Update | Iran’s top leaders alive ‘as far as I know,’ says foreign minister

Iran’s foreign minister says the country’s Supreme Leader and president are alive “as far as I know,” as Saturday’s US-Israeli strikes and Iran’s retaliation intensify fears of a wider Middle East war.

US President Donald Trump has called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.

Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and US military bases in the region.

Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit areas around the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Smoke could be seen rising from the capital as part of strikes that Iranian media said occurred nationwide. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old leader was in his offices when the attack occurred.

Here's the latest:

United Nations Security Council to hold emergency meeting

The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the USand Israeli attacks on Iran.

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

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said Israel “is strong, united and determined to defend its citizens against any existential threat.” Danon also said that “Israel will never allow an Iranian nuclear state.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the strikes on Iran and the Islamic Republic’s retaliation.

“The use of force by the United States and Israel against Iran, and the subsequent retaliation by Iran across the region, undermine 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.

Iran's supreme leader and its president are alive — minister says

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

Egypt consults with several countries

Egypt’s top diplomat has discussed the military escalation in the Middle East with his counterparts in several regional and European countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Germany and France.

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

US Congress was notified before strike, source says

Congress was notified before the strikes on Iran, as required by law.

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

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

Saudi Arabia says it repelled attack by Iran

Saudi Arabia said Iran targeted its capital and its eastern region in an attack.

The government reported the attack in an announcement on its state-run Saudi Press Agency. It called the attack “blatant and cowardly” and said it was repelled.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are longstanding rivals, but the country reached a Chinese-mediated detente with Iran in 2023.

US is entering ‘war of choice,’ lawmaker says

One of the senior US 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 Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

He also expressed his concerns to US 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.

China calls for halt to military actions

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

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

Ukraine's president supports US-led strikes

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced support for US-led strikes on Iran, calling the country “an accomplice of Putin” for supplying Shahed drones and the technology for Moscow to produce them and other weapons in its four-year war against Ukraine.

“Over the course of this full-scale war, Russia has used more than 57,000 Shahed-type attack drones against the Ukrainian people, cities, and energy infrastructure. Other nations have also suffered from Iranian-backed terror. Therefore, it is fair to give the Iranian people a chance to rid themselves of a terrorist regime and to guarantee security for all nations that have suffered from terror originating in Iran,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

The Ukrainian leader said 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 resolve, global criminals weaken. This understanding must also come to the Russians,” Zelenskyy said.

Omani mediator in recent talks urges US to not 'get sucked in further’

Oman’s top diplomat has urged the US“not to get sucked in further” to a conflict with Iran. Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi posted his comments on X hours after Israel and the US launched joint strikes on Iran.

“I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war,” he wrote.

Albusaidi was the key mediator in talks over Iran’s nuclear program seeking to avoid a USattack. He said in an interview with CBS News that negotiations over a deal had made “substantial progress” in the last round talks in Geneva.

Iranian authorities make a highway one-way to help people leaving Tehran

Iran’s state news agency IRNA has reported that authorities turned a major highway connecting Iran’s capital with the country’s north into a one-way route to accommodate traffic leaving Tehran.

The agency reported heavy traffic heading north out of the capital.

Iran’s top national security body had earlier told residents they should consider leaving Tehran for their safety.

Canada’s leader supports US action

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 is also urging Canadians in Iran to shelter in place.

Flights are disrupted across the Middle East and beyond

The US and Israel’s attack on Iran is disrupting flights across the Middle East and beyond. Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar closed their airspace on Saturday. Airspace in southern Syria was also closed.

Some planes that were en route to cities like Tel Aviv and Dubai were diverted or returned to where they took off from.

The situation is changing quickly and airlines urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport. Many major airlines are canceling flights to and from parts of the region through Sunday or early next week.

Dubai’s airport operator said flights have been halted indefinitely at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international flights, and the Dubai World Central — Al Maktoum International Airport on the Gulf city’s outskirts.

Targets of the Israeli strikes included members of Iran’s leadership

Two people familiar with the operation, including a US official and a person briefed on the attacks, said the targets of the Israeli strikes included members of Iran’s leadership. There was no word on whether the attacks had been successful. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified information on an ongoing operation.

Both Israel and the USare striking military targets in Iran.

Russia condemns the US and Israeli strikes on Iran

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the US-Israeli strikes on Iran as “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state.”

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

In a statement posted to Telegram, the 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 “humanitarian, economic and possibly radiological catastrophe” in the region and accused the USand Israel of “plunging the Middle East into an abyss of uncontrolled escalation.”

British prime minister holds emergency meeting

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 UK government spokesperson said, reiterating Britain’s support for a negotiated solution to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Britain was not involved in the US-Israeli strikes.

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

Iranians stock up on supplies

In northern Tehran, supermarkets are seeing a surge of customers seeking bread and bottled water. However, supply has been limited, and some of the items most in demand — including bread, eggs, bottled water and milk — are 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 highways, Soleimani highway, where extremely heavy traffic was visible on west-to-east routes.

Pakistan condemns attacks on Iran

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, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It said Dar called for” an immediate halt to escalation through urgent resumption of diplomacy to achieve a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the crisis.”

Kuwait says it has repelled an Iranian attack

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 Affairs, the KUNA news agency said Kuwait maintains its right to defend itself.

Smoke and explosions witnessed near a US base in Iraq

Smoke rose from a US base near the airport in Irbil, the regional capital of Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region Saturday and an Associated Press journalist in the area heard explosions. Local media reported that missiles were shot down. There was no immediate statement from Iraqi officials or from the US.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias had previously threatened to strike targets in the Kurdish region in case of an attack on Iran. Earlier Saturday, a drone strike targeted a headquarters of the Iran-allied Kataib Hezbollah militia southwest of Baghdad, killing two.

EU calls for restraint and diplomacy

European Union leaders issued a joint statement Saturday calling 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 restraint, to protect civilians, and to fully respect international law."

Both said that the EU has pushed to resolve critical issues through diplomacy but also has in place “extensive sanctions in response to the actions of Iran’s murderous regime and the Revolutionary Guards.”

They said Brussels was working with the EU’s 27 member nations to support the bloc's citizens in the Middle East.

- Associated Press

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