87 killed as US sub sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka

The Iranian Red Crescent says it has recorded 1,332 attacks by US and Israeli forces in Iran since Saturday, with raids documented at 636 locations, including at least 105 civilian sites.

These include 14 medical facilities and seven Red Crescent buildings, it said, adding that at least 174 cities have been hit.

Source: Al Jazeera

We’ve been hearing gunfire throughout the night in Lebanon. It’s coming from the southern suburbs of Beirut. It’s a warning to residents there about imminent Israeli strikes.

Normally, these forced evacuation orders come via an Arabic language spokesperson for the Israeli military, and he posts them on X. These warnings come in the middle of the night, and the city’s residents are not usually glued to X in the middle of the night.

So locally, when people become aware of these warnings, they start firing in the air throughout the southern suburbs of Beirut to warn people that the Israeli military has issued an imminent threat to their homes and lives.

And we have seen that a number of times throughout the evening.

We’ve also seen strikes this evening in the southern city of Tyre, and usually a strike as far as Tripoli, which looks like a targeted assassination, with local sources in a Palestinian refugee camp saying a Hamas official was killed.

Source: Al Jazeera

International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva made the comment during the “Asia in 2050” conference in Bangkok.

“This conflict, if proven to be more prolonged, has obvious potential to affect global energy prices, market sentiment, growth and inflation, and place new demands on the shoulders of policymakers everywhere,” she said, according to the AFP news agency.

Three people were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on vehicles near Beirut, Lebanon's health ministry said late Wednesday, after a third day of Israeli bombardments in response to renewed Hezbollah attacks.

"Two Israeli air strikes on the airport highway killed three people and wounded six," the ministry said. Israel's military said it had targeted two people in the Beirut area, without immediately offering further details.

US and European stock markets advanced Wednesday as oil prices steadied, after Asian bourses suffered deep losses amid inflation worries sparked by the US-Iran war.

Markets have been roiled much of the week as the conflict between the United States and Iran effectively closed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's crude oil travels as well as considerable liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies travel through.

That sent crude and gas prices spiking higher, triggering fears of widespread inflation that could strangle economic growth.

But President Donald Trump sought to allay concerns about oil supplies being choked off, saying Tuesday that the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers and that the United States would offer shippers insurance.

That helped stabilize crude prices Wednesday, with both major contracts finishing flat or little changed.

US equities finished solidly higher, with the S&P 500 up 0.8 percent. (AFP)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday rated the US performance in the war with Iran as a 15 on a scale of 10, saying the Islamic republic's leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on.

Trump's comments came as the conflict expanded on its fifth day, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka and fresh blasts across the Middle East.

"We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump told a gathering of tech bosses at the White House.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States and Israel were in a strong position in their war with Iran, vowing that they would "continue forward" against the Islamic republic.

Trump said prospective replacements for slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "end up dead" and that Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles was being "wiped out rapidly."

"We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump told a gathering of tech bosses at the White House. (AFP)

The Israeli military said its Home Front Command had eased some war-related restrictions effective midday Thursday, allowing limited activity and permitting public gatherings of up to 50 people.

"As part of the changes, all areas of the country will transition from an essential activity level to a limited activity level," the military announced, soon after it had said the number of missiles fired by Iran towards Israel had declined.

The military said schools and other educational institutions would remain closed.

The Israeli military announced it had launched a new wave of strikes in Tehran on Wednesday, saying they were targeting military infrastructure belonging to the "Iranian regime".

"The IDF has begun an additional wave of strikes targeting military infrastructure belonging to the Iranian regime across Tehran," the military said in a statement.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that its strikes on Iran's missile launchers had led to a daily decline in the number of missiles the Islamic republic was firing at Israel.

"We've neutralised around 300 ballistic missile launchers. We believe our operations against those missile launchers and against those stockpiles are an integral part of the fact that we're seeing the amounts of missiles fired every day diminish," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists. (AFP)

The United States expects to have "complete" control of Iranian airspace in the coming hours, the White House said on Wednesday, the fifth day of US-Israeli operations against the Islamic republic.

"We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier in the day that the United States and Israel "will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace," without giving a specific timeline.

That means "we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military," Hegseth said. (AFP)

The Spanish foreign minister on Wednesday denied that Madrid had dropped its opposition to Washington's use of its bases against Iran, after the White House said Spain agreed to "cooperate with the US military".

"I categorically deny any change... our position on the use of the bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all," Jose Manuel Albares told Cadena SER radio. (AFP)

Two drones were shot down on Wednesday evening near Baghdad's international airport, hours after a similar attack on the facility, two security sources told AFP.

"Two drones were downed near Baghdad airport, with no casualties or material damage reported," an Iraqi security source said. Another security source in Baghdad confirmed the incident.

The airport includes a military base that hosts a US diplomatic facility and previously housed US-led coalition troops.

New explosions were heard Wednesday evening in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region.

