Iran Attack by us: 1) New Iranian attacks target Israel and US bases as more Israeli strikes hit Lebanon; 2)Iran’s supreme leader killed in major attack by U.S. and Israel; 3)US, Israel pound Iran as Trump signals willingness to talk to new leadership after Khamenei’s death; 4)War in the Mideast widens as Trump says strikes on Iran could last several weEks; 5)War engulfs the Middle East as markets drop and oil prices spike US Embassy 6) Saudi Arabia hit with Iranian drones as American and Israeli attacks on Iran escalate; 7)Israel targets Iran’s security forces and leadership as Iran presse; 8)US will take ‘all the time we need’ to win Iran war, Hegseth says; 9)Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies from Iranian warship sunk off its coast by a US submarine
1) New Iranian attacks target Israel and US bases as more Israeli strikes hit Lebanon: [Note: This is a series of short updates from different regions & perspectives]
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Canadian Press, March 5, 2026
Iran launched more missiles at Israel and U.S. bases as the war in the Middle East enters a sixth day. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks early Thursday and said it was intercepting the missiles.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it began new strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. At least eight people were killed there late Wednesday into Thursday according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry and the state news agency.
Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East’s military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing. Early Thursday, oil prices resumed their ascent.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
Here is the latest:
Sri Lanka evacuates over 200 sailors from another Iranian warship near its coast
Authorities in Sri Lanka were informed that one of the ship’s engines suffered a failure, the country’s president said Thursday.
The decision to take the crew ashore and the IRIS Bushehr to a Sri Lankan port comes a day after a U.S. submarine sank another Iranian warship off the island’s coast, said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He said his government held discussions with Iranian officials and the captain of the ship.
Sri Lankan officials say 87 bodies were recovered and 32 people rescued from the roughly 180 people believed to have been aboard to IRIS Dena sunk Wednesday.
Macron urges halt to Israel-Hezbollah fighting
French President Emmanuel Macron is urging the Lebanese militant group to stop attacking Israel and warned Israel against a ground operation in Lebanon.
“Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground intervention,” Macron wrote on X.
He said he spoke with Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese leaders in what is apparently the first diplomatic initiative to try to end the conflict in the tiny country.
Operations at WHO’s crucial Dubai hub are ‘temporarily on hold’
The World Health Organization says the pause is due to insecurity, airspace closures and restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz. It’s looking into possible land-based alternatives.
Its eastern Mediterranean chief, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, said the disruption is preventing access to $18 million worth of humanitarian health supplies, while $8 million in shipments cannot reach the hub.
More than 50 emergency supply requests from 25 countries are affected, while $6 million in medicines for Gaza and $1.6 million in polio laboratory supplies are also held up, she said.
WHO has not received any formal requests from Iranian authorities for specific supplies because Iran’s system is “withstanding the current situation,” she said.
The hub last year fulfilled over 500 emergency orders for 75 countries worldwide.
Israel’s UN envoy on calls to end Iran war: ‘Not yet’
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday it is too soon for diplomacy, as calls grow to end the widening war with Iran.
Danny Danon told reporters Israel must first eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles, regional proxies and naval threats.
“I think diplomacy will come into action — not yet, not yet,” Danon said. “We have to finish the job.”
He said Israel must continue “to hammer, to dismantle” Iran’s capabilities before turning to diplomacy, adding that he expects the war to last days or weeks, not months.
Danon also said the 2015 Iran nuclear deal failed and that new “effective mechanisms” are needed to prevent Iran from becoming a threat again.
Meet Pedro Sánchez, Europe’s most vocal critic of Trump’s attacks on Iran
Spain’s prime minister has drawn the U.S. president’s ire for refusing to let America use Spanish bases to support strikes on Iran.
On Tuesday, Trump threatened to cut off all trade with Spain. On Wednesday, Spain’s foreign minister rejected a White House claim that Spain will cooperate.
Sánchez has condemned Iran’s repression but calls the war unjustified and says Spain will not act out of fear.
The fight deepens a broader rivalry. The 54-year-old Sánchez has criticized Israel’s war in Gaza and resisted higher NATO spending while backing legal migration.
US Embassy in Pakistan issues a security alert ahead of possible protests
The alert did not specify the cause of Friday’s anticipated demonstrations, but comes days after Pakistani demonstrators supportive of the Iranian government attempted to storm a U.S. consulate, leading to violent clashes in Karachi and elsewhere that left 22 people dead.
The embassy’s warning Thursday restricts the movement of its personnel nationwide.
Trump wants to be involved in picking the next Iranian leader
Trump in an interview with the news outlet Axios said he wants to be involved in selecting Iran’s next leader and called Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son an “unacceptable” potential pick.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me,” Trump said of Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war. Trump added, “We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”
The president also derided him as “a lightweight.’
“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” said Trump, referring to the acting president in the South American country, Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after Trump had the U.S. military capture Nicolás Maduro to face U.S. drug conspiracy charges.
Bahrain says an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery
Bahrain said the fire Thursday night was extinguished without injuries and the refinery was still working.
But it marked yet another Iranian strike targeting the region’s oil industry, the lifeblood of the Gulf Arab states.
Air raid sirens sounded across Bahrain earlier Thursday, with residents urged to seek shelter, and mobile phones had alerted people in Dubai of possible missile fire from Iran. Authorities in the tiny Gulf nation said a facility in the oil refining and factory town of Maameer had suffered minor damage, with no casualties.
Bahrain’s defense ministry said its forces intercepted 75 Iranian ballistic missiles, destroying 65 while 10 fell inside its territory. It also reported intercepting 124 drones, downing 88 while 36 landed within the country.
Around 20,000 Americans have left the Middle East, State Department says
And nearly all made their own way out, without government assistance, the State Department said.
The department said the first charter flight it arranged for private citizens who want to leave departed Wednesday, with several more expected Thursday. Officials did not say where they would depart, but the department asked Americans in Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fill out an online form for information.
Officials said they have responded to requests for information from more than 10,000 Americans in the region, but did not say how many want to leave. Americans seeking help were urged to contact an emergency task force at +1-202-501-4444.
Iranians trickle across the border with Turkey
A steady stream of Iranians were crossing the border into Turkey on Thursday after the frontier was closed for much of the day before. Most already had links to Turkey.
Elyar Akbari, a 22-year-old from Tabriz, Iran, is a student in Turkey’s western city of Izmir. He cut short a visit home, leaving his family behind.
“I don’t believe that Iranians will leave their country,” he said. “Only students or people who already work in Turkey will come for now.”
Kadir Ozel, 40, a Turkish citizen living in Tabriz, crossed to drop off his children, who will stay with their grandmother and uncle in Ankara.
“They were very scared. But I have to go back for work,” he said.
A woman who asked to be identified only by her first name, Fariba, out of security concerns, crossed to wait out the war with her son in Izmir. But her neighbors have no money, “so they stay home, and they are scared,” she said.
— By Serra Yedikardes
Nearly 25,000 flights canceled since the start of the war
That’s more than half of the roughly 44,000 flights scheduled to fly in and out of the Middle East between Saturday and Thursday, according to the latest numbers from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Flight-tracking service FlightAware reported about 2,050 flight cancellations worldwide as of around 11 a.m. ET Thursday, following more than 2,600 cancellations on Wednesday. Dubai International Airport, a major hub, continued to see the largest number of disruptions.
Settler attacks rise in West Bank as Israel tightens restrictions during war with Iran
Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has increased since Iran war erupted, a leading Israeli rights group said Thursday.
Yesh Din said it documented 50 instances of settler violence in 37 Palestinian communities throughout the West Bank from Saturday to Tuesday, including shootings, assaults and property damage. “Under the cover of the war, settler violence is escalating with the aim of forcing Palestinians out and taking over their land,” its statement said.
That includes Israeli settlers who shot and killed two Palestinian brothers in the West Bank village of Qaryout, injuring others. An ambulance couldn’t reach them because Israel has closed gates and checkpoints, citing security.
Israel’s Smotrich threatens to make Beirut’s southern suburbs look like Gaza
Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich warned Thursday Beirut’s southern suburbs where Hezbollah has a strong presence will look like Khan Younis, a city in Gaza that Israel has decimated.
