news

With Iran’s supreme leader killed and retaliation unfolding, the US and Israel appear to be testing the durability of the Islamic Republic. But Iran’s political system was designed to survive leadership loss and outside pressure. What does Washington misunderstand about Tehran’s structure, and how far is Iran prepared to go?

In this episode: 

• Ali Hashem, Al Jazeera Correspondent

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Sarí el-Khalili, David Enders, and Tamara Khandaker, with Spencer Cline, Catherine Nouhan, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadah, Noor Wazwaz, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. 

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of carrying out a ‘terrorist attack.’

A Russian tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) has sunk in the Mediterranean between Libya and Malta, as Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking the vessel.

The Libyan port authority said the tanker was hit by “sudden explosions followed by a massive fire, which ultimately led to its complete sinking” on Tuesday night north of the port of Sirte, Libya.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of attacking the gas carrier.

“This is a terrorist attack. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of thing,” Russia’s Putin told a reporter from Russian state television on Wednesday, accusing Kyiv of responsibility.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Russia’s Transport Ministry said that the Arctic Metagaz, which had been carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones launched from the coast of Libya.

It said the 30 crew members, all Russian nationals, were safe, and thanked Maltese rescue services.

“We qualify what happened as an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law,” the ministry said.

According to an advisory from Libya’s maritime rescue agency, the Arctic Metagaz sank in waters between Libya and Malta after catching fire on Tuesday night.

It warned vessels to avoid the site where the carrier sank and asked them to report any pollution in the area.

The Libyan port authority said the ship was carrying an estimated 62,000 metric tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on its way to Port Said, Egypt.

Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry has denied any connection with the tanker.

“The tanker is not listed under any contracts to supply or receive LNG cargoes to Egypt,” the ministry said.

The Arctic Metagaz has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union as part of Russia’s fleet of ageing tankers that carry oil and gas exports around the world, skirting Western restrictions.

Ukraine has frequently targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in an attempt to deprive Russia’s war machine of funding.

In December, Ukraine said it had hit a Russian tanker with aerial drones in the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, in what was the first such strike there in Russia and Ukraine’s more than four-year war.

Inside the Washington bubble, we look inside the chaos shaping the US-Israeli war on Iran, from celebrations at DC power dinners and the Secretary of State admitting US defense of Israel to the Epstein files fading from public view. With low popular support for the war, can American voters do anything to stop it?

In this episode: 

• Patty Culhane (@PattyCulhane), Al Jazeera English Correspondent

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Sari el-Khalili, and Catherine Nouhan, with Spencer Cline, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadeh, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Special thanks to James Hamilton.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones at U.S., Israeli, and other allied targets in the Middle East has been severely degraded, two top American military leaders said Wednesday morning. Partly as a result, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also downplayed concerns about the magazine depth of U.S. offensive and defensive munitions.

You can catch up with our latest coverage of ongoing operations against Iran here. All of the other latest updates can be found lower on the page.

“Iran’s theater ballistic missile shots fired are down 86% from the first day of fighting, with a 23% decrease just in the last 24 hours, and their one-way attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days,” Caine told reporters, including from The War Zone, at a Wednesday morning press conference. “This progress has allowed CENTCOM to establish localized air superiority across the southern flank of the Iranian coast and penetrate their defenses with overwhelming precision and firepower. We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory and creating additional freedom of maneuver for U.S forces.”

Caine did not break down the numbers of Iranian missiles and drones fired. However, on Tuesday, the head of CENTCOM provided some statistics.

“The Iranian regime has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones,” Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video message.

As we have previously mentioned, one of the big concerns about Epic Fury is whether Iranian missile and drone barrages would outlast the ability of the U.S. and allies to defend against them. Despite four days of intensive attacks, Tehran still possesses thousands of missiles and drones, though a significant number of these weapons and their launchers — specifically the longer range ballistic missile types —have been destroyed or prevented from being accessed by crews.

In a closed-door Congressional hearing on Tuesday, Hegseth and Caine “told lawmakers…that Iran’s Shahed attack drones represent a major challenge and US air defenses will not be able to intercept them all, according to a source in the briefing,” CNN reported.

Trump admin officials acknowledged during a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday that Iran’s Shahed attack drones represent a major challenge and US air defenses will not be able to intercept them all.
The drones, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint…

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) March 4, 2026

However, both military leaders also “made an attempt to downplay concerns about the drones and noted that Gulf state partners had been stockpiling interceptors,” CNN reported.

During Wednesday’s press conference, both Caine and Hegseth stated that the U.S. has the weapons it needs.

“More bombers and more fighters are arriving, just today,” Hegseth said. “And now with complete control of the skies, we will be using 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound GPS and laser-guided precision gravity bombs, of which we have a nearly unlimited stockpile.”

“We used more exquisite standoff munitions at the start, but no longer need to,” the secretary proclaimed. “Our stockpiles of those, as well as Patriots [air defense interceptors], remain extremely strong. The enemy can no longer shoot the volume of missiles they once did. Not even close.”

Another big factor in the reduction in Iranian missile launches could be how CENTCOM has concentrated striking command and control (C2) nodes, degrading Tehran’s ability to communicate and direct fires.

Iranian (C2) “structures in a bad way,” Caine posited. “Admiral Cooper has been continuing to pressure the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC C2 and other military elements, and will continue to do so.”

As a result of how the operation has unfolded, “CENTCOM is now shifting in day four already from large deliberate strike packages- using standoff munitions at range outside an enemy’s ability to shoot at us – now into stand-in precision strikes overhead Iran.”

Caine said the U.S. is now using “joint direct attack munitions [JDAMs], which are GPS-aided free-fall weapons and other things like [AGM-114] Hellfires, etc. This will allow the joint force to deliver significantly increased precision effects on the target.”

A USAF MQ-9 Reaper fires a AGM-114 Hellfire at a Iranian ballistic missile TEL, which had just revealed its position by firing. pic.twitter.com/gWP4sdxrzh

— Colby Badhwar 🇨🇦🇬🇧 (@ColbyBadhwar) March 1, 2026

TWZ has frequently described how important it is for the U.S. to move as quickly as possible from standoff to direct attacks on Iranian targets, which will significantly increase the number of strikes that can occur and widen the range of effects that can be realized via the employment of more varied weaponry. This is especially true for going after fortified targets with bunker buster munitions. 

The U.S. Air Force continues to execute a high volume of airstrikes into Iran. The two most powerful air forces in the world (🇺🇸+🇮🇱) are dominating the skies over the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. pic.twitter.com/0nfwY3zdCL

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 4, 2026

Hegseth further explained that “we moved the vast majority of American troops – over 90% of Americans that were on our bases – off the X out of the range of Iranian fire. Our defensive shield is equally formidable. The most sophisticated air and missile defense network ever fielded. Thousands of Iranian missiles and drones have been intercepted and vaporized, tens of thousands of American allied lives protected. We have pushed every counter-UAS [uncrewed aerial systems] system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability.”

“I know there have been a lot of questions about munitions,” Caine acknowledged. “We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense, but I want to tell you teammates, as a matter of practice, I don’t want to be talking about quantities, and I know there’s been a great debate about that, and I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter.”

Regardless of the public stance taken by Hegseth and Caine, the Trump administration “plans ​to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss ‌accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent military efforts,” Reuters reported, citing “five people familiar with the plan.”

(Reuters) – The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent…

— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 4, 2026

As we have noted repeatedly in the past, concerns about America’s stockpile of munitions, especially air defense interceptors, have been exacerbated by U.S. donations to Ukrane as well as massive expenditures during the fight against the Houthis off Yemen, an Iranian proxy.

Still, Trump has gone out of his way to present a problem he has mentioned as being concerning many times before, as a non issue:

“The United States Munitions Stockpiles have, at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better,” Trump said Tuesday on his Truth Social platform. “As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought “forever,” and very successfully, using just these supplies (which are better than other countries finest arms!). At the highest end, we have a good supply, but are not where we want to be. Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries…”

Following reports from various media outlets that stockpiles of U.S. munitions, including air defense interceptors for Patriot and THAAD systems, were running low, President Trump posted to TruthSocial that the U.S. has a “virtually unlimited supply” and that “wars can be fought… pic.twitter.com/7m6xEjVnfM

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 3, 2026

So, as it sits today, there is still a race against who will run out of munitions first when it comes to Iran’s long-range strike capabilities, but it seems as if the tide is turning in favor of the U.S., Israel, and the Arab Gulf states based on the information we are seeing. With direct attacks now ramping up on Iranian targets deeper and farther east in Iran, the momentum will more likely than not continue in that direction. This does not address the stockpile’s concerning state in regard to a potential conflict with China or even Russia. It is in a far worse state than it was at the start of this war, and these weapons take years and huge sums of money to build.

The two military leaders also discussed several other topics, including:

• “Yesterday, the leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,” said Hegseth. “Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh.” 

• “Over the next 24 to 48 hours, CENTCOM will continue to strike infrastructure and naval capability and will continue to assess our progress against the military objectives,” said Caine.

• “Our partners are answering the call to defend themselves right alongside us,” Caine noted. “Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, are all defending their people with their own combat capability, with precision and restraint.”

• “We’ve got a lot of autonomous systems, or systems that are that – drones and others incorporated with smart AI aspects to them, but a lot of which I can’t talk about here,” Hegseth stated.

• Hegseth addressed Iranian claims that the U.S. struck a girl’s school in southern Iran, killing more than 175 people. “All I can say is that we’re investigating that,” he avowed. “We. of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look at investigating.”

• “I am not going to comment on U.S. boots on the ground,” Caine said. “I think that’s a question for policymakers, and I don’t make policy. I execute policy.”

The rest of our ongoing coverage of the conflict continues below, with the latest updates at the top.

UPDATE: 4:12 PM EST –

U.S. Central Command has issued another set of denials regarding claimed U.S. losses in the ongoing conflict, including that U.S. naval vessels and aircraft have been destroyed by enemy fire.

More fake news from the Iranian regime:
🚫The regime claims U.S. forces are withdrawing.
🚫They say they sank a U.S. destroyer.
🚫IRGC claims to have taken down U.S. fighter aircraft.
🚫The regime says they killed 100 U.S. Marines.
ALL LIES.

Reality:
✅U.S. forces are… pic.twitter.com/X0P0X4VdTa

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 4, 2026

In another new data point about the apparent slowing pace of Iranian missile launches, the IDF’s Home Front Command says it is easing restrictions on public gatherings and movements imposed at the start of the conflict. Another reassessment is now set to occur on Saturday, which could lead to further easements.

As the rate of Iran’s ballistic missile fire on Israel slows, the IDF Home Front Command says it is easing restrictions that were imposed on the Israeli public at the start of the conflict.

Following a fresh assessment, the Home Front Command says that from tomorrow at noon, the… pic.twitter.com/xYGj9EbZhx

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

Iranian-backed militants in Iraq have threatened to attack the interests of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other NATO nations if they “interfere in Iraq or the region,” according to Reuters. Pro-Iranian militants also reportedly carried out a drone attack on a majority Christian neighborhood in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdish autonomous region.

IRAQ’S ISLAMIC RESISTANCE SAYS ANY ENTITY THAT AIMS TO INTERFERE IN IRAQ OR THE REGION, INCLUDING NATO, FRANCE, GERMANY AND BRITIAN, WOULD HAVE ITS INTERESTS AS ‘LEGITIMATE TARGETS’ FOR THE GROUP

— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 4, 2026

UPDATE: 3:20 PM EST –

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed Operation Epic Fury on Tuesday.

“Well, they’re not part of the plan for this operation at this time, but I certainly will never take away military options on behalf of the president of the United States or the commander in chief, and he wisely does not do the same for himself,” she said in response to a question about whether the U.S. military could commit ground troops to the operation. “I know there’s many leaders in the past who liked to take options off of the table without having a full understanding of how things could develop. So again, it’s not part of the current plan, but I’m not going to remove an option for the president to act that is on the table.”

“I don’t want to commit to a timeline, but certainly it’s something that is being calculated actively by both the Department of War and the Department of Energy. They’re working very closely. Both secretaries are in all of the briefings on this subject with the president, and this is again something they’re monitoring,” she also said when asked when U.S. Navy ships might begin escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. “And if and when necessary, the United States Navy will provide assistance to escort oil tankers through the Strait.”

“Obviously, as the president has said numerous times, do we want to see Iran being led by a rogue terrorist regime? No, of course, not,” she said on the topic of regime change. “So any day the United States of America is taking out a terrorist is a good day for our country and a good day for our people.”

When it comes to what role the United States could have after the conflict ends, “I think it’s something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team,” she added. “But again, right now, the focus minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, is on ensuring the quick and effective success of Operation Epic Fury.”

Q: Has the president considered how he views a US role in Iran post-conflict?

LEAVITT: I think it’s something the president is considering pic.twitter.com/y4vnkE9KOu

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2026

“I don’t have any updates for you on congressional asks from the president. As you know, under this president, we have significantly increased our defense budget, which is a good thing for the United States, for our national security and for protecting our homeland,” when asked about concerns about stocks of anti-air interceptors. “With respect to munitions, ammunition, weapons stockpiles, the United States of America has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute operation Epic Fury, but to go much further. And we have weapons stockpiles in places that many people in this world don’t even know about.”

Leavitt: “With respect to munitions, the United States has more than enough capability to not only successfully execute Operation Epic Fury but to go much further. We have weapons stockpiles in places that many people in this world don’t even know about. Unfortunately we had a… pic.twitter.com/qNHmQLp1Gc

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2026

“I will also add, President Trump has rightfully been calling on defense contractors in this country to rapidly and aggressively produce American-made weapons because they are the best in the world,” she added.

The Israeli Air Force has released pictures showing F-16I jets heading out for strikes on Iran carrying stand-in munitions.

The IDF continues to target Iranian ballistic missile capabilities in the central and western parts of the country.

An “extensive” wave of Israeli airstrikes in central and western Iran earlier today destroyed dozens of Iranian ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems, the military says.

According to the IDF, some of the missile launchers were armed and they were struck while… pic.twitter.com/GeBw8bNYda

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

The IDF has pushed back on the suggestion that attacks from Iran and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon today were directly coordinated.

“It is true, there was fire at the same time, more or less, you can say simultaneously, from Iran and Lebanon,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said at a press conference, according to The Times of Israel. “I don’t possess any intelligence information that says this was coordinated.”

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says the military has no intelligence indicating that today’s concurrent fire from Iran and by Hezbollah in Lebanon was a coordinated effort.

“It is true, there was fire at the same time, more or less, you can say simultaneously, from Iran…

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

New satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows damage resulting from strikes on an Iranian missile base in Kermanshah.

Planet imagery shows airstrike related damage at the Kermanshah missile base (North), Iran, most of the buildings associated with the site have been destroyed, strikes also extend to the underground tunnel entrances pic.twitter.com/9XfPW1rkbu

— Damien Symon (@detresfa_) March 4, 2026

Axios has reported that the White House denied reports of back-channel communications with the regime in Iran in response to queries from Israeli authorities.

🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇷Netanyahu sought clarifications from the White House earlier this week after intelligence suggested Trump administration officials might be communicating with Iran. The White House told him no such talks had taken place. My story on @axios https://t.co/RRvVnXrPEF

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) March 4, 2026

“We need to act with clarity, with purpose, and with a cool head. The protection of U.K. nationals is our number one priority,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said today. “American planes operating out of British bases, that is the special relationship in action… hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not.”

Has the PM’s “dithering” response to the week’s events made the UK-US “relationship stronger or weaker?” Tory MP Gareth Bacon asks

“American planes are operating out of British bases, that is the special relationship in action,” the PM responds#PMQs https://t.co/NVAWTrvUuY pic.twitter.com/0EL0CeR1iR

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 4, 2026

Spanish authorities have denied White House claims that they agreed to support current U.S. operations in the Middle East following economic threats from President Donald Trump. Yesterday, Trump had threatened to cut off all trade with Spain after authorities in Madrid blocked the use of bases in the country to support strikes on Iran.

“I categorically deny it. I heard about these statements on my way here, and I’ve had time to look into them and listen to them a little,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said. https://t.co/TS7xwBCyOr

— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) March 4, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House says Spain has agreed to cooperate with US operations in Mideast after Trump threatened financial penalties.

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s government denies cooperation with US operations in the Middle East, contradicting White House.

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) March 4, 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a statement after speaking with the leaders of Israel and Lebanon. Macron called on Hezbollah to cease attacks on Israel and for Israel to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity.

Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar has written that his service’s “special units are currently carrying out extraordinary missions that could ignite the imagination” in a letter, according to Ynet News. No further details about the letter’s origins or how it was obtained are provided. This comes amid other unconfirmed reports of unusual military activity in the Najaf Desert in Iraq. Israeli special operations forces have conducted spectacular raids in the past, including one targeting an Iranian-linked underground missile production facility in Syria in 2024. TWZ noted at the time that this sent a signal to Iran that its critical underground facilities were not untouchable.

MORE: Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar said today that IAF special forces are currently carrying out “extraordinary missions that could ignite the imagination.”

Israeli Air Force operates elite special units such as Shaldag (Unit 5101) and Unit 669, which conduct… https://t.co/S0Yvx4kZYe

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 4, 2026

UPDATE: 2:18 PM EST –

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they have now dropped 5,000 munitions on targets in Iran since the start of the current conflict, and that operations “continue to deepen air superiority throughout Iran, with an emphasis on the Tehran area.” The IDF also continues to release footage from those strikes.

The Israeli Air Force has dropped over 5,000 bombs during strikes in Iran since the start of the conflict, the military says.

The military says that IAF fighter jets “continue to deepen air superiority throughout Iran, with an emphasis on the Tehran area.”

Alongside the update,… pic.twitter.com/fkFQCRozdd

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

An armed Iranian ballistic missile launcher in the Kermanshah area was destroyed by an Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet today, the military says. pic.twitter.com/W9BihQbtPI

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

The IDF has also released the video clip below showing a strike on what looks to be one of Iran’s Russian-made Mi-17 Hip helicopters. However, there are questions about whether it may have been a decoy.

Looks like the Israeli Air Force struck a decoy of an Iranian Mil Mi-17 helicopter painted on the ground. pic.twitter.com/mtEznE308A

— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) March 4, 2026

The IDF has also provided details about targets struck during another round of strikes on Iran’s capital, Tehran.

🎯STRUCK: A large Iranian terror regime military compound in eastern Tehran.

Struck command centers in the compound include:

* The IRGC headquarters
* The Intelligence Directorate headquarters
* The ‘Basij’ headquarters
* The ‘Quds Force’ headquarters
* The Internal Security… pic.twitter.com/XBvXqks29R

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 4, 2026

The Israeli Air Force says it carried out “large-scale” airstrikes in Tehran targeting a massive Iranian military compound, which housed headquarters and personnel from across Iran’s security apparatus.

The strikes carried out by over 100 fighter jets on the compound in eastern… pic.twitter.com/0rl97863A0

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

Israeli forces are also continuing to conduct ground operations in southern Lebanon, ostensibly targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.

The IDF publishes footage of its new deployment in southern Lebanon, after Hezbollah began attacking Israel.

Troops have pushed deeper into southern Lebanon in recent days, with the IDF saying it assumed “forward defensive positions to establish an additional defensive layer to… pic.twitter.com/cnsKfLXgfB

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

The IDF says Lebanese civilians in all of southern Lebanon should evacuate to north of the Litani River, amid the ongoing fighting against Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/d9eTOzSo92

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

U.S. Central Command also continues to release footage from strikes on targets in Iran.

While the Iranian regime indiscriminately targets civilians with missiles and drones, U.S. forces continue to aggressively hunt and destroy Iranian missile launchers with precision. pic.twitter.com/1RIhMcg0Jm

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 4, 2026

CENTCOM has also now explicitly confirmed the use of Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) short-range ballistic missiles in strikes on Iran. This detail had already emerged, as TWZ previously reported.

In a historic first, long-range Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) were used in combat during Operation Epic Fury, providing an unrivaled deep strike capability.

“I just could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform leveraging innovation to create dilemmas for the enemy.”… pic.twitter.com/bydvIv5Tn5

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 4, 2026

Israeli authorities are still planning around one to two more weeks of operations against Iran, at least, according to the Times of Israel.

The Israeli military is planning for at least one or two more weeks of operations in Iran, during which it aims to hit thousands more Iranian regime targets, The Times of Israel has learned.

Israel’s goal is a systematic degradation of the Iranian regime and its military sites.…

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2026

Imagery continues to emerge, said to show strikes on targets in Iran’s capital, Tehran.

Massive clouds of smoke rising over several neighborhoods of the capital of Iran, Tehran, following continued American/Israeli strikes on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ksuZvvFiZh

— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) March 4, 2026

US/Israeli airstrike this morning in Tehran, targeting an Iranian site in the government and military-heavy District 4. pic.twitter.com/uWKAM0aj9n

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 4, 2026

The satellite images below show the aftermath of strikes on an Iranian missile base in Tabriz.

