Israel’s military launched a fresh wave of strikes on the Irani capital of Tehran early Saturday as Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in Japan that Canada is “not engaged” in the large-scale conflict in the Middle East.
Also, U.S. President Donald Trump said there would be no deal with Iran until the nation provided an “unconditional surrender.” American officials would later shrug off reports of Russia aiding Iran by providing intelligence on troop positions.
The latest strikes mark a full week of attacks affecting countries across the Middle East.
AT A GLANCE:
- Israel pounds Iran, Lebanon with bombs
- Iran reaches 1,3200 casualties; Lebanon’s death toll crosses 200
- Canada has chartered flights for citizens abroad
- Gas prices are up again across Canada
Here’s everything that happened on March 6, 2026.
Canada ‘not engaged’ in conflict: Carney
Carney told reporters in Tokyo on Saturday — Friday in Canada — that there has been no request for Canadian military assistance, and he doesn’t necessarily expect such requests.
The prime minister added that any decision would be taken by the government, not by the Armed Forces.
“We’re not engaged in the conflict. We do not intend to engage,” Carney said. “What we are doing, where we are engaged, is dealing with the consequences of the conflict, consequences that continue to spread in the region and, to some extent, beyond into the Indo-Pacific region.”
Asked how Canada could get involved, Carney said in French that he could envision a scenario where Canada provides defensive assistance to a NATO ally. He also said no such scenario exists at this time.
The Canadian Press
Israel launches ‘broad-scale’ strikes on Tehran
The Israeli military said early Saturday that it had launched a “broad-scale wave of strikes” on government targets in Tehran.
Iran’s state broadcaster reported an explosion in the western part of the capital, but further details were not immediately available.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier it had detected another round of Iranian missile fire headed towards Israel after a series of explosions were heard in the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv following the Iranian launches.
AFP
U.S. ‘not concerned’ by reports of Russia aiding Iran
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that the United States is “not concerned” about reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. troop positions and movements.
While declining to confirm the reports, Hegseth, in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” said: “We’re tracking everything.”
“Our commanders are aware of everything,” he said. “We have the best intelligence in the world. We’re aware of who’s talking to who.”
“We’re not concerned about that,” he added. “We mitigate it as we need to.”
The White House also downplayed a report that Russia is providing Iran with targeting information about U.S. forces.
“It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
“We are achieving the military objectives of this operation and that is going to continue,” Leavitt said.
Reuters
Russia gave Iran information that can help Tehran strike U.S. military: AP sources
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.
The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information.
Still, it’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran a week ago. Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilize in its four-year war Ukraine. Tehran, meanwhile, has been isolated for years over its nuclear program and its support of proxy groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, that have wreaked havoc in the Middle East.
The Associated Press
India allows Iranian ship to dock: report
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
The Associated Press
U.S. to send anti-drone system to the Mideast
An American anti-drone system proven to work against Russian drones in Ukraine will soon be sent to the Middle East to bolster U.S. defenses against Iranian drones, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Friday.
While the U.S. has used Patriot and THAAD missile systems to take down Iranian missiles successfully, there are limited effective anti-drone defenses now in the Middle East, according to a U.S. defense official, one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
The U.S. response to countering Iran’s Shahed drones has been “disappointing,” the other U.S. official said, particularly because the drones fired by Iran are a much more basic version of the same drone that Russia is continuously refining and updating in its war in Ukraine.
The system that is being sent, known as Merops, flies drones against drones. It is small enough to fit in the back of a midsize pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them, using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed.
The Associated Press
‘Decapitation campaign’ continues: military expert
The Israeli military said Friday around 50 fighter jets were used to destroy an underground bunker they said belonged to Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader.
According to one military expert, this operation signals that the U.S. and Israel are continuing its “decapitation campaign.”
Christian Leuprecht told CTV News Channel on Friday he believes this operation had two objectives.
