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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has made his first statement since America bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran.

On X, he said "the punishment continues" against Israel - with new missile strikes taking place overnight.

The supreme leader wrote: "The Zionist enemy has made a grave mistake, committed a great crime; it must be punished and is being punished; it is being punished right now."

A human rights group estimates that Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 950 people - and injured 3,450 others.

According to Human Rights Activists, which is based in Washington DC, 380 civilians and 253 security force personnel are among the dead.

Tehran has not been offering regular figures during the current conflict - but on Saturday, said 400 Iranians had died, with 3,056 wounded.

The Israel Defence Forces says Iran has fired missiles towards its territory.

A statement says "defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat".

Anyone who receives an alert was told "to enter a protected space", but this warning was lifted soon afterwards.

Iranian strikes on Sunday morning destroyed several buildings in Tel Aviv.

China's state broadcaster says the bombing of three Iranian nuclear facilities has damaged America's credibility.

The report added that Beijing is concerned the situation "may go out of control".

It comes after a UN Security Council meeting was held on Sunday.

China's ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, has urged parties involved to restrain "the impulse of force, avoid exacerbating conflicts and adding fuel to the fire".

The US State Department has issued a worldwide travel advisory for Americans overseas, urging them to "exercise increased caution" due to the "potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad."

It also noted that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran is causing travel disruptions and airspace closures across the Middle East.

David Lammy says he and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio engaged in an "important discussion" on the Middle East this evening.

The UK foreign secretary said the pair want to find a "diplomatic solution" to the situation.

Earlier, Donald Trump suggested a "regime change" could happen in Iran if the country is unable to "make Iran great again" (see 22.04 post).

By James Sillars, business and economics reporter

A 4% lift to oil prices.

It's the first financial market response to the US military action against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Brent crude is trading above $80 a barrel for the first time since January at the start of the trading week in Asia. It takes the rise in oil costs to 25% this month alone.

Prices have risen as Israel's campaign against Iran has gathered intensity.

Experts had widely warned last week that a level above $100 would easily be achieved in the event of disruption to oil supplies.

We are not there yet.

The big risk is that Iran moves to close the Strait of Hormuz - the Gulf shipping lanes that are a vital arterial route for both oil and gas supplies. The strait handles a fifth of global oil volumes and about a quarter of natural gas flows.

Any disruption to those exports would create a price shock similar to the one we saw back in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Higher wholesale costs feed through not just to petrol pumps and energy bills. They make manufacturing and even many services become more expensive as extra costs feed down supply chains.

UK natural gas costs were more than 25% up in the month to date in advance of the US attacks. Those prices tend to track those for oil, so we can expect a similar move when London opens for business.

The FTSE 100 is currently forecast to open about 0.5% down, according to IG's futures model.

That does not sound like a lot when there has been a major escalation in the Middle East conflict, but the index will be propped up by energy stocks benefiting from higher prices.

By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent

On the surface, at least, Moscow is fuming.

Russia's foreign ministry said it "strongly condemns" the US airstrikes on Iran, which it labelled a "dangerous escalation".

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's powerful security council, accused Donald Trump of starting "a new war", and others have called for Moscow to step in.

"It's time for us to help Tehran," said Konstantin Malofeyev, a sanctioned Russian businessman who is close to Vladimir Putin. But this was to be expected.

Iran has been a vital ally in recent years, selling weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, and the two nations signed a strategic partnership deal in January.

So a robust verbal riposte was predictable.

But the response so far feels more show than substance and if things don't escalate further, I doubt we'll see anything more than rhetoric from Russia.

There are several reasons why....

In this bonus episode of The World podcast, Richard and Yalda get together and talk about President Trump鈥檚 decision to strike three nuclear sites in Iran.

Yalda is in Jerusalem and Richard is in Tel Aviv where both of them have been reporting all night long.

Yalda reveals what her contacts are telling her about the extent of the damage done to the sites. They then ask, what could happen next?

To get in touch or to share questions, email theworld@AG百家乐在线官网.uk

The UK's former ambassador to Iran says he doubts Tehran will follow Western advice and put out the white flag immediately after being attacked with missiles.

Donald Trump has offered Iran "peace or tragedy" following strikes on three of its nuclear sites, warning against retaliatory attacks.

But, speaking to Kamali Melbourne, Sir Richard Dalton questions why Iran would accept calls to deescalate "having been attacked by two nuclear powers, having been humiliated and having had immense damage done to them".

"Iranians have already made plain that they will respond at a time of their own choosing," he says.

"It really is quite something to hear all these calls for de-escalation, immediately after this operation by the United States."

Security Council debate 'unrealistic'

On the emergency UN Security Council meeting that happened today in New York, Sir Richard says the debate is "unrealistic".

He says this is because nobody will call on Israel to show restraint or respond to Iran's legitimate request for the Council to take a position on the illegality of Israel's aggression.

"This was not a legitimate action in self-defence by Israel, but of course, that's too difficult for countries like Britain and France to raise," he says.

"And that's one of the reasons why this debate is unlikely to have much impact on the course of events."