TOP DEVELOPMENTS
The war between the United States, Israel and Iran has entered second week, with attacks continuing across Iran and other countries in the Middle East. Israeli army is carriying out more strikes on Lebanon.
Donald Trump says he’ll hit Iran harder: US President Donald Trump warned in a Truth Social post that more Iranian officials will be targets, saying, “Today Iran will be hit very hard!,” while noting an apology by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier in the day to neighboring nations over Tehran’s attacks.
Iran says it has right to defend itself: Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said in a statement that responding to the US and Israel’s “brutal military aggression” is the country’s inherent right to self-defence.
It said that Tehran would continue to take action “until the aggression stops or until the United Nations Security Council fulfils its duty by identifying the aggressors.”
Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates all reported they intercepted missiles and drones on Saturday evening from Iran. The attacks underlined the limited powers exercised by the theocracy’s leaders over the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls the ballistic missiles targeting Israel and other countries.
'Disarm Hezbollah': Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday warned Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that his country would pay a "very heavy price" if it fails to disarm Hezbollah.
Evidence suggests the deadly blast at an Iranian elementary school was likely a U.S. airstrike: The Feb. 28 strike produced the highest reported civilian death toll since the war began, prompting staunch criticism from the United Nations and human rights monitors. The U.S. has not accepted responsibility but said it was investigating the matter.
Iran apologises: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian apologised on Saturday to neighbouring countries for attacks launched during the Islamic republic's war with Israel and the United States. He further said that the neigbours won't be targeted unless attacks are launched from them.
Flight operations: Dubai airport said Saturday it was partially resuming services shortly after it suspended operations.
The death toll continues to rise: At least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel have been killed, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
The Secretary-General of the Iranian National Security Council, Ali Larijani, said that the US thought it could execute a short war in Iran, and that it thought it could sow chaos by assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other leadership, but that both of those assumptions have been proven incorrect.
He said that Iran’s leaders have warned separatist groups against moving against the government, and that Iran’s people are united in the face of the US-Israeli war.
Larijani dismissed US President Trump’s desire to choose future Iranian leadership as foolish, and reiterated the Iranian government’s position that its neighbours would not come under fire as long as they do not allow their territory to be used to attack Iran.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it targeted the Israeli naval base in the city of Haifa with a barrage of missiles.
In a statement, the group said the attack was carried out at about 8:00pm local time (18:00 GMT).
Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken by phone with Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, to discuss the latest developments in the region.
According to a statement from the Turkish presidency, the two leaders discussed the trajectory of the escalating conflicts in the Middle East.
Erdogan said Turkiye stands with Iraq during what he described as a critical period and warned against developments that could push the region into a prolonged crisis.
He also said Ankara was closely monitoring movements by “organisations and affiliated groups”.
The call comes amid reports that some Kurdish armed groups in the region may be coordinating with US forces in relation to the conflict with Iran.
Erdogan added that Türkiye was working intensively to help end the conflicts in the region and return to negotiations.
Abbas Araqchi says he is in constant contact with his Saudi counterpart and Saudi officials.
Saudi officials said they were fully committed to not letting their territory, water and airspace be used against Iran, he said in an interview relayed by his Telegram channel.
A Pakistani man was killed in Dubai when debris from an aerial interception fell on his vehicle in the Barsha area, authorities have confirmed.
Dubai’s media office also said that authorities had dealt with an incident involving debris falling “onto the facade of one of the towers in the Dubai Marina area, as a result of a successful aerial interception, and no injuries resulted from the incident”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had targeted a US military base in the marina.
سقوط شظايا صاروخية على أحد الأبراج في منطقة دبي مارينا بدولة الإمارات مساء السبت، ما تسبّب في تصاعد ألسنة الدخان. pic.twitter.com/aGCekfzo2n
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) March 7, 2026
Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it carried out several attacks targeting cities in northern Israel on Saturday.
In a series of statements, the group said it launched a swarm of drones targeting the coastal city of Nahariya at about 1:40pm local time (11:40 GMT).
Later in the evening, the group said it targeted the city again, first with what it described as a rocket-propelled grenade at about 8:00pm local time (18:00 GMT), followed by a rocket barrage 15 minutes later.
Earlier, Hezbollah also said it carried out a drone attack targeting the city of Kiryat Shmona.
“President Pezeshkian expressed openness to de-escalation within our region, provided that our neighbors’ airspace, territory, and waters are not used to attack the Iranian People”, Iran’s foreign minister says on X.
Earlier today, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said neighbouring countries would no longer be targeted unless an attack originates from there.
Iran’s “gesture to our neighbors was almost immediately killed by President Trump”, Araghchi continued.
Iran was hit with attacks shortly after the president’s statement was released, which triggered a wave of strikes targeting what it said were US assets in neighbouring Gulf nations.
US and Israeli strikes hit an oil depot in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian state media said, marking the first reported attack on the Islamic republic's oil infrastructure.
"An oil depot in southern Tehran was targeted by the US and Zionist regime," the official IRNA news agency said.
The depot was in an area close to a key oil refinery but the ILNA news agency reported that the refinery's facilities "were not damaged in the military attacks".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel would continue its war with Iran "with all our force", and alongside the United States had almost total control of Iranian skies after a week of strikes.
"We have a systematic plan to eradicate the Iranian regime and achieve many other objectives," Netanyahu said in a televised address.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned US President Donald Trump that if he seeks escalation, Iran’s armed forces are prepared.
Araghchi said in a statement that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s openness to de-escalation within the region had been “immediately killed” by Trump’s misinterpretation of Iran’s capabilities.
Trump’s “week-long misadventure has already cost the US military $100bn, in addition to the lives of young soldiers”, he said, adding that the cost would be transferred to the US populace.
He accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of duping the US into fighting its wars, adding that it was a “war of choice” pursued by “Israeli-Firsters”.
Ankara on Saturday warned Tehran against any attempts to fire towards Turkish territory just days after NATO intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran heading towards Turkey.
"We are not a country that is easily provoked," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul.
"We spoke with our friends in Iran and said if this was a missile that lost its way, that's one thing. But if this is going to continue... our advice is: be careful, don't let anyone in Iran embark on such an adventure."
on Iran since Israel and the United States started the war against Tehran a week ago.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said that roughly 7,500 munitions had been dropped on targets in Iran during the operation.
Separately, Israel's military said Saturday evening that it had begun a new "wave of strikes" in Tehran.
Air defence systems intercepted rockets fired at the US embassy in Baghdad, security sources told AFP.
"Four rockets were launched... toward the embassy," a security official said, adding that air defences intercepted three, while one fell in an open area in the embassy's airbase.
Two other security sources confirmed the rocket attack, with one saying that all rockets were downed, including the one that fell in the airbase.
The number of people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Monday has risen to 294, with another 1,023 wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
It was not clear how many of them were civilians. Tens of thousands more have been displaced.
The United Arab Emirates’ Dubai Media office said Saturday that falling shrapnel from interception of projectiles from Iran caused a minor damage to the facade of a tower in Dubai Marina, an area with many luxury high rises. There were no injuries reported.
The United Arab Emirates’ Dubai media office said late Saturday that debris from an aerial interception fell onto a vehicle in the Barsha area and killed an “Asian driver.”
This brings the number of people killed in the UAE since the war began to four. Authorities have said all were foreign nationals.
Several airstrikes have shaken neighborhoods in Tehran’s east and southwest. Israel’s military has confirmed a new wave of strikes.
