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North Korea’s launch of a missile from a naval destroyer last week was proof, leader Kim Jong-un said, that arming ships with nuclear weapons was “making satisfactory progress”.
But the test was designed to reverberate well beyond the deck of the biggest warship in North Korea’s fleet.
Kim’s pointed reference to nuclear weapons was made as the US and Israel continued their air bombardment of Iran – a regime Donald Trump had warned, without offering evidence, was only weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.
The widening war in the Middle East – and the existential threat to the Iranian regime – has likely reinforced North Korea’s decision to build a nuclear arsenal.
You can read full piece here:
South Korea can't stop US redeploying weapons to Middle East, says president
South Korea cannot stop US forces in the country from redeploying some weapons, President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday, after reports that some US Patriot missile defence systems were being sent to the war in the Middle East.
Lee said at a cabinet meeting:
It appears that there is controversy recently over US Forces in Korea shipping some weapons, such as artillery batteries and air-defence weapons, out of the country.
He also said Seoul had expressed opposition but was not in a position to make demands, Reuters is reporting.
Lee said the removal of some US weapons from the country “does not hinder deterrence strategy towards North Korea”.
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Key event
US vice-president JD Vance and defense secretary Pete Hegseth have attended the dignified transfer ceremony for the seventh soldier killed in the Middle East war.
US army sergeant Benjamin Pennington, 26, died on Sunday from injuries sustained in a 1 March strike on Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia.
Vance declined to answer questions from the media at the ceremony on Monday. He and Hegseth were also joined by Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, at Dover Air Force Base in the state of Delaware, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
During the ceremony, uniformed soldiers silently carried a flag-draped coffin from a C-17 aircraft to a transfer vehicle while Vance, Hegseth and Caine saluted.
Six other fallen soldiers – five men and one woman – have been returned to US soil.
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At one of the most consequential moments of his two terms in office, wartime president Donald Trump on Monday delivered a vague and contradictory forecast for how long the United States will continue to fight in Iran and what the ultimate goal of the US military campaign there will be.
With oil hovering above $100 a barrel for much of Monday and Middle Eastern allies fearing a further tumble into regional conflict, Trump appeared in Doral, Florida, with the mission of calming global markets and reassuring skittish allies that he has a clear vision for how to end the largest US intervention in the Middle East since the Iraq war.
If there is one, it was not delivered in this press conference.
In a 35-minute appearance, the US president eschewed the specifics to hammer home how thoroughly the US has destroyed Iran’s military and to bolster suspicions that there has been little planning for what comes next. After floating remarks that the war was “very complete, pretty much” to a CBS News reporter in a phone call, he then evaded a reporter’s question about whether that meant the war could wrap up this week. “No but soon. I think soon. Very soon.”
Reporters tried again. “You said the war is ‘very complete’. But your defense secretary says ‘this is just the beginning.’ So which is it?”
“I think you could say both,” Trump replied. Straight away he added: “It’s the beginning of building a new country”. Never mind that Trump and his top advisers had ruled out managing an effort at nation-building in Iran; hours have passed and indeed Trump’s own vision for Iran seems to change with every telephone call he has taken from a reporter in the last 10 days.
You can read the full piece here:
Australia’s responsibilities for the welfare of the Iran women’s football team are not over, as advocates expect more players to seek asylum amid a frantic but “delicate” effort to inform the entire squad of their rights.
Five of the players, led by captain Zahra Ghanbari, were formally granted protection in Australia by the government early on Tuesday. The group has already been given an offer to train with an Australian A-League women’s club.
The other team members remain in their hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast as advocates work to link the players with lawyers who can assist them in understanding their options and protection available in Australia.
Those connected to the group expect more – including possibly some staff – to make the decision to stay in Australia. But the group is still under surveillance by the minders around the team.
Home affairs minister Tony Burke said the group given protection broke out in a spontaneous chant of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi” to celebrate receiving their Australian papers.
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Trump suggests school strike carried out by Iran or 'somebody else'
Donald Trump has been asked whether the US would accept responsibility for a strike that hit an Iranian elementary school, killing scores of people, many of them children, after video evidence showed a US Tomahawk struck the naval base next to it.
In response, the president suggested, without evidence, that the bombing had been carried out by Iran or “somebody else”.
“It’s something that I was told is under investigation, but Tomahawks are used by others,” Trump said. “As you know, numerous other nations have Tomahawks. They buy them from us.”
A video released by the Iranian news agency Mehr and geolocated to the site by the investigative collective Bellingcat, combined with other evidence from the site, indicate that the elementary school in Minab was hit during a set of strikes by the US, as it targeted an adjacent Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) naval compound.
Munitions experts have told the Guardian that the missile shown in the video is clearly a Tomahawk, which is only used by the US in the current conflict.
Pressed by a reporter on why he had suggested Iran was responsible – a claim no one else in his administration had made – Trump replied: “Because I just don’t know enough about it.”
The strike demolished approximately half the school, killing dozens of seven- to 12-year-old girls as they attended morning classes.
Trump on Monday said he was “willing to live” with “whatever” the investigation concludes.
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Donald Trump has suggested the US may lift oil sanctions against “some countries” to ease prices as the economic toll of the US-Israeli war on Iran deepens.
The US treasury has already issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil from tankers stranded at sea, Lauren Gambino reports.
The US president also said on Monday that the conflict could be over “very soon” while threatening even more aggressive action if Tehran moved to cut off global energy supplies, as mentioned earlier.
Trump said the US would not let Iran “hold the world hostage” over oil, telling reporters:
We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them, or anybody else helping them, to ever recover that section of the world if they do anything.
During appearances in Florida, Trump also said the US had taken a “little excursion” to the Middle East “to get rid of some evil” but suggested the war – now in its second week – was ahead of schedule and near completion.
There’s more in the full report here:
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Egypt raised prices on a wide range of fuel products on Tuesday, the petroleum ministry has been reported as saying.
It cited “exceptional conditions in global energy markets” linked to developments in the Middle East.
Iran threatens to block regional oil exports
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has said Tehran will not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the region if US-Israeli attacks continue.
Donald Trump then threatened to hit the Islamic republic far harder if it blocked oil flows through the vital strait of Hormuz, where shipping has already been severely disrupted by the war.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement carried by state media that it would “determine the end of the war”, after the US president earlier said the conflict would end “soon”.
The Guards’ statement was quoted as saying:
The equations and future status of the region are now in the hands of our armed forces; American forces will not end the war.
In an apparent response, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform:
If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far. Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!
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Israel says it hit Iranian launcher after missile barrage
Israel struck an Iranian missile launcher shortly after a barrage fired from the Islamic republic triggered air raid warnings in several Israeli areas, Israel said on Tuesday.
Late on Monday the Israeli military said it identified a round of Iranian missile fire and was working “to intercept the threat”.
The Iranian launches sparked air raid warnings in several parts of Israel, forcing people to head for shelter.
But the Magen David Adom emergency services said it received no reports of casualties after the latest round of Iranian fire.
Agence France-Presse also reports the Israeli military then said it “had struck the missile launcher that launched missiles toward the state of Israel a short while ago”.
Before the latest Iranian attack, Israel had announced what it called a “broad wave” of strikes on Tehran, the second such assault launched on Monday.
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The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is saying security in the region will be for everyone or for no one, state media is reportedly quoting a spokesperson for the elite force as saying.
We’ll have more on this soon.
Iranian politicians and institutions have issued pledges of loyalty to new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father, wife, son and mother died at the start of the US-Israeli air onslaught, according to Iranian state media.
“We will obey the commander-in-chief until the last drop of our blood,” a defence council statement said.
But Reuters is reporting that Iranians reached by phone were divided over his appointment, with supporters of the authorities hailing the choice as a declaration of defiance and opponents fearful it would dash their hopes for change.
Many Iranians had initially celebrated the death of Khamenei’s father and supreme leader Ali Khamenei, weeks after his security forces killed thousands of anti-government protesters. But there has since been little sign of anti-government activity, with activists fearful of taking to the streets while Iran is under attack.
“The [Revolutionary] Guards and the system are still powerful,” said Babak, 34, a businessperson in the central city of Arak who asked to keep his family name confidential.
