Hong Kong stocks close higher Monday

The Hong Kong stock market rallied on Monday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 1.05 percent to close at 26,433.70 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 1.10 percent to end at 9,467.22 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index jumped 1.83 percent to end at 6,171.08 points.

Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani on Tuesday urged the UN secretary-general and the Security Council to condemn the United States for inciting violence and threatening to use force against his country.

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Somali UN ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, who serves as the rotating president of the Security Council for January, Iravani accused U.S. President Donald Trump of openly inciting violence in Iran, citing Trump's post on social media platform Truth Social.

"This reckless statement explicitly encourages political destabilization, incites and invites violence, and threatens the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iravani said in the letter.

He also called on the UN secretary-general and the Security Council "to fulfill their Charter-based responsibilities by unequivocally condemning all forms of incitement to violence, threats to use force, and interference" in Iran's internal affairs by the United States.

Iran is also urging all UN member states to refrain from provocative and irresponsible statements or actions that violate the UN Charter, including the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Iran, the letter said.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Iran's mission to the UN accused the U.S. of trying to stage "regime change" in the country, using sanctions, threats, engineered unrest and chaos to manufacture a pretext for military intervention.

With U.S. officials repeatedly threatening to intervene, Chief Commander of the Iranian Army Amir Hatami has stressed that the Iranian armed forces are in a state of full readiness, warning that any miscalculation by "enemies" would trigger a decisive response.

Iran's Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh has also said that the country will respond forcefully to any attack and "defend the country with full force and until the last drop of blood."

The United States virtual embassy in Iran on Tuesday urged U.S. citizens to leave the country.

According to media reports on Wednesday, the U.S. is withdrawing some of its personnel from its military bases in the Middle East as a precaution amid heightened regional tensions.

Qatar has also confirmed that personnel are departing U.S. bases there over "regional tensions."

Meanwhile, media reports quoted anonymous sources saying that Iran has warned neighboring countries hosting U.S. forces that U.S. military bases could be targeted if the U.S. intervenes in the ongoing unrests.