US AND ISRAEL ATTACK IRAN

TotalEnergies said it had shut down 15% of its total oil and gas production due to the war in the Middle East.

"Production has been shut down or is in the process of shutting down in Qatar, Iraq and UAE offshore, representing approximately 15% of our total output," the French oil and gas major said.

It said however that higher oil prices were more than offsetting the loss of Middle East production.

Many ships can still pass through the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with the Iranian navy, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in comments carried by Mehr news agency.

"After the current events, generally we cannot return to conditions before February 28 (start of current Iran war)... as we have understood how important the safety of the Strait of Hormuz is, and so did the others," the spokesperson added.

Iran wants to ensure that a war will not be imposed again on it in the future, deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told AFP, as the conflict raged with the United States and Israel.

"We want to see that war is not going to be imposed again on Iran," said Takht-Ravanchi in an interview in Tehran.

"When the war started last June, after 12 days there was so called cessation of hostilities... but after eight or nine months, they regrouped and they did it again."

Iran wants to ensure that a war will not be imposed again on it in the future, deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told AFP, as the conflict raged with the United States and Israel.

"We want to see that war is not going to be imposed again on Iran," said Takht-Ravanchi in an interview in Tehran.

"When the war started last June, after 12 days there was so called cessation of hostilities... but after eight or nine months, they regrouped and they did it again."

Missiles hit a building in the Beirut neighbourhood of Bashoura, near the centre of the city, on Thursday, after the Israeli military issued a warning of an incoming strike.

An AFPTV live broadcast showed dark smoke rising into the sky above the heart of the Lebanese capital, and an apparent fire started by the first missile impact.

This is the fourth strike in central Beirut since the beginning of the war between Hezbollah and Israel on March 2.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran should not participate in the upcoming World Cup in North America, just days after telling Fifa’s chief they would be welcome despite the Middle East war.

"The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.