JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 08 - Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, likely candidate to replace father as Iran’s supreme leader?
THE NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.
JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39
32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN) will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them, (MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them; (DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy from there king (KHEMENI, ISLAM) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS NOW)
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
Israel pounds Iran missile sites as Tehran fires back repeated salvos, threatens Europe-More than 80 jets drop 230 bombs on Iranian targets as Tehran fires additional missiles at Israel, expands attacks across the Gulf and warns Europe nations against joining war By Emanuel Fabian and AFP Today, 12:50 pm-MA7 7,26
Israel continued its military campaign against Iran overnight Saturday, striking key missile infrastructure, as Tehran launched repeated salvos of ballistic missiles at Israel and issued new threats against European countries that might join the war.As the war entered its second week, the Israel Defense Forces said that more than 80 air force fighter jets carried out a wave of strikes overnight on several Iranian military sites in Tehran and central Iran, dropping around 230 bombs on the targets.Among the targets was a subterranean site “for the storage and production of ballistic missiles, from which hundreds of soldiers from the armed forces of the Iranian terror regime operated,” the IDF said.The military said the site “contained bunkers and military headquarters of regime elements.”Additionally, the IDF said it struck another missile storage site, which included bunkers and launch infrastructure, as well as Imam Hossein University, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military academy, which the IDF says “served as an emergency asset and an assembly complex for the IRGC,” including during the war.As the war entered a new phase, the military said it was ramping up strikes on Iran’s weapon production facilities across the country, including those used to manufacture missiles and launchers.Earlier, footage posted to social media showed strikes and large fires at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, after the Israeli military said it was carrying out an “extensive” wave of strikes against regime targets in Iran’s capital.Iran launches missiles at Israel-Even as Israeli strikes intensified inside Iran, Tehran continued firing missiles toward Israel overnight and into Saturday morning.Frequent launches throughout the night triggered sirens in Jerusalem, Beersheba and northern Israel, repeatedly sending millions of people scrambling for bomb shelters.At around 6:20 a.m., the IDF said it detected the fifth launch of ballistic missiles from Iran since midnight, triggering sirens in Tel Aviv and other parts of central Israel.While the attacks came every few hours, there were a relatively small number of missiles in each salvo and most were intercepted. Medics said there were no reports of injuries following the attacks, and there were no reports of missile impacts.Short warnings-On Friday evening, several Iranian missile barrages prompted sirens across central Israel, though the advance warning time before the alarms sounded was shorter than in previous attacks.A review of Home Front Command alerts showed that at 7:16 p.m., an early warning was issued for central Israel, with sirens sounding three minutes later at 7:19 p.m. Another alert at 8:40 p.m. was followed by sirens just one minute later, and a third warning at 9:54 p.m. preceded sirens by about two minutes.Earlier attacks during the war had typically provided civilians four to eight minutes of preparation time.The IDF Home Front Command on Saturday morning clarified that the shorter-than-usual early warnings issued for the Friday night attacks were related to a variety of factors surrounding the detection of the projectiles, rather than a technical issue.“The detection of barrages and launches is influenced by a variety of operational factors, and therefore it is not always possible to provide a long preparation time between the advance notification and the sirens,” the military said in a statement.“At times, the notification may be received relatively close to the sirens. It is important to clarify that there are situations in which sirens may be sounded without a prior advance notification, depending on operational conditions,” the IDF said.The military said that the Home Front Command “sends an advance notification to mobile phones in the relevant areas as early as possible, as part of its public warning policy.”The early alerts are issued based on the detection of launches from Iran and the stage of flight the missile has reached, meaning that in some cases, the warning may come only shortly before the siren itself.Some unverified reports have attempted to tie the shorter warnings to damage caused to US radars in the region in Iranian strikes; however, this is highly unlikely.The radar systems were damaged days ago, not on Friday night, and overnight attacks saw typical early warnings of three to seven minutes before sirens sounded.Tehran presses attacks on Gulf states-The conflict has also spilled across the Gulf region, where Iran has targeted countries hosting US forces.On Saturday morning, AFP journalists reported hearing two explosions in Dubai and another blast in Bahrain’s capital Manama, where warning sirens sounded, and authorities urged residents to seek shelter.A friend shared this video of Dubai airport being hit by an Iranian drone a few minutes back. Seems very close to the @Emirates plane Really scary situation ✈️#iran #israel #dubai #us #war pic.twitter.com/8ICMtIM3kh — Tarun Shukla (@shukla_tarun) March 7, 2026-Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it had intercepted an Iranian missile fired at an airbase southeast of the capital Riyadh. The nation also reported at least two drone attacks earlier in the week that targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in the east.Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman warned Iran against further escalation.“We stressed that such actions undermine regional security and stability and expressed hope that the Iranian side will exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation,” he wrote on X after meeting Pakistan’s army chief to discuss the attacks.Iran’s warning to Europe-As the conflict widens, Tehran has also issued direct warnings to European governments.Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said any European Union member states that join the US and Israel in attacks against Iran would become “legitimate targets” for Iranian retaliation.“Any country that joins in the aggression against Iran, joins America and Israel in the aggression against Iran, definitely, they will also be legitimate targets for Iran retaliation,” Takht-Ravanchi said in an interview with France 24.While some EU countries, such as France, Greece and Italy, have sent warships towards the Middle East and most EU top officials have condemned Iranian strikes in the region, they have mostly called for an end to the conflict and called for a diplomatic solution.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that Berlin was working with partners to find an approach to end the fighting with Iran, while saying his country shared the aims of the US and Israel.US mulls future of war-In Washington, the White House sought to reassure the public about America’s readiness as the war entered its second week.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the United States has sufficient weapons stockpiles to meet operational needs related to the conflict in Iran.Her comments came as US President Donald Trump prepared to meet with major defense contractors alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in talks expected to focus on expanding weapons production as the war continues.This came as Trump has privately expressed interest in deploying ground forces to Iran, according to NBC News.In a report citing several sources, the US broadcaster said that Trump had raised the idea with White House aides and Republican officials while laying out his vision for Iran after the war, which he envisions will include cooperation between Tehran and Washington on oil similar to the US and Venezuela.The sources cited in the report said Trump hasn’t discussed a major ground offensive in Iran, but instead a small group of US forces to carry out missions that the report describes as having specific strategic purposes. The sources add that Trump hasn’t yet made any decision on the matter.Meanwhile, Trump said unconditional surrender in the American-Israeli war against Iran could mean the total destruction of the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities and not necessarily a formal capitulation by Tehran.“Unconditional surrender could be that [the Iranians] announce it. But it could also be when they can’t fight any longer because they don’t have anyone or anything to fight with,” he told Axios.
‘Death to America’ chanters, counter-protesters clash at NYC Khamenei memorial-Demonstrators dub supreme leader’s death an ‘assassination by US government forces’ as counter-protesters chant ‘terrorist’ and ‘Bibi, thank you’ across a police barricade-By ToI Staff Today, 11:34 am-MAR 7,26
Protesters in New York City chanted “death to America, death to Israel” in Farsi at a vigil honoring late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in New York City on Friday night, shortly before clashes erupted with counter-protesters, resulting in multiple arrests.The 86-year-old Iranian supreme leader was killed in Tehran on Saturday in the initial joint US-Israeli airstrikes that started the war, with his death confirmed by the Iranian government the following day.Protesters set up images of Khamenei on a table alongside flowers and candles, with signs reading, “Solidarity with Iran.” Other pictures included US civil rights leader Malcolm X and George Floyd, and local media noted that the display table also carried copies of the Quran and zines with titles such as “Zionism and Racist Landlords” and “ICE & Friends.”The event was billed as both a memorial for Khamenei — whose death was dubbed by those present as an “assassination by US government forces” — and for “all martyrs of Amerikan [sic] imperialism.”“We must live like the ayatollah did, with his heart for his people, and we must die like he did,” a speaker told the crowd.Meanwhile, Iranian counter-protesters waved American and Israeli flags while chanting “USA,” “terrorist,” and “Bibi, thank you” — using the nickname for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — from across a metal police barricade.According to reports, clashes between demonstrators and counter-protesters occurred after a man attacked another for attempting to pull down a poster of Khamenei. Multiple people were taken into police custody.“Of course, we needed external intervention to get rid of these terrorists from the whole Middle East, and they have the power of oil behind them,” one pro-war Iranian protester told local media.Now in its seventh day, the conflict — codenamed Operation Epic Fury by the US and Lion’s Roar by Israel — the US and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted, as the US has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran’s government or elevate new leadership from within.The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.
