Iranian leadership disarrayTrump has reported that 48 top Iranian leaders were killed in the initial hours of the air campaign, including Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Over the coming days, I’ll be watching to see whether Iran can sustain the barrages we’ve seen in early hours, or whether military strikes into Iran are having the desired degradation effect. Gulf states: Off the sidelinesThe most surprising development for me in these early hours has been Iran’s decision to target civilian infrastructure, hotels, and residences in the Gulf states — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. Should some of the Gulf states join strikes into Iran, that would be a significant development, reversing years of work by Iran to reconcile with its Arab neighbors. Following the E3, five Gulf states and Jordan joined the US in condemning Iran and asserting their “right to self defense” against Iran’s attacks.

Source: Egypt Independent March 02, 2026 09:06 UTC