April 6 (UPI) — The four crew members of the Artemis II mission entered the moon’s sphere of influence early Monday, marking the start of their lunar flyby.
The Orion spacecraft reached what is called the lunar sphere of influence at about 12:41 a.m. ET Monday, meaning the moon’s gravitational forces on the capsule were greater than those of Earth.
The mission launched Wednesday from Florida, and it took the spacecraft four days, six hours, two minutes and 54 seconds to cross the important gravitational milestone, the first crewed mission to enter the moon’s sphere of influence since Apollo 17 in 1972.
About 13 hours later, at 1:56 p.m., the four-person crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Cristina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will have surpassed the record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth, which was previously set by Apollo 13 in 1970.
The spacecraft is expected to start its flyby of the moon at about 2:45 p.m. Monday, when a seven-hour lunar observation period will begin.
NASA said the crew will see both the near and far sides of the moon during this period. As window space is limited, the crew will be divided into pairs that will conduct between 55- and 85-minute observation shifts, it said.
Mission control sent the crew the final list of lunar surface features to be observed and photographed during the flyby early Sunday, according to NASA.
The astronauts will be tasked with observing about 30 targets, including the Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that spans the boundary between the moon’s near and far sides, NASA said.
“The crew will study Orientale’s features up close and from multiple angles as they pass by,” the space agency said in a Sunday evening blog post.
Orion is expected to reach its closest approach to the moon at 4,070 miles at 7:02 p.m. only to reach its maximum distance from Earth during the mission minutes later.
The lunar observation period is expected to come to an end at 9:20 p.m.
At about 1:25 p.m. Tuesday, Orion will have exited the lunar sphere of influence en route home.
The 10-day moon flyby mission is to conclude with a splashdown off the coast of San Diego at about 8:07 p.m. Friday.
U.S. special forces were in a race against Iran to find a U.S. airman missing after their F-14E Strike Eagle fighter jet went down in Iran. File Photo courtesy the Department of Defense
April 4 (UPI) — Israel’s military suspended attacks in an area of Iran where a U.S. airman is believed to be lost as U.S. forces carried out a second day of search-and-rescue operations Saturday.
The service member was one of two pilots on board an F-15E fighter jet that Iran shot down over its airspace on Friday. U.S. officials were able to safely rescue one of the pilots, but the second was missing.
An unnamed Israeli official told The New York Times that the Israeli military halted its operations in the area — the mountainous regions of Kohgiluyeh, Boyer-Ahmad and Khuzestan provinces — amid the search. The official said it was also sharing information with U.S. officials to aid in the rescue mission.
Meanwhile, state-run media in Iran encouraged civilians in the region to also look for the missing U.S. airman, The Guardian reported.
Speaking Friday with NBC News, President Donald Trump said the downed U.S. fighter jet won’t affect the United States’ negotiations with Iran more than a month after U.S. and Israeli forces began strikes on the country.
“No, not at all,” Trump said of the possibility. “No, it’s war. We’re in war.”
A U.S. official told NBC News that it’s believed that the downed F-14E fighter jet was originally based out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath in Britain.
Elsewhere, Iraq closed its border crossing with Iran at Shalamja on Saturday after an Iranian missile strike at the site killed one person and injured five others. Lt. Gen. Omar al-Waeli, who heads the Border Ports Authority, said the injured were injured were taken to a hospital in Iran.
All trade and passenger traffic were halted, the Iraqi News Agency reported.
“There are alternatives to Shalamja crossing, regarding the entry of goods, such as the Safwan border crossing, in addition to the existence of other land crossings operating in the rest of the govern orates in order to secure the entry of goods and commodities,” al-Waeli said.
Yemen’s Houthis have attacked Israel for the first time, a month after US and Israeli forces began striking Iran, opening up a new front in a rapidly escalating conflict that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and rattled the global economy.
The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, entered the fray on Saturday with two missile and drone attacks on Israel in the space of fewer than 24 hours. The Israeli army said the attacks were intercepted, but the Iran-aligned group pledged to continue fighting in support of “resistance fronts in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran”.