🚨Soar Atlas has obtained new high resolution satellite imagery of the Tabriz Missile Base in Iran, taken on Mar 3rd.

Explore & compare here: https://t.co/cXaWIzCqKV

A large dust cloud from a recent strike can be seen with multiple craters spread across the site as well as a… pic.twitter.com/TlnH7MkxIC

— Soar (@SoarAtlas) March 4, 2026

The video below is said to show the crew of a commercial vessel somewhere in the Middle East watching as U.S. Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles pass overhead toward targets in Iran.

The Telegraph newspaper in the United Kingdom has reported that U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers could soon be flying strikes on Iran from RAF Fairford in that country, as well as Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. There were reports in the lead-up to the current conflict, that British authorities had denied use of those same bases to support any future operations against Iran.

BREAKING: American B-2 stealth bombers are expected to land at British military bases “in a matter of days” to join attacks on Iran. Bases at Diego Garcia and at RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, are being prepared for their arrival, Western officials said today.

— Tom Cotterill (@TomCotterillX) March 4, 2026

“Based on analysis of [the] latest available satellite imagery, IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] sees no damage to facilities containing nuclear material in Iran and therefore no radiological release risk at this time,” according to a new statement from the Agency today. “Near [the] Isfahan nuclear site, damage is visible at two buildings. No additional impact detected at Natanz after previously reported damage at entrances, and no impact at other nuclear sites, including [the] Bushehr NPP [nuclear power plant].”

Based on analysis of latest available satellite imagery, IAEA sees no damage to facilities containing nuclear material in Iran and therefore no radiological release risk at this time. Near Isfahan nuclear site, damage is visible at two buildings. No additional impact detected at… pic.twitter.com/boUtjRTpAk

— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) March 4, 2026

CNN has reported again on the possibility of armed Iranian Kurdish groups launching a ground incursion in support of the current U.S.-Israeli operation, citing an unnamed source. That outlet has also reported that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has been working to arm those groups.

Asked about this today, Hegseth told reporters that “none of our objectives are premised on the support of the arming of any particular force. So what other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.” https://t.co/76MI2irOKE

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) March 4, 2026

Saudi Arabian authorities say they intercepted two Iranian cruise missiles in the vicinity of Al Kharj, a city situated near Prince Sultan Air Base. That base has been a major hub for U.S. air operations in the current conflict.

BREAKING: Saudi Ministry of Defense says two cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed in Al-Kharj, a town near Prince Sultan Airbase

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 4, 2026

The New York Times says satellite imagery that it has reviewed shows damage to several radars, as well as communications systems and other facilities, at multiple military bases in the region as a result of Iranian retaliatory attacks.

A tent surrounded by satellite dishes was destroyed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Some of the dishes were most likely damaged as well. Al Udeid is the regional headquarters for the US Central Command, and was similarly struck by Iran last June. pic.twitter.com/TyuqZWHUL3

— Devon Lum (@devonjlum) March 4, 2026

Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait sustained damage to at least eight buildings or structures adjacent to satellite communications infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/oToNYRLTQg

— Devon Lum (@devonjlum) March 4, 2026

An AN/TPY-2 radar system appears to have been stationed next to a building at a military installation outside of Al Ruwais, UAE since June of last year. Sat imagery from Sunday shows a building adjacent to it had been damaged (unclear if radar was hit) pic.twitter.com/Bp80VxDdU1

— Devon Lum (@devonjlum) March 4, 2026

While this analysis is not comprehensive (as evidenced by what appears to be yet another radar system damaged during the strikes visible in newly released sat imagery!), it does suggest Iran has been aiming to disrupt US communication and coordination https://t.co/cb2ToNwP9p

— Devon Lum (@devonjlum) March 4, 2026

Qatar has reportedly fully halted gas liquefaction in the country, according to Reuters. It could take up to a month for production to return to normal levels once the decision is made to do so, as well.

NEW: Qatar will fully shut gas liquefaction, two sources say. Initial estimates suggest it would take about two weeks to restart operations and at least another two weeks to return to full capacity – Reuters

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 4, 2026

The United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization, which is managed by the Royal Navy, says it has received reports of another ship coming under attack in the Strait of Hormuz.

Dutch authorities are reportedly considering a request from France to deploy military assets to help safeguard commercial shipping, according to The New York Times. There are also reports that a Dutch warship could take up station in the Eastern Mediterranean to bolster defenses against Iranian threats.

The Netherlands is weighing a request from French President Emmanuel Macron to use its military to help secure international shipping routes, according to the New York Times.

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 4, 2026

The Netherlands is preparing to send HNLMS Evertsen (F805) with France’s CSG to the Eastern Mediterranean as part of a defensive deployment against Iranian attacks.

Notably, Evertsen will be able to provide ballistic missile tracking and engagement data. pic.twitter.com/0wWxZuOcSN

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 4, 2026

“EUNAFOR [European Naval Forces] ASPIDES assets in the area of operation monitors the situation, remain on high alert and stand ready to contribute within means and capabilities to protect lives at sea, contributing to freedom of navigation and enhancing Maritime Security through one of the most vital and vulnerable sea trade corridors,” a spokesperson for the European Union-led Operation Aspides has told TWZ. “ASPIDES conducts daily assessments of potential risks, making necessary operational adjustments where required.”

In the event of a resumption of Houthi attacks – which remains a possibility – we are present and ready to implement our mandate,” they added, referring to Iranian-backed militants in Yemen. “There [is] no such tasking (escort ships through or near the Strait of Hormuz) for ASPIDES.”

“We expect significantly higher costs i.e. for bunker, insurance, container storage at different ports due to closed or unreachable ports” and “delays have to be expected especially in the Middle East, but also in other trades,” German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has also told TWZ. “All ports within [the] Persian Gulf can not be served. This is why we need to find alternates [sic] in the region. Many other ports [are] not being served as well. We have a booking stop for all import/export cargo in the region.”

Danish shipping company Maersk is also “suspending most cargo bookings in and out of the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia until further notice,” according to Reuters.

COPENHAGEN, March 4 (Reuters) – Maersk said on Wednesday it is temporarily suspending most cargo bookings in and out of the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia until further notice.

— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) March 4, 2026

All of this follows comments yesterday from U.S. President Donald Trump about the possibility of U.S. Navy ships escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which you can read more about here.

The American Jewish Committee has compiled data from open sources regarding total Iranian ballistic missile launches at countries in the region. Though the full tallies may be incomplete, the indication is that the United Arab Emirates has been most heavily targeted so far.

Nearly 50% of the missiles and UAVs fired by the Iranian regime have been aimed at the UAE.

Tehran’s actions threaten U.S. partners across the region and put broader Middle East stability at risk. pic.twitter.com/s581ZmMAjl

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) March 3, 2026

Turkish Authorities say that “NATO air and missile defense elements” intercepted a “ballistic munition” that had been tracked passing over Iraq and Syria in the direction of the Eastern Mediterranean. Debris subsequently fell inside Turkish territory.

There are reports that the weapon was aimed at Cyprus, but went off course. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan subsequently spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and warned against “any steps that could lead to the spread of the conflict.”

A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been “aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course”. https://t.co/Q7rj2j3OSB

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 4, 2026

Turkish Foreign Ministry sources:

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call today with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Hakan Fidan conveyed our reaction regarding the ballistic munition that was detected heading toward Turkish airspace after being…

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 4, 2026

A ballistic missile from Iran crossing Iraq and Syria was intercepted by NATO in the Eastern Mediterranean before entering Turkish airspace. No casualties reported. Türkiye summoned Iran’s ambassador and called for restraint.https://t.co/JTBeeYVDKx

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 4, 2026

Local media in Cyprus has reported that Greek F-16 fighters now operating in the country intercepted two incoming drones earlier today.

The New York Times has reported that there have been back-channel, indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials, including members of the respective intelligence services, about possible off-ramps to the current conflict. That report also says that American authorities are so far skeptical. Iran’s quasi-official Tasnim News Agency says the country’s Intelligence Ministry has denied that any such talks are taking place.

NEW: The Secret Channel Between Iran and the US

In public, Iran’s surviving leaders have defiantly refused to negotiate with President Trump to end the American and Israeli assault on their country. But a day after the attacks began, operatives from Iran’s Ministry of…

— Ronen Bergman (@ronenbergman) March 4, 2026

Iran denies that its Intelligence Ministry reached out to the CIA for talks, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports, citing a ministry source.

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 4, 2026

“Iran’s future must not be decided outside its borders” and the international community’s support should “go to the people, not to geopolitical calculations,” Farah Pahlavi, widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, has said in an interview with AFP in France.

She has also said that the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “a moment of historic significance,” but “does not automatically mean the end of a system.”

➡️ Elle estime aussi que la mort du guide suprême Ali Khamenei constitue “un moment d’une portée historique” mais “ne signifie pas automatiquement la fin d’un système”.

— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) March 3, 2026

“The government of the Republic of Korea, with grave concern, is closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and is actively undertaking multifaceted efforts to ensure the safety and protection of Korean nationals currently in the region, as well as to safeguard our economic security, including the stable supply of energy resources,” that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said in a statement.

The government of the Republic of Korea, with grave concern, is closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, and is actively undertaking multifaceted efforts to ensure the safety and protection of Korean nationals currently… pic.twitter.com/iyhfpjvOhc

— MOFA (@MOFAkr_eng) March 4, 2026

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

As part of its sixth-anniversary celebrations, HumAngle, Africa’s leading conflict and humanitarian crises reporting newsroom, held a training session on “ethical dilemmas in conflict reporting” on Tuesday, March 3, in Abuja, North Central Nigeria. 

The session, which brought together HumAngle editors and reporters, was led by award-winning journalist Sally Hayden and focused on the challenges and responsibilities of reporting from conflict zones. 

Founded in 2020, HumAngle has been at the forefront of covering insurgency and mass displacement, publishing investigations and exposés on state failure, human rights violations, climate vulnerability, abductions, disappearances, and systemic corruption.

According to Ahmad Salkida, Founder and CEO of HumAngle, the training is part of its bold agenda to transform the newsroom into a lasting knowledge institution.

“The initiative reflects our commitment to equipping journalists with skills that align with global standards, ensuring they are prepared to navigate the complexities of reporting in conflict-affected regions while maintaining professional integrity,” he said. 

