&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US-Iran-Israel war highlights | US offers $10 million reward for information on top Iranian leaders")
On February 28, the US and Israeli military launched strikes on Iran, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and several other top Iranian officials. The operation was named ‘Epic Fury’ by the US and ‘Lion’s Roar’ by Israel. The attacks came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran and ongoing talks over Iran’s nuclear program. In retaliation, Iran launched attacks on Israel and US military bases in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Azerbaijan.
In a recent declaration, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Mar 11) claimed victory in the war with Iran, without providing any evidence to support his remarks. “Let me say we’ve won. You know, you never like to say too early that you won. We won. We won, in the first hour it was over, but we won,” he said.
On the other hand, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday (Mar 12) has set three conditions to end the raging war. In a first statement on ending war, Pezeshkian said, “The only way to end this war—ignited by the Zionist regime & US—is recognising Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression.”
Following the supreme leader’s death, Iran’s Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader on Sunday (Mar 8), marking the first time the position passed from father to son in the Islamic Republic’s history. However, multiple reports suggested that his selection was forced by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was opposed by several clerics, who reportedly boycotted the meeting where his selection was made.
Stay with WION to follow for live updates on the US-Iran-Israel war here:
The US State Department on Friday announced a $10 million reward for information on Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and other senior officials. Iran’s interior minister and the minister of intelligence and security were also included in the list released under the “Rewards for Justice” program, which offers cash for information that helps locate or prosecute individuals involved in terrorism against the United States.
Two crew members who were unaccounted for after a refuelling plane crashed over western Iraq on Thursday have been confirmed as having died, the US military said. It means all six people on board the KC-135 Stratotanker lost their lives in the incident.
US Central Command has not confirmed why the aircraft crashed but said two planes were involved in the incident, and the second aircraft landed safely, while ruling out that there was any hostile or friendly fire.
General Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in the press briefing at the Pentagon on Friday that “today will be the US’s ‘busiest’ day.”
Caine also paid tribute to the four crew killed in the KC-135 crash over western Iraq, and thanked all service members for their dedication. Caine said there was a fire on board an aircraft carrier, the USS Gearld R Ford.
The US continues to attack ballistic missile and drone capabilities, and "destroying" the Iranian navy and its ability to "attack commercial vessels", he added.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's leadership is hiding and America's will is "unshakeable, our options maximised and our capabilities still building".
President Trump holds the cards, he said. "He'll determine the pace, the tempo and the timing of this conflict."
Hegseth said, “Today, the US will launch yet again, the highest volume of strikes that America has put over the skies of Iran.”
Addressing a press briefing in the Pentagon on Friday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is "wounded" and "likely disfigured".
Referring to Mojtaba's statement that was read aloud on Iranian state TV on Thursday, Hegseth questioned why there was no footage or audio of Motjaba.
"I think you know why," he added.
The defence secretary said Motjaba is "scared" and "injured", claiming he is "on the run" and "lacks legitimacy".
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a press briefing in the Pentagon on Friday that the US is “decimating the radical Iranian regime's military, in a way the world has never seen before”.
He said Iran's military has been made "combat ineffective", while adding that the combination of the US and Israeli airforces is "unbeatable", and that their intelligence is getting "better and more refined".
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Israel and Hezbollah to "stop the war" at the start of a visit to Beirut.
"My strong appeal to those parties, to Hezbollah and to Israel, is for a ceasefire to stop the war and... allow Lebanon to become a country independent... where its authorities have the monopoly on use of force," Guterres said in English from the presidential palace, as Lebanon entered its 11th day of war.
"This is no longer the time of armed groups," Guterres said in reference to pro-Iran militant group Hezbollah. "This is the time of strong states."
The Indian government on Friday held a joint inter-ministerial briefing for the third consecutive day to address panic over LPG supplies amid the raging war in West Asia and Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz tightening global energy supplies.
The government urged consumers to book cylinders online and said there was no need to queue outside LPG distributors.
The central government assured the "uninterrupted supply to households," claiming that domestic LPG output was up 30 per cent compared to March 5.
Iran vowed on Friday to inflict what its foreign ministry spokesman described as an "unforgettable lesson" on its enemies in the United States and Israel, as the Middle East war neared the two-week mark.
