Missile and drone attacks continued in Iran, Israel and the neighboring countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, as the conflict that began on February 28 entered its ninth day on Sunday, March 8.
The “war” in Iran began with the US and Israel launching joint strikes in Tehran and other parts of the Islamic Republic after their nuclear talks failed. Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones at Israel and other Gulf countries. It also hit several US embassies in the region.
The conflict affected flight operations across the Middle East. However, several airlines have now resumed limited flights for rescue purposes. Dubai International Airport was closed on Saturday due to missile threats.
Here’s all the latest you need to know about the US-Israel-Iran war:
1. Israel launched a new wave of attacks on Iran after it said it was targeting Tehran’s energy resources. CNN’s team in Tehran reported that blackened rainwater fell Sunday morning after a fuel depot was hit.
2. Talks to choose Iran’s supreme leader are reportedly taking place following the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohammadmehdi Mirbaqeri said Sunday, according to the Mehr news agency, that a majority consensus on a successor had more or less been reached. However, he said “some hurdles” regarding the process need to be worked out.
3. Meanwhile, the UAE Ministry of Defense and the Kuwaiti military have confirmed that their national air defenses are currently engaged in a response to “incoming missiles and drones from Iran”.
Kuwait’s defense ministry said it faced missile and drone attacks, with the military saying drones targeted fuel tanks at the country’s international airport.
4. Air raid sirens also sounded in parts of Bahrain, its interior ministry said on X. Bahrain’s interior ministry said on Sunday that an Iranian drone strike damaged a water desalination plant.
Bahrain also reported that three people were injured by shrapnel in Bahrain after the rocket attack. The ministry reported that shrapnel hit a university building in the city of Muharraq, Bahrain, on Sunday morning. The Ministry of Interior said that the missile fragments also caused material damage.
5. The United Arab Emirates, which pumped more than 3.5 million barrels a day as OPEC’s third-largest producer in January, has begun curbing oil production at its offshore fields. Kuwait, OPEC’s fifth-largest producer, cut oil and refinery output, citing “continued aggression” by Iran.
6. Israel struck southern Lebanon and Beirut again early Sunday morning, killing 12 more people, Lebanon’s health ministry said, as the war in the Middle East continued to escalate.
7 Israel also targeted Iranian F-14 fighters. Israel’s military said its air force struck Iranian F-14 fighter jets at Isfahan airport on Saturday in a broad wave of airstrikes.
The fighters were purchased by pre-revolutionary Iran from the United States. The fleet of F-14s parked at the Isfahan airport was said to be a mainstay of Iran’s air force and historically used to defend its airspace. The Israeli military did not say whether the planes were destroyed.
8. The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday that the strikes targeted the commander of the Lebanese branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” for the next phase of the conflict.
9. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Iran was seeking good relations with neighboring countries even as the retaliatory attacks continued, Iran International reported, citing state television.
Pezeshkian said Tehran has repeatedly signaled that it considers neighboring states to be brothers and wants strong ties with them.
But he reportedly said that Iran is forced to respond to attacks launched from another country’s territory, adding that such retaliation does not mean that Tehran has a dispute with that country or wants to upset its people.
He accused the “enemy” of trying to sow division between Iran and its neighbors.
His statement came after US President Donald Trump said Iran had apologized to its Middle Eastern neighbors and pledged to stop attacking them following ongoing US and Israeli military operations.
10. White House special envoy Steve Witkoff said there may still be room for a diplomatic deal with what remains of Iran’s government, but stressed that Washington was “not considering a settlement.”
He said Iranian officials had taken a tough line in previous talks, insisting they had an “inalienable right to enrich” uranium.
“They bragged that they had 60% enriched fuel, enough for 11 bombs. They told me and Jared (Kushner), ‘We’re not going to give you diplomatically what you can’t take militarily,'” Witkoff told reporters as he stood next to President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One.
“I think they’re going to need a change of attitude … we have a lot of leverage, maybe maximum leverage, but we’re not going to settle. They’d like to settle. We’re not looking to settle.”
Witkoff “emphatically” told Russia not to help Iran.
11. The US Embassy said that commercial flights are currently operating from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran and Saudi airspace remains open with occasional operational interruptions.
In another advisory aimed at the United Arab Emirates, the US said there are currently limited commercial flights operating from international airports in the UAE.
“There are land routes to Oman and Saudi Arabia where commercial options to leave the region are operating, but there are reports of congestion,” it said.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport unless they have a confirmed ticket and have been specifically asked to do so by their airline,” the embassy said.
“Americans should strongly consider departing on one of these flights if they believe it is safe to do so. Please visit airline websites for flight availability and ticket purchase information,” the embassy said in its latest alert on Sunday.
12. The United States and Israel have discussed sending special forces to Iran to seize its stockpile of highly enriched uranium later in the war, Axios reported, citing four sources familiar with the discussion.
13. The Embassy of India in the UAE has issued a warning against unauthorized filming of incident sites or restricted areas or inside the airport(s).
14. Iran so far reports 1,332 dead in the war, along with widespread destruction. Dozens more were killed elsewhere in the region, and the US said six service members had lost their lives in the conflict.
15. Trump said on Saturday that the war would continue “for a little while” and oil prices would fall again.
He told reporters on Air Force One on Saturday that the US would have to have a “very good reason” to deploy ground troops to Iran, adding that Iranian forces would likely have to be so decimated that they would be unable to resist.
The US president also said he ruled out the idea of armed Kurdish forces entering Iran to join the fight.