They have tens of thousands of forces ready to fight to keep this regime in place. We, the people, have nothing.
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As the Israeli military announced it had launched a broad wave of attacks in Tehran, two residents told the Guardian that they had been under heavy bombardment and heard back-to-back explosions in the past half hour.
One Tehran resident in the east of the capital said they had lost electricity and there was a loud sound followed by “several explosions, one after another”.
“The place they hit has caught fire,” she said, adding that there were several jets in the air.
They’re destroying Iran.
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Australia to deploy aircraft and missiles to Gulf
The Australian government has said it will deploy a military surveillance plane to the Gulf as 12 countries in the region face attacks from Iran.
The government confirmed the deployment of the E-7A Wedgetail was at the request of the United Arab Emirates and said it would also provide advanced medium range air-to-air missiles to the UAE.
The Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, said the deployment would be in a defensive, not an offensive, capacity.
We’re taking defensive action to support our partners efforts to keep Australians safe. Deployed ADF [Australian defence force] assets will operate according to the right of collective self-defence.
Albanese said the UAE alone had already been forced to shoot down more than 1,500 drones and rockets.
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Oil prices fall sharply after Trump claims war will be over 'very soon'
Oil prices have tumbled back from the four-year highs they hit on Monday after Donald Trump suggested the US-Israel war on Iran could end “very soon”.
It has been an extraordinary 24 hours in global markets.
This time yesterday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged beyond $100 per barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – triggering stark sell-offs across leading Asian and European stock indices. Wall Street also started the day under pressure in New York.
Then Trump, who pays close attention to market movements, started talking. The war on Iran as “very complete, pretty much”, the US president claimed in an interview with CBS News.
Brent crude, which climbed as high as $119.50 per barrel on Monday, fell back sharply to settle at $98.96. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 clawed out of the red to finish the day higher.
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One person has died and others been injured from a “blatant” Iranian attack targeting a residential building in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, the country’s interior ministry has said on social media.
The count was preliminary, it said, without specifying the number of injured.
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The day so far
Donald Trump described the US-Israeli war on Iran as a “short-term excursion” and said it would end “very soon”, as the assault on Tehran entered its second week. He said the war is “very complete, pretty much” and ahead of schedule, a significant shift from his previous suggestions it could last several weeks. But he also indicated he was not yet declaring the US mission accomplished. “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” he said. The operation would only end once Tehran no longer has any capacity of weaponry against the US, Israel or any US allies in the region for a long time, he later added. Here’s our report.
Trump twice declined to say whether or not Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had a target on his back, saying only that he was “disappointed” and thought he was “going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country”. It came after a day of Trump being dismissive of the late ayatollah’s son – saying his selection was a “big mistake” and he was “not happy” about it - and reiterating that he still wants to be involved in the selection of a leader. Israel, meanwhile, has openly vowed to target the new supreme leader.
It comes as large crowds took to the streets in Tehran in a defiant show of support for Khamenei.
Meanwhile, Israel launched its second wave of strikes today against Tehran. The IDF claimed it had started a broad wave of strikes against “terror targets” in the Iranian capital, but it has been hitting critical energy and fuel infrastructure that serves ordinary Iranians.
Israel also pressed its offensive against Hezbollah with raids in the south and airstrikes in Beirut. Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 486 people, including at least 83 children, since 2 March, Lebanese state news reported, citing the country’s health ministry. At least 600,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, sparking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.
Fresh Iranian missile and drone attacks also targeted Israel, US bases across the Middle East and energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
Oil prices surged by 20% to a four-year high before coming back down below $90 a barrel after Trump’s suggestion the war would end soon. Iran earlier mocked the US over the rocketing oil price, branding its campaign “Operation Epic Mistake”.
British Typhoon jets intercepted drones heading towards Jordan and Bahrain, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said.
Turkey said Nato defences shot down a ballistic missile in its airspace, the second intercepted missile from Iran in a week.
Five female Iranian footballers have been granted humanitarian visas by Australia following an appeal from Donald Trump to Anthony Albanese. Our story is here.
Updated
Trump says that once the United States is done with the military operation against Iran, Tehran will no longer have any capacity of weaponry against the US, Israel or any US allies in the region for a long time.
Trump twice declines to say if Iran’s new supreme leader has a target on his back
Asked again if Mojtaba Khamenei has a target on his back, Trump declines a second time:
I don’t know want to say if he does or not, because that would be inappropriate.
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Trump 'disappointed' with Iran's new supreme leader and says will 'lead to more of the same problem'
Asked if Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has a target on his back, Trump says he was “disappointed”.
I was disappointed because we think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country. So I was disappointed to see their choice.
Asked about his previous comments that he had someone in mind to lead Iran, Trump says:
I like the idea of internal and eternal.
He adds:
I would like to see people that are inside.
They talk about the son of the shah [exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi], they talk about other people. But [he] hasn’t been there in many, many years.
We have a formula that’s been very good so far, and I think it will continue to be good.
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Trump is asked if the US will accept any responsibility for the attack on a girls’ primary school in Minab, Iran, after a US Tomahawk hit the naval base next to it.
The US president says:
Well, I haven’t seen it.
He says other countries use Tomahawks and the incident is being investigated.
A reminder that the attack killed 168 people, most of whom were children.
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Trump says war on Iran will be over 'very soon'
Asked if he thought the war on Iran would end this week, Trump says: “No, but I think soon. Very soon.”
Updated
Donald Trump says he had a “very good call” with Vladimir Putin.
They talked about Ukraine and the “never-ending fight” there, he says.
They also talked about the Middle East. Putin wants to be helpful, he says.
Note: He was also asked if he approves of Iran’s new supreme leader in the first part of this question, which he ignored entirely.
Iran says any Arab and European country that expels US and Israeli envoys will be able to freely use strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that any Arab or European country that expels Israeli and US ambassadors from its territory will be granted unrestricted passage through the strait of Hormuz starting on Tuesday.
According to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, the IRGC said those countries would have the “full right and freedom” to transit the strategic waterway if they sever diplomatic ties with both Israel and the United States.
Hundreds of ships remain anchored on both sides of the strategic waterway as oil and shipping markets watch for any sign that sailings might pick up through the narrow corridor. Roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas typically flows through the strait.
Trump says, “We’re ahead of our initial timeline by a lot.”
I would say that we probably would not have thought after a month we’d be here.
“We want to be involved,” he reiterates regarding Iran’s leadership. The country’s future leader, he says, should “be able to do something peacefully for a change”.
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Trump says US making 'major strides' in Iran with goals 'pretty well complete'
Donald Trump is speaking now.
He says the US is “achieving major strides towards completing our military objective” in Iran.
“Some people could say they’re pretty well complete,” he says.
“We’ve wiped every single force in Iran out,” he says.
The US knows all of the facilities where Iran manufactures drones “and they’re being hit one after another”, he says.
More than 5,000 Iranian targets have been struck so far, Trump says, adding that the US could take out all its remaining targets “in one day”.
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Now, in news that will surprise no-one, Donald Trump’s press conference is currently running about 20 minutes behind schedule. You can follow it here once it gets under way, and I’ll be bringing you all the key lines.
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IDF launches another wave of strikes against Tehran
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has launched a broad wave of attacks against “targets of the Iranian terrorist regime in Tehran”.
Aotearoa / New Zealand correspondent
Air New Zealand, has increased flight fares and suspended its earnings guidance due to “unprecedented volatility in global jet fuel markets”.
The airline said February’s guidance assumed an average jet fuel price of US$85 per barrel but that assumption was no longer appropriate, due to the conflict in the Middle East.
The crisis is expected to meaningfully affect second-half earnings and accordingly, the airline has suspended FY2026 guidance until fuel markets and operating conditions stabilise.
The airline has implemented fare adjustments and said if the conflict leads to continued high jet fuel costs, it may need to take further action on fares and adjust its network and schedule. Air New Zealand shares fell nearly 8% on Monday.
Meanwhile, New Zealanders were feeling pain at the pump, as fuel prices crept up to NZ$3 a litre in parts of the country.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, prime minister Christopher Luxon signalled a possible delay to an 18 cent fuel tax hike set to begin next year, while finance minister Nicola Willis shut down suggestions of a more immediate fuel excise tax cut.
