Nearly 150 missing after Iranian warship sinks near Sri Lanka – report
Nearly 150 people are potentially missing after an Iranian warship sank near Sri Lankan waters, according to reports.
The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 people from the the 180-crew frigate Iris Dena after it reportedly issued a distress call this morning 25 miles south of the southern port of Galle, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Vijitha Herath, said.
A defence official told AFP news agency that rescuers were “keeping up a search, but we don’t know yet what happened to the rest of the crew”.
It remains unclear how many people were on board the vessel, or what caused it to sink.
Updated at 07.36 EST
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Here is the Turkish defence ministry statement in full following reports that an Iranian missile was downed as it hurtled toward Turkey’s airspace.
The ministry said:
double quotation markA ballistic missile, launched from Iran and detected heading towards Turkish airspace after crossing Iraqi and Syrian airspace, was timely engaged and neutralised by Nato air and missile defence elements deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.
It has been determined that the ordnance that fell in Dörtyol district of Hatay province belonged to an air defence munition that intercepted the threat in the air. There were no casualties or injuries in the incident.
Our resolve and capacity to ensure the security of our country and citizens are at the highest level. While Turkey supports regional stability and peace, it is capable of ensuring the security of its territory and citizens, regardless of who or where the threat comes from. Every step taken to defend our territory and airspace will be taken resolutely and without hesitation. We remind you that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile attitude towards our country.
We urge all parties to refrain from actions that would further spread the conflict in the region. In this context, we will continue to consult with Nato and our other allies.
Updated at 07.26 EST
Iran death toll reaches 1,045, officials say
The death toll in Iran from the current war with Israel and the US has reached 1,045 people, according to Iranian officials.
Iran’s foundation of martyrs and veteran affairs said the death toll represented the number of bodies that have been identified and prepared for burial, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Updated at 07.29 EST
A missile launched from Iran toward Turkish airspace was destroyed by Nato defence systems, Turkish officials said.
In a statement, the Turkish defence ministry said:
double quotation markA ballistic munition launched from Iran, which was detected passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace and heading towards Turkish airspace, was engaged in a timely manner by Nato air and missile defence assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean and rendered inactive.
ShareNearly 150 missing after Iranian warship sinks near Sri Lanka – report
Nearly 150 people are potentially missing after an Iranian warship sank near Sri Lankan waters, according to reports.
The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 people from the the 180-crew frigate Iris Dena after it reportedly issued a distress call this morning 25 miles south of the southern port of Galle, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister, Vijitha Herath, said.
A defence official told AFP news agency that rescuers were “keeping up a search, but we don’t know yet what happened to the rest of the crew”.
It remains unclear how many people were on board the vessel, or what caused it to sink.
Updated at 07.36 EST
Who is Mojtaba Khamenei? The son of late supreme leader Khamenei seen as potential successor
Patrick Wintour
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the assassinated Ali Khamenei, is being heavily tipped to succeed his father as supreme leader of Iran, pitching a hardliner into the task of steering the Islamic republic through the most turbulent period in its 48-year history – and a powerful signal that it at present has no intention of changing course.
No official confirmation has been given, and the announcement may be delayed until after the funeral of Ali Khamenei. The son is believed to have been the choice of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and the Israeli defence minister, Gideon Saar, has warned he will be assassinated.
Rigid in his anti-western views, he is not the candidate that Donald Trump would have wanted. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state said on Tuesday Iran was run “religious fanatic lunatics”, and Khamenei’s appointment is hardly likely to dispel that opinion.
The choice of supreme leader is made by the 88-strong assembly of experts who, in this case, were picking from a field of six possible candidates. His election would be a powerful if unsurprising symbol that the government is not looking seek to accommodate with America.
There has been speculation stretching back more than a decade that Khamenei would be his father’s successor, and that grew when Ebrahim Raisi, the elected president and favourite of Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash.
Mojtaba Khamenei (centre), son of late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pictured in 2019. Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Live News.
Mojtaba Khamenei was born in 1969 and studied theology after graduating from high school. At the age of 17, he went to serve in the Iran-Iraq war, but it was not until the late 1990s that he came to be recognised as a public figure in his own right.
After the landslide defeat of Khamenei’s preferred candidate, Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, in the 1997 presidential election, where he won only 25% of the final vote, various conservative Iranian groups realised the need to make changes to their structures and Mojtaba Khamenei was central to that project.
He was also seen as instrumental by reformists in suppressing the protests in 2009 following allegations that the presidential election had been rigged, with his name chanted in the streets as one of those responsible. Mostafa Tajzadeh, a senior member of Iran’s reformist parties who was imprisoned after the vote, alleged that his and his wife Fakhr al-Sadat Mohtashamipour’s legal case was under the direct supervision of Mojtaba Khamenei.
In 2022, he was given the title of Ayatollah – essential to his promotion – and by then he was a regular figure by his father’s side at political meetings, as well as playing an influential role in the Islamic Republic’s Broadcasting Corporation, the government’s official media outlet that is often criticised for churning out dull political propaganda many Iranians reject in favour of overseas satellite channels. He has also played a central in the administration of his father’s substantial financial empire.
