LIVE | National intelligence: Iranian regime remains 'intact' despite coup attempts, could rebuild its military

The Israeli military vowed to continue targeting senior Iranian officials, after announcing the death of Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.

"We will continue to hunt down all of the regime's senior officials. The series of eliminations will not stop," a military spokesman said in a televised briefing.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry declared that the Iranian attacks against its main gas plant constitute a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and a direct threat to its national security. State-owned Qatar Energy said fires set by Iranian attacks on its Ras Laffan complex caused "considerable damage," but officials claimed they had been brought under control and that no injuries had been reported.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the allies were discussing the best way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key oil corridor through which Iran has blocked much of the world's oil supply.

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message - and obtained by AFP - that the killers of security chief Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli attack, "will have to pay for it."


"Every drop of blood shed has a price, and the criminal killers of these martyrs will soon have to pay for it," added Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since taking office.

The Israeli army told AFP on Wednesday that "debris" had hit Ben Gurion International Airport after Iranian missiles were launched, without specifying when the incident occurred.

Israeli media reported that private planes parked at the airport, near Tel Aviv, had been damaged. The military on Wednesday lifted the censorship order on the incident, but did not authorize the date to be revealed.

Israeli news site Ynet published a photo that appeared to show the scorched and damaged interior of a small private plane.

This is the first time the military has announced that Ben Gurion—Israel's main international airport—has been hit since the start of the war in Middle East, triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran launched on Feb. 28.

Iran has made no attempt to rebuild its uranium enrichment program after its capabilities were destroyed in a strike by the United States and Israel in June last year, the U.S. intelligence chief said Wednesday.

"As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran's nuclear enrichment program was obliterated," Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, said in prepared testimony to the Senate. When asked if there had been any "effort since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability," she indicated that there had not. 

The Iranian government has suffered significant blows in the war against the United States and Israel, but remains "intact" and could rebuild its armed forces if it manages to hold on to power, U.S. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said Wednesday.

According to Gabbard, the U.S. intelligence community believes the Iranian regime is still standing, albeit "largely degraded" by attacks directed against its leadership and military capabilities, she said during a Senate hearing.

Donald Trump on Wednesday temporarily suspended a century-old maritime law aimed at reducing energy costs, which have soared since the start of the Middle East conflict.

The president's decision to grant a 60-day waiver to the Jones Act would remove a ban for that period that prevents foreign-flagged ships from transporting goods between American ports.

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the move seeks to dampen "short-term disruptions to the oil market" caused by the conflict.

"This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days," she explained.

An AFP reporter heard loud explosions in the Tel Aviv area on Wednesday after the Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran.

Shortly afterwards, emergency crews were working at an impact site in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, a live feed from the news agency showed. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services said there were no initial reports of casualties.

Oil prices rose following the attack on the gas field and the threatened Iranian response.

North Sea Brent crude oil rose more than 5% to $108.60 a barrel, while the U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate rose 1.9% to $98.01.

The Iranian women's soccer team, several of whose players sought asylum in Australia, crossed the Turkish-Iranian border in Gürbulak on Wednesday.

Seven members of the Iranian women's delegation—six players and one member of the coaching staff—had initially sought asylum in Australia after being branded "traitors" in their country for refusing to sing the national anthem before a match in the midst of the Iran-U.S.-Israel war.

Now, only two players remain on Australian soil.

Doha condemned the attacks on Iranian facilities servicing the huge South Pars-North Dome gas field shared with Qatar.

The strike was "a dangerous & irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region," foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari wrote on X.

The United States and Israel bombed a major Iranian gas field in the Gulf, causing a fire, Iranian state media reported.

The strikes hit the South Pars-North Dome mega-field, the world's largest known gas reserve, which supplies about 70% of Iran's domestic natural gas.

"The wave of worldwide repercussions has just begun and will hit everyone, regardless of wealth, religion or race," Iranian Foreign Minister Abas Araqchi warned.

The head of the Iranian military, Amir Hatami threatened to avenge the death of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who was killed in an Israeli bombing in Tehran. "The pure blood of this great martyr [Larijani] and the other beloved martyrs will be avenged," General Hatami said in a statement issued by the Tasnim News Agency.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed Wednesday that the IDF killed Iranian Intelligence head Esmail Khatib.

"Last night, Iran's intelligence minister, Khatib, was eliminated as well," the Israeli minister said in a statement. His death follows that of Iranian security chief Ali Larijani, confirmed Tuesday by authorities in Tehran.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil was down 2.82% to $100.50 a barrel at the close of Asian exchanges, which were somewhat calmer, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped more than 4% to $92.

These fluctuations come on the heels of Iraq's announcement that it will resume a portion of its oil exports, namely 250,000 barrels per day transported by pipeline to a Turkish port, following an agreement with the authorities of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan.

At least four strong explosions were reported in Erbil, capital of autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq, according to AFP journalists, after pro-Iranian armed groups have in recent days strung together drone attacks against the U.S. military and other American interests.

The Israeli military launched repeated attacks on central Beirut, killing at least six people, officials said.

It also carried out bombings in eastern and southern Lebanon, where an evacuation order triggered panic in the region of Tyrus, a Unesco World Heritage port.

Iranian authorities executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, the first execution since the start of the war with Israel and the United States, the judiciary said Wednesday.

"The death sentence of a spy for the Zionist regime, who supplied images and information on the country's sensitive locations to Mossad agents, was carried out this morning," the Iranian judiciary's Mizan website said.

An Iranian projectile fell near an Australian military barracks in the United Arab Emirates, said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said there were no injuries.

Two people were killed near Tel Aviv, emergency services said, at a site where Israeli police had reported falling rocket fragments launched from Iran.

With these two deaths there have now been 14 Israelis killed in the Middle East war.