Missiles, drones coming from Iran fell on airport in Azerbaijan

Missiles and drones flying from the direction of Iran fell on the territory of the airport in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan on Thursday, a source close to the Azerbaijani government told Reuters.

Nakhchivan International Airport is located roughly 10 km (6 miles) from the border with Iran.

Italy plans to send air defence aid to Gulf states after Iranian strikes, Meloni says

Italy is planning to send air defence aid to Gulf countries in the face of Iranian air strikes, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.

"Like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, Italy intends to send assistance to Gulf countries, specifically in the field of defence and in particular air defence," Meloni told radio station RTL 102.5.

"This is not only because they are friendly nations, but above all because tens of thousands of Italians live in the region and around 2,000 Italian troops are deployed there – people we want, and must, protect," she added.

Abu Dhabi Airports resumes limited flight operations at Zayed International Airport

Abu Dhabi Airports resumes limited flight operations at Zayed International Airport (AUH): AD Media Office.

UK's Oman repatriation flight pushed back after technical delays

Britain said on Thursday its first repatriation flight from Oman had been rescheduled due to operational issues, including delays in getting passengers on board.

The government had chartered a flight from Muscat to London - due to leave on Wednesday evening - for British nationals and their spouses or partners and children, with the most vulnerable people having priority.

But the Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday that the flight was not able to depart due to technical issues.

Speaking to Sky News, Alex Norris, a minister in the interior ministry, said there were also delays in getting passengers on board as part of the operational challenges.

The flight was now expected to depart later on Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of European citizens have been stranded in the Gulf states since Israel and the U.S. struck Iran on Saturday and Iran then attacked its neighbours.

Britain said some 300,000 of its citizens were in Gulf countries, either on holiday, in transit or permanently based there.

British Airways, which is currently unable to fly from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv, said it would run flights from Muscat on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and that they were fully booked.

Passage through the strait of Hormuz during war will be under Iran's control, Revolutionary Guards say

Iran's revolutionary guards said on Thursday that they have hit a U.S. tanker in the northern part of the Gulf and the vessel is on fire.

The Guards said in the statement carried by state media that, in time of war, passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be under the control of the Islamic Republic. 

Hegseth tells Israel to press on ‘until the end’, Israeli defence ministry says

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told Israel to "keep going until the end", saying the U.S. stood with Israel, in overnight talks with Defence Minister Israel Katz, Israel's defence ministry said on Thursday.

Katz thanked Hegseth for extensive U.S. assistance in defending Israeli citizens against the Iranian missile threat, it said. 

US military targeting Iran’s mobile missile launch capabilities, says CENTCOM

US Central Command, while sharing a video on X, wrote, "The effort to eliminate the Iranian regime's mobile missile launch capabilities continues. We are finding and destroying these threats with lethal precision."

Oman offers help to evacuate all stranded travellers from Gulf

Badr Albusaidi, foreign minister of Oman, wrote on X: "For everyone hoping to fly home from the Gulf, the Omani government is working with your governments and international airlines to organise flights to get you home. We mean everyone, whatever passport you hold. The citizens of all countries have the human right to safety and security. People matter. Let's stop the war now."

Explosions heard in Tehran and Karaj: state media

Explosions heard in Tehran and Karaj: state media

Iran FM: US hit frigate Dena, guest of Indian Navy, in international waters

The U.S. struck Iranian frigate Dena, a guest of India's navy carrying almost 130 sailors, in international waters without warning, Iran's foreign minister said on X on Thursday.

"The U.S. will bitterly regret the precedent it has set," Abbas Araqchi said.

A U.S. submarine strike hit the Iranian vessel off Sri Lanka's southern coast, thousands of miles from the Gulf. 

Israeli strike targets Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon's north, killing 2

The Israeli military struck a building in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli, killing two people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

The strike, which hit the area without prior warning and marked the northernmost strike so far, wounded another individual, the Health Ministry said.

The Israeli military did not immediately say who it targeted in the strike.

Located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Beirut and more than 180 kilometers (112 miles) from the Lebanese-Israeli border, Beddawi was targeted during the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024, the Israeli military said in July it struck a Hamas figure in the camp.

Saudi Arabia destroys drone

The Saudi Defence Ministry said it destroyed a drone in the kingdom's al-Jawf province, which borders Jordan.

Iran's armed forces deny firing any missile towards Turkey, say they respect sovereignty

Iran's armed forces say they respect the sovereignty of Turkey and deny any missile firing towards its territory: Statement

Qatar Airways offers limited relief flights for stranded passengers

Qatar airways will operate limited relief flights starting from Thursday for stranded passengers departing from Muscat and Riyadh, it said on X.

