This blog is closing now but you can continue to follow our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and wider Middle East crisis on a new liveblog here. It includes a fresh summary of the latest key developments.
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Here’s vision of the aftermath of Iranian boats appearing to have attacked two fuel tankers that were seen ablaze after projectiles struck three vessels in Iraqi waters, according to port officials.
The ships targeted in the late-night armed boat attacks in the Persian Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Malta-flagged Zefyros.
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Three crew 'believed trapped' on Thai ship after attack
Three crew members aboard a Thai ship attacked in the strait of Hormuz are believed to be trapped in the engine room, the ship’s operator is saying.
Two projectiles of unknown origin struck the Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel as it sailed through the strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.
“Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,” it said.
The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members.
It added that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman, a report from Reuters said.
Iran’s Guards said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the ship was “fired upon by Iranian fighters”, suggesting the first direct engagement by the Guards, who have previously fired missiles or drones.
The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
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Analysis: Asia scrambles to confront war-induced energy crisis – with no end in sight
Donald Trump has pushed to reassure the world in recent days that the economic impact of his war on Iran can be contained.
Sure, one of the most important waterways in global trade has, in effect, been shut for almost two weeks – but it might reopen before long. In the meantime, US oil-related sanctions on “some countries” will be lifted. And besides, the entire conflict could be over soon.
Such vague claims, and the release of hundreds of millions of barrels of emergency crude from government reserves, soothed markets – at least for a while. Oil prices, which surged to four-year highs on Monday, fell back below $100 per barrel, before rising again.
But the war continues. Several merchant ships have been struck in and around the strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have declared they will not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the Middle East if US and Israeli attacks continue.
Across Asia, the world’s top crude oil importing region, the rhetoric around the ramifications of this conflict is less important than the reality. In 2025 the continent relied on the Middle East for 59% of its crude imports, according to Kpler.
But the Middle East can’t be replied upon right now. And Asian countries from Pakistan to South Korea have been forced to confront a brewing energy supply crisis.
The full analysis is here:
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The head of Samsung Display – a supplier for Apple and Samsung Electronics – has said the Iran war and surging oil prices threaten to drive up costs of energy and raw materials.
Chung Yi, who is president and CEO, said rapidly rising oil prices were adding to the tech industry’s challenges at a time when it was already grappling with soaring chip prices that were inflating the costs of phones, PCs and other electronics devices.
“When oil prices rise, the prices of these raw materials will also rise,” he told Reuters on Thursday, noting that many raw materials such as films were made from crude oil.
When this becomes a reality, I expect the cost burden to become significantly greater.
Samsung Display is a unit of Samsung Electronics and makes flat-screens used in Apple’s iPhones and MacBooks, as well as mobile phones for Samsung Electronics.
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Oil prices jump back above $100 a barrel
Oil prices surged more than 9% on Thursday to break back above $100 a barrel after fresh Iranian strikes on supplies and infrastructure in the Middle East overshadowed a record release of stockpiles by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Brent crude – the international benchmark – jumped 9.3% to $100.50, while West Texas Intermediate was up 8.8% at $94.92 about 3.05am Greenwich mean time, AFP is reporting.
The IEA’s 32 members agreed unanimously to release about 400m barrels of emergency crude, a third of global energy watchdog’s total government stockpiles and more than double it previous biggest release, it said.
The US said later that it would release 172m barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to reduce soaring oil prices.
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Here are some images from the war over the past few hours:
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Air NZ to cancel 1,100 flights
New Zealand’s national airline has said it would cancel 1,100 flights over the next two months, pointing to the impact of the war in the Middle East.
Air New Zealand chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar said around five percent of its flights will be cancelled, affecting 44,000 passengers.
The cancelled flights are mostly on domestic routes within New Zealand but will also include some international flights, he said.
Flights between New Zealand and the United States would not be impacted due to increased demand for alternative routes to Europe, Ravishankar added.
“With the unprecedented volatility in jet fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, airlines around the world are adjusting fares and their schedules to help manage the impact of these significantly increased costs,” Ravishankar said.
Keir Starmer warns against profiteering
British prime minister Keir Starmer has said the government will “step in” if companies exploit rising heating oil prices amid the Middle East conflict.
Prices have jumped after Iran launched retaliatory strikes following attacks by the US and Israel, pushing up energy costs and sending home heating oil bills soaring.
Ahead of a visit to Northern Ireland on Thursday, Starmer acknowledged that “global instability has real impacts on the lives of working people across the UK”.
He said:
Let me be clear, we will not tolerate profiteering or unfair practices.
If companies fleece customers or rip them off, we will not hesitate to step in, and that includes on regulation.
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New Iranian missile barrage launched at Israel, says IDF
The Israeli military said on Thursday that a new volley of missiles was heading for Israel, after an early wave of strikes that coincided with Israeli strikes on Tehran and Beirut.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel,” the Israel Defense Forces said on its official Telegram channel, cited by AFP.
“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.”
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Strike kills at least two fighters in Iraq – report
An airstrike killed at least two fighters in northern Iraq on Thursday, a news report is saying, citing sources.
Thursday’s airstrike targeted a base in the city of Kirkuk, occupied by the Hashed al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary coalition now integrated into Iraq’s regular army, the report from Agence France-Presse says.
The Hashed also encompasses brigades from Iran-backed groups, which have been targeted in attacks blamed on the US and Israel since the start of the war.
A security source in Kirkuk said at least “two members of the Hashed forces were martyred in an airstrike that hit their base”.
Search and rescue operations were still under way at the site, which had been engulfed by flames.
A Hashed official told AFP that three fighters were killed in the strike.
A journalist with the agency reported from Kirkuk that security forces had been deployed near the site, which is close to the city’s airport.
Pentagon officials have estimated that the first six days of the war on Iran cost the US at least $11.3bn, news reports are saying.
Seven killed in Israeli strike on central Beirut, says Lebanon
Lebanon has said an Israeli strike along the seafront in central Beirut killed at least seven people early on Thursday, hours after another attack in the heart of the capital.
The strike on Ramlet al-Bayda caused an initial toll of seven dead and 21 wounded, the health ministry said in a statement cited by the AFP news agency.
Local media published footage showing chaos and smoke along the seaside corniche after the strike on Thursday.
It was the third attack in the heart of the capital since the war in the Middle East began, after a raid on an apartment on Wednesday and a strike on a seafront hotel on Sunday.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said early on Thursday that it launched missiles at an Israeli military intelligence base in the suburbs of Tel Aviv.
It was the Iran-backed militant group’s latest attack in a major new operation against Israel, which said it had struck 10 Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut.
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Australia’s foreign minister has said most of the Australians who were caught in transit in Middle East airline hubs have now returned home on flights that made it out, but warned others there not to leave it “too late” to leave the region.
Penny Wong told told Sky News there were still about 13,000 Australians who had registered for assistance in the region, while more than 100,000 others were believed to be living in the Middle East.
She said it was “good” that those stuck in transit had been able to leave on several dozen flights that had made it out in recent days, but stressed the government was urging any Australian able to secure a seat out of the region to do so.
We don’t want to see a situation where commercial flights that are in operation … where they dry up. We hope that will not happen, but don’t leave it too late.
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Israeli warplanes have bombarded Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched drones and rockets at northern Israel on Wednesday night in a sharp escalation of the conflict.
Hezbollah let off successive volleys of rockets and drone swarms at Israel on Wednesday night, injuring two people, with most of the projectiles either being intercepted or falling into open areas, reports William Christou in Beirut.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later said they had carried out some strikes with Hezbollah in a “joint” operation involving a missile attack by Iran along with missile and drone fire from Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group. It their first joint operation against Israel since the war began 12 days ago.
The operation focused on “more than 50 targets” on Israeli territory including Israeli military bases in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Beersheba, the Guards said in a statement.
Lebanon has been quickly becoming the most intense site of fighting in the region.
Israeli warplanes began bombing Lebanon nearly immediately after Hezbollah’s strikes. The skies of Beirut were lit red and windows around the capital city shook as Israel unleashed its most powerful bombardment of the southern suburbs yet in this round of fighting.
You can read the full report here:
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As video circulating online appears to show oil tankers filled with Iraqi oil in flames in the Persian Gulf after the reported attacks by Iran, Donald Trump assured his supporters at a rally in Kentucky that the war on Iran he started from his Florida beach club 12 days ago is already over and “we won”.
