Iran-Israel war highlights - March 5: Ground invasion would be 'disaster' for U.S.-Israel, says Iran FM Abbas Araghchi; Sri Lanka evacuates crew of second Iranian ship

Bahrain said early on Friday (March 6, 2026) that Iran had targeted two hotels and a residential building in the capital Manama.

“Iranian aggression targets two hotels and a residential building in Manama, causing material damage but no loss of life,” the Interior Ministry posted on X.- AFP

U.S. Defense Secretary ‌Pete Hegseth said on ⁠Thursday (March 5, 2026) that the United States was ‌not expanding its ‌military objectives ‌in ⁠Iran, ⁠after President Donald Trump told Reuters that the ‌United States must be involved in choosing ‌the next leader of Iran.

“There’s no ⁠expansion in our objectives. ‌We know exactly what we’re trying to achieve,” Mr. Hegseth ‌said.- Reuters

The latest round of Iranian missile fire caused explosions across Tel Aviv and damage in central Israel on Thursday (March 5, 2026), but there were no reported casualties and residents have been cleared to leave shelters.

Iran’s state broadcaster reported that Tehran had fired missiles “against targets in the heart of Tel Aviv,” after Israel’s military said it was working to intercept incoming Iranian fire.

AFP journalists in Tel Aviv reported two near-simultaneous waves of explosions reverberating across the city.

Rocket trails also lit up the sky in Netanya, a city north of Tel Aviv on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. - AFP

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait shut down after retaliatory Iranian strikes on the country, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work as the war in Iran escalates. Kuwait is also where six American soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone on Sunday (March 1, 2026). - AP

Iran FM Abbas Araghchi says, “The ship that was sunk in the Indian Ocean was unarmed and full of training officers. Attacking such ship is a war crime.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in X that, Iran had negotiated with the U.S., but Iran was attacked both the times in the middle of talks.

He added, “Long prepared for this war, Iran’s Powerful Armed Forces are ensuring that it becomes a quagmire for whomever chooses to pursue it.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday (March 5, 2026) his country was prepared for any potential ground invasion, saying such a move would spell “disaster” for the Islamic republic’s foes.

“We are waiting for them,” Araghchi told U.S. broadcaster NBC News, as the United States and Israel kept up strikes on Iran. “We are confident that we can confront them and that would be a big disaster for them.”- AFP

Israel’s military chief said on Thursday (March 5, 2026) 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.- AFP

Iranian state TV said on Thursday (March 5, 2026) that drones fired by the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the Islamic republic’s military, had struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

State television did not provide any details on the claim. The Guards had previously alleged to have hit the U.S. carrier, but the Pentagon said at the time that the “missiles launched didn’t even come close”.- AFP

Iranian Foreign Minister Syed Araghchi says that a “chance for unique deal burned after the ‘America Last’ cabal obscured “significant progress” we made in negotiations”.

“Plan A for a clean rapid military victory failed, Mr. President. Your Plan B will be even bigger failure. The truth: Chance for unique deal burned after the ‘America Last’ cabal obscured “significant progress” we made in negotiations. ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last’,” says Mr. Araghchi.

U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump told Axios today that he needs ‌to be ‌personally ⁠involved ⁠in selecting Iran’s next leader.

“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela,” Mr. Trump tells Axios in a phone interview.

“Khamenei’s son (Mojtaba) is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Mr. Trump said.

- Stanly Johny

Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says his country has started the offloading of Iranian crew off a ship off Sri Lanka. “A total of 208 crew are on the ship from which Sri Lanka has started offloading Iranian crew. After the crew is safely off boarded Iranian vessel will be moved to the Trincomalee harbour,” Mr. Dissanayake says.

“We ask all parties to be committed to peace and we will assist them in this endeavour. After detailed discussions with all parties, Sri Lanka has decided to assist the Iranian vessel,” he says.

- Reuters

८.४ लाख व्ह्यू · २५ ह प्रतिक्रिया | විශේෂ මාධ්‍ය හමුව | விசேட ஊடக சந்திப்பு | Special Media Briefing | 2026.03.05 | Anura Kumara Dissanayake

විශේෂ මාධ්‍ය හමුව | விசேட ஊடக சந்திப்பு | Special Media Briefing | 2026.03.05

The West Asia war has forced the World Health Organization (WHO) to suspend operations at its global emergency logistics hub in Dubai, the agency’s chief said.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus voiced alarm at the conflict which erupted with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, and warned that the “impact goes beyond the immediately affected countries”.

