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As the Israel-US conflict with Iran continues to spread, Azerbaijan was the latest country to feel the impact as two people were injured in a drone attack at an airport, for which Tehran denies responsibility
UK to send four additional Typhoon jets to Qatar
US closes embassy in Kuwait
Israel and Iran resumed exchanging airstrikes on Thursday with no sign of the conflict easing
It comes after the US Senate voted down a resolution seeking to halt US military action
The US has sunk an Iranian warship, killing at least 87, according to Sri Lankan Navy
An Iranian cleric has said the country is “close” to choosing its next supreme leader
NATO defence systems intercept a ballistic missile launched from Iran toward Turkey’s airspace
Azerbaijan became the latest country to feel the impact of the war as an attack on an airport left two people injured – Iran has denied all responsibility.
At least 1,200 people have died in Iran, according to Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs
All six US service members killed during the conflict with Iran have been named
The UK and France are sending warships to Cyprus, after a drone hit an RAF base hangar there
The UK is sending four additional Typhoon jets to join its squadron in Qatar in response to the growing conflict in the Middle East, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told a press conference on Thursday.
“Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities are arriving in Cyprus tomorrow,” he added.
The PM said he was “satisfied that we can keep our people safe” as he faced questions about the UK’s preparedness over the conflict, which sparked on Saturday as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Since then, the Islamic Republic has launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and on US military sites and other facilities in several allied Gulf countries.
Asked about criticism that the government’s approach had been marked by indecision, prevarication and a lack of preparedness, the prime minister said Britain “started pre-deploying to the region in January and February, particularly to Cyprus and Qatar”.
A boy tries to climb on an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria Credit: AP
“There’s been a lot of pre-planning gone into this, a lot of pre-deployment that’s gone into this,” said Starmer, when asked about a perceived lack of preparedness for war in the region.
“And I’m satisfied that we can keep our people safe and we’re working very hard to make sure that wherever people have registered their presence, we can help them with the information that they need and the support they need, and get them back to the United Kingdom as quickly and as safely as possible.”
It comes after an Iranian-made drone was used to attack an RAF base in Cyprus, which the PM’s official spokesperson said was “likely” not launched from Iran.
The relationship between the UK and US has been strained since Starmer’s public fallout with US President Donald Trump over his refusal to allow initial US strikes on Iran from British bases.
Starmer said he respected Mr Trump’s decision, which “he considers in the national interest” of America, and insisted the “special relationship is in operation right now”.
The last time Starmer spoke to the US president was on Saturday evening.
Earlier Republicans in the Senate stood by President Donald Trump by voting down a resolution which could have allowed lawmakers to demand approval for any further attacks from Congress – the US’ lower house, similar to the House of Commons.
During a Pentagon briefing, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not give a definitive timeline for US operations, which Trump has said could last for a month or longer.
It comes as Trump on Thursday said he should be involved in choosing Iran’s next supreme leader as the US and Israel continued to strike Iran.
Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Trump’s comments to the American news website renew questions about whether the US and Israel seek the overthrow of the Islamic Republic or just a change in its policies, as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended.
In the Axios interview, Trump derided the 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as “a light weight.”
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.
“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodríguez took power in January after a US military operation captured Nicolás Maduro and whisked him to the US to face federal drug conspiracy charges.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said this week that Iran’s next supreme leader — if he continues to threaten Israel, the US and others — “will be a target for elimination”.
The war against Iran is widening further with Israel’s military warning hundreds of thousands of people in the Lebanese capital Beriut to flee their homes, as ITV News’ James Mates reports
“You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”
The war has killed more than 1,200 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.
Another eight people were killed in Lebanon, including two in a building struck by the Israeli military in the Beddawi refugee camp in the coastal city of Tripoli on Thursday, while three were killed on a coastal highway, authorities said. The Israeli military did not immediately say who it targeted in the strikes.
In two near-simultaneous Israeli drone strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs on late Wednesday, two vehicles were hit, killing three people and injuring six, the health ministry said.
The Israeli military said it targeted a Hezbollah member, adding that further details would follow.
Healthcare workers in Galle, Sri Lanka, unload the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when the IRIS Dena warship sank. Credit: AP
On Wednesday, the US sank an Iranian warship, claiming to have eradicated Iran’s air and naval forces, even as retaliatory missiles continue to be launched at neighbouring targets, including Turkey, a Nato member, risking further escalation.
Iran said the United States would “bitterly regret” torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday night, killing at least a dozen Iranian sailors.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi decried the incident as “an atrocity at sea”, saying: “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set.”