After Trump first shouted “Operation Epic Fury!”, the Pentagon’s name for the US offensive, and received cheers from his supporters, he added: “Is that a great name? Well, it’s only good if you win … and we’ve won. Let me tell you, we’ve won.”
“You know, you never like to say too early you won,” Trump continued, perhaps thinking of his predecessor, George W Bush, standing in front of a huge “Mission Accomplished” banner in 2003 and prematurely declaring a US victory in Iraq.
But then he plowed ahead with his own declaration. “We won. We won. In the first hour it was over,” Trump said.
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Iraq oil ports stop operations after tanker attack – official
Iraq’s oil ports have completely stopped operations while commercial ports continue to operate after an attack on a fuel tanker, an Iraqi official has said.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, the head of Iraq’s General Company for Ports, also told Al-Iraqiya News that one crew member was killed and 38 had been rescued, according to state news agency INA. He said a search for the missing was continuing.
Iraqi port security officials had said, as reported earlier, that two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil were in flames after being attacked by Iranian boats laden with explosives.
Al-Fartousi said a tanker loaded with petroleum products was in the process of loading when it was involved in an “incident”, the INA report said, also saying:
He added that “one of the smaller tankers involved flies the Maltese flag” noting that the vessel was hit by an explosion, though it remains unclear whether it was a direct strike or a waterborne improvised explosive device (suicide boat).
Al-Fartousi said the tankers were about 30 miles (48km) off the Iraqi coast.
The Iraqi government’s media cell has been quoted as telling INA that “two tankers were subject to sabotage”.
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US to release 172m barrels of oil from strategic petroleum reserve
The United States will release 172m barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve in a bid to reduce oil prices that have soared due to supply shocks from war, the US energy secretary has said.
Chris Wright said the release is part of a broader release of 400m barrels of oil agreed to by the 32-country International Energy Agency earlier in the day.
He said the release would begin next week and will take about 120 days to deliver.
In his statement on Wednesday, Wright accused Iran of having “manipulated and threatened the energy security of America and its allies”.
Trump had said earlier on Wednesday that he planned to tap the petroleum reserve.
The full report is here:
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US intelligence suggests Iranian leadership not at risk of collapse – report
US intelligence indicates that Iran’s leadership is still largely intact and is not at risk of collapse any time soon after nearly two weeks of relentless US and Israeli bombardment, the Reuters news agency is reporting, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
A “multitude” of intelligence reports provide “consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger” of collapse and “retains control of the Iranian public”, said one of the sources, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss US intelligence findings.
The Reuters report also quoted one of the sources as saying latest intelligence report was completed within the past few days.
The intelligence reporting underscores the cohesion of Iran’s clerical leadership despite the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the US and Israeli strikes.
Israeli officials in closed discussions have also acknowledged there is no certainty the war will lead to the clerical government’s collapse, a senior Israeli official told Reuters.
The sources stressed that the situation on the ground was fluid and that the dynamics inside Iran could change.
The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment, while the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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The war in the Middle East is likely to result in worsening institutionalised repression of Iranian citizens, UN-mandated investigators looking into rights abuses in Iran have said.
The UN’s independent international fact-finding mission on Iran said civilians in the country were caught between ongoing armed hostilities and repression that had reached unprecedented levels, which may amount to crimes against humanity.
Iran’s deepening human rights crisis “is likely to worsen in the wake of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the region”, the mission said on Wednesday.
Over the past 11 months, it had identified “a clear pattern that is directly relevant to what we are seeing today in Iran”, said the statement, cited by AFP.
The protection of civilians, including detainees, becomes acutely precarious during armed conflict, and in the aftermath, state repression intensifies, particularly where as now, a connectivity and internet shutdown is imposed.
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One dead after two foreign oil tankers struck by Iranian boats in Iraqi waters - report
Two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil are in flames after being attacked by Iranian boats laden with explosives, killing one foreign crew member, Iraqi port security officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
Iraq evacuated the 25 crew members from the two vessels and fire is still ablaze on both ships, he added.
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Hezbollah and Iran carried out first coordinated attack against Israel
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has confirmed that it carried out a coordinated attack on Israel with Hezbollah.
In a statement to Nour News, the IRGC said the attack involved the launch of missiles against Tel Aviv, as well as the “occupied territories of Jerusalem, Haifa”, and US bases in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, a senior Israeli defence official said Iran and Hezbollah had carried out a joint missile strike on northern Israel.
It marks the first time Iran and Hezbollah, which operates out of Lebanon, have conducted a joint operation against Israel since the conflict began 12 days ago.
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The day so far
Here’s a brief recap of the last few hours.
Donald Trump said the US is “not finished yet” when asked about the war in Iran. He boasted that the US has hit Iran “harder than virtually any country in history has been hit”, before adding: “We’re not finished yet.” Speaking at another engagement, Trump said the US had “won” but “we got to finish the job”. Earlier, he had told Axios that the war would end “soon” since the there is “practically nothing left to target” in Iran.
The Israeli military launched a “large-scale wave of strikes” on Beirut’s densely populated suburbs after Hezbollah launched what the IDF said were “dozens” of rockets. The IDF claimed the strikes targeted what it described as “Hezbollah infrastructure” in the Dahieh suburb of southern Beirut. Israel’s renewed bombing campaign across Lebanon and its invasion of border areas with ground troops have killed more than 570 people, according to Lebanese authorities. This includes at least 83 children, according to Unicef. About 750,000 people have been displaced after being forced to flee the violence, sparking a growing humanitarian disaster.
The Israeli military said is prepared to continue its war with Iran for “as long as necessary”. “We as an army are prepared to continue the campaign as long as necessary,” a spokesperson said, as quoted by Reuters. Earlier, the Isreali defence minister, Israel Katz, conveyed similar sentiments, saying that the war “will continue without any time limit”.
Iran’s UN ambassador said a UN security council resolution demanding that Tehran stop its “egregious” attacks on Gulf nations is an “injustice against my country” – adding that Iran is the “main victim of a clear act of aggression”. “The decision distorts the facts on the ground and ignores the root causes of the current crisis,” Amir Saeid Iravani said. “The attack on us began with the assassination of the supreme leader and officials, which led to the deaths of thousands of victims.”
Condemning “heinous crimes and lethal aggression” from the US and Israel, Iravani said more than 1,348 civilians have been killed and more than 17,000 injured since Washington and Tel Aviv launched their joint attack on 28 February. More than 19,000 civilian sites – including 16,191 residential homes, 77 medical facilities and 65 schools – have been damaged, he said.
Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, demanded that reparations and security guarantees be included in any agreement to end the war started by the United States and Israel. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has said that Donald Trump will decide when to end the war on Iran, and the US president has demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender” before that happens.
Donald Trump evaded a question about the bombing of an Iranian girls’ school that killed at least 175 people, most of them children. A preliminary investigation found that the US is to blame for the strike, according to a report from the New York Times. When asked whether he takes responsibility for the attack, the US president simply replied: “I don’t know about it.” More on that here.
Oman’s civil defence is working on containing a fire in fuel tanks at the port in Salalah, Oman’s state news agency reported, after drones struck oil storage facilities there.
Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE all said they had successfully intercepted Iranian drones and missiles against their territories.
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US intelligence sees direct attacks by Iran on oil tankers as greater risk than mines
US intelligence reporting sees direct attacks by Iran as the greatest threat to oil tankers going through the strait of Hormuz, the key transit passage for the global oil trade that has been effectively shut down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The Trump administration, spooked by possible preparations by Iran to mine the strait, carried out strikes against 16 mine-laying vessels near the strait on Tuesday. US Central Command posted a video showing munitions hitting nine vessels, most of which were moored as they were struck.
But the more potent threat remains the risk of a direct attack by Iran at scale – for instance, a swarm of one-way attack drones or a series of shore-to-ship ballistic missiles, according to two people familiar with the intelligence who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.
The problem comes because just one missile or drone slipping through defenses could decimate or sink a tanker, giving Iran leverage even as the US launched what a senior administration official described as its largest attack against Iran in the conflict to date.
As a result, even if US navy destroyers escorted the tankers, they might not be able to intercept every incoming missile, and even in the event the Trump administration provides risk insurance directly to operators, ships’ crews would still need to be convinced to pilot the vessels through the strait.
Here’s the full report:
UAE air defences intercept new wave of Iranian missiles and drones
UAE air defence systems have successfully intercepted 6 ballistic missiles, 7 cruise missiles, and 39 drones launched from Iran on Wednesday, the country’s defence ministry said in a statement.
