U.S. Air Force refuelling plane has gone down in Iraq

Playing null of undefined

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”

Khamenei did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessed that he was likely wounded in the war’s opening salvo, which he said also killed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As American and Israeli strikes pound the Islamic Republic and Iran attacks Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure with no sign of an end to the war, oil prices have soared back above US$100 a barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump promised to “finish the job,” even as Iran is “virtually destroyed.” The first week of war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon. The UN refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced, and authorities in Lebanon say 800,000 have been forced from their homes as Israel’s military destroys buildings linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Here is the latest:

U.S. Air Force refuelling plane has gone down in Iraq

Rescue efforts are underway, the U.S military said Thursday.

The aircraft is part of the U.S. military operation against Iran, but the crash was not due to hostile or friendly fire, it said.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said in a statement that two KC-135 refuelling aircraft were involved in the incident. One landed safely, while the other went down in western Iraq.

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon kill 15

One attack on the village of Erkay, in the Sidon district, killed nine people, including five children, Lebanon’s health ministry said, adding that seven others were wounded.

An AP photographer who visited the scene found several buildings flattened and widespread destruction. Rescue workers searched through the rubble.

Two other Israeli strikes on separate towns in southern Lebanon killed six more, the ministry said.

Israel’s renewed offensive in Lebanon began March 2 after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the early days of the war triggered by the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran.

Pentagon concedes it’s reworking how it wants to handle efforts to minimize civilian casualties

The Defense Department said in a statement that its efforts to reduce civilian harm are “currently undergoing a strategic reassessment to inform its future reorganization.”

AP has reported that outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out a missile strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed over 165 people, many of them children.

The Pentagon did not address media reports and critics who said that the military slashed the size of its mission central to civilian protection and that the emphasis on updating intelligence had come to a near halt.

The statement did acknowledge, however, that a “reorganization” was being conducted and that functions to reduce civilian casualties have been “streamlined” directly into the operations of combatant commands.

Iranian diplomat says Tehran is not ruling out closing the Strait of Hormuz

“Iran has an inherent right to preserve the peace and security in the Strait of Hormuz, and it is our responsibility,” Amir Saeid Iravani, Tehran’s envoy to the UN, told reporters Thursday.

His comments come a few hours after Iran’s new supreme leader issued his first statement on the war, saying that the leverage of closing the strategic waterway should be used in the ongoing war with Israel and the U.S.

Iran’s attacks on shipping during the war have effectively closed the strait.

Israeli strikes on checkpoints in Iran aim to weaken state control, monitoring group says

At least 18 instances in which Israel struck checkpoints operated by Iran’s paramilitary Basij forces, mostly in the capital, were documented on Wednesday alone by Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, the U.S-based group known as ACLED.

ACLED said the strikes may be aimed at stoking unrest among the security forces, who play a key role in suppressing dissent.

Since the start of the war, ACLED said at least 30% of its recorded U.S. and Israeli strikes have targeted Iran’s system of internal control, including police stations and sites used by intelligence and Revolutionary Guard forces involved in domestic security.

Israel’s prime minister said Thursday that his country was trying to create the conditions for Iranians to rise up against the government. However, hundreds of thousands of people work for the internal security forces across the country, ACLED said.

Stocks sink worldwide as Iran war rages on

With no clear end in sight, the war with Iran sent oil prices back to $100 per barrel on Thursday, and stocks sank worldwide.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% and resumed its sharp swings following a couple days of relative calm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 739 points, or 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.8%.

The center of action was again the oil market, where the price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 9.2% to settle at $100.46. Worries are worsening that the war could block the production of oil in the Persian Gulf for a long time and cause a debilitating surge of inflation for the global economy.

Damage to historical sites in Iran raises alarm about war’s impact on protected places

At least four of Iran’s nearly 30 historical sites, including palaces and an ancient mosque, have sustained damage from U.S. and Israeli strikes during the war.

The speed and extent of the damage made Iran and Lebanon so concerned that they sent a request this week to the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, to add more sites to its enhanced protection list.

UNESCO said it shared site coordinates with combatants beforehand to help avoid damage, but warned that modern conflicts increasingly endanger civilians, infrastructure and cultural heritage.

One nonprofit group has pointed to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying last week that America’s approach to the war would not include “stupid rules of engagement.”

