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The United States military has said its forces have destroyed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and control facilities and air defence installations as heavy US-Israel attacks on Iran continued for a fourth day and Tehran retaliated across the region.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East, said on Tuesday it also destroyed air defence installations as well as missile and drone launch sites. It provided no evidence for its claims.

“We will continue to take decisive action against imminent threats posed by the Iranian regime,” it posted on X.

On Monday, CENTCOM claimed US forces had struck more than 1,250 targets in Iran and destroyed 11 Iranian ships.

Meanwhile, it confirmed that six US service personnel have been killed so far, all in Iran’s retaliatory attacks over the ⁠weekend on Kuwait.

Kuwait mistakenly shot down three US F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian attack, it added. All six crew members ejected and were safely recovered.

Thirteen Iranian soldiers have been killed in a US-Israeli strike on a military base in Kerman province, according to the Iranian army. The attack targeted the base in the south of the country.

Meanwhile, the ISNA agency reports that five members of the IRGC’s air force and navy have been killed in US-Israeli attacks on the cities of Jam and Dir in the central province of Bushehr.

The war looks unlikely to end soon as US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington has “the capability to go far longer” than its projected four-to-five-week timeframe for its military operations against Iran.

Israeli attacks on Iran continue

Across the Iranian capital, Tehran, the sound of explosions rang out through the night and into the early morning hours on Tuesday.

Iran’s Mehr news agency also reported that explosions have been heard in the cities of Isfahan and Shiraz.

Israel’s air force was carrying out multiple operations against Iran’s air defence system and eliminating several of its forces, according to military spokesman Avichay Adraee.

In a post on X, Adraee said Israeli aircraft targeted several personnel who were operating Iran’s defence systems, including its radar systems as well as missile launchers.

He also said Israel’s Air Force attacked sites affiliated with Iran’s ballistic missile launch platforms.

On another front in the widening conflict, the Israeli army launched simultaneous attacks on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Tuesday on positions purportedly belonging to Hezbollah.

The announcement followed Israeli air strikes early Monday on Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon that killed at least 52 people and injured 154, according to state-run media.

Hezbollah earlier said it had launched an attack on the Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel, targeting radar sites and control rooms at the base by deploying “a swarm of drones” at dawn on Tuesday.

UN ‘deeply alarmed’ by attacks on civilians, schools and hospitals

Top UN officials have warned about the “serious” threat to children following the rapidly escalating military operations in Iran and across the region.

“We are deeply alarmed by attacks on civilians, including civilian infrastructures, schools, and hospitals. Schools and hospitals must not be attacked,” the special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict, Vanessa Frazier, and the special representative of the secretary-general on violence against children, Najat Maalla M’jid, said in a joint statement.

The officials called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, stressing that “maximum restraint is imperative, and full compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law must be ensured at all times by all parties.”

Real Madrid have been handed a shock home defeat by Getafe – their second consecutive loss in the Spanish football league, leaving them four points behind leaders Barcelona.

Martin ‌Satriano’s superb first-half volley earned Getafe a stunning 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Monday.

Real dominated possession from kickoff and controlled the game but ⁠failed to turn pressure into goals, squandering several chances in an ill-tempered contest.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s side were left exposed in the 39th minute when a half-cleared cross dropped invitingly on the edge of the box, and Satriano struck a fierce volley into the top left corner.

Madrid forward Franco Mastantuono was sent off in stoppage time for apparent dissent, making a bad night worse for Los Blancos.

“Obviously, it’s a match where we could have done things better, but I think my players tried and we had more clear chances than them,” Arbeloa told reporters.

“However, in football, deserving isn’t enough, and Getafe played a great game.”

With French superstar Kylian Mbappe in France to treat a knee sprain, Madrid lined up with Gonzalo Garcia in attack alongside Brazilian star Vinicius Junior.

The Bernabeu crowd responded with boos at half-time, prompting Arbeloa to introduce Dani Carvajal, Dean Huijsen and Rodrygo, ‌but the changes had little effect.

Real Madrid were beaten at Osasuna last weekend, allowing rivals Barca to overtake them in the title race, and Hansi Flick’s side stretched their lead by thrashing Villarreal on Saturday.

