Explosions sounded in Tehran on Wednesday as Iran’s war with the US and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region.The explosions around Tehran came at dawn, according to Iran’s state television, while Israel’s military said its air defences had been activated to intercept incoming Iranian missiles, and explosions were heard around Jerusalem.Five days into a war that US President Donald Trump suggested could last a month or longer, nearly 800 people have been killed in Iran, including some Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country.Explosions also hit Lebanon, where Israel said it is retaliating against Hezbollah militants. Lebanon’s state-run media reported that at least four people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a residential complex in the city of Baalbeck. APAt least 80 killed in US strike on Iranian warshipMarch 4, 2026 7:31 pmAt least 80 were people killed in a US submarine strike on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister told local television on Wednesday. ReutersSri Lanka rescues 32 Iranian sailors from sinking warship off GalleMarch 4, 2026 7:08 pmColombo: The Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday said it rescued 32 Iranian sailors from a sinking Iranian naval ship off the southern coast, while several bodies were recovered from the site. Navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath told reporters that several bodies were also found near the location of the distress signal, though the exact number was not immediately available. “At this point, it is difficult to give any numbers, but bodies have been found. As they were found closer to the point of distress, it is accepted that they were from the same ship,” he said. “When our teams reached the scene, we observed a large oil slick, indicating that the ship had sunk,” Sampath added. In response to a question, the spokesperson categorically rejected media reports that the ship had been sunk in a submarine attack. PTIWest Asia war could push Russian oil import by India to 1.5 million bpd: ExpertMarch 4, 2026 6:20 pmMoscow: The ongoing war in West Asia may increase India’s demand for Russian crude oil and could touch the levels of 1.5 million barrels per day, reaching the peak levels in 2024-2025, according to a leading expert on global oil trade. On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had told state TV that Russia sees increased demand for its oil from India for subsequent refining. On Wednesday, leading expert on global hydrocarbons trade Maxim Malkov told official news agency TASS that the West Asia war will push India’s oil imports from Russia. PTISubmarine attack on Iranian ship off Sri Lanka leaves 101 people missingMarch 4, 2026 4:36 pmA submarine attack on an Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka has left at least 101 people missing, one dead and 78 injured, sources in Sri Lanka’s navy and defence ministry told Reuters on Wednesday. It was unclear who attacked the ship, which the sources said has now sunk. A Sri Lankan navy spokesman said the report of 101 people being missing was not true, and that 32 people injured in the incident had been rescued by Sri Lankan navy and were under treatment in hospital. Sri Lanka’s foreign minister told parliament earlier in the day that the navy had responded to a distress call from the ship and launched rescue operations at 6 am (1230 GMT). “What we know at this point is that 79 people were rescued and brought to the hospital and one of them was seriously injured. Another 101 are believed to be missing and the vessel has sunk,” a Sri Lankan navy source, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said. Sources said one of the people brought to the hospital had died. ReutersUS announces withdrawal of non-emergency staff from consulates in Karachi and LahoreMarch 4, 2026 3:36 pmIslamabad: The United States announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of non-emergency staff from its consulates in the Pakistani cities of Karachi and Lahore due to security concerns. The decision came just days after protestors tried to storm US consulates and the embassy after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli joint air strikes. “The Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and the family members of US government personnel from US Consulates Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to safety risks,” the US Mission in Pakistan said in a statement. It said there was no change to the status of its embassy in Islamabad. PTIIsrael says whoever is chosen as Iran’s next Supreme Leader will be ‘target for elimination’March 4, 2026 2:01 pmIsrael’s Defence Minister on Wednesday threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader, saying he will be “a target for elimination.” Israel Katz made the statement on X. “Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people – will be a target for elimination,” he wrote.Israel strikes towns near Beirut, killing at least 6March 4, 2026 1:43 pmOvernight Israeli strikes on towns near Beirut have killed at least six people, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said early Wednesday. Israel struck the towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat just south of Beirut’s international airport, killing six and wounding eight others. It also struck a hotel in the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh. No casualties were immediately reported there.Loud explosions heard in Tehran as war with US and Israel enters 5th dayMarch 4, 2026 12:46 pmLoud explosions were heard in Iran’s capital city on Wednesday as its war with the US