Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

[Saif]

Wary Europeans pledge 'defensive' military aid in Mideast war

Some are also allowing the US military to use their bases under certain conditions, such as not using them to launch bombing raids.

en.prothomalo.com

Wary Europeans pledge 'defensive' military aid in Mideast war

AFP
Rome, Italy
Published: 05 Mar 2026, 22: 41

Protesters wave US and pre-revolutionary Iranian flags during a demonstration against the war in the Middle East in The Hague on March 5, 2026 AFP

Wary of getting directly involved in the US-Israeli war with Iran, European countries are nevertheless being drawn into the conflict following attacks on Cyprus and Western allies in the Gulf.

While underlining their "defensive" aims, several European countries have now pledged military assistance to EU member Cyprus as the Middle East conflict intensifies and widens.

Some are also allowing the US military to use their bases under certain conditions, such as not using them to launch bombing raids.

"We are not at war and we do not want to join the war," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told RTL 102.5 radio on Thursday.

Here are the main military assistance pledges from Europe so far:

Britain

An Iranian-made unmanned drone struck the runway at the British air force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Monday.

Other drones, probably launched by Iran-backed military group Hezbollah from Lebanon, have been intercepted.

In response, Britain said it was sending a warship, HMS Dragon, fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer makes a statement from Downing Street in central London on March 5, 2026, in relation to the US-Israel war with Iran AFP

It is also deploying Wildcat helicopters equipped with Martlet missiles that can take down drones.

Separately, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that four Typhoon fighter jets would be sent to Qatar.

Starmer initially refused to have any role in the war but later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose".

Starmer''s initial refusal incurred the wrath of US President Donald Trump.

"This is not Winston Churchill that we''re dealing with," Trump said on Tuesday.

France

France is sending its flagship aircraft carrier -- the Charles de Gaulle -- to the eastern Mediterranean.

It has 20 Rafale fighter jets on board along with two Hawkeye radar aircraft.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also said Paris will dispatch additional air defence units to Cyprus.

A photograph shows a heavily damaged building at Tehran's Azadi Sport Complex following a strike, on March 5, 2026 AFP

He said that "Rafale jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar aircraft" were being deployed in the region.

France has already deployed its frigate, the Languedoc, off Cyprus.

The ship used its Aster missiles to shoot down drones fired from Yemen by Iran-allied Huthi rebels targeting vessels in the Red Sea in December 2023.

France said US military support jets have been allowed to use the Istres air base in France with "full guarantees" they were not involved in Iran strikes.

Greece

Greece has sent two frigates and four F-16 fighter jets to Cyprus.

It has also allowed the US to use its base in Souda Bay in Crete.

Italy

Rome has said it will send "naval assets" to Cyprus in the coming days along with France, the Netherlands and Spain.

Italy has also pledged "air-defence, anti-drone and anti-missile systems" to partners in the Gulf.

Italian media have reported that the assistance could include the SAMP/T air defence system.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Italy''s air bases could be used by the US for "logistical support" for "aircraft not intended for combat" under existing agreements.

Portugal

The Portuguese government has given the go-ahead for the US to use its Lajes base in the Azores as part of operations targeting Iran but only with certain conditions.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said on Wednesday that permission had been granted "on the understanding that these operations are defensive or retaliatory in nature, that they are necessary and proportionate, and that they target exclusively military objectives".

Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has made clear his opposition to the war in a verbal bust-up with Trump.

Madrid has ruled out allowing US military use of Spain''s bases, prompting a threat from Trump to sever all trade ties with Spain.

Spain has nevertheless said it will send its most advanced frigate -- the Cristobal Colon -- to protect Cyprus.

The defence ministry said on Thursday that the warship would "offer protection and aerial defence" and "support any evacuation of civilians".​

 

[Egyptian]

 

[Egyptian]

 

[Saif]

US likely responsible for strike on Iran school: New York Times

The United States is most likely responsible for a strike that reportedly killed scores of people at an elementary school in southern Iran, according to a New York Times investigation. The 28 February strike hit an elementary school in the Iranian town of Minab and killed at least 150 people...

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US likely responsible for strike on Iran school: New York Times

AFP
Washington, United States
Published: 06 Mar 2026, 18: 38

TOPSHOT - This image grab taken from Iranian state television broadcasted on 28 February 2026, show what it says is the site of deadly US and Israeli strikes that hit a girls' elementary school in Minab, in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan near the strategic sea route of the Strait of Hormuz AFP

The United States is most likely responsible for a strike that reportedly killed scores of people at an elementary school in southern Iran, according to a New York Times investigation.

The 28 February strike hit an elementary school in the Iranian town of Minab and killed at least 150 people, according to Iranian officials.