Flights are planned from Muscat to Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, London's Heathrow, Madrid and Rome as well as from Riyadh to Frankfurt.

Who hit the girls’ school in Iran? US says it’s still investigating

According to a report by The New York Times, top officials in the Trump administration said on Wednesday they are still investigating whether a US airstrike hit a girls’ elementary school in Iran on the opening day of the war.

The attack, among the deadliest in the ongoing American-Israeli campaign against Iran, killed at least 175 people — most believed to be children — according to state media and health officials. It remains unclear why the school was struck or which country carried out the attack.

At a White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked if the United States conducted the strike: “Not that we know of. The Department of War is investigating this matter.” Asked again if there was evidence ruling out a U.S. or Israeli role, she added: “Again, the Department of War is currently investigating this matter.”

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said: “All I can say is that we’re investigating that. We of course never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that.”

The strike hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh school in Minab in southern Iran. Video verified by The New York Times showed rows of graves prepared for victims as thousands attended funerals.

UNESCO said “the killing of pupils” was a “grave violation of the protection afforded to schools under international humanitarian law.”

Qatar authorities evacuate area around US embassy over security concerns

The Interior ministry of Qatar wrote on X: "In the framework of maintaining public safety, the Ministry of Interior announces that the relevant authorities are evacuating residents living in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy as a temporary precautionary measure."

"Suitable accommodation has been provided for them as part of necessary preventive measures. Please follow official channels for reliable information."

Explosion reported off tanker near Kuwait, crew safe, UKMTO says

A tanker at anchor off Kuwait reported seeing a large explosion on its port side and was taking on water, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The master observed a small craft leaving the area following the explosion, which occurred 30 nautical miles (56 km) southeast of Kuwait's Mubarak Al Kabeer port in the Gulf, UKMTO said.

"There is oil in the water coming from a cargo tank which could have some environmental impact, the vessel has taken on water, there are no fires reported and the crew are safe," it said in an advisory note.

Kuwait's interior ministry said in a later statement that the incident occurred outside the country's territorial waters, at least 60 km (37 miles) from Mubarak Al Kabeer port.

Iranian sailors recovering in Sri Lankan hospital after US submarine attack, authorities say

Iranian sailors who survived a U.S. submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at a hospital in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle, authorities said on Thursday, a day after at least 87 were killed in the attack. Authorities at the National Hospital in Galle and navy sources said 87 bodies were brought in by military rescuers who responded to an early-morning distress call from the IRIS Dena on Wednesday.

Search and rescue operations for an estimated 60 people on board who remain unaccounted for would continue on Thursday, authorities said.

The 32 rescued sailors were being treated for minor injuries and could be released from hospital on Thursday, authorities said. Two policemen guarded the entrance to ward No. 58 of the hospital as nurses milled about and doctors conducted morning rounds. The attack, which dramatically widens the scope of the war, happened hundreds of miles across the Indian Ocean from the Gulf, where U.S. and Israeli forces are striking Iran and Tehran is retaliating with missile and drone attacks.

"An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters," U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Pentagon. "Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet death."

A Pentagon video purporting to have captured the attack showed the warship being hit by a huge explosion, which blew apart the rear of the vessel, lifting it from the water, and causing it to begin sinking from the stern.

Iran launches missiles at Israel as attacks in Middle East commence for sixth day

Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday as aerial attacks in the Middle East commenced for a sixth day after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship and Iran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region.

Israel announced multiple incoming attacks, and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem shortly after the Israeli military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The fighting continued after the US and Israel intensified their bombardment of Iran on Wednesday.

The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The US and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Iran's leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signalling an open-ended conflict.

President Donald Trump praised the US military Wednesday for "doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly." Fellow Republicans in the US Senate stood with Trump on Iran as they voted down a resolution seeking to halt the war.

Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel as the conflict spiralled. Turkiye said NATO defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkiye's airspace.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the world's oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the Middle East.

Threats expanding across the Middle East

Neighbouring countries braced for potential dangers Thursday, a day after Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened "the complete destruction of the region's military and economic infrastructure."

Qatar's Interior Ministry said authorities were evacuating residents near the US Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution, without providing further details.

Fighter jets could be heard overhead Thursday morning in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai.

And a new attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger.

An explosion rocked the area early Thursday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre run by the British military. It said a tanker apparently came under attack, but the agency did not offer a cause. Iran in the past has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them.

Prior attacks since fighting began Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world's oil is shipped.

Oil prices have soared as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait, and global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy.