Iran on Saturday threatened for the first time to attack infrastructure of a neighboring country, urging people to evacuate three major ports in the United Arab Emirates that Tehran claimed were "legitimate targets" because the U.S. military used them for attacks.
The escalation sharpened global economic worries as tensions mount around the Strait of Hormuz, a route for about one-fifth of the world's oil where shipping has effectively ground to a halt.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Gulf neighbors, saying it targets U.S. assets even as airports and oil facilities have been hit or threatened. America and Israel have struck thousands of targets across Iran during the war, now in its third week.
On Friday, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces "obliterated" military sites on Iran's Kharg Island, home to the country's main oil export terminal. Iranian officials have warned that strikes on its oil infrastructure could trigger further retaliation.
Meanwhile, Israel's war against Hezbollah has deepened Lebanon's humanitarian crisis, with about 800 people killed and more than 850,000 displaced.
Here is the latest:
US regulator threatens broadcasters’ licenses after Trump’s Iran complaints
Trump’s broadcast regulator Brendan Carr responded to a Trump complaint about negative coverage of the Iran war with an X post threatening broadcasters, urging them to “correct course before their license renewals come up.”
Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has previously launched investigations into networks he has said are unfairly partisan, most notably pressuring ABC to take late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air.
It was the first time Carr had addressed Iran coverage, although Trump and the White House have sharpened their attacks in recent days against coverage they perceive as being unduly critical or unfair.
“The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not,” Carr warned.
Iran’s foreign minister calls on neighbors to ‘expel foreign aggressors’
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the call on social media. He also noted Trump’s message earlier Saturday urging other countries to send warships to help secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran, and described the president as “begging.”
Israel offers condolences on the deaths of US service members
The Israeli military reacted for the first time Saturday to the deaths of six crew members on a U.S. refueling plane that crashed in Iraq.
“I convey my deepest condolences for the six lives lost,” Israel’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said on Saturday during a visit to a logistics center in central Israel. “Our partners in the United States are doing unprecedented work in this historic operation,” he said.
Israel will relax some guidelines for citizens as war enters its third week
Israel will partially resume school in some of the more rural areas of the country starting Monday, the first time children will be in class since the war began with Iran. Schools with sufficient bomb shelters can open in rural areas, especially in the south, which has experienced far fewer missiles.
Schools are still closed in the more-populated parts of Israel’s center, as well as northern Israel, which is experiencing heavy bombardment from Hezbollah.
Iran’s top diplomat says the Strait of Hormuz is open
“It is only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with MS Now on Saturday.
Nearly all shipping is still avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, however, due to security concerns.
Araghchi also dismissed claims that Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is seriously injured.
“They will see soon that there is no problem with the new supreme leader,” Araghchi said. “He is performing his duties according to the constitution, and he will continue to do that.”
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia intercept more Iranian attacks
Kuwait’s armed forces said Saturday evening that the sound of explosions was from ongoing interception efforts, while Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it downed three drones over the Kingdom’s Eastern Province.
There was no immediate word on casualties or damage.
Iran launches missiles at Israel
Israel said it has detected missiles from Iran aimed at northern Israel and is working to intercept them.
Iranians grapple with whether to flee the country because of the war
People, mostly Iranians who crossed from Iran at the Kapikoy border crossing, pull luggage in Turkey’s eastern Van province, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Murat Kocabas)
So far, relatively few people have chosen to leave: The U.N. estimates that only about 1,300 Iranians have fled via neighboring Turkey each day since the war started.
Among them was 32-year-old hairdresser Merve Pourkaz, who spoke to The Associated Press while waiting at an alpine border crossing with Turkey. She decided to go after bombs exploded near her house.
Others are returning from abroad, heading toward the fighting to protect their loved ones and homes.
“How can I feel safe in Istanbul when my family is living in Iran during the war?” said Leila Rabetnezhadfard, 45, who postponed her wedding to a German university professor to go back to Iran.
However, Iran’s neighbors and Europe are growing increasingly concerned about a possible migration crisis should the war drag on, and are making contingency plans.
UK is ‘discussing options’ to help secure Strait of Hormuz
In response to Trump’s calls for countries including the U.K. to send warships to help protect the Strait of Hormuz, the Defense Ministry said Saturday: “We are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.”
It did not provide details.
Drones hit a Kuwaiti military base and wound 3 soldiers
Three members of the Kuwaiti army sustained minor injuries when two drones damaged the Gulf nation’s Ahmed Al-Jaber air base on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Kuwait’s air defense system intercepted another three drones, and two drones fell outside what the ministry called “the threat area” and posed no danger.
Early in the war, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire during an Iranian attack. Kuwait is also where six U.S. soldiers were killed in a drone strike on a command center.
Visiting Lebanon, the UN chief urges Israel and Hezbollah to stop fighting
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in Beirut on Saturday that there is no military solution to the Israel-Hezbollah war and called for diplomacy and full implementation of U.N. resolutions.
He urged the international community to step up efforts to end the conflict.
Lebanon’s death toll from Israel-Hezbollah fighting rises to 826
The Lebanese Health Ministry said Saturday that at least 2,009 people have also been wounded since the latest round of fighting began on March. 2.
The ministry said the dead include 106 children and 65 women.
Trump suggests other countries may provide military support to reopen Strait of Hormuz
The president was spending Saturday morning at his golf club in Florida but posted that, “Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe.”
But it was not clear if that effort was set to begin or if Trump only hoped it might because he also wrote, “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected” will “send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer” be threatened by Iran.
It was the first time Trump has publicly suggested the U.S. may not be able to reopen the waterway on its own, and without international support.
Iran has used the effective closure of the strait to disrupt the world’s energy markets and put pressure on the United States and Israel.
A UN peacekeeper is lightly injured in southern Lebanon
Apparent fire from a heavy machine gun sparked a blaze at the U.N. peacekeeping force position near the village of Mais al-Jabal, and the peacekeeper was hurt on his way to a shelter.
Kandice Ardiel, a spokeswoman for the UNIFIL peacekeeping force, said it launched an investigation and reminds all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers at all times.
U.N. positions in southern Lebanon have been hit several times during exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, including on March 6 when three peacekeepers were wounded at a UNIFIL base.
Iranian state media urges 3 ports in the UAE to evacuate ahead of potential attacks
Mizan, Iran’s official judiciary news agency, claimed without evidence that U.S. forces are located in the civilian ports of Jebel Ali, Khalifa and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates — making the ports “legitimate targets” for Iranian attacks.
The news agency urged people in and around those ports to immediately evacuate, saying the facilities “may be targeted in the coming hours.”
Earlier Saturday, a drone interception sparked a fire near Fujairah’s port but there were no casualties, according to the Fujairah media office.
During the war, Gulf Arab states have faced seemingly unending and occasionally fatal Iranian drone and missile attacks targeting oil fields, cities and critical infrastructure.
Jebel Ali Port in Dubai is the busiest in the Middle East.
Two Indian-flagged tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz
The two ships were carrying liquefied petroleum gas on their way to India, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a briefing Saturday.
He did not specify where the carriers Shivalik and Nanda Devi had departed from.
The crucial strait has been virtually closed because of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Here’s why Iran’s Kharg Island is vital to its oil industry
Kharg Island Terminal is the beating heart of Iran’s oil export system, strategically located in the Persian Gulf. For decades, it has been essential in connecting Iran’s vast oil reserves with the global market.
The infrastructure on Kharg Island is impressive, with massive storage tanks and pipelines built to handle millions of barrels of crude oil daily. Large oil tankers regularly dock there, transporting oil extracted from fields in southwestern Iran. The setup allows Iran to manage its exports efficiently, even when faced with sanctions.
Historically, Kharg Island has been through difficult times, including being targeted during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War due to its critical role in Iran’s economy.
▶ Read more about Iran's strategic islands
Iran launched a wave of missiles Saturday afternoon toward Israel, Iran’s state TV reported
UAE condemns second attack on its consulate in Iraq’s Kurdish region
The attack wounded two security personnel and damaged the building in Iraq’s semiautonomous northern Kurdish region.
It was the second attack on the facility in less than a week, the ministry said in a statement. It called on Iraqi authorities to investigate and hold those responsible to account.
