Middle East Monitor Latest news from the Middle East and North Africa

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  Trump says he will sever trade with Spain in retaliation for base refusal

  by Marwa A on March 3, 2026

  President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will cut off all trade with Spain after Barcelona prohibited the US form using bases in on its territory to carry out attacks on Iran, Anadolu reports. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he hosted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The Spanish government said Monday that the US has neither used, nor will it use, Spanish military bases to conduct attacks against Iran, insisting Madrid maintains full control over its sovereign facilities. READ: Spain says US has not used and will not use bases on its soil to strike Iran

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  NATO not involved in Middle East escalation, Iran poses threat beyond region: Alliance chief

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  NATO is not involved in the latest escalation in the Middle East, but Iran’s growing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities pose a threat not only to the region but also to Europe, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Tuesday, Anadolu reports. Speaking at a joint press conference with North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova in Skopje, Rutte stressed that the alliance remains vigilant amid rising tensions. “NATO is not itself involved,” Rutte said, responding to a question on recent developments in the Middle East. “But let’s be absolutely clear … Iran is close to getting his hands on a nuclear capability and on a ballistic missile capability, which is posing a threat, not only to the region the Middle East,

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  How US-Israel’s war on Iran may impact Indonesia’s economy?

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The new round of conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran is not a distant story confined to the Middle East. It carries immediate risks for economies across Asia, none more vulnerable than Indonesia’s. The economic fallout is already visible. If the crisis persists, the consequences could reshape fiscal policy, corporate balance sheets, and everyday prices for Indonesian households. Oil markets have responded sharply. Crude prices climbed after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in early 2026, jumping more than 10 percent in a matter of days and trading near multi‑month highs. Analysts warn that Brent crude could surge to $100 per barrel or more if tensions disrupt flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint that handles

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  Lebanon arrests 3 foreign nationals for ‘collaboration’ with Israel

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Lebanon said Tuesday that it had arrested three foreign nationals suspected of involvement in “suspicious activities related to collaboration” with Israel, Anadolu reports. The arrests were “based on precise intelligence and investigations,” the country’s General Directorate of General Security said in a statement. Following the necessary interrogations conducted under the supervision of the judiciary, “the individuals confessed” to providing Israel “with security-sensitive information that contributed to causing severe damage, resulting in significant losses of life and property in Lebanon,” the directorate stated. “After the completion of legal procedures, the detainees were handed over to the competent judicial authorities to pursue legal action against them in accordance with applicable laws,” it added. READ: Death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon rises to

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  Trump says US-British relationship ‘not what it was’ after disagreement over strikes on Iran

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  US President Donald Trump said he is “very sad” to see that the UK-US relationship is “not what it was” after criticizing British Premier Keir Starmer for taking “far too long” to allow US forces to use British airbases to attack Iran, Anadolu reports. In a telephone interview with The Sun tabloid published Tuesday, Trump said: “It’s a different world, actually. It’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before. It’s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was.” Trump compared Starmer’s actions unfavorably with France’s support for the strikes and with the backing of Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general. “He has not been helpful. I never thought

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  Going native in the Trump jungle: How it became legal to attack Iran

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The allies of the United States have gone native, feral even, in the jungle of international relations planted by President Donald J. Trump.  While we keep hearing about how awful Russia’s war against Ukraine is, with its shattering of international law and its dismissiveness of the provisions of the United Nations Charter, the Israeli-US attack on Iran has been given the seal of approval by America’s client states and supporters.  Countries such as the UK, France, Germany, Australia and Canada, for instance, were clear in endorsing a UN General Assembly resolution on February 24 supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.  The provision explicitly “prohibits the threat or use of force”, calling

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  When humanitarian aid and death are intertwined in Gaza

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Humanitarian aid for Palestinians has always been a macabre game which the international community has played so well, to the point that aid and death have become intertwined. Not only did the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) face Israel’s political violence while forced to remain steeped in a neutrality clause. To ensure further restrictions on humanitarian aid supplies and delivery of services, Israel banned aid agencies from operating in Gaza, subject to the submission of staff members’ personal details and political affiliations. In Israel’s narrative, humanitarian aid is designated as terror. In the international community’s narrative, humanitarian aid is an escape clause from political accountability.  Israel’s High Court of Justice recently halted the government’s ban on