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The Houthis had sat out of the hostilities until now, in contrast with their stance during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, when their attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea upended commercial traffic worth about $1 trillion a year.
Their widely anticipated involvement in the latest conflict comes just as Iran has throttled traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s oil, raising fears that the Yemeni group will again disrupt Red Sea traffic by blocking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Reporting from Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry described Bab al-Mandeb as the group’s “ace”.
“They want to make Israel pay economically. They want to disrupt their trade routes. They want to disrupt the imports and exports in and out of Israel,” he said.
‘Civilians bearing brunt of war’
The Houthi attacks came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington expected to conclude its military operations against Iran within weeks, even as a new deployment of US Marines has begun to arrive in the region, so US President Donald Trump would have “maximum” flexibility to adjust the strategy as needed.
With no immediate diplomatic breakthrough in sight as both the US and Iran harden their positions, many fear that the US-Israel war on Iran, which started on February 28 and has since engulfed the region, will spiral out of control.
The US and Israel continued their bombardment over the past 24 hours, with the Israeli military claiming it had struck an Iranian research facility for naval weapons, while a series of loud explosions rattled Tehran as night fell on Saturday.
Iranian media said at least five people were killed in a US-Israeli attack on a residential unit in the northwestern city of Zanjan. In Tehran, authorities said the University of Science and Technology was the latest educational facility to be struck, prompting Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to issue a threat against Israeli and US universities in the region.
Separately, Iran’s Fars news agency said a water reservoir in the city of Haftgel, located in western Khuzestan province, had also been attacked.
The Iranian Ministry of Health announced that 1,937 people have been killed since the start of the conflict, including 230 children. Iran’s Red Crescent Society said US-Israeli strikes had damaged more than 93,000 civilian properties.
“Civilians are bearing the brunt of this war,” Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Tehran, said.
Devastation in Lebanon
Meanwhile, Israel’s devastation of Lebanon continued apace, as the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that 1,189 people had been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2.
The death toll has been mounting as Israeli troops have pushed further into the south, advancing towards the Litani River in their stated bid to wipe out Hezbollah and carve out a buffer zone along the lines of the “Gaza model”.
Among Saturday’s killings, an Israeli strike killed three journalists in southern Lebanon. In parallel, the Health Ministry announced that Israel had also killed nine paramedics, bringing the death toll among healthcare workers in the latest war to 51.
Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre said an Israeli attack on the town of al-Haniyah, in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon, killed at least seven people, including one child.
An Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese town of Deir al-Zahrani killed a Lebanese soldier, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
Hezbollah, which attacked Israel amid a ceasefire that Israel kept violating in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, claimed dozens of operations against Israeli forces in the past 24 hours.
Mixed messages
Trump has threatened to hit Iranian power stations and other energy infrastructure if Tehran does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz. But he has extended the deadline he had imposed for this week, giving Iran another 10 days to respond.
With the US midterm elections coming up in November, the increasingly unpopular war is weighing heavily on the president’s Republican Party.
Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Friday that he believed Tehran would hold talks with Washington in the coming days. “We have a 15-point plan on the table. We expect the Iranians to respond. It could solve it all,” Witkoff said.
Pakistan, which has been a go-between between US and Iranian officials, will host foreign ministers from regional powers Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt in Islamabad for talks on the crisis.
Pakistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, late on Saturday, urging “an end to all attacks and hostilities” in the region.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Dar had told Araghchi that Pakistan remains committed to supporting efforts aimed at restoring regional peace and stability.
Dar also announced that Iran had agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a meaningful step towards easing one of the worst energy crises in modern history.
During his first Cabinet meeting since launching the U.S. war on Iran, President Trump spent 10 minutes talking about the price of ceremonial White House pens — which he claimed to have brought down, from $1,000 to $5, by switching to his favored Sharpie brand.
Trump was trying to make the point during the Thursday meeting that he’s a great money saver. He seemed chipper, joking with the other leaders of his administration at the table.
