At least 400 people were killed and 250 injured in an air strike by Pakistan on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, Reuters reported citing a spokesman of the Afghan Taliban government.

Pakistan rejected the claim as false and misleading and said it “precisely ‌targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure” on Monday night.

“The visible secondary detonations after the strikes clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X.

The conflict that began last month is the worst ever between the neighbours who share a 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border.

The escalation comes amid wider instability in the neighbourhood where the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation have plunged ⁠the Middle East into a crisis.

The strike came hours after the U.N. Security Council called on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to immediately step up efforts to combat terrorism. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, which it says carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

The Security Council resolution, adopted unanimously, didn’t name Pakistan but condemns “in the strongest terms all terrorist activity including terrorist attacks.” The resolution also extends the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, for three months.

Pakistan’s government accuses Afghanistan of providing safe haven to the Pakistani Taliban, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, as well as to outlawed Baloch separatist groups and other militants who frequently target Pakistani security forces and civilians across the country. Kabul denies the charge, The Associated Press reports.

On Sunday, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the military has killed 684 Afghan Taliban forces, a claim rejected by Afghanistan, which says casualties are far lower. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry and other officials have said Afghanistan has killed more than 100 Pakistani soldiers.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is planning to delay a visit to China later in March by about a month because of the Iran war, the BBC reported.

“We’ve requested that we delay it a month or so,” the BBC quoted Trump as saying at a press briefing in the White House, adding that it was important that he remained available to oversee the war.

Trump said he had proposed the delay solely to make sure he was around to manage the war.

“I’m looking forward to being with him,” he said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We have a very good relationship.”

“There’s no tricks to it either,” Trump added. “It’s very simple. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the meeting’s delay would not be due to Washington’s request that Beijing help in the Gulf, or any trade disagreements.

Bessent said: “The President wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort… Travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”

The latest development comes a day after Trump told the Financial Times that he might postpone the meeting if China did not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway for the Gulf’s energy shipments.

He also called on other nations to help ships transit safely through the channel.

European Union foreign ministers showed “no appetite” to expand an EU naval mission in ‌the Middle East to the Strait of Hormuz for the time being, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

The EU’s Aspides mission – named after the Greek word for “shields” – was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea.

“Now, restarting the shipments of fertilisers, food and energy through the Strait of Hormuz is another urgent priority. Today, we discussed options to better protect the shipping in the region. The EU already has naval operations in place. We have Aspides that plays a key role in safeguarding freedom of navigation.  There was in our discussions a clear wish to strengthen this operation. But for the time being, there was no appetite in changing the mandate of operation Aspides – for now. While the Strait of Hormuz is at the centre stage, the Red Sea also remains critical. The risk that Houthis get involved is real, so we must remain vigilant,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas said at a press conference after the Foreign Affairs Council meeting. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on other nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to U.S.-Israeli ⁠attacks by using drones, missiles and mines to effectively close the channel for tankers that normally transport a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, according to Reuters.

“This is not Europe’s war – this situation in the region. We have the operation Aspides, as I said, in the Red Sea. The discussion was that it should be strengthened, because it does not have too many naval assets. It should have more. But the discussion on whether we are also extending this mandate to cover the Strait of Hormuz, to go north from the Muscat line, there was no appetite from the Member States to do that. As I said, nobody wants to go actively in this war. And of course, everybody is concerned what will be the outcome. What was stressed as well was the diplomatic outreach to have solutions,” Kallas added.

Rockets and at least five drones were launched at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad ‌early on Tuesday from areas around the city, Reuters reported citing Iraqi security sources.

The attack has been described as the most intense since the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.

Reuters reported citing an eyewitness that at least three drones ⁠headed in the direction of the embassy. The C-RAM air defence system shot down two of them while a third struck inside the embassy compound, from which fire and smoke could be seen rising, the eyewitness said.

Iranian backed militias have been attacking U.S. interests in Iraq in retaliation for the war which began on February 28, according to Reuters.

On Monday, Iran-aligned group Kataib Hezbollah announced the death of its ⁠senior commander and spokesperson, and Popular Mobilization Forces said air strikes killed at least eight of its fighters in the Iraqi ⁠town of al-Qaim near Syria.

Reuters reported that Iraqi security forces have been deployed across parts of the capital and closed Baghdad’s ⁠fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and diplomatic missions including the U.S. embassy.

The U.S. and Israel launched what they described as a pre-emptive strike against Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran was developing a nuclear weapon and posed a threat—an allegation Iran has denied. In response, Iran launched counterattacks, firing missiles and drones at Israel, as well as at U.S. assets and other targets across the Middle East.

Iran’s new supreme leader survived US and Israeli air strikes because he stepped outside for a walk in his garden minutes before his home was hit by missiles, according to a leaked audio obtained by The Telegraph.

The recording reveals that Mojtaba Khamenei was targeted in the same attack that killed his father Ali Khamenei and other members of the Iranian leadership, and his family. But he had gone outside “to do something” moments before Israeli Blue Sparrow ballistic missiles hit his residence at 9.32am local time on Feb 28.

The recording is attributed to Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol for Ali Khamenei’s office, who delivers a statement to senior clerics and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders and provides the first detailed account of what happened inside the supreme leader’s compound when it came under fire.

The Telegraph said the recording was leaked to it and has since been independently verified.

Hosseini revealed that Mojtaba Khamenei suffered an injury to his leg in the strikes, while his wife and son were killed instantly and his brother-in-law was decapitated, according to the report.

The body of Mohammad Shirazi, chief of Khamenei’s military bureau, was also “blown to pieces”. Only “a few kilos of flesh” could be used to identify him, Hosseini told the meeting, held on March 12 in Tehran’s Qolhak neighbourhood.

On Feb 28, Ali Khamenei and senior security officials were gathered for a meeting when missiles hit the compound. Mohammad Pakpour, the IRGC chief, Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s defence minister, and Ali Khamenei were among those killed.

Mr Hosseini said in the recording: “God’s will was that Mojtaba had to go out to the yard to do something and then return.

“He was outside and was heading upstairs when they struck the building with a missile. His wife, Ms Haddad, was martyred instantly.”

Mr Hosseini said Mojtaba sustained only “a minor injury to his leg”.

According to Mr Hosseini, the strikes targeted multiple locations within the office complex simultaneously and appeared aimed at wiping out the entire Khamenei family.

Mojtaba was selected as supreme leader on March 9.

He has not been seen since the start of the war or since his election. His only message to his people came in the form of a written message read on state television.

Israel’s Defense Minister ‌Israel Katz said on Tuesday that ⁠Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, had been killed in an ‌Israeli ⁠strike.

Multiple Israeli media outlets also said the ⁠strikes targeted Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij Resistance Force and other senior Basij figures.

There was no confirmation from ⁠Iran.

Katz said Larijani had been “eliminated” and that he and the Israeli prime minister had instructed the military to “continue hunting down” Iran’s leadership, according to the BBC.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media published a handwritten note by Larijani, though it was not clear whether it was intended as proof of the life of the senior official. Larijani’s note, published on his social media pages, commemorates 84 Iranian sailors, whose funeral is expected on Tuesday, killed in a US attack on their naval ship in international waters, Al Jazeera reported. 

Sri Lanka has declared every Wednesday a holiday for public institutions to conserve fuel as the island nation grapples with possible shortages in the wake of the US and Israel’s war with Iran, BBC reported.

“We must prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said at an emergency meeting with senior officials on Monday.

Nearly 90% of all the oil and gas flowing through the Strait of Hormuz last year was bound for Asia, which is the world’s largest oil-importing region.