“One is to try to take out the hard liners and the ideologues, to give the pragmatists and the moderates some breathing room, because I think there are people who want to make concessions,” Leuprecht said.
“The other is, of course, a rational choice strategy that if you’re in the leadership, it’s a signal that your head is likely to roll,” he added. “You might want to come to the negotiating table and make concessions.”
Robin Della Corte, CTVNews.ca journalist
Iran challenges Trump to escort oil tankers
A spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards challenged U.S. President Donald Trump to deploy U.S. naval vessels to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
The U.S. Navy could begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
Reuters
White House offers definition of ‘unconditional surrender’
Asked what Trump meant by accepting only “unconditional surrender,” Karoline Leavitt said Friday that will be achieved when the president “determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America” and the mission’s goals have “been fully realized.”
“Then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender,” she told reporters outside the White House “whether they say it themselves or not. Frankly they don’t have a lot of people to say that for them.”
The Associated Press
Israeli strikes on Lebanon kill at least nine: Lebanese ministry
Israeli strikes on eastern Lebanon killed at least nine people on Friday, Lebanon’s health ministry said, on the fifth day of fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
In a statement, the ministry said “Israeli enemy air strikes on Nabi Sheet” in the eastern Baalbek district killed at least nine people and wounded 17 in a preliminary toll.
“Rescue and debris removal operations are ongoing” to search for missing people, the ministry added.
AFP
U.S. does not want to negotiate in the future: ex-U.S. intelligence officer
The U.S. is likely aiming to break the back of the Iranian regime to extract timely concessions around its nuclear and armed proxy programs, a former U.S. intelligence officer told CTV News Channel on Friday.
Michael Pregent said in an interview that the “goal of this is to make sure that the United States doesn’t need to do this again.”
“(The U.S.) doesn’t (want to) have to go in and deal with Iran’s nuclear program, doesn’t (want) to go in and defend Iran’s neighbours from Iran’s ballistic missile attacks, drone attacks, and support for terrorism.”
Iran has funded armed groups in Yemen, Gaza, Lebanon, and other nearby nations.
“We don’t want to simply have this campaign go, and then stop it, and then have the regime take back control,” Pregent said.
He said that Iran likes to delay negotiations to stall for further concessions from Western countries.
Joe Van Wonderen, CTVNews.ca journalist
Trump had ‘very good meeting’ with defence manufacturers
Trump said he concluded a ‘very good meeting’ with the largest defence manufacturers in the U.S., claiming they agreed to boost production of some precision guided weapons.
“We have a virtually unlimited supply of Medium and Upper Medium Grade Munitions, which we are using, as an example, in Iran, and recently used in Venezuela,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Friday. “Regardless, however, we have also increased Orders at these levels.”
The U.S. president added that another meeting is scheduled in two months.
Reuters
Canadians arriving from Dubai relieved to return
There was tangible relief among Canadians who landed Friday morning in Toronto on a flight from Dubai, as an escalating conflict in the Middle East causes travel chaos that has included thousands of flight cancellations.
Returning travellers described a long and anxious process to find their way home, as the Canadian government announced Friday it had secured hundreds of seats on chartered and commercial flights out of the region.
Neil Danics said he travelled with his wife Irene to attend a conference in the United Arab Emirates last week and wanted to spend a few days in Dubai before returning home on Tuesday, but their flight was cancelled due to the war.
It was “very hard” to make their way out, he said.
The Canadian Press
Ghana peacekeepers hit by missile attacks in Lebanon
The headquarters of Ghana’s United Nations peacekeeping battalion in Lebanon was hit by missile attacks on Friday, leaving two soldiers critically injured, Ghana’s armed forces said in a statement.
Reuters
U.K. says Iran’s military command is intact but weakened
Britain says Iran’s military command and control remains intact, though weakened, after almost a week of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.
The Foreign Office says Iran’s governing system likely is resilient enough to continue operating in at least the short term.
In an assessment on Friday, the Foreign Office said Iranian missile and drone attacks are coming at a lower tempo than in the first days of the war, largely due to U.S.-Israeli success at taking out Iran’s missile launchers and air defenses. But Iran’s range of targets is diversifying, with an increasing focus on economic and energy-industry targets.
The Associated Press
More powerful explosions in Tehran
There have been several very large explosions in Tehran Friday afternoon, with columns of smoke rising, multiple eyewitnesses tell The Associated Press.
Numerous explosions also were heard in northern Iran, around the city of Rasht in Gilan province.
It remains unclear what the strikes’ targets were.
The Associated Press
Blast at Iranian school likely U.S. strike, evidence suggests
Satellite images, expert analysis and information released by the U.S. and Israeli militaries suggest an explosion that killed scores of Iranian students at a school was likely caused by U.S. airstrikes that also hit an adjacent compound associated with the regime’s Revolutionary Guard.
The Feb. 28 strike, which had the highest reported civilian death toll since the war began, has come under staunch criticism from the United Nations and human rights monitors.
More than 165 people were killed, most of them of children, in the blast during school hours at Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School, according to Iranian state media.
Satellite images taken Wednesday and reviewed by the The Associated Press show most of the school in the city of Minab, some 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) southeast of Tehran, reduced to rubble, a crescent shape punched into its roof. Experts say the tight pattern of the damage visible on the satellite photos is consistent with a targeted airstrike.
The Associated Press
Trump calls for Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to rule out negotiations with Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East, saying in a social media post Friday that there will be no deal absent “unconditional surrender” from Tehran.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” Trump said.
He has said multiple times that whomever takes over leadership of Iran must be to the U.S.’s liking.
Trump signed off the social media post with “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!),” a riff on his longtime campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
The Associated Press
Missiles vs. drones
Retired U.S. Col. Peter Mansoor says that while the U.S. and Israel may have inflicted considerable damage on Iran’s missile systems, Tehran’s drone capacity will be more challenging to disrupt.
“The missiles have a more intense infrastructure than the drones,” he said. “The drones are mobile. They can be moved around on trucks.”
That means that, even if the U.S. has intelligence on where the drones are located, their positions are a moving target.
He made the remarks during an interview with CTV News Channel, where he also said it’s unlikely U.S. President Donald Trump will order troops to Iran. It’s more probable, he said, that Washington could orchestrate some sort of special insurgency campaign against Tehran.
However, such operations take years to plan and execute, he said.
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist
Anand: U.S., Israel have “no blank cheque” and are bound by international law in Iran
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says the U.S. and Israel do not have a “blank cheque” in their bombing campaign in Iran.
Ahead of a call with caucus members set for today, Anand says her diplomatic focus is on de-escalation and protecting civilians in the conflict that Washington launched last weekend.
Anand will take part in today’s phone call with Liberal MPs, some of whom have publicly expressed unease with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s support for the U.S. campaign and have argued it violates international law.
The minister says she welcomes a diversity of views but notes there have been two decades of talks aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Anand initially refused to say whether the American bombing campaign violated international law, but Carney later said that is likely the case.
Anand says “international law binds all parties and there is no blank cheque, in terms of the operation that is being undertaken.”
The Canadian Press
Canada has no intention to join ‘Epic Fury’
Anand says she has had “significant conversations” across the Middle East and Gulf region with her counterparts
“I want to be clear that we don’t have intention on participating in Operation Epic Fury,” Anand said during a morning briefing with reporters.
The Federal government continues to offer Canadians departure assistance through charter flights, block bookings and ground transportation “when and where it is safe to do so.”
Judy Trinh, CTV News senior correspondent
Only nine commercial ships crossed Hormuz Strait since Monday
Only nine oil tankers, cargo and container ships, some of which at times concealed their position, have been recorded crossing the Strait of Hormuz since Monday, according to data by MarineTraffic analyzed by AFP.
