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LAST UPDATE | 4 Mar
Main points
Israel has carried out strikes on dozens of military targets across Tehran, according to the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee.
He said the operation targeted the headquarters of the Basij paramilitary force, which is linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, as well as missile launch sites, air defence systems and what he described as the ground forces’ supply and logistics directorate.
Adraee said the IDF would continue to “intensify” its attacks on what he called the Iranian regime’s infrastructure.
In a new statement published just minutes ago, he issued an “urgent warning” for those in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل للمتواجدين في الضاحية الجنوبية في بيروت وخاصة في حي الليلكي
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 4, 2026
⭕لكل من يتواجد في المبنى المحدد بالأحمر وفق ما يُعرض في الخارطة والمباني المجاورة له: أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت تابعة لحزب الله
⭕من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلاتكم أنتم مضطرون لإخلاء هذه… pic.twitter.com/6M6hXzz1Bx
“For everyone present in the building marked in red as shown on the map and the adjacent buildings: You are located near facilities affiliated with Hezbollah,” the statement reads.
“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you are required to evacuate these buildings immediately and stay away from them by a distance of at least 300 meters as shown on the map.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said this morning that they had launched around 40 missiles at US and Israeli targets.
“Several hours ago, the 17th wave of operation Honest Promise 4 was conducted with the launch of 40 missiles by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace forces, towards American and Zionist targets,” a statement read on state TV said, without giving further details.
The Revolutionary Guards have also claimed they now control the Strait of Hormuz, warning that vessels passing through the vital oil and gas route risk being hit by missiles or stray drones.
A Guards navy official said the waterway was under the “complete control” of Iran’s forces. However, the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, rejected the claim, saying the US had destroyed 17 Iranian ships and that no Iranian vessels were currently operating in the Gulf or the strait.
President Donald Trump has said the US Navy could begin escorting oil tankers if required, as American forces continue a campaign that officials say has struck nearly 2,000 targets inside Iran.
The Government confirmed yesterday that it will charter a flight to evacuate Irish citizens from the Middle East this week.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said the aircraft, with capacity for 280 passengers, will depart from Oman in the coming days, subject to airspace availability.
It will prioritise Irish citizens in the UAE who are non-resident and considered most vulnerable.
Around 23,000 Irish citizens are believed to be in the wider region, including 12,000 in the UAE, with roughly 2,000 people having contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs’ crisis team since Saturday.
McEntee said commercial flights remain the “best and quickest option” where available, though services between Dublin and Middle Eastern hubs have been widely disrupted.
Citizens are advised to shelter in place, monitor airline updates and register with the Department of Foreign Affairs or contact their local Irish embassy.
You can register with the Department online here.
Iran has announced that it will hold a three-day state funeral for former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Saturday.
“Starting at 10pm (6.30pm Irish time), the faithful will be able to pay a final homage to the body of the martyred guide of the nation, by visiting the Imam Khomenei grand mosque” in Tehran, Iran said, citing a statement from the Islamic Development Coordination Council.
Khamenei was 86 years old when he was killed, and will be buried in his home city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
The US and Israeli attacks have killed 787 people in Iran, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.
The US military targeted ballistic missiles and “all the things that can shoot at us” in its attacks on Iran since Saturday, said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command.
Update from CENTCOM Commander on Operation Epic Fury: pic.twitter.com/epEohq64Vf
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 3, 2026
“These forces bring a massive amount of firepower, representing the largest buildup by the US in the Middle East in a generation,” he said in a video message, describing the first day’s barrage as bigger than the so-called “shock and awe” against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 2003.
Trump walked back a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio the day before, who said the US attack’s timing was precipitated by Israel’s plans to strike.
“If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand,” Trump said as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have urged Iranians to rise up, but Trump said regime change was not the goal.
The United States and Israel have received lukewarm support, with Western nations limiting involvement to helping Gulf states and repatriating citizens.
The US President said that two waves of US-Israeli attacks had killed Iranian figures he had eyed as potential new leaders, adding that there had been a “substantial” new attack on a meeting to choose the new leadership.
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” he said. “Now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports.”
Missiles launched from Iran early this morning triggered air raid sirens across large parts of Israel, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The military said it was “operating to intercept the threat”, and the alert was lifted after several minutes with no immediate reports of casualties, though shrapnel caused a fire near Jerusalem, according to Israeli media.
This striking photograph is on the front pages of a number of newspapers this morning.
It shows graves being prepared for the victims – most of them children – of a strike on a girls’ primary school in Iran on Saturday.
The photograph was release by the Iranian government’s foreign media department.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has this morning said that an Emirates flight will depart Dubai for Dublin this evening.
It will carry passengers who had their flights cancelled at the weekend.
Positive development. Emirates have decided to run a flight from Dubai to Dublin later later today. We are in close touch with the airline. They will be in direct contact with passengers
— Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) March 4, 2026
whose flights were cancelled.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he believed that Israeli-US strikes on Iran were not consistent with international law.
