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War in the Middle East: latest developments Paris, France, March 18 (AFP) Mar 18, 2026 Here are the latest developments Wednesday in the Middle East war:
Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message that the killers of security chief Ali Larijani, who died in an Israeli strike, "will have to pay for it". "Every drop of spilled blood comes at a price, and the criminal murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay it," added Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since taking office. Russia has also condemned Larijani's killing. - Blasts over Saudi capital - Saudi Arabia said its air defences were countering ballistic missiles after AFP journalists heard loud explosions echoing over the capital Riyadh. - 'Debris' hits Israel airport - The Israeli military told AFP that "debris" had hit Ben Gurion international airport following Iranian missile fire, without specifying when the incident occurred. Earlier, medics said missiles from Iran killed two people near Tel Aviv, bringing the death toll from missiles fired on the country to 14.
United Arab Emirates condemned the targeting of Iranian facilities in a gas field shared with Qatar, calling the attack a "dangerous escalation". Iran said the United States and Israel were responsible. Qatar also condemned Israeli attacks on facilities linked to Iran's massive South Pars gas field -- an extension of Qatar's own North Field -- as "dangerous and irresponsible". Iran's military said it would in turn "severely strike" energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Gas imports in Iraq, highly dependent on Iranian supplies, were immediately halted, authorities said, adding that it would have a knock-on affect on power supplies there.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said allies were discussing the "best way" to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, the key oil corridor where Iran has choked off much of the world's oil supply.
While Tehran "bears responsibility" for the crisis in the region, Merz said, Berlin had "made it clear that we still have many questions regarding this war," and Israel and the US had shown "no convincing plan as to how this operation could succeed". - Oil jumps -
Brent North Sea crude jumped over five percent to $108.60 per barrel, while the main US oil contract West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.9 percent to $98.01.
Russia, which helped build the plant and has staff on site, said it had received a report of a missile strike on the plant's inner perimeter and called the attack "completely unacceptable".
Seven members of the delegation had sought sanctuary in Australia last week after being branded "traitors" in Iran for refusing to sing the national anthem before their opening game at the Women's Asian Cup. Five later changed their mind while two chose to remain in Australia.
"It is with dismay that I have received information that a Swedish citizen was executed in Iran earlier today," Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in a statement.
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