Daily Archives: 5. März 2026


05.03.2026 - 18:18 [ Middle East Eye ]

Exclusive: Iranian officials say Israel carried out some of the drone strikes on Gulf energy sites

Previous attacks have included the assassination of a top Iranian nuclear scientist travelling at high speeds in a car on an isolated road with a remote-controlled automatic machine gun; malware attacks on computers running key parts of Iran’s nuclear programme; and the theft of an archive of nuclear documents.

Another Iranian source told MEE that amid the latest attacks, Iran had „made a clear statement“ to Saudi Arabia that it was not behind the strikes on Saudi Aramco‘s Ras Tanura, which houses the kingdom‘s largest domestic refinery and is a key crude export terminal.

„This is an Israeli effort to sabotage regional peace and alliances between neighbours,“ the source added.

05.03.2026 - 18:09 [ TRT World ]

Iran accuses Israel of drone strikes on Gulf energy sites to widen war

A Foreign Ministry official told Middle East Eye that Israel was behind strikes against Saudi Arabia and at least one attack on Oman, asserting: „I can categorically say that some of the attacks were not carried out by us [Iran].“

The claims follow at least five drone and missile strikes on Saudi facilities, including the Ras Tanura oil refinery and the US embassy in Riyadh, alongside two targets at Oman‘s Duqm Port.

05.03.2026 - 17:51 [ United Nations ]

Iran Strikes Could Trigger Wider Conflict in Middle East, Secretary-General Warns, as Security Council Speakers Call for Urgent Restraint, Return to Talks

Military strikes on Iran by Israel and the United States, and Iran’s counter attacks on United States army bases in Gulf countries, threatened to ignite a wider war in the Middle East, delegates told an emergency meeting of the Security Council today, as the parties traded claims of unjustified action.

05.03.2026 - 17:38 [ PressTV.ir ]

Iranian armed forces deny launching drone strike toward Azerbaijan

In a statement on Thursday, the General Staff categorically rejected reports that a drone attack was launched from Iran toward neighboring Azerbaijan, stressing that Tehran respects the sovereignty of its neighbors.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, while respecting the sovereignty of all countries, particularly Muslim and neighboring countries, strongly rejects any drone launch by its Armed Forces toward the Republic of Azerbaijan,” it stated.

The statement emphasized that there is precedent for the “fake Israeli regime” taking such actions, through various means, in an attempt to disrupt relations between Muslim countries.

05.03.2026 - 17:18 [ CNN ]

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government denies reports it is part of a plan to send opposition forces into Iran

“The Kurdistan Regional Government and the political parties within it are not part of any campaign to expand the war and tensions in the region,” a government spokesperson, Peshawa Hawramani, said in a statement. He added that reports of Iraqi KRG involvement in a plan to arm Kurdish forces are being spread “deliberately and maliciously.”

“On the contrary, we call for peace and stability in the region,” Hawramani added. “We strongly condemn the cowardly attacks targeting the Kurdistan Region, and we call on the federal government and the international community to intervene to stop these assaults and protect our land, our people, and our region.”

05.03.2026 - 17:12 [ CNN ]

CIA working to arm Kurdish forces to spark uprising in Iran, sources say

(March 4, 2026)

Washington and Erbil, Iraq —

The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN.

The Trump administration has been in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support, the sources said.

05.03.2026 - 17:12 [ New York Times ]

Pro-American Kurdish Forces Are Preparing Possible Iran Incursion

(March 4, 2026)

Pro-American, Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq are preparing armed units that could enter Iran, creating a potential new front in an already expanding conflict, according to Iraqi officials and senior members of Iranian Kurdish groups.

The C.I.A. has previously given small arms to the Iranian Kurdish forces as part of a covert program to destabilize Iran, an effort that began before the current war, according to people familiar with the effort.

05.03.2026 - 17:01 [ IraqiNews.com ]

Trump holds call with Iraqi Kurdish leaders on war with Iran

(March 3, 2026)

Erbil (IraqiNews.com) — US President Donald Trump talked by phone with top Iraqi Kurdish politicians on Sunday to discuss the current US-Israeli military operation against Iran and possible future actions, according to Axios.

According to sources acquainted with the discussions, the talks included Masoud Barzani, chairman of the Masoud Barzani Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Bafel Talabani, leader of the Bafel Talabani Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

05.03.2026 - 16:19 [ NationalInterest.org ]

Will Turkey Invade Iran?

