US Iran War Live Updates: Iran cancels final exams for students in southern cities amid US strikes

Syria said Thursday it had foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon by seizing a shipment that included missiles at its border with Iraq.

“Specialised units thwarted an attempt to bring in a shipment of sophisticated weapons and missiles through the Syrian-Iraqi border,” a source from the interior ministry was quoted as saying by Syria’s official Sana news agency.

“Initial investigations established that the shipment was intended to transit through Syria for the benefit of the terrorist militia Hezbollah,” the source added.

Crude oil loading has been suspended at all Iraqi terminals after a drone crashed into an oil tanker at the Basra terminal, four Iraqi oil and security sources told Reuters.

The drone did not cause damage or a fire.

Iraq’s oil terminals are located in the south. ​It was not immediately ​clear who launched the drone.

The oil ‌tanker ⁠was towed outside the port alongside another tanker that was anchored as a ​precautionary measure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will no longer travel to the United States next week after the memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham was postponed, according to his office.

Israeli media had reported that Netanyahu was due to fly to the US on Saturday and remain there until Tuesday to attend the memorial service.

Iran has postponed final examinations for graduating high school students in four southern provinces following ongoing US strikes and fears of further escalation.

The Education Ministry said exams in Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzestan, and Sistan and Baluchestan would be rescheduled, while final examinations in the rest of the country will go ahead as planned.

The Israeli military says it has killed Omar Ahmed Abu Qasem, whom it identified as the officer in charge of the Qassam Brigades’ sniper unit, in a strike in central Gaza.

In a statement, the military claimed Abu Qasem had taken part in attacks on Israeli troops throughout the war and had been involved in efforts to rebuild Hamas’s operational capabilities and coordinate further attacks against Israeli forces.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Bahrain’s military has accused Iran of continuing a “systematic hostile approach” after claiming to have intercepted several Iranian air strikes targeting the Gulf nation.

In a statement, the General Command said:

“The General Command clarifies that, with strong will and high combat readiness, the air defence systems detected, intercepted and destroyed a number of treacherous Iranian air strikes today.”

The military also urged the public to remain vigilant.

“Everyone [should] exercise caution and avoid approaching any unfamiliar or suspicious objects resulting from the remnants of the brutal Iranian aggression.”

Earlier, Iran’s military claimed it had targeted Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa Air Base in response to recent US strikes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government has approved a major reform aimed at improving rehabilitation and support for wounded members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and security services.

The reform includes reducing bureaucratic hurdles, speeding up recognition and treatment processes, expanding medical and psychological services, increasing staffing and using advanced technologies to improve care. Netanyahu said each injured service member would be assigned a dedicated professional to guide them through the rehabilitation process, while the Rehabilitation Division would be upgraded into a national authority.

Calling the move a “historic step”, Netanyahu said the government had a moral and national obligation to support those wounded while serving the country.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched the tenth wave of Operation Nasr 2, targeting the US military’s Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

In a statement, the IRGC claimed the attack destroyed the base’s air defence radar and a fuel storage and pumping station used by US fighter jets. It said the strikes were carried out in response to what it described as US attacks on Iranian coastal bases and civilian sites, including a children’s cancer hospital and a water production facility in Ilam province.

“The people of Iran, always present and insightful, in response to the crime committed by the American child-killing army in its attack on coastal bases and some civilian areas, including a children’s cancer hospital and a water production plant for pilgrims to Karbala in the border region of Ilam province, your powerful and mujahid sons in the Navy of the IRGC, in the tenth wave of Operation Nasr 2, with the sacred code “Ya Ali Asghar (peace be upon him),” launched a devastating attack on the American base in Sheikh Isa, Bahrain,” it said.

Iran’s military has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States complies with Tehran’s demands, warning that any attempt to reopen the strategic waterway without meeting its conditions would fail.

In a televised statement, Iranian Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said controlling the Strait of Hormuz had become a “public and national demand” and vowed that the country’s armed forces would not retreat from what he described as the Iranian people’s “rightful principles.”

Akraminia said the strait would remain closed until the US accepted Iran’s legal framework and implemented the provisions of a memorandum of understanding signed at a meeting in Islamabad. He also warned neighbouring countries against allowing US forces to use their territory to launch attacks on Iran, saying such actions would “not go unanswered.”

The spokesperson further claimed that Iran had destroyed or severely damaged all 17 US military bases in the region during what he referred to as the “Third Imposed War.” The claims could not be independently verified.

Israeli forces have arrested three Palestinians during a raid on the Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Quoting Palestinian security officials, Wafa reported that Israeli troops stormed the camp, raided several homes and arrested Jumaa Nahed al-Juju, 44, Ahmed Adel Hajahra, 33, and Raafat Riyad Malash, 35, following searches of their residences.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that Israel is determined to keep its forces in “security zones” it has carved out inside Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Katz’s office said the two men spoke overnight and the minister “emphasised Israel’s determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon in order to protect Israel’s borders and the communities near the border from the threats posed by jihadist forces”.

