General Dan Caine opens his remarks by paying tribute to the American servicemen who have died as a result of Trump\u2019s war on Iran.<\/p>\n
Updating on the progress in the conflict, he says the joint force remains focussed on its three main objectives \u2013 destroying missiles and drone capability before it can threaten American interests, strike and degrade the Iranian navy and prevent the regime from being able to attack the US and its partners \u201cfor years to come\u201d.<\/p>\n
Caine adds:<\/p>\n
double quotation markBallistic missile attacks continue to trend downwards, down 90% from when we started.<\/p>\n
He adds that the US is striking Iranian mine-laying missiles. The general says \u201cthis is gritty and tireless work\u201d and expresses his pride in the performance of the joint force throughout the campaign.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.40 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n The United Arab Emirates\u2019 air defences intercepted eight missiles and 26 drones on Tuesday, the UAE defence ministry said on X<\/a>. A ninth missile fell into the sea while nine more drones fell into the country\u2019s territory.<\/p>\n In total, UAE air defences have identified 262 ballistic missiles, eight cruise missiles and 1,475 drones heading toward UAE territory, the UAE defence ministry said.<\/p>\n These attacks killed six people and injured 122.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The day so far<\/p>\n US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said attacks on Iran will ramp up Tuesday with the heaviest strikes since Washington launched the war 10 days ago. \u201cToday will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran,\u201d Hegseth told a news conference at the Pentagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military announced it had begun a fresh wave of attacks on Tehran as it reiterated evacuation orders for parts of southern Lebanon, where Israel has extended its campaign against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Iran launched new attacks at Gulf countries on Tuesday. Incoming missile sirens sounded early in the morning in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed two drones. Kuwait\u2019s National Guard said it had shot down six drones.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said they would not allow \u201cone litre of oil\u201d to be shipped from the Middle East if US-Israeli attacks continued. Trump responded by saying the US would hit Iran \u201c20 times harder\u201d if it blocked tanker traffic through the strait of Hormuz, which handles a fifth of the world\u2019s oil supply.<\/p>\n But oil prices fell and stocks rebounded after US president Donald Trump said the war with Iran would end \u201cvery soon\u2019. On Monday, the US president also suggested that while he was not yet declaring the US mission accomplished, the war was \u201cvery complete, pretty much\u201d. \u201cWe\u2019ve already won in many ways, but we haven\u2019t won enough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Trump also said that the US would waive oil-related sanctions on \u201csome countries\u201d to ease the shortage, after speaking with Russian president Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Trump told Fox News that it\u2019s possible that his administration could begin peace talks with Iran once again but it depends on the terms \u2013 and he noted that he \u201csort of\u201d doesn\u2019t need to talk to them anymore. Meanwhile, Abbas Araghchi, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, told PBS News Hour in an interview aired Monday that \u201cI don\u2019t think the question of talking with Americans or negotiation with Americans once again would be on the table, because we have a very bitter experience of talking with Americans\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.54 EDT<\/p>\n An Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon<\/a> would be a \u201ctremendous\u201d mistake, Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares warned on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Albares, who also said Madrid demanded Lebanese militia Hezbollah<\/a> cease its rocket launches toward Israel, announced Spain would send humanitarian aid worth 9 million euros ($10.5 million) to Beirut.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Hegseth says the aftermath of the conflict is \u201cgoing to be in America\u2019s interests\u201d and says it \u201cwill not live under a nuclear blackmail\u201d from Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n It comes shortly after the defence secretary reiterated president Donald Trump\u2019s claim that if Iran does anything to prevent the flow of oil in the strait of Hormuz, it will be hit \u201ctwenty times as hard\u201d.<\/p>\n That concludes the press conference.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Asked what measures the Pentagon is taking to minimise loss of civilian life in Iran<\/a>, Hegseth says \u201cno nation takes more precautions to ensure there is never targeting of civilians than the USA\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere things happen that need to be investigated, we will investigate,\u201d he says. \u201cOpen-source is not the way to determine what did or did not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n He goes on to paint Iran as a regime that targets civilians and says it has moved military infrastructure into civilian areas.