US-Iran war updates: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Motjaba Khamenei issues first statement since appointment

The Iranian Parliament’s speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf says any invasion of Iran by opposing forces will prompt a violent response from the country’s military.

“Any aggression against soil of Iranian islands will shatter all restraint,” Qalibaf said on social media.

“We will abandon all restraint and make the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders.

“The blood of American soldiers is Trump’s personal responsibility.”

Italian authorities say “missiles or drones” have hit Camp Singara, which is an Italian base in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, AP is reporting.

“Everyone is fine”, according to Colonel Stefano Pizzotti, but the details of the attack are still being investigated.

“The type of threat is still being ascertained, whether it was a drone or a missile, and it hit the Italian base and caused some damage to the base’s infrastructure and equipment,” Col. Pizzotti said.

“The personnel are safe, they were protected inside the bunkers.”

Italian forces train Kurdish groups on instruction of the Iraqi government.

Labor has continued to obfuscate basic questions about what military or logistical support the United States has asked Australia to provide in the US-Israel-Iran war.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong repeatedly evaded questions on Thursday about whether Australia had agreed to an official request by our closest ally to provide military support to defend gulf nations.

On Tuesday Defence Minister Richard Marles disclosed that the Trump administration made requests to Australia yet refused to elaborate on what they were.

“A number of other countries, including the US have made requests which are centred on helping to provide for the defence of the Gulf countries,” he told ABC’s 7.30 Report on Tuesday evening.

It came after the Prime Minister was ​

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He had used the appearance to announce that Australia would be sending top surveillance aircraft and missiles to the Middle East as part of a United Arab Emirates request.

But it had come less than six hours after Mr Albanese received an early morning call from US President Donald Trump.

​Read the full story.​

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs says a mosque in Nablus in the occupied West Bank has been set on fire by Israeli settlers, AP is reporting.

The attack was part of a “systematic increase in attempts to burn mosques,” the Authority claimed.

It’s the second targeted mosque fire this year, according to the Authority, who say 45 were “vandalised or attacked” in 2025.

The Israeli Defence Force say they have launched an “extensive” wave of strikes in Iran on Thursday afternoon.

The IDF claim the strikes will target “the terrorist Iranian regime’s infrastructure” across Iran.

Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority say Iranian drones have hit Kuwait International Airport on Thuesday afternoon.

The drone strike caused damage, the Authority said, but no injuries were reported.

16 vessels have been attacked in Middle Eastern waters since the war began, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations is reporting.

The incidents, which have included strikes on oil tankers and an Iranian navy vessel, have occurred in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman.

UKMTO is also reporting 4 incidents of “suspicious activity” in the region.

A drone has fallen onto a building on the main road of Sheikh Zayed Road, the Dubai Media Office is reporting.

The incident has been described as “minor” and no injuries were reported.

A second drone incident was reported in the al-Badaa neighbourhood, with no injuries reported.

Tasnim News Agency is reporting a person has been killed by an Israeli drone in the northern Iranian city of Fardis.

Thanks for joining us for our coverage of the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Here are the key developments so far:

• The US air campaign in Iran has entered its 12th day, with more than 5500 targets struck and no sign of the conflict ending.
• Iran has expanded its retaliation, attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including a Thai cargo ship that was set ablaze.
• Drones targeting Dubai International Airport have further raised fears that the conflict is spreading across the region.
• Global energy markets are under pressure as tensions threaten major oil supply routes through the Gulf.
• In response, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release the largest emergency oil reserves in its history to stabilise global fuel prices.
• Resource Minister Madeline King has said she cannot guarantee that Australia won’t run out of fuel, even after a record amount of oil reserves was approved for release.
• US President Donald Trump says he needs to “finish the job” in Iran, destroying the regime’s ability to be a threat to the US, the Middle East or allies.
• Two oil tankers were attacked in Iraqi waters on Wednesday, prompting two oil ports in Iraq to temporarily cease operations.
• Airstrikes have continued between the US, Israel, and Iran, as well as Israeli bombardment of Lebanon.