Iran strikes US bases in neighbouring countries after Tehran’s oil sites hit

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated his statement over missiles and drones breaching the territorial integrity of its Arab nations, saying Tehran would not repeat the strikes unless hit first from US bases in those countries.

However, he retracted the "apology" remark he had put in the first statement earlier on Saturday morning, after Iran's hardline leaders strongly condemned his conciliatory approach as "weak."

The incident also laid bare the rift inside Tehran's leadership circle.

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Israel will continue to strike Iran “with all our might,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday.

In a recorded statement, Netanyahu claimed Israel and the US have achieved “almost complete control” over the skies of Iran and that there are “many more targets and surprises prepared.”

Netanyahu directly threatened members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, saying, “You are in the crosshairs.” [CNN]

Ukrainian President ⁠Volodymyr Zelenskyy ⁠says he has spoken to ⁠Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ⁠about the situation in Iran and the Middle East, and restated Kyiv’s offer to help deal with Iranian drones.

“Ukraine has been fighting against [Iranian-designed] ‘Shaheds’ for years, and ⁠everyone acknowledges that ⁠no other country in the world has such experience”, ⁠Zelenskyy said on Telegram ⁠of his conversation.

“We ⁠are ready to help, and expect that our people will also receive the necessary support.” [Al Jazeera]

US President Donald Trump says he doesn’t want Kurdish fighters from Iraq to join the war against Iran, putting an end to mounting speculation that he supported the idea.

They’re willing to go in, but I’ve told them I don’t want them to go in… The war is complicated enough as it is… We don’t want to see the Kurds get hurt or killed,” Trump tells reporters aboard Air Force One.

Sources previously told CNN that the CIA was working to stoke an uprising in Iran by arming the Kurdish forces. [Times of Israel, CNN]

Iran’s military calls on its neighbor Azerbaijan to “expel the Zionists” from its territory in order to preserve its security, a day after Baku accused Tehran of plotting attacks on its territory.

Israel is a close ally of Azerbaijan’s and a key arms supplier, while Tehran has long accused Israel of using Azerbaijani territory for intelligence operations.

Azerbaijan yesterday said it had foiled a series of planned Iranian terrorist attacks on its territory including on a key oil pipeline, a synagogue and Jewish community leaders.

Iran did not comment on the accusations. [AFP]

The head of Iran’s National Security Council says that “a number” of US soldiers have been captured since the start of hostilities one week ago.

He did not specify how many were captured or the circumstances of their capture. [Al Jazeera]

Three oil depots in western Tehran were struck by Israeli fighter jets this evening, a source in Iran’s oil ministry is cited by the Fars news agency as saying.

The report says the depots were struck in the Kuhak and Shahran areas of the capital and in the nearby city of Karaj. [Times of Israel]

US President Donald Trump on Saturday cast blame upon Iran for the strike on an elementary school in southern Iran that killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers, contradicting analyses from CNN, other media outlets and experts that suggested the US military was likely responsible.

“Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Trump further characterized Iranian munitions as “very inaccurate.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also blamed Iran, telling reporters, “The only side that targets civilians is Iran.” [CNN]

Iran’s Assembly of Experts are set to meet to choose the country’s next supreme leader, after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed last week.

“With divine assistance, this session will occur within the next 24 hours,” Hossein Mozafari, a member of the body said, Fars news agency reported. [Al Jazeera]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Lebanon it is up to them to enforce the 2024 ceasefire agreement.

“Your responsibility is to disarm Hezbollah,” he said in a video statement. “If you do not do this, Hezbollah’s aggression will result in disastrous repercussions for Lebanon. It is time for you to take your destiny into your own hands. We will do all that is necessary to defend our communities and citizens.” [Al Jazeera]

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The Trump administration has declared an emergency and bypassed Congress to immediately sell 12,000 bombs to Israel amid ongoing military operations against Iran.

According to a notice from the US State Department, Israel requested to buy “twelve thousand (12,000) BLU-110A/B general purpose, 1,000-pound bomb bodies,” valued at more than $151 million. [CNN]

The Israeli military says it has attacked the “central air defence command centre” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force, “In the heart of Tehran.”

It said it struck air defence systems, headquarters, warehouses and other structures near the centre.

It added that it also hit a site used to produce and launch ballistic missiles, which it claimed included warehouses for Quds Force combat equipment. [Al Jazeera]

The United Arab Emirates will emerge "stronger" after the Middle East war, the president told Abu Dhabi TV in a rare address on Saturday, as Iran continued its retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.

The UAE "is in a period of war", Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan told the TV channel, but "we will emerge stronger". [AFP]

Iran's hardline judiciary chief said the Islamic republic would continue targeting regional neighbours offering its enemies "points... used in agression against our country".

"Evidence from Iran's armed forces shows that the geography of some countries in the region is openly and covertly at the disposal of the enemy," said Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who is also a member of the interim leadership council.

"The heavy attacks on these targets will continue," he added. [AFP]

Qatar said on Saturday it had intercepted a missile, shortly after AFP journalists heard explosions and sirens sounding in central Doha.

"Armed forces intercepted (a) missile attack which targeted (the) State of Qatar," the defence ministry said. [AFP]

Israel's military on Saturday struck three buildings in the suburbs of the southern city of Tyre after ordering residents to flee, Lebanese state media said.

AFP footage showed thick plumes of black smoke rising from buildings that Israel said Hezbollah was using.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that "Israeli warplanes attacked the three buildings that it had identified and threatened". [Read More]

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has targeted “the US base in Juffair, Bahrain, with solid- and liquid-fueled missiles”.

This attack was in response to a US attack on a desalination plant in Qeshm, the IRGC said.

Foreign Minister Araghchi said earlier that the US attack disrupted the water supply of 30 villages.

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior says on X that air raid sirens are sounding, and has urged residents to remain calm and seek shelter. [Al Jazeera]

Hezbollah says it launched a rocket barrage at an Israeli military base earlier today.

In a statement, the group said its fighters targeted the Ein Zeitim base in northern Israel, around 1:15pm local time (11:15 GMT).

Hezbollah says the attacks are being carried out in response to Israeli strikes on several Lebanese cities and towns, including Beirut’s southern suburbs. [Al Jazeera]

The United Arab Emirates reported new missile and drone attacks on Saturday as Iran continued its retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.

"UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran," the defence ministry said. "Sounds heard are the result of the Air Defence Systems intercepting missiles and drones." [AFP]

Loud explosions were heard Saturday in Bahrain's capital Manama, two AFP journalists reported, as Iran continued its retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.

One of the journalists said they heard at least five blasts in the city. [AFP]

British MP Zarah Sultana has accused the UK government of being involved in US strikes on Iran after she claimed that American B-1 bombers have been landing at British bases before carrying out missions.

In a post on social media, Sultana said the aircraft were landing on “British soil before flying off to bomb Iran”, adding that this meant the UK was “directly involved” in the conflict.

She also criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying he had claimed the UK was not at war.

The comments come after Starmer said the UK would only allow the use of its bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites. [Al Jazeera]

The US State Department says 28,000 citizens have safely returned to the US from countries in the Middle East since the US, alongside Israel, started attacking Iran on 28 February.

“These figures do not include the many Americans who have safely relocated to other countries or those who have departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States,” Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said in a statement.

“Additionally, the Department of State has completed over a dozen charter flights and has safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East.” [Al Jazeera]

The US president says on a scale of 0 to 10, the progress of his country’s campaign against Iran so far is a 15.

The war on Iran is “a service that we’re providing, not for the Middle East but for the world”, Trump said.

“These were sick people, very sick people,” he said of those killed in US-Israeli attacks so far. [Al Jazeera]

US President Donald Trump said US strikes on Iran have significantly damaged the country’s military capabilities, claiming its navy, air force and communications infrastructure have been heavily hit.

Speaking at an event in Florida, Trump said US forces had destroyed 42 Iranian naval vessels in recent days and knocked out much of the country’s air power and telecommunications systems.

He also said previous US strikes targeted facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear programme, claiming Tehran had been close to obtaining a nuclear weapon before the attacks.

