Wake Up Before Its Too Late: Oppose the Unjust, Cruel War on Iran

Silence in the face of US–Israeli aggression will destroy the international legal order and endanger global peace.

TEHRAN, IRAN - MARCH 1: Plumes of smoke rise over the skyline following explosions on March 1, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was confirmed killed after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

By Esmaeil Baghaei

Spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

7 Mar 2026

Today is the eighth day of the American-Israeli axis of aggression against Iran. In a flagrant violation of Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, they have launched, as of Saturday 28 February, an unprovoked, unwarranted act of aggression against my country. They started this merciless aggression by targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader’s compound at the heart of the capital, Tehran. The leader, also a highly respected Shia religious jurist across the region and beyond, was martyred along with a number of his family members, including his 14-month-old granddaughter on the 10th day of the holy month of Ramadan.

At the same time, they launched massive air and missile strikes across Iran against military and civilian infrastructure. In just one case, they struck an elementary school in Minab, south-western Iran, where 165 innocent schoolgirls and 26 teachers were brutally slaughtered.

It is now clear that the US/Israeli targeting of this elementary school was deliberate and pre-planned. A detailed investigative report, based on satellite imagery, strike patterns, and geolocation analysis, has demonstrated that the attack directly struck the civilian school building during class hours. The purpose was to preoccupy Iran’s armed forces and emergency response capacity so that the aggressors could subsequently target other strategic sites.

The military aggression continues, and many civilian sites have been targeted, resulting in massive loss of innocent life and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

This renewed aggression was imposed on the Iranian nation while Iran and the United States were engaged in a diplomatic process. The foreign minister of Oman, acting as mediator, had announced that “significant progress” had been achieved in the latest round of negotiations on Thursday 26 February in Geneva.

This attack represents yet another betrayal of diplomacy and demonstrates that the US has zero respect for the basics of diplomacy. Despite being fully aware of the hostile intentions of the United States and the apartheid regime of Israel, Iran once again entered into negotiations to leave no room for doubt before the international community – to demonstrate the legitimacy of the Iranian people’s cause and to expose the baselessness of any pretext for aggression. These events show that the United States does not truly believe in diplomacy and instead seeks to impose its will on other nations.

The Iranian nation, proud and resilient, has proven that it does not yield to threats or foreign intervention. The millennia-old history of Iranian civilisation bears witness to the fact that Iranians have never bowed to aggression or domination.

For example, about 900 years ago, Farid al-Din Attar — one of the greatest poets in Iranian history — recounts in his book Tadhkirat al-Awliya that when Bayazid Bastami uttered the ecstatic phrase, “Subhani, ma a‘zama sha’ni” (“Glory be to me, how great is my station”), some accused him of heresy and attacked him with knives. Yet, as the story goes, with every stab, instead of Bayazid bleeding, it was the attackers’ own bodies from which blood flowed.

Iran is like Bayazid in this story. History shows that despite every blow struck against it, it is ultimately the aggressors — the ones who wield the knives — who are erased, while Iran endures and remains. This is what can be called the theory of Iran’s continuity amid super-crises and foreign aggression — a pattern repeatedly demonstrated throughout the many invasions and attacks Iran has endured over the past several centuries.

The airstrikes carried out by the Zionist regime and the United States against Iran constitute a violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations and amount to a clear act of armed aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. United Nations experts stated in their statement on March 4 that this act of aggression is “unlawful”. Furthermore, the assassination of the Supreme Leader and other Iranian officials represents a manifest violation of the immunity of state officials and of international conventions, including the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons.

Responding to this aggression is Iran’s lawful and legitimate right under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will employ all necessary capabilities to counter this criminal aggression and repel the enemy’s hostility. This right shall continue until the aggression ceases and the matter is properly addressed by the United Nations Security Council. As the state acting in self-defence, Iran will determine the measures that are necessary and proportionate to this armed attack.

In exercising this right, Iran had no option but to target certain US military facilities in the region. These defensive operations are not directed against host countries but are undertaken solely in defence of Iran. The facilities targeted were used by the United States to prepare and launch military attacks against Iran.

Iran fully respects the territorial integrity and political independence of its neighbouring countries. Every state has a responsibility, under international law and the principle of good neighbourliness, not to allow its territory, airspace, or facilities to be used for acts of aggression against Iran. As expressly affirmed by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, any point of origin, base, or territorial platform from which acts of aggression against Iran are initiated—irrespective of the state in which such forces may be stationed—shall, consistent with Article 3(f) of the Annex to General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) on the Definition of Aggression, be regarded as a lawful military objective in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right of self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. We need concrete and objective assurances that no further aggression will originate from US facilities located within these countries.

Iran underscores the critical responsibility of the United Nations and its Security Council to take immediate action in response to this breach of international peace and security. We call upon the Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council, and its members to fulfill their duties without delay.

All Member States of the United Nations—particularly countries in the region and the Islamic world, members of the Non-Aligned Movement, and all governments committed to international peace and security—are expected to condemn this act of aggression and to take urgent and collective measures in response. States must exercise vigilance and not be drawn into the designs of the aggressors.

Our message to the international community is clear: these acts of aggression and the ongoing harrowing crimes signal an unprecedented erosion of the international legal order. Inaction in the face of such unlawful conduct will not only embolden the United States and the Israeli regime but will also inflict lasting and irreparable damage upon the foundations of the international legal order.

The world is at a critical juncture. It shall decide whether it wants to be ruled by merciless bullying and force or whether it wants to save the rule of law from vanishing.

This will not be the last unlawful resort to force unless the international community acts decisively and responsibly.

States must not adopt a policy of indifference and appeasement. Failure to uphold fundamental principles of international law is a recipe for a dark global dictatorship that will bury the United Nations and annihilate the very basic tenets of humanity.

Every nation, every Muslim, every person of human conscience, has a responsibility to act. The world must wake up before it is too late. Otherwise, similar acts of aggression and crimes will unfold within your own borders.

The Iranian nation is defending itself by all means. We fight back in this unjust brutal war of aggression against two nuclear-armed regimes.

This is an unjust war imposed on a civilization. History will judge you all. Those who choose to take sides with the aggressors as well as those who prefer to keep silent in the face of this brutal injustice will all be regarded as accomplices.

Be on the right side of history and oppose this cruel, unjust war.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Esmaeil Baghaei

Spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

IRGC's Latest Wave Dealt 'Lethal Blows' to Enemy Systems Across Region

By Al Mayadeen English

6 Mar 2026 19:45

Iran’s IRGC announces the 22nd wave of Operation “True Promise 4,” targeting US bases including Al Dhafra, Ali Al Salem, and Al Udeid with missiles and drones.

During Wave 22 of Operation True Promise 4, several US military bases in the region were targeted, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced, as Iran's retaliation remains steadfast and crushing for the seventh day following the US-Israeli attack. 

In Statement No. 23 issued by the IRGC’s public relations department, the Iranian forces said they had delivered “lethal and powerful blows to the body of the aggressive enemy,” as part of the ongoing 22nd wave.

The operations were carried out in honor of the Minab school martyrs and the call of “Ya Hussein ibn Ali.”

Missile, drone attacks on US and Israeli targets

According to the IRGC, the operation involved large numbers of next-generation missiles alongside combined drone and precision missile strikes targeting US and Israeli assets across the region.

Al Dhafra Air Base targeted

The statement said Iranian forces targeted Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, used by US forces, with various types of drones and precision missiles.

According to the IRGC, the strikes destroyed an advanced early-warning radar system inside the base, as well as maintenance and storage hangars for MQ-9 drones and the US U-2 reconnaissance aircraft. The statement added that fires were still raging at the targeted facilities.

Ali Al Salem Air Base hit with cruise, ballistic missiles

The IRGC also announced strikes on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, saying it was hit by cruise and ballistic missiles.

The attacks reportedly destroyed the base’s early-warning radar and several key facilities, including aircraft fuel tanks and two military runways that US aircraft had used to launch attacks against Iranian territory since the beginning of the aggression.

