Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut and Tehran on Friday as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries that host U.S. forces.
1. Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter. It’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war.
2. U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to rule out negotiations with Iran in a social media post calling for its “unconditional surrender.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later added that “unconditional surrender” could come even if Iran isn’t in a position to say so for itself. Trump told media outlets on Thursday that he wants to be involved in picking Iran’s next leader.
3. 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.
4. The U.S. military said early Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze. Its Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
Here is the latest:
Saudi Arabia intercepts ballistic missiles and drones
More drones attacked Saudi Arabia early Saturday, the country’s Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said it intercepted four drones attacking the country’s massive Shaybah oil field, located deep in the sands of the Empty Quarter desert. It was the second attack within hours.
Earlier, the ministry said it intercepted a drone attack targeting an area around the capital, Riyadh.
The ministry says it also intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting Prince Sultan Air Base.
Interception over Dubai
Authorities there say there was an interception over the city-state in the United Arab Emirates.
People heard several blasts in the morning. Later the government’s Dubai Media Office said there was “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception has been successfully contained.”
Flights heading to Dubai International Airport — which is the world’s busiest for international travel and has been trying to restart service — circled a distance away just before the interception.
Qatar analyst calls Iran attacks on Gulf Arabs a ‘miscalculation of historic proportions’
Writing for the Qatar-funded news network Al Jazeera, Sultan al-Khulaifi of the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies said Gulf Arab states “watched with dread” as the U.S. and Israel launched the war with Iran and they had “invested enormous diplomatic capital in preventing precisely this moment.”
“That Iran’s response has been to turn its missiles on these same neighbors is not only a strategic miscalculation of historic proportions, but is also a profound moral and legal failure that risks poisoning relations for generations to come,” he wrote.
He also argued that “the strategic logic Iran is operating on — that attacking Gulf states will pressure Washington to end the war — is not only flawed in practice, it actively serves Israeli interests.”
“By spreading the conflict to the Gulf, Tehran is doing precisely what Israel could not do alone: steering the war away from the Israeli-Iranian axis and transforming it into a confrontation between Iran and its Arab neighbors.”
Saudi and Pakistani defense officials meet in Riyadh
The defense minister of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s army chief met Saturday to discuss “ways to stop these attacks” from Iran, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
“During the meeting, they discussed Iranian attacks on the kingdom within the framework of the Joint Strategic Defense Agreement between the two brotherly countries, and ways to stop these attacks, which do not serve the security and stability of the region,” the agency said.
There was no immediate word from Pakistan, a neighbor of Iran that so far has not been drawn into the spreading war.
In September, after Israel attacked Hamas officials in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact that defines any attack on either nation as an attack on both. Pakistan’s defense minister later said his nation’s nuclear program “will be made available” to Saudi Arabia if needed under the pact.
Shortly after being told they could leave shelters, Israelis warned to take cover again
Less than five minutes after giving the all clear on the second missile launch identified as from Iran, the military said another salvo was targeting the country. It was the third time that happened overnight.
More sirens in Bahrain
They sounded for a second time Saturday morning in the island kingdom.
Drones target Saudi Arabi
The country faced repeated drone attacks early Saturday targeting the area around its capital, Riyadh, and a major oil field.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said it intercepted all the drones it detected coming into the kingdom so far.
Coming under particular attack was Saudi Arabia’s massive Shaybah oil field, located deep in the sands of the Empty Quarter desert. It produces 1 million barrels of oil a day, according to the state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco, which refers to the field as “most remote treasure on Earth.”
Iranian attacks increasingly have targeted oil infrastructure across the Gulf Arab states and disrupted ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil and natural gas traded passes.
Hezbollah reports clashes with Israeli forces in eastern Lebanon
The group said early Saturday that its fighters clashed with an Israeli force that landed on the along the border with Syria.
Israel did not acknowledge the fighting, and its military did not respond to requests for comment.
The Iranian-backed militant group said the clashes late Friday happened in a cemetery on the edge of the town of Nabi Chit.
Hezbollah said Israeli miliary launched massive airstrikes to secure the withdrawal of its forces amid the clashes.
The Lebanese health ministry said at least three people were killed, and 16 others were wounded in the strikes.
Israel’s military says Iran launched missiles targeting it
The announcement came early Saturday. It was the second overnight launch identified by officials.
3 killed in Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon
At least three died and 16 others were wounded in Israeli strikes near a mountain town in eastern Lebanon, the country’s heath ministry said early Saturday.
US approves new $151 million arms sale to Israel as Iran war continues
The State Department announced late Friday that it approved the sale of 12,000 1,000-pound bombs to Israel. It also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined there was an emergency need for the munitions and waived the normal congressional review process.
