More than 34 people were killed by US and Israeli strikes across Iran from Sunday into Monday, as Tehran warned of a "more devastating" response to the attacks on civilian areas.
"If attacks on civilian targets are repeated, the next phases of our offensive and retaliatory operations will be more destructive and more widespread", a spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a post on Telegram.
The warning follows US President Donald Trump ’s threat on Sunday to strike bridges and power plants if Iran does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz by an extended deadline on Tuesday.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, urged Trump to put a stop to his threats, adding that Tehran would "respond firmly and swiftly to any imminent threat or act of aggression".
Parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf also said that Trump risked " dragging the United States into a living hell for every single family", accusing him of acting on the instructions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Dozens killed in strikes Despite Trump’s apparent postponement of the deadline to target civilian infrastructure to Tuesday, Iran was subjected to heavy bombardment throughout Sunday night and into Monday morning.
At least 23 people were reported killed in Tehran province, including 13 in an overnight strike on a residential area in Baharestan County. According to Fars news agency, four girls and two boys under the age of 10 were among the dead.
Among the sites struck in the capital was Sharif University of Technology, the fourth major university hit in recent weeks.
In comments to Tehran Times on Monday, the university’s president described widespread damage to campus buildings , with surrounding streets filled with rubble and debris.
The attack also damaged a nearby gas station, temporarily disrupting supply in the area, and caused damage to the university’s mosque. Images published by Tasnim news agency showed shattered windows and damaged ceilings inside the building.
The Israeli military said on Monday that its air force had struck three airports in the Tehran area overnight, targeting runways and control towers it alleged were used by the Quds Force.
Strikes were also reported elsewhere in the country.
At least six people were killed in an attack on the southern city of Bandar-e-Lengeh, while five others died in a residential area of Qom, south of Tehran.
Residents also reported explosions in Karaj, Shiraz, Isfahan and Bushehr.
Iran’s health ministry said eight hospitals in the capital had been evacuated, adding that 54 emergency centres, 46 medical units, 216 health centres and 51 ambulances had been damaged in recent attacks.
Among those reported killed on Monday was Major General Seyyed Majid Khademi, head of the IRGC’s intelligence organisation , according to Fars news agency, which did not provide further details.
Authorities also announced mass arrests across the country. In west Tehran, 93 people were detained for allegedly sending images and videos to American and Israeli contacts.
Dozens more were arrested in Khuzestan and Kermanshah provinces on suspicion of collaborating with what officials described as "US-Israeli networks". Iran retaliates across Gulf Iran continued targeting assets across the Gulf into Monday morning, with reported damage and injuries in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
A Ghanaian national sustained shrapnel injuries after an Iranian missile was intercepted over Abu Dhabi’s Musaffah neighbourhood, near Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts US forces.
In Fujairah, a drone strike hit a building belonging to the state-backed Du telecommunications company, causing material damage but no reported civilian casualties.
In Kuwait, six people were injured by falling debris and shrapnel in residential areas in the north of the country. The health ministry later said all six were in stable condition .
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted two drones in recent hours but did not provide further details.