ISRAEL BOMBARDS TEHRAN AND BEIRUT AS US SAYS ATTACKS TO INTENSIFY.
By Guardian - Taz Ali /Eva Corlett - Fri 6 Mar 2026 12.00 GMT
Israel launched huge attacks on Iran and Lebanon overnight. What are Iran's military capabilities and how long can it sustain the war? – video
Israel announces new phase in Iran conflict as US warns strikes will 'surge dramatically'
Israeli attacks hit the Iranian capital Tehran overnight as the IDF announced a “new stage” in its campaign against Iran, with US and Israeli officials hinting at escalating strikes.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said his military has completed the initial stage of “surprise opening blow” and that it was “now moving to the next phase of the campaign” with surprises ahead.
“We will intensify the strike on the foundations of the regime and its military capabilities,” he said in a statement carried by the Times of Israel.
“We have additional surprising moves in our hands, which I do not intend to reveal.”
His remarks followed an announcement by US defence secretary Pete Hegseth that “firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically”.
US president Donald Trump has ruled out sending troops to Iran, saying it would be a “waste of time”, but indicated he would like to see Iran’s leadership structure removed. “We want to go in and clean out everything,” he said.
The IDF also conducted renewed strikes against what it described as Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Hundreds of thousands of people in the southern suburbs of the city were ordered to leave their homes by the IDF yesterday, causing scenes of panic.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they had fired missiles towards Tel Aviv after an earlier wave of explosions caused a blaze at a residential building in the city.
ShareUpdated at 07.52 GMT5m ago12.00 GMT
Reuters news agency has reported Emirates airlines as saying it expects to return to full service in the coming days.
It added that it evacuated 300,000 people from Dubai yesterday.
Mediation talks should be aimed at US and Israel, says Iranian president
The president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, said mediation talks should be directed at “those who ignited this conflict”, seemingly referring to the US and Israel.
The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and prompting Iranian counterstrikes, all while nuclear talks were taking place just days before. US and Iranian negotiators had met in Geneva last week for what Omani mediators described as productive negotiations on a nuclear deal.
Pezeshkian said those talks should be aimed elsewhere.
In a post on X, he said:
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 and sovereignty. Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict.
Understanding what is happening in the Middle East is more important than ever
IDF claims 50 jets bombed Khamenei's underground bunker 'still being used by Iranian officials'
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has destroyed the underground bunker of the slain Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, which it claims is still used by senior Iranian officials.
The IDF said approximately 50 Israeli air force fighter jets dropped about 100 bombs on the site, which it claimed was located under Iran’s “leadership complex” in Tehran, spreading across multiple streets and including “many entry points and rooms for gatherings of senior members of the Iranian terror regime”.
In a statement, the IDF said:
The underground bunker was built beneath the compound and was a secure emergency asset for managing the war by the leader, who was eliminated before he managed to use it.
After Khamenei’s assassination, the compound continued to be used by senior Iranian regime officials.
There was no immediate comment from Iran.
Updated at 11.37 GMT49m ago11.15 GMT
'Plenty of oil' in markets despite Middle East turmoil, says IEA chief
The head of the world’s energy watchdog has sought to allay fears over a global oil crisis as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, saying there is “plenty of oil” in the markets due to a “huge surplus”.
This is despite reports that fuel oil traders in Asia are struggling to secure alternative supply as US-Israel war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes curtail shipments from key Middle Eastern suppliers through the Strait of Hormuz, where about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped through.
“There is plenty of oil, we have no oil shortage,” Fatih Boril, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told reporters in Brussels. “There is a huge surplus in the market.”
“We are facing a temporary disruption, a logistical disruption.”
The oil price is on track for its biggest weekly gain in four years, fuelling fears of an inflation spike that will reignite the cost of living crisis and hurt growth around the globe.
For more updates on the economic impact of the Middle East conflict, follow our business liveblog here:
Oil price heading for biggest weekly gain since 2020 as Brent hits $89 a barrel – business liveRead moreUpdated at 11.17 GMT1h ago10.56 GMT
UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood said police and security services “won’t hesitate to take action” after four men were arrested in the UK on suspicion of spying on Jewish communities for Iran.