Loud bangs were mostly heard near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops, an AFP journalist said.

Since the start of the war in the Middle East, drones have repeatedly been intercepted over Erbil, which is also home to a major US consulate complex.

Iraq's electricity ministry said on Wednesday that the entire country had been affected by a total power outage, without identifying the cause.

"The power grid has completely shut down across all Iraqi provinces," the ministry said, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

It added that it was looking to determine the cause of the blackout, and had begun restoring power stations and transmission lines. Parts of the country have come under repeated attack since the war between Israel, the US and Iran broke out.

The US embassy in Baghdad told its nationals on Wednesday that they should leave Iraq immediately.

"US citizens in Iraq are strongly encouraged to depart as soon as they are safely able to do so, and shelter in place until such time as conditions are safe to depart," the embassy said on X. "If safe to do so, Americans should leave Iraq now."

More than 17,500 Americans have returned to the United States since the country and Israel launched war on Iran last weekend, the State Department said Wednesday.

More than 8,500 Americans returned on Tuesday, assistant secretary of state Dylan Johnson said.

He said that the State Department had assisted nearly 6,500 people with most Americans leaving on their own, and virtually all taking commercial flights.

The United States is in the process of arranging charter flights and, in a break with precedent, is waiving fees for Americans who board.

China will send a special envoy to mediate in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, as the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran continued its regional spread.

Beijing "has always been a force for peace and is willing to continue playing a constructive role, and will send a special envoy on Middle East issues to regional countries for mediation", Wang said during a call with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan, according to Beijing's readout. [AFP]

Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held a call with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, as Tehran pressed its missile and drone campaign against Gulf states including Qatar.

Sheikh Mohammed urged "an immediate halt to these attacks", according to a statement by Qatar's foreign ministry and accused Tehran of seeking to "harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs".

The Qatari prime minister said Iran had "struck civilian and residential areas within the State of Qatar" despite Araghchi's assertion "the Iranian missile attacks were directed at American interests and did not target the State of Qatar". [AFP]

Iran's security chief Ali Larijani said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump had dragged the American people into "an unfair war" with Iran.

"Mr. Trump, with Netanyahu's clownish antics, dragged the American people into an unfair war with Iran," Larijani posted on X. [AFP]

The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a Malta-flagged container ship struck by missiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, state media said, as Iran pressed its Gulf retaliation campaign.

The cargo ship was "hit by two missiles" and Oman's royal navy rescued its "crew of 24 people" who are now in good health, the Oman News Agency said.

Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship was two nautical miles north of Oman, "transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz" when it was "hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line causing a fire in the engine room".

Private maritime security agency Vanguard Tech said the vessel was the Malta-flagged Safeen Prestige. Information from shipping activity tracker Marine Traffic shows the vessel was en route from the UAE's Ghantoot port to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. [AFP]

The number of civilians killed in US-Israeli attacks since Saturday has crossed 1,000, while about 5,000 have been wounded so far, according to medical authorities.

Wave after wave of attacks are continuing forcing three-quarters of Tehran residents to leave, claims Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Vall.

Russia has accused the US of ⁠inventing a supposed threat from Iran as a pretext to overthrow its government.

At a briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria ⁠Zakharova said the ⁠US had used its nuclear negotiations with ⁠Iran as ⁠a ⁠cover to disguise its plan for a change in government.

She said that Iran’s nuclear facilities had again come under attack, posing a serious risk.

She added that Moscow was convinced there was no military solution to the crisis and stood ready to continue a search for solutions based on international law. [Al Jazeera]

Hegseth says US and Israeli forces expect to have “complete control of Iranian skies” in less than a week.

“We will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defence-industrial base of the Iranian military,” claims Hegseth. [Agencies]

Oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has plunged by 90% since the outbreak of US-Israeli attacks on Iran, the energy market intelligence firm Kpler said Wednesday on X.

Iranian military officials have said they have completely choked off traffic though the waterway that a fifth of the world's crude oil supplies transit, but Kpler said some are risking the trip.

"Unlike several other vessel segments where movements have largely ceased, some tankers are still travelling east and west through the strait, with a number of voyages occurring under AIS blackouts," said Kpler Principal Freight Analyst Matt Wright, referring to the marine traffic tracking system. [AFP]

The number of ballistic missiles fired by Iran has decreased 86% from the first day of the conflict, while drones launched by Tehran's forces are also down, General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, said Wednesday.

The United States began a massive campaign of strikes on Iran in concert with Israeli forces on Saturday. Tehran has responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting countries in the region that host US military personnel or bases.

"Iran's theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours," Caine told a news conference at the Pentagon.

"Their one-way attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days," he said.

Caine said US forces are "targeting and eliminating Iran's ballistic missile systems to prevent them from threatening the US forces, partners and interests in the region."