Since the start of the “brazen Iranian aggression”, UAE air defences have neutralised a total of 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,514 drones, it added.
The ministry said these repeated attacks have resulted in six deaths and wounded 131.
Iranian ambassador to UN condemns 'clear injustice against my country'
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations earlier addressed the UN security council after it voted in favour of a draft resolution demanding that Tehran stop its “egregious” attacks on Gulf nations.
“The decision is a clear injustice against my country, which is the main victim of a clear and unambiguous act of aggression,” Amir Saeid Iravani said.
The decision distorts the facts on the ground and ignores the root causes of the current crisis.
The attack on us began with the assassination of the supreme leader and officials, which led to the deaths of thousands of victims.
Condemning “heinous crimes and lethal aggression” from the US and Israel, Iravani said more than 1,348 civilians have been killed and more than 17,000 injured since Washington and Tel Aviv launched their joint attack on 28 February.
More than 19,000 civilian sites – including 16,191 residential homes, 77 medical facilities and 65 schools – have been damaged, he said.
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Kuwait intercepts hostile missile and drone attacks
The Kuwaiti army said a short while ago that national air defence systems were responding to hostile missile and drone attacks.
US has 'got to finish the job' in Iran, Trump says
Donald Trump said that Iran didn’t know “what the hell hit them” when the US and Israel launched war on Tehran 12 days ago, and repeated his baseless claims that Iran was planning “to try to take over the Middle East” and “knock out Israel”.
He went on to say that “we won”, but the United States will stay in the fight to finish the job against Iran.
“You never like to say too early you won. We won,” Trump said. “In the first hour it was over.”
He added, “We got to finish the job.”
After [Operation] Midnight Hammer, we figured that’ll be the end of them for a while. But they started again.
That’s why we got to finish it, right? We don’t want to go back every two years.
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Speaking in Kentucky, Donald Trump touted the US military as “better than any military in the world”.
In an apparent reference to his war on Iran, he added:
I didn’t know we’d have to show it off so much.
Qatar says Iran launched nine ballistic missiles at its territory
Qatar’s defence ministry said that Iran launched nine ballistic missiles and a number of drones at its territory.
In a post on X, it said that the armed forces “successfully intercepted all drones” and eight missiles, while the remaining one fell into an uninhabited area.
Oman works to contain fire at Salalah port after drones strike
Oman’s civil defence is working on containing a fire in fuel tanks at the port in Salalah, Oman’s state news agency reported on Wednesday, after drones struck oil storage facilities there.
The state news agency, citing Oman’s civil defence, said that containing the fire “might take time”, without providing further details.
Earlier on Wednesday, Oman’s state TV said that drones struck fuel tanks in the port. Citing an energy ministry official, it reported that there has been no disruption to the continuity of oil supplies or petroleum derivatives in the country.
British maritime security firm Ambrey told Reuters that no damage to merchant vessels was reported. Meanwhile, Maersk told Reuters that all operations at the port had been paused until further notice.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told Oman’s sultan in a phone call that the incident will be investigated, Iranian media reported.
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Donald Trump is currently speaking at a rally in Kentucky. He’s sure to make some more comments about his war on Iran, so I’ll bring you any relevant lines here.
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Rising oil prices and market turmoil as a result of the war in the Middle East are fuelling fears the UK’s cost of living crisis could get even tougher. Energy bills, mortgage rates and petrol prices could all surge in the fallout from the conflict.
So how much could the war tighten the screws on our personal finances? Lucy Hough speaks to the deputy editor of the Guardian’s money section, Rupert Jones.
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Israel prepared to continue Iran war for 'as long as necessary'
The Israeli military is prepared to continue its war with Iran for “as long as necessary”, a spokesperson told reporters late on Wednesday.
“We as an army are prepared to continue the campaign as long as necessary,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
Earlier, the Isreali defence minister, Israel Katz, conveyed similar sentiments, saying that the war “will continue without any time limit”.
The operation will continue without any time limit, as long as required, until we accomplish all objectives and achieve victory in the campaign.
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Israel launches further 'large-scale' strikes on Beirut suburbs
The Israeli military said on Wednesday night that it had begun a “large-scale wave of strikes” on Beirut’s suburbs after Hezbollah launched what the IDF said were “dozens” of rockets.
The IDF claimed the strikes targeted what it described as “Hezbollah infrastructure” in the densely populated Dahieh suburb of southern Beirut.
In the 12 days since the US and Israel launched war on Iran, Israel’s renewed bombing campaign across Lebanon and its invasion of border areas with ground troops have killed more than 570 people, according to Lebanese authorities. This includes at least 83 children, according to Unicef.
Some 750,000 have been displaced after being forced to flee the violence, sparking a growing humanitarian disaster.
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Iran must be paid reparations and have guarantees against future aggression to end war, Pezeshkian says
Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, has demanded that reparations and security guarantees be included in any agreement to end the war started by the United States and Israel.
He wrote on X:
Talking to leaders of Russia and Pakistan, I reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to peace in the region.
The only way to end this war – ignited by the Zionist regime and US – is recognising Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, has said that Donald Trump will decide when to end the war on Iran, and the US president has demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender” before that happens.
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Donald Trump went on to say that the US has hit “28 mine ships as of this moment”. This is up from the 16 that US Central Command said it “eliminated” near the strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
The US president also tried to assuage concerns about the whipsawing price of oil. “I would say it went up a little bit less than we thought. It’s going to come down more than anybody understands,” he told reporters in Ohio.
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Trump says 'let's see what happens' to Iran's new leadership
On Iran’s new leadership, Donald Trump added:
We knocked out twice their leadership, and now they have a new group coming up. Let’s see what happens to them.
A reminder that Trump has consistently expressed strong disapproval of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In recent days, Trump has said his appointment was a “big mistake” and suggested he wouldn’t “last long” without US approval. He has told reporters that he’s “disappointed” and “not happy” with the selection, having previously called Khamenei a “lightweight” and an “unacceptable choice” to succeed his father.
The US president has also declined to rule out the younger Khamenei as a military target (Israel, meanwhile, has vowed to target the new supreme leader).
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Iran war 'turned out to be easier than we thought', says Trump
More from Donald Trump, who has in the last few moments been speaking on a visit to a life science and clinical research company in Ohio.
He repeated comments he’s made this week that US military operations in Iran are “a couple of weeks … few weeks of excursion”.
Asked by a reporter whether the US-Israeli conflict with Iran is a “little excursion” or a “war”, Trump said:
It’s both.
It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war; for them it’s a war, for us it turned out to be easier than we thought.
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Why alliances in the Iran-US war are not simple – video
The Iran-US-Israeli war has plunged the Middle East into chaos, but defining the system of alliances in this war is a complex question.
The Guardian’s Beirut-based reporter, Will Christou, explains who is supporting Iran, who is supporting the US and Israel, and what their support actually equates to.
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An Iranian drone attack in Kuwait that killed six US service members in the early hours of the US-Israeli war on Iran was more severe than previously revealed, with dozens suffering injuries including brain trauma, shrapnel wounds and burns, multiple sources have told CBS News, with at least one requiring the amputation of a limb.
More than 30 military members remained in hospital on Tuesday night with injuries from the attack on a tactical operations center at the Shuaiba port outside Kuwait City, according to CBS News’s report.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that about 140 US service members had been injured so far in the US-Israeli war on Iran.
“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.
Donald Trump and several members of his cabinet joined the families of the six US soldiers killed in the strike during a “dignified transfer” ritual at Dover air force base on Saturday.
Donald Trump also said earlier that he was not worried about Iran-backed attacks on US soil.
Asked outside the White House if he was worried that Iran may increase it retaliation to include strikes on US soil, Trump told reporters, “No, I’m not.”
ABC News later reported that the FBI had warned police departments in California that Iran could retaliate for US attacks by launching drones at the west coast.
“We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran,” the FBI wrote in an alert distributed at the end of February, according to ABC News.
“We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”
The FBI field office in Los Angeles and the White House did not immediately responded to ABC’s request for comment.
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Donald Trump also evaded a question about the bombing of an Iranian girls’ school that killed at least 175 people, most of them children.
A preliminary investigation found that the US is to blame for the strike, according to a report from the New York Times.
When asked whether he takes responsibility for the attack, the US president simply replied:
I don’t know about it.
Trump has insisted in recent days that Iran was to blame, despite mounting evidence that suggests US liability and despite admitting that he “doesn’t know enough” about the strike. His administration officials are withholding blame until a full report is released. Trump has also said he is “willing to live” with the investigation’s findings.
Per the NYT’s report, the Tomahawk missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school was the consequence of a “targeting mistake” by the US military, which was conducting strikes on an adjacent Iranian base, which used to include the school building.
According to the officials briefed on the preliminary investigation whom the paper spoke to, officers at US Central Command (Centcom) created target coordinates for the strike “using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency”.
The officials emphasized that “there are important unanswered questions about why the outdated information had not been double checked”.
Here’s my colleague Peter Beaumont’s story on that:
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Asked if oil companies should be using the strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for shipping oil and liquefied natural gas where traffic has effectively ground to a halt amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, Donald Trump said only:
I think they should.
Iran has reportedly deployed about a dozen mines in the strait and reiterated today that any ships belonging to the United States, Israel or their allies passing through the strait could be targeted.
Trump says 'we're not finished yet' in Iran
Donald Trump earlier spoke to reporters briefly outside the White House. Asked what it will take for the war in Iran to end, he said:
More of the same. And we’ll see how that all comes out.
They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost their air force. They have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone. And we could do a lot worse.
He boasted that the US has hit Iran “harder than virtually any country in history has been hit”, before adding, “we’re not finished yet”.
Earlier, the US president told Axios that the war would end “soon” since the there is “practically nothing left to target” in Iran.
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The US state department said on Wednesday that Iran and Iran-aligned militas may be planning to target US-owned oil, energy infrastructure and hotels in Iraq.
In a post on X, the US embassy in Baghdad said: “Iran-aligned terrorist militias have also targeted hotels frequented by Americans throughout Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR).”
It urged US citizens in Iraq to “remain vigilant, maintain a low profile, and stay away from areas that could make them a target”.
“Congregating in areas associated with the United States or with groups of other US citizens could put you at risk,” it added.
The notice said that departing Iraq may be the safest option for Americans.
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Romania decided on Wednesday to let the United States use air bases in the eastern European country to refuel aircraft involved in the US-Israeli war on Iran, the country’s president said.
Parliament approved the measure after it was reviewed by the Supreme Council of National Defence earlier in the day. President Nicusor Dan called it a “temporary deployment of American military equipment and forces in Romania” in a statement following the council meeting.
The move would allow refuelling of aircraft and the deployment of monitoring and satellite communications equipment, Dan said.
“This is equipment that enhances Romania’s security,” Dan said. “I would like to emphasise that this equipment is defensive and that it is not equipped with weapons per se.”
The United States would be able to use the Mihail Kogalniceanu base near Constanta and Campia Turzii in central Romania for an initial 90 days, an official source told AFP.
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Why desalination plants are the Gulf’s greatest weakness
In 1983, the CIA determined that the most crucial commodity in the Gulf was its desalinated potable water.
Although the loss of a single plant could be handled, “successful attacks on several plants in the most dependent countries could generate a national crisis that could lead to panic flights from the country and civil unrest”. And the greatest threat to the region’s water supply? “Iran.”
That’s why, four decades later, the world held its breath on Saturday when Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, accused the US of “a blatant and desperate crime” by attacking a desalination plant on the island of Qeshm, in the strait of Hormuz. “The US set this precedent, not Iran,” he said.
The US denied responsibility for the attack. But the next day, on the other side of the Gulf, Bahrain announced one of its own desalination plants had been hit. The alleged culprit: “Iranian aggression.”
More here:
Iran’s armed forces threatened on Wednesday to target regional ports if its own ports were attacked during the war with Israel and the United States, a spokesman said.
“If our ports and docks are threatened, all ports and docks in the region will be our legitimate targets,” armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi said, according to state TV.
He warned that the armed forces “will carry out a heavier operation than what we have done so far” if Iranian ports were to come under attack.
“We call on the countries of the region to expel the Americans from their lands,” he added.
UK diplomats do not believe Iran has the will or capacity to keep fighting if Donald Trump, in the near future, declares a unilateral ceasefire, stating his war objectives have been met.
The officials also do not expect from the statements emerging from the White House that the US will seek to target or capture Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but will settle for highlighting the damage it has inflicted on Iranian state institutions and its ballistic missile programme.
Officials regard Iranian claims that they will not accept a ceasefire as bluster, pointing out that Iran accepted ceasefire at the end of the 12-day war in June last year.
Diplomats are also not expecting the Gulf states to shift their posture of refusing to go on the offensive against Iran, but instead want the conflict brought to an end as soon as possible. Damage to Gulf-Iranian relations will be long-term.
The UK is advising the Gulf states on cheaper options to shoot down incoming Iranian drones, probably the most surprising aspect of the conflict. Bahrain has sought to repel 176 drones and the United Arab Emirates more than 1,500 drones. RAF Typhoons have been helping to shoot down missiles in Qatar the UAE and Bahrain.
Overall, 55,000 British citizens have flown out of the region since the conflict started and seats are still available on flights out of Dubai into the UK, but mainly on flights that have destinations outside London.
More now from the French president Emmanuel Macron, who has said today that Iran’s military capabilities had been weakened but not “reduced to zero” in US and Israeli strikes.
“Considerable damage has already been inflicted on Iran’s military ballistic capabilities, but it continues to attack several countries in the region, and therefore its capabilities have not been reduced to zero,” he said after a video call with G7 leaders.
He added that he left it up to US president Donald Trump to “clarify both his ultimate objectives and the pace he wants to set for operations”.
Summary of today so far
Three ships were hit by unknown projectiles in the strategic strait of Hormuz abutting Iran. Two of the ships sustained damage, while another, which the Thai navy identified as a Thai bulk carrier, caught fire, forcing the crew to evacuate.
The International Energy Agency has ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history in an effort to calm the oil price shock triggered by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. All 32 members of the world’s energy watchdog agreed unanimously to release about 400m barrels of emergency crude, a third of the group’s total government stockpiles and more than double the IEA’s previous biggest release, the IEA said.
Iran’s military on Wednesday said any ships belonging to the United States, Israel or their allies passing through the strategic strait of Hormuz could be targeted. “Any vessel whose oil cargo or the vessel itself belongs to the United States, the Zionist regime or their hostile allies will be considered legitimate targets,” said the military’s central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, in a statement carried by state TV.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured in the 28 February attack that killed six of his family members, including his father, Tehran’s ambassador to Cyprus has confirmed. In an interview conducted at his embassy compound in Nicosia, Alireza Salarian elaborated on the circumstances in which Khamenei, 56, was injured, saying he was lucky to survive the strike, which levelled the late ayatollah’s residence.
The deadly strike on a primary school in Minab, Iran, that left at least 175 people, mostly children, dead was the result of an American missile attack, the New York Times reports. Outdated targeting data was the cause of the tragedy, with US bombs hitting the school complex which was previously part of a nearby Iranian military base, sources told the New York Times.
Iran has deployed about a dozen mines in the strait of Hormuz, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a move likely to complicate the reopening of the narrow waterway, an important route for shipping oil and liquefied natural gas. One source told Reuters that the locations of most of the mines are known but declined to say how the US planned to deal with them.
Israel pounded Lebanon with a new wave of attacks, setting an apartment block in central Beirut alight. Earlier strikes in southern Lebanon killed five people in the Nabatieh district and two in the Tyre district.
US forces have conducted airstrikes on more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, Adm Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said in a post on X. Cooper provided an update on Wednesday on US operations in the Middle East, in which he said US forces “continue delivering devastating combat power against the Iranian regime”.
The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said on Wednesday that the joint bombing campaign with the US against Iran would go on “as long as necessary”, insisting the strikes had inflicted heavy casualties on Tehran’s forces. “This operation will continue without any time limit, as long as necessary, until we achieve all the objectives and decide the outcome of the campaign,” he said, adding that the Iranian leadership was fleeing “like mice into tunnels”.
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Iran deploys a dozen mines to strait of Hormuz, sources say
Iran has deployed about a dozen mines in the strait of Hormuz, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a move likely to complicate the reopening of the narrow waterway, an important route for shipping oil and liquefied natural gas.
One source told Reuters that the locations of most of the mines are known but declined to say how the US planned to deal with them. CNN first reported the mining of the strait on Tuesday.
However, on Wednesday afternoon, French president Emmanuel Macron said there was “no confirmation” that Iran had deployed mines in strait
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Iran’s ambassador to Cyprus, Alireza Salarian, has told the Guardian that he also thinks the US-led war will end soon but not because it is being won.
