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Source denounces ‘inappropriate' claims his country carried out a 'limited' attack, says it would not fear admitting if it were true The post ‘Fake news’: Emirati official rejects Israeli reports UAE struck Iran appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Strikes on oil storage facilities lit up the night sky with plumes of orange flame

Pope Leo urged dialogue and an end to the violence in the Middle East as tensions escalate in the region.

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Israeli military reports two soldiers killed in southern Lebanon The Israeli military has said two its soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon amid clashes with Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon frontier. The army did not provide further details on the killings.

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As the war between Iran and the US and Israel enters its second week, the internet is awash with misinformation and doctored content while punters are waging bets on the outcome of the conflict using crypto. Experts tell Bryony Gooch that a new, frightening way of experiencing war is here to stay

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The Israeli military says it rescued four hostages from central Gaza on Saturday. Palestinians report scenes of horror on the ground, and Gaza hospital officials say more than 200 people were killed.

Amid signs that Israel may launch a full-scale incursion in Rafah, aid agencies are warning any escalation in the southern Gaza city risks exacerbating the already deteriorating humanitarian situation.

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Could Azerbaijan be dragged into the US-Israeli war on Iran? Elis Gjevori on Fri, 03/06/2026 - 13:38 Baku’s long-standing relationship with Israel risks drawing Azerbaijan into the expanding war with Iran Iran's former Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh (right) speaks with former army chief Abdolrahim Mousavi during a delivery of drones on 13 January 2025 (Iranian Army Office/AFP) Off Azerbaijan became the latest country to be drawn into the US-Israeli war on Iran after four drones, which it said were launched from the Islamic Republic, struck its exclave of Nakhchivan on Thursday, damaging infrastructure and injuring two civilians. Officials in Baku said one of the drones hit the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, located about 10km from the Iranian border. Another fell near a school in a nearby village. A third drone was shot down by Azerbaijani forces, while another struck civilian infrastructure. Iran, for its part, has rejected the accusations. "Iran did not carry out strikes against Azerbaijan," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in comments published by the Iranian news agency Tasnim. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "We do not strike neighbouring countries. Iran’s policy is to target only the military bases of its enemies operating in the region and previously used for attacks on Iran, including bases of the United States and Israel," he said. Iran has offered similar explanations for attacks it has carried out against targets in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates since the conflict began. The statement suggested Iran's operations target US and Israeli assets rather than neighbouring states themselves, raising the possibility that Tehran believes such facilities operate in Nakhchivan. Some Iranian analysts have also suggested the incident could involve Israeli covert activity aimed at inflaming tensions between Tehran and Baku. "Maybe during [this] war, some Israeli agents are involved to make the Iran-Azerbaijan relationship very challenging," Seyed Emamian, an assistant professor at Tehran Polytechnic University, told Middle East Eye. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Earlier this week, MEE reported that Iranian officials accused Israel of carrying out some of the drone strikes on energy and civilian sites in the Arabian Gulf, calling the attacks a calculated bid to spark regional anger and pull Arab states into the war on Tehran. A mourner holds a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 5 March 2026, during a funeral procession in Iraq (Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP) What is Iran's strategy? Analysts say Iran's response to the war has centred on its asymmetric regional influence. For decades, Gulf states have promoted themselves as islands of stability in a volatile region, attracting global investors, tourists and multinational businesses. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Underpinning this idea has been the impression that US military bases in the region would underwrite the security of these states.  Iran's military campaign appears designed to undermine that perception and demonstrate that the costs of the conflict will extend far beyond its borders. Economic uncertainty is already spreading. The Financial Times reported that investors in the Gulf are reconsidering overseas commitments amid the war's disruption to markets. Khalaf al-Habtoor, a prominent Emirati businessman, publicly criticised the war in a social media post directed at US President Donald Trump. "A direct question: Who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with #Iran? And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision?" he wrote on X. "Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger?" The upheaval across the region may be intended to push regional governments to pressure Washington to end the war. Giorgio Cafiero, the chief executive of Gulf State Analytics, a Washington-based geopolitical risk consultancy, said the instability could encourage Gulf states "to see to it that the United States agrees to halt its aggression". "And within this context, I think that if Iran was responsible for the attack [on Azerbaijan]... The relationship that Baku has with Tel Aviv would be an important factor in play," he added. Mourners in the city of Qom attend the funeral of those killed in the US-Israeli war on Iran, 5 March 2026 (Mehdi Alavi/ISNA/AFP) What is Azerbaijan's position in the war? According to Farid Shafiyev, the chairman of the Baku-based Center of Analysis of International Relations, Azerbaijan has tried to remain neutral in the conflict. President Ilham Aliyev visited Iran's embassy in Baku on 4 March to offer condolences following the US-Israeli assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the killing of civilians. 'One of the reasons that Iran is attacking the UAE is not only because of the American bases, it's because of the Israeli bases there' Seyed Emamian, Tehran Polytechnic University "But the recent attack shows that Iran would like to escalate," Shafiyev told MEE. The Iranians, he said, have "implied that Nakhchivan was also used by the Israelis and Americans, which is a completely false assumption". Following the incident, Azerbaijan closed its southern airspace for 12 hours and shut its border crossings with Iran to cargo trucks, including transit shipments. The move disrupted one of the shortest land routes connecting Iran with Russia. Aliyev also threatened to respond militarily, but there has been no official response so far.  "We will not tolerate this unprovoked act of terror and aggression against Azerbaijan," he told a meeting of the country’s security council. "Our Armed Forces have been instructed to prepare and implement appropriate retaliatory measures." Why is Iran worried about the Israeli-Azerbaijani relationship? Tehran has long viewed Azerbaijan's relationship with Israel with suspicion. The two countries cooperate in sectors including energy, defence and cybersecurity, although much of that cooperation remains opaque. Aliyev once described the partnership as resembling an "iceberg", suggesting most of it lies beneath the surface. Energy ties also bind the two countries. Israel imports roughly 40 to 50 percent of its oil from Azerbaijan through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through Turkey. Emamian said that Azerbaijan's ties with Israel pose security concerns for Iran. 'Iran does not want a conflict with Baku...but Baku now is an asset for the US and Israel' - Iranian analyst "One of the reasons that Iran is attacking the UAE is not only because of the American bases; it's because of the Israeli bases there," he said. "Not only military bases but also intelligence and security institutions that they have been covering under the titles of different institutions, companies, so they have been very much active in the intelligence gathering against Iran," he added. Iran has accused Azerbaijan of allowing Israel to conduct espionage operations against it from Azerbaijani territory - an allegation Baku denies. A political analyst in Tehran, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told MEE that Iranian officials believed Israel had used Azerbaijani airspace during a previous conflict. "Azerbaijan let Israel use its airspace to attack Iran in the previous June war," the analyst said, adding that "people in northern parts of Iran along the Caspian sea reportedly said that they heard jets flying in the sky". Baku has rejected the allegation. Still, the analyst said Iranian leaders increasingly view the current war as an existential threat. "Iran does not want a conflict with Baku," the analyst said. "But Baku now is an asset for the US and Israel". What are Azerbaijan's options? The conflict places Azerbaijan in a delicate position. More than 15 million ethnic Azeri live in Iran, giving Baku potential influence if instability spreads across the country. "If Iran goes down in chaos," a Tehran-based analyst warned, Azerbaijan could play a role in shaping developments in the region. The drone incident may provide political justification for a more assertive stance. Israeli commentator says Iran war will lead to ‘Sykes-Picot 2026’ Read More » "It has the excuse and the motive now," the analyst said. However, a fragmented Iran would also pose serious risks for Azerbaijan. Large numbers of ethnic Azeri refugees could cross the border if instability spreads. "I think the leadership in Baku would clearly feel much pressure to come to the aid of these potential refugees. Naturally, that would create burdens for Azerbaijan," Cafiero said. If the crisis escalates, Azerbaijan is likely to rely heavily on its closest ally. "Out of all of Azerbaijan's allies and partners in the world, probably the one which Baku will turn to most closely in the event of this worsening crisis would be Turkey," Cafiero said. Turkey has already backed Azerbaijan militarily, helping it retake territory in Nagorno-Karabakh during the 2020 war with Armenia. "I think that if there is ever any scenario whereby Azerbaijan's national security is threatened, it is safe to assume that the leadership in Ankara would consider that to be a threat to Turkey as well," Cafiero added. "And I think Turkish officials would go very far to come to the defence of Azerbaijan." War on Iran News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Residents in Tehran are flocking to blood donation centres, responding to growing medical needs and fears of shortages.

