US closes its embassy in Kuwait as Iran war escalates

The US Embassy in Kuwait shut down after retaliatory Iranian strikes on the country, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work as the war in Iran escalates. Kuwait is also where six American soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone on Sunday. US President Donald Trump said Thursday he should have a role in choosing Iran's next supreme leader, raising questions about whether Washington and Israel seek regime change or policy concessions as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended. Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with the Dow dropping 1,000 points as oil prices climb further. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Here is the latest: Israel warns citizens of dangers of travelling abroad during the war ------------------------------------------------------------------ Israel on Thursday warned its citizens travelling abroad that the ongoing hostilities could make them targets of attacks or otherwise endanger them. The country's Government Press Office said in a statement that ''several attempts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis have been thwarted and disrupted.'' It urged Israelis to conceal Jewish identifiers, avoid travelling through the United Arab Emirates, refrain from sharing personal information on social media and remain vigilant or avoid visiting Jewish sites. The warning cited recent violence in Canada and Texas, where authorities are investigating whether the motive of a gunman who opened fire at a bar in Austin was Iran-related. Iran has in the past staged '' asymmetric attacks '' targeting Jews and Israelis, including in Europe and South America, and such responses were feared before the war broke out. Israel says 40 per cent of Iran's missile launchers are still intact, but promises more surprises' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Israel's top general on Thursday said the country's military had degraded most of Iran's air defences and specifically hit sites used to launch missiles toward Israel. Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the army's chief of the General Staff, said Israel's air force had destroyed 80% of Iran's air defences and 60 per cent of its missile launchers but noted ''the threat has not yet been removed. Every missile is lethal and poses a danger.'' ''We are now moving to the next phase of the operation. In this phase, we will further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities. We have additional surprises ahead that I do not intend to disclose,'' Zamir said. Israel to keep Jerusalem holy sites closed on Friday, including Al-Aqsa Mosque ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The closure will affect tens of thousands of Muslims who would normally come to pray at the mosque compound on Fridays during Ramadan. All holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City - including Christianity's Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Judaism's Western Wall - would remain closed ''to maintain public safety and protect people,'' Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim of Israel's Civil Administration said in a statement on Facebook. Although the closures will affect worshippers of all faiths, changes to the ''status quo'' governing Palestinian access to the mosque and surrounding compound have been politically sensitive. The site is the third-holiest in Islam and the holiest in Judaism because it was the location of biblical temples. Israel had implemented restrictions before war broke out with Iran, including capping the number of worshippers given permits to travel from the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Jerusalem. US closes its embassy in Kuwait ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It's the second diplomatic mission to fully suspend operations since the start of the war with Iran. ''While there have been no reported injuries to US personnel, the safety of Americans abroad remains the highest priority of the US Department of State,'' it said in a statement about the status of the embassy in Kuwait City. Shortly before the announcement, the department said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called the Kuwaiti foreign minister to express condolences for the deaths of at least two Kuwaiti troops in Iranian retaliatory strikes. Although numerous US embassies and consulates in the Middle East have closed to the public since the war began, only the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, has suspended operations. Stocks are falling sharply on Wall Street ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As oil prices rise further because of the war with Iran, the Dow dropped 1,052 points, or 2.2%, the S&P 500 sank 1.4 per cent coming off a frenetic start to the week, and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.3 per cent. Airlines and stocks of smaller US companies tumbled to some of the sharpest losses. Oil prices rallied following the latest escalations in the war. Treasury yields also jumped with worries that higher inflation could keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates. Still, the US stock market has a history of bouncing back relatively quickly following conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. That has many professional investors suggesting patience and riding through the market's swings. Bahrain arrests 4 people for filming Iranian strikes and expressing sympathy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Authorities in the island Gulf kingdom have made several arrests since the war began, including people accused of documenting attacks or pro-Iran demonstrations in the Shiite-majority, Sunni-ruled country. Bahrain's interior ministry said the four men had posted videos online that misled the public, spread fear, and harmed security and public order. ''This constitutes treason and a clear violation of the nation's values and principles,'' the statement read. Iranian official warns Americans against a ground invasion ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that any US ground forces would be met with a robust and unsparing defence. Iranians are ''ready to disgrace those corrupt American officials by killing and capturing thousands,'' he said in a post on X. American officials, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have not said they intend to launch a ground invasion but have not ruled one out either. Ukraine is sending equipment and experts to help counter Iranian drones ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said Thursday that he has received a US request for support to defend against Iranian drones in the Middle East. Zelenskyy said he gave an order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts, but did not offer further details. He added in a social media post that, ''Ukraine helps