Live Updates: US military confirms 4 soldiers killed in Iran war; Kuwait shoots down three US planes

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority said Monday that the complete closure of the country’s airspace to civilian traffic would be extended for at least 48 hours due to “current security concerns in the region.”

Iran closed its airspace at 10 a.m. local time on Saturday, hours after the United States and Israel launched their joint attack on Iran, sparking a war that has paralyzed air and sea traffic across the Middle East as Iran retaliates with hundreds of missiles and drones aimed at Israel and Gulf states it sees as supporting the attack.

US bases in Iraq are among the targets Iran has attacked with missiles and drones over the past three days.

“Four U.S. service members have been killed in combat” since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran, U.S. Central Command said Monday, raising by one the death toll reported on Sunday.

“The fourth service member, who was seriously injured during Iran’s initial attacks, ultimately succumbed to his injuries,” CENTCOM said, adding that “major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.”

The military said the identities of American soldiers killed in the past three days would be withheld for at least a day after their families were notified.

The Israeli military said on Monday it had killed the man in charge of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group’s intelligence office in Beirut.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it could confirm that “a precise strike in Beirut” on Sunday night killed Hussein Makled, “who was serving as head of Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters.”

Israel announced attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Sunday after accusing the group of firing rockets at the Jewish state, but amid concerns of a new ground war amid continued US and Israeli attacks on Iran, the IDF said early Monday that there were no imminent plans to send troops across the border into Lebanon.

A US-flagged oil tanker, the Stena Imperative, was hit by Iranian drones or missiles on Monday, according to the Reuters news agency and other media citing maritime security company Vanguard Tech.

According to Vanguard, two Iranian projectiles hit the ship in the port of Bahrain, causing a fire that was extinguished and forcing the evacuation of the crew.

There was no immediate comment from US authorities.

He The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said earlier on Monday that a “ship had been hit by two unknown projectiles which caused a fire” in Bahrain port, without identifying the ship.

“The fire has been extinguished and the ship remains in port,” the UKMTO said, adding that all crew members were “safe and have evacuated the ship.”

US Army Central Command confirmed that the Iranian forces harassed the same tanker with American crew and flag on Feb. 3 while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route off the coast of Iran that has been virtually closed since the war began on Saturday.

CENTCOM said two Iranian military ships and an Iranian drone “approached the M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker” in the early February incident, but were deterred by a U.S. guided-missile destroyer that came to the Imperative’s rescue and escorted it, with support from the U.S. Air Force.

The tanker remained on course after that encounter towards its destination in Bahrain, and was scheduled to arrive on February 5, according to data from the MarineTraffic website.

One person was killed in an attack on an oil tanker off Muscat, Oman, which caused an explosion and fire, Omani authorities said on Monday as Iran continued its attacks across the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the US-Israeli attack.

“The tanker MKD VYOM, flying the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, was attacked by an unmanned vessel 52 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat Governorate. The tanker was carrying approximately 59,463 metric tons of cargo,” the Oman Maritime Security Center said in a statement. “The attack caused a fire and explosion in the main engine room, killing one crew member, an Indian national.”

The MKD VYOM was one of three oil tankers hit on Sunday by suspected Iranian drone or missile fire. Omani authorities said Sunday that 20 people were evacuated from the ship, including four with unspecified injuries.

News themezone confirmed reports that the MKD VYOM is part of Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet” (vessels with obscure registrations used to transport licensed energy supplies) and that the crew included Iranian nationals.

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Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said the country intercepted and destroyed five “hostile drones” near the country’s Prince Sultan Air Base, a facility used by the US military.

About 2,700 American troops are stationed in Saudi Arabia, many of them at the Prince Sultan base south of the capital Riyadh, along with missile defense systems.

The base was also reportedly attacked by Iranian missiles over the weekend, but there have been no reports of American casualties in Saudi Arabia since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday.

The U.S. military confirmed Monday that three U.S. F-15 fighter jets were shot down over Kuwait in what U.S. Central Command called “an apparent friendly fire incident.”

