Iran launched more missiles at Israel and U.S. bases as war in the Middle East enters a sixth day. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks early Thursday and said it was intercepting the missiles.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it began new strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. At least eight people were killed there late Wednesday into Thursday according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and the state news agency.
Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing. Early Thursday, oil prices resumed their ascent.
Here is the latest:
Death toll in Lebanon rises to 77
The number of people killed in Lebanon since a resurgence in hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group Monday has risen to 77, with 527 people wounded, the Lebanese health ministry said Thursday.
It was not clear how many of the casualties were civilians. The health ministry had earlier said that seven children were killed.
After the attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran triggered a new war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel Monday for the first time in over a year, and Israel has retaliated with bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
More than 83,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon by the renewed conflict.
Pakistan evacuates its nationals
Pakistan has evacuated nearly 2,000 of its nationals, including about three dozen diplomats, from Iran through the southwestern Taftan border following U.S. and Israeli attacks inside the country, officials said.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said in a statement that the evacuees returned through the main land route between the two countries.
He said in recent days, a total of 1,979 people have returned home through the Taftan border, including 37 diplomats.
About 3,500 Pakistani pilgrims, students, and businesspeople were in Iran when the attacks began.
Some Pakistanis have also been evacuated through Azerbaijan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Taftan border crossing in southwestern Balochistan is commonly used by traders, pilgrims, and travelers between the two countries.
Powerful Emirati businessman criticizes Trump for war
One of the most powerful businessmen in the Middle East has lashed out at U.S. President Donald Trump and questioned his rationale for triggering the war in the Middle East.
Emirati tycoon Khalaf Al Habtoor said in a social media post Thursday that Trump’s decision has put the Gulf and other Arab countries “at the heart of a danger they did not choose.”
He also said the result is “sacrificing American lives in a war that is not theirs to fight.”
Falling shrapnel from drone interception wounds 6 in Abu Dhabi
A drone interception in the capital of the United Arab Emirates saw shrapnel fall to the ground that wounded six people, authorities said.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office announced the injuries Thursday, saying they happened in the capital’s ICAD II industrial area. That’s near Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts American forces.
It identified those hurt as being from Nepal and Pakistan.
Italy sending naval support to Cyprus and defense systems to the Gulf countries
Italy heightened its national air-defense systems Thursday and said it will send naval support to Cyprus and anti-missile and anti-drone defense systems to Gulf countries that have come under retaliatory strikes from Iran.
The United States hasn’t yet asked to use any of the U.S. bases in Italy for logistical or other operations in its war against Tehran. But if it does, the government will inform Parliament, Premier Giorgia Meloni said Thursday.
The United States has more than 12,000 military personnel on bases across Italy, including army bases in Vicenza and Livorno, the air force bases at Aviano, home to the 31st Fighter Wing, the naval air station at Sigonella in Sicily, and ports at Gaeta and Naples, home to the U.S. Sixth Fleet.
Israel hits sports halls in Tehran
Israeli airstrikes on Thursday hit two indoor sports halls in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
There was no immediate explanation for the targeting choice.
However, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its all-volunteer Basij use such facilities as rallying points after earlier airstrikes took out their other bases.
Kremlin says Iran hasn’t asked Russia for military assistance
The Kremlin said Thursday that Iran hasn’t asked Russia for military assistance as it faces the U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Asked whether Russia could go beyond rhetoric and offer military assistance to its ally, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that “there have been no requests from the Iranian side.”
He added that “our consistent position is well known, and there have been no changes to it.”
Russian officials have said that a “strategic partnership” treaty Moscow signed with Tehran in January 2025 doesn’t envisage military assistance.
US and Arab allies seek Ukrainian drone expertise, Zelenskyy says
The United States and its Mideast allies have approached Ukraine for help in defending against Iranian Shahed drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He said he has spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.
Ukrainian assistance, he said, will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraine’s own defenses and if it adds leverage to Kyiv’s diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion.
“We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war” with Russia, Zelenskyy said.
Qatar condemns Iranian missile attacks targeting Turkey and Azerbaijan
Qatar has condemned the attempted Iranian missile attack against Turkey and the drone attack on an airport in Azerbaijan.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that Iran’s attempts to widen the conflict are dangerous, and that the attacks against Turkey and Azerbaijan are a “dangerous, aggressive escalation and a blatant violation to the nations’ sovereignty.”
Turkey says border with Iran remains calm
Turkey’s joint border with Iran remains calm and there is no extraordinary movement or mass build-up of migrants despite the ongoing conflict, Turkey’s defense ministry said.
It added that “intensive security measures” were being implemented at the frontier.
The ministry on Thursday renewed a call for all parties to end the fighting and to engage in negotiations.
On Wednesday, NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran that was heading toward Turkey’s airspace.
South Korea tells its citizens to leave Iran as it issues a travel ban
Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said the ban, which took effect at 6 p.m. Thursday, prohibits South Koreans from visiting or remaining anywhere in Iran without special permission.
