Iran struck two communities near Israel's main nuclear research site late Saturday, leaving several people seriously injured, hours after its own Natanz main nuclear enrichment site was hit, as the war spun into a dangerous new direction at the start of its fourth week.

President Donald Trump is facing perhaps the most daunting question of the war with Iran, one that could define his time in office: Will he put US troops on the ground in Iran to secure some 970 pounds of enriched uranium that Tehran could potentially use to build nuclear weapons?

Iran launched strikes toward Israel and neighbouring Gulf countries early Wednesday, with explosions heard in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and interceptions reported in Saudi Arabia.

Ali Larijani, a top Iranian security official and a conservative force within Iran's theocracy, was killed in an Israeli strike, Iranian authorities confirmed Tuesday. He was 67.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration's war in Iran.

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has strongly criticised Israel after reports that it targeted Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani, calling such actions illegal.

Iranian officials have claimed that they have not responded to private communication from the United States seeking talks, even as public statements from US President Donald Trump suggest that Tehran is keen to negotiate amid the ongoing conflict.