Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility Wednesday for the deadly sinking of a merchant vessel earlier this week, their second attack in 24 hours as they resumed their campaign against Red Sea shipping.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has threatened to respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, in his first public comments since a ceasefire with Israel was declared.

The 18-month-old boy, originally from Iran, was thrown head-first onto the concrete floor, leaving him in a coma with critical injuries.

The US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities did not destroy the country's nuclear programme and probably only set it back by months, according to an early Pentagon intelligence assessment of the attack.

The US president has announced a “successful” raid on Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan

Iran has accused International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi of distorting facts in a past report that led to Israel’s military strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, calling it a betrayal of the agency’s mandate.

On both Ukraine and Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin set out his narrative on Wednesday evening, mixing jabs at Europeans with praise for Donald Trump during a two-hour interview with major international news agencies.

President Donald Trump faces potentially the hardest choice of his time in the White House, as he weighs up whether the United States should join Israel's bombing campaign against Iran.

Twenty-one Muslim-majority countries jointly condemned Israel’s recent military strikes on Iran, calling for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened on Monday that the residents of Tehran will “pay the price and soon” after Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa before dawn, killing at least eight people.

West Jerusalem has asked the White House to take part in its military campaign against Iran in order to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program, according to two Israeli officials cited by Axios.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has vowed a strong and decisive response to Israel’s recent acts of aggression, promising that the regime will not go unpunished.