US-Iran war news updates: Iranian warship sunk by torpedo off Sri Lanka; Hegseth says US ‘just getting started’; First repatriation flight lands in Sydney

Thanks for reading our rolling coverage of the Middle East conflict. This blog has now concluded, but our live reporting continues in a new blog, which you can find here.

In the meantime, here were the big developments from today as the conflict continues to rapidly expand across the Middle East:

• Iran has launched more missiles at Israel and US bases. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks early Thursday and said it was intercepting the missiles.

• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the US Navy of committing an “an atrocity at sea” for sinking the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, which killed at least 87 Iranian sailors. “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret (the) precedent it has set,” he said on social media. A second Iranian ship is now in the area, reports say.

• It has since been confirmed that two Australians were on board the nuclear-powered US submarine that was responsible for sinking.

• Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli, in one of the few clerical statements so far from Iran, later called on state television for “the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump’s blood”.

• The Israeli military said it began new strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. At least eight people were killed there late Wednesday into Thursday according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and the state news agency.

• Azerbaijan, directly north of Iran, accused it of carrying out a drone attack on its exclave of Nakhchivan. The foreign ministry said in a statement that one drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan, and another one near a school, and that two civilians were injured. Iran has not acknowledged targeting Azerbaijan.

• Qatar evacuated residents near the US embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution Thursday and later reported a missile attack on the city. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone in its province bordering Jordan.

• A tanker apparently came under attack off the coast of Kuwait early Thursday, expanding the area where commercial shipping was in danger, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre run by the British military. It said there was an explosion but did not offer a cause. Iran in the past has attacked ships by attaching limpet mines to them.
• On the Australian front, the government has confirmed it has deployed two military aircraft to the Middle East to eventually help in evacuation efforts. Though they are still urging people to try and get flights out of the region as their first course of action. Repatriation flights are due to land in Sydney tonight and Melbourne early tomorrow morning.

• The news: Iranian leader labels Trump ‘Israel First’
• Tracking the war: Where the US struck and where Iran retaliated
• Israel attacks Lebanon: What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
• The three men to stop Trump: Who are the Islamic Republic’s interim leadership team?
• Iran’s nuclear proposal: The tantalising fact Trump couldn’t ignore

Russia has accused the United States and Israel of trying to drag Arab countries into a wider Middle East conflict by provoking Iran into striking at targets across the region.

“They deliberately provoked Iran into retaliatory strikes against targets in some Arab countries, which led to human and material losses, which the Russian side deeply regrets,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“In doing so, they are trying to drag the Arabs into a war for someone else’s interests”.

The only way to prevent the Middle East from being further destabilised was to stop the “aggression” of the US and Israel, the ministry added, saying there were no signs for now that the two “aggressors” would halt their strikes.

Israel’s military said on Thursday morning that it had detected missile launches from Iran.

Alerts telling residents they’d soon be asked to enter bunkers sounded on phones in Jerusalem.

Israel’s rescue services said they did not have any immediate reports of casualties from the latest missile barrage fired by Iran.

The barrage also set off sirens in central Israel and parts of the north.

AP

Qatar’s ministry of defence has just confirmed it is under attack from missiles, which its air defence systems are intercepting.

“The ministry urges citizens, residents and visitors to remain calm, avoid rumours and rely solely on information released through official channels,” the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier today, Qatar evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha as a precaution.

Qatar has not said where the missiles have come from.

In nearby Bahrain, the defence force said on Instagram this evening it has destroyed 75 missiles and 123 “march planes” since the current conflict began on Saturday.

With AP

Italy is planning to send air defence aid to Gulf countries in response to Iranian air strikes, underscoring Rome’s concern for the safety of its citizens and troops in the region as well as for energy security.

“Like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, Italy intends to send assistance to Gulf countries, specifically in the field of defence and in particular air defence,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told radio station RTL 102.5 on Thursday.

She said the move was driven not only by diplomatic ties but by the presence of Italians on the ground. Tens of thousands of Italian nationals lived in the Gulf, while about 2000 Italian troops were deployed there, she said.

“These are people we want to, and must, protect,” Meloni said, noting that the Gulf region was also vital for Italy’s and Europe’s energy supplies.

Reuters

Iranian-Australian protesters have been gathered outside Gold Coast Stadium for the past hour, chanting “Thank you, Trump, thank you, Bibi” for the US-Israeli rocket attacks that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

The group held aloft the Lion and Sun Iranian flag – the imperial flag of Iran before the revolution, which is used by those who oppose the Iranian government – along with Australian and Israeli flags and numerous signs featuring exiled prince Reza Pahlavi.

The support for Pahlavi is in keeping with the Iranian university students who have launched a wave of new protests across Iran, calling for his return and for a mourning period for protesters who have been killed.

In front of the Gold Coast protesters lay photographs of 762 faces from among “tens of thousands murdered in two days” – “victims of Islamic regime terrorism”.

Earlier today, the ABC reported that Iranian-Australian demonstrators gathered in Melbourne, outside the US consulate, also to thank the US and Israel for their strikes.