19 killed in Israeli massacre in south Lebanon, strikes continue on Iran and Gulf

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The Saudi defence ministry said in a statement on X that it intercepted a drone heading to the Shaybah oilfield.

It published another video earlier showing drones heading towards the kingdom it says it has intercepted in recent days, as Iran continues attacking Gulf states.

Footage shows Saudi air defenses intercepting and destroying a number of drones launched toward the Kingdom in recent days.#SaudiMOD pic.twitter.com/G41HjOsm1H

— وزارة الدفاع (@modgovksa) March 8, 2026

British forces successfully engaged a one-way drone fired from Iran towards Iraq last night, the UK Ministry of Defence said in an X post on Sunday.

Iran's military has warned it will target oil sites in the region if Israel hits Iran's energy infrastructure.

Israel targeted at least four oil depots and a logistics site used to transport petroleum products in Tehran on Saturday. Overnight, vast plumes of flame and smoke towered over the city, as videos showed multiple fires turning the skyline into an orange haze.

Thick black smoke covered the city on Sunday, blocking sunlight.

U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing the option of deploying special forces on the ground to seize Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing three diplomatic officials briefed on the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Lebanon has registered more than half a million displaced people in a week of Israeli attacks on Shia-majority regions of the country, including south Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs, and some eastern towns.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militia joined the US-Israel war on Iran on Monday after it fired rockets on Israel following a 15-month hiatus.

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry warned of the dangers posed by the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on Iraq’s national interests, cautioning that this could trigger crises in energy supplies and drive up global oil prices.

Iran announced that it would close the strait - a critical maritime route from where roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade passes - after the US and Israel launched attacks on the country.

An Israeli air strike killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza City on Sunday, local health officials said, the deadliest incident in Gaza since Israel and the United States launched their war against Iran a week ago.

Medics said the two people were travelling in a car near Al-Azhar University in western Gaza City. Their identities were not immediately clear. Several other people in the area were wounded in the strike, the health officials added.

A projectile killed two people and injured 12 more in Saudi Arabia's Al Kharj governorate south of Riyadh, the kingdom's civil defence said on Sunday, as Iran continued to launch missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbours.

The civil defence agency said an Indian and a Bangladeshi national were killed by an unspecified "military projectile" that hit a residential area, according to the statement, which did not mention Iran by name.

Al Kharj governorate is home to a massive air base and has been targeted repeatedly over the past week by Iran.

#الدفاع_المدني : سقوط مقذوف عسكري على موقع سكني نتج عنه حالتا وفاة وإصابة (12) مقيمًا بمحافظة الخرج. pic.twitter.com/8836gKxohx

— الدفاع المدني السعودي (@SaudiDCD) March 8, 2026

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump held a call on Sunday about the war in the Middle East, the UK government said in a statement.

The pair discussed the United States' use of British air bases "in support of the collective self-defence of partners in the region", according to Downing Street's readout of the call.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran's next supreme leader "is not going to last long" if Tehran does not get his approval first.

"He's going to have to get approval from us," Trump told ABC News. "If he doesn't get approval from us he's not going to last long."

His comments came as the Iranian clerical body responsible for choosing the successor to slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei was reported to have voted and would soon announce a name.

The United States will spare Iran's energy infrastructure as it wages war with Israel against the Islamic republic, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday.

With oil prices rising dramatically, he told CNN that disruptions to the petroleum and gas industry will be short lived - "worst case, that's a few weeks. That's not months."

Israel attacked oil storage facilities Saturday in and around Tehran, sparking huge fires in the first such attacks reported since the war started last weekend. Wright seemed to downplay them.

"These are Israeli strikes, these are local fuel depots to fill up the gas tank," Wright said.

He added: "The US is targeting zero energy infrastructure. There are no plans to target Iran's oil industry, their natural gas industry, or anything about their energy industry."

