The United States–Israeli war on Iran entered its fifth day on Wednesday amid escalating military operations across the region, with both sides intensifying strikes and retaliation that have already killed hundreds and shaken global energy markets.
Israel and the United States continued large-scale air and missile strikes on Iranian military infrastructure, missile facilities, and leadership targets, while Tehran launched fresh waves of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel and US-linked sites across the Middle East.
The conflict erupted late last week when joint US–Israeli strikes targeted Iranian military and nuclear-related facilities in what Israel described as a campaign to dismantle Tehran’s missile and nuclear capabilities.
The opening attacks reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior commanders, triggering an unprecedented escalation as Iran vowed retaliation against Israel and US forces in the region.
By the fourth day of fighting, the war had expanded beyond Iran and Israel, with Iranian missiles striking US-linked facilities in Gulf states and Hezbollah entering the confrontation by firing rockets from Lebanon toward northern Israel. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon killed dozens and displaced thousands, while explosions and air defence interceptions were reported across several Gulf capitals amid fears of a wider regional war.
Overnight into the fifth day, Israeli and US aircraft launched new strikes on Iranian military sites in Tehran, Isfahan, and other cities, while Iran fired dozens of missiles at US and Israeli targets and warned that it could expand attacks on economic infrastructure across the region.
At the same time, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have intensified, with Iran claiming control of the strategic waterway and threatening shipping routes that carry roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supplies, sending global markets into turmoil.
00:55 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.
But with Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber of Congress and largely backing the president's decision to attack Iran alongside Israel, the resolution fell short by exactly that margin.
23:50 Three people were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on vehicles near Beirut, Lebanon's health ministry said late Wednesday, after a third day of Israeli bombardments.
"Two Israeli air strikes on the airport highway killed three people and wounded six," the ministry said.
22:30 Iran's official IRNA news agency said US-Israeli strikes on the country had killed 1,045 military personnel and civilians since the start of the war.
IRNA cited a statement from Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs.
21:45 Israel's ground forces pushed into several border towns and villages in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, while it kept up large-scale air strikes in the country on the third day of renewed fighting with Hezbollah.
Israel ordered residents of a vast region of southern Lebanon to leave their homes on Wednesday, as Lebanese authorities announced at least 72 people killed since Monday, 437 wounded, and 83,000 displaced from their homes.
France's President Emmanuel Macron said he urged Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to "refrain from a ground offensive" in Lebanon in their first phone call since last summer.
"I called on the Israeli prime minister to preserve Lebanon's territorial integrity and to refrain from a ground offensive," Macron said on X, after Israeli occupation forces pushed into several border towns and villages in southern Lebanon.
21:30 Hezbollah will confront "Israeli-American aggression" and will not surrender, the head of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Naim Qassem said Wednesday night in remarks broadcast on his party's TV channel.
"We are facing aggression... our choice is to confront it until the ultimate sacrifice, and we will not surrender," the Hezbollah leader declared in his first speech since the beginning of the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Tracer rounds light the sky as people fire live rounds into the air during a televised speech by Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon. AFP
21:20 The Israeli military said it detected multiple missile barrages from Iran on Wednesday, as well as launches from Lebanon, triggering air raid sirens across the country.
AFP journalists heard several blasts and multiple rounds of sirens from Jerusalem, while alerts also sounded in Tel Aviv, central Israel, Haifa, and several other northern regions.
21:00 Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, posted a message on X to the leaders of Iran’s neighbouring countries that Iran respects their countries’ sovereignties.
Pezeshkian said that Iran had strived to avoid war, but the "American and Zionist aggression left them no choice but to defend themselves."
Iran’s neighbouring countries have spent the conflict intercepting missiles and drones, with a few getting past their air defences and hitting targets.
The United Arab Emirates said it has been exposed to more than 1,000 attacks by Iran since the conflict began, with a drone causing a small fire near the US embassy in Dubai yesterday. Three people have been killed.
The US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was hit by a drone strike, as well as a port in Oman.
20:45 German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday said it was "illusory" to think that conflicts in the Middle East can be resolved "by military force and unilateral action alone."
"We must emphasize this repeatedly to our American and Israeli friends, and we will continue to do so," Pistorius told the German parliament.
long-range Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) used in combat during "Operation Epic Fury". AFP
20:20 China will send a special envoy to mediate in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, as the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran continued its regional spread.
