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First part of the daily update in the Iran war (and Lebanon) from March 18 between the hours of midnight and noon (GMT), including news from around the globe.
Attacks on US bases were reported in Kuwait by local sources, who stated that drone and missile attacks targeted positions and locations of the American forces in the country.
Bahrain also announced that sirens were activated, according to Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior, then moments after the sirens, sounds of explosions were heard in the skies of Bahrain, and smoke rose from locations believed to be the sites of military personnel and American interests.
Explosions were also reported at the American base in Saudi Arabia, where according to Arab sources, the American base had been targeted by drone and missile attacks, also resulting in explosions.
Video footage surfaced showing that the militia were also carrying out drone and missile strikes in Erbil, Iraq, against American interests in the country.
CCTV footage showed the moment a missile impacted in Kafr Qasim in Tel Aviv, in which multiple explosions could also be heard before the landing of the missile was captured and residents ran for shelter.
Repairing the Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier is going to take more than a week, officials told the New York Times, stating that after 30 hours of fire, repairs would be extensive, while the US Navy has begun investigating whether sailors on the Ford aircraft carrier deliberately started the fire to end their mission sooner.
President Donald Trump said the important issue was removing enriched uranium from Iran, adding that the military action against Iran was an action that had to be taken.
Missile and drone attacks were reported on UAE interests in the UAE by Saberin News, stating that US bases had been targeted in the combined attack, resulting in explosions.
An Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera that a logistical support base near Baghdad was targeted by a drone attack.
An airstrike was heard in Saida as a result of a violent strike on a threatened building in the Aqbieh area, then soon after, the IDF released an urgent warning to residents of the Bachoura area of Beirut, which was targeted 4 days ago with 3 separate air strikes, while footage from Beirut showcased the destruction from an airstrike on Qard Al Hassan which happened 3 days prior, as well as a new airstrike that also targeted an apartment block.
Iraq reached a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government to resume oil exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port, bypassing the conflict-hit Strait of Hormuz, with shipments scheduled to start this morning.
Centcom stated that US forces successfully employed 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz, noting that the Iranian anti-ship missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping through the strait.
While an airstrike targeted a mosque in the town of Ghandoorieh in southern Lebanon, Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that 6 people had been killed and 24 injured in overnight airstrikes on Beirut, while human remains were also recovered from the site, and an initial toll of a strike on Qnatrit, Sidon, claimed the lives of three people.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces reports that a US helicopter carried out an attack on the 40th Brigade of the PMF in the Jurd area, targeting a location within the sector of the 3rd Battalion, 32nd Mechanised Infantry, but there were no casualties as a result.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said an Iranian projectile struck near Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE, reported Reuters, noting minor damage to the facilities, but all Australian personnel reported safe.
Iran fired a cluster munition towards Israel, with videos showing the missile breaking up and the shrapnel falling, as Israeli media reported that at least one missile was intercepted, but additional reports of burning vehicles came in as a result of an impact in Holon.
At the same time the IDF announced they had begun a wave of attacks against alleged Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike targeted the Al-Qaim Mosque at the Abbassiyeh junction, while drones were heard over the threatened building in Beirut, and a warning strike on the building occurred from the Israeli forces.
Later, a double tap on the threatened building in Bashoura led to the complete collapse of the building, with two strikes seen hitting the foundations, and the IDF published additional evacuation measures for Khirbet Selm, Beit Yahoun, Srifa and Deir Qanoun al-Nahr.
Trump is scheduled to attend a dignified transfer Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base for the US service members killed in a refuelling aircraft crash in Western Iraq which left six crewmen dead.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham claimed that if Americans knew they were less than two weeks away from having ten bombs and Trump acted, it would change everything, but they’re suppressing this story: “To my friends at the WH, you should take this story and run – it is a national security malpractice not to be telling this every day.”
Anti-Israel candidates are crashing and burning in the Illinois Democratic party primary elections last night, with both Robert Peters in Illinois 2nd Congressional District and Kat Abughazaleh in the 9th having lost with Jewish supported candidates sweeping them away.
Fox News has begun to lose viewership for the first time since its coverage of the Iran war, having bucked the trend of the other major cable stations in Trump’s 2nd term and had actually expanded its audience while CNN and MSNBC collapsed but, in the last two weeks, Fox viewership was down a total of 21% compared to the last week of February.
The Israeli Ministry of Health reported that 192 people had been injured within 24 hours and 3,727 had been injured since the beginning of the war, but failed to release the total death toll.
An assassination attempt targeted an apartment in a residential tower in Zak Al Blat, Beirut, causing substantial debris damage to the surrounding vehicles.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke about the killing of Ali Larijani, saying that: “I don’t know why the Americans and Israelis still have not understood this point – Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economical, and social institutions – the presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure.”
According to the IAEA, Iran informed them that a projectile hit the site of the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, stating that no damage to the Bushehr power plant or injuries to staff had been reported.
Iran intends to develop new rules for the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz after the end of the war with US and Israel, FM Arachchi stated.
According to the Financial Times, the UAE is the country most targeted by Iran, more than any other in the Gulf.
Four explosions were reported in Erbil in the Kurdistan region, with later reports stating two drones had been shot down, but not stating what had happened with the other two drones.
