Follow live: Record oil reserve to be released as ships in Strait of Hormuz hit

Two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi oil are in flames after being attacked by Iranian boats laden with explosives, killing one foreign crew member, according to Iraqi port officials.

Iraq evacuated the 25 crew members from the two vessels, and fire is still ablaze on both ships, the officials added.

Some oil ports have "completely stopped operations", Iraq's state media says, while some commercial ports are continuing in a limited capacity.

Meanwhile, Oman's civil defence is working on containing a fire in fuel tanks at the port in Salalah, Oman's state news agency reported, after drones struck oil storage facilities there.

— Cameron Carr, Reuters

The United Nations Security Council has called for Iran to immediately cease attacks on the Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

The resolution also condemned any action by Iran to disrupt vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The resolution, which did not mention strikes against Iran by the United States or Israel, passed by 13 votes, with two abstentions — China and Russia. The US is one of the five permanent member states of the Security Council.

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the UN, said the adoption of the text represented a "blatant misuse of the Security Council mandate in pursuit of the political agendas" of the US and Israel.

Iran's UN ambassador, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said the resolution was a "blatant misuse" of the Security Council's mandate. Source: AAP / AP / Seth Wenig

"Let me make it clear, this resolution is a manifest injustice against my country, the main victim of a clear act of aggression," he said.

The US said its adoption reflected a broad condemnation of Iranian strikes.

"Iran's strategy of sowing chaos, of trying to hold their neighbours hostage, trying to shake the resolve of the region, has clearly backfired, as shown by this vote today," said US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz.

— Alex Gallagher, AFP

The Israeli military is prepared to continue its war with Iran for "as long as necessary", according to a spokesperson.

"We as an army are prepared to continue the campaign as long as necessary," he said.

Earlier, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the war would "continue without any time limit".

"The operation will continue without any time limit, as long as required, until we accomplish all objectives and achieve victory in the campaign."

— Reuters

Iran's sports minister said there is no way that the nation's soccer team can compete in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

"Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup. Our children are not safe, and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist," Ahmad Donyamali said, according to CBS Sports.

"Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence."

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Before offering refuge to Iranian players, Australia took in another team

Those remarks came after FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump discussed the matter on Tuesday and declared that the Iranian team was welcome to participate when the World Cup gets underway on 11 June in the US, Mexico and Canada.

— Reuters

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his country needs reparations and security guarantees before the war ends.

"Talking to leaders of Russia and Pakistan, I reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to peace in the region," he said in a post on X.

"The only way to end this war – ignited by the Zionist regime and US – is recognising Iran's legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression."

— Cameron Carr

Israeli strikes battered Beirut's southern suburbs overnight, lighting up the city's skyline with flashes of red and setting buildings in the area aflame after Lebanese armed group Hezbollah launched a volley of rockets into northern Israel.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 600 people in Lebanon, and uprooted 800,000 more, Lebanese authorities say.

On Wednesday night, Hezbollah said it had launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel as part of a "series of operations", indicating there could be more to come.

Lebanese security sources told Reuters more than 100 rockets were launched.

A senior Israeli defence official said Iran and Hezbollah had launched a joint missile attack, describing it as the first coordinated action against Israel since the war began.

— Reuters

United States President Donald Trump has been asked about Iran's new leadership, following the succession of Mojtaba Khamenei.

"We knocked out twice their leadership, and now they have a new group coming up," he told reporters in the US state of Ohio.

"Let’s see what happens to them."

Trump added that the war "turned out to be easier than we thought", in response to questions and said oil prices are better than expected.

Donald Trump said the war had "turned out to be easier than we thought". Source: AAP / AP / Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Oil prices have been rising and falling rapidly as the conflict across the Gulf threatens global oil supply.

"I would say [the price of oil] went up a little bit less than we thought," Trump said.

"It’s going to come down more than anybody understands."

— Cameron Carr

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release 400 million barrels of ‌oil, the largest such move in its history, to try to rein in crude prices.

It is aimed at preventing a further rise in ‌oil prices on fears that Iranian attacks will continue to block Middle East oil exports from reaching markets.

Meanwhile, three more vessels have been hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, bringing the number of ships struck in the region to at least 14 since the war began.

The IEA said ‌the release had been backed unanimously by 32 member countries, including Australia, in the sixth such move it has made since its creation in the 1970s.

Read more: Iran warns of US$200 oil barrels as it retaliates against US-Israeli bombardment

— Cameron Carr

Good morning, and welcome to our coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Overnight, Iran's military has warned the world should be prepared for oil to hit $US200 a barrel should the United States and Israel continue the war, and said it had targeted two ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency has agreed to release 400 million barrels of ‌oil, the largest such move in its history, to try to rein in crude prices.

Meanwhile, Lebanon said the death toll in 10 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has reached 634, while more than 800,000 people have registered as displaced.

Israeli drones carried out attacks on several Tehran neighbourhoods on Wednesday evening, killing members of the security forces, Iran's Fars news agency reported.

Iran's army said it had attacked key targets in Israel, including the military intelligence headquarters, a naval base in Haifa and a radar system. It also said it targeted US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.

We'll bring you more as the day develops.

— Alex Gallagher, AFP