Recycled images, video game footage passed off as missile strikes, and AI-generated combat visuals: the US-Israeli assault on Iran has unleashed a torrent of online disinformation that analysts are calling a war of narratives.

Since US and Israeli strikes over the weekend ignited a regional conflict, a parallel information war has erupted, with supporters on both sides flooding social media with falsehoods that often spread faster than the facts on the ground.

DUBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - Iranians will bid farewell to late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a ceremony in Tehran late on Wednesday, a senior Iranian official told state media.

Hojjatoleslam Mahmoudi, head of Iran’s Islamic Propagation Council, said the farewell ceremony would continue for three days and the funeral procession will be announced later.

The official said the public will be able to pay their respects to the body of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall starting at 10 p.m. (1830 GMT).

Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East:

- Explosions heard in Tehran: media -

Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that several explosions were heard in Tehran on Thursday morning.

It said the country had activated its defences in response.

- Iran launches missiles at Israel -

Iran launched a fresh round of missiles at Israel earlier Thursday, triggering alerts in several areas including Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli military and Tehran's state media.

By Maayan Lubell and Rami Ayyub

JERUSALEM, March 4, (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered on a career-long ambition to topple Iran's leadership, but his lockstep alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump faces a test as their joint military campaign threatens to drag on, with its goals potentially shifting in the coming weeks.

March 4 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta announced the launch of a sweeping fuel rationing system for private vehicles on Wednesday, blaming disruptions to the global energy supply chain caused by escalating hostilities in the Middle East.

The country's National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) said the new regulations, effective March 7, 2026, were a response to "global political situations" and armed conflicts in the Middle East, which have obstructed oil shipments.

BEIJING, March 4 (Reuters) - China is willing to work with the United States to promote communication on all levels, while upholding its "red lines" and principles, Lou Qinjian, a spokesperson for its parliament, said on Wednesday.

The National People's Congress opens its annual session on Thursday, where it will unveil this year's economic targets and policy priorities.

The meeting comes at a sensitive moment for China-US relations, as both sides look to stabilise ties ahead of an expected summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of March.

(Corrects to insert paragraph 1 dropped words "sailed through")

SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - An oil tanker sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, heading to a United Arab Emirates port to load crude in a rare voyage since the Iran war disrupted shipping in the Middle East, according to industry sources and shiptracking data.

Suezmax tanker Pola switched off its AIS tracker late on March 2, when it approached the Strait, and re-appeared on March 3 off Abu Dhabi, LSEG data showed.

By Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI/TEL AVIV, March 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. assault on Iran was ahead of schedule, said the top American commander for the Middle East, as Israel and the U.S. targeted sites deep inside the country, and Iran carried out strikes around the Gulf.

The five-day-old war continued to rattle global markets, as airline and tourism industries scrambled to deal with more than 20,000 flight cancellations and governments rushed to bring stranded travellers home from the Middle East.

By Erin Banco, Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Iranian Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether, and how, to attack Iran's security forces in the western part of the country, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

March 4 (Reuters) - Several people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a four-storey residential building in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, the state news agency NNA reported early on Wednesday.

Rescue teams were working to pull families from beneath the rubble, NNA said.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)