White House to press defense firms to boost production as Iran strikes drain stockpiles-Sources say Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are focus of Trump administration’s campaign to push companies to prioritize production over shareholder payouts-By Mike Stone 6 March 2026, 1:32 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Trump administration plans to meet executives from the biggest US defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies drawn down by US strikes on Iran and other recent military operations, sources said.The meeting underscores the Trump administration’s drive to shore up weapons stocks after the Iran operation drew on munitions.Companies including Lockheed Martin and Raytheon and parent RTX, along with key suppliers, have been invited to attend the meeting, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan is private.Pentagon negotiators have not been able to reach terms with large defense contractors as quickly as they would like, a US official told Reuters earlier this week.Lockheed and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. RTX declined to comment on the meeting.The administration has been steadily ratcheting up pressure on defense contractors to prioritize production over shareholder payouts. Trump signed an executive order in January to identify contractors deemed to be underperforming on contracts while distributing profits to shareholders.Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Israel’s military operations in Gaza, the US has drawn down billions of dollars’ worth of weapons stockpiles, including artillery systems, ammunition and anti-tank missiles.In a sign of the preparations underway ahead of Friday’s gathering, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg held a call with select defense contractors on Wednesday evening, a previously unreported development, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.At the center of the talks are deals with large contractors like Lockheed Martin, two government sources and one industry executive said.In January, the company reached a seven-year agreement with the Pentagon to increase annual production capacity for its PAC-3 missile interceptors to 2,000 units a year from about 600 previously. The company has announced it expects to quadruple production of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile interceptors to 400 per year from 96.Demand for air defense systems such as the PAC‑3 has surged among the United States and its allies amid heightened geopolitical tensions and the conflict in Iran.The White House meeting also may coincide with the release of a supplemental budget request of around $50 billion, which Reuters was first to report on Tuesday. The new money would pay for replacing weapons used in recent conflicts, including those in the Middle East. The figure is preliminary and could change depending on the length of the operation.The supplemental request would come on top of an additional $150 billion in defense spending included in the Republicans’ sweeping “one big beautiful bill.”
ExplainerSanctioned by US; fought in IRGC, which crushes protests-Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, likely candidate to replace father as Iran’s supreme leader? Described as ‘the power behind the robes,’ son of slain ayatollah was said to serve as ‘principal gatekeeper’ to his late father; secretive figure has never been elected By Jon Gambrell 6 March 2026, 10:22 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has long been considered a contender to the post of the country’s next paramount ruler, even before an Israeli strike killed his father on Saturday and despite never having been elected or appointed to a government position.A secretive figure within the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since Saturday, when the Israeli airstrike targeting the supreme leader’s offices killed his 86-year-old father. Also killed were the younger Khamenei’s wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, who came from a family long associated with the country’s theocracy.Khamenei is believed to still be alive and likely has gone into hiding as American and Israeli airstrikes continue to pound Iran, though state-run Iranian media have not reported on his whereabouts.Mojtaba Khamenei’s name continues to circulate as a possible candidate to replace his father, which had been criticized in the past as potentially creating a theocratic version of Iran’s former hereditary monarchy.But now with his father and wife considered by hard-liners as martyrs in the war against the United States and Israel, Khamenei’s stock likely has risen with the aging clerics of the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, who will select the country’s next supreme leader.Whoever becomes the leader will gain control of an Iranian military now at war and a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to build a nuclear weapon, should he choose to decree it.Khamenei had occupied a similar role to that of Ahmad Khomeini, a son of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, which was “a combination of aide-de-camp, confidant, gatekeeper and power broker,” according to United Against Nuclear Iran, a US-based lobby.And US President Donald Trump may have indirectly boosted his candidacy by criticizing Khamenei in an interview with news website Axios on Thursday and insisting he be involved in selecting Iran’s next leader.“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment,” Trump said. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me,” Trump added. “We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”Born into dissent-Born in 1969 in the city of Mashhad, some 10 years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that would sweep Iran, Khamenei grew up as his father agitated against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.An official biography on Ali Khamenei’s life recounts one moment when the shah’s secret police, the SAVAK, broke into their home and beat the cleric. Woken up after, Mojtaba and the rest of Khamenei’s children were told their father was going on vacation.“But I told them, ‘There is no need to lie.’ I told them the truth,” the elder Khamenei was quoted as saying.After the fall of the Shah, Khamenei’s family moved to Tehran, Iran’s capital. Khamenei would go on to fight in the Iran-Iraq war with the Habib ibn Mazahir Battalion, a division of Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that would see several of its members ascend to powerful intelligence positions within the force, likely with the backing of the Khamenei family.His father became the supreme leader in 1989, and soon Mojtaba Khamenei and his family had access to the billions of dollars and business assets spread across Iran’s many bonyads, or foundations, funded from state industries and other wealth once held by the shah.Power rises with his father’sHis own power rose alongside his father’s, working within his offices in downtown Tehran. US diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s began referring to the younger Khamenei as “the power behind the robes.” One recounted an allegation that Khamenei actually tapped his own father’s phone, served as his “principal gatekeeper” and had been forming his own power base within the country.Khamenei “is widely viewed within the regime as a capable and forceful leader and manager who may someday succeed to at least a share of national leadership; his father may also see him in that light,” a 2008 cable read, also noting his lack of theological qualifications and age.“Mojtaba is, however, due to his skills, wealth, and unmatched alliances, reportedly seen by several regime insiders as a plausible candidate for shared leadership of Iran upon his father’s demise, whether that demise is soon or years in the future,” it said.Khamenei has worked closely with Iran’s IRGC — designated a terrorist group by the US and EU — both with commanders of its expeditionary Quds Force and its all-volunteer Basij that violently suppressed nationwide protests in January, murdering thousands of Iranians, the US Treasury has said.The United States sanctioned him in 2019 during Trump’s first term over working to “advance his father’s destabilizing regional ambitions and oppressive domestic objectives.”That includes allegations that Khamenei, from behind the scenes, supported the election of hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005 and his disputed re-election in 2009 that sparked the Green Movement protests.Mahdi Karroubi, who was a presidential candidate in 2005 and 2009, denounced Khamenei as “a master’s son” and alleged he interfered in both votes. His father reportedly said at the time that Khamenei was “a master himself, not a master’s son.”Powers of the supreme leader at stake-There has been only one other transfer of power in the office of the supreme leader of Iran, the paramount decision-maker since the Islamic Revolution. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini died at age 86 after being the figurehead of the revolution and leading Iran through its eight-year war with Iraq.Now the new leader will come on board after the 12-day war with Israel and as a US-Israeli war with Iran is seeking to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat and military power, hoping also that the Iranian people will rise up against the Iranian theocracy.The supreme leader is at the heart of Iran’s complex power-sharing Shiite theocracy and has final say over all matters of state. He also serves as the commander-in-chief of the country’s military and the IRGC, which the United States designated as a terrorist organization in 2019, and which his father empowered during his rule.The IRGC, which has led the self-described “Axis of Resistance,” a series of terror groups and allies across the Middle East meant to counter the US and seeking to destroy Israel, also has extensive wealth and holdings in Iran. It also controls the country’s ballistic missile arsenal.
PROOF HALF ON EARTH DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD (8 BILLION ON EARTH)
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
'We’ve been there, done that'From fortified ORs to popup clinics, Israel’s medical centers streamline wartime operations-Using knowledge gleaned the hard way during the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and June war with Iran, hospitals go underground amid incoming missile fire – and staff know the drill-By Diana Bletter-Today, 7:24 am-MAR 7,26
Two days after the deadly Iranian missile attack on Beit Shemesh that killed nine and wounded dozens, Dr. Jonathan Lifshitz, a family doctor in the city’s Mishlat General Clinic, traveled to Jerusalem to provide medical care to his patients who were among the 780 people evacuated to two Jerusalem hotels.On a hotel table covered with a tablecloth, Lifshitz connected two computers, setting up a makeshift clinic, and got to work.“When I learned that my patients were evacuated from their homes, it was clear to me that I would reach out to them,” Lifshitz said in a statement. “Beyond medical care, sometimes the mere encounter with a familiar doctor gives a sense of security during such a turbulent time.”In improved pop-up clinics, underground parking lots converted to wards and fortified operating rooms, hospitals and health clinics around the country are once again providing services under fire since the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.Immediately after the start of the war, the Health Ministry directed medical centers around Israel to switch to emergency mode, moving intensive care patients and operations to underground complexes or performing surgeries in protected spaces.During the two years of war sparked by the bloody Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023, Israeli medical centers provided care even as some hospitals — such as Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon — sustained rocket damage themselves.At Beersheba’s Soroka University Medical Center, an Iranian ballistic missile slammed into the hospital’s surgical ward during the 12-day war with Iran this past June, injuring more than 80 people and wrecking eight operating rooms along with six research laboratories.“This is something that no hospital in Israel or the world has ever had to deal with,” said Soroka University Medical Center director Prof. Shlomi Codish. “Soroka now operates at the highest level of alert and continues to provide life-saving medicine.”‘Implementing all the things we have learned’“We’ve been there, done that,” was how Dr. Mira Maram, deputy director general at Clalit Health Services put it, speaking to The Times of Israel by telephone on Wednesday.Maram, who oversees 14 hospitals across the country, said that after the war with Iran in June, which saw heavy incoming ballistic missile fire, “We’re now implementing all the things we learned.”“We learned exactly what kind of equipment we have to take, what kind of beds we need to take and the distance needed between them, how to handle infection control, and what other machines we need to bring,” Maram said.Northern hospitals in ‘fortified facilities’Staff at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, located less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the northern border, went into emergency mode soon after the Health Ministry directive on February 28.In a race against the clock, a hospital spokesperson said the staff moved everything underground and into protected areas four hours faster than they did immediately after the start of the October 7 onslaught.“All surgical procedures, deliveries, and cardiac and neuro catheterizations are being conducted in fortified facilities,” CEO/Director Prof. Masad Barhoum told The Times of Israel.During the 14 months of conflict with Hezbollah concurrent with the war in Gaza, Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets, missiles, and drones into northern Israel in support of Hamas. Amid the bombardments, hospital staff worked in underground, fortified rooms without windows or fresh air.After the temporary ceasefire was signed with Hezbollah in late November, the hospital began moving back to its regular facilities.However, deputy director Dr. Tsvi Sheleg said at the time, “It could happen again, and we’re still prepared to go underground.”Since then, the hospital has expanded the inpatient internal medicine capacity by 60 beds. It has also activated semi-elective services within protected facilities, including oral and maxillofacial surgery and other services.In Safed, Prof. Salman Zarka, director of Ziv Medical Center, seven miles from the Lebanese border and 50 miles from the border with Syria, told The Times of Israel that after the conflicts of the last few years, the hospital teams are “accustomed to dealing with extreme situations,” such as the deadly July, 2024, Hezbollah missile attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, in which 12 children were killed and dozens wounded.“Even in the most complex situation, such as a mass casualty incident, civilians and soldiers are in the most skilled hands,” Zarka said.After the June war, said Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach, the director of Shamir Medical Center in central Israel, hospital staff “prepared a heavy, thick booklet with the protocols” for transferring patients and equipment to parking lots three to four stories underground.“It’s a whole operation,” said Levtzion-Korach. “It’s huge, and it’s definitely not easy.”She said that the staff “tweaked different things, but the protocol that worked for us then worked very well this time.”Even before the Health Ministry’s directive, Levtzion-Korach began preparations in case a war with Iran broke out, and closed the underground parking lot to be ready to receive patients.“It’s really unimaginable what we’ve done here, but it’s a temporary solution,” she said. “The right solution is to build departments that are protected so that the patient can stay in their own bed. Having 200 patients in a parking lot is definitely not ideal. There’s no privacy, there’s no infection control management. Of course, it’s very safe, but it has many issues. Thankfully, all the patients are very collaborative and cooperative, and you don’t hear any complaints.”“I’ll probably get invited to conferences of CEOs of hospitals to tell people how to deal with earthquakes or other emergencies,” she quipped. “There’s much to learn from us, and we’ll share the knowledge that we have here.”
