Plumes of smoke rise from US-Israel strikes on Tehran, Iran, March 6, 2026 (Vahid Salemi/AP)

EA on International Media: US and Israel Expand Their Wars in Iran and Lebanon — But How They Will End Them?

US-Israel War on Iran: Israelis Launch Mass Strikes on Lebanon’s Beirut

UPDATE 1024 GMT:

The toll has risen to at least 26 killed in Israel’s airstrikes on Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.

UPDATE 0851 GMT:

The Trump Administration has played down reports that Russia is providing Iran with intelligence to target US military personnel in the Middle East.

Three officials said the information includes the location of military facilities, warships, and warplanes.

But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox TV, “Whether or not this happened, frankly, it does not really matter, because President Trump and the United States military are absolutely decimating the rogue Iranian terrorist regime.”

Questioned at a press appearance at the White House, Donald Trump snapped, “What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed:

UPDATE 0800 GMT:

The Lebanese Health Ministry says 16 people were killed and 35 wounded by Israeli strikes on the Baalbek district in eastern Lebanon overnight.

Hezbollah claimed four Israeli helicopters arrived from the direction of Syria. It said their fighters engaged the Israelis before withdrawing under heavy airstrikes.

The Lebanese Health Ministry reported on Friday that 217 people had been killed and 798 injured by Israeli attacks since Monday.

UPDATE 0744 GMT:

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has responded to Donald Trump’s demand on social media for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER”.

In a prerecorded address on State TV, Pezeshkian said the demand is a “dream that they should to take to their grave”.

He apologized for Iran’s attacks on countries in the region, insisting that Tehran would halt them and suggesting they were caused by miscommunication in Iran’s military.

Despite the statement, Iran repeatedly attacked Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE on Saturday morning.

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, after meeting Pakistan’s military chief, posted on social media:

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Entering the second week of their war on Iran, the US and Israel have stepped up waves of airstrikes on Tehran.

Farzad, 36, who has fled the city, told Deepa Parent of The Guardian:

“If they don’t stop now, Tehran will turn into Gaza.

We can now tell the difference between the sounds of fighter jets, air defense, and missiles. Sometimes we stand together and watch the trails of hypersonic missiles in the sky.

I don’t think I have ever experienced a night like this before or even seen [anything like it] in the movies. I am really scared, especially because I am in total information blackout.

The initial plan of the US and Israel was to collapse the regime, or at least make it surrender, through targeted assassinations. Iran’s Supreme Leader and dozens of senior officials and commanders were killed in the first wave last Saturday morning in a strike on Ayatollah Khamenei’s compound.

However, the remaining leaders in the regime have refused to capitulate. Instead, they have retaliated with missile and drone attacks across the Middle East.

So the Trump Administration and the Netanyahu Government have escalated the strikes on the Iranian capital, including on high-rise civilian blocks.

Zahra, a teacher and mother of one living in central Tehran, said:

This is the first time since the war began that I am genuinely scared for my fellow Iranians. We are trapped between the regime that is killing us with machine guns, and a foreign power has likely decided that we are collateral damage.

Zahra, who participated in nationwide protests in January and celebrated the killing of the Supreme Leader, added, “The initial joy of the regime’s leaders paying the price is soon turning into fear. Who will be left in free Iran if we all get killed?”

She described the bombing on Thursday night, “I don’t think I have ever experienced a night like this before or even seen [anything like it] in the movies. I am really scared, especially because I am in total information blackout.”

A reporter in eastern Tehran said of their experience:

I was asleep, and somehow over the past few days I got sleep because we got used to the sounds of explosions. But early this morning, the situation has turned really scary. The windows were shaking and I could hear people shouting.

“We were not hit, but I thought the ceiling would fall on me and I would die. I am devastated to see my beloved city being destroyed like this.

The reporter later went offline and could not be reached.

Saeed, a Tehran University student, pleaded to The Guardian’s Parent: “Please use your voice to ask Mr Trump if there is a plan to keep us safe while they go after military targets, because we are terrified that this morning’s strikes, which genuinely felt like the heaviest since Saturday, must have killed so many people.”

Video of strikes on Tehran overnight:

“I Felt Really Close to Death”

The Israeli Defense Forces avoided any comment about strikes affecting Iran’s civilians. Instead they boasted on Saturday morning:

A former political prisoner had a different perspective about the US and Israeli attacks, “Last night [Thursday] they hit central Tehran with B-2s. This morning, for the second time, I really felt very close to death.”

People are stuck at a historical crossroads: on one side they are killed by their own government, and on the other side by the state of Israel.

The reality is that the finger of blame should be pointed at the government that caused this destruction and devastation, and that is now burning in the very fire it lit itself.