F-15 Strike Eagles “flying in support of Operation Epic Fury” crashed in Kuwait amid attacks by Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones that the United States and its regional allies have rushed to intercept.

“The US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses,” CENTCOM said in a statement on Monday, adding that “all six crews ejected safely, have been safely recovered and are in stable condition.”

CENTCOM said the Kuwaitis had “acknowledged this incident and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation.”

State television in Cyprus, a small island nation in the eastern Mediterranean, said sirens sounded at a British air force base on Monday and UK fighter jets were deployed after the base was attacked by a drone amid Iran’s attacks across the region.

In a live broadcast, Cyprus’ CyBC reported that sirens were heard at the base and that planes took off from the facility near the city of Limassol, according to the Reuters news agency.

Reports on Monday suggested only minor damage due to a suspected Iranian drone attack on the airstrip of the Akrotiri base.

Reuters quoted CyBC as saying that a passenger terminal at an airport in Paphos, Cyprus, was evacuated on Monday, after a suspicious object was detected on radar.

British defense chief John Healey said on Sunday that Iran had fired two missiles “in the direction of Cyprus” but that it was unclear whether the Akrotiri base had been deliberately targeted.

An Israeli military spokesman said on Monday there were no imminent plans to launch a ground invasion of neighboring Lebanon, home of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group, after an overnight attack by the group led Israel to retaliate with airstrikes.

“There is nothing on the ground that constitutes a ground invasion… imminent,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters when asked if Israel would send troops to Lebanon.

“In the short term, in the immediate term, the answer would be no,” Shoshani said.

Germany will not actively participate in military action against Iran, but will consider defending its soldiers stationed at multinational military bases in Jordan and Iraq if they are attacked, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Monday morning.

“The federal government has no intention of participating” in the conflict, Wadephul told public radio Deutschlandfunk. “We also do not have the necessary military resources.”

Multinational bases where German troops are stationed in Erbil, northern Iraq, and Al-Azraq in Jordan were attacked over the weekend, the German military said.

The soldiers present at the scene were not injured and are safe, the German news agency dpa reported.

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Air travel across the Middle East came to a virtual standstill on Monday, with several major regional hubs closed due to the threat of missile and drone attacks as Iran lashed out in retaliation against Israel and countries seen as supporting the war.

Airline stocks plunged, with Reuters reporting that Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific and Australia’s Qantas Airways fell more than 5% and European airline stocks also indicated a drop.

Jordanian authorities announced on Monday that the airspace of the The country would be closed from later “until further notice, to guarantee the safety of civil aviation in Jordanian airspace,” according to the country’s official news agency.

Oil prices were also rising, putting additional pressure on airlines.

Tens of thousands of passengers around the world saw their travel plans thrown into chaos on the third day of disruptions caused by the war.

Explosions were reported across the Gulf on Monday as Iran continued to attack with missiles in response to continued attacks by the United States and Israel. Explosions were heard in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; Doha, Qatar; Manama, the capital of Bahrain; Kuwait City and Muscat, the capital of Oman.

Iran’s military said it had used 15 cruise missiles in its latest attacks against a US air base in Kuwait and against ships in the Indian Ocean.

The unprecedented attacks across the region caused Iran’s retaliation to extend far beyond US military targets and bases, destroying an image that the Gulf states have carefully cultivated for decades as islands of calm in a volatile region.

Most Iranian missiles and drones are being intercepted, but some have escaped, hitting civilian areas and causing significant damage, including outside US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Several US fighter jets crashed in Kuwait on Monday, but all crew members survived, the country’s Defense Ministry said on social media.

A ministry spokesman said authorities launched search and rescue operations and evacuated teams to hospitals, adding that they were in stable condition.

He said the United States and Kuwait are conducting a joint investigation into the cause of the accidents.

Earlier, the spokesperson said the Kuwait Air Defense Forces had intercepted several “hostile air targets.”

Fire and smoke rose from inside the US embassy complex in Kuwait after an Iranian attack on the small Middle Eastern nation on Monday. Video obtained by The News showed smoke with an alarm going off, and a correspondent for the French news agency News saw smoke billowing from the diplomatic mission.