Neither Israel nor the United States has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was in close proximity to sites controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The US Department of Defense has said it is investigating the incident.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that US military statements indicating forces were attacking naval targets near the Strait of Hormuz, where an IRGC base is located, “suggest they were most likely to have carried out the strike.”

An analysis of social media posts from the time of the attack, as well as photos and videos from witnesses, indicated that the Shajare Tayyebeh elementary school was struck at the same time as a Revolutionary Guards’ naval base sites, the Times said.

Two unidentified US officials told Reuters that military investigators “believe it is likely” that US forces were responsible for the strike.

AFP has been unable to reach the location to independently verify the toll or the circumstances of the attack.

General Dan Caine, the top US military officer, said on Wednesday that the United States was carrying out strikes along southern Iran at the time.

A map he presented, the Times reported, indicated an area including Minab had been targeted by strikes in the first 100 hours of the operation.

Caine noted that Israel had mainly been operating further north in Iran.

The school was at one point part of the IRGC’s naval base, according to satellite images from 2013 reviewed by the Times.

However, the paper said publicly available historical satellite imagery “shows the structure bears the hallmarks of a school, including a sports field and other recreational areas that were added over time.”

“Given the U.S.’s intelligence capabilities, they should have known that a school was in the vicinity,” Beth Van Schaack, a former State Department official who teaches at Stanford University’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice, told the Times.

The Norway-based rights group Hengaw said the school was holding its morning session at the time of the attack and reportedly had about 170 students present.

Asked Wednesday whether the United States was involved in the strike, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replied: “Not that we know of.”​

 

[Saif]

Iran and US–Israel war: Arrogance of big countries and ego of small countries

The Middle East is filled with the smell of gunpowder. On one side are Israel and the United States, and on the other side is Iran. Judging by strength, it seems like an uneven battle. Who knows how long it will last? A form of religious governance has been in place in Iran for 47 years. Many...

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Iran and US–Israel war: Arrogance of big countries and ego of small countries

Mohiuddin Ahmad
Updated: 06 Mar 2026, 15: 38

The Middle East is filled with the smell of gunpowder. On one side are Israel and the United States, and on the other side is Iran. Judging by strength, it seems like an uneven battle. Who knows how long it will last?

A form of religious governance has been in place in Iran for 47 years. Many people do not favour it. Anger is growing among sections of the population against the rulers. Occasionally, this sentiment is reflected. Foreigners, especially the United States, take advantage of this situation to interfere. Visible reflections of this have been seen in Iran. The US wants to change the regime in Iran. This raises a question of morality. Is it acceptable for an external power to intervene by exploiting the internal situation of a country?

There are two opinions on this matter. One opinion holds that if a popular protest or rebellion is justifiable, then if an outside power steps in to help, the aggrieved people welcome it. On the other hand, those representing the prevailing system consider external interference undesirable. They call it aggression. There are many people on both sides of this argument.

In the international realm, we pledge to follow certain rules and norms. One rule is that no state should interfere in the internal matters of another state. The Panchsheel principles (Five Principles) of the Non-Aligned Movement were built on this foundation in the 1950s. It was a time of cold war between two superpowers. That era is now history. The cover of Non-Alignment has fallen away. There are now many military alliances around the world. Some seek to expand their sphere of influence, while others want to ensure their own safety through various forms of military cooperation. Yet, ultimate safety remains elusive.

Let's come to the topic of interference in a state's internal affairs. Whatever happens within a country, other countries should not meddle—this is the rule on paper. This allows a ruling group to suppress their own people. This rule can make them even more anti-public, more authoritarian, more arrogant. When that happens, the afflicted people of the country seek help, either domestically or abroad. There are many such examples.

We faced a similar situation in 1971. The ruling group of Pakistan imposed war on us. We organised a resistance war against it. In that war, India and the Soviet union stood by our side. Without their help, whether Bangladesh would have emerged is doubtful. We might have ended up as another Balochistan. In 1971, India and the Soviet union had their own geopolitical interests. But under the attack of the Pakistani army, the helpless Bengalis welcomed their support. Those who have not seen 1971 cannot imagine the havoc wreaked on the Bengalis.

In this context, Pakistan's rulers have always claimed that India was meddling in Pakistan's internal affairs and inciting rebellion. Rebels were branded as terrorists, miscreants, and Indian agents. At one point, the Indian military entered Bangladesh. I remember, in the first week of December, when a ceasefire proposal between India and Pakistan was raised in the UN General Assembly, India opposed it. The proposal saw 14 votes in favour of India and 111 in support of Pakistan. Later, the proposal went to the Security Council.