Trump described the operation as a major success and said the strikes had dealt a decisive blow to Iran’s military capabilities.

The US president is expected to travel later to Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer of six US service members who have been killed in the conflict so far. [Al Jazeera]

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has held a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron as part of ongoing consultations to halt Israel’s military escalation.

According to the Lebanese presidency on X, the two leaders discussed the latest developments as Israeli attacks continue to fall on several areas across Lebanon.

It comes after Macron previously pledged to strengthen cooperation with the Lebanese armed forces and provide them with armoured transport vehicles, along with additional humanitarian aid for the tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians fleeing the south.

Aoun was also briefed by Lebanese army commander General Rodolphe Haykal on the security situation, including Israeli bombardment of the town of Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley that the presidency said caused casualties and widespread destruction.

Separately, Aoun received a call from Spain’s King Felipe VI, who expressed solidarity with the Lebanese people, according to the presidency. [Al Jazeera]

The United States has started using British bases for certain operations against Iran during the Middle East war, the UK government announced on Saturday.

Britain's defence ministry said the US had begun using the military sites for "specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region".

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer annoyed US President Donald Trump for initially refusing to have any role in the US-Israeli war with Iran, which started a week ago, on 28 February.

He later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases for a "specific and limited defensive purpose". 

Those bases are Fairford in Gloucestershire, western England, and the UK-US Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. [AFP]

Israel's military said on Saturday it had struck 16 Iranian aircraft at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, which it said was a key hub for the Islamic republic's Revolutionary Guards.

"Overnight, the Israeli Air Force... completed a broad wave of strikes across Tehran and on military infrastructure located at the 'Merabad Airport' in Tehran", it said in a statement.

"16 aircraft of the 'Quds Force' unit of the IRGC were precisely dismantled", it said, referring to the branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards that oversees its foreign operations.

The military accused the Guards of using Mehrabad International Airport, one of two that serve the capital, to send cash and weapons to its proxies in the Middle East, including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

"Also targeted were several Iranian fighter jets that posed a threat to Israeli Air Force aircraft operating in Iranian airspace", the statement added. [AFP]

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States on Saturday of attacking a desalination plant on a Gulf island, saying it had set a precedent.

"The US committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island," said Araghchi in a post on X.

"Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted. Attacking Iran's infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The US set this precedent, not Iran." [AFP]

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday they have targeted "separatist groups" in Iraq's Kurdistan region, as the war against Israel and the United States entered its second week.

An official from an exiled opposition group in Kurdistan told AFP that drones struck positions belonging to three Iranian Kurdish parties without causing casualties.

The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency that "three locations of separatist groups in the Iraqi region (of Kurdistan) were hit... this morning."

"If separatist groups in the region make any move against Iran's territorial integrity, we will crush them," the Guards added. [AFP]

Kuwait's national oil company on Saturday announced a cut to its production of crude due to Iranian attacks and threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for Gulf hydrocarbons.

"In light of the ongoing aggression by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the State of Kuwait, including Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, KPC (Kuwait Petroleum Corporation) has implemented a precautionary reduction in crude oil production and refining throughput as part of its risk management and business continuity strategy," it said, adding that it would be "reviewed as the situation develops". [AFP]

Turkey is considering the possibility of sending F-16 fighter jets to Northern Cyprus as a security measure, a Turkish defence ministry source said Saturday, days after the island was targeted by a drone attack.

"The deployment of F-16 aircraft to the island is among the options being considered," the source said, speaking of "phased planning" to ensure the security of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised only by Turkey. [AFP]

Lebanon's health ministry on Saturday said Israeli attacks on the country had killed almost 300 people since the start of the war with Hezbollah this week.

In a statement, the ministry said that "the death toll from the Israeli aggression, from dawn on Monday... has risen to 294 martyrs and 1,023 wounded". [AFP]

Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that more could be done to create the conditions for dialogue on Iran, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.

Speaking by phone with Starmer on today, Erdogan said Turkiye’s diplomatic efforts were continuing.

He also said Ankara was closely monitoring developments following attacks on Iran and warned that prolonged interventions could cause serious harm to regional and global stability, the statement added. [Al Jazeera]

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said its forces have targeted a Marshall-islands flagged oil tanker on Saturday in the Gulf as the war with Israel and the United States raged.

