Iran war live updates: US temporarily lets India buy Russian oil amid energy fears; Israeli military launches strikes on Beirut | World news

Ukraine will help the US and its allies counter Iran’s Shahed drones, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, after the US requested assistance.

Russia has sent tens of thousands of Shaheds into Ukraine since it invaded its neighbour just over four years ago, at one point launching a swarm of more than 800 drones and decoys in its biggest night-time barrage.

Iran has responded to joint US-Israeli strikes by launching the same type of drones at countries in the Middle East.

In a post to social media, Zelenskyy said he had received a US request for support to defend against the drones in the Middle East and had given the order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts, without providing further details.

Ukraine helps partners who help our security and the protection of our people’s lives.

Ukraine has pioneered the development of cut-price drone-killing equipment that cost as little as $1,000, rewriting the air defence rulebook and making other countries take notice.

Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has just announced that the US has issued a 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.

The remarkable u-turn comes amid concerns in markets around the world that there will be no quick resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.

“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent added.

The treasury secretary said the “stop-gap measure” was implemented in response to what he called “Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage”.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump said the US navy would begin escorting tankers through the strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed off, “if necessary”.

The IDF has begun striking what it describes as Hezbollah infrastructure in densely populated commercial and residential areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The IDF had earlier issued forced evacuation orders for the whole population of Beirut’s southern suburbs – home to 500,000 people – sparking widespread panic and leading to huge queues of traffic as people tried to flee. It comes in spite of calls from world leaders including Emmanuel Macron urging Israel not to expand the war into Lebanon. According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israeli strikes have killed at least 123 people and injured 683 in Lebanon since Monday.

Here are the other key developments of the past few hours:

• Iran is ready to face American troops, if there is a ground invasion, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC. Trump has sent mixed signals about whether he is willing to deploy US forces in a “boots on the ground” capacity. Araghchi said there would be “no winner in this war” and Iran is not asking for a ceasefire.

• Donald Trump has claimed – without evidence – that Iran’s air force and navy are “gone”. Speaking during an event at the White House, the US president said: “We’re destroying more of Iran’s missile and drone capability every single hour – knocking them out.” He went on: “So [Iran] have no air force, they have no air defence. All of their airplanes are gone, their communications are gone. Other than that, they’re doing quite well. Their navy is gone, [they lost] 24 ships in three days, that’s a lot of ships,” he said, along with 60% of Iran’s missiles and 64% of its missile launchers.” Echoing comments he made earlier this week, Trump added that the US military and Israel are “totally demolish[ing]” Iranian targets “far ahead of schedule”.

• The US president also said he must “be involved in the appointment” of Iran’s next leader as he was in Venezuela, and dismissed the idea of the assassinated ayatollah’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, succeeding his father as supreme leader as “unacceptable”. More on that here.

• The Trump administration has meanwhile allowed Indian refiners to buy Russian oil for 30 days – just a month after Trump claimed India had agreed to stop purchasing it, in a shift that he said would “help END THE WAR in Ukraine” by cutting off a key source of funds for Russia. Today US treasury secretary Scott Bessent claimed the reversal “will not provide significant financial benefit” to Moscow. More details here.

• The war has escalated each day, now affecting an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. On Thursday, Azerbaijan accused Iran of drone attacks, which Tehran denied.

• Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives has voted down a Democratic-backed measure to halt hostilities with Iran, as Republicans cleared the way for Trump to continue the conflict that has drawn in countries across the Middle East, but criticized as having unclear goals. Our story here.

• The UK’s defence secretary John Healey declined to rule out Britain joining US-Israeli strikes on Iran. More on that here.

• Canada’s top general said allies were in talks about possibly helping Persian Gulf States defend themselves. Defence chief Gen. Jennie Carignan said a meeting was set for Friday to discuss such a proposal among allied militaries, and the Canadian Armed Forces would present a recommendation to the Canadian government. She did not specify what type of support this might involve but said Canada is not taking part in the US bombing of Iran and confirmed the discussions were not about participating in Operation Epic Fury.

• Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received a request from the United States “for specific support” in dealing with Iran’s Shahed attack drones, as the US and its allies in the Middle East seek Ukraine’s expertise in countering such attacks from Russia. “I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Ukraine helps partners who help ensure our security and protect the lives of our people.” More on that here.