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported an overnight “enemy attack” in Kabudarahang county in the western province of Hamadan.

Quoting a senior provincial official, IRIB said several locations were targeted, adding that no casualties had been reported.

Earlier, Iranian media also reported attacks on the northern city of Semnan and said air defence systems had been activated in the capital, Tehran.

Oil prices turned lower on Thursday as traders took profits and evaluated the risks ​from the new wave of strikes and counterstrikes.

After initially rising ​for a fourth straight session, Brent crude futures slipped 24 cents, or 0.28 per cent, to $84.95 a barrel as of 0435 GMT. ​US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 15 cents, or 0.19 per cent, to $79.45 a barrel.

Brent had gained almost $1 earlier ⁠in the session and both contracts remained close to one-month highs.

“Geopolitical risks remain firmly supportive for oil, but after a ​strong rally, traders are adopting a wait-and-watch approach,” Phillip Nova senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva said.

Iran’s military says it targeted US military radar and defence systems in Kuwait and Bahrain as part of the tenth phase of its retaliatory campaign, dubbed Operation Lightning.

In a statement carried by Iranian state media, the military claimed it struck radar systems, Patriot air defence batteries and fuel storage tanks used by US forces at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base.

It also said a separate wave of drone attacks targeted communications and radar systems, including Super Hawk radars and Patriot installations, at the US-operated Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Shipping companies are avoiding using a US military-guided transit scheme through the Strait of Hormuz after a wave of Iranian attacks on vessels, seven maritime security and shipping industry sources have told Reuters.

“The U.S. doesn’t seem to have any control over the situation,” one shipping source said, adding that their company had opted not to sail through the strait due to crew safety concerns and the deteriorating security situation.

US missiles struck near a children’s cancer hospital in Ahvaz, southwestern Iran, according to Iranian state media, forcing the temporary evacuation of patients.

Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that the strikes hit the vicinity of Shahid Baghaei Hospital, which provides chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients, including children. Following the attack, medical staff evacuated patients from the facility as a precaution, the report said.

Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted eight Iranian missiles targeting the kingdom, according to the state-run Petra news agency.

Quoting a military source, Petra reported that the interceptions resulted in no casualties or material damage. The source added that Royal Engineering Corps teams had secured missile debris that fell in several locations and said the armed forces remain on high alert while continuing to monitor the country’s airspace.

Earlier, Iran’s military claimed it had targeted US military communications systems, a fixed radar installation and fuel depots at Jordan’s Azraq Air Base using attack drones.

Parts of Semnan Airport in north-central Iran have been targeted in what Iranian state media described as “enemy air strikes,” according to IRIB.

Citing a spokesperson for Semnan province’s crisis headquarters, IRIB reported that emergency response teams had been deployed to the affected area. The spokesperson added that no residential areas in the province’s cities or villages were hit in the attacks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi condemned a “drone attack” that violated the airspace of Erbil in the northern Kurdistan region, his office said Thursday, after several drones were shot down.

“We have directed the relevant security agencies… in coordination with the Region’s security forces, to take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such attacks and to thwart anyone attempting to harm the security of our noble Iraqi society, wherever they may be,” he said, without identifying the source of the drones.

Fewer vessels travelled through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day ​after the U.S. reimposed its naval ‌blockade on Iranian ports, shipping data showed.

Seven vessels crossed ​the strait on Wednesday, mostly on ​the Iranian route, down from 13 the ⁠previous day, Kpler data showed.

There were ⁠no ​Very Large Crude Carriers or ​liquefied natural gas tankers passing through the strait on ​Wednesday.

The US State Department has said it has approved the sale of an estimated $1.96 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region,” the State Department said in a release.

Iran’s military said it launched attack drones targeting US military facilities at Jordan’s Azraq Air Base, including communications systems, a fixed radar site and fuel depots.

In a statement carried by the Fars news agency, the military said the strike marked the ninth phase of its “Saeqeh” operation and was carried out in response to recent attacks on Iran, including a strike on the Bampur barracks in Iranshahr that it said killed seven soldiers.

US President Donald Trump has said that arch-foe Iran has freed an American citizen detained since December 2024 and allowed her to leave the country.

“She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!”

Kuwait has said it was intercepting Iranian drones, while air raid sirens rang out in Bahrain, following another night of American strikes on Iranian territory.

In a statement on X, the Kuwaiti army said they were “engaging hostile drone attacks following the nefarious Iranian aggression”. Bahrain’s interior ministry urged citizens and residents to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”.

Air defences were heard in parts of Tehran, state media said, and explosions rang out in northern and western parts of the country.

“So far, no casualties have been reported in Tehran by official authorities,” state news agency IRNA reported. Explosions were heard in parts of the western Lorestan province and Semnan in the north, IRNA and the Mehr news agency reported.