Fresh Israeli strikes hit Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon on Tuesday after the Israeli army warned people to evacuate, with Lebanese authorities saying nearly 760,000 people had been registered as displaced.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
BRUSSELS, March 10 (Reuters) - Russia has so far been the only winner from the war in the Middle East as energy prices soar and attention for its war against Ukraine has faded, EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday.
"So far, there is only one winner in this war – Russia," Costa said in a speech to EU ambassadors in Brussels.
PARIS, March 10 (Reuters) - Israel is ahead of schedule in achieving its war goals in Iran, its ambassador to France said on Tuesday, adding that the operation aims to weaken Iran’s authorities to curb attacks beyond its borders and allow its people to shape their own future.
"When we were asked at the start of this war about its duration, we said it would last a few weeks. That hasn’t changed," Joshua Zarka told BFM TV. "We are ahead of schedule to achieve our war objectives."
Iran vowed on Tuesday that not one litre of oil would be exported from the Gulf while the United States and Israel continue their bombardment, as the United Arab Emirates closed its biggest oil refinery after a drone attack.
Oil prices have surged since Iranian attacks on shipping closed the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of a US-Israeli strikes that killed Tehran's supreme leader but fell back somewhat on Monday when US President Donald Trump suggested the war would soon end.
KAPIKOY, Turkey, March 10 (Reuters) - At a remote mountain pass in eastern Turkey, travellers from Iran step across the threshold with a mix of fear, exhaustion and relief - arriving after a week marked by war, long journeys by train or car, communications blackouts and borrowed phones.
March 10 (Reuters) - UAE's foreign ministry condemned a drone attack on its consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil, it said in a statement early on Tuesday.
Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service said late on Monday that it had downed three drones in Erbil, with debris from one of the drones falling near the UAE consulate. It said no casualties were reported.
(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Muayad Hameed, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANKARA, March 10 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Tuesday that a U.S. Patriot air defence system was deployed to its southeast, near a NATO radar base, as part of steps by the alliance to boost air defences in the face of missile threats from the Iran war.
It is being deployed to Malatya province, the location of the Kurecik NATO radar base, which provides vital data for the alliance and helped identify two Iranian ballistic missiles heading toward Turkey over the last week.
When a deafening drone tore a hole in her roof in northern Iraq, Iranian Kurd Amine Poursaid, gripped by fear of another attack, packed her family's belongings and prepared to escape.
She is one of thousands of Iranian Kurds opposed to the Islamic republic and who are living in exile in neighbouring Iraq. For years, they were safe, but since the Iran war began, their bases have become targets.
"Everything came crashing inside," said Poursaid, the wife of an Iranian opposition party member.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he will waive some sanctions on oil to boost supply and bring down prices, due to market turmoil over war in the Middle East.
The US-Israel strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have upended the world's energy and transport sectors, virtually halting activity in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
"We're also waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices," Trump told reporters after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
By Heejin Kim and Kyu-seok Shim
SEOUL, March 10 (Reuters) - South Korea cannot stop Washington from redeploying some weapons stationed in the country, President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday, after reports that U.S. Patriot missile defence systems were being sent to the conflict in the Middle East.
Reports on shifting key U.S. military assets have sparked concern in Asia about the potential gaps in regional defences if Washington diverts ships and missiles currently used to deter military flexing by China and North Korea to other theatres.