“It would appear, prima facie, not to be consistent or to be inconsistent with international law,” Carney told a gathering at the Lowy Institute in Sydney.
Some images are available from the suburbs of Beirut, where Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes targeted buildings outside of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds, killing six people and wounded eight.
Lebanese state media later said Israeli strikes had hit a hotel in the Beirut suburb of Hazmieh, as well as a four-storey building in the eastern city of Baalbek, where five people were reportedly killed.
Sri Lanka rescued 32 “critically wounded” sailors aboard the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, which sank this morning just outside the island’s territorial waters, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.
No information was immediately available on the cause of the explosion that sank the vessel, but Herath told parliament that the injured sailors were taken to a hospital in the island’s south.
The 180-crew frigate had issued a distress call at dawn.
Sri Lanka’s defence ministry said it was searching for the other crew of the IRIS Dena, which went down about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the island.
“We are keeping up a search, but we don’t know yet what happened to the rest of the crew,” an official told AFP, dimming prospects for finding any more survivors.
Herath said two Sri Lankan navy vessels and an aircraft were deployed for the rescue operation, but did not say what caused the Iranian warship to sink.
An opposition legislator asked in parliament whether the vessel had been bombed as part of the ongoing US-Israeli attacks against Iran, but there was no immediate response from the government.
Navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath said their operation was in line with Sri Lanka’s maritime obligations and that 32 Iranian sailors were evacuated to the main hospital in Galle, 115 kilometres (70 miles) south of the capital Colombo.
Both Sri Lanka’s navy and the air force said they were not releasing footage of the rescue because it involved the military of another state.
Police stepped up security outside the Galle hospital as the wounded Iranians were brought there by the local navy.
The Israeli military said it had begun a fresh wave of strikes on Tehran today.
“The Israeli Air Force has begun a broad scale strikes targeting Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran, details to follow,” the army said in a brief statement on Telegram.
Earlier, the IDF shared information on their strikes on the Basij and internal security command centers in Tehran, which they said “belong to the Iranian terror regime.”
⭕️The IDF has carried out a series of strikes on the Basij and internal security command centers in Tehran belonging to the Iranian terror regime.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 4, 2026
The targeted command centers were used by the Iranian regime to maintain control throughout Iran.
The IDF also struck the regime’s… pic.twitter.com/nvlq72W6vJ
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index tumbled more than 12 percent this morning as the ongoing Middle East turmoil sparked a prolonged sell-off across world markets.
The Kospi dropped 12.6 percent to 5,065.14 in early afternoon trade, as investors globally ran to the hills in the wake of the US-Israel bombing of Iran that has sparked fears of a region-wide war.
That came after it had tumbled 7.2 percent yesterday, meaning it has suffered its worst two-day performance since 2008 during the global financial crisis, according to Bloomberg data.
The crisis has sent the price of oil surging more than 10 percent this week, fanning inflation fears and raising concerns among export-dependent economies.
South Korea is the fourth-largest importer of crude oil in the world, according to US government figures, and relies heavily on fuel shipped from the Middle East.
The Kospi had soared more than 50 percent this year – having hit multiple records – as the rush to snap up all things linked to artificial intelligence boosted tech firms, particularly chip makers Samsung and SK hynix.
Here, the Iseq index of Irish shares was down 2.65pc by yesterday’s close, though no fall off has been recorded as of this morning.
Wall Street stocks tumbled early yesterday, joining a global sell-off.
About 20 minutes into trading on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.2 percent at 47,837.16.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.9 percent to 6,749.42, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 2.0 percent to 22,300.67.
US stocks also opened decisively lower on Monday but strengthened throughout the day as investors appeared to bet on a fairly quick resolution that wouldn’t lead to a sustained hike in energy prices.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez delivered what amounted to a stunning rebuke to US President Donald Trump, declaring: “No to war,” in response to the escalating Middle East conflict.
Sánchez said Spain’s position was “clear and consistent”, the same stance it had taken over Ukraine and Gaza, opposing “the breakdown of international law that protects us all” and the idea that “the world can only solve its problems through conflicts and bombs”.
Drawing comparisons with the Iraq war, he warned against “repeating the mistakes of the past” and added: “You cannot play Russian roulette with the destiny of millions.”
He also said Spain would “not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation”.
His remarks come a day after Trump threatened to halt all trade with Spain after Madrid barred the US from using its military bases for operations linked to Iran.
Trump said Spain had been “terrible” and suggested he could “stop everything having to do with Spain”, though it remains unclear how such a move could be implemented given Spain’s EU membership and existing trade agreements.
Iran has no intention of negotiating with the United States and can continue the Middle East war for as long as needed, Mohammad Mokhber, a senior aide to the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told state TV.
He told the broadcaster that Iran had “no trust in the Americans and we have no basis for any negotiations with them”
“We can continue the war as long as we want,” Mokhber added.
The Israeli military said this morning that one of its F-35I ‘Adir’ fighter jets shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 aircraft over Tehran a short time earlier.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it marks the first time in history that an F-35 has downed a manned fighter jet.
In a separate statement, the IDF said it had carried out a broad wave of overnight airstrikes across Iran, targeting dozens of sites it described as regime infrastructure.
Among the locations hit was a Ghadr missile storage, production and launch facility in Isfahan, which the military said was struck to reduce ballistic missile launches.
The IDF said it also hit air defence systems and had expanded its aerial control over Iranian airspace, adding that operations against what it called regime infrastructure would continue “wherever required” to prevent threats against Israel.
Qatar’s state energy firm, QatarEnergy, has said this morning that it would halt some downstream production, just one day after suspending liquefied natural gas (LNG) output following Iranian attacks on two gas processing facilities.
In addition to LNG, the company said it was stopping production of products including urea, polymers, methanol and aluminium.
The knock-on effects could be significant.
Qatar is one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, and disruptions can tighten global gas supplies, pushing up electricity and heating costs in Europe and Asia.
Urea is a key component in nitrogen-based fertilisers, meaning any prolonged outage could affect agricultural production and food prices worldwide.
As well as agriculture possibly taking a hit, polymers and methanol are widely used in plastics, packaging, construction materials and manufacturing supply chains.
Aluminium is critical for industries ranging from aviation and automotive production to food packaging and consumer electronics.
Tracking information is now available for an Emirates flight from Dubai to Dublin, which is expected to take hundreds of Irish people home later today.
The flight is due to depart Dubai International Airport at 6pm local time (2pm Irish time), and will arrive in Ireland at 10.15pm.
It is not yet clear how the roughly 280 seats on Boeing 777-300ER twin-jet commercial plane will be allocated.
Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said that Emirates “will be in direct contact with passengers whose flights were cancelled”.
It’s believed to be the first commercial flight to Ireland since the war in Iran began on Saturday.
Lebanese state media has reported that the Israeli army entered the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, about six kilometres from the Lebanon-Israel border.
“The town of Khiam is witnessing continuous artillery shelling, while the Israeli enemy army penetrated into the town,” state media said.
The news comes as Hezbollah confirmed it had targeted the headquarters of Israel Aerospace Industries, in central Israel, overnight with a drone attack while also saying it launched a missile at a drone control base.
In a statement, the pro-Iran group said it had “struck the headquarters of the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) company in central occupied Palestine with a swarm of attack drones” at 2:00 am (midnight Irish time) this morning, “in response to the criminal Israeli aggression that targeted dozens of Lebanese cities and towns”.
In a separate statement Hezbollah said it had struck a “drone control base” in northern Israel with a “precision-guided missile” shortly before dawn.
The Israeli military has told residents living south of Lebanon’s Litani river to immediately head north, warning that the army was “compelled to take military action” against Hezbollah in the area.
“For your own protection, you must vacate your homes immediately. Anyone located near Hezbollah operatives, facilities, or weapon is putting their life at risk,” one of the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.
#عاجل ‼️تحذير عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 4, 2026
🔸إنّ أنشطة حزب الله الإرهابي تُجبر جيش الدفاع على العمل ضده بالقوة. جيش الدفاع لا ينوي إلحاق الأذى بكم.
🔸حرصًا على سلامتكم، عليكم إخلاء منازلكم فورًا. كل من يتواجد بالقرب من عناصر حزب الله أو منشآته أو وسائله القتالية يعرّض حياته للخطر.… pic.twitter.com/4yVqByIonw
Adraee added that “any building or home utilised by Hezbollah for military purposes is a legitimate target and may be engaged.”
“Residents of southern Lebanon – you must move immediately to areas north of the Litani River,” the post said.
The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defence has said that their air defences intercepted three ballistic missiles and 121 of 129 drones during an attack today, with eight drones reaching Emirati territory.
Since the conflict began, the ministry said 189 ballistic missiles have been detected, 175 destroyed (13 falling into the sea and one striking Emirati soil), alongside 941 drones of which 876 were intercepted and 65 landed in the country.
Eight cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed.
The ministry reported three civilian fatalities and 78 minor injuries of mixed nationalities, and acknowledged minor to moderate damage to civilian properties.
It condemned the attacks as a violation of sovereignty and international law, saying it remains on “high alert” and will take all necessary measures to protect the security and stability of the United Arab Emirates.
The government of Iran said it was trying to swiftly appoint a new supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes over the weekend.
“We are all trying,” said Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts for Leadership which is responsible for selecting a new leader.
“God willing, the leader will be appointed at the earliest opportunity. We are close, but the situation is a war situation,” he told state TV.
Earlier this morning, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that any Iranian leader picked to succeed Khamenei “will be a certain target for assassination”.
