Live updates: Iran’s foreign minister says supreme leader and president are alive‘as far as I know’

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has spoken by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman following an Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia.

El-Sissi expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabiaand stressed the importance of intensifying efforts to “contain the escalation” in the region.

“Continued military escalation will only bring more suffering to the people of the region and undermine development opportunities,” el-Sissi said.

The U.S. House Democratic leader says that “Iran is a bad actor and must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violationsnuclear ambitionssupport of terrorism and the threat it poses to our allies like Israel and Jordan in the region.”

But Jeffries has said in a statement that outside “exigent circumstances,” the president “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war.”

U.S. President Donald Trump “failed to seek Congressional authorization prior to striking Iran,” Jeffries said. He also said that the latest round of strikes “has left American troops vulnerable to Iran’s retaliatory actions.”

”We pray for the safety of the men and women of the U.S. military as they have been put into harm’s way in a dangerous theater of war,” Jeffries said.

Explosions have been heard in surrounding areas of the major city in the south of Iranaccording to the semiofficial news agency Fars news.

The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Israel’s U.N. Mission says the meeting will take place at 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT) at the request of Bahrain and France.

Israel’s U.N. ambassadorDanny Danonsays Israel “is strongunited and determined to defend its citizens against any existential threat.” Danon also said that “Israel will never allow an Iranian nuclear state.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterresmeanwhilecondemned the strikes on Iran and the Islamic Republic’s retaliation.

“The use of force by the United States and Israel against Iranand the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the regionundermine international peace and security,” Guterres said in a statement. He also called for an immediate ceasefire and for all parties to return to the negotiating table.

Abbas Araghchi told NBC News that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive “as far as I know.”

Egypt’s top diplomat has discussed the military escalation in the Middle East with his counterparts in several regional and European countriesincluding Saudi ArabiaTurkeyGermany and France.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned that the escalation in Iran will have “dire repercussions” on Mideast security and stability. In a statementhe called for prioritizing political and diplomatic solutions to avert a “comprehensive confrontation” in the region.

Congress was notified before the strikes on Iranas required by law.

The notifications mentioned ballistic missilesbut didn’t indicate that the strikes would be so expansive or the goals so broadaccording to a person familiar with the notifications who requested anonymity to discuss them.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reached out personally to some top lawmakers.

Oil markets are closed for the weekend but are set to see price swings next week with the impact of the U.S. strikes on production and transport unclear.

Pre-conflict scenarios have foreseen a quick price spike that fades if Iranian pipelines and its Kharg island terminal remain operational. But there would be a bigger price spike and longer-lasting impact if oil infrastructure or supplies are interruptedfor instance because of disruption of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz that sees 20% of global oil supply pass through each day.

Limited strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps that avoid a change of government or all-out war could see prices jump $5-$10 based on fear aloneaccording to Rystad Energy.

A wider warhoweverinvolving Iranian disruption of tanker traffic could see crude push past $90 per barrel and U.S. gas prices “well above” $3 per gallonaccording to Clayton Seigle at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

International benchmark Brent crude closed at a seven-month high of $72.87 on Friday.

Saudi Arabia says Iran targeted its capitalRiyadhand its eastern region in an attack.

Saudi Arabia made the announcement on its state-run Saudi Press Agency. It called the attack “blatant and cowardly” and said it was repelled. Saudi Arabia had reached a Chinese-mediated detente with Iran in 2023.

China’s government says it’s “highly concerned” about the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and called for an immediate halt to the military actions and a return to negotiations.

“Iran’s sovereigntysecurity and territorial integrity should be respected,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced support for the military strikes on Irancalling the country “an accomplice of Putin” for supplying Shahed drones and the technology for Moscow to produce them and other weapons to Russia during its four-year war against Ukraine.

Zelenskyy posted on X that the emphasis now should be to save as many lives as possible and prevent any expansion of the war.

“It is important that the United States is acting decisively. Whenever there is American resolveglobal criminals weaken. This understanding must also come to the Russians,” he said.

One of the senior U.S. lawmakers recently briefed by Trump administration officials on Iran says that the United States is entering a “war of choice.”

“Everything I have heard from the administration before and after these strikes on Iran confirms this is a war of choice with no strategic endgame,” said Rep. Jim Himesthe top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

He also expressed his concerns to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio directly that military action in the region “almost never ends well for the United States.”

“It does not appear that Donald Trump has learned the lessons of history,” Himes said.

The counterterrorism unit in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish-run region says that U.S.-led coalition forces had “intercepted and shot down a number of missiles and bomb-laden drones in Irbil province.”

There were no casualties or damage reported from the attacks or their interceptionbut Irbil saw widespread power outages after a key gas field that supplies much of the region’s electricity stopped operations.

The Kurdish regional government’s ministries of natural resources and electricity says that Dana Gaswhich operates the Khor Mor fieldhad halted operations “due to the extraordinary circumstances and the ongoing events in the region and in order to protect the lives of employees.”

The field has in the past periodically been targeted by drone strikes. The halting of production there will decrease electricity production capacity in the region by between 2,500 and 3,000 megawattsthe ministries said.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy affairs says the country has the right to defend itself.

Hamid Ghanbari told Al Jazeera that Iran will retaliate when the region is used to launch a war on a sovereign country. Ghanbari says that Iran is concerned about regional securitybut the United States isn’t.

“We want a solution through politicsbut all what we see is that America and the American leadership fell in the Israeli trap” and launched a war,” he said.

The 32-nation trans-Atlantic alliance is “closely following developments in Iran and the region,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said.

NATO members like the United States and Turkey are bound by a common defense guarantee called Article 5 to consider an attack on one member as an attack on them all.

The alliance says “assistance may or may not involve the use of armed forceand can include any action that Allies deem necessary to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”

Article 6 gives a geographic scope of members’ mutual assistance obligation“primarily limiting it to the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.”

BritainFrance and Germany are calling for a resumption of U.S.-Iran negotiations and condemned Iranian attacks on countries in the region.

They did not comment on the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

U.K. British Prime Minister Keir StarmerFrench President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a statement saying their countries didn’t take part in the strikes on Iranbut are in close contact with the U.S.Israel and partners in the region.

The three countries have led efforts to reach a negotiated solution over Iran’s nuclear program.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its government from further threatening international peace and security.

He says Canada is clear in its position that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is the principal source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East.” Carney also is urging Canadians to shelter in place in Iran after the country was attacked this morning by the United States and Israel.

Egypt says it is deeply concerned about “the serious military escalation” in the region following the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran.

The Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement that the escalation risks expanding the conflictwhich could lead to “comprehensive chaos” across the Middle East.

The ministry said a military solution will only lead to more violenceand that “diplomacy and dialogue” is the sole option for Mideast security and stability. The ministry also condemned Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries.

Two people familiar with the operationincluding a U.S. official and a person briefed on the attackssaid the targets of the Israeli strikes included members of Iran’s leadership.

There was no word on whether the attacks were successful. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified information on an ongoing operation.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state.”

It demanded an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy.

In a statement posted to Telegramthe ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while actually pursuing regime change.

It warned the attacks risked triggering a “humanitarianeconomic and possibly radiological catastrophe” in the region and accused the U.S. and Israel of “plunging the Middle East into an abyss of uncontrolled escalation.”

Jordan’s state news agency says the military shot down Saturday two ballistic missiles that were targeting Jordanian territories.

The agency said authorities received 12 calls regarding the fall of shrapnel and falling objects in areas including the capital Amman as well as the cities of IrbidZarqa Madaba and Jarash.

Australia’s leader says his country supports the United States in its effort to stop Iran from obtaining an atomic bomb.

In a lengthy statement posted on XPrime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country “stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression.”

He described Iran’s current leadership is a destabilizing forceand he noted two attacks on Australian soil that were blamed on the country.
Australia in August cut off diplomatic relations with Iran and expelled its ambassador after accusing it of orchestrating two antisemitic attacks in the country.

Syrian state media corrected a report it issued earlier regarding a missile that exploded in a building and killed four people in southern Syriasaying it was left behind from the country’s 15-year conflict and not an Iranian missile.

Earlierstate television reported that it was an Iranian missile that struck the building before issuing a correction.

The broadcaster said the missile exploded in an industrial area in the citybut gave no other details.

(Correction: Syrian state media corrected its initial report that an Iranian missile hit the building.)

Volker Türk expressed regret about the strikes by Israel and the United Statesand the “retaliatory” strikes by Iran.

“As alwaysin any armed conflictit is civilians who end up paying the ultimate price,” said Türkthe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Bombs and missiles are not the way to resolve differences but only result in deathdestruction and human misery.”

He called for restraintde-escalation and a return to the negotiating table.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency committee on Saturday morning and planned to hold calls with allies in the coming hours.

“We do not want to see further escalation into a wider regional conflict”a U.K. government spokesperson saidreiterating Britain’s support for a negotiated solution to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Britain was not involved in the U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The U.K.'s Foreign Office also updated its travel advice to warn against all travel to Israel and Palestinian territoriesand urged British nationals in other Middle Eastern countries to “immediately shelter in place”.

America’s massive use of air power alone against Iran won’t be enough to rid the country of its repressive theocracy unless the U.S. succeeds in persuading the Iranian people and elements of the current government to actively back changesecurity expert Phillips O’Brien says.

This is crucial to remember because U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have launched this attack for domestic political reasons and so will not want to risk heavy American casualties by putting troops on the ground to back up the air campaignsaid O’Briena professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrew’s in Scotland.

While air power can destroy buildings and weaken the current leadershiplasting government change won’t occur without the cooperation of people within Iran who are willing to support Trump’s aim of replacing the current governmentO’Brien told The Associated Press.