Beijing is a close partner of Iran and has said it backs Tehran in defending its sovereignty, while urging the United States and Israel to cease their attacks.
China "will send a special envoy on Middle East issues to regional countries for mediation," Wang said during a call with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan, according to a readout by Beijing.
The statement did not name the envoy or give details about which countries they would visit.
Beijing "has always been a force for peace and is willing to continue playing a constructive role," Wang said.
"China strongly urges all parties to... return to dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible, and prevent the further escalation of tensions," he added.
Rocket trails are seen in the sky above the city of Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks. AFP
20:10 New explosions were heard Wednesday evening in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, AFP journalists said.
Loud bangs were mostly heard near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops.
Since the start of the war in the Middle East, drones have repeatedly been intercepted over Erbil, which is also home to a major US consulate complex.
A plume of smoke rises near Erbil International Airport in Erbil. AFP
20:00 Democrats have pushed the US Senate toward a vote on Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s decision to embark on a war against Iran, an extraordinary test in Congress for a conflict that has rapidly spread across the Middle East with no clear US exit strategy.
The legislation, known as a war powers resolution, allows lawmakers to demand congressional approval before any further attacks are carried out.
Democrats have condemned Trump for ordering an air campaign against Iran without first seeking permission from Congress, while offering shifting explanations of its objectives.
The war powers resolution introduced by Democratic senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff, and Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, would force an end to US participation in the current hostilities and require the president to go to Congress before re-entering the war.
“We shouldn’t be at war without a debate and a vote. That was what the framers intended,” Kaine told reporters Tuesday. “We protect our troops when we do it the right way. We put them at risk when we do it the wrong way.”
The resolution will require 50 votes to advance. Democrats control 47 seats, but John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania senator, said he will oppose the resolution, meaning they will need at least five Republicans to join with them for it to succeed.
Two F/A-18 Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). AFP
19:30 Two drones were shot down on Wednesday evening near Baghdad's international airport, hours after a similar attack on the facility, two security sources told AFP.
"Two drones were downed near Baghdad airport, with no casualties or material damage reported," an Iraqi security source said. Another security source in Baghdad confirmed the incident.
The airport includes a military base that hosts a US diplomatic facility and previously housed US-led coalition troops.
19:15 Israel said Wednesday it had struck a major Iranian military compound in Tehran housing command centres of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite Quds Force, and the Basij paramilitary force.
Other Iranian security agencies at the compound included Iran's intelligence directorate, internal security forces, and Iran's cyber warfare unit, the Israeli military said.
A plume of smoke rises following a U.S.-Israeli military strike in Tehran, Iran. AFP
19:00 Egypt’s ambassador to Lebanon attended a meeting in Beirut on Tuesday as Lebanese officials briefed key foreign envoys on Israel’s expanding military campaign in the south and the government’s response.
President Joseph Aoun met ambassadors from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, France, and the United States, the Quintet Committee countries, to discuss the security situation and diplomatic efforts to contain the escalation.
Egypt’s ambassador, Alaa Moussa, took part in the talks.
According to a statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, the envoys were briefed on decisions by Lebanon’s Council of Ministers aimed at affirming the state’s exclusive authority over decisions of war and peace, extending sovereignty across Lebanese territory, and banning armed or security activity outside state control.
Aoun called on the five countries to step up diplomatic pressure to halt Israeli military operations. He also thanked the Quintet members for their support during Lebanon’s political and economic crises.
The meeting came as Israel widened its air strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, targeting areas near the presidential palace outside Beirut, neighbourhoods south of the capital, and positions the Israeli army claims are linked to Hezbollah, killing at least 11 people.
18:00 Danish shipping giant Maersk said Wednesday that it was suspending bookings in the Gulf "until further notice" following a risk assessment of the evolving situation there, as the Middle East conflict spreads.
"We are temporarily suspending cargo booking acceptance in and out of the UAE, Oman (all ports apart from Salalah), Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia (Dammam and Jubail only) until further notice. This is with immediate notice. Exceptions will be made for critical foodstuffs, medicine and other essential goods," Maersk said in a statement.
The company added that the measure does not apply to Jordan and Lebanon. Two of its vessels are currently in the Gulf.
