- Israeli military warned Iranians to avoid train travel for their safety until 9 pm Iran time
- Iran rejected the US 45-day ceasefire proposal, demanding a permanent end to the war
- US President Trump threatened to bomb all Iranian power plants and bridges in one night if demands are unmet
The Israeli military has warned the people of Iran against travelling by train, signalling a new target for its likely escalation in the war that has raged through the Middle East over the past five weeks. In a message in Farsi, Israel's military told Iranians that their "presence on trains and near railway tracks" can "endanger" their lives.
"For your safety, we ask you to refrain from using trains or travelling by train throughout the country from now until 9:00 pm Iran time," the military wrote on its Persian-language account.
"Your presence on trains and near railway tracks puts your life in danger."
Tehran has blocked the internet across Iran for weeks, making it difficult for common people to access such warnings. However, Farsi-language satellite networks operating from outside Iran do broadcast such reports, allowing the information to make its way back into the Islamic Republic.
Israel also carried out a new wave of attacks on Iran early on Tuesday, while Iran responded with missile fire against Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbours.
Situation In Iran
The warning came hours after Iran rejected the United States' 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war, with US President Donald Trump's ultimatum to make a deal ticking closer with an expanded threat of strikes against the Islamic Republic to include all power plants and bridges.
The American leader said he is "not at all" concerned about committing possible war crimes as he threatened to bomb all of Iran's power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his deadline-- ending at 3:30 am Iranian time on Wednesday-- to allow shipping traffic to fully resume through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil transits in peacetime.
"The entire country can be taken out in one night," Trump said.
Iran has choked off shipping through the strategic waterway after Israel and the US launched joint strikes on February 28, starting the war. Early on Tuesday, Tehran launched seven ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia, which authorities said rained debris on the ground near energy facilities as they were intercepted. The defence ministry's spokesman, Major General Turki al-Malki, said the damage was being assessed.
The attacks prompted Saudi Arabia to close the King Fahd Causeway, a bridge that links Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain for several hours. The 25-kilometre bridge is the only road connection from Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, to the Arabian Peninsula.
