Israel hits Iran's South Pars petrochemical plant
"Israel attacked a key petrochemical plant at Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field, according to several news agencies.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz confirmed what he called “a powerful strike on the largest petrochemical facility in Iran” that’s responsible for half of the country’s petrochemical production. Israel’s military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said there would be “no immunity” for Iran as talks progress.
Katz’s statement on an Israeli attack on a petrochemical facility follows an earlier report from the Fars news agency that “several explosions” had been heard from the South Pars petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh.
It puts into question the negotiations aimed at getting the US and Tehran to reach a ceasefire. The gas field shared with Qatar is the world’s largest and sits under the waters of the Persian Gulf. The strikes come weeks after international outcry over Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field on 18 March.
The White House did not immediately respond when asked about the strike. After Israel’s attack in March on South Pars, Trump said Israel would not attack it again but warned that if Iran continued striking Qatar’s energy infrastructure, the United States would retaliate and “massively blow up the entirety” of the field.
Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz looms while mediators scramble to get the US and Iran to agree to a new ceasefire proposal.
Explosions rang out in Tehran and low-flying jets could be heard for hours as the capital was pounded. Thick black smoke rose near the city’s Azadi Square after one airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology.
Among those killed in one of the attacks on Tehran was the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, Maj Gen Majid Khademi, according to Iranian state media and Israel’s defense minister.
Israel’s military said it also killed the leader of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s undercover unit in its expeditionary Quds Force, Asghar Bakeri.
Iranian missiles hit the northern Israeli city of Haifa, where four people were found dead in the rubble of a residential building.
Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all activated their air defenses to intercept incoming Iranian missiles and drones, as Tehran kept up the pressure on its Gulf neighbors. Iran’s regular attacks on regional energy infrastructure and its stranglehold on the strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime, has sent global energy prices soaring .
Iran will continue the war with the United States and Israel for as long as its political leaders deem necessary, a spokesperson from the army said on Monday.
“We can continue the war as long as the political authorities see fit,” Mohammad Akraminia told ISNA news agency, as reported by AFP, adding that “the enemy must definitely regret it because, after this war, we need to reach a point of security and not witness another war”.
UK will not engage in Iran offensive, cabinet minister says
The UK will not be engaging in any offensive operations against Iran, a cabinet minister has said.
This comes after president Donald Trump said on social media that American forces would attack Iranian power plants and bridges from Tuesday if Tehran did not reopen the vital shipping route through the strait of Hormuz.
Now, the UK’s education secretary Bridget Phillipson said it was up to Trump to explain his choice of words and his approach to the conflict.
She said: “It is not language or an approach that this government would be taking.”
Phillipson added: “Our approach as a UK Government, the approach that the prime minister, Keir Starmer, has set out, is that we are not getting involved in offensive action, we won’t be getting involved in offensive action.”
Trump’s social media post received criticism and allegations of threatening war crimes.
So far, the UK has limited its involvement in the Iran conflict to defensive action, with RAF jets flying sorties to protect Gulf allies against drone attacks.
Starmer has also given permission for the US to use British bases to launch strikes against Iranian missile sites threatening allies in the region, or shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Lebanese ministry of health say a paramedic was killed and four others were injured in an Israeli attack on the town of Siddiqin, in the south of the country – according to Al Jazeera.
More than 1,497 people have been killed and 4,639 wounded since Israel increased attacks in Lebanon on 2 March.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that the strikes near Iran’s Bushehr atomic power plant “pose a very real danger to nuclear safety and must stop”.
The nuclear plant, which is located in the south of the country and equipped with a 1,000-megawatt reactor, has been targeted four times since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.
Rafael Grossi, director of the IAEA, said that any strikes around the area “could cause a severe radiological accident with harmful consequences for people and the environment in Iran and beyond.”
He added that one strike hit just 75 metres (246 feet) from the plant perimeter. “A nuclear facility and surrounding areas should never be struck,” he said.
Israel hits Iran's South Pars petrochemical plant
Israel attacked a key petrochemical plant at Iran’s massive South Pars natural gas field, according to several news agencies.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz confirmed what he called “a powerful strike on the largest petrochemical facility in Iran” that’s responsible for half of the country’s petrochemical production. Israel’s military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said there would be “no immunity” for Iran as talks progress.
Katz’s statement on an Israeli attack on a petrochemical facility follows an earlier report from the Fars news agency that “several explosions” had been heard from the South Pars petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh.
It puts into question the negotiations aimed at getting the US and Tehran to reach a ceasefire. The gas field shared with Qatar is the world’s largest and sits under the waters of the Persian Gulf. The strikes come weeks after international outcry over Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field on 18 March.
