Iran war updates: Dubai airport struck by drones as death toll from Israel’s attacks on Lebanon rise

Lebanon’s National News Agency is reporting 7 people have been killed in an Israeli air strike on Tamnin al-Tahta, in Lebanon’s east, according to Al Jazeera.

5 people were wounded in the strike.

Two drones have “fallen” in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport on Wednesday, the Government of Dubai Media Office is reporting.

One person was moderately injured, and three people sustained minor injuries, the Media Office said.

There have been no interruptions to air traffic coming in and out of the airport.

A third ship has come under fire from an “unknown projectile” about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations has reported.

“There is no report of any environmental impact,” the UKMTO statement said.

“The crew are reported safe and well.”

The strike comes after two separate vessels were hit by missiles in the Strait of Hormuz earlier on Wednesday.

Iranians in Australia say the regime could use members of the women’s soccer team as “propaganda” after six players sought asylum in Australia.

Community leaders say they are worried after player Mohaddeseh Zolfi made contact with Iranian officials and decided to return to Iran, despite being granted a humanitarian visa to stay in Australia.

Ms Zolfi’s phone call to the officials triggered the other members of the team who had been granted a visa to be evacuated from the secure location they were staying at.

This backtracking could be used as propaganda by the Iranian regime, according to members of the Iranian-Australian community, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

“This shows the amount of pressure they are under,” human rights activist Sara Rafiee told the SMH.

“I’m concerned for the other girls.”

Tina Kordostami, an Iranian-Australian who flew to the Gold Coast to “help the women escape”, says she is “worried” for the safety of the team members who elected to return to Iran.

“They are clearly being threatened,” Ms Kordostami said.

“The regime is clearly escalating matters at its end.”

Bahrain has introduced a resolution fot the UNSC to consider, condeming Iranian attacks on Arab nations since the war began, Al Jazeera is reporting.

The vote will call for an “immediate end” to drone strikes and bombing in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, and Kuwait.

The Israel Defence Force has issued an “urgent alert” to residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city.

“Specifically the residents of Harat Hreik, Burj Al-Barajneh, and inside the complex located south of the Damascus Highway,” IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Wednesday afternoon.

“For your safety, you must evacuate immediately and head east along the Damascus Highway.”

Yousef Pezeshkian, who is a government adviser and son of Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, says newly-elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite sustaining injuries during the war.

“I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured,” Pezeshkian said on his Telegram account.

“I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound.”

Khamenei had been reported as a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” by Iranian state television last week.

The new Ayatollah is yet to make a public apperance since he was selected for the role.

Another ship has been hit by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a fire onboard.

According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, a cargo vessel was hit 20 kilometres north of Oman and is now on fire.

The vessel has requested assistance and the crew are evacuating the vessel, the UKMTO said.

It comes after a seperate vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz earlier on Wednesday.

Vessels are advised to transit with caution.

A senior spokesperson for the armed forces, General Abolfazl Shekarchi, has warned Iran will respond to recent US-Israel strikes in residential areas.

According to a news outlet affiliated with Iran’s military, Mr Shekarchi vowed retaliation against the US and Israel for it’s “shameless and brutal crimes.”

“I tell them to expect our crushing blows in retaliation for these barbaric actions of theirs,” he said.

He also called on regional countries to reveal where enemy forces were hiding so that targets can be hit accurately.

Mr Shekarchi added that this will ensure civilians are “not harmed”, and urged the Muslim people of the area to “not become the shield of the American aggressor army”.

Australia’s consumer watchdog is cracking down on fuel price gouging as the war in Iran causes the price of oil to dramatically swing.

Petrol companies found guilty of false or misleading conduct and cartel behaviour will face fines of up to $100m per offence under measures introduced by the Albanese government on Wednesday.

In a statement, the government said it had also tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with ramping up fuel price monitoring, reporting weekly with a focus on unusual fuel spikes.

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