US & ‘Israel’ at war with Iran | Day 18 coverage
The 2026 war between ‘Israel’, the United States, and Iran started on February 28 with the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a joint US-‘Israeli’ military campaign. Nearly 900 coordinated strikes were executed within the initial 12 hours, targeting Iranian missile systems, air defenses, military infrastructure, and senior leadership figures across multiple sites.
The operation resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and numerous other high-ranking officials, with explicit objectives of preventing nuclear weapon development, dismantling ballistic missile capabilities, and advancing leadership change.
Iran initiated large-scale retaliatory missile and drone attacks against ‘Israeli’ settlements, US bases, and allied targets throughout the Middle East.
The escalation also encompassed disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian forces shut it down; heightening risks to global energy supplies.
Subsequent phases featured intensified ‘Israeli’ airstrikes on Iranian fuel depots and energy facilities in Tehran and surrounding provinces, complemented by US efforts to neutralize naval assets and remaining missile infrastructure.
The war produced over 2,000 reported deaths across Iran, ‘Israel’, and Lebanon.
Economic effects have included sharp increases in oil prices and interruptions to international shipping, prompting releases from strategic petroleum reserves to stabilize markets.
Sirens sound to announce end of alert period
Sirens sound announcing the end of the alert period in Jordan.
VIDEO - ‘Israel’ says killed Iran's intelligence minister
‘Israeli’ Defence Minister Israel Katz says that ‘Israeli’ forces had killed Iran's Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib.
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Iran confirms Ali Larijani killed
Iran confirmed that the country’s security chief Ali Larijani has been killed, after ‘Israel’ announced earlier it targeted him in an airstrike, according to a statement by Iran’s National Security Council.
USS Gerald R. Ford to leave Red Sea for repairs: report
US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is preparing to leave the Red Sea to undergo repairs in the US Navy base on a Greek island after a fire that required several hours of putting out, according to USNI News.
The aircraft carrier will travel to Souda Bay on the island of Crete for repairs that will last for more than a week, according to the report citing a senior US official.
The fire occurred on March 12 in aft laundry facility, and it resulted in “major damage control” that displaced US troops on the carrier and disrupted operations on the ship.
USNI news added that one sailor was medically evacuated after being injured while controlling the fire. The report said he was in stable condition.
Two others were also treated for lacerations.
“The ship's force is inspecting and overhauling affected spaces, and the cause of the fire is under investigation,” a spokesperson for US 5th Fleet told USNI News in a statement.
“The ship continues to operate in the Red Sea, accomplishing US Central Command tasking in support of Operation Epic Fury.”
The report also contrasted another one by the New York Times, which said the fire lasted for 30 hours.
“One source told USNI News that the damage control efforts, like ensuring the fire had not spread, lasted for more than a day,” USNI news said.
All-clear sirens sound across Jordan
All-clear sirens sound across Jordan
Sirens activated in Jordan amid danger
Sirens activated in Jordan amid danger
‘Israel’ vows to track down & “neutralize” Mojtaba Khamenei
The ‘Israeli’ military said Tuesday that it would hunt down Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
"We don't know about Mojtaba Khamenei, we don't hear him, we don't see him, but I can tell you one thing: we will track him down, find him, and neutralise him," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin told reporters.
VIDEO - Interceptions over Baghdad's Green Zone following attack on US embassy
Images show air defence systems in action over Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, which houses the US embassy.
Several loud explosions were heard Tuesday evening in Iraq's capital Baghdad, AFP journalists reported, with a security official reporting a drone and rocket attack on the US embassy.
VIDEO - Missile interceptions seen from Amman
Missile interceptions seen over Jordan’s capital Amman in the evening; after alarm sirens went off due to a new salvo from Iran.
Iran confirms Basij chief killed in ‘Israeli’ strike
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday confirmed the death of the commander of the affiliated Basij paramilitary force in an US-‘Israeli’ strike.
"Commander Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij Organization, has been martyred," the Guards said on their Sepah News website, after ‘Israel’ said it had killed him in an air strike.
Iran speaker says Hormuz won't return to pre-war status
Iran's parliament speaker on Tuesday warned that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would not resume on the same terms even after the current conflict is over.
"The Strait of Hormuz situation won't return to its pre-war status," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, in an English-language social media post.
Iran-backed group demands every “foreign soldier” leave Iraq
Powerful Iran-backed armed group Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq demanded late Tuesday that every "foreign soldier" leave the country, its security chief said.
"Iraq's instability is due to the malicious American presence, and security will not be achieved until the last foreign soldier leaves Iraqi territory," the group's new security chief Abou Moujahed al-Assaf said in a statement.
The group -- designated by Washington as a "terrorist organisation" -- is part of an umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has been claiming daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and the region, and which has always demanded the withdrawal of US troops from the country.
VIDEO - ‘Israeli’ army footage of strikes on Basij Unit posts in Tehran
Images released by the ‘Israeli’ army show what it says are strikes on Basij Unit operatives and posts deployed across Tehran, after it claimed it had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, in a strike in Tehran.
Fire erupts near US embassy in Baghdad after attack
A fire broke out near the US embassy in Baghdad following a drone and rocket strike, security officials reported.
Multiple loud explosions were heard across the city as emergency crews responded to the scene.
Images from the area show smoke and flames near the diplomatic compound.
Explosions reported as Kuwait intercepts aerial threats
Explosions were heard in northern Kuwait following the interception of incoming aerial targets, according to local reports.
US embassy struck as explosions heard in Baghdad: Security source to AFP
Several loud explosions were heard Tuesday evening in Iraq's capital Baghdad, AFP journalists reported, with a security official reporting a drone and rocket attack on the US embassy.
In a restaurant in the city, where diners did not react to the initial sounds of the blasts, a witness told AFP he saw explosions in the sky caused by the embassy's air defences intercepting projectiles.
Another witness saw a fire on the embassy grounds from her balcony, with the blaze also reported by the security official, who said it was caused by a drone.
Turkey calls ‘Israeli’ killings of Iran leaders “illegal”
Turkey's top diplomat on Tuesday lashed out at ‘Israel’ after it claimed to have killed Iran's powerful national security chief Ali Larijani, denouncing its targeting of Tehran's leaders as "illegal".
"Israel's political assassinations, especially those targeting Iranian statesmen and politicians, are truly illegal activities outside the normal laws of war," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference.
Larijani's death has not been confirmed by Iran.
Resignation of US intel official over Iran “good thing”: Trump
A senior US counterterrorism official who resigned to protest the Iran war was "very weak on security" and it's a "good thing" that he stepped down, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.
Joseph Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), resigned on Tuesday saying he "cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran."
"I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security," the president told reporters in the Oval Office.
He said that when he saw Kent's resignation statement "I realized that it's a good thing that he's out."
Mideast war could trigger “permanent” refugee crisis: Turkey
If the Middle East war spreads, it could create a "permanent" refugee crisis, Turkey's top diplomat warned Tuesday as Lebanon said ‘Israel's’ bombardment had displaced over a million people.
"If the war... spreads, there is a possibility this will turn into a permanent refugee crisis with refugees seeking shelter outside the borders of their countries," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference.
"This needs to stop as soon as possible."
