U.S. President Donald Trump had a call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Iran and other issues, which according to the Kremlin was a “frank and businesslike” conversation that lasted about an hour.
Heavy U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran has been going on for more than a week, while Iran has launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries. Israel is striking Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the militant group fires rockets into Israel.
Iranian state TV announced early Monday that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was named supreme leader, in defiance of threats by Trump. Khamenei is seen as even more hard-line than his father, the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war. He will now be in charge of Iran’s armed forces and any decision about Tehran’s nuclear program.
U.S. stocks closed higher following a remarkable reversal as oil prices fell from nearly US$120 per barrel below $90.
A 26-year-old Army staff sergeant from Kentucky was identified as the seventh U.S. service member killed during the Iran war, after being wounded on a base in Saudi Arabia on March 1. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed the same day at a Kuwaiti port.
New footage has raised the likelihood that the U.S. military struck an Iranian elementary school where a blast killed at least 165 people, mostly children.
Here’s what happened on March 9, 2026:
Trump vows to hit Iran back harder if it stops oil tankers
The U.S. president pledged aggressive action against Iran if it continues to block the shipment of oil in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” Trump posted on social media.
“Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”
The president said his threat was a “gift” to China, among other nations, because it relies on oil from the Middle East.
U.S. Senate Democrats demand public hearings on Iran war
A handful of Senate Democrats are threatening to impede the Senate’s work unless the Trump administration provides public hearings on the war with Iran.
A vote on a war powers resolution, which would have required congressional approval for any further attacks on Iran, failed last week mostly along party lines. But a group of Democratic senators has filed several similar pieces of legislation and could potentially force repeated votes on them if they choose.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said they were going to “use every lever that we have to stop business as usual” unless there is an agreement from Republicans.
The tactic showed how Democrats are desperate to force a debate on the Iran war, but because they have minorities in both chambers of Congress, they are getting creative to force the issue into the public view.
Trump claims Iran has access to Tomahawk missiles when asked about school strike
The president erroneously claimed that Iran has access to the American Tomahawk cruise missile, the weapon likely used to strike a girls’ school in Iran, killing 165 people.
Asked if the U.S. would accept responsibility for the strike, Trump argued that the cruise missile, which is made by the American defense contractor Raytheon, is “sold and used by other countries” and that Iran “also has some Tomahawks.”
“Whether it’s Iran or somebody else ... a Tomahawk is very generic,” he said.
While Raytheon sells the missile to allied countries like Japan and Australia, there is no evidence to suggest that Iran has gotten its hands on the cruise missile.
When asked why he was the only person in his administration making the claim, Trump replied: “Because I just don’t know enough about it.” He added that “whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report.”
Trump says war is `very complete’ but it’s also `the beginning’ of a `a new country’
The president was asked about his comments earlier Monday in which he told a reporter that the war was “very complete,” while the Pentagon on Monday said on social media: “We have Only Just Begun to Fight.”
Trump was asked whether it was the end or the beginning and said, “It’s the beginning of building a new country,” a comment that seemed to suggest the U.S. might be engaged in the building of a new Iran.
Trump says U.S. is undertaking Iran operation ‘for the other countries in the world’
Though the president has long professed an “America First” policy prioritizing the U.S., Trump suggested at his news conference that the war was for the benefit of other nations, especially those dependent on oil that’s shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
“I mean, we’re doing this for the other parts of the world, including countries like China,” Trump said.
Trump says Iran had a new site for developing nuclear weapons protected by ‘granite’
Trump told reporters at a news conference that the war with Iran began because that country was starting work on a new site for developing material for nuclear weapons.
Trump said new site meant to replace facilities bombed by U.S. last year
“But they were starting work at another site, a different site, different kind of a site — and that was protected by granite,” Trump said.
The president added that Iran wanted to use the “exponentially growing ballistic missile threat to make it virtually impossible to prevent them from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” claiming that Iran would have otherwise been able to take over the Middle East.
U.S. would have been attacked by Iran ‘within a week’: Trump
The president dismissed criticism from some Democratic officials that there was no reason for the U.S. and Israel to strike Iran.
