Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is preparing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he expected their conversation to “be in the interests of both countries”. Araghchi said late on Sunday night that he would have “serious and important discussions” with Putin in Moscow.

After initially favoring diplomacy, US President Donald Trump resorted to an extraordinary use of force against Iran on Saturday night, striking three of the regime’s key nuclear sites.

The U.S. struck Fordow, roughly 60 miles south of Tehran, as well as the Natanz complex to the southeast and Isfahan, southwest of Natanz, Trump said. The president hailed the attacks as a "spectacular military success," adding: "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated."