The Iranian women's football team, whose plight has become embroiled in the Middle East war, returned back to Iran on Wednesday where they were promised a welcome ceremony in Tehran.

Seven members of the delegation had sought asylum in Australia last week after their decision not to sing the national anthem before their opening game at the Women's Asian Cup.

With their demands for protection an embarrassment for Iran's leaders, but lauded by US President Donald Trump, five later changed their minds, including captain Zahra Ghanbari.

The Iranian women's national football squad arrived in eastern Turkey and headed to the Iran border on their way home Wednesday, among them several players who withdrew an asylum bid in Australia.

The players, who landed in Istanbul on Tuesday evening on a flight from Oman, flew to the eastern city of Igdir, arriving just after midday, an AFP correspondent said.

Wearing Iranian national team tracksuits, they could be seen leaving the airport before heading to the Gurbulak-Bazargan crossing, which lies about 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the southeast, he said

By John Irish

PARIS, March 18 (Reuters) - It is unreasonable to expect the Lebanese government to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah while the country is being bombed by Israel, France's special envoy for Lebanon said on Wednesday.

Jean-Yves Le Drian said only negotiations would resolve the crisis, in which Lebanese authorities say over 900 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Hezbollah entered the regional war in support of Tehran.

MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday condemned what it called "the murder" of Iran's leaders in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, a day after Iran's semi-official Fars news agency confirmed that Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed in Tehran.

By Emilie Madi, Claudia Greco and Maya Gebeily

BEIRUT, March 18 (Reuters) - Near the tent she now calls home, Salam Issa Rida dropped pieces of marinated chicken into a pan sizzling atop a camping stove. Her family had been craving chicken to break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. So she had risked her life to get it.

Earlier that day, the Lebanese mother of six had snuck back to her home in Beirut's southern suburbs, declared a no-go zone by Israel's military and bombed heavily by its warplanes.

By Tim Reid

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - The Iran war is influencing Democratic primaries ahead of November's midterm elections, with progressives faulting moderate rivals for not opposing President Donald Trump's bombing campaign strongly enough and for what they call overly close ties with defense contractors and Israel.

BEIJING, March 18 (Reuters) - China will continue mediating to push for a ceasefire and an end to fighting in the Middle East, its foreign minister said, adding the war should never have happened and had no reason to continue, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting in Beijing with the UAE presidential special envoy to China, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, in which he also voiced support for the UAE in safeguarding its sovereignty and security.

By Helen Coster and Nathan Layne

NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and his allies are attacking news organizations for their coverage of the Iran war, a conflict the administration says is going well for the United States but is unpopular with the public and has plunged the Middle East into chaos.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. senators get a chance on Wednesday to question top aides to President Donald Trump in public about national security nearly three weeks into the Iran war as the Senate intelligence committee holds its annual hearing on worldwide threats to the United States.

Israelis have been rushing to bomb shelters for more than two weeks as sirens warn of Iranian missile strikes, the veterinary service in commercial hub Tel Aviv has a clear message: leave no pet behind.

"Alarms? Missiles firing? Don't forget your four-legged friends!" read the service's online guide on caring for animals during the war.

"During emergencies, our dogs and cats also experience fear and confusion," it added.

Dogs on leads and cats in carriers have been seen by AFP journalists being taken for cover and waiting in the underground shelters across the city.