Ahmad also revealed that over the last six years, HumAngle has consistently shifted the world’s gaze to underreported stories, fought for accountability, and demanded justice. “When we started HumAngle, we knew the road would be tough, but we also knew it was necessary. We set out to create a platform that would not only report the news but transform it into a tool for change,” he added. 

The CEO also highlighted plans to strengthen digital security and newsroom resilience by expanding the scope and quality of fellowships and investing in capacity-building initiatives. He added that a key part of this vision is establishing permanent institutional infrastructure, which he described as critical to sustaining HumAngle’s mission and impact in the long term.

“Going forward, our newsroom focus will be on scaling investigative capacity across the Sahel, expanding immersive and data-driven storytelling, and deepening transitional and reparative justice and reporting,” he noted.

Through interactive discussions, Sally unpacked the ethical grey zones that define conflict reporting: access negotiated under restrictive conditions, the burden of bearing witness, and the solitude of decision-making in volatile environments. Drawing on years of reporting from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Palestine, Nigeria, and beyond, she shared practical frameworks for risk assessment, personal safety, and editorial judgement.

“Sometimes, you face situations that no one has ever faced because you’re the only one in that specific place at that specific time, so sharing experiences helps other journalists who may be there some day,” she reflected. 

Drawing on her years of experience covering conflict-affected regions such as Iraq, Syria, and Sudan, among others, risk assessment and decision-making were also central to the discussions, equipping attendees with frameworks to evaluate personal and organisational safety in volatile contexts.

One such moment came in 2025, when she reported from a Syrian prison housing suspected Islamic State members. The access was conditional.

“We were told we could go to the prison as long as we followed certain rules. We could not ask how the prisoners were or about other things. Most importantly, we could not tell them about current events. We were told this was for security reasons.”

Sally and the attendees further discussed how ethical reporting in conflict zones demands constant negotiation between access, accuracy, and accountability.

Equally pressing was the psychological toll of the work. She spoke candidly about trauma, burnout, and the importance of self-awareness. In conflict reporting, she stressed, it does not merely document suffering; it absorbs it.

“When you’re constantly surrounded by insecurity, it can be helpful to find something to do rather than constantly be lost,” she advised, urging journalists to cultivate routines and boundaries that protect their mental health.

According to Saduwo Banyawa, HumAngle’s Adamawa and Taraba Correspondent, the conversation made her realise that “it is okay to feel stuck as a journalist at times and when one gets unnecessarily pressured or has their mental health strained, they should prioritise self-care.”

Over the years, HumAngle has prioritised the mental well-being of reporters and other team members through an Employee Assistance Programme, which offers confidential, one-on-one counselling sessions with our in-house licensed clinical psychologist.

Recently, the newsroom introduced an Anti-Burnout Work Policy that has embedded a three-month rest period into newsroom staff contracts while still providing full annual pay. 

“HumAngle’s reporters routinely work in and around conflict zones, camps for displaced people, and communities living with violence and trauma. This kind of journalism demands not just technical skill but emotional stamina and deep empathy, and the costs are often borne silently,” the CEO noted. 

Reflecting on the training, Sabiqah Bello, Multimedia Reporter, described it as both relevant and validating to the experiences of conflict reporters.

“It was particularly insightful because it came from a journalist with extensive, cross-regional experience covering conflict and war, and who has had to confront the realities of that work firsthand. It was especially valuable that we explored ethical dilemmas faced in conflict reporting,” she added. 

We are seeing the total destruction of Iran’s naval capabilities unfold day by day. Earlier this morning, the Pentagon announced that a U.S. Navy submarine had made the first torpedo kill since World War II against an Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean. Now we are seeing footage of one of Iran’s strangest and most advanced warships, the Shahid Soleimani class IRIS Shahid Sayyad Shirazi (FS313-03), being struck and set ablaze. The ship would later sink, according to the Department of War.

The first ship in her class, the Shahid Soleimani, was commissioned in 2022, and is a very unique vessel indeed. Built for littoral combat, it incorporates a number of interesting features for a ship of its size. This includes a vertical launch system with two cell sizes that is capable of slinging air defense missiles. It also features anti-ship cruise missiles, gun systems, and a large flight deck. Clearly, Shahid Sayyad Shirazi‘s capabilities offered little help to its survival, as the video, shot by a U.S. surveillance aircraft, shows.

In fact, if you look closely at the image at the top of the story, it appears that either a missile is exiting one of the IRIS Shahid Sayyad Shirazi‘s vertical launch cells or it is stuck on its launch rail. We also see an image with smoke streaks surrounding the ship. It isn’t clear if this was it launching weapons at its attackers, or the attacker’s weapons finding their way to the Shahid Sayyad Shirazi.

It’s also worth noting that the IRIS Shahid Sayyad Shirazi‘s first-in-class progenitor is named after the IRGC commander that U.S. forces killed during the first Trump Administration in a strike near the Baghdad airport. This assassination in 2020 went on to largely set the tone between Tehran and Washington during the remainder of Trump’s first and now his second presidency.

We previously noted that at least one of the four Shahid Soleimani class corvettes escaped initial U.S. airstrikes on its home port of Bandar Abbas, Iran’s most important naval base that sits right in the Strait of Hormuz. The ship was at its berth just days before the war kicked off, but was nowhere to be found in subsequent satellite imagery. That vessel very well could have been the one sunk.

Ракетные катамараны Ирана типа Shahid Soleimani, обзор

This class of vessels is the most advanced of Iran’s catamaran warships, which are often configured in a puzzling manner. These ships are active components of the naval arm of the IRGC, nonetheless, and have played a part in close encounters with U.S. Navy warships in the region.

As an update to our prior reporting on the strikes on Bandar Abbas, new satellite imagery we have reviewed appears to show both frigates that were struck in the first attacks now having sunk. The single Kilo class submarine, Iran’s most advanced, which was docked at the base, also appears to have been sunk, and a large scorch mark sits next to where it was tied-up pier-side. U.S. Central Command confirmed it had targeted the “most operational Iranian submarine” in ongoing strikes last night.

Gayle King, the most high-profile star at CBS News, has signed a new deal with the network.

A CBS News representative said Wednesday the division reached an agreement with King, 71, to continue as co-host of “CBS Mornings” co-host but did not reveal the length or the terms. Her current deal was set to end in May.

King’s future at the program came into question last fall after the arrival of CBS News Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss. There were leaks to the trades and tabloid press that parent company Paramount was looking to trim King’s salary or reduce her role at the network as a means to cut costs.

“Rumors of my demise were inaccurate and greatly exaggerated,” King said in a statement. “CBS News is my longtime home, and I am committed to our mission. I’m excited about continuing at CBS Mornings. As always, I’m open to new adventures here and ready to go. It took a minute, but we got there. And now that we are here, I am all in.”

King is the highest paid on-air talent at CBS News, earning an annual eight-figure salary.

Known for her effusive charm, King apparently won Weiss over.

“There is only one Gayle King,” Weiss said in a statement. “We’re so proud that she’ll continue to call CBS home. We’re thrilled to have her on in the morning—and equally excited to work with her on new, enterprising projects that bring her talents to new audiences.”

While King is locked in for at least another year, there is a search underway for at least one new co-host on the program.

King’s current co-host is Nate Burleson, who is also an analyst for CBS Sports. The network has not permanently replaced Tony Dokoupil, who left “CBS Mornings” in January to take over as anchor of the “CBS Evening News.”

King joined CBS News in 2012, when she joined “CBS This Morning.” As co-hosts alongside Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell, the program experienced five consecutive years of ratings growth.

“CBS This Morning” was adrift after Rose — a major audience draw — was ousted over sexual harassment allegations. In 2021, it was renamed “CBS Mornings,” with King taking a more prominent role.

“CBS Mornings” ranks third in ratings behind NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” but remains a significant revenue generator for CBS News.

F1’s technical changes pose challenges for drivers and engineers alike while raising concerns about the quality of racing.

Formula One’s new era ⁠starts at this weekend’s season-opening ⁠Australian Grand Prix, where teams will leap into the unknown and grapple with sweeping technical changes under race conditions for the first time.

F1 has simultaneously overhauled chassis and power unit regulations for the first time ⁠in decades, posing a challenge for drivers and engineers while raising concerns about the quality of racing.

With near-parity between electrical and combustion engines and cars running on 100 percent advanced sustainable fuel, drivers gained some insight into the changes during winter testing. But all ⁠are in the dark about how the reset will play out when going wheel-to-wheel on race day.

“I’m certainly more comfortable now than I was a couple of months ago with how to drive these cars and how to try and get the most out of them,” McLaren’s Oscar Piastri told reporters on Wednesday.

“But I think there’s still the saying of ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’”

Australian Piastri said McLaren ‌thought they had the cars worked out two months ago, only to find they had “a whole bunch of stuff” they did not understand during winter testing.

With more power generated by electricity than last year’s engines, there is more emphasis on drivers needing to be tactical with energy deployment and regeneration.

The old drag reduction system has been replaced by a new overtake mode, giving extra power for overtaking.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen described the changes as “like Formula E on steroids” and “anti-racing”.

Formula One Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali defended them and assured fans there will still be plenty of thrills.

The changes may have different effects at ⁠different circuits, leaving all teams to learn on the fly, week by week.

Piastri said Sunday’s race ⁠at Albert Park, a suburb of Melbourne, would probably showcase the more “unnatural” parts of driving.

“You know, a lot more lift and coast, a lot more kind of just driving to maximise the power unit,” he said.

“You’ve got power units that are reducing in power down the straights at different points. And there’s a lot of unknowns, ⁠a lot of challenges in there.”

The new regulations raised hopes of a more open championship and the prospect of a disruptor team emerging to force change at the top. But preseason testing in ⁠Bahrain hinted at a familiar top four, with Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and ⁠McLaren all performing well.

Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley said the gap between the “best and the rest” might only widen.

“I think it’s going to be a very different year in terms of the competitiveness in the sport,” he told the Reuters news agency. “We’re already seeing the gap between the fastest teams and the slowest teams but larger than it’s been ‌in the last few years.”

Whatever the pecking order, F1 race tracks will be more crowded with the addition of the new Cadillac team although there may be more breathing room at Albert Park, given Aston Martin’s preseason troubles.

Despite the technical guidance of Adrian ‌Newey, ‌who joined from Red Bull, the Honda-powered team completed few laps during winter testing and have reliability problems.

The AMR26 cars will be in Australia – something of a relief for F1 management – but may only race for a few laps before retiring.

Finn Allen hits fastest century at a T20 World Cup as New Zealand crush South Africa by nine wickets to reach final.

New ⁠Zealand stormed into the Twenty20 World Cup final ⁠with a nine-wicket demolition of South Africa in ⁠the first semifinal at the Eden Gardens.

Put into bat, South Africa recovered ‌from a precarious 77-5 to post a competitive 169-8 after Marco Jansen led their recovery with a belligerent 55 not ⁠out.

Finn Allen smashed an ⁠unbeaten 100 off 33 balls, however, and shared a 117-run ⁠opening stand with Tim Seifert (58) as ⁠New Zealand romped ⁠to their target in only 12.5 overs.

Allen’s achievement was the fastest century scored at a T20 World Cup.

“We wanted to start well and put them on the back foot early,” Allen said. “It is easy for me when Tim [Seifert] is going like that. The way he batted got us off to an absolute flyer.

“It is easy in semifinals to stay up for the fight and with Tim [Seifert] we keep each other in it, and we enjoy it out there together.”

Earlier Jansen’s fifty came in response to Kiwis spinners Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie took two wickets each before Tristan Stubbs and Jansen put on 73 to rescue the innings at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Stubbs (29) and Jansen, who hit two fours and five sixes in his 30-ball knock, helped set New Zealand a target of 170 to reach the final.

India successfully chased 196 against the West Indies on Sunday on the same ground.

South Africa were the only unbeaten team in the tournament, while New Zealand had edged into the semifinals on net run-rate.

McConchie struck first in the second over with his off-spin to send back Quinton De Kock for 10 and Ryan Rickelton next ball, but Dewald Brevis avoided the hat-trick.

Aiden Markram was reprieved on three when Ravindra dropped him at midwicket off pace bowler Lockie Ferguson.

Left-arm spinner Ravindra made amends when he had the South Africa captain caught in the deep by Daryl Mitchell for 18.

David Miller was dropped on three by Glenn Phillips but fell for six to Ravindra five balls later, with Mitchell again taking the catch at long-on.

South Africa had lost half their side in 10.2 overs when Jimmy Neesham cut short Brevis’s knock on 34.

Ferguson bowled Stubbs but Jansen hit him for six to reach his fifty.

Pace bowler Matt Henry, who arrived back only on Tuesday night after going home for the birth of his child, took 2-34.

The bowling figures for South Africa will be ones to quickly forget, as the figures to focus on – and the moment to remember – belonged to Allen.

“You take the positives from this game, celebrate little moments of success,” Allen added “Then we have a final to play on Sunday and we look forward to that.”

Defending champions India take on ‌twice champions England in the second semi-final in Mumbai ‌on ‌Thursday, ahead of Sunday’s final.

The killing of prominent Iraqi women’s rights activist Yanar Mohammed has fuelled an outpouring of grief and calls for justice, with advocates from around the world remembering Mohammed as a “courageous” voice.

Mohammed, 66, was killed earlier this week after unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire outside her home in the north of Iraq’s capital, Baghdad.

“Despite being rushed to the hospital and attempts to save her life, she succumbed to her wounds,” the Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, a group that Mohammed co-founded, said in a statement shared on social media.

“We at the Organisation for Women’s Freedom in Iraq condemn in the strongest terms this cowardly terrorist crime, which we consider a direct attack on the feminist struggle and the values of freedom and equality.”

Several international rights groups also condemned Mohammed’s killing, with Amnesty International on Wednesday decrying the deadly attack as “brutal” and “a calculated assault to stifle human rights defenders, especially those defending women’s rights”.

The organisation, which said Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al‑Sudani ordered an investigation into the killing, also called on the Iraqi authorities to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

“Yanar Mohammed … dedicated her life to defending women’s rights,” Amnesty’s Iraq researcher, Razaw Salihy, said in a statement. “The Iraqi authorities must stop this pattern of targeted attacks in their tracks, and take seriously the sustained smear campaigns designed to discredit and endanger activists.”

Mohammed was one of Iraq’s most prominent women’s rights activists, working since the early 2000s “to protect women facing gender-based violence, including domestic abuse, trafficking, and so-called ‘honour killings’”, Front Line Defenders said.

Her work included the establishment of safe houses, which sheltered hundreds of women experiencing exploitation and abuse.

In a 2022 interview with Al Jazeera, Mohammed described her organisation’s efforts to support Iraqi women who survived violence at the hands of ISIS (ISIL), which had seized control of large swathes of the country.

“Muslim-Arab women who were enslaved by ISIL and have not found a place to go back to, they are still living in the shadows of the society,” she said at the time.

“Not less than 10,000 women were the victims of ISIL attack[s], and this femicide is not really acknowledged by the international community or dealt with in a way that keeps the dignity or the respect [of], or compensates, those who were the victims.”

Years of threats

Mohammed had been the target of death threats for decades, “aimed at dissuading her from defending women’s rights”, Front Line Defenders said. “Yet she remained defiant in the face of threats from ISIS and other armed groups.”

In 2016, she was awarded the Rafto Prize “for her tireless work for women’s rights in Iraq under extremely challenging conditions”.

The Rafto Foundation, the Norway-based nonprofit group that administers the award, said it was “deeply shaken” by her killing. “We are deeply shocked by this brutal attack on one of the most courageous human rights defenders of our time,” the foundation said in a statement.

“The assassination represents not only an attack on Yanar Mohammed as a person, but also on the fundamental values she dedicated her life to defending: women’s freedom, democracy, and universal human rights.”

Other activists and human rights groups also paid tribute to Mohammed this week, with Human Rights Watch describing her as “one of Iraq’s most courageous advocates for women’s rights” for more than two decades.

“Yanar was a dear colleague and friend to so many of us in the women’s rights and feminist community, one of our icons. She spent her life standing up for women’s rights in the most dangerous environment,” said Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International.

“She faced constant threats, but she never stopped. And today we cry and mourn her energy, her commitment, her profound humanity, her amazing courage.”

Global energy markets remain in a state of high alert after several Gulf states suspended oil and gas production following escalating tensions in the region.

Since Saturday’s attacks by the United States and Israel, Tehran has targeted various sites in Israel and across several Gulf countries.

Initially, these Iranian attacks focused primarily on US military assets, but Gulf states have reported that Iran has since broadened its scope to target civilian infrastructure, including hotels, airports and energy facilities. Iranian officials have publicly denied targeting Gulf energy facilities, however.

The Middle East remains the world’s dominant source of hydrocarbon reserves and a major driver of crude oil and natural gas output.

How much oil and gas does the Middle East have?

Nearly half of the world’s oil reserves and exports come from the Middle East, which contains five of the seven largest oil reserves in the world.

Once refined, crude oil is used to make various products, including petrol, diesel, jet fuel and a wide range of household items such as cleaning products, plastics and even lotions.

After Venezuela, which has 303 billion barrels, Saudi Arabia holds the world’s second-largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at 267 billion barrels.

The Middle East’s largest oil reserves:

• Saudi Arabia: 267 billion barrels
• Iran: 209 billion barrels
• Iraq: 145 billion barrels
• UAE: 113 billion barrels
• Kuwait: 102 billion barrels

Saudi Arabia is also the world’s top oil exporter with an estimated $187bn of crude in 2024, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).

The Middle East’s top oil exporters:

• Saudi Arabia: $187bn
• UAE: $114bn
• Iraq: $98bn
• Iran: $47bn – largely sold at a discount due to US sanctions
• Kuwait: 29bn

Other Middle Eastern countries with sizeable oil exports include: Oman ($28.9bn), Kuwait ($28.8bn) and Qatar ($21bn).

In addition to crude oil, the Middle East is a global powerhouse for natural gas, accounting for nearly 18 percent of global production and approximately 40 percent of the world’s proven reserves.

Natural gas is primarily used for electricity generation, industrial heating, and in chemicals and fertilisers.

The heart of Middle Eastern gas is a single, massive underwater reservoir called the South Pars/North Dome field. It is the largest gasfield in the world, and it is shared directly between Qatar and Iran.

Gas is transported either through pipelines or by tankers. When using pipelines, the gas is pressurised and moved through steel networks. When pipelines are not feasible, such as across oceans, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is used.

To create LNG, the gas is cooled to approximately -162C (-260F), shrinking its volume and allowing it to be safely loaded onto specialised tanker ships for global transport.

To transport oil and gas, tankers from various Gulf states must navigate the narrow waterway known as the Strait of Hormuz. Approximately one-fifth of global oil and gas passes through this strait, primarily heading to major markets in Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea and India, as well as to Europe.

Which energy facilities have been attacked?

Here are the facilities which have recorded damage as of Wednesday:

Saudi Arabia – Ras Tanura oil refinery

On Monday, one of the world’s largest oil refining complexes, the Ras Tanura oil refinery owned by Saudi Aramco, was forced to halt operations after debris from intercepted Iranian drones caused a small fire.

Saudi Aramco is one of the world’s largest companies, with a market capitalisation exceeding $1.7 trillion and revenue of $480bn. Headquartered in Dhahran, in eastern Saudi Arabia, Aramco controls 12 percent of global oil production, with a capacity of more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd).

On Wednesday, Saudi defence officials reported a second drone attempt on the facility but this was successfully intercepted with no damage or disruption to operations reported.

Qatar – Ras Laffan Industrial City LNG facilities

On Monday, Qatar’s Ministry of Defence reported that Iranian drones had targeted an energy facility in Ras Laffan belonging to QatarEnergy, the world’s largest LNG producer.

While no casualties were reported, QatarEnergy suspended the production of LNG and other products at the impacted sites.

QatarEnergy’s 81 million metric tonnes of LNG exports are mostly bound for Asian markets, including China, Japan, India, South Korea, Pakistan and other countries in the region. The halt in production hiked global gas prices to a three-year high this week.

Qatar – Mesaieed Industrial City

Qatar’s Defence Ministry said the country was attacked by a second drone launched from Iran on Monday, targeting a water tank belonging to a power plant in Mesaieed, without reporting any casualties.

On Tuesday, QatarEnergy also stopped production of some downstream products like urea, polymers, methanol, aluminium and others.

UAE – Fujairah and Mussafah oil terminals

On Monday, a fire broke out at Mussafah Fuel Terminal in southwest Abu Dhabi after it was struck by a drone.

On Tuesday, falling debris from a drone interception caused a fire at the Fujairah Oil Terminal along the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates. No injuries were reported.

Oman – ports of Duqm and Salalah

On Tuesday, multiple Iranian drones struck fuel tanks and a tanker at the port of Duqm, with at least one direct hit on a fuel storage tank, causing an explosion.

On the same day, a drone strike was recorded at the Port of Salalah, which handles fuel and industrial minerals.