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  Why Iran and Lebanon matter, and who shapes what comes next

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The Middle East stands again at the lip of an abyss, and the tremor is not regional – it is global. The reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US–Israeli strikes, followed by Tehran’s missile retaliation and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has torn open a conflict long incubated in shadow. What began as a doctrine of deterrence has morphed into a theatre of decapitation, drones, and dread.  For a region already haemorrhaging from two years of humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and deepening instability in Lebanon, this is not merely an escalation. It is a rupture. The moment matters because it shatters the fragile scaffolding of global order — where a regional war

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  UK funded Israeli report on alleged sexual violence used to justify Gaza genocide

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The UK government awarded £90,000 ($114,000) in public funds to an Israeli research initiative whose findings around alleged sexual violence on 7 October were later used to mobilise support for the Gaza genocide, according to reporting by Novara Media. Documents released following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) funded 75 per cent of a four-month project led by The Dinah Project, a body based at Bar-Ilan University.  The funding application stated that the report aimed to establish the “systematic and premeditated nature” of sexual violence committed on 7 October. The report, published in July 2025 and titled A Quest for Justice: October 7 and Beyond, concluded that sexual violence on 7

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  Netanyahu equates Iranian regime to ancient biblical foe

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced a Torah command equating the Iranian regime to an ancient biblical foe on Sunday, Anadolu reports. During a visit to a site struck by an Iranian missile, Netanyahu stated: “We read in this week’s Torah portion, ‘Remember what Amalek did to you.’ We remember—and we act.” The Amalekites are identified in the Hebrew Bible as a persistent adversary of the Israelites, linked to a Torah commandment to erase their memory. Specifically, 1 Samuel 15:3 — which mandates the killing of men, women, and infants — has faced international scrutiny for its genocidal language. This biblical rhetoric gained renewed attention in October 2023, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the “Amalek” narrative in reference

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  Between Palestine and Iran… Zelensky reveals his inconsistent values and alignment with imperialist policies

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  In the complex landscape of international politics, consistency of principle often forms the foundation of a leader’s moral authority. For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has positioned himself and his conflict with Russia as a heroic defense of sovereignty against aggression, recent developments have exposed what many perceive as a striking inconsistency. By backing the US-Israeli aggression against Iran, Zelenskyy has reinforced the impression that his commitment to international law and human rights is conditional—invoked when it supports his narrative, yet sidelined when it conflicts with the priorities of his Western backers, and even if these priorities are starkly aggressive and of imperialist nature. A celebration of aggression and assassination When the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on

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  Wife of Iran’s Supreme Leader dies after reported US-Israeli strike

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Mansoureh Khojasti Bagherzadeh, the wife of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has died from wounds sustained in a reported US-Israeli airstrike on Tehran, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. Iranian state media said she had been injured during the attack earlier this week. On Sunday, officials also confirmed the deaths of Khamenei’s daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law and son-in-law in the same wave of airstrikes. US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday evening that Khamenei had been killed, a claim later confirmed by Iranian state television. Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the Iranian leader had been unable to evade American intelligence capabilities. READ: Iranian state TV says Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attacks He added that the

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  Larijani says Iran prepared for prolonged war amid escalating conflict

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Iran is prepared for a prolonged conflict and will ensure its adversaries “regret their miscalculations”, Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Monday. In a statement posted on the social media platform X, Larijani declared that Iran, unlike the United States, was ready to wage a long-term war following the latest attacks attributed to Washington and Tel Aviv. “Whatever the cost, we will resolutely defend ourselves and our 6,000-year-old civilisation,” he wrote, adding that Iran would continue to defend itself against what it described as aggression. Larijani also asserted that Iran had not initiated wars in modern history, stating: “As has been the case for the past 300 years, Iran has never been the one to