After three ships were attacked Sunday, at least three tankers and a vessel carrying gas have crossed this chokepoint.
Nearly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and about 20 percent of LNG transit through Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
Gas costs rise again
Gas prices rose again across the country today.
The average price was around 147.8 cents per litre around 10:15 a.m. ET, according to GasBuddy.
That’s 2.5 cents higher than yesterday’s average, though still 3.6 cents lower than last year’s average of 151.4 cents.
Luca Caruso-Moro, CTVNews.ca journalist
Death toll in Lebanon crosses 200
The number of people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Monday has risen to 217, with another 798 wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
It was not clear how many were civilians. Tens of thousands more have been displaced.
After the attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran triggered a new war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel Monday for the first time in over a year. Israel has retaliated by bombarding southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Associated Press
Anand: Some flights organized for Canadians
Some chartered flights have been arranged for Canadians
Canada’s foreign minister says unused seats on chartered flights will be given to citizens of allied nations.
Anand stresses that the situation remains volatile and unpredictable and urges Canadians to register online.
“We have a team at GAC (Global Affairs Canada) working 24 hours a day to provide updates to Canadians,” Anand said
Judy Trinh, CTV News senior correspondent
U.S. weapons subject of White House meeting
The U.S. president is hosting defence industry executives Friday to push them to expedite supplies of more American-made weapons. Invited companies include Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, Boeing, Honeywell and L3Harris Technologies.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that the U.S. military has “more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles” to continue its operations in the Middle East.
“Nevertheless, President Trump has always been intensely focused on strengthening our military, which is why this meeting with defense contractors was scheduled weeks ago,” Leavitt continued.
The Associated Press
Canada not chartering boats yet
Anand says the government is not chartering boats, because seaway routes aren’t safe.
The Minister says her team has been in touch with the Department of National Defence and is including them in their planning.
Yesterday, Lt. Gen Steve Boivin, who’s in charge of Canadian Joint Operations Command, said the Canadian Armed Forces was involved in contingency planning, even though Global Affairs had not yet requested assistance with non-combatant operations or assisted departures.
“We are deploying six people as liaison officers to make sure we are prepared should such a request come in, but we don’t have such a request yet, nor have we moved major assets like ships or airplanes,” Boivin said.
Judy Trinh, CTV News senior correspondent
Number Of Canadians requesting assistance spikes
As of this morning, more than 108,000 Canadians are in the Middle East.
About 3,500 Canadians have requested assistance from Global Affairs, says Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand on Friday morning.
Judy Trinh, CTV News senior correspondent
Thousands march and hold prayers in Tehran
Thousands of men and women gathered in Tehran’s streets Friday in a show of defiance and to hold prayers in the open.
Waving clenched fists and Iranian flags as they filed past a poster of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the marchers chanted “We’ll fight, we’ll die, we won’t accept humiliation” and “No compromise, no surrender, destruction of Israel.”
Hassan Fathollahi, 54, said he had brough his children to “make our enemies understand that we and our children will sacrifice our lives for the (Islamic) revolution.”
“We will not give up the blood of our leader. Every single son of Iran is ready to fight America and Israel until victory, God willing,” he said.
The Associated Press
UAE says 3 drones hit its territory
Three aerial drones hit the United Arab Emirates on Friday, the country’s Defence Ministry said on X. It did not elaborate on where they fell or any damage caused.
The UAE’s air defences destroyed nine ballistic missiles and intercepted a further 109 drones on Friday, the ministry added. Since the start of the war, 205 ballistic missiles and 1,184 drones have been detected in UAE territory, with most destroyed, officials said.
The Associated Press
IEA chief warns of likely bidding war for gas
The International Energy Agency director says the conflict in Iran has halted exports of Iranian gas to largely Asian markets, a stoppage that if drawn out will likely lead to a bidding war between Europe and Asia and energy prices will soar.
