US President Donald Trump has said that the war with Iran may be over in two or three weeks and it will be up to other countries to secure the vital Strait of Hormuz oil shipping channel.
The White House announced meanwhile that Trump would give an address to the nation at 9:00 pm Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday) "to provide an important update on Iran."
In other developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint campaign against Iran had "changed the face of the Middle East" and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran had the "necessary will" to end the war provided its enemies guaranteed it would not flare up again.
In Lebanon, the health ministry said early Wednesday that seven people were killed in Israeli strikes in south Beirut and a nearby area and the Israeli military said it had struck a senior Hezbollah commander.
Israel's campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah has left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, according to the health ministry, with over a million displaced.
US stocks surged on hopes that a resolution to the month-long war may be in sight and Brent oil futures finished down 3.2 percent at $103.97 per barrel.
Japan's Nikkei climbed more than three percent at the open Wednesday and South Korea's Kospi was up nearly five percent.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, said the United States would be leaving Iran "very soon," perhaps within "two weeks, maybe three."
"But we're finishing the job," he insisted. "We want to knock out every single thing they have," Trump said, before adding that "it's possible that we'll make a deal before that."
Trump has zigzagged previously on whether Washington plans to escalate the war that has roiled the world economy -- possibly by deploying American ground forces -- or try to end it through negotiations with Tehran.
- 'Go get your own oil!' -
As for Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran and through which one-fifth of global oil normally passes, Trump said France, China and other countries that seek passage through the waterway will have to "fend for themselves."
"What happens with the strait we're not going to have anything to do with," he said.
In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Trump lashed out at NATO allies and other countries that have refused to help the United States secure the strait.
"The USA won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us," he wrote. "Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"
Netanyahu, in a televised statement on the eve of the Passover holidays, said Israeli forces "will continue to crush the terror regime" in Tehran.
"We had to act, and we acted," he said. "We have changed the face of the Middle East."
The United States has not said who it is speaking with in Iran, which has denied it is in talks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that he still receives messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff, "directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also threatened to retaliate against leading US tech firms such as Google, Meta and Apple from Wednesday if more Iranian leaders were assassinated.
Trump and Netanyahu launched the war on February 28, killing Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and setting off a wave of retaliatory attacks by Tehran across the region.
The Guards charged that 18 companies, including Intel, Tesla and Palantir, were complicit in previous killings and warned they should expect "destruction" if there are any further assassinations.
- 'Darkness and weight' -
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking to reporters early Tuesday after he visited US troops in the Middle East, vowed that "the upcoming days will be decisive.
"Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it."
Trump had threatened on Monday that if Iran didn't agree to a deal, US forces would "obliterate" its oil wells, its main Kharg Island export terminal, and possibly water desalination plants.
On Tuesday, heavy strikes hit the central city of Isfahan and Tehran.
Iranian media reported that two steel complexes in the country had been hit.
Iranian state media also reported damage to a Shia religious centre in Zanjan, while the government said airstrikes had hit a plant making cancer drugs, claims AFP could not independently verify.
Tehran residents spoke of trying to cling to some routine.
"When I make it to a cafe table, even for a few minutes, I can almost believe the world hasn't ended," dental assistant Fatemeh, 27, told AFP in Paris via a messaging app.
"And then I go back home, back to the reality of living through war, with all its darkness and weight."
- Asian markets climb on Trump comments -
Japanese and South Korean stock indexes soared in early trade Wednesday after Trump indicated that the Middle East war may end in around two weeks.
Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 3.29 percent while South Korea's benchmark Kospi rose 4.83 percent.
- Pope hopes Trump will end war -
Pope Leo XIV said he hoped Trump was looking to end the war in the Middle East and called for a halt to the violence.
"I'm told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war. Hopefully he's looking for an offramp, hopefully he's looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing," the pope told journalists.
- Iran has 'will' to end war -
Iran has the "necessary will" to end the war with the United States and Israel, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, emphasising that Tehran was seeking guarantees the conflict would not flare up again.
The comment, which boosted US markets and led oil prices to fall, came after a day of heavy strikes on Iran and followed a warning from the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to retaliate against leading US tech firms such as Google from Wednesday if more Iranian leaders were killed in "targeted assassinations".
- Tehran blasts -
An AFP journalist heard a series of explosions in central Tehran, as US-Israeli strikes wore on into their fifth week.
