&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US-Israel-Iran war highlights: Indian-flagged crude oil tanker Jag Laadki arrives in Gujarat")
Nineteen days into the conflict, the West Asia war shows no signs of slowing, with fighting spreading far beyond its initial flashpoint. What began as joint US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 has escalated into a multi-front confrontation across the region.
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (confirmed on March 1) triggered a sharp response from Tehran, including strikes on US bases across West Asia. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has since been named Iran’s new leader, even as US President Donald Trump claimed the new leadership would not last without American approval and Israel signalled he could be a target.
The conflict has widened significantly, with Israel expanding operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, while Iran-linked attacks have hit Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Lebanon. The Strait of Hormuz has also been blocked, disrupting global oil flows and raising energy concerns worldwide.
The impact is now being felt in India as well, with the Petroleum Ministry warning that the LPG situation is “a concern,” though no formal shortage has been declared. Authorities said diversified crude sourcing is being used to manage the situation.
Latest developments:
Military Escalation: Israel has expanded its offensive into Lebanon, while the US utilises "bunker buster" bombs against Iranian coastal sites. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are actively intercepting drone and rocket attacks.
Global Impact: The maritime blockade has sparked fuel concerns in India and Sri Lanka. While President Trump demands an international naval mission to reopen the Strait, European powers remain hesitant.
Internal Dissent: High-level US counterterrorism official Joe Kent resigned in protest of the war, signalling growing cracks in the US Republican establishment.
Stay connected to WION for all updates, analysis and developments on the ongoing situation as the Israel-US war on Iran continues
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, claimed on Wednesday (March 18) that Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed in an overnight Israeli attack.
There has been no comment from Iran yet.
Turkey's defence ministry said Wednesday NATO was deploying a new Patriot missile battery at Incirlik air base, just days after a third ballistic missile from Iran was shot down.
"Another Patriot system... is being deployed... in addition to the existing Spanish Patriot system stationed there," a ministry official told reporters at the Turkish air base, which is just outside the southern city of Adana.
Israeli strikes on central Beirut on Wednesday morning killed at least 12 people, the Lebanese health ministry said in updated tolls.
The ministry said that the strikes on the Basta and Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhoods in central Beirut killed at least 12 people and wounded 41.
An Israeli strike on Wednesday hit a car in the centre of Sidon, southern Lebanon's largest city, state media reported.
An AFP correspondent at the scene said the strike hit near the city's civil defence headquarters and the seaside road, where many displaced people are sleeping in their cars.
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had intercepted two drones targeting the diplomatic quarter of its capital, Riyadh, as Iran pressed on with its attacks on the Gulf.
Two drones were downed as they attempted "to approach the embassy quarter", the defence ministry posted on X.
The authorities had earlier said they intercepted several drones over the country's Eastern Province, as well as a ballistic missile close to the major Prince Sultan air base housing US forces south east of Riyadh.
At least four explosions were heard on Wednesday in the city of Erbil in the autonomous Kurdistan region, AFP journalists reported.
It was not immediately clear what the target was. From a suburb of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, AFP journalists saw interceptions of projectiles over the city, which is home to a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses US-led coalition troops.
A new Israeli strike hit central Beirut's Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood on Wednesday, state media reported, the second on the densely populated area since the early morning without prior warning.
A blast was heard throughout the capital, and AFPTV's live broadcast showed plumes of smoke rising from the area as the war between Hezbollah and Israel continued.
A building in Bashoura, also in central Beirut, was struck earlier following an Israeli warning.
Iranian authorities have executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, the judiciary said on Wednesday, in the first such execution announced since the war with Israel and the United States broke out.
"The death sentence of a spy for the Zionist regime, who had been providing images and information, about the country's sensitive locations to Mossad officers was carried out this morning," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.
Mizan identified the man as Kouroush Keyvani and said he was arrested during Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June. The United States briefly joined with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
It listed details of his meetings with agents from Israel's Mossad spy agency and said he received training in "six European countries and in Tel Aviv."
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggering another war that has spread across the Middle East.
The International Maritime Organization will begin an "extraordinary session" on Wednesday to discuss shipping amid the Middle East war, as fears grow over the fate of thousands of stranded ships and seafarers.
