US President Donald Trump says he took the decision to launch a war against Iran because it was the “last, best chance” to stop the country’s regime.
Speaking at the White House for the first time since attacking Iran, the president said the US is continuing to carry out “large-scale combat operations” – more than 1,250 targets have already been struck.
The US and Israel struck Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Israeli military has since launched new strikes on Tehran.
Israel has also launched multiple strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, warning that military operations won’t end until the threat is fully “removed”.
Lebanon’s health officials say Israeli strikes have killed 52 people as hundreds of Beirut residents have been forced to evacuate to shelters as a result of the bombing.
Earlier, new Iranian strikes were reported on a major gas plant in Qatar, where officials later said they had shot down two Iranian aircraft, seven missiles and five drones.
PM Keir Starmer said the UK’s decision not to join the US-Israeli strikes on Iran was “deliberate”, adding his government “does not believe in regime change from the skies”.