Late Thursday, when asked on “The Five” on Fox News about whether Iranian people have access to basic necessities such as drinking water and food, Trump complimented the looks of Dana Perino, the Fox host who’d asked the question, compared to when he’d met her years before.
“Now I’m not allowed to say this, it’s the end of my political career, but you may be even better looking, OK?” Trump said. “You’re not allowed to say a woman’s beautiful anymore.”
He then talked about Iranian authorities killing protesters, but said he’d been pleased with them more recently because they had given him a “present” by allowing oil ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Through both discussions, Trump maintained a flippant, casual tone — the same he has maintained since the war began a month ago, and a vast departure from that of past wartime presidents.
For weeks, Trump has batted away criticisms of the war campaign and questions about why it was justified and how long it will last. He has derided reporters for asking questions about tactics and whether he’ll deploy boots on the ground as inappropriate and foolish, and repeatedly met concerns about the human toll of the war by shrugging them off or changing the subject.
Meanwhile, his war has cost the U.S. billions of dollars and depleted its global reserves of critical weapons systems such as Tomahawk missiles, which cost millions of dollars each and are needed to maintain U.S. security around the world, according to the Washington Post.
Entering its fifth week, the war has badly disrupted markets, with U.S. stocks falling Friday as Wall Street approached the end of its fifth straight losing week — the longest such streak in nearly four years — and oil prices rising again.
Markets have fluctuated based on Trump’s changing messages on an end to the war, planned and then postponed strikes on Iran’s power plants, strikes on oil and gas infrastructure across the Middle East and Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a quarter of global oil usually passes.
Trump has talked in recent days about an impending deal to end the war, but so far it has not materialized, with Iran downplaying the seriousness of the negotiations. Iran instead appeared to be formalizing its hold on the strait, including by creating what amounts to a toll on ships seeking passage through the channel from its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The number of U.S. deaths in the conflict has held steady for days — at 13 — but the war continues to exact a daily, devastating toll in the Middle East. In Iran, thousands of targets continued being hit, with the death toll ticking toward 2,000.
Speaking by video during a Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of harboring a “clear intent to commit genocide” in Iran, claiming that more than 600 schools had been damaged or demolished and more than 1,000 students and teachers “martyred or wounded.”
The discussion related in part to a Feb. 28 strike on an elementary school in Minab that killed more than 165 people, most of them children, which evidence reportedly suggests was the work of the U.S. and which the U.S. says is under investigation.
Casualties also continued in Gulf nations allied with the U.S., where Iran continues to strike U.S. military installations and other infrastructure, and in Lebanon, which Israel has invaded and bombed relentlessly in its own war with the Iranian-aligned Hezbollah force.
And yet, Trump has bounced between speaking engagements and more formal meetings with an apparent lightness — seeming unbothered by the weight of the conflict and acting as if U.S. victory were already at hand.
“We’ve already won the war. Militarily we’ve totally won the war,” he told “The Five” on Thursday.
After Trump’s exchange with Perino, fellow host Greg Gutfeld began to change the topic, saying, “I’m debating whether to be serious or not serious.”
“Do you think Biden would do this interview? Can you imagine? You think Biden — Sleepy Joe — he would do it?” Trump said.
He called the war a “little bit of a detour” from what he said were his otherwise winning economic policies, and asserted again — without providing evidence — that Iran was on the cusp of having a nuclear weapon and would have used it to cause devastation across the Middle East and to the U.S. if the U.S. hadn’t struck first, including when it bombed Iran’s nuclear sites last summer.
“You can’t let a madman or you can’t let a mad ideology have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
He repeated his long-pushed lie that he won the 2020 election, and suggested his support among his MAGA base remains at 100%.
An AP-NORC poll this week found that most Americans believe that the U.S. military campaign in Iran has gone too far — including about a quarter of Republicans — and that many are worried about gas prices.
During his Cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump seemed supremely confident, but also aware that the conflict was far from settled.
