War in the Middle East: latest developments

 

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 3, 2026. [AFP]

Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East.

 Blasts in Jerusalem

Air raid sirens blared and two blasts were heard in Jerusalem on Thursday, AFP journalists reported, after Israel said it had identified missiles launched from Iran.

The blasts came shortly after Israel's air raid warning system sent out an alert to people living across central Israel.

 Iran launches new strikes

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday they had launched at dawn missiles carrying one-tonne warheads at Israel's main airport Ben Gurion, and an air force base in the area.

It was unclear if any of the missiles reached the airport. The first two Israeli flights bringing home travellers stranded by the fighting also landed Thursday at the airport, which is closed for commercial traffic.

Iran's military said later Thursday a naval drone had attacked a US site in Kuwait.

 Six injured in Abu Dhabi

Debris from a drone injured six people in an industrial zone of the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on Thursday, while Dubai, Doha and Manama were subjected to missile attacks.

Saudi Arabian officials said they had intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones.

No call for aid

Iran has not requested military aid from its ally Russia since Israel and the United States began striking the country last week, the Kremlin said Thursday.

Cyprus ring of steel

Spain will send its most advanced frigate to protect Cyprus after a drone strike on a British base on the Mediterranean island, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The "Cristobal Colon" will join French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" and Greek navy ships to offer protection and help evacuate civilians, the ministry said. Italy also said it would send "naval assets" to the EU member state in coming days.

Britain's Defence Minister John Healey arrived in Cyprus on Thursday.

Fresh Israeli strikes

Israel's military said Thursday it had "just begun a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran".

Iranian news agency Tasnim and local media reported several explosions heard in Tehran Thursday morning.

Earlier, AFP journalists heard explosions in Jerusalem as Iran launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel, according to Iranian state media and the Israeli military.

Iran hits Iraqi Kurds

Iran said Thursday it had targeted the headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles, following strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq.

The strikes killed a member from an exiled Iranian Kurdish group, according to a representative.

 Israel kills Hamas official

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike had killed a senior Hamas official Thursday, the first reported targeted killing of a member of the Palestinian militant group since the war began.

Azerbaijan protests Iran strikes

Azerbaijan, a close ally of Israel, on Thursday said two people were wounded in drone hits on an airport and near a school in the exclave of Nakhichevan.

Baku warned the attack "will not go unanswered".

Iran denied being behind the attack, saying: "Such actions by the Zionist regime, aimed at disrupting relations between Muslim countries in various ways, are not unprecedented."

 US will 'regret' sinking

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States of committing an atrocity by sinking an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka.

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

A second Iranian warship was heading towards Sri Lanka's territorial waters Thursday, a minister told parliament.

Iran says hit US tanker

Iran hit a US oil tanker with a missile Thursday, "in the north of the Persian Gulf" and set it on fire, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement reported by state television.

The incident has not been independently confirmed.

Iran internet blackout

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 Thursday.

Australia deploys 'military assets'

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that "military assets" had been deployed to the Middle East as a contingency plan.

While Albanese did not elaborate, local outlet SBS News reported they were planes.

Italy said it would send air-defence assistance to the Gulf.

-Strike hits Hezbollah stronghold

An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after an Israeli warning to residents.

Israeli strikes along Beirut's airport highway killed three people, Lebanon's health ministry said.