Iran claims 'complete control' of strait: Latest developments in Middle East war

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they had "complete control" of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and Israel launched fresh strikes on Iranian and Lebanese targets as the Middle East war continued into its fifth day.

Here are the latest developments:

- More Israeli strikes in Tehran -

The Israeli military said it had begun a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran on Wednesday, as an AFP journalist reported a fresh explosion in the northeast of the Iranian capital.

The army said it had struck "dozens" of targets, including security command centres in the capital Tehran.

- Iranian frigate sinks off Sri Lanka -

Sri Lanka said an Iranian navy frigate with 180 crew sank just outside the island's territorial waters after an explosion.

No information was immediately available on the cause.

The Sri Lankan foreign minister said 32 "critically wounded" sailors had been rescued from the warship, the IRIS Dena, after it issued a distress call at dawn. A search for remaining crew was ongoing.

- Canada questions US-Israeli strikes -

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran "would appear, prima facie... to be inconsistent with international law".

- Guards claim control of Hormuz -

The Revolutionary Guards said Iranian forces had "complete control" of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for world oil and gas supplies, and any vessels seeking to pass risked damage from missiles or stray drones.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial Gulf shipping route.

The Guards said they had also launched more than 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets in a new wave of strikes.

- Khamenei funeral set -

Iran will hold a three-day-long state funeral starting on Wednesday evening for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state TV said.

Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, was killed in the US-Israeli strikes that sparked the war on Saturday.

After the funeral's announcement, Israel's defence minister warned that any successor would be a "target for assassination".

- Gulf stocks tumble -

The Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock exchanges reopened sharply lower on Wednesday after a two-day trading suspension over Iran's missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.

The Dubai bourse was down 4.7 percent while Abu Dhabi's ADX fell 3.5 percent shortly after markets opened.

Seoul shares earlier collapsed more than 12 percent as Asian stock markets were gripped by the worldwide wave of panic selling. Oil rose.

- Sirens ring out in Israel -

Missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday triggered air raid sirens across large parts of Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, though shrapnel caused a fire near Jerusalem, according to Israeli media.

- Explosions rock Beirut, other towns -

AFPTV footage showed an air strike hit Hezbollah's bastion in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut, as Israel and the Iran-backed militant group traded strikes and rocket fire.

Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on two towns south of Beirut -- outside of Iran-backed Hezbollah's traditional strongholds -- killed six people and wounded eight.

Lebanese state media later said Israeli strikes had hit a hotel in the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh, as well as a four-storey building in the eastern city of Baalbek, where five people were reportedly killed.

- US commander says 2,000 hit targets in Iran -

Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US military forces in the Middle East, said in a video message that nearly 2,000 targets had been struck so far in Iran.

- Qatar says Iranian spy cells dismantled -

Qatar, which hosts a major US military base and has been targeted by multiple Iranian strikes since the outbreak of the war, reported it had dismantled two spy cells linked to the Revolutionary Guards, arresting 10 suspects.

- Drone attack on Dubai's US consulate -

A drone attack caused a fire by the US consulate in Dubai as Iran ramped up its targeting of American diplomatic missions in the Gulf.

- US staff allowed to leave Saudi, Oman -

The United States said it had ordered non-emergency staff at its consulates in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Karachi to leave the country over "safety risks", and granted permission for staff to leave missions in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Oman.

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