Key pointsMissiles launched from Iran early Wednesday triggered air raid sirens across large parts of Israel, with the military saying it was “operating to intercept the threat”Hundreds of stranded Irish citizens are expected to board a flight from UAE to Dublin tonightIran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they control the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gasIranians are to bid farewell to late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a ceremony on Wednesday at 10pm (6.30pm Irish time)Key reads
Katie Mellett – 7 minutes ago
Israel-US strikes on Iran appear ‘inconsistent with international law’, says Canadian prime minister
A plume of smoke rises following a US-Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran “would appear, prima facie it appears that these actions are inconsistent with international law”.
Initially, he supported 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.”
He 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.”
Katie Mellett – 12 minutes ago
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son is frontrunner to replace his father
The New York Times reports that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has emerged as the frontrunner to replace his father as Iran’s supreme leader, citing Iranian officials.
Katie Mellett – 20 minutes ago
Israel launches “broad wave of strikes” against government targets in Tehran
Israel said it had launched a “broad wave of strikes” against government targets in Tehran, including the presidential office.
Reuters reports the Israeli military claim to have downed an Iranian fighter jet over Tehran.
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. – The Guardian
Katie Mellett – 23 minutes ago
Several repatriation flights planned for French nationals today
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said several repatriation flights for French nationals in the Middle East were planned for Wednesday.
“One will depart from the United Arab Emirates, another from Egypt to repatriate vulnerable ones from Israel,” Barrot told France 2 TV.
Barrot declined to say how many people would be on the flights. Around 400,000 French nationals are in the region.
Barrot also confirmed that French Rafale fighter jets had taken out Iranian drones targeting the UAE as part of Iran’s strikes on Gulf countries following U.S and Israeli attacks.
“We have already responded to the request from our partners, particularly the United Arab Emirates, with military capabilities that we were able to provide them. All of this with a simple objective that is strictly defensive: to enable our partners to defend themselves against this aggression that they did not provoke,” he said. – Reuters
Katie Mellett – 27 minutes ago
Ten flights departing UAE for UK and one repatriation flight organised by UK government
Emirates is operating seven flights from Dubai to the UK while Etihad has two Abu Dhabi departures.
Virgin Atlantic will operate a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow.
British Airways has not restarted its usual flying programme from the region, but will run an evacuation flight to Heathrow from Oman capital Muscat, which it does not usually serve.
The UK Government has said it will charter a repatriation flight from Muscat “in the coming days”, but it has been reported there will be no major evacuation of the 130,000 British nationals who have registered their presence in the Middle East.
That means most stranded people are reliant on getting a seat on a commercial flight.
Experts believe it could take weeks to clear the backlog of passengers. – Press Association
Katie Mellett – 32 minutes ago
At least 30 people rescued from sinking Iranian ship by Sri Lankan military
The Sri Lankan military rescued at least 30 people on board a sinking Iranian ship near Sri Lankan waters, according to officials.
The Sri Lankan navy dispatched a rescue mission after a distress call came 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. – The Guardian
Katie Mellett – 38 minutes ago
Israel threatens to assassinate any Iranian leader picked to succeed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
כל מנהיג שימונה ע”י משטר הטרור האיראני כדי להמשיך ולהוביל את התוכנית להשמדת ישראל, לאיים על ארה”ב והעולם החופשי ומדינות האזור, ולדכא את העם האירני – יהיה יעד חד משמעי לחיסול.
לא חשוב מה שמו והמקום בו יסתתר.
רה”מ ואני הנחינו את צה”ל להיערך ולפעול בכל האמצעים למימוש המשימה כחלק…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) March 4, 2026
Israel’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.
Any 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, his post said.
Katie Mellett – 41 minutes ago
Loud blast heard in Tehran
The Guardian reports a loud blast was heard in eastern Tehran.
Following this, the Israeli Military said it has begun a wave of broad scale strikes in Tehran. – Reuters.
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
Talks on Trump’s Board of Peace put on hold, says Indonesia’s foreign minister
Indonesia’s foreign minister said talks on president Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative have been put on hold as diplomatic attention shifts to the escalating Middle East conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US.
