Iran-Israel war updates: Israel launches fresh wave of strikes on Beirut, Tehran after 'integrated' missile attack by IRGC, Hezbollah

An Iranian drone struck a building in Dubai, Iranian state media reported on Thursday (March 12, 2026).

State broadcaster IRIB said that a “precision-guided drone” had hit a tower in Dubai.

Dubai’s media office posted on X that authorities were responding to “an incident involving a drone that fell on a building in the vicinity of Dubai Creek Harbour.”

The ‌United States will release ⁠172 million barrels of oil from its strategic ‌petroleum reserve in a bid ‌to reduce ‌oil ⁠prices that ⁠have soared due to supply shocks from the U.S.-Israeli ‌war with Iran, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said ‌on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

Mr. Wright said the release is part ⁠of a broader release of ‌400 million barrels of oil agreed to by the 32-nation International Energy Agency ‌earlier in the day.

The leaders of the G7 group of nations — ‌the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, ⁠Britain, Germany and France — agreed to examine the option ‌of providing escort for ships so ‌they can navigate ‌freely ⁠in the ⁠Gulf, said a statement from the G7 Presidency on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

The statement ‌was issued after French President Emmanuel Macron had convened a call ‌with G7 leaders to discuss the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ⁠and its impact on rising energy prices.

West Asia conflict: G7 leaders agree to examine option of escorting ships to navigate freely in Gulf

G7 leaders agree to consider escorting ships in the Gulf to ensure safe navigation amid rising energy prices and regional tensions.

Israel’s military said on Thursday (March 12, 2026) that Iranian missiles were heading towards Israel and that air defences were active as AFP correspondents heard blasts from Jerusalem.

“A short while ago, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel,” the military said on its official Telegram channel, calling on people in affected areas to head to shelters.

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.”

AFP

Drones were shot down on Wednesday (March 11, 2026) over the Kurdish city of Erbil where debris fell near a five-star hotel and a government hall, a Kurdish security source said.

The drones’ targets were not immediately clear.

“Two drones were downed over Erbil,” with debris falling near a major five-star hotel, and some crashing into a hall used for important government events in an upscale neighbourhood frequented by foreigners, the security source told AFP.

Israel pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs late Wednesday (March 11, 2026) night, while militant group Hezbollah fired rockets and missiles at northern Israel in a new operation, as the death toll in Lebanon climbed past 630.

AFP

Two foreign ‌tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil ⁠were subjected to unidentified ‌attacks inside territorial waters, ‌causing ‌them ⁠to ⁠catch fire, Iraq’s director general of the ‌General Company for Ports Farhan ‌al-Fartousi said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

Iraq evacuated ⁠the 25 crew members ‌from the two vessels and fire is still ‌ablaze on both ships, he ⁠added.

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026) that “we ⁠won” the Iran war but that the United States will ‌stay in the fight to finish the ‌job.

“You never like ‌to ⁠say too early you ⁠won. We won,” Mr. Trump told a campaign-style rally in Hebron, Kentucky. “In the first hour ‌it was over.”

He also said the United States had knocked out 58 Iranian ‌naval ships.‌ This came just hours after he said the figure was 28 ‌mine-laying ⁠ships.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday (March 11, 2026) passed a resolution calling for Iran to immediately halt its attacks on Gulf states, saying they breach international law and pose a “serious threat to international peace and security.”

The resolution, passed by 13 votes with two abstentions, “demands the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.”

A senior military adviser to Iran’s Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei insulted U.S. President Donald Trump and vowed to destroy Israel in remarks to state television on Wednesday (March 11, 2026), as their countries wage a war.

“Trump is the most corrupt and stupid American president,” Yahya Rahim Safavi said. “He is Satan himself.”

He also reiterated longstanding threats to eradicate Israel, which is fighting the Islamic republic alongside the United States.

“In the Middle East region, Israel and Iran cannot be together. One of them must remain. The one that remains is Iran and the one that is destroyed is definitely the Zionist regime,” he said.

AFP

Talking to leaders of Russia and Pakistan, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian has reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to peace in the region. 