Two UN peacekeepers from Ghana critically hurt in Lebanon missile attack-Ghanaian military says officers’ mess ‘burnt down completely’ after base was hit; UNIFIL investigating source of fire, which Lebanese president blames on Israel By AFP Today, 3:50 am-MAR 7,26
Three UN peacekeepers were wounded when their base in southern Lebanon was hit on Friday, the UN force and the Ghanaian military said, with Lebanon’s president accusing Israel of targeting them.The attack came as Israel and Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah exchanged fire after the Middle East war expanded into the country on Monday.“Amid heavy firing this evening, three peacekeepers were injured inside their base in… Qawzah” in southern Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.“The most severely injured has been transferred to hospital in Beirut for treatment.”Ghana’s military said that its UNIFIL battalion headquarters came under “two missile attacks,” adding that “two soldiers are critically injured, while one other has been traumatized.”“The officers’ mess facility also got hit and has been burnt down completely.”Neither UNIFIL nor the Ghanaian army specified the source of the attack, but the international force said it would investigate the circumstances of the incident.“It is unacceptable that peacekeepers performing (UN) Security Council-mandated tasks are targeted,” it added.In a statement, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned “Israeli attacks on Lebanon,” adding that they had “even reached the point of a direct assault on UNIFIL.”There was no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “unacceptable attack” on UNIFIL after speaking with his Lebanese and Syrian counterparts.“France is working with its partners to prevent the conflict from spreading further in the region,” Macron said on X, highlighting the “key stabilizing role” played by the UN force.He added that France would remain “engaged” in UNIFIL, which includes around 700 French troops.In a post on X, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said that she was “dismayed that our colleagues have suffered injuries and wishing them a full recovery.”UNIFIL has acted as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon for decades and was assisting the Lebanese army while it was dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure near the Israeli border after the last war opposing the Iran-backed terror group and Israel in 2024.It plans to withdraw all troops from Lebanon by mid-2027.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
‘Knew they were next’: Hezbollah rearmed for months after concluding war inevitable-Sources tell Reuters that terror group relied on $50m monthly budget largely supplied by Iran, its own weapons factories in Lebanon to ready for latest round of fighting with IDF-By Reuters and ToI Staff Today, 2:56 am-MAR 7,26
Hezbollah spent months restocking its arsenal of rockets and drones, using support from Iran and its own weapons factories to prepare for a new war with Israel, six sources familiar with the Lebanese terror group’s preparations said.Down but not out after its devastating 2024 conflict with Israel, Hezbollah had concluded that another round of fighting was inevitable — and that this time, it could face an existential threat, according to the sources.Reuters spoke to three Lebanese sources briefed on Hezbollah’s activities, two foreign officials in Lebanon and an Israel Defense Forces official, who all spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press.The details of Hezbollah’s recent efforts to rearm have not been previously reported.The head of Hezbollah’s media office, Youssef al-Zein, told Reuters that Hezbollah would not comment on its military operations, though he said the group had decided to “fight to the last breath.”Founded by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982, Hezbollah launched rockets and drones at Israel on Monday to avenge the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, pulling Lebanon into the war raging across the Middle East.Although the decision caught some of its own officials off guard, Hezbollah had been readying its military stockpiles and its command-and-control structure for an eventual rematch with Israel, the six sources said.To do so, it had drawn on a monthly budget of $50 million, most of it from Iran and earmarked for fighters’ salaries, according to one of the Lebanese sources, who has been briefed on the terror group’s finances and military activities. One of the foreign officials confirmed the $50 million budget.It was not immediately clear how long Hezbollah had been relying on that monthly budget and how it compared to its previous financial resources.Hezbollah has said funds from Iran helped finance rents for people displaced by the 2024 war. Around 60,000 Lebanese, most of them from the Shi’ite Muslim community from which Hezbollah draws its popular support, remained displaced over the last year, with their homes still in ruins.Hezbollah had also worked to replenish its drone and rocket stashes through local manufacturing, the first Lebanese source, the foreign officials and the IDF said. The IDF official said Hezbollah had used Iranian funding both to smuggle arms and make its own weapons, but added that its manufacturing capability had been diminished.The second foreign official said the group had stationed new rockets and Iranian-made logistical materials in southern Lebanon before the latest war began.Hezbollah’s media office did not immediately respond to questions on its rearmament and Iranian support for it.IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told Reuters that Hezbollah “had a lot of arms left” and was also seeking to rearm. “They were trying to smuggle and we were preventing that,” Shoshani said.Pace of fire builds up-In 2024, a punishing two-month war with Israel ended with a ceasefire brokered by the United States. Hezbollah halted its attacks on Israel, which continued strikes on what it said were Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild military capabilities in violation of the ceasefire deal.Israel also kept troops in five hilltop positions in southern Lebanon.Last year, Lebanon also began confiscating Hezbollah weapons in the country’s south — but Israel said the terrorist organization was rearming faster than it was being disarmed.Speaking to Reuters weeks before Hezbollah entered the regional war, the first Lebanese source confirmed that the group had been rebuilding its military capabilities “in parallel” with Israel’s campaign to destroy them.The pace of Hezbollah’s attacks this week provides clues about its weapons stocks.The group launched 60 drones and rockets on March 2, the first day it attacked Israel, and a similar number the following day, said the second foreign official, who tracks Hezbollah’s activities closely.But on March 4, Hezbollah launched more than double that number of projectiles, a sign it had been able to draw from its larger caches, the official said.ALMA, an Israeli think tank that monitors security on Israel’s northern border, said it assessed that Hezbollah’s arsenal on the eve of its attack included approximately 25,000 rockets and missiles, most of them short- and medium-range.A video published by Hezbollah on March 4 showed a fighter setting up a drone in a wooded area. Riad Kahwaji, a Dubai-based defense analyst and founder of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, identified the drone in the video as a Shahed-101, which he told Reuters could be produced locally.Hezbollah expected a fight for survival-Hezbollah has also dispatched fighters from its elite Radwan force back to southern Lebanon, Reuters reported this week. They had been withdrawn from the area after the 2024 conflict.Israeli strikes after the 2024 ceasefire included the targeting of what Israel said were Hezbollah training camps. In late February, the IDF said it struck eight military compounds used by the Radwan force to store weapons and prepare for a confrontation.The Israeli official and the first foreign official said Hezbollah had been struggling to recruit new operatives as a result.Hezbollah lost 5,000 operatives in the 2024 war, an unprecedented blow to its fighting force, though the second Lebanese source said it still had some 95,000 fighters left.In the lead-up to its entry into the current regional war, Hezbollah had become convinced Israel would carry out a major strike on the group that would seek to “disable its ability to retaliate,” the first Lebanese source said.A third foreign official familiar with Hezbollah’s thinking said that assessment had driven the group’s decision to launch the first salvo, fearing Israel would eventually turn its attention from Iran to Hezbollah.“They knew they were next on the list,” the official said.