<\/p>\n Asked about the Iranian government\u2019s assertion that is is prepared for a \u201clong war\u201d and America\u2019s ability to defend its personnel, Hegseth says the US is giving every possible resource to its troops on the frontline to ensure they are \u201cproperly defended\u201d.<\/p>\n US defence secretary Pete Hegseth Photograph: ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.34 EDT<\/p>\n Hegseth: Iran made a ‘big mistake’ targeting its neighbours<\/p>\n General Caine says US forces are able to move around with \u201crelative impunity\u201d but acknowledges \u201cthere is always a risk\u201d.<\/p>\n Commenting on Iran\u2019s attacks on fellow Gulf states, Hegseth says:<\/p>\n double quotation markBig mistake by the Iranian regime in attacking it\u2019s neighbours, right away \u2026 flailing recklessly.<\/p>\n He says it demonstrates a miscalculation of the Iranian regime by pushing other countries into supporting the US campaign.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Hegseth says the new leader of Iran<\/a> \u201cwould be wise to heed the words of our president not to pursue nuclear weapons\u201d.<\/p>\n He was asked by a reporter if he can comment on the new supreme leader\u2019s status amid reports he had been injured but Hegseth says he cannot talk about that.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not endless, this is not protracted,\u201d Hegseth says. \u201cIt\u2019s not for me to posit whether it\u2019s the beginning, middle or the end \u2013 that\u2019s up to him [president Trump].\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Caine says the US forces\u2019 work continues and that it will \u201ccontinue to be difficult\u201d and concludes that the sacrifice of those who have died \u201cwill be felt forever\u201d.<\/p>\n Hegseth adds that no other nation in the world would be capable of carrying out the campaign that the US is right now.<\/p>\n Asked about the degradation of Iran\u2019s military capability, Hegseth says that there is strong evidence of its ballistic missile and drones being degraded.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hegseth says today will be the \u2018most intense day of strikes\u2019 in war against Iran as US intensifies attacks<\/p>\n Hegseth adds that today will be \u201cthe most intense day of strikes\u201d, while Iran<\/a> has fired its lowest number of weapons in the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n General Dan Caine opens his remarks by paying tribute to the American servicemen who have died as a result of Trump\u2019s war on Iran.<\/p>\n Updating on the progress in the conflict, he says the joint force remains focussed on its three main objectives \u2013 destroying missiles and drone capability before it can threaten American interests, strike and degrade the Iranian navy and prevent the regime from being able to attack the US and its partners \u201cfor years to come\u201d.<\/p>\n Caine adds:<\/p>\n double quotation markBallistic missile attacks continue to trend downwards, down 90% from when we started.<\/p>\n He adds that the US is striking Iranian mine-laying missiles. The general says \u201cthis is gritty and tireless work\u201d and expresses his pride in the performance of the joint force throughout the campaign.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.40 EDT<\/p>\n Hegseth: US is ‘winning’ its war with Iran<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, kicks off by saying Operation Epic Fury \u201chits home\u201d because of his own experiences in the Iraq war.<\/p>\n He says the Iranians are \u201cracing towards a nuclear bomb\u201d and says US president Donald Trump<\/a> \u201cwill never allow it\u201d.<\/p>\n Hegseth says the mullahs know that their military is being \u201csystematically degraded\u201d and that Iran<\/a> \u201cstands alone and is badly losing\u201d.<\/p>\n By contrast, he says, America is \u201cwinning\u201d and is executing its objectives to destroy its missiles, its navy and \u201cpermanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever\u201d.<\/p>\n He adds:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe will not relent until the enemy is totally and entirely defeated.<\/p>\n He says \u201cthis is not 2003 and it is not endless nation-building\u201d in an attempt to put daylight between this bombing campaign and the US\u2019s previous forays into Middle Eastern conflict.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n US defence secretary Pete Hegseth and general Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, are scheduled to begin momentarily a briefing at the Pentagon on the US-Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n Stay tuned for updates.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump says it\u2019s possible he could talk to Iran<\/p>\n We\u2019re getting lines today Fox News, the US president\u2019s favourite broadcaster, that when pressed in an interview on whether he\u2019d be open to talk to the Iranians, Donald Trump said that it could be possible but it depends on the terms.