“Operations at WHO’s logistics hub for global health emergencies in Dubai are currently on hold due to insecurity,” he told a press conference.

Last year, the logistics Dubai hub processed more than 500 emergency orders for 75 countries around the world, Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regional director, told reporters.

“Humanitarian health supply chains are now being jeopardised,” she warned.

Ms. Balkhy explained that “the hub’s operations are temporarily on hold due to insecurity, airspace closures and restrictions affecting access to the Strait of Hormuz”.

The disruption, she said, was “preventing access to $18 million in humanitarian health supplies while another $8 million in shipments cannot reach the hub”.

It was affecting more than 50 emergency supply requests from 25 countries, as well as some $6 million in medicines destined for the Gaza Strip.

And, she cautioned, $1.6 million in polio laboratory supplies were being held up, which could have dire impacts for Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the disease is endemic.

- AFP

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that a southern Beirut suburb, a stronghold of Hezbollah, will face devastation similar to Gaza after the Israeli military told residents to evacuate.

“Very soon Dahiyeh will resemble Khan Yunis,” Mr. Smotrich said, referring to a southern Gaza city which has been heavily damaged by Israeli bombardments during the two-year war with Hamas.

“Hezbollah made a mistake, and it will pay a heavy price. We are striking at the head of the octopus in Iran, and at the same time we will sever Hezbollah’s arm,” he said in a video statement as he visited Israel’s northern border.

- AFP

NATO stands by the assertion that a ballistic missile launched from Iran was targeting Turkey before being shot down, an alliance spokesperson told AFP today, contradicting a Turkish official’s claim it was headed for a military base in Cyprus.

Asked whether the missile deliberately targeted locations in Turkiye, spokesman Martin O’Donnell replied “yes” -- and referred to the alliance’s formal response to the incident yesterday (March 4, 2026).

In an initial statement, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance condemns “Iran’s targeting of Turkiye”.

Mr. O’Donnell declined to provide further details on the missile’s target, citing security concerns.

“I will refrain from revealing any additional information that could impact security or force protection,” he said.

Earlier today, Turkiye’s Defence Ministry said NATO’s defence systems had intercepted and neutralised “a ballistic missile fired from Iran and detected heading towards Turkiye” but added no further detail.

- AFP

British Prime Minister ‌Keir Starmer said that four additional Typhoon ‌fighter jets would be ‌sent ‌to ⁠Qatar as ⁠the conflict in West Asia escalates.

“I ‌can announce today that we’re sending ‌four additional typhoon jets to join our ⁠squadron in Qatar ‌to strengthen our defensive operations in Qatar, and across ‌the region,” Mr. Starmer told a press conference .

- Reuters

Human Rights Watch said that the Israeli military’s call for residents of vast areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate raised “serious risks of violations of the laws of war”.

Israel today renewed its warning to residents of hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of southern Lebanon to evacuate because of military action.

“Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags and fears for the safety of civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately? And how will their safety be guaranteed as they leave?” he said in a statement from the rights group.

HRW said “the sweeping nature” of Israel’s call raised “concerns that their purpose is not to protect civilians”, adding that the area was home to hundreds of thousands of people. The evacuation call “raises serious risks of violations of the laws of war”, it added.

- AFP

Three ships from Iran were scheduled to participate in MILAN but later only one ship participated (IRIS Dena, the one attacked by the U.S.). There is no information on the other two other ships.

- Saurabh Trivedi

The Lebanese government said it would ban any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a main backer of the militant group Hezbollah, and seek to deport its members from Lebanon.

Information Minister Paul Morcos said the country’s cabinet had decided to “prevent any activity” that members of the Iran Guards “may carry out from Lebanese territory... and to have them detained by the competent judiciary to deport them”.

He added that Iranians would now require a visa to enter Lebanon.

- AFP

Some Western diplomats in the Saudi capital Riyadh were told to shelter in place, diplomats told AFP, as Iran pressed on with a retaliation campaign that has hit U.S. embassies in the Gulf.