"We cannot accept that they talk about dialogue and ceasefire every now and then and after that we face the repetition of these crimes and war. Our armed forces are very determined to firmly teach the enemy an unforgettable lesson," Esmaeil Baqaei said.
UN Chief António Guterres has landed in Beirut for a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon. He said, ”They did not choose this war. They were dragged into it. The UN and I will spare no effort in striving for the peaceful future that Lebanon & this region so richly deserve."
An April summit of the D-8 bloc of Muslim-majority developed countries that includes Iran has been postponed due to the war in the Middle East, host Indonesia said Friday.
No new date was announced for the meeting that was to have stretched over four days, culminating in a leaders' summit on April 15.
Fresh strikes rocked Iran and several Gulf countries Friday as Israel and the Islamic Republic unleashed a new wave of attacks in a war that has ignited the Middle East and threatens to torpedo the world economy.
Four of six US crew members on board a refuelling plane that went down in western Iraq have died, US Central Command says.
Large explosions shook central Tehran on Friday, Iranian state television reported, adding that strikes hit an area close to a pro-government rally. Earlier, the broadcaster aired footage showing crowds gathering in Tehran and other major cities to mark Quds Day, the last Friday of Ramadan, in support of the Palestinian cause.
An air strike has targeted the Javadieh neighbourhood near Tehran, causing injuries, according to Iran’s Nournews.
The Foreign Ministry of China announced on Friday that the Red Cross Society of the country will send $200,000 in emergency humanitarian aid to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. It stated that the funds will be specifically designated for students' parents who have lost their lives in the war.
Addressing the press conference, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that Beijing “condemns all indiscriminate attacks on civilians”.
Adolfo Franco, a US Republican strategist, stated that the US has achieved military success in Iran, but it remains likely “far from an off-ramp” to end the conflict. He noted that the war could continue for some time, even though Donald Trump initially suggested it might last around four to five weeks.
“We’ve eliminated Iran’s air defences, its air force… and of course have attacked its facilities that produce and launch ballistic missiles and drones, which are significantly down,” Franco, a former advisor to US Senator John McCain, told Al Jazeera.
“We’ve never underestimated the power of Iran to retaliate and to do what it’s doing, and that’s why the president correctly said this could last over four weeks," said this could last over four weeks. “No one said this was going to be 12 hours or anything of that sort,” added Franco, noting that the US appears to be “ahead of schedule”.
The police command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, known as FARAJA, has arrested four individuals accused of sharing sensitive information with the UK-based Farsi-language broadcaster Iran International, Tasnim News Agency reported, describing the channel as a “hostile, anti-Iranian network.” It stated that the arrested individuals “stored confidential information on their phones about the locations of missile impacts and bombings and sent it to this network”.
Thousands of Greeks marched through central Athens on Thursday (March 12) towards the U.S. embassy to register their protest against the Iran war.
"The IDF has just begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran," the military said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, warned on Friday that any new protests against the authorities would be met with a stronger response than in January.
A building in central Dubai was hit by debris from an intercepted attack after blast shook the Middle East financial hub.
Two people have been killed in Oman after debris from a drone fell in a populated area, according to state media.
Iran has released a viral AI-generated animation modelled after Disney’s Inside Out, portraying US President Donald Trump as being controlled by “evil impulses”. The 30-second satire mocks his claims about Tomahawk missiles used in the Minab school strike and also roasts him over his ties to sex offender, paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
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Israel's military said Friday it had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran in the last day, including missile launchers and defence systems.
It said fighter jets carried out "20 wide-scale strikes" that targeted "ballistic missile launchers, defense systems, and weapon production sites."
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone targeting Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter.
As the West Asia conflict enters day 14, Iran's Military Headquarters, the Khatam al-Anbiya, has warned of dire consequences if Iran's energy infrastructure is targeted by the US or Israel.
The spokesperson for the military said, "The slightest attack on #Iran's energy infrastructure and ports will result in our crushing and devastating response. In the event of such an attack, all the oil and gas infrastructure in the region, in which the United States and its Western allies have interests, will be set on fire and destroyed."
Residents of Adana, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) away from the base, were woken at around 3:25 am (0025 GMT) by sirens, which sounded for around five minutes, according to the Ekonomim business news website.
It said a red alert sounded at the base.