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  Hizballah’s last stand: Disarmament, defiance, and Tehran’s shadow over Lebanon

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  As Lebanon approaches parliamentary elections in May 2026, the country stands at a crossroads. Hizballah, the mighty image of Lebanese politics and Middle Eastern resistance, has been left battered and isolated politically after its latest confrontation with Israel. But even in its weakened position, the organization remains defiant—retaining its weapons and its strategic patronage from Iran. The Party, also locally referred to as Hizballah, has lost nearly all its former Lebanese allies. Its decision to strike against Israel last year repelled political elites and parts of civil society. Still, Hizballah’s win in the just-concluded municipal elections demonstrates a resilience: its economic machine continues to exert power, particularly through local media and patronage networks. The elections later this year are very

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  Oil and gas facilities shut across Gulf as Iran conflict escalates

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Oil and gas facilities across the Gulf have been shut down or suspended following US and Israeli strikes on Tehran, fuelling concerns over energy security and pushing global crude prices higher. A source in the oil sector said Saudi Aramco temporarily closed the Ras Tanura refinery — one of the largest in the Middle East, with a capacity of around 550,000 barrels per day — after it was targeted by a drone. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that two drones were intercepted over the facility, adding that falling debris caused a minor fire but no injuries. The Ministry of Energy stated that domestic fuel supplies were not affected. In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, energy companies including DNO, Gulf

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  Israel closes Al-Aqsa Mosque for third consecutive day amid security tensions

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Israeli authorities have kept Al-Aqsa Mosque closed to worshippers for a third consecutive day, citing the volatile security situation in the region. Jerusalem sources reported that Israeli forces reinforced their presence around the mosque compound and the gates of the Old City, deploying large numbers of border police and special units. Palestinians were prevented from entering to perform prayers, while access routes leading to the compound were heavily restricted. Witnesses said that several worshippers attempting to reach the mosque gates were turned back, and parts of the Old City were effectively transformed into a closed military zone. READ: Ikrama Sabri condemns closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque, warns of attempt to impose control The closure began on Saturday after Israeli authorities declared a

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  Two Palestinians killed in settler attack on Qaryut village near Nablus

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Two Palestinian brothers were killed and several others wounded after armed settlers attacked the village of Qaryut, south of Nablus, on Tuesday, according to medical and local sources. Medical officials confirmed the deaths of Muhammad Taha Muammar, 25, and Fahim Taha Muammar, 48, following what residents described as a violent assault by dozens of settlers. Eyewitnesses told local media that armed settlers carrying rifles and iron bars stormed homes in the southern part of the village and opened fire on residents. At least five people were injured in the attack. Two of the wounded, reported to be in critical condition, later succumbed to their injuries. READ: Al-Azhar condemns mosque arson in West Bank, calls attack ‘terrorist crime’ The Palestinian Red Crescent

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  US faces missile shortages amid ongoing US-Israeli offensive on Iran: Report

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The US is facing a shortage of key missile stocks, including Tomahawk land-attack missiles and SM-3 interceptors, amid the ongoing US-Israeli offensive on Iran, CNN has reported. Citing a senior US official, the report said Monday that Washington anticipates a “major uptick” in attacks within the next 24 hours, while missile and interceptor reserves are depleting. The official added that the initial round of strikes has reportedly succeeded in weakening Iranian defenses. The upcoming phase is expected to focus on targeting Iran’s missile production facilities, unmanned aerial vehicles, and naval capabilities. READ: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims demolition of US air base in Bahrain The Pentagon is also facing a shortage of Patriot missiles, as Ukrainian air defenses have used a significant

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  Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims demolition of US air base in Bahrain

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has claimed it destroyed the command building and headquarters of the US air base in Bahrain. According to the Guard, its naval forces carried out the 14th wave of the “Honest Promise 4” operation, targeting the US air base in the Sheikh Isa area of Bahrain. The attack, they said, was carried out on Tuesday morning using drones and missiles. The Guard added that 20 drones and three missiles hit the intended targets, destroying the command building and headquarters of the US air base and setting fire to its fuel tanks. Iranian news agency Fars released footage it said shows the attack on US bases in Bahrain using heavy Iranian missiles. READ: US embassy in Amman evacuated over