A witness said the diplomatic quarter in Riyadh had also been closed off. The witness and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

- AFP

State-run GAIL (India) Ltd is planning slash natural gas supplies to select customers after roughly 30% of India’s imported LNG shipments were blocked due to escalating military conflict in West Asia.

In a stock exchange filing, GAIL said its LNG supplier has served a force majeure notice “due to constraints faced by certain LNG vessels arising from maritime navigation restrictions related to the Strait of Hormuz during transit between India and Qatar.” Force majeure - the legal clause in the contract that refers to extraordinary events beyond the control of parties - was possibly due to the reported shutdown of LNG facilities in Qatar.

“Consequently, due to supply restrictions imposed, the allocation of LNG quantities to GAIL under the said contract has been reduced to zero with effect from March 4, 2026,” GAIL said. “GAIL is currently assessing the situation with respect to any supply curtailment that may need to be imposed on its downstream customers.”

A top Oil Ministry official said as much as 60 million standard cubic meters per day of gas supplies has been halted due to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

- PTI

The Israeli military warned hundreds of thousands of residents in Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, to evacuate immediately.

“Urgent message to the residents of the Dahiyeh neighbourhood in Beirut -- Save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately,” Arabic-language spokesman for the military Avichay Adraee said on X.

- AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he discussed the situation in West Asia with French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Spoke with my friend President Emmanuel Macron today. We discussed our shared concerns over the evolving situation in West Asia and the need for a return to dialogue and diplomacy. We will continue to engage closely and coordinate efforts towards the early restoration of peace and stability in the region,” Mr. Modi said in a post on X.

Iran’s armed forces denied having launched a drone attack on Azerbaijan after Baku said at least two Iranian drones hit the country, wounding two people.

“The Islamic republic of Iran... denies its armed forces launched a drone toward the Republic of Azerbaijan,” the general staff of the armed forces said in a statement, according to state TV, which also blamed Israel.

“Such actions by the Zionist regime, aimed at disrupting relations between Muslim countries in various ways, are not unprecedented.”

- AFP

Iran has not yet elected the successor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike last week, a senior Iranian official said Thursday.

Ayatollah Abdul Majeed Hakeemelahi, the representative of Iran’s supreme leader in India, also said that the process to elect a new leader is still underway.

“This news is not true because, till now, they (the council) have not chosen or nominated anyone, and the process is still underway,” Hakeemelahi told PTI when asked about some media reports claiming that Ayatollah Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been elected as his successor.-- PTI

The first two flights bringing home Israelis stranded abroad by the Middle East war landed in Tel Aviv on Thursday, after the airspace was closed as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

The repatriation flights landed at Ben Gurion Airport, which for now remains closed for commercial traffic.

A first flight operated by the Israeli national carrier El Al arrived from Athens, and a second operated by Israir arrived from Rome, the transport ministry announced.

Each carried 170 passengers.-- AFP

Iran accused Israel and the United States on Thursday of deliberately targeting civilian areas during their war on the Islamic republic, which began six days ago.

“Our people are being brutally slaughtered as the aggressors deliberately target civilian areas and any location they believe will inflict the maximum possible suffering and loss of life,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a post on X.-- AFP

With West Asia on the brink of a wider regional war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a “swift end” to the escalating conflict in the region saying no issue can be resolved through military confrontation.

Mr. Modi’s remarks following his wide-ranging talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb came as the United States and Israel’s war with Iran entered the sixth day with both sides launching fresh strikes, significantly heightening tensions across the region.-- PTI

India on Thursday condoled the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri conveying to the Iranian ambassador New Delhi’s message of sympathy.

Mr. Misri visited the Iranian Embassy and signed the condolence book on behalf of the Government of India.-- PTI

Falling debris from an intercepted drone injured six people in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on Thursday, the UAE’s media office said.

“Authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi responded to an incident involving falling debris at two locations in the ICAD 2 area, following the successful interception of a drone by air defences. The incident resulted in six minor to moderate injuries to Pakistani and Nepalese nationals,” Abu Dhabi media office said in a statement.-- AFP

Iran’s internet is still “around 1 percent of ordinary levels”, monitor Netblocks said on Thursday, leaving most Iranians struggling to access independent news or communicate with the outside world.

Iranian authorities shut off internet access on Saturday after Israel and the United States began air strikes, plunging the country into an information blackout.

