War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Danish shipping giant Maersk said it was suspending two intercontinental transit routes because of the war in the Middle East, AFP reports.

The firm had already said it was suspending bookings in the Gulf “until further notice”.

“Considering the escalating conflict affecting safe navigation in the Gulf region, we have made the decision to temporarily suspend the FM1 Service (connecting Far East to Middle East) and as well the ME11 Service (connecting Middle East to Europe),” the firm said.

Hamad International Airport announced a temporary closure following recent flight suspensions, urging passengers not to travel to the airport until further notice.

In a post on X, the airport authorities said the disruption was caused by circumstances beyond its control and that officials are working with airline partners to assist affected travelers.

Airport authorities further stated that efforts are underway to reconnect passengers in Doha with their checked baggage as quickly as operationally possible.

Passengers flying with Qatar Airways have been advised to approach the airline’s dedicated teams stationed at hotels for assistance.

Travelers from all airlines who require help locating their baggage can contact Baggage Services at +974 4010 1812 or +974 4010 5586.

The United States is not in a position to provide enough missiles to the Gulf states and Ukraine to defend themselves, European defence and space commissioner Andrius Kubilius says.

“Americans really will not be able to provide enough of those missiles, both for the Gulf countries, for American army itself and also for Ukrainian needs”, he said.

A new Israeli air strike has targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs this morning, AFP reported citing state media.

AFPTV footage showed plumes of smoke rising from a building in the area.

“Hostile warplanes carried out an air raid on the southern suburbs,” the National News Agency said, a day after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of the area.

Despite ongoing US-Israeli attacks, Iran has announced that it will gradually restore administrative activities, with all ministries, organisations and executive bodies based in Tehran Province to operate with 20 per cent of their employees present on-site from Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.

The announcement said that all female employees in the province will work remotely, and certain banks will remain open.

Operational units of service‑providing bodies, municipalities, medical centres, and military, law enforcement, and security institutions are exempt from this directive. All managerial ranks in the province are also excluded from remote work and must be present at their workplace.

Four men were arrested in Britain on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service by spying on locations and people linked to London’s Jewish community, AFP reports.

The men, one Iranian national and three dual British-Iranians, were arrested by counter-terrorism police at three separate addresses in the UK capital, the Metropolitan police said in a statement.

The force’s head of counter-terrorism policing, Helen Flanagan, said the arrests were “part of a long-running investigation”.

The British High Commission in Pakistan has updated its travel advice in view of the ongoing regional situation as well as planned protests in major cities across the country today, according to a post on X.

“Given the increasing risks we have instructed UK staff in Pakistan to restrict their movements at this time,” the commission stated.

Several blasts were heard over Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv after the military said it had detected new missiles launched from Iran toward the country, AFP journalists report.

“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said.

At least 1,332 people in Iran have been killed by the US-Israeli attacks since Saturday, Al Jazeera reports citing the Iranian Red Crescent.

According to internet monitor NetBlocks, Iran has been under an internet blackout for 144 hours.

In a post on X, the monitor said that the country saw only one per cent connectivity at the 144-hour mark.

Residents of Dubai received an Emirati interior ministry alert on their phones urging them to shelter from potential missile threats, AFP correspondents reported.

“Due to the current situation, potential missile threats, seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building and steer away from windows, doors and open areas,” the alert read.

India has invoked emergency powers and directed refiners to maximise production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to prevent a shortage of the cooking fuel after supply disruptions caused by the Middle East crisis, Reuters reports citing a government order.

All oil refiners are asked to “maximise and ensure that propane and butane available with them are utilized for production of LPG”, the order issued late yesterday showed.

The government has asked producers to make LPG, propane and butane available to state refiners — Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp for distribution to households.

An Iranian official said that at least 20 people have been killed in US and Israeli strikes in the southern city of Shiraz, AFP reports.

“Twenty innocent citizens have been martyred and 30 others have been injured in this terrorist attack,” said Jalil Hasani, deputy governor of Fars province, the official IRNA news agency reported.

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.”