South Korean officials have so far evacuated 24 citizens from Iran to Turkmenistan and 62 from Israel to Egypt by bus. Before the evacuations, officials said about 60 South Koreans were in Iran and about 600 in Israel.
Azerbaijan accuses Iran of drone attack
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack on its exclave of Nakhchivan.
The ministry said in a statement that one drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan, and another one near a school, and that two civilians were injured.
Azerbaijan “strongly condemns this incident,” the Foreign Ministry said in the statement, adding it “reserves the right to take necessary retaliatory measures.”
The ministry said it summoned the Iranian ambassador to lodge a protest.
“Such actions contradict the norms and principles of international law and contribute to increased tension in the region,” it said.
Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan, but its attacks have spread erratically as the war has gone on involving regional countries and beyond.
Nakhchivan is territorially separated from the rest of Azerbaijan.
It accounts for about 6% of Azerbaijan’s territory, with a swath of Armenia about 40 kilometers (25 miles) wide between the exclave and Azerbaijan.
It also borders Azerbaijan’s close ally Turkey, and Iran.
France’s top diplomat speaks with Iranian counterpart
France’s foreign affairs minister has spoken with his Iranian counterpart and condemned Iran’s strikes on its neighbors after it retaliated to US-Israeli attacks.
Jean-Noel Barrot recalled “France’s commitment to stability in the Middle East, to de-escalation, and to the resumption of a demanding diplomatic dialogue, in compliance with international law, within which the use of force must be framed,” France’s foreign affairs ministry said Thursday.
Barrot also expressed “France’s ongoing concern” about the situation of its nationals detained in Iran during Wednesday’s call.
After more than three years in detention on spying charges, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris were released from an Iranian prison in November and transferred to the French Residence in Tehran.
Barrot “called for their immediate and unconditional release and reaffirmed the full and complete mobilization of the French authorities to that end.”
The families of Kohler and Paris said earlier this week that they are “very worried” about them, citing bombings which occurred not far from the French embassy.
China to send envoy to Mideast to help de-escalate tensions
China will send its special envoy on Middle Eastern issues to the region to help de-escalate tensions, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday.
Zhai Jun will travel to the Middle East “in the near future and make active efforts to help de-escalate tensions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular briefing in Beijing.
Since the start of the Iran war, China has conducted “intensive mediation efforts,” Mao said.
Among other things, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held phone conversations with his counterparts from Russia, Iran, Oman, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, she said.
In his talks, Wang “pointed out that military operations must cease immediately and that all parties should return to dialogue and negotiation as soon as possible so as to prevent further escalation of tensions and the spillover of conflict,” Mao said.
Alerts sound in Jerusalem
Israel’s military said Thursday morning it detected missile launches from Iran.
Alerts telling residents they’d soon be asked to enter bunkers sounded on phones in Jerusalem.
Israel’s rescue services said it did not have any immediate reports of casualties from the latest missile barrage fired by Iran Thursday morning.
The barrage also set off sirens in central Israel and parts of the north.
Spain repatriates more than 170 nationals
A Spanish military plane has successfully evacuated 171 Spanish citizens who were residing in the Middle East and wanted to escape the violence unleashed in the region after the American and Israeli attack on Iran.
The plane arrived at an air base near Madrid on Thursday morning after an overnight flight from Oman.
Spanish authorities are also evacuating citizens on commercial flights.
Spain’s government has refused to allow American military forces the use of two military bases for its operations against Iran.
Bahrain cracks down on filming related to its military
As Bahrain comes under intense attack from Iran, the island kingdom is cracking down on anyone filming anything related to its military.
The state-run Bahrain News Agency published a statement early Thursday for the country’s military, saying that there was a prohibition on “the photography, publication, or redistribution of any images, video footage, recordings, or information relating to its military installations, military operations, or defensive measures.”
It also included what the military described as the “unverified information ... pertaining to events, attacks and acts of aggression targeting the kingdom.”
That likely will further restrict reporting in Bahrain, which sits in the Persian Gulf off Saudi Arabia and is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Independent news gathering there has grown incredibly difficult there since its 2011 Arab Spring, with journalists having their accreditations or visas revoked.
Australia deploys ‘crisis response teams’ to help stranded citizens
Australia is deploying six crisis response teams and has already sent unspecified military assets near conflict areas in the Middle East in order to help bring stranded Australians home, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday.
Officials from the foreign affairs and trade department are “working around the clock” to handle surging consular requests, Albanese told Parliament.
“The government is deploying six crisis response teams to the region, and we’ve already deployed military assets as part of our contingency planning earlier this week,” Albanese said.
He did not specify what kind of military assets had been deployed.
Stranded South Koreans return home from Dubai
Dozens of South Korean travelers stranded in Dubai due to flight disruptions returned home on a flight routed through Taiwan.