17:30 The Sri Lankan deputy foreign minister, Arun Hemachandra, confirmed that at least 80 people were killed after a US submarine attacked an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, according to a report in The Guardian.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said 180 people were on board the Iris Dena, one of Iran’s newest warships, when it issued a distress call at dawn about 25 miles south of the southern port of Galle.
Sri Lankan authorities have launched a search and rescue mission to find other survivors.
The Iranian ship had taken part in a naval exercise held in the Bay of Bengal from 18 February to 25 February and was heading back to Iran from an east Indian port when it came under attack, the AP news agency reported.
The "Milan" naval exercise hosted by India listed an Iranian ship named "Irins Dena" as having taken part in the drill, according to its website.
17:00 A Malta-flagged container ship, the Safeen Prestige, was struck by an unknown projectile just above the waterline this morning while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report in the NYT.
The incident, confirmed by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which tracks security at sea, and the British maritime risk insurance broker Vanguard Tech, resulted in a fire in the engine room. The crew abandoned the vessel and is reported to be safe.
It is the seventh merchant vessel, and the first ship that is not a tanker, that has been struck in the Persian Gulf region since the recent US and Israeli attacks began.
File Photo: Malta-flagged container ship, the Safeen Prestige. Photo courtesy of Maritime traffic.
15:30 A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth leaves after briefing Senators on US military action in Iran, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 3, 2026.AFP
"An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth told reporters.
Nearly 150 were missing and several dead after the frigate IRIS Dena sank on Wednesday off Sri Lanka, officials said.
Hegseth added that in under a week, the “two most powerful air forces in the world,” the US and Israel, “will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested airspace.”
15:00 Israel’s Channel 14 reported that a joint attack from Lebanon and Iran targeted Israel for the third time in the past two hours.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it launched a new wave of strikes in southern Lebanon, following attacks on Beirut over the previous 24 hours.
The army also issued an “urgent warning” to residents across a large swathe of southern Lebanon, urging them to evacuate north of the Litani River.
14:45 Qatar's state-run energy firm announced force majeure following attacks on two of its main facilities that halted liquefied natural gas production.
"Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared Force Majeure to its affected buyers," the company said in a statement.
14:35 A container ship was struck off the coast of Oman while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime security agency reported.
The ship was two nautical miles north of Oman, "transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz" when it was "hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line, causing a fire in the engine room," according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
It was the fourth reported attack in regional waters within 24 hours, after projectiles struck on or near three other vessels off the Emirati and Omani coasts.
14:20 In its most intense threat yet, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it is prepared for the “destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” The statement came via Iranian state television.
Policemen look at the destroyed buildings following airstrikes in central Tehran on March 4, 2026. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on March 4 they had total control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy transit, as Israel launched a new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital.
“The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure,” it said.
It added that the US military was using “civilian facilities ... as cover.”
14:15 Iran's official IRNA news agency said that US-Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people nationwide since Saturday.
AFP was not in a position to independently verify the toll.
"During the military aggression... 1,045 of our dear military personnel and civilians" were killed, IRNA said, citing a statement from Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs.
Residents stand amid the debris of a building near a damaged car following airstrikes in central Tehran on March 4, 2026. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on March 4
14:00 A missile launched from Iran, heading towards Turkish airspace through Iraq and Syria, has been destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said.
"A ballistic munition launched from Iran, which was detected passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace and heading towards Turkish airspace, was engaged promptly by NATO air and missile defence assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean and rendered inactive," the defence ministry said in a statement.
Turkish soldiers surround a munitions fragment identified as belonging to the air defence munitions that intercepted the threat after it was destroyed in the air, at Dortyol district in Hatay. AFP
13:35 Israel's military is planning at least one or two more weeks of operations in Iran, Israeli media reported after briefings to military reporters.
"The Israeli military is planning for at least one or two more weeks of operations in Iran, during which it aims to hit thousands more Iranian regime targets," the Times of Israel reported.
Israeli news website Ynet reported in a headline story that "within the (Israeli military), it is expected that there will be at least two additional weeks of bombardments in Iran."
13:20 Iran announced that a state funeral for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which had been planned for Wednesday evening in Tehran, was postponed "in anticipation of unprecedented turnout," state television reported.
"The farewell ceremony for the martyred Imam has been postponed. The new date will be announced later," Iranian television reported on Wednesday after Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes over the weekend.
13:10 Iran said it was trying to swiftly appoint a new supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on the weekend.
"We are all trying," said Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts for Leadership, which is responsible for selecting a new leader.
"God willing, the leader will be appointed at the earliest opportunity. We are close, but the situation is a war situation," he told state TV.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that any Iranian leader picked to succeed Khamenei "will be a certain target for assassination."
Khatami said "discretion is necessary" given this threat, adding that the election of a new supreme leader was "imminent."
The Assembly of Experts has 88 members, elected every eight years.
12:55 The United Arab Emirates and Qatar separately said they had intercepted drone and missile barrages.
The UAE's Ministry of Defence said its air defences "successfully engaged today (March 4, 2025) with 3 ballistic missiles and detected 129 drones, of which 121 drones were intercepted while 8 fell on state territory."
Qatar's military said it was targeted "at dawn today, by 10 drones and 2 cruise missiles coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran," with all of the projectiles intercepted by its forces.
In Saudi Arabia, the defence ministry said it intercepted a drone attack targeting its massive Ras Tanura refinery, following an earlier hit on the complex along its Gulf coast this week.
Bystanders watch as a plume of black smoke rises from the port of Fujairah in the Gulf Emirate of Fujairah. AFP
12:30 Chinese shipping giant Cosco, which operates one of the world's biggest oil tanker fleets, announced it was suspending services to and from Gulf countries from Wednesday, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait.
File photo: Container ship 'Xin Lian Yun Gang' of China COSCO Shipping Corporation is moored at the Tollerort Container Terminal owned by HHLA, in the harbour of Hamburg, northern Germany, on October 26, 2022. AFP
The state-owned, Shanghai-based firm is among several major shipping groups that have halted vessel operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global energy transit.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed total control of the strait on Wednesday as Israel launched a new wave of strikes on the Iranian capital.
Cosco Shipping Lines said it would "suspend all new bookings" for routes through the Strait of Hormuz "with immediate effect until further notice."
The company blamed the disruption on "the escalating conflicts in the Middle East region and the resultant restrictions on maritime traffic" in the strait.
12:15 Iran has no intention of negotiating with the United States and can continue the Middle East war for as long as needed, Mohammad Mokhber, a senior aide to the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told state TV.
He told the broadcaster that Iran had "no trust in the Americans, and we have no basis for any negotiations with them," adding, "We can continue the war as long as we want."
12:00 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hit back at US President Donald Trump's criticisms of Madrid's refusal to let US planes use its bases to attack Iran.
"The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war," he said in a televised address, a day after Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain.
"We will not be complicit in something harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation," he added.
"We oppose this disaster," Sanchez said, arguing that his stance is shared by "many other governments" and "millions of citizens across Europe, North America and the Middle East who do not want more war or uncertainty tomorrow."
Trump called Spain a "terrible" ally on Tuesday as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
In response, the European Commission said it was "ready" to defend EU interests after President Donald Trump threatened to sever trade with Spain for refusing to allow the US use of its bases to attack Iran.
"We stand in full solidarity with all member states and all their citizens and, through our common trade policy, stand ready to act if necessary to safeguard EU interests," said Commission spokesman Olof Gill in a statement issued in response to Trump's threats.
11:50 The Pentagon identified four of six US troops killed in the Iran war after they were struck in a drone attack in Kuwait.
The Department of Defence said in a statement that the four service members were killed during an "unmanned aircraft system attack" in Kuwait's Shuaiba port on Sunday.
11:30 The Israeli military said that Iran still has significant capacity to launch missiles at Israel, even as it continues to strike missile launchers in the Islamic Republic.
"We have destroyed dozens of missile launchers that posed significant threats to the Israeli front," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised briefing. "We will continue to strike the missile launchers and reduce the firing, but the regime still has significant capacity, and I would like to remind you that our defence is not impenetrable."
In a separate statement, the military said it had struck overnight a facility "for the storage, production, and launch of ballistic missiles—including Ghadr missiles—in Isfahan in western Iran."
11:10 Israel expanded its air strikes in Lebanon, targeting the area around the presidential palace near Beirut and other areas south of the capital as well as strongholds of the Hezbollah group, killing at least 11 people.