Al Udeid Air Base targeted in combined operation

The statement further revealed that joint attacks were carried out in recent hours against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, using suicide drones along with cruise and ballistic missiles.

According to the IRGC, the strikes targeted radar facilities, air traffic control centers, satellite communication stations, and fuel supply installations inside the base.

Iran vows continued retaliation

The IRGC stressed that these operations are part of Iran’s ongoing response to US and Israeli attacks, emphasizing that “revenge for the blood of the martyrs” remains a main objective for Iran’s armed forces.

The statement concluded with a warning to the US and "Israel", saying Iran’s adversaries should “expect decisive surprises from the fighters of Islam on the battlefield,” signaling that military operations are expected to continue and escalate in the coming period.

Op. True Promise 4: Iran Launches 22nd Wave with New Generation Missiles

Friday, 06 March 2026 2:24 PM

A screengrab from a video showing the launch of missiles against US and Israeli positions by the IRGC in the 22nd wave of Operation True Promise 4.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched the 22nd wave of Operation True Promise 4 with a barrage of Khorramshahr 4, Khaibar and Fattah missiles targeting the "heart of the occupied territories," with a senior official revealing that Iran has so far used mostly decade-old missiles and is preparing new advanced weapons for a prolonged war.

The IRGC’s Public Relations department said the operation began Friday afternoon under the code name "Ya Hossein ibn Ali (AS)," according to Tasnim news agency.

This wave targeted American and Zionist regime positions from the Persian Gulf to Tel Aviv with the launch of Khaibar, Khorramshahr-4, and Fattah missiles, in retaliation for the child-killing perpetrators who murdered Iran's children at the Minab school, said the statement.

It added that one of the launched missiles was ultra-heavy "Khorramshahr-4" missile, carrying a 2-ton warhead and traveling at a speed exceeding Mach 14, which has been directed at the targets of the wicked enemies of the Iranian nation.

American and Zionist regime bases in the Persian Gulf countries, Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport, and military centers in Haifa were struck by new-generation missiles, it added.

"The complete success in launching these missiles from the sustained chain of IRGC missile bases on the seventh day of the war nullified the absurd claim by the propaganda machine of the global arrogance about the weakening of defense capabilities and the reduced rate of missile and drone launches," it added.

A senior IRGC official told Fars news agency that missiles used over the past seven days were predominantly from production years 2012 through 2014.

"Given our forecasts for a prolonged war, until now the missiles used in this round of attacks are mainly related to the years 2012, 2013 and 2014, and Iran has not used its new generation of missiles except in rare cases," the official said.

The official described the defense industry's production cycle as continuously active, with design and assembly lines operating simultaneously to produce various missile systems.

"It is expected that in the coming days, a new style of attacks will be on the agenda, utilizing advanced and less-used long-range missiles," the official added.

IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini said Friday that Iran is prepared for a prolonged war until the aggressor is punished.

"The enemy should expect painful blows in every wave of operations," Naeini said.

He emphasized that Iranian innovations and new weapons are on the way and have not yet been widely deployed in comparison to what is available.

The United States and Israel launched a fresh round of aerial aggression against Iran on February 28, some eight months after they carried out unprovoked attacks on the country.

Iran has retaliated with barrages of missile and drone attacks on Israeli-occupied territories and US bases in regional countries.

The Khorramshahr 4, Khaibar and Fattah missiles mentioned in the IRGC’s statement represent some of Iran's more recent systems, with the Fattah being unveiled in 2023 as a hypersonic missile capable of maneuvering during flight to evade defenses.

Ethiopia Does Not Want War: PM

By Africa News with AFP

Abiy Ahmed

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said his country does not want war, even as regional Tigray authorities say federal forces are massing around the northern region, raising fears of renewed conflict.

Tigray emerged in 2022 from a two-year war that saw federal forces, backed by militias and the Eritrean army, clash with rebels from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for some 30 years before Abiy, a non-Tigrayan, took power in 2018, with the group then marginalised and banned.

At least 600,000 people were killed in the conflict, according to estimates from the African Union.

A ceasefire held for more than two years, but clashes between federal and Tigrayan forces broke out again in November last year and January.

Large numbers of federal troops have for several weeks been massed at the Tigray border, where Tigrayan forces have also deployed.

"On our part, we believe problems should be resolved only through dialogue. We don't want war," Abiy said in an interview broadcast late Thursday by the Ethiopian news agency.

Referring to the TPLF, Abiy -- unusually speaking in Tigrinya, the language spoken in Tigray -- said that some were "obstructing dialogue from taking place" and achieving solutions.

He added that the TPLF "wasn't ready to make even a small compromise".

In an interview given to AFP on Wednesday, the TPLF's second-in-command, Amanuel Assefa, said the "federal government is preparing itself to wage a war against Tigray".

The federal authorities have accused the TPLF of growing closer to neighbouring Eritrea, which maintains fragile relations with Addis Ababa. The group has denied this.

Eritrea accuses its landlocked neighbour of eyeing its port of Assab.

The two countries fought a deadly war from May 1998 to June 2000 for control of several border towns.

In the interview, Abiy also said that Eritrea would "not hesitate to destabilise the country".

"We will not give it a chance to hurt our people once again. If it tries, I believe it will be its last attempt," he said.

Thousands Including Obama Pay Tribute to Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

Reverend Dr. Otis Moss III speaks during the Public Homegoing Service the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the House of Hope in Chicago, Friday, March 6, 2026

By Africanews with AP

Three former Democratic presidents are set to speak at a Chicago church as mourners pay a final public tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.

Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden received cheers and applause Friday as they joined thousands of people for a celebration of life for the civil rights leader. But it was “the South Side’s own, President Barack Obama,” as an announcer described him, who received the loudest round of applause as he entered the chamber.

Obama, Clinton and Biden followed the arrival of Jackson’s family into the church sanctuary.

The event honors the protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate and follows memorial services that drew large crowds in Chicago and South Carolina, where Jackson was born. Friday’s celebration — at an influential Black church with a 10,000-seat arena — is expected to be the largest.

Crowds of attendees waited in long lines outside the church on the city’s South Side as television screens played excerpts of some of Jackson’s most famous speeches. Inside, vendors sold pins with his 1984 presidential slogan and hoodies with his “I Am Somebody” mantra.

Tunisian Authorities Detain pro-Palestinian Activists Preparing New Gaza Aid Flotilla

Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, File)

By GHAYA BEN MBAREK

2:47 PM EST, March 6, 2026

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisian authorities detained several pro-Palestinian activists Friday as tensions mounted around an international campaign preparing a new humanitarian flotilla to challenge Israeli restrictions and bring aid to Gaza, organizers said in a statement.

Tunisian media reported that Tunisia’s National Guard financial crimes unit opened an inquiry into suspected money laundering, fraud and the alleged misuse of funds collected through donations to the flotilla campaign.

The probe reportedly targets several managers and members of the flotilla steering committee, with certain members taken into custody as authorities verify the origin and management of donation funds. Tunisian authorities didn’t publicly comment on the detentions.

Activists said police detained Wael Naouar, Jawaher Channa and Nabil Channoufi, of the Global Sumud Flotilla steering committee and its Tunisian organizing body. None of the detained has commented.

Organizers accused authorities of targeting activists supporting the Palestinian cause and called for their immediate release.

The detentions followed several days of disruptions to flotilla-related events in Tunis linked to preparations for a new civilian mission seeking to sail toward Gaza. Israel intercepted boats and detained activists on a similar flotilla effort last year.

Keeping track of the status of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for a ceasefire that would end Hamas’ rule in Gaza and rebuilding the territory after a devastating war.

The United Nations said that hundreds of thousands of pallets of humanitarian supplies have been collected at various crossings into Gaza since a fragile ceasefire in October. But Israel has suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules and Gaza’s population of over 2 million Palestinians still face a humanitarian crisis.

According to organizers, the new flotilla is to include more than 1,000 activists including medical doctors, war crimes investigators and engineers. It will be supported by a land convoy that is expected to attract thousands more. The boats are expected to sail from Spain, Tunisia and Italy.

