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Iran claims strikes on Kurds in Iraq
Iran says it has targeted Kurdish groups in Iraq and warned “separatist groups” against action in the widening war.
Tehran said on Thursday it had hit Iraq-based Kurdish groups “opposed to the revolution”, as reports said the US was looking to arm Kurdish militias to infiltrate Iran.
The strikes – which killed a member from an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, according to a representative – came after a warning from Iranian officials.
“Separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action,” said the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, quoted by the AFP news agency.
We will not tolerate them in any way.
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Azerbaijan summoned the Iranian envoy after two people were wounded in a drone attack on an airport and near a school.
“One drone struck the terminal building of the airport in the Nakhchivan autonomous republic, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shakarabad,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries of two civilians.”
Pictures: US-Israeli attacks continue in Iran amid escalating conflict
Azerbaijan says drones launched from Iran land in its territory
Pjotr Sauer
An Iranian drone struck an Azerbaijani airport near the two countries’ shared border, marking the first time a state in the Caucasus has been targeted by Iran since the start of the US-Israel war against Tehran.
Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said the drone hit the terminal building at an airport in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave bordering Iran, damaging part of the complex and injuring two civilians.
A second drone fell near a school in a nearby village. Baku said it reserved the right to take retaliatory measures.
Azerbaijan, an oil-rich authoritarian state that has adopted a neutral stance in the Middle East conflict, has recently developed closer ties with Israel and the Trump administration while gradually moving away from Moscow, the traditional power broker in the Caucasus.
The country hosts no US military bases, suggesting Iran may be expanding its strikes beyond targets directly linked to American forces.
Baku’s growing military cooperation with Israel has caused friction with Tehran, though the two neighbours have largely maintained pragmatic relations. Both countries are majority Shia Muslim, and Iran is home to millions of ethnic Azeris – estimates range from about 15 to more than 20 million – many living in the north-western provinces bordering Azerbaijan.
UK's Oman repatriation flight pushed back after 'operational issues', says minister
The first repatriation flight from Oman to bring home stranded citizens had been rescheduled due to “operational issues”, including delays in getting passengers on board, a minister said.
The UK government had chartered a flight last night from Muscat to London for British nationals and their spouses or partners and children, but the Foreign Office said this morning that the flight was not able to depart due to technical issues.
The flight was now expected to depart later today.
When asked why the flight did not leave as planned, Home Office minister Alex Norris told BBC Breakfast: “Well, there are operational reasons that can happen in circumstances where these things are being stood up quickly. I know that’s stressful for those people – that’s why there’s support on the ground.
“We made sure we got them hotel rooms for the night as well and we are facilitating and rebooking today’s flight.
“We hope that they do, and there’s multiple flights after it as well.”
During his media round this morning he told Sky News that there were also delays in getting passengers on board as part of the operational challenges.
British Airways, which is currently unable to fly from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv, said it would run flights from Muscat on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and that they were fully booked.
Kurdistan region 'must not become part of any conflict', says leader
Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has issued a statement commemorating the 35th anniversary of the 1991 Kurdish uprising, but in it he has also seemingly hinted at the current conflict unfolding in the Middle East.
In a statement posted on social media, he said:
In this commemoration, we reiterate that the Kurdistan region, as always, must remain a key factor in peace and stability and must not become part of any conflict or military escalation that harms the lives and security of our fellow citizens. Protecting the territorial integrity of the Kurdistan region and our constitutional achievements can only be achieved through the unity, cohesion, and shared national responsibility of all political forces and components in Kurdistan.
May this commemoration inspire us to overcome challenges, deepen our culture of coexistence and tolerance. Loyalty to the blood of the martyrs means standing together, hand in hand; let us work to preserve stability and build a better future for the generations to come.
His statement follows reports that the Iranian military targeted the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, as Tehran stepped up attacks on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq.
Kurdish officials told the AP news agency that Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq were preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them.
You can read more on this story here:
Missiles and drones flying from Iran fall near Azerbaijan airport - report
Reuters news agency has reported that missiles and drones flying from the direction of Iran fell near the airport in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, according to a source close to the government.
Nakhchivan airport is located about six miles from the border with Iran.
We will bring you more updates as we get them.
UK defence minister flies to Cyprus to ease tension over drone strike on RAF base
Jessica Elgot
John Healey flew into Cyprus on Wednesday night to calm the diplomatic fallout over a drone that evaded detection and hit an RAF base, prompting fury from local ministers.
UK officials believe a drone that hit an RAF base in Cyprus evaded detection by flying low and slow when it was launched by pro-Iranian militia in Lebanon or western Iraq.
But an investigation has been unable to establish conclusively where the Shahed-type drone was launched from. The attack occurred during the Iranian retaliatory bombardment over the weekend after the US and Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran, killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The defence secretary’s visit comes amid a backlash in Cyprus over the drone attack on RAF Akrotiri, which has led to the evacuation of families living on the bases and a bolstering of its defences.
