Middle East crisis live: Israel strike on Iranian gas field reportedly coordinated with US; Tehran confirms intelligence minister killed | US-Israel war on Iran
Israel’s attack on Iranian gas fields in coordination with the USA
Israel attacks Iran’s South Pars natural gas field Coordinated and approved by the Trump administration, American news site Axios reported this, citing two senior Israeli officials.
The report states that a US defense official also confirmed the claim.
The offshore gas field in the Persian Gulf that Iran shares with Qatar is the largest such facility in the world. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari described the targeting of the field, which is an extension of Qatar’s Northern Field, as a “dangerous and irresponsible step”.
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Khamenei: ‘Murderers’ must pay for killing Iranian Larijani
Iran’s new religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message published on Wednesday that the murderers of security chief Ali Larijani, who died in the Israeli attack, “will have to pay the price for this.”
In a message published on the official Telegram channel on the day of Larijani’s funeral in Tehran, Mojtaba Khamenei said, “Undoubtedly, the killing of such a person proves his importance and the hatred that the enemies of Islam have for him.”
Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not yet appeared in public after taking office after his father, former religious leader Ali Khamenei, was killed at the beginning of the war, added, “Every drop of blood shed has a price, and the murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay it.”
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday its air defenses were up against ballistic missiles after AFP journalists heard loud explosions echoing through the capital Riyadh as Iran’s Gulf offensive began.
“Air defenses face a ballistic threat in Riyadh,” the Saudi defense ministry said in a statement about X, a spokesman said.
Residents also received a telephone warning that “the area is under threat from hostile weather.”
The Gulf kingdom is regularly targeted by Iranian missiles and drone strikes, some of which target massive energy facilities and the capital’s diplomatic headquarters.
Jillian Ambrose
Iran has threatened to attack energy infrastructure in the Gulf region in retaliation for Israel’s attacks on its largest gas field; this was the first targeted attack on fossil fuel production since the start of the war.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened a counter-strike “in the coming hours” against several energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, after state media reported that missiles targeted gas facilities in the giant South Pars field, the world’s largest gas reserve.
It was widely reported in the Israeli media that the attacks on the South Pars natural gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar, were carried out by Israel with the permission of the United States.
The attack on the heart of Iran’s gas infrastructure marks a significant escalation in US and Israeli military operations. The two countries have so far largely protected Iran’s oil and gas sector and helped keep the rise in global oil prices in check.
The price of oil rose to $110 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon as the growing threat to the Gulf’s oil and gas infrastructure raised concerns about further disruptions to global supplies amid an ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tulsi Gabbard also touched on unspecified reports that China, India and other countries have been able to move their tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, though it’s unclear how much has passed through the Iranian-controlled canal.
“There have been some reports that China, India and other countries may be able to pass their tankers through the Bosphorus. But the volume or extent of this is unclear,” Gabbard said at a Senate hearing on worldwide threats.
Asked about reports that US intelligence suggested the Iranian regime would likely remain in place “weaker but tougher”, intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard said she would not comment on the leaked “so-called intelligence”.
He told the Senate intelligence committee that the regime remains in power in Iran “despite being greatly corrupted.”
Asked if the killing of the religious leader made him a “martyr,” Gabbard added that Iranians used his death as a “call to arms.”
The Israeli military told AFP on Wednesday that “rubble” fell at Ben Gurion Airport following an Iranian missile strike, but did not specify when the incident occurred.
Israeli media reported that private planes parked at the international airport near Tel Aviv were damaged.
The army lifted the censorship decision regarding the incident on Wednesday, but did not allow the date to be disclosed.
UAE condemns targeting of South Pars gas field after Iran blames US and Israel
The UAE condemned the targeting of Iranian facilities at a gas field shared with Qatar on Wednesday, describing the attack, which Iran attributed to the United States and Israel, as a “dangerous escalation” in a rare rebuke.
“The United Arab Emirates has confirmed that the targeting of energy facilities connected to the South Pars gas field in the Islamic Republic of Iran, an extension of the Northern Field in the brotherly State of Qatar, is a dangerous escalation,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. The statement was included.
“Targeting energy infrastructure poses a direct threat to global energy security… It also has serious environmental consequences and exposes civilians, maritime security, and vital civil and industrial facilities to direct risks.”
William Christou
Israel and Hezbollah are engaged in intense ground clashes in at least three strategic areas in southern Lebanon as Israel continues its ground offensive against its neighbor, according to a Lebanese security source and residents of the affected towns.
While most of the fighting is concentrated around the strategic hill town of Khiyam, the Israel Defense Forces is conducting air and artillery operations against Hezbollah fighters entering the city. After days of clashes, clashes escalated there, and a Hezbollah spokesman acknowledged that “clashes have increased” in the eastern and northern outskirts of the city.
While the fighting continued in Khiam, Israeli troops tried to enter border towns in the central and western parts of Southern Lebanon. A resident of the border village of Aita al-Chaab said clashes between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah fighters were intense there.
A Lebanese security source said the village was one of a number of border towns that have seen intense clashes as Israel attempts to infiltrate southern Lebanon from various points along the common border. There they encountered resistance from Hezbollah members.
The clash came as Israel massed troops on the border and brought in four brigades and tank columns ahead of an expanded ground invasion of southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said it had already launched a “limited ground operation” while the political echelon discussed expanding the campaign.
The war was triggered by Hezbollah firing rockets at Israel on March 2. Israel quickly launched a military operation against Lebanon with the aim of completely eliminating Hezbollah. Hezbollah has described the war as a war of survival for Lebanon and said it has been defending the country against almost daily Israeli air strikes on the country since a ceasefire signed between the two sides in November 2024. Outside of Hezbollah’s electorate, its move to drag Lebanon into war was unpopular.
The latest clashes are a standoff between Israel’s air force and Hezbollah’s guerrilla fighters. The ground war in Lebanon is now focused on strategic axes, especially Khiam, which could determine Hezbollah’s ability to fight the Israeli occupation, experts said.
Iran made no effort to rebuild its uranium enrichment facility after its capabilities were destroyed in a US-Israeli attack in June 2025.The US intelligence chief testified on Wednesday, contradicting President Donald Trump’s justifications for his ongoing war.
“As a result of Operation Midnight Tow Truck, Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was eliminated. No efforts have been made to rebuild the enrichment capacity since then.” Tulsi GabbardThe Director of National Intelligence said the following in his testimony to the Senate.
Gabbard: Iran government ‘robust’ despite heavy blows from US-Israeli bombardment
Tulsi Gabbard, US national intelligence director says Iran government has suffered heavy blows in US-Israeli military action but that it remained “intact.”
He told the US Senate hearing that the US intelligence community “assesses the regime in Iran as intact but largely degraded by attacks on its leadership and military capabilities.”
If Iran’s leadership survives the war, it will begin a years-long effort to rebuild its missile and drone programs, he said.
Israel’s attack on Iranian gas fields in coordination with the USA
Israel attacks Iran’s South Pars natural gas field Coordinated and approved by the Trump administration, American news site Axios reported this, citing two senior Israeli officials.
The report states that a US defense official also confirmed the claim.
The offshore gas field in the Persian Gulf that Iran shares with Qatar is the largest such facility in the world. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari described the targeting of the field, which is an extension of Qatar’s Northern Field, as a “dangerous and irresponsible step”.