“If the crisis continues this way, the Asian buyers and the European buyers will need to compete for the LNG which will get scarcer and scarcer,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said Friday after meeting with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“So this will be the challenge for European countries if the crisis continues in the next days or weeks to come,” Birol added.
The Associated Press
Israel tells people to leave industrial area of Qom
Israel’s military has issued a warning that people should flee an industrial area of Qom, the Shiite seminary city south of Iran’s capital, Tehran.
The Associated Press
Tehran hit by powerful airstrikes
Witnesses say intense airstrikes hit Iran’s capital, Tehran, on Friday afternoon.
The Associated Press
Iran says ‘mediation efforts’ ongoing
Iran’s president says that there are “mediation efforts” ongoing about the war in the Middle East.
Masoud Pezeshkian says “some countries” had started mediating, without naming them.
“Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity & sovereignty,” the president wrote on X. “Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict.”
The Associated Press
Iran fires new missiles at Israel
Israel’s military says Iran has launched a new salvo of missiles targeting the country.
The Associated Press
Israeli strike in Lebanon kills 5
An Israeli strike in the southern coastal city of Sidon in Lebanon killed five people and wounded seven others, Lebanon’s health ministry says.
There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military.
As of Thursday evening, 123 people had been killed in Lebanon and 683 wounded in the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. It’s not clear how many were civilians.
The Associated Press
Azerbaijan pulls all diplomats from Iran
Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov says the country will evacuate its diplomats from Iran after the Iranian drone attacks.
Bayramov said the staff of Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran and its Consulate General in Tabriz will return home on orders from Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijan said Thursday that Iranian drones attacked its exclave of Nakhchivan, wounding four civilians and damaging an airport building in what Aliyev denounced as a “groundless act of terror and aggression.”
The Associated Press
Red Cross says ‘hundreds of thousands’ displaced in Lebanon
Hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon have been displaced so far in the dayslong conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.
“Across Lebanon, hundreds of thousands of people have had to flee their homes,” said Hachem Osseiran, ICRC spokesperson for the Middle East.
“The intensification of hostilities, coupled with evacuation orders covering entire districts in Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley, has sown panic and confusion. Many people have fled, some on foot, with nothing but the clothes on their backs and no clear sense of where to go.”
The Associated Press
U.K. to aid in ‘defending’ Bahrain
The British ambassador to Bahrain says the U.K. would be part of “defending” Bahrain by having Royal Air Force fighter jets flying over the island kingdom as it faces attacks from Iran.
Ambassador Alastair Long made the announcement in an Instagram post.
“Today, I’m delighted to tell to people that the U.K. will be flying RAF jets above Bahrain as a contribution to the defence of Bahrain, one of our closest allies in the whole world,” Long said.
“This matters hugely to the U.K. that we are part of defending Bahrain and making sure it prevails in this terrible attack against it by Iran.”
The Associated Press
UN health agency’s Dubai hub beginning to resume operations
The World Health Organization said earlier this week that operations were on hold because of insecurity, airspace closures and restrictions of the Strait of Hormuz.
But WHO’s eastern Mediterranean chief, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, said Friday that after the “temporary pause,” they are resuming as airspace reopens.
Balkhy said that more than 50 emergency supply requests regarding 25 countries and meant to benefit more than 1.5 million people had been hit by the enforced pause. Those included shipments destined for Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen and Somalia.
She said that “what we’ll be doing over the next few days is to identify now the urgent shipments that need to go out quicker than others.”
The Associated Press
U.K. antisemitism group thanks London police
The Campaign Against Antisemitism says it’s grateful to police “for foiling this alleged plot,” after four men were arrested in and around London on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community.
But the group accused the U.K. government of not taking the threat from Iran seriously enough.
“The U.K. may not be acting against Iran but Iran is acting against us,” it said in a statement.