He said that the U.S. was “extremely — really a lot — ahead of schedule” in its war effort, and that “the Iranian regime is now admitting to itself that they have been decisively defeated.” But he also said that “even now, we don’t know if there are any mines” in the Strait of Hormuz, despite the U.S. having wiped out Iran’s “mine droppers,” and acknowledged that “if you think there may be a mine, that’s a bad thought and it stops things up.”
He said the U.S. has “decimated” about 99% of Iranian capabilities, but “the problem with the strait” is that the remaining 1% threat “is unacceptable, because 1% is a missile going into the hull of a ship that cost $1 billion.”
“If we do a 99% decimation, that’s no good,” he said.
During “The Five” interview, Trump was also asked if the CIA had told him that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — who took on the Iranian leadership role after his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in initial strikes — is gay, which would be a crime under Iranian law.
“Well they did say that, but I don’t know if it was only them. I think a lot of people are saying that. Which puts him off to a bad start in that particular country, you know?” Trump said, in a stunning acknowledgment of a previously rumored intelligence briefing.
Hezbollah reported on Monday that its fighters engaged Israeli troops in eastern Lebanon during an overnight airborne raid, marking the second such operation in the area in recent days. The conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group has drawn Lebanon deeper into the regional war, which began after Hezbollah opened fire to avenge the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader.
The Israeli military has not immediately commented on the latest Hezbollah claim. In previous operations, the military carried out airstrikes across Hezbollah-controlled southern Beirut, including targeting financial institutions like Al-Qard Al-Hassan. Lebanese authorities report nearly 400 people have been killed in the country since March 2, including 83 children and 42 women, though the toll does not distinguish combatants from civilians. Israel confirmed two soldier deaths in southern Lebanon—the first Israeli military casualties since the outbreak of hostilities.
Expanding Operations
Hezbollah stated that around 15 Israeli helicopters flew over eastern Lebanon after midnight, deploying troops observed approaching Lebanese territory from Syria. The region, the Bekaa Valley, is a stronghold of Hezbollah’s political and security apparatus. This follows a similar Israeli raid near Nabi Chit on March 2–3, which Lebanese officials said killed 41 people. Israel described that previous operation as an attempt to recover the remains of Ron Arad, a navigator missing since 1986.
Civilian Displacement and Urban Strikes
The war has prompted mass displacement, with hundreds of thousands fleeing southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh. Israeli strikes have also hit locations outside Hezbollah strongholds. On Sunday, a drone strike in Beirut’s Rouche seafront district reportedly killed five senior commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, illustrating the widening geographic and operational scope of the conflict.
Strategic Posturing
Israel has reinforced its military presence in southern Lebanon, establishing forward defensive positions in anticipation of potential Hezbollah attacks into Israel. The military maintains troops at five positions in the region, a posture originating from the 2024 war with Hezbollah.
Analysis: Escalation Risks
The repeated incursions and airstrikes signal a deepening and increasingly unpredictable phase of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Hezbollah’s engagement of Israeli forces in eastern Lebanon demonstrates its capacity to operate beyond the southern front, potentially broadening the battlefield.
For Israel, the operations appear aimed at both tactical objectives such as neutralizing high-value targets—and broader deterrence, signaling its intent to strike Hezbollah assets and Iranian-linked operatives throughout Lebanon. For Lebanese civilians, however, the widening conflict exacerbates humanitarian pressures, including casualties, mass displacement, and infrastructure destruction.
The situation underscores the risk of further regional escalation, with Syria and Iran-linked actors already drawn into the conflict, raising the possibility of a protracted war with extensive human and geopolitical costs.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Over the last seven days, we have watched a joint air campaign unlike what we have ever seen before. New capabilities and evolved threats have made headlines as the world watched much of the Middle East become a free-fire zone. At the same time, many questions surrounding how long the war will take and its true scope and goals grow louder. These calls for clarity are becoming more pronounced globally, as well, as the Strait of Hormuz is experiencing a heart attack of sorts, with energy shipments stopped on the strategic waterway’s northern edge.
