The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
US President Donald Trump says the United Kingdom should have acted faster in offering help to Washington in its military operations in Iran, Reuters reports.
US President Donald Trump has ruled out reaching a ceasefire agreement with Iran, saying Washington has the upper hand in the three-week-old war, AFP reports.
“I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side,” Trump has told journalists at the White House.
A series of blasts have been heard from Jerusalem after sirens sounded in northern Israel, AFP journalists report, following a warning that Iran had fired missiles.
“A short while ago, the IDF (Israeli military) identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the Israeli military has said on its official Telegram channel.
Iran’s supreme leader, Mojataba Khamenei, denied on Friday Tehran’s role in recent attacks in Turkiye and Oman, claiming that it was a “false flag tactic” by Israel instead.
“I should also remark that the attacks against Turkiye and Oman – both of which have good relations with us — targeting certain locations in these countries, were in no way carried out by the armed forces of the Islamic republic or the other forces of the Resistance Front.
“This is a ploy by the Zionist enemy (Israel), employing the false flag tactic to create discord between the Islamic republic and its neighbours, and it may also occur in some other countries,” Khamenei said in a statement published on his Telegram channel and official Iranian media on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
This is Mojtaba’s second message since becoming Iran’s supreme leader following the assassination of his father and the previous supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
During the war, Gulf countries have also come under attack, and while Tehran accepts responsibility for some of the attacks targeting US bases and assets, it denies having a role in others.
Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani says crude production at Basra Oil Company has been cut to 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 3.3 million bpd after exports from the country’s southern ports were halted, Reuters reports, citing the ministry.
The produced quantities are being pumped to operate refineries, the ministry added in a statement.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has struck targets in Israel, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in attacks, Al Jazeera reports.
In a statement carried by state media, the IRGC said it hit Tel Aviv, Acre and Haifa Bay in Israel, as well as Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Air Base and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, southeast of Riyadh.
On the twenty-first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, a sombre Nowruz and Eidul Fitr eve set the domestic mood in Iran, as fresh military developments and a shifting coalition posture pointed to an imminent widening of the war.
Across Iran, the Persian New Year arrived without usual festivities associated with it. Celebrations were scaled down, with war, blackouts and economic strain shaping public sentiment. Markets remained open but subdued, and even among diaspora communities, observances lacked the usual fervour.
Against this backdrop, a reported Iranian air defence success provided a rare morale boost.
Iranian systems are said to have damaged a US F-35 during a combat mission, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Al-Dhafra Airbase in the United Arab Emirates. While the operational impact appears limited, the symbolic value of hitting a stealth fifth-generation aircraft would be considerable.
An Iranian flag flutters as a digger arrives to help remove the debris from destroyed buildings following a military strike on the Iranian capital Tehran on March 15, 2026. — AFP/ File
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has condemned attacks across the Gulf, warning of growing humanitarian and health impacts following a meeting with the United Arab Emirates’ UN envoy, Al Jazeera reports.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said missile strikes in countries including the UAE, Oman, and Kuwait caused deaths and injuries, while attacks on energy facilities across the Middle East risk worsening public health conditions.
In a meeting with UAE Ambassador Jamal al-Musharakh in Geneva, the pair discussed the broader health impacts of the escalating conflict, as well as the role of the WHO’s Dubai-based logistics hub in delivering medical supplies across multiple regions.
Mexican state-run oil firm Pemex is waiting to see how oil prices behave in the mid-term before altering its strategy on crude exports, Finance Minister Edgar Amador tells Reuters.
“Our perspective is that this should be a relatively temporary effect,” Amador said in an interview at Mexico’s annual banking convention, referring to the recent climb in prices tied to the conflict in the Middle East.
The British government has authorised the United States to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.
British ministers have met to discuss the war with Iran and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement.
“They confirmed that the agreement for the US to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week Britain would not be drawn into a war over Iran. He initially rejected a US request to use British bases for the strikes on Iran, saying he needed to be satisfied that any military action was legal.
But Starmer modified his stance after Iran conducted strikes on British allies across the Middle East, saying that the United States could use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean.
The Disaster Risk Management Unit says 20 people have been killed and 57 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.
Deaths from today bring the total number killed in Israeli attacks since March 2 to 1,021, according to figures published by the official National News Agency.
The total number of wounded rose to 2,641, while 134,616 displaced people were registered in shelters.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says his country rejected a request from the United States to allow two of its fighter jets to land at Mattala International Airport, Al Jazeera reports.
Speaking in parliament, Dissanayake said Colombo received separate requests on February 26 — one from Iran seeking permission for three naval vessels to make a goodwill visit, and another from the US requesting landing clearance for two fighter aircraft stationed near Djibouti to land at Mattala International Airport, News 1st has reported.
“With two requests before us, the decision was clear,” he said, noting the government denied both to avoid taking sides just days before the US-Israel war on Iran began.
Earlier this month, dozens of Iranian sailors were killed in a US strike in international waters off the southern coast of Sri Lanka when a US submarine torpedoed the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean.
Iraq has declared force majeure on all oilfields developed by foreign oil companies, as military operations in the region have disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, preventing most of the country’s crude exports from moving, Reuters reports citing oil ministry sources.
The United States could “take out” Iran’s Kharg island whenever it wanted, the White House has told AFP, after a report that President Donald Trump’s administration was considering plans to occupy or blockade the oil hub.
