US-Israel-Iran War Highlights: US Senate bid to limit Trump’s war powers fails, Israel launches ‘new wave of strikes’ in Tehran

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has long been considered a contender to the post of the country's next paramount ruler, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war last week and despite the fact he's has never been elected or appointed to a government position.

A secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since Saturday, when the Israeli airstrike targeting the supreme leader's offices killed his 86-year-old father.

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Also killed were the younger Khamenei's wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the country's theocracy. Khamenei is believed to still be alive and has likely has gone into hiding as American and Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Iran, though state-run Iranian media have not reported on his whereabouts.

(AP)

Airspace closures across multiple Middle Eastern countries have forced airlines to either cancel services or reroute aircraft along significantly longer paths. Because Gulf airports function as major international transit hubs linking Europe, Africa and Asia, these operational changes are having global consequences. Read the full story here

Iran does not intend to negotiate with the US and has no contacts with Washington in any form, Mohammad Mokhber, a senior aide to late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, said on Iranian state television.

Mokhber, who previously served as Iran’s acting president and first vice president, said Iran had “no trust in the Americans, and we have no basis for any negotiations with them”, adding that Tehran could continue the war “as long as we want”.

(Al Jazeera)

Mohammad Mokhber, a senior aide to late supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the US Consulate General in Dubai are closed, and services cannot be provided in those facilities until further notice, the US Embassy announced Wednesday.

(Gulf News)

More ​than ​470 Chinese citizens have ​been ‌evacuated ⁠since ‌the conflict ⁠in Iran ​broke out, Mao ‌Ning, a ‌Chinese ​foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters.

(France24)

Oil prices rose 3% Wednesday as the US-Israeli war on Iran disrupted Middle East supplies, but the pace of gains slowed from past sessions after President Donald Trump suggested the US Navy could escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent rose $2.67, or 3.3%, to $84.07 a barrel by 0659 GMT, after closing Tuesday at its highest since January 2025.

US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.24, or ⁠3%, to $76.8, after ​settling at its highest since June. Both benchmarks have risen about 5% or more in the past two sessions.

"The primary near-term driver for oil prices remains the US-Iran conflict," said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.

"At this stage, only clear signs of de-escalation could mitigate or reverse the current bullish trend ​for ​WTI, and such signals are currently lacking."

(AP)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they control the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gas, and any vessels seeking to pass through the waterway risk damage from missiles or stray drones.

"Currently, the Strait of Hormuz is under the complete control of the Islamic Republic's Navy," said Guards Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh in a statement issued on Fars news agency.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial Gulf shipping route.

(France24)

US and Israeli airstrikes pounded Iran on Wednesday, with attacks reported across the country. Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in central Tehran, with interviewees complaining that the attacks damaged their homes during the night.

Witnesses also said airstrikes intensely targeted western Tehran, as well as further out to the city of Karaj. Strikes also had been reported in the holy Shia seminary city of Qom, as well as Behbahan, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Shiraz and Tabriz.

State TV has begun referring to the conflict as the “Ramadan war". That likely reflects that it is happening during the holy Muslim fasting month, while also trying to prepare the public for the war to continue for some time.

(AP)

British Prime Minister ⁠Keir Starmer ​said ​Tuesday ​Britain ⁠was sending helicopters with ‌counter-drone capabilities to ⁠Cyprus, ⁠and ⁠was ‌deploying the air ​defence ‌destroyer naval ‌vessel ​HMS ​Dragon ​to ​the region.

Israel’s military said its air force has struck industrial sites “throughout Iran” that are used to produce weapons, including ballistic missiles.

“During strikes conducted throughout Iran, the IDF (military) targeted industrial sites used by the Iranian regime to produce weapons, particularly ballistic missiles,” the military said in a statement.

(Al Jazeera)

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Tuesday ruled out for now any negotiations with the United States, three days after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on his country.

Explosions rocked Tehran again Tuesday, and financial markets around the world tumbled amid fears of ⁠a ​prolonged disruption to global energy supplies. US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have given open-ended answers when asked how long the war might last.

Ali Bahreini, ambassador of the Iranian mission ​to ​the UN in Geneva, told reporters that ⁠Iran had not contacted the US either directly or indirectly about holding talks to de-escalate the conflict or ‌about resuming negotiations over Tehran's nuclear programme.

(Reuters)

The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 36 years, involved painstaking intelligence gathering by Israeli secret services, with crucial technological resources and manpower provided over the last six months by the CIA and other US intelligence services. Read the full story here

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has offered to help the United Arab Emirates protect itself against Iranian aerial attacks.

Ukraine has built significant expertise in countering Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia has launched almost daily at Ukrainian targets since Moscow’s invasion more than four years ago.

Zelenskyy said on X that he spoke by phone with the United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and “discussed how we can help” protect lives in the UAE.

On Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Ukrainian and British experts will work together to help Middle East countries shoot down Iranian drones.

(AP)

Nearly 1,900 out of more than 5,450 flights scheduled to the Middle East were cancelled Tuesday, aviation analytics company Cirium said.

