Top developments
The Middle East conflict intensified on Thursday with Iran launching a fresh wave of missles at Israel early on Thursday morning as the war entered the sixth day.
Azerbaijan vows retaliation: President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of "terrorism" and threatened retaliation after drone attacks Thursday into Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhichevan wounded four people.
Tehran denied the allegation and blamed Israel, Azerbaijan's ally, of trying to stage a provocation.
Trump wants to be involved in picking Iran’s next leader: The U.S. president called Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the late supreme leader who is a possible candidate for the post, “unacceptable” and “a lightweight.”
Iran launches more attacks: Iran's army said on Thursday it had launched a drone attack on a US site in the Iraqi Kurdistan city of Erbil, after targeting the headquarters of Kurdish forces with three missiles.
US plans on Iran war operations: The US Central Command has asked the Pentagon to deploy additional military intelligence officers to support operations against Iran likely through September.
Thousands stuck at sea: The UN's International Maritime Organization told AFP that some 20,000 seafarers and 15,000 cruise passengers are stuck in the Gulf because of the war.
Iran death toll: The death toll in Iran from the ongoing war with the United States and Israel has reached at least 1,230 people, an Iranian government agency said Thursday.
Leadership developments: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s slain supreme leader, emerged as a frontrunner for succession.
Global energy impact: Strait of Hormuz shipping remains paralyzed; oil prices rose; US Navy plans to escort tankers once feasible.
Iran's Internet blackout: Iran's internet is "around 1 percent of ordinary levels" with a communication blackout sparked by the war with Israel and the United States entering a fifth day, monitor Netblocks said Thursday.
New US Homeland Security head: Markwayne Mullin, a close ally of Donald Trump and Republican senator from Oklahoma, is set to take over the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on an acting basis while his nomination for the post remains pending.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has locked horns with US President Donald Trump over the war on Iran, has also criticised the Israeli escalation in Lebanon that has displaced thousands of people.
“I just spoke with the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, about the serious situation in Beirut and the rest of the country,” Sanchez wrote on X. “The Lebanese people can count on our total support and humanitarian assistance for the thousands of displaced people. Enough with the escalations. No more destruction. No to war.”
Markwayne Mullin, a close ally of Donald Trump and a Republican senator from Oklahoma, is set to take over the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on an acting basis as his nomination for the post remains pending under federal rules governing executive branch vacancies.
Mullin, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for several years before being elected to the United States Senate in November 2022, has been one of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill and a frequent intermediary between the White House and congressional Republicans. He has often relied on his longstanding House ties while working with former colleagues as Republicans negotiated the party’s sweeping tax and border security law last year.
If confirmed, Mullin would take charge of the third-largest department in the federal government, which plays a central role in implementing Trump’s hardline immigration agenda.
He assumes the role at a crucial moment for that agenda. Immigration enforcement during the first year of Trump’s administration was largely characterised by high-profile operations designed for social media, often led by Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who reported directly to then department chief Kristi Noem.
Noem herself frequently participated in those operations, accompanying officers during field missions when arrests were carried out.
Rome is temporarily closing its embassy in Tehran and moving staff to Azerbaijan, Italy's foreign minister said Thursday.
"We have decided for security reasons to temporarily close our embassy in Tehran, and move the personnel to Baku," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told journalists at the Senate.
His spokesman confirmed the closure to AFP but stressed Italy "has not broken off diplomatic relations".
The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on Saturday, prompting it to retaliate across the region.
Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that several explosions were heard in Tehran on Thursday morning.
Amjad Hussein Panahi, head of the political bureau of the Komala Party of Kurdistan, says that he believes “the Iranian regime” will soon come to an end.
“The Iranian regime needs time to collapse, and we, as part of the Women’s Revolution for a Free Life, are working towards that with other nations,” Panahi told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview.
“The regime is crumbling before the international community and is breathing its last. In my view, the Iranian regime will not last much longer.”
Pahani told Al Jazeera that “so far, our political program, as part of the coalition of Iranian Kurdish parties, does not include any separatist projects.”
He also laid out what his party is striving for: “we want our rights guaranteed in a decentralized Iran that ensures the rights of Kurds, Baloch, Arabs, Persians, and all other groups. We want an end to executions, and we want to study in our language and remain on our land within a free and democratic Iran where everyone feels safe.”
He said that the party has not received backing from the US, but “that the results will be greater and more welcome” should it join them in “an uprising to liberate our people from the oppressive Iranian regime.”
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has warned the country is in a “state of near-emergency” economically as the Middle East war threatens to drive up prices.
Speaking at an event at a military academy, Sisi said the conflict could have serious repercussions for Egypt’s economy, particularly through rising inflation.
“The current crisis might have some repercussions on prices”, he said, warning that traders accused of price gouging could face military courts.
Although Egypt has not been directly involved in the US and Israeli war on Iran, the conflict has disrupted trade routes and heightened economic pressures across the region.