“The only way to end this war—ignited by the Zionist regime & US—is recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression,” Mr. Pezeshkian said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

Stanly Johny

Lebanon’s ‌Hezbollah and Iran carried ⁠out a joint ‌missile ‌attack ‌on ⁠northern ⁠Israel in what was the ‌first coordinated attack ‌since the start of ⁠the war, ‌a senior Israeli defence ‌official said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

Reuters

Lebanon said an Israeli strike in the country’s south killed eight people on Wednesday (March 11, 2026), while official media said the raid targeted a building housing displaced families.

“The Israeli strike on the town of Tibnin in Bint Jbeil district lead to an initial toll of eight dead,” a health ministry statement said, while the state-run National News Agency said the toll included five members of one family.

AFP

A series of heavy strikes hit south Beirut on Wednesday evening (March 11, 2026), AFP correspondents and state media reported, as the Israeli army said it had launched fresh attacks on the area, where Hezbollah holds sway.

AFP correspondents reported hearing the sound of blasts across the city, while AFPTV showed large explosions and smoke covering the area, and the state-run National News Agency reported at least “six heavy strikes” on the southern suburbs.

Israel still has a wide range of targets it can strike in Iran, the military said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026), even as U.S. President Donald Trump suggested there was little left for American forces to hit.

“As an army, we still have a broad bank of targets. We will expand our operations,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised briefing.

“The goal is to undermine the foundations of the regime.”

AFP

United States forces ⁠have ‌knocked out ‌28 ‌Iranian ⁠mine-laying ⁠ships, President ‌Donald Trump ‌said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026)

This comes almost a day after the U.S. military said it has destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels “near the Strait of Hormuz” on, following reports Tehran is mining the key waterway that has been virtually closed due to the war in West Asia.

Israeli military on Wednesday (March 11, 2026) said it is prepared for a war with Iran for “as long as necessary”.

It said that it will also continue striking Hezbollah group until they disarm.

Reuters

Indian missions in West Asia are coordinating with the concerned governments to help Indian nationals stranded in the region due to airspace closures, a senior official said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

Indian nationals were assisted to go from Bahrain to Dammam and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to help them take flights.

“Flight operations have continued to be ramped up in the United Arab Emirates, including a lot of non-scheduled commercial flights, and they have been able to cater to most people who were in transit,” Aseem Mahajan, an additional secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said.

Flights are also regularly operating from Jeddah, Medina and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, he said at a media briefing.

PTI

President Donald Trump promised “great safety” for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran tightened its chokehold on the vital sea passage amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Tehran.

“I think you’re going to see great safety, and it’s going to be very, very quickly,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked how he was going to ensure security in the crucial waterway for the global oil trade.

- AFP

Oil ⁠storage facilities were struck in Oman’s Salalah ‌port on Wednesday, British ‌maritime security firm ‌Ambrey ⁠said.

Drones struck ⁠fuel tanks in the port, Oman TV ‌reported. Oman’s state news agency said, citing an energy ‌ministry official, that there has been no ⁠disruption to the continuity of oil ‌supplies or petroleum derivatives in the country.

No damage to merchant ‌vessels had been reported, Ambrey said.

- Reuters

France’s President Emmanuel Macron said 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 U.S. President Donald Trump to “clarify both his ultimate objectives and the pace he wants to set for operations”.

- AFP

Iran’s armed forces threatened 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.

- AFP

The United States was responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian school because of a targeting mistake, The New York Times reported on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

The newspaper, citing U.S. officials, said the investigation into the February 28 strike was ongoing but preliminary findings were that the United States was responsible.

Click below to read more:

‘Targeting mistake’ led to U.S. missile strike on Iranian school: report

U.S. missile strike on Iranian school attributed to targeting error, causing over 150 casualties, ongoing investigation reveals.

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 ‌said the locations of most of the mines are known but declined to say how the U.S. planned to deal ‌with them.

-AFP

Ukrainian anti-drone experts have begun working in three Gulf states targeted by Iranian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“Three of our teams have gone -- strong teams of experts, military personnel, engineers, different people. Today the military are already communicating and already working,” Mr. Zelenskyy told reporters, including journalists from AFP.

His spokesman confirmed separately that the three countries were Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

- AFP

The United Nations aid chief warned that the West Asia war was impacting aid routes and urged “exemptions” so humanitarian supplies could get through.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher warned that the escalating war and the impact on the strait was having “a direct impact on our humanitarian supplies, including going to areas of key need in sub-Saharan Africa”.