“Well, I’ll give you the best reason of all. Within a week they were going to attack us, 100 per cent. They were ready,” Trump said.
He did not offer any information to support that statement but said Iran had “all these missiles, far more than anyone thought.”
However, Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S.
Trump tells CBS News that Mideast war could end soon
Trump commented as rising oil and gasoline prices caused by the war spark international concern.
CBS News White House reporter Weijia Jiang posted on X that Trump told her over the phone Monday that the war is “very far ahead of schedule.”
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” Jiang quoted Trump as telling her. “They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”
Trump had said the war could last about four weeks. It was launched on Feb. 28.
Asked about the Strait of Hormuz, Trump told Jiang that ships continue to move through the vital shipping channel but that he is “thinking about taking it over.”
Saudi Arabia intercepts 12 drones fired toward oil field
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said Monday night it downed the drones over the Empty Quarter desert that were fired toward its massive Shaybah oil field.
The 12 drones arrived in two waves; the first had three drones and the second had nine, the ministry’s spokesperson said.
The Defense Ministry has repeatedly posted in recent days that it intercepted drones heading toward the Shaybah field.
Trump says family of soldiers killed in Middle East told him to ‘win’ in Iran
The U.S. president briefly recounted what family members of soldiers killed as part of the ongoing war with Iran told him during the dignified transfer of their remains Saturday in Dover, Delaware.
“But they all said one thing to me: ‘Make sure you win, sir. Make sure you win,’” Trump said.
Trump called the dignified transfer “a beautiful thing, but it’s also a very sad thing.”
Trump tells Republican House members that Mideast war will be ‘short term’
Trump opened his address to the lawmakers by talking about Iran, saying “we took a little excursion” to the Middle East “to get rid of some evil. And, I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion.”
The legislators met earlier in the day at Trump’s golf club near Miami.
Australia grants asylum to 5 members of the Iranian women’s soccer team
The Iranian athletes, who were visiting the country for a tournament, were transported from their hotel “to a safe location” by federal police officers in the early hours of Tuesday morning local time, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.
There, they met with Burke and the processing of their humanitarian visas finalized, the minister told reporters in Brisbane hours later.
Trump had said Monday that Australia’s prime minister was helping the Iranian team after Trump urged the U.S. ally to grant the players asylum rather than send them back to Iran.
Wall Street erases big loss, closes higher as oil prices fall
The U.S. stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long.
Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, their highest since 2022, back toward $90.
The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.5 per cent before flipping to a gain of 0.8 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 239 points, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.4%per cent. They’re the latest hour-to-hour swings to pummel markets because of uncertainty about how high oil prices will go and how long they will stay there.
EU economy chief warns of stagflation if the Mideast war drags on
The European Union’s economic chief is warning of the threat of stagflation if the war in the Middle East drags on, but says it’s too early to know how great the conflict’s impact will be.
“Stagflation” is a toxic combination of still-high inflation and a weak or stagnant economy. It bedeviled the U.S. in the 1970s, when even deep recessions didn’t kill inflation.
“Persistent targeting of shipping and energy infrastructure risks exposing the global economy to a stagflationary shock over the longer term,” EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters after a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers.
But he said that “should the conflict quickly de-escalate, contain disruptions to energy supplies and infrastructure (it) would likely have limited impact.”
“We need to keep a cool head, so to say, and continue to monitor the situation,” he said.
Trump has a call with Putin to discuss the war in Iran and other issues, Kremlin says
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov described the conversation as “frank and businesslike” and said it lasted about one hour.
He said the Russian president “voiced a few ideas aimed at a quick political and diplomatic settlement” of the conflict following his conversations with Gulf leaders and Iran’s president.
Trump offered his assessment of the developing situation, Ushakov said, “in the context of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli operation.” The two leaders had a “specific and useful” exchange of views, and they touched on Venezuela “in the context of the situation in the global oil market,” he said.
Trump says to hold news conference
Trump announced the news conference in a social media post in which the Republican president laid out his schedule for Monday.
He said it would begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. EDT -- after the markets close and with concerns rising about high oil and gasoline prices because of the war. Trump did not say if the news conference would be about a particular topic. The White House had no immediate comment.
Trump was spending Monday at his Miami-area golf club and having “many important meetings and phone calls” while there, according to the post. He said he’s attending a 4 p.m. fundraiser for House Speaker Mike Johnson and will hold the news conference before he returns to the White House.
House Republicans are also meeting there on Monday for a legislative retreat.
Trump arrived in the Miami area on Friday for a summit at the club on Saturday with Latin American and Caribbean leaders.
A second Iranian nuclear site has been struck, UN says
However, any damage to the Isfahan site appears to be minor, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
He didn’t say when the site was struck or by which countries’ forces. Satellite images of Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility have also shown damage to buildings and additional damage across the facility’s complex.
“Since the beginning of this campaign, we’ve seen some impacts in Natanz -- a couple -- and one in Isfahan. Not a very major one, I should say,” Grossi said, speaking to reporters in Paris.
“What we saw was an impact close to one axis, to one of the tunnels there and this is all we saw,” he said.
France’s Macron orders naval deployment to Mediterranean after Cyprus strike
France will deploy eight warships, including the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and two helicopter carriers, to the Eastern Mediterranean and wider Middle East to bolster security around the European Union’s eastern frontier, President Emmanuel Macron said Monday.
Speaking in Cyprus days after a drone struck the British base on the island -- the first attack of the war on European soil -- Macron also said France is working on an initiative to escort oil and gas tankers through the Strait of Hormuz once the conflict’s most intense phase eases.
Israeli diplomat says his country will target anyone with ‘radical ideas’ -- including Iran’s new leader
Israel’s ambassador to the UN said Iran’s new supreme leader “is more of the same -- same ideology, same radical ideas” as his late father.
“Anyone who will promote those radical ideas against us, we will target them,” Danny Danon told reporters. “We will find them.”
Danon was asked whether Israel supports Trump’s statement that the U.S. president should have a say in choosing Iran’s next leader.
“There is no daylight between the U.S. and Israel,” he said, then added, “I think it’s for the people of Iran to choose their next leadership.”
“We will have to create the conditions for them, and that’s what we are doing now,” the ambassador said. “But eventually they will have to stand up, rise up and choose their own leadership.”
Lebanon’s president says Israel-Hezbollah fighting could turn his country into ‘another Gaza’
Joseph Aoun told a group of European officials in a video meeting that armed groups in his country had provoked Israel into pummeling Lebanon, saying the militants sprang an “ambush for Lebanon, the Lebanese state, and the Lebanese people.”
Without naming Hezbollah directly, Aoun sharply criticized the Iran-allied militant group, saying it “does not give any weight to the interest of Lebanon or the lives of its people.”
Israel began striking Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and the killing of Iran’s supreme leader.
Trump says Australia is handling the Iranian women’s soccer team situation
The team’s coach had said they want to return home as soon as possible. However, Trump has said he wants Australia to grant the team asylum, saying, “The U.S. will take them if you won’t.”
The president said on social media Monday that five members of the team have “already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.” He said some feel they must go back to Iran because they’re worried about the safety of their families.
Trump did not elaborate on how Australia was resolving the issue, after speaking to the country’s prime minister.
People run for cover in Tel Aviv as missiles come from Lebanon
As the missiles swooshed through the sky, consecutive loud booms reverberated in the streets of Tel Aviv and people ran for shelter.
Israel’s army said the barrage of projectiles came from Lebanon, where it is fighting with Hezbollah. Projectiles from Hezbollah don’t have a pre-warning like missiles do from Iran, which can leave people scrambling as the sirens ring.
Europeans call for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Lebanon fighting
France and four other European members of the Security Council requested the urgent meeting Monday as Israeli strikes have continued to pound Lebanon since Hezbollah struck Israel in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The United States, which holds the council presidency this month, has not yet scheduled a session on Lebanon.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said another council meeting would not change the situation on the ground.
“Discussions will not disarm Hezbollah,” he said.
“The Lebanese government must disarm Hezbollah and take full control of southern Lebanon,” Danon said. “If Lebanon does not do so, Israel will disarm Hezbollah to protect its citizens.”