Athe Nova – oil tanker

On Monday, the Athe Nova, a Honduran-flagged tanker positioned off the coast of Khor Fakkan, UAE, was struck by Iranian drones as it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze. Despite the fire, the vessel managed to exit the chokepoint into the Gulf of Oman, and no casualties were reported.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for the strike, identifying the Athe Nova as an “ally of the United States”.

On the same day as the attack, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, warning that any ship attempting to pass would be “set ablaze”.

Since then, several other tankers have been hit.

Other regional energy disruptions

Although not directly targeted, the following energy sites suspended operations in response to Iranian retaliatory attacks:

Israeli offshore gasfields – Major gas production fields such as Leviathan and Tamar were shut down as a precaution following regional drone and missile launches linked to Iran.

Oil fields in semiautonomous Iraqi Kurdistan – Producers including DNO, Gulf Keystone and Dana Gas halted output as a safety measure amid the escalation.

Rumaila oilfield – Operations at Iraq’s largest oilfield – operated by BP – in southern Iraq were halted on Tuesday as a security precaution due to its proximity to the escalation zone.

WITH the current ongoing Iran crisis, Brits are quite fairly worried about their upcoming holidays.

Concerns have risen over the safety of Turkey, after NATO was forced to shoot down a missile in Turkish airspace earlier today, resulting in debris falling in the Dortyol district.

Here is everything you need to know if you have any travel to Turkey this year.

Is Turkey safe to travel to?

Yes, most of Turkey is still considered safe to travel to.

The only parts of Turkey that the UK Foreign Office warns against is the border of Syria, which is along the east of the country.

It warns: “FCDO advises against all travel to within 10km of the border with Syria due to fighting and a heightened risk of terrorism.”

GROUNDED

More flights to Cyprus cancelled – affecting easyJet, Tui and BA passengers

TAKE OFF

Airlines FINALLY restart limited flights from Middle East after five days of chaos

However, most Brits visit the west coast of Turkey, particularly the seaside resorts, which are hundreds of miles away.

The only advice currently for the rest of Turkey is: “Regional escalation poses significant security risks and has led to travel disruption.”

Do keep an eye on the latest travel advice on the government website here.

Are flights to Turkey cancelled?

No, flights to Turkey are being unaffected for anyone travelling from the UK to Turkey.

Some flights coming from the Middle East, such as from Dubai and Doha, are likely to be affected to Turkey right now.

However, Brits travelling from Britain will still be able to fly to Turkey without cancellations caused by the Iran crisis.

What if I have a holiday booked to Turkey?

If you have a holiday booked, you will not be able to cancel it without being left out of pocket.

As Turkey is safe to travel, you will not be given your money back if you choose not to travel.

Holidays to all tourist destinations in Turkey are still be going ahead.

This includes destinations such as Istanbul, Bodrum, Antalya and Fethiye.

The Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot explains: “As the advice is that it is safe to travel, tour operators and airlines are under no obligation to offer you a refund if you choose not to travel.

“While some people may feel uneasy, the distances involved mean it is extremely unlikely that anything would impact your holiday.

“With all package holidays, you have enhanced protection should the situation change.

“If the Foreign Office changes its advice to all but essential travel, you will have extra rights to a refund or amended date.

“But right now, that is not necessary as trips to the popular Mediterranean Turkish resorts are safe.”

The Sun’s Head of Travel has answered some other questions regarding holidays right now.

As conflict in the Middle East enters its fifth day on Wednesday, American and Israeli officials are pushing rhetoric suggesting that the campaign against Iran is a religious war.

On Tuesday, Muslim civil rights organisation, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), condemned the Pentagon’s use of this rhetoric, deeming it “dangerous” and “anti-Muslim”.

The United States and Israel began their attack on Iran on Saturday and have continued to carry out strikes on Iran since then. In retaliation, Iran has hit back at targets in Israel, and US military assets in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Cyprus.

A US watchdog has reported that US troops have been told the war is intended to “induce the biblical end of times”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also recently stated that Iran is run by “religious fanatic lunatics”.

What are American and Israeli leaders saying?

US watchdog Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) said it has received emailed complaints that US service members were told the war with Iran is meant to “cause Armageddon”, or the biblical “end times”.

An unnamed noncommissioned officer wrote in an email to MRFF that a commander had urged officers “to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ”.

The MRFF is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to upholding religious freedom for US service members.

The officer claimed the commander had told the unit that Trump “has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth”.

Israeli and US leaders have also resorted to religious rhetoric in public.

Last month, Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, told conservative US commentator Tucker Carlson during an interview that it would be “fine” if Israel took “essentially the entire Middle East” because it was promised the land in the Bible. However, Huckabee added that Israel was not seeking to do so.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday this week, Rubio said: “Iran is run by lunatics – religious fanatic lunatics. They have an ambition to have nuclear weapons.”

And, the previous day in a Pentagon news briefing, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said: “Crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamic delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons.”

In its statement, CAIR claimed that Hegseth’s words are “an apparent reference to Shia beliefs about religious figures arising near the end times”.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referenced the Torah, comparing Iran with an ancient biblical enemy, the Amalekites. The “Amalek” are known in Jewish tradition as representing “pure evil”.

“We read in this week’s Torah portion, ‘Remember what Amalek did to you.’ We remember – and we act.”

CAIR said: “We are not surprised to see Benjamin Netanyahu once again using the biblical story of Amalek – which claims that God commanded the Israelites to murder every man, woman, child and animal in a pagan nation that attacked them – to justify Israel’s mass murder of civilians in Iran, just as it did in Gaza.”

The statement added that every American should be “deeply disturbed by the ‘holy war’ rhetoric” being spread by the US military, Hegseth and Netanyahu to justify the war on Iran.

“Mr Hegseth’s derisive comment about ‘Islamist prophetic delusions’, an apparent reference to Shia beliefs about religious figures arising near the end times, was unacceptable. So is US military commanders telling troops that war with Iran is a biblical step towards Armageddon.”

Why are US and Israeli leaders framing the conflict with Iran as a religious war?

By attempting to frame the conflict as a holy war, leaders are using theological beliefs to “justify action, mobilise political opinion, and leverage support”, Jolyon Mitchell, a professor at Durham University in the UK, told Al Jazeera.

“Many on both sides of this conflict believe that they have God on their side. God is enlisted in this conflict, as with many others, to support acts of violence. The demonisation and dehumanisation of the enemy, the ‘other’, will inevitably make building peace after the conflict even harder,” Mitchell said.

“There are several overlapping reasons, and they operate at different levels: domestic mobilisation, civilisational framing, and strategic narrative construction,” Ibrahim Abusharif, an associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera.

Domestic mobilisation refers to rallying a country’s own people. Leaders can frame conflict as religious and hence morally clear and urgent, rallying public support, he said.

In a video circulating on social media this week, Christian Zionist pastor and televangelist John Hagee is seen delivering a sermon promoting the US assault on Iran. Hagee said that Russia, Turkiye, “what’s left of Iran” and “groups of Islamics” will march into Israel. He said that God will “crush” the “adversaries of Israel”.

“Religious language mobilises domestic constituencies,” Abusharif said, explaining that in the US, this connects deeply with many evangelicals and Christian Zionists, because they already see Middle East wars as part of a religious “end times” story.

“References to the ‘end times’, the Book of Revelation, or biblical enemies are not incidental; they activate a cultural script already present in American political theology.”

Civilisational framing refers to the creation of an “us vs them” dichotomy, casting the conflict as a clash between whole ways of life or faiths, not just a dispute over borders or policy, he added. Hence, statements such as Hegseth’s reference to “prophetic Islamic delusions” simplify the terms of the war in the minds of ordinary people.

“Wars are difficult to justify in technical strategic language,” Abusharif said.

“Casting the conflict as a struggle between ‘civilisation and fanaticism’, or between biblical ‘good and evil’, transforms a complicated regional confrontation into a moral drama that ordinary audiences can easily grasp.”

“Israeli leadership has long used biblical referents as political language. We all are familiar with it. The narratives have become globalised. In Israeli political discourse, this language situates contemporary conflict within a long historical narrative of Jewish survival, and it signals existential stakes,” Abusharif said.

Have US or Israeli leaders made religious references before?

Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have used the term “Amalek” before in reference to Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

Historically, during wars or military confrontations, US presidents and senior officials have also invoked the Bible or used Christian language.

President George W Bush invoked similar language after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On September 16, 2001, Bush said: “This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while.” The Crusades were a series of religiously framed wars, mainly between the 11th and 13th centuries, in which the papacy fought against Muslim rulers for territory.

The White House later tried to distance Bush from the word “crusade” to clarify that Bush was not waging a war against Muslims.

Abusharif said that the war on Iran is about power and politics, but using religious rhetoric energises supporters and “moralises” the conflict.

“The war itself is not theological. It is geopolitical. But the language surrounding it increasingly draws on sacred imagery and civilisational narratives. That rhetoric can mobilise supporters and frame the conflict in morally absolute terms,” Abusharif said.

“Yet it also carries risks: once a war is cast in sacred language, political compromise becomes harder, expectations become higher, and the global perception of the conflict can shift in ways that complicate diplomacy.”

Madrid, Spain – Spain has pledged to keep opposing the war waged by the United States and Israel on Iran after President Donald Trump said Washington would cut off all commercial links with Madrid.

Trump’s rebuke on Tuesday came after Washington’s European ally refused to let the US military use its bases for missions linked to strikes on Iran.

“Spain has been terrible,” the president told reporters on Tuesday during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, adding, “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the few left-wing leaders in Europe to condemn the US-Israel attack on Iran as “unjustifiable” and “dangerous”, said in a televised nationwide address on Wednesday that Spain’s position was “no to the war”.

“This is how humanity’s great disasters start … The world cannot solve its problems with conflicts and bombs.”

His position cements Spain’s status as an outlier in Europe; Madrid has been one of the few European nations to consistently condemn Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

At the Patron Bar in Malasana, Madrid, Gema Tamarit watched Sanchez’s address on the television in the restaurant, which turned up the volume.

“That Trump is mad. We are not afraid of him. Good for Sanchez for sticking up to him. Some more leaders in Europe should do the same,” said Tamarit, 53, a software engineer. “Of course, Iran is an awful regime, but is this the way to change things, by going to war like this?”

A series of opinion polls suggests that more than half of Spaniards oppose Trump’s foreign policy.

According to a poll published by Eurobazuka in February, 53 percent said they opposed the US president’s policies, the third highest group by nationality after the French and Belgians, with 57 percent and 62 percent, respectively.

In another poll published in January, nearly 60 percent of Spaniards said they disagreed with the US president’s operation to arrest the former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to a survey published by GESOP for Prensa Iberica media group.