“I’m worried that further escalation will damage other supply routes,” he told reporters in Geneva, warning that this was happening as the war “drives up the prices and... drives more people into greater need”.

- AFP

U.S. financial service group Citi and two other companies in Dubai’s financial centre asked employees to evacuate their offices on Wednesday (March 11, 2026) after Iran threatened to strike U.S. and Israel-linked banks in West Asia.

PwC closed its offices in several Gulf countries for the remainder of the week as a “precaution”, a source with knowledge told AFP. The offices of the British consulting group will be closed in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait, the source said.

British consulting group Deloitte also told its staff to vacate their offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre, a source with knowledge told AFP.

- AFP

India deplores the fact that commercial shipping is being made a target of military attacks in the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Ministry of External Affairs said reacting to an attack on Thai ship bound for Kandla

“Precious lives, including of Indian citizens, have already been lost in multiple such attacks in the earlier phase of this conflict and the intensity and lethality of the attacks only seems to be increasing,” the statement said. 

“India reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, should be avoided.”

- Suhasini Haidar

Oman’s Sultan ‌Haitham bin Tariq al-Said ⁠conveyed to ‌Iranian President ‌Masoud ‌Pezeshkian ⁠in ⁠a phone call the sultanate’s ‌dissatisfaction and condemnation of ongoing ‌attacks targeting Omani territory, ⁠the Omani ‌state news agency reported on ‌Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

- Reuters

Israel pressed its attacks across Lebanon on Wednesday (March 11, 2026), hitting an apartment building in central Beirut, in the second targeting of the heart of the capital since the West Asia war began.

Israel’s UN envoy Danny Danon said that Israeli forces would continue to operate in Lebanon “as long (as) there will be a threat against us”.

Hezbollah meanwhile affirmed its “commitment” to the new Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamanei.

- AFP

The U.S. Military ‌on Wednesday (March 11, 2026) warned civilians to ⁠leave port facilities where Iranian naval ‌forces are operating, ‌adding ‌that ⁠U.S. forces could ⁠not guarantee their safety.

“Iranian dockworkers, administrative ‌personnel, and commercial vessel crews should avoid Iranian ‌naval vessels and military equipment,” U.S. ⁠Central Command said in ‌a statement. The United States has been carrying out ‌strikes against Iranian naval vessels-- sinking or destroying ⁠60 so ⁠far.

- Reuters

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed ‌Shia al-Sudani told Iranian ⁠President Masoud Pezeshkian that ‌attacks targeting Iraq ‌were ‌unacceptable.

He ⁠told Mr. 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 U.S. and ⁠Israeli strikes. 

- Reuters

The World Health Organization said that it has verified 18 attacks on healthcare centers in Iran since the ‌start of the U.S. and Israel war on Iran on February 28, ⁠which has resulted in 8 deaths among health workers.

“These attacks not only cost lives but deprive communities of ‌care when they need it most. Health workers, patients and health facilities ‌must always be protected under international humanitarian ‌law,” ⁠the WHO said in a ⁠statement.

- Reuters

Britain said it ‌would contribute 13.5 million barrels ⁠of oil to a coordinated release from ‌strategic reserves, joining other ‌International Energy Agency ‌members.

“With ⁠this action, ⁠the UK is playing our part in ‌working with our international allies to address the disruption ‌in oil markets,” Energy Minister Ed Miliband said ⁠in a statement.

- Reuters

The International Energy Agency said its member countries would unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves -- the biggest such release ever -- to ease the impact of the West Asia war.

“The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore I am very glad that IEA member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

- AFP

President Donald Trump again signaled there could be a swift ending to the US war on Iran, saying there is little left in the country for U.S. forces to attack.

There is “practically nothing left to target” and the war will end “soon,” Mr. Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with Axios. “Any time I want it to end, it will end.”

- AFP

There is no need to panic or pay attention to rumours, PM Modi said in reference to the energy crisis brought on by the West Asia conflict. 

Speaking at a rally in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Modi said that the conflict in West Asia has affected the energy supply chain in the world, and his government believes in the ideology of India First.

PM Modi said his government will follow the same approach of putting the interests of Indians above everything else and there is no need to panic or pay attention to rumours.