We have to remember that any short term relief on petrol tax ... ultimately you need to replace that petrol tax, we saw that with the last government when it mounted up a bill of a billion dollars and they needed to reimpose that cost afterwards.
The ministry of business, innovation and employment advised that there was up to 28 days stock of petrol, diesel and jet fuel already in the country, and a further 29 days fuel en route to New Zealand.
Trump claims Iran would have attacked US 'within a week'
Donald Trump has also just given a “reason” for the US-Israeli assault on Tehran.
I’ll give you the best reason of all. Within a week, they would’ve attacked us, 100%.
They were ready. They had all these missiles, far more than anyone thought, and they were going to attack us. They were going to attack all of the Middle East and Israel, and if they had a nuclear weapon they would’ve used it on Israel, and this was going to be a major attack.
A reminder that Trump has never provided any evidence for any of these claims that US-Israeli military action against Iran was “pre-emptive” in the face of imminent nuclear threat.
Over the weekend my colleagues published this helpful explainer on Trump’s shifting rationale – from regime change to nuclear threat to Israeli intentions - for launching war on Iran:
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Trump says war on a Iran could be ‘short-term excursion’
Donald Trump has just told House Republicans that the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran is a “short-term excursion”.
Our country is doing really well. I mean, at a level that nobody thought. We took a little excursion because we felt like we had to do that to get rid of some evil. I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion.
We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough. We go forward, more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long running danger once and for all.
He calls Operation Epic Fury “one of the most complex and stunning operations ever conducted”.
He says how much he loves the name, “even better than Midnight Hammer, where we knocked out [Iran’s] nuclear potential”.
That was a big day, because if we didn’t do that they would’ve had a nuclear weapon within two weeks, and I think we’d be in a lot different situation.
Trump has repeatedly claimed – without evidence - that Tehran was beginning to rebuild the nuclear program that he claimed had been “obliterated” by US strikes in June last year. He has used this claim as one justification for launching joint strikes on Tehran with Israel ten days ago.
“The world respects us right now more than they have ever respected us,” Trump says, praising the US military as being a “military like no other”.
He is also notably once again dismissive of the new supreme leader, saying that “nobody has any idea” who is going to run Iran, despite Mojtaba Khamenei being selected for the role.
Their terrorist leaders are gone, or counting down the minutes until they will be gone. And now, nobody has any idea who the people are that are going to be the head of the country.
As we’ve been reporting all day, Trump has repeatedly dismissed Khamenei as an unacceptable choice to lead Iran, and has insisted that he must play a role in choosing the country’s new leader. He has also implied that US and Israeli forces may target the late ayatollah’s son, telling ABC News over the weekend that “if he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long”.
Trump says that together with Israel, the US is “crushing the enemy”, reiterating that Iran’s military capabilities are being diminished.
We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.
Updated
Donald Trump is currently addressing a conference of congressional Republicans at his golf course in the Doral, Miami. I’ll bring you any relevant lines, you can also follow along here.
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Iran says ready to form joint team to investigate 'allegations' of missile attacks on Turkey
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that Tehran is ready to form a joint team to investigate “allegations” of Iranian missile attacks on Turkey, Iranian media reports.
As we reported earlier, Turkey said today that Nato air defences shot down an Iranian ballistic missile that had entered its airspace and warned that it would move against any such threats. The incident in southern Turkey marks the second intercepted missile from Iran in the last week.
Australia grants visa to five Iranian women soccer players after Trump appeal
Five members of the Iranian women’s football team have been granted asylum in Australia, home affairs minister Tony Burke has confirmed.
Burke said that the five women were welcome to stay in the country and its government had agreed to provide humanitarian visas.
“I say to the other members of the team the same opportunity is there,” he told reporters in Brisbane.
Earlier, Donald Trump said Australia was making “a terrible humanitarian mistake” by not accommodating the players in the country, before later praising prime minister Anthony Albanese for being “on it” and “doing a very good job” after they spoke on the phone about the matter.
“Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Here’s the story from my colleague Martin Farrer:
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Trump 'thinking' of taking over strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump also told CBS News that his administration is “thinking” of taking over the strait of Hormuz.
The strait is one of the world’s most critical energy shipping routes, carrying roughly a fifth of global oil shipments. Commercial shipping through the waterway has effectively ground to a halt since the US-Israeli war on Iran began 10 days ago.
Trump told CBS News that the strait of Hormuz is open but the White House is still “thinking about taking it over” and could do “a lot”.
Iran has not closed the strait but has threatened to fire at any US or Israeli tankers that try to travel through.
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Trump and Putin discuss Iran in first call since US-Israeli war began
Vladimir Putin held a phone call with Donald Trump earlier today and shared his proposals, aimed at a quick settlement to the Iran war, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov has told reporters.
“I’ll say right away that the conversation was businesslike, frank, and constructive, as is usually the case in dialogue between Russian and American leaders,” Ushakov said of the hour-long call, the first between the Russian and US presidents this year.
“The Russian president expressed a number of considerations aimed at a speedy political and diplomatic resolution of the Iranian conflict,” he said.
Ushakov also said that Trump offered his assessment of the conflict with Iran, but didn’t elaborate on what that assessment was.
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Trump says Iran war 'very complete' and ahead of schedule
Donald Trump has claimed the war against Iran “is very complete” and that Washington was “very far ahead” of his initial four to five week estimated time frame.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force,” the US president said in an interview with CBS News. He continued:
Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones.
If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense.
Trump also said the US is “very far” ahead of his initial 4-5 week estimated time frame for the war.
On Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Trump told CBS News:
I have no message for him. None, whatsoever.
Trump said he has someone in mind to replace Khamenei, but did not elaborate.
Updated
The UK has “temporarily” withdrawn the dependents of embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates “as a precautionary measure”.
In an update to its travel advice, the UK’s Foreign Office said: “Due to the ongoing security situation, as a precautionary measure we have decided to temporarily withdraw the dependents of British Embassy staff from the United Arab Emirates. Our embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai continue to operate as normal.”
The Lebanese Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah’s launch of missiles towards Israel was retaliation for the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a senior official from the group said.
Senior Hezbollah official Mohammed Raad said in an address that the group would defend its existence, “no matter the price”, Reuters reports.
Khamenei was killed in strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel on the first day of their air war.
Hezbollah’s strikes against Israel have prompted Israel to bombard Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut and southern Lebanon, forcing hundreds of thousands to leave their homes.
The force and frequency of Iranian missile launches will increase and their range will become wider, state media cited the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force as saying.
From now on, no missiles will be launched with warheads lighter than one ton, Majid Mousavi said.
The UK’s defence secretary John Healey said 37,000 British nationals have been evacuated since the start of the crisis in the Middle East.
He said: “Three chartered flights have now taken off, with more to come this week.
“More than 170,000 people have registered their presence, which has allowed us to get them information and support and advice that they need.
“More than 37,000 British nationals have been evacuated since the start of the crisis response, and as the Prime Minister said last week, we will not stop until our people are safe.”
Iran says it ‘does not want to harm ordinary Americans’ and mocks US operation
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier that, “Iran does not want to harm ordinary Americans who overwhelmingly voted to end involvement in costly foreign wars.”
In his post on X, he added:
Blame for surging gas prices, costlier mortgages, and pummeled 401(k)’s lies squarely with Israel and its dupes in Washington.
In a prior post, Araghchi took further aim at the United States for destabilising oil prices with its strikes on Tehran.
He branded the US military campaign “Operation Epic Mistake” (instead of “Operation Epic Fury”) and shared a screenshot of global oil prices.
We know the US is plotting against our oil and nuclear sites in hopes of containing huge inflationary shock. Iran is fully prepared.
And we, too, have many surprises in store.
With oil prices soaring and stock markets falling, my colleague Luca Ittimani has this explainer on why the US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked fears of stagflation for the global economy:
British jets intercept drones heading towards Jordan and Bahrain
RAF fighter jets have carried out military action to defend the nations of Jordan and Bahrain overnight, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said earlier.