Posting on X, she said:
The Jewish community and the wider public will understandably be concerned by today’s arrests. We continue to monitor the situation closely and engage with those affected.
I can reassure you that our police and security services are world leading and won’t hesitate to take action to counter any threat to the UK.
They will continue to use the full range of tools and powers available to them to keep this country safe. They have the government’s full support as they carry out their vital work.
Updated at 11.16 GMT1h ago10.54 GMT
Israel official says bombing campaign in Iran going 'much better than expected' - report
A senior Israeli official said the US-Israeli military campaign in Iran was going “much better than expected”.
“Nobody could have expected such smooth execution,” the unnamed official told the Times of Israel. “With such payloads being dropped, and such a complex level of coordination required – no one could have anticipated such success so soon.”
The official went on to describe Israel’s achievements as “epic”.
US and Israeli officials said their militaries have all but seized the skies over Tehran, having reportedly destroyed most of Iran’s air defences and missile launchers. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes were “about to surge dramatically”, while the Israeli military indicated that it has begun a new phase in its bombing campaign, with “additional surprising moves in our hands”.
The Iranian army, meanwhile, vowed to continue targeting Gulf countries in retaliatory strikes, including US military bases located across the region.
“Over the past few hours, various types of destructive drones of the army’s ground forces have targeted American military bases in Kuwait in large numbers,” the Iranian army said today in a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
“These attacks will continue in the coming hours.”
'We were humiliated': Israel's attacks on Beirut cause mass displacement crisis
Taz Ali
Displaced families in Lebanon’s capital Beirut huddle on the streets to break their Ramadan fast, forced out of their homes in the southern suburbs by the Israeli military following a large-scale evacuation order.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said nearly 100,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon and tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in the country have fled back over the border. It described the situation in the region as a “major humanitarian emergency”.
News agencies on the ground have spoken to some of the displaced people, many of whom have been forced to flee their homes once again as Israel renewed its strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in the beleaguered country.
“We’re sleeping here in the streets – some in cars, some on the street, some on the beach,” Jamal Seifeddin, 43, told Reuters. “I’ve never slept on the ground like this. I’ve been forced to. No one even brought a blanket.”
One man, who declined to give his name, told AFP: “We fled from the suburbs, we were humiliated. We’ll sleep on the road tonight and God alone knows what will happen to us.”
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, said the evacuation order issued by the Israeli military for southern Beirut raises serious concerns under international law, “in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer”.
Video: Pastors pray for Trump and US success in Iran war
In case you missed it, evangelical leaders gathered around Donald Trump in the Oval Office last night and prayed over him and for the US’s success in the war against Iran.
It comes after reports that US personnel have allegedly been told by a commander that Trump “has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth”, according to a religious freedom group that is dealing with complaints over this from service members.
On the same day of that report, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who is known for his embrace of Christian nationalism, described Iran as a “crazy regime” that is “hell-bent on prophetic Islamist delusions”. VIDEO
It’s the Guardian’s job to keep a close focus on events in the region for our global audience.
The Guardian’s expert news coverage is funded by people like you, not a billionaire owner. Readers who choose an All-access digital subscription make the most impact and enjoy great benefits in return. Will you join them today?
Tell us: how have you been affected by the latest events in the Middle East?
With reporters sharing live updates around the clock, we’re well-placed to provide comprehensive, fact-checked reporting and to help our audience understand every major development. But we can’t do it without your support.
We rely on the generosity of our readers, whose backing helps to keep our correspondents on the ground and our reporting free from commercial or political influence.
We appreciate that not everyone can afford to pay for news, but if you can, can we count on your support? Here are three good reasons to make the choice to fund us today:
1. Our quality, investigative journalism is a scrutinising force.
2. We are independent and have no billionaire owner dictating what we do – your money directly powers our reporting.
3. It doesn’t cost much, and takes less time than it took to read this message.
Choosing to back us on a monthly basis makes the most impact, meaning we can continue to cover the story from every angle: the conflict, the plight of those affected and what it all means for the future of the region – and the world.
Support $5/monthlyRecommendedSupport $15/monthlyUnlock All-access digital benefits:
- Far fewer asks for support
- Ad-free reading
- Unlimited access to the Guardian app
- Exclusive newsletter for supporters
- Unlimited access to the Feast App
Support with another amount.