The Israeli military’s evacuation notice Thursday called for all residents of the area to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” apparently signaling plans for heavy bombardment.
“You wanted to bring hell on us, we are bringing hell on you,” Smotrich, a hawkish conservative force in Netanyahu’s government who had opposed several ceasefires in Gaza, said as he toured towns on Israel’s border with Lebanon. “Dahiyeh will look like Khan Younis, and our citizens of the north will live in peace and quiet.”
Iran awaits announcement of a new leader
Some disagreements are emerging from the confidential discussions over who will be Iran’s next supreme leader.
Rumors have long swirled around the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei succeeding his father, since he’s close with the all-powerful Revolutionary Guards.
A member of parliament and firebrand cleric, Hamid Rasaee, wrote Thursday that the killed supreme leader’s son was “an outstanding seminarian” as well as a trusted adviser to his father and an “overseer of many of the country’s affairs.” He also called Khamenei an ayatollah, a rank he may not possess.
A reformist-aligned cleric, Rahmatollah Bigdeli, condemned what he called Rasaee’s “ignorance and bias.”
“The constitution does not specify a time limit for the validity of the interim leadership council, and questioning the validity of this council is tantamount to questioning the legitimacy of the decision-making bodies of the regime,” he replied on X.
A former minister also aligned with Iran’s reformists, Abbas Akhoundi, warned against “a diversionary and toxic debate” over the succession.
“The stench of the power struggle in wartime is nauseating,” Akhoundi wrote on X.
Death toll in Lebanon surpasses 100
At least 102 people in Lebanon have been killed since the onset of the latest conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement. At least 638 others were wounded, the ministry said Thursday.
The latest conflict between the two sides was sparked by Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel early Sunday. Israel has been striking large swaths of the country in response.
Airlines restore some limited flights
As some airspace reopened, Emirates Airlines said Thursday that it was restoring a limited schedule of flights in and out of Dubai. The carrier said it would continue to monitor developments and urged customers not to go to the airport unless their flights were confirmed.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport continued a phased reopening. Tel Aviv-based El Al said that it started “proactively assigning” customers who are currently abroad to recovery flights back to Israel, but noted that its outbound flights were still not operating as of Thursday.
Tumult in Tehran as bombing continues
As the war entered its sixth day Thursday, an Iranian state-owned newspaper called Iran reported bombings at a police station and even a gym in Tehran, as residents shuttled to grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations to buy supplies and fill their tanks.
Tehran’s governor, Mohammad-Sadegh Motamedian, urged citizens to avoid stockpiling necessities to keep markets calm. Authorities said they were equipping dozens of subway stations to serve as bomb shelters, as they did during the 12-day war last June.
Ongoing, widespread bombing forced authorities Thursday to cancel a planned tour for journalists of a damaged area of the capital.
Funerals for dead Iranian security officers were held around the country, including in Kerman, Isfahan and Tabriz. Hard-liners also gathered in town squares and intersections to mourn and express support for the theocracy while religious songs blared from their cars.
Iran says 4 health workers killed and 11 hospitals damaged by US-Israeli strikes
Iran’s Health Ministry Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said Thursday in a post on X that the strikes have damaged critical parts of the country’s health system, and killed a resident orthopedic, a radiology technician, a general practitioner and an emergency medical technician.
He said the damage has also affected emergency services and ambulances.
The economy in northern Israel sputters after years of evacuations during Gaza war
Businesses have closed, wineries have shuttered and tourists who once flocked to the Galilee’s rolling hills have yet to return. Repeated evacuations drove down spending and left fatigue in Israeli towns like Kiryat Shmona. Israel’s military said two soldiers were wounded Wednesday by fire from Hezbollah. In Lebanon, at least 77 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced, both within the country and into Syria.
Memories of previous evacuations remain fresh in towns near the Lebanese border as Israeli tanks moved north Thursday.
“We’ve already been through two complicated years,” said Oscar Chen of Kiryat Shmona. “There are children here, and there are elderly people who don’t have the time to run, nor the strength and ability if the shelter is far.”
Chaos sown by Iran’s attacks across the Persian Gulf is key to its strategy
For years, Iran’s theocratic government warned it would blanket the Middle East with missile and drone fire if it felt its existence was threatened.
Now, it’s doing just that. Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday, Iran has unleashed thousands of missiles and drones at Israel, American military bases and embassies, and energy facilities across the Gulf.
Its basic strategy is to instill fear about the dangers of a widening war in hopes that allies of the U.S. and Israel will apply enough pressure to halt their campaign. There is a risk, though, that the barrage-thy-neighbors strategy could backfire.
There’s also a grim math equation at play. Iran has a finite number of missiles and drones, just as the Gulf Arab states, the U.S. and Israel all have a limited number of interceptor missiles capable of downing the incoming fire.
Beirut’s streets snarl as residents flee
The exodus comes after the Israeli military warned residents of the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” signaling plans for heavy bombardment.
Hadi Kaakour, a fleeing resident, said he wasn’t sure leaving would make him safer.
“We don’t put anything past them,” he said, referring to Israel. “They will strike us no matter where we go.”
Some residents voiced anger that Lebanon has been pulled into the wider war.
“We got sucked into a mess that we have nothing to do with,” said Yousef Nabulsi, who was also fleeing. “People have been displaced and are now staying on the streets.”
Nearly 84,000 people had already been displaced since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah resumed Monday.
Taiwanese citizens return and recount the tension of the war
A total of 252 Taiwanese citizens arrived Thursday in Taipei from Dubai, days after being stuck in cities under attack by Iran.
Tim Liu, a 34-year-old financial analyst, was traveling with his girlfriend in Dubai for a week.
“It was very tense when the attack happened. We heard explosions. I kept checking the flight status and immediately changed my ticket back to Taiwan. Luckily, everything went smoothly,” he said.
Qatar says it was attacked by a salvo of Iranian missiles and drones
The Gulf nation’s defense ministry said 14 ballistic missiles and four drones were fired at the county.
It said air defenses intercepted all the drones and 13 of the missiles, while the 14th fell in the sea off Qatar.
Iranian state television announced Thursday night that the salvo of missiles had been launched.
Oil prices start climbing again after stabilizing a day earlier
“Yesterday’s bounce in risk assets already looks less like a turning point and more like a classic relief rally in a market that briefly inhaled before realizing the room was still on fire,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
Uncertainty about the war in the Middle East has rattled financial markets, with most taking their cues from the price of oil.
U.S. benchmark crude jumped by $2.59 per barrel, or 3.5%, to $77.25, the highest in more than a year. Brent, the international standard, gained 2.8% to $82.87 per barrel. Prices at U.S. pumps are up nearly 10%.
2)Iran’s supreme leader killed in major attack by U.S. and Israel
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman, Josh Boak and Eric Tucker, March 1, 2026
Firemen and rescue workers inspect the site of an explosion at the Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack by Israel and the United States, Iranian state media confirmed early Sunday, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.
President Donald Trump announced the death hours earlier, saying it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country.
State media reported that the 86-year-old was killed in an airstrike targeting his compound in downtown Tehran. Satellite photos from Airbus showed that the site was heavily bombed.
His death at his office “showed that he consistently stood among the people and at the forefront of his responsibilities, confronting what officials call global arrogance,” state TV said.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump wrote in a social media post. He warned of “heavy and pinpoint bombing” that he said would continue throughout the week and even beyond, part of a lethal assault the U.S. has justified as necessary to disable the country’s nuclear capabilities.
Iran, which responded to the strikes with its own counterassault, warned of retribution, with the Cabinet saying that this “great crime will never go unanswered.” The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever targeting Israeli and American bases.
The attack opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran, carried the potential for retaliatory violence and a wider war, and represented a startling flex of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”
The killing of Khamenei in the second Trump administration assault on Iran in eight months appeared certain to create a leadership vacuum given the absence of a known successor and because the 86-year-old supreme leader had final say on all major policies during his decades in power. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy.
Iran quickly formed a council to govern the country until a new supreme leader is chosen.
State media also reported the deaths of the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a top security adviser to Khamenei in airstrikes. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour took over as the Guard’s top commander after Israel killed its past commander in the 12-day war last June. The adviser, Ali Shamkhani, had long been a figurehead within Iran’s security establishment, IRNA said.