Another group is expected to arrive later Thursday, but hundreds more are believed to remain in Dubai, as the war continued to squeeze regional air traffic.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said there are about 2,000 Korean short-term visitors in the United Arab Emirates.
Explosions reported in Doha
Al Jazeera reported several explosions heard late Thursday morning in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Cyprus says drone that hit a British air base took off from Lebanese capital
Cyprus says the Shahed drone that struck a British air base on the island nation’s southern coastline was launched from Beirut.
A Cypriot official confirmed Thursday the drone that damaged a hangar at RAF Akrotiri just after midnight Monday had taken off from the Lebanese capital.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn’t permitted to speak publicly about the attack.
Two more drones detected midday Monday were intercepted by British warplanes that took off from RAF Akrotiri.
There have been several false alarms regarding drone sightings since those initial strikes.
Israel’s military said it struck Hezbollah command centers in Beirut
Israel’s military said Thursday it struck additional command centers of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
“A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force completed a wave of intelligence-based strikes in Beirut against several command centers belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” read a statement by the military.
It added that among the targets was a command center used by Hezbollah’s aerial unit. The command centers were intended to be used by Hezbollah to attack Israeli military personnel and civilians, the military said.
Airstrikes were heard throughout Beirut on Thursday, though it wasn’t clear immediately what was hit.
Iran claims attack on US tanker in Persian Gulf
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed an attack Thursday on an American oil tanker in the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf.
The statement read on Iranian state television did not elaborate, but may be linked to an attack off the coast of Kuwait earlier in the day in which a tanker was targeted, according to a report from the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.
Iranian state TV airs ayatollah's call for the ‘shedding’ of blood from Israelis and Trump
Iranian state television aired a message Thursday from an ayatollah in Iran calling for the “shedding” of blood from Israelis and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The message came from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli and represented one of the few clerical statements coming from Iran as it faces a combined airstrike campaign from Israel and the United States.
“We are now on the verge of a great test and we must be careful to fully preserve this unity, to fully preserve this alliance,” he said in the statement.
He called for “the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump’s blood.”
“The Imam of the time says, ‘Fight the oppressive America, his blood is on my shoulders,’” the ayatollah added.
An ayatollah is one of the highest ranks within the clergy of Shiite Islam. There are dozens in Iran.
The statement Thursday represented a rare call for violence by an ayatollah.
First two flights bringing back Israelis land in Tel Aviv
Israel’s airspace reopened for limited incoming flights Thursday after being closed since the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began.
Under the phased plan, one passenger flight per hour will be allowed in the first 24 hours, totaling about 5,000 people, with more later depending on security.
Outgoing commercial flights are still prohibited.
Red Crescent Society of Iran says strikes hit more than 170 cities
The Red Crescent Society of Iran said the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign targeting Iran has struck 174 cities in the country.
In a statement Thursday, the Red Crescent said it had recorded at least 1,332 attack so far in 636 locations.
It said residential areas had been hit in a number of cities.
It added seven Red Crescent bases and branches had been damaged, as well as three of its rescue vehicles and 14 medical and pharmaceutical centers.
Explosions also heard in eastern Tehran
Residents also heard explosions in the eastern reaches of Tehran.
Explosions heard in Tehran's west
Witnesses in Tehran heard explosions in the city’s west and in the direction of Karaj.
Iran’s foreign minister says US will ‘bitterly regret’ sinking of Iranian frigate
Iran’s foreign minister said Thursday that America “will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set” after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka.
The comment by Abbas Araghchi represents the first time the Iranian government acknowledged the sinking of the IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean.
Araghchi made the comment on X, saying “the U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores.”
“Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” he wrote. “Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set.”
Israel launches ‘large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure’ in Tehran, military says
Israel’s military said Thursday morning it had begun a “large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure” in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Oman helps organize flights for stranded foreigners
Oman’s top diplomat said Thursday that the sultanate was working with countries around the world to organize flights home for stranded foreigners.
Badr al-Busaidi wrote the message on X, just after Qatar Airways said it would start flights from Oman’s capital, Muscat.
“For everyone hoping to fly home from the Gulf, the Omani government is working with your governments and international airlines to organize flights to get you home,” he wrote. “We mean everyone, whatever passport you hold. The citizens of all countries have the human right to safety and security. People matter. Let’s stop the war now.”
Oman, on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has come under attack off its coast and at its seaports, but has not seen a strike on Muscat International Airport in the war.
Qatar Airways to operate limited ‘relief flights’
Qatar Airways said Thursday it will start operating a limited number of “relief flights” as the war in the Middle East goes on.
The airline said on X that the flights will include departures from Muscat, the Omani capital, to Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Madrid and Rome. Another route will be from Riyadh to Frankfurt, Germany.
The flights will “support passengers who are stranded due to the current situation across the region.”
Airspace in Qatar remains closed over Iranian fire into the region.
Qatar Airways is a key East-West carrier.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
