US Iran war news Highlights: US military plane declared emergency before crash in Iraq; fresh explosions in Tehran

Middle East war LIVE: Iran security chief Ali Larinjani on Thursday responded to US President Trump's comments by saying ‘we will not leave you until you admit your mistake and pay its price.’

In an X post he said, "Trump returned to say: “We must win this war quickly. But starting wars is an easy matter, whereas ending them does not happen with a few tweets.”

Middle East war LIVE: The Trump administration has organized nearly 50 flights to return US citizens from the Middle East since the US-Israeli war with Iran began, a State Department official said on Thursday, and officials said demand for the flights has declined.

The State Department was criticized in the days after the conflict began on February 28 for its late preparations to relocate diplomats and offer assistance to US citizens as Iran's strikes led to airspace closures and flight cancellations across the region.

Middle East war LIVE: Iranian state media on Thursday reported that the wife of Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei is alive, adding that the reports of her death were false, Reuters reported.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran is not laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said, after US President Donald Trump said US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the waterway.

"Not at all. This is not true," said Takht-Ravanchi in an interview with AFP when asked about reports of Iran laying mines in the strategic waterway.

Middle East war LIVE: Israeli airstrikes hit a building in the heart of Beirut on Thursday and Israel ordered residents out of another swathe of southern Lebanon, intensifying its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Reuters reported.

The airstrike at around 5:30 pm local time and hit a building in the Bachoura neighbourhood, around 1 km (mile) from the Lebanese government's Grand Serail headquarters in downtown Beirut.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told AFP that Tehran allowed ships from some countries to cross Strait of Hormuz.

He also said that Iran wants to ensure that a war will not be imposed again on it in the future, as the conflict raged with the United States and Israel.

Middle East war LIVE: The Israeli military on Thursday nearly doubled the area of southern Lebanon that it said residents should leave, hours after Israel's defence minister said the military had been instructed to expand its operation in Lebanon.

Israel launched an air and ground offensive last week against Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, which launched attacks at Israel on March 2 that it said aimed to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Middle East war LIVE: US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran should not participate in the upcoming World Cup in North America, just days after telling FIFA's chief they would be welcome despite the Middle East war.

"The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Middle East war LIVE: Airstrikes were reported targeting the Shiite popular mobilisation forces headquarters in southern Baghdad, Reuters reported citing sources.

Earlier, the US Embassy in Baghdad warned that Iran and Iran-aligned militias may be planning to target US-owned oil and energy infrastructure in Iraq, according to a post on X.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed on Thursday to keep the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed after a call to do so by the Islamic republic's new leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

"In response to the order of the commander-in-chief, we will deliver the harshest blows to the aggressor enemy while maintaining the strategy of closing the Strait of Hormuz," said Guards navy commander Alireza Tangsiri in a post on X.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the 42nd wave of its “True Promise 4” operation was launched under the code name “Labbaik Ya Khamenei.”

The attack involved the firing of Emad, Qadr, Khaybar Shekan and Fattah missiles, along with destructive drones, targeting Tel Aviv and US military bases in the region as part of its ongoing campaign against Israeli and American positions.

Middle East war LIVE: Israeli military on Thursday warned that it will target buildings in central Beirut.

Earlier, an Israeli strike on central Beirut's seafront killed eight people on Thursday, Lebanon's health ministry said, as Israel threatened to expand operations.

Middle East war LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was more important to him than controlling oil prices.

"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. But, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Middle East war LIVE: Israeli military on Thursday issued an evacuation warning for the Bachoura neighbourhood in central Beirut ahead of strikes, Reuters reported.

Earlier, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that he it is "gravely alarmed" by reports of a strike that hit displaced people in Beirut, leaving eight people dead and dozens injured, the organisation said on Thursday.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's foreign affairs minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said that Israel is bombing Iranian historical monuments dating as far back as the 14th century.

“Multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites have been struck. It's natural that a regime that won't last a century hates nations with ancient pasts. But where's UNESCO? Its silence is unacceptable,” Araghchi questioned in a post on X

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei thanked Tehran's allied armed groups across the region including in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday.

"I also express my sincere gratitude to the fighters of the 'Resistance Front'," Khamenei said in a statement read by a news anchor on state television, referring to the Houthis in Yemen, Lebanon's Hezbollah group as well as allied groups in Iraq.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed on Thursday to avenge the deaths since the start of war with the United States and Israel, saying it would remain among his top priorities.

"A limited amount of this revenge has so far taken concrete form, but until it is fully achieved, this case will remain among our priorities," Khamenei said in a statement read on state television.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday called on regional countries to shut down any US bases that they host.

"I recommend that they close those bases as soon as possible, because they must have realised by now that the claim of establishing security and peace by America was nothing more than a lie," Khamenei said in a statement read by a news anchor on state TV.

Middle East war LIVE: In a message read out by a state TV broadcaster, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, called for leveraging the Strait of Hormuz and avenging the death of ‘martyrs.’

• He called for the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz to be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue.
• He vowed to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school.
• He said Iran would “obtain compensation” from its enemy, referring to the United States. If it refuses, Iran will “take from its assets” or destroy them to the same extent, he said.
• He remarked that the ‘Resistance Front’ is an inseparable part of the Islamic Revolution’s values.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday warned US and Israel that it will seek compensation from enemies or “destroy their assets accordingly”

Khamenei's comments comes at a time when Israel and US are targeting Tehran. Iran has also responded by attacking US military bases across Gulf states.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khameinei on Thursday issued his first statement saying ‘Resistance Front’ is an inseparable part of the Islamic Revolution’s values.

Khamenei also thanked the fighters of the ‘Resistance Front,’ describing them as Iran’s best friends.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a first statement vowed to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school.

He said Iran would “obtain compensation” from its enemy, referring to the United States. If it refuses, Iran will “take from its assets” or destroy them to the same extent, he said.

Middle East war LIVE: Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a tool of pressure.

In a message read out by a state TV broadcaster, the first the new supreme leader has issued since he was appointed to succeed his slain father, Mojtaba said all US bases in the region should be closed as they would be attacked.

Middle East war LIVE: In his first statement as the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday said that Iran will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs.

He also said that Iran will seek compensation from enemies or destroy their assets accordingly.

Middle East war LIVE: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday said that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue.

His first statement since his appointment was read on state television Thursday by a news anchor. Khamenei did not appear on camera, and an Israeli assessment indicates he was wounded in the war’s opening salvo.