- Blasts over Jerusalem -

Several blasts sounded in Jerusalem, AFP journalists said, after the military issued an alert over incoming Iranian missiles.

At least four blasts were heard as sirens rang out in the city, and the military warned residents to take cover after it "identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel".

- China condemns -

China's foreign minister Wang Yi said that US and Israeli attacks on Iran were a violation of international law, Chinese state media reported, as he held calls with his EU, German and Saudi counterparts.

Wang also stressed that the role of the UN Security Council -- of which China is a permanent member -- "should prevent the escalation of conflict", state broadcaster CCTV said, as the international body debates a draft resolution on the use of force in the Strait of Hormuz.

- Bridge struck -

US-Israeli strikes hit the B1 bridge near Tehran, which had already been hit around an hour earlier, Iranian state TV reported, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties.

The later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike.

- Expelled -

Argentina expelled Iran's diplomatic envoy, Mohsen Soltani Tehrani, following "false, offensive and baseless accusations" by Tehran, the foreign ministry said.

- 'Wider war' -

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned that the Middle East conflict risked spiraling into a wider war, and called for an immediate halt to US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian attacks on its neighbours.

"We are on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the Middle East with dramatic impacts around the globe," the secretary-general told reporters in New York.

- Food disaster -

Italy's foreign minister called for the establishment of a "humanitarian corridor" for fertiliser and other essentials through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid a food disaster, particularly among vulnerable nations in Africa.

- Arrest -

Iranian authorities have arrested the prize-winning rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, her daughter said on Thursday, as activists accuse the Islamic republic of cracking down on civil society during the war with Israel and the United States.

- Putin, Saudi prince call -

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for intensifying political and diplomatic efforts to end the war during a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The call comes after Ukraine signed an air-defence deal with Saudi Arabia as the Gulf nation grapples with Iranian drone attacks.

- Katz vows revenge -

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Thursday warned Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem about the escalating attacks during the ongoing Jewish holidays.

"I have a clear message for Naim Qassem... you and your associates will pay an extraordinarily heavy price for the intensified rocket fire directed at Israeli citizens as they gathered to celebrate Passover Seder," Katz said in a video statement.

- 'Refused' -

Neutral Austria has rejected all US requests for military overflights of its territory since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, a defence ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

"There have indeed been requests and they were refused from the outset," Colonel Michael Bauer said, adding that every time a similar request "involves a country at war, it is refused".

- Iran steel plants shutter -

Iran's two largest steel plants have been forced out of action by several waves of US and Israeli attacks, the companies have said.

"Our initial estimate is that restarting these units will take at least six months and up to one year," Mehran Pakbin, deputy head of operations at the Khuzestan Steel Company, was quoted as saying by the Mizan Online website.

Mobarakeh Steel Company in central Isfahan province said its production lines had "completely shut down".

- 'Recklessness' -

British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper stressed Thursday the "urgent need" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as she convened a meeting of more than 40 countries on the vital shipping route.

Cooper said Iran's "recklessness" in blockading the waterway was "hitting our global economic security" as she kicked off the virtual meeting. The strait has been virtually closed since the US-Israeli war against Iran started on February 28.