US & ‘Israel’ at war with Iran | Day 31 coverage
The 2026 Iran War began on February 28 when the United States and ‘Israel’ launched an operation dubbed Epic Fury by the US and Lion's Roar by ‘Israel’, unleashing nearly 900 airstrikes in 12 hours on Iranian missile systems, air defenses, nuclear facilities, military bases, and leadership targets.
Yemen’s Houthi movement entered the war early, launching missile and drone attacks toward ‘Israel’ and expanding the conflict beyond the Gulf and Levant theaters.
This direct assault followed years of shadow war, including the first-ever Iran-‘Israel’ missile exchanges in April and October 2024 and a limited 12-day war in June 2025 that damaged Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials were killed in the opening salvo, while a US Tomahawk strike on a school adjacent to a naval base near Bandar Abbas killed about 170 civilians, mostly children.
Iran responded within hours by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and launching thousands of drones at ‘Israel’, US bases in the Gulf, and targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait.
Tehran restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of global oil flows—disrupting shipping and spiking oil prices.
The retaliation reignited fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon, prompting ‘Israeli’ strikes there and spreading the conflict regionally while hitting civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, airports, and heritage sites.
Over the next three weeks, US-‘Israeli’ forces conducted sustained air campaigns that destroyed much of Iran’s air-defense network, missile production sites and navy assets.
Iran appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, but pragmatic senior official Ali Larijani was assassinated in an ‘Israeli’ strike on March 17.
More than 80,000 civilian sites were hit, including 260 medical facilities and UNESCO-listed buildings, causing widespread blackouts, fuel shortages, toxic pollution, and over 2,000 total deaths across Iran, ‘Israel’, Lebanon, and Gulf states.
The war remained active in its fourth week with ongoing US-‘Israeli’ airstrikes on remaining Iranian targets and Iranian retaliatory barrages, including recent cluster-munition attacks on ‘Israel’ and a failed long-range missile attempt at Diego Garcia.
Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz reopens fully but has signaled possible winding down or deals, which Tehran denies pursuing.
‘Israel’ says intercepted two drones launched from Yemen
The ‘Israeli’ military said its two intercepted two “two unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Yemen” in the last hour.
The Houthis, a pro-Iran group backed by the Islamic Republic, said it has entered the ongoing Middle East in support of Iran.
Knesset approves 2026 budget with increased defence spending
‘Israel's’ parliament, the Knesset, approved the 2026 budget early Monday, providing for a significant increase in military spending as the country continues waging war on multiple fronts.
Lawmakers passed the budget with 62 votes in favor and 55 against.
UNIFIL says peacekeeper killed in southern Lebanon
The UN force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said one of their peacekeepers was killed after a projectile hit one of their positions late Sunday.
"A peacekeeper was tragically killed last night when a projectile exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit Al Qusayr," said Monday's statement.
"Another was critically injured. No one should ever lose their life serving the cause of peace," the statement added.
US crude benchmark rises above $100 at open, Brent above $115
The price of the main US benchmark for oil rose over three percent Monday to once again surpass $100 a barrel, while Brent climbed above $115 with no end in sight for the war in the Middle East.
A barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) -- the US benchmark -- for May delivery rose 3.50 percent to $103.13 just minutes after Asian markets opened.
A barrel of North Sea Brent meanwhile rose 2.98 percent to $115.93.
Eilat under attack by drones, missiles: channel 12
Hebrew channel 12 reported that south ‘Israel’s’ Eilat is under attack by drones and missiles.
The report by the channel added that the drone was fired from Yemen.
US-‘Israeli’ strike hits Tabriz petrochemical unit: Iranian media
Iranian media reported that a US-‘Israeli’ attack targeted Sunday morning a petrochemical production unit in the city of Tabriz, northwestern Iran, according to Fars News Agency.
“The attack on the petrochemical production unit in Tabriz caused no toxic leaks, situation under control,” the agency said in its report.