US-Israel strikes on Iran have continued unabated, with the Israeli military beginning a “broad wave” of strikes on Tehran and other major cities on Wednesday. The IDF said it was targeting the Iranian leadership and security forces.
Strikes on Iran
Israeli forces said they were beginning a broad “wave of strikes” on Tehran and other major cities, targeting Iranian leadership and security forces on Wednesday, continuing its barrage of attacks since it launched its operation on Saturday.
Airstrikes have also been reported in the Iranian cities of Urmiah, Isfahan and Kermanshah. Overnight, the IDF had targeted what it described as command centres used by Iran’s feared internal security forces and the Basij militia.
There appears to be little appetite for de-escalation despite the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in the initial attack on Saturday. Hegseth confirmed at a press briefing on Wednesday that US operations in Iran were in their “very early” days.
“Four days in, we have only just begun to fight,” he said.
Trump repeated earlier criticisms of the UK government’s stance towards the conflict in Iran, saying Starmer is “not Winston Churchill”. Credit: AP
UK sending military to Cyprus
On Monday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said an unmanned drone struck an airport runway, but a photo circulating online on Thursday appeared to show a hole in a hangar at the UK’s Akrotiri base.
The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “When this happened on Sunday evening, we were clear that work needed to be done to assess the incident. The full assessment of that incident is ongoing.
“Our current understanding is that the drone hit a hanger on the air base. There were no casualties. The damage was minimal. There’s also been no damage to equipment inside the hangar.
“The drone parts have been recovered. They are being investigated and I think, as the MoD has set out, our assessment is that it was likely a Shahed-type drone, which was not launched from Iran, and which was launched before the prime minister’s statement on Sunday.”
According to Cypriot officials, the attack overnight on Monday was launched from Beirut in Lebanon. Two further drones detected on Monday were shot down by British warplanes, which took off from Akrotiri.
The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon. Credit: AP
Downing Street has rejected accusations that the government failed to have enough military assets in the Middle East following the strike on RAF Akrotiri.
“I don’t accept that. I think the fact is, operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review,” Starmer said.
Starmer provided update on the Middle East conflict at 2pm on Thursday in which he sought to reassure the public of the UK’s military response in Cyprus and further afield.
It came as Defence Secretary John Healey met his counterpart in Cyprus to ease tensions about Britain’s response to drone attacks on the island.
Kyriacos Kouros, the Cypriot high commissioner to the UK, said the deployment of HMS Dragon was welcome but noted it would take “more than a week” to arrive.
France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain are also reportedly sending naval assets to protect Cyprus.
It was put to Sir Keir’s spokesman that, with the HMS Dragon still being readied to sail to the Mediterranean next week, the UK was not fully prepared.
The official responded: “I don’t accept that. I think the fact is operational questions, operational decision-making is always kept under review.”
He added: “Our defensive capabilities have been deployed since January. That includes air defence, radar systems and F-35 jets in Cyprus and Typhoons in Qatar.”
US submarine sinks Iranian warship
On the fifth day of fighting, a US submarine sank the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena with a torpedo in international waters.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that an American submarine had torpedoed an Iranian warship that “thought it was safe in international waters”.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that its navy received information that the IRIS Dena, with 180 people on board, was in distress and sinking.
Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said by the time rescue ships reached the location, there was no sign of the ship in distress and “there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water.”
He said the 32 people were rescued and admitted to a hospital in Galle, a town on Sri Lanka’s southern coast. The bodies recovered were also being brought to land, he said.
The Sri Lankan navy added that it has recovered 87 bodies off the coast from where the warship sank.
An electricity utility worker inspects the ruins of a police facility struck during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran. Credit: AP
Iran launches missile at Turkey, a Nato member
As the conflict spiralled, Turkey said Nato defences intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran on Wednesday before it entered Turkey’s airspace.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that attacks on Turkey’s territory are unacceptable and pledged full US support after an Iranian missile headed toward the country was shot down, the State Department said on Wednesday.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speak during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Credit: AP
Iran draws closer to selecting a new leader
Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It is only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen.
Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei’s son, has long been considered among them — though he has never been elected or appointed to a government position.
In a sign that Iran’s leadership will only seek to consolidate its power as it faces its biggest crisis in decades, the head of the judiciary warned that “those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.”
The Israeli defence minister threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader.
“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination,” Katz wrote on X.
Iran continues to retaliate
Iran continued retaliatory firing missiles and drone strikes against its Gulf neighbours and Israel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it targeted Irbil in Iraq, two military bases in Kuwait, and two US warships.