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  US embassy in Amman evacuated over ‘threat’

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The US Embassy in Amman has temporarily evacuated its compound in the Jordanian capital on Monday due to a reported “threat”. On its Facebook page, the embassy said: “Out of an abundance of caution, all personnel at the US Embassy have temporarily departed the Embassy compound due to a threat.” A US diplomatic source told AFP that the measure is “temporary and precautionary in light of regional developments”. Earlier on Monday, the embassy warned: “We have indications there may be continued missiles, drones, or rockets in Jordanian airspace in the coming days.” It advised US citizens to “seek shelter, stay indoors, and avoid falling debris” if such threats occur. The Jordanian Public Security Directorate also issued a statement on Monday

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  Iranian foreign minister says Rubio ‘admitted’ US entered ‘war of choice’ for Israel

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio “admitted” that Washington entered “a war of choice” against Tehran “on behalf of Israel,” Anadolu reports. “Mr. Rubio admitted what we all knew: U.S. has entered a war of choice on behalf of Israel,” said Aragchi through the US-based social media company X, amid the ongoing US-Israeli offensive on Iran, which was launched on Saturday. Noting that there was “never” any Iranian threat, Araghchi argued that “both American and Iranian blood is thus on Israel Firsters.” He urged the US citizens to “take back their country,” noting they “deserve better.” The strikes carried out by Israel and the US on Iran have drawn criticism from Democrats

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  Israeli strike kills Islamic Jihad commander in Beirut’s southern suburbs

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement said on Monday that a senior commander in its armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, was killed in an Israeli air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs at dawn. In a statement, the group said Adham Adnan Al-Othman, known as Abu Hamza, 41, who headed the Al-Quds Brigades’ operations in Lebanon, was killed in what it described as a “treacherous Zionist attack” targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut early on Monday. The movement mourned Al-Othman, praising what it called his “long record of confronting the Zionist entity”, and said his blood “will remain a compass for thousands of fighters who will avenge and uphold their pledges”. The killing comes amid sharp regional escalation, as US and Israeli attacks

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  Iran says death toll from US-Israeli attacks rises to 787

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The death toll from ongoing US-Israeli attacks on Iran has risen to 787, the Iranian Red Crescent said Tuesday. Search and rescue operations are ongoing in the rubble of the bombed buildings, the organization said in a written statement cited by the state-run Tasnim News Agency. No information was provided regarding the number of the injured. The US and Israel continued a large-scale attack on Iran since Saturday, killing several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military officials. In response, Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries which are home to US assets. READ: US offensive on Iran burned through an estimated $779M on first day

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  The martyrdom of Imam Khamenei and the revolution that no empire will be able to destroy

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The martyrdom of Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei does not represent the end of an era, but the transformation of the Islamic Revolution into an even deeper, politically and spiritually irreversible movement. By being assassinated in an attack by the United States and “Israel”, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic was not eliminated as a political leader, but was elevated to the condition of martyr, inserting his death into the long tradition of sacrifice that marks the history of Islam and particularly of Shiism. In the Islamic tradition, especially in the historical consciousness of Shiism, martyrdom does not represent defeat. On the contrary, it constitutes the supreme form of fidelity to the covenant with God. Since Karbala, when Imam Hussein

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  Hezbollah claims drone swarm attack on military base in northern Israel

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Hezbollah said on Tuesday that it had targeted a military base in northern Israel using a swarm of drones. In a statement, the group said it had launched the drones at dawn on Tuesday at radar sites and control rooms at the Ramat David air base in northern Israel. Earlier, the Israeli military said in a brief statement that it had intercepted two drones launched from Lebanon, without providing further details. READ: Hezbollah formally enters conflict, fires rockets at Mishmar military site near Haifa At dawn on Monday, Hezbollah said it had targeted a military site in northern Israel with a salvo of rockets and drones. The group said the attack was in response to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon and

