AJ
Iraq’s Chief Justice Faiq Saidan said a declaration of war or a state of emergency required a joint request from the President and the Prime Minister and approval by two thirds of parliament, warning that attempts by some factions to monopolise decisions of war and peace constituted a serious threat to state sovereignty and a clear violation of the constitution.
[馃敼] Alleged IRGC-linked hackers claimed to have breached the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel, according to Reuters, adding that a US Justice Department official confirmed the account was compromised, though Reuters said it couldn’t independently verify all of the material released, which appeared to include personal and professional correspondence.
[馃敼] Soon after the attack, the US State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme offered up to $10 million for information on Iranian cyber actors, including groups such as Parsian Afzar Rayan Borna and Handala, noting that individuals providing information on those involved in cyber attacks against US critical infrastructure could be eligible for a reward.
[馃敼] Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani formally protested media reports that the US and Israel had identified Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as assassination targets, writing a letter to the UN Secretary-General and Security Council saying such threats ‘stem from a criminal mindset’ and remain ‘real, deliberate and continuous,’ noting reports describe any suspension as temporary.
[馃敼] Three container ships of different nationalities had been turned back by the IRGC that attempted to transit the Strait on Friday morning following a warning from the IRGC navy: “The Strait of Hormuz is closed and any transit through it will be met with a firm response,’ the statement said, adding that passage of vessels from ports belonging to allies and supporters of the US and Israel are prohibited.
[馃敼] Iran reported that the Headquarters of the IRGC Aerospace Forces in Chitgar had been targeted by an airstrike, while residents of Karaj reported numerous explosions and smoke cloud over the city after a suspected Israeli airstrike in the early hours of Friday morning.
[馃敼] A US Defence official allegedly told Axios that the decision of whether or not to deploy 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East would be made next week, because the troops would likely be deployed from different combat units other than the ones currently deployed in the region.
[馃敼] Iran’s Ambassador to Seoul said South Korea was viewed as a ‘non-hostile’ state, but its ships must coordinate with Iranian authorities to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran requesting details on South Korean vessels in the area, and there are currently 26 South Korean ships currently reported near the Strait.
[馃敼] An Israeli security official allegedly told N12 that Iran could sustain the current rate of fire for several more weeks, citing sufficient launchers and operational teams to spread attacks over a period of time.
[馃敼] Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that strikes on Iran would intensify, expanding to additional targets and domains that assist the regime in building and operating weapons against Israeli civilians: “The Prime Minister and I warned the Iranian terror regime to stop the missile fire toward the civilian population of Israel, but despite the warnings, the fire continues, and therefore the IDF strikes in Iran will intensify and expand,” Katz said during an assessment with military officials.
[馃敼] British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called for a swift resolution to the war and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, stating that Iran was undermining the global economy by blocking international shipping through the world’s most important waterway for oil shipments: “Frankly, Iran cannot be allowed to hold the global economy hostage as a result of a Strait that is vital to international shipping routes and the freedom of navigation,” she said.
[馃敼] Israeli Channel 14 reported that the IDF bombed major steel factories in Iran on the orders of PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Katz, while Yediot Ahronot reported two of the largest steel manufacturers in Iran, with the losses estimated to be in the billions, as footage showed fires in Isfahan on Friday morning at around the same time as the steel works in the city was targeted, and smoke was seen rising above the Amiryeh area of the city.
[馃敼] During the war with Iran, the US military has fired more than 850 Tomahawk cruise missiles, a burn rate that has alarmed some Pentagon officials and prompted internal discussions about resupply, as the missiles, prized for their 1,000-mile range, are only produced at a rate of just under 100 per year, while analysts estimate that a quarter of the total US inventory of around 3,500 has been used, adding that more than 1,000 air defence interceptors, including Patriot and THADD systems, had also been fired in response to Iranian counterattacks.
[馃敼] US Vice President JD Vance told Prime Minister Netanyahu in a difficult call that several of his assessments had proven overly optimistic, including expectations of a popular uprising in Iran, and the exchange highlights growing US concerns over the trajectory of the conflict and differing expectations between Washington and Jerusalem, according to Axios.
[馃敼] Iran has reinforced Kharg Island with additional troops, air defences and mines amid concerns over a potential US ground operation, CNN reported, stating that the island already had layered defences and that Iran had deployed additional shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems (MANPADs) in recent weeks, as US officials warned any attempt to seize the Island would carry significant risks and could result in heavy casualties.
[馃敼] According to US intelligence, roughly one-third of Iran’s missile arsenal has been destroyed so far, despite the extensive airstrikes by US and Israeli forces targeting missile sites, production facilities and launchers, Reuters reported, stating officials said Iran retained a significant proportion of its capabilities, and acknowledging that while major damage had been inflicted on Iran’s missile infrastructure, Tehran still possesses enough systems to continue launching attacks.