partners who help our security and the protection of our people's lives.'' Kuwait activates its missile defence systems again ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Missiles were shot toward Kuwait on Thursday evening, activating air defence systems, the army general chief of staff said in a statement. The oil-rich country - home to the US's Ali al-Salem Air Base - has been among the countries hit by Iranian strikes, which have killed six American soldiers and two civilians. Sri Lanka evacuates over 200 sailors from another Iranian warship near its coast ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Authorities in Sri Lanka were informed that one of the ship's engines suffered a failure, the country's president said Thursday. The decision to take the crew ashore and the IRIS Bushehr to a Sri Lankan port comes a day after a US submarine sank another Iranian warship off the island's coast, said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He said his government held discussions with Iranian officials and the captain of the ship. Sri Lankan officials say 87 bodies were recovered and 32 people rescued from the roughly 180 people believed to have been aboard the IRIS Dena sunk on Wednesday. Macron urges halt to Israel-Hezbollah fighting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- French President Emmanuel Macron is urging the Lebanese militant group to stop attacking Israel and warned Israel against a ground operation in Lebanon. ''Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground intervention,'' Macron wrote on X. He said he spoke with Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese leaders in what is apparently the first diplomatic initiative to try to end the conflict in the tiny country. Operations at WHO's crucial Dubai hub are temporarily on hold ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The World Health Organisation says the pause is due to insecurity, airspace closures and restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz. It's looking into possible land-based alternatives. Its eastern Mediterranean chief, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, said the disruption is preventing access to USD 18 million worth of humanitarian health supplies, while USD 8 million in shipments cannot reach the hub. More than 50 emergency supply requests from 25 countries are affected, while USD 6 million in medicines for Gaza and USD 1.6 million in polio laboratory supplies are also held up, she said. WHO has not received any formal requests from Iranian authorities for specific supplies because Iran's system is ''withstanding the current situation,'' she said. The hub last year fulfilled over 500 emergency orders for 75 countries worldwide. Israel's UN envoy on calls to end Iran war: Not yet ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday it is too soon for diplomacy, as calls grow to end the widening war with Iran. Danny Danon told reporters Israel must first eliminate Iran's nuclear program, ballistic missiles, regional proxies and naval threats. ''I think diplomacy will come into action - not yet, not yet,'' Danon said. ''We have to finish the job.'' He said Israel must continue ''to hammer, to dismantle'' Iran's capabilities before turning to diplomacy, adding that he expects the war to last days or weeks, not months. Danon also said the 2015 Iran nuclear deal failed and that new ''effective mechanisms'' are needed to prevent Iran from becoming a threat again. Meet Pedro Sánchez, Europe's most vocal critic of Trump's attacks on Iran ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Spain's prime minister has drawn the US president's ire for refusing to let America use Spanish bases to support strikes on Iran. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain. On Wednesday, Spain's foreign minister rejected a White House claim that Spain will cooperate. Sánchez has condemned Iran's repression but calls the war unjustified and says Spain will not act out of fear. The fight deepens a broader rivalry. The 54-year-old Sánchez has criticised Israel's war in Gaza and resisted higher NATO spending while backing legal migration. US Embassy in Pakistan issues a security alert ahead of possible protests ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The alert did not specify the cause of Friday's anticipated demonstrations, but it comes days after Pakistani demonstrators supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a US consulate, leading to violent clashes in Karachi and elsewhere that left 22 people dead. The embassy's warning on Thursday restricts the movement of its personnel nationwide. Trump wants to be involved in picking the next Iranian leader ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Trump, in an interview with the news outlet Axios, said he wants to be involved in selecting Iran's next leader and called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son an ''unacceptable'' potential pick. ''Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me,'' Trump said of Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war. Trump added, ''We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.'' The president also derided him as ''a lightweight.' ''I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,'' said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country, Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after Trump had the US military capture Nicolás Maduro to face US drug conspiracy charges. Bahrain says an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bahrain said the fire on Thursday night was extinguished without injuries and the refinery was still working. But it marked yet another Iranian strike targeting the region's oil industry, the lifeblood of the Gulf Arab states. Air raid sirens sounded across Bahrain earlier Thursday, with residents urged to seek shelter, and mobile phones had alerted people in Dubai of possible missile fire from Iran. Authorities in the tiny Gulf nation said a facility in the oil refining and factory town of Maameer had suffered minor damage, with no casualties. Bahrain's defence ministry said its forces intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles, destroying 65 while 10 fell inside its territory. It also reported intercepting 124 drones, downing 88, while 36 landed within the country. Around 20,000 Americans have left the Middle East, State Department says ---------------------------------------------------------------------- And nearly all made their own way out, without government assistance, the State Department said. The department said the first charter flight it arranged for private citizens who want to leave departed on Wednesday, with several more expected on Thursday. Officials did not say where they would depart, but the department asked Americans in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fill out an online form for