His closest political allies are Ahmad Vahidi, the newly appointed IRGC commander Hossein Taeb a former head of the Intelligence Organisation (IRGC-IO), and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the current speaker of the parliament .
His rumoured appointment and its hereditary nature has long been resisted by reformists. Mir Hossein Mousavi, referring to the long history of rumours about Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father as leader, wrote in 2022 : “News of this conspiracy have been heard for thirteen years. If they are not truly pursuing it, why don’t they deny such an intention once and for all?”
The assembly of experts in response denounced “meaninglessness of doubts” insisting it would only select “the most qualified and the most suitable”.
Israel on Tuesday struck the building in Qom, one of Shia Islam’s main seats of power, where the assembly was scheduled, but the building was empty, according to IRGC-affiliated media.
Updated at 07.17 EST
Iran state funeral for Khamenei postponed – report
Iran’s Tasnim news agency has reported that the funeral ceremony for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that was supposed to take place tonight in Tehran has been postponed.
The news agency published a statement from the Islamic propagation coordination council of Tehran province, which said the funeral was delayed to allow time for expanded infrastructure due to “overwhelming demand”.
The statement read:
double quotation markThe Tehran Grand Mosque was scheduled to host our dear people from tonight for a farewell to the pure body of the martyred cleric and our great Imam, but due to the overwhelming demand from across the country and the widespread desire of the people for a grand attendance at this ceremony, as well as the need to provide the necessary infrastructure, the event has been postponed.
Given the high volume of requests to attend this ceremony and the need to prepare adequate facilities to host the people, it was decided that the event would be held at a more suitable time.
ShareUN ‘deeply disturbed’ by reports of Iran school strike that killed 160 children
A UN body said it was “deeply disturbed” by the deaths of children during the war in the Middle East, after the bombing of a girls’ school in southern Iran.
More than 160 children were reported killed after the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab was hit on Saturday, the first day of the US-Israeli attacks against Iran.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said: “This is a reminder that children are among the most vulnerable in armed conflicts, and must never be treated as collateral damage.”
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Monday that the country’s forces “would not deliberately target a school”, while Israel commented that it would investigate the incident.
People attend the funeral of the victims following a reported strike on a school in Minab, Iran. Photograph: Amirhossein Khorgooei/ReutersShareDonald Trump ‘really does not care’ if Iran play at World Cup 2026
Donald Trump has said he does not care whether Iran participates in this summer’s World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.
“I really don’t care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes,” Trump told Politico.
Iran was the only nation missing from a Fifa planning summit for World Cup participants held this week in Atlanta, deepening questions over whether the country’s team will compete on US soil this summer amid an escalating regional war.
Read the full report here:
Updated at 06.04 EST
Lisa O’Carroll
The EU has hit back at Donald Trump’s threats to halt all trade with Spain over its decision not to allow the US use its military bases for Iran bombing missions.
The EU said it expected the US president to “honour” its bloc-wide tariff deal concluded last year but hinted at the possibility of retaliatory measures if Trump did isolate Spain in a revenge move.
“The Commission will ensure that the interests of the European Union are fully protected. We stand in full solidarity with all Member States and all its citizens and, through our common trade policy, stand ready to act if necessary to safeguard EU interests,” said trade spokesperson Olof Gill
“Trade between the European Union and the United States is deeply integrated and mutually beneficial.
“Safeguarding this relationship, particularly at a time of global disruption, is more important than ever and clearly in the interest of both sides.
“The EU and the United States concluded a major trade deal last year. The European Commission expects the United States to fully honour the commitments” undertaken in the joint statement of last August.
The EU is continuing to honour its part of that deal, allow many US goods into the bloc tariff free, even though the US supreme court ruled Trump’s 15% tariffs on EU goods were illegal.
ShareTell us: how have you been affected by the latest events in the Middle East?
The conflict in the Middle East has continued to escalate, with Israel announcing it had launched a “broad wave of strikes” against Tehran while it continues to bombard Lebanon.
Iran has continued to fire retaliatory strikes against Israel and US targets in the region, prompting major airlines to cancel flights that has left thousands of people stranded.
If you’re living or working in the region and have been impacted by the US-Israel conflict with Iran, we would like to hear from you.
For more details on how to contact the Guardian, click here:
Our pictures team have put together before and after satellite images of some of the sites targeted by US-Israeli strikes in Tehran.
IRGC HQ
Revolutionary Guard Corps HQ Tehran 27 February 2026, and following a military strike on 3 March 2026.Revolutionary Guard Corps HQ Tehran 27 February 2026, and following a military strike on 3 March 2026.
National Defence University
Defence University in Tehran 18 January 2026 and after a military strike on 3 March 2026.Defence University in Tehran 18 January 2026 and after a military strike on 3 March 2026.
Islamic Revolutionary Court
Islamic Revolutionary Court, Tehran 1 March and following a military strike on 3 March.Islamic Revolutionary Court, Tehran 1 March and following a military strike on 3 March.Share
Updated at 05.37 EST
Ben Doherty
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has softened his support for US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying while he welcomes end of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime – “the principal source of instability and terror in the region” – he does not believe the attacks on Iran were legal, and they represent “another example of the failure of the international order”.
