3h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 4:17pmHere’s the latest
Thank you for joining us as we bring you the latest on the unfolding events in the Middle East.
Here’s what we know:
Donald Trump has claimed “just about everything” in Iran’s navy and air force has been “knocked out” since the US-Israeli operation began on SaturdayIsrael’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says war against Iran may take “some time”, but not years, as it continues to attack “with force”.Israel continues to target areas in Iran, including airports, according to Iranian media.It is also striking places in Lebanon it says are Hezbollah infrastructure, with the group promising to fight and claiming to have downed a drone.Iran is firing back, with Israel saying strikes have hit an area in the country’s centre.US president Donald Trump says Iran wants to talk but that it is “too late”.The majority of the region’s airspace remains closed and flights cancelled, but some airlines are starting to run limited flights to evacuate people who have been stuck for four days.The death toll in Iran has reached 787, according to the local Red Crescent. In Lebanon, it is 40, according to the Ministry of Health. In Israel it has reached at least 11, according to officials. Eight have been killed in the Gulf and six US soldiers have died.
13m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 7:16pm
Iran launches fresh attacks on Israel, state media reports
Iranian state media says the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks against Israel.
It is currently 10:45pm in Tehran. Israel has not yet confirmed if any of these missiles or drones have made impact.
About 20 minutes ago, the Israeli military said it had struck a compound in Iran that it said aimed to develop “necessary capabilities” for nuclear weapons, without providing any evidence for the assertion.
18m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 7:10pm
Trump says many Iranian military assets ‘knocked out’
Earlier during a press conference at the White House, Donald Trump said Operation Epic Fury had knocked out many Iranian military assets.
He said Israel did not force his hand in Iran, adding he was certain Iran was going to attack first.
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34m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 6:54pm
Turkey calls Iran’s targeting of Gulf states ‘incredibly wrong’
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Iran’s strategy of attacking Gulf states in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks against it is an “incredibly wrong strategy” that increases instability in the region.
“Iran’s indiscriminate bombing of all these places is an incredibly wrong strategy,” he told state broadcaster TRT Haber, adding Tehran was using a strategy of “if I drown, I’ll drown the region as well”.
Fidan says that countries attacked by Iran may not remain silent if strikes continue.
56m agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 6:33pm
Sirens in Tel Aviv
Sirens were heard in Tel Aviv a short time ago, with no advance warning.
The Israeli military says that this was due to long-range rockets from Lebanon.
That is a significant moment and would be the first time long-range rockets from Lebanon have been fired this conflict. It will mean a likely escalation from Israel in the coming hours.
1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 6:12pm
IDF says it has taken out Iranian commander in Lebanon
The Israeli military has said in an update that it has killed the commander of Iran’s Quds Force in Lebanon, Daoud Ali Zadeh, in a strike on Tehran.
1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 6:11pmKey points from Trump’s presser
1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:51pm
Iraq stops drone attempting to target US consulate — sources
Iraqi authorities downed a drone that had attempted to target the US consulate in Erbil, two security sources told Reuters.
1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:41pm
Trump, Merz asked about oil prices
Both leaders are asked how worried they are about oil and gas prices rising as a result of the war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says increasing prices are “damaging our economies”.
“So that’s the reason why we all hope that this war will come to an end as soon as possible.
“And we are hoping that the Israelis and the American army are doing the right things to bring this to an end and to have, really, a new government in place who is coming back to a peace and freedom.”
Donald Trump initially doesn’t address this question, instead arguing that “something had to be done” and Democrats would have criticised him either way.
But he then says:
“People felt that something that had to be done, so if we have a little high oil prices for a little while — but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before.”
1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:36pmTrump says UK PM Keir Starmer ‘not Winston Churchill’
Donald Trump has sent another salvo across the Atlantic, declaring that Keir Starmer is “no Winston Churchill”.
Over the last few days the commander-in-chief has been critical of the UK PM, initially claiming Downing Street was too slow in allowing the Americans to use British airbases in the Middle East.
Trump later gave an interview to British tabloid The Sun, lamenting that: “It’s not going to matter, but [Starmer] should have helped … he should have. I mean, France has been great. They’ve all been great. The UK has been much different from others.”
Sir Keir has rebuked the increasing pressure out of Washington, stating that his government does “not believe in regime change from the skies”.
But in his Oval Office comments, Trump levelled more criticism at the British PM:
“It’s taken three, four days for us to work out where we can land.
“It would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours.
“So we are very surprised. This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.”
1h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:35pm
Trump says US will ‘cut off all dealings with Spain’
Donald Trump is asked how America’s allies could now be helpful in the Middle East.
While Australia and Canada backed the strikes, many European nations offered only lukewarm support or none at all.
Spain has been particularly critical, and refused to allow the US to use its military bases to attack Iran.
Trump says: “Some of the European nations have been helpful, and some haven’t.”