As reports trickled out about Khamenei’s death, eyewitnesses in Tehran told The Associated Press that some residents were rejoicing, cheering from rooftops, blowing whistles and letting out ululations.
Mourners raised a black mourning flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and a major pilgrimage site for Shiite Muslims. The Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.
Citing unidentified sources, the semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the Revolutionary Guard, reported that several relatives of Khamenei were also killed, including a daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law and grandchild.
Strikes were planned for months
The joint U.S.-Israel operation, which officials say was planned for months, took place Saturday during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan and at the start of the Iranian workweek. It followed stilted negotiations and warnings from Trump, who last year trumpeted his administration’s success in incapacitating the country’s nuclear program but nonetheless cast the latest round as necessary to head off its potential resurgence.
About 12 hours after the attacks began, the U.S. military reported no U.S. casualties and minimal damage at U.S. bases despite “hundreds of Iranian missile and drone attacks.” It said targets in Iran included Revolutionary Guard command facilities, air defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.
Israel, for its part, said it had killed the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the country’s defense minister, as well as the secretary of the Iranian Security Council, a close adviser to Khamenei.
Khamenei “was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do,” Trump said. “This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”
An Iranian diplomat told the United Nations Security Council that hundreds of civilians were killed and wounded in the strikes. Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and at U.S. military bases in the region, and exchanges of fire continued into the night.
Some of the first strikes on Iran appeared to hit near the offices of Khamenei, the second leader of the Islamic Republic who succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israeli officials confirmed the death, followed by Trump.
Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the administration had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.
Tensions soared as US built up military forces
Tensions have soared in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests.
Though Trump had pronounced the Iranian nuclear program obliterated in strikes last year, the country was rebuilding infrastructure that it had lost, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss Trump’s decision-making process. The official said intelligence showed that Iran had developed the capability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons.
Iran responded to the latest strikes by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The Israeli military said Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel, with many intercepted. The Magen David Adom rescue service said Saturday night that a woman in the Tel Aviv area died after being wounded in an Iranian missile attack.
At least three explosions were heard Saturday evening near the Intelligence Ministry building in northern Tehran, witnesses said, adding that air defense systems had begun operating there. Israel’s military said it had begun new strikes against missile launchers and aerial defense systems in central Iran.
In southern Iran, at least 115 people were reported killed when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the local governor told Iranian state TV. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said he was “aware of reports” that a girls’ school was struck and that officials were looking into them.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA said at least 15 people were killed in the southwest, quoting the governor of the Lamerd region, Ali Alizadeh, as saying a sports hall, two residential areas and a hall near a school were hit.
Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the UAE capital killed one person, state media said.
Attack was coordinated between Israel and US
Israel said the operation had been planned for months with the United States. Air Force pilots struck “hundreds of targets across Iran,” Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a statement.
Targets in the Israeli campaign included Iran’s military, symbols of government and intelligence targets, according to an official briefed on the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic information on the attack.
Trump acknowledged Saturday that there could be American casualties, saying “that often happens in war.” He said he was aiming to “annihilate” the Iranian navy and destroy regional proxies supported by Tehran. He called on the paramilitary Iranian Revolutionary Guard to lay down arms, saying members would be given immunity or face “certain death” if they did not.
Iran had said it hoped to avert a war, but it maintained its right to enrich uranium.
Iran has said it has not enriched since June, but it has blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by AP have shown new activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material.
Trump had threatened military action but held off following Iran’s recent crackdown on protests spurred by economic grievances that evolved into a nationwide push against the ruling clerics.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency says it confirmed more than 7,000 deaths in the crackdown and is investigating thousands more. The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 killed.
Effects could extend to markets and other countries
The strikes could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. A third of worldwide oil exports transported by sea passed through the strait in 2025.
Saudi Arabia said Iran targeted its capital and eastern region in an attack that was repelled. Bahrain said a missile attack targeted the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in the island kingdom, and three buildings were damaged in the capital, Manama, and Muharraq city by drone strikes and debris from an intercepted missile.
Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said a drone targeted the main international airport, injuring several employees. Kuwait’s state-run news agency said three troops were injured by shrapnel from strikes that hit Ali Al-Salem air base. Explosions could also be heard in Qatar. Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles.
___ Lidman reported from in Tel Aviv. Boak reported from West Palm Beach, Florida. Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Aamer Madhani and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Farnoush Amiri in New York and AP journalists around the world contributed to this report.
3)US, Israel pound Iran as Trump signals willingness to talk to new leadership after Khamenei’s death
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman, Josh Boak And Eric Tucker, March 1, 2026
US, Israel pound Iran as Trump signals willingness to talk to new leadership after Khamenei’s death
Smoke rises up after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
The U.S. and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on the country’s ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Blasts rattled windows across the country and sent plumes of smoke high into the sky above the capital city of Tehran. More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.
Iran vowed revenge, firing missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in a counteroffensive that the U.S. military said resulted in the deaths of three service members — the first known American casualties from the conflict. Israel’s rescue services said nine people were killed and 28 wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11. Eleven people were still missing after the strike, police said.
But the attacks on Iran showed no signs of relenting as the U.S. and Israel took aim at key military, political and intelligence targets in what appeared to be a widening war that carried the potential for a prolonged conflict that could envelop the Middle East and destabilize it. The strikes, the second time in eight months that the U.S. and Israel had combined against Iran, represented a startling show of military might for an American president who swept into office on an “America First” platform and vowed to keep out of “forever wars.”
Speaking in a video message, Trump said the U.S. would “avenge” the deaths of the service members and that “there will likely be more” killed before the conflict ends.
The president made the comments in a roughly six-minute video he posted on social media Sunday afternoon. He called the three service members “true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.”
He added: “Sadly, there will likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more.”
Israel, which had pledged “nonstop” strikes, said it was increasing its attacks, with 100 fighter jets simultaneously striking targets in Tehran, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters at a briefing. The targets included buildings belonging to Iran’s air force, its missile command and its internal security force, which violently quashed anti-government protests in January.
The U.S. military, meanwhile, said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. President Donald Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy’s headquarters had been “largely destroyed.”
In an indication that the conflict could draw in other nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were ready to work with the U.S. to help stop Iran’s attacks. Leaders of the countries said in a joint statement that they were “appalled” by Iran’s “reckless” strikes on their allies.
In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. But the killing of Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.
Trump, who a day earlier had encouraged Iranians to “take over” their government, signaled Sunday that he was open to dialogue with Iran’s new leadership.
“They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,” he told The Atlantic.
Streets of Tehran are largely deserted
In Tehran, there was little sign that Iranians had heeded Trump’s call for an uprising against the government.
The streets were largely deserted as people sheltered during heavy airstrikes, witnesses told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution. The paramilitary Basij, which has played a central role in crushing protests, has set up checkpoints across the city, they said.
Two powerful explosions were heard in Tehran’s Niavaran neighbourhood late Sunday.
An eyewitness in the city told AP that the windows of their apartment shook violently, and residents came out onto the streets fearing it was too dangerous to stay inside. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Video footage from Tehran showed plumes of smoke filling the skyline, and the official IRNA news agency reported that parts of the building of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) were struck Sunday.
In southern Iran, at least 165 people were killed Saturday when a girls’ school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, IRNA reported. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. The U.S. military said it was looking into the reports.
The U.S. military did not provide details about the three service members who were killed or about five others who were seriously wounded. It said several others suffered minor injuries and concussions.
Iran says new leadership is in place
As supreme leader, Khamenei had final say on all major policies since 1989. He led Iran’s clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy.
The CIA had been tracking the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, for months, according to a person familiar with the operation who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information, the person said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded message that a new leadership council had begun its work. The country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said a new supreme leader would be chosen in “one or two days.”
A senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said Trump was eventually willing to talk but that the operation would continue unabated for now.
Iran vows revenge for Khamenei killing
As word spread of Khamenei’s death, some in Tehran could be seen cheering from rooftops, witnesses said. Others mourned as a black flag was raised over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.
An Iranian medical professional in northern Iran said he and colleagues spent the early hours of Sunday celebrating Khamenei’s death indoors because armed security forces are still heavily deployed in his city.
