- 'Projectile' hits ship off UAE -

A container ship was hit off the coast of the United Arab Emirates by an unidentified projectile, a British maritime security agency reported Wednesday, adding the extent of the damage was unknown but all crew members were safe.

- Iran launches new strikes -

Israel's military said it had detected a new round of missiles heading towards the country from Iran and had activated air defences.

The strikes came after a three-hour attack targeting Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and Haifa, as well as "West Jerusalem", referring to the area of the contested city that sits under full Israeli control.

The barrage was "the most intense and heaviest since the start of the war", Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said, citing a statement from Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

- Saudi intercepts missiles, drones -

Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles launched Wednesday toward Prince Sultan Air Base and a seventh missile headed towards the country's east.

It said it had also intercepted seven drones heading towards an oil field in the southeast of the country and eight more in the country's east.

- Iran targets US base in Kuwait -

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that at least two missiles targeted a United States base in Kuwait, according to Iranian news agencies Fars and Mehr.

Kuwaiti authorities have not yet commented on the reports.

- US strikes 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels -

The US military said it had destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian boats near the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump warned of a drastic escalation if Iran moved to mine the pivotal waterway.

- Oil falls on reserve release report -

Crude turned lower after a Wall Street Journal report, citing unnamed officials, said that the International Energy Agency has proposed its largest ever release of oil reserves to bring down prices in the wake of the Iran war.

At around 0040 GMT on Wednesday, Brent Crude was down to $87.06 while West Texas Intermediate was down at $82.60.

- More Iran women's football team members seek asylum -

Another player and a support member with the Iranian women's football team have claimed asylum in Australia after being branded "traitors" at home over a pre-match protest, the government said Wednesday.

They join five other athletes who have sought asylum, while the rest of the team departed for Malaysia.

- Iran says four of its diplomats killed in Beirut -

Iran accused Israel of killing four of its diplomats in a weekend strike on a seafront Beirut hotel in what it called a "terrorist attack".

The Israeli military previously said it had "conducted a precise strike targeting key commanders" in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, its foreign operations arm.

- Israeli strikes hit Lebanon -

Fresh Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon after the Israeli army warned people to evacuate, with Lebanese authorities saying nearly 760,000 people had been registered as displaced.

Lebanon was drawn into war last week when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

- US has not escorted tankers through Hormuz -

The United States has not escorted any oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, the White House said, after the energy secretary's social media account posted and deleted a claim that it did so.

The shift in narrative caused markets to swing, with oil dropping sharply after Energy Secretary Chris Wright's initial post.

- About 140 US wounded -

The Pentagon said that about 140 US military personnel have been wounded in attacks in the Iran war.

The figure comes on top of the death of seven US service members early in the conflict already reported by the US military.

- Iran says no ceasefire -

The speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on social media "we aren't seeking a ceasefire" and declared the United States and Israel must be "taught a lesson that will deter them from attacking Iran again."

- Ukraine drone experts -

Ukrainian military experts in drone defense will go to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week as the Gulf countries fend off Iranian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

- Hacked cameras -

Israel's cybersecurity directorate said it had identified "dozens of Iranian breaches into security cameras for espionage purposes" since the start of the war and urged the public to update their passwords and software.

- Iran arrests alleged spies -

Iran's intelligence ministry announced the arrests of 30 people accused of spying "on behalf of two Persian Gulf countries in the name of the American-Zionist enemy".

Those arrested included one foreigner, whose nationality was not revealed.

- Major refinery shut -

One of the world's biggest oil refineries, the Ruwais facility in the United Arab Emirates, halted operations as a "precaution" following a drone attack on the industrial complex housing it, a source told AFP.

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