US-Iran war live updates: Israel to strike Lebanon ‘in coming hours’ as Bahrain oil refinery up in flames

Israel’s military says it has struck Iranian commanders in the Lebanese capital, expanding the scope of strikes to the heart of Beirut after days of strikes that have left nearly 400 people dead.

The drone strike early on Sunday morning was the first within the city limits of Lebanon’s capital since Israel-Hezbollah hostilities resumed last week, and came amid heavy bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs and the country’s south and east.

Israel said it targeted key commanders of Iran’s elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards but did not name them.

“The commanders of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps operated to advance terror attacks against the state of Israel and its civilians, while operating simultaneously for the IRGC in Iran,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

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Desperate citizens in Iran’s capital Tehran are cowering indoors after missile strikes on multiple oil refineries caused rivers of fire in the streets.

Thick black smoke has blanketed the city and the air has become toxic after the bombing raids ignited infernoes throughout the city.

The Guardian reports describing the scene as “apocalyptic” with at least six people killed and scores wounded in the attacks.

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Iran’s army have pledged their full support for Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) congratulated Khamenei in a statement declaring its “sincere and life-long allegiance” to the new leader, saying they “will listen to orders and be ready to implement” them.

Khamenei’s election by the 88-member Assembly of Experts “proved to everyone that the movement of the Islamic system does not stop, and the revolution and the Islamic system do not depend on individuals”, the IRGC said according to Al Jazeera.

Benchmark oil prices surged above $US100 a barrel on Monday morning as traders worried about an extended supply crunch in the Middle East.

Benchmark Crude oil futures surged 16 per cent to $US108.50 a barrel at the open of trading on Monday, their highest level since 2022. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures jumping 18 per cent to $US108.03.

Amid worries oil’s rise will slow global economic growth, US President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to insist oil prices will soon fall back to pre-war levels.

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for the USA and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY,” he wrote on his truth social platform.

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The naming of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new leader signals the continuity of hard-line theocratic rule as Israeli and US airstrikes pound the country.

Mr Khamenei is the son of the recently killed supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and has been an influential figure in the shadows of power, coordinating military and intelligence operations at his father’s office.

He is known to have very close ties to Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and was considered their favoured candidate.

Unlike his father, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, carries the full religious credentials as an ayatollah at the moment of his ascension.

Read the New York Times expose on Iran’s new leader.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader, 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei now has the final say in all matters of state in the Islamic Republic.

“By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts, appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a statement issued by the Assembly of Experts said after his confirmation.

Shadow Foreign Minister Ted O Brien says the opposition will supports calls for Australia to assist in the war on Iran.

“We certainly have a very proud history as a country in working closely with our allies and partners, especially at times of crisis,” Mr O’Brien told the ABC.

“As far as I’m concerned, the United States and Israel have been doing the heavy lifting for the free world here.

“Now that we see other countries in the Gulf under attack and a request has been made of the Australian government, then we’ll await the briefing.

“But we’ll be considering things in our national interest … so we’ll see what the government has to say. If it’s in our national interest, I believe they’ll have bipartisan support.”

A state TV broadcast announced Iran’s new leader after senior clerics voted to install Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Despite the acute wartime conditions and the direct threats of the enemies against this popular institution, and despite the bombing of the offices of the Secretariat of the Assembly of Experts, which resulted in the martyrdom of several staff members and members of its security team, did not pause even for a moment in the process of selecting and introducing the leadership of the Islamic system,” a presenter read in a statement the BBC reports.

“Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Khamenei is the leader,” the presenter then shouted.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has confirmed it has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader, Iran state media is reporting.

Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israel strikes at the beginnng of the war against Iran.

Australian protesters surrounded a bus carrying Iran’s women’s national football team on the Gold Coast on Sunday night, dramatically escalating calls for the Albanese Government to intervene as fears grow for the players’ safety if they return home.

Around 50 demonstrators gathered outside the stadium after Iran’s 2-0 defeat to the Philippines ended the team’s Women’s Asian Cup campaign, encircling the bus as it attempted to leave the venue.

Some protesters waved the pre-revolutionary Iranian Lion and Sun flag, which is a symbol adopted by opposition activists resisting the Islamic Republic, while urging authorities to protect the players.

Video circulating online appears to show one player forming a heart shape toward the crowd from the bus window. Another moment captured on camera shows a woman appearing to make the international hand signal for help.

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