Firefighters extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 4, 2026.AFP
An air strike hit a hotel in Hazmieh, the first reported Israeli attack on the predominantly Christian area in Beirut's suburbs near the presidential palace and several embassies.
The southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, were targeted again, following an evacuation order from Israel's military.
In Aramoun and Saadiyat south of Beirut, the health ministry said Israeli strikes killed six people and wounded eight others. It cautioned that this was a "preliminary toll."
Strikes also targeted a four-storey building in the city of Baalbek, in Lebanon's east, far from the border, where Hezbollah also has a strong presence.
Five people were killed, 15 were wounded, and three remain missing, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.
11:00 Sri Lanka rescued 32 "critically wounded" sailors aboard the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which sank Wednesday just outside the island's territorial waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.
An ambulance enters Sri Lanka's southern naval headquarters in Galle on March 4, 2026, to pick up Iranian sailors rescued from the Iranian frigate Iris Dena that was sunk off the island earlier in the day. AFP
No information was immediately available on the cause of the explosion that sank the vessel, but Herath told parliament that the injured sailors were taken to a hospital in the island's south.
The 180-crew frigate had issued a distress call at dawn.
10:50 Kuwait's health ministry said an 11-year-old girl was killed after being hit by falling shrapnel following waves of Iranian attacks across the Gulf.
The war continued to rattle the Gulf elsewhere with stocks dropping sharply in the United Arab Emirates on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi exchanges after a two-day trading suspension.
In Saudi Arabia, the defence ministry said two cruise missiles were intercepted over an area south of the capital Riyadh, which is also home to the sprawling Prince Sultan air base, and several drones were destroyed after entering its airspace.
Qatar authorities also announced it had dismantled two spy cells linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, its official press agency reported.
"Close surveillance made it possible to arrest 10 suspects: seven were tasked with spying and gathering information about vital and military infrastructure in the country, and three were meant to carry out sabotage operations," the agency said.
10:40 Iran will hold a three-day state funeral for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, the official news agency IRNA said.
An Iranian woman wipes away a tear as other students studying in Russia gather at a memorial set up for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during US and Israeli strikes on Iran, outside Iran's embassy in Moscow, Monday, March 2, 2026. AP
"Starting at 10:00 pm (1830 GMT), the faithful will be able to pay a final homage to the body of the martyred guide of the nation, by visiting the Imam Khomenei grand mosque" in Tehran, IRNA said, citing a statement from the Islamic Development Coordination Council.
Khamenei was 86 years old when he was killed, and will be buried in his home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to assassinate any Iranian leader picked to succeed the Supreme Leader.
"Any leader selected by the Iranian terror regime to continue leading the plan for Israel's destruction, threatening the United States, the free world and countries in the region, and suppressing the Iranian people, will be a certain target for assassination, no matter his name or where he hides," Katz said in a post on X.
10:30 Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they control the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for oil and gas, and any vessels seeking to pass through the waterway risk damage from missiles or stray drones.
"Currently, the Strait of Hormuz is under the complete control of the Islamic Republic's Navy," said Guards Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh in a statement issued on Fars news agency.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the US Navy was ready to escort oil tankers through the crucial Gulf shipping route.
10:20 The Israeli military said it had begun a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran on Wednesday, as an AFP journalist reported an explosion in the northeast of the Iranian capital.
"The Israeli Air Force has begun a broad-scale strike targeting Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran, details to follow," a brief army statement said.
10:00 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that US-Israeli strikes on Iran had been "inconsistent with international law," calling for a rapid de-escalation of the conflict.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at Sydney Airport on March 3, 2026.
Speaking at a gathering of the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney, Carney said Canada welcomed steps to change Iran's form of government, which he said represented the "principal source of instability and terror" in the Middle East.
But, he said, the action "would appear, prima facie, not to be consistent or to be inconsistent with international law."
"It's a judgment for others to make," he added.
"I'm not a lawyer, let alone an international legal expert."
Carney's comment came on the second day of an official visit to Australia, a trip aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a fellow "middle power" partner.
The trip is part of a multi-country tour of the Asia-Pacific aimed at reducing reliance on the United States, a hedge against what Carney has described as a fading US-led global order.
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