Qatar’s military said it was targeted “at dawn today, by 10 drones and 2 cruise missiles coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” with all of the projectiles intercepted by its forces.
Iran has announced that a state funeral for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which had been planned for this evening in Tehran, was postponed “in anticipation of unprecedented turnout,” state television reported.
“The farewell ceremony for the martyred Imam has been postponed. The new date will be announced later,” Iranian television reported today, after Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes over the weekend.
Sri Lanka’s navy has recovered “a few bodies” of Iranian sailors on board a frigate that sank off the country’s southern coast after what crew members reported as an explosion, a spokesman said.
“We have found a few bodies from the area where the ship had gone down,” local navy spokesman Buddhika Sampath told reporters in Colombo, adding that the search for others was continuing.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told parliament earlier today that 180 people were aboard the IRIS Dena, which sank after issuing a distress message following an apparent explosion.
A missile launched from Iran, heading towards Turkish airspace through Iraq and Syria, has been destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said.
“A ballistic munition launched from Iran, which was detected passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace and heading towards Turkish airspace, was engaged in a timely manner by NATO air and missile defence assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean and rendered inactive,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
Consumers have reported massive hikes in the cost of home heating oil while anxiety surrounds fuel prices at the pumps. Increases of up to 16 cent per litre for motor fuel have been reported.
The Irish Road Haulage Association has warned diesel prices are likely to reach and surpass €2 per litre, and has urged the government to introduce temporary supports for operators.
Emma Hickey reports on how high fuel prices could go.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended the UK’s approach to the US-Israeli war on Iran, saying his government would act with “clarity, purpose and a cool head”.
“What I was not prepared to do on Saturday was for the UK to join a war unless I was satisfied there was a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan. That remains my position.”
The UK is sending a destroyer to support its airbase in Cyrpus, which has been targeted with Iranian drones.
A container ship has been struck off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime security agency reported.
The ship was two nautical miles north of Oman, “transiting eastbound in the Straits of Hormuz” when it was “hit by an unknown projectile just above the water line causing a fire in the engine room,” according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
It is the fourth reported attack in regional waters within the last 24 hours, after projectiles struck on or near three other vessels off the Emirati and Omani coasts.
Qatar’s state-run energy firm has announced it cannot fulfill commitments following attacks on two of its main facilities that halted liquefied natural gas production.
“Further to the announcement by QatarEnergy to stop production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and associated products, QatarEnergy has declared Force Majeure to its affected buyers,” the company said in a statement.
Nato has condemned Iran’s “targeting” of Turkey, a member of the military alliance, after Ankara said a missile heading towards its airspace had been destroyed by Nato defence systems.
“We condemn Iran’s targeting of Turkiye. NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkiye, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region,” Nato spokeswoman Allison Hart said.
“Our deterrence and defence posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defence,” she added.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said they targeted armed opposition groups in the autonomous Kurdish region of neighbouring Iraq.
“Bases and headquarters of Komala and anti-revolutionary groups were hit with success by three missilies,” the IRGC said in a statement.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed that an American submarine sank the Iranian frigate in the Indian Ocean.
“It was sunk by a torpedo, quiet death,” Hegseth said.
Nearly 150 people are missing and several are dead following the sinking of the vessel off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 sailors from the frigate IRIS Dena but hopes are fading for 148 other sailors, the country’s foreign minister and defence officials said.
BREAKING: U.S. defence secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. and Israel will have 'complete control of Iranian skies in under a week'.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 4, 2026
Iran latest: https://t.co/MSOfDN6aRq
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/XXJxSYdJ23
Pete Hegseth is now addressing media from the Pentagon.
Hegesth says “Iran cannot outlast us” and that the US will “set the tone and tempo of this fight”.
“The only limits we have in this is President Trump’s desire to achieve specific effects on behalf of the American people.
“It could be 6, 8, 3 weeks. Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off-balance and we’re going to keep them off-balance.”
Hegseth says the US has tens of thousands of ammunitions and “can drop unlimited supplies”.
“When we say the throttle is going up, it’s going up and it’s going to stay on high,” says Hegesth, bringing his remarks to a close.
Turkey meanwhile has said in the past half hour that it was “not a target” of a missile launched from Iran.
That missile was heading toward Turkish airspace that was destroyed by NATO air-defence systems, a Turkish official said.
“We believe it aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course,” the official said wishing to remain anonymous.
Hezbollah has said it has struck two Israeli military vehicles in the southern Lebanese village of Houla, as Israel’s army reportedly advances over the border.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it struck an armoured personnel carrier in Houla with “appropriate weapons, achieving a direct hit”.
In a separate statement, Hezbollah said it had also struck a Merkava tank in Houla “achieving a direct hit”.
Hegseth was asked by the BBC if there is any more information on the bombing of a girls school in Minab, which has killed at least 153 people, including many children.
