Iran's supreme leader 'safe' as Israeli strikes on Lebanon intensify

HEADLINES

• Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "safe and sound" despite reported injuries, the son of Iran's president said on Telegram. READ MORE BELOW

• Fresh Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings. READ MORE BELOW

• Iran's military vowed to launch strikes against US and Israeli economic targets in the region, including banks, and urged people to refrain from going within one kilometre of banks. READ MORE BELOW

• Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes have killed 570 people in the country so far, including 439 men, 45 women and 86 children. 

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that "this war must be stopped before it becomes bigger and completely engulfs the region in flames." 

• World oil prices surged, with the international benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, jumping 5.1 percent to $92.23 per barrel and the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, soaring 5.9 percent to $88.38 per barrel.

• An Israeli strike killed seven people and wounded 18 others in the eastern Lebanon town of Tamnin al-Tahta, the health ministry said.

• Four people were injured after two drones fell near Dubai's airport, the government said, with air traffic operating as normal.

• A Thai bulk carrier was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the Thai navy said, with 20 crew rescued and searches ongoing for the remaining three.

• G7 energy ministers said they "stand ready" to take "all necessary measures" in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to tackle the rise in crude oil prices.

• A second container ship was hit off the coast of the UAE by an unidentified projectile, a British maritime security agency said.

• An unknown projectile hit a cargo ship in the strategic Strait of Hormuz abutting Iran, causing a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate, a maritime security agency said.

• Several blasts rang out across the Qatari capital Doha. 

• Iranian protesters will be treated as enemies if they support Tehran's foes, the country's top police officer warned. 

• Israel's military said it had detected a new round of missiles heading towards the country from Iran and had activated air defenses.

• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned Wednesday a deadly missile strike on a school in Iran early in the Middle East war, calling for those responsible to be identified.

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) is to recommend the release of 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such move in IEA history, three sources said on Wednesday, to try to restrain soaring crude prices amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

• French President Emmanuel Macron will convene a call with leaders of the Group of Seven on Wednesday to discuss the Iran crisis and rising energy prices, the French president's office said.

Iran's new supreme leader injured but 'safe', says president's son

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is injured but "safe and sound", the son of the president said Wednesday, offering the first official explanation for why the 56-year-old has not been seen since his appointment at the weekend. 

"I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections," Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, wrote in a post on his Telegram channel.

"They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound," added the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Mojtaba Khamenei, until now a low profile if powerful behind-the-scenes figure, was named Iran's number one following the killing of his father Ali Khamenei in an air strike at the start of the war with US and Israel. 

But there had been mounting questions about his whereabouts and physical condition after his appointment by the Assembly of Experts clerical body, with the new supreme leader yet to be seen, let alone speak, in public.

State television had called Khamenei a "wounded veteran of the Ramadan war" without giving details, in reference to the conflict which broke out during the holy Muslim fasting month.

In a report on Wednesday, the New York Times quoting three unnamed Iranian officials said that Khamenei "had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication".

There has been speculation that he was injured in the day-time air strike on a compound in Tehran that killed his father, as well as his mother and wife on the first day of the war on February 28.

Israeli strikes hit Beirut

An Israeli strike hit an apartment building in central Beirut on Wednesday, state media reported, the second targeting of the heart of the Lebanese capital since the Middle East war began.

Lebanon was drawn into the war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel, which had kept up strikes targeting Hezbollah even before the war despite a 2024 ceasefire, has launched attacks across Lebanon and sent ground troops into border areas.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said that "the enemy targeted an apartment in the Aisha Bakkar area" in central Beirut, a densely populated neighbourhood close to one of the city's biggest shopping malls.

AFPTV's live broadcast showed the sound of an air strike followed by a fireball erupting in an apartment within a multi-storey residential building in Beirut.

There was no immediate confirmation of any casualties.

Tehran's bank threat

Iran's military vowed on Wednesday to launch strikes against US and Israeli economic targets in the region, including banks, after overnight attacks reportedly hit an Iranian bank.

"The enemy has given us free rein to target economic centres and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime," said the military's central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, in a statement carried by state TV.

It urged people across the region to refrain from going within one kilometer of banks.

Iranian media said US and Israeli strikes hit a bank in Tehran overnight, killing an unspecified number of employees.

Three commercial ships took fire in the Gulf on Wednesday as Iran launched strikes against its oil-exporting neighbours, threatening shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and plunging the global energy economy into crisis.