Iran-Trump latest: President says Tehran ‘want to talk’ as three US service members are killed during strikes

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will “escalate” strikes on Iran further in the coming days.

Speaking from the roof of the Kirya in Tel Aviv, Mr Netanyahu said: “We have eliminated the tyrant Khamenei and dozens of senior figures of the oppressive regime. Our forces are now striking at the heart of Tehran with increasing intensity, set to escalate further in the coming days.”

He added: “And yet, these are painful days. Yesterday here, in Tel Aviv, and now in Beit Shemesh, we lost dear people. My heart goes out to the families, and on behalf of all of you, citizens of Israel, I send my wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded.”

Iran officials have said that at least 153 people including children have died after a reported strike on a school in southern Iran.

Iran has blamed the US and Israel for the attack, with president Masoud Pezeshkian calling the incident a “barbaric act”.

US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins told US media: “We take these reports seriously. The protection of civilians is of utmost importance, and we will continue to take all precautions available to minimise the risk of unintended harm.”

Iranian forces say they have struck a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

Three US and UK tankers were hit in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane for global crude oil trade, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said according to state media.

We’ll bring you more as we get it.

UK’s transport secretary Heidi Alexander has said that she realised “how stressful the situation is for travellers” as thousands of Britons remain stranded abroad due to global flight cancellations.

Ms Alexander said in a statement on X: “The UK’s immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the Middle East, but I also realise how stressful the situation is for travellers facing delays and disruption.

“We’re closely monitoring the situation for UK aviation and shipping and working closely with UK airlines.”

The government of Cyprus has said that there “is no indication whatsoever that the country was under threat” after UK defence secretary John Healey said that two missiles from Iran were fired in the direction of Cyprus.

Mr Healey told British media this morning that the UK did not believe that they were targeting UK bases on Cyprus intentionally, but said “it shows how indiscriminate” the Iranian retaliation has been.

However a spokesperson for the Cyprus government has now said that “this is not the case”.

A warehouse at Al Salam naval base in Abu Dhabi was targeted on Sunday by two Iranian drones, leading to a fire in two containers, the United Arab Emirates said.

The UAE’s Ministry of Defence “strongly condemned the military targeting”, saying it was a “blatant act of aggression and a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law”.

In a statement on X, the ministry added: “The UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, people and residents.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, told Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi in a phone call that Tehran is open to any serious efforts at de-escalation after the Israeli and US attacks over the weekend, according to a statement by the Oman’s foreign ministry on Sunday.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was falsely imprisoned in Iran for six years, has warned people not to be “naive” about the prospects of regime change in Iran after US-Israeli strikes killed the country’s ayatollah.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national from north-west London, said there would be a precarious future for the country.

She also said she had dreaded planned strikes on Iran, as she hoped for peace.

She was speaking hours after the Iranian government confirmed the nation’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, had been killed in the air strikes. Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also been reportedly killed.

Iran has retaliated by attacking nearby Gulf states.

Speaking at an event about Iran at Heath Street Baptist Church in north London on Sunday, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe said: “This is the beginning of folding a regime which has been systematically abusing its own citizens, but it’s not the end of it.

“I think it’s very naive to think that by removing (Khamenei) things are just going to be amazing, but I also understand that people can be quite excited about such an incident.”

US president Donald Trump has been talking to US media about the military operation against Iran.

Mr Trump told CNBC that the military effort is “ahead of schedule” on Sunday.

He told magazine The Atlantic that the Iranians “want to talk, and I have agreed to talk”. Mr Trump added: “I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long”.

He told Fox News that 48 leaders in Iran had been killed by strikes.

Referring to the operation, he added: “It’s moving along rapidly”.