PARIS: Here are the latest events in the Middle East war today:
One killed at Tehran rally
Deadly explosions rocked Tehran close to a pro-government rally attended by top officials, including security chief Ali Larijani, president Masoud Pezeshkian and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, as Israel and Iran unleashed fresh strikes in their war. At least one person was killed in the blasts.
Iran meanwhile vowed to inflict what its foreign ministry spokesman described as an “unforgettable lesson” on its enemies in the US and Israel.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that if protests broke out in the country, their response would be “stronger” than in January, when thousands were killed.
Oil falls below US$100
Oil dipped under US$100 today, but remained far above pre-Mideast war levels with no end in sight to the disruption in supplies of crude.
Brent North Sea Crude was at US$98.84 per barrel in early afternoon London trading.
Iranian supreme leader ‘wounded’, says Hegseth
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said he believes Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded.
“We know the new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured,” he said.
Hegseth also said the US and Israel have struck more than 15,000 targets since the start of the war on Feb 28.
The Israeli military said it had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including missile launchers and defence systems.
President Donald Trump meanwhile said it was a “great honour” to be responsible for killing Iran’s leadership, calling them “deranged scumbags”.
In a separate interview with Fox News Radio, Trump said: “We’re going to be hitting them very hard over the next week”.
UN chief in Beirut
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he arrived in Beirut on a “solidarity” visit to Lebanon, where the war has claimed at least 687 lives since March 2 as Israel pounds targets of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In the latest strike, eight people were killed in an Israeli strike on a village near the port city of Sidon in south Lebanon, the health ministry said.
Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun said he had not received a response to his offer to negotiate directly with Israel.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said today Lebanon will suffer more because of Hezbollah’s actions.
“The state of Lebanon will pay an increasing price in damage to Lebanese national infrastructure used by Hezbollah terrorists due to terrorist activity and launches at the State of Israel,” Katz said.
Third missile over Turkey
Nato defences have shot down a third ballistic missile fired from Iran in Turkish airspace, Turkey’s defence ministry said.
Hours earlier, alarm sirens wailed at the Incirlik airbase, a key Nato facility where US troops are stationed, state news agency Anadolu reported, and in Batman, 600km east.
Deadly Gulf attacks
“Two people died after security forces intercepted a drone near an industrial area in northern Oman,” state media said.
A building in Dubai’s financial district was hit by debris from an intercepted attack, witnesses and an AFP journalist saw, days after firms evacuated the area as Iran threatened US and Israeli-linked economic targets.
US crew killed
All six crew died when a KC-135 aerial refuelling plane crashed in western Iraq, the US military said.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the crash “was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.” A second plane involved in the incident had landed safely.
French soldier killed
An Iranian drone was responsible for the death of a French soldier in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, the first French casualty of the war, his commanding officer said.
Multiple attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions have targeted the region where foreign forces are based as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.