“The government’s failure to keep its promise to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the main instrument that the Islamic Republic uses to foment antisemitic violence worldwide — has sent the message that support for the brutal Iranian regime and its Jew-hating and West-hating ideology is perfectly acceptable in Britain,” the statement said.
The Associated Press
Qatar condemns Iranian attack on Bahrain
Qatar has denounced an Iranian attack on Bahrain that targeted buildings housing elements of its forces there.
Doha says the attack targeted the unified military command of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation bloc in the region.
It says none of the Qatari sailors were hurt and called the assault “a direct threat to its security and stability and the security of the region.”
The Associated Press
Lebanon’s prime minister calls for international help
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is calling on the international community to help Lebanon amid the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war.
“A humanitarian disaster is looming” because of huge displacements of people, Salam said.
Salam criticized both Israel and Hezbollah over the current crisis saying that the Lebanese state and people “did not choose this war.”
Speaking to heads of diplomatic missions in Beirut, Salam appealed to the friends of Lebanon to support “us in this endeavor” and called on the international community to help stop Israel’s attacks and spare the country’s infrastructure.
The Associated Press
Iran launches a new missile attack
Iranian state television announced a new missile attack, including the Islamic Republic firing off its larger Khorramshahr-4 missiles.
The Associated Press
Some Chinese airlines resume flights to Mideast
Air China, China Southern and a few other Chinese carriers are resuming direct flights to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Air China resumed a flight from Beijing to Riyadh Thursday, state media reported.
China is also helping citizens evacuate from the region, saying it received a plane carrying 300 passengers from Dubai on Wednesday.
“We once again remind that the situation in the Middle East remains complex and severe, with considerable uncertainty,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said about the evacuations and flights.
The Associated Press
UN rights chief pleads for peace
Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, says that “the world urgently needs to see steps to contain and extinguish this blaze.”
He lamented that “instead we are only seeing more inflammatory, bellicose rhetoric, more bombings, more destruction, killings and escalation, that fuels it further.”
Türk is urging the countries involved in the war “to take immediate steps to de-escalate, to give peace a chance.” And he says that other countries should “call clearly on those involved to pull back.”
He’s also “extremely concerned” about the situation in Lebanon following Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel and Israel’s counterstrikes.
Türk said he’s particularly worried about what he described as “blanket, massive displacement orders” by Israel to civilians in Lebanon.
“Obviously, this raises serious concern under international humanitarian law and in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer,” he said.
The Associated Press
Israel targeting Lebanon’s capital again
The Israeli military says it’s conducting new strikes on Beirut.
The Associated Press
Australian Greens say country part of ‘illegal war’
The Australian Greens party says Australian sailors’ presence aboard the U.S. submarine that torpedoed an Iranian warship made Australia “part of an illegal war.”
Australia’s government confirmed that three Australians were aboard a submarine that sank the Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka this week, killing at least 87 people.
Sen. David Shoebridge, the influential party’s defence spokesperson, told reporters on Friday: “This makes Australia obviously, clearly, unambiguously, part of an illegal war.”
The Australians were aboard the boat as part of the trilateral U.S., Australian and British partnership known as AUKUS that will deliver Australia a fleet of submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology.
The Associated Press
Blasts heard in Tel Aviv
The sound of explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv, Israel, after the warning about incoming missile fire from Iran, as air defence systems worked to intercept the barrage.
The Associated Press
U.K. police say 4 arrested for aiding Iran
London police say four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community.
The suspects, one Iranian and three dual British-Iranian nationals, have been taken into custody on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, the Metropolitan Police said.
The force said the men, ages 22, 40, 52 and 55, were arrested at addresses in and around north London shortly after 1 a.m.
The men are suspected on spying on locations and individuals.
“We understand the public may be concerned, in particular the Jewish community, and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us,” said Metropolitan Police Commander Helen Flanagan, who is in charge of counterterrorism policing in London.
The Associated Press
Israeli military warns of missile fire coming from Iran
The Israeli military is warning its public about incoming missile fire from Iran.