Authorities banned a planned event Thursday in Tunis that had been expected to host international activists including Brazilian campaigner Thiago Ávila, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Global March to Gaza Palestinian organizer Seif Abu Koshk.

Ávila’s team said on Facebook that he was also detained Friday at Brussels Airport while traveling from Tunis to Amsterdam for a meeting of the Hague Group, a bloc of states committed to legal and diplomatic measures in defense of international law.

Earlier this week, activists said security forces prevented a ceremony at the Tunisian port of Sidi Bou Said intended to honor port workers who had supported the previous flotilla mission last year.

Prior to Friday’s arrests, the Tunisian branch of the flotilla’s steering committee had also called for a protest in Tunis on Saturday night in support of Iran following joint strikes by the United States and Israel.

Analysis Suggests School Was Hit Amid U.S. Strikes on Iranian Naval Base

The Feb. 28 school strike in Minab, which killed dozens, including children, appears to have been part of an attack on an adjacent naval base in southern Iran, where officials said U.S. forces were operating.

By Malachy Browne and Aaron Boxerman

March 6, 2026, 11:43 a.m. ET

Follow live updates on the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran and Mideast fallout.

The Feb. 28 strike that hit an elementary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab is the deadliest known episode of civilian casualties since the United States and Israel attacked Iran — and no side has yet taken responsibility.

But a body of evidence assembled by The New York Times — including newly released satellite imagery, social media posts and verified videos — indicates the school building was severely damaged by a precision strike that occurred at the same time as attacks on an adjacent naval base operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

And official statements that U.S. forces were attacking naval targets near the Strait of Hormuz, where the I.R.G.C. base is located, suggest they were most likely to have carried out the strike.

The White House referred The Times to remarks by the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, at a news conference on Wednesday. When asked if the United States had conducted the airstrike on the school, she responded, “Not that we know of,” adding that “the Department of War is investigating this matter."

Determining precisely what happened has been impeded by the lack of visible weapons fragments and the inability of outside reporters to reach the scene. The total death toll has yet to be independently confirmed, but Iranian health officials and state media said the strike had killed at least 175 people, many of them children, at the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school.

In the several days since the attack, U.S. officials have neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that an investigation was underway. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters on Sunday that “as of now,” he was not aware of any Israeli military operation “in that area” at the time.

U.S. officials in public statements have indicated that on the day in question, U.S. planes were conducting operations in the region where the school was located.

The elementary school is in the small southern town of Minab, more than 600 miles from Tehran but near the critical waterway of the Strait of Hormuz. Since Saturday is the start of the Iranian workweek, children and teachers were in class at the time of the strike, health officials and Iranian state media said.

The strikes were first reported on social media shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time. An analysis of those posts — as well as bystander photos and videos captured within an hour of the strikes — helps corroborate that the school was hit at the same time as the naval base. One video, pinpointed by geolocation experts, showed several large plumes of smoke billowing from the area of the base and the school.

Images showing extensive damage to the school building were shared by an Iranian rights group soon after, and videos posted by Iranian media and independently verified by The Times showed throngs of people searching through rubble for survivors and victims.

Another video was filmed by a motorist passing the entrance of the Revolutionary Guards base. The video showed the Revolutionary Guards’ insignia on two entrances to the compound and signs for a naval medical command.

Dark plumes of smoke were rising from where military buildings had been hit, the Times analysis found.

To more fully assess the damage inside the base and what might have caused it, The Times ordered new satellite imagery from the provider Planet Labs. An image taken on Wednesday further corroborated the chronology.

The imagery shows that multiple precision strikes hit at least six Revolutionary Guards buildings along with the school. Four buildings inside the naval base were completely destroyed and two other buildings showed impact points at the center of their roofs.

Wes J. Bryant, a national security analyst who served in the U.S. Air Force and was a senior adviser on civilian harm at the Pentagon, reviewed the new satellite images and concluded that all of the buildings, including the school, had been hit with “picture perfect” target strikes.

Mr. Bryant, who has been critical of the Trump administration, said the most likely explanation was that the school had been a “target misidentification” — that forces had attacked the site without realizing that it might have had large numbers of civilians inside.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a news conference on Wednesday that U.S. forces were carrying out strikes at the time along southern Iran. A map he presented showed that an area including Minab had been targeted by strikes in the first 100 hours of the operation, although it did not explicitly identify the town.

At the same briefing, General Caine said Israeli forces had predominantly been operating farther north in the country. He also identified several U.S. military operations targeting the southern and southeastern areas of Iran, without mentioning any Israeli activity there.

Specifically, General Caine said: “Along the southern axis, the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln strike group has continued to provide pressure from the sea along the southeastern side of the coast and has been attriting naval capability all along the strait.”

The school at one point was part of the Revolutionary Guards’ naval base, according to satellite images from 2013 reviewed by The Times. Roads had led from other areas of the base to the school building that was struck on Saturday. But by September 2016, satellite images show, the same building was partitioned off and was no longer connected to the base.

Publicly available historical satellite imagery shows the structure bears the hallmarks of a school, including a sports field and other recreational areas that were added over time.

“Given the U.S.’s intelligence capabilities, they should have known that a school was in the vicinity,” said Beth Van Schaack, a former State Department official who teaches at Stanford University’s Center for Human Rights and International Justice.

Some theories have circulated online suggesting that a misfired Iranian missile was responsible for the strike on the school, but The Times and other online analysts debunked the claim, in part by determining that a single errant missile wouldn’t have caused such precise and targeted damage to several buildings across the naval base.

U.S. officials say the strike is still under investigation. If it’s confirmed to be an American bomb that hit Shajarah Tayyebeh, one question is likely to be whether the school strike was a mistake or whether it was targeted based on outdated information.

Janina Dill, an expert on the laws of war at Oxford University, said attackers were obligated to “verify the status” of what they targeted to ensure that civilians were not being harmed. Failure to do so could violate international law, she added.

Reporting was contributed by Sanam Mahoozi, Kiana Hayeri, Parin Behrooz, Aric Toler, Shawn McCreesh and Eric Schmitt. Videos produced by Alexander Cardia, Cynthia Silva and Dmitriy Khavin. Graphics editing was contributed by Rafaela Balster.

Malachy Browne is enterprise director of the Visual Investigations team at The Times. He was a member of teams awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2020 and 2023.

Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.

Islamic Militants Abduct More Than 300 People in Northeastern Nigeria, Officials Say

Police officers patrol during the gubernatorial and state Assembly elections in Lagos, Nigeria, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, file)

By DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN and WILSON MCMAKIN

11:14 AM EST, March 6, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic militants attacked a town in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, abducting more than 300 people, including women and children, local officials said.

The attack happened in the town of Ngoshe in Borno state, according to Bulama Sawa, an official from the Gwoza area. He told The Associated Press the attack was likely in retaliation for an operation by the military that killed three commanders of the militant Boko Haram group.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack. Nigeria is battling a complex security crisis from different armed groups. The United States has sent troops to the West African nation to help advise its military on the fight against insecurity.

Separate attacks this week also took place in the communities of Konduga, Marte, Jakana, and Mainok between Wednesday and early Friday, according to a military spokesperson.

The spokesperson, Uba Sani, said the troops were able to repel the attacks on the communities of Konduga, Marte, Jakana and Mainok, but “a number of brave soldiers paid the supreme price in the line of duty,” along with a senior officer. He did not elaborate on military casualties.

Sani described the assaults as “failed attacks” and said they showed “increasing desperation of terrorist elements under sustained operational pressure” from the military.

Ulf Laessing, with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said Friday’s attack on Ngoshe took advantage of the Nigerian army’s difficulties in controlling large swaths of the country where jihadi groups operate. Militants are also benefiting from increased cross-border cooperation between their groups and the use of drones to scout out their targets before attacking.

“The army is fighting a ghost — fighters descending with motorbikes on villages and disappearing into the bush before the army can respond in time,” said Laessing.

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province. There is also the IS-linked Lakurawa, as well as other “bandit” groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining.

Recently, the crisis has worsened to include other militants from the neighboring Sahel region, including the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil last year.

Several thousand people in Nigeria have been killed, according to data from the United Nations. Analysts say not enough is being done by the government to protect its citizens.