He urged people to spread only correct and verified information and expressed confidence that the country will navigate every situation successfully.

- ANI

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned of a long “war of attrition”, as the conflict with the United States and Israel presses on.

“They [the enemies] must consider the possibility that they will be engaged in a long-term war of attrition that will destroy the entire American economy and the world economy, and will cause all of its military capabilities to be eroded to the point of destruction,” Ali Fadavi, advisor to the Guards’ Commander-in-Chief, told state television.

- AFP

Drones struck fuel tanks at Oman’s Salalah port, state media reported, as Iran continues to target Gulf infrastructure in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks.

“A security source reported that several drones were shot down, while others struck fuel tanks at the port of Salalah,” the Oman News Agency said, adding that no casualties were reported.

Private maritime security company Vanguard Tech reported the suspension of the port’s operations after the attack on its southern section.

- AFP

Switzerland is temporarily closing its Embassy ‌in Tehran due to ⁠the war in West Asia ‌and increasing security risks, ‌the foreign ‌office ⁠said.

The Ambassador and five Swiss staff members ‌left Iran by land and are safely outside ‌the country, it added. “They will return to ⁠Tehran as soon as the ‌situation allows.”

Switzerland will continue to maintain an open line of communication ‌between the United States and Iran, in consultation ⁠with the two ⁠countries, the statement ‌said.

- Reuters

Hamas congratulated its “brothers in Iran” on the appointment of the Islamic republic’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, and wished him victory in the war with the United States and Israel.

“We wish him success in fulfilling the aspirations of the Iranian people to defeat the Israeli-American aggression and prevent the forces of arrogance from imposing their will on Iran,” Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for the Palestinian Islamist movement, said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad also welcomed the selection of Khamenei and said “all the free peoples of the world stand with you”.

- AFP

A series of loud blasts were heard across the Iranian capital, an AFP journalist said, on the 12th day of war with Israel and the United States.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted but plumes of smoke were seen rising from a location in eastern Tehran, the journalist said.

- AFP

Iran cannot participate ‌in the 2026 World ⁠Cup after the United ‌States killed ‌their ‌leader ⁠Ayatollah Ali ⁠Khamene, Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali ‌said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

“Considering that this corrupt ‌regime [the U.S.] has assassinated ⁠our leader, under no ‌circumstances can we participate in the ‌World Cup,” the Minister told state ⁠television.

- Reuters

At present, 28 vessels with Indian flags are operating in the Persian Gulf, said Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary, Ministry of Shipping and Waterways, during an inter-Ministerial briefing on the West Asia conflict. 

While 24 of them are at the Western region of Strait of Hormuz, and four in the Eastern region of the Strait, he added. 

- Saptaparno Ghosh

⁠Romania will host U.S. refuelling planes, surveillance and satellite communications gear for its Tehran operations, President Nicusor Dan said, adding the ‌equipment was “defensive” and carries no munitions.

Mr. Dan had earlier convened the EU and NATO state’s top defence council, ‌which has now approved the American request. Parliament is ‌also ⁠expected to approve the measure later in ⁠the day.

“We are talking about refuelling planes, some monitoring equipment and some satellite communications equipment in correlation with ‌the Deveselu shield,” Mr. Dan said.

- Reuters

A Thai bulk carrier travelling in the crucial Strait of Hormuz was attacked Wednesday (March 11, 2026), with 20 crew members rescued so far, the Thai Navy said.

Photos shared by the Royal Thai Navy showed heavy black smoke billowing from the hull and superstructure of the Thai-registered Mayuree Naree, with life rafts floating in the water.

Click below to read more:

India-bound Thai-flagged cargo ship attacked in Strait of Hormuz

Thai cargo ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz; 20 crew rescued as investigation into the incident begins.

Newly-appointed Supreme Leader ‌Mojtaba Khamenei was ⁠lightly injured but is ‌continuing to operate, ‌an ‌Iranian ⁠official told ⁠ Reuters on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

The official did ‌not give details about when ‌he was injured or why ⁠he had not ‌made any statement to the public ‌since being appointed the new leader.

- Reuters

Two Indians were killed, and one is missing, when merchant vessels came under attack during the ongoing war in West Asia, an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday (March 11, 2026).

India, he said, remains committed to the welfare of citizens residing in the Gulf region.