The notice to Congress informing it that lawmakers would be bypassed in the consideration of the sale did not say where Israel intends to use the bombs.
“The proposed sale will improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serve as a deterrent to regional threats,” it said.
Trump to pay ‘Highest Respect’ for dignified transfer of 6 US soldiers killed in action
On his Truth Social platform Friday night, the president said he and first lady Melania Trump would travel to Delaware the following day “to pay our Highest Respect to our Great Warriors, who are returning home for the last time.”
The White House had said previously that Trump would attend the dignified transfer of the six U.S. soldiers killed during the conflict in the Middle East.
The ritual is a transfer of remains of troops killed during their military service and is one of the most solemn acts for any president.
India reportedly allows Iranian navy ship to dock there
A third Iranian naval vessel in the Indian Ocean reportedly is docked in India after a U.S. submarine sank one and another went to Sri Lanka.
The Press Trust of India, citing unnamed “government sources,” said the IRIS Lavan has been docked in Kochi since March 4. It said the ship “developed urgent technical issues and was granted emergency docking approval” March 1, after the start of the war.
The Lavan’s 183 crew members are “being accommodated at Indian naval facilities on humanitarian grounds,” PTI reported.
The Lavan is a 2,500-ton Hengam-class landing ship.
The U.S. sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast Wednesday. The IRIS Bushehr sought assistance from Sri Lanka, and its more than 200 sailors were being brought to that island nation.
Air Canada flights canceled
The carrier canceled Toronto-Tel Aviv flights until May 2 and Toronto-Dubai flights until at least March 28 due to the military conflict.
Saudi Arabia says it destroyed 4 drones
The Defense Ministry said Saturday that the drones were in the kingdom’s vast Empty Quarter desert and headed toward its Shaybah oil field.
Reported clashes between gunmen and an Israeli force that landed on mountains in eastern Lebanon
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said local gunmen tried to repel the force on the edge of the town of Nabi Chit. NNA also said Israeli warplanes were flying over the area.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that Israeli forces tried to land three times in Nabi Chit and the third attempt occurred after midnight Friday. It was said to have been met inside the town by Hezbollah and local fighters who clashed with it.
There was no immediate word on casualties.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AP request for confirmation.
Nabi Chit is a stronghold of the Hezbollah militant group.
Hours earlier the Israeli military issued a warning to people in Nabi Chit and several nearby villages to evacuate. It was followed by a series of airstrikes.
Saudi Arabia intercepts ballistic missile targeting air base
The country’s Ministry of Defense said early Saturday that it intercepted and destroyed the missile.
It was launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, a major military installation in eastern Riyadh.
AP video shows explosions in Tehran
Large plumes of smoke were seen billowing over the western part of the Iranian capital very early Saturday morning.
Azerbaijan’s security agency says it thwarted planned attacks prepared by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
The State Security Service of Azerbaijan said Iranian agents and their local accomplices were planning to blow up the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which carries the country’s crude to global markets, and launch attacks at the Israeli Embassy in Baku, a synagogue and a leader of the country’s Jewish community, according to a report by the state television.
It said the attacks were aimed at sowing panic and denting the Caspian Sea nation’s international image.
The agency said the suspects brought explosives into the country and hid them in secret caches. It said four Azerbaijani citizens were charged with involvement in the plot and given 6 ½-year prison sentences. Three others were arrested.
On Thursday, Iranian drone attacks on Azerbaijan wounded four civilians and damaged an airport building.
AP video shows explosions in Tehran
Large plumes of smoke were seen billowing over the western part of the Iranian capital very early Saturday morning.
Pentagon chief responds to reports Russia is aiding Iran
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that the U.S. is “tracking everything” and factoring it into battle plans, when asked about reports that U.S. intelligence shows Russia is providing Iran with information that could help it strike American assets in the Middle East.
“The American people can rest assured their commander-in-chief is well aware of who’s talking to who,” Hegseth said. “And anything that shouldn’t be happening, whether it’s in public or back-channeled, is being confronted and confronted strongly.”
Hegseth also downplayed the possibility that Russia’s assistance could be putting Americans in harms way.
“We’re putting the other guys in danger, and that’s our job. So we’re not concerned about that,” he said. “But the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re gonna live.”
Air raid sirens in Bahrain
They sounded across the country early Saturday, with residents urged to seek shelter.
Iran’s UN Ambassador accuses US and Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity
Amir Saeid Iravani charged that they are deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure across the country, including densely populated residential areas.
“These acts constitute clear war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Iravani told reporters.
He said Iran does not seek war or escalation but reiterated that Tehran will take all necessary measures to defend itself, its territory and its independence.