___

McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Funding for Africa Clean Energy Financing Surges Despite Fewer Project Approvals

Mark Munyua, CP solar's technician, examines solar panels on the roof of a company in Nairobi, Kenya, Sept. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)

By ALLAN OLINGO

8:15 PM EST, March 4, 2026

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s flagship clean energy fund plans to more than double its financing to $2.5 billion over the next two years, as momentum builds behind the continent’s energy transition.

Contributions to the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) rose last year, signaling renewed investor confidence in African renewables. Since its launch, the fund has mobilized about $1 billion in commercial capital alongside its own commitments.

“Based on our projects pipeline, we projected capital mobilization to climb to $2.5 billion,” said Joao Duarte Cunha, manager of the bank’s Renewable Energy Funds Division and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa.

“By 2030, we expect our portfolio to yield over $10 billion in commercial capital mobilized,” he said.

The contributions to SEFA rose to $88 million in 2025, mostly from European Union member countries. That was up from $54.3 million the year before, the regional lender said during its recent governing council meeting.

The bank approved 13 renewable energy projects last year worth $97 million, compared with 14 projects valued at $108 million a year earlier.

“The last two years have been among our strongest, with 27 projects approved — also broadly comparable in funding volumes and significantly higher than earlier years,” said Cunha.

“Demand for catalytic financing and upstream support continues to grow, and we remain deeply committed to driving the energy transition and achieving universal energy access by 2030,” he said.

Germany committed $40.1 million at last year’s COP 30 global climate summit in Brazil, to support SEFA’s goal of universal energy access and its green hydrogen program. Italy announced a $5.9 million contribution to the fund.

SEFA is designed to attract private investment in clean energy across the continent. Backed by donors led Denmark, it has received cumulative contributions of $577 million. The fund provides low-cost loans and technical assistance to expand energy access and support sustainable development.

In 2024, SEFA approved 14 renewable energy projects in Kenya, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Chad, adding about 840 megawatts of generating capacity and delivering 1.5 million new electricity connections. Of those projects, eight were categorized as green baseload — producing the minimum amount of energy required to meet a country’s energy demand. Two were categorized as green mini-grids and four as energy efficiency initiatives.

In 2025, most approved projects also fell under green baseload, with fewer mini-grid and energy efficiency operations. In December, SEFA approved a $10 million loan to Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a renewable energy firm producing hydrogen and ammonia in Namibia. It also provided $8.14 million guarantee for an Ivory Coast social currency bond to pay for 400,000 new electricity connections by the end of this year.

Beyond utility-scale projects, SEFA is investing in decentralized energy platforms, including mini-grid developers and private equity and debt funds focused on distributed energy, or production of electricity from small scale sources.

“We are actively testing new product lines for clean cooking and for financing through commercial banks. There is real and meaningful innovation happening in this space,” Cunha said.

US-Israel War Against Iran Enters Day 7 Amid Thick Smoke in Tehran and Fears of Another Middle East Quagmire for Washington

Asymmetric warfare makes it difficult for US to achieve a quick and decisive victory: expert

By Wang Qi and Liu Xin

Mar 07, 2026 12:11 AM

Smoke rises from the site of airstrikes in a central area of the Iranian capital Tehran on March 6, 2026. Photo: VCG

With thick smoke and explosions engulfing Tehran, the joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran has entered its one-week mark. Meanwhile, in Washington, concerns are mounting over whether the US is being dragged into another Middle East quagmire and the enormous military expenditures involved. 

In the past week, barrages of missiles, waves of airstrikes, AI-assisted precision targeting, and killing of the top leadership have fallen far short of US-Israel's goal of "regime change" in Tehran. Instead, the campaign has ignited an even fiercer spirit of resistance within Iran.

In addition, the ever-widening spillover of the conflict is gravely disrupting regional security and constitutes a serious threat to the global economy, maritime passage security, and energy security.

Tit-for-tat exchanges

Day seven began with midnight strikes. Massive explosions rocked several sites in Tehran overnight, including residential neighborhoods and areas near Tehran University, according to Al Jazeera. The network also reported that Hezbollah positions in Lebanon have become targets, as Israeli forces intensified strikes there.

Israel's military says its air force hit six Iranian missile launchers overnight, and also destroyed three advanced Iranian defense systems in recent strikes.

Following days of warfare, both the US and Israeli sides have indicated that Iran's military capabilities have been significantly weakened.

According to Al Jazeera, US President Donald Trump said Iran is being "demolished… ahead of schedule and at levels people have never seen before," claiming the country now has "no air force, no air defense."

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, stated on Thursday (local time) that over the past 72 hours, US bomber forces had struck nearly 200 targets in Iran. 

Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, warned on Friday that the US-Israeli campaign against Iran was entering "the next phase" and would "further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities", according to Al Jazeera.

Yet Tehran continues to project defiance, vowing to persist in the fight. In a statement, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Friday that they have launched a wave of drones and missiles at targets in Tel Aviv on Friday. 

The Iranian army reported that its forces have also launched drone attacks on US bases in Kuwait and Iraq, as well as various Israeli targets. It also struck a US oil tanker in the northern Gulf with missiles, per Xinhua. 

Top Iranian official Ali Larijani said on Thursday that his country is prepared to confront a possible invasion from the US, pledging to capture and kill US troops if they enter the country.

In a statement, Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, spokesperson for the IRGC, affirmed that Iran is fully prepared for a "prolonged war" and is set to introduce advanced weaponry that has not yet been used in the conflict. 

Despite Iran's clear military inferiority, its adoption of asymmetric warfare tactics has made it difficult for the US to achieve a quick and decisive victory, Chinese military affairs expert Zhang Junshe told the Global Times on Friday. 

According to the expert, Iran has concealed its surviving forces in underground missile bases located in the mountainous regions of its southwest, thereby evading US and Israeli strikes. At the same time, it has launched counterattacks using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones. Moreover, by rallying its allies within the "Axis of Resistance", Iran has carried out retaliatory strikes against US military bases and Israeli targets.

Iran has launched over 500 ballistic and cruise missiles and over 2,000 drones since the start of the war, an Iranian military source told the Iranian Fars news agency.

Despite multiple rounds of intense strikes, the US and Israel have failed to compel Iran to submit, with Tehran's counteroffensives displaying resilience, Zhang noted. "The US and Israel have not succeeded in fully crippling Iran's command-and-control architecture or its intelligence networks," he added.

At least 1,332 people in Iran have been killed by the US-Israeli attacks since February 28, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.   

Despite the ferocity of the strikes, assessments shared with The Washington Post by European and Arab officials on Thursday indicate no significant defections within regime ranks or widespread popular uprising. 

On Friday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an X post that "Some countries have begun mediation efforts. Let's be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation's dignity & sovereignty. Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict."

Surging doubt and cost

Although US House lawmakers narrowly rejected (212-219) an effort on Thursday to halt the war with Iran, public support for the conflict remains low. Some are questioning whether the intervention truly upholds the "America First" principle that propelled President Trump to victory in the election, with growing fears that it risks dragging the US into yet another protracted and costly Middle East quagmire.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed only 27 percent of respondents supporting the US-Israeli attacks, with 43 percent disapproving.

Politico reported, citing an obtained notification, that US Central Command is requesting that the Pentagon deploy additional military intelligence officers to its headquarters in Tampa, Florida, to support operations against Iran "for at least 100 days but likely through September", far beyond President Trump's initial four-week timeline.

A Thursday Bloomberg report quoted a source as saying that some Pentagon officials are questioning the US strategy amid concerns over depleting limited stocks of key munitions and uncertainty regarding the operation's ultimate goals.

The Wall Street Journal noted signs of escalating funding needs for the military operation. In a Thursday report, citing sources, the paper said Pentagon officials are preparing plans to replenish US munitions expended in the past week's fighting. Lawmakers in Congress and defense industry officials anticipate a forthcoming funding request from the Pentagon to cover war-related costs.