“I don’t think it will go on for a long time because the US, even Israel, cannot afford this,” he said.
“They have had to bring all this military equipment to the region. How long, realistically, can they stay? Soon they will need more support from headquarters. They predicted [the war taking] three or four weeks, then Mr Trump said two weeks ... every day, they say something new.”
He described the US president as a diplomatic “phenomenon”, adding:
I don’t know what to say, a special man who does not believe in the rule of law, something new in this world.
The envoy said 1,400 of Iran’s citizens had been killed by the aerial strikes and the “number is rising every day.”
Asked if Tehran had a strategy to exit the conflict, he was unequivocal.
He said: “To Trump’s unconditional surrender, we say resistance, unconditional resistance. There is no other option.”
Estimating that the death toll from the war in Iran had reached 1,400 by Tuesday, Salarian said Tehran, a city of 14 million, had been emptied of “around half of its population”, with people fleeing to other cities as a result of the bombardment.
The attacks had not only taken the country’s political and diplomatic elite by surprise – despite the military buildup in the region – but proved, he said, that unlike his predecessors, Trump did not believe in the rule of law or abide by it.
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Deadly attack of Minab primary school was result of 'outdated' US intel, reports New York Times
The deadly strike on a primary school in Minab, Iran, that left at least 175 people, mostly children, dead was the result of an American missile attack, the New York Times reports.
Outdated targeting data was the cause of the tragedy, with US bombs hitting the school complex which was previously part of a nearby Iranian military base, sources told the New York Times.
The strike is the worst mass killing of the US and Israel’s war on Iran so far – and has been described by Unesco as a “grave violation” of international law. Most of the deaths were girls aged between seven and 12.
US Central Command created the target coordinates using data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the New York Times reported. It added that the findings were preliminary and that questions still remain over why the outdated data was not double-checked.
On Saturday, the US president, Donald Trump, declared that Iran was responsible for the attack.
He said: “In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran … they’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran.”
The president presented no evidence for his claim. His assertion has not been repeated by spokespeople for the US military, who have said only that they are “investigating” the bombing.
For more on this, follow our US politics live blog. My colleague Shrai Popat has the latest here:
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Iraq’s prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday that attacks targeting Iraq were unacceptable.
He told Pezeshkian that the attacks undermined efforts to end the war and return to dialogue, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.
Iraq has been among a number of countries in the region targeted by Iran in response to US and Israeli strikes.
UK home secretary bans al-Quds Day march
On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators were expected to march through London for al-Quds Day, an annual demonstration in support of Palestinian rights. But the march, which has taken place in the UK for more than 40 years, has been banned by home secretary, Shabana Mahmood.
Announcing her decision to ban the march after a request by the Metropolitan police, Mahmood said she was “satisfied doing so is necessary to prevent serious public disorder, due to the scale of the protest and multiple counterprotests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East”.
It is the first time a protest march has been banned since 2012.
More here:
IEA orders largest ever release of stockpiled oil to reduce crude price
The Guardian’s Jillian Ambrose and Joanna Partridge report that International Energy Agency has ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history in an effort to calm the oil price shock triggered by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
All 32 members of the world’s energy watchdog agreed unanimously to release about 400m barrels of emergency crude, a third of the group’s total government stockpiles and more than double the IEA’s previous biggest release, the IEA said.
Follow along with our live coverage here.
Report: Trump says war with Iran will end 'soon'
In a five-minute interview with Axios on Wednesday, Donald Trump said that the war with Iran will end “soon” because there is “practically nothing left to target”.
“Any time I want it to end, it will end,” Trump said.
The US president later said that the war “is going great”.
“The war is going great,” Trump said. “We are way ahead of the timetable. We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period.”
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US has hit 5,500 targets inside Iran, USCentcom says
US forces have conducted airstrikes on more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said in a post on X.
Cooper provided an update on Wednesday on US operations in the Middle East, in which he said US forces “continue delivering devastating combat power against the Iranian regime”.
“I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: US combat power is building. Iranian combat power is declining,” Cooper said. “We remain centreed on very clear military objectives and eliminating Iran’s ability to project power against Americans and against its neighbours.”
Update from CENTCOM Commander on Operation Epic Fury: pic.twitter.com/5KQDv0Cfxs
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 11, 2026
Cooper noted that on Tuesday, US conducted strike waves nearly every hour. He characterised the strikes as “unpredictable, dynamic and decisive” and made a point to say that the US military is not just “defending against Iranian threats”. “We are methodically dismantling them,” he said.
At one point, a US strike knocked out a large ballistic missile manufacturing facility in Iran, Cooper said.
“It’s not just about what is shooting at us today,” Cooper said. “It’s also about eliminating the threat in the future.”
The 20 crew members rescued from the Mayuree Naree, the Thai-flagged cargo ship that was attacked in the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, have been brought ashore at Khasab, Oman, according to Thailand’s ministry of foreign affairs, which said “efforts are underway to rescue the three remaining crew members”.
The ministry said in a statement that the Royal Thai Embassy in Muscat was seeking permission to travel to Khasab, which is currently a no-fly zone.
“Travel by car would take approximately 6 hours and would require passing through the United Arab Emirates. The Embassy has coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman to contact the rescued Thai crew members and has also been informed that they are safe. The Ministry is currently coordinating assistance for the remaining three crew members and will continue to investigate the facts surrounding the incident.”
According to statements released by the Thai Marine Department and the Royal Thai Navy, earlier, Mayuree Naree, which is owned by Precious Shipping Public Company Limited, was hit and damaged at the stern while sailing in the Strait of Hormuz after departing from the port of Khalifa, United Arab Emirates. There were 23 Thai crew members on board.
Here are some images coming out of Tehran today:
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the joint bombing campaign with the US against Iran would go on “as long as necessary”, insisting the strikes had inflicted heavy casualties on Tehran’s forces.
“This operation will continue without any time limit, as long as necessary, until we achieve all the objectives and decide the outcome of the campaign,” he said, adding that the Iranian leadership was fleeing “like mice into tunnels”.
Katz said hospital morgues in Iran were full, but insisted the casualties were not civilians. He added that strikes would continue in Tehran and across the country “day after day, target after target”.
Katz said strikes would continue “in order to allow the Iranian people to rise up, act, and remove this regime”, adding that “ultimately, that is something that depends on them”.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured in the 28 February attack that killed six of his family members, including his father, Tehran’s ambassador to Cyprus has confirmed.
In an interview conducted at his embassy compound in Nicosia, Alireza Salarian elaborated on the circumstances in which Khamenei, 56, was injured, saying he was lucky to survive the strike, which levelled the late ayatollah’s residence.
“He was also there and he was injured in that bombardment but I haven’t seen that reflected in the foreign news,” he told the Guardian. “I have heard that he was injured in his legs and hand and arm … I think he is in the hospital because he is injured.”
Explaining why the cleric had not appeared in public or made any statements since he succeeded his father on Sunday, he added: “I don’t think he is comfortable [in any condition] to give a speech.”
The attack had occurred on the opening day of US-led airstrikes against Iran, when the sprawling presidential complex in the heart of Tehran was targeted. It was the 10th day of the holy month of Ramadan, said the ambassador, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was at his residence with several members of his family, including Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra, who was also killed in the attack.
Iranian media reports suggested that Ali Khamenei’s wife, Mansour, died three days after the aerial strike.
Three US B-1 bombers were seen flying back to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire this morning after what appears to be the first bombing run conducted by the US Airforce from a British airbase since the start of the war with Iran.
Photographs taken around 7am show the B-1s, which can carry 75,000kg worth of munitions, returning from an overnight mission in the dawn light, though it is not known what if any targets were struck in the mission.
They were first spotted taking off late on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, declared “the most intense day of strikes inside Iran” was taking place.
Permission for US bombing of Iran from British bases were initially refused by prime minister Keir Starmer, who then changed his mind on the second day of the conflict, saying the bases could be used to strike Iranian missile launch sites.
Long range photography showed bombs being prepared for loading on Tuesday. Eleven B-1s and 3 B-52 bombers have been deployed to Fairford, which is a home base for US Air Force bombers in Europe.
Iran's military says ships belonging to US, Israel or allies are 'legitimate targets'
Iran’s military on Wednesday said any ships belonging to the United States, Israel or their allies passing through the strategic strait of Hormuz could be targeted.
