France, Germany and the UK said Sunday they were ready to defend their interests and those of its allies in the Gulf if necessary by taking “defensive action” against Iran.The three countries’ leaders were “appalled by the indiscriminate and disproportionate missile attacks launched by Iran against countries in the region, including those who were not involved in initial US and Israeli military operations”, said the joint statement.”Iran’s reckless attacks have targeted our close allies and are threatening our service personnel and our civilians across the region,” the statement added.”We call on Iran to stop these reckless attacks immediately. “We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” said the statement.”We have agreed to work together with the US and allies in the region on this matter.”Iran has launched a series of missile and drone strikes on several Gulf countries, saying it is targeting US bases, after being hit by US-Israeli missile strikes from Saturday.Iran’s attacks have hit a multinational military base near Arbil in northern Iraq, and a German army camp in the east of Jordan, a German army spokesman told AFP, confirming media reports.There had been no casualties in the attacks, he added.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced a “large-scale” attack on Sunday, and blasts were heard in Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Manama, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with Israeli rescue services reporting at least nine people killed in the city of Beit Shemesh.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s killing a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told US channel ABC News on Sunday: “We are defending ourselves whatever it takes, and we see no limit for ourselves to defend our people, to protect our people.”

The EU warned Sunday against a prolonged war in the Middle East, saying further escalation could threaten Europe and beyond, as it urged Iran to refrain from indiscriminate retaliation after US-Israeli strikes.Foreign ministers from the bloc’s 27 nations — most of which are NATO members — held extraordinary talks via video link on day two of an assault that killed Iran’s supreme leader, as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called for a “credible transition” in the country. Two French vessels would reinforce the EU’s naval mission in the Red Sea as Iran’s retaliatory strikes threatened maritime traffic, a European diplomat said after the meeting.”The Middle East stands to lose greatly from any drawn-out war,” the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said, speaking on behalf of member states after the talks.”The events unfolding in Iran must not lead to an escalation that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond, with unpredictable consequences, also in the economic sphere.”Writing on social media after calls with several Middle East leaders, von der Leyen said the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spurred “renewed hope for the people of Iran” but also carried “a real risk of instability”.The Islamic republic launched a new round of attacks across the Gulf on Sunday after vowing to avenge the supreme leader.NATO said its top commander in Europe was “closely” following developments in the Middle East and adjusting forces as needed to defend against “potential threats” — citing in particular “ballistic missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles, emanating from this or other regions”.The commander, US General Alexus Grynkewich, was speaking “actively and regularly” with military leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, and with NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte, the alliance said.- ‘Credible transition’ -A European diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP the additional French vessels would bring to five the warships taking part in the EU’s Aspides mission in the Red Sea.EU foreign ministers were expected to meet again in the coming days for talks with their Gulf counterparts, the source added.Von der Leyen said Brussels was engaging closely “with all key actors” to safeguard stability and security.”The risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed,” she wrote on X, calling for a “lasting solution” after speaking with Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.”This must mean the halt of Iran’s military nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and the end of destabilising actions on air, land and at sea.” Von der Leyen also spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Likewise, Kallas said she was in contact with regional partners “that bear the brunt of Iran’s military actions” to find practical steps for de-escalation.”The death of Ali Khamenei is a defining moment in Iran’s history,” she wrote on X.”What comes next is uncertain. But there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may have greater freedom to shape”.

The United States said Sunday it had destroyed the headquarters of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard force but also announced the first US fatalities in the war to overturn the Iranian government.US Central Command, or CENTCOM, announced the Guard headquarters destruction in a statement on X accompanied by video of missiles blasting from a US Navy ship, then pulverizing an urban compound.”America has the most powerful military on earth, and the IRGC no longer has a headquarters,” CENTCOM said.As missiles continued to rain on Tehran, President Donald Trump said the war could go on for a month, telling the Daily Mail that “it’s always been a four week process.”The US-Israeli campaign began Saturday with bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks on countries across the Middle East, with explosions reported in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Israel.Iran is publicly defiant in the face of the US and Israeli bombardment, but Trump told The Atlantic magazine that its surviving leaders “want to talk” — although he was vague about details.The Pentagon reported that “three US service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded”, adding several others had sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions. “Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing,” it said.Underlining the political risks back home for Trump, the 79-year-old Republican took hours to react to the US deaths, before telling NBC News: “We expect casualties, but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.”- Iran strikes back -Loud explosions shook Tehran on Sunday.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced its own “large-scale” attack as it launched missiles and drones at installations around the Gulf.An attack on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh killed at least nine people, with others still missing, authorities said.Ali Larijani, the powerful head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, declared: “Today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before.”And Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a “declaration of war against Muslims.”    He warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”But Israel described Khamenei’s death as a “first step”, and military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani boasted that the joint operation “eliminated 40 senior commanders, including Khamenei, in one minute.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli attacks on Iran “will only escalate in the days ahead.”The Israeli military announced it was mobilizing around 100,000 reservists and “raising its level of readiness on the various fronts” as part of the campaign. – Gulf states caught in conflict -Iran’s first retaliatory strikes on Saturday hit all the Gulf states apart from Oman, which had sought to mediate US-Iran talks. On Sunday the country’s commercial port of Duqm was hit by two drones, injuring a foreign worker, the Oman News Agency said.Three ships were also attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, maritime security agencies said, after Iran had previously declared the strategic waterway was closed.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed to strike the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, but the Pentagon said the “missiles launched didn’t even come close”.Trump, meanwhile, said that US military strikes had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels and partially destroyed its navy headquarters.Britain urged UK citizens in the Gulf region to “shelter in place”, while the US mission in Jordan urged citizens to stay away from the embassy, and in Bahrain told them to avoid hotels after one was damaged in a strike.  Iran’s retaliatory strikes in the Gulf have killed at least four people and wounded dozens of others.The UAE, where three people were killed, said it was withdrawing its ambassador from Iran and closing its embassy over the attacks.In Iran, the Red Crescent said on Saturday evening that strikes had killed 201 people and injured hundreds more.Iran’s judiciary confirmed that Ali Shamkhani, a top adviser to Khamenei, and General Mohammad Pakpour, the head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards, were among those killed.- Question on succession -Cheers were heard as some Iranians celebrated reports of the death of Khamenei, but after state media confirmed his killing, pro-government demonstrations also formed, chanting “Death to America!”On Sunday, Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to join Pezeshkian on an interim leadership council to lead the country while a permanent successor is found for the supreme leader.One Tehran resident in her 30s said people had “shouted for joy,” even in the midst of a war.She said Khamenei’s hands were stained with blood, and recalled that Iranian security forces crushed mass protests in January. “We all realized that there is no way, absolutely no way, to reform this regime except through foreign intervention,” she added.But one truck driver said he could not see things turning out well.”I don’t know what will happen in the future, but it’s not a good future for us Iranians,” he said.burs-sms/ksb