War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Around 50 French ships are currently blocked in the Persian Gulf and another eight in the Red Sea, France’s Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot says according to Reuters, as Paris seeks support to build a coalition of countries to secure shipping traffic in the region.

“There are around fifty ships — 52 to be precise — in the Persian Gulf and eight in the Red Sea, and we are also in permanent contact with the crews, as there are French sailors aboard a number of these vessels,” Tabarot told French broadcaster CNews/Europe 1.

At least six people have been injured by an Israeli missile attack on residential areas in Iran’s Poldokhtar city in the Lorestan province, Al- Jazeera reports, citing Tasnim news agency.

South Korea has struck a deal to ship around four million barrels of oil from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), bolstering supplies as the US-Israel war on Iran upends energy markets, AFP reports.

Heavily reliant on oil shipped through the strait, South Korea said it had dispatched tankers to secure alternative supplies of fuel.

“We plan to immediately berth two South Korean-flagged oil tankers — each with a capacity of two million barrels — at alternative ports within the UAE that do not require passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” said presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik.

Etihad Airways is resuming a limited commercial flight schedule from today between Abu Dhabi and a “number of key destinations” outlined in a list posted to social media.

“The decision has been taken in coordination with relevant authorities following extensive safety and security assessments. Etihad continues to monitor the situation closely and will only operate flights once all safety criteria are met,” the airline said.

It added that additional destinations will be added and communicated “as conditions permit”.

Sri Lanka has denounced the toll of the Middle East fighting, as the nation opened its arms to over 200 Iranian sailors who sought help after a deadly torpedo strike on another of Iran’s ships, AFP reports.

The crew were brought ashore yesterday and were being accommodated at a military camp near the capital Colombo and their ship, IRIS Bushehr, was under Sri Lankan control.

“Our approach is that every life is as precious as our own,” Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake wrote on X, and urged peace after the Israeli-US campaign led to Iranian retaliatory strikes.

Al Jazeera reports that US-Israeli attacks have damaged 3,643 civilian sites, including 3,090 homes, according to Iranian Red Crescent Society President Pir Hossein Kolivand.

He added that 528 commercial and service centres, 14 medical or pharmaceutical facilities and nine Red Crescent facilities are also damaged.

Indonesia began evacuating dozens of its citizens from Iran on Friday, a foreign ministry official said according to AFP.

Tens of thousands of foreigners stranded by the conflict include 329 Indonesians in Iran, most of them students in the city of Qom.

“The evacuation of Indonesian citizens in Iran will begin gradually today, and this first phase will be carried out via Azerbaijan,” Heni Hamidah — the official charged with the welfare of citizens abroad — told reporters in Jakarta.

A first batch of 32 Indonesians was expected to arrive in Jakarta on Monday or Tuesday, she said.

Qatar Airways says that scheduled flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatar’s airspace, but says they will resume once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of the airspace by the relevant authorities.

It said on X that a further update will be provided on March 7 by 9am Doha time (11am PKT).

“We are working around the clock to organise additional relief flights where operationally possible and will share further updates as soon as they are confirmed,” the airline added.

Affected passengers will be contacted directly by Qatar Airways regarding their flight details, arrangements and next steps.

Iran is prepared to fight a prolonged war and plans to introduce advanced weapons not yet used in the conflict, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, Middle East Eye reports.

Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini warned that Iran’s enemies should expect “painful blows” in the next wave of attacks.

Naeini said new Iranian technologies and weapons are “on the way” and have “not yet been deployed on a large scale”.

He added that Iran is better prepared than during last year’s 12-day conflict with the United States and Israel, describing the current confrontation as a “sacred and legitimate war”.

German aviation giant Lufthansa warned Friday it faces heightened “uncertainty” due to the unfolding conflict in the Middle East, which has closed airspace across the region and roiled energy markets, reports Reuters.

“Developments in the Middle East and the associated geopolitical consequences for the global economy increase the medium- and long-term forecast uncertainty,” the group said as it outlined its 2026 outlook.

“Disruptions to supply chains in the Strait of Hormuz are leading to increased volatility in the oil markets.”

Emirates and Etihad Airways were resuming limited flight schedules to key global cities from their United Arab Emirates hubs on Friday, though the threat of missile fire piled pressure on airlines as they scramble to accommodate travellers, reports Reuters.

Britain’s first repatriation flight from Oman landed at London’s Stansted Airport early on Friday after being rescheduled due to operational issues, including delays in boarding passengers.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said on Friday it would resume a limited flight schedule through March 19. The flights will operate to and from Abu Dhabi and around 70 destinations including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Delhi, New York, Toronto and Tel Aviv.

Dubai-based Emirates said late on Thursday it was operating a reduced flight schedule to 82 destinations including London, Sydney, Singapore and New York until further notice, and customers transiting in Dubai would only be accepted if their connecting flight was operating.

United States military investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children on Saturday, but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation, two US officials told Reuters.

Reuters was unable to determine more details about the investigation, including what evidence contributed to the tentative assessment, what type of munition was used, who was responsible or why the US might have struck the school.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday acknowledged the US military was investigating the incident.

Read more here.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence reported the “interception and destruction” of three drones “east of Riyadh”.

President Donald Trump said it would be a “waste of time” currently to consider sending US ground troops into Iran, NBC News reported, dismissing the Iranian foreign minister’s warning that such a move would spell disaster for invaders, AFP reports.

“It’s a waste of time. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost everything they can lose,” he told NBC by telephone, adding that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s earlier remark that Iran was ready for a US or Israeli ground invasion was a “wasted comment”.

Indian shares fell on Friday, led by losses in financial stocks, as investors remained cautious amid the escalating U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has driven oil prices higher and strangled global risk appetite, reports Reuters.

The Nifty 50 was down 0.59 per cent at 24,616.95 and the BSE Sensex shed 0.61pc to 79,530.73 as of 10:05 a.m. IST.

The conflict has stoked fears of a broader energy supply shock that could lift crude prices further, revive inflation pressures, and cloud the global growth outlook.

Asian shares inched lower, while Wall Street fell overnight and the dollar firmed as the conflict showed few signs of easing.

At least 190 children, including 181 in Iran, have been killed in the region after the US and Israel attacked Iran, said UNICEF.

“This includes 181 children in Iran, seven in Lebanon, three in Israel, and one child in Kuwait.”

Lebanese state media said Friday that Israel had launched air strikes on several towns in southern Lebanon.

“Enemy warplanes launched nighttime strikes on the towns of Srifa, Aita al-Shaab, Touline, Sawana and Majdal Selm,” the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Another strike targeted the eastern Lebanese town of Dours at dawn, the NNA said.