“Any vessel whose oil cargo or the vessel itself belongs to the United States, the Zionist regime or their hostile allies will be considered legitimate targets,” said the military’s central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, in a statement carried by state TV.
It reiterated that Iran’s armed forces “will not allow a single litre of oil to transit” through the strait.
It comes as Iran’s revolutionary guards claimed to have fired at the Thai-flagged bulk vessel Mayuree Naree in the strait earlier today.
Updated
Today so far
Three ships were hit by unknown projectiles in the strategic strait of Hormuz abutting Iran. Two of the ships sustained damage, while another, which the Thai navy identified as a Thai bulk carrier, caught fire, forcing the crew to evacuate.
In more Hormuz news, US Central Command said that it “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump had initially said there had been “no reports” of Iran placing mines in the strait, but warned that if it had, they must be moved “IMMEDIATELY” or Iran would face military consequences “at a level never seen before”. US officials earlier told CBS News that Iran may be preparing to deploy naval mines in the strait to further disrupt the crucial shipping lane. According to CNN, a few dozen mines have been laid in recent days.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is “safe and sound” despite war injuries, said Yousef Pezeshkian, a government adviser and the son of Iran’s president, on Wednesday. State television had called Khamenei, 56, a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury. The comments come amid speculation over the health and whereabouts of Khamenei, who has not engaged with the public since he succeeded his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, three days ago.
The Israeli military said it had begun a “wide-scale wave” of strikes on targets in Iran and Lebanon. It followed the IDF saying earlier that it had struck key command centres of the Iranian armed forces in Tehran and Tabriz. In Lebanon, 84 people were killed in Israeli attacks and strikes just yesterday, bringing the overall death toll to 570 since the start of the conflict.
Iran launched missiles and drones across the Gulf, including toward Israel, the Israeli military said on Wednesday, and at oil infrastrucure in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said early Wednesday it destroyed five drones heading toward the kingdom’s vast Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert while Kuwait said it downed eight drones over the tiny, oil-rich nation. Bahrain also sounded sirens early Wednesday, warning of an incoming Iranian attack. The warnings came a day after an Iranian attack hit a residential building in the capital, Manama, and killed a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight people.
A drone struck a major US diplomatic facility in Iraq on Tuesday in suspected retaliation by pro-Tehran militias over the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Washington Post reported, citing an unidentified security official and an internal US state department alert.
Dutch carrier KLM announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling all flights to Dubai up to and including 28 March because of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The announcement came just hours after four people were injured when air defences intercepted two drones near Dubai airport.
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KLM cancels all flights to Dubai until 28 March
Dutch carrier KLM announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling all flights to Dubai up to and including 28 March because of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority,” the airline said in a statement, adding that KLM remains available to help with the repatriation of stranded passengers.
The announcement came just hours after four people were injured after air defences intercepted two drones near Dubai airport.
Thai bulk carrier attacked in strait of Hormuz, Thai navy says
A Thai bulk carrier was attacked in the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with the Thai navy accounting for 20 crew members members rescued so far, the AFP reports.
The Thai-registered Mayuree Naree was attacked in the strait after leaving Khalifa port in the United Arab Emirates, the navy said, adding that the specific details and cause of the attack are under investigation.
“Efforts are currently underway to rescue the remaining three crew members,” the Thai navy said.
The carrier is owned by a Thai transport company, Precious Shipping, the AFP reports, and was heading to Kandla in India.
The strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points. The straight, located south of Iran, would normally have about 100 vessels a day either exiting or entering the Gulf. About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait.
In response to the US and Israeli airstrikes, Iran has effectively shut the strait, attacking at least 10 ships since the start of the conflict. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier this week it will not allow even “one litre of oil” to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continue.
The US military said it attacked and destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz amid reports that Iran has begun laying explosive devices in the strategically vital waterway.
About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this week it will not allow even ‘one litre of oil’ to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continue.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that ‘if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!’
Here is footage of the attacks on mine-laying vessels, released by the US military:
Death toll in Lebanon reaches 570
Lebanon’s ministry of public health has updated the death roll to 570 killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict – 84 were killed in attacks and strikes just yesterday.
The number of injured has risen to 1,444, with 131 injured yesterday.
Among those killed was Youssef Assaf, a Red Cross paramedic, the health ministry said in a statement condemning the targeting of ambulances and emergency responders.
Here are some images coming in this morning and overnight from Israel, where air defences continue to work to intercept rocket attacks coming in from Iran and Hezbollah, forcing residents to take shelter.
Witkoff on Britain's support for US military action against Iran: 'too little too late'
Britain’s support for US military action against Iran came a “little too late” but Keir Starmer’s relationship with Donald Trump can be repaired, according to one of the president’s closest confidants, Steve Witkoff.
The comments by Witkoff, who has been Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, come after a series of public broadsides by the US leader against the prime minister an the UK’s position on American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Starmer sought to repair fractured relations on Sunday in a telephone call with Trump, after the latter had declared on social media “We don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won.”
That comment came days after Trump had complained that Starmer “took far too long” to allow US forces to use UK airbases, and later commented witheringly about Starmer to reporters: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
However, Witkoff said in an interview with GB News: “He has said, as you know that it is a little bit - it does fall into the category of too little too late, but I think they have a good, solid relationship, and hopefully they’ll be able to repair it. I go by what the President says, and the President says continuously that everybody is entitled to their point of view. But I think sometimes we detect that there’s not that feeling of gratitude.”
“I think the President’s position is that we do plenty for Europe, plenty for the UK, in the area of trade, in the area of defence, in the area of the support we give to NATO. And I think sometimes the response back, the reciprocity back, is a little bit lacking. I would leave it at that, okay?”
Updated
Under pressure from public opinion, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s position on the US-Israeli war on Iran has become more resolute.
Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, Meloni said that while we cannot allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, she also stated that Israel and the United States acted outside international law and that Italy is not at war and will not enter one.
“It is within this context of crisis in the international system — where threats are becoming increasingly alarming and unilateral interventions carried out outside the framework of international law are multiplying — that we must also place the American and Israeli intervention against the Iranian regime,” she said.
Updated
Here are some images coming out of Lebanon this morning, where the Israeli military continues to strike the southern suburbs of Beirut as well as the capital itself.
Updated
An unknown projectile struck a bulk carrier just north of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday – not far from the strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said in a post on X.
Earlier Wednesday, unknown projectiles hit two other ships in the strategically located Hormuz, UK Maritime Trade Operations said. One caught fire, forcing its crew to evacuate, while the other sustained damage.
Air defences intercepted two drones near Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, injuring four, the Dubai government said on X.
Two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national sustained minor injuries while an Indian national sustained moderate ones.
Air traffic is operating as normal.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency is reporting several attacks overnight and this morning in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military has confirmed carrying out airstrikes this morning in the Dahiyeh area, a suburb south of Beirut, and attacking overnight what its spokesman said was a Hezbollah headquarters in Tyre.
The low-paid Filipino workers caught up in the war on Iran
On 28 February, 32-year-old Mary Ann De Vera, a Filipino working as a carer, became the first casualty of the conflict in Israel. She was killed in Tel Aviv after being hit by shrapnel while escorting her employer, an older woman, to a shelter. Her employer survived.
The Middle East is one of the main destinations for Filipinos who work abroad, and the salaries offered in the region – in jobs ranging from domestic work and healthcare, to construction and engineering – can be many times higher those available back home. In the Philippines, those who go abroad to work are praised by politicians as modern day heroes, because of the tens of billions of dollars they remit home every year.
But such work comes at a high personal cost. They endure long periods away from children and partners, and can be vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment, especially in countries with a kafala (sponsorship) system, where workers are heavily dependent on their employers.
Over recent years, pressures have increased pressures further, with workers facing instability through the pandemic, and, for the 31,000 Filipinos based in Israel, repeated bouts of conflict.
A Sri Lankan court has ordered that the bodies of 84 sailors killed in an attack on an Iranian warship off the island nation’s coast last week be handed over to the embassy of Iran, local media reported on Wednesday.
The warship, IRIS Dena, was hit by a torpedo from a US submarine while it was returning from a naval exercise organised by India.
The court order was issued on Wednesday following a request from the Galle Harbour Police in the southern port city of Galle, the media reports said.
The bodies are currently at the morgue in Galle’s National Hospital.
Sri Lanka has also granted 30-day entry visas to 208 crew members from a second Iranian vessel who were taken in by the South Asian country after the vessel experienced engine problems in the same region, Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera told Reuters.
