Explosions in Iran, new attacks across Gulf as West Asia conflict widens: Top updates

More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP.

• Explosions hit Tehran and other Iranian cities amid conflict
• Israel intensifies strikes on Hezbollah and Quds Force in Lebanon
• Gulf states report new missile and drone attacks linked to Iran

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The West Asian conflict intensified on Sunday as fresh explosions rocked Iran, Israel expanded strikes across Lebanon, and Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks linked to Tehran’s widening regional campaign. Blasts were heard across Tehran and other Iranian cities, while Israel said it had struck key Iranian military infrastructure and carried out targeted operations in Lebanon amid escalating cross-border fighting with Hezbollah.

Here are the latest events in the West Asia war on Sunday:

Dead, wounded in Saudi -

Saudi Arabian civil defence officials said a "projectile" had killed two people and wounded 12.

Its defence ministry reported intercepting 15 drones, including an attempted attack in the diplomatic quarter of the capital Riyadh.

- Trump threatens next Iran leader -

US President Donald Trump told ABC News channel Iran's next leader would need Washington's approval if they wanted to last.

"He's going to have to get approval from us," Trump told the channel. "If he doesn't get approval from us he’s not going to last long."

Earlier members of Iran's Assembly of Experts said they met and chose a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel's military has vowed to target "any successor and anyone seeking to appoint one".

- Starmer and Trump talk -

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump held a call on Sunday about the war in the Middle East, said a UK government statement.

It follows days of insults lobbed by Trump at Starmer over the latter's initial refusal to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran.

- Tehran hit -

Several blasts were heard in various parts of the Iranian capital, AFP journalists said.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted, with clouds of smoke still shrouding the skyline after overnight strikes on oil depots in and around Tehran.

- Palestinian camp hit -

Israel struck a Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported.

The National News Agency said "enemy warplanes launched two raids on the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon".

- Next Iranian leader -

Iran's foreign minister said the Iranian people, not the US president, would elect their new leader.

"We will allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs," Abbas Araghchi told NBC.

US President Donald Trump should apologise to the people of Iran and the region for the "killings and destruction", he added.

Defending strikes on Gulf neighbours, he said that while Iranian missiles could not reach US soil, they could target US bases in the region.

- 'Reckless' attacks -

The head of the Arab League said Iran's attacks on several member states were "reckless", urging Tehran to reverse what he called a "massive strategic mistake".

- Space force HQ -

Israel's military said it struck what it called the "space force headquarters" of Iran's Guards in Tehran.

- Israeli soldiers killed -

Israel's military said two of its soldiers had been killed fighting in southern Lebanon -- the first Israeli troops to have died since fighting flared with Iran's Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.

- Six wounded in Israel -

Six people were wounded, some by shrapnel, at blast sites in central Israel, first responders said.

Earlier, AFP journalists heard at least 10 explosions over Tel Aviv after the army identified new missiles from Iran.

- Abu Dhabi blasts -

Witnesses told AFP of hearing explosions in the UAE capital.

Abu Dhabi has faced regular attacks for more than a week since Tehran began its regional retaliatory campaign.

- Lebanon toll climbs -

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 394 people in the past week, including 83 children and 42 women, the country's health minister said.

He said nine rescue workers were among those killed, condemning attacks on medical teams and ambulances.

- Iranians leave Beirut - 

More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP.

It comes after Lebanon on Thursday banned any activity by Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- a main backer of Hezbollah.

- Khamenei successor -

Iran's Assembly of Experts met privately earlier and chose their next supreme leader, members of the body said.

Israel's military vowed to target "any successor and anyone seeking to appoint one".

- Blasts across Iran -

State media reported explosions in Iran's central Yazd province Sunday.

It was not immediately clear what was struck but the official IRNA news agency said the blasts occurred on the periphery of Yazd city.

Earlier, explosions were reported in other parts of the country including the capital and the central Isfahan province.

- Israel pounds Lebanon -

Lebanon said an Israeli strike on a Beirut hotel had killed four people.

The Israeli military said it had carried out a "precise strike" in Beirut targeting commanders from the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the Quds Force.

In southern Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, the health ministry said eight people were killed in strikes on more than 20 towns and villages.

- Missing crew -

Three Indonesian crew members are missing after a UAE-flagged tugboat was hit by a blast and sank in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, Jakarta's foreign ministry said.

Of the ship's seven crew members, one survivor was receiving burn treatment in Oman, and search missions continue for the missing three.

- Attacks on Gulf states -

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain all reported new attacks.

In Kuwait, two border guards were killed while on duty, the interior ministry said. The military said fuel tanks at the country's international airport were targeted in a drone attack.

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry reported intercepting 15 drones, including an attempted attack in the diplomatic quarter of the capital Riyadh.

Bahrain said falling missile debris had wounded three people and that a water desalination plant had been damaged.

The UAE said its air defences had detected 17 ballistic missiles Sunday -- destroying 16, while one fell into the sea.