Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.22 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n AFP has some further details on the two strikes that targeted the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah earlier, killing two members including a \u201ckey figure\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAt 02:15 am (2315 GMT Friday), a missile struck a house that was being used by Kataeb Hezbollah,\u201d a security source told AFP, adding that \u201ca key figure was martyred,\u201d and two members of the group were wounded.<\/p>\n AFP journalists heard blasts in the capital followed by ambulance sirens, with witnesses saying they saw smoke rising from the Arasat neighbourhood, where several Iran-backed groups are known to be present.<\/p>\n Two hours later, an airstrike hit a vehicle in eastern Baghdad that killed \u201ca member of the Hashed al-Shaabi,\u201d another security source said.<\/p>\n A Hashed al-Shaabi official told AFP the member killed belongs to Kataeb Hezbollah.<\/p>\n The Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), is a former paramilitary group now integrated into the regular armed forces. It also encompasses brigades from Iran-backed groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah.<\/p>\n None of the sources said who was believed to be behind the strikes, and the Kataeb Hezbollah group has not commented. However, since the start of the war, several attacks that targeted Iran-backed fighters across Iraq have been blamed on the US and Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The United Arab Emirates\u2019 attorney-general has ordered the arrest of 10 individuals accused of sharing video clips that show genuine footage of air defence systems intercepting attacks, as well as fabricated scenes.<\/p>\n The individuals have been referred to an expedited trial, according to state controlled media, which said videos were deemed liable to mislead and incite fear.<\/p>\n Earlier this week 20 people, including a British tourist, were charged in the UAE<\/a> under cybercrime laws in connection with filming and posting material related to Iranian attacks on the country.<\/p>\n A view of the damaged part of one of the buildings of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) caused by debris from an interception of an Iranian drone attack in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 13 March 2026. Photograph: EPA\/StringerShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.57 EDT<\/p>\n Thirty six years before Donald Trump ordered military strikes on Iran\u2019s vital oil hub, Kharg island, he told the Guardian<\/a> that he would attack the island if he ever became president and Iran fired even one bullet at an American.<\/p>\n In a 1988 interview with the Guardian, which Trump was reminded of during a Fox News interview<\/a> on Friday morning, Polly Toynbee, now a Guardian columnist, asked the businessman what his platform would be if he ever did run for president.<\/p>\n \u201cRespect,\u201d Trump replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a second rate economic power, a debtor nation. We\u2019re getting kicked around,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n When Toynbee asked him what he would do about Iran<\/a>, Trump replied:<\/p>\n I\u2019d be harsh on Iran. They\u2019ve been beating us psychologically, making us look a bunch of fools. One bullet shot at one of our men or ships and I\u2019d do a number on Kharg Island. I\u2019d go in and take it. Iran can\u2019t even beat Iraq, yet they push the United States around. It\u2019d be good for the world to take them on.<\/p>\n Seven years before that interview, the New York Times and other outlets reported that Pentagon invasion plans for Iran<\/a> drawn up during the 1979 hostage crisis started with an attack on Kharg Island.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n An explosion was heard in Iraq\u2019s capital Baghdad on Saturday, hours after a missile struck a powerful Iran-backed group in the city, AFP reports.<\/p>\n Residents in the Zayouna district in eastern Baghdad told AFP that the force of the blast shook their houses.<\/p>\n Explosions were heard earlier in Baghdad, which appeared to be a missile strike on a house used by the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing \u201ca key figure\u201d and wounding two others, according to a security source.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran threatens attacks on US-linked oil infrastructure after US hits Kharg Island<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Armed Forces Unified Combatant has warned that any attack on Iran\u2019s oil and energy infrastructure will lead to attacks on energy infrastructure owned by oil companies cooperating with the US in the region, Iranian media has reported.<\/p>\n The military\u2019s Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement cited by Iranian media that oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms that cooperated with the United States would \u201cimmediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes\u201d if Iran\u2019s energy facilities were attacked.<\/p>\n The warning came after Trump said that the US had destroyed military targets on Iran\u2019s main oil hub of Kharg Island. The island serves as the export terminal for 90% of Iran\u2019s oil shipments.<\/p>\n In an earlier post on Truth Social, Trump said the US had \u201ctotally obliterated\u201d every military target on Kharg Island.<\/p>\n Trump added he had chosen not to wipe out the oil infrastructure on the island, but said: \u201cHowever, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, I will immediately reconsider this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.22 EDT<\/p>\n An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon<\/a> has killed a dozen medical staff at a clinic, Lebanese health authorities said on Saturday, according to a report from AFP.