An analysis by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) underlined the colossal cost of the war: it is estimated to have cost Washington $3.7 billion so far in its first 100 hours alone, or nearly $900 million a day, Al Jazeera reported on Friday. 

Based on an analysis by Elaine McCusker, a senior Pentagon budget official during the first Trump administration, the first four days of strikes against Iran are estimated to have cost nearly $11 billion. 

The report said the Trump administration might decide to ask for a supplemental appropriation to cover the war, but "any funding action will become a focal point for opposition to the war."

According to Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, after one week of warfare, the conflict has entered a critical stalemate phase. However, without launching a ground invasion, it is extremely difficult for US and Israel to achieve their objective of toppling the Iranian regime.

"Whether the US becomes mired in a quagmire depends on American strategic decision-making and the degree of damage inflicted on the US by Iran's counterattacks," said Liu, "judging from White House Middle East policy and Trump's personal style, there is a risk of getting bogged down, but it may not be particularly high."

It is possible that, once it becomes clear regime change in Iran is unattainable and the cost becomes extremely unaffordable, the US will seek to end the conflict and declare "victory", said the expert. 

As the US-Israeli war against Iran enters its seventh day, US deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino released a video clip on X showing Christian pastors gathered in the Oval Office with their hands laying on the US leader to pray for Trump and the US armed forces.

When asked about US strategy and objectives, Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security and former adviser to Senator John McCain, told Bloomberg: the risk is that "if you don't know what you're fighting for, then among other things you don't know when you've attained it—and you don't know when to stop."

Iran Warns Strikes Will Expand as Air Defenses Down More Israeli, US Drones

Friday, 06 March 2026 6:31 AM

File photo shows the launch of an Iranian drone during a military exercise. (Photo by Tasnim News Agency)

Iran says its retaliatory campaign will intensify in the coming days, with military officials vowing expanded strikes while air defenses continue to intercept Israeli and US aircraft and drones across the country.

Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Israel has attempted to hide its military resources among civilian areas but Iranian forces are continuing to locate and strike them.

“The cowardly military forces and facilities of the Zionist regime have hidden in civilian and public layers,” Zolfaghari said on Thursday night. “But the detection and striking of the aggressors will continue, and in the coming days the trend of attacks will become more intense and widespread.”

He added that Iranian air defenses on Thursday intercepted and destroyed advanced enemy aircraft over several regions of the country.

“Early this morning, our forces tracked and destroyed one F-15E fighter jet and a total of four advanced reconnaissance-combat drones — Hermes 900 and MQ-9 — in the skies over the western, southwestern and southern regions of our country,” he said.

According to Zolfaghari, the latest interceptions bring the total number of enemy drones shot down by Iranian armed forces to more than 75 since the US-Israeli aggression began last Saturday.

Iranian aerospace forces launched the 21st wave of Operation True Promise 4 early Friday morning, utilizing swarms of suicide drones and the advanced Khayber missiles with cluster warheads to saturate and bypass the Zionist regime

The developments come after the United States and Israel launched a new round of aerial aggression against Iran on February 28, eight months after their earlier unprovoked attacks.

Those strikes led to the martyrdom of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and more than 1,200 civilians, including women, children and senior military commanders.

Iran responded swiftly, launching waves of missile and drone strikes against Israeli-occupied territories as well as US bases across the region.

Iranian officials say the war was imposed on the country and that its military campaign is a legitimate act of self-defense.

'Iran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz'

Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia, spokesman for the Iranian Army, said on Thursday the current instability in regional waters is the direct result of American actions.

“Iran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “This strait has become unsafe by itself due to the mischief of the Americans, and this insecurity has caused shipping companies to lack the courage to pass through the area.”

He warned that restoring stability to the vital waterway may take time. “One of the results of this war is that it is no longer clear when security will return to this region,” Akrami-Nia said.

“The previous order will be very difficult to restore. But we hope that through the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the countries of the region, order will once again return to this strait.”

The army spokesman emphasized that Iran had not sought the conflict.

“We have entered a war that was an unwanted war,” he said. “For us, this war is a sacred and legitimate war because we are defending ourselves. Therefore the motivation and determination of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran is far greater than that of the enemies.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced early Wednesday that its Aerospace Force launched heavy Khorramshahr-4 ballistic missiles toward key Israeli military and infrastructure targets in the 19th wave of True Promise 4 Operation.

Akrami-Nia noted that Tehran had previously warned Washington about the consequences of initiating hostilities.

“We had warned earlier that if a war started, US bases throughout the region would certainly be targeted,” he said. “We said we would strike, and we did. We warned that this war would become regional, and that also happened. We said we would respond immediately, and we did.”

He stressed that Iran harbors no hostility toward neighboring countries despite the widening conflict.

“If today countries of the region and US bases in these countries have been targeted, the responsibility lies with America,” he said. “The Islamic Republic of Iran absolutely has no hostile intention toward the countries of the region and has very brotherly relations with the Muslim countries of the region.”

“But when a war breaks out,” he added, “its flames may spread to the surroundings. The responsibility for this fire lies with America.”

Iranian forces, he said, are prepared for a prolonged confrontation if necessary.

“We are fighting in a managed way,” Akrami-Nia said. “We had prepared in advance for a long war, and today we can continue fighting for as long as the country’s officials decide.”

IRGC Navy has targeted the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier using advanced drones, forcing the strike group into a retreat from Iranian waters.

US, Israel failed in their war goals

Meanwhile, veteran Iranian commander Mohsen Rezaei, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps during the Iran-Iraq war, said the conflict marks a turning point.

“The people should know that their sons in the armed forces will teach the criminal [US President Donald] Trump and [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu such a lesson that they will never again dare such an insult,” he said.

“From today the situation is changing,” Rezaei added. “The nations of the world are happy that a country has emerged that strikes the mouth of America.”

He argued that Washington and Tel Aviv launched the conflict in stages.

“The enemies carried out the first phase of the war in June, the second phase in January, and the third phase in February,” he said. “Trump and Netanyahu, who have dirty and black records, want to escape forward from their disgraceful past.”

Their goal, he said, was to secure a decisive victory against Iran.

“They wanted to achieve a big victory by attacking Iran, assassinating officials, activating terrorists and unrest, and after that occupying the country and devouring Iran’s resources.”

Instead, he said, Iranian forces have achieved significant military successes.

“In the current war we have made good progress in the military fields, which is why dozens of advanced American and Israeli drones have been shot down,” Rezaei said.

He dismissed claims from Washington that US forces could sustain a prolonged conflict.

“Trump’s statement that they can fight for weeks is a big lie,” he said. “And Netanyahu deceived Trump by saying the matter would be finished within 48 hours. Therefore they do not have the ability for a long war — but we do.”

Rezaei also vowed that Iran would not halt its campaign until US forces leave the Persian Gulf.

“This time as well, we will not stop except with the liberation of the Persian Gulf and the cleansing of America from the Persian Gulf,” he said.

The speaker of Iran

Meanwhile, Iranian air defenses continued to intercept hostile aircraft.

The public relations office of the IRGC’s Sahib al-Zaman Corps in Isfahan announced early Friday that another Israeli spy drone had been destroyed in the skies over the central province.

According to the statement, “the second Heron reconnaissance and combat drone of the Zionist regime was tracked and destroyed by the aerospace defense of the IRGC in the skies of Isfahan.”

The announcement came shortly after Iranian forces had already shot down another Heron drone that was patrolling over the same area.

Some Gulf Countries Frustrated with Lack of Notice About Iran Strikes, Defense Help, AP Sources Say

By SAMY MAGDY, MICHELLE L. PRICE and AAMER MADHANI

9:10 PM EST, March 5, 2026

CAIRO (AP) — The Trump administration is confronting mounting discontent from allies in the Persian Gulf who have complained they were not given adequate time to prepare for the torrent of Iranian drones and missiles bombarding their countries in retaliation for strikes launched by the U.S. and Israel.

Officials from two Gulf countries said their governments were disappointed in the way the U.S. has handled the war, particularly the initial attack on Iran last Saturday. They said their countries were not given advance notice of the U.S.-Israeli attack and complained the U.S. had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region.