Iravani also said Iran does not accept Trump’s statement that he should play a role in choosing the country’s new supreme leader and it “constitutes a clear violation of the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of states and enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.”
Saudi Arabia intercepts drones headed for an oil field
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said four drones were intercepted and destroyed over the Empty Quarter desert while heading toward the Shaybah oil field.
Trump says US military doing ‘phenomenally’ in Iran
Following a White House event with conference commissioners and other leaders in the collegiate sports space, the president knocked down reporters’ efforts to ask him questions about the war and his decision to oust Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary.
But after a reporter’s follow-up query as to why he opted to hold such an event amid other pressing issues, Trump acknowledged that “it doesn’t sound very important compared to what’s happening in Iran and other places, but it is very important to me.”
He said that on a scale of one to 10, he would rank U.S. military actions as “a 12 to 15.” Trump also said: “We had a choice ... and we did something about it.”
Trump opened several White House events this week by recapping U.S. actions in Iran but did not do so Friday.
Drones hit Basra oil sites, including US contractor facilities
At least two drones struck energy infrastructure and facilities of U.S. contractors in Iraq’s southern Basra province Friday evening, according to two security officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak with the press.
The officials added that unmanned aerial vehicles targeted a compound housing foreign oil company offices and warehouses, triggering fires at facilities linked to U.S. energy services firms.
The attack comes amid a spate of drone and missile incidents across Iraq and the region, including strikes on oil fields and the cargo section of the Basra International Airport.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
— Qassem Abdul-Zahra
Trump says he’s getting defense contractors to ramp up production of high-end weapons
Facing questions about whether the Iran war is depleting certain U.S. stockpiles, the president said top defense manufacturers “have agreed to quadruple Production” of “exquisite” weapons.
The term often is used to describe more unique, expensive or technically complex weapons, like hypersonic missiles or long-range air interceptors, broadly understood to be held in lower numbers than more traditional munitions.
In his social media post, Trump didn’t offer details about which specific weapons would see a rise in production. He also said he has stepped up orders of more basic munitions, “which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela.”
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters this week that the military had “sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand.” But he also said the military was shifting from using long-range rockets to less sophisticated bombs with shorter ranges.
Israeli military says it has begun a ‘broad-scale’ wave of strikes on Tehran
The message came minutes after the Israeli military said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran toward Israel very early Saturday.
Many thunder-like booms rumbled over Jerusalem just past midnight local time.
Scott Bessent warns of big night of bombing in Iran
The U.S. Treasury secretary told FOX Business host Larry Kudlow that Friday night would be the United States’ “biggest bombing campaign” in Iran. U.S. and Israeli officials have said this week that attacks on Iran would increase.
Earlier this week Trump told CNN the “big wave is yet to come.” Additionally, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that firepower over Tehran would “surge dramatically” through “more bomber pulses more frequently.”
AP video shows Iran is firing cluster munitions toward Israel, munitions expert says
The video from Thursday night showed what appear to be Iranian ballistic missiles flying over the occupied West Bank and dropping smaller bomblets.
An independent weapons expert said they were cluster munitions. N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of Armament Research Services, reviewed the video and said that, based on the number of visible objects seen, submunitions were released from an Iranian ballistic missile that was fitted with a cargo warhead.
Israel says Iran has fired cluster munitions toward the country and its police and on Friday published a public service announcement in which a bomb disposal technician warned about the dangers of cluster bombs.
Israel has used cluster munitions in previous wars in Lebanon, as have other countries such as Russia and Syria. According to AP reporting, the US last used them in 2003 in Iraq but continues to keep them in its arsenal and has not joined a convention banning their use
Proponents of a ban say they kill indiscriminately and endanger civilians long after their use.
US to send anti-drone system to the Mideast after successful use in Ukraine, officials say
The system, developed by an American company, will soon head to the Middle East to help defend against Iranian drones.
It fires drones against drones and has shown success in fighting those used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. The system was deployed to Romania and Poland last year.
While the U.S. has used Patriot and THAAD missile systems to take down Iranian missiles, a U.S. defense official says there are limited effective U.S. anti-drone defenses now in the Middle East.
Another U.S. official called the U.S. response to countering Iran’s Shahed drones “disappointing.”
Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
— Emma Burrows
More than 100,000 displaced by Israel-Hezbollah conflict
Lebanon’s Disaster Risk Management Unit said 110,162 people have been internally displaced following Israeli evacuation warnings for areas in southern and eastern Lebanon and across Beirut’s southern suburbs, a densely populated district on the outskirts of the capital that is home to hundreds of thousands.
The unit, which operates under the prime minister’s office, said 512 shelters are open nationwide.