"An oil tanker with the trade name 'Louise P' with the flag of the Marshall Islands, one of the assets of the terrorist America, was hit by a drone in the middle of the Persian Gulf," the Guards said on their website Sepah News. [AFP]

The Lebanese group has said it carried out two attacks targeting Israeli positions earlier today.

In separate statements, Hezbollah said it launched a missile barrage at the Tzrifin base east of the Israeli city of Acre at 9:45am local time (07:45 GMT).

Hezbollah also said its fighters fired rockets at a gathering of vehicles near the Fatima Gate crossing in the Lebanese border town of Kfar Kila at 12:30pm local time (10:30 GMT).

The group said the attacks were carried out in response to what it described as Israeli strikes across Lebanon. [Al Jazeera]

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Ghana condemned on Saturday an attack a day earlier on a UN base in southern Lebanon that seriously wounded three Ghanaian UN peacekeepers.

Ghana said it had lodged a formal complaint with the UN.

It demanded "that those responsible be identified and held accountable, as the attack constitutes a grave violation of international law, amounts to war crime and affronts the protections afforded to United Nations peacekeeping personnel". [Read More]

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday warned Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that his country would pay a "very heavy price" if it fails to disarm Hezbollah.

Addressing the president, Katz said in a statement broadcast on Israeli television that if "the choice becomes protecting our civilians and the safety of our soldiers or Lebanon, we will choose to defend our civilians and our soldiers, and the government of Lebanon and Lebanon will pay a very heavy price."

Israel sent ground troops to Lebanon and conducted many airstrikes on the country this week after Lebanese armed group Hezbollah joined its ally Iran in strikes responding to a US-Israeli attack on the Islamic republic. [AFP]

Explosions were heard and air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem on Saturday, AFP journalists said, as the US-Israeli war with Iran entered a second week.

AFP journalists heard three blasts in the sky over Jerusalem shortly after the military said its air defence was working to intercept projectiles from Iran.

The Israeli authorities gave the all clear shortly afterwards and the country's first responders agency Magen David Adom said no injuries were reported in the immediate aftermath.

Overall the Israeli military said it detected 11 launches from Iran towards Israel in the past 24 hours.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said on Friday that there had been a "real decrease" in the number of launches from Iran after almost a week of barrages.

He added that more than 60% of Iranian launchers had been destroyed in the US-Israeli bombing campaign.

The Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran last week has provoked waves of retaliatory Iranian missile fire and rocket fire from Lebanon's Hezbollah. [AFP]

The Israeli military's strikes on east Lebanon, where Israeli forces carried out a commando operation, killed 41 people, the Lebanese health ministry said on Saturday.

"The series of raids launched by the Israeli enemy on the town of Nabi Sheet and surrounding towns in the Baalbek district resulted in a total of 41 citizens killed and 40 others wounded," the ministry said in a statement.

A previous toll had reported 16 killed and 35 wounded. [AFP]

Israel has attacked the Lebanese town of Shmestar in the Baalbek-Hermel governorate, killing six people, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Four children and a woman are among those killed, it added. [Al Jazeera]

Jordan has accused Iran of directly targeting sites in the kingdom, firing 119 missiles and drones in the past seven days since US-Israeli strikes triggered a regional war.

Jordanian military spokesman Brigadier General Mustafa Hayari told a news conference that 108 of the projectiles had been intercepted. “These missiles and drones were targeting vital installations inside Jordan and were not passing through our territories,” he said. [Al Jazeera]

At least 16 ballistic missiles and 121 drones were launched at the United Arab Emirates today, according to the country’s authorities.

All missiles but one that fell into the sea were intercepted. At least 119 drones were intercepted and two drones crashed within the UAE territory, they said. [Al Jazeera]

President Donald Trump suggested on Saturday the United States would hit Iran "very hard" and threatened to expand strikes to include new targets.

"Today Iran will be hit very hard!" Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform.

"Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran's bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time."

His comments came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that his country would never surrender to Israel and the United States. [Read More]