Lebanon General Directorate of Civil Defence stated that 11 person had been injured following an Israeli airstrike targeting a building near the Nabatiya Regional Centre.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence service arrested 75 agents in Alborz who were accused of spying for enemies and providing them with photos or data.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had a ‘very bad feeling’ about the future of Ukraine due to the US government’s focus change to the issue of Iran, adding that the reason for the suspension of Ukraine’s diplomatic meetings and trilateral talks were clear: “The United States’ focus is more on the Middle East than Ukraine.”
According to the Iranian army, the Iranian naval forces targeted the American aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln with missiles and forced it to leave the area, adding that they used powerful missiles from the coast to the sea, causing the withdrawal.
Israeli forces continued to storm the town of Aqaba amid a campaign of house raids, while an Al-Mayadeen correspondent stated an attack targeted the town of Shammar in the Western Bekaa region, which led to two people dying and six others being wounded, reported the Lebanese Health Ministry, but this was later updated to be six people killed.
Images were published online of the bodies of the two martyrs, Commander Ali Larijani and his son, Dr Morteza Larijani.
Reports from The Economist suggested the initial Israeli plans to attack Iran were scheduled for the summer once they had replenished their stockpiles of ammunition and equipment, but the decisive factor that tipped the balance within the security services was access to information that paved the way for the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that seven people were killed and 56 injured in a US-Israeli attack on residential areas in Lorestan province.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Kurdistan Province said they will not allow the province to be turned into a safe haven for hostile elements.
According to the Israeli Army’s broadcasting authority, Hezbollah attempted to launch around 100 rockets yesterday, but only managed to launch about 40 of them along with some drones, as the latest estimates stated that Hezbollah still had several thousand short-range missiles, firing at a rate of around 100 rockets per day, but were looking to increase this to 150.
Israel launched a large-scale bombing campaign over southern Lebanon soon after the rockets, announcing the destruction of around 50% of Hezbollah’s rocket launch platforms before and after the bombing.
The IDF announced that it had killed Yahya Abu Labda, an alleged commander in Hamas’s organisation supply department, following a strike yesterday, claiming that Abu Labda was responsible for acquiring and transporting equipment and weapons for the group’s military wing.
According to Israeli media, Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaiel Khatib became the target of an assassination strike in Tehran last night, but it was still unclear whether the strike was successful.
Israel Channel 14 reported the Israeli forces had killed the alleged head of Hezbollah’s fire array, who had taken up his position in recent days, and the commander of the Imam Hussein Division in strikes on Beirut overnight.
Clash Report published images showing extensive damage at the US Naval Support Activity (NSA), 5th Fleet Base in Bahrain following Iranian missile and drone strikes.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich published a photo of his son in intensive care, after he was wounded in clashes with Hezbollah.
An explosion occurred in northern Israel, which was possibly from an interception after Iran launched missiles, but an impact in northern Israel near Krayot was confirmed, even though Israeli media claimed the debris fell in an open area near Haifa.
Soon after, a second ballistic missile flew over central Israel and targeted the offshore gas platforms, which was a very weird attack, because there were hardly any sirens, virtually no interceptors used, and one or both missiles impacting.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, two people were killed and another was injured following an Israeli raid on the city of Sidon in the south of the country.
An attack by US-Israeli forces in Larstan in Fars Province, southern Iran, appeared to be a possible assassination attempt.
The Israeli military said it had carried out overnight strikes from the air and sea against Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon, including launch sites, weapons depots, operational headquarters, sites linked to Al-Qard Al-Hassan, positions of the Imam Hussein Division in southern Lebanon, and a senior Hezbollah figure in Beirut (Zouk al-Blat), named as senior member Hussein Qabalan.”
According to reports, the director of political programs at Al-Manar TV, Mohammed Sharie, and his wife were killed in an airstrike on the Zouk Al Balat area of Beirut.
The spokesman for the Iranian Army Amir Akraminia said the regional order based on America’s presence has collapsed, and the US had failed to protect its own infrastructure while also being unable to guarantee Israel’s security – a core tenet of its Middle East policy for decades.
In an operation dubbed ‘Gas Station,’ i24NEWS stated the IDF launched a wave of strikes against AMANA gas stations – one of Lebanon’s largest fuel companies, with dozens of outlets in the south, because Military Intelligence had identified the company as allegedly being used by Hezbollah, with operatives opening tabs at its stations.
Soon after Israel announced they had detected an Hezbollah cell and targeted it by air, eliminating it before it could carry out any attacks, images of smoke rising from the town of Kafr Tibnit began to circulate, followed by images from the town of Harouf in southern Lebanon.
The IDF stated that forces from the 91st Division identified Hezbollah members allegedly unloading RPGs and additional weapons in southern Lebanon with the intent to attack Israeli troops, so following the identification, the Air Force eliminated the fighters, while in a separate incident, the IDF killed two fighters who had allegedly carried out rocket fire towards troops operating in the area.
I a wave of intercepted missiles by Iran overnight, lots of destruction seems to have been caused in Mishmar HaShava’a, near Ben Gurion Airport, due to Iranian missiles.
Israeli Channel 12 cited an Israeli security source when stating it had redeployed its missile platforms in a way that makes them difficult to target.
Swedish Security Services (SAPO) stated that the US-Israeli military operation against Iran, and the countermeasures carried out by Iran, have increased the threat against American, Israeli and Jewish targets in Sweden, noting that “Russia, China and Iran are the biggest threats to Sweden.”
Russia strongly condemns the actions aimed at harming people’s health, reported the Kremlin, especially the killing of representatives of the leadership of sovereign Iran.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health issued an update regards the attack at Zouk Al Balat in Beirut, noting that 12 people had been killed and 41 people had been injured.
