Live: Thai cargo ship on way to India attacked near Strait of Hormuz

About 140 US troops injured, 8 severely, so far in Iran war, Pentagon says

The Pentagon said about 140 US service members have been wounded in conflict with Iran.

"The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement. Eight are currently "severely injured", Parnell added.

West Asia crisis: Jaishankar holds 'detailed' conversation with Iran's Araghchi

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday spoke to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi – their third such conversation since the West Asia crisis began – as New Delhi ramped up efforts to protect its energy security amid a virtual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Jaishankar also spoke to German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and exchanged views on the unfolding crisis in West Asia.

“A detailed conversation this evening with Foreign Minister @araghchi of Iran on the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict. We agreed to remain in touch," Jaishankar said on social media following his talks with the Iranian foreign minister.

It was the first phone conversation between the two foreign ministers after Iran announced the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new Supreme Leader, days after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint US-Israel military strike.

It is not immediately known whether the sinking of an Iranian warship by the US near Sri Lanka on March 4 figured in the conversation between Jaishankar and Araghchi.

Jaishankar and Araghchi spoke on February 28, soon after the US and Israel launched the attack on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They also spoke on March 5.

2 more members of Iranian women's football team granted asylum in Australia

Two more members of the Iranian women's football team were granted asylum in Australia before their teammates departed the country, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Wednesday.

It brings to seven the number of women granted humanitarian visas in Australia after five Iranian players sought asylum earlier, Burke told reporters in Canberra. One of those in the later group was a player and the other a team staffer, the official said, and both sought asylum before their teammates were transported to the airport.

The rest of the team's departure from Sydney to return to Iran late Tuesday local time happened during fraught and outraged protest at the delegation's hotel and at the airport. There, Iranian Australians sought to prevent the women from leaving the country, citing fears for their safety in Iran.

Their flight departed late on Tuesday.

Women offered asylum as they departed The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women's Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war began on February 28. The team was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment.

US says it destroyed 16 mine-laying vessels as Iran threatens to block Gulf oil exports

The US military said it took out multiple Iranian vessels on Tuesday as the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region's oil exports and concerns grew about the country's threats to stop tankers from using a waterway through which 20 per cent of the world's oil is shipped.

The US destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian vessels, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran planting explosives in the Strait of Hormuz.

The American military released the figure, along with unclassified footage of some of the vessels, after Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the strait.

Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as the war entered its 11th day, with Trump threatening to hit Iran at "a level never seen before" if the country failed to immediately remove any mines it might have deployed in the channel.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the most intense strikes yet, while the Pentagon detailed the broader toll of injuries sustained by US troops.

The conflict's effects rippled across the Middle East and beyond. Iranian leaders ruled out talks, threatened Trump and launched new attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab countries.

In Iran, residents of Tehran said they experienced some of the war's heaviest strikes. A woman said she saw a residential building get hit. She and others reached by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity to prevent reprisals. Tens of thousands of Iranians have sought shelter in the countryside.

Lebanon reports more deaths Multiple Israeli strikes killed seven people across southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said early on Wednesday.