Asked about the Axios report, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly has said in a statement to AFP: “The United States Military can take out Kharg Island at any time if the President gives the order.”
Israeli warplanes have carried out an air strike on a house in southern Lebanon, where ambulance crews and residents rushed to render assistance after an earlier attack, Al Jazeera reports.
Paramedics and residents have been wounded in both bombings, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Those injured in the attack in Deir ez-Zahrani were being transported to hospitals in the area, it reported.
Russia has expressed concern over recent strikes on Iran, warning that the attacks risk widening the conflict and affecting its own economic interests, Al Jazeera reports.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow is “observing with growing concern” what she has described as an expanding campaign of Israeli and US bomb attacks across Iran.
She pointed to a March 18 strike on the port of Bandar-i Anzali on the Caspian Sea, describing it as a key trade and logistics hub used in Russian-Iranian commerce, including food shipments.
Zakharova accused the US-Israeli “coalition” of fuelling escalation and warned its actions risk dragging Caspian countries into a broader conflict.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have spoken by phone to discuss the latest developments after Iranian attacks on both countries, Al Jazeera reports.
The Gulf leaders discussed the serious repercussions on regional security and stability from the attacks, as well as their blatant violation of state sovereignty and principles of international law, a statement from Qatar’s Amiri Diwan says.
Both sides emphasised the importance of an immediate cessation of all hostilities, efforts to de-escalate tensions, and intensifying regional and international diplomacy.
Sheikh Tamim and President Mohamed also reviewed solutions to preserve the safety of the region’s people and resources, including vital energy and other installations.
Anwar Gargash, senior adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, says he has met with Luigi Di Maio, the European Union’s special representative for the Gulf region, Al Jazeera reports.
Maio “affirmed the Union’s full support for the State of the United Arab Emirates in confronting Iranian aggression”, Gargash has said in a post on X. “He also expressed his appreciation for the protection and care provided by the State to more than 200,000 European residents who contribute to various aspects of life.”
General Alexus Grynkewich, Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, has thanked Iraq and allies for the safe relocation of Nato personnel in the country to the alliance’s command in Naples, Italy, Al Jazeera reports.
“I would also like to thank the dedicated men and women of Nato Mission Iraq, who continued their mission throughout this period. They are true professionals,” he has said in a statement.
The alliance confirmed in a statement that the last Nato Mission Iraq personnel left Iraq today, and would continue their work from Naples.
Nato Mission Iraq is a non-combat mission, tasked with advisory and capability-building work to assist Iraq in building more sustainable and effective security institutions, the alliance says. It aims to enable Iraqi security forces to stabilise their country, fight terrorism, and prevent the return of Islamic State.
As Qatar reels from an Iranian attack that has hobbled its giant natural gas company, its boss, who doubles as the country’s energy minister, says he had warned officials and executives of just such a danger should Iran’s own sites be hit.
“I was always warning, talking to executives from oil and gas that are partnered with us, talking to the US Secretary of Energy, to warn him of that consequence and that that could be detrimental to us,” QatarEnergy Chief Executive Officer Saad al-Kaabi tells Reuters.
“They were aware of the threat, and they were always reminded by me, almost on a daily basis, that we need to make sure that there is restraint on oil and gas facilities,” he adds.
The US Department of Energy has deferred to the White House on the matter.
Asked for comment, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said: “President Trump and his entire energy team were not ignorant of the reality that there would be short-term disruptions to oil and gas supply during the ongoing operations in Iran, and planned for these highly anticipated, temporary disruptions.”
QatarEnergy CEO and Qatar’s Minister of Energy Saad al-Kaabi speaks during a news conference after a signing ceremony in Beirut, Lebanon on January 29, 2023. — Reuters/File
Israel claims it has “eliminated” the intelligence chief of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force in a previous strike that also assassinated the force’s top commander, AFP reports.
“Earlier this week, the air force, guided precisely by military intelligence, struck the senior leadership of the Basij unit in the heart of Tehran, in an attack that eliminated the unit’s commander, Gholamreza Soleimani, along with several other senior commanders,” the military has said.
“The IDF now confirms that in this strike, Ismaeil Ahmadi, who served as head of the intelligence directorate of the Basij unit, was also eliminated,” it claimed.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has delivered a Nowruz message saying his country does not seek war with its neighbours, and reiterating that it does not wish to acquire nuclear weapons, Al Jazeera reports citing state media.
In the message, Pezeshkian said Iran did not seek war with neighbouring and Muslim countries. “Our difficulties are the result of the interference of enemies,” he said. “Our dear neighbours who surround us, you are our brothers… We have come to resolve all these differences with you.”
He said Iran proposed that “to establish peace and stability in the region, a regional security structure be formed from Islamic countries”.
“We do not need the presence of outsiders in the region.”
He stressed Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons, saying the supreme leader had declared they were religiously forbidden, and no officials were permitted to pursue plans to obtain them.
The son of Iran’s deposed shah has called for a “free” and “prosperous” Iran in a Nowruz message addressed to Iranians, Al Jazeera reports.
In a statement, Reza Pahlavi described the past year as one of “national solidarity” and “great sacrifices”, saying it brought the country closer to what he called a “final victory” over the Islamic republic.
Framing the situation as a “patriotic battle”, he praised those killed in opposition to the authorities and pledged continued support for their families.
Pahlavi said tens of thousands of Iranians have been lost in what he described as a “struggle” against the ruling system.
