Israel-Iran conflict LIVE | Iran to close Hormuz Strait, vows to avenge bombings

Iran on Sunday vowed to avenge the US bombing of three of its major nuclear facilities saying the American strikes will have "everlasting consequences".

The US has committed a "grave violation" of the UN Charter, international law and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations, said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

"The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behaviour," he said.

The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran reserves "all options" to defend its "sovereignty, interest, and people."

Araghchi said he is travelling to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US action has granted Iran the legitimate right to act in self-defence including "through options that go beyond the delusional calculations of the aggressor coalition".

The 27-nation European Union has urged all sides to step back and return to the negotiating table.

"I urge all sides to step back, return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said.

The EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation on Monday.

The UK and many other nations have also appealed for calm.

Russia on Sunday strongly condemned the "irresponsible" US strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran, asserting that it "grossly violates" international law, UN Charter and UNSC resolutions.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, “The irresponsible decision to subject the territory of a sovereign state to missile and bomb strikes, no matter what arguments are used, grossly violates international law, the UN Charter, and the resolutions of the UN Security Council, which previously unequivocally qualified such actions as unacceptable."

Without naming the US, the ministry said it was "especially alarming" that the strikes were carried out by "a country that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.” It also called for the "collective" rejection of the "confrontational actions" of the US and Israel.

Noting that while the consequences of the bombing, including radiological ones, are yet to be assessed, the ministry said it was "already obvious that a dangerous escalation has begun, fraught with further undermining of regional and global security".

The risk of an escalation of conflict in the Middle East, already engulfed in multiple crises, has "increased significantly", it said.

The Russian foreign ministry said that the damage caused by the US attack on the global non-proliferation regime based on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is "of particular concern".

"The attacks on Iran have caused enormous damage to the credibility of the NPT and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) verification and monitoring system based on it,” the statement said.

Russia expects a "prompt, professional, and honest reaction from the agency's leadership without evasive phrases and attempts to hide behind political 'equidistance'," it said.

The ministry stressed the need for an "objective report" from the IAEA Director General for consideration at a special session of the agency, which it said is scheduled to take place very shortly.

"Of course, the UN Security Council must also react. The confrontational actions of the US and Israel must be collectively rejected,” it said.

The Israel-Iran conflict has entered a "decisive phase" after the US bombed three major Iranian nuclear sites Sunday morning, feel strategic affairs experts with some of them arguing it was Washington's "responsibility" to not get involved in the military standoff.

Former diplomat and author Rajiv Dogra criticised the US move and said only time will tell whether there has been a "radiation leak or if that has been contained in one way or the other" after the strikes.

Some experts underlined the old civilisational ties between India and Iran to say the bilateral relations will "suffer in the process" as the Iran-Israel confrontation has intensified with the US involvement.

They warned that if Tehran chooses to close the Strait of Hormuz -- the critical oil corridor connecting the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea -- in retaliation to the US strikes, the global economy as well as the Indian economy would be severely impacted.

"Iran naturally will look at all options that are available to it. Closing the Strait of Hormuz or attacking shipping going through it are the options that seem it (Iran) might exercise," Dogra conjectured.

If it does that, naturally all countries getting oil from the Gulf nations through the strait would get affected, in terms of supplies and eventually soaring oil prices, he said.

"So, it will be naturally hurtful for the world economy and the Indian economy. Besides our industries, even the common people who depend on petrol for vehicles will get affected," the former diplomat told PTI.

He said the US has simply played the role of a "spoiler".

"Even if there was a chance for things to deescalate, the US strikes have made sure that things would not deescalate quickly. As almost a sole superpower still, it was its responsibility that it should not have got into the act," he said.

Dogra said the US could have played the role of "stabiliser" in a situation which is already quite serious. Immediate resolution of this conflict doesn't seem likely now, he argued.

The former diplomat said that once the nuclear facilities of a country are damaged in attack, then "all bets are off".

"Because there are international regulations which forbid escalation to the extent that nuclear site is attacked. Radiation leaks can affect many many people and many many generations. Not just in the country where it is attacked but also in nearby nations."

Another former diplomat and strategic expert Dilip Sinha said, "The war has now entered a decisive phase. Israel had already gained air superiority over Iran. Now America is getting involved and it is causing such a heavy devastation to the nuclear installations of Iran.”

Iran's capacity to retaliate is "considerably reduced" now, Sinha said. He also echoed Dogra's views on the possibility of closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its ramifications, economic and otherwise, for India and other countries importing oil from the Gulf region.

He argued that if the critical corridor is closed, not just the supply will be impacted but oil prices will also go up.

Israel launched a military action under Operation Rising Lion against Iran on June 13, targeting nuclear facilities. Iran has since then responded by firing missiles at Israel.

"There is a fear of regional conflagration. But I don't see that happening because not too many countries have come out in support of Israel yet," he added.

Sinha also conjectured that it is possible for Iran to block the narrow Strait of Hormuz after the US strikes. If that happens, "India will be affected, and overall the price of oil will go up", he said.

President Donald Trump must provide American people “clear answers” on his decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites, a democratic senator said on Sunday, asserting that no president should be allowed to unilaterally march the country into something “as consequential as war”.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said the danger of wider, longer and more devastating war had dramatically increased after the US bombed three major nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — in Iran, bringing itself into the Israel-Iran conflict.

“We must enforce the War Powers Act,” he said, calling on all senators on both sides of the aisle to vote for it. The War Powers Act is a congressional resolution designed to limit the US president’s ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad.

Trump must provide the American people and Congress clear answers on the actions taken tonight (Saturday night) and their implications for the safety of Americans, Schumer said.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump ignored the Constitution by unilaterally engaging the American military without Congressional authorisation.

“I join my colleagues in demanding answers from the administration on this operation which endangers American lives and risks further escalation and dangerous destabilisation of the region,” she said.

Before the US strikes, Democratic Congressman Ami Bera said Trump needed to come to Congress and lay out the objectives and long-term goals of any US military action in Iran.

“There is no appetite in America for another prolonged war in the Middle East,” he said.

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has claimed that despite a surprise attack overnight on Iranian nuclear sites, America “does not seek war.”

Hegseth said it was important to note that US strikes did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people, a veiled effort to indicate to Iran that they don’t want retaliation on American targets in the region.

Hegseth said that a choice to move a number of B-2 bombers from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday was meant to be a decoy to throw off Iranians.

He added that the US used other methods of deception as well, deploying fighters to protect the B-2 bombers that dropped 14 bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s most powerful nuclear site.

He said that all of these tactics helped the US drop the bombs without tipping off Iran’s fighter jets or its air missile systems.