Iran's new supreme leader safe despite injuries, president's son says
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is “safe and sound” despite war injuries, said Yousef Pezeshkian, a government adviser and the son of Iran’s president, on Wednesday.
Posting to his Telegram channel, Pezeshkian said:
I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound.
State television had called Khamenei, 56, a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury.
The comments come amid speculation over the health and whereabouts of Khamenei, who has not engaged with the public since he succeeded his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, three days ago.
According to the New York Times, Khamenei was injured on the opening day of the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran, citing three Iranian and two Israeli officials who spoke anonymously.
Updated
Second ship hit in Strait of Hormuz, crew evacuating - UK maritime agency
An unknown projectile has hit a second ship in the strategic Strait of Hormuz abutting Iran, causing a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday.
It has been reported that a cargo vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile in the Straits of Hormuz which has resulted in a fire onboard.
The vessel has requested assistance and the crew are evacuating, the agency said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the agency reported another attack on a container ship 25 nautical miles (29 miles) northwest of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.
The Master of a container vessel has reported that the vessel has sustained damage from a suspected but unknown projectile.
The extent of the damage was unknown but all crew members were safe, it said.
The Hormuz sea passage, one of the world’s most strategically important choke points, would normally have about 100 vessels a day either exiting or entering the Gulf. In response to the US and Israeli attacks, Iran has effectively shut the strait, attacking at least 10 ships which were seeking to traverse it in the early days of the crisis.
Iran launches wave of strikes, as Israel pounds Lebanon
Iran fired missiles and drones at targets across the Gulf including oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and a ship off the coast of the Emirates, while Israeli and the United States struck targets across the region on Wednesday.
Here is a quick summary of that activity:
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said early Wednesday it destroyed five drones heading toward the kingdom’s vast Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert. It added that it intercepted and destroyed two drones in the Eastern Province.
Kuwait said it downed eight drones over the tiny, oil-rich nation.
Off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, in the Strait of Hormuz, a projectile hit a container ship early Wednesday morning, while United Arab Emirates officials said early Wednesday that its air defences were working to intercept incoming Iranian fire.
Bahrain sounded sirens early Wednesday, warning of an incoming Iranian attack. The warnings came a day after an Iranian attack hit a residential building in the capital, Manama, and killed a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight people.
Israelis were repeatedly driven into bomb shelters as the military warned Iran had launched missiles toward Israel.
In Iraq, a drone hit a major US diplomatic facility, next to the Baghdad airport.
Meanwhile, Israel pounded Lebanon with a new wave of attacks, setting an apartment block in central Beirut alight. Earlier strikes in southern Lebanon killed five people in the Nabatieh district and two in the Tyre district.
The US said it had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
Updated
South Korea rattled by US's hasty redeployment of missiles to Middle East
The US has reportedly started moving parts of the US-made missile-defence system, along with other military hardware, out of South Korea for deployment in its war against Iran – a move officials are downplaying, but which has raised questions over Donald Trump’s commitment to North-east Asia.
As the Guardian’s Justin McCurry writes:
The move, reported this week, has triggered doubts over Donald Trump’s security commitment to South Korea – the US’s most important east Asian ally along with Japan – and warnings that the nuclear-armed North could seek to ramp up pressure on its neighbour. Why, critics are asking, did South Korea invest so much political capital in a defence system that could one day be removed?
Read the full report here:
Democratic senator Chris Murphy has taken to social media to accuse the Trump administration of having '“incoherent and incomplete” war plans.
Murphy received a closed door briefing on the war, and claimed that the administration’s war goals “DO NOT involve destroying Iran’s nuclear weapons program”.
I was in a 2 hour briefing today on the Iran War. All the briefings are closed, because Trump can't defend this war in public.
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 11, 2026
I obviously can't disclose classified info, but you deserve to know how incoherent and incomplete these war plans are.
1/ Here's what I can share:
He said the goals were “destroying lots of missiles and boats and drone factories.”
But the question that stumped them: what happens when you stop bombing and they restart production?”
Following on from our previous report about an Israeli strike hitting central Beirut – AFP has reported the seventh and eighth floors of an apartment building were destroyed, as were nearby cars.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said that “the enemy targeted an apartment in the Aisha Bakkar area” in central Beirut, a densely populated neighbourhood close to one of the city’s biggest shopping malls.
AFPTV’s live broadcast showed the sound of an airstrike followed by a fireball erupting in an apartment within a multi-story residential building.
Updated
Iran calls on regional countries and Muslims to reveal 'American-Zionist' hiding places
General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the senior spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces, has vowed retaliation against the US and Israel, for its “shameless and brutal crimes”, Iranian news agency Defapress reports.
Shekarchi said the US and Israel army were killing ordinary people, women and children to to their “desperation and inability to confront the armed forces”.
I tell them to expect our crushing blows in retaliation for these barbaric actions of theirs, because we will soon retaliate for these actions and inflict very fatal blows on their bodies.
Shekarchi called on regional countries to reveal where the enemy forces were hiding, to minimise harm to civilians.
I ask the Muslim people of the region and the countries of the region to show us the hiding places of the American-Zionist forces so that they are not harmed and we can accurately hit those who used the people of the region as their human shields.
Updated
Israeli strike hits central Beirut - reports
An Israeli strike hit an apartment in central Beirut on Wednesday, state media reported, the second targeting the heart of the Lebanese capital since the start of the latest war with Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said that “the enemy targeted an apartment in the Aisha Bakkar area” in central Beirut.
The US military said it attacked and destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz amid reports that Iran has begun laying explosive devices in the strategically vital waterway.
Citing intelligence sources, CNN on Tuesday reported that Iran has laid a few dozen mines in the strait in recent days and has the capability to sow hundreds more.
About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier this week it will not allow even “one litre of oil” to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continue.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that “if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!” Less than two hours later, the US military released unclassified footage of its attacks on mine-laying vessels.
Read the full report here:
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre says it has received a report of an incident 25 nautical miles northwest of the United Arab Emirates, in the strait of Hormuz.
According to the UKMTO, a container ship has sustained damage from an unknown projectile.
Crew members are said to be safe, but the extent of the damage of the vessel is currently unknown.
Maritime records show that only two vessels not linked to Iran or Russia have attempted to make the run through the strait of Hormuz since Donald Trump said he would “ensure the free flow of energy to the world.”
The Hormuz sea passage, one of the world’s most strategically important choke points, would normally have about 100 vessels a day either exiting or entering the Gulf. In response to the US and Israeli attacks, Iran has effectively shut the strait, attacking at least 10 ships which were seeking to traverse it in the early days of the crisis.
Australia closes two embassies and consulate in Gulf
Over in Senate question time, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has confirmed embassies in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv and the consulate in Dubai all physically closed in the last week.
Wong said the government’s number one priority is to “keep Australians safe at home and abroad”.
She continued:
“The dangerous and destabilising attacks by Iran put civilian lives at risk, including Australian lives.”
More than 3,200 Australians over 23 commercial flights have returned to Australia since the US and Israel attacked Iran, setting off a regional conflict and grounding thousands of international flights.
Wong criticised Nationals senators for “winding up people and stoking fear” to panic buy fuel.
The senator said:
“Petrol companies are telling us that fuel stock continues to arrive as expected and on time but there has been a large change in the pattern of demand and that is having an effect on the supply, particularly in regional communities. We have seen jerry cans coming off the shelves at Bunnings and lines at the pump.”
Updated
One of the two members of the Iranian women’s football teams provided with a humanitarian visa to stay in Australia has changed her mind and contacted the Iranian embassy, according to the country’s home affairs minister.
Tony Burke said he was advised shortly after 10am this morning that she had spoken to some of the teammates who had left, but that in contacting the embassy, gave away the team’s location to the embassy.
Burke says as soon as he was advised, the government and department then arranged for the rest of the team to be moved safely, and he says that’s been “dealt with”.
In Australia, people are able to change their mind, people are able to travel. So, we respect the context in which she has made that decision.
Unfortunately, in making that decision, she had been advised by her teammates and coach to contact the Iranian embassy and get collected … As a result of that, it meant that the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was.
You can read more about the Iranian squad and the decision made by some of them to stay in Australia here.
Drone hits US diplomatic facility in Iraq
Following on from our previous report on a drone hitting a major US diplomatic facility in Iraq – Reuters has reported on an internal State Department alert that there were no injuries and everyone was accounted for at the facility.
