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🔹 ️ Two Iranian drones impacted near Dubai International Airport, which caused four injuries according to reports, and an Iranian drone directly struck a high-rise building in Dubai last night, in what appeared to be a possible assassination strike.
🔹 ️ Iran shipped 11-12 million barrels of crude to China through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the US military operation in Iran, reported CNBC, while Kpler reported that Iran was now exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than it did before the start of the operation.
🔹 ️ UKMTO reported that two vessels have been attacked with projectiles minutes apart – one vessel was 11 nautical miles off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz when it was struck and the crew were evacuated, while the second was hit 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, United Arab Emirates – later, two oil tankers were targeted off the coast of Basrah, southern Iraq, by suicide boats – one was a US oil tanker, in which one person was killed and 39 were rescued.
🔹 ️ Germany announced it will partially release its strategic oil reserves to offset prices; soon after, Japan also announced it would take similar measures by releasing 15 days’ worth of private-sector oil reserves and one month’s worth of state oil reserves; the International Energy Agency has also decided to release 400 million barrels from its strategic reserves; President Trump ordered the direct release of 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
🔹 ️ Spain reduced its relations with Israel, first recalling its ambassador, leaving Spain’s embassy in Tel Aviv to be run by a Chargé d’Affaires, while also suspending Israeli ambassadors from Spain.
🔹 ️ Switzerland closed its embassy in Tehran, but said it was ‘maintaining an open communication line between Iran and the United States.”
🔹 ️ Oman reported a direct drone hit on fuel tanks, expressing disappointment with Iran, as Oman were the only neutral intermediaries in the talks between the United States and Iran.
🔹 ️ “Russia is giving Iran advice on using its one-way drones based on tactics Moscow learned from the war in Ukraine – the help includes evading air defences and strategies for coordinating combined strikes,” stated CNN, citing a western intelligence source.
🔹 ️ A preliminary US military investigation found that a US Tomahawk missile mistook the Iranian girls’ school in Minab for an Iranian naval base.
🔹 ️ US/Israeli airstrikes targeted the Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces in Mosul, Iraq.
🔹 ️ Deloitte, PwC, and Citi are closing and evacuating their offices in Dubai following threats from Iran against US firms in the Gulf, while residents in the regions look for safety at locations away from the banks.
🔹 ️ Iranian hackers claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack which targeted Stryker, a US medical equipment company, claiming to have accessed and transferred large files of data.
🔹 ️ Three brothers of Iraqi origin were arrested following the security incident at the US Embassy in Oslo, Norway.
🔹 ️ Iran has laid a dozen mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
🔹 ️ Romania has authorised the use of its airbases for US refuelling planes during the ongoing conflict, but the Romanian President ordered an urgent security meeting to discuss whether approval could be issued for US to use Romanian bases to attack Iranian assets.
🔹 ️ The FBI issued warnings to police departments across California that Iran could retaliate for American attacks by launching drones at the West Coast of America, according to ABC News.
🔹 ️ Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets at Israel in one barrage and carried out multiple barrages throughout the day, by far the most since the start of the war, (multiple impacts and debris falls were reported in northern Israel), while multiple combined Iran-Hezbollah attacks on Israel were reported.
🔹 ️ The Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on March 1st caused more damage than initially published, including dozens of US servicemen suffering serious injuries, such as shrapnel wounds and brian trauma, according to CBS News.
🔹 ️ Israel struck Ramlet-al-Baida in Beirut with a sweeping airstrike, killing 10 civilians, reported Lebanese media.
🔹 ️ Iraqi outlet Sabereen reported three deaths among pro-Iranian Iraqi militia groups in Kirkuk, as a result of Israeli strikes.
🔹 ️ The Pentagon told Congress the first week of the war has cost the US $11.3 billion, a source told the AP.
🔹 ️ Al Jadeed reported that the UN Security Council was due to hold a special session on Lebanon on March 12 at France’s request, in an attempt to end the Israel war, but the exact time is to be determined.
