US-Iran war live updates: US temporarily lifts sanctions on Russian oil; Three Australians on US submarine that sank Iranian ship, PM confirms; People ordered to evacuate southern Beirut

Israel has confirmed it has carried out 26 strikes in its latest round of attacks in Lebanon.

The airstrikes across Friday Australian time sent thousands of families fleeing their homes in the south of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.

The fighting since Saturday has rekindled fighting between Israel and Iran-allied Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

In a statement on X, Israel Defence Forces said it was targeting Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure, and made attempts to “mitigate the risk of harm to civilians” prior to striking.

“Among the targets were an executive council’s command centre and a facility storing UAVs used for attacks against Israel,” the IAF said.

Limited commercial flights will leave the UAE for Sydney and Melbourne from today, Etihad Airways has announced.

The airline has taken to social media platform X to say: “Guests with previous bookings will be accommodated on these flights as soon as possible. Tickets are also available for sale on www.etihad.com.”

“Guests and members of the public should not travel to the airport unless they have been contacted directly by Etihad or hold a confirmed booking on one of these new flights.”

Etihad, one of the major carriers in the Middle East, had previously suspended all commercial flights to and from Abu Dhabi until 2pm this afternoon (AEDT).

Regarding other airlines, Emirates is operating a reduced flight schedule until further notice, Qatar Airways has suspended flights to and from Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

Good evening, if you’ve just joined us, here’s a quick rundown of what’s happened so far on day seven of the current conflict between the US, Israel and Iran.

Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon and the US has apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic republic’s fleet of warships.

Iran launched fresh retaliatory attacks early Friday (Iran time) against neighbouring countries that host US forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Israeli military said the fighting has destroyed most of Iran’s air defences and missile launchers, while US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that strikes against Tehran were “about to surge dramatically”.

UNICEF, the United Nations fund providing emergency care and food to children, has laid out the “devastating” toll the war has taken on children in the Middle East.

“Over 190 children have been reported killed in the region since the weekend’s military escalations. This includes 181 children in Iran, seven in Lebanon, three in Israel, and one child in Kuwait,” the organisation said on X.

“Children do not start wars, but they pay an unacceptably high price.”

The Trump administration’s efforts to topple the Iranian regime have liberated local investors from their money, wiping more than $120 billion from Australia’s bourse in a week.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 89.3 points on Friday, down 1 per cent, to 8851, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 79.8 points, or 0.87 per cent, to 9085.1.

It was the top-200’s worst weekly performance since early April 2025, when US president Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements roiled global markets.

The losses erased roughly (3.9 per cent) from the top-500’s $3.2 trillion combined market cap since the start of the week, as escalating conflict in the Middle East lit a match under oil prices, sparking fears of inflation and weaker global growth.

The Australian dollar is buying US70.28¢, down from US70.41¢ on Thursday at 5pm.

AAP

Iran has not requested talks with the US to bring an end to the widening war, Iran’s ambassador to Egypt told Associated Press on Thursday.

Ambassador Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour denied comments by Trump that Iran wants to negotiate.

He said a lack of trust made such engagement impossible after talks for a possible nuclear deal twice failed and ended with war.

“There will be no trust in Trump,” Ferdousi Pour said.

The war has now killed at least 1230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.

Here’s what we’re hearing is happening now:

• There have been intense airstrikes in eastern Tehran in the past 24 hours, with explosions also heard around the Iranian city of Kermanshah, near the border with Iraq. The area around Kermanshah has been repeatedly targeted in airstrikes as it is home to several missile bases and has radar equipment there. Israel’s military said early Friday morning it had begun “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital.
• Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said Friday morning that it intercepted a cruise missile over the city of Kharj.
• Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes, some intense and causing fires near a petrol station, late Thursday into Friday (Lebanon time) targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli army had issued a warning Thursday evening urging residents in the densely populated areas to evacuate. No casualties have been immediately reported from the strikes.

• The US military has said it attacked and set ablaze an Iranian drone carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack. Tehran has not been offering details on its material losses in the war so far.

AP