Turkiye warns Iran after a second missile enters its airspace
Turkiye’s NATO air defence systems intercepted the ballistic missile Monday. However, the country’s president warned Iran to avoid “provocative steps.”
Speaking at the end of a cabinet meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country values its friendship with Iran and has been working toward preventing the conflict, but that Tehran risks damaging “Turkiye’s friendship.”
“No one should engage in calculations that would leave deep wounds in our nation’s heart and mind,” Erdogan said. “In light of today’s incident, I once again remind (Iran) to avoid persisting in mistakes and stubbornness.”
Anthropic sues the Trump administration seeking to undo ‘supply chain risk’ designation
The Pentagon last week formally designated the San Francisco tech company a “supply chain risk” over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its technology.
The lawsuits aim to undo the designation and block its enforcement, and come after an unusually public dispute over how Anthropic’s AI chatbot Claude could be used in warfare.
Anthropic filed two separate lawsuits Monday, one in California federal court and another in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., each challenging different aspects of the Pentagon’s actions against the company.
Seventh U.S. service member killed is identified as Army soldier from Colorado unit
The Pentagon has identified the seventh U.S. service member killed in combat during the Iran war as Army Staff Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky.
Pennington died Sunday after being wounded during an attack on March 1 at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, a Pentagon statement said.
He was assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade that is based at Fort Carson, Colorado. The unit’s mission focused on “missile warning, GPS, and long-haul satellite communications,” according to its website.
Pennington was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, according to an Army press release.
Six Army reservists were killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations centre at a civilian port.
Iran’s president welcomes the selection of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader
President Masoud Pezeshkian, a relative moderate in Iran’s Shiite theocracy, wrote on X that “solving the country’s problems can be achieved through his wise leadership and by creating an atmosphere built on people’s trust and participation.”
The supreme leader, chosen by a clerical body, has the final say on all major policies, including war, peace and the country’s disputed nuclear program.
Israeli authorities say a man was killed by an Iranian cluster bomb
Cluster bombs travel through the air then burst open before landing, breaking up into dozens or hundreds of smaller bomblets to maximize the likelihood of hitting targets.
Col. Jonathan Raz of Israel’s Home Front Command said Monday that the area of Yehud in the country’s center was hit by a cluster bomb, killing at least one person and leaving others in critical condition.
Israel’s military said Iran has been using cluster bombs on a “nearly daily basis,” noting that Iran fired similar projectiles during the previous 12-day war last June.
UN says more than 10 children were killed every day across Lebanon in past week in escalating strikes
The UN children’s agency says deaths and injuries to children since Israel retaliated in Lebanon for Hezbollah strikes are “staggering.”
UNICEF’s Middle East director Edouard Beigbeder said that according to the latest reports at least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded since March 2.
That’s more than 10 children killed, and approximately 36 injured, every day, he said in a statement.
Beigbeder said the figures “are a stark testament to the toll that conflict is taking on children.”
“As military strikes continue across the country, children are being killed and injured at a horrifying rate, families are fleeing their homes in fear, and thousands of children are now sleeping in cold and overcrowded shelters,” he said.
Hundreds leaving Iran through Turkmenistan
Checkpoints on the border between Iran and Turkmenistan have begun operating 24 hours a day to facilitate the transit of those seeking to leave Iran amid the war with the U.S. and Israel, Turkmenistan’s officials said Monday.
So far, some 250 people from 16 countries have crossed into the Central Asian nation from Iran, officials said. Those crossing into Turkmenistan are being offered food and assistance in contacting their families or embassies.
Turkmenistan, a former Soviet country that has remained largely isolated under autocratic rule since it gained independence, shares a 1,148-kilometre (713-mile) border with Iran. During the Israel-Iran war in 2025, Turkmenistan, despite its harsh visa policies, provided an evacuation corridor for more than 4,000 people from 52 countries who sought to leave Iran.
UAE says 2 military personnel killed in non-combat helicopter crash
The United Arab Emirates announced Monday the deaths of two non-combat members of its armed forces following the crash of a helicopter due to a “technical malfunction.”
This comes as the ministry continues to work against what it said were hundreds of missiles and drones fired by Iran toward the country in a war that started over a week ago.
