British planes ‘in the sky’ after US-Israel strikes against Iran: Live Updates, reactions (VIDEO)

Israel has banned public gatherings, closed schools and non-essential workplaces, and moved some hospital patients to underground facilities.
Defence Minister Israel Katz has declared a nationwide state of emergency and warned of possible drone attacks.
The has military instructed the public to follow emergency guidelines and said tens of thousands of reservists were being called up, including to reinforce land borders.

An official from the European Union’s naval mission ‘Aspides’ told Reuters on Saturday that vessels have been receiving VHF transmissions from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying “no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz.”

The strait is the world’s most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Tehran’s military forces used the Fattah hypersonic missile during the conflict with the United States and Israel, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported.

China is demanding that the United States and Israel halt their military operation against Iran immediately, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said.

Iran has destroyed an American FP132 radar system with a range of 5,000 kilometers located in Qatar; its unique equipment had been used to track ballistic missiles, according to Tasnim.

Footage shows explosions in Dubai and a fire near a hotel, according to social media.

RT footage shows the aftermath of Israeli strike on a girls’ primary school in the city of Minab, in the south of Iran. Seventy students were killed in the attack.

World reacts to US-Israeli strike on Iran

The strikes came after indirect nuclear talks in Geneva between Tehran and Washington ended without a breakthrough on Friday and amid a major US military build-up in the region.

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This is why desperation – not strategy – is driving the US-Israel strikes on Iran

• Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who has mediated the latest nuclear talks in Geneva, said the US-Israeli action had undermined peace efforts. “Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this,” he said.

• In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin convened a Security Council meeting by videoconference to discuss the situation, the Kremlin said. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the move as an “unprovoked armed attack” and urged an immediate halt to the strikes, saying Russia was ready to work through the UN Security Council to seek a diplomatic solution.

• French President Emmanuel Macron warned that an “outbreak of war” in the Middle East would carry grave consequences for international peace and security.

• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticized what Madrid described as unilateral US and Israeli military action, saying it represented an escalation and risked deepening global instability.

• A British government spokesperson said Iran “must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon” and called for a negotiated solution.

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said “bombs and missiles are not the way to resolve differences,” urging restraint and a return to negotiations.

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa supported American efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and from threatening international peace and security.

• Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said it would not accept being drawn into matters that threaten its security and unity.

• Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said that while Israel had described its action as preventive, such strikes were not in line with international law without an imminent threat.
• China is demanding that the United States and Israel halt their military operation against Iran immediately, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said.

• In Tehran, a spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces general staff said the Islamic Republic would teach what he called “criminal” Israel and the “aggressive” United States a lesson they had “never experienced in their history,” adding in a televised interview that the strikes had taken place during negotiations with Washington.

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Israel declares nationwide emergency after strikes on Tehran

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for Iran’s armed forces general staff, said Tehran would teach “criminal” Israel and the “aggressive” US a lesson they had “never experienced in their history.”

In a televised interview following the US-Israeli strikes, he urged Iranians not to worry and said the attacks had come during negotiations with Washington.

He added that, as previously promised by the Revolutionary Guards, Iran had launched missile strikes against American bases and locations used to support Israel’s operations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a Security Council meeting by videoconference to discuss the situation surrounding Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.