Iran’s military says ships belonging to US, Israel or allies are ‘legitimate targets’
Iran’s military on Wednesday 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.
It comes as Iran’s revolutionary guards claimed to have fired at the Thai-flagged bulk vessel Mayuree Naree in the strait earlier today.
Updated at 08.29 EDT
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Here are some images coming out of Tehran today:
Iranians attend a mass funeral in Tehran, Iran on 11 March 2026 for the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders, army commanders and civilians who were killed during the US-Israel war on Iran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPAIranians attend a mass funeral in Tehran, Iran on 11 March 2026 for the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders, army commanders and civilians who were killed during the US-Israel war on Iran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPAMourners beat their chests as they hold posters depicting Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, right in the posters, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left in the posters, as supreme leader, during the funeral procession for senior Iranian military officials and civilians killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign in Tehran, Iran on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Vahid Salemi/APShare
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Wednesday 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”.
Katz said hospital morgues in Iran were full, but insisted the casualties were not civilians. He added that strikes would continue in Tehran and across the country “day after day, target after target”.
Katz said strikes would continue “in order to allow the Iranian people to rise up, act, and remove this regime”, adding that “ultimately, that is something that depends on them”.
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Helena Smith
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured in the 28 February attack that killed six of his family members, including his father, Tehran’s ambassador to Cyprus has confirmed.
In an interview conducted at his embassy compound in Nicosia, Alireza Salarian elaborated on the circumstances in which Khamenei, 56, was injured, saying he was lucky to survive the strike, which levelled the late ayatollah’s residence.
“He was also there and he was injured in that bombardment but I haven’t seen that reflected in the foreign news,” he told the Guardian. “I have heard that he was injured in his legs and hand and arm … I think he is in the hospital because he is injured.”
Explaining why the cleric had not appeared in public or made any statements since he succeeded his father on Sunday, he added: “I don’t think he is comfortable [in any condition] to give a speech.”
The attack had occurred on the opening day of US-led airstrikes against Iran, when the sprawling presidential complex in the heart of Tehran was targeted. It was the 10th day of the holy month of Ramadan, said the ambassador, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was at his residence with several members of his family, including Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra, who was also killed in the attack.
Iranian media reports suggested that Ali Khamenei’s wife, Mansour, died three days after the aerial strike.
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Dan Sabbagh
Three US B-1 bombers were seen flying back to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire this morning after what appears to be the first bombing run conducted by the US Airforce from a British airbase since the start of the war with Iran.
A USAF B-1B bomber comes in to land at RAF Fairford airbase, used by United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Photographs taken around 7am show the B-1s, which can carry 75,000kg worth of munitions, returning from an overnight mission in the dawn light, though it is not known what if any targets were struck in the mission.
They were first spotted taking off late on Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, declared “the most intense day of strikes inside Iran” was taking place.
U.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel stand by a USAF B-1B bomber at RAF Fairford airbase, used by USAF personnel in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, on 11 March 11. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Permission for US bombing of Iran from British bases were initially refused by prime minister Keir Starmer, who then changed his mind on the second day of the conflict, saying the bases could be used to strike Iranian missile launch sites.
Long range photography showed bombs being prepared for loading on Tuesday. Eleven B-1s and 3 B-52 bombers have been deployed to Fairford, which is a home base for US Air Force bombers in Europe.
ShareIran’s military says ships belonging to US, Israel or allies are ‘legitimate targets’
Iran’s military on Wednesday 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.
It comes as Iran’s revolutionary guards claimed to have fired at the Thai-flagged bulk vessel Mayuree Naree in the strait earlier today.
Updated at 08.29 EDT
Today so far
Three ships were hit by unknown projectiles in the strategic strait of Hormuz abutting Iran. Two of the ships sustained damage, while another, which the Thai navy identified as a Thai bulk carrier, caught fire, forcing the crew to evacuate.
In more Hormuz news, US Central Command said that it “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump had initially said there had been “no reports” of Iran placing mines in the strait, but warned that if it had, they must be moved “IMMEDIATELY” or Iran would face military consequences “at a level never seen before”. US officials earlier told CBS News that Iran may be preparing to deploy naval mines in the strait to further disrupt the crucial shipping lane. According to CNN, a few dozen mines have been laid in recent days.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is “safe and sound” despite war injuries, said Yousef Pezeshkian, a government adviser and the son of Iran’s president, on Wednesday. State television had called Khamenei, 56, a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury. The comments come amid speculation over the health and whereabouts of Khamenei, who has not engaged with the public since he succeeded his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, three days ago.
