Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei denied that the country had initiated any offensive action against Turkiye, Cyprus, or Azerbaijan, saying “no offensives were initiated from Iranian territory” towards these countries.

He suggested some incidents may have been “staged,” warning that “the enemy may stage certain attacks to drive a wedge between us and other countries.”

The spokesperson emphasised Iran was “adamant to maintain good and friendly relations” but reserved the right to defend itself if other countries’ territories were used to launch attacks. “Our act of defence cannot be interpreted as an act of hostility towards any of these countries,” he said.

Baghaei said ceasefire mediation efforts were “irrelevant” as long as military confrontations continued. “At this particular point, speaking of any matter other than defending our homeland is irrelevant,” he added. “We did not initiate or start this war. It is not a war of choice. It is a war of necessity that was imposed on us.”

He accused the US of “torpedo[ing]” diplomatic talks before its latest strikes and said US-Israeli actions put all international laws at risk, aiming to fragment Iran and seize its “oil riches.”

Iranian Guards carry out offensive against US base in Kuwait 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corpse claims to have carried out an offensive against a US helicopter base in Kuwait with drones and cruise missiles, destroying several targets.  

“An offensive operation was carried out against the US, striking the “Al-Udayri Helicopter Base” (Camp Buehring) in Kuwait with various drones and cruise missiles,” IRGC Navy said in a statement posted on its X handle for Operation True Promise launched in response to America’s Epic Fury.

Calling it a “highly significant operation”, the IRGC Navy said it foiled operational plans as it triggered panicked evacuation from the base.

“In this attack, 11 highly important targets at the base were hit by several missiles and drones,” it added. “Among the destroyed targets were the base’s fuel tanks, gas tanks, the American helicopters’ ramp, logistics and support facilities, and the base’s infrastructure installations.”

Israel says began ‘wide-scale’ strikes on Tehran, Isfahan, southern Iran

The Israeli military said it had launched new “wide-scale” strikes on Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran Monday, shortly after one man was killed in Israel following missile launches from Iran.

“The IDF has just begun a wide-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran, Isfahan, and southern Iran,” the military said in a statement.

Putin offers ‘unwavering support’ to new Iran supreme leader

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday pledged “unwavering support” to Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, appointed after his father and predecessor was killed in US-Israeli strikes.

“I would like to reaffirm our unwavering support for Tehran and solidarity with our Iranian friends,” Putin said in a message to Khamenei, adding that “Russia has been and will remain a reliable partner” to Iran.

“At a time when Iran is confronting armed aggression, your tenure in this high position will undoubtedly require great courage and dedication,” the Russian leader said. 

At least 83 children killed in Lebanon in past 7 days: UNICEF

The UN agency for children, UNICEF, says at least 83 children have been killed and 254 injured in Lebanon since March 2 as the war between Israel and Hezbollah intensified.

“On average, more than 10 children have been killed every day across Lebanon over the past week, with approximately 36 children injured each day,” the statement published on the UNICEF website said on Monday. “In the last 28 months, 329 children have reportedly been killed in Lebanon and 1,632 were injured,” it added.

“These figures are staggering. They are a stark testament to the toll that conflict is taking on children,” the agency said. “Mass displacement across Lebanon has forced nearly 700,000 people – including around 200,000 children – from their homes, adding to the tens of thousands already uprooted from previous escalations.”

The agency called on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and shelters, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. “UNICEF urges immediate efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent further harm to children,” the statement concluded.

US urges citizens to leave southeast Turkey, orders non-essential staff out of Adana consulate

Washington has advised non-essential staff to leave its consulate near the southern Turkish city of Adana near a key NATO base and ordered US citizens to leave “southeast Turkey”, the US embassy to Ankara said on Monday.

“On March 9, 2026, the Department of State ordered non-emergency US government employees and US government employee family members to leave Consulate General Adana due to the safety risks,” it said on X, referencing a travel advisory saying: “Americans in southeast Turkey are strongly encouraged to depart now”.

Thousands gather in Tehran to pledge allegiance to new leader

Thousands of people flocked on Monday to a central square in the Iranian capital to pledge allegiance to the Islamic republic’s new leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, AFP journalists said.

The crowds which gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab square saw many carrying the Iranian flags and portraits of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei who was killed in US and Israeli strikes on February 28.

Iran security chief says election of new leader caused US, Israel ‘despair’

Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said on Monday that the election of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father had left Israel and the United States in “despair.”

“Your selection by the Assembly of Experts as the leader of the Islamic Republic system has caused the hostile and warmongering enemies to despair,” said Larijani in a post on X.

 

Iran launches fresh missile barrage after Mojtaba Khamenei takes charge

Iran fired missiles at Israel early Monday in the name of the Islamic Republic’s new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was selected to succeed his slain father despite threats by the United States and Israel to target him next.

Nine days after US-Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war, Shia clerics convened to choose the country’s third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

An announcer on state television solemnly read a statement from the 88-member Assembly of Experts next to a picture of the new 56-year-old leader, who bears a striking resemblance to his father.

Mojtaba Khamenei is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts”, the statement said.

It said the clerical body “did not hesitate for a minute” in choosing a new leader despite “the brutal aggression of the criminal America and the evil Zionist regime”.

