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Jakarta foreign ministry says Musaffah 2 caught fire, four crew members survived; security firm reports boat was hit by two missiles as it assisted missile-hit tanker The post UAE tugboat hit by explosion, sinks in Strait of Hormuz; 3 Indonesian crew missing appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Iranians are using a border crossing into Turkey as one of the only ways out during the war in Iran, with the country's airspace closed

Iran selects new supreme leader The Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran's new supreme leader, has announced it has reached a decision. "The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen," Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, told Iran's Mehr news agency.  He said the leader's name will be announced later on Sunday.

Traffic stalls in Strait of Hormuz  France 24

After a rollercoaster month of cricket, the T20 World Cup comes down to India and New Zealand.

Iran's players sang the national anthem and saluted before their last group match at the Women's Asian Cup on Sunday in Australia, having stayed defiantly silent earlier in the tournament. When Iran faced South Korea on Monday in their opening game the players stood motionless, two days after the US and Israel began a war against the country. But on Thursday in their second game, against hosts Australia, all the Iranian players saluted and sang the anthem on Queensland's Gold Coast.

Iran's players sang the national anthem and saluted before bowing out of the Women's Asian Cup with defeat in their last group match on Sunday in Australia. When Iran faced South Korea on Monday in their opening game the players stood motionless, two days after the US and Israel began a war against the country. But on Thursday in their second game, against hosts Australia, all the Iranian players saluted and sang the anthem on the Gold Coast. Against the Philippines on Sunday they again sang and saluted as the rain came down on Queensland's Gold Coast.

By Emilie Madi and Khalil Ashawi HAZMIEH, Lebanon, March 8 (Reuters) - Just days ago, Hussain Khrais was proudly showing off his newly restored home in south Lebanon, fixed up after being badly damaged in 2024 clashes between Israel and Hezbollah. But a new war has since erupted and his home is in the line of fire again. Khrais fled his hometown of Khiyam, about five km (three miles) from the border with Israel, as Israel pounded Lebanon with heavy airstrikes last week in retaliation for Iran-backed group Hezbollah's rocket and drone fire into Israel.

Olga Garbuz tells Anjana Sankar in Dubai how she fled Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine four years ago with her daughter, only to find war following her to the Gulf

Critics say brash, bombastic Fox News host out of his depth to guide US military through murky new Middle East conflict Brash and bellicose, he sounded more like a cartoon bully than a sombre statesman. “Death and destruction from the sky all day long,” Pete Hegseth, wearing a red, white and and blue tie and pocket square, bragged to reporters at the Pentagon near Washington. “This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be.” Hegseth, 45, a former Fox News TV host who now commands the world’s most powerful military, has this week become the face of Donald Trump’s war in Iran. That has set off for alarm bells for critics who warn that the Secretary of Defense – pointedly rebranded “Secretary of War” – has rapidly transformed the Pentagon into the staging ground for an ideological and religious crusade. Continue reading...

Scotland's papers: 'Day of glory' and Blair rebukes Starmer over Iran war  BBC

DUBAI, March 8 (Reuters) - The clerical body that will choose Iran's next supreme leader, succeeding the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has more or less reached a majority consensus, Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohammadmehdi Mirbaqeri said on Sunday. The Mehr news agency quoted him as saying "some obstacles" still needed to be resolved regarding the process. On Saturday, a senior cleric in the Assembly of Experts said its members would meet "within one day" to choose the leader.

March 8 (Reuters) - The Israeli military warned it would continue pursuing every successor of Iran's next supreme leader. In a post on X in Farsi, the Israeli military also warned it would pursue every person who seeks to appoint a successor for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, referring to the clerical body charged with choosing the Islamic Republic's supreme leader. (Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Muhammad Al GebalyEditing by Bernadette Baum)

Here are the latest events in the Middle East war on Sunday: - Fuel depots hit - Fuel distribution in the Iranian capital has been temporarily halted after US-Israeli strikes on depots, an official said. Huge fires burned after the strikes on five facilities in and around Tehran, casting a dark haze across the city as morning broke, AFP journalists said. - Khamenei successor - Iran's clerical body tasked with choosing the country's next supreme leader has agreed on a candidate but the name is yet to be announced, members said.

Israel is hitting southern Lebanon, Beirut and targets in Iran as the war enters its second week

ROME, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump praised Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and said she was willing to help the United States and Israel in their war with Iran, Italy’s Corriere della Sera reported on Sunday. Speaking to the newspaper in a telephone call on Saturday, Trump described Meloni as “a great leader” and said Italy was doing what it could to assist. * "I love Italy, I think she is a great leader," Trump was quoted as saying of Meloni.

Iranian airstrikes in the Middle East mean rounds four and five of the F1 season next month look set to be cancelled

Cold open on the Ryan Gosling-hosted episode saw Colin Jost as Hegseth performing a keg stand and giving a shout out to embattled actor Shia LaBeouf

While there are similarities with the wars against Iraq, the Iran conflict may prove to be the most dangerous and consequential yet This is the third Gulf war and umpteenth outbreak of conflict since the United States took over as the dominant power and influence in the Middle East at the end of the cold war. And it is arguably the most dangerous, consequential and confused of them all. The destruction and chaos spreading across the region confirms the Middle East’s status as the world’s pre-eminent crisis factory, but it also raises questions as to how US presidents so often declare they are ending US interference in the region, only to be lured back in. Continue reading...