Iran hit US oil tanker in Gulf: State TV

This live blog follows updates for Day 6 of the US-Israel war on Iran.

• • UK defense minister heads to Cyprus amid Middle East war: media
  • Iranian drone hits airport in Azerbaijan: local media
  • Israel army says detected new missiles launched from Iran
  • Second Iranian ship heading to Sri Lanka after submarine attack
  • Italy to send air-defense aid to Gulf countries: PM

UK defense minister heads to Cyprus amid Middle East war: media

Published March 5, 2026 | 08:55 GMT

Britain's Defense Minister John Healey is headed to Cyprus, media reports said, following the outbreak of war in the Middle East and a drone strike on a UK air base on the Mediterranean island.

Healey would arrive later Thursday, the BBC and the PA news agency reported.

The visit comes after the runway of the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Akrotiri came under attack by an unmanned drone on Monday.

Iranian drone hits airport in Azerbaijan: local media

Published March 5, 2026 | 08:50 GMT

A drone launched from Iranian territory struck an airport building in Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan on Thursday and exploded, Azerbaijani media reported.

Two drones crossed from Iran on Wednesday before one of them crashed into Nakhichevan's airport, the Azerbaijani news outlet Report said, without providing further details.

Video published on social media appeared to show smoke rising from the airport.

Israel army says detected new missiles launched from Iran

Published March 5, 2026 | 08:50 GMT

The Israeli military said it identified a fresh round of missiles launched from Iran on Thursday, the sixth day of a war engulfing the Middle East.

"A short while ago, the IDF (military) identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the military said in a statement.

Second Iranian ship heading to Sri Lanka after submarine attack

Published March 5, 2026 | 08:47 GMT

A second Iranian warship was heading towards Sri Lanka's territorial waters Thursday, a day after a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate, killing at least 87 sailors, a minister told parliament.

Media minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the second Iranian warship was just outside Sri Lankan waters, but gave no further details.

Italy to send air-defense aid to Gulf countries: PM

Published March 5, 2026 | 08:46 GMT

Italy will send air-defense assistance to Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes launched in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday.

"Italy, like the UK, France and Germany, intends to send aid to the Gulf countries," she told RTL 102.5 radio.

"We are clearly talking about defense, air defense, not just because they are friendly nations but because there are tens of thousands of Italians in that area and around 2,000 Italian soldiers that we must protect," she added.

"And the Gulf is vital for energy supplies for Italy and Europe."

Iran internet still 'around 1 percent of ordinary levels': monitor

Published March 5, 2026 | 08:46 GMT

Iran's internet is "around 1 percent of ordinary levels" with a communication blackout sparked by the war with Israel and the United States entering a fifth day, monitor Netblocks said on Thursday.

"Iran's internet blackout has now exceeded 120 hours with connectivity still flatlining around 1 percent of ordinary levels," Netblocks said in a message posted on social media platform X.

"Meanwhile, an increasingly Orwellian environment is emerging as telcos threaten users who try to connect to the global internet with legal action."

State TV says Iran hit US oil tanker in Gulf

Published March 5, 2026 | 08:45 GMT

Iranian state television said Iran had struck a US oil tanker in the Gulf with a missile on Thursday, the latest Iranian attack on the energy industry in the region.

The ship "was hit by a missile in the north of the Persian Gulf" and "is currently on fire", Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement reported by state television.

The incident, which has not been independently confirmed, came as the Guards said they had "full control" of the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is a vital oil and gas transit route.

Israeli strikes killed six people in south Lebanon: state media

Published March 5, 2026 | 07:50 GMT

Israeli strikes killed six people in two southern Lebanese villages on Thursday, state media reported.

The mayor of a village in the Nabatieh region and his wife were killed in one strike, the National News Agency reported, adding that in a nearby village, a strike killed two children and their parents.

Explosions heard in Doha, Manama: AFP journalists

Published March 5, 2026 | 07:49 GMT

Explosions echoed over the Qatari capital Doha and Bahrain's Manama on Thursday, AFP journalists reported.

The Gulf countries have been targeted by repeated waves of Iranian drone and missile attacks in retaliation for the massive US-Israeli air campaign against Iran.

First Israeli repatriation flights land in Tel Aviv: transport ministry

Published March 5, 2026 | 07:30 GMT

The first two repatriation flights bringing home Israelis stranded abroad by the Middle East war landed in Tel Aviv on Thursday, the transport ministry said.

