Iran war: Iranian missile headed towards Turkey destroyed

We are closing our Wednesday blog covering the US-Israel war with Iran.

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We'll bring you more on the conflict and its impact on the wider Middle East and the world in our Thursday updates. 

There's been a lot of attention on people stranded at airports in the Middle East.

But thousands of crew members are also stuck on merchant ships in the region.

Around 20,000 seafarers are trapped because of events in the Straight of Hormuz, the head of the UN's International Maritime Organization told the BBC late on Wednesday. 

The strategic waterway is the only way out of the Persian Gulf. It passes between Iran and Oman, and, at its narrowest, is just 39 kilometers (24 miles) wide.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen by around 90% compared to prewar levels, shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said Wednesday.

Greece's main seafarers' union has called a 24-hour strike on Thursday. It's demanding the immediate repatriation of Greek crew members stuck in the Persian Gulf.

War risk cover expires Thursday

Earlier this week, major marine insurers also started pulling war insurance cover for ships transiting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. 

Many of these cancellation notices take effect on Thursday, March 5. 

Ships under fire in Strait of Hormuz

Meanwhile, shipping firms welcomed President Donald Trump's idea of a US naval escort for ships through the strait. 

At least eight vessels have been hit in the region since the US-Israel war with Iran began on Saturday. 

In the latest incident, Oman's navy said it rescued the crew members of a container ship struck by missiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. 

The cargo ship was "hit by two missiles" and Oman's royal navy rescued its "crew of 24 people" who are now in good health, the Oman News Agency said.
 

Senate Republicans voted down proposed legislation to halt US military action against Iran, even though a number of them voiced concerns about the lack of a clear exit strategy from the region. 

The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, failed on a 47-53 vote tally, in a show of early support for President Donald Trump's decision on Iran.

"This is not a forever war, indeed not even close to it. This is going to end very quickly," Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the ​Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a speech against the resolution.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who regularly opposes deploying US armed forces in foreign conflicts, was the only Republican to vote to advance the measure. Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against the resolution.

Two key moderate senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted to block the resolution. 

"We cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. The Iranian regime's pursuit of nuclear capabilities, ballistic missile development, and support for terrorist proxies pose serious and longstanding threats to the national security of the United States and our allies," Collins said in a statement.

Many Democrats contend that Trump unconstitutionally bypassed Congress in the attacks on Iran and say the administration has offered shifting justifications for the war.

"Let me say it this way, there was no presentation of any evidence ... that suggested that the US faced any imminent threat from Iran," Kaine told the AFP news agency after a classified briefing from administration officials.

Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, with 53 seats, compared to Democrats' 47. 

Iran postponed a funeral for its late leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US and Israeli strikes on Saturday, in "anticipation of unprecedented turnout."

The three-day ceremony had been scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. local time Wednesday at a mosque in Tehran, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Wednesday morning.

"The farewell ceremony for the martyred Imam has been postponed. The new date will be announced later," Iranian television reported later.

Thousands of strikes have rained down on Iran since Saturday, with missiles targeting military and government infrastructure.

Authorities did not link the security situation on the ground to their decision to postpone a funeral process for the late supreme leader.

Iran's senior clerics responsible for naming a new supreme leader of the country are considering naming the son of late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba, to the top post, according to The New York Times.

Some expressed reservations because he could emerge as a potential target for the US and Israel, the report said.

Mojtaba, who is 56 years old, has close ties with the powerful Revolutionary Guards that give him added leverage across Iran's political and security apparatus.

He has quietly built up experience and influence behind the scenes and, like his father, opposes calls for reformers seeking engagement with the West.

The clerics, known as the Assembly of Experts, are "close to conclusion," Assembly member Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami told state TV. He said a decision will be announced soon, without naming the candidates.

Hezbollah will confront "Israeli-American aggression" and will not surrender despite the "imbalance in capabilities," according to the head of the Iran-backed Lebanese group, Naim Qassem.

In his first address since the latest escalation between Israel and the Shiite militia, Qassem stressed that resistance is their only choice.

"We will confront the aggression, which for us is an existential defense that will continue until our goals are achieved," he said.