AFP journalists also confirmed that air defences had been activated over the capital, including in the north.
- UN slams Israel death penalty -
The United Nations rights chief slammed the Israeli parliament's approval of a "deeply discriminatory" new death penalty bill for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks, warning that applying it on occupied Palestinian territory "would constitute a war crime".
- Canada denounces 'illegal invasion' -
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced Israel's deployment of troops against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as an "illegal invasion" that violates its "integrity and sovereignty."
- Save fuel, EU says -
The EU urged member states to try to push down domestic demand for fuel in the face of surging energy prices caused by the Middle East war.
Missile fired at Israel from Yemen
The Israeli military said air defences responded early Wednesday to a missile launched from Yemen, where Iran's Houthi allies have claimed attacks on Israel in recent days.
A military statement said Israeli forces had "identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory, aerial defence systems are operating to intercept the threat", later announcing that residents were "permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas of the country".
Israeli media said the missile was intercepted, and there were no reports of any casualties or damage.
Drone targets Kuwait airport, fuel tanks on fire
Kuwait's civil aviation authority said Wednesday that the Gulf state's international airport had come under an Iranian drone attack that led to "a large fire" at fuel tanks.
"Kuwait International Airport has been subjected to blatant attacks by drones launched by Iran and the armed factions it supports," the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) quoted the spokesman of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation as saying.
The spokesman, Abdullah Al‑Rajhi, said "fuel storage tanks... were targeted, resulting in a large fire at the site", reporting no casualties.
Iran has fired missiles and drones at Israel and US allies in the Gulf since the start of the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes against the Islamic republic on February 28.
Elsewhere in the Gulf on Wednesday, Bahrain's interior ministry said a fire broke out at a business facility "as a result of the Iranian aggression".
Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said several drones were "intercepted and destroyed".
A tanker was also hit in the waters off Qatar, a British maritime security agency said.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of an incident 17 nautical miles (31 kilometres) north of Doha in which a "tanker has been hit by unknown projectile on the port side causing damage to the hull above water line. The crew are reported as safe."
It added there was "no environmental impact" and that authorities were investigating the incident.
On Tuesday, KUNA said an Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, causing no injuries.
The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to the US-Israeli strikes that sparked the war.
Tehran has threatened to target vital infrastructure across the Gulf, including energy sites.
Iran reports strikes across Tehran
Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said areas in northern, eastern and central Tehran were under attack on Wednesday.
The broadcaster said on Telegram that explosions were heard in the capital's north, east and centre, reporting "attacks on Tehran" without immediately providing more details.
Bangladeshi killed by drone shrapnel in UAE
A Bangladeshi national was killed by falling shrapnel after a drone interception in the United Arab Emirates, the official WAM news agency said on Wednesday.
"Shrapnel falling from the interception of a drone... resulted in the killing of a person of Bangladeshi nationality," WAM posted on X, adding that the incident happened in Fujairah, which is close to the Strait of Hormuz.
- 11-year-old Israeli wounded -
Israel's emergency medical service said an 11-year-old girl was in a serious condition after a missile attack that the military blamed on Iran.
Missile alerts sounded across central and northern Israel after the military issued warnings for incoming fire, with rescuers warning of at least 12 more injured.
- Yemen missiles -
The Israeli military said air defences responded to a missile launched from Yemen, where Iran's Houthi allies have claimed attacks on Israel in recent days for the first time in the war.
Israeli media said the missile was intercepted, and there were no reports of any casualties or damage.
- Attacks on the Gulf -
Kuwait's civil aviation authority said that the Gulf state's international airport had come under an Iranian drone attack that led to "a large fire" at fuel tanks.
Bahrain's interior ministry said a fire broke out at a business facility "as a result of the Iranian aggression", while Saudi Arabia said it shot down several drones.
A tanker was also hit in the waters off Qatar, a British maritime security agency said.
Qatar says Iran missile struck oil tanker
Qatar said on Wednesday that a tanker leased to its state-owned energy company was struck by an Iranian missile in the Gulf country's territorial waters.
"Qatar was targeted... by three cruise missiles launched from Iran," the Gulf state's defence ministry said in a statement.
Qatar's military "intercepted two of the cruise missiles, while the third missile struck an oil tanker leased to QatarEnergy in Qatar's territorial waters," it said.
"Coordination was established with relevant authorities to evacuate the tanker, which had 21 crew members on board, without any human casualties," the defence ministry added.