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  Iran blames Israel for Saudi Aramco drone attack, calls it ‘false flag’

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  Iran has accused Israel of carrying out a drone attack on facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco, describing it as a “false flag” operation. Iran’s Tasnim News Agency quoted a military source as saying: “The attack on Aramco was an Israeli false flag operation, adding that Israel’s goal is to distract the minds of regional countries from its crimes in attacking civilian sites in Iran.” “Iran has announced frankly that it will target all American and Israeli interests, installation, and facilities in the region, and has attacked many of them so far, but Aramco facilities have not been among the targets of Iranian attacks so far,” the source told the agency. The source also claimed: “According to data

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  America’s War for Greater Israel | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  In this episode, we examine explosive new documents exposing Israel’s systematic ethnic cleansing in 1948 and trace how its unending quest for security has fuelled decades of expansion, war and regional upheaval. We unpack the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, question whether Trump torpedoed diplomacy at the very moment negotiations were gaining traction, and ask whether Tehran’s bombing of Gulf states is a strategic miscalculation. With Washington’s credibility fraying and uncomfortable parallels to the 2003 Iraq invasion resurfacing, we confront the stark possibility that the region is being driven, step by step, towards another devastating and entirely avoidable war.   WATCH: Christian Zionism: the radical theology empowering an unchristian settler state | Palestine This Week with Mouin Rabbani

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  Saudi Arabia: Limited fire at US embassy in Riyadh after drone attack

  by MI on March 3, 2026

  The US embassy in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was targeted by two drones early on Tuesday morning, causing a limited fire and minor material damage, according to initial estimates by the Saudi Ministry of Defence. Two sources said the fire broke out following an explosion.  Fox News reported that the embassy was empty at the time of the attack and that no injuries were recorded. The embassy urged US citizens in Saudi Arabia, in a post on X, to shelter in place immediately. Three informed sources said a loud explosion was heard and flames were seen rising from the US embassy in Riyadh in the early hours of Tuesday. One source described the fire as limited. READ: Kuwait reports 1st military

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  The attacks on Iran are by no means a victory “for civilisation”.

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  The Iranian dictator is dead, his repressive regime is being bombed into submission, and now the world can look forward to peace and stability. It all sounds so simple when scripted in the manner of a Netflix action drama and – as multiple armchair foreign policy hawks are now insisting – the sudden obliteration of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his office on a Saturday morning can only be a time for rejoicing. The problem, of course, is that there are always consequences to a riotous weekend of death and destruction, and the true cost of the American-Israeli strikes on a sovereign country is far from being known. As was apparent following similar executions this century – whether of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2006 or Muammar Gaddafi in Libya

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  US offensive on Iran burned through an estimated $779M on first day

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  US forces spent an estimated $779 million, or about 0.1% of the entire 2026 US defense budget, during the opening 24 hours of its offensive against Iran, according to estimates and data compiled by Anadolu, Anadolu reports. The US’ CENTCOM confirmed that the massive deployment included B-2 stealth bombers, F-22, F-35, and F-16 fighter jets, A-10 attack aircraft, and EA-18G electronic warfare planes. The operation also utilized MQ-9 Reaper drones, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, and Patriot and THAAD missile defense systems. Four B-2 stealth bombers, flying non-stop from Whiteman Air Force Base in the US state of Missouri, struck targets using 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), according to CENTCOM. Known for high maintenance requirements and a 40,000-lb

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  Kuwait reports 1st military death amid US-Iran conflict

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  Kuwait reported its first military death on Monday amid the Mideast’s regional escalation that began with the US-Israeli offensive on Iran, Anadolu reports. In a statement, the Kuwaiti Armed Forces General Staff said that Sgt. Walid Majid Suleiman, a member of the naval forces, “was martyred while on duty.” It did not give details of the circumstances of his death. Regional tensions escalated on Saturday when the US and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran, killing several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries which are home to US assets. Iranian strike on hotel in Bahrain injured 2 US Defense Department employees:

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  Death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon rises to 52

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  At least 52 people were killed and 154 others injured in a series of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut and southern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese authorities, Anadolu reports. In a statement, the government’s Disaster Management Unit said Israeli warplanes carried out 221 airstrikes in the country since early Monday. The Lebanese Health Ministry had earlier put the death toll at 31, with 149 other people injuried. The attacks came after Hezbollah said that it had targeted a military site in northern Israel with a barrage of rockets and drones, in response to ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and a joint US-Israeli military offensive against Iran. The US and Israel continued a large-scale attack on Iran since Saturday, killing several top Iranian

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  Iranian strike on hotel in Bahrain injured 2 US Defense Department employees: Report

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  Two US Defense Department employees were wounded when an Iranian drone hit a hotel in Bahrain’s capital Manama, The Washington Post reported Monday, Anadolu reports. “Two U.S. DOW personnel were injured,” said a State Department cable reviewed by the newspaper, using an acronym for last year’s Defense Department unofficial rebrand as the Department of War. It was unclear whether those hurt were civilians or service members, and the cable gave no further details. Neither the State nor the Defense departments confirmed the incident or responded to the newspaper’s requests for comment. An Iranian strike hit the Crowne Plaza hotel in Manama on Sunday morning. In a statement released the same day, the US Embassy in Bahrain warned American citizens that

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  Khamenei’s wife dies of wounds from US-Israeli attack on Iran

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  The wife of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died Monday of wounds sustained in a US-Israeli attack, Iranian media reported, Anadolu reports. Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, 79, had been in a coma since strikes carried out by the US and Israel on Saturday killed Khamenei, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said. Iran on Sunday confirmed the death of Khamenei, his daughter, grandson, son-in-law, and one of his daughters-in-law in the US-Israeli offensive. The US and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Saturday, killing several top Iranian leaders. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries which are home to US assets. Washington and Tel Aviv accuse Tehran of pursuing nuclear

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  Israeli fighter jets hit Beirut’s southern suburbs with 4 airstrikes

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  Israeli warplanes on Monday carried out airstrikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs amid escalating cross-border tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, Anadolu reports. Israeli warplanes carried out four airstrikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). READ: Explosions heard in Tehran as new strikes hit Iranian capital

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  Netherlands halts repatriation of nationals from Middle East over security concerns

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  The Netherlands has temporarily suspended the repatriation of its citizens from countries in the Middle East, citing security risks, authorities said Monday, Anadolu reports. Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said evacuations cannot be carried out safely at this time due to airspace closures across the region, according to broadcaster NOS. “The airspace is closed. If you want to bring people home, you want to do it safely. At the moment, those options aren’t available,” Berendsen said. The ministry noted that repatriation operations are complex and only carried out in exceptional circumstances, adding that the government is not legally obligated to do so. Authorities said it remains unclear how many Dutch nationals are currently in the region, as registration with embassies is

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  Spain says US has not used and will not use bases on its soil to strike Iran

  by Marwa A on March 2, 2026

  Spain’s government on Monday said the US has neither used nor will use Spanish military bases to conduct attacks against Iran, insisting Madrid maintains full control over its sovereign facilities, Anadolu reports. According to Spanish news outlet El Diario, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in a television interview that the bases at Rota and Moron de la Frontera “are not being used” for operations linked to the Middle East conflict and that Spain will not authorize any such deployment. “The bases of Spanish sovereignty will not be used for anything that is not within the agreement with the United States or for anything that does not fit within the charter of the United Nations,” he said. Albares reiterated that

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  War on Iran: Zionist strategy and the machinery of Muslim collusion

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  For three days now, Iran has been under sustained bombardment. American and Israeli military power — long rehearsed through sanctions, covert strikes, assassinations, and proxy wars — has moved fully into the open. And while the sky over Iran burns, West Asian monarchies and military regimes convene meetings. They call it diplomacy. They call it stability. They call it coordination. What they are doing is far simpler: preserving their own arrangements while a neighbouring sovereign state is pounded from the air. The war is visible to all. The question is: who is enabling it — and who is pretending not to. The Architecture of Complicity Wars of this scale do not operate in isolation. Airspace must remain accessible. Intelligence must