“All I can say is that we’re investigating that,” says Hegseth.
“We of course never target civilian targets but we’re taking a look and investigating that.”
Asked for further information on whose munition it was that struck the school, Hegseth replied: “We’re investigating”.
While US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has finished a briefing from the Pentagon, he is still speaking to some reporters.
The BBC reports that Hegseth remarked: “Iran tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh”.
He said that yesterday, the US “hunted down and killed” the “leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump”.
Speaking earlier, Hegseth said: “They are toast, and they know it.”
He adds that US forces have begun to “hunt, dismantle, demoralise, destroy and defeat” the regime’s capabilities and that Iranian leaders will look up and only see “US and Israeli air power” until US and Israel decide the war is over.
Sri Lanka’s deputy foreign minister has told local TV that at least 80 people were killed after the strike in the Indian Ocean.
A spokesperson from Sri Lanka’s navy has said that according to the documentation of the ship, 180 people are believed to have been on board.
Earlier, Sri Lanka’s navy confirmed it rescued 32 people after it received a distress call from Iranian navy ship “Iris Dena”.
If these figures are correct, then there are 68 people unaccounted for.
The Reuters news agency is reporting that an Iranian armed forces spokesperson said Iran will target Israeli embassies worldwide if Israel attacks the Iranian embassy in the capital of Lebanon, Beirut.
Hezbollah earlier said it has struck two Israeli army vehicles in south Lebanon and the Israeli military has just said anti-tank fire injured two of its soldiers.
“Earlier today, two IDF soldiers were moderately injured as a result of an anti-tank fire toward IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement, adding they had been evacuated to hospital for treatment.
Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews has said that the close to 300 Irish troops in south Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL mission are “now in clear danger”.
It comes amid fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF in the region.
“The IDF seems out of control, demanding that all Lebanese residents leave the area or risk their lives,” said Andrews.
“The Israeli government must ensure the safety of all UN troops in south Lebanon.
“The EU must hold Israel accountable for any threats to their safety.
“All sides must adhere to UN resolution 1701 and deescalate immediately.”
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, stipulates that only the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers should be deployed in south Lebanon.
Hezbollah has said it has targeted an Israeli military base near Tel Aviv in central Israel and a naval base in Haifa in the north with swarms of attack drones.
The announcements came shortly after Israel activated air raid sirens following what it said were launches from Iran and Lebanon.
The Israeli military said “several launches… from Lebanon toward Israeli territory were successfully intercepted after sirens sounded in central Israel”.
Elsewhere, new blasts have been heard overhead in Jerusalem in the past few minutes, after the Israeli military warned of incoming Iranian missiles.
The blasts came around two hours after a previous salvo of missiles was detected and sirens blared.
Next stop Dubai… 🛫
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) March 4, 2026
A very welcome sight at Dublin Airport this afternoon as Emirates flight EK162 departed just after 1.30pm bound for Dubai - the first departure from Ireland to the Middle East since Saturday. pic.twitter.com/hgR1POKbTD
The recently renamed US ‘Department of War’ has released a video of an Iranian navy ship being struck in international waters in the Indian Ocean.
https://t.co/PiqQpVIrMu pic.twitter.com/Wc1e0B0um7
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) March 4, 2026
Sri Lanka’s navy has recovered 87 bodies of sailors from an Iranian warship that was sunk by a US submarine off the island’s southern coast, police and defence officials said.
“We have collected 87 bodies, and a search is still on for the others who are still missing,” a navy official said on condition of anonymity.
Police and navy spokesmen said 61 sailors were still missing. Some 32 have been rescued and are being treated at a hospital in the city of Galle, according to officials.
Some further info for Irish citizens in the UAE.
— Irish Embassy UAE (@IrelandEmbUAE) March 4, 2026
The Israeli Air Force has said it has fired over 5,000 munitions and that “Air Force fighter jets continue to deepen air superiority across all of Iran, with an emphasis on the Tehran area”.
This video is described by the a “missile’s eye view from a strike carried out to destroy an air defense system of the Iranian terror regime in Tehran”.
תיעוד נוסף מעין הטיל: חיל-האוויר תקף עם יותר מ-5,000 חימושים באיראן מתחילת המבצע
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 4, 2026
מטוסי קרב של חיל-האוויר ממשיכים להעמיק את העליונות האווירית בכל רחבי איראן, בדגש על מרחב טהרן.
צה"ל חושף כעת תיעוד נוסף מתוך עין הטיל, מתקיפה שבוצעה להשמדת מערכת הגנה של משטר הטרור האיראני בטהרן. pic.twitter.com/bs1CuQInO8
A UNIFIL source has said Israeli forces have entered several Lebanese villages.
Oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has plunged by 90% since the outbreak of US-Israeli attacks on Iran, the energy market intelligence firm Kpler has said.
