her comments come after the runway of a Royal Air Force air base in Cyprus was struck by an Iranian drone strike last night — Britain released few details of the strike but said there were no injuries. Families living at the base have been moved to another site on the island.
RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus in 2024. MoD Crown via Getty Images file
Last night, Prime Minister Keir Starmer granted a request from the Pentagon for U.S. forces to use British bases on Cyprus and Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean.
“I’ve spoken to foreign ministers across the Gulf who were frankly shocked and horrified at the way their countries were targeted by Iran over the weekend,” Cooper told Sky News this morning.
“This is a deeply malign regime that is posing a direct threat to our partners in the region and to British citizens who are currently sheltering in place and in hotels and that’s why we’re supporting this limited defensive action.”
Cooper also said her government was working to support some 300,000 Britons working, on vacation and living in Middle East countries struck by Iranian missiles in the last 48 hours and would not rule out potential evacuation plans.
Cooper said the U.K. was sending out rapid deployment teams to help citizens “get home as swiftly as possible.” Asked whether she was working on an evacuation plan, she said: “We’re working on a wide range of options. The most important thing is to follow local safety advice.”
Several U.S. warplanes have crashed, Kuwait says
Kuwait's Ministry of Defense said today that "several U.S. warplanes crashed this morning," but all crew members survived.
A statement posted to X by the Kuwaiti Army said the MOD "immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to the hospital for medical evaluation and treatment." The condition of the personnel was "stable."
The MOD said it was in contact with U.S. forces and that an official investigation was underway.
A Pentagon spokesperson said: “We do not have anything additional to share beyond the info on the CENTCOM and SecWar X pages at this time.”