The White House did not immediately respond when asked about the strike. After Israel’s attack in March on South Pars, Trump said Israel would not attack it again but warned that if Iran continued striking Qatar’s energy infrastructure, the United States would retaliate and “massively blow up the entirety” of the field.
Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz looms while mediators scramble to get the US and Iran to agree to a new ceasefire proposal.
Explosions rang out in Tehran and low-flying jets could be heard for hours as the capital was pounded. Thick black smoke rose near the city’s Azadi Square after one airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology.
Among those killed in one of the attacks on Tehran was the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, Maj Gen Majid Khademi, according to Iranian state media and Israel’s defense minister.
Israel’s military said it also killed the leader of the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s undercover unit in its expeditionary Quds Force, Asghar Bakeri.
Iranian missiles hit the northern Israeli city of Haifa, where four people were found dead in the rubble of a residential building.
Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all activated their air defenses to intercept incoming Iranian missiles and drones, as Tehran kept up the pressure on its Gulf neighbors. Iran’s regular attacks on regional energy infrastructure and its stranglehold on the strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime, has sent global energy prices soaring .
US president Donald Trump is going to be holding a press confernece today alongside military officials following the weekend rescue operation to retrieve an F-15 crew member from Iran after his aircraft was downed on Friday.
It is scheduled to for 1pm EDT (6pm BST) and we will cover the latest lines here in our live coverage.
The briefing also comes ahead of Tuesday’s 8pm EDT deadline for Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz, after which Trump has threatened military action against nuclear and infrastructure targets.
EU chief says targeting civilian infrastructure ’illegal’
The EU council chief has said that striking civilian infrastructure installations during war is illegal, which comes as president Donald Trump threatened to devastate civilian infrastructure in Iran if it did not reopen the strait of Hormuz.
EU chief António Costa said in a social media post on Monday: “Any targeting of civilian infrastructure, namely energy facilities, is illegal and unacceptable.
“This applies to Russia’s war in Ukraine and it applies everywhere. The Iranian civilian population is the main victim of the Iranian regime. It would also be the main victim of a widening of the military campaign.
“The European Union urges Iran to immediately put an end to its attacks against countries in the region and to allow for the reestablishment of full freedom of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.
“After five weeks of war in the Middle East, it is clear that only a diplomatic solution will settle its root causes.”
Israel’s ambulance service Magen David Adom has confirmed that four people were killed after a residential building in Haifa was hit by an Iranian missile.
The service reports all four missing people have been recovered, including a 35-year-old woman, a man and a woman in their 80s and a man in his 40s.
Israeli ambulance services have confirmed that two people have been killed after a residential building in the northern city of Haifa was struck by an Iranian missile.
This comes as firefighters were searching for two other people who were believed to be missing. The emergency services “rescued two trapped individuals who were found under the rubble without signs of life” after hours of efforts.
According to the military and fire and rescue service, the missile directly hit a seven-storey building and tore through sections of the structure, causing it to partially collapse. An Israeli air force probe found that the missile was not intercepted because it broke up in the air, Times of Israel reports.
Residents in the area described a huge bang and a mushroom cloud followed ten minutes later by a gas explosion.
Iran has formulated its positions and demands in response to recent ceasefire proposals conveyed via intermediaries, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, Reuters reports, adding that negotiations were “incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes.”
Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had a set of requirements based on its national interests that had already been conveyed via intermediary channels, adding that earlier US demands such as the 15-point plan were rejected for being “excessive.“
“Iran does not hesitate to clearly express what it considers its legitimate demands and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions,” Baghaei said in a press conference.
“We have formulated our own responses” and will announce details in due time, he added in response to an Iranian journalist’s question regarding ongoing efforts to bring about a ceasefire between Iran and the US.
Iran confirms it has received ceasefire plan, but says US is not ready for peace
The US, Iran and a group of regional mediators discussed the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, according to a report from Axios that cites “four US, Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks”.
Now, a senior Iranian official has now confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Tehran has received the two-tier ceasefire plan from Pakistan, and is reviewing the proposal.
The Guardian could not independently verify the report but other news agencies such as AP and Reuters also now say the US and Iran have received the proposals.
However, Iran won’t reopen the strait of Hormuz in exchange for a “temporary ceasefire”, while the US lacks the readiness for a permanent ceasefire, the official was quoted as saying. Tehran will not be pressured into accepting deadlines and making a decision, the official added.
