US President Donald Trump has claimed that his administration’s illegal military actions against Iran prevented a nuclear conflict that would have evolved into "World War III." Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stated that had he not "decimated" Iran’s nuclear programme, Tehran would have possessed a nuclear weapon within a month and used it against Israel and the wider Middle East.

 

“A nuclear war that would have evolved into World War III, and more important, this is a war that there would have been nothing left,” Trump said. He reiterated that Iran currently has "no navy, no air force, no anti-aircraft weapons, and no leadership." 

 

Referring to communications between Washington DC and Tehran, he remarked, “My biggest problem is I have no idea who we’re talking to because nobody ever heard of any of these people, they’re all dead.”

 

Trump also noted that while the US is destroying Iranian minelaying ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the threat to navigation remains. “All it takes is one,” he said, adding that “it’s a little unfair. You win a war, but they have no right to be doing what they’re doing.”

 

The Israeli government has also released images showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering the "elimination" of senior Iranian figures. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz claimed that Iran’s National Security Chief Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary head Gholamreza Soleimani were killed in overnight strikes. 

 

While Israeli officials told Reuters that Larijani was a specific target of raids in Tehran, Shiraz, and Tabriz, his fate remains unconfirmed.

 

A handwritten letter in Farsi was recently posted to Larijani’s X account, purportedly written for the funerals of Iranian navy personnel. If Larijani’s death is confirmed, he would be the most senior official killed since the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the conflict.

 

The Israeli military confirmed that dozens of jets targeted Iranian security command centres, including the Intelligence Ministry and Basij militia sites. Meanwhile, Iran’s internet blackout has entered its 18th day. Tehran’s governor, Mohammad Sadegh Motamadian, reported that 12,000 buildings in the capital have been damaged or destroyed, with at least 503 deaths and 5,700 injuries recorded in the province so far.

 

Regional spillover continues as the UAE Ministry of Defence confirmed its air defences intercepted missiles and drones targeting the country. Similar interceptions were reported in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where six drones were destroyed in the eastern region. British Airways has suspended all flights to the Middle East until the end of May.

 

In response to the strikes, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that the US would not dictate the post-war order in the Middle East. “The order here will change, but it will not be an order in which the will of the United States prevails,” he said, calling for a "regional, indigenous order."

 

China has announced it will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq to alleviate the humanitarian impact of the three-week conflict.