Iran and beyond
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) A new Israeli air strike targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday morning, state media reported, as AFPTV footage showed plumes of smoke rising from a building in the area. “Hostile warplanes carried out an air raid on the southern suburbs,” the National News Agency said, a day after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of the area, home to hundreds of thousands of people and a Hezbollah stronghold, before launching a series of raids. – Israeli airstrikes pound Beirut suburb, Hezbollah warns Israelis
(Al Arabiya) Saudi Arabia is diverting millions of barrels of crude oil to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, according to a report by Bloomberg. The move aims to help the world’s largest oil exporter maintain supplies to global markets as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed due to the ongoing conflict with Iran and storage tanks in the region continue to fill. – Saudi Arabia diverts millions of oil barrels to Red Sea to ensure global supplies
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Several blasts were heard over Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv on Friday, AFP journalists reported, after the military said it had detected new missiles launched from Iran towards the country. – Blasts heard over Israel’s Tel Aviv after missiles from Iran detected
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) British police arrested four men on suspicion of spying for Iran after an investigation into suspected surveillance of locations and individuals in London’s Jewish community. – UK arrests four people on suspicion of Iran-related spying of Jewish sites
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Friday the US and South Korean militaries are discussing the possible redeployment of some US Patriot missile defense systems based in South Korea to be used in the war against Iran. Cho was responding to questions at a parliamentary hearing following media reports on Friday that units of the US mobile missile interceptor system had been moved to the Osan Air Base in South Korea from other locations in the country. – South Korea, US discussing redeploying Patriot missiles to Iran war, says Seoul
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Maersk, one of the world’s biggest container shipping groups, said on Friday it has temporarily suspended two services linking the Middle East to Asia and Europe as the Iran conflict continues to disrupt global supply chains. The Danish group said in a statement it would halt its FM1 service connecting the Far East to the Middle East and its ME11 service linking the Middle East to Europe. – Maersk suspends two shipping services due to Middle East crisis
(RFE RL) US President Donald Trump called on members of Iran’s military, police, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to lay down their arms, promising “total immunity” if they abandon the country’s ruling clerical establishment. As he made his remarks, fears continued to rise that the US and Israeli war on Iran was spreading throughout the Middle East, not only affecting Washington’s Arab allies, but also non-Gulf nations, such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, and even Sri Lanka, some 3,900 kilometers away. Trump, speaking at the White House on March 5, urged security forces to side with the Iranian public and help bring down the government that has ruled the country since the 1989 Iranian Revolution. “I’m once again calling on all members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the military, and the police to lay down their arms,” Trump said. “Now is the time to stand up for the Iranian people and help take back your country.” – Trump Calls On Iran Forces To Lay Down Arms, Civilians To Revolt
(RFE RL) President Donald Trump said Washington will help choose the next leader of Iran as US and Israeli forces continued air strikes amid growing concerns of a broader conflict after drones launched from Iran struck Azerbaijan and Israel pushed into southern Lebanon. With the United States and Israel currently engaged in a sixth day of war against Iran, the number of countries in the region to suffer Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, which have targeted both military and civilian infrastructure, grew again on March 5. Trump, speaking to Reuters in a phone interview, said he wants to be involved in choosing Iran’s next leader, while ruling out Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – a hardliner who has been considered a favorite to succeed his father. – Trump Says US To Play Role In Choosing Iran’s Next Leader As Conflict Widens
(Assaf Orion, Hanin Ghaddar, Michael Knights, April Longley Alley, Michael Jacobson, Matthew Levitt – RFE RL) With the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran now into its sixth day, both sides continue to launch attacks amid fears the war could spill over into a broader regional conflict. Michael Knights, head of research at Horizon Engage, a New York–based strategic advisory firm and an adjunct fellow at The Washington Institute, spoke with RFE/RL’s Vazha Taberidze about the likely objectives in the conflict for both sides and what may happen if those aren’t achieved. – Michael Knights: Gulf Region On The Precipice Of Fundamental Change
(Zamira Eshanova – RFE RL) For Mamatmusa Ukubaev, the first explosions on February 28 were unnervingly close. “There are military bases and facilities 1 or 2 kilometers away from us. They are being hit, too. The buildings usually have at least two floors for parking. They can be used as bomb shelters, and the authorities have made them open to the public,” Ukubaev said, describing life in Tehran after the US–Israeli strikes began. He noticed a strange mix of fear and curiosity among residents. “People in Iran live on the streets. If bombs fall, they go up to the roof and watch. You don’t see people running to shelters. I didn’t leave the house for the first two days. But we ordered food from restaurants. There are fewer couriers, fewer taxi drivers, but they are still working.” – Waiting Out The War: Stories Of Kyrgyz Citizens In Tehran
(Amra Zejneli Loxha – RFE RL) US and Israeli air strikes are delivering military blows against Iran, but Washington still lacks a defined political strategy for what comes after the fighting, Dana Stroul, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Stroul, now director of research at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Tehran’s conventional capabilities are being degraded but cautioned that Iran still has other options — including cyber operations and activating networks beyond the Middle East — and that pressures from casualties, munitions and interceptor stocks, and global economic fallout could grow the longer the war continues. – Dana Stroul: US, Israel Achieving Military Gains In Iran, But Political End Remains Unclear
(Ulviyya Asadzade – RFE RL) Fears are growing in Azerbaijan, Iran’s northwestern neighbor, that the South Caucasus country could become embroiled in the US-Israeli war on Tehran that is widening in scope. Baku accused Iran of firing drones that struck an airport and school in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan autonomous region on March 5, calling it an “act of terror” and vowing to respond. Tehran denied it fired the drones that injured two people. The incident has heightened concerns in Azerbaijan — which has close military, economic, and energy ties to Israel, Tehran’s archenemy — that it could become a target of the Islamic republic’s expanding response to the massive US-Israeli air campaign launched on February 28. – ‘A Dangerous Situation’: Azerbaijan Fears Becoming Embroiled In Widening Iran War