Iraqi oil production from its main southern oilfields has fallen by 70% to just 1.3 million barrels per day as the country is unable to export oil via the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war, 3 industry sources said on Sunday.

Production from the fields stood at around 4.3 million bpd before the war.

Several explosions were heard on Sunday in various parts of the Iranian capital, AFP journalists said, on the ninth day of the war with the United States and Israel.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted, with clouds of smoke still covering the Tehran skyline following overnight targeting of oil depots in and near the city.

Local media have reported the latest blasts.

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had struck what it described as the "space force headquarters" of Iran's Revolutionary Guards in Tehran.

"As part of the strikes, the IDF targeted and dismantled the Iranian terror regime's IRGC Space Force headquarters," the military said.

"The headquarters served as a reception, transmission and research centre for the Iranian Space Agency, which is affiliated with the regime's military," it said.

Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that the Iranian people, not Donald Trump, will elect their new leader and demanded that the US president apologise for starting the war with Iran.

"We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC's "Meet the Press," after Trump on Thursday asserted he should have a role in picking Iran's next supreme leader.

Araghchi also said Trump "should apologise to people of the region and the Iranian people for the killings and destruction they have done against us."

Israel struck the Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

Videos shared online showed smoke billowing from the scene of strike.

Located on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon, Ain al-Helweh is the largest of the country's 12 Palestinian camps. It has been attacked by the Israeli military before.

فيديو متداول للغارة الإسرائيلية التي استهدفت أطراف مخيم عين الحلوة pic.twitter.com/q1ykmbMnZK

— Annahar النهار (@Annahar) March 8, 2026

Oman's commercial port of Duqm said on Sunday that the port and maritime operations were proceeding normally, days after a fuel tank at the port was hit when the facility came under attack from several unmanned aircraft.

"All operational and logistical services continue to function efficiently, ensuring the smooth movement of vessels and cargo to and from the port," the port said in a post on X.

The Australian government has directed that relatives of Australian officials posted to the UAE leave the country due to the deteriorating security situation in the Gulf state, Australia's foreign minister wrote on X.

The Australian Government has directed the departure of dependants of Australian officials posted to the UAE, due to the deteriorating security situation. Our travel advice has been updated to reflect that direction. We continue to advise Australians not to travel to the UAE.

— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) March 8, 2026

One person was rescued from the rubble following an Israeli strike on Ghaziyeh in south Lebanon on Sunday morning, state media says.

The US Central Command has reiterated its warning urging civilians in Iran to stay indoors, claiming that Tehran is using crowded areas in Dezful, Isfahan and Shiraz to launch armed drones and ballistic missiles and warns that they could become "legitimate military targets".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Kyiv's drone experts will be "on site" in the Mideast "next week", as he seeks US air defence missiles in exchange for drone expertise.

"I think that next week, when the experts are on site, they will look at the situation and help," Zelensky told a press conference, when asked how the Ukrainians would be able to help the United States and the Gulf states to repel Iranian drones.

Six people were wounded, some by shrapnel, at blast sites in central Israel on Sunday, according to first responders, after the military said it had detected a new wave of Iranian missiles.

Earlier, at least 10 explosions were heard over Tel Aviv by AFP journalists. Israeli media showed images it said were from Tel Aviv of a blast hole in a street with a damaged car jutting out of it.

In a separate media briefing prior to the missile warning, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said that Iran's "firepower has dropped dramatically all across the region, not only towards Israel".

From the Iranian missile (cluster) impact in Tel Aviv.

A car overturned and black smoke from Bnei Brak in Tel Aviv https://t.co/cdOqCXiG3C pic.twitter.com/mJA08cXXb5

— Arya Yadeghaar (@AryJeay) March 8, 2026

Israel's military said Sunday that two of its soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, the first Israeli troops to have died since fighting flared with armed group Hezbollah.

"Master Sergeant Maher Khatar, aged 38, from Majdal Shams, a soldier from the Combat Engineering Corps in the 91st division, fell during combat in southern Lebanon," a military statement said, adding that a second soldier was killed in the same incident.