The jets successfully took out an uncrewed aerial system “in defence of Jordan” and intercepted a drone heading in the direction of Bahrain, it said.
The UK has also started conducting defensive flights in support of the United Arab Emirates, the ministry added.
It also said that additional Wildcat helicopters have arrived in Cyprus after a British airbase there was hit by a drone attack last week.
Turkey summons Iran envoy over missile that entered airspace
Turkey has summoned Iran’s ambassador after an Iranian ballistic missile entered Turkish airspace earlier.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged Tehran to refrain from any actions that “cast a shadow over our thousand-year neighbourly and brotherly ties” saying it was continuing to take “extremely wrong and provocative steps” despite “sincere warnings” from Ankara.
The ballistic missile was fired from Iran and entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato in the eastern Mediterranean. Some debris from the missile fell in an empty field in Gaziantep.
Death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon rises to 486, including at least 83 children
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 486 people, including dozens of children, Lebanese state news reported today, citing the country’s health ministry.
Unicef, the UN’s children’s agency, said today that a “staggering” number of children have been killed in Israeli strikes on the country, with at least 83 children killed – more than 10 each day - and 254 wounded since 2 March.
The figures “are a stark testament to the toll that conflict is taking on children”, the agency said. Unicef’s Middle East director Edouard Beigbeder told Sky News earlier:
As military strikes continue across the country, children are being killed and injured at a horrifying rate, families are fleeing their homes in fear, and thousands of children are now sleeping in cold and overcrowded shelters.
Further, more than 1,300 people have been injured since the Israeli attacks began on 2 March, after Hezbollah fired rockets towards northern Israel in response to repeated Israeli attacks and the assassination of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
At least 600,000 people have been displaced in the country since fighting escalated last week, sparking fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in Lebanon. In a statement today, the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, issued unusually fierce and direct criticism of Hezbollah for setting off a renewed Israeli offensive with a rocket barrage last week.
He told senior European officials in a phone call today that Lebanon was trapped between an Israeli assault which “show no respect for the laws of war” and “an armed group operating outside the law in Lebanon which has no regard for the interests of Lebanon and the lives of its people”.
Updated
Trump calls selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's supreme leader a 'big mistake'
In further comments, Donald Trump has said Mojtaba Khamenei selection as the the next supreme leader of Iran is a “big mistake”.
He told NBC News:
I think they made a big mistake. I don’t know if it’s going to last. I think they made a mistake.
The US president has previously said the late ayatollah’s son would be an “unacceptable” choice (see here) and Israel vowed to target any successor (see here).
Trump also said it’s “too soon to talk about” seizing Iran’s oil but added that he “doesn’t rule it out”.
Updated
Will Trump make a deal with Iran’s new supreme leader? - podcast
Mojtaba Khamenei has been chosen to replace his father as Iran’s supreme leader, while the country continues to be heavily bombarded by US and Israeli forces.
In today’s edition of The Latest podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour about concerns that the move could lead to a further escalation of war in the Middle East, after Donald Trump warned that Khamenei was an “unacceptable” choice.
Updated
Ukraine sent drone experts to protect US bases in Jordan, says Zelenskyy
Defence and security editor
Ukraine’s president has said he dispatched interceptor drones and operators to protect US bases in Jordan last week, one of 11 countries that had asked Kyiv for help as the US-Israeli war against Iran continued into its 10th day.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that he had responded to a US request for help in defending Jordan last week as Ukraine seeks to improve relations with Gulf and Middle Eastern countries coming under attack from Iran.
Zelenskyy posted on social media that “there are 11 requests from countries neighbouring Iran, European states, and the US” and that some had been met with “concrete decisions and specific support”.
Help for Jordan, where the US has maintained a sizeable presence at the Muwaffaq Salti airbase, was requested on Thursday, Zelenskyy told the New York Times. A Ukrainian team departed the next day.
Satellite imagery indicates that the radar used by a US Thaad air defence system at the base in Jordan was damaged or even knocked out by Iranian attacks, one of several apparently hit across the region.
Orysia Lutsevych, at the Chatham House thinktank, said Ukraine was “trying to show it is an asset, including to the US and other allies” by offering to share its war experience in exchange for help and goodwill.
Zelenskyy also recognises that Iran and Russia are friendly, amid US reports that Moscow is sharing targeting information with Tehran. “If Russia sends intelligence to Iran – Ukraine will send specialists and interceptors to defend these bases and energy and water infrastructure,” Lutsevych added.
Over the past week, the Ukrainian president has spoken to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan, according to Kyiv. “It is very important to coordinate for security both in Europe and in the Middle East,” Zelenskyy said after speaking to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Ukraine has faced near-nightly attacks from swarms of Shahed-136 drones since September 2024. Originally designed in Iran, the technology was transferred to Russia, allowing Moscow to make them in large numbers.
Tackling them forced Kyiv to develop low-cost air defence capabilities to prevent large numbers of the delta-winged attack craft getting through, with interception rates of over 85% or 90%. On Saturday morning, Ukraine’s airforce reported stopping 453 out of 480 incoming drones.
Here’s the full report:
Further to that, Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has said that “it is clear” that Mojtaba Khamenei continues the “very extremist and mad policies of his father”, the assassinated ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Asked whether Iran’s new supreme leader is target for Israel, Sa’ar ominously told CNN:
Well, you’ll have to wait and see.
Sa’ar described the newly named supreme leader as a “hardliner” who is also “anti-American” and “anti-western”, and claimed, “you can see already the cracks inside his regime.”
It is clear that the hardliners are still calling the shots there in Tehran. And frankly with these people you cannot do anything serious if you want to solve conflict.
Trump ‘not happy’ with new Iran supreme leader
In that interview with the New York Post, Donald Trump said he was “not happy” with Mojtaba Khamenei being chosen as Iran’s new supreme leader.
Asked about his plans for the late ayatollah’s son, Trump was coy, telling the paper:
Not going to tell you. Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him.
It followed overt threats from the US president ahead of Khamenei’s election, after Trump made clear he considered him an “unacceptable” choice. On Sunday, he told ABC News that the new leader “is not going to last long” if “he doesn’t get approval from us”.
Trump told Axios last week that “Khamenei’s son is a lightweight” and that he must be involved in the selection of the new supreme leader “like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela”.
Updated
Trump to hold news conference at 5.30pm ET
Donald Trump has announced that he will hold a news conference at 5.30pm ET today from the ballroom at Trump National Doral Miami before he heads back to DC from Florida.
As the US-Israeli war on Iran enters its second week, the president said in his post on Truth Social that there have been “many important meetings and phone calls taking place today”.
This will be his first official press conference since the war began, and we’ll bring you all the key lines here later.
Updated
Afternoon summary
Turkey’s defence ministry on Monday said a ballistic missile fired from Iran was intercepted in Turkish airspace by Nato defence systems, in the second such incident in five days.
The UAE’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had detected 15 ballistic missiles today, destroying 12, while three fell into the sea. The ministry said it detected 18 drones, intercepting 17, with one crashing within UAE territory, BBC News reported earlier.
Qatar air defences intercepted 17 ballistic missiles and six drones on Monday, the Qatari ministry of defence said on X. The air attacks came from Iran, the ministry said.
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his slain father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signalling that hardliners remain in charge.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson downplayed the likelihood of a ceasefire as long as attacks continue, Iran’s Student News Network reported on Monday, adding that Iran would continue to defend itself.
Fresh missile and drone strikes by Israel and Iran reverberated across the Middle East as the war entered its 10th day. The Israeli military said on Monday it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran after a man was killed in an airstrike fired at central Israel earlier. The Israeli military also said Monday that it had begun targeting Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a US-sanctioned financial organisation that Israel has accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Lebanon’s ministry of public health said Israeli forces killed two paramedics and injured six more in two separate airstrikes on Monday, the state-run National News Agency reports.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday said the Israeli military unlawfully fired white phosphorus munitions in the town of Yohmor in southern Lebanon. The highly toxic white phosphorus can be used by militaries to obscure operations and is not listed a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), but use of it against humans in a civilian setting is considered a violation of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCCW).
