Tehran's defiance comes after it retaliated for an attack on its nuclear site at Natanz with two direct hits on southern Israel

On Saturday, the UAE joined 21 other countries in agreeing to contribute to efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz passageway in the Gulf

The two direct hits tore open the fronts of residential buildings and carved craters into the ground

"Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometres toward an American target on Diego Garcia Island," Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a televised address.

The ultimatum, made just a day after the US leader said he was considering "winding down" military operations after three weeks of war

Pezeshkian tells Modi that there should be guarantees to prevent a recurrence of such 'aggression'

Modi condemns attacks on critical infrastructure in the Middle East region

Trump insists other countries should police Strait of Hormuz

It added that there was "no leakage of radioactive materials reported" in the area in central Iran

Tehran has started talks with Tokyo about possibly opening the strait, Araqchi told the Japanese news agency in a phone interview on Friday.

The narrow waterway, conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has been effectively closed to most shipping since the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran almost three weeks ago.

Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel meanwhile after supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei claimed to have dealt a "dizzying blow" to his country's enemies.

The US-Israel war with Iran has driven up energy prices

The Daily Star looks into fake war stories thriving on social media

Israeli military says strikes launched on targets in Tehran

On Thursday, drones struck a Saudi oil refinery on the Red Sea and caused fires at two others in Kuwait, as Iran stepped up attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure.

For a self-described Transatlanticist like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the language has been unusually blunt

Trump warns Iran not to attack neighbours over Israel's South Pars strike

Trump also said Israel would not make any ‌more attacks on Iranian facilities in South Pars unless Iran attacked Qatar

The repercussions of the Middle East war will be felt globally, Tehran’s top diplomat warned yesterday, as Iran’s huge Pars gas field was hit in the first reported strikes on its energy infrastructure during the US-Israeli war.