(March 3, 2026)

Independent Turkish press described two possible scenarios for Turkish military action: an early-stage push to establish border shelters for a refugee crisis, and later incursions into Iran to secure a buffer zone if the Iranian state fails. Turkey’s intervention in northern Iraq—combining extensive airstrikes with a network of ground outposts in a mountainous, insurgent-sheltering hinterland—holds clues as to what such a buffer zone might look like in Iran. Nevertheless, the magnitude of PJAK or Kurdish coalition activity in a collapsing Iran would be the final determinant.

05.03.2026 - 16:11 [ CNN ]

Iran‘s military claims it did not launch missile toward Turkey, state media reports

“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran respect the sovereignty of the neighboring and friendly country, Turkey, and deny any missile launch towards that country’s territory,” said Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces, the state-affiliated Fars news agency reported.

Turkish officials on Wednesday had said the missile traveled from Iran through the airspace of Iraq and Syria, heading toward Turkish airspace, before it was destroyed.

05.03.2026 - 16:08 [ El Pais ]

Madrid denies White House claim that Spain has ‘agreed to cooperate with the US military’

But Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, rejected this statement just a few minutes later. ​”I categorically deny it. The Spanish government’s position on the war in the Middle East, the bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed one iota,” he said in a radio interview on Cadena SER.

Spain’s position had been summarized by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez that morning in an official statement: “No to war.” Albares said that he has “no idea” what Leavitt was referring to.

05.03.2026 - 15:51 [ CNN ]

European powers move to defend Cyprus after drone attack on island

Spain is sending its Cristóbal Colón frigate to Cyprus as part of a joint deployment with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and vessels from the Greek Navy, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement Thursday.

The Cristóbal Colón is Spain’s “most technologically advanced frigate,” said the ministry, which added that the deployment shows the country’s “commitment to defending the European Union and its eastern border.”

05.03.2026 - 15:47 [ Middle East Eye ]

UK says drone attack on Cyprus base was not launched from Iran

A drone which hit Britain‘s Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus was not launched from Iran as many had initially assumed, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed.

Officials reportedly believe the „Shahed-type drone“ evaded detection by flying low and slow on Sunday. It hit a hangar used by American U-2 spy planes and burst into flames.

There were no casualties and the MoD said there was „no damage to equipment inside the hangar“.

But the UK has still not confirmed where exactly the drone was launched from – and who was responsible.

05.03.2026 - 15:41 [ TheSun.co.uk ]

GAME OF DRONES Iranian drone strike on UK air base in Cyprus hit hangar used by top secret US spy planes

Western officials insisted the drone was “not fired from Iran”.

An source said: “We have acquired that drone and we can confirm that it is a Shahed-type drone.

“We do know that drone was not launched from Iran.

“Based on type of drone and its range and ability, Defence Intelligence can confirm that that drone was not launched from Iran.”

Earlier Healey had signalled the drone was airborne for more than an hour.

05.03.2026 - 15:36 [ Sky News ]

Drone that struck UK base in Cyprus not fired from Iran, says MoD

(21 house ago)

The drone that hit the UK‘s RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus on Sunday night was not launched from Iran, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence has said.

However, it added the drone was „Shahed-like“, referring to Iran‘s cheaply produced signature drones, which have been deployed en masse by Russia in Ukraine.

05.03.2026 - 15:31 [ in-cyprus.Philenews.com ]

Drone that struck RAF Akrotiri was not launched from Iran, UK says

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has ruled out Iran as the source of the drone that struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on Sunday night, though it said the unmanned aircraft bore the hallmarks of Tehran’s signature Shahed design — the low-cost drones Russia has used extensively against Ukraine, as SkyNews reports.

05.03.2026 - 15:19 [ Common Dreams ]

5 Things to Know About Trump’s Illegal War on Iran

Whatever criticisms one may have of Iran’s government, they do not justify this deadly act of aggression.

05.03.2026 - 15:01 [ CBS News ]

House to vote on curbing Trump‘s Iran war powers

The House is set to vote Thursday on a measure to block President Trump from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support, a day after a similar effort fell short in the Senate.

05.03.2026 - 14:56 [ NPR.org ]

A split Senate votes against measure to constrain Trump‘s authorities in Iran

The vote was 47-53, largely along party lines. If passed, the resolution would have blocked further U.S. military action in Iran without congressional approval under the 1973 War Powers Act. That legislation passed during the Vietnam War to give Congress a legal check on executive war authority. The 1973 act also requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying U.S. forces into hostilities and to end the deployment within 60 days unless Congress authorizes or extends it.

05.03.2026 - 14:53 [ CNN ]

Death toll in Iran climbs to more than 1,100

At least 1,114 civilians in Iran have been killed since the war began on Saturday, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

That toll includes 183 children, most of them under the age of 10, according to the latest figures released by HRANA on Thursday. The organization is still working to verify more than 900 reported deaths.