Israel claims strikes have killed top nuclear scientists

In other developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli attacks have killed top Iranian nuclear scientists.

Speaking Thursday night at a news conference, Netanyahu denounced Iran’s new supreme leader as a “puppet of the Revolutionary Guards” who cannot appear in public. And he addressed the Iranian people, saying the moment for a “new path of freedom” was approaching and that Israel stands with them.

No significant injuries to U.S. personnel after attack on base in Iraq, official says

An attack on a base in northern Iraq resulted in no significant injuries to American personnel, a U.S. defence official said Thursday.

The official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the U.S. personnel are still on duty after Wednesday’s attack.

British military officials said earlier Thursday that several U.S. personnel were injured in drone strikes at a base in Irbil that houses both British and American troops.

The U.K. and U.S. military officials did not specify if the wounded were American troops.

Hezbollah official says Beirut branch of financial arm that Israel hit had been shuttered for 2 weeks

Amin Sherri, a member of Lebanon’s parliament, made the remarks after an Israeli strike hit the ground floor of a building in crowded central Beirut.

In the current conflict with Hezbollah and the last one in 2024, Israel has targeted branches of the militant group’s financial arm, Al-Qard al-Hassan, which offers small loans to people but also transfers funds within the group.

This was the second Israeli strike Thursday in the heart of the Lebanese capital, close to government, United Nations, and diplomatic buildings.

Residents gathered afterward, walking through the narrow street filled with debris and shattered glass. Several vehicles were badly damaged.

“The al-Qard al-Hassan branch in Zoqaq el-Blat has been inactive,” Sherri said after walking through the area.

The islands off Iran’s southern coast are key to its economy and security

Iran’s parliament speaker warned on Thursday that attacks on the Persian Gulf islands on Iran’s southern maritime frontier would provoke a new level of retaliation, underscoring how central they are to the country’s economy and security.

In a social media post, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran “will abandon all restraint” if the islands come under attack and said Trump will be responsible for “the blood of American soldiers.”

Kharg Island, Qeshm Island, and the tiny islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb carry outsized importance because of their oil facilities and strategic location. “A direct strike would immediately halt the bulk of Iran’s crude exports, likely triggering severe retaliation,” JPMorgan said in an investment note this week.

Oil jumps to $100 per barrel as global markets sink

Stocks were sinking worldwide on Thursday with no clear end in sight for the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 1.4 per cent and is returning to sharp swings following a couple days of relative calm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 674 points, or 1.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.6 per cent lower.

The centre of action was again the oil market, where the price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 9.2 per cent to settle at $100.46. Worries are worsening that the war could block the production of oil in the Persian Gulf for a long time and cause a debilitating surge of inflation for the global economy.

Top U.S. military commander in Europe says air defences moved because of Iran war

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told lawmakers on a Senate committee that the precious weapons systems have been moved from Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean to protect NATO allies. He also said “we do have a robust set of air defences in the Middle East.”

The general was pressed on the issue by Sen. Angus King, and independent from Maine, who cited Ukraine’s need for such weapons systems to defend against Russia.

Democratic lawmakers have argued Trump is waging a “war of choice” as munitions for missile defence systems diminish. The Trump administration has repeatedly said American forces have all the weapons they need.

U.S. general tells lawmakers military has `robust standards’ for reducing civilian harm

A top Pentagon official addressed concerns Thursday that outdated intelligence likely led to a deadly American missile strike on an Iranian school.

Gen. Alexus Grynkewich spoke at a Senate committee hearing on European operations. But Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., pressed the head of European Command on the strike and on staffing cuts at a Pentagon office that focuses on reducing civilian casualties.

“We have robust standards that we go through, and look to see and update the imagery, and update our understanding of the target and refresh the intelligence on a recurring basis to determine the chances of civilian harm,” he said.

Israeli strike kills two academics at Lebanese university

The Israeli strike that hit in the vicinity of Lebanon’s only public university killed the director of the faculty of sciences Hussein Bazzi and professor Mortada Srour.

The campus is in Hadath, on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs, which Israel had warned last week should be evacuated. It was not clear whether the campus was directly targeted, but smoke could be seen rising near the building’s courtyard in the aftermath. Israel had no immediate comment.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the bombing, which he said targeted the campus, as a crime and a “violation of international laws and norms that prohibit attacks on educational institutions and civilians.”