On Monday night, Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, the Israeli military has resumed large-scale attacks in Lebanon. Hezbollah continues to fire rockets at Israeli targets.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the death toll from Israeli attacks from Monday morning until Wednesday has risen to 72, with 437 people injured. 

Ukraine's partners, including the United States, had asked Kyiv for help defending against Iranian drones, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"Partners are ​turning to us, to Ukraine, ​asking for help ​in defending ‌against (Iranian-designed) Shahed drones, with expertise and real operational ‌experience," Zelenskyy said in his ‌nightly ​video address. "There have also been requests from the American ​side."

Previously, Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials suggested that Kyiv could share its expertise with Middle Eastern countries in exchange for their help in persuading Russia to observe a ceasefire in the four-year-long war between Kyiv and Moscow.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Macron wrote on X that he had "called on the Israeli prime minister to preserve Lebanon's territorial integrity and to refrain from a ground offensive."

He said he had stressed to Salam the need for Hezbollah "to immediately cease its attacks against Israel and beyond."

Israeli forces have already entered several towns and villages along the Lebanese border in response to attacks by Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that has fought Israel multiple times before.

Thousands of people fled Tehran in the first couple of days after the US and Israel launched their strikes against Iran, with the capital witnessing some of the heaviest strikes, the UN's refugee agency UNHCR said.

"In Iran, an estimated 100,000 people left Tehran in the first two days following the attacks," the agency said in a situation report.

"Latest reports indicate no increase in cross-border movements linked to recent events. The situation at the Islam Qala border crossing with Afghanistan remains stable with no significant changes observed," it added.

With a population of 90 million, there have been fears that the war could spark a major wave of displacement, sending refugees into neighboring countries.

Spain has denied that it is going to cooperate with the US military amid its war against, rejecting a claim made by the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt just moments ago.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares "categorically" denied that Spain would "cooperate militarily" with the US, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.

The White House press secretary also said that the US president was of the opinion that Americans are behind him with his war in Iran.

"The president is ​smart enough to ​read ‌past many of the fake news headlines produced ‌by people in ‌this room ​that his action was unjustifiable," Leavitt told a news ​briefing.

"This is a rogue terrorist regime that ⁠has ​been threatening ​the United States, our ​allies and our ‌people for 47 years ​and ⁠the American people are smart enough ⁠to ​know that," she added.

A poll by YouGov conducted after the first strikes on Saturday found that more Americans are against the war (48%) than are for it (37%).

However, this was highly dependent on partisan loyalty. Democrats were strongly against the war (78%) while Republicans were equally in favor of it (76%).

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Spain had agreed to cooperate with the US military amid its war against Iran.

"It's my understanding, over the past several hours, they've agreed to cooperate with the US military," she said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had previously refused to let the US use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain.

A clarification from Madrid would be necessary to confirm this announcement, since Sanchez earlier in the day reaffirmed his government's position against the war.

Trump on Tuesday said he wanted to cut all US trade with Spain over its position. It was not immediately clear how that would work as Spain is part of the European Union which is a free-trade zone.

There are several reports coming out from Iraq right now that include a nationwide blackout.

News agency AFP and Iraqi Kurdish news outlet Rudaw both cited the Electricity Ministry. It wasn't immediately clear how much of the country was impacted and what the cause was.

At the same time, there were reports of more explosions in Erbil, in the Kurdish north, while Reuters said drones had been shot down close to Baghdad airport.

The US Embassy in Baghdad also recommended its citizens leave the country.

"US citizens in Iraq are strongly encouraged to depart as soon as they are safely able to do so, and shelter in place until such time as conditions are safe to depart," it said in a post on X.

We will bring you more on these reports as more updates come through.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has doubled down on his opposition to the US-Israeli war against Iran.

He appeared unimpressed by US President Trump's threats to punish Spain by cutting off all trade to the country.

Iran's armed forces have threatened to carry out attacks on Israeli embassies around the world if Israel strikes the Iranian mission in Lebanon.

Military spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi said in a televised address that "if Israel commits such a crime, it will force us to make all Israeli embassies around the world our legitimate target."

The threat followed comments on Tuesday by Israel's Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee, telling Iranian officials to leave Lebanon within 24 hours.

He said the Israeli military "warns representatives of the Iranian terror regime who are still in Lebanon to leave immediately before being targeted."