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‘This is a war that should not have happened,’ China’s foreign minister
China’s foreign minister has called for an immediate ceasefire in the Iran war to prevent further escalation and warned against any attempt at regime change, reports Denis Staunton.
Although Iran and China enjoy a strategic partnership, Wang Yi struck a neutral tone as he called on all sides to return to the negotiating table.
“This is a war that should not have happened. It is a war that does no one any good. The history of the Middle East tells the world time and again that force provides no solution, and armed conflict will only increase hatred and breed new crises,” he said.
“China calls for an immediate stop to military operations to avoid the spiralling escalation of the situation and prevent the conflict from spilling over and spreading.”
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Oman Air has cancelled flights to and from Amman, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Kuwait, Copenhagen, Baghdad and Khasab “due to ongoing regional airspace closures”.
Huge fire engulfs tower in Kuwait after drone strikes
Flames engulfed Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security high-rise headquarters after it was hit by a suspected drone amid a wave of Iranian aerial strikes on the country. pic.twitter.com/7zslUZVOQA
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) March 8, 2026
A huge fire engulfed a tower in Kuwait city following drone strikes in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It is reported to have broken out at a government site operated by the Public Institution for Social Security in Kuwait.
In a social media post, the department said: The main building of the organization was targeted, resulting in material damage to the building. The fire appears to be under control now.
Drones launched at British military bases in Cyprus
A Lockheed U-2 spy plane is seen above RAF Akrotiri on March 7th, 2026 in Akrotiri, Cyprus. Photograph: Alexis Mitas/Getty Images
Cyprus’ foreign minister Constantinos Kombos has told the Guardian that explosive-packed drones directed at British military bases on the island were launched from Lebanon.
“Right now it’s a fact that we have to be looking towards the Lebanese front,” said the minister, confirming the drones’ provenance for the first time.
“We cannot exclude anything from the broader direction of the north-east. We have to be very careful…we have to make sure that the systems in place are covering all possibilities of threat.”
Cypriot officials are adamant it is the British bases, not the republic, that have been singled out for attack since the onset of the US-led offensive against Iran. – Guardian
Irish chartered flight lands in Dublin
Pleased to confirm that the government charter flight from Oman arrived in Dublin this morning.
We are continuing to work to assist our citizens in the Gulf and I would encourage any citizen in the region who needs assistance to contact the Consular Crisis Team on +35314082000 pic.twitter.com/ZEBrX3Euo1
— Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) March 8, 2026
The chartered flight from Muscat in Oman landed just before 5am, several hours after its scheduled midnight arrival.
It was delayed on Saturday due to the “highly challenging operational context for aviation in the region”.
It made a stop in Cairo and was carrying around 194 people.
The flight was chartered to bring stranded, vulnerable Irish citizens home amid escalating scenes of hostilities between Israel, the United States and Iran.
Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said it had been a challenging journey.
“I am pleased to confirm the arrival into Dublin of a chartered repatriation flight from Oman. I want to welcome home all those who travelled on the flight we have chartered to assist those stranded in the Gulf region,” she said.
“I know their return will be an enormous relief for themselves and for their families and friends.
“It was a challenging journey, in particular for those who travelled over land to Muscat, but I am glad that we have been able to directly facilitate the return of nearly 200 people, including a number of children and infants.”
Hundreds of Irish citizens returned recently from the region via commercial Emirates flights from Dublin. Another is due to land at 6.55pm on Sunday.
Family members wait for their loved ones to arrive at Dublin Airport following an Irish Government chartered flight from Oman, which stopped at Cairo, before touching down in Dublin in the early hours of Sunday. Photograph: Evan Treacy/PA Wire 
Passengers are welcomed by family members as they arrive at Dublin Airport following an Irish Government chartered flight from Oman, which stopped at Cairo, before touching down in Dublin in the early hours of Sunday. Photograph: Evan Treacy/PA Wire US and Israel strikes damage five oil sites around Tehran
Smoke billows after an explosion from fuel storage and energy complexes after a U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday, March 7th, 2026. Photograph: Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times
The United States and Israel hit five oil facilities in overnight strikes in and near the Iranian capital, an official told state TV.
“Last night, four oil depots and a petroleum products transport centre in Tehran and the Alborz were attacked by enemy aircraft,” the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company Keramat Veyskarami told state TV.
He added that the five facilities “were damaged” but the “fire was brought under control”.
On Saturday, an Israeli attack hit an oil storage facility in Tehran.
Majority consensus reached on Iran’s next supreme leader
A majority consensus over a successor to Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has more or less been reached, assembly of experts member Ayatollah Mohammadmehdi Mirbaqeri said on Sunday, according to Mehr news agency.
He said, though, that “some obstacles” need to be resolved regarding the process, according to the report.
Iranian media said the body tasked with appointing Iran’s supreme leader had a minor disagreement over whether their final decision must follow an in-person meeting or instead be issued without adhering to this formality.
The Israeli military warned it would continue pursuing every successor of Iran’s next supreme leader.
In a post on X, the Israeli military also warned it would pursue every person who seeks to appoint a successor for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, referring to the clerical body charged with choosing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
12 more people killed in Lebanon
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP
Israel struck southern Lebanon and Beirut again early on Sunday and killed 12 more people, the Lebanese health ministry said.
The deaths come on top of at least 47 others killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes.
The fighting has killed more than 290 in Lebanon, so far.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian apologised on Saturday for attacks on “neighbouring countries”, even as his country’s missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states and hardliners asserted that Tehran’s war strategy would not change. – Press Association
Two Kuwaiti officers killed
Kuwait authorities said two officers were killed when a swarm of missiles and drones hit the Gulf country.
The interior ministry said only that the officers were killed “while performing their national duty”. – Press Association
Kuwait’s military said it was still intercepting “hostile missile and drone attacks” on Sunday.
Kuwait’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its crude production, as the country’s military said Sunday it had responded “to a wave of hostile drones that penetrated the country’s airspace”.
Fuel tanks at Kuwait’s international airport were targeted in a drone attack, the military added. – Guardian
Israel initiated ‘wave of strikes’
Smoke rises from Tehran’s oil refinery following last night airstrike in Tehran, Iran, March 8th, 2026. Photograph: EPA 
Rubble of destroyed buildings is pictured at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Rweiss neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, on March 8th, 2026. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images
Israel renewed its assault on southern Lebanon early on Sunday, targeting commanders of the Lebanese branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, after Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” for the next phase of the conflict.
The Israeli military said it would “not allow Iranian terrorist elements to establish themselves in Lebanese territory”.
The latest strikes in Lebanon followed an Israeli attack on Saturday on an oil storage facility in Tehran.
It appeared to be the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war. State media blamed “an attack from the US and the Zionist regime” at the site that supplies the capital and neighbouring provinces in the north.
Israel also launched fresh strikes across Iran.
The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes “across Iran” on Sunday, targeting military sites.
A military statement said it had “initiated a wave of strikes targeting the Iranian terror regime military infrastructure across Iran”.
Iran launched fresh strikes launched across the Gulf.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia said its air defence systems were intercepting missiles and drones launched from Iran on Sunday.
In Bahrain, missile and drone attacks injured three people and damaged a desalination plant on Sunday, the interior ministry said – Press Association