The war in the Middle East has expanded dramatically, with casualties and destruction reported across at least nine countries, including major strikes on the Iranian capital, Tehran. Israel also launched an intense wave of attacks into Lebanon after Hezbollah struck at northern Israel in retaliation for the Israeli strike on Saturday that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US military said Kuwait’s air defences had mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighters during an Iranian attack. The US military said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Trump said 10 Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy’s headquarters had been “largely destroyed”.

Source: Irish Examiner March 03, 2026 06:26 UTC