He put the number of weapons fired by Iran at more than 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones -- a major air defence challenge. [AFP]

The US Navy on Wednesday sank Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, the first US sinking of an enemy ship by a submarine since World War II.

At a press briefing, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the attack a "quiet death."

Afterwards, the Sri Lankan navy recovered the bodies of 87 sailors from waters near the southern city of Galle, but 61 remained missing, police and defence officials said. [AFP]

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Hegseth is asked by the BBC's State Department correspondent Tom Bateman if there is any more information he can give on the bombing of a girls’ school in Minab, which Iran says has killed at least 153 people including many children.

"All I can say is that we're investigating that," says Hegseth.

"We of course never target civilian targets but we're taking a look and investigating that." [BBC]

Israel’s Finance Ministry says damage to the country’s economy from the war on Iran could reach 9 billion shekels ($2.9 billion) a week. [Agencies]

European Council President Antonio Costa has spoken to Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in the face of threats from the US.

“I have just held a call ⁠with [Sanchez] ⁠to express the EU’s full solidarity with Spain,” Costa posted on X.

“The ⁠EU will always ensure that ⁠the interests ⁠of its Member States are fully protected”, he said, adding the bloc reaffirmed its “firm commitment to the principles of international law and the rules-based order everywhere in the world”.

Trump has threatened to cut off all trade with Spain for refusing to let the US military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran. [Al Jazeera]

Saraya Awliya al-Dam, a pro-Iran armed group in Iraq, claims it has carried out an attack on a “vital American target inside Jordan”.

The group, which did not specify its exact target, shared footage on its Telegram channel appearing to show the launch of an airborne munition. [Al Jazeera]

An ⁠independent ⁠UN investigation into rights violations ⁠in Iran has strongly condemned US-Israeli strikes on the country.

“These attacks … run counter to the ⁠UN Charter, which prohibits ⁠the use of force against the ⁠territorial integrity or political ⁠independence of any ⁠State,” the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on ‌Iran said in a statement. [Agencies]

Read the full story here...

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, has given an interview about the ongoing conflict, criticising “preventive wars” and the “truly worrying” erosion of international law.

“If states were to be recognised as having a right to ‘preventive war’, according to their own criteria and without a supranational legal framework, the whole world would risk being set ablaze,” the cardinal said.

He added: “The force of law has been replaced by the law of force, with the conviction that peace can arise only after the enemy has been annihilated.” [Al Jazeera]

Hezbollah said Wednesday it had targeted an Israeli military base near Tel Aviv in central Israel and a naval base in Haifa in the north with swarms of attack drones.

The announcements by the pro-Iran group came shortly after Israel activated air raid sirens following what it said were launches from Iran and Lebanon.

The Israeli military said "several launches... from Lebanon toward Israeli territory were successfully intercepted after sirens sounded in central Israel". [AFP]

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it has received a report of a container ship being hit by an "unknown projectile" off Oman's north coast today in the Straits of Hormuz.

The ship reported that the strike had caused a fire in its engine room, but no environmental impact had been reported. Authorities are continuing to investigate. [BBC]

There has been an attempted drone attack on a major oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi defence ministry says.

The attack was attempted on Ras Tanura oil refinery – thought to be the biggest in Saudi Arabia.

"Initial estimates indicate that the attack was carried out by a drone and did not result in any damage," the defence ministry says.

This "was never meant to be a fair fight, and it's not a fair fight", says Hegseth at the press conference, adding that the US is punching Iran "while they're down".

"More and larger waves are coming, we are just getting started," he says.

"They are toast, and they know it," he says referring to the Iranian regime. (Source: BBC)

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that on Tuesday, in the Iran operations the US "hunted down and killed" the "leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump".

"Iran tried to kill President Trump", Hegseth said, and "President Trump got the last laugh".

In 2024, the US government brought charges against an Afghan national in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump before he was elected that year.

The Department of Justice alleged that Farhad Shakeri, then 51, was tasked with "providing a plan" to kill Trump.

The US defence chief on Wednesday dismissed China and Russia as non-factors in Washington's decision-making when it comes to the war against Iran.

"I don't have a message for them, and they're not really a factor here, and our issue is not with them," Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told a press conference, adding that the US focus was purely on ending what he called "the nuclear ambitions of Iran."

Russia and China have long-standing diplomatic and trade ties with Iran, while Russia has close military links to the country. Both Moscow and Beijing have criticised the US-Israeli war to topple the Iranian government and destroy its military. [AFP]

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart has said the defence alliance condemns Iran for firing a missile towards Turkish territory.

“Our deterrence ⁠and defence posture remains strong across ⁠all domains, including when ⁠it comes ⁠to air and missile defence.”

Turkiye’s Defence Ministry said NATO defences based in the country had intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran, adding that the downed missile fell over Turkiye’s Dortyol district near the Mediterranean, causing no casualties.

Soon afterwards, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan conveyed his protest to Iran over the attempted violation of Turkish airspace, Anadolu news agency is reporting.