Read the full report here:
Iran targets US oil tanker in Persian Gulf - state media
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has reported that a US oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf was hit by a missile launched by Iranian forces.
“The tanker was struck this morning in the northern Persian Gulf by forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and is currently on fire,” the news agency reported.
There was no immediate comment from the US. The IRGC previously said it maintains full control of the Strait of Hormuz and has effectively closed it to oil and gas exports. Trump said on Tuesday that he is prepared to deploy the US navy to escort tankers through the narrow passage of water, where about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped through.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said her country is planning to send air defence aid to Gulf countries, following in the footsteps of the UK, France and Germany.
“This is not only because they are friendly nations, but above all because tens of thousands of Italians live in the region and around 2,000 Italian troops are deployed there – people we want, and must, protect,” she told the Italian radio station RTL 102.5.
Sri Lanka trying to 'safeguard lives' on another Iranian ship off its coast, government says
Sri Lanka is trying to “safeguard lives” on another Iranian ship off its coast, the country’s cabinet spokesperson said.
The ship was in the economic zone beyond Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, Nalinda Jayatissa added.
“We are doing our utmost to safeguard lives,” he said, according to Reuters news agency.
His remarks come a day after the deadly US torpedo attack on an Iranian warship off the south coast of Sri Lanka which killed more than 80 people. Rescuers continued their search for survivors with more than 60 people believed missing. Thirty-two people were rescued from the Iris Dena by Sri Lankan authorities about 25 miles south of the southern port of Galle.
Hegseth tells Israel defence minister to 'continue to the end' - report
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, told him to “continue to the end, we are with you”, according to a statement by his office.
Katz expressed his condolences over the deaths of US soldiers in the Iran conflict, and thanked Hegseth and US president Donald Trump for their “great support for Israel”.
“The cooperation between president Trump and prime minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu against Iran is changing regional and global history,” the statement from the Israeli defence minister’s office said, according to the Times of Israel.
Interim summary
In case you’re just joining us, here’s an overview of the latest news in the US-Israel war with Iran as the conflict entered its sixth day on Thursday and continues to expand across the Middle East and beyond.
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Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel early on Thursday, sending millions of residents into bomb shelters, just hours after moves to halt the US air assault were blocked in Washington.
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The Israeli military said it was beginning a new widespread wave of attacks in Tehran. Israel also said it carried out strikes on Beirut targeting Hezbollah on Thursday while Lebanese state media reported an Israeli drone strike killed a Hamas official.
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Republican senators in Washington voted against a motion aimed at stopping the US air campaign and requiring that military action be authorised by Congress.
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Nato air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile fired towards Turkey – the first time Turkey has been drawn into the conflict. But Iran armed forces later denied firing any missile towards Turkey’s territory and said it respected the country’s sovereignty.
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A US submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people.
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Iran said it had targeted Kurdish groups in Iraq and warned “separatist groups” against action in the widening war.
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Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s slain supreme leader, emerged as a frontrunner to succeed him, suggesting Tehran was not about to buckle to pressure from the US and Israel’s military campaign that has killed hundreds and convulsed global markets.
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The war continued to paralyse shipping through the strait of Hormuz, choking off vital Middle East oil and gas flows, with oil prices rising on Thursday. The US navy would escort oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz “as soon as it can” but was focused on the conflict for now, US energy secretary Chris Wright said on Fox News.
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Repatriation flights departed the Middle East on Wednesday as governments rushed to bring home tens of thousands of citizens stranded by the war. A British flight to repatriate UK nationals did not take off as scheduled from Oman and was rescheduled for later on Thursday, Sky News reported.
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Plans were in doubt for a funeral for Iran’s slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed by Israeli forces on Saturday. The body had been expected to lie in state in a Tehran mosque from Wednesday evening but Iran said three days of farewell ceremonies had been indefinitely postponed and no funeral date had been announced.
With news agencies
Iran’s foreign minister has said the US will “bitterly regret” sinking an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Abas Araghchi posted on X:
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.
Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth earlier confirmed that a US submarine sunk the Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, saying the ship “thought it was safe in international waters”.
He said:
Instead it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death – the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since world war II. Like in that war, back when we were still the war department, we are fighting to win.
Hamas official reportedly killed in Israeli strikes on Beirut
Israel has said it carried out strikes on Beirut targeting Hezbollah on Thursday while Lebanese state media reported an Israeli drone strike killed a Hamas official.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported several strikes early in the day, including two in the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut, where smoke was seen rising.
Israel’s military, which earlier told residents to leave the suburbs where the strikes were reported, said its forces hit several “command centres” of the Iran-backed militant group in the city. There were no immediate reports of casualties, an Agence France-Presse report said.
The NNA said a pre-dawn Israeli drone strike hit an apartment in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, killing senior Hamas official Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife.
This is the first reported targeted killing of a Hamas official since the regional war began on Saturday.
The report noted that Ali’s brother, also a Hamas official from Beddawi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the war triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel.