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  No ‘regime-change war’ in Iran, Pentagon chief says as US strikes continue

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday operation against Iran is not intended to topple the country’s leadership, even as he acknowledged the sweeping impact of the operation, Anadolu reports. “This is not a so called regime change war, but the regime sure did change,” Hegseth told a news conference alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. His remarks came after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top security officials. “The mission of Operation Epic Fury is laser-focused. Destroy Iranian offensive missiles, destroy Iranian missile production, destroy their navy and other security infrastructure, and they will never have nuclear weapons,” Hegseth said.

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  Can Indonesia mediate a US–Iran war?

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  Indonesia’s recent offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran might sound ambitious — but numerous factors suggest it is aspirational optics more than operational influence.  This weekend, Jakarta issued a statement urging all parties to exercise restraint and prioritise diplomacy, and said President Prabowo Subianto is willing to travel to Tehran to facilitate dialogue if both sides agree. In an escalating conflict where the United States and its allies have launched airstrikes and Tehran is responding militarily, such language reads less like a credible peace initiative and more like a display of stage presence on the global diplomatic circuit. Indonesia, under Prabowo’s leadership, has been keen to burnish its international profile. Before this latest crisis, Jakarta embraced roles in multilateral

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  Netanyahu’s plane relocated to Berlin during Iran strikes, no officials were aboard: Spokesman

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  Israel relocated its official government aircraft to Germany for security reasons over the weekend, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman confirmed Monday, Anadolu reports. Stefan Kornelius, speaking at a Berlin press conference, pointed out that no Israeli government officials were on the plane when it arrived at a Berlin airport on Saturday. “The Israeli government asked if they could park this plane here. We were happy to comply with that request,” he said, adding that only the flight crew was present when the plane arrived in Berlin. READ: Israel orders evacuation of over 50 Lebanese villages ahead of air strikes The aircraft, known as the “Wing of Zion,” left Israel on Saturday, sparking speculation on social media that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might

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  Roguish justifications: The apologists for the attack on Iran

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  February 28, 2026.  Another attack, another breach of the United Nations Charter.  A gross violation of international law.  As usual, a violation celebrated as ethical, necessary, and high-minded in principle by the powerful who dictate such terms.  Not squalid, dangerous, destabilising.  Not, apparently, following the same pattern as before: interventions in Iraq, Libya. Not, goodness, another intervention to overthrow the regime of this same country orchestrated by the United States and Britain in 1953.  Yes, this was Iran, bombed for a second time in under a year, its hierarchy targeted, again, only more comprehensively.  The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was slain, along with his advisor Ali Shamkhani and a number of senior officials in the armed forces, intelligence services

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  Lebanese prime minister bans Hezbollah’s military activities

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Monday his government has banned Hezbollah’s military and security activities and limited the group’s role to political work, ordering the army to enforce a plan to restrict weapons to state control north of the Litani River, Anadolu reports. “The state rejects any military or security actions launched from Lebanese territory,” Salam told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting at the presidential palace east of Beirut, chaired by President Joseph Aoun. He said the Cabinet decided to prohibit any military operations outside “legitimate state institutions.” “The decision of war and peace rests exclusively with the state,” he stressed. READ: Hezbollah formally enters conflict, fires rockets at Mishmar military site near Haifa Salam said the move

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  Explosions heard in Tehran as new strikes hit Iranian capital

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  New airstrikes hit Iran’s capital Tehran on Monday, with successive blasts heard across the city. An Anadolu correspondent reported that the explosions were concentrated in eastern and southern Tehran. Plumes of smoke rose following the explosions, coinciding with the presence of warplanes flying overhead, he added. The US and Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran on Saturday, killing several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response, Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as regional countries which are home to US assets. READ: US denies Iranian claim USS Abraham Lincoln was struck by ballistic missiles