The Associated Press
Phone alerts go off in Dubai
Mobile phone alerts sounded just before noon in Dubai, warning of a possible missile attack.
The Associated Press
Indonesia holds off on Board of Peace discussions
The Indonesian government is currently holding off on all discussions related to Trump’s Board of Peace as the country focuses on the safety of Indonesian nationals in the Middle East, officials said Friday.
Yvonne Mewengkang, spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs, said “any decision regarding Indonesia’s participation in any international mechanism will be based on the principle of Indonesia’s foreign policy and the most important thing, our national interests.”
More than 519,000 Indonesian nationals live across the Middle East, including 329 in Iran, mostly students.
Indonesia plans to begin evacuating its citizens from Iran on Friday.
The Associated Press
3 Australian personnel were on U.S. sub that fired torpedo
Australia’s government revealed on Friday that three Australian personnel were aboard a U.S. submarine that sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean this week, killing at least 87 people.
The Australians were part of the trilateral U.S., Australian and British AUKUS training program.
Neil James, executive director of the Australian Defence Association policy think tank, says it is “reasonably rare” for Australians embedded with another nation’s military to go to war against a country such as Iran that Australia wasn’t at war with.
James said an Australian would not have fired the torpedo that sank the Iranian ship.
The Associated Press
South Korea says it will receive 6 million barrels of oil from UAE
South Korea says it reached an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to receive 6 million barrels of crude oil, aiming to stabilize energy prices spiked by the escalating war in the Middle East.
Kang Hoon-sik, chief of staff for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, said in a briefing Friday that the emergency supplies are intended to curb fuel costs which surged this week.
The Associated Press
Iranian semiofficial news agency says wave of missiles, drones fired at Israel
Iran launched a new wave of missiles and drones targeting Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday morning, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
The Associated Press
South Korea’s foreign minister declines to comment on possible shift of U.S. assets
South Korea’s foreign minister told a legislative hearing that the United States has not requested military or non-military assistance from Seoul over the war in the Middle East, but declined to comment on reports that Washington could relocate some of its assets in South Korea to support the fighting.
When asked by a lawmaker about a media report that U.S. forces were moving some of its Patriot anti-missile defence systems to a major air base near Seoul, Cho Hyun said he couldn’t confirm details related to U.S. military operations.
Cho said Seoul and Washington were maintaining close communication and that the allies’ combined defence posture would not be affected by developments in the Middle East.
U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement it does not “comment on the movement, relocation, or potential repositioning of specific military capabilities or assets” for operational security reasons.
The USFK statement came in response to questions from The Associated Press about a Yonhap News report, citing anonymous sources, that said U.S. forces moved multiple Patriot systems from other bases in South Korea to Osan Air Base, where transport aircraft were also spotted.
Yonhap said it wasn’t immediately clear whether the movements were linked to the war or joint U.S.-South Korea military drills beginning Monday.
“United States Forces Korea remains focused on maintaining a strong, ready, and combat-credible force posture on the Korean Peninsula,” the USFK said.
The Associated Press
Etihad Airways to restart ‘limited flight schedule’ from Abu Dhabi
Etihad Airways said it is restarting a “limited flight schedule” from its hub in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi starting Friday.
The government-backed carrier has operated some flights in recent days, but its latest announcement suggests it is moving toward more regular operations.
Etihad said that previously booked passengers as well as new customers will be able to travel on the flights, assuming “all safety criteria are met.”
It listed more than 70 destinations it planned to fly to between Friday and March 19.
The Associated Press
Saudi Arabia says it destroyed another drone near Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry reported the destruction of another drone near Riyadh, this one to its northeast.
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted drones east of Riyadh
The Saudi Defence Ministry said it destroyed three drones in the eastern areas of Riyadh.
The ministry said earlier Friday that it intercepted a cruise missile over the city of Kharj.
The Associated Press