- PTI

Iran’s military 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.

- AFP

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said 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”.

- AFP

The EU has approved new sanctions on 19 Iranian officials and entities, its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, citing “serious human rights violations” in connection to Tehran’s deadly crackdown on mass protests.

“As the Iran war continues, the EU will protect its interests and pursue those responsible for domestic repression,” Kallas said, announcing the measures agreed by EU member states.

“It also sends a message to Tehran that Iran’s future cannot be built on repression.”

- AFP

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted several U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain during the war with the United States and Israel.

“Key infrastructure at the US base at Mina Salman port, the nerve centre of the U.S. Fifth Fleet... was hit by Iranian missiles and drones,” the Guards said on their website Sepah News, referring to U.S. installations in Bahrain.

“At the same time Camp Patriot [in Kuwait], including equipment hangars, accommodation and assembly centres for American soldiers at the Mohammed Al-Ahmad and Ali Al-Salem naval bases, also suffered heavy losses,” they said, adding that they also attacked the Camp Buehring base in Kuwait.

- AFP

Spain ‌government decided ⁠to remove its ‌Ambassador to ‌Israel, ‌according ⁠to ⁠the official state gazette published.

Spain’s Embassy in Tel ‌Aviv will be ⁠led by a ‌charge d’affares, a source at ‌the Foreign Ministry said.

- Reuters

Israel’s Foreign Minister urged the UN Security Council to designate Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards a “terrorist organisation”, as the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic republic raged for a 12th day.

“The Iranian regime’s recent actions underscore that its aggression constitutes a direct threat not only to Israel, but to regional and international peace and security,” Gideon Saar posted on X.

“I urge the UN Security Council to condemn Iran and immediately designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation,” he added, addressing a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, who is the current president of the Security Council.

- AFP

Iran accused the United States and Israel of striking a maritime ambulance boat at an island in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, local media reported.

“Following the U.S.-Zionist attacks this afternoon, a maritime ambulance stationed at the dock of Hormuz Island was hit by missiles,” Mehr news agency reported, showing footage of the boat on fire.

It said the vessel transports emergency patients from the island to Bandar Abbas in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province. Other media carried similar reports.

- AFP

Germany will release part ‌of its oil reserves after ⁠the International Energy Agency (IEA) recommended the ‌release of 400 ‌million barrels ‌of ⁠oil ⁠from reserves, the largest such move in IEA ‌history, Germany’s Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, ⁠Reiche also confirmed the government ‌plans to limit petrol price increases at petrol stations ‌to once a day.

She did not ⁠give an exact ⁠timing for those ‌measures.

- Reuters

Iran’s Army said that it had targeted Israel’s military intelligence agency, a naval base in the city of Haifa, and an Israeli radar system.

“Since this morning, the army of the Islamic republic has targeted the Israeli military intelligence directorate known as Aman, as well as Israeli military unit 8200, the Green Pine radar, and the submarine headquarters building at Haifa naval base,” the Army said in a statement broadcast by state TV.

It added that the attacks were ongoing.

- AFP

Israel’s military said it had begun a new “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran and was also hitting Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.

The fresh strikes targeting what the Israeli army called “Iranian terror regime infrastructure” came on the 12th day of the U.S.-Israeli war with Tehran.

- AFP

Twenty crew have been rescued ‌from a Thai ship ⁠hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait ‌of Hormuz but ‌three crew ‌remain ⁠missing, Thailand’s Transport ⁠Ministry said.

The Ministry said the ‌crew had abandoned the vessel in a lifeboat ‌and were rescued by the Omani ⁠navy. It said an explosion occurred ‌in the stern of the ship and caused a fire ‌in the engine compartment, where the remaining three ⁠crew members had been ⁠working.

- Reuters

Israel’s ‌intelligence assessment is that Iran’s new supreme ⁠leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was lightly wounded in the Israeli-U.S. joint ‌air war against Iran and that ‌is why he ‌has ⁠not been seen ⁠in public, a senior Israeli official told Reuters.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards forced through ‌the choice of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, seeing him ‌as a more pliant version of his father who would ⁠back their hardline policies.

Khamenei’s selection may add up to ‌a more aggressive stance abroad and sterner internal repression, said three senior Iranian sources, a reformist former official ‌and another insider.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said last week that any leader ⁠appointed by the current ⁠Iranian leadership would “be an unequivocal target for ‌elimination.”