One of the officials said that Gulf countries were frustrated and even angry that the U.S. military has not defended them enough. He said there is belief in the region that the operation has focused on defending Israel and American troops, while leaving Gulf countries to protect themselves and said that his country’s stock of interceptors was “rapidly depleting.”

Like others in this story, the Gulf officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a confidential diplomatic matter.

The governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain did not respond to requests for comment.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in response: “Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% because Operation Epic Fury is crushing their ability to shoot these weapons or produce more. President Trump is in close contact with all of our regional partners, and the terrorist Iranian regime’s attacks on its neighbors prove how imperative it was that President Trump eliminate this threat to our country and our allies.”

The Pentagon did not respond.

Official reactions by the Gulf Arab countries have been muted, but public figures with close ties to their governments have been openly critical of the U.S., suggesting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dragged President Donald Trump into a needless war.

“This is Netanyahu’s war,” Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief, told CNN on Wednesday. “He somehow convinced the president (Trump) to support his views.”

Pentagon officials conceded this week in closed-door briefings with lawmakers they are struggling to stop waves of drones launched by Iran, leaving some U.S. targets in the Gulf region, including troops, vulnerable.

The Gulf countries have emerged as valuable targets for Iran, well within the range of Iran’s short-range missiles and filled with targets, including American troops, high-profile business and tourist locations and energy facilities, disrupting the world’s flow of oil.

Since the start of the war, Iran has fired at least 380 missiles and over 1,480 drones targeting the five Arab Gulf countries, according to an AP tally based on official statements. At least 13 people have been killed in those countries, according to local officials.

In addition, six U.S. soldiers were killed in Kuwait on Sunday when an Iranian drone strike hit an operations center in a civilian port, more than 10 miles from the main Army base. The husband of one of the slain soldiers, who was part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa, said the operations center was a shipping container-style building and had no defenses.

In briefings for members of Congress on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers that the U.S. will not be able to intercept many of the incoming UAVs, especially the Shaheds, according to three people familiar with the briefings.

In one of the briefings, Caine and Hegseth did not offer any details when pressed by lawmakers why the U.S. did not seem prepared for Iran to launch waves of drones at U.S. targets in the region, according to one of the people.

That person, a U.S. official who is familiar with the U.S. security posture in Gulf region, said that the U.S. did not have widespread capabilities throughout the Gulf region to effectively counter waves of the one-way drones coming to places outside conventional targets or bases outside of Iraq and Syria.

Drone attacks this week at the embassy in Saudi Arabia caused a limited fire at the embassy in Riyadh, and another drone attack the United Arab Emirates sparked a small fire outside the U.S. consulate in Dubai.

The U.S. and its allies in the Middle East on Thursday even sought help from Ukraine, which has expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. When asked about Zelenskyy’s comments, Trump told Reuters on Thursday, “Certainly, I’ll take, you know, any assistance from any country.”

Bader Mousa Al-Saif, a Kuwait-based analyst with Chatham House, said the U.S. appeared to have underestimated the risk to its Gulf Arab allies, believing American troops and Israel would be the primary targets of Iranian retaliation.

“I don’t think they saw that there would be as much exposure to the Gulf,” he said, saying the lack of a plan to protect the Gulf countries “speaks to U.S. short-sightedness.”

The frustration in some of the Gulf nations is driven in part by the relative success that Israel has had knocking down drones and missiles compared to some of their neighbors, according to a person familiar with the sensitive diplomatic matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.

Their air defense systems are hardly as robust as Israel’s, but according to the person, U.S. officials have been somewhat perplexed that the Gulf countries are still not showing an appetite for delivering a counteroffensive by launching missiles at Iranian targets.

Elliott Abrams, who served as a special representative for Iran and Venezuela at the end of Trump’s first term, said that U.S. national security officials and their Gulf allies were aware that Iran had the capability to carry out significant strikes.

“And the neighbors knew it and were afraid of it. But it was never clear that Iran would actually do it, because they have a lot to lose,” Abrams said. “These attacks will leave long-term enmity, and if they keep up, the Gulf Arabs may start attacking Iran.”

Michael Ratney, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that while the Gulf countries have an interest in seeing Iran weakened, they also have key concerns about the ongoing war — including the economic damage and instability it is causing and its open-ended nature.

Ratney, who is now a senior adviser in the Middle East program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: “What comes next? The countries of the Gulf will have to bear the brunt of whatever that is.”

___

Price and Madhani reported from Washington. AP reporters Seung Min Kim, Konstantin Toropin, Ben Finley and Matt Lee in Washington, Danica Kirka and Susie Blann in London and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

IRGC Strikes Critical Israeli Military Sites with Khorramshahr-4 missiles in Latest Wave

Thursday, 05 March 2026 1:17 PM

Iran says Khorramshahr-4 missiles struck Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion and an Israeli air base in the latest wave of strikes. (File photo)

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced early Wednesday that its aerospace force targeted the critical Israeli military infrastructure with heavy Khorramshahr-4 ballistic missiles in the 19th wave of True Promise 4 Operation.

In a statement, the IRGC said the super-heavy missiles, each fitted with a one-ton class warhead, were launched in the pre-dawn hours.

The targets of the strike were central Tel Aviv, Ben-Gurion Airport and Squadron 27 of the Israeli Air Force at the airport, according to the statement.

It said the strategic salvo was preceded by attack drones and that the strike package penetrated “seven layers” of regional and domestic air defenses to reach its objectives.

Khorramshahr-4 is one of Iran's most advanced weapons, a roughly 13-metre missile with a boost weight of nearly 30 tonnes and a maneuverable re-entry warhead (MaRV) capable of carrying over 1,000 kilograms of explosive payload.

An American F-15E Strike Eagle multi-role attack fighter jet has been successfully targeted and downed by the Iranian air defense systems.

The IRGC statement also said that in the previous wave its forces had successfully struck some 20 US military targets across Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The statement described the strikes as part of coordinated, multi-axis action by Iran’s armed forces that exceeded US and Israeli expectations and had altered the operational calculus of the ongoing war imposed on the Islamic Republic.

In the statement, the IRGC further said American troops were fleeing regional bases and seeking shelter in hotels in host countries, while decrying the US military for using civilian facilities in Persian Gulf states as cover for military activity.

The statement also warned that such movements are under constant intelligence surveillance and that Iranian forces remain prepared to target aggressor troops.

The IRGC says at least 560 American troops have been killed in retaliatory operations and many more injured since Saturday.

US-Israel Attack on a Premier Tehran Hospital Targeted Newborns, Destroyed IVF Center

Thursday, 05 March 2026 12:05 PM

By Humaira Ahad

The air at the bombed-out Tehran hospital room hung thick with dust and the metallic tang of recent destruction carried out by the United States and the Israeli regime.

Against a backdrop of shattered concrete, two newborns clung precariously to life. Their breaths were being measured by the rhythmic beep of monitors connected by vital wires.

Amid the dust-choked room following the dastardly US-Israeli aggression, Iranian Red Crescent personnel worked to sever the fragile connection to the damaged infrastructure, to take the infants out of the wreckage.

The Gandhi Hospital in central Tehran, along with a nearby residential building, sustained catastrophic damage from strikes carried out by the United States and Israel late Sunday night, a day after the aggression was launched without provocation.

Immediately following the attack, harrowing footage depicted medical personnel urgently transferring the tiny newborns from their compromised incubators to ambulances.

Hope for new life, IVF centre targeted

The tragedy deepened with confirmation from hospital authorities later about the massive damage incurred by a specialized IVF center there, which lay in ruins.

The IVF centre was a sanctuary where hundreds of hopeful couples had invested their futures, their deepest desires for parenthood.

The US-Israeli aggression destroyed their dreams for future generations that had been painstakingly planned.

“The ledger of violated human rights in this war will be written in blood and shame,” Hossein Kermanpour, Health Ministry spokesman, wrote in a post on his X account.

“For the first time in my life, I am witnessing something I never even saw during the Iran-Iraq War. Patients being carried in their caregivers’ arms, fleeing into smoke-filled streets after missiles exploded beside their hospital,” Kermanpour added.