Cyprus will not engage in any military operations surrounding the Iran conflict but will focus on its humanitarian role, president Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday. It comes as Cyprus’s foreign minister said there are “questions” about the future of the UK’s military bases on the island after the drone strike last week.
Unicef, a UN agency, estimates that at least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in Lebanon since the start of the conflict – during which time an estimated 700,000 people – including around 200,000 children – have been displaced from their homes.
Residents in Tehran are still reeling from “apocalyptic” scenes unfolding across their city after airstrikes on oil depots over the weekend filled the sky with black smoke and covered the streets in soot. “The situation is so frightening it’s hard to describe,” one resident told the Guardian. “Smoke has covered the entire city. I have severe shortness of breath and burning in my eyes and throat, and many others feel the same. But people still have to go outside because they have no choice. Many places reopened today, but closed again because it’s impossible to stay outdoors.”
EU and Middle Eastern leaders are holding talks on how Europe can better support countries most affected by the US-Israeli war on Iran and on bringing the conflict to an end. The president of the European Council, António Costa, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said they had invited Middle Eastern leaders to take part in a video conference on Monday.
The war has sent oil prices surging and Asian stock markets into a nosedive. Global oil prices rose past $100 (£74) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the war continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day.
The UAE’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had detected 15 ballistic missiles today, destroying 12, while three fell into the sea.
The ministry said it detected 18 drones, intercepting 17, with one crashing within UAE territory, BBC News reported earlier.
The UAE has been subjected to more than 1,400 attacks since the conflict began – including attacks with cruise and ballistic missiles, and drones – of which “the vast majority were intercepted and neutralised” by the country’s armed forces, Jamal Al Musharakh, the UAE’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said.
He said the “unprovoked targeting” of civilian infrastructure such as desalination and energy plants, was “unacceptable”. “Tragically, these attacks have resulted in four civilian fatalities, as well as 114 minor injuries,” the ambassador said.
Trump 'nowhere near' deciding to send troops to Iran to secure nuclear stockpile
In an interview with the New York Post, Donald Trump said today that he’s “nowhere near” deciding whether to send US troops into Iran to secure the stockpile of highly enriched uranium there.
“We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it,” Trump said when asked about reported discussions between Israel and the United States on possibly deploying special forces to Isfahan to seize and secure the material.
Trump claimed last month – without evidence – that Tehran was beginning to rebuild the nuclear program that he claimed had been “obliterated” by US strikes in June last year.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear arsenal, saying its enrichment of uranium is strictly for civilian use.
Updated
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey’s main goal is to keep the country out of the “blaze” of the Iran war.
Erdogan was speaking after a cabinet meeting.
Turkey said earlier on Monday that Nato air defences had shot down a second Iranian ballistic missile that had entered its airspace and warned that it would move against any such threats.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region as soon as possible, stressing that the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Gulf countries should be fully respected, according to statements from his ministry.
Wang made the remarks in a phone call with his Kuwaiti counterpart Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Monday as Iran answered a US-Israeli bombing campaign with strikes around the Gulf region.
In a separate call, Wang told Bahraini foreign minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani that China was deeply concerned about the rapidly escalating situation and would play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.
UAE 'will not partake in any attacks' on Iran, says ambassador
The United Arab Emirates has said that it was being targeted “in a very unwarranted manner” in the Middle East war, stressing it would “not partake in any attacks against Iran”.
“We’ve been very clear before and leading up to the current events we are witnessing in the region that as the UAE we will not partake in any attacks against Iran from our territory, and that we will not be involved in such a conflict,” the UAE ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Jamal Al Musharakh, told reporters.
EU ready to expand Middle East naval operations
The EU has said it is open to extending naval maritime operations in the Middle East to protect international shipping, following talks with regional leaders.
In a joint statement the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council president, António Costa, “expressed openness” to enhance maritime defensive operations Aspides and Atalanta, which are aimed at protecting waterways and preventing disruption to supply chains in and around the Red Sea.
Aspides was set up in 2024 following attacks by Houthi rebels on international shipping. Atalanta was established in 2008 to counter Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa, but has seen its remit extended.
Separately, French president Emmanuel Macron confirmed that France will send two frigates to the Red Sea to boost Operation Aspides. Earlier on Monday a European commission spokesperson declined to comment on which EU member states might contribute to enhanced naval operations in the Middle East, but said the EU was “exploring how to strengthen our presence”.
Both EU presidents also expressed concern about the impact of the regional crisis on Lebanon, especially the large-scale displacement of civilians. Von der Leyen pledged humanitarian aid to support 130,000 people in Lebanon, with the first flight due to leave on Tuesday, the statement said.
Von der Leyen and Costa held talks via video link with the leaders and senior ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman, earlier on Monday.
The EU statement described the video call as “the continued manifestation of solidarity and diplomatic outreach” adding: “The European Union is a long-standing, reliable partner for the region in these difficult moments and is ready to contribute in every possible way to help deescalate the situation and facilitate the return to the negotiating table.”
But in the last week the bloc has faced criticism in sharply critical commentaries from former insiders. One former senior diplomat, who served as the EU’s representative to the Palestinian territories, said Europe’s response to the Iran war was “shameful” and “disunited” in comments also aimed at the EU’s big powers, notably Germany. Another former senior EU diplomat, who was the chief civil servant in the bloc’s foreign policy service, described the EU as “a mere commentator on the geopolitical upheaval on its Southern flank” in an article published on 3 March.
Israeli airstrikes kill two paramedics in Lebanon
Lebanon’s ministry of public health said Israeli forces killed two paramedics and injured six more in two separate airstrikes on Monday, the state-run National News Agency reports.
One strike took place near the municipality of Tyre Diba, about 83 kilometres (52 miles) south of Beirut and the other in Jouaiyya, about 8.6 kilometres (5 miles) further southeast.
Qatar air defences intercepted 17 ballistic missiles and six drones on Monday, the Qatari ministry of defence said on X.
The air attacks came from Iran, the ministry said.
تعلن وزارة الدفاع القطرية عن تعرض دولة قطر حتى عصر اليوم الاثنين، لهجوم بعدد (17) صاروخاً باليستياً وعدد (6) طائرات مسيّرة من الجمهورية الإسلامية الإيرانية، حيث نجحت قواتنا المسلحة، بفضل الله، في التصدي لعدد (17) صاروخاً باليستياً وعدد (6) طائرات مسيّرة دون تسجيل أي خسائر.
— وزارة الدفاع - دولة قطر (@MOD_Qatar) March 9, 2026
حفظ… pic.twitter.com/ysTxMaG7rF
France to send two frigates as part of EU naval mission in Red Sea
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France will send two frigates as part of the EU naval mission Aspides in the Red Sea, Reuters reports.
“We are in the process of setting up a purely defensive, purely escort mission, which must be prepared together with both European and non-European states,” Macron said after meeting with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Cyprus.
Here are some images coming out of Tehran today of Iranians celebrating the appointment of supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
EU and Middle Eastern leaders are holding talks on how Europe can better support countries most affected by the US-Israeli war on Iran and on bringing the conflict to an end.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said they had invited Middle Eastern leaders to take part in a video conference on Monday.
Attendees include leaders or senior ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman, according to the EU side. The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will also dial in.
The meeting “will provide an opportunity to hear leaders’ assessments of the situation and to discuss further support from the EU and its member states to countries in the region, as well as ways to bring the current conflict to an end,” a spokesperson for Costa said.
Speaking on Monday to EU ambassadors, von der Leyen said Europe had to focus on the reality of the situation. First of all, she stressed “there should be no tears shed for the Iranian regime”, which, she said, had slaughtered 17,000 people and caused devastation and destabilisation across the region. She went on: “We are now seeing a regional conflict with unintended consequences”, citing spillover effects on energy, finance, trade, transport and the displacement of people
“The people of Iran deserve freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own future – even if we know this will be fraught with danger and instability during and after the war.”
Cyprus will not engage in any military operations surrounding the Iran conflict but will focus on its humanitarian role, president Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday.
It comes as Cyprus’s foreign minister said there are “questions” about the future of the UK’s military bases on the island after the drone strike last week.
