Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel and the US of launching a war that was “wholly unprovoked, illegal, and illegitimate”.

“Our powerful armed forces are prepared for this day and will teach the aggressors the lesson they deserve,” he wrote on X.

Iran has used ballistic missiles and drones to launch wide-scale attacks on US allies and assets across the Gulf, after its supreme leader was killed.

Numerous attacks were made on Israel, with one destroying a synagogue in the city of Beit Shemesh and killing at least nine people. Another 450 people have been injured in the attacks.

Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait – all home to US military bases – said they had intercepted missiles fired towards them, but falling debris appeared to have caused widespread damage. Oman and Saudi Arabia were also targeted.

A drone strike at the US naval base in Bahrain on Sunday sparked a major fire, according to one official.

Three people were killed in the United Arab Emirates as ports and airports were targeted, and one died in Kuwait.

Three US service members have died in combat, and five others have been seriously injured, the Pentagon said.

But Centcom said that its forces had “successfully defended against hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks”.

The EU naval mission in the region, EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, said on Saturday that the IRGC had sent radio messages to vessels warning that “no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz” in the Gulf, through which about 20% of global oil and gas shipments pass.

The mission will bolster its presence in the Red Sea, Gulf, and Indian Ocean with additional ships, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday.

Iran later said that three oil tankers had been hit by missiles and were burning.