By Michael Georgy

DUBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - Ayatollah Alireza Arafi has emerged as a central figure in Iran’s power structure at a moment of unprecedented turmoil, propelled into a leadership role from the ranks of top clerics after the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Once known largely as a scholar‑administrator, the hardline cleric is now one of three senior officials entrusted with steering the state through its most volatile period since the 1979 revolution.

WARSAW, March 4 (Reuters) - Iran's government is making a strong case for its demise by indiscriminately attacking its neighbours, EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas told reporters on Wednesday.

"Iran's strategy is to sow chaos and set the region on fire," Kallas said.

Turkey said earlier on Wednesday thatNATO air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile headed into Turkish airspace.

Terrified travellers fleeing war in Iran for the safety of neighbouring countries have described the extent of US and Israeli air strikes around the country, which have pummelled many regional cities as well as the capital Tehran.

AFP spoke to Iranians as well as foreign students and traders at border crossings in Pakistan and Turkey, and was able to interview others trying to flee by phone or text messages despite widespread communication problems.

DOHA, March 4 (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani that Iranian missile attacks were directed at U.S. interests and not at Qatar.

Qatar's top diplomat "categorically rejected" that claim and called for an immediate halt to Iran’s attacks, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on X.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said his country would confront any aggression with its "right to self-defence," stressing that Doha has always been inclined towards dialogue and diplomacy conducted in good faith.

A UK warship due to be sent to Cyprus amid the US and Israel's war with Iran will not set sail from Britain until next week, Western officials said Wednesday.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that he was deploying HMS Dragon, a Type 45 defence destroyer to aid Britain's "defensive operations" in the region.

Starmer also said he was sending two Wildcat helicopters with counter-drone capabilities.

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANKARA, March 4 (Reuters) - Turkey said that NATO air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile headed into Turkish airspace on Wednesday, marking the first time the alliance member has been drawn into the Middle East conflict and raising the possibility of a major expansion involving its bloc allies.

By Anna Hirtenstein, Andrew Mills and Jonathan Saul

March 4 (Reuters) - Iranian drone attacks could disrupt the Strait of Hormuz for months, but how long the Islamic Republic could sustain its missile barrage is less clear, according to intelligence sources and military analysts.

The US Senate on Wednesday rejected a resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump's authority to continue military strikes on Iran, in a narrow congressional show of support for a conflict launched without explicit approval from lawmakers.

The bipartisan measure, introduced by Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Rand Paul, would have required the withdrawal of US forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress authorizes the campaign.

BEIJING, March 4 (Reuters) - China will send a special envoy to the Middle East for mediation,Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Saudi Arabian and UAE counterparts on Wednesday according to statements from his ministry, as conflict in the region continued to escalate.

China appreciates Saudi Arabia's restraint and insistence on resolving differences through peaceful means, Wang was quoted as saying in a phone call with the Saudi minister by the Chinese ministry.

By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall

DUBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have tightened their grip on wartime decision‑making despite the loss of top commanders, senior sources say, driving a hardline strategy that is propelling Tehran's drone‑and‑missile campaign across the region.