Israel said bombing parts of western Iran to enable potential Kurdish offensive-Sources tell Reuters of ‘long-term’ contacts, with Kurdish militants poised to assault border territories and fight IRGC; senior PDKI official says group ready to join fight-By Reuters, ToI Staff and AFP 6 March 2026, 11:41 pm
Israel has been bombing parts of western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish militias who hope to exploit the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic to seize towns near the frontier, three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions told Reuters Friday.The notion of an offensive by Iranian Kurdish forces based in Iraq gained attention in recent days amid reports that Washington was encouraging such action.US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday it would be “wonderful” if they crossed the border. Trump’s comments came after some reports had suggested that Iraqi Kurdish groups had already crossed the border into Iran, though the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan region denied the claims and said that “Iraqi territory must not be used as a launching point for attacks against neighboring countries.”A Kurdish insurgency could have serious consequences for Iran as it defends itself against the Israeli-American air campaign. The militias have consulted with the US about how and whether to attack Iran’s security forces, Reuters has reported.Israel has been holding its own talks with Iranian Kurdish insurgent groups based in the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan for around a year, two Iranian Kurdish sources said, while an Israeli source said talks had been “long-term.”The two Iranian Kurdish sources have direct knowledge of the armed dissident groups and the source from Israel has direct knowledge of its engagement with them. All spoke on condition of anonymity.Israel’s government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Israel has not commented publicly on such engagement during the current war.An initial goal of the Kurdish factions would be seizing Iranian territory along the border, the three sources said. One of the Kurdish sources said their aim was to seize the towns of Oshnavieh and Piranshahr, among others.These sources said thousands of fighters were gathering on the Iraqi side of the border and preparing to launch an offensive within a week, something Reuters was not able to confirm.Independent estimates put the militias’ combined strength at 5,000-8,000.They possess only light arms, according to the Kurdish sources. But while they might not have the firepower to mount a significant bid for self-rule, with US and Israeli help, they could cause trouble on the border.The Israeli source said Israel did not expect them to be able to overthrow the Iranian government, but that backing them could erode Iran’s control over its hinterlands and distract its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Five long-standing Iranian dissident groups announced an alliance just at the end of last month.It includes the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), which have all participated in insurgencies and maintain fighters in Iraq.It is not clear that they will get any support from their ethnic brethren in Iraq, however. Iraqi Kurdistan’s political leadership has publicly denied any plan to send fighters or get involved in Iran, despite reports of outside pressure to do so.The Israeli source cautioned that there was pushback from the Iraqi Kurds, and without their practical support, it would be hard for the Iranian Kurds to mobilize. Trump’s lack of clarity on how long the war could last had also led to hesitancy.Iran has been attacking Kurdish armed groups inside Iraq, along with US bases in the area, and on Friday warned Iraqi Kurdistan that it would retaliate against any deployment of hostile forces on the frontier.Kurdish militant says group ready to join fight-In an interview with Channel 12 published Friday, senior PDKI official Mohammad Saleh Qadri said that his group was ready and waiting to enter Iran from Iraq and begin seizing territory from the Iranian government.In the first interview of its kind with Israeli media, the Iranian Kurdish official, who is currently based in Iraq, said: “This is a historic moment for the destruction of the regime. History has given us the responsibility to act immediately in defense of our people, for the redemption of Iranian Kurdistan — we will begin to act as soon as possible.”“Our request to Israel, Europe and the United States is to give us guarantees for the national and ethnic rights of our people. We do not want to replace this regime with another dictatorial regime,” he said.“We must remember that for the past 47 years, the Kurds have been victims of the ideology that has taken over Iran. Fifty thousand Kurds have been killed in the years of our struggle,” Qadri told the Israeli outlet. “Our struggle is for the self-determination of the Kurdish people in Iranian Kurdistan.”“Our struggle is to destroy the ideology of the Iranian regime, and to create an Iran that will not have conflict with any country in the region or any of its neighbors,” he said.When asked if his organization is ready to join the fight against Iran, he said: “Yes. The Kurdish forces in Iran are currently preparing and are waiting for the coalition’s decision to immediately begin operations against Iran.”“Our largest force is already in Iran,” he claimed.Kurds providing target intel to US and Israel-The three sources speaking to Reuters said Kurds within Iran had been providing targeting intelligence on the border areas to the US and Israel.Israeli analyst Jonathan Spyer said Israel was seeking to “destroy the regime by any means available,” but Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert and former Israeli intelligence officer, said an insurgency in Iran did not have broad support among Iraqi and Iranian Kurds.“I think they’re all waiting to see if the regime will hold on or not,” he said.Turkish and Iraqi officials, neither keen to support separatism among an ethnic group spread across parts of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran, have also expressed reservations about any insurgency in Iran.Citrinowicz said supporting an uprising might backfire on the US and Israel by fanning nationalism.Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with various Kurdish groups since the 1960s, viewing them as a buffer against shared adversaries.The two Kurdish sources said the factions were in closer coordination with the US than with Israel, but that any cross-border offensive would require air support from both.One of those sources said they had not yet received weapons, but would request air defense systems, drones, small arms, and artillery support.Kurdish groups have a long history of working with the US, but recent incidents have strained ties.One of the Iranian Kurdish sources said Kurdish leaders had concerns about being “betrayed” like the Kurdish groups in northern Syria, who had been forced to cede territory after long serving as the primary US partner in the area.The source said Iranian Kurdish leaders had requested guarantees from the US, without saying what they were.Both Iranian Kurdish sources said the factions’ goal would be to establish a semi-autonomous region in a federal Iran, similar to the model in Iraq.
Azerbaijan says it foiled Iranian terror attacks on synagogue, Israeli embassy-Authorities say at least 7 Azerbaijani nationals detained; plot also said to include targeting Jewish community leaders, attack on pipeline servicing Israeli oil imports-By AFP and ToI Staff 6 March 2026, 10:59 pm
BAKU — Azerbaijan said on Friday it had foiled a series of Iranian terror attacks on its territory, including against the Israeli embassy in Baku, a synagogue and Jewish community leaders.Israel has warned of “concrete threats” of Iranian attacks on Israeli civilians and missions around the world, and security for Jewish sites has been upped in many countries amid the war, due to the potential of Iranian-led terror. Azerbaijan has a Jewish population generally estimated at some 7,000-10,000.The Azeri accusation came a day after Baku accused Iran of firing drones at an Azerbaijani border region, an incident that has sparked fears of the Middle East war spilling over into the Caucasus.In a video statement, Azerbaijan’s state security service said it had “prevented terrorist acts and intelligence operations in Azerbaijan organized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”Also among the planned targets was the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through neighboring Georgia and Turkey and carries around a third of Israel’s oil imports, it said.At least seven Azerbaijani nationals have been detained in connection with the probe, it said.Iran made no immediate public comment on Azerbaijan’s accusations.The United States and Israel began strikes against Iran on Saturday, killing its supreme leader and sparking retaliatory attacks across the Gulf.The war, now in its seventh day, has embroiled nations beyond the region and upended the world’s energy and transport sectors.Azerbaijan said on Friday it was withdrawing diplomatic staff from Iran.“The process applies to both the embassy in Tehran and the consulate in Tabriz,” Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.Thursday’s attacks involved at least four drones that crossed from Iran into Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan bordering Iran.One hit the airport and another exploded near a school, Baku said. Four people were wounded.Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of “terrorism” and threatened retaliation.The general staff of Iran’s armed forces said it had not carried out the attack and pointed the finger at Israel.Iran has long expressed concern that Israel — a close ally of Azerbaijan and a key arms supplier — could use Azerbaijani territory to stage attacks on it. In June 2025, Azerbaijan reassured Tehran that it would not allow such use of its territory after Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian targets. Tehran has historically been wary of separatist sentiment among its ethnic Azerbaijani minority, which makes up around 10 million of Iran’s 83 million citizens.
Israel boosts security for missions, tourists abroad amid ‘concrete threats’ during Iran war-Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry announce ‘overt and covert security measures’ to protect Israelis, with emphasis on Middle East, Europe and Africa By Nava Freiberg and ToI Staff 6 March 2026, 9:02 pm
The Shin Bet and Foreign Ministry announced moves on Friday to reinforce security for Israeli civilians and diplomatic missions around the world, amid increased threats due to the ongoing US-Israeli campaign against Iran.“In light of concrete threats against Israeli targets and Israeli missions around the world, the Shin Bet, in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, has recently increased the operational readiness of security teams through specialized activities carried out in close coordination with local security forces around Israeli targets abroad,” read a joint statement.The efforts “include enhancing rapid-response procedures, emergency evacuation capabilities and cooperation with local security authorities at Israeli missions worldwide, with particular emphasis on the Middle East, Europe and Africa,” the statement continued.Both “overt and covert security measures” were taken to strengthen security around Israeli diplomatic missions, diplomats, official delegations and aviation-related targets, as well as in areas where Israelis gather abroad, the statement added.The statement did not specify the nature of the threats or the details of the measures taken to combat them.Days ago, Israel conducted a covert extraction of part of its embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates after two Iranian terror plots targeting the diplomatic team were foiled, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.The Foreign Ministry confirmed the evacuation, stating that “in light of concrete threats against Israeli missions in the UAE, and at the request of security authorities, non-essential staff were evacuated from the United Arab Emirates.”A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 news that the attacks were part of “a specific effort to hunt the Israeli diplomats” and “were already underway.”Thousands of Israelis remain in the UAE, including tourists whose flights were canceled, Israeli residents and Israelis holding foreign citizenship, many of whom were said to be seeking immediate assistance from Emirati and Israeli authorities to exit the country amid the heightened tensions with Iran.Israel reopened its skies for repatriation flights Thursday, and is ramping up the number of planes allowed every day in order to bring Israelis home.The National Security Council has issued a travel warning in light of a “concrete concern that terrorist elements are currently working to harm Israelis abroad.”Since the war began, there have been “several attempts” to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis abroad, all of which have been foiled, the NSC added, telling Israelis to avoid flying through the UAE; to avoid public displays of Jewish or Israeli symbols; and to avoid synagogues and other Jewish sites.
