Israeli strikes pound Iran and Lebanon as US warns attacks will intensify

Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon as the US apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republics fleet of warshipsIran launched new retaliatory attacks early Friday against neighbouring countries that host US forces There were no immediate reports of casualtiesThe latest strikes mark a full week of attacks affecting countries across the Middle East The Israeli military said the fighting has destroyed most of Irans air defences and missile launchers while US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that strikes against Tehran were about to surge dramaticallyTehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle Easts military and economic infrastructure and the war has rattled financial marketsHere is the latestIsraeli military warns of missile fire coming from IranThe Israeli military is warning its public about incoming missile fire from IranPhone alerts go off in DubaiMobile phone alerts sounded just before noon in Dubai warning of a possible missile attackIndonesia holds off on Board of Peace discussionsThe Indonesian government is currently holding off on all discussions related to Trumps Board of Peace as the country focuses on the safety of Indonesian nationals in the Middle East officials said FridayYvonne Mewengkang spokesperson for Indonesias Foreign Affairs said any decision regarding Indonesias participation in any international mechanism will be based on the principle of Indonesias foreign policy and the most important thing our national interestsMore than 519000 Indonesian nationals live across the Middle East including 329 in Iran mostly students Indonesia plans to begin evacuating its citizens from Iran on FridayAustralias government says 3 of its personnel were on US submarine that fired torpedoAustralias government revealed on Friday that three Australian personnel were aboard a US submarine that sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean this week killing at least 87 peopleThe Australians were part of the trilateral US Australian and British AUKUS training programme Neil James executive director of the Australian Defence Association policy think tank says it is reasonably rare for Australians embedded with another nations military to go to war against a country such as Iran that Australia wasnt at war withJames said an Australian would not have fired the torpedo that sank the Iranian shipSouth Korea says it will receive 6 million barrels of oil from UAESouth Korea says it reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to receive 6 million barrels of crude oil aiming to stabilize energy prices spiked by the escalating war in the Middle East Kang Hoonsik chief of staff for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said in a briefing Friday that the emergency supplies are intended to curb fuel costs which surged this weekIrans semiofficial news agency says wave of missiles drones fired at IsraelIran launched a new wave of missiles and drones targeting Tel Aviv Israel on Friday morning the semiofficial ISNA news agency reportedSaudi Arabia says it destroyed another drone near RiyadhSaudi Arabias Defence Ministry reported the destruction of another drone near Riyadh this one to its northeast Earlier it said it destroyed three drones in the eastern areas of Riyadh The ministry said earlier Friday that it intercepted a cruise missile over the city of KharjIranian leadership council meets state TV saysIranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council in the country met and discussed how to hold a meeting of the countrys Assembly of Experts which will select the nations new supreme leaderThe leadership council includes President Masoud Pezeshkian judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi and cleric Ayatollah Ali Reza Arafi The statement provided no timeline on the selection of the supreme leader nor information on whether the Assembly of Experts would meet in person or remotely for the voteBuildings associated with the Assembly of Experts an 88member clerical panel have been attacked during the IsraeliUS airstrike campaignWarnings on social media use sent to Dubai residentsResidents of Dubai have been receiving mass text messages warning them about their social media activity A message attributed to Dubai police said that photographing or sharing security or critical sites or reposting unreliable information may result in legal action and compromise national security and stabilityThere was no elaboration in the message It comes as Bahrain issued a similar but sterner warning as the Iran war rages on across the Mideast The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven autocratic sheikhdoms home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi The UAE while socially liberal in many regards compared with its Middle Eastern neighbors has strict laws governing expression and bans political parties and labour unionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability 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