(AP)

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Tehran ⁠wanted ​to talk but it was ​too ​late, as the ⁠United States continued ‌its military operation against Iran.

"Their air defense, Air ⁠Force, ⁠Navy, and Leadership ⁠is ‌gone. They want ​to ‌talk. I said “Too ‌Late!" ​Trump ​said ​in a Truth Social ​post commenting ⁠on an opinion piece.

Israeli air defences have intercepted four Iranian ballistic missiles over Jordan and areas near Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reported, citing Israeli media reports.

The reports indicate that the missiles were shot down before reaching their intended targets.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

(Al Jazeera)

Entrances to Iran's underground and previously bombed uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz have been struck as part of the US-Israeli military attacks on the country, ⁠the ​UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Tuesday.

The underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) is one of Iran's three uranium-enrichment plants ​that ​are known to have ⁠been operating when Israel and the United States carried out ‌strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last June.

"Based on the latest available satellite imagery, IAEA can now confirm some recent damage to entrance buildings of Iran's underground ⁠Natanz ⁠Fuel Enrichment Plant," the International Atomic Energy Agency said on ⁠X.

"No ‌radiological consequence expected ​and no additional impact detected ‌at FEP itself, which was severely damaged in the June ‌conflict," it ​added.

A satellite image shows a closer view of the Natanz Nuclear Facility, near Natanz, Iran, on March 1, 2026. (Reuters)

The ​IAEA's ​findings fit with those of the US think-tank the Institute ​for Science and International ⁠Security, published Monday after Iran said Natanz was hit on Sunday ‌and ⁠the IAEA responded that any military strikes were not ​major.

(Reuters)

An Iranian flag is placed among the ruins of a police station struck Monday during the US Israeli military campaign in Tehran. (AP photo)

Emergency personnel work at the site of an Israeli strike on Beiruts southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, (REUTERS photo)

Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, early Tuesday. (AP Photo)

The Israeli government Tuesday said its soldiers are "operating in southern Lebanon" as it continues strikes against Hezbollah. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military is authorised to advance and take control of additional positions in Lebanon on Tuesday.

He said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) 's move to advance in southern Lebanon is intended to prevent "direct fire" on Israeli communities.

"To prevent the possibility of direct fire at Israeli communities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the IDF to advance and hold additional dominant terrain in Lebanon and defend the border communities from there," Katz said in a statement.

Earlier, as the conflict escalated in West Asia, Israel conducted strikes in both Tehran and Beirut.

The Israeli Defence Forces said in a post on X that it is currently conducting simultaneous targeted strikes against military targets in Tehran and Beirut.

According to Al Jazeera, the IDF strikes took place in Beirut's Haret Hreik area.

Pakistan defence minister said Khawaja Asif called Zionism a driving force behind instability in the Muslim world and a “threat to humanity”, warning that the war on Iran threatens Pakistan’s security.

“From the establishment of Israel on the land of Palestine until today, every catastrophe that has befallen the Islamic world, every war imposed upon it, will show the direct or indirect hand of Zionist ideology and the state,” the defence minister said as he hailed Pakistan’s nuclear capability as a shield against external threats.

Asif argued that the current conflict had been “imposed upon” Iran despite its readiness to reach an agreement in negotiations with the US.

About 400,000 metric tons of Indian basmati rice are backed up at ports and in transit, and export deals have dried up as freight rates have more than doubled since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the weekend, trade officials said.

India is the world's largest exporter of aromatic, premium basmati rice, with buyers in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, accounting for more than half ⁠of ​its shipments.

"Around 200,000 tons of basmati rice are stuck in transit, and an equal amount is stranded at Indian ports as the war has disrupted shipping routes across the Middle East," said Satish Goel, president of the All India Rice ​Exporters' ​Association (AIREA).

(Reuters)

A fuel tank at Oman's Duqm commercial port was hit Tuesday when the facility came under attack from several unmanned aircraft, the state news agency said, citing a security source, on the fourth day of US-Israeli strikes ⁠on ​Iran, which has responded by targeting neighbouring countries.

The attack comes a day after Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas - about a fifth of ​global supply - ​while Saudi Arabia suspended production ⁠at its largest domestic refinery.

Major Israeli gas fields, including Leviathan, were offline, and most output ‌in the Iraqi Kurdish region had been shut down as Iran continued to target infrastructure, including energy facilities, ports and airports, over recent days.

(AP)

Airstrikes targeting an air base in southeastern Iran killed at least 13 Iranian troops there, local media reported. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency and the Hammihan daily newspaper reported the strike in Kerman, 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran.

The Kerman Air Base is known to house military helicopters.

(AP)

Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah claimed that it has attacked three Israeli military sites "in response to the criminal Israeli aggression that targeted dozens of Lebanese cities and towns", reported the BBC.

In three separate posts on Telegram, Hezbollah said it hit the Nafah base in the Golan Heights with a "large missile salvo", as well as the Meron and Ramat David air bases, in northern Israel, with drones.

The Israeli military has not commented on the apparent attacks.

(BBC)