Mena Today

Hours after threatening to strike bridges crossing the Litani River, the Israeli military followed through, bombing two bridges in the Tyre district of South Lebanon.

Iran's huge Pars gas field was hit on Wednesday in the first reported strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure in the Gulf during the U.S.-Israeli war, a major escalation that prompted Tehran to warn its neighbours to evacuate their energy installations.

The Iranian women's national soccer team crossed the Turkish-Iranian border Wednesday, completing a fraught journey home from Australia after five of the six players who had sought asylum subsequently withdrew their claims.

Israel announced Wednesday it had killed Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib,  the second elimination of a top Iranian leadership figure in as many days, and revealed that the Israeli military had been given blanket authorisation to target any senior Iranian official without requiring additional political approval.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera Wednesday that Tehran's position against nuclear weapons development would "not significantly change », while cautioning that new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had yet to publicly express his own view on the matter.

A Israeli airstrike hit the Zokak el-Blat district in central Beirut Wednesday morning, killing Mohammad Cherri, director of political programs at Hezbollah's al-Manar television, along with his wife.

France's special envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said Wednesday it was unreasonable to expect Beirut to disarm Hezbollah while the country was being bombed, insisting that only negotiations could resolve the crisis.

Global air travel remains severely disrupted after the war in Iran forced the closure of key Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.

A defiant Iran said Israel's killing of security chief Ali Larijani and other key officials would not hinder its operations with replacements swiftly appointed, as Israel launched a swathe of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The United States has encouraged Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but Damascus is reluctant to embark on such a mission for fear of being sucked into the war in the Middle East and inflaming sectarian tensions, five people briefed on the matter said.

Veteran Iranian politician Ali Larijani was one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic, an architect of its security policy, and a close adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei until the supreme leader's death in an airstrike last month.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the United States had been informed by most of its NATO allies that they did not want to get involved with the country's military operation in Iran, a move he described as a "very foolish mistake."