Main PointsIntense Israeli air strikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon early today as the crisis in the Middle East entered its seventh dayUS says it struck Iranian drone carrier at seaIran fires missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and BahrainUS defence secretary Pete Hegseth warns bombardment by US is “about to surge dramatically”UN refugee agency warns the conflict in the Middle East is now a “major humanitarian emergency”Iran delays naming new supreme leader due to security concerns, officials sayA second flight from Dubai has brought Irish citizens homeKey ReadsPressure on Government to say attack on Iran is a breach of international lawAnalysis: Israel’s escalation in Lebanon raises new questions over Hizbullah’s survival
Jack White – 10 minutes ago
The United Nations human rights chief plans to travel to Washington this month, he said on Friday, but expressed doubt he could influence the development of the Middle East crisis amid mounting concerns.
“I hope to go to Washington DC later this month, and we will see what this will bring,” Volker Türk told reporters in Geneva.
“We have obviously been in touch, but to be honest, I don’t think it’s in any way meaningful in terms of influencing the current trajectory,” he added.
Türk urged international actors to rapidly de-escalate the regional conflict, now into its seventh day after US-Israeli attacks on Iran. – Reuters
Firefighters respond at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6th, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images
Jack White – 13 minutes ago
Middle East conflict a ‘major humanitarian emergency’ – UN refugee agency
Nearly 100,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon and tens of thousands of Syrian refugees there have fled back over the border, the UN refugee agency said on Friday, calling the situation in the region a “major humanitarian emergency”.
Around 96,000 people are currently sheltered in more than 400 facilities in Lebanon, while more than 33,000 Syrian refugees based in Lebanon have returned to Syria, according to UN figures.
A woman listens to her phone inside a school transformed into a shelter for displaced people in the town to Dekwaneh, north of Beirut on Thursday. Photograph: Joseph Eid / AFP via Getty Images 
Children play inside a school transformed into a shelter for displaced people in the town to Dekwaneh, north of Beirut on Thursday. Photograph: Joseph Eid/ AFP via Getty Images
Jack White – 26 minutes ago
Europe facing ‘heightened’ terrorism threat level – Europol
Europe is now facing an increased level of threat from terrorism and “violent extremism” in response to the US and Israel’s war in Iran, a spokesman for Europol has told our Europe Correspondent Jack Power.
The EU law enforcement agency said: “The terrorist and violent extremist threat level on EU soil is assessed to be heightened”.
“This may manifest itself through home-grown radicalisation by lone-actors. Rapid online dissemination of polarising content may accelerate short-term radicalisation pathways in EU-based diaspora and other individuals,” it said.
The Hague-based agency that helps European police forces co-operate to combat terrorism and other major crimes, warned there was also an increased risk of cyber attacks, like the online attack that crippled the Health Service Executive in 2021.
“The conflict has immediate repercussions for serious and organised crime and terrorism in the EU,” a spokesman for Europol said.
“Key risks are an elevated threat of terrorism and violent extremism, increased cyberattacks targeting EU infrastructure, a rise in conflict-themed online fraud schemes, and the spread of disinformation and influence campaigns,” the spokesman said.
Jack White – 30 minutes ago
‘Significant increase in demand’ for Russian energy resources amid war in Iran, Kremlin says
The Kremlin said on Friday that the war in Iran had fuelled demand for Russian energy products, a day after the US Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea.
The conflict, which entered its seventh day on Friday, has left the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping passage all but shut, with countries around the world cut off from a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia has been and remained a reliable supplier of oil and gas, both via pipelines and in liquefied form.
“We are seeing a significant increase in demand for Russian energy resources in connection with the war in Iran. Russia has been and remains a reliable supplier of both oil and gas – including pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas,” Peskov told reporters.
“It also remains capable of guaranteeing the continuity of all deliveries for which contracts have been concluded.”
Peskov declined to disclose possible volumes of Russian oil supplies to India following Washington’s waiver, which followed months of US pressure on New Delhi not to buy Russian oil.
