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Donald Trump earlier today boasted about how Iran’s forces had been shattered by four days of strikes
Bel Trew Chief International Correspondent, Simon Calder, Rachel Dobkin & Maroosha MuzaffarWednesday 04 March 2026 04:30 GMT- Bookmark
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Close popoverIDF reports 300 Iranian missile launchers destroyed as ‘Epic Fury’ intensifies
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The Israeli military said it launched a “broad wave” of strikes in Tehran early on Wednesday, just hours after Iranian state media reported that the Revolutionary Guard had carried out a fresh barrage of missile and drone strikes on Israel.
IDF said the strikes targeted “the Iranian terror regime’s launch sites, aerial defence systems and additional infrastructure”.
The US Central Command said American and Israeli forces had struck over 1,700 targets in Iran since the start of the war and “severely degraded” Iranian air defences.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, named the first four American personnel killed in the widening conflict with Iran.
Capt Cody A Khork, 35, Sgt 1st Class Noah L Tietjens, 42, Sgt 1st Class Nicole M Amor, 39, and Sgt Declan J Coady, 20, were identified on Tuesday, two days after they were killed in Kuwait.
They were killed in a drone attack on a military facility at Port Shuaiba while “supporting Operation Epic Fury”.
The Donald Trump administration had yet to identify two other American service members killed in the conflict.
Israel issued evacuation warnings for multiple villages in southern Lebanon ahead of a likely offensive, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted nine drones overnight.
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US officials to meet top defence contractors to boost weapons output – report
The Trump administration is set to meet top US defence contractors at the White House on Friday to push for faster weapons production, according to Reuters.
Executives from major firms including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have reportedly been invited, as the Pentagon looks to replenish stockpiles depleted by strikes on Iran and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
US president Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 1 March 2026, on his way back to Washington, DC (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)The meeting signals growing urgency in Washington over weapons supplies, despite Trump saying earlier this week that the US has a virtually unlimited supply of munitions and can fight wars “forever” using existing stockpiles.
Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 04:30Fire caused by drone strike on US embassy in Dubai ‘contained’, media office says
A drone strike sparked a small fire near the US consulate in Dubai, but authorities say it has been fully extinguished with no injuries reported.
Officials confirmed the drone hit a parking area, and emergency teams quickly contained the blaze.“Dubai authorities have confirmed that a fire resulting from a drone-related incident near the US Consulate has been successfully contained,” Dubai’s media office posted online.
It added that “emergency teams responded immediately”, and in a post about 45 minutes later, the media office said the fire had been “fully extinguished” with “no injuries reported”.
The incident comes amid escalating regional tensions, with recent drone strikes also reported at the US embassy in Saudi Arabia and heightened security measures across the Gulf.
Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 04:20Israel launches 'broad wave' of strikes in Tehran
The US-Israeli war on Iran has entered its fifth day, with Israel launching a “broad wave” of strikes in Tehran.
Israel Defense Forces said the strikes targeted “the Iranian terror regime’s launch sites, aerial defence systems and additional infrastructure”.
Rocket trails are seen in the sky above Netanya amid a fresh barrage of Iranian missile attacks on 3 March 2026. US and Israeli strikes pummelled targets across Tehran on 3 March as US president Donald Trump warned it was 'too late' for Iran to seek talks to escape a war now in its fourth day. Drones and missiles crashed into oil facilities and US diplomatic missions in the Gulf as the Islamic republic retaliated, and Israel pushed troops deeper into Lebanon to battle the Tehran-backed militia Hezbollah after it entered the fray (AFP via Getty Images)This comes after reports from Iranian state media that the Revolutionary Guard had carried out a fresh barrage of missile and drone strikes on Israel just hours earlier.
Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 04:15Israel orders evacuations in southern Lebanon amid strikes on Hezbollah
Israel has urged residents of more than a dozen villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate, warning of further strikes it says are targeting Hezbollah positions.
The alert was delivered by Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee, who instructed people to move at least 1km away from specified areas.
The warning stated: “Anyone who is near Hezbollah operatives, facilities, and weapons is putting their life at risk.”
Rescuers are seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the town of Aramoun, south of Beirut on 4 March 2026. A loud explosion was heard by an AFP journalist in the Lebanese capital Beirut, shortly after midnight on 4 March as Israel and Hezbollah traded strikes and rocket fire (AFP via Getty Images)Israel says the measures are aimed at Hezbollah infrastructure, though the escalation has heightened fears among civilians in the region.
Lebanese authorities said six people were killed in Israeli strikes in the country’s south.
The evacuation warnings apply to the villages and towns of Rabaa Thalathin, Hawla, Qalaat Dibba, Qabrikha, Touline Khirba, Shaqra, Sawana, Majdal Selm, Tamriya, Tayri, Talousa, Safad, Batikh, Jmeijmeh and Bani Hayyan.
Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 04:10UK working with airlines to boost Oman evacuations
Britain is coordinating with airlines to increase flight capacity out of Muscat, Oman, to prioritise the evacuation of vulnerable British nationals, foreign minister Yvette Cooper told parliament on Tuesday.
She added that she was in close contact with her counterparts in the Gulf countries, noting that 130,000 British citizens have now registered their presence in the region.
Workers clean the Muttrah Corniche waterfront promenade, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, 3 March 2026 (REUTERS)Cooper said: “We are also working with airlines on increasing capacity out of Muscat for British nationals, with priority for vulnerable nationals.”
She confirmed that a government charter flight “will fly from Muscat in the coming days, prioritising vulnerable nationals, but British nationals in Oman must wait to be contacted by the foreign office regarding these options”.
The UK Foreign Office noted that the chartered flight is scheduled to depart from Muscat at 1900 GMT on Wednesday, but Britons should “not go to the airport unless they are contacted”.
In addition, IAG-owned British Airways said it would operate a separate flight from Muscat to London’s Heathrow Airport on Thursday.
Maroosha Muzaffar4 March 2026 03:50Trump’s strikes on Iran could cost the American economy up to $210B, report says
The US-Israel war with Iran could cost the American economy as much as $210 billion, according to fiscal analyst Kent Smetters, director of the widely used Penn Wharton Budget Model.
The ongoing conflict is already driving disruption to trade, global energy markets and gasoline prices, though it is difficult to precisely estimate how much the war will impact the economy, Smetters told Fortune.
His predictions currently estimate a $115 billion economic loss, though that figure could range between $50 billion and the upper bound of $210 billion depending on the nature and duration of the conflict.
“One problem I have with cost-of-war calculations is that they really do ignore the counterfactual,” he told the outlet. “If Iran really did get a nuclear weapon, then we might have spent a lot more on military and even repair of cities later on.”
Read on...
Trump’s strikes on Iran could cost American economy up to $210 billion, report says
The president has said the U.S. could give military escorts to oil tankers in the region to ease the strain on global energy suppliesJosh Marcus4 March 2026 03:30Watch: Trump says he’s cutting all trade with Spain for refusing his Iran war request
Trump says he’s cutting all trade with Spain for refusing his Iran war requestJames Reynolds4 March 2026 03:00WHO chief denounces continuing conflict in the Middle East after three paramedics were killed in Lebanon: 'Peace is the best medicine'
The chief of the World Health Organization has denounced continuing conflict in the Middle East after he says three paramedics were killed in Lebanon, saying, “Peace is the best medicine”.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, wrote on X Tuesday, “The expansion of the conflict in the Middle East is increasingly impacting health services throughout the region”.
He said that three paramedics were killed in Lebanon and another 6 were injured “while recovering people injured by explosions”.
“Warring parties must abide by international humanitarian law and protect health workers, facilities and patients”, he said.
Rachel Dobkin4 March 2026 02:45ANALYSIS: Trump, Rubio and Hegseth can’t seem to get their stories straight on rationale for Iran war as Mideast explodes
The White House has continued to offer a conflicting and rapidly evolving rationale for why Iran presented such an imminent threat to American forces and their allies across the Middle East that US President Donald Trump needed to use military force.
A disjointed messaging effort appears to be hindering the administration’s ability to sell the war to the American people, though, as polling indicates that a majority of Americans do not yet understand why the U.S. is at war with Iran now — or simply do not accept the White House’s reasoning.
At a bilateral meeting with Germany’s chancellor, Trump claimed without any proof that Iranian forces were preparing to attack US forces before the US or Israel launched any attacks at all.
“We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first,” said the US president. “They were going to attack if we didn't do it. They were going to attack first, I felt strongly about that.”
Read on...
Trump team can’t seem to get their stories straight on rationale for Iran war
Polling shows one in four members of Trump’s party think he’s too eager to use military force, a sign the public isn’t buying a disjointed White House messaging campaign, writes John BowdenJohn Bowden4 March 2026 02:30Khamenei's son is front runner in selection for supreme leader's successor: report
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is the frontrunner in the selection for the successor to Iran’s slain supreme leader, according to a new report.
The New York Times reported, citing Iranian officials familiar with the matter, that senior clerics were considering announcing Khamenei as the next supreme leader as early as Wednesday.
Other top contenders for supreme leader are cleric and jurist Alireza Arafi and Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, according to The New York Times.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the now-late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Rouzbeh Fouladi/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)Rachel Dobkin4 March 2026 02:15Newer1 / 5OlderMore about
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