Discussions are paused given that “all attention has shifted to the situation in Iran,” foreign minister Sugiono told reporters Tuesday night.
“We are still consulting with our partners and also co-ordinating with colleagues in the Gulf, since they have also been targeted in attacks.” – Bloomberg
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
More than 470 Chinese citizens evacuated
A plume of smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut’s Haret Hreik neighborhood on March 4th, 2026. Photograph: IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images
More than 470 Chinese citizens have been evacuated since the conflict in Iran broke out, Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters on Wednesday.
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
US Senate to vote on Trump’s decision to war against Iran
The US Senate is headed towards a vote on Wednesday on president Donald Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran.
The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, gives lawmakers an opportunity to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out.
The Senate resolution and a similar Bill being voted on in the House later this week face unlikely paths through the Republican-controlled US Congress and would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump even if they were to pass. – Guardian
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
Hundreds of stranded Irish citizens to board flight from UAE to Dublin tonight
Positive development. Emirates have decided to run a flight from Dubai to Dublin later later today. We are in close touch with the airline. They will be in direct contact with passengers
whose flights were cancelled.
— Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) March 4, 2026
Hundreds of Irish citizens who have been stranded in the Gulf states since the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday are expected to be on board an Emirates flight from the United Arab Emirates to Dublin tonight, reports Political Correspondent Harry McGee.
The airline announced on Wednesday morning it will schedule a flight to Dublin from Dubai.
Welcoming the development, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said in a post on X. “Positive development. Emirates have decided to run a flight from Dubai to Dublin later today. We are in close touch with the airline. They will be in direct contact with passengers whose flights were cancelled.”
The planes have capacity of more than 250 passengers.
It the is the first commercial flight to fly to Ireland from the Gulf states since last Friday.
Separately, the Government is in the process of arranging a chartered flight from the region to help evacuate some of the estimated 2,000 Irish citizens.
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
Iranian missiles launched under operation Honest Promise 4
Missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday triggered air raid sirens across large parts of Israel, with the military saying it was “operating to intercept the threat”.
The order to seek shelter covered Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other areas across the country. It was lifted after several minutes, with no immediate reports of any direct impact.
Israel’s emergency medical service Magen David Adom said it received no reports of casualties.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they had launched about 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets on the fifth day of war in the Middle East.
“Several hours ago, the 17th wave of operation Honest Promise 4 was conducted with the launch of 40 missiles by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace forces, towards American and Zionist targets,” a statement read on state TV said, without giving further details. – Guardian
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
Control of the vital shipping route, the strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday 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, Agence France-Presse reports.
“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.
However, admiral Brad Cooper of US central command contradicted Iran’s claim, saying just hours earlier that the US was sinking “all of the Iranian navy” and had already destroyed 17 Iranian ships.
“For decades the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping. Today there is not a single Iranian ship under way in the Arabian gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman,” he said.
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.
In his briefing, Cooper also said 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.
Pakistan has asked Saudi Arabia to route oil supplies through the Red Sea port of Yanbu after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted shipping, the petroleum ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.
Riyadh has assured Islamabad it would support energy supplies and secure deliveries via the alternative route, the ministry said. – Guardian
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
Farewell ceremony for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
People at a rally to mourn the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, March 1st, 2026. Photograph: Arash Khamooshi/the New York Times
Iranians will bid farewell to late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony in Tehran late on Wednesday, a senior Iranian official told state media.
Hojjatoleslam Mahmoudi, head of Iran’s Islamic Propagation Council, said the farewell ceremony would continue for three days and the funeral procession will be announced later.
The official said the public will be able to pay their respects to the body of the late leader at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall starting at 10pm (6.30pm Irish time).
“The Mosalla (prayer hall) will be receiving visitors and the dear people can attend and take part in the farewell ceremony and mark a strong presence once again,” he said in comments carried by Iranian media. – Reuters
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
India’s concern over growing conflict
India said it is concerned about the widening conflict in the Middle East and the impact on its citizens in the region, but avoided mentioning the death of Iran’s leader or condemning the US-Israeli joint attack despite criticism from opposition figures.
In a statement on Tuesday, India’s foreign ministry said the conflict could impact the Indian economy given that its trade and energy supplies traverse the region. India has some 10 million citizens who live and work in the Gulf region, the ministry of external affairs said.
“Their safety and wellbeing is of utmost priority,” the ministry said, adding that Indian consulates and embassies are in touch with affected nationals.
The statement stopped short of condemning the US and Israeli strikes on Iran that kicked off the conflict over the weekend and led to the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leaders. – Bloomberg
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
Repatriation flight chartered for UK Nationals from Oman
The UK government has chartered a repatriation flight from Oman on Wednesday for UK nationals seeking to escape the Middle East amid the conflict in the region.
The foreign office said the flight will depart the country’s capital, Muscat, at 7pm and is available for British nationals, their partners and children under 18 with a valid travel document.
According to the foreign office, priority for the evacuation flight will be given to the most vulnerable and they will contact British nationals in Oman. Anyone who registered their presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and are now in Oman is asked to register for a place on a flight.
The department asked people not to travel to Muscat International Airport in Oman unless they are contacted by officials, while dependants who are not British nationals will require a valid visa or permission to enter or remain granted for more than three months.
Some 130,000 Britons have registered their presence in the Middle East, as the foreign office said it was working with airlines on more routes. – Press Association
Katie Mellett – 2 hours ago
War enters its fifth day
Hotel guests carry their belongings, as they leave a damaged hotel that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Hazmieh east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday March 4th, 2026 Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP
Explosions sounded in Iran’s capital city on Wednesday as its war with the US and Israel entered a fifth day.
The latest attacks followed earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic republic across the Gulf region.
Iranian state television reported explosions around Tehran as dawn broke while Israel said its air defences were activated due to incoming missile fire from Iran.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it conducted a series of strikes across Iran’s capital targeting its security forces.
The Israeli military said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command, which also has suppressed demonstrations in the past.
Overnight, Israeli strikes on towns near Beirut have killed at least six people, Lebanon’s health ministry said early on Wednesday.
Israel struck the towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat just south of Beirut’s international airport, killing six and wounding eight others.
US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people in Iran, according to the Red Crescent Society.
In Lebanon, where Israel launched retaliatory strikes on the Iranian-supported militant group Hizbullah, 50 people were killed before the latest strikes, including seven children, the country’s health ministry said.
Lebanon’s state-run media reported that at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a residential complex in the city of Baalbeck.
Kuwait, which had previously reported a single death, said on Wednesday that an 11-year-old girl was killed by falling shrapnel as Kuwaiti forces were intercepting “hostile aerial targets”.
In addition, three people were killed in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. – Associated Press
Katie Mellett – 2 hours ago
Miriam Lord: Taoiseach’s Operation Septic Turkey prompts epic levels of fury on Opposition benches
“Despite coming under heavy Opposition pressure to condemn Donald Trump for riding roughshod over international law when he ordered missile strikes on Iran, the Taoiseach managed to stay on the right side of saying everything apart from openly denouncing the difficult man he is due to visit in the White House in a couple of weeks’ time.
“Micheál did this by repeating the phrases “rules-based international order” and “multilateral rules-based order” as many times as possible while criticising some of his critics for their reticence when it came to deploring the actions of other countries guilty of similar breaches and, in some cases, far worse transgressions.”
Read Miriam Lord’s full column here.
Katie Mellett – 2 hours ago
Iran sends drones and missiles across the Gulf as up to 2,000 Irish seek route home
Iran broadened the scope of its drone and missile strikes on US allies across the Gulf on Tuesday, as US president Donald Trump and leading White House officials continued to offer contradictory accounts about the rationale for getting involved in a volatile conflict that has killed an estimated 800 people, Keith Duggan reports.
Plumes of smoke rise over the skyline in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Getty Images
Between 1,500 and 2,000 Irish people stranded in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar due to related flight cancellations have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs as they seek a route home.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee on Tuesday night said the Government was working to finalise a first charter flight that would depart from Oman in the coming days if the security situation permits.