One suspected gunman was killed and two others were critically injured after a gunfight broke out near a building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, according to Turkish media reports. The incident was reported around 12:15 pm local time in the city’s Levent business district. Gunshots were fired outside the consulate, Turkish state television reported as footage showed armed officers taking cover as gunfire echoed through the streets.
Attackers were carrying long-barrelled weapons
Reports suggested that the attackers were carrying long-barrelled weapons when they opened fire near the consulate building. Police returned fire in retaliation, killing one of the assailants. Turkey’s Justice Minister Akin Gurlek stated that an investigation had been launched and there was no immediate information on the identity of the attackers or their motives.
In another development, airstrikes across Iran killed at least 15 people on Tuesday, while Iran fired on Israel and Saudi Arabia, prompting the temporary closure of a major bridge. The attacks came as Iranian officials urged youths to form human chains around power plants to protect them, as the latest deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz drew closer.
Meanwhile, Trump threatened to bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his Tuesday 8 pm EDT deadline to allow shipping traffic to fully resume through the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits in peacetime.
“The entire country can be taken out in one night,” Trump said. Notablky, the US President has repeatedly extended previous deadlines, but suggested this one was final, saying he’d already given Iran enough extra time.
Israel’s military warns Iranians in Farsi to avoid taking trains throughout the day
Israel’s military warned Iranians in Farsi to avoid taking trains throughout the day, likely telegraphing intended strikes on the rail network. “Your presence puts your life at risk,” the warning posted on X read.
France joined a growing chorus of international voices calling for restraint, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot saying attacks targeting civilian and energy infrastructure “are barred by the rules of war, international law.”
“They would without doubt trigger a new phase of escalation, of reprisals, that would drag the region and the world economy into a vicious circle that would be very worrying and, most of all, very damaging to our own interests,” the minister said on France Info television.
Tehran rejects a 45-day ceasefire proposal, says it wants permanent end to war
Iran choked off shipping through the strait after Israel and the US attacked on February 28, starting the war. On Monday, Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.
Early Tuesday, Tehran launched seven ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia, which authorities said rained debris on the ground near energy facilities as they were intercepted. Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. 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 (15.5-mile) bridge is the only connection by road for Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, to the Arabian Peninsula.
Elsewhere, activists reported a new wave of strikes on Tehran, for which Israel later claimed responsibility. Nine people were killed in the city of Shahriar and six more in Pardis in other airstrikes, Iranian media reported.
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