“Iran’s internet blackout has now exceeded 120 hours with connectivity still flatlining around 1 percent of ordinary levels,” internet monitor Netblocks said in a message posted on social media platform X on Thursday.-- AFP

Iran’s army said it had carried out drone strikes in Israel on Thursday including a radar site.

The strikes hit “targets in Tel Aviv as well as Meron radar base” in Israel’s north, the army said as quoted by state TV.-- AFP

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Parliament Thursday that Italy would send “naval assets” to protect EU member Cyprus, along with Spain, France and the Netherlands.

Mr. Crosetto said the deployment would occur in the coming days.

He also said Italy would be sending “air-defence, anti-drone and anti-missile systems” to certain “strategic partners” in the Gulf, confirming a statement from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.-- AFP

“France has allowed U.S. aircraft on some of its bases in the Middle East during the conflict opposing the United States and Israel with Iran,” the French military said Thursday.

“As part of our relations with the United States, the presence of their aircraft has been temporarily authorised on our bases” in the region, a spokeswoman for the military general staff told AFP.

“These aircraft contribute to the protection of our partners in the Gulf.”-- AFP

Russia has always been open to supplying crude oil to India, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Thursday, amid increasing concerns over spiralling prices of petroleum products in view of the West Asia crisis.

Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, that handles roughly 20% of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).

India imports 88% of its crude oil needs and roughly half of its natural gas requirement. These mostly come via the Strait of Hormuz.-- PTI

Countries in the Middle East have told European officials ‌they are concerned about the risk of ⁠civil war in Iran as a result of the ‌conflict between Tehran and the United States ‌and Israel, EU ‌foreign ⁠chief Kaja Kallas said ⁠on Thursday.

“When we talk to the countries in the region, they ‌are also worried about civil wars inside ... the regime’s leadership and what is ‌going on there,” she said ahead of a video ⁠conference with EU foreign ministers and representatives of the ‌Gulf Cooperation Council on the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East.-- Reuters

Iran has not requested military aid from its ally Russia since Israel and the United States began striking the country last week, the Kremlin said Thursday.

“In this case, there have been no requests from the Iranian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP, in a daily briefing call.--- AFP

Azerbaijan said it was preparing to retaliate after two people were wounded on Thursday in Iranian drone hits on an airport and near a school.

“Azerbaijan is preparing the necessary retaliatory measures to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country and to ensure the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure,” the defence ministry said.

“These acts of attack will not go unanswered,” it added.-- AFP

Qatar’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday its military was working to intercept an incoming missile attack as loud blasts reverberated across Doha and smoke was seen over the city.

“The Ministry of Defence of State of Qatar announces that State of Qatar has been subjected to a missile attack,” it said in a statement. “Air Defence systems are intercepting the missile attack,” it added.-- AFP

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra voiced concern about the West Asia conflict, saying that the situation is extremely alarming, and called for all sides to come to the negotiating table. 

Mr. Patra suggested that dialogue, discussion and deliberation should be a key to resolving the conflict. “The missiles slamming into schools, civilian habitations, and countries which have nothing to do with the conflict itself show how wide this war is becoming,” Mr. Patra added. 

He further stated that India has always believed in the principle of non-violence and peace, he explained that even at the time of Operation Sindoor in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (POK) and Pakistan, India had a calibrated and measured approach; we didn’t go to war. - ANI

Oil prices surged more than 3%, extending a rally as the escalating U.S.-Israeli war with Iran raised fears of prolonged disruptions to vital Middle East oil and gas ⁠supplies. - Reuters

Lashing out at the Congress for wanting India to “blindly side with Iran”, the BJP said the country’s foreign policy must be guided by national interest and the safety of its citizens not by the compulsions of the Opposition party’s “outdated ideological reflexes”.

Several BJP leaders, including Amit Malviya and Pradeep Bhandari, spoke on the issue, calling the Congress “anti-India” and alleging that the main Opposition party pursues divisive politics. “It only loves its vote bank, not the country and its people,” the ruling party said.

“Even China, which spent years diplomatically shielding Iran, overlooking its support for proxy terror groups and buying the bulk of its oil, is now distancing itself from Tehran,” Mr. Malviya said in a post on X.

