Satellite images and videos of an Iranian girls school damaged by large explosions at the start of a U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign targeting the Islamic Republic indicate a targeted attack from the air hit the building. That's according to military experts who spoke to The Associated Press. Iran says the blast killed at least 165 people, most of them children. The location of the strike, its affiliation to a coastal defense unit of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the tight pattern of the damage suggest a targeted airstrike on the site. Several factors point to a U.S. strike, given the proximity of American forces to the school and focus on missile sites and naval forces in the war.

Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region. That's according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter. The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran what to do with the information. Still, it's the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war in the week-old war that the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran.

Russia has provided Iran with information that can help Tehran strike US military, AP sources say.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The broadening Iran war has ricocheted across the region and beyond, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel. Many are reporting casualties, and key embassies, economic engines and passageways have closed down.

Officials with one of the armed Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq say they are not planning an imminent cross-border attack on Iran but would join a ground invasion if the U.S. were to launch one. Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party PAK, made the comments in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. The comments appeared to be aimed at reassuring Iraqi Kurdish officials, who have said they do not want attacks to be launched against Iran from their territory. They fear that they will be further dragged into the war in the Middle East sparked by the U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Iran.

Local officials say Islamic militants attacked a town in northeastern Nigeria, abducting more than 300 people, including women and children. The attack on Friday happened in the town of Ngoshe in Borno state. That's according to Bulama Sawa, an official from the Gwoza area. He told The Associated Press the attack was likely in retaliation for an operation by the military that killed three commanders of the militant Boko Haram group.

Hungary says it has detained seven Ukrainians working for a state bank and seized armored vehicles full of cash, setting off a sharp dispute with Kyiv. On Friday, Hungarian customs officials say they opened a money laundering case. Ukraine’s foreign minister called the detentions “state terrorism” and accused Hungary of taking the bank employees hostage. Ukraine’s Oschadbank says the shipment included millions in dollars and euros, plus gold. The bank says GPS shows the vehicles in central Budapest, but staff locations stay unclear. The clash adds fuel to a wider dispute over blocked Russian oil flows through Ukraine.

Sri Lanka has taken custody of an Iranian ship after it asked for help near its coast. The Sri Lankan navy on Friday brought 204 Iranian sailors from the IRIS Bushehr to a base near Colombo, where officials ran border checks and medical tests. They reported no health issues. Sri Lanka left about 15 sailors aboard to help its naval staff. The crew reported an engine fault. Sri Lanka says it acted under international law and is staying neutral. The move followed Wednesday’s sinking of another Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine. Australia confirmed three Australians were on that submarine.

Islamic militants abduct more than 300 people in an attack in northeastern Nigeria, local officials say.

Officials say Iran’s retaliatory attacks in the Middle East over strikes from Israel and the U.S. have left some of America’s partners in the Gulf frustrated over a lack of notice or adequate defense. The mostly private frustration comes as Pentagon officials conceded this week they’re struggling to stop waves of drones launched by Iran, leaving some U.S. targets in the Gulf region vulnerable. The Gulf countries have emerged as targets for Iran, well within the range of Iran’s short-range missiles and filled with targets, including American troops, businesses, tourist locations and energy facilities. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing a confidential diplomatic matter.

London police say four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community. In a statement Friday, the Metropolitan Police said the suspects, one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals, were taken into custody on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service. The force said the men, aged 22, 40, 52 and 55, were arrested at addresses in and around north London shortly after 1 a.m. They are suspected on spying on locations and individuals. Six other men were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

London police say 4 men arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on Jewish community.

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, long has been considered a contender to the post of the country’s next paramount ruler even before his father's death. He has never been elected nor appointed to a government position. Khamenei has been a secretive figure within the Islamic Republic. He has not been seen publicly since Saturday. That is when an Israeli airstrike targeting the supreme leader’s offices killed his 86-year-old father and sparked the war raging across the Middle East. That attack also killed the younger Khamenei’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the country’s theocracy.

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Azerbaijan on Thursday accused Iran of a drone attack on its territory that injured four civilians, and it vowed to retaliate as the war in the Middle East reached into another country.

Japan confirms a second Japanese national has been detained in Iran and requests an early release.

Iraqi Kurdish officials have told The Associated Press that thousands of battle-hardened Kurds in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran with U.S. backing. The three officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The involvement of the Kurds could pressure Iranian defenses and pull Iraq deeper into war. Here's a look at the Kurds, who are among the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world, with roughly 30 million living as minorities in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

The State Department says the United States and Venezuela have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations in a major shift in a historically adversarial relationship. The move comes after rounds of Trump administration officials have visited the South American nation after a U.S. military operation deposed of former President Nicolás Maduro in January. Since then, the Trump administration has been stepping up pressure on Maduro loyalists who now run the oil rich nation. Relations between the two countries were cut off following another geopolitical debacle in 2019, during the first Trump administration.

US and Venezuela agree to re-establish diplomatic relations.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.