The assault was not limited to Gandhi Hospital. Reports confirmed that Khatam al-Anbiya Hospital and Motahari Hospital were also directly targeted in Tehran.

Furthermore, several missiles struck near Abuzar Hospital in the southern city of Ahvaz, forcing the immediate evacuation of 21 patients, including those in intensive care, requiring 30 ambulances to reroute them to other centers.

Images from Ahvaz captured the evacuation under dire circumstances. Emergency personnel were moving the sick through the thick plumes of smoke while the terrifying sounds of aerial bombardment still echoed overhead.

The American and Israeli regimes also targeted three emergency medical bases in Sarab, Chabahar, and Hamedan following the Abuzar attack.

A member of the Iranian Parliament said five hospitals and medical centers have been damaged or destroyed during the US-Israeli terrorist attacks on the Islamic Republic.

“Unfortunately, this illegal act of aggression resulted not only in the destruction of the buildings of hospitals and medical centers but also the injury of a number of students and local residents,” Fatemeh Mohammad Beigi, a member of the Parliament’s Health and Treatment Commission, said in a statement on Monday.

She added that a number of these medical centers have been evacuated in fear of more attacks.

Assault on life itself

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denounced the US-Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure, stating that the attacks on medical facilities “affect life itself and assaults on educational centers jeopardize the future of a nation.”

He made this reference following a US-Israeli strike on an elementary school in the southern Hormozgan Province that killed 171 girls.

He added that "targeting patients and children blatantly violates humanitarian principles."

The Iranian president called upon the international community to censure the atrocities.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed extreme concern over the damage to Gandhi Hospital in Tehran.

Following the bombing, he posted on X, stating, “Reports of Tehran’s Gandhi Hospital being damaged during today’s bombardment of the Iranian capital are extremely worrying.”

Ghebreyesus reiterated that “all efforts must be taken to prevent health facilities from being caught up in the ongoing conflict,” emphasizing that “Health facilities are protected under international humanitarian law” with the hashtag “#healthisnotatarget.”

Strike on hospitals, a pattern

However, this event is part of a disturbing pattern. This is not the first time Israel has attacked medical facilities in the Islamic Republic. During the 12-day military aggression in June, nearly a dozen hospitals were targeted in clear violation of international conventions.

The Geneva Conventions, long considered the bedrock of humanitarian protection in wartime, have been repeatedly flouted by both the US and Israel.

In Gaza, an entire health system has been systematically crippled, and doctors have been killed while on duty since the genocidal war was launched in October 2023.

According to chilling WHO figures, 94 percent of hospitals in Gaza were destroyed by Israel during its two-year-long genocide.

US Submarine’s Attack on Iranian Warship in International Waters Marks Expansion of Military Operation: Chinese Expert

By Liu Xuanzun and Liang Rui

Mar 05, 2026 11:17 PM

This image from video provided by US Defense Department shows explosion on an Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean during the joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran. Photo: VCG

The US claimed Wednesday that a US submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters, a move a Chinese military expert said was a dangerous sign that the joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran is expanding to a larger scale.

According to a CNN report, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made the claim, with the Pentagon releasing a video of the attack showing a ship that experiences a massive explosion by its stern as well as what appeared to be still frames showing the ship sinking.

The attack killed more than 80 crew according to authorities in Sri Lanka who launched a rescue mission, and the Iranian side identified the vessel as the IRIS Dena and vowed vengeance for what it described as an "atrocity," CNN reported.

Some 130 people were believed to have been on board the vessel when the first distress call was received on Wednesday, according to Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, according to CNN.

"The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores," Araghchi said on X. "Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set."

The IRIS Dena had been sailing home from an east Indian port, where it had participated in an international naval conference hosted by India in February.

US' Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine claimed that it was the first time a US attack submarine had used a torpedo to sink a combat ship since 1945, CNN reported.

Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US nuclear submarine must have arrived in international waters near India and Sri Lanka where the attack was launched. This indicates that the US had planned the operation in advance. The ambush cannot be a sudden decision.

Wang warned that the US attack in international waters is an indication that the ongoing joint US-Israeli military operation against Iran could be expanding. "In response, Iran could strike more US assets around the world."

China's National Legislature Opens Annual Session with 15th Five-Year Plan Draft Outlined; Expert Says Long-term Planning Brings Stability and Highlights Institutional Strengths

By Yin Yeping and Chen Qingqing

Mar 06, 2026 12:53 AM

The 14th National People's Congress (NPC) opens its fourth session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, on March 5, 2026. Photo: Xinhua

The 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, opened its fourth session on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders attended the opening meeting, Xinhua reported. 

Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report at the meeting, according to the report.

According to the Government Work Report submitted Thursday to the country's top legislature for deliberation, China targets an economic growth of 4.5 percent to 5 percent this year and will strive for better in practice.

Meanwhile, according to a draft report submitted to the national legislature for review on Thursday, China's defense budget growth is expected to slow to 7 percent in 2026, marking the 11th consecutive year of single-digit growth for China's defense budget.

At the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday, the Global Times reporter saw many domestic and foreign journalists gathering around deputies of the NPC for their insights regarding the Government Work Report in which several key topics mostly discussed include China's economic resilience, science innovation and green energy among others.

As China enters a fresh planning cycle, the "two sessions" offer a window into how the country will sustain and advance the momentum of its high-quality development as policymakers set out a blueprint for the country's development for the year and over the next five years, with impacts extending beyond China to the global stage, a Chinese expert said, noting that this capability of a long-term planning provides greater predictability and stability to the uncertain world, highlighting China's institutional strengths.

Heated discussions

As China embarks on the inaugural year of its 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the world has also been closely watching the review of a guiding development blueprint for the new five-year period. 

At the meeting, lawmakers examined a draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development.

They examined the report on the implementation of the 2025 plan for national economic and social development and on the 2026 draft plan, and the draft plan for national economic and social development in 2026.

When Global Times reporters arrived at the scene on early Thursday morning, many journalists and interviewees were already gathered, and they quickly carried out several exchanges to capture insights on the future development blueprint.

Tian Xuan, a deputy to the 14th NPC and an economist, told the Global Times that in reviewing the 15th Five-Year Plan, he noticed that policy support for financial development was specifically highlighted in the Government Work Report.

"As a researcher in finance, I paid special attention to the emphasis on 'technology finance,' which is intended to support entrepreneurship and innovation, promote technological advancement, and provide financial services across the entire industrial chain and throughout the full lifecycle of technological innovation," Tian said.

"I believe that first and foremost, we must accelerate the establishment of a modern industrial system, particularly one with advanced manufacturing as its backbone. At the same time, achieving a high level of technological self-reliance and strength is essential, as this is crucial for fostering and developing new quality productive forces," Tian said.

Sharing his views on the technology innovation content in blueprint, Li Dongsheng, an NPC deputy and chairman of Chinese electronics giant TCL, told the Global Times that he echoes the work plan and aligns it with the implementation of his own proposals as a technology entrepreneur, noting that innovation plays an important role in the manufacturing sector in which his company operates. 

"Achieving transformation and upgrading in Chinese manufacturing relies on developing high tech, capital intensive, and long cycle industries such as integrated circuits and semiconductor displays," Li Dongsheng said. He also noted that in some sectors where capital investment is not huge but is still important, such as industrial software and large AI models, consistent investment is needed.

Additionally, he said that "Only breakthroughs in key technology areas can support the overall transformation and upgrading of China's economy and strengthen the core capabilities of China's tech manufacturing sector."

Global attention

The annual sessions have also drawn global media attention, as they are eager to gauge the direction of the world's second-largest economy in the next five years.

The Guardian on Thursday highlighted that the plan includes chapters on boosting consumption and enhancing innovation, key priorities for Beijing over the next five years.

"With the US launching tariffs and other actions on not only China but the world, Beijing appears to view the next five years as a window for China to play a more active role in the global environment," The Guardian reported, citing Guo Shan, a partner and chief economist at Hutong Research, a boutique advisory firm, noting that the government work report discussed the importance of international economic flows.