The Eurobazuka poll said 48 percent of Europeans considered Trump to be “an enemy of Europe”, compared with 10 percent who believed he was an ally.

Trump’s trade threat

Analysts said the US may not be able to inflict much commercial damage on Spain, as it is part of the European Union.

Last month, the US Supreme Court declared Trump’s threat to impose a range of tariffs worldwide as illegal.

Victor Burguete, an expert in trade and economics at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs think tank, said the only way Trump could act against Spain would be to prove the US faced a situation of national emergency.

“It is not likely that he can prove acting against Spain is a national emergency,” he told Al Jazeera. “I think this is more a threat than a real possibility of ending trade with Spain.

The dispute erupted when the US relocated 15 aircraft, including refuelling tankers, from the Rota and Moron military bases in southern Spain on Monday after the country’s socialist government said it would not allow them to be used to attack Iran.

Trump has also referred to Spain’s refusal to raise spending on NATO from 2 to 5 percent of gross domestic product, saying “Spain has absolutely nothing that we need.”

Sanchez has provoked Trump’s anger with policies including refusing to let vessels transporting weapons to Israel dock in Spain and condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Spain was among the first European nations to recognise a State of Palestine in 2024, along with Ireland, Slovenia and Norway.

“Trump is just angry because Spain has refused to raise NATO spending and condemned the technology companies connected with social media. And done this publicly,” said Burguete.

Spain last month announced it was considering banning children under 16 from accessing social media, and was studying legal action against Grok, Instagram and TikTok.

Bruguete said he believed Sanchez took this stance against the war because he opposed the “strongman politics” of Trump, but also because it played well domestically before the general elections next year.

“There is no doubt that the foreign policy of Trump is not popular in Spain,” he added.

Spain is the world’s top exporter of olive oil and sells auto parts, steel and chemicals to the US, but is less vulnerable to Trump’s threats of economic punishment than other European nations.

The US had a trade surplus with Spain for the fourth year in a row in 2025, at $4.8bn, according to US Census Bureau Data, with US exports of $26.1bn and imports of $21.3bn.

The EU said on Wednesday it expected the US to abide by a trade deal with the EU, was “ready to act” to safeguard its interests, and stood in “full solidarity” with member states, but did not name Spain.

Winner of May run-off between Republicans John Cornyn and Ken Paxton to face Democrat James Talarico.

James Talarico has topped States Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in an expensive and fiercely contested Senate Democratic primary in the United States state of Texas.

Who Talarico will face depends on a May run-off between longtime Republican Senator John Cornyn and MAGA favourite Ken Paxton – a race expected to get increasingly nasty over the coming months and that could hinge on whether or not President Donald Trump offers an endorsement.

Texas, along with North Carolina and Arkansas, on Tuesday kicked off midterm elections with control of Congress at stake and against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

A jubilant Talarico told supporters in Austin before the race was called: “We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fundamentally change our politics. And it’s working.

“This is proof that there is something happening in Texas,” he said, adding that the state “gave this country a little bit of hope”.

Crockett’s campaign said she planned to sue over voting issues in Dallas, and she spoke only briefly on Tuesday night to warn that “people have been disenfranchised.”

Republicans head to round 2

Cornyn, meanwhile, is seeking a fifth term but is facing a tough challenge from Paxton, the state attorney general. Cornyn hopes to avoid becoming the first Republican senator in Texas history to seek re-election and not be renominated.

The GOP contest also featured Representative Wesley Hunt, who finished a distant third and conceded. But his making it a three-way race made it tougher for any candidate to reach the 50 percent vote threshold needed to win the nomination outright and avoid the May 26 run-off.

All three campaigned on their ties to Trump, who did not make an endorsement in the race. Now both Cornyn and Paxton will again fiercely compete to curry the president’s favour.

Cornyn was facing a tough enough battle that he did not hold an election night party. Instead, in comments to reporters in Austin, he sought to make the case that a run-off win by Paxton would leave “a dead weight at the top of the ticket for Republicans”.

“I’ve worked for decades to build the Republican Party, both here in Texas and nationally,” Cornyn said. “I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years.”

Addressing supporters in Dallas, Paxton made a point of saying he felt like he had during a recent trip to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate.

He also proclaimed: “We proved something they’ll never understand in Washington.

“Texas is not for sale,” he said.

Three athletes who were led off course when leading the US half marathon championship will receive compensation after ultimately finishing well outside the top three.

Organisers of the event in Atlanta said that police assigned to mark out the route had to respond to an emergency call, which led to confusion from the lead vehicle.

Jess McClain, who was comfortably leading the women’s race, was taken off the main course, along with her closest challengers Ednah Kurgat and Emma Hurley.

The race was won by Molly Born, who had been more than a minute behind, while McClain finished ninth, with Hurley coming 12th and Kurgat in 13th.

The Atlanta Track Club said on Tuesday it will award first-place prize money to McClain while Hurley and Kurgat will split the combined winnings for second and third place as they were shoulder-to-shoulder when they left the route.

“We are responsible for the integrity of these championships,” the club said in a statement.

“We regret that Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were impacted by this incident and were unable to be recognised as the top three finishers reflective of their performance on the course.”

Organisers said race-assigned police personnel responded to an “officer down” call and replacement officers were unfamiliar with the race’s “unusual route” over a footbridge not normally used by cars.

The lead vehicle’s driver then followed a police motorcycle, believing that the race was being rerouted.

USA Track & Field (USATF) had denied an appeal, despite acknowledging the course was inadequately marked., external

The race served as a qualifier for the World Road Running Championships in September but USATF has said that selection remains open.

Leaders in Israel and the United States have indicated that the conflict against Iran could continue for weeks.

The US, led by President Donald Trump, has emphasised that this will not be a problem, and that its military has the capacity to conduct an extended fight. But for Israel, already fatigued by the cost of having inflicted a genocide on Gaza, as well as wars or attacks in Lebanon, Syria, and a previous round with Iran, a lengthy conflict could be more costly.

Since it attacked Iran on Saturday, Israel has endured repeated missile and drone strikes, forcing widespread air raid alerts, school closures, and the mobilisation of tens of thousands of reservists.

Cities like Haifa and Tel Aviv have faced sustained attacks, emergency services are stretched, and a public, unused to war on the scale their government has inflicted upon others, has spent the past few days in and out of bomb shelters.

For now, enthusiasm for the war is high. Interviews with Israelis in most major cities show a hunger to confront an enemy that the public was told for decades was determined to exterminate them. With the exception of the far-left, politicians have rallied to the government banner.

“As soon as the war started, Israel was swept in a wave of militarism,” Israeli political economist Shir Hever said.

“It was not the same as [the June 2025 12-day war]. Then, it was mostly panic, an existential fear that Iran could destroy Israel. Now, it is gung-ho militarism and overconfidence. Even the war critics – who are few and far between – recommend that [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu keep the war ‘short’, as if Israel can decide when it ends.”

Support for the war is part of what many see as a radicalisation of Israeli society. Previously peripheral far-right politicians have made their way into the centre of government, with political polarisation and economic strain accelerating the flow of the young and talented out of the country.

Those who remain are already conditioned to think of Iran as the fundamental enemy of their country, and weeks of war may militarise the society even further.

“It’s like the UK blitz in World War II,” Daniel Bar-Tal, an academic at Tel Aviv University, said.

“Then, the British accepted this bombardment because they saw themselves as fighting this ultimate evil. Israelis have the same feeling. We are indoctrinated into believing, almost from birth, that Iran is evil, which is reinforced through kindergarten, high school, and the army.”

For Bar-Tal, it is impossible to guess what kind of Israeli society might emerge from weeks of renewed war, only that the country’s past moral certitude in the righteousness of its establishment had not been dented by the massacres committed during the 1948 Nakba, nor the recent Gaza genocide.

“Now, we have a generation who are still more militaristic and more rightist, with Netanyahu telling us we now need to live by the sword. It’s just more evidence that Israel needs enemies to survive.”

Bombs and guns

Beyond the social impacts, Israel has military calculations to take into account if the war does drag on.

Most pressing is determining how long Israel can sustain the current levels of warfare against an opponent of Iran’s scale and military heft. This will be affected by both the support it receives from its allies, such as those in the US and Europe, and whether its defences become exhausted before those of Iran, defence analyst Hamze Attar said.

“In the first three days of the war, Iran launched more than 200 ballistic missiles at Israel,” he told Al Jazeera. “To put that into context, during the 12-day war, they launched around 500, each requiring that Israel counter by launching an interceptor rocket. That’s probably more than Israel has the capacity to counter, so, without US help, it would probably have lost control of its airspace by now.”

Israel has three different air defence systems: the Iron Dome, for short-range rockets and artillery; David’s Sling, to counter medium-range rockets and cruise missiles; and Arrow 2 and Arrow 3, designed to intercept ballistic missiles

The Israelis do not disclose the number of interceptors they have in stock, but Israel began to run low on interceptor stocks during the 12-day war, indicating that it will become more difficult to maintain a high level of interceptions if the war continues for a lengthy period. This would lead to a rationing of interceptors and a focus on defending military and political targets, potentially leading to more civilian casualties.

According to Israeli and US sources, Iran has been producing ballistic missiles at a rate of 100 per month in the aftermath of June’s conflict, Attar said, which would suggest that Tehran had already amassed a significant stockpile.

However, Attar was quick to point out that the Iranian threat is also based on the types of ballistic missiles they have.

“We don’t know what type of ballistic missiles,” Attar said, outlining the different types of missiles: long-range, reaching as far as Greece and the Mediterranean; medium-range, reaching Israel; and short-range, which can target the Gulf states.

“Likewise, we don’t know how many [missiles] they [Iran] had before the 12-day war, how many were destroyed during that war, or how many launchers they have,” Attar added. “If you don’t have the launchers, which the US and Israel are targeting, it doesn’t matter how many missiles you have. It’s like having bullets without a rifle.”

Economic considerations

More than two years of almost constant war have taken their toll on Israel’s economy, analysts warned, with the cost of munitions weighing on the Israeli purse, and the deployment of a reservist force numbered in their hundreds of thousands for periods far longer than any planners had originally conceived of.

Israel’s spending in 2024 on the wars in Lebanon and Gaza was reported to have reached $31bn, contributing to the country’s highest budget deficit in years. Preliminary figures from 2025 show spending on war reaching $55bn.

The pressure on the economy led to the downgrading of Israel’s sovereign credit rating in 2024 by all three major credit rating agencies.