The Israeli military said it had begun a “wide-scale wave” of strikes on targets in Iran and Lebanon. It followed the IDF saying earlier that it had struck key command centres of the Iranian armed forces in Tehran and Tabriz. In Lebanon, 84 people were killed in Israeli attacks and strikes just yesterday, bringing the overall death toll to 570 since the start of the conflict.
Iran launched missiles and drones across the Gulf, including toward Israel, the Israeli military said on Wednesday, and at oil infrastrucure in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said early Wednesday it destroyed five drones heading toward the kingdom’s vast Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert while Kuwait said it downed eight drones over the tiny, oil-rich nation. Bahrain also sounded sirens early Wednesday, warning of an incoming Iranian attack. The warnings came a day after an Iranian attack hit a residential building in the capital, Manama, and killed a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight people.
A drone struck a major US diplomatic facility in Iraq on Tuesday in suspected retaliation by pro-Tehran militias over the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Washington Post reported, citing an unidentified security official and an internal US state department alert.
Dutch carrier KLM announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling all flights to Dubai up to and including 28 March because of the US-Israeli war on Iran. The announcement came just hours after four people were injured when air defences intercepted two drones near Dubai airport.
Updated at 08.12 EDT
KLM cancels all flights to Dubai until 28 March
Dutch carrier KLM announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling all flights to Dubai up to and including 28 March because of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority,” the airline said in a statement, adding that KLM remains available to help with the repatriation of stranded passengers.
The announcement came just hours after four people were injured after air defences intercepted two drones near Dubai airport.
ShareThai bulk carrier attacked in strait of Hormuz, Thai navy says
A Thai bulk carrier was attacked in the strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with the Thai navy accounting for 20 crew members members rescued so far, the AFP reports.
The Thai-registered Mayuree Naree was attacked in the strait after leaving Khalifa port in the United Arab Emirates, the navy said, adding that the specific details and cause of the attack are under investigation.
“Efforts are currently underway to rescue the remaining three crew members,” the Thai navy said.
The carrier is owned by a Thai transport company, Precious Shipping, the AFP reports, and was heading to Kandla in India.
The strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points. The straight, located south of Iran, would normally have about 100 vessels a day either exiting or entering the Gulf. About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait.
In response to the US and Israeli airstrikes, Iran has effectively shut the strait, attacking at least 10 ships since the start of the conflict. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier this week it will not allow even “one litre of oil” to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continue.
The US military said it attacked and destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz amid reports that Iran has begun laying explosive devices in the strategically vital waterway.
About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this week it will not allow even ‘one litre of oil’ to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continue.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that ‘if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!’
Here is footage of the attacks on mine-laying vessels, released by the US military:
US releases footage of strikes on mine-laying vessels in strait of Hormuz – video ShareDeath toll in Lebanon reaches 570
Lebanon’s ministry of public health has updated the death roll to 570 killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict – 84 were killed in attacks and strikes just yesterday.
The number of injured has risen to 1,444, with 131 injured yesterday.
Among those killed was Youssef Assaf, a Red Cross paramedic, the health ministry said in a statement condemning the targeting of ambulances and emergency responders.
Here are some images coming in this morning and overnight from Israel, where air defences continue to work to intercept rocket attacks coming in from Iran and Hezbollah, forcing residents to take shelter.
An Iranian missile flies toward Israel amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Jamal Awad/ReutersA streak of light illuminates the sky during an interception attempt made by Israel as missiles are launched from Iran amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Tel Aviv, Israel on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/ReutersPeople take shelter in an underground metro station as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strike, in Ramat Gan, Israel on 10 March 2026 Photograph: Oded Balilty/APShareWitkoff on Britain’s support for US military action against Iran: ‘too little too late’
Ben Quinn
Britain’s support for US military action against Iran came a “little too late” but Keir Starmer’s relationship with Donald Trump can be repaired, according to one of the president’s closest confidants, Steve Witkoff.
The comments by Witkoff, who has been Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, come after a series of public broadsides by the US leader against the prime minister an the UK’s position on American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Starmer sought to repair fractured relations on Sunday in a telephone call with Trump, after the latter had declared on social media “We don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won.”