Carney is visiting Australia, where he will address parliament – partly on a trade mission, but also to help build cooperation between so-called middle powers. Carney has spoken previously about ‘variable geometry’ – the building of a variety of international coalitions to address specific issues.
Speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Carney’s position on the strikes on Iran was tempered from his initial forthright support.
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he said on Saturday.
On Wednesday night in Sydney, he said the Iranian regime and its proxies had murdered hundreds of Canadians over years, and “caused untold suffering for millions of people in the Middle East and beyond”.
He said Canada stood with the people of Iran in their struggle against the regime’s oppression, and “supported the imperative of neutralising this grave global threat”.
“But we also take this position with some regret, because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order, despite decades of UN Security Council resolutions, the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a succession of sanctions and diplomatic frameworks, Iran’s nuclear threat remains, and now United States and Israel have acted without engaging the UN or consulting with allies, including Canada.
“The question is: where to from here? Given we have a rapidly spreading conflict and growing threats to civilian life across the region, Canada reaffirms that international law binds all belligerents.”
Carney said the US and Israeli strikes appeared to be unlawful, in that they were not made with Security Council support, or in the face of imminent threat.
“The action that was taken, we weren’t consulted on it. There was not a process, a broader process for it. It would appear, prima facie… to be inconsistent with international law.”
ShareLisa O’Carroll
An oil tanker was hit last night east of Fujairah, in UAE, the UK maritime trade operations centre has said in an alert to shippers.
“The tanker experienced a loud blast and debris from an unknown projectile was found on deck,” UKTMO said.
The organisation which verifies and corroborates security issues in the gulf said there was “no major damage” and no environmental implications with the funnel sustaining the damage.
The Strait of Hormuz remains open but trade has dropped 80%.
ShareEU sees no immediate effect of Iran conflict on gas supply security – report
The EU said it does not see any immediate effect from the conflict in Iran on the security of natural gas supply, officials told Reuters news agency.
No response measures are currently planned at national or EU level, the officials added.
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a drone attack on Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura, which houses its largest domestic refinery on the Persian Gulf coast.
In brief statements posted online, the Saudi defence ministry said: “Attempted attack on Ras Tanura refinery.
“Initial estimates indicate that the attack was carried out by a drone and did not result in any damage.”
Reuters new agency, citing sources, reported that the refinery was struck by an unknown projectile.
On Monday, some operations were halted at the refinery after a drone attack caused a fire at the complex.
Updated at 05.28 EST
Rachel Savage
South Africa is willing to mediate in the war in the Middle East, the country’s president Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Cape Town.
“South Africa is always ready to play a contributing role, either in mediation or whatever. And if a gap opens or if we are asked, we always live up to our obligations,” Ramaphosa said, in comments broadcast on local TV station Newzroom Afrika.
“If the opportunity were to open, we would talk and say: there must be a ceasefire. Dialogue is always the best way of ending conflict and then ending the war. And we want this war to come to an end immediately.”
South Africa maintains relationships with countries the US has deemed enemies, including Venezuela, Iran and Russia, the latter a legacy of Soviet support for the African National Congress party’s fight against apartheid.
Earlier this year, Iran took part in a joint naval exercise in South African waters, something Ramaphosa said had happened against his instruction that they not be allowed to participate. The US embassy in Pretoria criticised South Africa at the time, accusing it of “cozying up to Iran”.
Ramaphosa had previously criticised what his office labelled “international law violations”, without specifying which party to the conflict it was referring to.
“Anticipatory self-defence is not permitted under international law and self-defence cannot be based on assumption or anticipation,” a statement released by the presidency on Saturday said.
ShareHezbollah says it targeted Israel’s major aerospace and aviation company
Hezbollah says it launched a wave of drone strikes against the headquarters of Israel Aerospace Industries in central Israel.
The group said it fired “a swarm of attack drones” against the state-owned Israeli defence and aerospace company “in response to the criminal Israeli aggression that targeted dozens of Lebanese cities and towns”, the AFP news agency reported.
No further details were provided and there was no immediate comment from Israel.
ShareIran close to choosing new supreme leader – report
Reuters news agency has reported that Iran is close to choosing a new supreme leader, quoting Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Iranian assembly of experts which is tasked with finding a new leader.
“The Supreme Leader will be identified in the closest opportunity, we are close to a conclusion, however the situation in the country is a war situation,” Khatami is quoted as saying on state TV.
Khamenei did not officially declare who would succeed him, but his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is among a handful of clerics tipped as likely successors, but it remains unclear where they are, or if they are alive.
Pictures: Aftermath of US-Israeli strikes in Tehran
People walk past debris in the aftermath of a strike on a police station. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/ReutersA cleric leads a group of volunteers in prayer next to a police facility struck during the US–Israeli military campaign in Tehran. Photograph: Vahid Salemi/APThe aftermath of a strike on a police station. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/ReutersPeople walk past a burnt-out car. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/ReutersShare