Jack White – 33 minutes ago
Azerbaijan withdrawing diplomats from Iran
Azerbaijan is withdrawing its diplomats from Iran for their own safety, foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov said on Friday, a day after Baku said four Iranian drones had crossed its border and injured four people in the Nakhchivan exclave.
He said Azerbaijan was evacuating employees from its embassy in Tehran and its consulate general in Tabriz. – Reu–ers
Jack White – 51 minutes ago
Large evacuation orders issued by Israel raise ‘serious concern’, says UN human rights chief
Large scale evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army for southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs raise “serious concern” under international law, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has said.
Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs flee from the area after the Israeli military threatened all of Dahiyeh with an evacuation order on March 5, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, launched missiles at Israel in what it said was retaliation for the joint US-Israeli war on Iran. Photograph: Daniel Carde/Getty Images
“These blanket, massive displacement orders we are talking here about hundreds and thousands of people,” he told reporters in Geneva on Friday morning
“This raises serious concern under international humanitarian law, and in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer,” he added.
Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs flee from the area after the Israeli military threatened all of Dahiyeh with an evacuation order on March 5th, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Daniel Carde/Getty Images
Before launching air strikes, the Israel Defence Forces on Thursday issued forced evacuation orders for the whole population of Beirut’s southern suburbs – home to some 500,000 people – sparking widespread panic.
Traffic was at a standstill in the Lebanese capital on Thursday as people tried to flee.
More than 80,000 people had registered as displaced in Lebanon as of Wednesday.
People flee Beirut’s southern suburbs after the latest issued Israeli warning to the residents to evacuate on Thursday. Israel issued an unprecedented evacuation warning on March 5th for the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hizbullah, sending residents in the district of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in a panic. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images
Loud explosions heard in Tel Aviv
Large booms rang out across Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel as Israeli defence systems attempted to intercept an Iranian rocket volley on Friday morning, Reuters reports.
The Israeli military said on Friday it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel and that air defence systems were operating to intercept the threat.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Kheibar missiles have been fired toward Tel Aviv on Friday as part of the 21st wave of its “Operation True Promise 4″.
In a statement, it added that the new wave of attacks began with a combined missile and drone operation targeting sites in the heart of Tel Aviv.
The Israeli military separately said it has begun an additional wave of air strikes in Beirut.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon on March 6, as Israel vowed to escalate to a new phase in the Middle East war that has spiralled rapidly throughout the region and beyond. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro / AFP via Getty Images Dubai residents told to seek ‘immediate shelter’ amid potential missile threats
An alert was sent out on Friday by the Emirati government warning people in Dubai of “potential missile threats”, the AFP news agency has reported.
The mobile phone alert by the UAE’s interior ministry urges people to seek shelter as the city faces retaliatory strikes from Iran.
“Due to the current situation, potential missile threats, seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building and steer away from windows, doors and open areas,” the alert read.
UK deputy prime minister pictured previously at 10 Downing Street in London. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images
UK deputy prime minister David Lammy separately praised the work of MI5 and counter-terrorism police after four men were arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community in London.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Iran is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism globally and sadly, that is in effect in our own society as well.
“Our intelligence services and counter-terrorism police have thwarted lots of action over the last few years.
“This is now a live investigation, so I won’t comment on that any further, except to thank our security staff and police for continuing to keep our people safe and doing everything they can where people would cause us harm and individuals in our country harm.” – PA
Royal Air Force (RAF) jets could legally strike Iranian missile sites being used to attack British interests in the Middle East, the UK’s deputy prime minister has said.
David Lammy stressed that RAF jets were currently only shooting down missiles and drones fired by Iran at allies in the region.
But he said there was a legal basis for them to do more and strike directly at the Iranian bases being used to launch attacks.
The UK has already given the US permission to use British bases to carry out defensive strikes against Iran’s missile facilities.
He told BBC Breakfast: “It is entirely legal to protect our people and protect our staff, and therefore all operational capability is available to us in those circumstances.”
He said the UK had the satellite and intelligence capability to identify Iranian sites.
Asked if the UK could fire at an Iranian base in anticipation of it launching an attack, he said: “It is my understanding that that would be legal.”