Iranian military officials have said they have completely choked off traffic though the waterway that a fifth of the world’s crude oil supplies transit, but Kpler said some are risking the trip.
“Unlike several other vessel segments where movements have largely ceased, some tankers are still travelling east and west through the strait, with a number of voyages occurring under AIS blackouts,” said Kpler Principal Freight Analyst Matt Wright, referring to the marine traffic tracking system.
Tanker traffic through Strait of Hormuz down by 90%
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) March 4, 2026
Analysis of vessel activity indicates tanker transits are now around 90% lower than last week. Matt Wright, Principal Freight Analyst at Kpler, explains: "Unlike several other vessel segments where movements have largely… pic.twitter.com/JIhFoAkQKO
Speaking to the media in Government Buildings this afternoon, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said that a second commercial flight, similar to the one that is enroute to Dublin right now, will depart from Dubai tomorrow.
Other flights, which have Irish citizens on board, will also be departing to cities such as London.
Further to that she confirmed that the government’s charter flight that it has arranged will take off at the “end of the week”. The government is also providing buses to get people to the charter flight in Oman.
Images, confirmed by Reuters, of people near an Iranian missile which has fallen in Qamishli, a city in north-eastern Syria, near Turkey.
It’s not known exactly when the missile came down.
Turkey earlier said said Nato air defences shot down an Iranian missile heading to their air space.
People stand next to an Iranian missile after it fell near Qamishli International Airport, in Syria on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/XQoj45bfqG
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) March 4, 2026
In a phone call just now with Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Qatar’s prime minister urged an “immediate halt” to Iranian attacks.
Some more info from the phone call between Qatar’s Prime Minister and Iran’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Qatar’s PM has refuted Iran’s claims that it has only targeted US assets in Qatar and added that Iran is seeking to “harm its neighbours and drag them into a war”.
Turkey has summoned the Iranian ambassador after a ballistic missile launched from Iran headed toward its airspace, a diplomatic source said.
“The Iranian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry, and we conveyed our reaction and concerns over the incident,” the source said.
Turkish officials said the missile was destroyed by NATO air-defence systems.
More info now available on Qatar prime minister’s phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister.
Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held a call with Abbas Araghchi, as Iran pressed its missile and drone campaign against Gulf states including Qatar.
Sheikh Mohammed urged “an immediate halt to these attacks”, according to a statement by Qatar’s foreign ministry and accused Tehran of seeking to “harm its neighbours and drag them into a war that is not theirs”.
The Qatari prime minister said Iran had “struck civilian and residential areas within the State of Qatar” despite Araghchi’s assertion “the Iranian missile attacks were directed at American interests and did not target the State of Qatar”.
Danish shipping giant Maersk has announced it is suspending bookings in the Gulf “until further notice” following a risk assessment of the evolving situation there, as the Middle East conflict spreads.
“We are temporarily suspending cargo booking acceptance in and out of UAE, Oman (all ports apart from Salalah), Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia (Dammam and Jubail only) until further notice. This is with immediate notice. Exceptions will be made for critical foodstuff, medicine and other essential goods,” Maersk said in a statement.
The company added that the measure does not apply to Jordan and Lebanon. Two of its vessels are currently in the Gulf.
Israel has said it struck a major Iranian military compound in Tehran housing command centres of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite Quds Force and the Basij paramilitary force.
“A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force, precisely guided by IDF intelligence, completed a wide-scale strike targeting a large… military compound in eastern Tehran” that contained “headquarters of all of the Iranian security organisations”, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Other Iranian security agencies at the compound included Iran’s intelligence directorate, internal security forces and Iran’s cyber warfare unit, the military said.
As Israel advances into south Lebanon, Oxfam has said 31,000 people have been forcibly displaced as a result.
It said it expects this number to “grow significantly after forced displacement orders for 84 communities today”.
“A large focus of Oxfam’s response will be on supporting people currently sheltering in collective centres, providing hygiene and menstrual hygiene management kits, bedding kits, and water,” added a spokesperson.
Graphic posted in past half hour by the Ministry of Defence of the United Arab Emirates, showing the number of missiles it has detected and intercepted.
In a post on X, Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani has asked: “Does America still come first – or Israel?”
He said Trump has “dragged the American people into an unjust war with Iran as a result of Netanyahu’s vile impulses and his clownish actions”.
He also claims over “500 American troops killed in these few days”.
“Is the slogan still ‘America First,’ or has it become ‘Israel First’?”
Trump yesterday claimed that he “might have forced Israel’s hand” in striking Iran.
Meanwhile, there have only been six confirmed US casualties so far from the war with Iran.
أدخل ترامب الشعب الأمريكي في حرب ظالمة مع إيران نتيجة اندفاعات نتنياهو وتصرفاته الهزلية. فليحاسب نفسه اليوم: بعد سقوط أكثر من 500 قتيل من القوات الأمريكية خلال هذه الأيام القليلة، هل ما زال الشعار «أمريكا أولاً»، أم أصبح «إسرائيل أولاً»؟ ۱/۲
— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir) March 4, 2026
The leader of Hezbollah is due to speak to the media at 7pm Irish time, according to the group.
