Pentagon footage of the sinking of the Iranian frigate Iris Dena in the Indian Ocean, March 4, 2026

EA-Times Radio VideoCast: Trump Camp “Has No Plan B” For Its War v. Iran

UPDATES: Israel-US War on Iran Spreads Across Middle East

UPDATE 1757 GMT:

France’s General Staff says reports about the deployment of US assets at French bases in the Middle East (see 1052 GMT) are “incorrect”.

US support aircraft, but not combat aircraft, are allowed to use the Istres air base in France, said the French military.

This is a routine procedure within NATO. France has insisted that these assets not participate in any way in operations conducted by the United States in Iran, but strictly in support of the defense of our partners in the region.

UPDATE 1752 GMT:

The toll in Lebanon from Israel’s attacks has risen to 102 killed and 638 wounded since Monday.

UPDATE 1548 GMT:

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation order for southern suburbs of Beirut.

The estimated population of the area, which is Hezbollah’s central position in Lebanon, is 300,000 to 700,000.

The Israel Defense Forces’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said the latest order covers the neighbourhoods of Bourj el-Barajneh, Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Shiyyah.

“Save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” he posted. “Beware, heading south is prohibited. Any southward movement could endanger your lives. We will inform you of the safe time to return to your homes.”

UPDATE 1411 GMT:

Republicans in the US Senate have protected the Trump Administration by voting down a war powers resolution that would have required Donald Trump to seek congressional approval before further operations.

The resolution was voted down 53-47. All but one Republican — Rand Paul of Kentucky — objected. All but one Democrat — John Fetterman of Pennsylvani — supported the effort for Congressional involvement.

The House is expected to consider a similar resolution on Thursday.

UPDATE 1348 GMT:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has responded to the drone attacks on an airport and school in the Nakhchivan region with the threat, “Any hostile force will feel the full might of our ‘Iron Fist’.”

Aliyev called a security meeting for Thursday.

Iran’s military denied that it launched the drones and blamed Israel: “Such actions by the Zionist regime to disrupt relations between Muslim countries through various means are well documented.”

But, as Aliyev said Azerbaijan “strongly condemns this heinous terrorist act”, the Foreign Minstry summoned Iran’s ambassador.

Aliyev added, “Those responsible must be brought to justice without delay,” he said. “The Iranian side must provide an official explanation to Azerbaijan, issue an apology, and ensure that the perpetrators are held criminally accountable.”

He said Azerbaijan’s armed forces “have been placed at the highest level of combat readiness and are prepared to carry out any required operations.”

UPDATE 1106 GMT:

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli attacks since Monday have killed 77 people and injured 527.

At least eight people have been slain on Thursday, including four members of the same family in the southern village of Kfar Tebnit.

UPDATE 1058 GMT:

Six people have been injured by falling debris in Abu Dhabi after air defenses intercepted a drone.

The wounded are Pakistani and Nepalese nationals. Their injuries are minor to moderate.

UPDATE 1054 GMT:

An Iranian drone struck an Azerbaijani airport near the countries’ border.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the drone hit the terminal building at an airport in the enclave of Nakhchivan, damaging part of the complex and injuring two civilians. A second drone fell near a school in a nearby village.

Baku says it reserves the right to take retaliatory measures. The Foreign Ministry has summoned the Iranian envoy.

UPDATE 1052 GMT:

France is allowing the US to use some of its bases in the Middle East for defensive operations, the French military has announced.

A spokeswoman for the General Staff, “These aircraft contribute to the protection of our partners in the Gulf.”

UPDATE 1033 GMT:

Spain has firmly rejected the Trump camp’s claim that it now supports the US-Israel war on Iran.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on radio on Wednesday night, responding to Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt:

Our “no to war” stance remains clear and unequivocal.

She may be the White House press secretary, but I’m the Foreign Minister of Spain and I’m telling her that our position hasn’t changed at all.

Leavitt said in her briefing on Wednesday afternoon, after Donald Trump’s threat to “cut off all dealings with Spain”.

I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear. It is my understanding over the past several hours they’ve agreed to cooperate with the US military.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles emphasized on Thursday morning:

They know it’s not true….I’m not going to speculate. Obviously, it could be a step backward they’re trying to take after President Trump’s inappropriate statements, but the facts are crystal clear: the Spanish government will not authorise the use of the Morón and Rota bases in this context….

We all understand that what is happening in Tehran is terrible, a violation of human rights. As a woman, I am particularly pained by the situation of women in Tehran, but no one can become the international guardian….