[馃敼] Iran’s representative to the United Nations said the absence of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is due to security measures, noting that the leaders health condition was good, adding that it was Khamenei who was running the country’s affairs.
[馃敼] Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defence urged and warned Saudi citizens not to film or publish information about strikes targeting US bases and objectives in the country, and is threatening legal accountability for those who violate the order.
[馃敼] Iranian officials told Fars News Agency: “According to reports received by Iran’s security agencies, the hotels and civilian locations used by US military personnel are not limited to Bahrain and the UAE. Alternative bases and accommodation sites for foreign forces have also been identified in several other locations across the region including Lebanon, Syria and Djibouti. Iran’s warning to hotel owners in the region is comprehensive and definitive: any facility hosting foreign military personnel, regardless of location, will be considered a legitimate defensive target unless such activity is immediately halted.”
[馃敼] Netanyahu told Israel Hayom: “There is a perception that the Iranian regime will collapse immediately and that peace will prevail, but things do not work that way. There will be a certain degree of improvement, but it will not be a decisive victory. The world now understands what we have been saying – that Iran poses a global threat.”
[馃敼] IRGC Intelligence said it had arrested a three-member cell in Kermanshah Province for allegedly operating under the direction of Mossad officers, planning attacks on sensitive sites and Iranian military personnel, as authorities claimed to have seized a large cache of weapons, along with pellets, gunpowder, primers, and equipment used to manufacture ammunition.
[馃敼] Mossad were later alleged to have called on Iranians with information on individuals working in the Iranian government or security agencies were to contact them and share that information for a potential financial reward.
[馃敼] IRGC claimed to have destroyed a number of refueling aircraft and the logistical support fleet of the US Army at the Al-Kharj base, as reports of a major fire breaking out were reported from the US Sultan base in Saudi Arabia, while CBS later reported two US service members were very seriously injured in the attack and eight others seriously injured.
[馃敼] Saraya Awliya al-Dam Military Spokesperson Abu Mahdi al-Jaafari warned the UAE against coordinating with Israel to drag Gulf states into a direct confrontation with Iran, saying such attempts ‘may accelerate your disappearance from the map,’ as al-Jaafari continued saying the reduced pace of resistance operations is due to bad weather and the withdrawal of US forces from some bases in Iraq and the region, while calling on the parliamentary security committee and resistance MPs to visit the Victoria base near Baghdad airport to verify the US withdrawal and raise the Iraqi flag over it.
[馃敼] IDF issued an urgent warning to residents in the northwest of Arak city and the Kheirabad industrial area, calling on civilians to evacuate ahead of planned operations, saying it intends to carry out strikes in the specified hours as part of its ongoing campaign against Iranian military infrastructure, and later residents from the Khondab area photographed explosions at the Arak heavy water reactor which was a key infrastructure for producing plutonium for nuclear weapons, while other images showed smoke over Yazd following an Israeli airstrike.
[馃敼] Following the attacks, the IRGC warned workers at industrial companies in the region with US shareholders or allied with Israel to leave their workplaces immediately, citing retaliatory operations were under way: “You tested us once before; the world has again seen that you yourselves started playing with fire and attacking infrastructure. This time, the equation will no longer be an ‘eye for an eye’. Just wait,” said IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Seyed Majid Moosavi.
[馃敼] Iranian FM Araghchi took to X saying that Israel had struck two of the country’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites, among other infrastructure, claiming the attacks were carried out in coordination with the US, adding that the strikes contradicted Trump’s extended deadline for diplomacy, and vowed that Iran would exact a ‘heavy price’ for ‘Israeli crimes.’
[馃敼] Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said UN Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres had praised and expressed full support for Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts to end the war in the region, where in a phone call, they discussed the evolving situation in west Asia and its implications for international peace and security, while Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to diplomacy and dialogue as the only viable path to sustainable peace.
[馃敼] IRGC announced they’d carried out a wave of attacks that had targeted a gathering centre of American-Israeli forces on Bubiyan Island in Kuwait, using various attack drones and ballistic missiles, inflicting heavy casualties on American forces, claiming that the wounded were transferred to Al-Saleh Al-Sabah, Muhammad Al-Ahmad and Ali Al-Salem hospitals, according to Iranian State Media.
[馃敼] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine and Saudi Arabia had signed an arrangement on defence cooperation, laying the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation and investment, stating that Ukraine was prepared to share its expertise in countering ballistic missiles and drones (the same Iranian-made weapons now used in the Gulf region) noting that Saudia Arabia possessed capabilities of interest to Ukraine, making the cooperation mutually beneficial, adding that the leaders also discussed Russia’s assistance to Iran, developments in fuel markets and potential energy cooperation.