It comes as Israeli forces push further into south Lebanon.
An explosion has rocked a city in Iran’s western Kurdistan province.
Huge columns of smoke rose over the city of Baneh in the morning, according to the verified images.
Videos shared of the explosion on social media said it hit a base belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran “strived through diplomacy to avoid war, but the American-Zionist military aggression has left us no choice but to defend ourselves”.
In a post on X aimed at neighbouring countries, Pezeshkian adds: “We respect your sovereignty, and we believe that the security and stability of the region must be achieved through the collective efforts of its states.”
He adds that the “region’s peace must be ensured by the countries of the region”.
روسای محترم کشورهای دوست و همسایه ما کوشیدیم با کمک شما و از طریق دیپلماسی از جنگ اجتناب کنیم اما حمله نظامی آمریکایی صهیونی هیچ راه دیگری جز دفاع از خود برای ما باقی نگذاشت ما به حاکمیت شما احترام میگذاریم و هنوز هم معتقدیم آرامش منطقه باید به دست کشورهای منطقه تامین شود https://t.co/6s6dYepSmv
— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) March 4, 2026
Lebanon has said Israeli strikes on the country have killed 72 people since Monday.
The country also says more than 83,000 people have been displaced by the strikes.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah says its fighters are engaged in “direct” clashes with Israeli troops in Lebanon.
The Israeli military has said it detected new missiles launched from Iran.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel”, the military said in a statement, adding aerial defence was working to intercept them.
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) today launched an emergency response in Lebanon, following the displacement of tens of thousands of people as a result of the intense Israeli airstrikes.
It deployed a mobile clinic providing medical consultations and psychological first aid in Saida, southern Lebanon, where some shelters have exceeded capacity.
It also started providing shelters in Beirut with clean water and conducting assessments in Beirut, Rashaya and other areas to scale up mobile clinics and supplies.
Displaced people are arriving with the most basic needs, relief items, water, and safe shelter.
It also warned that “evacuation orders” of entire swathes of southern Lebanon are “yet again forcing families to flee, often with nowhere safe to go”.
According to Hezbollah, the “direct” clashes between Israeli forces and the group are taking place in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, located about six kilometres from the border.
This is the first claim of a direct confrontation between the two sides since the war started on Monday.
The pro-Iran group said in a statement: “After monitoring the movements of an Israeli enemy army force that tried to advance inside the town of Khiam, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance detonated an explosive device and engaged in direct clashes with the force”.
The IDF has shared a map of the Iranian military compound it claims to have struck in eastern Tehran, which it said housed command centres of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite Quds Force and the Basij paramilitary force.
🎯STRUCK: A large Iranian terror regime military compound in eastern Tehran.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 4, 2026
Struck command centers in the compound include:
* The IRGC headquarters
* The Intelligence Directorate headquarters
* The ‘Basij’ headquarters
* The 'Quds Force' headquarters
* The Internal Security… pic.twitter.com/XBvXqks29R
More than 17,500 American citizens have returned to the US from the Middle East since 28 February, according to US State Department official Dylan Johnson.
Over 8,500 US citizens returned yesterday alone, he said.
Since February 28, over 17,500 American citizens have returned to the United States from the Middle East — with over 8,500 American citizens returning to the U.S. yesterday alone.
— Dylan Johnson (@ASDylanJohnson) March 4, 2026
Many more Americans have left the Middle East to other countries in Europe and Asia, and others…
Iraq’s electricity ministry has said the entire country has been affected by a total power outage, without identifying the cause.
“The power grid has completely shut down across all Iraqi provinces,” the ministry said, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
It added that it was looking to determine the cause of the blackout, and had begun restoring power stations and transmission lines.
Parts of the country have come under repeated attack since the war between Israel, the US and Iran broke out on Saturday.
AFP journalists in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, have reported hearing new explosions.
One journalist said loud bangs were mostly heard near Erbil airport, which hosts US-led coalition troops.
Drones have repeatedly been intercepted over the city, which is also home to a major US consulate complex, since the US-Israel-Iran war began.
Two drones have been shot down near Baghdad’s international airport, hours after a similar attack on the facility.
“Two drones were downed near Baghdad airport, with no casualties or material damage reported,” an Iraqi security source said. Another security source in Baghdad confirmed the incident.
The airport includes a military base that hosts a US diplomatic facility and previously housed US-led coalition troops.
The UK’s defence ministry has said a drone that struck its RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus on Monday was not fired from Iran.
It described the drone as “Shahed-like”, referring to the drones that are manufactured both in Iran and in Russia. The latter deploys them frequently in Ukraine.