Several people posted mobile phone footage on social media of a glowing image flying through the sky, suggesting it could be a missile heading for the airbase, it said.
Sirens heard at Incirlik air base, key NATO facility in south Turkey: state news agency
A building in central Dubai was hit by debris from an intercepted attack, the government media office said on Friday, after blasts shook the Middle East financial hub.
An AFP correspondent described hearing a huge double blast that rattled buildings and left a large cloud of black smoke hanging over a central district.
Dubai's media office confirmed a building had been struck. The United Arab Emirates' air defences have intercepted more than 1,500 Iranian drones and nearly 300 missiles during the Middle East war.
"Authorities confirmed that debris from a successful interception caused a minor incident on the facade of a building in central Dubai," the media office posted on X, adding that no injuries were reported.
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake rattled north-east Turkey on Friday, the country's disaster management agency said.
The Turkish disaster and emergency management authority said the tremor had hit around 3:35 am (0035 GMT) in Tokat province, with no reports of damage.
Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the Middle East financial hub on Friday, AFP correspondents said.
An AFP correspondent felt the building shake and heard a huge explosion.
Sirens could be heard coming from the direction of Sheikh Zayed Road, the United Arab Emirates city's main artery.
A drone fell on Thursday near Dubai's financial district after Iran threatened to hit economic institutions, prompting some companies to evacuate staff.
A pro-Iranian group in Iraq warned Friday that French interests "in Iraq and the region" would be "under targeting fire" after the arrival of a French aircraft carrier.
The statement on the Telegram page of the Ashab Alkahf group came as French President Emmanuel Macron announced the death of a French soldier and the injury of several others in Iraqi Kurdistan.
An Israeli strike hit a member of Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon's capital, the military said on Friday.
"A short while ago, the IDF struck a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Beirut," the Israeli military said in a statement.
Oil prices held around $100 Friday and most equity markets dropped after Iran's leader called for the blocking of the crucial Strait of Hormuz and opening up of new fronts in the war against the United States and Israel.
With the conflict heading towards its third week and showing no signs of ending, investors are growing increasingly worried about an extended crisis that could fan inflation and hammer the global economy.
Tehran has targeted energy facilities this week across the Gulf, with ships hit near Iraq, fuel tanks attacked in Bahrain and drones fired at oil fields in Saudi Arabia.
And it warned on Thursday that it would "set the region's oil and gas on fire" if its own energy infrastructure and ports were targeted.
US and Israeli strikes hit parts of Tehran on Friday, Iranian media reported, adding that homes shook from the blasts.
"The intensity of the explosions was such that residents of these areas reported their houses shaking. No further details have been provided about the extent of damage or possible casualties," Iran's Fars news agency reported.
Israel said on Friday that Iran fired waves of missiles toward Israel, with emergency services reporting that two were injured in the country's north.
"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the Israeli military wrote on its official Telegram channel.
It issued a similar alert a short time later.
Following the initial alert, the Magen David Adom emergency service said no emergency calls had been received.
But after the second it said that two people had been treated for injuries in northern Israel.
The United States is temporarily allowing the sale of Russian oil that is at sea, the Treasury Department said Thursday, as energy prices soared after US-Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the Middle East into war.
The move marked a momentary easing of economic sanctions against Russia, which has been targeted over its invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Treasury issued a license authorizing the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products tha have been loaded on vessels on or before 12:01 am Eastern Time March 12, through 12:01 am on April 11.
Saudi forces intercepted more than two dozen drones Friday after Iran vowed to attack oil resources in the Middle East and said it would maintain a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz that has sent crude prices soaring.
Israel also came under attack early Friday from missiles launched by Iran, with the Israeli military saying its air defences were working to intercept them.
An American KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while a second plane involved in the incident landed safely, the US military said Thursday.
"One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement.
Iran's military however claimed in a statement carried by state TV that an allied group in Iraq had downed the aircraft with a missile, killing all its crew.
An attack killed a French soldier in Erbil in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.
A member of the armed forces "died for France during an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq," Macron posted on X, confirming the first French military death in the Middle East war that began late last month when Israel and the United States struck Iran.
Macron added that several other soldiers had been wounded in the incident, which the French military earlier said was a drone attack on troops carrying out a training exercise.