MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday condemned a strike near Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant a day earlier which it said was just metres away from its reactor and called on the United States and Israel to stop attacking the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, made the comments at a news briefing.

"We strongly condemn the irresponsible and utterly unacceptable missile strike on the inner perimeter of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, just a few metres from an operational reactor," Zakharova said.

March 18 (Reuters) - The site in Kabul hit by a Pakistani airstrike this week was used for storing drones and military grade ordnance, and to train suicide bombers, the Pakistani military said on Wednesday.

The Afghan Taliban government had said the strike targeted a rehab centre and killed more than 400 people.

(Reporting by Saad Sayeed, writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by YP Rajesh)

The line of cars stretched as far as the eye could see along the coast of southern Lebanon, as residents of areas bombarded in the Israel-Hezbollah war poured into the ancient city of Sidon in search of safety.

At war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, Israel has called on everyone living south of the Zahrani River to evacuate immediately.

It is an area comprising 14 percent of Lebanon's territory, and is highlighted in red in the maps posted by the Israeli military.

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has full confidence in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday, after a top security official resigned over the war in Iran.

Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center, and is the first senior official in Trump's administration to resign over the conflict, was not involved in any discussions on the Iran operation, Leavitt said.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson, and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Caitlin Webber)

The Israeli-US war on Iran has provoked a reaction from Tehran that has effectively choked a large chunk of the world's oil supply, and untangling the blockage will take a regional effort beyond what is currently being proposed, experts have told AFP.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged other global powers to send warships to escort convoys of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

CAIRO/GAZA, March 18 (Reuters) - Israel has killed nearly a dozen Gaza police officers this week as it steps up attacks on a Hamas-run force that the militants have used to re-establish governance in areas under their control, Gaza authorities say.

Hamas' nearly 10,000 police officers have emerged as a sticking point in talks to advance U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza. Hamas wants them included in a new police force envisioned under the plan. Israel rejects involvement of any officers with Hamas affiliations.

Israeli dairy and fruit farmer Tommy Kurlender refused to abandon his herd during the last war with Hezbollah, and vowed he would again stay put this time around.

The Israel-Lebanon border area has once again come under fire since Hezbollah launched attacks in support of its backers in Tehran, after Israel killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The massive attack on Iran, which Israel has conducted alongside its ally the United States, has sparked a war engulfing the entire region, with both Iran and Hezbollah targeting Israel with missiles and drones.

Sara Saleh and her family fled wearing their pyjamas on Wednesday when Israel's military said it would strike a central Beirut building near the school-turned-shelter where they had been staying.

Several other strikes, however, came without warning, jolting terrified residents in the middle of the night and early morning and killing at least 12 people.

They were just the latest Israeli attacks on the Lebanese capital since war again erupted between Israel and Hezbollah this month.

By Ismet Mikailogullari

GURBULAK, Turkey, March 18 (Reuters) - The Iranian women's soccer team crossed the Turkish border into Iran on Wednesday to complete a fraught return journey from Australia, after five members withdrew asylum claims they had lodged there.

Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players ​and one support staff member after ​they sought asylum, saying they feared possible persecution if ⁠they returned to Iran.

By Jana Choukeir

DUBAI, March 18 (Reuters) - Since February 28, U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have killed several senior political and military figures, hitting the core of the Islamic Republic's leadership in a war that has spread across the Middle East, disrupting energy markets and shipping routes.

The attacks, launched in the midst of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran mediated by Oman, are the most significant assault on Iran in decades, following a long-running shadow conflict and a 12-day war in June 2025.