There were forces stopping and interrogating people celebrating in their cars, but there was no gunfire, said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
“It was one of the best nights, if not the best night of our lives,” the doctor said in a voice message from the city of Rasht. In fact, “it was actually my first time ever smoking a cigarette. It was a very, very nice time. We didn’t sleep at all. And we don’t even feel tired.”
Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, blamed the U.S. and Israel for starting the war. He said he had spoken to his counterparts in the Gulf countries and urged them to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end it.
“You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address. “We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”
Trump warned against any retaliation.
“THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT,” he said in a social media post. “IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
Strikes were planned for months and feared for weeks
Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear program while the country struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests.
An Israeli military official described Saturday’s mission as the result of months of “extremely high coordination” with the U.S. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a covert operation, said a variety of factors created a “golden opportunity” to take out much of Iran’s leadership. Those factors included weeks of training and monitoring the movements of senior figures, along with “real time intelligence” that the targets were gathered together.
The results, the official said, were near-simultaneous strikes, within 60 seconds of one another, in three locations 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) from Israel that killed Khamenei and some 40 senior figures, including the head of the Revolutionary Guard and the country’s defense minister.
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Boak from West Palm Beach, Florida; and Tucker from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Amir Radjy in Cairo, Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin, David Klepper and Matthew Lee in Washington, and AP journalists around the world, contributed to this report.
4) War in the Mideast widens as Trump says strikes on Iran could last several weeks
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Jon Gambrell, Melanie Lidman And Samy Magdy, March 2, 2026
The war in the Middle East spiraled further Monday as Israel and the United States pounded Iran in a campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump said would likely take several weeks. Tehran and its allies hit back against Israel, Gulf states and targets critical to the world’s energy production.
The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe; oil prices shot up; and U.S. allies pledged to help stop Iranian missiles and drones.
With no sign of the conflict abating anytime soon, Trump said operations are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
He said U.S. forces were determined to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its naval capacity, stop the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that Iran cannot continue to support allied groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which fired missiles at Israel, drawing retaliatory airstrikes.
“This was our last, best chance to strike — what we’re doing right now — and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime,” Trump said.
The chaos of the conflict became apparent when the U.S. military said Kuwait had “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles while Iran was attacking with aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely and are in stable condition.
As several airstrikes hit Iran’s capital of Tehran, the top security official Ali Larijani vowed on X: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”
The death toll grew on all sides. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said that the U.S.-Israeli operation has killed at least 555 people. In Israel, where several locations were hit by Iranian missiles, 11 people were killed. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group also targeted Israel, which responded with strikes on Lebanon, killing more than two dozen people. Meanwhile, four American troops have been killed, and three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran expands attacks to regional oil infrastructure
With world markets already rattled by the fighting, QatarEnergy said it would stop its production of liquefied natural gas, taking one of the world’s top suppliers off the market. It offered no timeline for restoring its production. European natural gas prices surged by 40% in response.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack from drones, with defenses downing the incoming aircraft, a military spokesman told the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The refinery has a capacity of over half a million barrels of crude oil a day.
Several ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil trade passes and where Iran has threatened attacks.
The Gulf state of Qatar said its air force had shot down two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers.
“The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran’s sights,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. “An extended period of uncertainty lies ahead.”
The region is also a hub for air travel, and passengers have been stranded around the world as carriers based in the Gulf grounded flights. Long-haul carriers Etihad and Emirates restarted limited flights Monday.
Iran says nuclear site was targeted
Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters that airstrikes targeted the Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday.
“Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie,” he said.
Israel and the U.S. have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which the U.S. bombed in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. Israel has said that it is targeting the “leadership and nuclear infrastructure.”
Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to do so while saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful.
Hezbollah fires on Israel, prompting massive response
Hezbollah said it fired missiles on Israel early Monday in response to Khamenei’s killing and “repeated Israeli aggressions.” It was the first time in more than a year that the militant group has claimed an attack.
There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Israel retaliated with strikes on Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and wounding 149 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Associated Press journalists in Beirut were jolted awake by loud explosions that shook buildings and shattered windows.
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army chief of staff, said the military would not end its offensive against Hezbollah “before the threat from Lebanon is eliminated.”
An Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital heavily damaged a building, as the military said it targeted a senior Hezbollah official.
In Iraq, the Iran-allied militia Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed a drone attack Monday targeting U.S. troops at the airport in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. It claimed another drone attack on Sunday against a U.S. air base in Iraq’s north.
No end in sight to the US-Israeli campaign
The U.S. military said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Trump said on social media on Sunday that nine Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy’s headquarters was “largely destroyed.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the U.S. is not engaged in a nation-building effort in Iran, and there is a clear mission. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” Hegseth said.
It’s not completely clear what the U.S. objectives are. In announcing the initial strikes, Trump referred to the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. But he also listed various grievances dating back to Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and urged Iranians to “take over” their government.
There have been no signs yet of any such uprising.
Trump, however, has also signaled he would be open to dialogue with Iran’s new leadership — which could be chosen soon.
In an indication that the conflict could draw in other nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were ready to work with the U.S. to help stop Iran’s attacks.
Tehran’s streets are deserted
Tehran’s streets have been largely deserted with people sheltering during airstrikes. The paramilitary Basij force, which has played a central role in crushing recent nationwide protests, set up checkpoints across the city, witnesses said.
In the northern Iranian city of Babol, a student, speaking anonymously over concerns of retribution, told the AP that armed riot police were on the streets Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday after the death of Khamenei.
“We don’t know whether to be happy about the elimination of the criminals who oppress us or to remain silent in the face of the U.S. and Israel’s war against the country and its interests and the terror that is taking place,” he said.
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
5) War engulfs the Middle East as markets drop and oil prices spike
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Canadian Press, March 3, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump said “someone from within” Iran’s government might be best suited to take power once the U.S.-Israeli war on the country ends.
His remarks came four days into a war that has killed hundreds, nearly all of them in Iran, as well as many of the country’s top leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Although Tehran has kept up its retaliatory missile and drone strikes against Israel and across the Gulf — disrupting travel and driving up oil prices — the pace of Iranian attacks appears to be slowing. However the conflict has also spread to Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel, prompting Israeli strikes in Beirut and additional troop deployments to southern Lebanon.
The spiraling nature of the war has raised questions about when and how it would end, and the Trump administration has given various objectives.
Here is the latest:
Israeli strike kills 4 in Lebanon, state-run media says
At least four people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a residential complex in the Lebanese city of Baalbeck, state-run media reported.
The strike early Wednesday also wounded six others, the National News Agency said.
Israel says Hezbollah fire intercepted
Israel’s military said Wednesday that Hezbollah fire targeted the country, with much of it intercepted.
Loud explosions in Tehran, Iran state TV reports
Iranian state television reported loud explosions around the capital, Tehran, as dawn broke Wednesday.
Israel says its air defences activated
Israel said its air defences were activated due to incoming missile fire from Iran.
US State Department authorizes non-emergency personnel, family members to evacuate Oman
The U.S. State Department said early Wednesday it had authorized non-emergency American government personnel and family members to evacuate Oman should they choose due to the war.
Oman, long an intermediary between the West and Iran, has repeatedly come under attack by Iran.
House Speaker says US not in the business of nation-building in Iran
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said after an all-member briefing at the Capitol that “no one can yet determine with any degree of certainty” how the conflict with Iran will turn out.
The Republican leader, a close ally of Trump, said it’s up to the Iranian people to “seize this moment of opportunity” for their country, and not necessarily depend on the U.S.
“We have no ability to get into the nation-building business,” he said.
“America has enough trouble of our own.”
Child killed in attack on Kuwait
An 11-year-old girl was killed after shrapnel fell in a residential area in Kuwait City, health authorities said Wednesday.
The Kuwait army said in a statement the shrapnel fell over a house and left casualties while forces were intercepting “several hostile aerial targets” over the country.
The Health Ministry said in a separate statement that the child died of her wounds at the hospital.
The child’s mother and three other relatives were injured and being treated at the hospital, it said.
US military commander says ‘we’ve just begun’ in Iran operation
The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East said American forces have struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran since the operation against the Islamic Republic began.
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of Central Command, said in a video posted on X Tuesday that the U.S. military has “severely degraded Iran’s air defenses” and taken out hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones.
The video showed missiles and jets launching from U.S. ships, and targets exploding on the ground.
