Live | US sinks Iran ship headed back from India; 83 sailors killed

Asian shares tumbled on Wednesday (March 4), with South Korea's benchmark plunging more than 12 per cent, while oil prices climbed even higher as the war with Iran widened. Worries over Iran have hammered most world markets, spooking investors who fear more spikes in oil prices may grind down the global economy and sap corporate profits.

“I think the Iran situation is getting out of hand, and I think that US President Donald Trump miscalculated enormously," said Francis Lun, CEO of Venturesmart Asia. “The situation is very grim."

South Korea's Kospi led the regional losses as energy security concerns vanquished optimism over the boost computer chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been getting from expanding use of artificial intelligence. The Kospi sank 12.1 per cent to 5,093.54. Samsung's shares dropped 11.7 per cent, while SK Hynix gave back 9.6 per cent.

The Korea Exchange temporarily halted trading for the Kospi index, while a circuit breaker was also triggered on the tech-oriented Kosdaq after it fell by more than 8 per cent. It later dropped nearly 14 per cent. South Korea's stock market has been one of the world's best performers this year, but its economy depends heavily on trade and fuel imports, which are threatened with disruptions to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway to the Persian Gulf through which roughly a fifth of globally traded oil passes.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 shed 3.9 per cent to 54,059.47. Like South Korea and Taiwan, Japan depends heavily on imports of oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf. Elsewhere in Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2.9 per cent to 25,023.18, and the Shanghai Composite index shed 1.2 per cent to 4,074.22. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.9 per cent to 8,901.20. Taiwan's Taiex lost 4.4 per cent and shares in Bangkok sank 8 per cent.

In other dealings, the dollar fell to 157.61 Japanese yen from 157.74 yen. The euro slipped to USD 1.1592 from USD 1.1612. The price of gold rose 0.9 per cent, while silver gained 1.5 per cent. (AP)

Israel's defence minister on Wednesday (March 4) threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country's next supreme leader, saying he will be “a target for elimination”. Israel Katz made the statement on X.

“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination,” he wrote.

Israel targeted a building on Tuesday (March 3) associated with Iran's Assembly of Experts. (AP)

Explosions sounded in Tehran on Wednesday (March 4) as Iran's war with the US and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region. The explosions around Tehran came at dawn, according to Iran's state television, while Israel's military said its air defences had been activated to intercept incoming Iranian missiles, and explosions were heard around Jerusalem.

Five days into a war that US President Donald Trump suggested could last a month or longer, nearly 800 people have been killed in Iran, including some Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country.

Explosions also hit Lebanon, where Israel said it is retaliating against Hezbollah militants. Lebanon's state-run media National News Agency reported that at least five people were killed, fifteen others were wounded, and three were missing in an Israeli strike that hit a residential complex in the city of Baalbeck.

Strikes hit Lebanon overnight, including in several towns and at a hotel in a suburb right next to the capital. Beirut woke up to the sounds of drones whizzing overhead. The Israeli military warned residents in a southern suburb to flee ahead of a morning airstrike, as more displaced people fleeing the conflict pour into the capital seeking shelter.

Overnight Israeli strikes on towns near Beirut have killed at least six people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said early Wednesday. Israel struck the towns of Aramoun and Saadiyat just south of Beirut's international airport, killing six and wounding eight others. It also struck a hotel in the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh. No casualties were immediately reported there. The strikes came without warning, and the Israeli military did not immediately disclose the targets.

The Israeli military said Wednesday it conducted a series of strikes across Iran's capital targeting its security forces. It said it hit buildings associated with the Basij, the all-volunteer force of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted the bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.

The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran's internal security command, which has also suppressed demonstrations in the past. Israel and the US have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow its theocracy. Strikes against counterprotest forces likely are part of that effort.

An Iranian-backed militant group in Iraq said it fired drones toward Jordan. The group, Saraya Awliya al-Dam, said that drones were aimed at “a vital target” in the kingdom. Earlier Wednesday, Jordan's state-run television reported that sirens sounded across the country. Iraqi militants on Tuesday threatened to target Jordan over allegations that US aircraft that bombed their facilities took off from a Jordanian air base.

A building associated with the clerical panel that will pick Iran's next supreme leader came under attack in an airstrike in the holy seminary city of Qom, semiofficial media reported. The attack on Tuesday hit the building in the Resalat neighbourhood of Qom. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, linked the building to Iran's Assembly of Experts and said there was no meeting ongoing there at the time of the attack. Fars further went on to say the assembly is meeting remotely, without elaborating. There was no report on whether anyone was hurt in the strike.

Israel's public broadcaster KAN said Israel carried out the attack, though there's been no confirmation from its military.

The Assembly of Experts is an 88-member panel which “must, as soon as possible”, pick a new supreme leader under Iranian law. The panel consists entirely of Shiite clerics who are popularly elected every eight years and whose candidacies are approved by the Guardian Council, Iran's constitutional watchdog. (AP)

Iran’s Assembly of Experts have chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, the second oldest son of slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the next Supreme Leader, according to media reports.

Iranian officials familiar with internal discussions said Iran’s powerful clerical body, the Assembly of Experts, met on Tuesday (March 3) to deliberate on succession.

Mojtaba’s elevation would mark a significant shift. Though Mojtaba is believed to have played an influential role behind the scenes for years, he has never held an elected office or any formal government position.

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Five members of a family from Bengaluru died on the spot after the car in which they were travelling to Tirupati rammed into a stationary truck in Chittoor district on Wednesday (March 4), a police official said.

The deceased included three women, and the accident occurred on the four-lane highway near Palamaneru at around 8.45 am on Wednesday, police said.

"Five members of a family travelling from Bengaluru to Tirupati were killed on the spot when their car rammed into a stationary truck near Palamaneru," the official told PTI.

According to the police, the accident is suspected to have occurred due to overspeeding and the driver possibly feeling sleepy.

Meanwhile, relatives of the deceased have been informed and are on their way to the accident site, the official added.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has set up a control room to assist those affected by the escalating crisis in West Asia. The MEA has said almost one crore Indian citizens live in West Asia, and their safety and well-being is of "utmost priority" for New Delhi.

As the Iran-US conflict widened, the Indian embassy in Iran moved hundreds of Indian students from the Iranian capital of Tehran to safer locations.

"A Control Room has been set up in the Ministry of External Affairs in view of the current situation in West Asia and the Gulf region," the MEA said on Wednesday (March 4). "The Control Room can be contacted from 9 am to 9 pm at: 1800118797 (Toll Free) +91 11 2301 2113, +91 11 2301 4104, +91 11 2301 7905," it added.

The US launched military strikes on Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Following the military offensive, Iran has carried out a wave of attacks mainly targeting Israel and American military bases in several Gulf countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The MEA on Tuesday (March 3) noted that almost one crore Indian citizens live and work in the Gulf region, and their "safety and well-being is of utmost priority."

"We cannot be impervious to any development that negatively affects them," it said.

The MEA said New Delhi will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation and take relevant decisions in the national interest, adding it is in touch with the governments in the region as well as other key partners.