US-Iran war live updates: Iranian intelligence minister killed in Israeli strike; Iran threatens Gulf energy assets after South Pars gas field hit

Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib has been killed by an Israeli strike, Iran’s president confirmed. The Israeli military said Khatib was killed in a “targeted strike in Tehran”.
• The Iranian women’s soccer team has returned to Iran after taking a bus from Turkey. They were greeted at the border by officials, Iranian media reported. Two players who sought asylum remain in Australia.
• Facilities associated with Iran’s massive offshore South Pars natural gas field came under attack on Wednesday local time, state media reported.
• In response, Iran issued evacuation warnings for oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, saying they had become “direct and legitimate targets” and would be targeted by strikes.
• The price of oil surged another five per cent to more than $US108 a barrel.
• US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a hearing into worldwide threats that the Iranian regime “appears to be intact but largely degraded” since the war began on February 28.
• In Australia, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned inflation could spike above 5 per cent if the Middle East war drags on.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will appoint a national fuel co-ordinator when he meets state and territory chiefs at a national cabinet meeting today.

US Vice President JD Vance has told Americans the Trump administration knows it has a problem with rising petrol prices due to the war in Iran.

Answering questions from reporters at a manufacturing plant in the rust belt state of Michigan, Vance assured voters the impact at the petrol pump would be temporary.

“Look - gas prices are up, and we know they’re up, and we know people are hurting because of it. We’re doing everything that we can to ensure that they stay lower,” he said.

“What happened under the Biden administration was that gas prices were high for four years. Gas prices are higher right now - frankly, they aren’t even as high as they were during certain parts of the Biden administration - because of what’s going on in the Middle East. It’s not going to last forever.

Iran’s government has been degraded since the war began on February 28, but it appears to be intact while Tehran and its proxies remain capable of attacking US and allies’ interests in the Middle East, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on Wednesday, Washington time.

“The regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded by Operation Epic Fury,” Gabbard said, referring to the US-Israel military campaign against Iran, in her opening statement to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual hearing on worldwide threats to the United States.

“Even so, Iran and its proxies remain capable of and continue to attack US and allied interests in the Middle East. If a hostile regime survives, it will seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its missiles and UAV (drone) forces.”

The hearing was Gabbard’s first significant public appearance in months.

Qatar has blamed Israel for an attack on an offshore natural gas field it shares with Iran.

The accusation came from Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry. The Iranian side of the field, the South Pars field, came under attack on Wednesday and was burning.

Al-Ansari called the attack “a dangerous and irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region”.

“Targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region and its environment,” he wrote on X.

“We reiterate, as we have repeatedly emphasised, the necessity of avoiding the targeting of vital facilities. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, and work toward de-escalation in a manner that preserves the security and stability of the region.”

AP

As he continues to complain about allies refusing to join the war against Iran, US President Donald Trump has suggested others bear responsibility for the critical oil passage, the Strait of Hormuz.

“I wonder what would happen if we ‘finished off’ what’s left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called ‘Strait?’” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social overnight.

“That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast!!!”

Iranian media report the national women’s soccer team has returned to the Islamic Republic after several of the players had sought asylum in Australia.

The outlets shared footage of the women entering Iran after landing in Turkey and taking a bus to the border. Officials greeted them at the border.

Iranian state media posted the footage below, claiming it was of the moment the team arrived back in Iran.

The players emerged from Turkey’s Igdir Airport, pulling their luggage and chatting in front of the terminal before boarding the bus. One of them briefly smiled and waved at a TV camera before the bus departed.

Facilities associated with Iran’s massive offshore South Pars natural gas field came under attack on Wednesday, state media reported.

Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency reported on the attack targeting facilities at Asaluyeh in Iran’s southern Bushehr province. They did not immediately elaborate.

Iran shares the offshore field in the Persian Gulf with Qatar, which it has repeatedly attacked during the war along with other Gulf Arab nations.

It wasn’t clear if Israel or the United States had carried out the attack. However, the US has been operating primarily in southern Iran. The US previously attacked Iran’s Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, its main oil terminal.

Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib has been killed by Israeli strikes, Iran’s president has confirmed.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Khatib’s killing and said that “significant surprises are expected throughout this day on all the fronts,” without elaborating.

Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had authorised the military to kill any other senior Iranian official being targeted without the need for additional approval.

The Israeli military said Khatib was killed in a “targeted strike in Tehran”. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and state television confirmed the killing hours later.

Khatib’s killing follows Israel’s killing of top Iranian security official Ali Larijani and the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, Gholam Reza Soleimani.

Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib has been killed by an Israeli strike, Iran’s president confirmed. The Israeli military said Khatib was killed in a “targeted strike in Tehran”.
• The Iranian women’s soccer team has returned to Iran after taking a bus from Turkey. They were greeted at the border by officials, Iranian media reported. Two players who sought asylum remain in Australia.
• Facilities associated with Iran’s massive offshore South Pars natural gas field came under attack on Wednesday local time, state media reported.
• In response, Iran issued evacuation warnings for oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, saying they had become “direct and legitimate targets” and would be targeted by strikes.
• The price of oil surged another five per cent to more than $US108 a barrel.
• US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a hearing into worldwide threats that the Iranian regime “appears to be intact but largely degraded” since the war began on February 28.
• In Australia, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned inflation could spike above 5 per cent if the Middle East war drags on.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will appoint a national fuel co-ordinator when he meets state and territory chiefs at a national cabinet meeting today.