Iran war brings new attacks on commercial ships, Dubai airport, as Tehran warns banks next

The Israeli army issued new evacuation orders for residents of six areas in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, saying that activities by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah “force” the Israeli army to “take action against them.”

Residents have been ordered to move to areas north of the Litani River.

“Anyone who is around Hezbollah, their facilities, and their fighting methods is putting their lives in danger,” an IDF spokesman said. “Any home used by Hezbollah for military purposes will be targeted.”

Greece will increase profits on fuel and food items for three months, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as war in the Middle East fueled price panic.

In a meeting with the country’s president, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government was “looking at” other consequences of the conflict and warned traders against “profiteering.”

State estimates mean targeted sectors, such as gas stations and supermarkets, may impose some restrictions on retail sales. The aim is to prevent unnecessary increases in currency limits when land prices rise.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Iranian dissident and son of the former shah, whose name was chanted during some of the protests that swept the country earlier this year, said on Tuesday that Iran was “at a very critical stage of our last struggle,” in a statement shared on social media.

“I ask you to prepare your essential needs as soon as possible, and for your own safety, get off the streets and stay in your homes,” Pahlavi said, addressing Iranians. “Continue with the strike and don’t be bad at work. To show your unity, keep singing at night with strength.”

Pahlavi warned the Iranian military and security forces that “this is their last chance to separate themselves from the oppressive forces and join the people.”

Pahlavi told Iranians to “wait for my last call,” without giving further details about any action he expects in the coming hours or days.

The United Arab Emirates said it was deflecting a new round of missiles and drones launched by Iran on Wednesday morning.

“The UAE air force is currently facing missile and drone attacks from Iran,” the country’s Ministry of Defense said on its social media website, describing the noise heard in various parts of the country as “the result of air defense systems intercepting missiles and warplanes intercepting drones and other aerial vehicles.”

The UAE has been under constant drone and missile attacks by Iran since the war began on February 28, and multiple sources told CBS News on Tuesday that the White House you know about America’s Gulf allies running slow in missile interceptors, forcing them to choose which objects to detonate and which not to detonate.

The White House has discussed the matter, sources told CBS News.

CBS News’ Margaret Brennan first reported on March 5 that the Gulf states were running dangerously low on missile interceptors and had asked the US to speed up new ones. America’s allies in the region have been told that officials in Washington are forming a task force to find new supplies for them, but sources said that is not happening as quickly as needed.

A spokesman for Iran’s military said on Wednesday the country would begin targeting Middle Eastern banks linked to the US and Israel, following an alleged attack on an Iranian bank.

“Following their failed mission, US forces and the brutal Zionist regime (Israel) attacked one of the country’s banks,” Iran’s state media quoted Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s military, as saying.

“With this illegal and unusual action, the enemy is forcing our hand to target economic institutions and banks linked to the US and Zionist regime in the region.”

He warned people to stay at least a kilometer, or half a mile, away from banks in the region.

The Dubai government said on Wednesday that four people suffered minor or minor injuries when drones crashed at or near the main airport in the United Arab Emirates.

“The authorities confirm that two drones fell near the Dubai International Airport (DXB) a short time ago, resulting in minor injuries to two Ghanaians and one Bangladeshi, as well as moderate injuries to one Indian. Air traffic is operating as normal,” Dubai authorities said in their official communication channels.

Dubai has been hit by several Iranian missile and drone strikes during the war, and the wider UAE has seen at least six people killed and more than 100 injured in the attacks.

A projectile struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz early Wednesday, causing damage and a fire on board, after President Trump warned Iran to stop blocking shipping in the vital waterway.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, which is run by the British military, said the ship, identified by CBS News Confirmed as the Thai-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree, was hit on Wednesday north of Oman in the incident.

In a subsequent update, the UKMTO said the fire was out, there was no environmental impact, and that the crew remained on board.

British authorities say the container ship ran aground off the coast of the United Arab Emirates early Wednesday, about 25 miles northwest of the UAE port of Ra’s al Khaymah.

“The master of the container ship reported that the ship received damage from a suspicious but unknown source. The extent of the damage is currently unknown but the crew is investigating. The Master also reported that all crew are safe and have been reported,” UKMTO said.

CBS News Confirmed has identified the ship as the Japanese-flagged container ship ONE Majesty.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, run by the British military, said it received a report from a cargo ship 50 kilometers northwest of Dubai, west of the Strait of Hormuz, that it had been hit by an unknown projectile.

“There is no report of any environmental impact. The crew is reported to be safe and sound. The authorities are investigating,” UKMTO said, without naming the vessel.

CBS News has confirmed the vessel has been identified as the Marshall Islands’ massive carrier Star Gwyneth.

Two other members of Iran’s women’s national football team were granted asylum in Australia before their teammates left, but one of the women later changed her mind and decided to return to Iran, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters on Wednesday.

He said they met again five players who were granted humanitarian visas the previous day.

One of the women later changed her mind and will return to Iran, Burke said. The entire team left Sydney and returned to Iran late Tuesday.

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CBS/AP

Iran’s new leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reports of injuries during the war with Israel and the United States, the son of Iran’s president said on Wednesday.

“I heard the news that Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei is injured. I have asked some friends who were in contact with him. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel.

State television called Khamenei a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but did not specify his injuries.

The new supreme leader is the son and successor of the Islamic Republic’s longtime ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that sparked a Middle East war.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who rarely appears in public or speaks at official events, has not addressed the nation or issued a written statement since being declared supreme leader on Sunday.

In a report on Wednesday, the New York Times quoted three unnamed Iranian officials as saying that Khamenei was “injured, including in his legs, but that he was on alert and sheltered in a high-security facility with limited communications.”