Egypt’s leader condemns Iran’s attacks on its neighbours, Israel’s moves on Lebanon
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Monday also urged deescalating the conflict in the region to avoid further “unprecedented repercussions” that could impact global economy and energy security.
“The national security of Arab countries is an integral part of Egyptian national security,” he said during an EU video conference held with some Arab leaders to discuss U.S.-Israel war on Iran, according to a statement by the president’s office.
El-Sissi also called for supporting Lebanon and exerting efforts to “prevent Israel from invading Lebanon during this difficult stage” and targeting the country’s infrastructure.
Marco Rubio says U.S. ‘well on our way’ to destroying Iranian missile threat
The secretary of state says the United States is “well on our way” to destroying Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbours and the world with missiles.
Speaking Monday at a State Department ceremony to honour Americans wrongfully detained abroad in countries including in Iran, Rubio said the goal of the continuing U.S. air strikes is to eliminate Iran’s ballistic missile stockpile, its ability to produce them and its ability to launch them.
“We are well on our way to achieving that objective” he said, adding that it is being done “with overwhelming force, with overwhelming precision.”
U.S. designates Sudan branch of Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization
The Trump administration has designated the Sudan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, accusing it of getting training and other support from Iran. It’s the fourth chapter of the group the U.S. has hit with the label.
The U.S. State Department said Monday that the Sudan branch would be classified as a “specially designated global terrorist” group with immediate effect and would be labelled a “foreign terrorist organization” once a congressional review of the move is complete on March 16. It said the group was responsible for “mass executions of civilians” among other things.
The SDGT designation imposes sanctions but the FTO designation ramps up those penalties to include making it a crime to provide material support for the group or its members.
The administration has previously designated the Lebanese branch of the group an FTO and the chapters in Egypt and Jordan as SDGTs.
German leader says it’s up to Iran to stop the fighting
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that “it is up to this regime and the so-called Revolutionary Guard alone to stop the fighting.”
He added that “so long as this not the case, I assume that Israel and America will continue their defense against this regime.”
Merz said the threat posed by the Iranian government reaches far beyond the region, pointing to its support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. He said that “Iran is the centre of international terrorism, and this center must be closed. And the Americans and Israelis are doing that in their way.”
Qatar intercepts 17 missiles and 6 drones
Qatar’s Defence Ministry said Monday it intercepted all 17 missiles and six drones launched from Iran toward the Gulf nation on Monday, as Iran continues to attack neighbouring Arab states. There was no damage or casualties, the ministry said.
Ukraine is helping nations seeking assistance in fighting against drones
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine had received 11 requests from countries seeking assistance in countering threats linked to Iran. They include Iran’s neighbors, European countries and the United States.
Writing on social media, Zelenskyy said the requests focus on Ukraine’s experience in defending against drones, including interceptor systems, electronic warfare and training.
He said Kyiv is ready to help those who helped defend Ukrainian lives and independence. He added that Kyiv had already responded to some requests with specific decisions and support, and would consider further assistance as long as it does not weaken Ukraine’s own defenses.
“Ukraine’s priority is clear: the Iranian regime must not gain any advantage over those defending lives, and everyone must work together to achieve tangible stabilization both in the region and in global markets,” Ukrainian leader said.
Japan condemns Iran’s attacks on civilians in the Gulf
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he condemned Iran’s attacks on civilians in Gulf nations and other actions that threaten freedom of navigation and safety in the Strait of Hormuz during a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.
Motegi said he repeated Japan’s position that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons. He also insisted that Iran promptly release two Japanese nationals. Motegi said Araghchi provided Iran’s position and promised his country’s full cooperation in ensuring the safety of Japanese nationals.
No damage from downed missile in southern Turkiye
Turkiye’s Defense Ministry said debris from the downed Iranian missile fell on empty fields in Gaziantep province, in southern Turkiye. There was no damage or casualties.
The ministry stressed that while Turkiye values peaceful relations and stability in the region, it would not hesitate to act if its land or airspace is threatened.
“We once again emphasize that all necessary steps will be taken firmly and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory or airspace,” the statement read. “We remind everyone that complying with Turkiye’s warnings in this regard is in everyone’s interest.”