[馃敼] Spokesman for Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission Ebrahim Rezaei stated that Iran’s continued membership in the Non-Proliferation Treaty was meaningless and that it was time to leave, arguing that the NPT had provided no benefit, failed to protect Iran from attacks by nuclear powers, and that international agreements had been entirely disregarded, adding that Iran had no intention of producing a bomb and that its policy remained unchanged, but described IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s comment that an atomic bomb is the only way to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme as ‘provocative and dangerous.’
[馃敼] NATO was warned by the leader of Iraq’s Harakat al-Nujaba stating that its presence is no longer welcomed or accepted: “We warn you after this flight of yours not to think about returning in the future – if you return, know that you will not leave Iraq again fleeing Turkey or Jordan as happened days ago; rather, you will be forced out carried in your coffins” he said.
[馃敼] Israeli Ministry of Health reported that 5,492 people had been admitted to hospitals since the start of Operation Roaring Lion, noting that 116 remained in hospital, one in critical condition, 24 in moderate condition, 74 in mild condition and one under evaluation. Between March 26 and March 27 there were 261 casualties admitted, one critical, one serious, eight moderate, 228 mild, 24 suffering from anxiety and one under medical evaluation.
[馃敼] According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration is signalling to allies that there are no immediate plans for a ground invasion of Iran, despite thousands of troops being deployed to the Middle East, instead stating that the support is intended to help with evacuations as well as maintain strategic ambiguity, with officials noting Trump could still change course at any moment.
[馃敼] Iraq and the US agreed to intensify cooperation to prevent terrorist attacks and ensure Iraqi territory isn’t used as a launchpad for aggression against Iraqi people or against US personnel, diplomatic missions and the international coalition, as both sides reaffirmed their commitment to keeping Iraq outside the ongoing military conflict in the region, with full respect for its sovereignty, and to support Iraq in ensuring its land, airspace and territorial waters are not used to threaten the country, its neighbours, or the region. The two sides also renewed their commitment to coordinating counter-terrorism efforts in a way that prioritises Iraqi operations to achieve common goals while preserving stability and safeguarding Iraqi sovereignty.
[馃敼] The Houthi-Yemeni armed forces issued a statement that threatened direct military intervention if the US and Israel continue their aggression against Iran and the ‘axis of Jihad and resistance,’ stating its ‘fingers are on the trigger’ for direct military action if any additional alliances join the US-Israel campaign, if the Red Sea is used for ‘hostile operations’ against Iran or any Muslim country, or if escalation against Iran and the resistance axis continues. The statement also called for an immediate halt to the ‘unjust, illegitimate’ aggression on Iran, Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq, demanding the implementation of the Gaza agreement, stressing that their operations target only the US and Israeli enemy and aim to thwart the ‘Zionist entity,’ adding that they don’t target any Muslim people.
[馃敼] One person was confirmed dead and two others injured following an Iranian cluster munition falling in Ramat Gan, while damage was caused to shops and residential buildings in the centre of Tel Aviv after the falls of more clusters that had spread out throughout the city, and the burned fuel tank of the missile fell in the Palestinian village of Salfit in the West Bank.
[馃敼] IRGC reported it had carried out an operation using Ghadr-380 ballistic and cruise missiles which allegedly struck six US LCU landing craft at Al-Shuyukh port, noting that three vessels allegedly sank after direct hits, while the remaining three continued to burn, and in a separate attack, the IRGC used drones to target gathering centres of US drone unit officers on the coast and in a hotel in Dubai.
[馃敼] Residents of Tehran recorded smoke and the sound of explosions around the city, and soon after, unverified reports claimed that a US F-16 had to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after being struck over the skies of Shiraz, Iran.
[馃敼] Trump said that the US no longer has to be there for NATO due to the lack of support from the alliance during Operation Epic Fury: “But I think a tremendous mistake was when NATO just wasn’t there, they just weren’t there – it’s gonna make a lot of money for the United States because we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds of protecting them – and we would have been there for them, but now based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be… do we?”
[馃敼] IAEA officials said they’d been informed by Iran of a new strike in the area around the Bushehr power plant, which would be the third strike within the area in a 10 day period according to Iranian claims, however, the agency reported that no damage to the operation of the reactor or radiation releases had been recorded as a result of the alleged attack.
[馃敼] Sirens began to sound around Bahrain and Dubai moments before an Iranian ballistic missile was captured entering the airspace, as hits were reported in at least three areas of the country, following several loud explosions reported by locals.
[馃敼] The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that an Israeli airstrike on Friday evening in Beirut killed six Iranian diplomats at their residence in the city.
