Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan warned Iran on Saturday against firing any more missiles towards Turkey, after Nato air defences destroyed a missile heading into Turkish airspace several days ago.

Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Fidan said Turkey opposed all scenarios aiming to create ethnicity-based civil war in Iran, adding that such scenarios could lead to immigrant waves.

Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar has spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, about the evolving situation in the region.

In a post on social media, Dar said “the two leaders exchanged views on recent developments and agreed to remain in touch”.

Iran's foreign minister says Netanyahu 'managed to dupe' Trump 'into fighting Israel’s wars'

Iran’s foreign minister warned in a statement posted on social media that Donald Trump had misinterpreted the statement by Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in which he apologized to neighboring Gulf states and promised to stop strikes against them, unless an attack against Iran originated from those countries.

Trump claimed in a belligerent social media post that Pezeshkian’s apology meant that Iran had “surrendered to its Middle East neighbors” and promised that “Iran will be hit very hard”.

In his new statement, posted on X, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, also called the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran “a war of choice pursued by a small cabal of ‘Israel Firsters’”, echoing the concerns of some Trump supporters who believe that the US offensive is motivated primarily by Israel’s foreign policy objectives.

Here is his complete statement:

President Pezeshkian’s openness to de-escalation within our region-provided that our neighbors’ airspace, territory, and waters are not used to attack the Iranian People-was almost immediately killed by President Trump’s misinterpretation of our capabilities, determination and intent. If Mr Trump seeks escalation, it is precisely what our Powerful Armed Forces have long been prepared for, and what he will get.

Responsibility for any intensification of Iran’s exercise of self-defense will lie squarely with the US Administration.

Mr Trump’s week-long misadventure has already cost the US military $100 Billion, in addition to the lives of young soldiers. When markets reopen, that cost will balloon and directly be transferred to ordinary Americans at pumping stations.

Mr Trump’s own National Intelligence Council, representing input from the 18 intelligence agencies of the US, determined that war on Iran is destined to fail.

I also warned Mr Trump’s envoys that war will not improve their bargaining position. Were these warnings conveyed?

The American People voted to end involvement in costly quagmires in the Middle East. Instead, they have ended up with an Administration that Netanyahu, after decades of failed attempts, finally managed to dupe into fighting Israel’s wars.

This is a war of choice pursued by a small cabal of ‘Israel Firsters’, and ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last’.

The attacks on freshwater desalination plants in the Gulf region have posed a threat to further escalate the war, potentially setting a precedent of destroying civilian water supplies.

Seyed Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, said in an X post: “The US committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island. Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted. Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The US set this precedent, not Iran.”

An Iranian news analyst, Trita Parsi, replied by writing: “The US has struck Iranian desalination plants. If Iran responds in kind by striking desalination plants in GCC, the situation for Iran’s Arab neighbours will be devastating. It appears the Iranian FM is hinting at that in his last sentence here.

Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, said in a social media post: “The reported strike on a desalination plant on Qeshm Island is deeply worrying. Millions depend on desalination across the Middle East.” He added that “damage to water infrastructure, whether intentional or accidental, sets a dangerous precedent and risks depriving civilians of drinking water”.

José Olivares

US government reviews of the war in Iran show that the Trump administration may be ill-equipped for a regime-change war, according to reports.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday morning that a classified intelligence review found that the war in Iran is unlikely to oust the Iranian establishment, despite the Trump administration’s desire to continue its attacks.

At the same time, Democrats are warning that the airstrikes on Iran are diminishing US stockpiles of certain weapons, a point of concern that came up during a closed-door briefing earlier this week between Trump administration officials and members of Congress.

Despite ongoing negotiations, the US and Israel began bombing Iran last week, during a campaign that assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian leaders. Iran has engaged in retaliatory strikes, targeting Israel, US installations in the region and several Middle Eastern countries hosting US bases.

Since the strikes began, the Trump administration has claimed that Iran has attempted to negotiate a ceasefire, despite multiple reports showing the contrary.

Read more:

Donald Trump plans to attend the dignified transfer for the six US soldiers killed in the Middle East. On Saturday afternoon, Trump will join their mourning families at Delaware’s Dover air force base as the soldiers’ remains return to the US.

Trump said at an event in Miami before his trip to Delaware that the fallen service members were heroes “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home”, according to the Associated Press. He said it was “a very sad situation” and he pledged to keep American war deaths “to a minimum”.

Those killed in action were Sgt first class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief warrant officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Maj Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Sgt first class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.

The six members of the army reserve, who were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait, were all from the 103rd sustainment command based in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides food, fuel, water, ammunition, transport equipment and supplies. They died just one day after the US and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran.

Iran’s parliament speaker said Saturday that the attack on a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island was carried out with support from one of the airbases in a southern neighboring country.

He did not name the country. “The crime will receive a proportionate response,” he said.

In a brief statement published on social media, Qatar’s ministry of defense announced it had intercepted incoming missile fire. This statement follows a week of Iranian strikes targeting oil refineries and US military installations across several Gulf states, including Qatar.

Over in Cyprus, hundreds have taken to the streets of Nicosia, the capital, to protest against the presence of British military bases on the Mediterranean island.

Chanting “Out with the bases of death!” and “Ay oh, British bases got to go!”, demonstrators marched to the presidential palace to protest against installations that were established as part of a negotiated independence deal for the former colony in 1960.

“They are a danger to our security and should never have been here in the first place,” said Mathaios Stavrinides, holding a giant banner proclaiming: “Cyprus is not your launchpad.”

“At the time [of their establishment] we had no negotiating power. The treaty was signed under duress. In return for independence we were forced to sign off around 3% of our land for the British to have their military bases. Since then, they have been used in countless bombing campaigns across the region and now because of our proximity when they’re targeted they immediately put the [Republic of Cyprus] in danger. We want them closed.”

UAE is 'no easy prey', says president in first public comments since Iran strikes

Reuters news agency has reported remarks by the president of the UAE, Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in his first public comments since Iran launched retaliatory strikes at the Gulf nation.

“The UAE has thick skin and bitter flesh – we are no easy prey,” he said.

“We will carry out our duty towards our country, our people, and our residents who are also part of our family.”

Trump said he intends to keep US deaths in the Iran war “to a minimum”, as he prepares to attend the “dignified transfer” of the six US troops killed during the conflict.

He will join grieving families at Dover air force base in Delaware later today for the dignified transfer, a ritual in honour of US troops killed during their military service.

The six American service members were killed in an unmanned aircraft system attack in the Shuaiba port in Kuwait on Sunday.

In a further update, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the US has begun to use British bases “for specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region”, which it says is “putting British lives at risk”.

The MoD added that a Merlin helicopter is also on its way to the region, where it will be “providing additional airborne surveillance and further reinforcing our defensive capabilities”.

The UAE defence minstry reported new missile and drone attacks as Iran continued retaliatory attacks across the Gulf.

In a message on social media, the ministry said:

The UAE’s air defenses are currently dealing with missile and drone threats from Iran. The ministry of defence confirms that the sounds heard in various parts of the country are the result of air defence systems intercepting ballistic missiles and fighter jets intercepting drones and other aerial vehicles.

Israel strikes eastern Lebanon, killing dozens, after raid to recover IDF pilot’s remains fails

An Israeli operation in eastern Lebanon to locate the remains of a famous IDF pilot ended in failure overnight, when the commandos were caught in a gunfight with Hezbollah and local residents, leading Israeli jets to pummel the area with airstrikes that killed dozens of people.

The fighting left three Lebanese soldiers and 41 residents of the Bekaa valley dead, according to the Lebanese army and ministry of health. No injuries were reported among the Israeli soldiers.

Two Israeli helicopters landed outside the towns of Nabi Chit and Khraibeh along the Syrian-Lebanese border in the eastern Bekaa valley at 10pm on Friday night, dropping off Israeli soldiers, according to the Lebanese army. The Israeli soldiers headed to a cemetery in Nabi Chit, and began to dig up a grave, where they suspected the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli pilot who went missing in Lebanon in 1986, were held.

The Lebanese army detected the incursion and launched flares over the Israeli helicopters, a Lebanese army statement said, leading to a gun battle between Israeli forces, local residents and Hezbollah fighters.

Read the full report here:

In further remarks delivered at a summit of Latin American leaders in Miami, Trump said on a scale of one to 10, the progress of the US military campaign against Iran was a 15.

He said the US miliary action is “going to be something, a service that we’re really providing, not for the Middle East, but for the world”.

Of the Iranian regime, he said: “These were sick people, very sick people.”

The Israeli military said it targeted 16 Iranian aircraft at Tehran’s Mehrabad aiport, saying they belonged to the IRGC’s Quds Force responsible for overseas operations.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the airport was “a central hub for arming and funding the regime’s terrorist proxies in the Middle East”.

“The air force destroyed 16 aircraft of the Quds Force unit that transferred weaponry to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah,” the IDF said in a social media post.

“Also targeted were several Iranian fighter jets that posed a threat to Israeli air force aircraft operating in Iranian airspace.”

In an earlier statement, the Israeli military said more than 80 fighter jets struck “key Iranian regime military infrastructure” in Tehran and central Iran.

Trump: US strikes destroyed 42 Iranian navy ships

US President Donald Trump is now speaking in Florida to leaders of Latin American countries at his golf resort in Miami.

He said US strikes on Iran have significantly damaged the country’s military capabilities, claiming American forces have destroyed 42 Iranian navy ships in three days.

He presented the miliary campaign against Iran as a major success. Looking at his defence secretary Pete Hegseth, he said: “Pete, you are fantastic. You’re doing a great job. I’m proud of you.”