- 'Lightweight' -

US President Donald Trump insisted he should have a role in picking Iran's next supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose son he said he found unacceptable.

"Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy," Trump told news outlet Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him under threat of violence after the United States ousted her boss, Nicolas Maduro.

- New Iran ship evacuations -

Sri Lanka evacuated 208 crew members of an Iranian navy vessel, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, a day after a US submarine struck and sank another Iranian frigate.

He said Sri Lanka's navy will also take over the second vessel and shift it to the northeastern port of Trincomalee for safety amid fears that it could be a target for attack.

- 'No role' -

Iran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza Enayati categorically denied that his country attacked the US embassy in Riyadh this week, following accusations by Saudi Arabia that Iran targeted the compound with drones.

"We confirmed that Iran has no role in the attack on the US embassy in Riyadh," the ambassador told AFP, adding that when Tehran attacks, "it takes responsibility for it".

He thanked Riyadh for saying it would not allow its territory to be used during the war.

- Lebanon toll rises -

The Lebanese health ministry said that the death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon has risen to 102 since the country was drawn into the regional war earlier this week.

The ministry added that 638 people have also been wounded since Monday.

- Oil prices soar -

The benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, soared more than five percent to $78.88 per barrel in trading, the highest level since January last year, as the war threatened supplies.

The international benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, jumped 3.6 percent to $84.34 per barrel.

- Abu Dhabi blasts -

Residents in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi reported hearing a series of loud explosions, with UAE air defences responding to a missile threat as Iran pressed on with its retaliation campaign in the Gulf.

"Air defence systems are currently responding to a missile threat," the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said in a statement on X. Abu Dhabi residents said they heard numerous heavy explosions.

- Blackout -

Iranian authorities were issuing warnings to people connecting to the internet in defiance of a communications blackout that had left the Islamic republic largely cut off from the outside world, witnesses told AFP.

- 'Heavy price' -

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that a southern Beirut suburb, a stronghold of Hezbollah, will face devastation similar to Gaza after the Israeli military told residents to evacuate.

"Very soon Dahiyeh will resemble Khan Yunis," Smotrich said, referring to a southern Gaza city which has been heavily damaged by Israeli bombardments during the two-year war with Hamas.

"Hezbollah made a mistake, and it will pay a heavy price. We are striking at the head of the octopus in Iran, and at the same time we will sever Hezbollah's arm," he said in a video statement.

- Iran launches more attacks -

Iran's army said it had launched a drone attack on a US site in the Iraqi Kurdistan city of Erbil, after targeting the headquarters of Kurdish forces with three missiles.

The Revolutionary Guard earlier said missiles carrying one-tonne warheads were also launched at Israel's main airport Ben Gurion, and an air force base in the area.

- Azerbaijan attack -

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of launching a drone attack in Azerbaijan that was blamed on Iran, describing it as an attempt to harm Tehran's relations with its neighbour.

Four people were wounded in the midday drone attack in Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan near the Iranian border.

- Thousands stuck at sea -

The UN's International Maritime Organization told AFP that some 20,000 seafarers and 15,000 cruise passengers are stuck in the Gulf because of the war.

- Iran urged to cease strikes -

EU and Gulf ministers called for Iran on Thursday to immediately end its "indiscriminate" attacks against Gulf countries, warning the strikes threatened international security.

burs-st/rlp