Vinicius, in excellent form in 2026 after an inconsistent start to the season, spurned a fine early chance. The winger burst through on goal, but David Soria saved well with his leg.

A brilliant roulette from Arda Guler nearly earned Madrid the breakthrough, but Soria tipped over the Turkish forward’s strike.

Getafe were upset by a painful collision between Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger and Diego Rico, in which the German’s knee knocked the Spaniard’s head.

Uruguayan forward Satriano broke the deadlock with a delicious strike from the edge of the box after compatriot Mauro Arambarri nodded the ball into his path.

Soria, who had a fine game, saved from Vinicius in the second half, and the Brazilian called for more support from Madrid’s fans.

However, the team were not giving them much to get excited about, although Rudiger came close to levelling with a header.

It was a disjointed display from a Madrid side who visit Celta Vigo on Friday in La Liga, before hosting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Champions League last 16, unsure if top scorer Mbappe will be fit to play.

In stoppage time, Mastantuono was dismissed, seemingly for something he said to the referee, before Getafe were also reduced to 10 men when Adrian Liso kicked the ball away and was shown a second yellow card.

“Nobody here is throwing in the towel, this is Real Madrid, you don’t give up until the last game,” added Arbeloa.

“Four points is a distance that we can cut back, and we will fight for that.”

Jose Bordalas’s Getafe rose to 11th and were able to celebrate their first win at the Bernabeu since 2008.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Rwanda’s military and four of its top officials for “direct operational support” of the M23 rebel group that has seized large swaths of territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Rwanda has long rejected allegations from DRC, the United Nations and ⁠Western powers that it backs M23 and its affiliated Congo River Alliance (AFC), which captured key cities in the mineral-rich east, including the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces last year.

The US Department of the Treasury said on Monday that the rebels’ gains would not have been possible without Rwandan backing.

The US State Department separately added that M23 continued to capture territory even late last year “in clear violation” of a US-mediated agreement.

US President Donald Trump in December brought together the leaders of Rwanda and the DRC to sign a peace deal, predicting a “great miracle”.

But just days afterwards, the State Department noted, the M23 captured the key Congolese city of Uvira.

The Treasury Department said those included in Monday’s sanctions are Vincent Nyakarundi, the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) army chief of staff; Ruki Karusisi, a major-general; Mubarakh Muganga, chief of defence staff; and Stanislas Gashugi, special operations force commander.

The US said they were critical to M23’s gains.

“M23, a US- and UN-sanctioned entity, is responsible for horrific human rights abuses, including summary executions and violence against civilians, including women and children,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“The continued backing from the RDF and its senior leadership has enabled M23 to capture DRC sovereign territory and continue these grave abuses,” he added.

‘A strong signal’

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said in a statement that the sanctions “unjustly” target Rwanda and “misrepresent the reality and distort the facts of the conflict” in eastern DRC.

She accused DRC of violating the peace agreement by allegedly conducting “indiscriminate” drone attacks and ground offensives.

Rwanda’s government also told the Reuters news agency that Kigali was “fully committed to disengagement of its forces in tandem with the DRC implementing their obligations” under US-led mediation, but accused DRC of failing to keep promises such as ending support for militias.

The Congolese government, however, said it welcomed the sanctions, describing them as “a strong signal in support of respect” for its territorial integrity and ⁠sovereignty.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that the department “will use all tools at its disposal to ensure that the parties to the Washington Accords uphold their obligations”.

“We expect the immediate withdrawal of Rwanda Defence Force troops, weapons and equipment,” Bessent said.

Fighting continues in eastern DRC on several fronts, despite the accord signed between Kigali and Kinshasa in Washington, and a separate peace deal signed between M23 and the Congolese government in Qatar last year.

Though M23 later pulled out of Uvira under US pressure, the rebels still hold other key Congolese cities, including Goma and Bukavu. The US Treasury Department said on Monday that M23’s continued presence near Burundi’s border “carries the risk of escalating the conflict ‌into a broader regional war”.

M23 is the most prominent of about 100 armed factions vying for control in eastern DRC, near the border with Rwanda. The conflict has created one of the world’s most significant humanitarian crises, with more than seven million people displaced, according to the UN agency for refugees.