2 tankers are loading oil from Iran’s Kharg Island, a vessel-tracker says
According to TankerTrackers, two tankers were loading oil on Kharg on Saturday, hours after the U.S. said it struck Iranian military facilities there.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says 26 paramedics have been killed by Israeli strikes
Another 51 paramedics and medical workers have been wounded since the latest round of Israel-Hezbollah fighting began on March 2.
The latest strike on Friday night in the southern village of Burj Qalaouiyah hit a health care center, killing 12 people and seriously wounding one. A search is ongoing for four people who are still under the rubble, the ministry said.
The ministry said that Israel has been intentionally targeting medical workers, adding that claims by Israel’s military spokesman that ambulances are being used for military purposes are pretexts to justify the attacks.
Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military Arabic spokesman said Hezbollah is widely using ambulances for military purposes. He said the militant group should stop or the Israeli military will act.
UAE reports drone and missile attacks
Nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones were fired Saturday toward the United Arab Emirates, the Defense Ministry said.
It said the total number of projectiles fired at the country since Feb. 28 included 1,600 drones, 294 ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles. The attacks have killed six people and wounded 141 others, it said.
Iranian lawmaker says Ukraine’s drone support makes it a legitimate war target
In a post on X Saturday, Ebrahim Azizi, the head of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said that by providing drone support to Israel, Ukraine has “effectively become involved in the war.” He said the entire country became a target for Iran.
Iran says US and Israeli strikes damaged about 43,000 residential and commercial units
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said the damaged structures included 36,469 residential units and 6,179 commercial facilities, according to state-run IRNA news agency.
Iran hasn’t provided any information about military losses and damage.
Mohajerani, meanwhile, said the war has taken a heavy toll on women, with 223 women and girls killed and 2,129 others wounded since Feb. 28. She didn’t provide an overall death toll, but previously authorities have said that 1,230 people have been killed.
Fire breaks out near UAE port after drone interception
The fire near Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates broke out Saturday following the drone interception, authorities said.
No casualties were reported from the attack, the Fujairah media office said, adding that firefighters were battling the blaze.
Associated Press footage showed smoke rising Saturday morning over the facility.
Iran says 52 cultural sites damaged in US-Israeli strikes
The sites include museums and historic monuments across Iran, authorities said Saturday.
The Cultural Heritage Ministry said the latest strikes in the city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan province seriously damaged the Asef Mansion, Salar Saeid Mansion and Khosro Abad Mansion, according to Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency.
Some of the sites date back several centuries and are dedicated to Kurdish culture.
France’s president says Paris ready to host direct Israel-Lebanon talks
President Emmanuel Macron posted on X that he spoke with the president, prime minister and parliament speaker of Lebanon, and that everything must be done to prevent the country from sinking into chaos.
Macron added that Hezbollah must immediately halt “its reckless escalation” while Israel must abandon any large-scale offensive and stop its massive airstrikes.
Macron said Lebanese leaders have said they are willing to have direct talks with Israel.
The French leader said Israel must seize this opportunity to launch talks to reach a ceasefire, find a lasting solution, and allow Lebanese authorities to fulfill their commitments in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Friday that he expressed readiness to negotiate with Israel but got no response. Lebanon and Israel remain at a state of war since 1948.
Iranian official says oil operations are normal on Kharg Island after US strikes
“Export and import operations, as well as the activities of companies based on the island, are currently ongoing,” Ehsan Jahaniyan, deputy governor of Bushehr province, was quoted as saying by NourNews, an outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Kharg Island is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports.
Jahaniyan also said that daily life activities were normal, adding that the strikes left no casualties.
Early Saturday, semi-official Fars News Agency reported that the U.S. strikes were limited to military facilities.
Dust storm blows over Gaza as people are urged to protect themselves
A cloud of orange-tinted, thick dust spread across the Gaza Strip on Saturday as first responders told Palestinians to stay home, especially those with respiratory illness.
People were also urged to secure their tents to prevent them from being blown away. Israel’s war with Hamas has left most of Gaza’s 2 million residents displaced, living in tents and damaged buildings with little protection from the elements such as rain, wind and sand.
Videos on Saturday showed tents flapping and trees swaying as cars drove down dust-filled streets with little visibility. While dust storms occur in Gaza, there hasn’t been one this intense in more than five years.
Bahrain reports more missile and drone attacks
Bahrain’s Defense Ministry said Iran fired 10 drones and three missiles on Saturday.
That has brought the total number of missiles and drones fired at Bahrain during the two-week war to 124 and 203, respectively.
Iran threatens to attack UAE cities
Iran’s military command threatened Saturday to attack cities in the United Arab Emirates, claiming they were used by U.S. forces to launch strikes on Iran’s Abu Musa and Kharg islands.
According to Iran’s state television, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said, without providing evidence, that U.S. forces launched attacks on the Islamic Republic from “ports, docks and hideouts within” cities in the Emirates.
It called on people to evacuate “ports, docks and locations where U.S. forces are sheltered in UAE cities.”
An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon kills 4 people
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the airstrike hit an apartment in the southern city of Sidon. It gave no other details.
10 foreigners in UAE are detained over spreading war-related videos on social media
The United Arab Emirates has detained 10 foreigners who allegedly posted footage on social media of missile and drone attacks on the county.
UAE General Prosecutor Hamad Al Shamsi ordered them to remain in detention over accusations of spreading disinformation, some of which included AI-generated videos of purported attacks on UAE landmarks.
He said in a statement that their acts are punishable by imprisonment of at least a year and a fine of at least 100,000 dirhams ($27,230).
6 Iranians from the same family were reported killed in a strike
The airstrike destroyed a residential building early Saturday in the western city of Eyvan, the judiciary’s official news agency Mizan reported, citing local authorities. The dead included a 6-month-old, it said.
At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since the war began Feb. 28, according to Iranian authorities.
Trump says Iran wants a deal ‘but not a deal I would accept!’
Trump wrote in a social media post: “The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal - But not a deal that I would accept!”
Lebanese media report more Israeli attacks
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes Saturday morning on Beirut and the country’s south.
Hamas calls on Iran to stop attacks on Arab countries
The Palestinian militant group also urged regional countries to “cooperate and stop” the U.S. and Israeli assault on Iran.
“While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls upon the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries,” Hamas said in a statement Saturday, its first since the war began on Feb. 28.
The group, which maintains close ties with Iran and Qatar, said stopping the war is in the interest of the region.
Hamas is part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes Iranian-backed militant groups in the Middle East.
Airstrike kills 2 in Baghdad
An airstrike hit a house in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, early Saturday, killing at least one person, according to a security official and another affiliated with the Iranian-backed armed groups in the country.
The strike in Baghdad’s Karrada district also wounded two people, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press.
In a statement, the Iraqi military condemned the strike as “a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and a disregard for international conventions.”
The strike happened before a missile attack hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.
— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Iranian media reports 15 explosions in Kharg following US strikes
Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported at least 15 explosions with thick smoke rising over Kharg Island, earlier hit by U.S. strikes.
It said the strikes targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower, and an offshore oil company’s helicopter hangar, adding no oil infrastructure was damaged in the attack.
Iran reiterates threats to target US-linked oil facilities
Iran’s joint military command reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked oil and energy facilities in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure were hit.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters made the threat early Saturday, according to Iran’s state-run television.
He warned that Iran will target “all oil, economic, and energy infrastructures belonging to oil companies across the region that have American shares or cooperate with America” if energy and economic infrastructure in Iran is attacked.
No comment from US Embassy after strike on Baghdad compound
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after a strike hit it’s compound in the Iraqi capital.
On Friday, the embassy renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups have previously carried out attacks against U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure, and “may continue to target them.”
The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones in the past by Iran-aligned militias.
The groups have recently stepped up attacks on bases hosting U.S. and coalition troops.
A drone strike in northern Iraq on Thursday killed a French soldier and wounded several others stationed there as part of an international coalition.
Missile strikes helipad inside US Embassy compound in Baghdad
A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, two security officials said.
The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries after the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, added the security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak with the press.
Video obtained by The Associated Press showed smoke billowing from inside the compound.
— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra
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