Drone hits Duqm fuel tank
Oman said a drone struck a fuel tank at its port in Duqm on Tuesday, raising security concerns in the region, wrote AP. Authorities confirmed the incident but provided limited details about the source of the attack.
The state-run Oman News Agency reported that no injuries were recorded in the strike. Duqm has served as a key resupply route for the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is currently operating in the Arabian Sea, highlighting the port’s strategic importance amid rising regional tensions.
Thailand boosts embassy security
According to AP, Thailand is intensifying security around the embassies of the United States, Israel and Iran as tensions rise in the Middle East. Authorities said additional safety measures are being put in place amid fears of potential spillover.
Public broadcaster Thai PBS quoted National Security Council chief Chatchai Bangchua as saying officials will also monitor sites linked to the three countries to prevent possible threats.
Thailand, one of Asia’s most-visited destinations, relies heavily on tourism and welcomed more than 32m foreign visitors last year. The country remains a popular destination for Americans, Israelis and Gulf nationals, and previously received dozens of direct flights each week from the Middle East before recent airspace closures, AP wrote.
Israeli troops operate in Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers are operating in southern Lebanon as strikes continue against Hezbollah. Troops are stationed at several points near the border in what the military described as a “forward defense posture.”
The army said the deployment aims to boost security for residents in northern Israel close to the Lebanese frontier. It has also reinforced forces and air defense systems in the area amid ongoing hostilities.
Israel has maintained five positions in southern Lebanon since a November 2024 ceasefire ended more than a year of fighting with Hezbollah. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said the new deployment is separate from those posts and is intended to prevent attacks on Israeli border towns.
Civilian deaths in Iran pass 200 amid fear of bombs and regime clampdown
At least 200 civilians have been killed since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran last weekend, according to rights groups, as people inside Iran told the Guardian they were fearful of a rising death toll, The Guardian reported.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said that at least 555 people had been killed across Iran. However, in its latest update, the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw said the death toll on day three had reached at least 1,500, including 200 civilians and 1,300 members of the Iranian forces.
Hengaw said it was concerned about the rising number of civilian deaths, with the highest number of civilian fatalities recorded in Hormozgan province in southern Iran, after a missile strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab at the weekend, which reportedly killed more than 150 people, including children, according to The Guardian.