Cooper noted that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones in retaliation.
But he said the U.S. is “hunting” Iran’s last remaining mobile ballistic missile launchers to eliminate their “lingering launch capability.”
Cooper said the operation has involved more than 50,000 troops, 200 fighter jets, two aircraft carriers and bombers, and “more capability is on the way.”
“We’ve just begun,” Cooper said.
Vessel hit in Gulf of Oman
A vessel was hit by a projectile early Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman off the United Arab Emirates, an agency of the U.K. military said.
There were no reported casualties.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the vessel was struck 8 miles east of Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates.
The attack damaged the vessel’s steel plating.
No fire or water intake was reported, it said.
Slain soldier was days away from returning home
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, was just a few days away from coming home to her husband and two children when she was killed.
The last month had been a state of “constant concern,” her husband said.
“You could see it in the movements. She knew something was coming, she just didn’t know what scale,” Joey Amor said.
Amor was moved off-base to a shipping container-style building a week before the drone attack. The building had no defenses, Joey Amor said.
“They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places,” he said.
The couple exchanged messages about two hours before she was killed, joking back and forth. “She just never responded in the morning,” he said.
Palestinians anxious about the impact of Iran war on them
In a tent camp in Gaza’s southern area of Khan Younis, Palestinians have been closely following news about the widening war and growing increasingly worried about its potential impact on their lives.
“We are fed up with wars and the horrors of wars,” Ibrahim Atta, who was displaced from Rafah, said on Tuesday.
Palestinians in the camp were preparing simple meals to break their fast during the second week of the holy month of Ramadan. Haunted by memories of scarcity last year during months of Israel’s blockade, many fear that border crossings could again close.
“This will affect us economically, and affect the crossings,” said Rami Abu Arida, who also was displaced from Rafah. “Food and water, how can they enter?”
Israeli military spokesman says building where clerics will meet to select new supreme leader struck in Qom
The Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Tuesday that Israel struck a building in Qom where clerics were expected to meet to discuss the selection of a new supreme leader. He said the army was still assessing whether anyone was hit.
“We’re not going to let this regime rehabilitate its command and control capabilities.,” he said.
Kaine sees ‘troubling’ pattern of military operations without congressional approval
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says there’s a “troubling pattern” of the Trump administration launching military operations — from Venezuela to Nigeria and to Iran — without involving Congress.
The Trump administration has made a habit of not seeking authorization, providing no advanced notice and then holding a classified hearing that restricts lawmakers’ ability to talk about it publicly, Kaine said Tuesday.
Kaine said he brought up his concerns during the administration’s closed-door briefing on Tuesday to senators on the military operation in Iran. He said his point was not refuted.
“It’s convinced many of us in the room that you’ve decided that you will never come to Congress,” Kaine told reporters at the Capitol after the briefing. “You don’t think you ever have to come to Congress for war authorization.”
Pentagon releases names of troops killed in drone strike in Kuwait
The Pentagon has released the names of four of the six service members who have been killed in the Iran war, saying they died in a drone strike in Kuwait.
All four Army Reserve soldiers were killed Sunday when a drone hit a command center in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. That was just a day after the U.S. and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran, which has launched retailatory strikes.
All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, lowa.
Killed were Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.
Reports of Iran launching missiles targeting Israel, Qatar continue overnight Tuesday
Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said early Wednesday that Iran launched two ballistic missiles against it and one hit Al-Udeid Qatari Base, though it didn’t cause casualties.
The other missile was intercepted by air defense, the ministry said.
Israel also said Iran had launched multiple missiles targeting the north of the country overnight with no reports of casualties there either.
Sen. Hawley said Iran operation is ‘rapidly evolving’ following closed-door briefing
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, said after Tuesday’s closed-door briefing on the Iran operation that he would still vote ‘no’ on a war powers resolution, “unless they were to introduce ground troops.”
He added: “I didn’t hear in there any prediction of ground troops.”
“Personally, I would hope for a very swift conclusion, but I don’t know if that’s going to be the case,” he said.
Hawley said he learned more about the scope of the operation, which he said was “quite large” and “rapidly, rapidly evolving.”
“The briefers emphasized this, it’s really almost changing by the hour,” he said.
Commercial flight planned from Dubai to Sydney to repatriate 24,000 stranded Australians
A commercial flight is planned from Dubai to Sydney to start repatriating 24,000 Australians stranded in the United Arab Emirates by the Iran war, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong says.
Wong said the flight was scheduled to leave Dubai on Wednesday.
“This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
She and Australian Prime Minister Anthnony Albanese had spoken to United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the UAE’s deputy prime minister.
“The best way to get people out is to get commercial flights started. I asked if they could look at commercial flights restarting. Obviously it’s very unpredictable and I understand there is a flight scheduled from Dubai to Sydney. Obviously we would say to people on the ground you need to ensure you stay in contact with your airline in relation to that flight if you are on it. Flights have been cancelled and changed at short notice,” Wong said.
She did not identify the airline.
Health officials say 50 killed, more than 300 wounded in Israeli strikes in Lebanon
The death toll over the past two days in Lebanon has risen to 50, with 335 wounded, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Tuesday evening.
On Monday, Hezbollah launched missiles toward Israel for the first time in more than a year, and Israel responded by bombarding southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut with strikes. No casualties have been reported from the Hezbollah attacks in Israel.
It is not clear how many of those killed in Lebanon were civilians, but the health ministry said earlier Tuesday that they included seven children. Officials with Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group were also killed.
First government evacuation plane from Jordan lands in Prague
The first government evacuation plane landed in Prague late Tuesday. The airbus that belongs to the Czech military has a capacity for some 40 passengers and was flying from Jordan.
Another two government planes are expected to arrive during the night. One of them will fly from Egypt to take home Czech nationals who traveled there by buses from Israel. The other one will transport people from Oman.
“It was perfect. We saw everything we wanted to in Jordan,” said Zdenek Viktorin, who was traveling with his family of four. He said that he didn’t expect the war could start during their stay. “When the politicians say one day that the talks are fine and the other day (the war) begins, that’s hard to comprehend.”
In neighboring Slovakia, the first two evacuation planes sent by the Slovak government to Jordan landed in the Slovak capital Bratislava on Tuesday with 127 people on board. The government plans at least 10 such flights from the Middle East.
US and Israel have ‘superiority’ and control nearly all Iran’s airspace, Israeli diplomat says
“I’m sure we will be able to show that superiority in the next few days,” Israeli ambassador Danny Danon told reporters at the United Nations.
He cautioned, however, that while U.S.-Israeli attacks have degraded Iranian capabilities and it’s harder for them to launch missiles, “they put missiles underground, in caves, in secret locations.”
He said Israel has told its own citizens and people in the region, “give us some more time” to further degrade the Iranian military and achieve its objectives: “no nuclear weapons, no missile threat, no terror infrastructure.”
“It will not continue forever,“ Danon said.
UAE says it has been attacked by 1,000 Iranian drones and missiles so far
The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday on X that it retains the right to self-defense, insisting that the Gulf monarchy is not part of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran and that it hasn’t authorized the use of its territories for attacks against Iran.
The UAE Defense Ministry also released a breakdown of its missile and drone interceptions. It said Iranian drones struck within its territory 57 times out of more than 800 detected, while only one of 186 ballistic missiles managed to hit. All eight Iranian cruise missiles were intercepted, the ministry said. It was not possible to independently very those figures.
Venezuelan government supporters hold a solidarity march for Iran
Dozens of Venezuelan government supporters on Tuesday marched in the capital in solidarity with Iran and mourning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war.
Demonstrators wore T-shirts with the photo of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the U.S. military captured from the capital Caracas in a stunning operation two months ago.
Two women at the head of the demonstration carried photos of Khamenei and of late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who orchestrated Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and ruled as supreme leader for a decade.
“We are here to give our support to the Iranian diplomatic representation in Caracas,” Yoser Quijada, an engineer, said. “We are here with our presence telling them that the people of Venezuela, the heart of the Venezuelan people, is together with the heart of the Iranian people.”
Rubio pushes back in a testy exchange at the Capitol
The secretary of state insisted that Trump made the decision to attack Iran because this past weekend presented what he called a unique opportunity for the mission to be successful.