Reuters in its report noted that the 141-page five-year blueprint, which ⁠covered a wide range of socio-economic targets and policies, mentioned AI more than 50 times and included a sweeping "AI+ action plan." 

China is aiming for global technological supremacy in its next five-year plan, the Financial Times highlighted in its report.

In addition to wide coverage by foreign media, some foreign government representatives attending Thursday's meeting also shared their views on the development blueprint.

Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan's Ambassador to China, told the Global Times on Thursday that it is very clear that China provides a great deal of stability amid the turbulence affecting many parts of the world, whether in terms of political, economic, or social stability. "What we have learned from the Government Work Report is truly impressive, particularly the progress and achievements made across social, economic, political, security, environmental, and other fields, as well as the plans outlined for the coming year," the envoy said.

"Within that context, we know the high significance of the Five-Year Plan, which is a major planning tool for China," Hashmi said.

With science and technology at its core, the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan will enable China to continue achieving steady and sound economic growth, social progress, and technological advancement, while also contributing much-needed stability to the world, he said. 

This year's Government Work Report further clarifies key priorities, including technological innovation, industrial modernization, financial support, and green development, providing policy backing and institutional support for economic transformation and upgrading, while also outlining directions for cultivating new-quality productive forces and enhancing the core competitiveness of industries, Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of the Forum 50 for Digital-Real Economies Integration, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"These development goals not only show that China is focusing on innovation-driven growth, industrial upgrading, and green, low-carbon development while maintaining steady economic growth, but also reflect China's strategic resolve to pursue stability and sustainable development amid a complex external environment."

As the most important annual meeting of the world's second-largest economy, the "two sessions" chart a blueprint for the country's development over the next five years, with implications that extend beyond China to the global stage, Cao Heping, professor at the School of Economics of Peking University, told the Global Times on Thursday, noting that this long-term planning provides greater predictability and stability to an otherwise uncertain world, highlighting China's institutional strengths.

"It not only lays a solid foundation for China's sustained economic growth but also offers an important reference and confidence for the global economy, demonstrating China's determination and capability to achieve high-quality and sustainable development amid a complex international environment," Cao said.

China Sets 4.5-5% GDP Growth Target for 2026 While Striving to Achieve Better Results in Practice

Range 'allows policy flexibility', signals confidence in stable growth despite global headwinds: experts

By GT staff reporters

Mar 06, 2026 01:00 AM

A view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai Photo: VCG

China targets economic growth of 4.5 percent to 5 percent this year and will strive for better in practice, according to a Government Work Report submitted Thursday to the country's top legislature for deliberation.

The annual growth target was unveiled in the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Qiang to the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature, which began its annual session on Thursday morning.

Over the next five years, China expects to keep its GDP growth within an appropriate range, with annual growth rates to be determined in light of actual conditions, according to the report.

This will lay a solid foundation for achieving the goal of doubling China's 2020 per capita GDP by 2035 to reach the level of a moderately developed country, the report said.

The target of 4.5 percent to 5 percent economic growth for 2026, while striving to achieve better results in practice, is intended to strike a balance between what is needed and what is feasible, said Shen Danyang, head of the group responsible for drafting this year's government work report, according to Xinhua.

The setting of the economic growth target for 2026 is "proactive and pragmatic", reflecting a broad assessment of domestic conditions and shifts in the external environment, Shen said.

Analysts said that the target range reflects a more prudent assessment of global uncertainties, and allows greater policy flexibility to focus on high-quality development while still signaling policymakers' confidence in maintaining stable growth in the world's second-largest economy amid rising global risks and turmoil.

Flexibility allowed 

This is not the first time China has set its GDP growth target in the form of a range. For example, in 2016, a target range was set at 6.5 to 7 percent. In 2019, the target was set at 6 to 6.5 percent.

Lawmakers, national political advisors, analysts as well as executives of multinationals said that the targeted growth range is set to ensure the Chinese economy gets off to a good start in the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), and the figure is of paramount importance to pinpointing new growth engines and maintaining stable and sustained economic growth.

NPC deputy Yu Miaojie, president of Liaoning University, told the Global Times on Thursday that a growth target range of 4.5 percent to 5 percent allows greater policy flexibility, enabling localities to focus on high-quality economic growth as their primary goal and, more importantly, place greater focus on people's livelihoods.

"Maintaining an annual economic growth rate within this range reflects the stability of China's economy," Yu said, noting the steady track record of economic growth in the past several years.

Amid escalating geopolitical conflicts and growing global turmoil, China's economy has maintained stable and sustained growth, driven by the country's economic resilience and social stability, Yu said.

Denis Depoux, global managing director of strategy consulting firm Roland Berger, told the Global Times on Thursday that it is crucial to understand that this "growth consensus" is not a sign of weakness but a necessary trade-off to achieve higher-priority objectives.

"In the context of rising global uncertainty, the growth target creates fiscal and political buffers for China to drive reform and address real problems without the pressure of chasing high growth at all costs. It allows for a significant reallocation of capital away from inefficient investments and toward the real needs of the economy, namely technology and people," Depoux said.

Still, China's GDP growth target range, if achieved, would largely surpass the world's average growth rate in 2026 with the world economy facing unprecedented geopolitical and economic challenges and turmoil, analysts said.

China's newly announced growth range for 2026 is a firm answer to the "China peak theory" and the Chinese economy is expected to serve as a source of stability for the global economy, they noted.

Notably, the Chinese economy is projected to grow faster in 2026 than the US, Japan and the Euro area, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the US economy projected to grow 2.4 percent in 2026, 0.7 percent for Japan and 1.3 percent for the Euro area. 

The projected pace would also be among the highest for major economies globally, Shen said.

"The growth target is definitely achievable - the target is set in a very practical and realistic way," Yin Tongyue, a National People's Congress deputy and chairman of Chinese automaker Chery Holding Group Co, told the Global Times as he walked out the Great Hall of the People after listening to the delivery of the Government Work Report in Beijing on Thursday.

Pragmatic approach 

Foreign media outlets closely followed China's GDP growth target, with several reports noting that the target range is the lowest range in decades, but creates flexibility for reforms.

Reuters reported that a "lower growth target gives Beijing more flexibility to implement reforms that make the world's second-largest economy less reliant on exports for growth", while the Guardian reported that the figure "reflects an economic strategy that is shifting away from export-led growth to a model that leaders hope will be more resilient to external shocks."

The Wall Street Journal wrote that the "less ambitious growth target also gives Chinese leaders some room to maneuver the economy through complicated geopolitical terrain" and the unchanged deficit target should "give policymakers ample room to rev up government spending if needed."

This is to do with the stage of economic development, as economic growth cannot sustain a continuously high speed, Qu Yongyi, a researcher with the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a national political advisor, told the Global Times on Thursday. "This target range reflects that the government is not solely pursuing GDP growth but is placing greater emphasis on high-quality development."

Tian Xuan, an NPC deputy and a Boya Distinguished Professor of Finance at Peking University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the GDP growth target range is not about "slowing down growth" but rather a "recalibration" of the pace of development.

"It represents the optimal solution found between long-term goals and immediate challenges - one that both upholds the baseline needed to achieve the 2035 vision and reflects a pragmatic approach to development," Tian said. "The modest downward adjustment is not a simple numerical change, but a pragmatic step grounded in economic reality and a move tailored precisely to long-term development goals."

The "range-based regulation" sets a lower bound for growth while preserving upward flexibility and sufficient room for policy maneuvering — all to safeguard the certainty of high-quality development. This also means that achieving the target will be anything but easy; it will require sustained and arduous effort, The People's Daily noted in a commentary published on Thursday.

The commentary, titled China has set an economic growth target of 4.5 percent to 5 percent this year. How should we view it, said that to make further progress from an already high level, we must emphasize both quantity and, more importantly, quality. Can we go even faster? It's not that we cannot; it's that we choose not to. The very "first lesson of the new year" stressed curbing impulsive pursuit of governance achievements, carrying profound significance. 

"Pursuing genuine and unvarnished growth, and advancing high-quality, sustainable development." This demonstrates the determination to forge ahead despite pressure and strive for innovation and high quality, it said.