Defence secretary John Healey has not ruled out UK aircraft taking part in strikes on Iran, saying that “as circumstances in any conflict change, you’ve got to be willing to adapt the action you take”.
The UK has been criticised by allies over its response to the crisis, particularly over the defence of Cyprus and the RAF Akrotiri base which was struck by a drone.
Air defence destroyer HMS Dragon is not expected to sail to the eastern Mediterranean until next week and France and Greece have deployed military assets to defend Cyprus.
Asked if he was embarrassed, Lammy told Sky News: “Absolutely not … we have F-35s, Typhoons in the sky taking down missiles as we speak and that has happened over Jordan, it’s happened over Qatar and of course, we will support nationals in the region.
“It’s also right to say that we co-ordinate with allies, the French, the Germans. Cyprus is a Nato ally, so we co-ordinate also with other teams and other close allies on how we equip the area.
“HMS Dragon will be in the region in the coming weeks to further bolster and further support our air defences.” – PA
Mosque closed in Melbourne, Australia, after ‘suspicious package’ found
A Melbourne mosque was closed on Friday and surrounding streets cordoned off after a suspicious package was found at the premises, its management said.
The Islamic Council of Victoria, which houses a mosque and the offices of the peak Muslim body, made an urgent community announcement on Friday evening, saying its mosque was closed because a suspicious package had been identified.
“Police have responded and have completely condoned off Jeffcott Street while they assess the situation. We ask all community members to avoid the area and follow police directions”, the social media post said.
Victoria Police confirmed officers were called to the ICV at about 4pm “to conduct a safety check” but were not able to confirm whether a package had been found.
As of 6.30pm local time, officers remained on scene and the area cordoned off as a precaution, with minor traffic disruptions while the investigation was ongoing.
All mosque events and activity were suspended. The centre had been due to host an Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan after sunset prayers. – The Guardian
The Trump team’s hyper-aggressive war rhetoric
After nearly five days of war in the Middle East, Pete Hegseth boasted of the “sheer destruction” US and Israeli forces were inflicting on their “radical Islamist Iranian adversaries”.
“They’re toast and they know it,” the US defence secretary said, adding: “And we have only just begun to hunt.”
Later, he said: “We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be.”
In Donald Trump’s war against Iran, Hegseth’s rhetoric casting the US as a righteous, ruthless predator is at the centre of a hyper-aggressive messaging strategy from the White House that has included a barrage of social media clips of the military operations to showcase American lethality and prowess.
If you kill Americans — we will hunt you down, and we will kill you.
Iran is learning the hard way that President Trump means what he says. pic.twitter.com/1HvXraHZZs
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) March 3, 2026
Read more here.
Four arrested in London on suspicion of spying on Jewish community for Iran
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran’s intelligence service by spying on locations and individuals linked to the Jewish community in London, the Metropolitan Police said.
Detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing London said the men – one Iranian national and three dual British/Iranian nationals, were detained shortly after 1am on Friday at addresses in Barnet and Watford as part of a pre-planned operation.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “Today’s arrests are part of a long-running investigation and part of our ongoing work to disrupt malign activity where we suspect it.
“We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us.” – Reuters
How is the Iran war causing heating oil prices to soar?
There has been a dramatic rise in the price of home heating oil in Ireland over the past seven days.
Consumer Affairs Correspondent Conor Pope explains the recent rise in home heating oil in Ireland. Video: Chris Maddaloni Strait of Hormuz ship traffic at near-complete halt
Ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a near-complete halt as the Middle East conflict disrupts the key global artery for commodities from oil to fertilisers.
Recent reviews of shipping signals in the strait “indicates transits have reduced to single-digit levels, with only two confirmed commercial transit observed in the past 24 hours,” the Joint Maritime Information Center said in note on Friday.
The crossings involved cargo ships rather than oil vessels, according to the multinational naval advisory group focusing on the Middle East.
The escalating war in the region has prompted dozens of fully laden oil and gas tankers to stay hunkered down within the Gulf. The frequency of attacks on ships in and around the strait remains high, making it too risky for energy tankers and their multimillion-dollar cargoes to attempt a transit. – Bloomberg
Iran delays naming new supreme leader due to security concerns, officials say
Iran has delayed the naming of a successor to its slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, out of security concerns following US and Israeli comments that the new leader could also be targeted, according to two Iranian officials.
Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has emerged as a top contender for the post, but concerns over his security mounted following reports in the media that he may be the new face of Iran, said the two officials, who asked not to be named to discuss sensitive issues.
Mojtaba Khamenei pictured in 2019. Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP
Once Mojtaba Khamenei’s name began to circulate as the favoured candidate to succeed his father, the US said he would not be acceptable and could be eliminated.
“They are wasting their time,” US president Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday, adding that the former supreme leader’s son is “a lightweight” and an “unacceptable” choice.
“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump said, referring to Delcy Rodríguez, the Venezuelan vice president who became interim leader after Washington captured the country’s leader.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said in a social media post Wednesday that any leader appointed by Iran to succeed Ali Khamenei would be “an unequivocal target for elimination”.
US and Israeli strikes have so far killed the ayatollah as well as top military commanders and figures involved in defence, but not clerics. The leaders of Iran’s three branches of government, the presidency, judiciary and parliament, are alive. – The New York Times
Israeli strikes target Iran as US warns of bombardment ‘surge’
Smoke rises after an air strike in central Tehran, Iran, on March 6th, 2026. A joint Israeli and US military operation continues to target multiple locations across Iran since the early hours of 28 February 2026.
Photograph: EPA – European Pressphoto Agency
Intense Israeli air strikes pounded the capital of Iran early on Friday with the US apparently striking an Iranian drone carrier at sea, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republic’s fleet of warships.
Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East at the end of a full week of bombardment, which US defence secretary Pete Hegseth warned was “about to surge dramatically”.
Israel’s military said on Friday morning it had begun “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital.
Witnesses described the Israeli air strikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Iran’s air defences and missile launchers.
The war has escalated to affect countries across the Middle East and beyond.
Early on Friday, Iran fired missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host US forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.
Fire rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut early on March 6th, 2026. Photograph: Fadel Itani / AFP via Getty Images
The US military said early on Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze
The US military’s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180 metre runway for drones.
The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2005 inauguration.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, described the carrier as “roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier”.
“As we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper told reporters.
Speaking alongside Cooper, Hegseth gave few details on Thursday when he promised an upcoming surge.
“It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities,” he said. “And it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.”
Qatar’s defence ministry reported it intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of US Central Command.
A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired early on Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which hosts US forces.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the interior ministry said Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. It said there were no casualties. – AP
Israeli air strikes carried out on Beirut overnight 
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs Al-Jamous neighbourhood on March 6th, 2026. Photograph: Fadel Itani / AFP via Getty Images
Israel carried out heavy air strikes on the Hizbullah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut overnight after ordering its residents to leave, while the Iran-backed group warned Israelis to leave towns and villages at the frontier.
Explosions and flashes lit up the night sky over the Beirut southern suburbs, Reuters footage showed. The Israeli military said it had carried out 26 waves of strikes overnight in the southern suburbs, saying targets included Hizbullah’s command centres and weapons storage facilities.
On Thursday, an Israeli military spokesperson told residents of the southern suburbs to move east and north, posting a map showing four large districts of the capital he said they must leave, including areas adjacent to Beirut airport.
Hizbullah, in a message published in Hebrew on its Telegram channel early on Friday, warned Israelis to leave towns within 5km of the border.
“Your military’s aggression against Lebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the expulsion campaign it is carrying out will not go unchallenged,” Hizbullah said.
During fighting between Hizbullah and Israel in 2024, tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated from towns in the border area but many have since returned. Israeli officials have previously said there are no plans to remove them for now.
A site of overnight Israeli air strikes is pictured in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 6th, 2026. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images
Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East on Monday, when Hizbullah opened fire, igniting a new Israeli offensive, with air strikes focused on Beirut’s southern suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israel has also ordered Lebanese to leave large areas of southern and eastern Lebanon.
The Lebanese health ministry has reported 123 people have been killed and another 683 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks this week. Its figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
There have been no reported fatalities in Israel as a result of Hizbullah attacks. – Reuters