Cyber threats rise as Iran-linked hackers eye U.S. targets

Pro-Iranian hackers targeting sites in the Middle East are starting to stretch into the United States, raising risks that American defence contractors, power stations and water plants could be swept into the Iran war’s digital chaos.

Hackers supporting Iran claimed responsibility for a significant cyberattack Wednesday against U.S. medical device company Stryker. They’ve also tried to penetrate cameras in Middle Eastern countries to improve Iran’s missile targeting, and hit data centers in the region, industrial facilities in Israel, a school in Saudi Arabia and an airport in Kuwait.

“Something is going to happen because the gloves are off,” said Kevin Mandia, founder of the cybersecurity companies Mandiant and Armadin.

Iran’s supreme leader vows in his first public statement to keep open a ‘file of revenge’

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war Thursday — read by a state television news anchor — vowing to avenge not just the killings of his father and other leaders by the U.S. and Israel, but that of every Iranian who has died in this war.

“I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs,” his statement said. “The retaliation we have in mind is not limited only to the martyrdom of the great leader of the Revolution; rather, every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy constitutes a separate case in the file of revenge.”

Infrastructure that supplies the world with oil and gas is at risk

The Iran war threatens some of the world’s most critical oil and gas infrastructure — the pipelines, refineries, and shipping terminals that keep energy flowing from the Persian Gulf region to the global economy.

Strikes by Iranian drones and missiles have disrupted some operations, while the risk of Iranian strikes has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for some 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. Oil fields in the region have cut back output as storage fills up.

All that is raising the cost of everything that needs fuel made from crude: flying, cooking, heating homes, running factories, transporting goods, and farming.

Brazil lifts fuel taxes to ease pain at the pump

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday his government will suspend two fuel taxes through Dec. 31 to offset rising costs linked to the war in Iran, temporarily cutting diesel prices by 0.64 Brazilian real per litre (about $0.12).

Lula, who is up for reelection, put most of the blame squarely on “the irresponsibility of global wars.”

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the priority is preventing diesel price increases, as the fuel underpins Brazil’s supply chain.

Israel says it’s launching more airstrikes on Beirut

Israel’s military said Thursday night it had begun another wave of strikes on Lebanon’s capital, saying it was targeting Hezbollah sites.

It came after Israeli strikes earlier Thursday hit a building in a busy residential and commercial district in central Beirut, close to the prime minister’s office, the UN building and foreign embassies.

U.S. continues to destroy Iran’s minelaying capacity as crucial waterway remains closed

The U.S. military said Thursday that American forces have now struck more than 6,000 targets since the operation against Iran began Feb. 28, including 30-plus minelaying vessels. It’s aiming to prevent Iranian threats from closing oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The war in Iran has ground tanker traffic through the chokepoint to a halt and oil prices have been swinging sharply. The Islamic Republic vowed to prevent “even a single liter’ of oil from reaching its enemies and their allies.

White House considers waiving Jones Act requirements during Iran war

The 1920s law is often blamed for making gas more expensive. It requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be moved on U.S.-flagged vessels, and is designed to protect the American shipbuilding sector.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that temporarily waiving the requirement could “ensure vital energy products and agricultural necessities are flowing freely to U.S. ports.” The action has not been finalized, she said.

UN chief renews call for end to war, return to negotiations

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the U.S.-Israeli military strikes, followed by Iran’s retaliatory attacks, have caused “immense suffering” and pushed the region to a breaking point.

“And as always, the most vulnerable are being hurt first and worst,” Guterres said. “De-escalation and dialogue are the only way out.”

He made the comments in the Turkish capital where he received the country’s peace prize on behalf of global UN staff.

Russia and China clash with U.S. and its allies over Iran’s nuclear ambitions

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz told the UN Security Council that Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to produce and accumulate uranium enriched up to 60 per cent, which is near weapons-grade.

The United Kingdom’s acting ambassador, James Kariuki, said there is “no credible civilian justification” for Iran possessing more than 400 kilograms (about 880 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, adding the stockpile erodes confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program and led to the “snapback” of UN sanctions last September.

But Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the U.S. and its allies of whipping up “hysteria” about Iran seeking a nuclear weapon to justify “yet another military venture against Tehran” and escalate tensions.

China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong said Iran has repeatedly reaffirmed it does not seek nuclear weapons and that its “sincerity should be taken seriously.”