The London-based UN agency -- responsible for regulating international shipping safety -- is set to consider adopting possible resolutions during the two-day gathering at its London headquarters.
The IMO's 40-member council could vote Thursday on several proposed resolutions, including one to "establish a safe maritime corridor to allow the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships stranded in the Persian Gulf".
However, if passed, resolutions remain non-binding.
Israel's military issued an evacuation call for residents of four towns in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, warning of imminent strikes targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
"For your safety, leave your homes immediately and head north of the Zahrani river", a military spokesman said in a statement posted online, naming four towns and villages near the Israeli border and in the area near Tyre city.
Lebanon said Israel struck central Beirut early Wednesday without warning, killing at least six people, as the Israeli military announced it was targeting the country's south.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel in response to US-Israeli strikes that killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel has responded with intense strikes in multiple Lebanese regions and ground operations in the south, and has hit central Beirut several times, with and without warning.
Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said a strike in the early hours of Wednesday hit an apartment in the central Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, a densely populated area close to the government's headquarters and several embassies.
A blast was heard in central Beirut early Wednesday, AFP correspondents said, as state media reported an Israeli strike following an evacuation warning.
"The enemy targeted the threatened building in Bashoura", a central Beirut neighbourhood, the official National News Agency reported, while AFPTV footage showed smoke billowing from the area.
Israel's military earlier issued a warning to residents of Bashoura, calling on them to stay away from a building it said it would strike, targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Around 1,600 Indian nationals returned to India on five Qatar Airways flights on Tuesday, the Indian Embassy said.
The flights included services to Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, even as airspace restrictions continue to affect operations in the region.
Qatar's defence ministry said it intercepted a missile attack on Wednesday as blasts were heard in Doha.
"Armed forces intercepted a missile attack which targeted the State of Qatar," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement, released shortly after an AFP journalist in the capital heard several blasts.
Sri Lanka has enough fuel reserves to last until mid May, Energy Minister Kumara Jayakodi told parliament.
He said petrol supplies are expected to last until April 23 and diesel until April 13, amid concerns over disruptions caused by tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Joe Kent, a senior US counterterrorism official, has resigned from the National Counterterrorism Center over objections to the war with Iran.
His exit highlights growing dissent within the Republican ecosystem, moving beyond outside critics to voices within the national security establishment. The White House has downplayed concerns, but the move raises questions about unity during an ongoing conflict.
US President Donald Trump hosted Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin at the White House for the annual St Patrick’s Day shamrock ceremony.
During the meeting, Trump said US B-2 bomber strikes had stopped Iran’s nuclear ambitions, while both leaders highlighted ties between their countries.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed six drones in the eastern part of the country.
Meanwhile, Kuwait said its air defences were actively responding to incoming rocket and drone attacks as regional tensions escalate.
Two people were killed in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, following an attack, Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said.
Footage from the scene showed a burning vehicle, damaged buildings and debris scattered across streets as emergency teams responded.
An Israeli strike hit a central Beirut neighbourhood early Wednesday without prior warning, local media reported.
The attack came alongside earlier strikes on the city’s southern suburbs, marking an escalation in Israeli operations in Lebanon.
An Iranian projectile hit near Australia's military headquarters for the Middle East in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, adding no one was hurt.
"At 9:15 this morning at the Al Minhad base that Australia has in the United Arab Emirates, there was an Iranian projectile hit near that base," Albanese told reporters.
"I can confirm that no Australian personnel were injured, and everyone is absolutely safe," he added.
Iran's top security body on Tuesday (Mar 17) confirmed the death of its security chief Ali Larijani, one of the country's most influential figures, following an Israeli airstrike. This comes after the Iranian judiciary's news agency confirmed the assassination of Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Basij force.
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Iranians living in Spain gathered in Barcelona to celebrate Chaharshanbeh Suri, a traditional fire jumping festival ahead of Nowruz.
The celebrations took place even as tensions continue to escalate in Iran due to the ongoing conflict.
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The US military said it struck Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz using powerful bunker buster bombs.
Central Command said multiple deep penetrator munitions were used against hardened targets along Iran’s coastline. The United States dropped several 5,000-pound (2,250 kg) bombs -- estimated to cost $288,000 each -- on "hardened Iranian missile sites" near the coast that posed a threat to international shipping, it said.