Israel targets Iran's leadership and security forces in 'broad wave' of strikes

The Israeli military has begun a "broad wave" of strikes on Iran, targeting the Iranian leadership and security forces, the IDF have said.

Blasts could be heard in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday morning as the IDF carried out what is the tenth series of strikes since the war began on Saturday with a joint Israel-US attack on Tehran that killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The IDF claimed an Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down a manned Iranian warplane in Tehran on Wednesday, in what it described as the "first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 “Adir” fighter jet, it said in a statement.

Airstrikes have also 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.

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.

Israel said its air defences had been activated to intercept Iranian missiles targeting Israel, with explosions heard around Jerusalem.

Iranian state television said three nights of public mourning will begin in Iran for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday with a ceremony beginning this evening at the Grand Mosalla of Tehran.

His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is being considered as a possible candidate to replace his late father as Supreme Leader.

Israel's defence minister has said whoever is chosen to be Iran's next Supreme Leader will be a "target of elimination". On Tuesday, the building where Iranian clerics will meet to select a new Supreme Leader in the holy city of Qom was reportedly hit.

An electricity utility worker inspects the ruins of a police facility struck during the US-Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran.

The war on Iran began on Saturday and quickly spread across the Middle East, with Iran striking targets in the Gulf states, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, described the American strikes in the opening hours of the campaign as “nearly double the scale” of the initial attacks during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

The conflict continues across the Middle East, with the American embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US Consulate in the United Arab Emirates coming under drone attacks on Tuesday.

The US has urged non-emergency government personnel to evacuate the kingdom.

The repercussions threaten to be felt beyond the region, with rising oil prices and flight delays.

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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.

The Strait of Hormuz is vital for the world's oil and gas trade.

Lebanon

At least six people were killed in strikes on towns near Beirut overnight, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat, just south of Beirut’s international airport, were struck, with a further eight people injured.

A hotel in the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh was also hit.

The strikes came without warning, with the Israeli military not immediately disclosing the targets.

The death toll has risen to five, following a strike on a residential complex in Baalbeck, according to the state-run National News Agency. A further 15 others were injured, and three remain missing, it reported.

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First UK government repatriation flight to leave Middle East on Wednesday

Oman

The UK government has announced it has chartered a repatriation flight from Oman on Wednesday for UK nationals seeking to leave the Middle East.

The foreign office said the flight will depart Muscat at 7 pm 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 is now in Oman is asked to register for a place on a flight.

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) & Saudi Arabia

The US State Department said Wednesday it had authorised non-emergency government personnel to evacuate the kingdom after the American Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US Consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka

At least 32 people have been rescued from a sinking Iranian naval ship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, according to a top Sri Lankan official.

A top Health Ministry official says one of them is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment, and others are being treated for minor injuries.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament that the Sri Lankan navy received information that the ship IRIS Dena was in distress with 180 on board.

Sri Lankan ships and air force planes have been sent on a rescue mission to help.

Bahrain

Bahrain's military has said it has destroyed 74 Iranian missiles and 95 drones since the start of the conflict.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the military's General Command urged people to stay indoors and avoid approaching or filming any damaged sites.

Four US Service Members killed during the conflict with Iran named

Four US service members killed in a deadly Iranian drone strike in Kuwait have been named.

They were named as: 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.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump repeated earlier criticisms of the UK government's stance towards the conflict in Iran,

Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said he is “not happy” with the UK and with Starmer, and that saying it is "not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with”.

Trump repeated earlier criticisms of the UK government's stance towards the conflict in Iran, saying Starmer is "not Winston Churchill".

His comments came as the UK announced it would send helicopters and an air defence destroyer to Cyprus in response to the growing conflict in the Middle East.

Starmer confirmed the UK would be deploying HMS Dragon, one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 air defence destroyers, after RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus was hit by a drone. But it has been reported that the boat may not sail until next week. The Ministry of Defence has not commented on the timing of Dragon's departure, but has not denied the report.

France said it would send its only aircraft carrier and a contingent of warships to bolster its anti-drone defences in the region.

British nationals abroad

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that 130,000 British nationals have registered their presence in the region. She previously said a total of around 300,000 British citizens are in Gulf countries targeted by Iran.

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.

Previously safe havens in the Middle East, such as Dubai, have seen incoming fire and hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe.

UK officials are understood to be working on plans for the potential evacuation of more than 100,000 Britons from the Middle East.