Israel strikes a building near downtown Beirut

The apartment building is in a busy residential and commercial district in central Beirut, close to the prime minister’s office, the UN building and foreign embassies.

The strike came soon after Israel’s Arabic-language spokesperson issued a warning on X for residents to evacuate 300 metres (1,000 feet) away from the building, which it said was near a Hezbollah target. This was the first strike in central Beirut of the current conflict that came with a warning.

The building didn’t immediately collapse after an initial strike. As people approached after the first hit, an Israeli drone launched a warning strike to disperse the crowds again ahead of a second anticipated strike.

Democratic senator wants hearings on why Trump attacked Iran

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin told reporters during a teleconference Thursday that she’s demanding Republican Majority Leader John Thune hold public hearings with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Americans deserve to know why Trump decided to attack Iran, but she said the president has been unable to articulate a clear reason, let alone an exit strategy.

She and five other Democratic senators have filed war powers resolutions to block the U.S. military campaign, which she called unauthorized, “illegal” and “a war of choice.”

U.K. says drones hit base in Iraq, injuring U.S. personnel

Brig. Guy Foden said a number of drones hit a base in Erbil in northern Iraq that houses both British and American troops, and that several U.S. personnel were injured.

Another officer, Lt. Gen. Nick Perry, said there were no British casualties in Wednesday night’s attack, and that U.S. casualties were “nothing too serious.”

Trump says it’s not ‘appropriate’ for Iranian team to attend World Cup

“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup,” Trump wrote on his social media site Thursday, “but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”

This appears to depart somewhat from the message he relayed Tuesday evening at the White House to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who later publicly said that Trump assured him the Iranian players and coaches would still be welcome.

The White House did not immediately clarify Thursday what the president meant by “their own life and safety,” such as whether he anticipated threats against them while in the United States. Iranian leaders said this week that it’s “not possible” for the country to participate in this year’s World Cup.

A new wave of Israeli strikes in Beirut

Israel’s military said it began the strikes Thursday after warning residents of a large swath of southern Beirut to evacuate north earlier in the day.

U.S. State Department sees declining demand for evacuation flights

The vast majority of the 47,000 Americans who left the region did so commercially without taking one of the roughly 50 free charter evacuation flights for Americans, the department said.

About 32,000 Americans in the region reached out for either security information or travel assistance and all were then contacted by phone, text or email, but most who were offered charter seats preferred to arrange their own travel or to remain in the Middle East, the department said.

California governor sees no imminent Iran threat despite FBI warning about a possible drone attack

“We’ve been aware of that information,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “It’s all about a posture of preparedness for worst-case scenarios.”

The FBI warned police departments before the war that Iran could try to strike the state.

“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 U.S. conducted strikes against Iran,” the alert said, according to ABC News.

The FBI alert said it had no additional information.

Russia and China fail to prevent UN meeting on sanctions against Iran

The U.S., which holds the Security Council presidency this month, had been pushing for a meeting on sanctions that were reimposed on Iran last September because of growing concerns over its nuclear program.

It received support from 10 other members of the council, who voted in favor of holding the meeting amid ongoing conflict in Iran after U.S. and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. Iran’s two allies on the Security Council, Russia and China, were opposed, and Pakistan and Somalia abstained from Thursday’s vote.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia argued that reimposing the sanctions would be a “flagrant violation.”

Goldman Sachs sees war slowing growth and raising inflation this year

The investment bank said early Thursday that the Iran war could have a sustained, if modest, impact on the U.S. economy, with inflation and unemployment higher and growth slower.

Goldman now thinks the Federal Reserve won’t cut its key interest rate until September, and its forecasts suggest Americans will keep seeing higher costs for gas, utilities and potentially groceries as they prepare to vote in this year’s elections.

Before this war began, Goldman forecast that inflation would cool as the impact of Trump’s tariffs fades. The bank now expects the Fed’s preferred inflation measure to end this year at 2.9 per cent, remaining above the Fed’s target of 2 per cent.

And that’s based on average oil prices rising 40 per cent to $98 a barrel in March and April. Should the war cause oil prices rise to an average $110 over those two months, inflation would hit 3.3 per cent, Goldman economists estimate.

U.S.: Non-combat fire on Ford aircraft carrier left 2 sailors with non-life-threatening injuries

The U.S. Navy said the fire Thursday on USS Gerald R. Ford originated in the main laundry area.