“Israel is experiencing a debt crisis, an energy crisis, a transportation crisis, [and] a health service crisis,” Hever said.

But none of these would be enough to halt Israel’s military campaigns on their own, the political economist cautioned. “This is not a question of economy, but a question of technology.”

“If the US can keep supplying Israel with weapons that are so advanced that they can load themselves, aim themselves, and kill from such a distance that the soldiers don’t need to risk their own lives, I don’t see how the economic crisis inside Israel would be enough to stop Israel’s aggression,” he said.

U.S. Navy could soon be escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where maritime traffic has effectively stopped due to the current conflict with Iran, according to President Donald Trump. Doing so would demand that American naval vessels transit through the Strait, shifting them away from other duties. More importantly, it would also mean putting them right in a super weapons engagement zone full of Iranian threats that could include cruise and ballistic missiles, one-way-attack drones, explosive-laden kamikaze boats, and naval mines.

“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” President Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social social media network.

“Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have ordered the United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to provide, at a very reasonable price, political risk insurance and guarantees for the Financial Security of ALL Maritime Trade, especially Energy, traveling through the Gulf,” he also wrote. “This will be available to all Shipping Lines.”

“No matter what, the United States will ensure the FREE FLOW of ENERGY to the WORLD. The United States’ ECONOMIC and MILITARY MIGHT is the GREATEST ON EARTH,” he added. “More actions to come.”

U.S. Central Command declined to comment when reached for more details. TWZ has also reached out to the White House.

The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is just 20 nautical miles across at its narrowest point. A significant portion of the waterway falls within Iran’s national waters, which also overlap with those of Oman to the south. Under normal conditions, maritime traffic flows in and out through a pair of established two-mile-wide shipping lanes. Each year, roughly one-fifth of all global oil shipments, and an even higher percentage of seaborne shipments, pass through this one waterway. It is also a major conduit for liquid natural gas exports. Some 3,000 ships, including tankers and container ships, pass through each month.

Politico had earlier reported that President Trump’s administration was considering both of these courses of action, citing unnamed sources.

“It’s becoming a growing concern that the energy markets could face pressures in the coming days as the military campaign intensifies and expands in geographic scope,” one individual said to be familiar with the discussions told that outlet. “Access to the Straits [sic] of Hormuz is obviously vital for both natural gas and crude oil shipments, especially from Qatar and Saudi [Arabia].”

Lloyd’s List has also reported that Trump’s announcement came “less than 24 hours after Navy officials told shipping industry representatives that there was ‘no chance’ of escorts happening any time soon.”

Several civilian vessels have already suffered attacks in and around the Strait since the United States and Israel launched their joint operation against Iran this past weekend. Though American officials insist that Iranian forces have been unable to seal off the highly strategic waterway, maritime traffic through it has now come to a near halt amid the ongoing fighting. Some ships appear to be making the transit with the transporters turned off to reduce the chance of being targeted. The real danger of attack has been compounded by insurers cancelling war risk policies ahead of what are expected to be major rate hikes.

Iranian retaliatory attacks have also been hitting port facilities, as well as energy infrastructure, in multiple Gulf Arab states. As noted, if this situation persists, the potential knock-on effects on global oil and natural gas markets could quickly become severe. Since Iranian authorities have repeatedly threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz in the event of a major crisis that threatens the regime, TWZ has explored all of this in detail in the past.

Iranian attack drones struck oil storage infrastructure in Fujairah, UAE, this morning, causing a large fire.

Notably, Fujairah is the only major oil export terminal in the UAE that avoids the now-closed Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/DdAbVOyRoc

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 3, 2026

This is not the first time that the United States has been faced with this predicament or decided to start escorting commercial vessels through the region as a result. The U.S. Navy did just this in the late 1980s during the Tanker War sideshow to the Iran-Iraq War. At the same time, that experience underscores the immense amount of resources such a campaign could require, as well as the risks.

At the peak of those operations, there were some 30 American warships escorting commercial vessels to and from the Persian Gulf. Aircraft, special operations forces, and other assets were also deployed in support. The risks to American service members, as well as the ships they were tasked to safeguard, were very real.

Shortly before the escort mission began in 1987, the Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate USS Stark was struck by two French-made Exocet anti-ship cruise missiles fired from an Iraqi aircraft as it sailed in the Persian Gulf. The government of Iraq, then led by Saddam Hussein, apologized, claiming they had mistaken the Americans for an Iranian tanker. In the end, 37 U.S. Navy personnel died, and 21 more were wounded.

In 1988, the USS Samuel B. Roberts, another Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate, was severely damaged after hitting an Iranian naval mine in the Persian Gulf while supporting the escort mission. 10 sailors were injured, but there were thankfully no fatalities.

In the course of the Tanker War, 450 commercial ships also came under attack, and many were damaged or even sunk by missiles, mines, and other threats.

More recently, the U.S. military, as well as the European Union, have established naval task forces to help ensure the free flow of maritime commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as elsewhere in the Middle East. When it comes to Iran, those forces have primarily been called on to respond to attempts to seize ships or otherwise harass them. In the past decade or so, outright Iranian attacks on ships in and around the Persian Gulf have generally been covert and sporadic.

U.S. fires warning shots at Iranian fast boats.

The U.S. Navy released the video below in 2019 in relation to an Iranian covert limpet mine attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman.

Limpet Mine Attack in the Gulf of Oman: JUNE 13, 2019

Escorting commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz now would involve U.S. Navy warships sailing right into an extremely high-threat zone in the midst of a conflict that has already taken on a regional character.

In general, the U.S. Navy, as well as commercial shipping companies, have loathed convoy operations despite the benefits they offer. As already noted, these missions can be very resource-intensive, as well as risky. Ships tasked with these missions are then also not available for other duties, including striking targets ashore or helping defend other assets. It can also be very time-consuming to assemble maritime convoys and then escort them to their destination. You can read more about all this in a past TWZ feature here.

For all the lessons the U.S. military learned during the Tanker War, Iran has also significantly expanded the scale and scope of anti-ship capabilities since then, as we regularly highlight. Iran’s missile, drone, and naval forces have been degraded just in the past few days of intensive U.S.-Israeli strikes. How much Iran was able to reconstitute missile and other capabilities in the aftermath of losses during the 12 Day War with Israel last year is also unclear.

Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO. The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over. Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global… pic.twitter.com/nzdkMVMqZC

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 2, 2026

The Iranian regime’s killer drones have been a menace in the Middle East for years. These drones are no longer a tolerable risk. pic.twitter.com/76yhDKI6OW

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 3, 2026

At the same time, much of Iran’s shorter-range missile and drone arsenal is understood to be untouched, as well as dispersed, making interdiction now more challenging. Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio highlighted these threats and the dangers they pose.

SECRETARY RUBIO: The United States is conducting an operation to eliminate the threat of Iran’s short range ballistic missiles and the threat posed by their navy, particularly to naval assets.

That is what the U.S. is focused on right now and is doing quite successfully. pic.twitter.com/zWKBOLVstH

— Department of State (@StateDept) March 2, 2026

Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen were able to cause massive disruptions in maritime traffic in and around the Red Sea between late 2023 and early 2025 using just a portion of what Iran itself could still potentially bring to bear. The U.S. response to Houthi attacks, which included naval deployments to help safeguard commercial shipping, did provide additional valuable lessons learned. It also underscored very real risks to naval assets in environments full of missile and drone threats, as well as to aircraft, including stealth types, flying overhead.

The narrowness of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the insular nature of the Persian Gulf, creates additional challenges and risks compared to operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden because there is simply less space to maneuver. Iranian anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as one-way-attack drones, can be fired from road-mobile launchers, including ones disguised as civilian trucks, making it even more difficult to find and fix threats in advance. Proximity in the littoral zone to these threats only further reduces the time available to react.

The Iranian regime is using mobile launchers to indiscriminately fire missiles in an attempt to inflict maximum harm across the region. U.S. forces are hunting these threats down and without apology or hesitation, we are taking them out. pic.twitter.com/gv1SfKCrk4

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 3, 2026

Escort operations mean that American warships would need to transit through the highest threat areas repeatedly, as well, which would only give Iranian forces more engagement opportunities. There is a reason why U.S. naval vessels are currently operating well away from the Persian Gulf in the Arabian Sea, as well as the Eastern Mediterranean.

U.S. naval facilities, as well as civilian ports, on the opposite side of the Persian Gulf have also come under Iranian attack in the past few days, and would not be guaranteed sanctuaries to shelter in. Iranian retaliatory attacks across the Middle East are already showing the limits of some of the most modern air defense capabilities on Earth, especially when faced with large volumes and/or complex mixtures of disparate incoming threats.

An Iranian one-way attack drone, likely a Shahed-136, filmed scoring a direct hit earlier Saturday on the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet Headquarters at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Juffair, located in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. pic.twitter.com/O9AVD7DmzC

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 28, 2026

It is possible that U.S. allies and partners could help bolster an operation to protect regional shipping that is sufficiently separate from U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. The United Kingdom and France are already conducting defense missions to intercept incoming Iranian threats around the Persian Gulf, as well as in the Eastern Mediterranean. Both of those countries, among others, are also sending more forces to bolster defenses around the region. As already made clear, a protracted upending of oil and natural gas exports from the Arabian Peninsula, as well as Iran itself, will reverberate globally.

TWZ has pointed to this reality in the past as raising key questions about whether the Iranian regime would have the political will, let alone the materiel capacity, to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. For now, though, as we wrote just this morning:

“Increased targeting of Gulf Arab States’ oil and natural gas production is part of a clear Iranian strategy to put pressure on those countries to, in turn, create complications for the United States. As the economic pressure builds, the idea is that these countries will seek to end the conflict, and/or that relations with the U.S. will sour. The prospect of major, long-term disruptions in energy exports from the region has global ramifications, as well, which could bring immense external pressure to end the conflict. There is also the aspect of drawing Arab countries into the conflict, which would complicate it politically and militarily. In addition, some energy targets are not as well defended as U.S. bases in the region, for instance, and scoring hits with the now finite weapons Iran has on hand becomes easier.”

How this will continue to play out, especially if more countries begin to take ostensibly defensive action against Iranian threats, is unknown. There is a very real potential for Iran’s strategy to backfire if the crisis begins to take a toll economically well beyond the Middle East.

U.S. Navy warships escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz could help soften those impacts, but not without major risks, as well as the expenditure of significant resources. Risks would remain for shipping companies too, who could still be reluctant to make the transit, especially with uncertain insurance guarantees.

Overall, it remains to be seen how a U.S. mission to get oil and gas flowing again through the Strait of Hormuz might materialize.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com