The Lebanese government has said it opened additional shelters in the north and east as well as a large football stadium near Beirut to accommodate the surge of displaced people.
More than 200 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes so far, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
Scott Bessent says Treasury may remove additional sanctions on Russian oil
The Treasury secretary said his agency “may un-sanction other Russian oil” in order to boost the global supply as the U.S. continues its attacks on Iran.
“There are hundreds and millions of sanctioned barrels of sanction crude on the water,” Bessent told FOX Business host Larry Kudlow, Friday afternoon. “And in essence, by un-sanctioning them, Treasury can create supply.”
“We’re going to keep a cadence of announcing measures to bring relief to the market during this conflict,” Bessent said.
3 UN peacekeepers wounded in southern Lebanon
Three U.N. peacekeepers were wounded after heavy firing struck a base of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in the village of Al-Qawzah on Friday evening, the mission said in a statement.
UNIFIL said the peacekeepers were inside their base when the attack occurred. One of the injured was transferred to a hospital in Beirut for treatment, while the two others were being treated at a UNIFIL medical facility, the statement said. A fire that broke out at the base was later extinguished, the statement added.
UNIFIL said it would investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident, adding that it was “unacceptable that peacekeepers performing Security Council-mandated tasks are targeted.”
It was not immediately clear who carried out the firing.
An Associated Press report last month cited an internal military document describing a surge in incidents involving Israeli forces near U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, including drone-dropped grenades and gunfire near their positions.
Putin speaks to his Iranian counterpart, expresses condolences
The Russian president had a call Friday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He expressed condolences over the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and “numerous civilian casualties resulting from the U.S. and Israel’s armed aggression.”
In the call, the first reported by the Kremlin since the start of the war, Putin “reaffirmed Russia’s principled stance in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities, the rejection of force as a method to solve any issues surrounding Iran or arising in the Middle East, and a swift return to the path of diplomatic resolution,” according to the Kremlin’s readout.
It said Pezeshkian “expressed gratitude for Russia’s solidarity with the Iranian people as they defend their sovereignty and the independence of their country” and offered a “detailed update on the developments during the latest active phase of the conflict.”
Qatar announces partial resumption of air navigation despite recent drone strikes
Qatar announced Friday evening that it would partially resume flights with limited operational capacity as the conflict in the region widens.
Qatar Civil Aviation Authority said on the social platform X that a limited number of flights will resume through designated contingency routes, including for passenger evacuation and air cargo.
Airspaces have closed, cruise ships and tankers have been unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and major airlines have canceled flights as the war widened.
Qatar’s defense ministry said the country faced “waves of attacks” from dawn until evening, involving 10 drones. Nine of them were intercepted, while one fell in an uninhabited area.
Israeli army says it will not evacuate its citizens from villages along Lebanese border
An officer spoke to journalists along the border with Lebanon to the backdrop of consistent booms from missiles being intercepted and alerts warning that drones were incoming. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as per the army’s regulations.
He said Israel has deployed troops to protect some 200 Israeli families living on the border and the army is placing soldiers between civilians and Hezbollah to protect them.
Northern Israel is receiving missiles from both Iran and Hezbollah. Atop a lookout of Israel’s northern villages that are adjacent to Lebanese ones, the officer briefed journalists as they sought shelter between alerts.
— Sam Mednick
More information on Israel’s ground operation in southern Lebanon
An Israeli military official told AP that Israeli soldiers have taken up around five to seven new positions in southern Lebanon, some of which are dynamic, expanding beyond the five strategic locations held since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted a round of fighting in late 2024.
Israel’s military said it was sending additional troops into southern Lebanon after the Iran war began but did not give specifics on how exactly it was expanding its presence.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military protocol, characterized the operation as a limited expansion of Israel’s ceasefire presence along the five points. He said there were around five to seven — but under a dozen — contingents of troops who were setting up defensive blocking positions and ambushes for Hezbollah and roaming the border area. He maintained that the soldiers were meters, not miles, into Lebanese territory.
He said so far the ground forces has killed about a dozen Hezbollah militants but did not provide evidence for the claim. He said none were senior-level operatives.
— Julia Frankel
Hotel attacked in northern Iraq
Associated Press journalists in the area heard explosions Friday and saw smoke rising. There was no immediate report of casualties or damages.
Irbil Gov. Omid Khoshnaw told the Rudaw TV network that “the attack was successfully thwarted” and the drone crashed.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad earlier Friday had warned that militias “may seek to target hotels frequented by foreigners in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.”
The Kurdish region’s counterterrorism unit said in a statement that U.S.-led coalition forces intercepted and shot down four explosive-laden drones, one of which landed near a hotel. It said no casualties were reported.
