The Israeli military said it attacked a compound in eastern Tehran housing the headquarters for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite Quds Force, the intelligence directorate, Basij paramilitary force, Iran’s cyber unit, and a “unit in Internal Security responsible for suppressing protests.”
More than 250 bombs were dropped by over 100 fighter jets in the “wide-scale” strike, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Iraq’s hopes of World Cup qualification are being impacted by the Iran war because embassy and airspace closures are preventing players from getting visas for the playoff tournament in Mexico.
The Iraqi soccer federation says it’s communicating with FIFA about its match against Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey, Mexico, on March 31.
The federation wrote in a social media post that its coach, Graham Arnold, is unable to leave the United Arab Emirates, and several players and staff members are experiencing trouble obtaining visas.
Iraq and the UAE have been floated as potential replacements for Iran’s team — which has already qualified — should the Iranians not participate in the World Cup.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, made the claim during a phone call Wednesday.
Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, “categorically rejected” it, according to a readout released by the foreign ministry. The minister said attacks also have targeted residential areas and critical infrastructure, including near the main airport and liquefied natural gas facilities.
This is the first engagement between Iran and Qatar made public since the war started over the weekend.
The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the number of ballistic missiles fired by Iran is down by 86% from Saturday, with a 23% drop in missiles fired in the last 24 hours.
“And their one-way-attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days,” Caine said.
But some experts have said Iran may be holding some weapons in reserve to prolong the conflict.
Some 60,000 Israelis had evacuated towns and cities along the border for over a year during the previous fighting with Hezbollah.
There are no current plans to evacuate Israelis this time. That’s according to Igor Abramovich, who is part of the emergency team for Kibbutz Manara.
He said there can be over 10 explosions in an hour at times. “There are people that’s really bringing up trauma for them, it’s really difficult right now,” he said.
Residents inspect damage to a house struck a day earlier by a rocket fired from Lebanon, in Kfar Yuval in northern Israel, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
One senior official said the rate of Iranian missile strikes is declining due to U.S. and Israeli success at taking out launch sites, but said Iran may be holding back some of its stocks.
A second official said it’s “definitely an issue” that countries targeted by Iran are going through their defensive missiles, and they will have to carefully manage their own stocks.
“We have pushed every counter-UAS system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability,” Hegseth says, referencing drones. “Like I said, this does not mean we stop everything.”
On Sunday, six American soldiers were killed at an operations center targeted by an Iranian drone strike in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait.
Top U.S. military officials say U.S. forces have adequate munitions for ongoing operations against Iran.
Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was speaking to reporters.
Hegseth added that the military used more advanced weapons at the start of the campaign but was switching to gravity bombs now that the U.S. has control of Iranian skies, and stockpiles of the advanced weapons remain “extremely strong.”
Hegesth asserts that the U.S. is winning its military operation against Iran “decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.”
He says more forces including jet fighters and bombers soon will arrive in the region. He adds that the U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”
The U.S. defense secretary says the Tuesday night strike on the warship is the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.
“The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf,” Hegeth said.
It was not immediately clear what ship Hegseth was referring to.
Qatar’s state-owned energy company says it has declared it on shipments of liquefied natural gas and related products. QatarEnergy is one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas.
Force majeure is a contractual clause that frees organizations from liability in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters or war.
The company on Monday halted production of liquefied natural gas and associated products after Iranian attacks on its facilities in the Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has spoken by phone with his Iranian counterpart after an Iranian ballistic missile that was detected heading toward Turkish airspace Wednesday was intercepted.
During the call with Abbas Araghchi, Turkey stressed that “all steps that could escalate the conflict and contribute to its spread” must be avoided, a Turkish official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol.
The guard says it is prepared for the “complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” The statement came via Iranian state television.
“The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure,” it says.
It alleges, without offering evidence, that the U.S. military was using “civilian facilities ... as cover.”
NATO defense systems have intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran as it headed toward Turkey’s airspace, the Turkish defense ministry said.
A ministry statement said the missile was detected after crossing the Iraqi and Syrian airspace and was intercepted by NATO units stationed in the eastern Mediterranean.
Debris from the air defense system that intercepted the Iranian missile fell into Hatay province, near the border with Syria. There were no casualties.
“Every step taken to defend our territory and airspace will be taken resolutely and without hesitation,” the defense ministry said. “We remind all parties that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions against our country.”
canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney takes his place for a signing ceremony, in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney say he sees the war as an extreme example of a rupturing world order in which countries increasingly act without respect for international norms and laws.
“Geo-strategically, hegemons are increasingly acting without constraint or respect for international norms or laws while others bear the consequences. Now the extremes of this disruption are being played out in real time in the Middle East,” Carney said at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank.
But whether the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran broke international law was “a judgment for others to make,” he said.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a prominent religious leader based in Iraq, condemned the “military aggression” against Iran. He said attacking a country that is a member of the United Nations without U.N. approval is a violation of international law.
The Iran-born al-Sistani, who is one of the world’s most influential Shiite clerics, warned that war would cause widespread chaos and prolonged unrest “that will bring calamities to the peoples of the region and to the interests of others as well.”
Al-Sistani is based in the holy Shiite city of Najaf.
A Hong Kong expatriate living in Dubai moved hotels twice and encountered high prices for hotels and flights out of the country in her search for safety.
Agnes Chen Pun, a partner at an investment firm, said she was afraid her home in Dubai near the Burj Khalifa skyscraper could be targeted. That prompted her to move Monday into a resort in Fujairah on the eastern coast of the UAE, an around 1.5-hour drive from Dubai.
After spending a peaceful night in Fujairah, however, a fire broke at the port there.
“We see the dark smoke,” she said. “Everyone is like running, rushing in the (hotel) lobby.”
There were limited flights leaving UAE or Oman, and she considered taking a private jet from Oman back to Asia, as some others were doing. The cost, however, was as much as $268,000 for a 13-seat private jet flight.
She finally secured commercial flight tickets at around $2,200 per person for economy class seats for her family for an Emirates flight scheduled to fly out of Dubai to Singapore Wednesday evening.
The Iranian vessel that was sinking off of Sri Lanka, the IRIS Dena, is one of Iran’s newest warships.
The frigate was the centerpiece of a two-ship international tour in 2023 that included port calls in countries including South Africa and Brazil. It was accompanied by the support ship IRIS Makran, a converted oil tanker.
The U.S. Treasury Department included both ships on a sanctions designation in February 2023 along with eight executives of an Iranian drone manufacturer that supplied the weapons to Russia for use against civilian targets in Ukraine.
