Skip to main content

Factbox-Iranian warship sunk by US torpedo participated in Indian drill

By Saurabh Sharma

NEW DELHI, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. attack on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean this week was the first time since World War Two that the United States has sunk an enemy vessel with a torpedo.

The following details are based on accounts from Sri Lankan, U.S. and Iranian officials of the March 4 incident, part of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and its military assets.

CURRENT STATUS OF RELIEF AND RESCUE

Security personnel stand guard as an ambulance enters inside the Galle National Hospital, following a submarine attack on the Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka, in Galle, Sri Lanka, March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Thilina Kaluthotage REFILE - CHANGING NAME OF HOSPITAL

Exclusive-NATO allies will keep supporting Ukraine despite situation in Iran, Rutte says

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - NATO allies will keep supporting Ukraine despite the situation in Iran, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday.

"Many leaders in Europe and the United States, Canada say it has to be 'and, and': make sure that as allies we enable what the Americans are doing in the Middle East ... and at the same time make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to stay strong in the fight", he said.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray and Inti Landauro, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Bart Meijers)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a visit to the North Macedonian army's Ilinden barracks in Skopje, North Macedonia, March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo

Exclusive-NATO's Rutte does not see need to invoke Art. 5 after missile incident

By Andrew Gray

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - The shooting down of a ballistic missile headed for Turkey by NATO air defences does not provide immediate reason to trigger the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence clause, its Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday.

"Nobody's talking about Article 5," Rutte said. "The most important thing is that our adversaries have seen yesterday that NATO is so strong and so vigilant, and even more vigilant, if possible, since Saturday."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a visit to the North Macedonian army's Ilinden barracks in Skopje, North Macedonia, March 3, 2026. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

Gulf food strategy tested as Iran war snarls shipping routes

By Sarah El Safty and Maha El Dahan

DUBAI, March 5 (Reuters) - Wealthy Gulf states are facing their biggest food security challenge since the 2008 global food crisis, as the Iran conflict threatens ports and disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The war is testing strategies adopted after 2008, when soaring food prices prompted Gulf nations to shift toward import-dependent policies reliant on pouring cash into agricultural investments abroad.

Supplies are displayed on shelves at a supermarket, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 3, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana

Pakistanis fleeing Iran describe strikes shaking ground under their feet

(Refiles story to change dateline to March 5)

By Saleem Ahmed and Asif Shahzad

QUETTA, Pakistan, March 5 (Reuters) - Pakistanis fleeing Iran described explosions and missile strikes across Tehranshaking the ground under their feet and engulfing buildings in fire and smoke in a city emptied of many of its residents.

Theconflict has widened sharply, with a U.S. submarine sinking an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday and NATO air defences destroying an Iranian missile fired towards Turkey.

Sakhi Aun Muhammad, a medical student of Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) speaks with Reuters after returning from Iran along with others, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Quetta, Pakistan, March 4, 2026. REUTERS/Naseer Ahmed

Azerbaijan says two people injured by Iranian drones

By Nailia Bagirova

BAKU, March 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's foreign ministry lodged an official protest with the Iranian embassy on Thursday after a pair of Iranian drones flew across the border into Azerbaijan and injured two people at an airport in the Nakhchivan exclave.

"This attack on the territory of Azerbaijan contradicts the norms and principles of international law and contributes to increased tensions in the region," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Smoke rises following a drone explosion at the airport of Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video released March 5, 2026. Social Media/via REUTERS

Iran has not requested Russian arms supplies, Kremlin says

MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Iran has not approached Moscow with a request for arms supplies, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

Russia has condemned U.S.-Israeli strikes and called for an immediate ceasefire against a country it has drawn closer to in recent years.

Iran last year sealed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Moscow, Russia is building two new nuclear units at Bushehr, the site of Iran's only nuclear power plant, and Iran supplied Russia with shahed drones for use against Ukraine.

Smoke rises following an explosion, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 5, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Russia accuses US and Israel of trying to drag Arab countries into a wider Middle East conflict

MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - Russia on Thursday accused the United States and Israel of trying to drag Arab countries into a wider Middle East conflict by provoking Iran into striking targets across the region and said there was no sign Washington and Tel Aviv would let up.

Arab states in the Gulf, all close U.S. allies - some of which also have close ties with Russia - have come under Iranian drone and missile attacks since the United States and Israel launched their air strikes on Iran on Saturday.

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises after reported Iranian missile attacks, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, as seen from Doha, Qatar, March 1, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo

Turkey says it is closely following actions of Iranian Kurdish PJAK militant group

ANKARA, March 5 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Thursday that it was closely following the actions of the Iranian Kurdish PJAK militant group, which it said threatened Iran's security and regional stability, amid reports of discussions between Iranian Kurdish militias and Washington about the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.

On Tuesday, sources told Reuters that the Iranian Kurdish groups had consulted with the U.S. about whether, and how, to attack Iran's security forces in the western part of the country.

FILE PHOTO: Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, as a part of a NATO Defence Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo