Iran rejects Trump’s ultimatum and launches new strikes as F-15 fighter jet crashes over Kuwait and explosions rock Dubai, Doha and Cyprus – live updates

Iran has vowed it will never surrender as it rejected an ultimatum from Donald Trump to lay down its weapons.

Trump told Iran’s leaders to give up the fight which has exploded across the Middle East, with missiles raining down on Israel, Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, and on American military bases in the region

But Iranian national security official Ali Larijani confirmed the country will not negotiate with the US.

His post on X referenced a Wall Street Journal report, citing US and Arab officials, said he had made a fresh attempt to resume nuclear talks with Washington.

Here’s what you need to know as the US-Israeli war with Iran enters its third day:

• Israel launched strikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut after the militant group Hezbollah fired missiles across the border
• An F-15 fighter jet has crashed over Kuwait near a US military base
• Dubai is rocked by further explosions with blasts also heard in Doha and Cyprus at the site of a British RAF base
• The UK is drawing up rescue plans for 94,000 Britons trapped in Gulf states
• US military insiders have warned America’s stockpile of missiles and interceptors could run dry if his war in Iran is prolonged

Stick with us as we bring you the latest developments

Here is our latest map showing all strikes carried out by US/Israel and Iran as the conflict continues to explode over the Middle East.

Explosions have been heard across the Gulf states and Cyprus with the violence fast spreading across the region.

Explosions have been reported across the UAE since the war broke out

Loud explosions were heard across the Gulf cities of Dubai, Doha and Manama on Monday as Tehran pressed into a third day of strikes against Gulf neighbours in response to US-Israeli strikes.

Blasts were also heard in Jerusalem, with the IDF saying defence systems were operating to intercept missiles.

This comes as Brits trapped in the UAE’s most populous city are awaiting evacuation, after 94,000 British citizens vacationing in the hotspot registered their contact details with the foreign office.

A host of celebrities who have moved to Dubai have shared terrified updates after getting caught up in the air attacks.

Branding it the ‘scariest, worst nights of our lives’, many spoke of how scared they were hearing the constant bangs overhead, while sheltering in their homes as the strikes rage on across the UAE.

Officials are planning to evacuate hundreds of thousands of Britons as fires raged across the Gulf last night.

After the US air strikes on Tehran, and Iran’s suicide-drone revenge attacks on tourist hot-spots including Dubai, 94,000 British citizens have registered their contact details with the Foreign Office – many of them holiday-makers visiting the region or transiting through it.

It came as Keir Starmer agreed to a US request to use British military bases to hit Iranian missile sites.

The Prime Minister said: ‘Our partners in the Gulf have asked us to do more to defend them, and it’s my duty to protect British lives. This is in line with international law and we are publishing a summary of our legal advice.’

Sir Keir added: ‘We all remember the mistakes of Iraq and we have learned those lessons. We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran and we will not join offensive action now. But Iran is pursuing a scorched-earth strategy so we are supporting the collective self-defence of our allies and our people in the region.’

Cyprus’s President Nikos Christodoulides said an Iranian drone had crashed into a British base on the Mediterranean island on Monday, as the Israeli-American war with Iran spread across the region.

Minutes after midnight (10pm UK time), ‘a Shahed unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the military facilities of the British Bases in Akrotiri, causing minor material damage’, he said.

‘We are in a region of particular geopolitical instability with many challenges and problems, which is going through an unprecedented crisis.

Our homeland does not participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation.’

Donald Trump was warned that America’s stockpile of missiles and interceptors could run dry if his war in Iran is prolonged, sources say.

Military insiders said Trump was cautioned that an extensive, resource-draining war in Iran could put US targets at risk if Iranian missile and drone capabilities are not destroyed quickly, per the Wall Street Journal.

The outlet cited current and former military officials who said the US missile stockpile – including air defense interceptors and Tomahawk cruise missiles – has been eaten away by conflicts with Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.

The strikes launched on Saturday started a race against time to destroy Iran’s missile force before the US runs out of interceptors to fend off retaliatory strikes, insiders warned.

The precise size of the US missile and interceptors stockpile is classified, however the warnings over their numbers comes after the US launched a huge barrage of strikes on targets in Tehran and other Iranian cities.

Donald Trump has vowed to ‘avenge’ US troops killed in the war in Iran, issued a fresh ultimatum to the enemy and implored Americans to back his battle for ‘freedom’ in his second address to the nation in 48 hours.

‘America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against basically, civilization,’ Trump said from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, hours after the deaths of three soldiers in Kuwait.

Trump told Iran’s leaders to give up the fight which has exploded across the Middle East, with missiles raining down on Israel, Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, and on American military bases in the region.

‘These intolerable threats will not continue any longer. I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death,’ the President said.

He urged the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the Islamic regime. ‘Be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country,’ he said.

An F-15 fighter jet has reportedly crashed over Kuwait near a US military base.

Video obtained by CNN shows the jet on fire and falling in a tailspin within 10km (six miles) of the Ali Al Salem base.

It is unclear why the aircraft crashed or who the plane belongs to but it is reported the twin-engine fighter jet is consistent with an F-15E or F/A-18.

Iranians received a text message from a verified Revolutionary Guards number warning them against protesting, according to The New York Times.

‘Any action that disrupts security will be viewed as cooperation with the enemy and will be met with the iron fist of the intelligence wing of the revolutionary guards,’ read the message.

Explosions have taken place at a RAF base in Cyprus after it was hit by a suspected Iranian drone.

Strong blasts were heard at the British RAF Akrotiri base in Limassol at around midnight local time after a ‘security threat’ was declared.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said there was minimal damage to the base after the drone attack last night, and that operations were continuing as normal.

The MoD also denied reports that some staff might be sent home from Cyprus and said an investigation was now underway to establish where the drone was fired from.

The base, home to around 2,000 service personnel and their families, was seemingly targeted by Iran or its proxies.

The explosions came just an hour after Sir Keir Starmer granted the US permission to launch ‘defensive’ strikes on Iranian missile sites from UK bases.

The president of Lebanon decried Israeli attacks on the country, saying it does not want to enter the war.

President Joseph Aoun did not mention Hezbollah in his remarks, which had claimed responsibility for strikes on an Israeli missile defense in his statement.

Israeli officials have said they responded to that attack by striking Hezbollah locations in southern Lebanon.’

‘While we condemn the Israeli aggressions on Lebanese territory, we warn that persisting in using Lebanon once again as a platform for support wars in which we have no involvement will expose our homeland once more to risks for which those parties … bear responsibility,’ Aoun said in a statement.

‘This is something the state will not allow to be repeated, and the Lebanese people—who are still working to this day to heal the wounds caused by previous confrontations—will not accept it.’

The US Embassy in Kuwait has urged Americans in the country to shelter in place.

‘Do not come to the Embassy. Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go outside,’ the embassy posted on X.

It also advised Americans to immediately seek cover if they hear a loud explosion or siren, go to the lowest level of a building if indoors and stay away from any windows or openings.

‘Be aware that even if the incoming missile or drone is intercepted, falling debris represents a significant risk,’ it said.