Live: Iran says Hormuz strait will remain unsafe as Nato downs missile over Turkey

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said sent a message congratulating Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

In the message, the sultan offered his “best wishes for his success and good fortune in assuming his leadership responsibilities in his friendly country”.

Sultan Haitham is the first Arab leader to publicly congratulate Khamenei after he was selected to succeed his father, who was killed in a US-Israeli air strike last week.

A logistical support camp linked to the US embassy near Baghdad airport has been targeted, an Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera Arabic.

Air defence systems at the facility were activated following the attack. Further details were not immediately available.

Three students were killed during US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s Lorestan province, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The report said the victims included a fourth-grade student, a seventh-grade student and a second-grade student. One of the children was killed alongside her mother.

The head of the World Health Organisation has warned that the US-Israeli war on Iran is creating serious public health risks across the region.

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said damage to petroleum facilities in Iran could contaminate food, water and air, posing particular dangers to children, older people and those with existing health conditions.

“Rain laden with oil has been reported falling in parts of the country,” Tedros said in a post.

He also said the violence is affecting healthcare services in Lebanon, where nine health workers have been killed since 28 February.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian companies should “take advantage” of the current situation as the war disrupts global oil and energy markets.

Speaking at a meeting in the Kremlin, Putin said the US-Israeli war on Iran has triggered a worldwide energy crisis and warned that oil production relying on transport through the Strait of Hormuz could soon come to a halt.

He added that Russia would be ready to supply European buyers if they were willing to engage in “long-term work without politics”.

Putin also said Moscow would continue providing energy resources to what he called “reliable partners”.

In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: “Iran does not want to harm ordinary Americans who overwhelmingly voted to end involvement in costly foreign wars.”

He added that rising fuel prices and other economic pressures in the US should be blamed on Israel and its allies in Washington.

The Israeli military said its air force carried out another wave of strikes across Iran.

In a statement posted on X, the military said dozens of sites linked to the Iranian government were hit, including what it described as a headquarters used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for drone operations.

The military said drones had previously been launched from the site towards Israel and that additional drones stored there were preparing for launch. Several drone storage facilities and air defence systems were also targeted.

Hezbollah said it targeted a satellite communications station used by the Israeli army in the Ellah Valley, about 160km from the Lebanese border.

The group said the facility was struck with a barrage of what it described as sophisticated missiles.

In a separate statement, Hezbollah also said it launched rockets at Israeli soldiers near the border, targeting a gathering of troops near the Lebanese town of Mays al-Jabal at 17:00 local time.

US President Donald Trump said Iran “made a big mistake” by selecting Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader after his father was killed in a US-Israeli attack.

Speaking to NBC News, he reiterated earlier remarks in which he described the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “lightweight”.

Trump also said it was “too soon to talk about” seizing Iran’s oil, but added that he does not rule out the possibility.

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 486 people have been killed and 1,313 wounded since Israeli attacks began on 2 March.

Al Jazeera reported that an Israeli drone targeted a car in the southern town of Burj Rahal, while another strike hit the town of Srifa.

Israeli air attacks also struck several other areas in southern Lebanon, including Arab Salim, Barghaz and Majdal Selm, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.

Meanwhile, projectiles were launched from southern Lebanon towards Israel

The Pentagon has identified the seventh US service member killed in combat during the US-Israeli war on Iran as Army Staff Sergeant Benjamin N Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky.

Pennington died on Sunday after being wounded in an attack on 1 March at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, according to a Pentagon statement.

Six US Army reservists were also killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations centre at a civilian port.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara has issued the necessary warnings to Tehran after Nato air defences shot down a second Iranian ballistic missile that entered Turkish airspace earlier on Friday.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said Tehran continues to take “wrong and provocative steps” during the US-Israeli war on Iran.

He said no action should damage Turkey’s “thousand-year neighbourly, brotherly ties” with Iran.

Erdogan added that Ankara will continue taking additional measures after deploying six F-16 fighter jets to northern Cyprus on Monday.

The Israeli military has imposed strict limits on reporting about where missiles and rockets are landing and how many have been fired by Iran or Hezbollah.

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli authorities have arrested journalists deemed to have revealed too much information on air.

Two people were killed on Friday in an area near Ben Gurion Airport close to Tel Aviv. Eyewitnesses said some of the missiles fired by Iran appear to carry cluster warheads, which break apart and spread over a wide area, increasing the potential for damage.

Emergency crews have been searching impacted areas to ensure there is no unexploded ordnance.

Hezbollah has said it launched rockets at targets in northern Israel and at Israeli troops close to the Lebanese border.

The group said it fired a rocket barrage towards the Israeli town of Nahariya at around 2:55pm local time (12:55pm GMT), calling it a response to Israeli strikes on towns and cities in Lebanon.

In another statement, Hezbollah said it also attacked Israeli soldiers near the border area around Markaba at about 15:30 local time.

Good afternoon Middle East Eye readers,

As Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, assumes power, the Middle East remains under bombardment from multiple sides as the conflict enters its tenth day.

Here's a round-up of all the latest:

• Iran's security chief Ali Larijani warned that the Strait of Hormuz will remain unsafe as long as the war with the US and Israel continues
   
• At least 16 people were killed in southern Lebanon, including a priest
   
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns Tehran after Nato defences intercepted an Iranian missile in Turkey's airspace
   
• Qatar said it intercepted 17 ballistic missiles fired from Iran
   
• Oil prices rocketed above $100 a barrel for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022
   
• European stock markets dropped to their lowest level in more than two months 
   
• Unicef said Israel is killing at least 10 children per day in Lebanon