War in the Middle East: latest developments

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

Iran is due to hold funerals Wednesday in Tehran for slain security chief Ali Larijani and another powerful figure killed by Israel, Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij paramilitary force.

A new Israeli strike hit central Beirut's Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, state media reported, the second on the densely populated area since the early morning without prior warning.

Lebanon's health ministry said at least 12 people had been killed in central Beirut, as the war between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah continued.

An Israeli strike also hit a car in the centre of Sidon, southern Lebanon's largest city, state media reported.

An AFP correspondent at the scene said the strike hit near the city's civil defence headquarters and a seaside road where many displaced people are sleeping in their cars. Israel has issued an evacuation call for residents of four southern towns.

At least four explosions were heard in the city of Erbil in the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, AFP journalists reported.

It was not immediately clear what the target was. The city, the capital of the Kurdistan region, is home to a major US consulate complex, and its airport houses US-led coalition troops.

Iraq announced it had resumed limited oil exports of 250,000 barrels per day through the Turkish port of Ceyhan after the country's output plunged due to disruptions in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively shut.

Oil prices sank and stocks rose in Asia and Europe.

Benchmark US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, was down more than four percent in Asian trading, at $92.11, after jumping almost three percent Tuesday.

Iranian authorities have executed a man convicted of spying for the Israeli intelligence service, the judiciary said, in the first such execution announced since the war broke out.

"The death sentence of a spy for the Zionist regime, who had been providing images and information, about the country's sensitive locations to Mossad officers was carried out this morning," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

Iran's top diplomat said the repercussions of the war in the Middle East would be felt globally.

"Wave of global repercussions has only begun and will hit all -- regardless of wealth, faith, or race," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami threatened to launch a "decisive and regrettable" retaliation for the killing of security chief Larijani.

An Iranian projectile struck near Australia's military headquarters for the Middle East in the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

The Saudi defence ministry said it had intercepted a ballistic missile near Prince Sultan Air Base, which houses US military personnel. The country later said it had intercepted two drones targeting the diplomatic quarter of its capital, Riyadh.

Kuwait's air defences responded to a rocket and drone attack, according to authorities from both countries. Qatar's defence ministry also said it intercepted a missile attack, as blasts were heard in Doha.

A barrage of missiles from Iran killed two people near Tel Aviv, Israeli medics said, bringing the death toll from missiles fired on the country to 14. 

US President Donald Trump said NATO was making a "foolish mistake" on Iran, after the military alliance's members largely rebuffed his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic.

Trump also said he was disappointed with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's response, telling reporters: "He hasn't been supportive, and I think it's a big mistake... I like him, I think he's a nice man, but I'm disappointed."

© Agence France-Presse