US-Iran war as it happened: Player refuses to leave as Iranian women’s soccer team departs Sydney; NATO shoots down second missile heading for Turkey

Thank you for reading our continuing coverage of the Middle East conflict, as the ripple effect reaches Australia with the dramatic departure of the Iranian women’s soccer team.

Our live reporting continues in a new blog, here.

Here’s what you need to know as we conclude this blog’s coverage.

• At least one member of the Iranian women’s soccer delegation refused to board the team’s flight to Kuala Lumpur, en route to Iran, and currently remains in Australia.
• Dozens of protesters from the Iranian-Australian diaspora gathered at the airport to communicate messages to the team and show their support.
• In a press conference, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that today would be the “most intense day” of US strikes on Iran yet.
• Earlier, five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team were granted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia, as part of a secret operation to allow them to escape their handlers.
• After Australia announced it would provide surveillance aircraft, missiles and 85 troops to the United Arab Emirates, Foreign Minister Penny Wong insisted was not at the behest of US President Donald Trump, but was exclusively in response to a request from the Gulf ally.
• A newly released video adds to evidence that a US missile was responsible for a hit on an Iranian elementary school in which 175 people, many of them children, were killed. Trump walked back his earlier statement that Iran was responsible for the strike, but said he “could live with it” if the Pentagon found the US was responsible.

The top US general has confirmed that the United States was carrying out strikes against Iranian mine-laying vessels.

The war has effectively shut the Straitof Hormuz, a chokepoint for global oil and liquefied natural gas transport, leaving tankers unable to sail for more than a week and forcing producers to halt pumping as storage fills.

“[US Central Command] continues today to hunt and strike mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities,” General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon.

Caine added that in the first 10 days of the campaign against Iran, the US had sunk or destroyed more than 50 naval ships.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict.

Reuters

Tuesday will be the most intense day of strikes against Iran in the campaign so far, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has told a press conference at the Pentagon.

Speaking with reporters, Hegseth said Tuesday would bring the most fighter jets and bombers against Iran.

Hegseth accused Iran of firing missiles from hospitals and schools, while noting that the number of missiles fired from Iran was at its lowest level across the past 24 hours.

“This is not 2003, this is not endless nation building... It’s not even close. This generation of soldiers, and this president won’t let that happen,” he said.

The Iranian Lionesses have left Sydney, flying on a delayed Malaysian Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur.

It’s not clear how many of the women got on the plane. At least one refused to leave, causing panic as their chaperones urged them to board the flight, as airline staff announced final boarding.

Another was led, resolute, by her hand toward the gate.

As the final few walked onto the plane, tears streamed down their face, and they were embraced by the others.

State and federal police stood nearby, with a heavy police presence, thanks to protesters attempting to pull the players away from their handlers.

Iran is not interested in a ceasefire and will “strike the aggressor in the mouth,” the Islamic Republic parliament’s speaker said.

“Absolutely, we are not seeking a ceasefire; we believe we must strike the aggressor in the mouth so that it learns a lesson and never again even thinks of aggressing against our dear Iran,” Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf sadi on X, according to a translation of his post from Farsi.

“The Zionist regime sees its ignoble existence in perpetuating the cycle of ‘war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again’ in order to consolidate its domination. We will break this cycle.”

Several protesters held signs made from blue markers and cardboard bags at the gate outside Sydney Airport, as they desperately hoped to communicate with the Iranian women’s soccer team as it continues its journey home.

Among the posters was a message directed to Golnoosh Khosravi, a 24-year-old winger on the Iranian team. The message, written in Farsi, read “Golnoosh, your mum said to stay”.

Demonstrators who claimed to be aware of contact with associates of the footballer’s family indicated their wishes for Khosravi to remain in Australia after Iran’s Asian Cup campaign and not return to the Islamic Republic.

Another sign encouraged the team to seek government assistance if they wished to stay.

Iranian protesters have burst into tears awaiting the team’s departure from Sydney. The group broke down in tears as they watched videos of the women flashing their phone torches from the transfer bus.

Audio and messages purporting to be from some of the women’s family have spread on social media, appearing to beg some of the girls not to come home, warning it was not safe.

With communications limited in Iran, some say the family managed to call Australian numbers from landlines, sending their desperate messages.

Nas, who left Australia 30 years ago, said she wanted the women to know they can make a home in Australia.

Zara has been messaging some of the players. Her messages have stopped being read.

“I want them to hear their families messages,” she said.