While missile and drone launches have decreased significantly, these weapons continue to score major hits. Beyond U.S. military-related sites in Gulf Arab states, Iran continues to pummel energy production infrastructure. There are real concerns about the ability to defend against these attacks over the long term as interceptor stocks dwindle.
The London insurance market is willing and able to cover vessels looking to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to Gallagher https://t.co/rUogubsv6g
All this is occurring while Iran is experiencing a power vacuum the likes of which it has never experienced. As the U.S. and Israel ramp up strikes across the country during the transition from standoff to direct attacks, what will come of Iran’s fractured government remains a total unknown. Fears are growing that the default control of Iran could fall to its most well-armed and fanatical arm, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a top possibility we laid out in our feature published before the strikes commenced.
So much has happened in one week, and we were right there providing rolling coverage and breakouts nearly around the clock. Now, once again, we look at the present. Here’s what’s going on as we flow through day eight of the war.
LATEST UPDATES
We have concluded our rolling coverage in this piece.
UPDATE: 4:29 PM EST-
Check out our feature on the major alarm bells that should be ringing after Iran successfully targeted multiple missile defense radars in the region.
Iranian Attacks On Critical Missile Defense Radars Are A Wake-Up Call
Iran’s successful targeting of prized missile defense radars in the Middle East highlights global vulnerabilities.
More video has emerged from the dignified transfer of the remains of six soldiers killed in Kuwait on March 1.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base of the 6 U.S. Army soldiers killed during an Iranian strike on their operations center. 🇺🇸Capt. Cody Khork 🇺🇸Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens 🇺🇸Sgt. 1st Class Nicole… pic.twitter.com/akSQntnUnM
Ali Larijani, Iran’s de facto wartime leader in the wake of the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, issued a direct threat against Trump via X.
We will relentlessly avenge the blood of our of our Leader and our people. Trump must pay and will pay. #Trumpmustpay
— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir) March 7, 2026
Meanwhile, in Iraq, pro-Iranian members of parliament are shouting the long-familiar phrases “America is the Great Satan” and “Death to America.”
Members of parliament from the pro-Iranian factions in the Iraqi parliament are shouting “America is the Great Satan” and “Death to America” https://t.co/78WrtfLsvK
Given the ambiguity of the situation, the Kurds say they are not rushing into Iran.
“Certainly, we are staying neutral as Iraqi Kurds b/c there’s no clarity for us on US policy,” a KRG official said. “Our assessment is there can’t be regime change w/o boots on the ground and that the US is not sending [them].” @BarakRavid, @MarcACaputohttps://t.co/kKj6GWOCHs
To counter Iranian drone and missile fire, a U.S. Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) system was activated near the American embassy in Baghdad.
A Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) system was activated a short time ago in the area of the American embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, due to reported drone and missile fire. pic.twitter.com/f2VOtE1ZbU
U.S. IndoPacific Command took to X to dispute some claims about the recent sinking of the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena by a USN fast attack submarine.
🚫 Iran claims IRIS Dena was unarmed – FALSE ✅ Law of Armed Conflict authorized the use of force to target and destroy valid military targets – TRUE ✅ U.S. forces planned for and Sri Lanka provided life-saving support to survivors in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict -… pic.twitter.com/DdY5RNFUYf
— U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) March 7, 2026
The IDF said it is continuing to strike Iranian ballistic missile production sites.
🎯 STRUCK: 2 main ballistic missile production sites in Parchin and Shahrud.
Over the past week, hundreds of IAF fighter jets struck the Iranian regime’s production industries, which are used for the development and production of missiles and weapons.
The IDF launched strikes Saturday evening on Iran’s national oil facilities in Tehran for the first time since the start of the war, targeting dozens of fuel storage tanks, YNET News reported, citing Israeli officials.
“The attack was carried out under directives from the political leadership and with IDF support, marking a significant escalation in Israel’s campaign against Iranian regime infrastructure,” the outlet explained.