- Reuters

Iran will target economic and banking interests ‌linked to the U.S. and ⁠Israel in the region, a spokesperson of the ‌Khatam ol Anbia joint ‌command said today, ⁠adding this threat ⁠follows an attack on an Iranian bank.

“Following their failed campaign, ‌the terrorist U.S. army and cruel Zionist regime (Israel) have ‌targeted one of the country’s banks,” state media quoted ⁠Ebrahim Zolfaqari as saying.

“With this illegitimate and ‌uncommon action, the enemy is forcing our hand to target economic centres and ‌banks linked to the U.S. and Zionist regime in the ⁠region.”

The spokesperson warned people ⁠of the region to ‌stay away from banks.

- Reuters

Energy Ministers of the G7 said they “stand ready” to take “all necessary measures” in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to tackle the rise in crude oil prices due to the West Asia war.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing officials familiar with the matter, that the IEA had proposed its largest ever release of oil reserves to counter soaring crude prices driven by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

After a virtual meeting yesterday with the IEA’s executive director, they said in a statement: “G7 members will carefully consider the recommendations issued during these discussions.”

“In principle, we support the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves,” they said, adding they were coordinating within the G7, with IEA member countries and beyond.

“We agreed to stand ready to take all necessary measures in coordination with IEA Members,” the statement said.

G7 Finance Ministers met on March 9, 2026, and G7 Energy Ministers yesterday to discuss the potential release of emergency stocks. “We want to be ready to react at any moment,” French Finance Minister Roland Lescure, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven advanced economies, said.

- AFP

Two drones came ⁠down in ‌the vicinity ‌of ‌Dubai ⁠airport, injuring ‌four people, Dubai’s media office ‌said.

Air traffic is ⁠operating ‌as normal, it ‌added.

- Reuters

FIFA said that it anticipates Iran’s national team will be allowed to come to the United States, even with war going on between the countries, and compete in the World Cup that begins in about three months.

Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

Iranian officials have suggested recently that its country’s participation is in some doubt because of the war.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said “I really don’t care” if Iran takes part in the 48-nation tournament.

-AP

Several blasts rang out across the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday, AFP correspondents said, as Iran’s retaliatory strikes on the Gulf entered a twelfth day.

“The security threat level is high,” the interior ministry posted on X, urging “everyone to adhere to staying at home, not going out, and staying away from windows and open areas to preserve public safety”.

-AFP

Some tankers, believed to be linked to Iran, are continuing to get through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Some of the ships getting through are so-called “dark” transits, meaning they aren’t turning on their Automatic Identification System tracks, which show where vessels are.

Vessels carrying sanctioned Iranian crude often turn off their AIS trackers.

The security firm Neptune P2P Group said Wednesday that seven ships had passed through the strait since March 8. Of those, five were linked to Iranian-associated shipping, it said.

-AP

Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, said the son of the Iranian president on Wednesday.

“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,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel.

-AFP

A projectile hit a cargo ship Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, setting the vessel ablaze after the United States targeted Iranian minelaying vessels that could target the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, run by the British military, said the vessel had been hit just north of Oman in the strait.

It said the crew was evacuating the ship.

-AP

By elevating him (Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei), Tehran has sent an unmistakable message: the Islamic Republic stands firm despite the war. If Mr. Trump believed that his initial decapitation strike would lead to the Islamic state’s collapse, he was mistaken. Instead, all branches of the state rallied behind the military and the clergy, while Iran regionalised the war by attacking U.S. bases and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf as well as Israel. Now, a new Khamenei is in power; the Iranian state is far from collapsing; energy prices are soaring and leaders in the U.S. and Israel are searching for exit strategies.

Read today’s editorial here

Iranian protesters will be treated as enemies if they support Tehran’s foes, the country’s top police officer warned, as the Middle East war sparked fears mass anti-government rallies could reignite.

“If anyone comes forward in line with the wishes of the enemy, we will no longer see them as merely a protester, we will see them as an enemy,” said national police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan in comments aired by state broadcaster IRIB late on Tuesday.

“And we will do to them what we do to an enemy. We will deal with them in the same way we deal with enemies,” he added.