and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region. Iranian state television reported explosions around Tehran at dawn.Iranians to bid farewell to late Supreme Leader Khamenei in Tehran ceremony, state media saysMarch 4, 2026 12:26 pmIranians are to bid farewell to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a ceremony on Wednesday at 10 p.m. (1830 GMT) at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini prayer ground, state media reported. The ceremony will last for three days and the funeral procession will be announced when it is finalized, it said.Saudi defence ministry says it intercepts, destroys drone in Eastern ProvinceMarch 4, 2026 11:27 amSaudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday it intercepted and destroyed a drone in the country’s Eastern Province. The ministry did not immediately provide further details on the drone’s origin or whether the incident caused any damage or casualties.Satellite imagery shows Iran’s presidential complex destroyedMarch 4, 2026 11:04 amBefore-and-after images published by the Colorado-based satellite company Vantor showed the domed roof of Iran’s presidential complex destroyed, aligning with Israel’s earlier claims of an overnight strike. Numerous munitions were dropped on what Israel’s military said was among the most heavily secured sites in Tehran. Iranian officials and state media have not yet acknowledged the damage or reported casualties from the strike.Venezuelan government supporters hold solidarity march for IranMarch 4, 2026 9:32 amDozens of Venezuelan government supporters on Tuesday marched in the capital in solidarity with Iran and mourning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war. Demonstrators wore T-shirts with the photo of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the US military captured from the capital Caracas in a stunning operation two months ago.UAE says it has been attacked by 1,000 Iranian drones and missiles so farMarch 4, 2026 9:00 amThe UAE Defence Ministry has released a breakdown of its missile and drone interceptions. It said Iranian drones struck within its territory 57 times out of more than 800 detected, while only one of 186 ballistic missiles managed to hit. All eight Iranian cruise missiles were intercepted, the ministry said. It was not possible to independently verify those figures.Commercial flight planned from Dubai to Sydney to repatriate 24,000 stranded AustraliansMarch 4, 2026 8:55 amA commercial flight is planned from Dubai to Sydney to start repatriating 24,000 Australians stranded in the United Arab Emirates by the Iran war, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong says. Wong said the flight was scheduled to leave Dubai on Wednesday. “This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.Pentagon releases names of troops killed in drone strike in KuwaitMarch 4, 2026 8:54 amThe Pentagon has released the names of four of the six service members who have been killed in the Iran war, saying they died in a drone strike in Kuwait. Killed were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.Fears rise in Tehran as bombardment of capital intensifiesMarch 4, 2026 8:43 amNew rounds of US and Israeli airstrikes rattled Iran. Satellite images published on Tuesday by Colorado-based company Vantor showed the domed roof of Iran’s presidential complex in Tehran had been destroyed, supporting Israel’s claim of an overnight strike. Iran did not acknowledge the damage or report any casualties.US-Israeli strikes kill 787 people in Iran: Red Crescent SocietyMarch 4, 2026 8:42 amThe US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people in Iran, according to the Red Crescent Society. In Lebanon, where Israel launched retaliatory strikes on the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah, 50 people were killed, including seven children, Lebanon’s health ministry said. In addition, three people were killed in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain. The US military has confirmed six deaths of American service members.Iran hits US Embassy in Riyadh, Washington pulls out staffMarch 4, 2026 8:42 amAn attack from two drones on the US Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire,” according to the Saudi Arabian Defence Ministry, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound. An Iranian drone struck a parking lot outside the US consulate in Dubai, sparking a small fire, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Washington. He said all personnel were accounted for. The United Arab Emirates said Iran has launched more than 1,000 missiles and drone attacks against it, and the vast majority were intercepted.Trump says people the US had in mind to lead Iran are deadMarch 4, 2026 8:42 amSpeaking on Tuesday from the Oval Office, Trump said Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah, is not someone that his administration has considered in depth to take over. As far as possible leaders inside Iran, “the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said. “I guess the worst case would be do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen,” Trump said. “We don’t want that to happen.”50 killed, more than 300 wounded in Israeli strikes in Lebanon: Health officialsMarch 4, 2026 8:28 amThe death toll over the past two days in Lebanon has risen to 50, with 335 wounded, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday evening. On Monday, Hezbollah launched missiles toward Israel for the first time in more than a year, and Israel responded by bombarding southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut with strikes. No casualties have been reported from the Hezbollah attacks in Israel.