Army chief says Israel 'crushing the Iranian terror regime'IDF says it destroyed Khamenei’s bunker, being used by top brass; Trump demands unconditional surrender-Rubio said to tell Arab states war to last ‘several more weeks’; Israeli official says it’s going ‘much better than expected’By Emanuel Fabian,Jacob Magid,Lazar Berman,ToI Staff and Agencies 6 March 2026, 9:01 pmUpdated: Today, 2:08 am-MAR 7,26
A massive Israeli strike Friday morning destroyed the underground Tehran bunker of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, which was being used by senior regime officials, the IDF announced, as the US-Israeli bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic continued into its seventh day.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said the assault would not let up until Iran announced its unconditional surrender. And IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel was “crushing the Iranian terror regime, and will seize every opportunity to deepen our achievements.”In the opening strike of the war, the IDF struck and killed Khamenei while he was at his compound, but not in the bunker buried deep underground.According to the military, Friday saw some 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets drop around 100 bombs on the bunker, completely destroying it.The bunker was located under the “leadership complex” in Tehran. Its rooms and tunnels were spread across multiple streets and included “many entry points and rooms for gatherings of senior members of the Iranian terror regime,” the army said. “The underground bunker was built beneath the [leadership] compound and was a secure emergency asset for managing the war by the leader, who was eliminated before he managed to use it.”The military added that “the compound continued to be used by senior members of the Iranian regime” even after the killing of Khamenei days ago.The results of the strike were not yet clear, and the military did not immediately name the officials targeted.The Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200 and Unit 9900 — which are tasked with signal and visual intelligence, respectively — mapped out the site over a years-long effort, enabling Friday’s “precise” strike, according to the IDF.The IDF has struck sites at Iran’s leadership complex in Tehran several times amid the conflict.The first attack of the war killed Khamenei at the complex. Another strike on a nearby building killed eight top Iranian officials, according to the military. On Tuesday, the IDF said it hit several sites at the complex, including Iran’s presidential bureau and the headquarters of Iran’s Supreme National Security.Witnesses in Tehran described Friday’s airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.Hours later, the IDF said it carried out another strike in Tehran, this time targeting “a senior Iranian terror regime commander.”According to Israeli security sources, the target of the strike was Asghar Hijazi, acting chief of staff of the supreme leader’s office.The IDF said that further details on the strike would be provided later. Hijazi’s state was not yet known.Hijazi was close to Khamenei and was a key figure in the Islamic Republic’s senior leadership structure.“For years, he has been considered one of the most influential figures in the supreme leader’s office,” said Raz Zimmt, Director of the Iran and Shiite Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies think tank. He added that Hijazi was “far more than just the chief of staff,” as he “served as Khamenei’s representative in sensitive political and security consultations.”#Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson says that the #IDF attacked a senior commander of the #Islamic Republic Regime in #Tehran minutes ago#IranWar#BREAKING-????????❌???????? Israeli sources reports that the Senior Iranian Commander is actually Seyyed Asghar Hijazi, the Deputy Chief of… pic.twitter.com/mhxNkVnRvE — Mahalaxmi Ramanathan (@MahalaxmiRaman) March 6, 2026-In all, the IDF said it hit over 400 Iranian military targets in western Iran on Friday, including ballistic missile launchers and warehouses containing drones.The army said it estimated that Iran still has 100-200 remaining ballistic missile launchers, after destroying over 300 of them so far in the current war. It is continuing to “hunt down” launchers to “reduce as much as possible the scope of fire towards Israel,” the military added.According to the military, the Air Force has dropped over 6,500 bombs in Iran since the start of the war. In all, IAF fighter jets have carried out 2,500 sorties and 150 separate waves of strikes, the IDF said.The military said it was now increasing strikes targeting Iranian regime sites in Tehran, as well as against Iran’s weapon production facilities across the country — including those used to manufacture missiles and launchers — as it moves into a new phase of the war.Trump: No deal without unconditional surrender-Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that “some countries” had begun seeking to mediate an end to the war. But shortly afterward, Trump declared that there would be no agreement with Tehran without a complete surrender.“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” he said in a Truth Social post.“After [Iran’s unconditional surrender], and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Trump wrote.“IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE,” he declared.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later told Fox News that what Trump meant by unconditional surrender “is when he — as commander-in-chief of the US military and the leader of the free world — determines that Iran can no longer pose a threat to the United States.”Speaking later with Axios, Trump said unconditional surrender could mean the total destruction of the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities and not necessarily a former capitulation by Iran.“Unconditional surrender could be that [the Iranians] announce it. But it could also be when they can’t fight any longer because they don’t have anyone or anything to fight with,” he said.The remarks raised fresh questions over the Trump administration’s assertions that regime change is not one of the goals of the war. The US president said several times on Thursday that he wanted a role in the selection of the country’s next leader.Pezeshkian, in his announcement that some countries have begun mediation efforts to end the war, stressed that any talks must first address those who started the war.“Some countries have begun mediation efforts,” he said. “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,” the Iranian president said in a post on X.Rubio said to tell Arabs war will last ‘several more weeks’According to a Friday report in Axios citing unnamed sources, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Arab foreign ministers in a series of phone calls Thursday that the war with Iran is expected to last several more weeks.Rubio told the ministers that the US is focused on targeting Iran’s missile launchers, stockpiles and manufacturing sites, Axios said. The secretary tried to explain that the goal of the war is not regime change, even though he acknowledged that the US wants different people running Iran.Rubio said there is currently no dialogue with the regime, as such contact at this stage would undermine military objectives, Axios added.While Iran has targeted Israel and the US military with its retaliatory missile and drone strikes, it has also launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones at the Arab states in the Gulf, targeting energy infrastructure and civilian sites as well as US bases in the region, in an apparent bid to press Arab leaders to lobby for an end to the war.On Friday, Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said its military intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile near the central Al-Kharj area.Iranian strikes also targeted Iraq on Friday, with an Iraqi security official saying that four drones struck Basra airport and two oil facilities in the south of the country.“One drone crashed into the cargo terminal at Basra airport,” the official said, adding that two others hit a US company in the Burjesia oil complex, and a fourth struck the Rumaila oil field, where energy giant BP operates.Amid the strikes, Kuwait has begun cutting production at some oil fields after running out of room to store its bottled-up crude, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.The country, which is a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is discussing limiting its production and refining capacity further, to just what it needs to cover domestic consumption, WSJ said.Additionally, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times that he expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks if the Iran conflict continues and drives oil to $150 a barrel.Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US attacks. The country’s LNG production is responsible for about 20 percent of global supply and plays a major role in balancing both Asian and European markets’ demand for the fuel.“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” Kaabi said. “Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply.”Kaabi said that even if the war ended immediately, it would take Qatar “weeks to months” to return to a normal cycle of deliveries. Analysts and economists have highlighted the potential impact of the war on economies globally.Senior Israeli official says war going ‘much better than expected’While Iran has not stopped launching missiles and drones across the region, the Israeli military said Friday that the frequency has decreased significantly, estimating that the number of ballistic missiles launched from Iran at Israel has slowed to around 20 per day in recent days.On the first day of the war on Saturday, some 90 ballistic missiles were fired toward Israel. The following day, Sunday, the number dropped to around 60.On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, roughly 20 missiles were fired each day in multiple salvos, each consisting of a small number of projectiles.Iran has launched dozens more ballistic missiles at other countries in the Middle East during the conflict. In total, Iranian media claims about 500 ballistic missiles have been fired.CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Thursday that Iran’s ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90% since the first day of the war.
s Iran seems to be slowing its missile and drone campaign, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel Friday that the Israeli-US campaign against Iran is “proceeding much better than expected.”“Nobody could have expected such smooth execution,” said the official. “With such payloads being dropped, and such a complex level of coordination required — no one could have anticipated such success so soon.”The official stressed that there is still much to be done, “but the achievements are epic.”