Gulf countries have faced repeated drone and missile salvos from Iran over the past month in response to US and Israeli strikes that began at the end of February.
Iran has targeted hydrocarbon infrastructure in the oil-rich Gulf nations as well as shipping, effectively closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil usually passes.
QatarEnergy said in a statement the Aqua 1, a fuel oil tanker, had been "the subject of a missile attack in the northern territorial waters of the State of Qatar in the early morning hours of Wednesday".
It confirmed no crew members had been injured and there was "no impact on the environment as a result of this incident".
Houthis claim third missile attack on Israel
Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday claimed a missile attack against Israel that they said was launched jointly with their backer Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group -- the third such attack by the rebels since they entered the Middle East war.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel's military said its air defences had responded to a missile launched from Yemen, later announcing that residents were "permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas of the country".
Israeli media said the missile was intercepted, and there were no reports of any casualties or damage.
The Houthis "carried out the third military operation... targeting sensitive Israeli enemy targets... with a barrage of ballistic missiles", Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.
"This operation was conducted jointly with our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon," he added.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed missile and drone attacks targeting Israel over the weekend, their first in the current war.
14 Israelis wounded in Iran missile fire
Israel's emergency medical service said 14 people including an 11-year-old girl were wounded during a missile attack that the military blamed on Iran and police said caused damage at several sites.
The military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel" for the first time in about 20 hours, with air raid sirens activated across central Israel.
Another warning of incoming missile fire came less than an hour later, prompting alerts across large parts of northern and central Israel, according to the military's Home Front Command.
"EMTs and paramedics are providing medical treatment and evacuating to hospitals 14 casualties," the Magen David Adom emergency medical service said in a statement, including an 11-year-old girl in a serious condition with shrapnel injuries.
It said a 13-year-old boy and 36-year-old woman, also with shrapnel injuries, were in moderate condition and a further 11 casualties in "mild condition".
Sheba hospital in the Tel Aviv area said it was treating eight wounded people, including a child in "very critical condition", and six other children.
Authorities did not specify at how many sites people were injured. However, police reported damage at several sites in central Israel, sharing an image of what appears to be missile debris on a road.
AFP images from the city of Bnei Brak, outside of Tel Aviv, showed first responders and residents carrying small children out of an apartment building that was hit.
AFP footage and images from downtown Tel Aviv showed first responders at another impact site and a small crater on the road near the French embassy.
Strikes hit area near former US embassy in Tehran
Strikes early on Wednesday hit an area near the former US embassy in Tehran, damaging parts of the complex's outer walls, an AFP journalist reported.
Footage carried by the Mehr news agency showed the aftermath of the strikes in central Tehran, with shops damaged, windows blown out and debris scattered across the area near the site.
The wall of the former embassy complex, now a museum known as the "Den of Spies", appeared damaged in the footage.
It was not immediately clear what had been targeted in the area.
The complex, daubed with anti-American murals, has become a symbol of the decades-long animosity between Iran and the United States.
Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel since February 28, when strikes killed the country's supreme leader and triggered a conflict that has spread across the region.
In his first speech announcing the attack on Iran, US President Donald Trump referred to the longstanding hostility between Tehran and Washington.
The United States and Iran have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, when Washington severed ties during the hostage crisis which followed the Islamic revolution that ousted the Western-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
National Bank of Kuwait shuts headquarters
A major Kuwaiti bank said it will close its headquarters in the capital for two days starting Wednesday, as Iran carries out daily strikes on the Gulf more than one month into the Middle East war.
"National Bank of Kuwait will close its headquarters and Subhan branch today, Wednesday, and tomorrow, due to current developments and in the interest of everyone's safety and business continuity," the bank said in a statement carried by state news agency Kuna.
NBK, one of Kuwait's largest banks, also closed a branch in the industrial area of Subhan, home to security and government facilities and close to the airport, which has been targeted repeatedly by Iran.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kuwait's civil aviation authority said the airport had been targeted in an Iranian drone attack that led to "a large fire" at fuel tanks.
- Crude drops, Europe stocks rise -
Oil prices tumbled and European stocks rose after US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end within weeks.
International benchmark Brent North Sea crude fell five percent to $98.77 a barrel, and the main US oil contract WTI dropped around four percent to $97.28 a barrel.
The Frankfurt and Paris stock markets jumped more than two percent at the open, while London's FTSE 100 index gained 1.7 percent.