Lawmakers are due to vote on a bipartisan resolution led by Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna that would require Trump to obtain congressional authorization before continuing military operations against Tehran.

He said he was never ordered to kill a specific person but noted his Iranian contact had mentioned three people in connection with the plot: Trump, former president Joe Biden and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

Italy will send air-defence assistance to Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes launched in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday.

Azerbaijan said it was preparing to retaliate after two people were wounded on Thursday in Iranian drone hits on an airport and near a school.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that its campaign of strikes on Iran had already “shaken” the country’s clerical leadership, adding that it was continuing to “deepen the damage”.