“Yet the Indian National Congress wants India to blindly side with Iran, even as it continues reckless actions across the Gulf, threatens vital oil shipping routes, and escalates tensions in a region where millions of Indians live and work,” the BJP’s IT Department head said. - PTI

“Italy is ready ⁠to ‌act ‌to ‌limit the ⁠economic ⁠impact of the ‌Iran crisis,” Foreign ‌Minister Antonio Tajani told ⁠Parliament on ‌Thursday (March 5, 2026) – Reuters

Multiple rounds of explosions echoed over the Qatari capital Doha on Thursday (March 5, 2026) just hours after officials said they were evacuating residents living near the U.S. embassy.

AFP journalists on the ground in Doha described Thursday’s blasts as some of the most intense since Iran began targeting the Gulf state on Saturday. A column of black smoke was seen on the Doha horizon.

The targeting of Qatar on Thursday came hours after the country’s Prime Minister lambasted Iran’s Foreign Minister during a call, in the first high-level contact between the two countries since the Islamic republic launched its missile and drone campaign. Explosions were also heard in Bahrain’s capital Manama on Thursday. In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, officials said they had intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones. - AFP

London | “Britain’s Defence Minister John Healey is headed to Cyprus,” a defence source said, after a drone strike on a U.K. air base on the Mediterranean island. “Healey was due to arrive later Thursday (March 5, 2026),” the source said.

The visit comes after the runway of the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Akrotiri came under attack by an Iranian-made unmanned drone on Monday (March 2, 2026).

Earlier, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. was sending “helicopters with counter drone capabilities” and a warship, HMS Dragon, to Cyprus as Britain continued “defensive operations” in the region. HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 air defence destroyers.

“It is fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously,” Britain’s Defence Ministry said. - AFP

Jerusalem | The Israeli military said that its campaign of strikes on Iran had already “shaken” the country’s clerical leadership, adding that it was continuing to “deepen the damage”.

“The goal of the operation is to inflict severe damage on the Iranian terror regime until it removes the existential threat... And we continue to deepen the damage to the regime,” Military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised briefing.

“It is important for me to say that it is already shaken. It was shaken by the first strike on Saturday morning (February 28, 2026), when the leadership was thwarted. And every day we continue to destabilise it more and more, to deepen the damage to it until the existential threat is removed,” he added. - AFP

Baku | Azerbaijan summoned the Iranian envoy after two people were wounded in drone hits on an airport and near a school.

“We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and injuries of two civilians,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

“The attacks around midday involved at least two drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhichevan, which borders Iran and is separated from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenia,” the statement added.

“One drone fell on the terminal building of Nakhichevan Airport, while another drone fell near a school building in the village of Shekerabad,” the Ministry said, adding, “Azerbaijan reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures.” - AFP

The ongoing war with Iran could cost Israel an estimated NIS 9.4 billion ($3 billion approximately) per week under current restrictions on economic activities, the Israeli Finance Ministry has warned.

“In a letter sent to the Home Front Command chief, Major General Shai Klapper, Finance Ministry Director General Ilan Rom asked to ease restrictions to allow for a gradual, partial reopening of businesses and workplaces as early as Thursday,” the Times of Israel reported.

“There is no dispute about the need to preserve a defence policy adapted to the security situation, but at the same time, shutting down the economy on a broad scale carries heavy economic costs,” Mr. Rom warned.-- PTI

A second Iranian warship was heading towards Sri Lanka’s territorial waters Thursday, a day after a US submarine destroyed an Iranian frigate, killing at least 87 sailors, a minister told parliament.

Media minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the second Iranian warship was just outside Sri Lankan waters, but gave no further details.

Official sources said the vessel was carrying more than 100 crew and feared they too could be targeted the same way a sister vessel was sunk by a US submarine just off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on Wednesday.-- AFP

​

Russian ambassador Denis Alipov was among the first to sign the book.

The official reaction from Tehran comes a day after a U.S. submarine attacked Iranian warship IRIS Dena, which sank in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka’s southern coast. At least 83 people were killed in the torpedo attack on Wednesday (March 4, 2026), while the Sri Lankan Navy rescued 32 injured sailors, who are currently undergoing treatment at a public hospital in the island nation’s southern Galle district. Read more

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that “military assets” had been deployed to the West Asia as a contingency plan.

“I thank those Australians going into a dangerous situation in order to help their fellow Australians,” Mr. Albanese told Australia’s Parliament.