An Israeli security official says recent strikes targeted fuel tanks used by Iran’s regime, adding pressure on the government is increasing and it may soon struggle to provide citizens with basic necessities. “We have not said the last word,” the official said. – N12 https://t.co/5yX69pUMl2
The Israel Defense Forces says it’s demolished a majority of Iran’s ballistic-missile launchers, causing the number of missiles targeting Israel and other countries in the region to fall throughout the week, Bloomberg News reported.
More than 60% of such launchers have been “neutralized and destroyed,” Eyal Zamir, chief of the general staff of the IDF, said in a televised statement on Thursday. Zamir did not say how many had been struck, but the IDF had cited the number as 300 earlier that day.
Israeli assessments say Iran now has about 100 operational missile launchers remaining out of roughly 420 before the war.
Around 150 launchers were destroyed, while another 150 were struck and buried in underground sites, leaving them currently unusable. pic.twitter.com/LnYpNdGIm0
We are getting new satellite images of bomb damage in Iran from Vantor. The images show the airport and port in the city of Bushehr, which sits along the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf. We also get a shot of the tunnel entrances at the underground facility in Natanz and what looks like a vehicle destroyed nearby, possibly a short-range air defense system.
The entrance to the naval base doesn’t look to inviting anymore:
We are also getting a satellite view of the destruction at Tehran International from the IAF’s strikes there last night:
Satellite imagery shows that at least 17 aircraft, most of which appear to be passenger planes, were destroyed in last night’s US and Israeli attacks on Mehrabad International Airport.
Another drone strike on a highrise tower in Dubai:
UPDATE: 1:20 PM EST—
Israel is now clarifying its attack on Iran’s international airport, stating they targeted aircraft used by the IRGC for weapons transfers to proxies. These aircraft are well known and include some of the country’s last airworthy 747s.
STRUCK: 16 IRGC Quds Force aircraft used to transfer weapons to Hezbollah.
The IAF conducted a wave of precise strikes in Tehran, targeting military infrastructure at Mehrabad Airport, a central hub used by the IRGC to arm and fund its terror proxies across the Middle East.… pic.twitter.com/ZbZJMvikI6
South Korea is rushing deliveries of SAMs to the UAE as the interceptor crunch deepens:
South Korea announced that it will send around 30 ballistic missile interceptors to the UAE via C-17 right tomorrow. It would appear that they brought ROKAF’s reserves. Among the 10 batteries under contract, currently, two M-SAM-II batteries are operating in the UAE. The… pic.twitter.com/WIA3bQE0oo
The scarcity of interceptors continues to raise alarms amongst allies around the globe:
Bloomberg: “Several European Union states warned at a closed-door meeting in Brussels this week that there is a shortage of interceptors across the world, according to people familiar with the matter.”https://t.co/UNB27op4nb
Another round of B-2 strikes appears to be on the way. It will be interesting to see if they recover in Diego Garcia this time instead of the United States:
Emirati fighters are seen prowling over the Gulf Of Oman in search of Iranian drones to kill.
Emirati Vipers and Mirages on counter-UAS patrols in vicinity of Fujairah Port and the surrounding oil infrastructure. These are also flown much farther out for forward intercepts. pic.twitter.com/6DQuvimTTO
More indications that the Kurds are going to go into Iran, but just how shallow those movements would be isn’t clear.
BREAKING: The Secretary-General of Khabat, a Kurdish organization based in Iraq, tells Al Jazeera that Kurdish fighters in Iraq will “likely” stage a ground operation in Iran, confirming communication with the US
The Iranian drone attack on Dubai’s international airport may have been targeting the air traffic control tower. It is possible that this radar is tied into the military’s air defense architecture, but even if it is not, it would be another blow to the economy of the country as it would impact air travel.
An unconfirmed report states that the US warned the Iranian warship Dena to abandon ship multiple times before the Los Angeles class fast attack submarine sunk it via torpedo. This is supposedly coming from one of the sailors aboard that survived.
An Iranian sailor who was killed when the warship Dena was struck by the US near Sri Lanka had called his father shortly beforehand, saying American forces had issued two warnings for the crew to abandon the vessel, a source close to the family told Iran International.