In the 15-member Security Council, the UK and France abstained. All other countries voted in favour of the ceasefire. The exception was the Soviet Union. Because of the Soviet veto, the ceasefire proposal collapsed. In this backdrop, on 16 December, Pakistani forces surrendered to India’s Eastern Command. Bangladesh was born. If the principle of non-interference in a country's internal affairs had been strictly upheld, Bangladesh would not have gained independence at that time.

In 1971, Iran did not support Bangladesh, nor did any Muslim country. This is remembered in the context of Iran. At that time, some criticised the India-Soviet alliance, saying the sovereignty of small and weak nations rested at the mercy of large and powerful countries.

At present, it seems that the goal of the US military action in Iran is regime change. Before Iran's "Islamic Revolution," there was the hereditary rule of Reza Shah Pahlavi. The people of Iran rose against his authoritarian rule. Reza Shah's regime was maintained with the assistance of the United States and its allies. Even China supported him. On the other hand, the Soviet union supported the mass uprising in Iran.

At one point, leftists were at the forefront of this mass protest in Iran. But the strong anti-American sentiment in Iran stirred a politics of religious revivalism, manifesting in the rejection of everything Western.

Iran has developed a structure where a representative election system and a supreme body of religious leaders form a type of governance system. This has been in place for 47 years. Some believe the roots of this nearly five decades-old regime and way of life are very deep and won't be easily uprooted. Yet, it is also true that Iran has a civilization and heritage of five thousand years. In that perspective, 47 years is nothing.

The US is geographically far from Iran. Missiles or shells launched from Iran cannot reach the US. Iran does not have that capability. Therefore, Iran has targeted American bases and interests in neighbouring countries. As a result, Iran has launched missiles in several countries. This means Iran has opened multiple fronts, which might be challenging to manage.

Iran has now turned to "Ummah politics," seeking support from the Muslim world. It appears that many of Iran's neighbouring Muslim countries do not side with it. Instead, due to being targeted by Iran's missile attacks, they have become more adversarial towards Iran. Those countries sympathetic to Iran can do no more than issue statements.

China and Russia have issued statements in support of Iran. Both China and Russia are at the top of the list of arms exporters. They have their own geopolitical interests and strategies. They do not want to concede space to the United States in Asia. This is another type of politics. What Russia is doing in Ukraine, the US is doing in Iran. Meanwhile, the bond between Russia and China with Israel remains as strong as ever.

A primary characteristic of global geopolitics is that small countries are not safe with big countries. The arrogance of large nations and the ego of small countries often reach a level of stubbornness. We are witnessing its reflection in Iran.

*Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher.​

 

[Saif]

Iran missile barrage sparks explosions over Tel Aviv
Agence France – Presse . Tel Aviv, Israel 06 March, 2026, 16:25

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. | AFP photo

The latest Iranian missile barrage sparked a wave of explosions across Tel Aviv as firefighters worked to contain a blaze at a residential building near Israel’s commercial hub on Friday.

• Iran Guards say targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion airport with missiles
• Trump says not currently mulling US troops in Iran
• Fresh Israeli strikes on Lebanon as PM warns of ‘looming humanitarian disaster’
• UN demands swift probe into Israeli strikes on Lebanon
• 67 Kuwait army personnel injured in Mideast war
• Qatar says its naval forces were in Bahrain buildings targeted by Iran
• US says it has sunk more than 30 Iranian ships

The blasts came after Israel expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, vowing retribution against the Tehran-backed group for joining the conflict following the killing on Saturday of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israeli police warned residents Friday about the threat of cluster bombs fired by Iran, after saying at least one such munitions had hit the country in Tehran’s barrages.

Police had said Wednesday that bomb disposal experts found evidence of cluster munitions after incoming missiles from Iran were detected.

In a separate incident AFP footage from Thursday evening showed a swarm of flaming projectiles falling in the darkened sky over central Israel.

Police did not comment on the sighting, but a military expert who reviewed the footage for AFP identified them as a part of a cluster bomb.

Iran’s state broadcaster said 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 late Thursday.

AFP journalists in Tel Aviv heard 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.

After the barrage, Israel’s emergency services, the Magen David Adom, said its teams had visited several reported impact sites but that there were no casualties.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion airport and an air force base in the area.

‘The heavy Khorramshahr-4 missiles carrying one-tonne warheads were launched at dawn today ... toward the heart of Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion airport and the base of the Israeli air force’s 27th squadron located at the airport,’ the Guards said in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.

Iranian state television reported a fresh drone strike on a ship in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a fire, on the seventh day of the war with the US and Israel.

The television channel did not specify the type of vessel or its provenance. Earlier, an Iran military spokesman said a US oil tanker was ‘on fire’ after having been targeted by Iranian forces.

Fresh strikes rocked Iran and Lebanon Friday as Israel and the United States stepped up their attacks in the sprawling Middle East war, with powerful explosions shattering the skies of Tehran.

