US-Iran war news and live updates: Trump claims air force, navy defence systems knocked out

Tennis players have raced off court at a second-tier ATP Challenger event in the United Arab Emirates after a drone attack on a nearby oil terminal.

Footage online showed Japan’s Hayato Matsuoka and Belarusian Daniil Ostapenkov evacuate midway through their Fujairah Challenger encounter before the chair umpire followed suit.

“Get inside the building please,” players were told.

Play was quickly suspended for the day, with the ATP saying “the health, safety and wellbeing of our players, staff and tournament personnel is our priority”.

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The United States Central Command have confirmed they have hit more than 1700 targets since the war with Iran began on Saturday.

CENTCOM’s update said the targets include missile sites, navy ships, submarines and control centres.

The US are using aircraft, missile systems and ships to carry out the attacks. on “locations that pose an imminent threat”, CENTCOM added.

The Israel Defence Force have confirmed their air force have conducted hundreds of missions and destroyed large collections of weapons.

“In the past 24 hours, hundreds of fighter jets and aircraft have been striking hundreds of targets simultaneously in Iran and Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement.

The attacks destroyed over 300 missile launchers in Iran and struck several targets in Lebanon according to the statement.

“As part of the defensive effort, the Israeli Air Force continues to conduct successive waves of strikes against the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile arrays and air defence systems,” the IDF said.

US President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to provide support to ships in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure the continuation of energy supply after Iran closed the key waterway.

The Strait, which is controlled by Iran, hosts transportation of 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply, 20 per cent of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a third of the world’s fertiliser supply.

Iran ordered the closure on Tuesday, threatening to blow up any non-authorised ships that attempted to traverse the narrow strait.

“Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf,” Mr Trump announced on Truth Social.

“This will be available to all Shipping Lines.

“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible.

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Donald Trump has castigated one of the United States’ closest allies, comparing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer unfavourably to Winston Churchill over Britain’s limited support for US strikes on Iran.

“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Mr Trump said at the White House, referencing Mr Starmer’s legendary World War Two predecessor.

The Oval Office comments on Tuesday were Mr Trump’s third broadside against Mr Starmer this week as Washington’s campaign of air strikes against Iran stoked concerns among some US partners who see the war as reckless and a violation of international law.

Mr Trump and his aides have often scolded European allies over their immigration policies, lower-than-pledged military spending and hostility to far-right movements.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed the US consulate in Dubai has been struck in a suspected Iranian drone attack.

Marco Rubio says diplomatic staff are evacuating the Middle East after the US consulate in Dubai caught fire following a drone attack.

The Secretary of State confirmed the direct strike of the US facility as he walked into a press conference at the White House.

“As I came in, I also saw the media reports about Dubai’s consulate,” he said.

“The last update I had with seconds before getting before these cameras was that a drone unfortunately struck a parking lot adjacent to the Chancery building, and then set off a fire in that place.”

“All personnel are accounted for. As you’re aware, we began drawing down personnel from our diplomatic facilities in advance of this,” Mr Rubio added.

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Australia’s first repatriation flight from Dubai to Sydney could leave as early as Wednesday morning, depending on conditions on the ground, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says.

Ms Wong said a flight is scheduled to depart from Dubai to Sydney on Wednesday (Australian time), but stressed it remains “dependent on the circumstances,” she told ABC radio.

She described the unfolding situation as “a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people.”

“We are looking at all contingencies that are possible, but I again say what I’ve said over the last two days. When you have as many Australians as we have in, particularly in the Emirates, but broadly in the region, so it’s 115,000 Australians in the broader region, 24,000 in Emirates … That volume of traffic will really need to see commercial flights resume even if only sporadically, to get people home.”

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Lebanon has been pulled deeper into the war in the Middle East as the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel for a second consecutive day, and Israel sent troops into the south and carried out waves of air strikes.

With dozens of people killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes, Hezbollah’s move to enter the conflict has sharpened long-standing divisions in Lebanon over its status as an armed group - the only Lebanese faction to keep its weapons after the 1975-90 civil war.

The government on Monday took the unprecedented step of outlawing Hezbollah’s military activities. The pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper condemned this as a “capitulation to dictates, which could even lead to the outbreak of civil war”.

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Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son and chosen heir of the late Ayatollah Khamenei, has been elected as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, according to Iran International.

The 56-year-old has long been viewed as a key figure within the country’s power structure and is widely regarded as at least as hardline as his father.

He is understood to wield significant influence behind the scenes and maintains strong links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s most powerful military force, as well as the Basij volunteer paramilitary group.

Australia’s support of US strikes against Iran continues to draw fire as a UN expert blasts Canberra’s stance on the military action.

It was “crystal clear” that the US-Israeli strikes were an illegal, armed aggression against Iran, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter Terrorism Ben Saul said.

“Every death in Iran is a violation of the human right to life as well under international human rights law,” he told AAP.

“These aren’t acts in self-defence because Iran has not attacked either country and is not about to imminently attack them, and the Security Council hasn’t given any authorisation.”

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