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 7, 2026
UPDATE 12:25 PM EST—
Iran is going after the heart of Saudi oil production.
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted and destroyed 16 drones heading toward the Shaybah oil field, one of the kingdom’s largest energy sites producing about 1 million barrels per day. The defense ministry did not say where the drones came from.https://t.co/MuYLumDuPY
There are additional indications that America’s involvement in this conflict will be longer than some anticipated:
A joint letter from the Commanding General and Command Chief of the Air National Guard have published a letter to their subordinates indicating that their continued support will be necessary in the weeks ahead.
Israel also says the chief of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) just flew a combat mission over Iran.
There are reports of additional US wounded from Epic Fury, but CENTCOM tells us that the tally still stands at six troops killed and 10 seriously wounded. This could be due to a delay in information or just erroneous reports, and we will keep you posted.
What appears to be a HIMARS launcher firing a rocket (likely PrSM ballistic missile, the first of which was used operationally in this war) from the beach in Bahrain. It hasn’t been clear where the United States is firing these weapons from, but it would appear that, assuming this video is authentic, Bahrain is one of those locales. It is just 125 miles from Bahrain to Iran, so PrSM would be able to reach nearly two hundred miles into Iran from this distance.
Footage confirms a U.S. M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launching a Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) toward Iran from Bahrain. pic.twitter.com/aQBubFQEYS
Israel says it destroyed Iran’s central hub of its air defense efforts:
⭕️The IDF dismantled the air defense situation room of the IRGC Air Force, responsible for the aerial situational assessment and to defend Iran’s airspace.
Additionally, the Israeli Air Force struck air defense systems, a site used to manufacture & launch ballistic missiles,… pic.twitter.com/DYNKhz03e3
B-1B bombers are now operating out of RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. This comes after the U.K. government denied US access to Fairford and Diego Garcia. We should expect bombers in Diego Garcia soon. These will likely include B-2 and possibly B-52s. Forward deploying the bombers will drastically increase sortie rates and put less stress on aerial refueling assets.
USAF B-1B Lancer heavy bomber landing in Britain, following a mission that saw it take off from the U.S. and strike Iran. pic.twitter.com/idujAR9eeY
Yesterday, a total of 4x B-1B “Lancer” bombers departed the USA heading towards Europe. 1 airframe, which used the callsign “PIKE72” (86-0120 #AE6BFA) went to RAF Fairford, while the other 3 aircraft… pic.twitter.com/XMFgf2mwFv
While Iranian launches have decreased, they certainly are far from stopping. Just overnight alone, Iran launched nearly 140 weapons at the UAE alone.
Iran fired 16 ballistic missiles and 121 drones at UAE overnight. Fifteen of the missiles were shot down, one fell into the sea. All drones intercepted except two: MoD
One drone slipped through and hit Dubai’s international airport.
Multiple MQ-9s have been lost over Iran in the conflict so far, but they have been extremely effective in taking out all types of Iranian targets, from missile launchers to drones to fighter aircraft to vessels. As we noted in our previous update, they are also far more expendable and less risky to deploy deep in Iran than crewed alternatives. But as we have explored in depth, air supremacy over Iran has not been achieved and won’t for some time.
Another US MQ-9 Reaper UCAV was shot down by IRGC Aerospace Force air defense over Hormozgan province. Some sources write that this is an Israeli Hermes-900, but this is clearly US MQ-9 with Hellfire missiles pic.twitter.com/7nvOEEoGUz
Iran’s new leadership has stated that the country will stop attacking its neighbors if they do not participate in attacks on Iran. Iranian officials have also made clear that they see the basic act of hosting U.S. bases as contributing to the current campaign. The drones and missiles have continued to be launched at Arab Gulf states, regardless.
This is a misinterpretation, btw, which the President’s office corrected.