The statement said the missile was downed by NATO units stationed in the eastern Mediterranean.
NATO defences intercept ballistic missile in Turkiye’s airspace
Monday’s interception was second since the start of the Iran war. Iran has fired missiles and drones at several countries across the region since the United States and Israel attacked it over a week ago.
Dozens of missiles and drones fired at UAE
The United Arab Emirates says 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones were fired on the Gulf country on Monday.
That has brought the total projectiles fired at the UAE since the start of the U.S. and Israel war against Iran to 253 missiles and 1,440 drones, the Emirati Defense Ministry said. Four foreign nationals have been killed and 117 people wounded in the attacks, it said.
U.S. pulls staff from consulate in southern Turkiye
The U.S. State Department on Monday ordered non‑emergency staff and family members to leave the U.S. Consulate in Adana, in southern Turkiye. It also advised American citizens to depart southeast Turkiye.
The decision marks the 10th U.S. diplomatic mission placed on ordered departure since the start of the war with Iran, and the first such move involving a NATO ally.
A new round of airstrikes hit Tehran, Iran’s capital, on Monday, witnesses say
Israel said it had begun “a wide-scale wave of strikes” in Iran’s capital, Tehran, in Isfahan and in southern Iran.
Israel says the number of missiles launched from Iran in each barrage is decreasing
In the early days of the war there were barrages with dozens of missiles, but that has dropped to less than 10 or 20 missiles being launched at a time, said Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani.
Iran is still firing missiles frequently toward Israel, sending people running for shelter multiple times per day, especially in central Israel.
Shoshani noted that Iran still has “a significant amount” of missiles, as Israel has concentrated on attacking Iran’s missile launchers rather than its weapons arsenals. Israel claimed previously it has destroyed around 60 per cent of Iran’s launchers and has also targeted missile production facilities.
Palestinians mourn 3 killed in Israeli attack in central Gaza
Funeral processions were held Monday for two Palestinian women and a 12-year-old girl who were killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip.
The three were killed Sunday when tank shelling hit two tents in Abu Shemeis camp for displaced people in central Gaza, according to Awda Hospital. A 6-month-old boy was severely wounded, it said.
The camp is located around 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the so-called Yellow Line separating Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza. The dead included a journalist, Amal Shamali, who worked for Radio Qatar, according to the hospital.
The Israeli military didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Lebanon’s parliament extends term for 2 years due to war with Israel
Lebanon’s state news agency said legislators voted 76-41 with four abstentions. Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favor of the extension.
The latest conflict with Israel that began last week has displaced over half a million people and made it difficult to organize a vote in large parts of the country. The next parliamentary elections had been scheduled for May.
Iran firing cluster munitions daily at Israeli’s densest cities, military says
Iran has been using cluster munitions against Israel on a “nearly daily basis,” an Israeli military spokesperson said Monday. He said Iran had fired similar missiles at Israel during the 12-day war last June.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said that the cluster munitions fired at Israel so far have targeted Israel’s most “densely populated civilian areas” in Jerusalem and central Israel.
A cluster munition is a bomb that opens in the air and releases smaller “bomblets” across a wide area. The bomblets are designed to take out tanks and equipment, as well as troops, hitting multiple targets at the same time.
Kremlin congratulates Khamenei on becoming Iranian leader
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to congratulate him on becoming Iran’s new leader.
The message, published on the Kremlin’s website Monday, reaffirmed Moscow’s “unwavering support for Tehran,” and said that “Russia has been and will remain a reliable partner of the Islamic Republic.”
“At a time when Iran is opposing armed aggression, your tenure in this high post will undoubtedly require great courage and dedication. I am sure that you will honorably continue your father’s work and unite the Iranian people,” Putin’s message read.
Sirens sounded in the Haifa Bay area in northern Israel
There was no advance warning, suggesting rocket fire from Lebanon.
Mojtaba Khamenei is referred to as an ayatollah
In naming Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, the Assembly of Experts and Iranian state media referred to him as “ayatollah,” one of the highest titles given to clerics within Shiite Islam. Khamenei’s father, Ali, similarly became an ayatollah with his appointment as supreme leader in 1989.