The Australian leader did not give further details about the nature of the assets. Local outlet SBS News reported they were planes.-- AFP

Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iranian state television said additional strikes also targeted U.S. bases. The Israeli military said it launched targeted strikes in Lebanon at Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut’s southern suburbs.-- AP

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh visited the embassy in New Delhi on Thursday to sign a condolence book in memory of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Khatibzadeh’s tribute comes as Iranian state media reported that preparations are underway at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla for the placement of the body of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S.-Israel-led strike on Iran.The Grand Mosalla, a massive prayer complex used for the city’s most significant state-religious gatherings, is serving as the centrepiece for a three-day farewell ceremony.-- ANI

Two missing Indian sailors, including Captain Ashish Kumar of the SKYLIGHT oil tanker that was hit by an Iranian projectile on Sunday at the Strait of Hormuz, have died, according to official sources.

- Kallol Bhattacharjee

Iran said on Thursday (March 5, 2026) it had targeted headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Iranian state media, following strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq.

“We targeted the headquarters of Kurdish groups opposed to the revolution in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency posted on Telegram, quoting a military statement.

Iran hits Kurdish groups in Iraq as Iran Israel US conflict widens

Iran targets Kurdish groups in Iraq amid escalating conflict, as regional tensions rise following U.S.-Israeli strikes.

- AFP

Ianian sailors who survived a U.S. submarine strike in the Indian Ocean were recovering at ‌a hospital in the Sri Lankan port city of Galle, authorities said ⁠on Thursday (March 5, 2026), a day after at least 87 were killed in the attack. Authorities at the National Hospital ‌in Galle and navy sources said 87 bodies were brought in by ‌military rescuers who responded to an early-morning ‌distress ⁠call from the IRIS Dena on Wednesday (March 4, 2026).

Search ⁠and rescue operations for an estimated 60 people on board who remain unaccounted for would continue on Thursday, authorities said.

- Reuters

The impact of the Iran conflict on energy markets will be temporary and a “small price” to pay ⁠for U.S. military goals, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News on Wednesday (March 4, 2026).

Oil prices rose on Thursday (March 5, 2026) in Asia ‌amid ⁠growing concern over the prolonged closure of the Strait of ⁠Hormuz.

“This will definitely be temporary,” Wright told the “Ingraham Angle” program on Fox News.

“We have the world just massively well-supplied, abundant oil around the world, and American production at record highs. So we’ll get ‌through this, it’ll be a bump on the road.”

- Reuters

The Pentagon on Wednesday (March 5, 2026) identified two more soldiers who were killed in the war against ‌Iran.

The two Army Reserve soldiers died on Sunday (March 1, 2026) in a ⁠drone attack on a U.S. military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, that also killed four other ‌reservists.

The Pentagon said Major Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Iowa, ‌was killed in the attack and ‌announced ⁠the “believed death” of Chief Warrant Officer ⁠3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California. Positive identification of Marzan will be completed by the medical examiner, ‌the Pentagon said.

- Reuters

The Canadian and Australian Prime Ministers on Thursday (March 5, 2026) called for a de-escalation of the Iran war but added the Iranians must never gain a nuclear weapon.

Canada’s Mark Carney and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, discussed the war during their meeting in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

“We want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerents involved,” Mr. Carney said at a press conference with Mr. Albanese.

“We stress that that cannot be achieved unless we’re in a position where Iran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon, and export terrorism is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes,” Mr. Carney added.

- AP

Global energy trade is in turmoil as war around the Persian Gulf chokes off oil and natural gas shipments, causing prices to soar.

Asia is the most exposed since it relies heavily on imported fuel, much of it shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway that carries a fifth of global trade in crude oil and liquified natural gas, or LNG.

Since the Iran war began, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, has jumped 15% to about $84 per barrel, the highest level since July 2024.

- AP

Qatar said Thursday (March 5, 2026) it was evacuating residents living near the U.S. embassy in the capital, Doha, after Iranian strikes hit the Gulf country in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks.

AFP journalists heard loud explosions reverberating in Doha on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) as Iran struck targets across the region.

“The relevant authorities are evacuating residents living in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy as a temporary precautionary measure,” Qatar’s Interior Ministry posted on X.

