Pakistan described its actions as a response to cross-border assaults, while Kabul denounced them as a breach of its sovereignty, saying it remained open to dialogue but warned any wider conflict would result in serious consequences.

For years, Islamabad has blamed Afghanistan for attacks inside Pakistan aimed at overthrowing the government, claiming the Taliban shelter Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan fighters.

AFP reporters in Kabul and Kandahar heard blasts and jets overhead until dawn, as Pakistan launched air strikes on the Afghan capital and the southern power base of the Taliban authorities.

Judges Jeremy Poon, Anthea Pang, and Derek Pang said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had "erred".

Analysts question whether Trump, who has ruled out deploying US troops on the ground, has a strategy that could unseat Iran’s longtime cleric-dominated government, which has proved resilient in the face of crippling sanctions and periodic mass protests.

The first attack on the British military facility since a rocket attack by Libyan militants in 1986, the incident represents a marked escalation in the conflict.

Shortly after the United States urged Americans to flee all Middle Eastern nations from Egypt eastward, smoke rose above the US embassy in Riyadh after it was hit by two drones, a Saudi defense spokesman said, although there were no immediate reports of injuries.

The shuttering will likely add to supply anxieties as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil consumption flows, grinds to a near-halt after vessels were attacked around it on Sunday.

One Chinese citizen was killed as a result of the conflict in Tehran, where Israel and the United States have been carrying out strikes in an operation that killed the Islamic republic's supreme leader.