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  26 humanitarian workers missing after clashes in South Sudan’s Jonglei state: Report

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said 26 humanitarian workers have gone missing following clashes in South Sudan’s Jonglei state, local media reported on Monday. Among the 291 MSF staff in Lankien and Pieri towns, many who evacuated the hospital amid warnings of a possible attack are now sheltering in remote areas with their families, facing limited access to food, water, and basic services, MSF told Eye Radio news website. MSF said violence has halted all medical services in Lankien and Pieri, leaving around 250,000 people without health care. “Where security conditions allow, we have initiated emergency support in areas where people have sought refuge. We are also taking steps to support our staff during this period,” said Yashovardhan, the medical

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  Israel orders evacuation of over 50 Lebanese villages ahead of air strikes

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  The Israeli army on Monday ordered residents of more than 50 villages in eastern and southern Lebanon to leave their homes, in preparation for attacking what it claimed were sites belonging to “Hezbollah”.   In a statement accompanied by a list of the villages, Israeli army spokeswoman Ella Waweya said: “For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move at least 1,000 metres away from the villages to open areas.” The statement added: “Anyone who is near Hezbollah members, facilities or combat equipment is putting their life at risk.” The villages named in the warning include Srifa, Maaroub, Sela’a and Ain Qana in the Tyre district in the south; Yahmar in the Western Bekaa; Hanine, Yater in the Bint

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  When a supreme leader is assassinated, the Global South trembles

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint United States–Israeli strikes has torn a hole not only through Iran’s leadership, but through the fragile architecture of the international order itself. The shockwaves are no longer confined to Tehran. They ripple through the Strait of Hormuz, across Gulf capitals, into energy markets in Singapore and Sydney, and deep into the conscience of a world already fatigued by war. Iran now stands at a precipice. An interim council – President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, and a senior Guardian Council cleric – has assumed authority, promising continuity under the constitution.  The Assembly of Experts is expected to appoint a successor within days. Yet history offers little comfort. As the Journal of

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  Israeli forces remove worshippers from a mosque in Jerusalem, bar evening prayers

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  Israeli forces on Sunday evening forced worshippers out of a mosque in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem and prevented them from performing the Isha and Taraweeh prayers. Local sources said troops entered Sheikh Lulu Mosque shortly before the call to the Isha prayer and forced worshipers to leave the place, and prevented prayers, including Tarawih prayers, in what was described as part of ongoing restrictions on places of worship. The incident came as Al-Aqsa Mosque remained closed for a second consecutive day under what authorities described as a state of emergency. Strict closures were also imposed on the Old City and its entrances. Since Saturday evening, Israeli authorities have completely shut Al-Aqsa Mosque and forced worshippers to leave

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  Iraqi Shia faction claims drone attack on US base at Baghdad airport

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  An Iraqi Shia faction has said it carried out a drone attack on a US military base at Baghdad International Airport. Saraya Awliya’a al-Dam, which operates under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, announced early on Monday that it had launched a swarm of drones targeting the Victoria military base at the airport. In a statement issued before dawn, the group said: “In fulfilment of our religious duty and in retaliation for the leader Ali Khamenei, and in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran, our fighters carried out an attack today, using a fleet of drones targeting the Victoria military base at Baghdad Airport.”    On Sunday night, Saraya Awliya al-Dam also claimed responsibility for shelling US positions

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  Hezbollah formally enters conflict, fires rockets at Mishmar military site near Haifa

  by MI on March 2, 2026

  Lebanon’s Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for shelling an Israeli military site in the north of the occupied territories. In a statement, the group said it had targeted the Mishmar HaCarmel site, south of the occupied city of Haifa, with a salvo of rockets and drones. In response, Israeli forces carried out heavy air strikes on several locations in Beirut’s southern suburbs and villages in the Bekaa Valley. The Israeli army issued evacuation orders for dozens of towns in southern and eastern Lebanon. In a statement, it said residents of 53 villages in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa must leave their homes and move at least one kilometre away. READ: Iranian state TV says Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed in US-Israeli attacks