Sisi also warned the conflict could affect traffic through the Suez Canal, a major source of foreign currency for Egypt, as shipping companies reroute vessels away from the region.
He said Egypt was making “sincere and honest mediation efforts to stop the war”.
rump said he is appointing Noem to serve as his “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas” as he announced her ouster from DHS.
Trump is gathering with the leaders of 11 Latin American countries for a “Shield” summit on Saturday at his golf club in Doral, Florida.
The name of the gathering is supposed to reflect Trump’s vision for U.S. national security strategy to put a greater emphasis on the Western Hemisphere, as he looks to leverage U.S. military and intelligence assets unseen in the region since the end of the Cold War.
Noem, speaking in Nashville, confirmed she will be at the summit and that Trump will announce “a big agreement” that will detail “how we’re going to go after cartels and drug trafficking in the entire Western Hemisphere.”
“Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas,” Noem wrote on X.
She added that she looked forward to working with top administration officials “to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren.”
She also said that, during her tenure, the department “delivered the MOST secure border in American history” and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had “delivered disaster relief at a 100% faster rate.”
The post followed Noem making no mention of being ousted during a more than 30-minute address and question-and-answer session at a law enforcement event in Nashville.
Thank you @POTUS Trump for appointing me as the Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. @SecRubio and @SecWar are incredible leaders and I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and…
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 5, 2026
The Middle East conflict will have “immediate repercussions” for European Union security with an increased threat of terrorism, serious and organised crime as well as violent extremism and cyberattacks, European police body Europol has told Spanish news agency EFE.
Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth said he expected to see more cyberattacks against European infrastructure and an increase in online fraud using increasingly sophisticated AI and exploiting the flurry of information swirling about the conflict online, EFE reported.
Groups linked to Iran could seek to carry out “destabilising activities” within the EU, he added, referring to groups linked to the so-called Axis of Resistance, the network of anti-US and Israeli militias in countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. These could include terrorist attacks, intimidation campaigns, terrorist financing and cybercrime.
“The level of terrorist threat and violent extremism in EU territory is considered high,” he told the news agency.
The terror threat could be heightened by individuals acting alone or small cells acting on their own initiative, he said.
“The rapid spread of polarising content on the internet can accelerate short-term radicalisation processes among diaspora communities within the EU and other individuals,” he said.
Hezbollah says it fired a missile barrage at the Naftali base west of Lake Tiberias, in northern Israel.
In a statement, the group said the attack took place at about 18:45 GMT (8:45pm local time), describing it as a response to what it called Israeli strikes on Lebanese cities and towns, including Beirut’s southern suburbs.
In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it also targeted a gathering of Israeli army vehicles at a site in the town of Markaba in southern Lebanon.
The group said the attack on the vehicles took place at about 15:00 GMT (5:00pm local time).
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai, deputy prime minister and defence minister, has held a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The two discussed “the most important developments on the regional scene, and the blatant attacks that the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along with a number of brotherly countries, were subjected to in the past few days”, said Dubai Media Office in a post on social media.
“Both sides condemned the heinous attacks that represent a clear violation of international covenants, the sovereignty of states, and the security and safety of their peoples.”
In addition, “both sides affirmed the two countries’ right to take all measures deemed necessary to protect their capabilities and ensure the safety of all who live on the soil of the two countries,” concluded the post.
Noem’s agency, the Department of Homeland Security, has also been shut down for 20 days, although much of the employees are continuing to work, albeit without pay.
Iran has fired waves of missiles and drones at the American-allied Gulf country since the start of the war. Six American soldiers were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday.
Israel's military chief said Thursday that more than 60 percent of Iran's ballistic missile launchers and 80 percent of its air-defence systems have been destroyed in the ongoing US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic republic.
"We have neutralised and destroyed more than 60 percent of the ballistic missile launchers," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a televised statement.
He added that Israel had also destroyed 80 percent of Iran's air defence systems and had "achieved almost complete air superiority in the skies of Iran".
Israel's military chief said Thursday he had ordered troops to expand the area under Israeli control in southern Lebanon, as the country's ongoing operation against Hezbollah intensified.
"We are striking with force, on the front line and deeper in Lebanon. I instructed Israeli army forces to move forward and deepen the line of control along the border, while establishing positions at key points in southern Lebanon," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said during a televised address.
Israel's military chief on Thursday said the US-Israeli campaign against Iran was entering its next stage, with operations aimed at further dismantling the Islamic republic's military capabilities.
"We are now moving to the next phase of the operation. In this phase, we will further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities. We have additional surprises ahead which I do not intend to disclose," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a televised statement.
The Israeli military on Thursday warned residents of three villages in Lebanon's eastern Beqaa region to evacuate immediately.
"Urgent warning to the residents of the Beqaa region, specifically the residents of the villages and towns of Douris, Brital, and Majdaloun: Hezbollah's activities in the area are forcing the IDF (Israeli military) to operate forcefully against it in order to target its military infrastructure," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.
"To ensure your safety, we urge you to evacuate the area immediately and head west."