Other motives also being investigated, police say, as they search for one or several perpetrators.

UAE official denies Israeli reports of strike on Iran Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, a member of the United Arab Emirates Federal National Council and chairman of its Defense Affairs, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee, has denied Israeli reports that the UAE struck an Iranian desalination facility on Sunday. "The UAE didn't do that," he wrote in a post on X. The Federal National Council is the UAE's quasi-parliamentary body. On Sunday morning, the UAE announced its death toll from Iran's attacks had risen to four.

Herzog said Israel is a sovereign state that follows the rule of law after Trump urged him to grant Netanyahu a pardon.

Pope Leo calls for end to war in Middle East Pope Leo has urged an end to the conflict in the Middle East in an address at the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's Square. "Let us raise our humble prayer to ⁠the Lord that the roar ⁠of bombs may cease, ⁠that weapons may fall silent, and that space may be opened for ‌dialogue in which the voices of peoples can ‌be heard," he said. The pontiff added that the conflict could spread to other countries, including "dear Lebanon".

Iraq, which had recently regained some stability after decades of conflict, was immediately dragged into the Middle East war triggered when the United States and Israel attacked Iran last weekend. Within hours, warplanes filled Iraq's airspace. Air strikes pounded bases hosting Tehran-backed groups across the country. Iran-backed groups in turn launched attacks on US interests in Iraq, while Tehran struck Kurdish militants in the north.

As the Iran disaster escalates, Starmer should treat the US president as someone whose actions threaten the lawful, democratic way of life everywhere Nine days in, the conduct of the unjustified, illegal US-Israel war against Iran grows ever-more disproportionate, dishonourable and deranged. The torpedoing of an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka by a US submarine demonstrated that for reckless Donald Trump, the whole world is his battlefield. Diplomacy, treacherously sabotaged by Washington, has been replaced by unceasing airstrikes that are murdering and maiming hundreds of Iranian civilians. Trump’s White House increasingly resembles a madhouse. War aims shift daily. A clueless, rambling president insists he must help pick Iran’s next ayatollah. Meanwhile, his “secretary for war”, Pete Hegseth, rants manically about killing without mercy. Nine days in, it’s clear Iran’s leaders, those who survive, are not going to roll over in a repeat of Trump’s Venezuela coup. Their forces, though drastically outgunned, are succeeding in spreading pain across the Middle East, inundating defences with waves of drones and missiles. That’s no surprise. Iran warned of a region-wide conflict if attacked again. Trump is now at war with US allies, too, having adopted George W Bush’s crude Iraq war “for us or against us” maxim. The Gulf Arabs – and cruelly battered Lebanon – just want it to stop. Britain and Europe mostly want no part of it, but are being sucked in anyway. The global economy is tumbling into crisis. In Trump’s war on the world, there are no heroes, only victims. Spain’s defiant leader, Pedro Sánchez, is one exception. Continue reading...