The drone hit the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, next to the Baghdad airport, impacting near a guard tower, the internal alert from the department seen by Reuters said. Individuals at the facility were ordered to “duck and cover”, it said. A separate alert said everyone was accounted for.
The Washington Post said a total of six drones were launched toward the compound in Baghdad and that five were shot down. It also said the attack was likely carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions.
The International Energy Agency has proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history, in an effort to bring down crude prices that have soared in the last 10 days, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The release would exceed the 182m barrels of oil that IEA member countries put onto the market in two releases in 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Journal said, citing officials familiar with the matter
The IEA is convening an extraordinary meeting of its member states on Tuesday, and countries are expected to decide on the proposal on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal said.
Benchmark oil prices surged to almost four-year highs on Monday but lost ground on Tuesday after Donald Trump predicted the war in the Middle East could end soon. G7 energy ministers stopped short of agreeing on a release of strategic oil reserves on Tuesday and instead asked the IEA to assess the situation before acting.
In a departure from previous US conflicts, the war in Iran is opposed by most Americans, according to polls analysed by the New York Times.
In the days after Trump launched the US attack against Iran, support for the strikes is far lower than what it has been at the beginnings of previous foreign conflicts, it reports.
Polls have found most Americans oppose the attack on Iran and even the highest level of public support falls lower than that shown in the early days of most other conflicts.
Sarah Maxey, an associate professor of international relations at Loyola University of Chicago, told the NYT previous presidents have taken the time to sell wars to the public, which could account for some of the difference in opinion over this conflict.
Meanwhile, researchers have described how presidents usually experience a “rally around the flag effect” at the beginning of wards, where support swells for leaders. But that effect has diminished in the past few decades as Americans have drifted further apart politically.
Matthew Baum, a professor at Harvard University who studies public opinion on foreign policy, told the NYT Democrats are not going to rally behind Trump, while his own base may be cautious with its support.
For this president, to the extent that he has any rally from his base, he has a base who thinks they hired him to get him out of wars.
Iran launches missiles toward Israel
Iran had launched missiles towards Israel, said Israel’s military on Wednesday.
“Defence systems are operating to intercept the threat,” it said in a post to X, and urged the public to act in accordance with directives sent to mobile phones in the area.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a satellite communications centre in Haifa, along with military bases in Israel, and US targets elsewhere in the region, including Iraqi Kurdistan and the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain.
“We will continue our sustained attacks with purpose and power, and in this war, we contemplate nothing but the enemy’s complete surrender,” the Guards said on their website Sepah News.
Updated
Drone strikes US diplomatic facility in Iraq - reports
A drone struck a major US diplomatic facility in Iraq on Tuesday in suspected retaliation by pro-Tehran militias over the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Washington Post reported, citing an unidentified security official and an internal US state department alert.
The strike hit the diplomatic support centre, a logistical hub for US diplomats near Baghdad airport and Iraqi military bases, it reported. It was not clear whether there were any injuries. Five other drones were intercepted.
The state department issued an internal alert saying a drone hit near a guard tower and that individuals at the facility were ordered to “duck and cover,” according to the Post.
The attack was likely carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, the security official said.
US destroys 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near strait of Hormuz, military says
US Central Command has said in a post on X that it “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
Earlier Donald Trump said that the US had hit and “completely destroyed” 10 inactive mine-laying vessels, warning that more would follow.
His comments came not long after he said there had been “no reports” of Iran placing mines in the strait, but warned that if Iran had placed mines in the crucial waterway, they must be moved “IMMEDIATELY” or Iran would face military consequences “at a level never seen before”.
US officials earlier told CBS News that Iran may be preparing to deploy naval mines in the strait to further disrupt the crucial shipping lane. According to CNN, a few dozen mines have been laid in recent days.
Updated
Protesters will be treated as 'enemies' - Iran's police chief
Iran’s police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan has warned Iranians on state TV that anyone who takes to the streets “at the enemy’s request” will be “confronted as an enemy, not a protester”.
We will do to them what we do to enemies. We will treat them the way we treat enemies.
All of our men have their fingers on the trigger and are ready to defend their revolution, to support their people and their homeland.
Radan said security forces are stationed in the streets “day and night”.
Both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have called on Iranians to take to the streets and overthrow their regime in recent weeks.
Iran has brutally cracked down on protesters involved in a wave of anti-establishment demonstrations since late December. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the killing of at least 7,000 people, including children and people not involved in the protests, during that period.
Welcome summary
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Here are the main developments:
Iran’s police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan has warned Iranians on state TV that anyone who takes to the streets “at the enemy’s request” will be “confronted as an enemy, not a protester”. Radan said security forces are stationed in the streets “day and night”.
Lebanese health authorities said Israel’s raids on the southern town of Qana, in the Tyre district, on Wednesday have killed five people and wounded five others.
The Israeli military said it had begun an “additional wave” of strikes on targets in Tehran. It followed the IDF saying earlier that it had struck key command centres of the Iranian armed forces in Tehran and Tabriz.
It comes as Iran’s UN ambassador accused the US and Israel of deliberately targeting civilians – saying that almost 10,000 civilian sites have been hit in the country, including about 8,000 residential homes, and the death toll has reached more than 1,300 people. Amir Saeid Iravani said “populated residential areas” and “critical civilian infrastructure” had been hit in attacks he described as “horrific crimes”.
Donald Trump said the US has hit and “completely destroyed” 10 inactive mine-laying vessels, warning that more would follow. US Central Command added that it “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz. The updates came shortly after the US president initially said there had been “no reports” of Iran placing mines in the strait, but warned that if it had, they must be moved “IMMEDIATELY” or Iran would face military consequences “at a level never seen before”. US officials earlier told CBS News that Iran may be preparing to deploy naval mines in the strait to further disrupt the crucial shipping lane. According to CNN, a few dozen mines have been laid in recent days.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the US Navy has not escorted an oil tanker through the strait of Hormuz, after the US energy secretary Chris Wright said it had happened in a swiftly deleted X post. Leavitt also said that the US military is “drawing up additional options” to keep strait open.
Leavitt also said that the US and Israel’s war won’t end until Iran’s “complete and unconditional surrender” and when Trump decides his objectives have been met and determines that Iran does not pose a direct threat. She told reporters that the US military is “making tremendous strides towards achieving our military objectives”, and is now moving to “dismantle Iran’s missile production infrastructure”.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is reportedly considering the deployment of special forces into Iran to secure its stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which experts say could be used to make at least 10 nuclear warheads. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has told Congress that “people are going to have to go and get it”. Here’s our story.
The United States reportedly asked Israel to halt strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, marking the first time the US has reined in its ally since they went to war 11 days ago. It comes after an Israeli bombing of fuel storage facilities blanketed Tehran - a city home to some 10 million people - in toxic black smoke and acid rain over the weekend, raising urgent health warnings for ordinary Iranians.
Israel is set to expand its defence budget by almost 40 billion shekels (US$13bn) to fund the war in Iran, according to a finance ministry official, who wished to remain anonymous, Bloomberg reports. The defence budget will be expanded by 28bn shekels, with an additional 10 billion put aside as reserves for possible military needs, the offical said.
A total of seven members of the Iranian women’s football team have now been granted humanitarian visas in Australia, home affairs minister Tony Burke has confirmed. An additional two women had sought asylum before the rest of the Iranian team departed Sydney on a flight to Malaysia on Tuesday night, one player and one support member, Burke told a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Russia denied sharing intelligence with Iran on US military assets in the Middle East, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said. It follows reports on Friday that Moscow was providing Tehran with targeting information that included locations and movements of US warships and aircraft in the region. “Yesterday on the call with the president, the Russians said that they have not been sharing,” Witkoff said when asked if Washington thought Moscow had shared intelligence about the location of US military assets with Tehran. “We can take them at their word. But they did say that. And yesterday morning, independently, Jared [Kushner] and I had a call with [Kremlin aide Yuri] Ushakov who reiterated the same.”
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed repeated claims from the Trump administration that Iran was planning a preemptive or preventive strike against the US or its military forces as “a sheer and utter lie”. “The sole purpose of that lie is to justify Operation Epic Mistake, a misadventure engineered by Israel and paid for by ordinary Americans,” Araghchi said in a post on X – riffing on the US’s name for the military operation, Operation Epic Fury.
Approximately 140 US service members have been wounded since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, according to the Pentagon, eight of them severely.
