The US–Israeli campaign against Iran continues to expand, with Israeli evacuation orders across the southern suburbs of Beirut raising fears in the rapidly widening war.
The Israeli military ordered residents to leave parts of the Lebanese capital, triggering a panicked exodus and traffic chaos across the densely populated city, which is home to tens of thousands of people.
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict earlier this week when the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, prompting Israeli air strikes targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut as well as parts of southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted a video on X warning Dahiyeh, a suburb in the south of Beirut, would soon resemble parts of Gaza.
"You wanted to bring hell on us, but you have brought hell upon yourselves. The Dahiyeh will look like Khan Younis," Mr Smotrich said, who sits on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet.
While Israel has previously ordered people to leave buildings in Dahiyeh, it is the first time it has instructed residents of the entire area to leave, prompting hundreds of displaced people to gather in downtown Beirut.
At least 102 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Monday, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The war, now in its sixth day, has seen European countries accelerate the deployment of military assets to the Middle East and has left world leaders bracing for the impact on the global economy.
France announced it will strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces and provide armoured transport vehicles as well as operational and logistical support.
"Everything must be done to prevent this country, so close to France, from once again being drawn into war," French President Emmanuel Macron said on X.
US President Donald Trump told an awards ceremony at the White House that Iranian officials had called him and were hoping to negotiate a deal.
"They're tough and they want to fight … they're saying, 'How do we make a deal?'" the president said.
"We want to fight now more than they do."
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran had refused any negotiations with the US and had not asked for a ceasefire.
Speaking to NBC News, Mr Araghchi struck a defiant tone warning Iran was prepared for a possible ground invasion by American troops — action the US is yet to rule out.
"No, we are waiting for them … because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them," he said.
A fresh wave of attacks
Israel has continued to pound Tehran with a new wave of strikes over the Iranian capital.
In the United Arab Emirates, the defence ministry has reported more Iranian missile and drone threats, while explosions have been reported in Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran has also launched a salvo of missiles at Israel and allegedly sent drones into Azerbaijan, injuring four people in the Nakhchivan exclave located to Iran's north.
Iran's armed forces denied firing the drone at its northern neighbour and blamed the action on Israel.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev vowed to retaliate against Iran, raising concerns about further spillover from the conflict.
"We will not tolerate this unprovoked act of terror and aggression against Azerbaijan," he said.
"Our armed forces have been instructed to prepare and implement appropriate retaliatory measures."
Iran has also vowed to take revenge for a US torpedo attack on an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, which killed more than 80 sailors.
Mr Araghchi said Washington would "bitterly regret" the precedent it had set by sinking a ship in international waters without warning.
Sri Lanka has recovered scores of bodies and its navy rescued 32 people, with 11 people yet to be accounted for.
The Australian federal government could not confirm whether Australian personnel were on board the American submarine, after reports that two Australian sailors were on board.
Nine oil tankers have now come under attack in Gulf waters since the conflict broke out at the weekend.
This includes a Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker that was targeted by an Iranian remote-controlled boat laden with explosives while anchored near an Iraqi port.
A second tanker anchored off Kuwait was taking on water and spilling oil after a large explosion on its port side.
Memorial of Iran's slain leader postponed
Inside Iran, the body of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in the first hours of the US–Israeli air campaign, had been due to lie in state in a prayer hall in the nation's capital, Tehran.
The event was set to draw thousands of mourners and mark the beginning of three days of mourning across the country for the leader who ruled Iran for 36 years.
But the memorial was abruptly and indefinitely postponed shortly before it was due to begin.
In the hours before announcing the delay, Iranian officials had said they were close to naming Khamenei's hardline son, Mojtaba, as his successor in what would be a strong gesture of defiance.
Mojtaba Khamenei, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, is one of the most influential figures in the Iranian clerical establishment.
Mr Trump reportedly told Axios he needed to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader.
"Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Mr Trump told Axios.
Iranian officials gave no reason for the postponement of the memorial, but Reuters has reported the delay was motivated in part by fears of assassination among those attending while Israeli and US warplanes remain in the skies.
The escalation comes as the US House of Representatives rejected an effort to stop Mr Trump's air war on Iran and require that any hostilities against Iran be authorised by Congress.
It is the second vote in as many days after the bid failed in the Senate, where members of Congress largely voted along party lines to defeat the measure.
Iran's attacks on the Persian Gulf's energy sector have pushed crude oil prices up by more than $US10 a barrel, posing a major challenge to affordability concerns and other domestic issues in the US ahead of fast-approaching midterm elections.
ABC/wires
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