“The cause of the fire was not combat-related and is contained,” the Navy said in a post on X. “There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational.”

Two sailors are receiving medical treatment “for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition,” the post continued.

The world’s largest aircraft carrier has been operating in the Red Sea for the last few weeks as part of U.S. operations in Iran.

Turkiye condemns Israel’s actions in Lebanon

A Foreign Ministry statement said the attacks in Lebanon have led to a humanitarian crisis and constitute a violation of international law.

Turkiye also accused Israel of expanding its “destructive” policies in Gaza into Lebanon.

“We will continue to stand in solidarity with the Lebanese people and state,” the statement read.

Supreme leader offers no clues to his location as airstrikes pound Tehran

Khamenei said he, like the Iranian public, only learned about being selected as supreme leader from Iranian state television.

He did not mention his location in the statement as well as he’s likely in a secure, secret location to avoid a threatened Israeli operation to kill him. Minutes after the speech ended, the sound of airstrikes again boomed across Iran’s capital.

Khamenei describes the deaths of his family members

Khamenei acknowledged in his speech the death of his father, signaling he was there in the aftermath and saw his father’s body. Khamenei also confirmed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and the husband of his other sister also were killed in the airstrike.

“I had the honor of seeing his body after his martyrdom,” Khamenei said of his father. “What I saw was a mountain of steadfastness, and I was told that the fist of his intact hand had been clenched.”

Israeli military warns residents of a large swath of Lebanon to leave their homes, saying it will act against Hezbollah

The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said on X that Lebanese residents should move north of the Zahrani River, which at its midpoint is about 35 miles (56 kilometres) away from the border with Israel.

Over 800,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced over the past 10 days in the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, part of the wider Iran war.

Khamenei’s first statement signals a continuation of his slain father’s strategy in confronting the U.S. and Israel

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s remarks suggested Iran may open up new fronts in the war if it continues. That likely would signal a return by Iran to the militant attacks the United States has blamed on it in the past, including the 1983 U.S. Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut and others.

“One point I must emphasize is that, in any case, we will obtain compensation from the enemy,” Khamenei said. “If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent.”

When Ali Khamenei took over from the late Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, he did not immediately make a public speech in person, instead waiting until after a 40-day mourning period. However, Mojtaba Khamenei finds himself and the Iranian government he leads in perhaps its most-desperate fight since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Khamenei acknowledged in his speech the death of his father, signaling he was there in the aftermath and saw his father’s body. Khamenei also confirmed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and the husband of his other sister also were killed in the airstrike.

Iranian official has a message for Trump

Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani responded on X Thursday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to target electricity sites in Iran.

Larijani wrote that destroying Iran’s electricity would quickly create a regional blackout, and the darkness “would provide a good opportunity to hunt fleeing American soldiers in the region.”

Thailand demands apology from Iran after cargo ship attack

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry conveyed its “strongest protest” to the Iranian ambassador in Bangkok after a Thai cargo ship was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. Thailand requested a statement of apology from the Iranian authorities.

The deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs, Sirilak Niyom, also requested clarification of facts surrounding the incident, according to the ministry’s statement. The ambassador, Nassereddin Heidari, “expressed his condolences and gave assurances to promptly convey Thailand’s protest to the capital,” the statement said.

A search is still ongoing for three crew members while 20 others were rescued on Wednesday without serious injuries but might need psychological support, Thai officials said.

Iran releases footage of Guard attack on a ship off Iraq

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed attacking a vessel off Iraq, with a video showing the moment it was struck.

The footage showed explosions striking the Safesea Vishnu, flagged in the Marshall Islands, overnight.

In the footage, a man can be heard shouting: “Allah is the greatest! The destruction of an American tanker in the northern district of the Persian Gulf! I obey you Khamenei! Hail be the Islamic Republic of Iran! Soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy!”

Israel’s defence minister says it’s preparing to expand military operation in Lebanon

Israel Katz held a security assessment with military officials Thursday in the army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, after the largest attack yet by Hezbollah in the Iran war.

He warned Lebanon that if its government does not prevent Hezbollah from attacking, Israel “will take the territory and do it ourselves.”

In a video statement released by his office, Katz said he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to prepare for “an expansion” of its activity in Lebanon “and to restore calm and security to the northern communities.”

The Associated Press