Spain cannot support unilateral actions that lack support from international law.

The Spanish said they would join other NATO members in defense of the UK’s bases in Cyprus, sending a frigate.

A drone attacked the RAF Akrotiri base on Saturday, and two more were intercepted.

UPDATE 0818 GMT:

Iran’s armed forces have denied firing a missile towards Turkey on Wednesday.

The military said in a statement on State media that they respect Turkey’s sovereignty.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry said a ballistic missile fired from Iran toward Turkish airspace, passing Syria and Iraq, was destroyed by NATO defense systems over the eastern Mediterranean.

UPDATE 0750 GMT:

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has posted about the US sinking of the Iranian frigate Iris Dena, killing at least 87 crew.

UPDATE 0723 GMT:

Top US military officials told legislators in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday that they face shortages of interceptors against Iran’s retaliation.

The Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, and other officials warned that they may not be able to shoot down every Iranian drone being launched against US military installations and assets, according to “two people familiar with the matter”.

The officials said they are focused on destroying the launch sites for drones and missiles as soon as possible.

“We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense,” Caine said at a news conference on Wednesday morning, but he offered no details.

In the first days of the war, the US spent around $2 billion per day. The figure is now closer to $1bn and is expected to fall further as the conflict continues, according to “a person familiar with a preliminary Defense Department analysis”.

UPDATE 0714 GMT:

The US and Israel are escalating airstrikes along the Iran-Iraq border amid reports that the American military and CIA may support an offensive by Iranian Kurdish insurgents.

Waves of strikes hit dozens of military positions, frontier posts, and police stations along northern parts of the border.

A “US official with knowledge of the discussions between Washington and Kurdish officials” said Washington is ready to provide air support if Iranian Kurdish peshmerga fighters cross the border from northern Iraq.

A spokesperson for Israel’s military said the air force is “heavily operating in western Iran to degrade Iranian capabilities there and to open up a way to Tehran and create freedom of operations there”.

The Iranian regime responded on Thursday that it has struck the Iraq-based Kurdish groups “opposed to the revolution”.

“Separatist groups should not think that a breeze has blown and try to take action,” said the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani.

The strikes killed at least one Kurdish fighter.

“Three sources with knowledge of the matter” have told media outlets about US consultation with the peshmerga, training them to mount an attack and stir an uprising.

The groups have requested US military support and there are discussions of CIA assistance.

They said a final decision has not yet been made on the operation and its possible timing.

Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, said on Wednesday that some peshmerga have moved to areas near the Iranian border and are on standby. He added that Kurdish opposition group leaders have been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation, without giving details.

Meanwhile, Baloch insurgents have moved from remote mountain bases in Pakistan across the border into southwest Iran, according to local officials.

ORIGNAL ENTRY: Expanding the war on Iran, the US has sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, killing at least 87 crew.

An American submarine targeted the frigate Iris Dena, with more than 180 crew, off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The ship had taken part in a naval exercise held in the Bay of Bengal from February 18 to February 25 and was returning to Iran from a port in eastern India.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted that the Iranian navy “rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf” and that it is “ineffective, decimated, destroyed…pick your adjective, it is no more”.

“An American submarine sank an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” he proclaimed.

The Pentagon released footage of the sinking:

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said the Coast Guard received a distress call from the Iris Dena at 5:08 a.m. A naval vessel was dispatched by 6 a.m., and another by 7 a.m. They arrived at the site to find the frigage had already sunk, leaving just an oil spill.

Sri Lankan officials said they saved 32 people from the ship.

On the sixth day of the US-Israel war, the confrontation threatened international waters. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of maritime gas and 25% of maritime oil is shipped, is down 90%.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are threatening to close the Strait completely. The head of US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, countered that the US was sinking “all of the Iranian navy”, destroying 17 ships.

“For decades the Iranian regime has harassed international shipping. Today there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman,” he declared.

Hegseth Evasive Over Strike That Killed 165+ at Iranian Girls’ School

Hegseth was evasive when journalists asked about Saturday’s strike that killed at least 165 people at a girls’ school in southern Iran.

The Defense Secretary responded about the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Homorzgan Province, “All I can say is we’re investigating that.

He insisted, “We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look.”

Another 96 people were injured in the attack.

On Tuesday, the UN Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights denounced “the forces behind a deadly attack”. It called for a thorough investigation and information about the mass killing.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, composed of 18 independent experts, said it “is alarmed by reports of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, which have injured and traumatised children, and claimed many young lives”.