#Iran’s President has issued a new video message: The idea of Iran surrendering unconditionally is a dream they will take to their graves… Interim Leadership Council decided yesterday to end strikes on neighboring countries unless Iran is attacked from those territories. pic.twitter.com/TPyMSVPLWz
Some in the Iranian parliament are not pleased with even indicating the country may cease its retaliation efforts aimed at Arab countries across the Persian Gulf:
Iranian parliament member is furious about the remarks made by Iran’s president, Pezeshkian, today.
Iranian MP says: “Mr. Pezeshkian’s weak, unprofessional, and publicly unacceptable televised address has made it the definitive duty of the Presidium and members of the Assembly… https://t.co/D1tF98QV4D
U.S. intel agencies warned prior to Operation Epic Fury that favorable regime change in Iran is unlikely to occur regardless of the military operation used to achieve it, according to The Washington Post.
NEW: A classified report by the National Intelligence Council, representing the collective wisdom of America’s 18 intelligence agencies, found that even a large-scale assault on Iran would be unlikely to oust its entrenched military and clerical establishment 🧵
The lack of preparedness by the Uited Kingdom in responding to the conflict is becoming an issue back home and internationally.
EXC: The US first asked about the use of UK bases to attack Iran on February 11, SIXTEEN days before the first missiles flew. The first warship HMS Dragon will not sail until next week, by which point at least 26 days will have passed https://t.co/tXRyQ2Gq5A
Jordan was “fucking furious,” a former minister with friends in Amman says. “The Emiratis, Kuwaitis, and even the Canadians are all asking, ‘What the fuck are you doing? Whose side are you on?’” The Emiratis pointed out that Britain was failing to help protect the 240,000 British… https://t.co/648pMme7C8
The United Kingdom is moving ahead with its deployment of Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus to help in the counter-drone mission after a successful attack on the RAF’s base there that originated in Lebanon.
The RAF has also shared imagery of Typhoon fighters operating in Qatar to help defend against drone attacks.
Four RAF Typhoon aircraft have deployed from RAF Coningsby to Qatar, strengthening the UK’s air presence in the Middle East.
Operating alongside 12 Squadron and the Qatari Typhoon squadron, the aircraft will support Bahraini and Emirati air defence. pic.twitter.com/3rzhN7UMB0
A stunning image of the destroyed AN/TYP-2 anti-ballistic missile radar, one of a number of prized radars that have been struck by Iranian weapons. We have a major story coming on this and its implications today. This is a scenario we have been warning about for years. Stay tuned.
Photos have now confirmed the destruction of a AN/TPY-2 Forward Based X-band Transportable Radar operated by the U.S. Army, following an Iranian drone attack earlier this week targeting Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. The AN/TPY-2 is the primary ground-based air surveillance… pic.twitter.com/54QyQCxNVW
Another commercial vessel appears to have been attacked in the Persian Gulf:
Israel is back to fighting on two fronts, with major operations in Lebanon ongoing since Hezbollah broke the ceasefire in retaliation for Israel’s air campaign against Iran.
Local sources tell me that the IDF have reportedly conducted an air assault near the village of Al-Nabi Shayth in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley.
Reports state that China is working with Iran to get safe passage of oil tankers through the Strait. China has a high degree of dependence on energy resources from the Middle East.
China in talks with Iran to allow safe oil and gas passage through Hormuz, sources say https://t.co/hJ1KsNsQ68
— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴☠️ (@mercoglianos) March 6, 2026
Trump again lauded the achievements of the air war so far, highlighting how the country’s conventional fighting capabilities have been ‘wiped out.’
🚨 JUST IN — PRESIDENT TRUMP ON IRAN: “Their army is gone. Their navy is gone. Their communications are gone. Their leaders are gone. Two sets of their leaders are gone. They’re down to their third set. Their Air Force is wiped out entirely. Think of it.”
Iran’s attack on the CIA’s station in Saudi Arabia appears to have put it completely out of action:
Airstrikes overnight pummeled Iran, including its largest airport:
Massive cloud of smoke rising over the port city of Bushehr in southern Iran following American/Israeli airstrikes on Saturday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/Cf0AGhGtuy
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) March 7, 2026