“All our forces are also ready, with their hands on the trigger, prepared to defend their revolution.”

-AFP

Israeli strikes targeted an apartment ‌building in central Beirut on ⁠Wednesday, Lebanese state media said, marking the second strike ‌in the city in recent days.

There ‌was no immediate ‌comment ⁠from the Israeli ⁠military and no immediate reports of casualties.

-Reuters

The U.S. has “temporarily permitted” India to “accept” Russian oil already on ships in the sea to ensure energy supplies amid the conflict with Iran, and the short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to Moscow, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.

President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the whole national security team “came to this decision because our allies in India have been good actors and have previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil”, Ms. Leavitt told a press conference at the White House.

Read more:

Have temporarily allowed New Delhi to accept Russian oil already at sea, says White House

The U.S. temporarily allows India to purchase stranded Russian oil to mitigate global supply issues amid the Iran conflict.

A container ship was hit off the coast of the United Arab Emirates by an unidentified projectile, a British maritime security agency reported Wednesday, as Iran carries out a retaliation campaign in the Gulf in response to US-Israeli strikes.

“The Master of a container vessel has reported that the vessel has sustained damage from a suspected but unknown projectile,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, adding the extent of the damage was unknown but all crew members were safe.

-AFP

The war between the U.S.-Israel and Iran has put stress on the country’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply, which was already heavily import dependent and in need of government aid previously. 

Read the data story here:

How the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran is exposing India’s LPG dependence

West Asia conflict threatens India’s LPG supply as import dependence rises. Price hikes, supply disruptions and subsidy cuts could strain oil marketing companies.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that at least two missiles targeted a United States base in Kuwait, according to Iranian news agencies Fars and Mehr.

“The American base in Arifjan was... hit by firing 2 missiles by the IRGC Ground Force missile unit,” the Guards said, Fars and Mehr reported, referring to Camp Arifjan located south of Kuwait City.

-AFP

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi – their third such conversation since the West Asia crisis began – as New Delhi ramped up efforts to protect its energy security amid a virtual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

​Click here to read the report.​

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Full-service carrier Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express have said they will together operate a total of 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from West Asia on Wednesday.

Amid the escalating conflict in the region involving the US, Israel and Iran, airlines are operating services in a calibrated manner as there are airspace restrictions and closures.

The two carriers will continue to operate their respective scheduled services to and from Jeddah and Muscat on March 11, Air India said in a statement on Tuesday.

-PTI

North Korea respects Iran’s choice of a new supreme leader, state media said Wednesday, accusing the US and Israel of undermining regional peace.

Pyongyang, a longstanding US adversary, has previously condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran as an “illegal act of aggression”.

The Islamic republic on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, longtime ruler Ali Khamenei, who died in an Israeli airstrike on February 28.

-AFP

A drone struck a major U.S. diplomatic facility in Iraq on Tuesday in suspected retaliation by pro-Tehran militias over the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the Washington ‌Post reported, citing an unidentified security official and an internal U.S. State Department alert.

The strike ⁠hit the diplomatic support center, a logistical hub for U.S. diplomats near Baghdad airport and Iraqi military bases, the Post reported.

-Reuters

Crude prices sank and equities mostly rose on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) as oil-importing countries discussed a possible stockpile release while monitoring the Strait of Hormuz, a key petroleum waterway emptied of traffic as the war in West Asia rages.

Read more:

Oil prices plunge to $87.8 per barrel as IEA eyes emergency release with Strait of Hormuz in focus

Oil prices drop to $87.80 amid International Energy Agency's emergency talks and focus on the critical Strait of Hormuz amidst the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a call ‌with leaders of the Group of Seven on Wednesday to ⁠discuss the Iran crisis and rising energy prices, the French president’s office said. The ‌talks come as G7 governments weigh how to respond ‌to a sharp rise in ‌oil ⁠prices triggered by the ⁠U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Read more here:

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Macron to host G7 leaders call on Iran crisis, energy prices

French ​President Emmanuel Macron convenes G7 leaders to address the Iran crisis and surging energy prices amid fluctuating oil market conditions.

Israel’s military said Wednesday that it detected missiles heading towards the country from Iran and had activated air defences, as it pressed a “wave” of strikes against Iran and Lebanon.

“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said on its official Telegram account.

-AFP