Over the weekend, Donald Trump threatened to obliterate Iranian power plants and bridges if it doesn’t agree by 8pm Tuesday (US Eastern Time) to fully reopen the strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world’s oil supply usually passes through the Hormuz strait and its effective closure is having a crippling effect on the global economy.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister has claimed Donald Trump’s threats to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges could amount to war crimes. “The American president, as the highest official of his country, has publicly threatened to commit war crimes,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on X, citing provisions of international law that could be breache.
Iran’s central military command has warned of “much more devastating” retaliation if the US hits civilian targets.
Earlier today US-Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Monday, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Major General Majid Khademi, the powerful and educated head of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was martyred in the criminal terrorist attack by the American-Zionist enemy... at dawn today,” said the Guards in a post on their Telegram channel.
Here are some of the latest images from Tehran coming through our wires.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards intelligence chief killed in US-Israeli strikes, say IRGC
AFP reports that US-Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Monday, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Major General Majid Khademi, the powerful and educated head of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was martyred in the criminal terrorist attack by the American-Zionist enemy... at dawn today,” said the Guards in a post on their Telegram channel.
US congresswoman Yassamin Ansari criticised the reported bombing of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran.
“Sharif University is Iran’s MIT. They’ve produced a huge number of engineers who’ve gone on to Silicon Valley and founded some of the most successful American tech companies,” the Arizona congresswoman said in a post on X.
“Why are we bombing a university in a city of 10 million people?”
Ansari is the daughter of two Iranian parents who fled their homeland – her father as a student in the 1970s who couldn’t return after the 1979 revolution, her mother as a 17-year-old in 1981 escaping the new regime’s restrictions on women.
Speaking to the Guardian in 2025 about US and Iran policy, she said: “When it comes to US-Iran policy – especially during the Trump administration – I think there has been a significant lack of knowledge. And even within Congress, there’s often limited information about the historical and political context – not just since 1979, but also what led up to that point and how we arrived at the current situation.”
Interim summary
Here’s a snapshot of the latest news from the US-Israel war on Iran to bring you up to speed. It’s 10.30am in Tehran, 10am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 3am in Washington DC.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister has claimed Donald Trump’s threats to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges could amount to war crimes. “The American president, as the highest official of his country, has publicly threatened to commit war crimes,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on X, citing provisions of international law that could be breached.
Trump used expletive-laden language to demand Iran agree – by Tuesday evening US time – to fully open the strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of Iranian energy sites and bridges. The US president posted on Truth Social: “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell.” He was sharply rebuked by US politicians, with Republican former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene decrying “Trump’s madness”, Bernie Sanders calling it “dangerous and mentally unbalanced” and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer saying Trump was “ranting like an unhinged madman on social media”.
Iran’s central military command has warned of “much more devastating” retaliation if the US hits civilian targets.
The US, Iran and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, according to a report from Axios that cites “four US, Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks”.
Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Israel assisted the US with its weekend rescue of a second downed air crew member in Iran. The Israeli PM said he had congratulated Trump on “a perfectly executed American mission” and that “the president expressed his appreciation for Israel’s help”.
Israel’s military said it completed a fresh wave of strikes against “regime targets” in Tehran on Monday.
Israeli search-and-rescue teams were searching for two missing people in the rubble of a residential building in the northern Israeli city of Haifa after it was struck by an Iranian missile that killed two others, authorities said on Monday.
Iran has executed a man convicted over an attempt to storm a military facility and access an armoury during the unrest in January, state media said on Monday, after the supreme court upheld his sentence.
A Japanese shipping firm said an Indian-flagged tanker owned by its subsidiary had passed through the strait of Hormuz and was en route to India. Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said her government was preparing to hold talks with Iran against the backdrop of the global energy crisis.
Falling debris from an intercepted attack injured a person in an industrial area of Abu Dhabi, UAE authorities said on Monday. Authorities in the UAE emirate of Fujairah said a drone launched from Iran targeted a du Telecom building.
Iran expanded attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure over the weekend, launching drone and missile strikes on petrochemical facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE. The Revolutionary Guards also said they hit an Israeli-linked vessel at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port.
Iranian minister claims Trump threats could amount to war crimes
Iran’s deputy foreign minister has claimed Donald Trump’s threats to destroy power plants and bridges in Iran could amount to war crimes.
“The American president, as the highest official of his country, has publicly threatened to commit war crimes,” Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X, citing provisions of international law that could be breached.
“The threat to attack power plants and bridges (civilian infrastructure) is a war crime under Article 8(2)(b) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” he said, cited by AFP.
Gharibabadi also warned that Iran would “deliver a decisive, immediate and regret-inducing response to any aggression or imminent threat”.