The attack on RAF Akrotiri, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon, caused minimal damage and did not result in casualties.
Updated
Iran's foreign ministry dismisses idea of talks while country is under attack, SNN reports
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson downplayed the likelihood of a ceasefire as long as attacks continue, Iran’s Student News Network reported on Monday, adding that Iran would continue to defend itself.
“There is no point to talks about anything but defence and crushing retaliations against enemies,” Esmaeil Baghaei said, before reiterating that Tehran has no war to fight with its Muslim neighbours but must target “facilities used by aggressors” for its legitimate defence.
The foreign ministry spokesperson also denied any Iranian attack against Turkey, Azerbaijan and Cyprus, pointing instead at what he called “false flag attacks.”
Turkey’s defence ministry on Monday said a ballistic missile fired from Iran was intercepted in Turkish airspace by Nato defence systems, in the second such incident in five days.
“A ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was neutralised by Nato air and missile defence assets in the eastern Mediterranean,” it said in a statement.
Some fragments from the weaponry fell in open territory in the southern Gaziantep area, causing no injuries, the ministry added.
Here’s a look at where all the latest airstrikes have taken place:
Europe already feeling ripple effects of war, says EU's von der Leyen
With oil prices surging above $100 a barrel, foreign leaders are starting to speak about the rippling economic impacts of the war. Earlier, Keir Starmer warned about deeper economic impacts, the longer the war goes on (you can see more details in the UK politics blog here.)
This morning, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen made similar remarks in a meeting with EU ambassadors.
“We are now seeing a regional conflict with unintended consequences. And the spillover is already a reality today,” she said, adding that European citizens were being “caught in the crossfire”.
Still, von der Leyen said that “the people of Iran deserve freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own future”.
Summary of the day so far
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his slain father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signalling that hardliners remain in charge.
Fresh missile and drone strikes by Israel and Iran reverberated across the Middle East as the war entered its 10th day. The Israeli military said on Monday it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran after a man was killed in an airstrike fired at central Israel earlier. The Israeli military also said Monday that it had begun targeting Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a US-sanctioned financial organisation that Israel has accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday said the Israeli military unlawfully fired white phosphorus munitions in the town of Yohmor in southern Lebanon.
The highly toxic white phosphorus can be used by militaries to obscure operations and is not listed a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), but use of it against humans in a civilian setting is considered a violation of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCCW).Unicef, a UN agency, estimates that at least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in Lebanon since the start of the conflict – during which time an estimated 700,000 people – including around 200,000 children – have been displaced from their homes.
Residents in Tehran are still reeling from “apocalyptic” scenes unfolding across their city after airstrikes on oil depots over the weekend filled the sky with black smoke and covered the streets in soot. “The situation is so frightening it’s hard to describe,” one resident told the Guardian. “Smoke has covered the entire city. I have severe shortness of breath and burning in my eyes and throat, and many others feel the same. But people still have to go outside because they have no choice. Many places reopened today, but closed again because it’s impossible to stay outdoors.”
The war has sent oil prices surging and Asian stock markets into a nosedive. Global oil prices rose past $100 (£74) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the war continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day.
Lebanon parliament extends term for two years amidst US-Israeli war on Iran
The Lebanese parliament has voted to extend its term for two years as Israeli airstrikes continue in the south, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The vote was 76 in favour of the extension, 41 against and 41 abstentions, with the Associated Press reporting that Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favour as well.
The Israeli military issued a warning on Monday for residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut to heed earlier evacuation orders as it carried out an operation targeting Al-Qard Al-Hassan, the US-sanctioned financial organisation that Israel has accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
IDF begins 'wide-scale' wave of strikes on Iran
The Israeli military announced Monday that it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime” in across Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran.
The announcement came shortly after a man was killed and several more injured in an airstrike fired toward central Israel. It is unclear who launched the attack.
Unicef: At least 83 children killed in Lebanon since start of conflict
At least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in Lebanon since the Israeli military began targeting the country with airstrikes in response to missiles launched into northern Israel by the Iran-back Hezbollah, according to Unicef, a UN agency.
“On average, more than 10 children have been killed every day across Lebanon over the past week, with approximately 36 children injured each day,” Edouard Beigbeder, the Unicef regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.
Beigbeder estimated that since 2 March, 700,000 people – including around 200,000 children – have been displaced from their homes, “adding to the tens of thousands already uprooted from previous escalations”.
“Unicef calls on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and shelters, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law,” Beigbeder said. “Unicef urges immediate efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent further harm to children.”
Deepa Parent spoke to Tehran residents for the Guardian about the “apocalyptic” scenes in their city after a night of airstrikes on oil depots over the weekend filled the sky with black smoke and covered the streets in soot.
“The situation is so frightening it’s hard to describe,” one resident said. “Smoke has covered the entire city. I have severe shortness of breath and burning in my eyes and throat, and many others feel the same. But people still have to go outside because they have no choice. Many places reopened today, but closed again because it’s impossible to stay outdoors.”
Here’s a look at what they’re seeing:
Appointing a new leader is the least of Iran’s troubles
The election of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Iranian supreme leader, succeeding his assassinated father, represents a symbolic and real triumph for conservative continuity at a time when the regime is under unprecedented challenge.
It also raises questions about how the hereditary principle complies with a revolutionary ideology formed in 1979 that never envisaged the post of supreme leader being passed from father to son.
More here:
A man was killed and several more were injured in an airstrike fired toward central Israel on Monday, the Israeli emergency services, Magen David Adom, said.
It is unclear who launched the attack. Several people who were injure sustained their injuries as they made their way to a shelter, Magen David Adom said, including a 78-year-old man with a head injury.
The man who was killed was about 40 years old, according to Magen David Adom. From that same location, another man, also about 40 years old, was rushed to a hospital in serious condition.
Further to the scene at a construction site in central Israel, MDA EMTs and paramedics pronounced the death of a man, approximately 40 years old, and evacuated to Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital a man, approximately 40 years old, in serious and unstable condition. pic.twitter.com/cmKg8rkk4u
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) March 9, 2026
Two people were injured in two separate locations in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates after they were hit by debris from an intercepted airstrike, authorities posted on X on Monday.
The first person, a Jordanian national, suffered a minor injury while the second person, an Egyptian national, suffered a moderate one, the Abu Dhabi media office said.
تعاملت الجهات المختصة في إمارة أبوظبي مع حادثين نتيجة سقوط شظايا على موقعين، عقب الاعتراض الناجح من قبل الدفاعات الجوية. أسفر الحادث الأول عن تعرض شخص من الجنسية الأردنية لإصابة بسيطة، وأسفر الحادث الثاني عن تعرض شخص من الجنسية المصرية لإصابة متوسطة.
— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@ADMediaOffice) March 9, 2026
ونهيب بالجمهور استقاء…
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of using white phosphorus weapons in Lebanon
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday said the Israeli military unlawfully fired white phosphorus munitions in the town of Yohmor in southern Lebanon.
The international NGO said its researchers made this determination after verifying and geolocating seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions deployed over a residential part of the town on 03 March.
White phosphorus is highly toxic, creating clouds of phosphorus pentoxide that then react with the moisture in the air – or in people’s lungs – to form phosphoric acid. It reacts violently with oxygen, meaning it can ignite and set fire to certain targets once released.
White phosphorus can be used by militaries to obscure operations and is not listed a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), but use of it against humans in a civilian setting is considered a violation of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCCW).
“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
HRW has previously accused the IDF of using white phosphorus munitions in Gaza and Lebanon, which it denied. The IDF did not immediately respond to the Guardian on the HRW’s latest allegations.
G7 to discuss release of emergency oil reserves as price tops $100
G7 finance ministers are preparing to discuss the release of emergency oil reserves, according to reports, after the US-Israel war with Iran sent the price of crude above $100 (£75) for the first time since 2022.
The ministers will discuss the release of the reserves in a call coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA), according to a report from the Financial Times.
The emergency meeting will take place at 8.30am New York time to discuss the impact of the Iran war, the FT reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
More here:
Updated
The surge in oil prices has triggered a stark sell-off across some of the world’s leading stock markets, raising concerns that the continuing US-Israeli war on Israel could set the stage for a global economic shock.