information. Officials said they have responded to requests for information from more than 10,000 Americans in the region, but did not say how many want to leave. Americans seeking help were urged to contact an emergency task force at +1-202-501-4444. Iranians trickle across the border with Turkey ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A steady stream of Iranians was crossing the border into Turkey on Thursday after the frontier was closed for much of the day before. Most already had links to Turkey. Elyar Akbari, a 22-year-old from Tabriz, Iran, is a student in Turkey's western city of Izmir. He cut short a visit home, leaving his family behind. ''I don't believe that Iranians will leave their country,'' he said. ''Only students or people who already work in Turkey will come for now.'' Kadir Ozel, 40, a Turkish citizen living in Tabriz, crossed to drop off his children, who will stay with their grandmother and uncle in Ankara. ''They were very scared. But I have to go back for work,'' he said. A woman who did not want to use her name out of security concerns crossed to wait out the war with her son in Izmir. But her neighbours have no money, ''so they stay home, and they are scared,'' she said. Nearly 25,000 flights cancelled since the start of the war ---------------------------------------------------------------------- That's more than half of the roughly 44,000 flights scheduled to fly in and out of the Middle East between Saturday and Thursday, according to the latest numbers from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Flight-tracking service FlightAware reported about 2,050 flight cancellations worldwide as of around 11 a.m. ET Thursday, following more than 2,600 cancellations on Wednesday. Dubai International Airport, a major hub, continued to see the largest number of disruptions. Settler attacks rise in West Bank as Israel tightens restrictions during war with Iran ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has increased since the Iran war erupted, a leading Israeli rights group said Thursday. Yesh Din said it documented 50 instances of settler violence in 37 Palestinian communities throughout the West Bank from Saturday to Tuesday, including shootings, assaults and property damage. ''Under the cover of the war, settler violence is escalating with the aim of forcing Palestinians out and taking over their land,'' its statement said. That includes Israeli settlers who shot and killed two Palestinian brothers in the West Bank village of Qaryout, injuring others. An ambulance couldn't reach them because Israel has closed gates and checkpoints, citing security. Israel's Smotrich threatens to make Beirut's southern suburbs look like Gaza ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich warned Thursday that Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, will look like Khan Younis, a city in Gaza that Israel has decimated. The Israeli military's evacuation notice Thursday called for all residents of the area to ''save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,'' apparently signalling plans for heavy bombardment. ''You wanted to bring hell on us, we are bringing hell on you,'' Smotrich, a hawkish conservative force in Netanyahu's government who had opposed several ceasefires in Gaza, said as he toured towns on Israel's border with Lebanon. ''Dahiyeh will look like Khan Younis, and our citizens of the north will live in peace and quiet.'' Iran awaits announcement of a new leader ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Some disagreements are emerging from the confidential discussions over who will be Iran's next supreme leader. Rumours have long swirled around the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father, since he's close with the all-powerful Revolutionary Guards. A member of parliament and firebrand cleric, Hamid Rasaee, wrote Thursday that the killed supreme leader's son was ''an outstanding seminarian'' as well as a trusted adviser to his father and an ''overseer of many of the country's affairs.'' He also called Khamenei an ayatollah, a rank he may not possess. A reformist-aligned cleric, Rahmatollah Bigdeli, condemned what he called Rasaee's ''ignorance and bias.'' ''The constitution does not specify a time limit for the validity of the interim leadership council, and questioning the validity of this council is tantamount to questioning the legitimacy of the decision-making bodies of the regime,'' he replied on X. A former minister also aligned with Iran's reformists, Abbas Akhoundi, warned against ''a diversionary and toxic debate'' over the succession. ''The stench of the power struggle in wartime is nauseating,'' Akhoundi wrote on X. Death toll in Lebanon surpasses 100 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- At least 102 people in Lebanon have been killed since the onset of the latest conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Lebanon's health ministry said in a statement. At least 638 others were wounded, the ministry said Thursday. The latest conflict between the two sides was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel early Sunday. Israel has been striking large swaths of the country in response. Airlines restore some limited flights ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As some airspace reopened, Emirates Airlines said Thursday that it was restoring a limited schedule of flights in and out of Dubai. The carrier said it would continue to monitor developments and urged customers not to go to the airport unless their flights were confirmed. Meanwhile, Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport continued a phased reopening. Tel Aviv-based El Al said that it started ''proactively assigning'' customers who are currently abroad to recovery flights back to Israel, but noted that its outbound flights were still not operating as of Thursday. Tumult in Tehran as bombing continues ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As the war entered its sixth day on Thursday, an Iranian state-owned newspaper called Iran reported bombings at a police station and even a gym in Tehran, as residents shuttled to grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations to buy supplies and fill their tanks. Tehran's governor, Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian, urged citizens to avoid stockpiling necessities to keep markets calm. Authorities said they were equipping dozens of subway stations to serve as bomb shelters, as they did during the 12-day war last June. Ongoing, widespread bombing forced authorities on Thursday to cancel a planned tour for journalists of a damaged area of the capital. Funerals for dead Iranian security officers were held around the country, including in Kerman, Isfahan and Tabriz. Hard-liners also gathered in town squares and intersections to mourn and express support for the theocracy while religious songs blared from their cars.