The war, now entering its seventh day, has dragged in global powers, upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, and brought chaos to even usually peaceful areas of the volatile region.

It has spread to Lebanon whose prime minister warned of an impending humanitarian disaster as tens of thousands fled heavy strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Internet coverage in Iran running at about one per cent, according to monitor group Netblocks, limiting information about the impact of the war on ordinary Iranians.

At least 217 people have been killed and 798 wounded in Lebanon since the start of a new war between Israel and Hezbollah on Monday, Lebanon’s health ministry announced Friday.

The previous toll from the ministry, published Thursday evening, was 123 dead and 683 wounded.

The United Nations demanded swift investigations into fatal Israeli strikes across Lebanon to decide if they complied with international law.

‘Lebanon is becoming a key flashpoint,’ UN rights chief Volker Turk told reporters in Geneva.

‘I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.’

In Tehran, worshippers gathered for the first Friday prayers since the start of the war that killed Khamenei on the first day.

Online footage shared by Iranian media showed crowds of men and women dressed in black, some carrying Iranian flags, streaming to an open space outside the Grand Mosque of Imam Khomeini in the capital.

In the background of one video, a man speaking through a loudspeaker mourned the late supreme leader.

‘We bear witness that he was the embodiment of piety and guardianship in our time,’ he said as some worshippers seated on prayer rugs wept.

Friday morning’s strikes on Tehran followed warnings from Israel and the US they were escalating attacks.

‘We are now moving to the next phase of the operation,’ Israel’s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a televised statement.

‘We have additional surprises ahead which I do not intend to disclose,’ he added.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth also announced ‘firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically’.

President Donald Trump said it would be a ‘waste of time’ to send ground troops into Iran, but has insisted he would ‘have to be involved’ in choosing Iran’s next leader.

According to Iran’s health ministry, US and Israeli strikes on the country have killed 926 people, a number AFP could not independently verify.

Iran has launched missile and drone attacks at Israel and the Gulf since the war began. In Israel, at least 10 people have been killed, according to first responders there.

The US military has reported the deaths of six of its personnel since the war began Saturday.

Kuwait’s defence ministry said that 67 army personnel have been injured since the beginning of Iran’s retaliation campaign — the highest number by far of any Gulf military.

‘Sixty-seven Kuwaiti military personnel have been injured’ since the beginning of the attacks, according to Colonel Saud Al-Atwan, the defence ministry spokesman.

Kuwait had identified and ‘dealt with’ 212 ballistic missiles and 394 drones since Saturday, he added.

Kuwait also has the highest death toll in the region so far, with eight out of 13 people killed in the Gulf having died in the tiny country.

This includes four US service members and two Kuwaiti army personnel as well as two civilians.

Qatar said its naval forces were inside buildings targeted by Iran in Bahrain overnight, though they were unharmed, after Manama reported attacks on residential buildings and a hotel.

‘The State of Qatar strongly condemns the Iranian attack targeting buildings in various parts of the Kingdom of Bahrain, housing members of the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces participating in the Unified Maritime Operations Centre of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Unified Military Command,’ the foreign ministry said in a statement.

‘The Qatari Emiri Naval Forces personnel present in the targeted buildings are safe and unharmed,’ it added.

Earlier on Friday, Bahrain said Iran had struck a hotel and two residential buildings in the capital Manama, correcting a previous announcement that two hotels and one residential building were hit.

The attack came a day after an Iranian missile strike sparked a blaze at Bahrain’s main state-owned oil refinery, as Tehran pressed attacks across the Gulf.

‘Iranian aggression targeted a hotel & 2 residential buildings in Manama,’ Bahrain’s interior ministry posted on X, reporting ‘no loss of life’.

It said the attack sparked a fire in one of the residential buildings, which had been extinguished.

Drones hit an airport and oil facilities in southern Iraq on Friday, while in the north strikes and explosions mainly targeted Iranian militants.

In Iraq’s southern Basra province, ‘a drone crashed into the cargo terminal at Basra airport,’ a security official said.

Two others hit a US company in the Burjesia oil complex, and a fourth struck the Rumaila oil field, where energy major BP operates, the official added, without being able to identify the perpetrators.

The United States has sunk more than 30 Iranian ships during the on-going war, while ballistic missile and drone attacks by Tehran’s forces are down substantially, a top US military officer said Thursday.

‘We’re now up over 30 ships (sunk), and in just the last few hours, we hit an Iranian drone carrier ship, roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier. And as we speak, it’s on fire,’ Admiral Brad Cooper told a news conference.

EU chiefs will hold talks with Middle East leaders by video-link on Monday on the war in the region, a spokesperson for the European Council president said.​