Prince Reza Pahlavi vows equal rights after fall of Islamic Republic

The UN human rights office called for a prompt and impartial investigation into what it described as a “horrific” attack on a girls’ school in Iran.

Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the High Commissioner urged those responsible for the attack to investigate and share findings.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US forces “would not deliberately target a school,” after Iranian state media reported that dozens were killed on the first day of US and Israeli strikes.

According to senior executives at Chinese state-owned gas firms briefed by government officials, Beijing had urged Iranian counterparts not to target oil and liquefied natural gas tankers transiting the narrow waterway and to refrain from striking key export hubs such as Qatar.

China buys the vast majority of Iran’s oil, providing Tehran with a crucial economic lifeline. But the world’s largest energy importer depends more broadly on Persian Gulf supplies, with both crude and LNG cargoes passing through Hormuz.

Qatar accounts for roughly a fifth of global LNG supply and provides about 30% of China’s LNG imports, the executives said. The country is the world’s second-largest LNG producer after the United States.

Asian buyers take more than 80% of Qatar’s LNG shipments, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that India began rationing natural gas as countries across Asia moved to secure alternative supplies after conflict in the Middle East disrupted shipping and halted Qatari output.

Officials and executives in Japan, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Pakistan said they did not expect an immediate impact because some cargoes due this month had already arrived, but would diversify imports and buy spot LNG if the war drags on.

The Turkish government also plans to implement a fuel scheme to reduce the impact of rising global oil prices on inflation, according to Reuters on Tuesday.

Tanker traffic through the strait has largely stalled since US and Israeli strikes over the weekend and Iran’s subsequent missile attacks across the region.

According to US Central Command, the Strait of Hormuz is not closed despite statements by Iranian officials.

On Monday, Qatar halted production at Ras Laffan, the world’s largest LNG export facility, after an Iranian drone attack, marking the first full shutdown in nearly three decades of operations.

Chinese energy importers have been told Beijing is seeking to ensure vessels continue moving through Hormuz, the executives told Bloomberg.

Publicly, China has made limited comment. Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Monday that while Beijing supports efforts to safeguard national security, Tehran should heed the “reasonable concerns” of its neighbors, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

At a regular briefing, a ministry spokesperson said China was “deeply concerned” about the widening conflict.

Analysts say the immediate economic impact on China may be manageable, though higher oil prices could add to inflationary pressures.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it struck Iran’s leadership compound in central Tehran overnight, targeting “the regime’s most central and significant headquarters.”

It added that the site had been used by Iran’s leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and contained infrastructure involved in directing and financing regional armed groups.

The strike included the Presidential Office and the building of the Supreme National Security Council. It also targeted a site used by top officials for security decision-making, a training institution for military officers and other key infrastructure, the Israeli military said, adding that the compound spans several streets in central Tehran and is considered one of the most heavily secured sites in Iran.

The IDF said the strike followed prolonged intelligence collection and was aimed at degrading Iran’s command and control systems.

“I think that is a big miscalculation on the part of Iran,” Petraeus told 24 with Fardad Farahzad Show, arguing that striking Arab countries that had sought to avoid direct involvement could push them to contribute more directly to regional defense efforts.

US and Israeli forces, Petraeus said, have already “dramatically degraded” Iran’s retaliatory capabilities, though he cautioned it was too early to determine whether the decline in attacks over the past 12 to 24 hours signaled a lasting shift.

“I think it's premature at this point to judge whether or not that will degrade further or if the volume can pick back up,” he said.

Coalition dynamics shift

Petraeus said Tehran’s decision to target regional states – including those that did not allow their bases to be used for operations – may alter the strategic calculus across the Persian Gulf.

Many countries in the region, he said, are already contributing to an integrated air and missile defense network that includes US-supplied Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems, along with naval assets and aircraft capable of intercepting incoming projectiles.

While he stopped short of predicting expanded offensive participation, Petraeus said additional Western powers could also align more closely with the effort. “I’m confident they are all taking part in the defensive efforts that are ongoing,” he said.

Uncertain path to political change

Addressing whether military pressure could lead to political transformation inside Iran, Petraeus said any lasting shift would depend primarily on internal fractures within the security forces and leadership.

“The sad reality in such cases often is that the most guys with the most guns and the most willing to be brutal to the people prevail,” he said, cautioning against assumptions that external air campaigns alone can bring about regime collapse.

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  Iranians face war with fear, joy and hope

Petraeus described exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi as a symbolic presence who has outlined a transition toward an elected government rather than dismantling all existing institutions.

Ultimately, he said, momentum would hinge on whether influential insiders conclude that continued confrontation has become unsustainable, shaping not only Iran’s future but the broader balance of power across the Middle East.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday that the latest satellite imagery shows some recent damage to entrance buildings at Iran’s underground Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant.

The agency said it does not expect any radiological consequences and has detected no additional impact at the facility itself, which was severely damaged during conflict in June.

On Monday, the UN nuclear watchdog said it had no indication that Iran’s nuclear facilities were damaged in recent military attacks. “Regarding the status of the nuclear installations in Iran, up to now, we have no indication that any of the nuclear installations … have been damaged or hit,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told an emergency meeting of the Board of Governors.

The Natanz site is Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility and has long been central to international concerns over Tehran’s nuclear program.