“Spain has been terrible.
“In fact, I told [Treasury Secretary] Scott [Bessent] to cut off all dealings with Spain.”
He suggests the US could use Spanish bases even without Spain’s permission.
“Spain actually said that we can’t use their bases… we could use that base if we want.
“We could just fly in and use it. Nobody’s going to tell us not to use it.”
After saying Spain has “absolutely nothing that we need, other than great people”, Trump says:
“We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:16pm
‘No radioactive contamination’ from strikes, says Iran
Iran said on Tuesday it had detected “no radioactive contamination” as a result of US-Israeli air strikes on its underground fuel enrichment facility at Natanz.
“No leak of radioactive material has been recorded at this complex, thanks to preventative measures and data logged by the monitoring system,” the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said in a statement quoted by news agency ISNA.
The underground fuel enrichment site at Natanz was targeted at the weekend and was previously hit by bombings in June during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:15pm
Trump on exiled crown prince as a possible future leader
Donald Trump has been asked if exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi could be an option to lead Iran.
Pahlavi has been living abroad for 50 years, and has worked for decades to position himself as an option.
Trump says:
“I guess he is. Some people like him.
“And we haven’t been thinking about too much about that.
“It would seem to me that somebody from within maybe would be more appropriate.”
Pahlavi spoke to the ABC last week. In an interview with Nassim Khadem, he said his legitimacy as a prospective leader would only come from fellow Iranians:
“I’m not looking for endorsement or international support. They should be supporting the Iranian people and their rights to self-determination and freedom. That’s all I’m asking for.”
Read Nassim’s story here:
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:06pm
Trump on Iran’s ‘worst-case scenario’
(Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
Donald Trump has been asked about the worst-case scenario in Iran that the US has planned for.
“I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?
“That could happen. We don’t want that to happen.
“It would probably be the worst. You go through this and then, in five years, you realise you put somebody in who was no better.
“So we’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people, and we’ll see what happens with the people. You know, they have their chance.”
He doesn’t explain any further how the US has planned for that scenario.
Asked if he has “someone in mind”, Trump says:
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead.”
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 5:03pm
Trump says Israel did not force his hand
The first question asked of Donald Trump is whether Israel forced his hand in Iran.
It’s a reference to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments yesterday. He said the US had to strike to stop an “imminent threat” because Israel was planning to attack Iran, which would have prompted Iran to attack US interests.
But Trump says: “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”
“We were having negotiations with these lunatics [Iran], and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first.”
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 4:56pm
Merz keeps comments on Iran brief
(Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has only made a couple of brief remarks on Iran, telling Donald Trump:
“We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran away.
“And we will talk about the day after. What will happen then if they are out?”
He is also keen to discuss trade and Ukraine during their Oval Office meeting.
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 4:56pm
US military has struck over 1,700 targets in Iran since operation began
The US military has carried out strikes against more than 1,700 targets in Iran, U.S. Central Command said on Tuesday.
In a fact sheet entitled Operation Epic Fury, First 72 Hours, US Central Command said the strikes, had targeted Iranian Navy ships, submarines, and anti-ship missile sites along with command and control centres.
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 4:53pm’Just about everything’s been knocked out’ in Iran, Trump says
Donald Trump and Germany’s Friedrich Merz are now seated in the Oval Office, and media has been allowed in.
Trump begins by praising Merz and the US-German relationship.
“We’ll obviously be talking a little bit about Iran today,” Trump says.
“And that is coming along, as you see, very well.
“They have no navy. It’s been knocked out.
“They have no air force. It’s been knocked out.
“They have no air detection, that’s been knocked out. Their radar has been knocked out. And, just about everything’s been knocked out.”
He says the pair will also be talking about trade.
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 4:46pm
Trump administration pushes its case for strikes
Donald Trump’s meeting with Freidrich Merz, including their expected joint appearance before the media, follows something of a communications blitz from the administration yesterday.
Trump and senior officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, fronted the media at multiple events to make the case for the military action.
Trump did not take questions when he spoke at the White House, but listed the US’s four objectives in Iran: destroy its missile program, annihilate its navy, prevent it obtaining a nuclear bomb, and end its capacity to support proxy groups (like Hamas and Hezbollah).
He did not mention regime change. He separately told CNN “the big wave” of attacks was yet to come.
Hegseth argued the attack would be swift and devastating, and forcefully pushed back on speculation it could be an “endless war”.
Rubio said the US had no choice but to act “pre-emptively” after learning Israel was planning an attack, which would have prompted Iranian retaliation against the US.
Read more here:
2h agoTue 3 Mar 2026 at 4:45pm
Loud bangs heard in multiple locations across Middle East
Reuters is reporting that loud bangs have been heard in the Qatari capital Doha, and in the United Arab Emirates’ cities Dubai and Abu Dhabi.