Kathmandu, Sep 3: The Nepali government on Thursday informed the foreign diplomatic community in Nepal that the Himalayan nation would seek further international assistance for the recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by the recent Bhote Koshi floods.

The death toll from the Rasuwa flood disaster had reached 1,252 by Thursday noon, with 4,216 people remaining out of contact, according to the latest data released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).

The deadly floods also caused massive damage to infrastructure, including roads, bridges, public and private buildings, and hydropower projects along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors.

The Nepali government is currently seeking domestic and international support for the rescue and relief of people affected by the floods, including those who remain out of contact, many of whom are believed to be inside tunnels of hydropower projects.

However, the extensive damage to infrastructure caused by the floods will require significant additional resources for reconstruction. It is the second major incident to cause significant loss of life and infrastructure damage since the Gen-Z movement last year, during which 77 people were killed and property worth more than NPR 84 billion was destroyed, according to the government statistics.

“The Nepali government will seek international assistance for the recovery and reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by the Bhote Koshi flood after completing a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA),” Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said on Thursday during a briefing to the diplomatic community in Kathmandu on the Bhote Koshi flood disaster.

Ambassadors, heads and representatives of diplomatic missions, and representatives of international organisations, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the United Nations, attended the diplomatic briefing held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, the minister’s secretariat said in a statement.

During the briefing, Minister Khanal said a preliminary assessment was underway to determine the damage caused to houses, roads, bridges, hydropower projects and other critical infrastructure by the devastating flood. The PDNA will establish the full extent of the damage and identify the resources required for recovery and reconstruction, he said.

“Preliminary estimates indicate that a significant amount of resources will be required to reconstruct the infrastructure damaged by the Bhote Koshi flood,” Khanal said. “Once the detailed assessment is completed, the government will formally inform international partners about the resources required and request assistance for recovery and reconstruction.”

He also committed that the government would manage international assistance with transparency, accountability and clearly defined priorities. Earlier this week, he said the government was in discussions about holding an international donor conference to seek support for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.

Nepal had earlier organised an international conference to seek international support following the devastating earthquake in 2015. The donor community pledged as much as US$ 4.1 billion at the conference.

As rescue efforts continue, Foreign Minister Khanal made clear that the safety and welfare of foreign nationals remained a top priority of the Government of Nepal. As many as 583 foreign nationals remain out of contact, according to the NDRRMA.

“The Foreign Ministry has been continuously coordinating with the NDRRMA, Nepal Police, Nepal Tourism Board, Nepali diplomatic missions abroad and the families of foreign nationals reported missing,” Khanal said.

He said the Emergency Control Room established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nepali diplomatic missions abroad were helping provide verified information to the families of missing foreign nationals, facilitate the identification process and arrange repatriation when necessary.

Thanking diplomatic missions for providing information about their nationals who had been reported missing, Minister Khanal said such information was proving important in search, verification and identification efforts.

Describing the floods as a “Himalayan tsunami”, Khanal said the Nepali government was studying the causes and development of the disaster and was receiving assistance from relevant technical experts.

Minister Khanal said the Bhote Koshi disaster should not be viewed only as an immediate humanitarian crisis but also in the context of increasing climate risks in the Himalayan region.

“Although Nepal makes a negligible contribution to global emissions, the people of Nepal are bearing a disproportionate and heavy burden of the impacts of a warming Himalaya,” Minister Khanal said.

He stressed the need to translate climate justice, effective early warning systems, disaster preparedness and resilient reconstruction from paper commitments into practice.

“In this context, Nepal has already written to the co-chairs of the Loss and Damage Fund Board under the United Nations requesting immediate assistance,” Khanal said.

Washington, Sep 3: The US military is prepared to launch more strikes on Iran “any time we want,” President Donald Trump has said.

“It was a very heavy attack last night, and we’re prepared to do another one any time we want,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday (local time).

The US military “took out all of the new equipment that they tried to build along the Strait of Hormuz,” said Trump.

Iranian officials said Wednesday that the US strike on Tuesday night hit a wedding party in southern Iran, killing at least four people and wounding dozens of others.

The US Central Command said Wednesday it was looking into the reports and the US military “never targets civilians.”

When asked on Wednesday afternoon whether he really intended to rename the Strait of Hormuz after himself, Trump said: “No, no … it was just thrown out there.”

Trump floated the idea of renaming the strategic waterway earlier Wednesday, less than one week after he signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” amid escalating tensions with Canada over tariff disputes.

“Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump told a rally in Long Island last month that he would declare the strait a US territory, US media reported.

“After we finish defeating Iran — which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is gravely concerned by the renewed exchanges of fire overnight between the United States and Iran, his spokesperson said.

“The Secretary-General is deeply alarmed by reports of civilian casualties, including in a strike that reportedly hit a wedding ceremony in Iran,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday (local time).

Guterres condemns all attacks against civilians. He recalls that all parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the spokesman.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate cessation of military action, and urges all concerned to exercise restraint and refrain from actions and rhetoric that could further escalate already high tensions,” said Dujarric, noting that few countries in the region are immune from this escalation, with airspace and critical shipping routes continuing to be heavily impacted.

“Further escalation … would have devastating consequences for civilians and for the wider region and beyond.”

The escalation in the Middle East has had a devastating impact on civilians and added further pressure on humanitarian needs and operations across the region and beyond. In a region already facing many humanitarian crises, the escalation in the Gulf risks further deterioration at a time when humanitarian operations are already overstretched and underfunded, said Dujarric.

Guterres urges the United States and Iran to return urgently to diplomacy. A comprehensive and durable settlement can be achieved only through dialogue and negotiations, said the spokesperson.

Tehran, Sep 3: Iran’s Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi has said that 18 people were killed and 108 others wounded in overnight strikes by the United States against the country, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president’s office.

In a separate statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned in the strongest terms the latest US “acts of aggression” against the country, highlighting Iran’s determination to “decisively” defend its independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It said the US government on Tuesday night once again violated Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and attacked several civilian places and service infrastructure, killing and wounding a number of Iranian citizens and damaging public and private properties, reports Xinhua news agency.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Central Command said on X its forces had “successfully completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets,” citing “recent attempted attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members.”

Iran responded by attacking US bases and assets in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and the United Arab Emirates.

In the statement, the IRGC said that it successfully hit the living quarters and command post of the US Ali Al-Salem base’s American commander in Kuwait. The IRGC said that the action was taken as part of its operation against Ali Al-Salem Base and demonstrates that it has complete intelligence information regarding the US movements across the region, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

The IRGC said that it carried out a ballistic missile attack on a US Marines base, Camp Tition, on the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan in retaliatory action against the US attack on a wedding ceremony in Sirik, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

According to the statement, the operation in Jordan destroyed several facilities and helicopters, and American forces suffered heavy casualties.

The IRGC said that it destroyed a US surveillance balloon control system at an American base in Iraq’s Erbil in retaliation for the deaths caused by the American strike on a wedding ceremony in Sirik. In the statement, the IRGC said that its Ground Forces hit US bases in Erbil and destroyed a maintenance centre and warehouses housing technical equipment, IRNA reported.

It further said that several US personnel were killed and fuel storage facilities were set ablaze.