07/03/2026 – 08:05Arab League to meet Sunday over Iranian attacks
The foreign ministers of the Arab League will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss Iranian attacks on several of the group’s members, the bloc’s assistant secretary-general told AFP.
The meeting, which will be held via videoconference, was requested by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Jordan and Egypt, Hossam Zaki said.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit had earlier condemned the Iranian attacks, saying they are “fully reprehensible” and “not only a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, but also an assault on the principles of good neighbourliness”.
He added that the attacks “create an unprecedented state of hostility between Iran and its Arab neighbours”.
“This is a grave Iranian strategic mistake, which I hope they will rectify by halting these attacks immediately.”
07/03/2026 – 07:56Israel says over 80 fighter jets struck Tehran and central Iran
Israel’s military said more than 80 fighter jets completed a wave of strikes on Iranian military sites, missile launchers and other targets in Tehran and central Iran on Saturday.
“Over 80 Israeli Air Force fighter jets… completed an additional wave of strikes targeting infrastructure belonging to the Iranian terror regime,” the military said in a statement.
In one of the biggest raids announced by Israel since the regional war began on February 28, the statement said that jets hit a military academy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards which “was being used as an emergency asset”.
It said the facility was being used for military operations, making it “a lawful military objective”.
Other targets included an underground command centre and missile storage facility as well as launch sites, “in order to reduce the scope of fire directed at the territory of the State of Israel”, the statement said.
07/03/2026 – 06:56Iran says launched ‘massive’ drone strikes at Israel and US bases
Iran’s army said its navy had launched a wave of drone attacks targeting Israel as well as US bases in the UAE and Kuwait, as the regional war raged into its second week.
“The Iranian Navy targeted American bases and occupied territories with a massive wave of drone attacks,” the army said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
It said the targets included the UAE’s Al Minhad base and another in Kuwait, as well as a “strategic facility” in Israel.
07/03/2026 – 06:53Iran Guards say ‘waiting’ for US forces at Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they were waiting for US forces to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where traffic remains strangled as the regional war rages.
“We are waiting for their presence,” said Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini, after the US energy secretary announced the Navy was preparing to escort ships through the strait “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it”.
“We recommend that before making any decision, the Americans remember the fire of the American supertanker Bridgeton in 1987 and the oil tankers that were recently targeted,” Naini said, according to Fars news agency.
07/03/2026 – 05:55Saudi defence minister urges Iran to avoid ‘miscalculation’ after attacks
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, urged Iran on Saturday to “exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation”, following repeated missile and drone launches at the kingdom.
After meeting with Pakistan’s military chief, the Saudi minister posted on X: “We discussed Iranian attacks on the Kingdom and the measures needed to halt them… We stressed that such actions undermine regional security and stability and expressed hope that the Iranian side will exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation.”
07/03/2026 – 05:06Explosions heard in Dubai and Bahrain
AFP journalists heard explosions in Dubai and Bahrain’s capital Manama on Saturday, one week into Iran’s retaliatory attacks on targets around the Gulf.
Two blasts were heard in Dubai and one in Manama, where a warning siren sounded.
“Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” Bahrain’s interior ministry posted on X.
07/03/2026 – 04:48Blast in Jerusalem after Iran missile alert
An AFP journalist heard an explosion in Jerusalem on Saturday after air raid sirens warned of an incoming Iranian missile attack.
The Israeli military said earlier that air defences were “operating to intercept the threat” before giving the all-clear.
07/03/2026 – 04:26Clashes reported as Israeli forces attempt landing near Lebanon–Syria border
Lebanese official media reported on Saturday that clashes had erupted as Israeli forces attempted a landing operation along the Lebanon–Syria border, with militant group Hezbollah saying its fighters were involved.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has launched numerous strikes and sent ground troops into Lebanon since the Tehran-backed group Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday to avenge the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
If confirmed, the latest reported raid would be the deepest Israeli forces have reached inside Lebanon since special unit troops apprehended Hezbollah operative Imad Amhaz from the northern city of Batroun in November 2024.
07/03/2026 – 03:59US considers lifting sanctions on Russian oil amid Middle East crisis
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that his government was considering lifting sanctions on more Russian oil, a day after it temporarily authorised India to buy from Moscow as global oil prices surged.
The US-Israel war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have disrupted the world’s energy and transport sectors, virtually halting activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude soared 8.5 per cent on Friday and was up nearly 30 per cent for the week after President Donald Trump said only the “unconditional surrender” of Iran would end the Middle East war.
“We may unsanction other Russian oil,” Bessent told Fox Business on Friday.
07/03/2026 – 03:58Israeli military says responding to Iran missile attack
The Israeli military said that air defences were responding to an Iranian missile attack on Saturday.
Forces had “identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said in a statement.
Air raid alerts across the country’s north were lifted several minutes later.
07/03/2026 – 03:08US approves $151.8m emergency munitions sale to Israel
The US State Department said on Friday it has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale to Israel of munitions and munitions support worth $151.8 million, without congressional review.
Israel has requested to buy 12,000 BLU-110A/B general-purpose, 1,000-pound bomb bodies, the State Department said in a statement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that an emergency existed requiring the immediate sale to Israel. The announcement comes amid the ongoing US and Israel war against Iran.
07/03/2026 – 03:07Trump calls Iran ‘easy’ compared to paying college athletes
US President Donald Trump convened a roundtable of experts on Friday that included former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua.
At the end of the event, a reporter started to ask about Iran and the president interrupted: “That’s an easy problem compared to what we’re doing here.”
“I saw what was happening with college sports. And it doesn’t sound very important compared to what’s happening in Iran and other places,” he said. “But it is very important to me. And if I can get it done, I’ll get it done.”
07/03/2026 – 03:03Israel reports no casualties after renewed Tehran strikes
Israel’s emergency services, the Magen David Adom, said it received no reports of casualties after the barrage of strikes.
The military issued a statement saying people were free to leave their shelters “in all areas of the country.”
07/03/2026 – 03:03IDF launches fresh strikes on Iranian capital
“The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has begun a broad-scale wave of strikes” on government targets in the Iranian capital, an Israeli military statement said.
The IDF said earlier it had detected another round of Iranian missile fire headed towards Israel.
A series of explosions were heard in the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv following the Iranian launches.