Russia said supplying Iran with intel, as Ukraine military drone experts expected in Gulf-Moscow said providing Tehran with information on US military assets; Kyiv called in to assist US and its allies thanks to expertise after years of war-By ToI Staff and AFP 6 March 2026, 7:07 pm
The Washington Post reported Friday that Russia has been assisting Iran in its war with the US and Israel by providing intelligence on the locations of American military assets in the Middle East. The report cited US officials familiar with the details.Meanwhile, Ukrainian military personnel are expected to arrive in the Gulf soon to help countries there fend off Iranian drone attacks, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP Friday.Since the US and Israel launched their opening attack on Iran on Saturday, Russia has given Iran the locations of several US military assets, the sources said, including warships and aircraft.The Washington Post report noted that the extent to which Russia is able to provide accurate information to Iran is unclear, although one of the sources said it appeared to be “a pretty comprehensive effort” on Moscow’s part.The White House downplayed the report. “It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them,” House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.“We are achieving the military objectives of this operation and that is going to continue,” Leavitt said.Iran has launched numerous attacks on US assets in the region in retaliation for the American-Israeli campaign.CNN reported Friday that satellite imagery shows several US radar sites in the region have been hit in recent days, impeding air defense capabilities, including one servicing a THAAD defense battery in Jordan and several radar systems in the United Arab Emirates. The New York Times reported on seven US radar and communication sites hit across the region.Iranian drones and missiles have been pummelling Israel and the Gulf since the outbreak of war on Saturday.Six US service members were killed in a drone attack on a US base in Kuwait on Sunday and the CIA station in Riyadh has also been hit.“The Russians are more than aware of the assistance that we’re giving the Ukrainians,” one source told The Post. “I think they were very happy to try to get some payback.”At the same time, officials assessed that Russia’s focus remains firmly on Ukraine, and that it will not devote significant resources to Iran.Russia and Iran have long enjoyed close ties, and in January 2025, the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement to further improve cooperation, including military and defense partnerships.Earlier this week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Russia was “not really a factor” in the fighting with Iran.President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that the United States had appealed for help from Kyiv in downing Iranian drones, due to their expertise in defending against those threats over the years of the war with Russia.Russia has deployed thousands of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, including energy facilities.“The arrival of Ukrainian military personnel in the Persian Gulf is expected in the near future,” the source told AFP, cautioning that talks were still underway to “determine how to make this happen” and that “right now everything is being decided.”Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone interceptors — aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air.Zelensky has said that in return for Ukrainian anti-drone help, Gulf countries could provide Kyiv with missiles for air defense systems that were supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.He has also suggested that Gulf countries with open ties to the Kremlin could pressure Russia to halt its war in Ukraine in return for Ukrainian military support.“We need missiles for Patriots, funding for weapons production for our defense, and diplomatic support to end the war here,” the source told AFP.“Depending on our partners’ capabilities, we determine what it can be,” the source added, referring to what Ukraine could receive in return.A top manager from the Ukrainian defense sector separately told AFP that there was “a lot of interest” in Ukrainian anti-drone warfare from “private and public channels” in Gulf countries.“It’s not only about the products or gadgets, it’s also about complex solutions that consist with gadgets, solutions, teams,” said the manager, who asked not to be named to speak on sensitive military issues.That source said that requests had come from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the United States.“It gives us a lot of geopolitical power. It gives us a chair near these big geopolitical powers, so it’s very important for us and for our country,” the defense sector source said.The source added that solutions could be provided from “a couple days to a couple weeks.”
AnalysisDo clear goals in Iran campaign matter? They won’t specify it in their war aims, but both Israel and US want Iran regime change-Netanyahu has been more consistent in defining goals of campaign than the White House, but Israel might once again dazzle on the battlefield while disappointing strategicallyBy Lazar Berman-6 March 2026, 3:58 pm
Much of the unease about the US-Israeli campaign against Iran — especially among its backers — centers on the aims of the operation.Some are concerned about the scope of the goals, especially as pertaining to regime change. “Trump talks regime change in Iran after strikes, but history shows that could be very hard,” read an Associated Press headline on Sunday.Others argue that US President Donald Trump has “shifting Iran strategies.”The unease, and the ambiguity, shouldn’t come as a surprise. Americans on both sides of the political spectrum are now averse to anything even faintly resembling the costly nation-building wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, and they are less than enthused to see US forces back once again in the Middle East fighting in a major conflict.There is reason for concern about war aims on the Israeli side as well. Israel fought a series of undecisive campaigns whose goals were not at all clear in the decades before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks that set off the ongoing conflicts between Israel and the Iranian axis.In the Gaza war against Hamas, the feasibility of and motivations behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated war aims are the topic of intense debate.Both the US and Israel have been somewhat vague at times when laying out war aims during the current campaign, but Israel has been more consistent than its ally. Still, they both seem to want regime change, but won’t state it as an explicit aim, likely because both countries know that, ultimately, the decision to topple the regime doesn’t lie in their hands.‘Creating conditions’ for regime change-Speaking to The Times of Israel on Thursday, a senior Israeli official made clear that Jerusalem wants to see the regime in Iran replaced, but that it won’t be the one to do so.“The goal is to remove the existential threat posed by the ayatollah regime,” said the official. “That can best be done by removing the regime. It could also help open the door for the Iranian people to grasp this generational opportunity to set their own destiny. I doubt the Iranian people want to replace one ayatollah with another ayatollah.”That approach has been extremely consistent throughout the first week of the war in comments from a range of Israeli officials.On Wednesday, in the only press briefing offered by the government thus far, PMO spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian gave a similar account of Netanyahu’s war aims, which she presented as “removing the existential threat against the United States, Israel, Europe and countries in the Middle East.”As Israel has throughout, she stressed the threat from Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.And she also gave the formula that Israel has been using to underscore its desire to see regime change without assuming the responsibility for making it happen: “We are creating the conditions for the Iranian people to take charge of their own destiny.”Netanyahu has set the tone by expressing Israel’s desire to see new rulers in Tehran, while not stating goals that the country cannot see realized“It is up to the people of Iran to change their government,” he stressed in a Tuesday interview with Fox News. And in the opening hours of the campaign, Netanyahu said that “the time has come for all parts of the Iranian people — the Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Baloch and Ahwazis — to cast off the yoke of tyranny and bring freedom and peace-loving values to Iran.”Mixed messages-US Vice President JD Vance insisted that Operation Epic Fury wouldn’t drag out for years because the US has a clear goal. “There’s just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective,” Vance asserted.“He’s defined the objective as: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and has to commit long-term to never trying to rebuild their nuclear capability,” the vice president said, offering the narrowest definition of the US war aim.But US officials have offered mixed messages on whether regime change is the goal.On Saturday, in a video message announcing the operation, Trump said the operation was designed to “prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests.”He promised to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions, but also pledged to obliterate Iran’s missile industry and deal with its armed proxy network — three core Israeli concerns.Then he called on Iranians to “take over your government” once all those goals have been achieved. On the second day of the war, Trump followed up with that plea, urging Iranians to “seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic and take back your country.”The very next day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — undoubtedly with Trump’s blessing — laid out the clearest explication of the US war aims, but, unlike her boss, did not allude to regime change in any way.Also Monday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back on the notion that the Trump administration is getting engaged in another entrenched Mideast conflict: “This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it.”US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a similar version of the war aims, while adding, “We hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government.”Still, it seems that Trump and his team have given thought to who it wants to run Iran next, even if the same regime would remain in place.“We’d like to see somebody in there that’s going to bring it back for the people,” Trump said Tuesday in response to a question from a reporter. “Most of the people we had in mind are dead. Now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports.”And of the frontrunner to succeed the killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, his son Mortaja, Trump said Thursday, Khamenei’s son is a lightweight… unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran.”Given that it is a powerful but undoubtedly junior partner in the Iran war, Israel has to keep a close eye on how US leaders are defining what they want to achieve in the campaign.“I can imagine it’s a challenge for Israeli policymakers,” said military historian and former Israeli ambassador in Washington Michael Oren, “because there has been so much fluidity on the American side.”Do clear war goals matter? At their essence, war aims define what the government wants to achieve within the bounds of what it believes its military can accomplish.But, especially in a democracy like Israel, there is always an eye on public opinion when declaring the goals of a military campaign — how voters will react to what is achieved in a conflict when compared with what was promised. In particular, when Israel is facing an election year.Goals of a war can also shift as new opportunities present themselves during the fight, and other possibilities dissipate.There are also undeclared aims, either to keep them secret from the public, the enemy, or the world, or to avoid firmly committing to those goals. For instance, Israel’s conventional wars against Arab armies have had very specific aims of removing urgent military threats and improving deterrence, alongside the ever-present unstated goal of convincing Arab neighbors to give up their dreams of destroying Israel and to normalize relations.Still, some argue that Israel has long avoided laying out clear war aims.“The state has had no clearly defined war aims in any of its wars since 1956,” insisted Israeli strategist Tzvi Lanir in a 1987 interview, arguing that prime minister David Ben-Gurion understood after the Sinai campaign that Israel could never force its neighbors to make peace by winning wars. Instead, Israel just tried to win on the battlefield and buy a few years of quiet.In its wars, many argue, Israel displays tactical and technological brilliance, but struggles to lay out and achieve clear strategic goals.Israel has especially struggled in that regard in its wars against non-state actors over the last 40 years.Writing in 2019, 12 years after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip by force, retired senior IDF officer Gur Laish argued that “Israel has no solution it is attempting to achieve in Gaza. Israel declares that it is interested in a change of regime in Gaza, replacing Hamas, but Israel has no strategy for achieving this long-term goal.”“Instead Israel follows only short-term goals,” he wrote, “maintaining its security, while attempting to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza by providing it with a measured level of funding and basic supplies.”“It’s not so clear at what point you can truly force the other side to wave a white flag, to ask for a ceasefire,” said Eitan Shamir, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.“Until the 1980s, it was clearer. Since then, it’s become more complicated to define. We know the debates within Israeli leadership [about] the [2006] Second Lebanon War, [2008-9] Operation Cast Lead, [2014] Protective Edge — in all those cases, there really was some confusion or hesitation about the right objectives to set. And we also see the difficulty now, even in the Gaza war.”Israel’s security approach changed dramatically after the Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023, and Netanyahu laid out clearly defined goals for that war.That hasn’t guaranteed success. Israel has brought all its hostages home, but has not achieved the other two stated aims — disarming Hamas and ending its rule of Gaza.Netanyahu’s approach in both Gaza and Iran, said Oren, is to focus on defeating the enemy first, then moving to examining what post-war order is possible.In Iran, Israel faces the risk of falling back into its familiar pattern — using technological wizardry, tactical excellence, and a fair dose of bravado to rack up almost unimaginable achievements on the battlefield, but to find itself facing the same threats, or even growing dangers, again and again.Not everyone is worried about that happening against Iran.“Is it necessary to have a day-after scenario here?” Oren asked. “The bomb doesn’t care. The target of the bomb doesn’t care. Maybe it helps you politically a little bit. The important thing is to kill as many of these people as they can, degrade as much of the regime’s capabilities as you can, and then we see what happens.”Even if you don’t bring down the regime, concurred Shamir, “you basically put it on its knees.”“Everything it built and invested money in over the past almost 25 years, you’re destroying. And then it’s a new game in town,” he continued, “because we’re talking about a Middle East with a very, very weak Iran, economically in shambles, exhausted, broken, crushed.”“True, there’s a scenario of a rebound,” he allowed, “but it’s not very likely, and in any case, you’ve changed the entire regional balance in the Middle East. Iran won’t be a threat for a very long time, at least — and that’s the worst case.”“In the best case, we’ll have regime change.”