The flights landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday morning. 

Transport Minister Miri Regev said: "We are doing everything possible to bring every Israeli home safely."

Explosions, fighter jets over Tehran: AFP journalists

Published March 5, 2026 | 07:25 GMT

Loud explosions and fighter jets could be heard over Tehran on Thursday, AFP journalists in the Iranian capital said, after Israel said it had launched a new wave of strikes.

Local media also reported a series of blasts in Tehran and its western outskirts.

An AFP journalist saw smoke rising from southern Tehran.

The Fars news agency reported an explosion in western Tehran, while the Shargh and Iran papers reported at least one explosion in Karaj a neighboring city to the west.

The blasts came shortly after the Israeli military said it had begun "a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure" in the Iranian capital.

Israel minister says US Defense Secretary told him 'keep going to the end'

Published March 5, 2026 | 07:22 GMT

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said his US counterpart Pete Hegseth assured him of Washington's firm backing for their joint military campaign against Iran and urged him to continue the operation "to the end".

"The Secretary of Defense said: 'Keep going to the end -- we are with you,'" Katz said, referring to an overnight conversation between the two, according to a statement issued by the Israeli minister's office on Thursday.

Iran FM says US will 'bitterly regret' precedent set by sinking ship

Published March 5, 2026 | 07:20 GMT

Iranian Foreign Minister Abas Araghchi accused the United States of committing an atrocity by sinking an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka and warned it would "bitterly regret" the precedent set.

"The US 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 posted on X.

"Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set", he added.

Series of explosions in and around Tehran: local media

Published March 5, 2026 | 06:35 GMT

A series of blasts hit Tehran and its western outskirts on Thursday, local media reported, after Israel said it had launched another wave of strikes on the Iranian capital.

The Fars news agency reported an explosion in western Tehran, while the Shargh and Iran papers reported at least one explosion in Karaj, a neighboring city to the west.

Australia deploys military aircraft to Mideast in contingency planning

Published March 5, 2026 | 06:30 GMT

Australia has deployed two military aircraft to the Middle East as part of contingency planning, two officials told AFP on Thursday.

Countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from the Middle East this week after US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparked a regional war.

Officials told AFP that Australia had deployed a heavy transport aircraft and a fuel transport aircraft to the Middle East as part of plans to get its citizens out.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also told parliament on Thursday that "military assets" had been deployed to the Middle East, though he did not give further details.

Israeli military says striking targets 'across Tehran'

Published March 5, 2026 | 06:00 GMT

The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Thursday.

"The IDF (army) has just begun a large-scale wave of strikes against the infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran," a military statement said.

Iran says targeted Kurdish groups' headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan: IRNA

Published March 5, 2026 | 05:32 GMT

Iran said Thursday it had targeted the headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Iranian state media, following strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq.

"We targeted the headquarters of Kurdish groups opposed to the revolution in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles," Iran's official IRNA news agency posted on Telegram, quoting a military statement.

Lebanese state media says Israeli strike kills Hamas official

Published March 5, 2026 | 05:30 GMT

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike killed a Hamas official on Thursday, the first reported targeted killing of a member of the Palestinian group since US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered regional war.

Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife were killed when an "enemy drone targeted their home" in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, in a pre-dawn strike, the National News Agency (NNA) reported, describing the man as a senior Hamas official.

Netanyahu, not Trump, imposed war on Iran: Prince Turki Al-Faisal

Published March 5, 2026 | 04:29 GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not US President Donald Trump, is the architect of the war against Iran, said Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief.

In an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN, the former Saudi spymaster shared critical insights into the escalating regional war against Iran. 

Prince Turki stated that the current conflict is "Netanyahu's war," arguing that the Israeli prime minister convinced the US president to support his aggressive views on Iran.

He warned against US attempts at regime change in Iran, noting that previous attempts in the region (Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya) led to state collapse and "unintended consequences" like civil war and disintegration.

He expressed the view that the Iranian system "won't collapse anytime soon" despite external military pressure.

In an exclusive with Bloomberg on March 3, he described Iranian strikes on Saudi Aramco facilities as a "provocative step" designed to draw the Gulf Cooperation Council into a wider regional war.

Prior to the full escalation, he had argued at the Milken Institute Summit that Israel was a greater threat to regional stability than Iran due to its persistent strikes across Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.

Despite the ongoing military operations, he continues to urge for diplomacy and a "political solution" to ensure regional security.