“The president is determined we were not going to get hit first. It’s that simple,” Rubio said ahead of a closed-door briefing for lawmakers.
Rubio was revisiting his remarks from a day earlier that have generated fierce blowback. At the time, he said Trump believed Israel was determined to act and wanted the U.S. to go first with a pre-emptive strike on Iran to prevent any retaliation on American bases and operations in the region.
“We are not going to put American troops in harm’s way,” he said.
Amid the administration’s shifting reasons for the war with Iran, Rubio also returned to Trump’s initial rationale. “There is no way in the world that this terroristic regime was going to get nuclear weapons, not under Donald Trump’s watch,” he said.
Iranian drone hits near US consulate in Dubai
An Iranian drone slammed into a parking lot outside the U.S. consulate in Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Although the pace of Iranian missile and drone strikes has slowed, Tuesday’s near-miss shows that Iran is still able to get munitions past American interceptors.
Rubio told reporters at the U.S. Capitol that all of the consulate personnel in Dubai had been accounted for.
“We began drawing down personnel from our diplomatic facilities in advance of this,” Rubio said.
Satellite imagery shows Iran’s presidential complex destroyed
Before-and-after images published by the Colorado-based satellite company Vantor on Tuesday showed the domed roof of Iran’s presidential complex destroyed, aligning with Israel’s earlier claims of an overnight strike.
Numerous munitions were dropped on what Israel’s military said was among the most heavily secured sites in Tehran. Iranian officials and state media have not yet acknowledged the damage or reported casualties from the strike.
UN official says humanitarian fallout in Middle East escalations is ‘increasingly daunting’
In a statement Tuesday, U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher warned about the impact the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is having on civilians in nearly a dozen countries in the region just days after U.S. and Israel began to attack Iran.
“First, civilians are paying the price across the region. Civilians must be protected – full stop. Yet strikes are hitting homes, hospitals, and schools,” Fletcher said. “Civilians and civilian infrastructure have been under attack in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
Fletcher added that while contingency plans across Iran and other nearby countries have been activated, the already limited presence by international organizations inside the Islamic Republic have made aid workers’ challenges much greater. Beyond the countries now involved in the wider regional conflict, Fletcher said the impacts on the civilians will worsen already dire humanitarian situations in places like Afghanistan and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Trump pitches a plan to protect oil and other trade moving through the Persian Gulf
Trump said on social media he ordered the United States’ development finance arm to provide political risk insurance for tankers carrying oil and other goods through the Persian Gulf “at a very reasonable price.”
Political risk insurance is a type of coverage intended to protect firms against financial losses caused by unstable political conditions, government actions, or violence.
He said that, if necessary, the U.S. Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait. The disruption to that traffic caused by the war has pushed oil prices higher.
The Navy has at least eight destroyers and three smaller littoral combat ships in the region. These ships have previously been used to escort merchant shipping in the region and in the Red Sea.
Israel says it destroyed Iran’s reconstituted secret nuclear headquarters
Israel’s military says it destroyed what it calls Iran’s secret nuclear headquarters, and claims Iran moved work into hidden bunkers, known as Minzadehei.
On Tuesday, an Israeli military spokesman said the site supported research tied to a key component for nuclear weapons. Israel does not say Iran enriched uranium there.
There was no immediate public comment from the U.S. or Iran about the site Israel named.
Israel says Iran tried to rebuild and hide parts of its program after last year’s strikes. The United States said as recently as last week that those strikes destroyed Iran’s nuclear program.
U.S. officials also accuse Iran of trying to restart parts of the program but do not say Iran was restarting enrichment.
Turkey’s top diplomat criticizes Iran’s ‘flawed strategy’ of attacking Gulf states
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday accused Iran of attacking Gulf neighbours that had worked to prevent war, calling it a strategy of “If I go, I will take the region with me.”
He called Iran’s strikes on countries mediating between Tehran and Washington an “incredibly flawed strategy” and warned the conflict could widen if Gulf states retaliate.
In an interview with state broadcaster TRT, Fidan said Gulf states, including Qatar, had pushed for diplomacy until the last hour before the U.S.-Israeli war began Saturday.
“I believe that if the Iranians had better understood the pressure President Trump was facing and given him something in advance, the pressure from Israel might not have been so effective,” he said.
6) US Embassy in Saudi Arabia hit with Iranian drones as American and Israeli attacks on Iran escalate
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Jon Gambrell, David Rising And Samy Magdy, March 3, 2026
Iran struck the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital with a drone early Tuesday as it kept hitting targets around the region, while the United States and Israel pounded Iran with airstrikes in what U.S. President Donald Trump suggested was just the start of a relentless campaign that could last more than a month.
The attack from two drones on the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire” and minor damage, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound. It followed an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, and the U.S. State Department on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Bahrain and Jordan as a precaution.
Across Iran’s capital, explosions rang out throughout the night into the early morning, with witnesses describing hearing aircraft overhead. It was not immediately clear what had been hit. And in Lebanon, Israel launched more strikes on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group.
The expansion of Iranian retaliation across the Gulf and the intensity of the Israeli and American attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the lack of any apparent exit plan portend a possibly prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences.
Many countries deemed safe havens in the Mideast have been hit by Iran in retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli strikes, with recent targets including two Amazon data centers in the United Arab Emirates and a drone impact near another in Bahrain that caused damage, the company said Tuesday. Iran has also hit energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and attacked several ships Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.
The U.S. State Department urged U.S. citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries due to safety risks, as have many other countries, though with much of the airspace closed many remain stranded.
Trump said operations are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”
“The hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters before briefing members of Congress about the Iran operation.
Hundreds dead in Iran and dozens in Lebanon along with 11 in Israel
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the U.S.-Israeli operation has killed at least 555 people. In Israel, where several locations were hit by Iranian missiles, 11 people were killed. Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah killed 52 people in Lebanon.
“Military escalation would force more families from their homes and hit civilians hard,” said Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization on Migration as she called Tuesday for the international community to press for de-escalation.
“Millions are already displaced in the region,” she said.
The U.S. military has confirmed six deaths of American service members. All six were Army soldiers and part of the same logistics unit in Kuwait, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran’s top diplomat on Monday shared a photo showing graves he said were for more than 160 girls killed during a U.S.-Israeli strike on a school in Minab. “Their bodies were torn to shreds,” Abbas Araghchi, the country’s foreign minister, said on X.
In Israel, three young siblings killed by an Iranian strike were being laid to rest at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on Monday night.
The chaos of the conflict became apparent when the U.S. military said Kuwait had “mistakenly shot down” three American fighter jets while Iran was attacking it with aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely.
Israel and U.S. target nuclear facilities and missile infrastructure
Iranian state TV said strikes caused two explosions early Tuesday at a broadcasting facility in Tehran, but said no one was injured.
Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters that airstrikes targeted the Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday.
“Their justification that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie,” he said.
Israel and the U.S. have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which the U.S. bombed in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. Israel has said it is targeting the “leadership and nuclear infrastructure.”
Trump said the military campaign’s objectives are to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which fired missiles at Israel on Monday.
Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to do so and says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained, however, that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” underground for making atomic bombs in an interview broadcast late Monday on Fox News Channel’s Hannity.
“We had to take the action now and we did,” said Netanyahu, who offered no evidence to support his claim.
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed limited activity at two nuclear sites in Iran before the war. Analysts said Tehran was likely assessing damage from the 2025 U.S. strikes and possibly salvaging what remained.
Attacks on Iran have drawn in proxy forces from around region
The conflict has also spread to Lebanon, where the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, though there were no reports of injuries or damage.
Israel retaliated with strikes on Lebanon. The country’s Health Ministry reported at least 52 people were killed and 154 wounded in overnight strikes in the Beirut suburbs and southern Lebanon.
An Israeli military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said Israel is keeping “all options on the table,” including a potential ground invasion of Lebanon.
Israel hit Beirut with more airstrikes early Tuesday morning, saying it was targeting “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities.”
Hezbollah also said it launched drones targeting an Israeli air base. The Israeli military said it downed two drones.
An Iranian-linked militant in Iraq has also claimed strikes on U.S. military facilities.
___ Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Washington and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami contributed to this report. Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo.