<\/p>\n Lebanese health authorities said an Israeli strike killed 12 doctors, paramedics and nurses working at a healthcare centre in the town of Burj Qalawiya, following another strike on the town of Sawaneh that left two paramedics affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally Amal dead.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The US has told non-emergency US government employees in Oman and their family members to leave the country, AFP reports.<\/p>\n The state department updated its advisory to warn Americans of \u201csafety risks,\u201d noting \u201cthere has been an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran<\/a> and significant disruptions to commercial flights.\u201d<\/p>\n Two people were killed by drone in northern Oman, state media reported Friday, as Iran continues its retaliatory attacks on neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.15 EDT<\/p>\n Two people were wounded after a projectile fell on a house in Iraq\u2019s capital Baghdad on Saturday, reports AFP, citing two security sources.<\/p>\n AFP journalists heard loud bangs in the capital followed by ambulance sirens, with witnesses saying they saw smoke rising from an area in the city\u2019s centre.<\/p>\n A security source said \u201ca projectile fell on a house wounding two people,\u201d in the neighbourhood of Arasat, where several Iran-backed groups are known to be present, without being able to determine the type of the projectile.<\/p>\n Another security source confirmed two people were injured.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Strategic oil reserves to begin moving next week, says US energy dept<\/p>\n The US energy department expects early deliveries of oil from its strategic petroleum reserve to begin moving to the market by the end of next week, it said in a statement.<\/p>\n This is part of a wider effort by the 32-nation International Energy Agency, announced earlier this week, to unlock 400m barrels of oil in an effort to bring down prices.<\/p>\n Gas prices are advertised on Friday, March 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. Photograph: Richard Vogel\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.18 EDT<\/p>\n Qatari authorities evacuated parts of Doha\u2019s Msheireb district, which includes government offices and a Google office, early on Saturday, witnesses said.<\/p>\n The witnesses also said authorities evacuated parts of Doha\u2019s education city, which is home to branch campuses of six US universities.<\/p>\n The evacuation orders come after Qatar\u2019s interior ministry said authorities were evacuating a \u201cnumber of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure,\u201d without providing details on the areas.<\/p>\n It came about an hour before authorities reported missile interceptions in Qatar, Reuters reports.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.14 EDT<\/p>\n Israeli strikes in Gaza killed four Palestinians, including two 17-year-olds, in two separate attacks, Palestinian medics said, with violence continuing in the West Bank and Gaza even as Israel<\/a> expands its offensive across the region.<\/p>\n Israeli forces killed two in the West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday, according to Palestinian officials, while the death toll in Lebanon<\/a> reached 773, its Health Ministry said on Friday.<\/p>\n The Israeli military told Reuters it was not aware of the earlier airstrike reported in Gaza, which paramedics said killed three people, including two 17-year-old males.<\/p>\n Separately, one Palestinian was killed and several other people were wounded in Israeli tank shelling near a police checkpoint in western Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Five US air force refueling planes were struck and damaged on the ground at Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two US officials.<\/p>\n The planes, which were hit during an Iranian missile strike on the Saudi base in recent days, were damaged but not fully destroyed and are being repaired, the Journal said, adding no one was killed in the strikes.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.13 EDT<\/p>\n At least 12 medical personnel were killed in an Israeli strike on a healthcare center in the town of Borj Qalaouiya in southern Lebanon<\/a>, the Lebanese state news agency reported, citing the health ministry.<\/p>\n The health ministry said the death toll was preliminary, with rescue operations underway to search for missing persons.<\/p>\n Rescue teams search through debris after an Israeli airstrike targeted the top floor of a residential building on the eastern outskirts of Sidon, South Lebanon, Friday. Photograph: ZUMAPRESS.com\/AvalonShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.47 EDT<\/p>\n Trump says US has carried out attacks Iran’s Kharg island<\/p>\n Donald Trump said the United States carried out strikes against \u201cevery military target\u201d on Iran\u2019s Kharg Island export hub.<\/p>\n \u201cFor reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island,\u201d the US president wrote on Truth Social.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, should Iran<\/a>, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n This handout image taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite shows a view of Iran\u2019s Kharg Island, which hosts the country\u2019s main crude export terminal and is responsible for the majority of its oil shipments to the world, about 25 kilometres south of the mainland in the north of the Gulf, on March 2, 2026. Photograph: EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.50 EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran threatens attacks on US-linked oil infrastructure after US hits Kharg Island Iran\u2019s Armed Forces Unified Combatant has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-522435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Robert_Mackey.png\")
Robert Mackey<\/p>\n