“What air power can do is attack the present regimein some cases quite powerfullybut it cannot guarantee it will be replaced or how it will be replaced,” he said.

We should be able to see within a few days whether support for the ruling theocracy is weakening if Iranian military units start to rebel or members of the regime begin to speak out against the country’s rulersO’Brien said.

In northern Tehransupermarkets are seeing a surge of customers seeking bread and bottled water.

Howeversupply has been limitedand some of the items most in demandincluding breadeggsbottled water and milkare currently unavailable in certain stores.

Long queues have also been observed at gas stations across the city.

State television showed footage from one of Tehran’s highwaysSoleimani highwaywhere extremely heavy traffic was visible on west-to-east routes.

Qatar says it faced a third wave of Iranian missile firewhich it said it intercepted.

Emiratesone of the world’s biggest long-haul airlinessays several of its flights have been affected by the closure of the airspace in the United Arab Emirates.

The carrier is based at Dubai International Airportthe busiest hub for international travel.

It says it is working with local officials and adjusting its operationsand it urged passengers to check their flight status online.

Emirates transported 53.7 million passengers during its last fiscal year. Many of those passengerslike fellow regional carriers Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airwayswere transiting the region for destinations elsewhere.

Kuwait’s national news agency says the Gulf country’s air defenses successfully repelled what it called a “heinous Iranian attack” earlier in the day.

Quoting a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairsthe KUNA news agency said Kuwait maintains its right to defend itself.

Kuwait Airwaysmeanwhilesays it has temporarily suspended flights in and out of the country

The death toll in an Israeli-U.S. strike on a girls’ school in southern Iran rises to at least 40 people killedthe state-run IRNA news agency reported.

At least 45 others had been wounded in the attack in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has a base in the city.

Neither the U.S. nor Israel has offered any details on the campaign so far.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday condemned what he described as “unwarranted attacks” on Iran during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

It said the two sides discussed the evolving situation in Iran and the wider region.

According to the statementDar also called for” an immediate halt to escalation through urgent resumption of diplomacy to achieve a peacefulnegotiated resolution to the crisis.”

Iranian state media said the U.S.-Israeli attacks targeted a growing list of cities and sites across Iran.

Plumes of smoke could be seen above Tehran due to direct strikeswith reports of explosions in or near the major cities of IsfahanShiraz and Tabriz.

Blasts were also reported in several western towns as well as around Persian Gulf port cities that are critical to Iran’s major oil tradeincluding Asaluyeh.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes “a pre-planned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state,” demanding an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy.

In a statement posted to Telegramthe ministry accused Washington and Tel Aviv of “hiding behind” concerns about Iran’s nuclear program while pursuing regime changewarning the attacks risked triggering a “humanitarianeconomicand possibly radiological catastrophe” in the region and accusing the United States and Israel of “plunging the Middle East into an abyss of uncontrolled escalation.”

Moscow called the bombing of nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards “unacceptable” and said it stood ready to help broker a peaceful resolutionwhile placing full responsibility for the escalation on the U.S. and Israel.

“The military escalation in the Middle East is igniting a dangerous chain reaction across the regionwith potentially devastating consequences for civilians,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said.

Spoljaric said civilian infrastructuresuch as schoolshomes and hospitalsmust be spared from attacks.

“In international armed conflictsinternational humanitarian lawin particular all four Geneva Conventionsapply,” she saidreferring to a key international guidebook on the rules of war. “Medical personnel and first responders must be allowed to carry out their work safely.”

AP explains sirens ringing out in Israel as the country remains on high alert after launching strikes against Iran.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned Iranian attacks on the United Arab EmiratesBahrainQatarKuwait and Jordan.

The kingdom warned of “dire consequences of the continued breach of countries’ sovereignty and the violation of international principles.”

Saudi Arabia also called on the international community to take measures to confront Iran’s attackswhich it said were undermining the stability and security of the region.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

“These attacks are totally irresponsible and risk provoking further escalation as well as increasing the danger of nuclear proliferation and the use of nuclear weapons,” said its executive directorMelissa Parke. “Military action is not a viable or long-term solution to prevent nuclear proliferation. All military action must stop immediately.”

ICANas the group is knownwon the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

European Union leaders issued a joint statement Saturdaycalling for restraint and engaging in regional diplomacy in hopes of “ensuring nuclear safety.”

“Ensuring nuclear safety and preventing any actions that could further escalate tensions or undermine the global non-proliferation regime is of critical importance,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa. “We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraintto protect civiliansand to fully respect international law.”

Both said that while the 27-nation bloc had pushed for diplomacy to solve critical issuesit had also placed “extensive sanctions in response to the actions of Iran’s murderous regime and the Revolutionary Guards.”

They said Brussels was working with EU member nations to support their citizens in the Middle East.