The Arab League's secretary-general said Sunday that Iranian attacks on several member states were "reckless", urging Tehran to reverse what he called a "massive strategic mistake".

Addressing an emergency videoconference of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the strikes "cannot be justified under any pretext or excuse", and repaid peace efforts by Gulf countries with "treacherous rockets and drone strikes".

Several loud bangs were heard in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, witnesses said, as the Gulf continues to come under Iranian attack.

Pope Leo said on Sunday that deeply troubling news continued to arrive from Iran and across the Middle East, urging an end to the violence and renewed efforts to open space for dialogue.

As fighting escalated on the ninth day of the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran, the first U.S. pope warned that the conflict was fuelling fear and hatred and raised concerns that it could spread further.

"Alongside the episodes of violence and devastation and the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also growing concern that the conflict could spread and that other countries in the region, including dear Lebanon, could once again sink into instability," Leo said at the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

"Let us raise our humble prayer to the Lord that the roar of bombs may cease, that weapons may fall silent, and that space may be opened for dialogue in which the voices of peoples can be heard", he added.

The Vatican's top diplomat warned on Wednesday that the U.S.-Israeli strikes undermined international law and ​said nations did not have a right to launch "preventive wars", an unusually direct criticism of the military campaign.

At least 10 explosions were reported over Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv on Sunday, according to AFP journalists, following the Israeli military's announcement that it had detected new missiles launched from Iran.

"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran towards the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the military said.

In a separate media briefing, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said Iran's "firepower has dropped dramatically all across the region, not only towards Israel".

The UAE has struck a desalination plant in Iran, Israeli media reported Sunday. The New Arab could not independently verify these claims.

If confirmed, this would be the first strike on Iran by an Arab state. Gulf states have come under repeated attack by Tehran since the Middle East was plunged into conflict on 28 February.

A desalination plant was struck in Bahrain on Saturday.

The death toll from Iran's attacks on the United Arab Emirates since 28 February has risen to four, the UAE's defence ministry said Sunday.

The United Arab Emirates says Iran has fired 16 ballistic missiles and 117 drones in new barrages on the country.

Qatar Airways has announced it will operate a limited flight schedule to and from Doha, as the country continues to come under Iranian attack.

The airline is flights are only for passengers whose final destination is Doha.

Qatar's defence ministry said on Sunday that Iran had fired a dozen missiles at the country a day earlier.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said Sunday that 394 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon this week, including 83 children.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that they had launched missiles towards the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Be'er Sheva, as well as an airbase in Jordan.

"The 28th wave of the Operation Honest Promise 4 was launched by the next-generation missiles of the Guards aerospace force against the areas of Be'er Sheva, Tel Aviv, and the Al-Azraq airbase," the Guards said in a statement, according to state TV.

More than 100 Iranians, including some diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut overnight on a Russian plane, a Lebanese official told AFP on Sunday.

"A total of 117 Iranians, including diplomats and embassy staff, were evacuated on a Russian plane that left Beirut overnight from Saturday to Sunday," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The evacuation comes after Lebanon's government on Thursday banned any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps - a main backer of the Shia militant group Hezbollah.

The United States and Israel have broken international law with their attacks on Iran, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister said in an interview published on Sunday, the latest European leader to raise concerns about the conflict.

Legal experts have said many countries will consider the attacks unjustified under the United Nations Charter, under which member countries must refrain from using force or the threat of force without U.N authorisation or unless acting in self-defence.

"The Federal Council is of the opinion that the attack on Iran constitutes a violation of international law," Pfister told SonntagsZeitung, referring to the Swiss cabinet.

"In our view it constitutes a violation on the prohibition of violence," he added, calling on all parties involved to halt the fighting to protect the civilian population.

The clerical body tasked with selecting Iran's new supreme leader has reached a decision, members said Sunday, although the name has yet to be announced.

"The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen," said Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, as quoted by Iran's Mehr news agency.