🔹 ️ According to WaPo, a drone struck a major US diplomatic facility in Baghdad, targeting a large US diplomatic compound in the capital, as early assessments reported damage but no casualties, and the strike was reportedly carried out by Iran-aligned militias operating in Iraq.
🔹 ️ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia may send troops to Iran, noting that Moscow was already supporting Tehran with drones and likely with missiles and air defences.
🔹 ️ Ahmadreza Radan, Iran’s Chief of Police, said: “Anyone who takes to the streets at the request of the enemy will be treated as an enemy, not as a protestor.’
🔹 ️ Canadian MP Mark Carney confirmed to his country that “we are not participating in the American and Israeli attack on Iran, and will not ever.”
🔹 ️ Multiple videos surfaced on Intel pages showing the result of an Israeli/US double tap on another girls school, the Shaghayegh Girls’ school, in Khomeyn, Central Iran, completely destroying the buildings around the blast centre.
🔹 ️ IDF reinforces troops in northern Israel amid ongoing fighting with Hezbollah – Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered the Golani Brigade to be transferred from the Southern Command to the Northern Command, and additional reinforcements will be decided based on further assessments.
🔹 ️ Steve Bannon commented yesterday: “Trump’s original objective was to back the dissident groups in Persia who hate Ayatollah and Mullahs, but instead, Israel has managed to unite the Persion people who were not united.”
🔹 ️ Within a short space of time yesterday, alerts and explosions were reported near American assets in Bahrain, an Iranian attack was reported on American interests in the Sultanate of Oman, and a combined missile and drone targeted the UAE.
🔹 ️ Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 570 people including 86 children and 45 women, since the country was drawn into the regional war on March 2, according to the Health Ministry on Wednesday, stating that 84 people were killed on Tuesday alone.
🔹 ️ The Dutch Government reportedly approved sending the frigate HNLMS Evertsen to join the escort fleet protecting the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
🔹 ️ Trump told Axios in a phone call that the war could end soon because there was practically nothing left to target, but despite these comments, US and Israeli officials have said no decision has been made to stop the fighting, and planning assumed at least two more weeks of strikes.
🔹 ️ The Iranian Intelligence Ministry arrested an armed group, including a leader and five members, allegedly linked to the US and Israel, seizing firearms, four ready-to-explode homemade bombs, and bomb-making equipment.
🔹 ️ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian took to X to say that the only way to end the war was to recognise Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression.
🔹 ️ Footage released yesterday showed the moment an Iranian Shahed-136 suicide drone slammed into an oil storage facility at the Port of Salalah in Oman, igniting a fire at the site, but the Iranian General Staff said the incident appeared ‘suspicious, and ‘Iran is investigating this matter.’
🔹 ️ Multiple Iranian drones targeted Erbil in overnight attacks, resulting in a building being damaged by a direct hit, and debris falling at the Erbil International Airport.
🔹 ️ An Israeli drone strike targeted a tent camp housing displaced civilians in Ramlet Al Baida, Beirut, resulting in at least 7 people being killed and 21 others injured, but the death toll is likely to rise.
🔹 ️ Scenes from the West Bank after an interception showed falling debris in the area of Tulkarm-Qalqiya, and other scenes from Al-Fara’a, in the West Bank, as well as debris from a shot down ballistic missile falling in Qalqiya, West Bank.
🔹 ️ Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior has announced the arrest of four individuals they suspect are allegedly working with Iran’s IRGC.
🔹 ️ Indian sources told Reuters that Iran was going to allow tankers flying the Indian flag to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but Iranian sources, also speaking to Reuters, denied the claims.
🔹 ️ Italy’s Defence Ministry says a missile struck an Italian military base in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan overnight, saying there were no casualties among the 300 troops stationed there, and Italian FM Antonio Tajani confirmed all of them were safe, stating that they took to the shelters during the strike.