7)Israel targets Iran’s security forces and leadership as Iran presses attacks across the region
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Jon Gambrell, David Rising and Samy Magdy, March 4 2026
The United States and Israel hit Iran’s capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on Wednesday, the fifth day of the war with Iran. Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces as the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel and across the region.
Tehran residents woke to dawn blasts, and Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in the centre of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were also targeted.
With fighter jets roaring overhead, those still in Tehran looked anxiously to the skies. One man, who ran a clothing shop, said he didn’t know what to do.
“If I leave the city, how am I supposed to earn money and survive?” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The Israeli military said one of its F-35 stealth fighter jets shot down a piloted Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter over Tehran on Wednesday. It also said Israeli air defenses were activated to intercept Iranian missiles fired at targets around the country, and explosions were heard around Jerusalem.
The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that authorities postponed the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the conflict, according to Iranian state television.
Meanwhile, an Iranian naval frigate was reported in distress off the coast of Sri Lanka, prompting authorities there to respond and rescue 32 people, Sri Lanka officials said.
It was not immediately clear what happened to the ship, which Sri Lankan authorities identified as the IRIS Dena, and is armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes and can carry a helicopter. The U.S. military said earlier it had already destroyed 17 Iranian vessels and that its goal was sinking “the entire navy.”
US Embassies and oil in the crosshairs
With Iran’s stranglehold on tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped, Brent crude prices hit $84 a barrel, up more than 15% since the start of the conflict and at its highest price since July 2024.
Global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy and sap corporate profits.
Iran has also attacked regional infrastructure. Saudi Arabia said Wednesday its Ras Tanura oil refinery, one of the world’s largest, was again targeted after an unsuccessful drone attack on it earlier in the week. The kingdom’s oil ministry said the latest attack did not cause any damage and supplies were not affected.
The American Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks Tuesday, and the U.S. State Department said Wednesday it had authorized non-emergency government personnel to evacuate the kingdom.
U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, said Iran has launched more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones so far.
“We’ve already struck nearly 2,000 targets, with more than 2,000 munitions. We have severely degraded Iran’s air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones,” Cooper said in a prerecorded message shared online Wednesday.
Five days into a war that U.S. President Donald Trump suggested could last a month or longer, nearly 800 people have been killed in Iran, including some Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country.
Both sides are unrelenting in attacks
Air sirens sounded in the morning across the island kingdom of Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said Iran launched two ballistic missiles against it. One hit Al-Udeid Qatari Base but didn’t cause casualties.
Lebanon was hit in multiple strikes and Israel said it’s retaliating against Hezbollah militants after the Iran-backed group fired on Israel. More than 50 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 300 wounded, according to the Health Ministry.
Iranian-linked militant groups in Iraq have also been launching attacks.
Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen Effie Defrin reported a decline in launches from Iran as the country’s military capabilities are degraded. In airstrikes overnight, the Israeli military said it hit a missile storage and production plant in Isfahan.
The spiralling nature of the war raised questions about when and how it would end. Trump’s administration has offered various objectives, including destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, wiping out its navy, preventing it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensuring it cannot continue to support allied armed groups.
Israel presses attacks on Iranian forces and leadership
While the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Khamenei and Trump urged Iranians to overthrow their government, senior administration officials have since said regime change was not the goal.
Trump on Tuesday seemed to downplay the chances of the war ending Iran’s theocratic rule, saying that “someone from within” the Iranian regime might be the best choice to take power once the U.S.-Israel campaign is finished.
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said Wednesday on X that whoever Iran picks as the country’s next supreme leader, he will be “a target for elimination.”
The Israeli military also said it hit buildings in Tehran associated with the Basij, the all-volunteer force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted the bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.
Iran’s judiciary chief, Gholam Hosseini Mohseni Ejehei, threatened Wednesday anyone who supports the U.S.-Israeli campaign, saying on Iranian state television that they are “on the enemy’s side and must be dealt with on revolutionary, Islamic principles and in accordance with the time of war.”
Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Among those considered as possible candidates is Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the late Ayatollah.
Defrin, the Israeli military spokesman, said the military struck a building in the Iranian city of Qom on Tuesday where clerics were expected to meet to discuss selecting a new supreme leader. He said the army was still assessing whether anyone was hit.
The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to the Guard, said Wednesday there was no meeting there at the time of the attack.
Hundreds have died, including children
The U.S.-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people in Iran, according to the Red Crescent Society. Eleven people in Israel have been killed since the conflict began.
Kuwait, which had previously reported a single death, said Wednesday that an 11-year-old girl was killed by falling shrapnel as Kuwaiti forces were intercepting “hostile aerial targets.” In addition, three people were killed in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain.
Six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed Sunday in Kuwait.
8)US will take ‘all the time we need’ to win Iran war, Hegseth says
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Canadian Press, March 4, 2026
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the United States is winning its military operation against Iran “decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.”
Speaking from the Pentagon’s briefing room, Hegseth said more forces, including jet fighters and bombers, will soon arrive in the region. He said that the U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”
Hegseth also said that a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship on Tuesday night, the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.
Earlier, explosions sounded in Tehran Wednesday as Iran’s war with the U.S. and Israel entered a fifth day following earlier strikes on an Iranian nuclear site and retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic across the Gulf region.
The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, while disrupting the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarling international shipping, and stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.
Here is the latest:
American weapons stockpiles remain strong
Top U.S. military officials say U.S. forces have adequate munitions for ongoing operations against Iran.
Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was speaking to reporters.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the military used more advanced weapons at the start of the campaign, but was switching to gravity bombs now that the U.S. has control of Iranian skies, and stockpiles of the advanced weapons remain “extremely strong.”
US submarine sinks Iranian warship
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship.
In a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday, Hegseth said that the Tuesday night strike on an Iranian warship was the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”
Planning for opening strike of war began 3 weeks ago, Israeli official says
An Israeli military official says top U.S. and Israeli commanders began planning the opening strike of the war against Iran three weeks ago.
The official says that once Israel’s government decided on its intention to attack Iran, Israel’s top military brass reached out to the Pentagon to coordinate the operation.
The militaries worked side by side during the opening strikes on Saturday, killing Iran’s supreme leader and dozens of other top officials. As part of the operation, top Israeli commanders went home for the weekend on Friday to deceive Iran into thinking that an attack was not imminent.
NATO condemns Iran’s targeting of Turkey
NATO spokesperson, Allison Hart, condemned “Iran’s targeting of Turkey” but she did not confirm whether the military organization’s air defenses were used to down the missile.
“NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkey, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region,” she said. “Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defense.”
Asked whether NATO air defenses were used, Hart said she “can’t get into operational details.”
NATO has parts of a broader European ballistic missile defense system on Turkish soil, including an early warning radar at the Kurecik base which can detect missiles from Iran.
Turkey talks with Iran over intercepted missile
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has spoken by phone with his Iranian counterpart after an Iranian ballistic missile that was detected heading toward Turkish airspace Wednesday was intercepted.
During the call with Abbas Araghchi, Turkey stressed that “all steps that could escalate the conflict and contribute to its spread” must be avoided, a Turkish official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol.
Container ship attacked off Oman
A container ship was attacked Wednesday afternoon off the coast of Oman, causing fire in its engine room, an agency of the U.K. military said.
The vessel was transiting eastbound through the Strait of Hormuz, 2 nautical miles north of Oman, when it was hit by an unknown projectile, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, UKMTO.
Oman, long an intermediary between the West and Iran, has repeatedly come under attack by Iran.
A top cleric says Iran is ‘close’ to choosing its next supreme leader
Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami is a member of the Assembly of Experts, the body charged with picking a new leader. His comments were aired on state television.
“The options have become clear,” Khatami said. Other top officials have indicated a decision may be close.
Sirens go off again in Israel
Sirens have gone off in Jerusalem and elsewhere for simultaneous launches from Lebanon and Iran.
Israel’s military earlier said it is seeing a decline in launches from Iran as the campaign enters its fifth day.
Iran wants Iraq to lean on opposition groups
An Iraqi official says a senior Iranian official requested that Iraq take measures to prevent Iranian opposition groups based there from breaching the border.
A statement says Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the request in a call with Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issues most intense threat yet
The guard says it is prepared for the “complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” The statement came via Iranian state television.
“The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure,” it says.