The guard said via Iranian state television that it is prepared for the “complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.”
“The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure,” it said.
It alleges, without offering evidence, that the US military was using “civilian facilities … as cover.”
Responding to the contuinuing strikes, the US on Thursday shut its embassy in Kuwait, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work.
In Iran, state television has said the mourning ceremony for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been postponed, and will be held after intense strikes targeted Tehran.
The ceremony was set to take place on Wednesday evening at the Grand Mosalla of Tehran.
Communication with the country has been difficult, with internet monitoring group NetBlocks saying Iran has been offline now for 100 hours.
During the previous shutdown in Iran, NetBlocks estimated that it cost the country over $37 million (£28 million).
Israeli tanks manoeuvre near the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, March 4, 2026. Credit: AP
Kurdish dissident groups ‘preparing to fight’ with US support
Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them, according to Kurdish officials.
The Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organised segment of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of trained fighters.
Their entry into the war could pose a significant challenge to the embattled authorities in Tehran and could also risk pulling Iraq further into the conflict.
Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, or PAK, based in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, said on Wednesday that some of their forces had moved to areas near the Iranian border in Sulaymaniyah province and were on standby.
A member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan PDKI stands at a checkpoint leading to their base in Koya district of Irbil, Iraq. Credit: AP
He said Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation, without giving more details.
Asked about reports that the Trump administration was considering arming Iranian Kurdish groups, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Wednesday: “None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force.
“So, what other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.”
Before the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, the PAK had claimed attacks on the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for Tehran’s violent crackdown on protests. But an official with the group said it had not sent forces from Iraq into Iran.
If the Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups were to join the war, it would be the first entry of a significant ground force into the battle. The Kurdish groups have battle experience from the fight against the Islamic State group.
A truck carries an Israeli tank on a road in northern Israel. Credit: AP
Israel warns citizens of dangers of travelling abroad
Israel warned its citizens on Thursday that travelling abroad during the ongoing hostilities could make them targets of attacks or otherwise endanger them. The country’s Government Press Office said in a statement that “several attempts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis have been thwarted and disrupted.”
It urged Israelis to conceal Jewish identifiers, avoid travelling through the United Arab Emirates, refrain from sharing personal information on social media and remain vigilant or avoid visiting Jewish sites.
The warning cited recent violence in Canada and Texas, where authorities are investigating whether the motive of a gunman who opened fire at a bar in Austin was Iran-related.
Iran has in the past staged “ asymmetric attacks ” targeting Jews and Israelis, including in Europe and South America, and such responses were feared before the war broke out.
The Strait of Hormuz is vital for the world’s oil and gas trade. Credit: iStock
Rising oil prices
The far-reaching conflict is causing severe disruption in the global flow of crude oil, as the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route through which a fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass, was caught in the middle of the conflict.
Iran controls the entire northern side of the Strait, effectively allowing it to wield the Strait as a geopolitical chokepoint.
While the strait is officially open, trade has dropped by 80 per cent since Saturday.
Iran has carried out attacks on passing ships and vowed to continue to do so, forcing many shipping companies to suspend operations in the area.
US president Donald Trump floated the idea of escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz with the US Navy.
Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens and Sgt. Declan Coady. Credit: US Army via CNN Newsource
Six US soldiers killed during the conflict with Iran named
Six US service members killed in a deadly Iranian drone strike in Kuwait have been named.
They were named as: Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan; Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sergeant Noah L Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sergeant Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Specialist Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
The Pentagon said they were all killed by a drone that struck where they were working in Port Shuabia, Kuwait, on Sunday.
Two other soldiers who were killed in the strike have not been publicly identified.
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British nationals abroad
British nationals are being advised to follow the instructions of local authorities and monitor the Foreign Office’s travel advice, which officials expect to change rapidly.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Starmer said that more than 1,000 British Nationals arrived back in the UK from the UAE on commercial flights on Tuesday.
At his press conference on Thursday, Starmer confirmed the first UK charter flight from Oman had taken off.
“More than 4,000 people have now arrived back in the United Kingdom on commercial flights from the UAE, including vulnerable Brits identified by our teams,” he said.
“A further seven flights are due to leave the UAE for the UK today, and I can report that our first charter flight from Oman took off a few minutes ago. We will lay on additional charter flights in the coming days.
“British Airways is putting on daily flights from Oman, and we will keep working with all of our partners to increase the speed and capacity of this airlift. I want to be very clear, this is a huge undertaking.”
Flights operated by Qatar Airways have been suspended until Friday.
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