The ministry said Royal Navy helicopters will arrive in Cyprus in the coming days to defend the base against further aerial threats.
Update on UK operations in the Middle East: 04 March 2026 ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LkE1D4Fuek
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 4, 2026
Iran’s military has threatened to target Israeli embassies worldwide if Israel were to attack Tehran’s mission in Lebanon.
You can read more here.
With an Emirates flight carrying Irish citizens from Dubai due to land in Dublin later tonight, an Emirates flight also took off from Dublin Airport bound for Dubai earlier today.
It’s the first departure from Ireland to the Middle East since Saturday.
Next stop Dubai… 🛫
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) March 4, 2026
A very welcome sight at Dublin Airport this afternoon as Emirates flight EK162 departed just after 1.30pm bound for Dubai - the first departure from Ireland to the Middle East since Saturday. pic.twitter.com/hgR1POKbTD
The IDF has said Israeli troops from three divisions, including infantry, armoured and engineering units are operating inside southern Lebanon.
“Troops from the 91st Division are operating in the east of southern Lebanon, troops from the 210th Division are operating in the Mount Dov area, and troops from the 146th Division are operating in the west of southern Lebanon,” the military said.
Video footage shared by the military showed soldiers carrying large backpacks and sleeping mats, as well as tanks manoeuvring in south Lebanon.
תיעוד ראשון מנקודות האחיזה של צה״ל במרחב דרום לבנון: פיקוד הצפון מעמיק את ההגנה בגזרה הצפונית
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 4, 2026
לכל הפרטים:https://t.co/fEgBRWxThb pic.twitter.com/Af8heD7qfP
UNIFIL reiterates its call to all actors to exercise maximum restraint and redouble efforts to prevent the current situation from spiraling out of control.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) March 4, 2026
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said it notes “with serious concern” the IDF’s statement telling civilian populations to evacuate north of the Litani River.
The Litani enters the Mediterranean sea is just south of the historic city of Tyre and is generally accepted as the entrance to South Lebanon.
There are more than 300 Irish soldiers based at various locations in the South on UNIFIL peacekeeping operations near the cities of At Tiri and Bint Jbeil.
In a statement, UNIFIL said it observed new rounds of rockets and missiles from Lebanese territory into Israel in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.
“Within the area of operations, peacekeepers observed today several IDF movements and military activities, including near El Khiam, Beit Lif, Yaroun, Houla, Kfar Kila, Kherbeh and Kfar Shouba. All of these are happening while Israeli airstrikes and other air activities continue,” it said.
These not only violate Resolution 1701, but also Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
UNIFIL said its peacekeepers remain on the ground and on task in south Lebanon and along the Blue Line, which is an agreed demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel.
“Given the complexity of the situation, they have adapted their activities in support of Resolution 1701, including, where possible, facilitation of humanitarian support and protection of civilians. The mission’s civilian footprint will be adjusted accordingly.
“UNIFIL reiterates its call to all actors to exercise maximum restraint and redouble efforts to prevent the current situation from spiraling out of control.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has been taking questions from US reporters in the last few minutes.
She began by saying that under Donald Trump’s leadership, “the rogue Iranian terrorist regime is being absolutely crushed”.
“Iran’s murderous terorrist leaders are paying for their crimes against America, and they are paying in blood,” she said.
You can watch the briefing below:
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, Mar. 4, 2026 https://t.co/vN1LnnUiuD
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 4, 2026
Leavitt says the US has destroyed more than 20 Iranian ships, including the frigate that was sunk by a US submarine near Sri Lanka.
She said US forces have struck more than 2,000 targets, “destroying hundreds and hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones”.
She repeats a claim by the Department of War that the US expects to have “complete and total dominace” over Iranian airspace “in the coming hours”.
Leavitt said Donald Trump will attend a ceremony marking the return of US troops killed during the war on Iran.
“President Trump intends to attend the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families,” she said, adding that no date had yet been announced.
Donald Trump is “actively considering” a US role in Iran after the American-Israeli operation against the country concludes, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
“I think it’s something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team,” she said when asked about any post-war US role.
The Israeli military has said that its strikes on Iran’s missile launchers has led to a daily decline in the number of missiles the Islamic republic was firing at Israel.
“We’ve neutralised around 300 ballistic missile launchers. We believe our operations against those missile launchers and against those stockpiles are an integral part of the fact that we’re seeing the amounts of missiles fired every day diminish,” military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.
The Emirates flight carrying Irish citizens from Dubai to Dublin is expected to land at around 10.55pm.
The plan had been due to arrive closer to 10pm, but was delayed taking off.
There are around 400 people on board the flight, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee.
Our reporter Sophie Finn will be at Dublin Airport when the flight lands.
The Emirates flight from Dubai is minutes away from landing at Dublin Airport.
Our reporter Sophie Finn is there. She will have an article on our site in the next few hours after the plane lands.
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