He said the secretariat of the body will announce the name later.

Other members confirmed the decision, with one suggesting the son of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei - killed in US-Israel strikes on 28 February - will take the post.

Katyusha rockets targeted the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Saturday and sirens sounded, security sources and witnesses said, though it was not immediately clear whether the rockets caused any damage or casualties.

Explosions were heard near the embassy in central Baghdad around 9 p.m. (1800 GMT), and sirens warning people to take cover sounded, witnesses said.

A senior Iraqi security official told Reuters the C-RAM defence system brought down one of the rockets and that none landed inside the embassy. The official said there were no American casualties.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered security forces to track down those who launched the projectiles, calling them "rogue groups operating outside the law that do not represent the will of the Iraqi people," a statement from his office said.

US Embassy C-RAM lights up Baghdad sky, intercepting Iranian rockets amid Epic Fury. Rapid-fire 20mm Gatling gun shreds incoming threats at 4,500 rounds/min. Embassy safe—no hits. 🇺🇸 #CRAMDefense #IranAttack #EpicFury #OperationEpicFury #Iran pic.twitter.com/HgQL2kF5ml

— Greg Madden (@GregMaddenUSMC) March 7, 2026

Norwegian police are investigating a potential explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo early Sunday, officials said.

No injuries were reported. Police received reports of a “loud bang” or explosion around 1 a.m., Oslo police said in a news release.

The U.S. Embassy in Oslo referred media queries to the U.S. State Department, which did not immediately return a request for comment. Nor did Oslo police. Other details were not available.

Palestinian authorities and the Israeli military said on Sunday that three Palestinians were killed during an Israeli settler attack in the occupied West Bank, the second deadly incident reported in as many days.

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli settlers shot dead Thaer Faruq Hamayel, 24, and Farea Jawdat Hamayel, 57, in the town of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah.

It did not say when the incident occurred or provide further details.

In a post on X, Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the "brutal attack on innocent citizens", saying three were killed and seven others injured.

The Israeli army renewed its evacuation warning for all residents south of the Litani river in southern Lebanon. It is the third warning for the region since Hezbollah got involved in the US-Israel war with Iran.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان جنوب لبنان المتواجدين جنوب نهر الليطاني

🔸إن نشاطات حزب الله الإرهابي تُجبر جيش الدفاع على العمل ضده بقوة في تلك المنطقة.

🔴الغارات مستمرة حيث يعمل جيش الدفاع بقوة كبيرة في المنطقة ولذلك وحرصًا على سلامتكم نعود ونناشدكم اخلاء منازلكم فورًا والتوجه… pic.twitter.com/uXqJ79QwHM

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 8, 2026

Iran struck a desalination plant in Bahrain early Sunday.

Such infrastructure is critical for drinking water supplies in the parched deserts of the Gulf.

The strike came after Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a U.S. airstrike damaged an Iranian desalination plant on Qeshm Island, warning that in doing so "the U.S. set this precedent, not Iran."

The U.S. military has not acknowledged a strike on the plant.

Fuel distribution in the Iranian capital has been "temporarily interrupted" after US and Israeli strikes on oil depots in and near the city, an official said on Sunday.

"Due to damage to the fuel supply network, distribution has been temporarily interrupted," said Tehran's governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

"The problem is being resolved," he added.

The Israeli military warned it would continue pursuing every successor of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

In a post on X in Farsi, the Israeli military also warned it would pursue every person who seeks to appoint a successor for Khamenei, referring to the clerical body charged with choosing the Islamic Republic's supreme leader.

The warning comes as the clerical body is set to meet to choose Iran's next supreme leader.

Explosions hit Iran's central Yazd province on Sunday, state media reported, as war raged with the United States and Israel.

It was not immediately clear what was hit in the strikes but the official IRNA news agency said the blasts occurred on the periphery of Yazd city.

Earlier explosions were reported in other parts of the country including the Iranian capital Tehran and the central Isfahan province.