The Middle East conflict has sparked an energy supply crisis that could risk driving up inflation and interest rates, according to economists, who believe growth is set to weaken while prices rise. Fears of stagflation – where economic activity stagnates, but inflation increases – loom large.
Here’s what to know:
The Israeli military issued a new warning in Lebanon, calling for residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut to heed earlier evacuation orders.
Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, posted on social media that the IDF will act “forcefully” against terrorist infrastructure belonging to Al-Qard al-Hassan in “the coming hours”.
Al-Qard Al-Hassan is a US-sanctioned financial organisation that Israel has accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese bank with al-Qard al-Hassan, which became popular particularly in areas where Hezbollah operates following a 2019 banking crisis that saw commercial banks freeze accounts.
Here are some of the latest images coming out of Tehran:
Interim summary
In case you’re just tuning in to our live coverage, here’s a snapshot of the latest developments in the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his slain father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signalling that hardliners remain in charge.
Fresh missile and drone strikes by Israel and Iran reverberated across the Middle East as the war entered its 10th day. The Israeli military said on Monday it had begun a wave of attacks in central Iran and had struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut.
The war has sent oil prices surging and Asian stock markets into a nosedive. Global oil prices rose past $100 (£74) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the war continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day.
Pope Leo warned of “a tragedy of enormous proportions” due to the “widespread climate of hatred and fear” in Iran and across the region.
Iran and its proxies appeared to have launched attacks across the region. Those included reports of strikes targeting a US diplomatic facility near Baghdad’s international airport but being intercepted, a drone interception east of Saudi Arabia’s northern Jawf region, and thick smoke seen rising from the direction of the Bapco oil refinery in Bahrain.
Trump said that when to end the war would be a “mutual” decision he would make with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel reported.
The US military reported a seventh American had died from wounds sustained during Iran’s initial counterattack. The Israeli military said two of its soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon. The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador.
With agencies
Updated
Turkey plans to deploy six F-16 fighter jets to northern Cyprus on Monday to bolster the defences of the Turkish community there, broadcaster NTV said, citing a civil aviation official from the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
On Saturday a Turkish defence ministry source said Turkey was considering the deployment of F-16 aircraft to Cyprus, among other steps being taken to ensure the security of the Turkish Cypriot state as conflict spreads in the region, Reuters reported.
Bahrain's Bapco declares force majeure after oil refinery attack
Bahrain’s state-owned energy company Bapco Energies has declared force majeure on its group operations after Iran attacked the country’s only oil refinery, news reports are saying.
A statement from the company said it “hereby serves notice of force majeure on its group operations which have been affected by the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East and the recent attack on its refinery complex”.
Last week Qatar – the Gulf’s biggest liquefied natural gas producer – suspended activity at its facilities on Monday and declared force majeure on gas exports on Wednesday, freeing it from contractual obligations to its customers.
Updated
Hezbollah says it is fighting Israeli forces who landed in east Lebanon
Hezbollah said on Monday it was fighting Israeli forces who landed in eastern Lebanon by helicopter across the Syrian border, the second such operation since the outbreak of the latest conflict with Israel.
Hezbollah said it detected “the infiltration of approximately 15 Israeli enemy helicopters” from the Syrian side of the border in eastern Lebanon, an area where Hezbollah holds sway.
The Iran-backed militant group said in its statement that its fighters “engaged the helicopters and the infiltrating force with appropriate weapons” and that the confrontation was ongoing, the AFP news agency reported.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency earlier said there were “fierce clashes... towards the outskirts of the town of Nabi Sheet to repel Israeli forces that carried out a landing by helicopters” in the area.
Two Hezbollah officials in the Bekaa region, where Nabi Sheet is located, told AFP that an Israeli helicopter was downed.
The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the incident.
It was the second such raid after an Israeli commando operation in Nabi Sheet and its surrounding areas overnight on Friday failed to find the remains of Ron Arad, an airman missing since 1986. The fighting left three Lebanese soldiers and 41 residents of the Bekaa valley dead, according to the Lebanese army and ministry of health.
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Donald Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are planning to travel to Israel on Tuesday and meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an Axios reporter.
Barak Ravid’s post on X cited a “US official and a source with knowledge”.
The plan is yet to be officially confirmed.
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Saudi Arabia condemns 'reprehensible' Iranian attacks on Gulf states
Saudi Arabia has condemned what it calls Iran’s “reprehensible” and unjustifiable aggression against the kingdom and other Gulf states.
The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement on X:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs renews the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s categorical condemnation of the reprehensible Iranian aggressions against the Kingdom, the Gulf Cooperation Council states, a number of Arab and Islamic countries, and friendly nations, which cannot be accepted or justified under any circumstances.
The Kingdom affirms its full right to take all measures that ensure the protection of its security, sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens and residents, and to deter aggression.
More than 2,200 Australians have arrived back home since Middle East conflict started.
As of this morning, more than 2,200 Australians have returned to the country via commercial flights from the Middle East.
Multiple flights from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are arriving or expected to arrive each day into various Australian airports, after a series of long airspace closures.
The government is still encouraging Australians abroad to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s crisis portal if they are in Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon or the UAE.
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Vietnam is considering a plan to scrap tariffs on fuel imports, the government said, as the US-Israeli war with Iran disrupts oil supplies and pushes prices to their highest level since 2022.
The ministry of finance said it had drafted a decree that would slash import tax rates to zero on some petroleum products to “help stabilise the domestic market and ensure national energy security”.
It said in a statement on Sunday:
If the conflict continues and the blockade of the strait of Hormuz persists, alternative supplies on the international market will become scarce and risk driving prices up.
The AFP news agency also reports that since the war began more than a week ago with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, prices of fuel in Vietnam have risen sharply and the government has implemented emergency pricing protocols.
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Thick smoke is rising from the direction of the Bapco oil refinery in Bahrain, a witness has just been quoted as saying.
Earlier on Monday Bahrain said an Iranian drone attack on the island of Sitra injured 32 people overnight.
Gulf countries have been reporting new strikes as Iran continues retaliatory attacks across the region.
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Their forward was once suspended when her head scarf slipped off during a goal celebration. They are the women of the Iran football team, who are at the centre of an international diplomatic incident, even as the US and Israel rain missiles down on their family back home.
The team remains in a hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast, where they played their third and final match of the Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday. Their departure from Australia is imminent, even if it’s not clear whether they want to go.
Fears are held for their safety if they return to Iran. The players were dubbed “wartime traitors” by a state-linked commentator, who called for them to be “dealt with more severely”, after they failed to sing the national anthem in their first Asian Cup game.
In subsequent matches not only have the players sung – or at least mouthed the anthem’s words – they have saluted.
Were they to stay in Australia, they face cutting off ties from their family and friends, who may be then vulnerable living under a regime that has already killed tens of thousands. Backlash might extend to teammates, other footballers, and out through community networks still living in Iran.
It is a torrid choice, but one the players may have for only hours more.
The full story is here:
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Continued from previous post:
My colleague Rebecca Ratcliffe reported last week on efforts by the Philippines to conserve energy. Government offices have been told to adopt flexible work arrangements, and to set air conditioning units no lower than 24 degrees. A presidential palace spokesperson said a four-day working week could also be considered, especially if the Middle East crisis worsened, local media reported.
Other south-east Asian countries are also introducing energy-saving measures, Rebecca noted. In Thailand, the defence ministry advised agencies under its control to cut back on the use of air conditioning, and to use video conferencing to avoid unnecessary travel.
In Myanmar, meanwhile, military rulers have banned half of private vehicles from the roads, announcing that from this weekend even-numbered plates will be permitted to drive only on even dates and odd-numbered plates only on odd dates.
Why does the massive rise in oil prices actually matter? The surge to $100 per barrel might feel a bit abstract – unless you’re in a country scrambling to deal with an energy supply crunch.
Concerns over the strait of Hormuz, which has now been in effect closed for a week, have been compounded by reports of oil production cuts across the Middle East. Asian markets are particularly vulnerable here: they relied on the Middle East for 59% of their crude oil imports last year, according to analytics firm Kpler.