G7 nations could use their strategic oil reserves, Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron says Group of Seven nations could dip into their emergency oil stockpiles in response to soaring energy prices.
Speaking to reporters en route to a visit to Cyprus, Macron said “the use of strategic reserves is an envisaged option.” He said G7 leaders could meet this week to coordinate a response to climbing energy prices, expected via a call or a video conference. France currently holds the rotating presidency of the G7 group
Separately, finance ministers from the G7 nations are meeting Monday afternoon by video conference to discuss the repercussions from the Iran war.
Israel says a man was killed in an Iranian missile attack, raising death toll to 11
The man was killed in an attack that targeted central Israel.
It marked the first death from missiles in Israel in a week.
China calls for respect of Iran’s internal affairs
China’s government said the authorities “have noted” the reports of Iran naming Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader and called on all parties to go back to negotiations to avoid further escalation.
“This is a decision made by the Iranian side in accordance with the country’s constitution,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Monday.
He added that “China opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext” and said that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iran “should be respected.”
Syrians continue to flee Lebanon
Around 70,000 Syrians have crossed the border from Lebanon “under duress in a rush to Syria because they were so afraid of what is happening in Lebanon,” Karolina Lindholm Billing, the representative of the UN refugee agency in Lebanon, said Monday.
Lebanon was at one point hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees, but the numbers have declined, particularly since the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024. Today around 532,000 registered refugees remain, with potentially hundreds of thousands more believed to be unregistered.
U.S. and Iran spar over status of Iranian warship sunk by submarine
The United States and Iran have offered sharply different accounts of the sinking of an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Washington has rejected Tehran’s claim that the warship IRIS Dena was unarmed when it was sunk in a submarine attack near Sri Lankan waters on March 4.
In a statement Sunday on X, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command called Iran’s assertion that the vessel was unarmed “false.”
Iranian officials say the vessel was operating in a noncombat role as it returned home after taking part in a naval exercise in India.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said last week the warship was “unarmed.”
Israel says it is carrying out strikes in Beirut
Israel said Monday it has carried out airstrikes in Beirut.
The Israeli army earlier Monday said it would operate against targets associated with the Hezbollah-linked financial institution al-Qard Al-Hasan. It repeated the warning to residents of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb to flee.
Israel says Hezbollah uses al-Qard al-Hasan to finance its military activities.
Smoke billowed over Beirut after the attacks. The first strike destroyed a building housing an office of al-Qard al-Hasan in the southern suburb of Chiyah.
Israel’s military targeted several branches of al-Qard al-Hasan in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.
During the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, Israel’s military carried strikes that destroyed more than a dozen branches of al-Qard al-Hasan across Lebanon.
UAE reports another strike against Abu Dhabi
Emirati authorities have reported another missile attack in the capital, Abu Dhabi, urging people to remain in safe locations.
Israel identifies another launch on northern Israel
Israel has identified another launch on northern Israel shortly after a previous warning of an incoming missile attack from Iran on Monday.
Israel says missiles launched toward northern and southern Israel
Israel said in a new warning Monday that it has identified missiles launched from Iran toward northern and southern Israel.
Sirens sounded in Israel warning of a missile attack from Iran for the sixth time Monday.
Bangladesh shuts universities early to save energy
Bangladesh on Monday closed all universities, bringing forward the break for Eid al-Fitr as part of emergency measures to conserve electricity during the conflict in the Middle East.
The South Asian country, which depends on imports for 95 per cent of its energy requirements, already has experienced instances of panic buying. Car owners and drivers have struggled to collect fuel as shortages are reported.
The government has shut most fertilizer factories, redirecting available gas to power plants to avoid widespread outages.
Islam’s biggest festival is expected to be held either March 20 or 21, depending on the moon sighting, at the end of a month-long fasting ritual.
Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud urged people to remain calm, saying Bangladesh has sufficient fuel stocks.
Abu Dhabi attacked by Iran
The capital of the United Arab Emirates came under Iranian attack Monday, with two people hurt by shrapnel from interceptions in Abu Dhabi, authorities said.
The Associated Press