Earlier, the United States had issued an urgent warning to Americans there to shelter in place and stay home. It said: “Do not come to the Embassy. Take cover in your residence on the lowest available floor and away from windows. Do not go out.”

“US embassy staff are sheltering in place,” he added.

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Israel has said it is stepping up attacks against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon following rocket and drone launches blamed on the group.

In Iraq, Iranian-backed militias have claimed responsibility for a drone attack on US troops at Baghdad airport.

Britain said a suspected drone attack targeted its military air base in Cyprus on Sunday, and France said it had strengthened its military posture in the eastern Mediterranean.

Some European nations vowed to support their own interests and those of their regional allies in the Persian Gulf when they came under attack from Iran.

Smoke was reportedly seen rising from an Iranian attack on the French naval base Camp de la Paix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday.

The head of the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency, the IAEA, said on Monday that his agency had “no indication” that any of Iran’s nuclear facilities had been damaged by continued Israeli-US attacks on the country.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warned, however, that with the missiles still flying a “possible radiological release with serious consequences” cannot be ruled out, calling the situation in the Middle East “very worrying” and urging all parties to “maximum restraint.”

“I reiterate my call for all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation,” Grossi said in his statement, released by the IAEA, as he opened the closed-door session.

“Iran and many other countries in the region that have been targeted by military attacks have operational nuclear power plants and nuclear research reactors, as well as associated fuel storage sites, increasing the threat to nuclear security,” he said. “Let me emphasize that the current situation is very worrying. We cannot rule out a possible radiological leak with serious consequences, including the need to evacuate areas as large or larger than large cities.”

He said the IAEA was trying to contact Iranian nuclear regulators, “with no response so far.”

The IAEA reported just a few days ago that despite US attacks in June that President Trump said “wiped out” Iran’s nuclear program, the country still has a stockpile of about 972 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a small technical step away from the level required for nuclear weapons.

Grossi said on February 19 that “most of the material that Iran had accumulated until June of last year, despite the [U.S.] bombings and attacks, is still there, in large numbers, where it was at the time of the attacks. … Some of it may be less accessible, but the material is still there.”

He called on Monday for diplomatic negotiations to be resumed “as quickly as possible.”

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A total of 555 people have been killed across Iran in the US and Israeli attacks that began on Saturday, the Iranian Red Crescent said on the third day of the war.

“Following the American-Zionist terrorist attacks carried out in various regions of our country, 131 cities have been affected to date and, sadly, 555 of our compatriots have been killed,” the humanitarian group said in a social media post.

The agency did not say how many of the victims were believed to be members of Iran’s military or security forces.

Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco shut its main refinery in Ras Tanura after an alleged Iranian drone attack, Reuters news agency said on Monday, citing an industry source, as Tehran launched missiles and drones at countries across the region seen as supporting the US-Israel war.

Iranian attacks on U.S. ports, cities and interests in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Manama and Oman have frozen commercial sea and air traffic in vital waterways and travel hubs in the Middle East, sending Brent crude futures up about 10% on Monday, according to Reuters, which said benchmark Dutch and British wholesale gas prices were also up more than 25% in early morning trading.

US crude oil prices rose 8.2% to $72.64 a barrel, Reuters said.

Stocks were also hit Monday morning by the war, with markets in Europe and Asia seeing overall stock prices fall between 1.5% and just under 2%, including US S&P 500 futures, which fell 1.5%, according to Reuters.

The Saudi Ras Tanura refinery is one of the largest in the Middle East. The source told Reuters it was closed as a precaution and the situation was under control, but it was unclear how long operations would be suspended.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that Britain was setting up support systems to help citizens flee the Gulf region, home to about 300,000 Britons, amid Iranian missile attacks.

“We are looking at a wide range of options, working, crucially, with the travel industry and with the government evacuation if necessary,” Cooper told British channel Sky News.

Asked by Sky if the UK could organize government evacuations from some countries, Cooper said: “We are working on all possible options.”

“We have to also recognize the magnitude of this, and also the fact that there are still strikes going on,” he said.