Israel-Iran War Highlights: Leave our region if you want to be safe, Iran's stern warning after US strikes

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones in retaliation for US strikes on locations in southern Iran earlier on Wednesday, according to state media reports. The Guards said clashes were ongoing and warned of a "more severe response" if what they described as continued US aggression persisted. They also said the US strikes damaged a telecommunications tower and two water tanks in the Iranian port town of Sirik.

CENTCOM forces struck Iranian air defense systems, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said.

The UN secretary-general’s personal envoy for the Middle East, Jean Arnault, is in Washington, DC, holding talks with US officials and other stakeholders as diplomatic efforts continue.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said the visit is part of Arnault’s ongoing consultations, including discussions related to Pakistan-mediated negotiations between the US and Iran.

Arnault is also working to support regional initiatives aimed at strengthening relations based on respect for national sovereignty and mutual security, Haq added, according to Al Jazeera.

Explosion sounds reoccur near Iran's Jask, local sources and residents tell Mehr News Agency.

In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the United States against further military action, saying that despite what he described as US "defeats on the battlefield," Washington had chosen to test Iran's resolve. He said Iran's armed forces would leave "no attack or threat unanswered" and urged foreign forces to leave the region if they wanted to remain safe. Araghchi also invoked the history of the Persian Gulf, saying it contains many examples of the "dire fates of intruding outsiders," in a clear warning following US strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz.

Explosions were reported across parts of southern Iran early Wednesday. Iran's Fars news agency said blasts were heard in eastern areas of Hormozgan province, while Mehr news agency reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas. Iranian state media also said a projectile impact had been confirmed in Sirik and reported that Qeshm Island had come under attack.

The reports suggested that the US operation extended across multiple locations near the strategic waterway, through which a significant portion of the world's oil shipments passes.

The United States launched military strikes against Iran on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a US Army Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions and casting fresh doubt on prospects for de-escalation between the two countries.

According to the US military, the operation was carried out as a "proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression." The strikes were launched following Trump's announcement that an Apache helicopter had been brought down in the strategically vital waterway.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country's armed forces remain on constant alert against any violation of its territory, warning that foreign military forces operating near Iran face ongoing risks.

In a statement posted on X, Araghchi said foreign forces in the vicinity of Iran could be exposed to risks stemming from human error, accidents, or the possibility of being caught in crossfire.

“To reduce risk, the best solution is for foreign forces to exit, as soon as possible, an environment which will never be hospitable to a hostile presence,” he said.

Araghchi added that while Iran prefers diplomacy to resolve disputes, it is prepared to respond through other means if necessary.

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said the army remains on high alert and is prepared to launch another strike on Iran if directed by the country's leadership. According to remarks published by the Israeli military, Zamir described the recent operation against Iran as part of preparations for a potentially more significant and severe military campaign in the future.

Two Lebanese Red Cross paramedics were injured in an Israeli strike in the southern city of Tyre after a vehicle near their base was targeted, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. The attack has claimed at least nine lives so far. In a separate incident, Israeli strikes on the border town of Maroun al-Ras reportedly destroyed several homes.

US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran shot down a US Apache helicopter while it was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. He said both pilots survived unharmed but added that the United States would be compelled to respond to the incident.

US Vice President JD Vance said Washington and Israel share many common interests, but acknowledged that the two allies do not always agree on every issue, particularly regarding Iran.

Speaking to Fox News, Vance said recent developments had created an opportunity for the United States to pursue a long-term agreement on Iran's nuclear programme. He added that President Donald Trump believes a lasting settlement is achievable and that such a deal would serve America's national interests, regardless of whether Israel fully supports the approach.

The Israeli military said its troops killed one person during an exchange of fire in the Ramim Ridge area of northern Israel near the Lebanese border. In a statement, the army said no Israeli soldiers were injured in the incident. Security forces continue to search the area, while the Israeli Air Force is assisting operations from the air.

The death toll from an Israeli strike on a residential neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre has risen to nine, while 28 others were injured, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.

Rescue teams and civil defence personnel are continuing search operations at the site, clearing debris and rubble in an effort to locate people who remain missing beneath the wreckage.

The Israeli military said it had killed two members of the Islamic Jihad group who were allegedly planning imminent attacks against Israeli troops.

According to the Israel Defence Forces, those killed were Iyad Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Nofal, identified as a Nukhba commander within Islamic Jihad, and Ahmad Abd al-Hamid Hamad Ma’arouf, whom it described as the head of an Islamic Jihad cell. The military alleged that Ma’arouf had been involved in launching rocket attacks against Israel throughout the war.

US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are in their final stages and expressed confidence that a deal could be signed within the next few days. Trump told reporters that Washington was in the “final throes” of securing what he described as a “very good deal,” adding that an agreement could be finalised within two or three days. His remarks came amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, with the US president voicing optimism that diplomacy could help ease tensions in the region.

The Israeli navy has arrested nine Palestinian fishermen while they were working off the coasts of Gaza City and Deir el-Balah, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. Fishermen's committees in Gaza said those detained were taken to an undisclosed location.

The arrests are the latest in a series of actions targeting Palestinian fishermen, who have reportedly faced detentions, shootings and the confiscation of their equipment. Gaza has been under an Israeli land, sea and air blockade since 2007, with restrictions on access and movement tightening further since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.

Palestinian civilians are being trapped between the actions of Israeli forces, settler violence and Hamas's governance, according to a new report by a UN-mandated commission of enquiry.

The report said civilians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank are being "systematically and deliberately" subjected to serious human rights violations. The commission noted that ordinary Palestinians face the combined impact of what it described as the structural violence and mass atrocities committed by Israeli forces, alongside the fear-driven rule imposed by Hamas.

The investigative body, which last year concluded that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, also highlighted a sharp rise in violence in the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the war in October 2023. According to the report, Palestinian civilians have increasingly become targets of attacks by Israeli settlers.

Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said settler violence is a direct consequence of Israeli policies that, according to the inquiry, support, facilitate and protect such actions.