UN: 'Massive displacement orders' spark legal concern-Five soldiers seriously wounded by Hezbollah rocket as Air Force pounds Beirut-3 more, including minister’s son, lightly hurt as projectile hits near border; dozens of IRGC officers said to flee Lebanese capital; campaign set to last after Iran war ends, officials sayBy Emanuel Fabian and Agencies 6 March 2026, 4:58 pm
Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded, five of them seriously, in a Hezbollah rocket attack in northern Israel on Friday, the military said.The rocket struck an army position near the Lebanon border. An alert sounded in the area, though the soldiers did not manage to seek shelter in time, according to a preliminary probe by the Israel Defense Forces.The troops, who all serve with the Givati Brigade, were taken to a hospital for treatment. Five were listed in serious condition and three were lightly hurt, the army said.Among those lightly injured by the rocket strike was the son of Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, the minister’s office said.The Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes in Beirut overnight and throughout Friday, as officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly fled the Lebanese capital amid Israel’s attacks.According to the IDF, overnight strikes hit 10 multi-story buildings that were being used by the terror group in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh.The buildings, including a drone warehouse and the headquarters of Hezbollah’s executive council, “were intended to be used by Hezbollah to advance and carry out numerous attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement.A wave of strikes in the afternoon in the Dahiyeh struck a headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as several Hezbollah sites.According to the IDF, the headquarters served the IRGC air force. In addition, the military said it struck three Hezbollah headquarters — of the terror group’s naval force, executive council, and financial division.The IDF strikes in Beirut were preceded by a mass evacuation order for residents in all four major neighborhoods of the Dahiyeh. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned Friday that the displacement risked a “humanitarian disaster.” The UN said Israel’s blanket evacuation orders raised “serious concern” under international law. Israel says the evacuations are meant to prevent harm to civilians as it targets terror infrastructure.The IDF also issued evacuation orders in Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon and in the country’s eastern Beqaa Valley.Hezbollah, for its part, issued its own evacuation warning for Israeli towns near the border with Lebanon on Friday, apparently in a sardonic rejoinder to Israel’s Dahiyeh evacuation order. Israel has said it is not evacuating northern Israeli towns, and instead has launched a ground and air offensive aimed at pushing Hezbollah away from the border.And unlike the hundreds of thousands who have answered Israel’s call to leave in Lebanon, there is little evidence of mass departures from northern Israel, despite a rise in rocket attacks from Lebanon.Meanwhile, Lebanese state media reported Friday that Israel struck a building on a main thoroughfare in the southern coastal city of Sidon with no prior warning. The IDF has not commented on the reports.An AFP photographer said the strike targeted the 10th floor of an office building near two shelters for displaced people. According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, at least five people were killed and seven others wounded.At least 123 people have been killed and 683 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah waded into the regional conflict earlier this week, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Friday that the military has killed more than 70 Hezbollah operatives in strikes in Lebanon since Hezbollah joined the fray.According to the IDF, since Hezbollah attacked Israel on Monday, the military has struck over 500 targets in Lebanon, including 170 rocket launchers. On Friday alone, over 100 targets were struck, the army said.Israel has also sent troops deeper into Lebanon following the renewed Hezbollah attacks. At least five IDF soldiers have been wounded fighting inside Lebanon, including an officer who was seriously wounded, according to the military.In an assessment with senior IDF officers on Friday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would defeat Hezbollah “one way or another” and that no resident of northern Israel should have to evacuate.“No resident of the north should have to leave or move from their land and communities, and our mission is to ensure and guarantee their safety and security,” said Katz, according to his office. “The IDF has reinforced troops inside enemy territory and has now significantly expanded to additional positions.”“We will do this until Hezbollah is defeated, one way or another,” he added.Among those killed in Israel’s strikes in Lebanon since Monday are Iranian officials and senior officers in Iran-backed terror groups, according to the military, Arabic media reports, and the organizations themselves.Citing senior Israeli defense officials and a third source with knowledge of the matter, Axios reported overnight that dozens of IRGC officers had fled Lebanon in the past two days over fears they could be targeted by Israel.According to the news site, most of the fleeing officers are from the Quds Force, the IRGC’s extraterritorial branch, who serve as military advisers for Hezbollah and hold significant sway over its operations.“We expect the IRGC exodus from Lebanon to continue over the next several days,” one of the Israeli defense officials was quoted as saying.The report added that a small group of Iranian officers was expected to remain in Lebanon to maintain the Quds Force’s presence and liaise with Hezbollah.Lebanon campaign expected to continue after Iran war-Overnight Sunday-Monday, Hezbollah launched its first rocket barrage at Israel since the November 2024 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement, which had ended over a year of conflict initiated by the terror group.Following Hezbollah’s renewed attacks, the IDF has struck over 500 targets in Lebanon, according to the military. The targets have included top Hezbollah commanders, members of the group’s elite Radwan Force, rocket launchers, command centers and weapon depots, as well as members of other terror groups and their infrastructure, the IDF said Friday.Israel had regularly struck Lebanon following the 2024 agreement, accusing Hezbollah of ceasefire violations, and continued to hold on to five border posts inside Lebanon, citing security needs. It has now expanded beyond those points.The Lebanese government, which seeks to disarm Hezbollah, has slammed its renewed attacks on Israel, accusing the terror group of dragging Lebanon into a regional war.Hezbollah has portrayed its renewed attacks as a response to “15 months of hostilities” by Israel, while also describing the attacks as a retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign, which seeks to destroy Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and potentially lead to regime change.Speaking with Reuters, a source briefed on Israel’s military strategy described the Iranian and Lebanese fronts as separate, and said Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah would likely continue after the US-Israeli bombing campaign ends.Israel would not tolerate threats to northern Israeli towns and villages, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.Two senior Lebanese security officials and a foreign security official based in Lebanon said they also expected Israel to pursue military operations in Lebanon even once the broader conflict with Iran came to a close.“This is about ending Hezbollah once and for all,” one of the Lebanese security officials said.All three officials said a long-term Israeli military occupation of the entire border strip of southern Lebanon was likely.Lebanese, UN officials warn of humanitarian disaster-The IDF said Friday that it estimates some 420,000 Lebanese civilians had evacuated their homes in southern Lebanon, and that tens of thousands more had evacuated Beirut’s Dahiyeh, following Israel’s evacuation warnings.Salam, the Lebanese premier, warned on Friday that “a humanitarian disaster is looming” as a result of Israel’s evacuation orders and appealed to the international community to help stop Israel’s attacks and spare Lebanon’s infrastructure.“The humanitarian and political consequences of this displacement could be unprecedented,” Salam told foreign ambassadors.He criticized both Israel and Hezbollah over the crisis, saying that the Lebanese state and people “did not choose this war.”UN human rights chief Volker Turk accused Israel on Friday of issuing “blanket, massive displacement orders.”“We are talking here about hundreds of thousands of people,” said Turk at a press conference in Geneva. “This raises serious concern under international humanitarian law, and in particular when it comes to issues around forced transfer.”Imran Riza, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, told Reuters on Friday that about 100,000 displaced Lebanese were staying in shelters and the number of displaced is expected to rapidly increase following Israel’s “unprecedented” evacuation warnings.The 100,000 people were gathered in “some 477 collective shelters,” said Riza, adding that “there are some 57 shelters that still have some space, but basically the capacity is being reached very, very quickly.”“What we saw in the last couple of days is, I would say … unprecedented in terms of the scale here in Lebanon of the warnings, the displacement orders, and the reaction, the panic also, that this has all created,” said Riza.“We had people moving all over the place and not knowing where to go to. So yes, I think we’re going to have an increased number quite quickly,” he said.He noted that more than a million people were uprooted in Lebanon during the previous Israel-Hezbollah war, 75-80% of whom were not in shelters. “This time again, the majority will not be in shelters probably,” he said.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION-HEAVENLY OBJECTS) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
6 dead in apparent tornadoes in Michigan and Oklahoma-More than 7 million people were at the highest risk of severe weather Friday in areas including Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska.Updated March 7, 2026, 12:29 AM EST / Source: The Associated Press
