A seventh U.S. Military personnel member has died as a result of the conflict with Iran, according to reports emerging Sunday. The announcement came as French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with both Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and U.S. Officials, marking the first direct communication between a Western leader and the newly elected Iranian president since the start of the joint Israeli-American offensive against Iran.
Macron used the call to express concern over the fate of two French nationals, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, currently assigned to the French embassy in Tehran. “Their safety and return to France remain an absolute priority for us,” Macron wrote on X.
The Israeli military Sunday claimed responsibility for a strike in Beirut that killed five members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including three commanders from the Qods Force, its external operations branch. The strike underscores the broadening geographic scope of the conflict.
Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir stated Sunday that the war would continue for the foreseeable future, according to a video released by the military. “Israel has been in a state of emergency for two years, we must expect that it will seize much more time, we must be patient,” Zamir said while addressing army officers.
Iran’s military has threatened to target oil facilities in the region should Israel continue to strike energy infrastructure within the Islamic Republic. A statement from Khatam al-Anbiya, a branch of the Revolutionary Guard, warned, “The governments of Islamic countries must quickly warn criminal America and the savage Zionist regime against such cowardly and inhumane actions. Otherwise, similar measures will be taken in the region, and if you can bear oil at more than $200 a barrel, continue with this game.”
A projectile struck south of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, killing two people and wounding twelve others, according to Saudi rescue services. The projectile, described as “military” in nature, hit a residential area within the Al Kharj governorate, which houses a large airbase that has been targeted repeatedly in the past week.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump responded to Iranian authorities Sunday, following the announcement of a new supreme leader. “He’s going to have to receive our approval. If he doesn’t get our approval, he won’t last long,” Trump said in an interview with ABC News. The new supreme leader was chosen Sunday by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, though their name has not yet been publicly released.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that “We see up to the Iranian people to choose their new leader and no one else,” in an interview with NBC News Sunday. “We do not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs. It is up to the Iranian people to choose their new leader… It is Donald Trump who should apologize for the war in the Middle East,” Araghchi stated. He also claimed, “It is obvious that our missiles cannot reach American soil,” adding, “What we can do is attack American bases and facilities around us.”
The Israeli military affirmed Sunday that it had struck the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace force in Tehran. According to a military statement, the headquarters “served as a center for receiving, transmitting, and researching for the Iranian Space Organization, affiliated with the regime’s forces.” The site, the statement continued, included the control building for the “Khayyam” satellite, launched in August 2022, and used by the Revolutionary Guard to monitor Israel and regional countries.
Six people were injured in Israel Sunday following a barrage of Iranian missile fire, according to rescue services. Explosions were heard earlier in the afternoon in Tel Aviv, in the center of the country.
Ukrainian experts are scheduled to travel to the Middle East to offer their expertise in countering Iranian drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I think next week, when the experts are on site, they will look at the situation and assist, because they come with the ability to help,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference, indicating a potential exchange for Patriot missile systems for Ukraine.
Police in Oslo, Norway, stated Sunday that an explosion targeting the U.S. Embassy overnight may have been an act of terrorism, while also noting that other lines of inquiry are being pursued. “One of the hypotheses is that it is a terrorist act, but we are not focusing solely on this track. We must remain open to the possibility that You’ll see other causes behind what happened,” said Frode Larsen, head of the joint investigation and intelligence unit of the police.
Approximately 117 Iranians, including diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut, Lebanon, overnight on a Russian plane, according to a Lebanese official who requested anonymity. The Lebanese government had previously decided to ban any potential military activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and impose visas on Iranian nationals entering the country, a measure aimed at tightening control over the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Pope Francis prayed Sunday for “the din of bombs to cease” in the Middle East, addressing worshippers in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on the ninth day of Israeli-American strikes against Iran. “We raise our humble prayer to the Lord that the din of bombs may cease, that weapons may fall silent and that a space for dialogue may open in which peoples can make their voices heard,” the pontiff said at the conclude of the Angelus prayer.
The Lebanese Health Minister, Rakan Nassereddine, reported a new death toll of 394 as a result of Israeli strikes in Lebanon, during a press conference Sunday. He also condemned attacks against “medical teams and ambulances,” stating that nine rescuers had been killed in the past week.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed Sunday to have fired missiles toward the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Beersheba, as well as a base in Jordan. “The 28th wave of the Honest Promise 4 operation was launched with new generation missiles from the aerospace force of the Corps of the Islamic Revolution Guards towards Bersheeva, Tel Aviv and the Al-Azraq air base,” they said in a statement carried by state television.
Frederik Pleitgen, CNN’s correspondent in Iran, posted images on X Sunday morning showing Tehran following bombardments targeting oil infrastructure. “The sky is covered with very dark, very thick clouds,” he described. Pleitgen also noted that the rain appeared black, “saturated with oil.”
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit Cyprus Monday, which was struck by drones and missiles last week, according to the Élysée Palace. He will demonstrate “France’s solidarity” during the visit, meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos. “This will strengthen, with our European partners, security around Cyprus and in the Eastern Mediterranean, with a view to contributing to de-escalation in the region,” the French presidency stated.
The Israeli military stated in a communiqué that it had attacked “more than 400 targets in central and western Iran” over the past 24 hours, using its air forces. The military specified that it had destroyed weapons production sites and ballistic missile launchers.
The Assembly of Experts has designated the new Iranian supreme leader to succeed the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to members of the clerical body. The name of the elected leader has not been announced.
Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot indicated Sunday on CNews that Air France was increasing services to Asian countries to assist French residents stranded in the Middle East due to flight cancellations. He suggested that ticket prices, which have risen sharply, may return to more affordable levels.
Minister Delegate for French Nationals Abroad, Éléonore Caroit, stated on Europe 1 that over 3,500 French citizens had returned home on commercial flights out of the 415,000 French nationals in the Middle East affected by the conflict. Approximately 5,000 French citizens are considered vulnerable, though she cautioned that this figure should be treated with caution, adding that 1,000 vulnerable French citizens had been repatriated.
Fuel distribution in Tehran has been “temporarily interrupted” due to damage to the supply network following strikes against oil depots in the Iranian capital and surrounding areas, according to Tehran Governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, as cited by the official Irna news agency. He added that the situation is “under control.”