- AFP

Explosions were heard in Jerusalem on Thursday (March 5, 2026) after warnings of incoming Iranian missile fire, AFP journalists said, with Israel’s emergency services reporting no casualties.

Israel’s military has issued three separate alerts warning of Iranian missile launches in under two hours. There were no reports of significant impact and residents have been cleared to leave their shelters.

- AFP

Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the U.S. has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them, Kurdish officials told The Associated Press.

The Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organised segment of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of trained fighters.

Their entry into the war could pose a significant challenge to the embattled authorities in Tehran and could also risk pulling Iraq further into the conflict.

- AP

A tanker at ‌anchor off Kuwait reported seeing a large explosion ⁠on its port side and was taking on water, ‌the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) ‌said.

The master observed ‌a ⁠small craft leaving ⁠the area following the explosion, which occurred 30 nautical miles (56 km) southeast of Kuwait’s ‌Mubarak Al Kabeer port in the Gulf, UKMTO said.

“There is oil in ‌the water coming from a cargo tank which could have ⁠some environmental impact, the vessel has taken on water, ‌there are no fires reported and the crew are safe,” it said in an advisory note.

- Reuters

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday (March 5, 2026) that he couldn’t rule out his country’s military participation in the escalating war in West Asia.

“One can never categorically rule out participation,” he said alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra.

“We will stand by our allies,” added Carney, who had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were “inconsistent with international law”.

- AFP

U.N. human rights experts* today condemned the unlawful military attacks launched by the United States of America and Israel against Iran.

“Unprovoked attacks by the US and Israel — launched amid diplomatic negotiations and without authorisation from the Security Council — violate the fundamental prohibition on the use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and the duty to peacefully settle disputes under Article 2 of the UN Charter. They also violate the right to life,” the experts said.

They also expressed serious concern over Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf and broader West Asia, reminding that any use of force in self-defence must meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality.

- United Nations

Iran launched a round of missiles at Israel on Thursday (March 5, 2026), the Israeli military and Tehran’s state media said, triggering alerts in several areas, including Tel Aviv, with no immediate reports of casualties.

After a lull of more than seven hours, Israel’s military said it had “identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel”.

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” it added.

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB also reported the launches. There were no reports of casualties from the missile fire, and the military has cleared Israelis to leave their shelters.

- AFP

Israel’s military said air defences were responding to missiles launched from Iran on Thursday (March 5, 2026), the first such report in over seven hours, triggering alerts in several areas, including Tel Aviv.

The military said in a statement it had “identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat”.

- AFP

A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said on Wednesday (March 4, 2026).

The Defence Ministry said it had been “engaged and neutralised by NATO air-and-missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean”.

It did not specify the missile’s intended target. Iran has been hitting sites across the region in retaliation after the United States and Israel launched strikes against it on Saturday.

A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been “aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course”.

- AFP

Britain’s Foreign Office said on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) it advises ‌against travel to all areas ⁠of Lebanon, which has been dragged into West Asia conflict that has engulfed ‌the region since ‌the ⁠United States ⁠and Israel attacked Iran.

“FCDO now advises against all travel or ‌all but essential travel to all areas of Lebanon,” the foreign ‌office said on its website, revising its earlier advice ⁠against travelling to some areas of the ‌country.

- Reuters

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said late on Wednesday (March 4, 2026) that three people were killed in Israeli strikes on vehicles on Beirut’s airport highway. The strikes came after a third day of Israeli bombardments in response to renewed Hezbollah attacks.

“Two Israeli air strikes on the airport highway killed three people and wounded six,” the Ministry said.

Israel’s military said it had targeted two people in the Beirut area, without immediately offering further details.

- AFP

Israel and the United States have made “historic gains” in the war against Iran, which began when the allies launched strikes on the Islamic republic, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday (March 5, 2026).

“Israel and the United States have together made historic gains to protect our citizens and the civilised world,” a spokesperson for Netanyahu, Shosh Bedrosian, said in a video message.

She also claimed the attack was needed as Iran was rebuilding its atomic bomb programme in “new underground bunkers”, and because there were indications of an Iranian plan “to attack Israel and American forces in the Middle East”.

- AFP

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday (March 5, 2026) it had intercepted three cruise missiles, as the U.S.-Israel-Iran war continued.

“Three cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside the city of Al-Kharj,” the Saudi Defence Ministry posted on X.

- AFP