In Bangladesh, Reuters reports that all universities will be closed from Monday, bringing forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity. Officials said the move would not only reduce electricity consumption but also ease traffic congestion, which leads to fuel wastage.
In South Korea, the country’s president has just announced a move to cap domestic fuel prices for the time in almost three decades. The current crisis “is a significant burden on our economy, which is highly dependent on global trade and energy imports from the Middle East”, said Lee Jae Myung.
Continued next post
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Qatar arrests more than 300 over alleged 'misleading information’
Qatar says 313 people of different nationalities have been arrested over allegations of inciting public concern amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The arrests were carried out as part of “ongoing efforts to monitor and address the misuse of social media platforms”, the Qatari interior ministry said in a press release posted on X.
It said:
The arrests were made for filming and circulating unauthorized video clips, spreading misleading information and rumours, and disseminating content intended to incite public concern, in violation of official directives.
The interior ministry also said it “stresses the importance of refraining from filming, publishing video clips or circulating rumours related to the current situation, and calls on the public to obtain information solely from approved official sources”.
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Trump says when to end war will be ‘mutual’ decision with Netanyahu – report
Donald Trump has said a decision on when to end the war with Iran will be a “mutual” one he’ll make together with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Times of Israel has reported.
It said Trump also claimed in a brief telephone interview on Sunday that Iran would have destroyed Israel if he and Netanyahu had not been around. The US president said:
Iran was going to destroy Israel and everything else around it … We’ve worked together. We’ve destroyed a country that wanted to destroy Israel.
The report said Trump was asked whether he alone would decide when the war with Iran ends or if Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, would also have a say. Trump responded:
I think it’s mutual … a little bit. We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account.
The report said that when Trump was asked whether Israel could continue the war against Iran even after the US decided to halt its strikes, he said he declined to entertain the possibility before adding: “I don’t think it’s going to be necessary.”
After crossing $100 per barrel for the first time in four years, global oil prices are still rising.
A short time ago Brent crude, the international benchmark, was 23.1% higher, at $114.13 per barrel. The West Texas Intermediate benchmark price of US crude was up 23.5% at $112.26 per barrel.
Donald Trump insisted overnight that this extraordinary spike was a “short term” effect of the US-Israel war on Iran. Over the weekend his energy secretary, Chris Wright, also predicted the disruption would not last long, telling CNN: “In the worst case, this is a weeks, this is not a months thing.”
Such statements appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
Stock markets across Asia remain under pressure – Japan’s Nikkei 225 is down 7%, South Korea’s Kospi is down 7.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is down 2.6% – as Australia’s ASX 200 endures its worst day in almost a year.
We have a while to wait before Wall Street opens for trading, but pre-market trading data currently puts the Dow Jones industrial average and the benchmark S&P 500 on course to open deep in the red.
Read more from my colleague Jillian Ambrose:
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Iranian attack injures 32 in Bahrain, it says, amid fresh strikes on Gulf states
More on Bahrain now: the country said on Monday that an Iranian drone attack on the island of Sitra injured 32 people overnight, as Gulf nations reported new attacks with Tehran pressing its retaliatory strikes across the region.
All of the wounded were Bahraini citizens and there were four “serious cases”, including children, the health ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency.
The wounded included a 17-year-old girl who suffered severe head and eye injuries, and a two-month-old baby, according to the ministry.
The report from Agence-France Presse said several explosions were also heard on Monday in the Qatari capital of Doha, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait all reported new attacks.
Qatar’s defence ministry said on Monday that its forces had intercepted a missile attack.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said the kingdom intercepted and destroyed two drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field in the country’s south-east.
Kuwait’s defence ministry said the country’s air defences were working to intercept a missile and drone attack on Monday.
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Rocket and drone attacks have targeted a US diplomatic facility near Baghdad international airport and been intercepted by defence systems, police sources are being quoted as saying.
Who is Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei?
The man who has been chosen as the successor to Iran’s slain supreme leader is a 56-year-old cleric who has never held elected office or formally occupied a senior position in the Iranian government.
Mojtaba Khamenei has spent much of his life at the centre of Iranian power while mainly staying out of public view.
Khamenei is the second son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran’s highest authority announced the decision on Sunday, calling on Iranians to rally behind him and preserve national unity.
But Donald Trump had already said Khamenei would be an “unacceptable” choice, while Israel warned it would also pursue Iran’s next supreme leader.
Mojtaba Khamenei was born in 1969 in the north-eastern Iranian city of Mashhad and was raised within the political and clerical world that emerged after the 1979 revolution.
As the Guardian’s Lorenzo Tondo has also written:
As a young man he studied theology in the seminaries of Qom and reportedly took part in the final stages of the Iran-Iraq war.
Unlike many figures in Iran’s leadership, Khamenei never pursued elected office or a prominent government role. Instead, he gradually became an influential presence inside his father’s office, where he was widely seen as part of a small circle managing political access to the supreme leader.
Over the years he cultivated close relationships with conservative clerics and elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
His name surfaced publicly during the disputed 2009 presidential election, when reformist figures accused him of playing a role in supporting the security crackdown that followed mass protests. But he has never discussed the issue of succession publicly.
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An Iranian drone attack that targeted the Bahrain island of Sitra overnight has wounded 32 civilians, the country’s health ministry is being quoted as saying.
The wounded were all Bahrain citizens and there were four serious cases, including children, the ministry said in a statement reported by the state news agency.
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Australian shares plunge as oil price spike sparks global inflation fears
The Australian share market plunged on Monday, wiping about $13obn from the value of the ASX midway through the trading session, after a sharp rise in oil prices caused by the Middle East conflict sparked concerns of a breakout in global inflation.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 4% in lunchtime trading to dive below the 8,500 point mark, marking the single biggest one-day drop since the announcement of Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs last year.
The selldown is linked to disrupted oil supplies, the single biggest contributor to global inflation, which make almost all goods and services more expensive, from petrol and groceries to utilities and travel.
Global oil prices surged past $US100 a barrel shortly before the Australian share market opened for the week, spooking investors.
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A loud explosion was heard in Beirut’s southern suburbs a short while ago.
Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs after the blast was heard, a journalist with Agence-France-Presse reported.
The area – a Hezbollah stronghold whose residents the Israeli military ordered to evacuate – has been pounded by Israel over the past week but had not suffered any strikes since Saturday.
The Israel military is reportedly saying it has begun a wave of attacks in central Iran, and that it has also struck Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
We’ll bring you more on this shortly.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the war on Iran.
Here are the main developments:
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader after the killing of his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes, state-run media announced. He was selected by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body of elected senior clerics tasked with choosing the supreme leader.
Donald Trump warned that Iran’s new leader “is not going to last long” if the Iranians do not get his approval first for the theocratic posting. “He’s going to have to get approval from us,” the president told ABC News. “If he doesn’t get approval from us he’s not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don’t have to go back every 10 years, when you don’t have a president like me that’s not going to do it.”
The Iran war has driven the price of crude oil above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022.
Trump brushed aside concerns about the surging price of oil caused by the US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, even as the price of crude topped $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022. “Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Trump wrote, adding all in capitals that “only fools would think differently”.
Another US military service member has died from wounds sustained during Iran’s initial counter-attack a week ago, bringing the number of US troops killed in action so far in the war with Iran to seven, the US military said on Sunday.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the number of people killed from Israeli airstrikes in the past week had increased to 394, including many women and children.
The Iranian army said on Sunday that at least 104 people were killed and 32 were wounded in an attack by the US on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka’s coast last week.
The Israel Defense Forces began “extensive strikes” against the “infrastructure” of the Iranian regime in Tehran and across other areas in Iran. Despite Israel saying it is striking military or “terror” targets in its war on Iran, many civilians have been killed in its attacks.
Overnight strikes by the US and Israel hit five oil sites around Tehran, according to an Iran official. The official said the five facilities “were damaged” but the “fire was brought under control”. “If you can tolerate oil at more than $200 per barrel, continue this game,” a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the US-Israeli aerial bombardment of Iranian energy infrastructure sites marked a “dangerous new phase” of the conflict and amounted to a war crime.
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