It alleges, without offering evidence, that the U.S. military was using “civilian facilities … as cover.”
Death toll in Iran rises
The death toll in Iran from the ongoing war with the United States and Israel has reached at least 1,045 people, an Iranian government agency said Wednesday.
The Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs offered the toll, saying it represented the number of bodies so far identified and prepared for burial.
Turkey says NATO defenses intercept ballistic missile launched from Iran
Turkey’s Defense Ministry says NATO defenses have intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace. A ministry statement said the missile was detected after crossing Iraqi and Syrian airspace. NATO air and missile defense units stationed in the eastern Mediterranean intercepted it in time.
Shiite leader in Iraq says attack on Iran is a violation of international law
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a prominent religious leader based in Iraq, condemned the “military aggression” against Iran. He said attacking a country that is a member of the United Nations without U.N. approval is a violation of international law.
The Iran-born al-Sistani, who is one of the world’s most influential Shiite clerics, warned that war would cause widespread chaos and prolonged unrest “that will bring calamities to the peoples of the region and to the interests of others as well.”
Al-Sistani is based in the holy Shiite city of Najaf.
Mourning ceremony for Khamenei postponed
Iranian state television on Wednesday afternoon said the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been postponed and would be held later after intense strikes targeted Tehran.
Sinking vessel is one of Iran’s newest warships
The Iranian vessel that was sinking off of Sri Lanka, the IRIS Dena, is one of Iran’s newest warships.
The frigate was the centerpiece of a two-ship international tour in 2023 that included port calls in countries including South Africa and Brazil. It was accompanied by the support ship IRIS Makran, a converted oil tanker.
The U.S. Treasury Department included both ships on a sanctions designation in February 2023 along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied the weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.
Israel orders people in villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate
The Israeli military is ordering people living in dozens of villages in southern Lebanon close to the border with Israel to evacuate and move “immediately” north of the Litani River.
The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson warned people on X that if they decide to move south of the river they will be endangering their lives.
The area south of the Litani River is mostly along the border with Israel. The Lebanese government says it has cleared the area of Hezbollah’s military presence there over the past months.
Israel sees decline in launches from Iran
Israel is seeing a decline in launches from Iran as the campaign enters its fifth day, military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said.
Defrin also said Israel is not surprised by any new weapons Iran may use and had prepared extensively for the confrontation.
He said Israel would continue to “hunt and destroy” Iran’s military capabilities.
Israel says it struck more than 250 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in 2 days
Israel has struck more than 250 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 48 hours, an Israeli army spokesperson said Wednesday.
Spokesperson Effie Defrin said in a recorded statement that the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah had been launching rockets at Israel overnight.
Defrin said Israel would continue to target Hezbollah until “the threat is removed.”
“I emphasize: We have no issue with the people of Lebanon. The people of Lebanon are paying the price for the Iranian regime,” he said.
32 rescued from sinking Iranian naval ship off Sri Lankan coast
A top Sri Lankan official says 32 people have been rescued from a sinking Iranian naval ship off Sri Lanka’s southern coast have been admitted to a hospital.
Dr. Anil Jasinghe, a top health ministry official, says one of them is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment and others are treated for minor injuries.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that Sri Lanka’s navy received information that the ship IRIS Dena with 180 onboard was under distress, and that the island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission.
There were no immediate details as to how the sailors were wounded and how the ship was damaged.
Kuwait is targeted again
Kuwait’s military said a new wave of Iranian missiles and drone was targeting the tiny Mideast nation.
Judiciary chief threatens Iranians who support US-Israeli campaign
Iran’s judiciary chief threatened “those who say or do anything” in support of the U.S.-Israeli airstrike campaign targeting the Islamic Republic.
Gholam Hosseini Mohseni Ejehei’s remarks raised the possibility of those detained facing death-penalty charges, as cooperating with an enemy can carry execution if convicted.
Speaking on state television, he said: “Those who say or do anything in line with the will of America and the Zionist regime are on the enemy’s side and must be dealt with on revolutionary, Islamic principles and in accordance with the time of war.”
British government plans flight to evacuate stranded citizens
The British government says a chartered flight will take off from Oman late Wednesday to bring back some of the thousands of U.K. nationals in the Gulf.
It says the most vulnerable will be prioritized for the first of what is expected to be a series of flights.
The Foreign Office says more than 130,000 British nationals in the Middle East have registered their presence with the government since the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict broke out, though not all are trying to leave. Many of those are in the United Arab Emirates, and the government has advised against trying to travel overland to Oman.
Commercial airlines are also starting to resume some flights, with Etihad, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic all due to operate flights from the UAE to London on Wednesday.
Israel says it has shot down a piloted Iranian aircraft over Tehran
The Israeli military said one of its F-35 stealth fighter jets shot down a piloted Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter over Tehran on Wednesday. Israel described it as the first air-to-air combat kill of a piloted aircraft by the fighter jet.
Iran’s top diplomat says Trump betrayed his voters
Iran’s top diplomat is again criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump as America and Israel continue their airstrike campaign targeting his country in the war.
Abbas Araghchi said that “Trump betrayed diplomacy and Americans who elected him.”
“When complex nuclear negotiations are treated like a real estate transaction, and when big lies cloud realities, unrealistic expectations can never be met,” Araghchi wrote on X. “The outcome? Bombing the negotiation table out of spite.”
The war began Saturday after Israel launched an airstrike killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. and Iran had held three rounds of nuclear negotiations prior to the start of the war, but no deal had been reached.
An anxious Tehran resident is torn about whether to leave
As the fighter jets roared overhead, those still in Tehran looked anxiously to the skies.
One man who ran a clothing shop said he didn’t know what, if anything, he could do.
“It’s very difficult to decide what to do. If I leave the city, how am I supposed to earn money and survive?” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“I just hope the Arabs do not get involved. If they do, their missiles won’t be as precise as these.”
By Jon Gambrell
Airstrikes reported in other Iranian cities
Airstrikes also were reported in the Iranian cities of Urmiah and Kermanshah.
Israel says ‘broad scale strikes’ underway in Tehran
The Israeli military said it had begun “broad scale strikes” in Tehran.
More airstrikes hit Tehran
Airstrikes struck eastern Tehran later Wednesday morning, witnesses said.
Israel says whoever is chosen as Iran’s next supreme leader will be ‘a target for elimination’
Israel’s defense minister on Wednesday threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader, saying he will be “a target for elimination.”
Israel Katz made the statement on X.
“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination,” he wrote.
Israel targeted a building Tuesday associated with Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader.
Israel killed the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a strike Saturday that started the war.
9)Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies from Iranian warship sunk off its coast by a US submarine
Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press
By Canadian Press, March 4, 2026
A torpedo fired by a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, whose navy said Wednesday it recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people.
The Iranian vessel sunk in the Indian Ocean was the Islamic Republic’s “prize ship,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. It was one of the few instances of a submarine sinking a ship since World War II.
The sinking of the IRIS Dena illustrates a U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran that is stretching beyond its borders. U.S. President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Iran’s navy.
“An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”
After Sri Lanka’s navy received a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, which had 180 people on board, it sent ships and planes on a rescue mission, the country’s foreign minister, Vijitha Herath, told Parliament.
But by the time Sri Lanka’s navy reached the location, there was no sign of the ship, “only some oil patches and life rafts,” navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath said. “We found people floating on the water.”
A video released by the U.S. Department of Defence on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to be hit by an underwater explosion that causes it to break apart, as a large plume of water rises up in the air.
The 32 people rescued were admitted to a hospital in Galle, a town on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, Sampath said. The bodies recovered were also being brought to land, he said.
At the National Hospital in Galle, Iranian sailors’ bodies were arriving in trucks and being stored in a makeshift mortuary. The hospital was guarded by Sri Lankan police and naval personnel, as workers unloaded bodies away from view.
Dr. Anil Jasinghe, a top health ministry official, said one of those rescued is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment and others are being treated for minor injuries.
The IRIS Dena — one of Iran’s newest warships — patrolled in deep water, and was armed with heavy guns, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. It carried one helicopter.
The ship had been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in February 2023, along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.
At least 17 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk during the ongoing war, said U.S. Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the American military’s Central Command.
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Associated Press journalists Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, contributed to this report.