That comment came days after Trump had complained that Starmer “took far too long” to allow US forces to use UK airbases, and later commented witheringly about Starmer to reporters: “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
However, Witkoff said in an interview with GB News: “He has said, as you know that it is a little bit – it does fall into the category of too little too late, but I think they have a good, solid relationship, and hopefully they’ll be able to repair it. I go by what the President says, and the President says continuously that everybody is entitled to their point of view. But I think sometimes we detect that there’s not that feeling of gratitude.”
“I think the President’s position is that we do plenty for Europe, plenty for the UK, in the area of trade, in the area of defence, in the area of the support we give to NATO. And I think sometimes the response back, the reciprocity back, is a little bit lacking. I would leave it at that, okay?”
Updated at 05.50 EDT
Lorenzo Tondo
Under pressure from public opinion, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s position on the US-Israeli war on Iran has become more resolute.
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, flanked by foreign minister Antonio Tajani, left, and deputy premier Matteo Salvini, right, addresses the Senate in Rome regarding the conflict in Iran and the Gulf region on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, Meloni said that while we cannot allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, she also stated that Israel and the United States acted outside international law and that Italy is not at war and will not enter one.
“It is within this context of crisis in the international system — where threats are becoming increasingly alarming and unilateral interventions carried out outside the framework of international law are multiplying — that we must also place the American and Israeli intervention against the Iranian regime,” she said.
Updated at 05.31 EDT
Here are some images coming out of Lebanon this morning, where the Israeli military continues to strike the southern suburbs of Beirut as well as the capital itself.
Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs in Lebanon on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Raghed Waked/ReutersA man uses machinery to clear debris near the site of an Israeli strike on an apartment building, in central Beirut, Lebanon on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Emilie Madi/ReutersFirefighters check a burned apartment at a residential building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Hussein Malla/APSmoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs in Lebanon on 11 March 2026. Photograph: Raghed Waked/ReutersShare
Updated at 05.06 EDT
An unknown projectile struck a bulk carrier just north of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday – not far from the strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said in a post on X.
Earlier Wednesday, unknown projectiles hit two other ships in the strategically located Hormuz, UK Maritime Trade Operations said. One caught fire, forcing its crew to evacuate, while the other sustained damage.
Air defences intercepted two drones near Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, injuring four, the Dubai government said on X.
Two Ghanaian nationals and one Bangladeshi national sustained minor injuries while an Indian national sustained moderate ones.
Air traffic is operating as normal.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency is reporting several attacks overnight and this morning in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military has confirmed carrying out airstrikes this morning in the Dahiyeh area, a suburb south of Beirut, and attacking overnight what its spokesman said was a Hezbollah headquarters in Tyre.
ShareThe low-paid Filipino workers caught up in the war on Iran
Rebecca Ratcliffe
On 28 February, 32-year-old Mary Ann De Vera, a Filipino working as a carer, became the first casualty of the conflict in Israel. She was killed in Tel Aviv after being hit by shrapnel while escorting her employer, an older woman, to a shelter. Her employer survived.
The Middle East is one of the main destinations for Filipinos who work abroad, and the salaries offered in the region – in jobs ranging from domestic work and healthcare, to construction and engineering – can be many times higher those available back home. In the Philippines, those who go abroad to work are praised by politicians as modern day heroes, because of the tens of billions of dollars they remit home every year.
But such work comes at a high personal cost. They endure long periods away from children and partners, and can be vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment, especially in countries with a kafala (sponsorship) system, where workers are heavily dependent on their employers.
Over recent years, pressures have increased pressures further, with workers facing instability through the pandemic, and, for the 31,000 Filipinos based in Israel, repeated bouts of conflict.
A Sri Lankan court has ordered that the bodies of 84 sailors killed in an attack on an Iranian warship off the island nation’s coast last week be handed over to the embassy of Iran, local media reported on Wednesday.
The warship, IRIS Dena, was hit by a torpedo from a US submarine while it was returning from a naval exercise organised by India.
The court order was issued on Wednesday following a request from the Galle Harbour Police in the southern port city of Galle, the media reports said.
The bodies are currently at the morgue in Galle’s National Hospital.
Sri Lanka has also granted 30-day entry visas to 208 crew members from a second Iranian vessel who were taken in by the South Asian country after the vessel experienced engine problems in the same region, Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekera told Reuters.