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Iran has rejected an ultimatum by U.S. President Donald Trump to lay down its weapons as violence continues to escalate across the Middle East.
Trump had urged Iran’s leaders to surrender, as the conflict intensified with missiles striking Israel and several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as American military bases in the region.
However, Iranian national security official Ali Larijani confirmed that the country would not negotiate with the United States.
Israel also launched strikes on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, after the militant group Hezbollah fired missiles across the border. Meanwhile, a fighter jet crashed over Kuwait near a U.S. military base early Monday.
It remains unclear whether the aircraft was shot down by an Iranian missile, struck by U.S. air defence systems, or brought down by a technical malfunction.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 31 people were killed in the strikes. The attacks followed joint U.S. and Israeli bombardments of targets across Iran on Sunday as part of an intensifying military campaign, which came after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
