War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Qatar Airways says its flight operations “remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace”.

“Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace,” it said in a post on X.

All passengers are advised to monitor the latest flight information via http://qatarairways.com or the Qatar Airways mobile app.

France’s FM Jean-Noel Barrot said French Rafale fighter jets have neutralised Iranian drones targeting the UAE, where hundreds of French navy, air force and army personnel are based, reports Al-Jazeera.

Barrot had earlier said that France had deployed the jets, which are stationed at the Dhafra base near Abu Dhabi, over the UAE to protect the bases against Iranian attacks.

Sri Lanka has rescued 32 “critically wounded” sailors aboard the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which sank today just outside the island’s territorial waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath says in an update according to AFP.

No information was immediately available on the cause of the explosion that sank the vessel, but Herath told Parliament that the injured sailors were taken to a hospital in the island’s south.

“We are keeping up a search, but we don’t know yet what happened to the rest of the crew,” an official from Sri Lanka’s defence ministry told AFP, dimming prospects for finding any more survivors.

Both Sri Lanka’s navy and the air force said they were not releasing footage of the rescue because it involved the military of another state.

There is a wave of anger and grief within Pakistan’s Shia community following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid escalating attacks by Israel and the United States.

But beyond the emotional outpour and charged sentiments lies a consequential question for Pakistan: what could prolonged instability in Iran mean for our own fragile security landscape?

Experts and Pakistani security officials warn that instability in Iran could increase cross-border movement by armed groups and inflame sectarian tensions within Pakistan’s already polarised society.

Meanwhile, analysts warn that prolonged instability in Iran could revive patterns previously observed during the Syrian conflict, when marginalised individuals were drawn into foreign battlefields.

Read more here.

A British chartered flight will leave Oman this evening, prioritising vulnerable UK nationals who want to leave the region after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, Reuters reports citing the British Foreign Office.

British Airways, which is currently unable to fly from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv, said it would also operate a flight from Oman in the early hours of Thursday local time.

The Foreign Office said the chartered flight would depart from Muscat at 19:00 GMT on Wednesday (12am PKT on Thursday). It said it would be open to British nationals and their spouses or partners and children, but would prioritise the most vulnerable first.

“British nationals should not make their way to the Muscat International Airport unless they are called,” it said.

A “heavy” explosion was heard in east Tehran, Reuters reports, citing state media.

The Israeli military has said it has begun a wave of broad-scale strikes in Tehran, Reuters reports.

In a post on X, the military said it was the 10th wave of strikes in the Iranian capital.

The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, CNN reports, citing “multiple people familiar with the plan”.

The sources said the Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support.

Yesterday, Trump spoke with the president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), Mustafa Hijri, the report said, quoting a senior Iranian Kurdish official.

Iranian Kurdish opposition forces are expected to take part in a ground operation in Western Iran, in the coming days, the senior Iranian Kurdish official told CNN.

Read more here.

Iran will hold a three-day state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes, official news agency IRNA said, according to AFP.

“Starting at 10pm (1830 GMT), the faithful will be able to pay a final homage to the body of the martyred guide of the nation, by visiting the Imam Khomenei grand mosque” in Tehran, IRNA said, citing a statement from the Islamic Development Coordination Council.

Ambasssador of Pakistan to Iran Mudassir has said that “last night we managed to transfer nine of our sailors from their ship to Bandar Abbas”.

He added that six of them “decided to stay on the ship on their own volition”.

“I spoke to some of them on phone today to enquire about their well-being. We are sending them to Pakistan today,” the ambassador added.

India’s top liquefied natural gas importer has warned of disruptions in some operations because of the war in the Middle East, sparking concerns of tighter supplies in the world’s most populous nation, AFP reports.

Petronet LNG, in a stock exchange notification, noted that vessels were unable to safely move through the Strait of Hormuz to reach “Ras Laffan, the loading port of QatarEnergy”.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he believed that Israeli-US strikes on Iran were not consistent with international law, AFP reports.

“It would appear, prima facie, not to be consistent or to be inconsistent with international law,” Carney told a gathering at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

Pakistan on Wednesday formally requested that Saudi Arabia provide an alternative oil supply route through Yanbu to maintain its fuel supply chain in the wake of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the United States-Israel attack on Iran.

The request was made by Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik to the Saudi ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki during a meeting. The Saudi ambassador assured full support in this regard, according to a statement by the petroleum division.

During the meeting, both sides discussed matters of mutual interest and bilateral cooperation. The minister apprised the ambassador about the current situation and the implications of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on global energy markets.

He stated that Pakistan is closely monitoring the evolving situation on a daily basis, as the majority of Pakistan’s energy supplies transit through the strait.

Read more here.

American service members across every branch of the military have been told by commanders that the US-Israeli war on Iran is intended to induce the Biblical end times, or Armageddon, according to complaints lodged with a US watchdog, reports Anadolu Agency.

“This morning our commander opened up the combat readiness status briefing by urging us to not be ‘afraid’ as to what is happening with our combat operations in Iran right now,” a non-commissioned officer said in an emailed complaint lodged with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF).

“He urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ,” it added.

The MRFF is a non-profit dedicated to ensuring religious freedom for members of the US military.

The US State Department said it had ordered non-emergency personnel from US consulates in the cities of Karachi and Lahore and their families to leave Pakistan due to security concerns.

“The Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US Consulates Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to safety risks,” the US embassy in Pakistan said in a statement.

It said there was no change to the status of its embassy in the capital Islamabad.

Kuwait’s health ministry has said an 11-year-old girl was killed after being hit by falling shrapnel following waves of Iranian attacks across the Gulf.

“Resuscitation was performed in the ambulance while the girl was being transported to the hospital, and attempts continued for nearly half an hour upon arrival at Al-Amiri Hospital. However, she passed away due to her injuries,” said the ministry in a statement posted on X.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said they launched around 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets, on the fifth day of war in the Middle East, AFP reports.

“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.

Ben Gurion Airport will be partially operating this evening to repatriate Israelis stranded abroad, Transport Minister Miri Regev has said, Al Jazeera reports.

Sri Lanka sent ships and aircraft to rescue 30 Iranian sailors aboard the Iranian frigate Iris Dena which was sinking just ouside the island’s territorial waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said, reports AFP.

He told parliament that 30 injured sailors were being brought to a hospital in the island’s south from the 180-crew frigate was sinking from dawn.

The Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges reopened sharply lower after a two-day trading suspension over Iran’s missile and drone attacks across the Gulf, AFP reports.

The Dubai bourse was down 4.7 per cent and the Abu Dhabi’s ADX was 3.5 lower shortly after markets opened.