**Paris (France) (AFP)** – Loud blasts rocked Tehran on Tuesday as Iran hit industrial and diplomatic targets across the Middle East and threatened to open “the gates of hell” on the United States and Israel. The conflict started with US and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend that killed the Iranian supreme leader and showed no sign of abating as it entered its fourth day.
Here are the latest developments:
**Fresh ‘large scale’ blasts in Tehran**
Loud explosions rocked the Iranian capital on Tuesday, AFP journalists heard from locations in central Tehran. Soon afterwards, the Israeli military said it had hit a high-ranking Iranian commander in the capital. It later reported that the air force had launched a new “large scale” wave of strikes on the capital “targeting the Iranian terror regime’s infrastructure in Tehran.” Iranian media noted that “US and Israeli fighters” struck central Tehran and that a building of the body to elect Iran’s new supreme leader, south of Tehran, had been hit.
**Trump says ‘too late’ for talks**
US President Donald Trump stated that it was too late for talks with Iran. “Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said ‘Too Late!'” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, two days after mentioning he had agreed to talks.
**Israel hit**
Israeli rescuers and police reported that at least seven people were wounded after the latest salvo of missiles fired from Iran, including impacts in Tel Aviv and in several sites in central Israel.
**China opposed**
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in a phone call that “China opposes any military strikes launched by Israel and the United States against Iran,” according to the Xinhua news agency. “Force cannot truly solve problems; instead, it will only bring new problems and severe after-effects.”
**New strikes on Beirut suburbs, Hezbollah says targets Israeli military site**
Air strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, an area under Hezbollah’s influence, with Lebanon’s state news agency reporting “extensive damage to buildings.” Hezbollah claimed it had targeted a military facility in Israel in response, using rockets to hit the Maayan Baruch site.
**Israel urges countries to cut Iran ties**
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged countries to cut ties with Iran during a virtual meeting with around 60 envoys stationed in Israel. “The foreign minister told the ambassadors that…countries around the world must cut off their relations with (Iran),” according to a statement issued by Saar’s office.
**Iran appeals to UN Security Council**
Iran called upon the United Nations Security Council to take action to stop the war. “The United Nations Security Council has a duty…if it wishes, it can certainly act, because there is no obstacle to its action except its own will,” stated foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.
**Oil passes $85 a barrel, precious metals down**
Oil prices soared as the war disrupted supplies, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and energy infrastructure across the region damaged. The Brent North Sea crude contract, the international benchmark, jumped more than eight percent to reach $85.12 a barrel, its highest level since July 2024. Precious metal prices fell sharply as traders piled in with strategic bets on energy and the US dollar. Gold shed more than four percent to around $5,075 an ounce, while silver plunged more than 12 percent to just under $78 an ounce.
**Iran threatens US, Israel**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned of more intense attacks on US forces and Israel as the conflict raged for the fourth day. “The enemy must await continuous punitive attacks; the gates of hell will open more and more, moment by moment, upon the United States and Israel,” spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini told state TV.
**Israel moves to create south Lebanon ‘buffer’**
Israel ordered its forces to take control of more positions inside Lebanon to create a buffer zone. In response, the Lebanese army pulled back some of its forces after Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israeli bases. Military spokesman Effie Defrin said Israeli forces were creating a buffer zone “between our residents and any threat.”
**Iran nuclear site damaged**
The United Nations nuclear watchdog reported that the key Iranian nuclear site of Natanz suffered “recent damage,” a day after Tehran claimed the underground uranium enrichment plant was attacked. “Based on the latest available satellite imagery, IAEA can now confirm some recent damage to entrance buildings of Iran’s underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant. No radiological consequence is expected,” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated in a post on X.
**Explosions in Manama and Doha**
AFP journalists in the Bahraini and Qatari capitals heard more explosions on Tuesday, as Iran continued its attacks in Gulf countries. The correspondents reported hearing several blasts in Manama and air raid sirens while explosions were also noted in Doha.
**30,000 displaced in Lebanon**
The escalation of hostilities in the Middle East has displaced at least 30,000 people in Lebanon, according to the UN refugee agency reported in Geneva.
**Iran Red Crescent says 787 killed**
The Iranian Red Crescent reported that more than 780 people have been killed nationwide since the US and Israeli strikes began. AFP was not in a position to verify the figure.
**Drones hit Amazon data centres**
Tech giant Amazon reported that two of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been “directly struck” by drones, disrupting cloud services in parts of the Middle East. A facility in Bahrain was also damaged by “a drone strike in close proximity,” the provider stated.
**Trump says US-UK ties damaged**
US President Donald Trump expressed that the US-UK relationship was “not like it used to be,” amid significant transatlantic fallout over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s initial refusal to allow the United States to use British military bases. In an interview with Britain’s Sun newspaper, Trump stated Starmer “has not been helpful,” adding: “It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was.”
**Israel detains Turkish journalists**
A reporter and cameraman for CNN Turk were detained in Israel while shooting a live broadcast in Tel Aviv, according to the company and officials. Israeli police reported that the pair had “allegedly filmed a security facility” and “presented an expired press card and were taken for questioning.”
© 2024 AFP