China tells oil refiners to suspend exports: Bloomberg report

Published March 5, 2026 | 04:00 GMT

China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, as the war in the Middle East increasingly risks an energy supply crunch.

China is a net importer of oil and is one of several major Asian economies that depend on the vital Strait of Hormuz, where traffic is currently blocked, for energy.

The Middle East was the source of 57% of China's direct seaborne crude imports in 2025, according to analytics firm Kpler.

Trump says US in 'very strong position' against Iran, rates war as '15 out of 10'

Published March 5, 2026 | 00:57 GMT

President Donald Trump said the United States and Israel were in a strong position in their war with Iran and vowed that they would "continue forward" against the Islamic republic, rating the US performance in the war with Iran as a 15 on a scale of 10

Trump said prospective replacements for slain Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "end up dead" and that Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles was being "wiped out rapidly."

"We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump told a gathering of tech bosses at the White House.

"We're in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead."

Speaking on the fifth day of the war, Trump repeated his justifications for attacking Iran, saying Tehran was on its way to obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen," Trump added.

Israel military warns residents to leave Beirut suburb ahead of attacks

Published March 5, 2026 | 02:57 GMT

Israel's military issued new evacuation orders for a Beirut suburb on Thursday, warning residents it was about to strike targets it said were linked to Hezbollah.

The warning posted on social media by the Israeli military's Arabic language spokesperson came as hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed group intensified -- including direct clashes in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam on Wednesday, according to Hezbollah.

US nears 'complete' control of Iran airspace: White House

Published March 5, 2026 | 02:45 GMT

The United States expects to have "complete" control of Iranian airspace in the coming hours, the White House said on Wednesday, the fifth day of US-Israeli operations against the Islamic Republic, AFP reported.

"We expect to have complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hours," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier in the day that the United States and Israel "will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace," without giving a specific timeline.

That means "we will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defense industrial base of the Iranian military," Hegseth said.

Qatar says evacuating residents near US embassy

Published March 5, 2026 | 02:27 GMT

Qatar has begun evacuating residents of its capital living near the US embassy, the interior ministry said Thursday, after Iranian strikes hit the Gulf country, AFP reported.

"The relevant authorities are evacuating residents living in the vicinity of the US Embassy as a temporary precautionary measure," the ministry posted on X.

Explosions heard in Jerusalem after Iran missile alert: AFP

Published March 5, 2026 | 02:27 GMT

Explosions were heard in Jerusalem on Thursday after warnings of incoming Iranian missile fire, AFP journalists said, with Israel's emergency services reporting no casualties.

Israel's military has issued three separate alerts warning of Iranian missile launches in under two hours. There were no reports of significant impact and residents have been cleared to leave their shelters.

Air strike hits Hezbollah stronghold

Published March 5, 2026 | 02:27 GMT

An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after Israel had issued a warning to residents.

Elsewhere, three people were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on vehicles along Beirut's airport highway, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Prior to these strikes, officials had said 72 people had been killed and more than 83,000 others displaced since the start of a new round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Iran launches missiles at Israel 

Published March 5, 2026 | 02:05 GMT

Iran launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel, triggering alerts in several areas, including Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli military and Tehran's state media.

There were no immediate reports of casualties according to AFP.

Canada PM Carney says can't rule out military participation in Iran war

Published March 5, 2026 | 01:45 GMT

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that he couldn't rule out his country's military participation in the escalating war in the Middle East.

"One can never categorically rule out participation," he said alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra.

"We will stand by our allies," added Carney, who had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were "inconsistent with international law."

Air strike hits Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold after Israel warning: Report

Published March 5, 2026 | 01:06 GMT

An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, AFPTV images showed, shortly after Israel issued a warning ahead of an attack.

Israel's military earlier told residents to leave a Beirut suburb, warning it was about to strike targets it said were linked to Hezbollah.

UK maritime agency reports explosion, oil spill off Kuwait

Published March 5, 2026 | 01:05 GMT

A tanker was hit by a "large explosion" in the waters off Kuwait, causing an oil spill, British maritime security agency UKMTO said, according to AFP.

"The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity" off the Gulf state's Mubarak Al-Kabeer area, the agency posted on X.

"There is oil in the water coming from a cargo tank which could have some environmental impact."

This live blog will continue to be updated with confirmed developments, official statements, and casualty assessments as they emerge.