Six people are dead following unconfirmed tornadoes in Michigan and Oklahoma on Friday, authorities said.Powerful storms have ripped across Michigan, tearing the roof off a home improvement store, sending parts of a storage building flying and knocking down trees as tornado warnings were issued across the southern part of the state.The Branch County Sheriff’s Office said there were 12 reported injuries and three deaths after a tornado appeared to have hit the Union Lake area which is about 125 miles west of Detroit.In Cass County, about 170 miles west of Detroit, Sheriff Clint Roach confirmed one storm-related fatality and said several people were injured, according to a statement from county spokesperson Ambrosia Neldon.And in Oklahoma, Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said a suspected tornado claimed the lives of two people from the same family. Details were unavailable.'It's lifting houses'In St. Joseph County, Michigan, next to the Indiana border, the sheriff’s office told residents to “seek shelter immediately” following reports of an unconfirmed tornado, a severe thunderstorm watch and possible winds more than 60 mph.“Citizens should anticipate power outages, closed roadways and/or neighborhoods and cellular/internet interruptions,” the office said on Facebook.At her home near Union City, Lisa Piper can be heard repeatedly yelling out, “Oh my God,” as she films from her back deck a ferocious rotating column of air that appears to be a tornado tear through an section of buildings across the lake from her. As its size grows, pulling large pieces of debris into the air, she says, “It’s lifting houses.”“Oh my heart is pounding,” she says in the video. “Oh, I hope they’re OK.”The state activated its Emergency Operations Center as officials responded to serious wind damage and reports of injuries in multiple southwest Michigan counties.In Edwardsburg, Michigan, area, near the Indiana border, officials reported downed trees and several homes that had been heavily damaged, and warned residents to avoid the area.Powerful storms were forming Friday afternoon in Michigan and all the way to North Texas. There were no immediate confirmed reports of a tornado on the ground, but many videos posted online showed violent, rotating columns of air in Michigan.Deadly storms in Oklahoma-A free Iran is their shared dream. But the diaspora remains torn on the best path forward.A 47-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter from Fairview were found dead in a vehicle near an intersection of a highway and a county road at about 10 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. The crash “appears to be tornado related,” Sarah Stewart, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, said in a statement.“Severe weather struck Major County last night and tragically claimed the lives of a mother and daughter,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement Friday. “I am praying for the family as they grieve this tragic loss, as well as all those impacted by the storms.”In an eerie scene captured on video Thursday, a first responder drove straight at a storm near the western Oklahoma town, where flashes of lightning illuminated a giant funnel that appeared to reach the ground. That storm, among the first outbreaks of severe weather on the verge of the spring storm season, was filmed by a camera mounted on the deputy’s car.The National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, planned to send out a damage survey crew Friday to see whether Thursday night’s storms were confirmed tornadoes, meteorologist Ryan Bunker said. “As of right now, we’re still investigating that.”Severe weather risk-More than 7 million Americans were at the highest risk of severe weather Friday in an area that includes the metropolitan areas of Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska, according to the national Storm Prediction Center. Nearly 25 million people were at a slightly lesser risk in a zone that includes Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Severe, scattered thunderstorms are expected Friday evening from areas of the Plains states to the Ozarks and Midwest, the National Weather Service said.“The greatest potential for a few strong tornadoes and very large hail should exist across eastern portions of Oklahoma/Kansas/Nebraska into western Arkansas/Missouri and southern Iowa,” it said.The general setup for the strong storms is a clash between warm air streaming north from the Gulf Coast and cooler Canadian air behind cold fronts, according to meteorologists with the private forecasting service AccuWeather.“This is probably our first real event this season where people are really starting to pay attention getting into the spring storm season,” said Melissa Mayes, deputy director of the Washington County Emergency Management Agency in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, north of Tulsa.The spring storms in the forecast come near the start of what many call tornado season, which generally begins at different times in different parts of the U.S. Experts recommend a few simple safety steps to take before tornadoes hit, including having a weather radio and a plan for where to take shelter.Winter weather persists in Northeast-Meanwhile, parts of the Northeast were under winter weather advisories as rain, snow and slush made for a messy morning commute from Pennsylvania to Maine on Friday. Several vehicle slide-offs were also reported on the Maine Turnpike as drivers contended with sleet and snow.Some schools canceled or delayed classes in states including New Hampshire and Maine.The weather began to ease at midmorning in some areas, but Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut remained under weather advisories. In Ohio, flood warnings were issued in the southern part of the state.In parts of the southern U.S., the weather pattern is also expected to usher in extremely warm temperatures for this time of year by the weekend.“Temperatures will be 20-30 degrees above average, with 80s reaching as far north as parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic,” federal forecasters wrote in their long-range forecast discussion. “Daily records could become widespread.”
Netanyahu said to hold rare call with UAE President MBZ-Saudi Arabia said talking with Iran; Gulf states complain at lack of notice before war-Reported outreach on defusing conflict comes as Tehran keeps up attacks on neighbors; officials from several Gulf states protest they weren’t warned earlier about initial US-Israeli strikes-By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 1:23 am-MAR 7,26
Saudi Arabia has intensified direct engagement with Iran to help contain a war in the Middle East, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing several European officials, as the Iranian campaign against the Gulf Arab states has continued to wreak severe economic consequences.Saudi officials in recent days have used their diplomatic backchannel to Iran with increased urgency to ease tensions and keep the conflict from worsening, the report said.It added that several regional and European nations are backing the Saudi efforts, the officials quoted in the report said.According to the report, the Saudi-Iranian talks have so far involved both security and diplomatic officials, though the sources said that they were unsure if more senior officials were involved.So far, Iran has not shown an inclination to negotiate an end to the conflict with the US and Israel, the report noted.Saudi Arabia has intensified direct engagement with Iran to help contain a war in the Middle East, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing several European officials, as the Iranian campaign against the Gulf Arab states has continued to wreak severe economic consequences.Saudi officials in recent days have used their diplomatic backchannel to Iran with increased urgency to ease tensions and keep the conflict from worsening, the report said.It added that several regional and European nations are backing the Saudi efforts, the officials quoted in the report said.According to the report, the Saudi-Iranian talks have so far involved both security and diplomatic officials, though the sources said that they were unsure if more senior officials were involved.So far, Iran has not shown an inclination to negotiate an end to the conflict with the US and Israel, the report noted.Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report, Bloomberg added.While Iran has targeted Israel and the US military with its retaliatory missile and drone strikes, it has also launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones at the Arab states in the Gulf, targeting energy infrastructure and civilian sites as well as US bases in the region, in an apparent bid to press Arab leaders to lobby for an end to the war.Against the backdrop of Iran’s campaign against the Gulf states, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a rare phone call this week with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, the Kan public broadcaster reported Friday.Iran’s missile and drone fire on the Gulf continued Friday, with the Saudi defense ministry saying its forces intercepted several projectiles, both ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as three drones, east of its capital Riyadh.Iranian strikes also targeted Iraq on Friday, with an Iraqi security official saying that four drones struck Basra airport and two oil facilities in the south of the country.“One drone crashed into the cargo terminal at Basra airport,” the official said, adding that two others hit a US company in the Burjesia oil complex, and a fourth struck the Rumaila oil field, where energy giant-BP operates.Only nine tankers said to pass Hormuz this week-In addition to targeting Gulf energy and civilian infrastructure with missiles and drones, Iran has all but completely shut the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial chokepoint through which some 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas transits.Only nine oil tankers, cargo and container ships, some of which at times concealed their position, have been recorded crossing the key maritime passage since Monday, according to MarineTraffic data analyzed by AFP.Only vessels that emitted at least one signal on either side of the Strait of Hormuz were counted by AFP, excluding any others that may have travelled with their signals entirely concealed for a long period of time.Attacks since Sunday have multiplied against ships navigating Hormuz, raising concerns about a lasting impact on the global economy as the US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have upended the world’s energy sector.Iran’s armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, “We emphasize the security of the Strait of Hormuz and control it, but we will not close it.”Despite the conflict, “some tankers are still traveling east and west through the strait, with a number of voyages occurring under AIS (automatic identification system) blackouts,” said Matt Wright, an analyst at Kpler, which publishes MarineTraffic, on Wednesday.Most carriers have suspended their operations and the passage remains perilous, as several ships have been targeted by Iranian drones and missiles since the conflict erupted last week.Gulf officials ‘frustrated’ with US over lack of notice ahead of war-As the Gulf has come under relentless attack, officials from several US-allied countries in the region 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 US and Israel.Officials from two Gulf countries said their governments were disappointed in the way the US has handled the war, particularly the initial attack on Iran on February 28. They said their countries were not given advance notice of the attack and complained the US 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 US military has not defended them enough. He said there is a 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.”The governments of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates 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. [US President Donald] 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 US, suggesting that Netanyahu dragged 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 [US] president to support his views.”Pentagon officials conceded this week in closed-door briefings with lawmakers that they are struggling to stop waves of drones launched by Iran, leaving some US 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 US 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, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers that the US will not be able to intercept many of the incoming UAVs, especially the Shaheds, according to three people familiar with the briefings.Bader Mousa Al-Saif, a Kuwait-based analyst with Chatham House, said the US 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 US 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, US 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 US 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 US 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.”
