Updates: Iran says US strikes betrayed diplomacy, warns of consequences

You can continue to follow our live updates on the Israel-Iran conflict here.

Read more about what we know about the US strikes on Iran here.

Read more about how Iranians are responding to the escalation here.

Or learn from a panel of experts about what could come next, here.

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of the latest news.

• The US entered into the Israel-Iran conflict, striking three key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in attacks that threaten to spiral into a wider regional war.
• Iran has said it has the right to respond to the attacks, with the country’s ambassador to the UN telling an emergency Security Council meeting that Israel and the US have sought to “destroy diplomacy”.
• Trump’s top military official has said it is “way too early” to determine the damage caused by the strikes, walking back Trump’s earlier claim that Washington has “obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear programme.
• The US president also appeared to contradict the White House’s repeated denials that the conflict was seeking to overthrow Iran’s government, with Trump asking, “Why wouldn’t there be regime change in Iran?”

The US has bombed Iran, and Iran says it reserves all options to respond.

XEn News’s Virginia Pietromarchi explains what its options are:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Moscow for talks on Sunday.

“Abbas Araghchi … arrived in Moscow to hold consultations with the [Russian] president and other senior officials of Russia regarding regional and international developments following the military aggression by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran,” the official IRNA news agency said.

• Fordow: An underground enrichment facility in operation since 2006. Built deep inside the mountains, some 48km (30 miles) from Qom, north of Tehran, the site enjoys natural cover. The facility was the primary focus of Sunday’s strikes.
• Natanz: It is considered the largest nuclear enrichment facility in Iran, located about 300km (186 miles) south of Tehran. It is believed to consist of two facilities. One is the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, a test and research facility located above ground. It is used to assemble centrifuges – rapidly rotating machines used for uranium enrichment. According to the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative, the facility had close to 1,000 centrifuges. The other facility, located deep underground, is the Fuel Enrichment Plant.
• Isfahan: An atomic research facility located in Isfahan. It was built in the 1970s and was used for uranium conversion. It was the last location hit before the US bombing mission withdrew from Iranian airspace, according to officials.

It has warned of the “potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad” in the wake of US strikes on Iran.

It added that the “conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East”.

“The Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution,” it said.

Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster is reporting that an Israeli Hermes 900 drone has been shot down over central Iran.

The report comes shortly after Israel said it had launched a barrage of missile attacks at Iran, including targeting a “ground-to-air missile launcher in the heart of Tehran”.

There’s been some head-scratching in Western capitals – those allied with the United States – over what to say about what has just happened.

We have a statement from the so-called E3 – France, Germany and the UK – which have been involved in nuclear diplomacy with Iran for a very long time.

They say that they discussed the latest developments in the Middle East in recent hours. What they do not say is whether they think that the strike was a good or a bad thing.

And we have different things coming out from the individual countries. A statement from France’s foreign minister notes what has happened with “concern”, whereas Germany’s foreign minister seems to see some justification. He says that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is legitimate.

So it is difficult times for these Western leaders in terms of how exactly to respond.

Gulf states, home to multiple US military bases, are on high alert after the bombardment of Iran raised the possibility of a widening war in the Middle East.

Bahrain has told 70 percent of government employees to work from home until further notice.

“In light of recent developments in the regional security situation, we urge citizens and residents to use main roads only when necessary to maintain public safety and to allow the relevant authorities to use the roads efficiently,” Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said in a post on X.

Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the risk of an open conflict between the US and Iran could plunge the region into a devastating and potentially protracted conflict.

“While the war has so far been contained in direct hostilities between Israel and Iran, direct US involvement is a critical threshold that risks dragging the Gulf states – notably Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, which host large US military facilities – into the conflict,” he said.

Watch the moment Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian joined Tehran’s residents protesting US attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities:

The US president has now suggested that this conflict is, in fact, about “regime change”.

That comes as close ally Israel has so far not indicated that it has accomplished its mission, which it has said is to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.

We should point out that when it comes to the battle damage assessment, there hasn’t been any proof that the programme has been destroyed.

Trump’s post in the midst of all of this is raising a lot of questions, particularly among US lawmakers who are concerned not only about what the end goal of this conflict is, but also whether or not it’s legal.

The Israeli army says it has completed another wave of air strikes in western Iran and Tehran, including a strike on a surface-to-air missile launcher in the heart of the Iranian capital.

It said in a statement that around 20 jets carried out the operation using over 30 munitions.

It claimed the strikes targeted missile storage and launch infrastructure, satellite facilities, and military radar sites used for aerial surveillance in the provinces of Kermanshah and Hamadan.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi noted that:

• The global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is at stake and may collapse under current circumstances.
• At the moment, no one, including the IAEA, can assess the underground damage at Fordow.
• We must act immediately and decisively to stop the fighting and return to serious and sustainable negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
• Grossi again calls for maximum restraint, as military escalation threatens lives and delays a diplomatic solution.
• Iran has informed the IAEA that there has been no increase in radiation levels at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
• IAEA inspectors are in Iran and their work requires a cessation of hostilities.

Iran’s Health Ministry says no radioactive contamination has been detected near the country’s nuclear facilities after the US strikes, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

In a statement, the ministry cited assessments by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Ali Bahreini has been addressing the UN Security Council.

Israeli and US attacks on Iran did not come about “in a vacuum”, Bahreini said, adding that they are the result of “politically motivated actions” of the US and its European partners.

Israel decided to “destroy diplomacy” when it struck Iran, two days ahead of nuclear talks that were set to take place between Iran and the US, Bahreini said.

While the West expects Iran to return to the negotiating table, he asked, how can it return to something “it never left”?

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has been “manipulated into a political weapon … exploited as a pretext for aggression and unlawful action”, Bahreini said.

“Pakistan has condemned the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities”, its ambassador to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, has told the UNSC.

“The sharp rise in tensions and violence as a result of the Israeli aggression and unlawful actions is profoundly disturbing. Any further escalation risks catastrophic consequences for the region and beyond,” he said.

“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the government and brotherly people of Iran during this challenging time”, Ahmad continued.

These comments come just a day after Pakistan said it would recommend United States President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.