State media soon afterwards showed a projectile said to be launched at Israel bearing the slogan, “At Your Command, Sayyid Mojtaba”, using an Islamic honorific.

Explosions were also heard early Monday in Qatar, home to a major US air base.

The war came weeks after Iranian security forces crushed nationwide protests against the government, killing thousands. The younger Khamenei is considered a fellow hardliner who will pursue his father’s rejection of dissent.

US President Donald Trump had previously dismissed the younger Khamenei as a “lightweight” and insisted Sunday again that he should have a say in appointing a new leader.

“If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long,” he told ABC News before the announcement was made. Israel’s military had also warned any successor that “we will not hesitate to target you”.

China’s Foreign Ministry has reacted to Iran’s naming of Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader, saying only that it is an internal issue, according to Al Jazeera.

Read: Energy targets hit as war enters second week

As Iran retaliates against its oil-rich Gulf Arab neighbours, the benchmark price for a barrel of crude soared beyond $100 for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

Trump dismissed the price spike, a politically sensitive issue in the United States, as a “small price to pay” for removing the alleged threat of Iran’s nuclear programme. But markets in Japan and South Korea, both heavily dependent on energy imports, opened the week sharply lower on Monday.

In a sign that the United States does not expect a quick end to the war, the State Department ordered non-emergency staff to leave Saudi Arabia, days after a drone hit the US embassy.

Few expect major changes under the younger Khamenei, a trained cleric close to the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military.

The Guards quickly pledged support for the new leader, who comes into the role with far less experience than his father, who had been president under the first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The Guards Corps said in a statement it was “ready for complete obedience and self-sacrifice in carrying out the divine commands” of the younger Khamenei.
Iran was founded on opposition to dynastic monarchies after the toppling of the pro-Western shah in 1979.

Israel struck five oil facilities in and around Tehran early Sunday, killing at least four people and sparking blazes that left the skies filled with acrid smoke.

Tehran’s governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel distribution had been “temporarily interrupted” in the capital.

Meanwhile, tourists are stranded in Dubai as war disrupts flights across the Gulf.

A dark haze hung over the city of 10 million people, blocking out the sun, and the smell of burning fuel lingered in the air.

Authorities warned the fumes could be toxic and urged citizens to stay indoors, but many windows were blown out by the force of the blasts.

“The air has become unbreathable. I can’t even go out to do the daily shopping,” said one 35-year-old from Tehran.

“At first, I supported this war. After Khamenei’s death, I celebrated with my friends: we drank wine, and we danced.

“But since yesterday… people say there’s not even any gasoline left at the gas stations,” she said, in a text message to contacts in Europe.

Read More: Trump tells Britain he does not need its help to win Iran war

Trump has sent mixed messages on the war aims. He has demanded “unconditional surrender” but also said that the war is all but won, and has also refused to rule out sending US ground troops.

The US military announced that a service member had died after being wounded in Saudi Arabia, the seventh American combat death in the war.
The Revolutionary Guards warned they had enough supplies to continue their drone and missile war over the Middle East for up to six months.

Israel struck a hotel in central Beirut on Sunday, the first attack in the heart of the Lebanese capital since the country was dragged into the war, with the Shiite movement Hezbollah vowing to avenge Khamenei’s death with rocket attacks on Israel.

Israel said it had targeted five commanders of the Revolutionary Guards’ international Qods Force, the patron of Hezbollah, as they met at a Beirut hotel.

Lebanon’s health ministry said four people died and 10 others were injured in the Beirut strike.

In the east of the country, Hezbollah said its fighters were engaging Israeli forces who landed in 15 helicopters, one of which was hit by fire.

Lebanon’s health minister said at least 394 people had been killed in Israeli air strikes since the start of the war, including 83 children and 42 women.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday that two people were killed and 12 wounded as a projectile landed in Al Kharj province.

Iran also fired new missiles at Israel, with several blasts heard over the commercial hub Tel Aviv, and the Magen David Adom emergency services said six people were wounded in central Israel.

Several people were also injured in Bahrain, the interior ministry said, as Iran keeps targeting the small Gulf kingdom that serves as the base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

Bahrain also reported damage to a water desalination plant, while Kuwait — where the US embassy was earlier hit — reported that an attack hit fuel tanks at its main airport.

Iran’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 1,200 civilians had been killed and around 10,000 wounded — figures AFP could not independently verify.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV prayed “that the roar of the bombs may cease, the weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open”.

Azerbaijan renews trade

Azerbaijan ⁠says it has reopened its border crossings ⁠with Iran for all cargo traffic, according to ⁠Russia’s state-run TASS news agency.

Iran on Thursday rejected accusations from neighbouring Azerbaijan that it had launched drone strikes targeting its territory, while suggesting that Israel may be behind the attacks.

The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces said that Iranian forces had not launched any drones toward Azerbaijan, emphasising that Iran respected the sovereignty of all nations, particularly neighbouring and Muslim countries, the official news agency IRNA reported.

It added that Israel had a history of carrying out such operations to sow discord among Muslim nations, asserting that investigations indicated the strikes were carried out by Israel to frame Iran.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry accused Iran of launching drone attacks on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from Iranian territory.

The ministry said the strikes, which occurred around midday, hit the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, injuring two civilians and causing structural damage. Another drone reportedly fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad.