Smoke rises in Lebanon’s capital Beirut after Israeli airstrikes, March 2, 2026 (Hussein Malla/AP)
Netanyahu and Trump’s War for Regime Change in Iran
UPDATE 0811 GMT:
Saudi Arabia’s State oil giant Aramco has shut its Ras Tanura refinery after a drone strike.
An official said the situation is “under control”.
The Ras Tanura complex, on Saudi’s Gulf coast, has a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day and is an important export terminal for Saudi crude.
UPDATE 0755 GMT:
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry confirms “several” US warplanes have crashed in the country.
All pilots bailed out safely and are in stable condition as they are checked at a hospital. Videos showed the ejection of one pilot and his safety on the ground.
Iran claims that it downed an F-15 fighter jet.
The Kuwaiti Defense Ministry said it is investigating the cause of the crashes.
UPDATE 0737 GMT:
A “security source” confirms that an Israel-US missile attack targeted sites of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.
The strike was in Jurf al-Sakhr, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Significant material damage was reported, including the burning of vehicles and warehouses. No casualties have been reported so far.
UPDATE 0702 GMT:
Senior Iranian official Ali Larijani has denied reports in the US that Tehran has asked for negotiations.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson noted that Iran tried diplomacy last year and earlier in 2026. On both occasions, the talks were scuttled by Israel-US attacks.
Larijani, a former Parliament Speaker who was the Supreme Leader’s top political advisor, posted on social media that Trump plunged the Middle East into chaos with his “delusional fantasies and now fears more American casualties”.
“He turned his self-made ‘America First’ slogan into ‘Israel First’ and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel’s power-hungry ambitions,” Larijani asserted.
UPDATE 0655 GMT:
Journalists report “strong explosions” in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Air defenses are intercepting missiles and drones which targeted the Erbil International Airport.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Israel has expanded the war on Iran to Lebanon, as Tehran tries to retaliate for Israeli-US strikes that have killed the Supreme Leader and other senior officials.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out massive airstrikes across its northern neighbor following a rocket volley by Iran’s ally Hezbollah.
At least 32 people have been killed and 149 wounded. In Beirut, 20 fatalities and 91 injured have been reported.
Gen. Rafi Milo, head of Israel’s Northern Command. said the military will further escalate its attacks: “Hezbollah chose the Iranian regime over the State of Lebanon and initiated an attack on our civilians….They will pay a heavy price. The strikes continue, their intensity will increase.”
IDF head Gen. Eyal Zamir reinforced the message in a video on Monday morning: “We have launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah. We must be prepared for several days of fighting – many.”
Iran’s Retaliation
On Sunday and into Monday, the Iranian regime responded to the strikes on the Supreme Leader’s compound that also killed the Defense Minister, head of the Revolutionary Guards, Army Chief of Staff, and a top advisor of Ayatollah Khamenei. It fired on Israel and on the Gulf States of the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Confirmed damage and casualties are limited so far. In the most serious incident, a ballistic missile strike killed nine civilians in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem. In the UAE, three people — Pakistani, Nepalese, and Bangladeshi nationals — have been slain.
A suspected drone strike hit a UK base in Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri. The midnight attack followed confirmation by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that London is allowing the US to use British bases to target Iranian missile sites.
Cyprus closed schools and evacuated people where necessary. President Nikos Christodoulides told the nation:
We are located in a region of particular geopolitical instability, with many challenges and problems, currently undergoing an unprecedented crisis.
We are doing what must be done, with the safety of our country and our citizens as our foremost concern.
The UK Royal Air Force is moving families out of the Akrotiri base.
Tehran acknowledged the Israel-US killing of another seven military commanders. Iranians mourned hundreds of victims, including at least 165 from Saturday’s strike on a girls’ school — reportedly adjacent to a Revolutionary Guards barracks — in the south of the country.
