Paris (France) (AFP) – The US suffered its first casualties of the war with Iran, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify strikes on Tehran in the coming days. On day two of the war, US President Donald Trump said 48 Iranian leaders had been killed in the US-Israeli attacks, which he said were “moving along rapidly.” Here are the latest developments.
**First US casualties**
Three members of the US military have been killed and five others wounded in the operation against Iran, the Pentagon said, marking the first American deaths in the campaign that killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader. “Three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury,” said US Central Command (CENTCOM).
**Strikes to ‘intensify’**
Netanyahu vowed to intensify strikes on Tehran in the coming days as the army announced it had called up 100,000 reservists. “I have issued instructions for the continuation of the campaign,” he said in a video statement. “Our forces are now striking at the heart of Tehran with intense power, and this will only escalate in the days ahead.”
**Iranians ‘want to talk’**
Trump stated he would be talking to Iranian leaders but was vague on the timing and noted that much of the country’s leadership was dead. “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner,” Trump was quoted as saying by The Atlantic. He told Fox News that 48 Iranian leaders had been killed and that the results of the offensive so far were “very positive.”
**Iran kills 9 in Israel**
Iranian strikes on Israel killed at least nine people in the city of Beit Shemesh, first responders reported. Another 28 were wounded, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service. Police said there was a direct hit on a building. In the UAE, the defense ministry reported that three people had been killed and 58 wounded since Iran’s strikes began Saturday. In Kuwait, one person has been killed and 32 wounded since the start of Iran’s retaliation campaign, according to the health ministry.
**Sinking oil tanker**
Two ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, one off Oman and the other off the UAE, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said. Iranian state television reported that an oil tanker was struck and was sinking after trying to “illegally” pass through the strait, which Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have declared closed. Major container shipping companies including MSC and Maersk have suspended navigation in the region.
**US sinks Iranian warship**
US forces struck and sank an Iranian warship in the Gulf of Oman at the start of its operations against the Islamic republic, the American military said Sunday. “An Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was struck by US forces during the start of Operation Epic Fury. The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier,” US Central Command posted on X.
**Iran denies targeting neighbours**
Iran’s powerful security chief denied Tehran was targeting its neighbors, insisting that its retaliation was aimed at US bases. Gulf countries were set to hold virtual talks late Sunday to discuss a unified response, two Gulf diplomats told AFP.
**NATO adjusting forces**
NATO’s top commander in Europe stated Sunday he was “closely” following developments in Iran and the Middle East to defend against “potential threats.” US General Alexus Grynkewich “has and will continue to adjust NATO’s very strong force posture to ensure the security of its 32 member nations and to defend the Alliance from potential threats,” said NATO on X.
**Israel hits Tehran**
The Israeli army announced “large-scale” strikes targeting the “heart of Tehran” for the second day running. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz also hailed Khamenei’s killing as a “turning point in the war.”
**Ayatollah tapped for council**
Iran formed an interim leadership council following Khamenei’s death. A mullah, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, was named to sit on it, alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of the judiciary. The body will rule until a new permanent leader is selected. In a recorded video statement on state TV, Pezeshkian said the council had “started its work.”
**Iran retaliates**
Pezeshkian stated that the killing of Khamenei was a “declaration of war against Muslims,” vowing vengeance. Iranian security chief Ali Larijani promised to hit the US and Israel with a force never seen before. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to have attacked the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which the Pentagon denied. AFP correspondents heard blasts in Dubai, east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, across Bahrain’s capital Manama, and in Qatar.
**Deadly protests erupt**
Crowds gathered in Iran’s south to call for vengeance following the killing of Khamenei in US and Israeli attacks, according to Iranian media. Similar gatherings took place in Tehran and the central city of Yazd. Hundreds of protesters in Iraq tried to storm the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad where the US embassy is located. In Pakistan, nine people were killed as hundreds of protesters attempted to storm the US consulate in Karachi. Several thousand Shia Muslims joined demonstrations in Indian-administered Kashmir, many chanting anti-Israel and anti-US slogans.
**More deaths announced**
Iran’s police intelligence chief Gholamreza Rezaian was reported killed during US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic. Iranian media also reported the deaths of armed forces chief of staff Abdolrahim Mousavi along with other senior generals. It listed the name of Mousavi along with defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh and others. Iran’s judiciary confirmed the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, and another top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani, had also died in the strikes.
**UN nuclear agency to meet**
The United Nations’ nuclear agency will hold an extraordinary meeting on Iran on Monday. The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the meeting was at the request of Russia, a key ally of Tehran.
© 2024 AFP
