Middle East crisis live: Israel launches ‘wave of strikes’ on Tehran as Iran prepares for Ali Khamenei’s funeral
Summary of developments so far
Israel said it had launched a “broad wave of strikes” against government targets in Tehran, including the presidential office. A loud blast was reported in the north-east of Tehran this morning, as explosions rocked Iranian cities for a fourth night.
Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon continues, with strikes reported in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, seen as a support base for the militant group Hezbollah.
Iran continues to launch retaliatory strikes, with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying it fired about 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets.
A funeral ceremony is to be held in Tehran for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to state media. Supporters of the late Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israeli strikes on Saturday, will gather at the prayer hall of the Grand Mosalla of Tehran tonight at 10pm (6.30pm GMT) to begin a three-day commemoration ceremony.
Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has emerged as the frontrunner to replace his father as Iran’s supreme leader, the New York Times has reported, citing Iranian officials. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said his military will attempt to kill any Iranian leader appointed to succeed Khamenei.
Global oil and gas prices have spiked as the war has halted energy exports from the Middle East. Iran has attacked ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and forcing production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq.
The conflict has caused turbulence on global markets. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 continued to fall on Wednesday, and was down about 3.9% during early trading. In Seoul, the Kospi – which dropped 7.2% on Tuesday – fell by a further 8.1% before trading was suspended on Wednesday. But Wall Street looks set to open only marginally lower in New York, according to pre-market trading data.
The US navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz if necessary, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, in one of the administration’s most aggressive steps yet to attempt to contain soaring energy prices sparked by the war.
The US military has claimed that the number of strikes carried out on Saturday in the first 24 hours of its war on Iran was nearly double that of the “shock-and-awe” strikes on Iraq in 2003, and that nearly 2,000 targets had been hit so far in Iran. Cooper also said the US was also sinking “all of the Iranian navy” and had already destroyed 17 Iranian ships.
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli strikes on two towns south of Beirut killed six people and wounded eight. Aramoun and Saadiyat are both towns outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds. At least 30,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, according to the UN, after heavy Israeli airstrikes.
ShareUpdated at 09.34 CETKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureSenior Khamenei aide says Iran won’t negotiate with USMohammad Mokhbar, a senior adviser to the late Iranian supreme leader Khamenei, said that his country does not trust the US and does not intend to conduct any negotiations with Washington.“We have no confidence in the Americans, and we have no intention of holding any negotiations with the United States,'” he said in televised comments to state TV, according to various reports.He reportedly pointed out that Iran could “continue the war no matter how long it lasts, just as it did during the eight years of war with Iraq”.ShareTrump 'betrayed diplomacy and Americans who elected him', says Iran foreign ministerThe Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who headed the Iranian delegation during nuclear talks with US officials before this recent bout of fighting began, said Trump has ‘“betrayed diplomacy” by launching attacks in the middle of negotiations.In a post on X, he said:
double quotation markWhen complex nuclear negotiations are treated like a real estate transaction, and when big lies cloud realities, unrealistic expectations can never be met.
The outcome? Bombing the negotiation table out of spite.
Mr Trump betrayed diplomacy and Americans who elected him.
ShareUpdated at 10.10 CETIDF says Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down manned Iranian warplane in TehranThe IDF said an Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down a manned Iranian warplane in Tehran.In a brief statement on social media, the Israeli military claimed to have shot down the Iranian air force’s YAK-130 fighter jet.“This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 “Adir” fighter jet,” the IDF said.There was no immediate comment from Iran.ShareSpain's position is 'no to war', says SanchezThe Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has hit back at Donald Trump after he made scathing comments over Spain’s position that joint military bases could not be used for attacks on Iran.“The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war [no a la guerra],” he said in a televised address, a day after Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain.“We will not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation.”The US president railed against Spain yesterday, saying Madrid was “very uncooperative” and acted like a “terrible” ally, and threatened that the US is “going to cut off all trade” with the country.My colleague, Jakub Krupa, has more on Sanchez’s comments today over on the Europe liveblog, which you can find here:ShareIsrael-US strikes on Iran appear ‘inconsistent with international law’, says Canadian PMCanada’s prime minister Mark Carney said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran “would appear, prima facie... to be inconsistent with international law”.That is despite initially supporting the strikes on Saturday, which he now says he did so “with regret”.Speaking to reporters in Sydney, where he is on an official visit, he said: “We were not informed in advance, we were not asked to participate.“Prima facie, it appears that these actions are inconsistent with international law.”View image in fullscreenPrime minister of Canada Mark Carney speaks during an address at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia. Photograph: Ayush Kumar/ReutersHe continued: “We support efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.“Because Canada is taking the world as it is, not passively waiting for a world we wish to be.“We do, however, take this position with regret because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order.”ShareSummary of developments so far
Israel said it had launched a “broad wave of strikes” against government targets in Tehran, including the presidential office. A loud blast was reported in the north-east of Tehran this morning, as explosions rocked Iranian cities for a fourth night.
Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon continues, with strikes reported in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, seen as a support base for the militant group Hezbollah.
Iran continues to launch retaliatory strikes, with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying it fired about 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets.
A funeral ceremony is to be held in Tehran for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to state media. Supporters of the late Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israeli strikes on Saturday, will gather at the prayer hall of the Grand Mosalla of Tehran tonight at 10pm (6.30pm GMT) to begin a three-day commemoration ceremony.
Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has emerged as the frontrunner to replace his father as Iran’s supreme leader, the New York Times has reported, citing Iranian officials. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said his military will attempt to kill any Iranian leader appointed to succeed Khamenei.
Global oil and gas prices have spiked as the war has halted energy exports from the Middle East. Iran has attacked ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and forcing production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq.
The conflict has caused turbulence on global markets. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 continued to fall on Wednesday, and was down about 3.9% during early trading. In Seoul, the Kospi – which dropped 7.2% on Tuesday – fell by a further 8.1% before trading was suspended on Wednesday. But Wall Street looks set to open only marginally lower in New York, according to pre-market trading data.
The US navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz if necessary, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, in one of the administration’s most aggressive steps yet to attempt to contain soaring energy prices sparked by the war.
The US military has claimed that the number of strikes carried out on Saturday in the first 24 hours of its war on Iran was nearly double that of the “shock-and-awe” strikes on Iraq in 2003, and that nearly 2,000 targets had been hit so far in Iran. Cooper also said the US was also sinking “all of the Iranian navy” and had already destroyed 17 Iranian ships.
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Wednesday that Israeli strikes on two towns south of Beirut killed six people and wounded eight. Aramoun and Saadiyat are both towns outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds. At least 30,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, according to the UN, after heavy Israeli airstrikes.
ShareUpdated at 09.34 CETLoud explosion in Tehran - reportNews agencies are reporting a loud blast in eastern Tehran.We will bring you more details as we get them.ShareDozens rescued from sinking Iranian warship near Sri LankaReuters reported that the Sri Lankan military rescued at least 30 people on board a sinking Iranian ship today near Sri Lankan waters, according to officials.The Sri Lankan navy dispatched a rescue mission after a distress call from the Iranian ship, a defence ministry spokesperson said.Sri Lankan foreign minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that the injured sailors from the 180-crew vessel were taken to a hospital in the south of the country. He did not give further details, including what caused the ship to sink, but said Sri Lanka would take appropriate action.According to local reports, the ship was the Iris Dena, a frigate in the Iranian navy. It had reportedly sent out a distress call off the coast of Galle in the southern part of the country.ShareIsrael threatens to assassinate Ali Khamenei's replacementIsrael’s defence minister Israel Katz threatened on X on Wednesday to assassinate any Iranian leader picked to succeed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
double quotation markAny leader selected by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan for Israel’s destruction, threatening the United States, the free world and countries in the region, and suppressing the Iranian people, will be a certain target for assassination, no matter his name or where he hides.”
ShareHannah Ellis-PetersenIndia is facing a highly precarious situation for its energy security if the Strait of Hormuz – the world’s most critical oil shipping chokepoint – remains closed amidst the escalating Middle East crisis.India, a country of more than 1.4bn people, imports about 88% of its required crude oil to meet its vast energy requirements. Around 40% of that comes from the Middle East, through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but vital maritime corridor linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.Oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz halted since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran last week. In retaliation, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps claimed control of the shipping corridor and warned that any vessel attempting to transit the passage could face missiles or drone strikes.According to industry analyst Kpler, India currently has around 100 million barrels of commercial crude oil stocks left, covering roughly 40 to 45 days of its requirements.Over the past few months, punitive tariffs and sanctions from US president Trump had pushed India to move away from its reliance on discounted Russian oil, over accusations it was funding Putin’s aggressions in Ukraine. However the ongoing turbulence in the Middle East, which is driving up crude oil prices, could send India back to Moscow to ensure its energy security needs are met.On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told a state-run tv channel that India had signalled “renewed interest” in importing larger volumes of Russian crude oil following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.Indian officials have not officially commented but government sources told Reuters that India was “scouting for alternatives” of both crude oil and natural gas and that they were “reasonably confident that if one source closes, another window will open”.The situation is even tricker for India’s natural gas needs, which are largely reliant on Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Facing strikes from Iran, both countries have halted production and exports. This week, Indian companies began reducing gas supplies to some industrial customers as they face an impending shortfall.Share
