Iran news and live updates: Iran claims it has ‘destroyed’ US air base in Bahrain as war enters fourth day
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Key Events
What you need to know about Iran conflict today
- The Australian Government is considering contingencies on how to bring home tens of thousands of citizens stranded in the Middle East as the US-Israel war on Iran widens, Defence Minister Richard Marles said, describing the situation as a “very significant consular challenge”.
- As reported by The Nightly on Monday, Mr Marles also confirmed that Australia’s Al Minhad air base near Dubai was targeted by Iranian drones over the weekend, though all personnel stationed there are safe.
- US President Donald Trump has delivered his first public address since the conflict erupted, saying the US and Israel could not wait any longer before striking Iran. The attack on Iran was “our last, best chance to strike” and to eliminate the “intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime”, Mr Trump said.
- The US embassy in Riyadh was reportedly struck by two suspected Iranian drones, sparking a fire and prompting an urgent “shelter in place immediately” warning for American citizens in Saudi Arabia. No injuries have been reported.
- The Israeli military says it has killed Islamic Johad’s top commander in Lebanon. “Abu Hamza Rami carried out hundreds of terrorist attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, including recruiting and training terrorists and procuring weapons,” the Israel Defense Force said.
- A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard official has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, vowing Iran would fire on any vessel attempting to pass through it, according to Iranian state media.
- Three US fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences, though all six crew members ejected safely. US Central Command confirmed the American death toll has risen to six after recovering the remains of two previously unaccounted-for personnel.
- Iran has intensified its attacks across the region, launching strikes on Israel, Lebanon, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry says more than 70 missile and drone strikes have hit the city of Erbil since Saturday.
- Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery, Ras Tanura, was shut down after shrapnel from an intercepted Iranian drone ignited a major fire at the facility.
- Iran’s Red Crescent says the national death toll has now surpassed 550 as US and Israeli forces focus their operations on Tehran.
Iran says US air base attacked and destroyed
Iranian state television is reporting a statement from the Revolutionary Guard, claiming it has destroyed a US air base in Bahrain.
US Central Command is yet to comment on the alleged strike.
Smoke has also been pictured billowing from a US naval base in Bahrain’s capital city, Manama.
Netanyahu says war against Iran may take ‘some time’
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the US and Israel’s war against Iran may take “some time” but it won’t take years.
The US and Israeli air war against Iran began with attacks against Tehran on Saturday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and prompting Iranian retaliation against Israel and missile attacks at Arab nations with US bases across the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump initially projected the war to last four to five weeks, but added it could go on longer, and has since sought to justify a broad, open-ended war on Iran.
WATCH: Saudi oil refinery up in smoke
Verified video has emerged of plumes of smoke rising from the Ras Tanura oil refinery in Saudi Arabia’s east.
The refinery was hit by Iranian drone strikes on Monday, sparking fears about the production and price of oil globally.
Beirut hit by Israeli strikes
AP is reporting the Lebanese capital of Beirut has been hit by Israeli strikes early on Tuesday morning, according to the IDF.
The strikes were aimed at “Hezbollah command centers” and “weapons storage facilities in Beirut”, the Israeli military reported.
Israeli forces earlier claimed it had killed a “senior terrorist” from Islamic Jihad in Beirut late on Monday evening.
Surging diesel prices spell trouble for economy
Surging petrol and diesel prices threaten to stoke cost of living pressures across Australia if the Iran war spreads across the Middle East, according to motoring group NRMA.
On Tuesday, NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury warned that the Middle East conflict created a surge in wholesale diesel prices overnight, with the fuel critical to Australia’s mining, transport, agriculture, commercial, retail, and industrial sectors.
Gas and oil were “worrying”, Mr Khoury said.
“The benchmark price for diesel jumped $US22 a barrel last night, or 24 per cent, and it’s unclear why there was such a big increase.”
Foreign Minister: US involvement a ‘war of choice’
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has responded to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying the US has “entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel”.
Secretary Rubio had previously made comments saying the US knew Israel were going to attack Iran and “pre-emptively” entered conflict to prevent higher casualties.
Netanyahu denies Israel ‘dragged’ US into war
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied his country “dragged” the United States into a war with Iran.
“That’s ridiculous. Donald Trump is the strongest leader in the world. He does what he thinks is right for America,” Mr Netanyahu told Fox News.
“I know the cost of war, but I know that sometimes war is necessary to protect us from the people who would destroy us.”
Israel claims Iran was on cusp of developing nuclear weapons
“We had to take the action now, and we did,” he told Fox News.
“Otherwise, the Iranian mass murder regime would have immunity from future action.”
Mr Netanyahu said when he met Donald Trump, the US President told him “we have to prevent Iran from getting nukes, as simple as that.”
“To have a regime like that, so fanatic that it just defines itself by destroying America, exporting revolution, exporting terrorism, exporting the worst Islamist fanaticism that attacks Arabs, attacks Israelis, attacks Americans, attacks everyone inside … to have a regime like that, that plans to eradicate the United States, have the weapons of mass death, would have been the greatest threat that America would face in the coming decades,” he said.
‘You’ll find out soon’: Trump responds to US embassy drone strike
Kellie Meyer shared details of a brief, two-minute phone call with the US President, during which he also claimed he was “very close” to achieving his objectives.
Meyer reported that Mr Trump said he would put American boots on the ground “only if necessary,” though he didn’t believe it would come to that. He also stated that attacks on US sites are considered part of war.
Death toll in Iran climbs to 555 amid US-Israeli strikes
More than 130 cities across the country have been targeted in the ongoing escalation.
In Lebanon, Israeli strikes have claimed over 50 lives, the country’s Health Ministry confirmed earlier this morning.
Meanwhile, in Israel, Iranian counterstrikes have killed 11 people as tensions across the region continue to escalate.
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