<\/p>\n But he immediately put a dampener on that outcome, noting that he \u201csort of\u201d doesn\u2019t need to talk to them anymore, according to Bloomberg who saw Trumps comments.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting here that Iran has not spoken to the US directly since 2018, when the former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned<\/a> such talks. The previous round of peace negotiations were conducted through intermediaries in Oman and Switzerland.<\/p>\n Earlier, Abbas Araghchi, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, played down the idea of talks. \u201cI don\u2019t think the question of talking with Americans or negotiation with Americans once again would be on the table, because we have a very bitter experience of talking with Americans,\u201d he told PBS News Hour in an interview that aired Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe negotiated with them last year, in last June, and they attacked us in the middle of negotiations. And again this year, they tried to convince us that this time is different. They promised us that they don\u2019t have any intention to attack us\u2026but, again, after three rounds of negotiation, and after the American team in the negotiation said itself that we made a big progress, still they decided to attack us. So I don\u2019t think talking with Americans anymore would be on our agenda anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.57 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some images coming out of Lebanon, which was hit with a fresh wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting Al-Qard Al-Hassan, the US-sanctioned financial organisation that Israel has accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah.<\/p>\n A man passes in front of a destroyed building that housed a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh on 10 March 2026. Photograph: Hussein Malla\/APA bust of the late Iranian General Qassem Suleimani stands in front of a destroyed building that housed a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan in Dahiyeh on 10 March 2026. Photograph: Hussein Malla\/APA bulldozer removes the wreckage of destroyed shops at a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh on 10 March 2026. Photograph: Hussein Malla\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n The Israeli military has announced<\/a> that it has begun another fresh wave of strikes on Tehran.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Bombing of Iran\u2019s oil infrastructure to have major environmental fallout, experts warn Israel\u2019s bombing of Iran\u2019s oil infrastructure<\/a> will have major long-term environmental repercussions, experts have warned, as monitors admitted they were struggling to keep track of the environmental disasters arising from the widening war.<\/p>\n Even as Iranians filled the streets to mark the appointment of a new supreme leader, the Shahran oil depot north-east of Tehran and the Shahr-e fuel depot to its south continued to burn on Monday<\/a>, two days after they were bombed by Israeli warplanes.<\/p>\n In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, Iran\u2019s environmental agency and the Iranian Red Crescent Society had warned Tehran residents to stay at home, warning the toxic chemicals spread by airstrikes on five fossil fuel installations around the city could lead to acid rain and damage the skin and lungs.<\/p>\n On Monday, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: \u201cDamage to petroleum facilities in Iran risks contaminating food, water and air \u2013 hazards that can have severe health impacts especially on children, older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran to EU: ‘spare the hypocrisy’<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Iran\u2019s foreign ministry on Tuesday had harsh words for Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.<\/p>\n In response to von der Leyen\u2019s remarks that the \u201cpeople of Iran deserve freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own future\u201d, Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X<\/a>: \u201cPlease spare the hypocrisy\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve made a career out of standing on the wrong side of history \u2014 green-lighting occupation, genocide, and atrocities, and now laundering U.S.\/Israeli crime of aggression and war crimes against Iranians,\u201d Baqaei wrote.<\/p>\n Baqaei continued: \u201cWhere was your voice when more than 165 innocent IRANIAN little angels were massacred in the city of Minab<\/a>? Why don\u2019t you say anything when hospitals, historical sites, oil facilities, diplomatic police headquarter, firefighting stations and residential neighborhoods are wickedly targeted?<\/p>\n \u201cSilence in the face of lawlessness and atrocity is nothing less than complicity.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Damien](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Damien_Gayle.png\")
Damien Gayle<\/p>\n
![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ben_Quinn.png\")
Ben Quinn<\/p>\n