U.S. and Iran vow to step up strikes in expanding war as Gulf states run low on interceptors

The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization says about 20,000 seafarers and 15,000 cruise ship passengers are stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

In a press release, the IMO’s secretary basic Arsenio Dominguez stated the company stood “ready to work with all stakeholders to help ensure the safety and well-being of the seafarers affected.”

“I urge all shipping companies to exercise maximum caution. Where possible, vessels should avoid transiting the affected region until conditions improve,” Dominguez stated, including that the IMO would “continue working closely with Member States and partners to support safe navigation and to uphold the principle that civilian mariners must never be harmed.”

The British newspaper Manchester Evening News stated Thursday that there have been not less than six cruise ships caught in ports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which has been focused repeatedly by Iranian drones and missiles.

The U.S. navy’s Central Command stated Thursday that ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran had been taking a extreme toll on the Islamic Republic’s potential to launch retaliatory assaults, as these assaults continued with new strikes focusing on Gulf states and, for the primary time, hitting Iran’s neighbor Azerbaijan.

“The Iranian regime’s ability to impact U.S. forces and regional partners is rapidly declining, while American combat power continues to build,” the CENTCOM social media post stated, accompanied by clips of video exhibiting obvious strikes in opposition to Iranian navy belongings.

Ten individuals believed to be Iranian brokers had been arrested earlier this week in Qatar on suspicion of planning assaults, the Gulf state’s official press company stated. 

“Close surveillance made it possible to arrest 10 suspects: seven were tasked with spying and gathering information about vital and military infrastructure in the country, and three were meant to carry out sabotage operations,” the Qatar News Agency stated Tuesday.

Concern about doable sleeper cells and radicalization inside Shiite Muslim populations has elevated in some international locations in the area, together with Bahrain.

Arab states in the Persian Gulf are operating dangerously low on interceptors to take down Iranian-fired missiles, two regional officers informed CBS News on Thursday.

Governments in the area have requested the U.S. to expedite new provides, and they have been informed that officers in Washington are making a activity power to accomplish that — nevertheless it is not taking place as quick as wanted. 

The tons of of drones launched by Iran are an added complication. The officers speculated that Iran was deliberately hitting Arab states to get them to strain the Trump administration to finish the war. 

On Wednesday, Gen Caine pushed again on provide considerations and informed reporters on the Pentagon that there have been ample “precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.”

Three regional officers additionally stated communication with Washington was difficult as, regardless of being greater than a yr into his time period, President Trump has not despatched ambassadors to lots of the international locations. 

Lebanon, Jordan, and Qatar do have ambassadors, however due to lack of nominations or slow-moving confirmations, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait are among the many Gulf states with out an ambassador-level U.S. envoy in their capitals, forcing them to rely as a substitute on lower-level diplomats. 

In an interview aired Thursday by Iranian state TV, the deputy head of Iran’s central navy command, Major General Amir Haidari, declared the embattled Islamic Republic unrelenting and unready to yield in the face of the six-day U.S.-Israeli assault.

“We will only end this war when we feel we have achieved our objectives and made you regret and despair over your shameful actions,” stated Haidari. “Rest assured, time means very little to us; we will not falter or be unable to continue.”

Haidari stated the Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, Iran’s mixed navy command, of which he’s the deputy commander, was directing and planning all operations in coordination with the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“We will not stop this war,” insisted Haidari. “It does not matter to us how many days it takes. We are ready.”

The Iranian Martyrs’ and Veterans’ Affairs Organization, a authorities company answerable for supporting the households of individuals killed in service to the nation, stated Thursday that as of the day before today, not less than 1,230 individuals had been killed by U.S. and Israeli strikes on the nation.

The earlier dying toll given by Iranian officers was slightly below 1,000. 

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency stated that in accordance to its knowledge, as of Wednesday, civilian deaths in Iran stood “at 1,114, including 181 children,” with one other 926 reported deaths “under review pending verification and classification.”

Qatar Airways says it’s going to supply “a limited number relief flights” from two Persian Gulf airports beginning Thursday, “to support passengers who are stranded due to the current situation across the region.”

The Qatari airline stated its regular operations would stay suspended due to the closure of Qatar’s airspace, which, together with the remainder of the Persian Gulf, has been inundated by tons of of Iranian drones and missiles fired in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli assault launched Saturday.

The restricted evacuation flights starting Thursday included departures from two Gulf airports, with planes leaving Oman’s capital Muscat for London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome, and Amsterdam, and extra departing from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Frankfurt in Germany.

“Please ensure your contact details are up to date so we can reach you with flight information and instructions. Details can be updated at qatarairways.com or through the Qatar Airways mobile app,” the airline said in its social media put up.

It stated regular operations in Doha would resume, “once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace,” including that “a further update” could be supplied on Friday.

The Trump administration, after taking criticism for providing little assist to 1000’s of Americans stranded in the area by the war, stated Wednesday that it was working on “a series of options” to get individuals residence.

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense stated half a dozen missiles and 126 drones had been intercepted as they focused the Gulf state on Thursday alone, after Iran vowed to step up its assaults throughout the area in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war launched on Saturday.

“UAE air defenses deal with 6 ballistic missiles and 131 drones. Today (March 5, 2026), UAE air defenses detected seven ballistic missiles, six of which were intercepted and destroyed, while one ballistic missile fell inside the country’s territory. They also detected 131 drones, 125 of which were intercepted,” the protection ministry said in a social media put up.

Earlier Thursday, the federal government of the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi stated six individuals had been injured by falling particles when drones had been intercepted. Their accidents weren’t described as severe.

The non-public Institute for National Security Studies in Israel has supplied a variety of figures that spotlight the dimensions of the continuing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. According to the INSS, Iran has launched greater than 1,600 drones at Israel, Jordan, Persian Gulf nations, and Cyprus:

Launches from Iran at:

• Israel: Approximately 200 missiles and greater than 120 UAVs (unmanned aerial automobiles)
• UAE: 941 UAVs, 189 ballistic missiles, and 8 cruise missiles
• Bahrain: 92 UAVs and 74 missiles
• Qatar: 41 UAVs and 112 missiles
• Jordan: 36 UAVs and 13 missiles
• Oman: 5 UAVs, 3 missiles (Gulf of Oman)
• Kuwait: 178 ballistic missiles, 384 UAVs
• Cyprus: 2 missiles, 3 UAVs
• Iraqi Kurdistan: 70 missiles and UAVs
• Saudi Arabia: 14 UAVs, 5 cruise missiles
• Turkey: 1 missile

Launches from Lebanon, the place Hezbollah relies:

• Israel: 27 UAVs and 35 rockets
• Cyprus: 6 UAVs  

The INSS stated the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran had, as of Thursday, included not less than 11 waves of assaults in opposition to some 600 targets. The joint strikes noticed Israel fireplace some 5,000 munitions whereas the U.S. had used greater than 2,000.

The newest casualty figures cited by the institute, which is affiliated with Tel Aviv University, stated not less than 1,097 individuals had been killed in Iran, citing knowledge supplied by the U.S.-based activist group HRANA. INSS famous that not less than 87 Iranian sailors had been reportedly killed in a U.S. torpedo strike in opposition to an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, off the coast of Sri Lanka.

In the Gulf area, INSS stated casualty figures embody:

• Israel: 13 killed (together with 3 from associated medical points, not direct fireplace); 1,524 wounded
• United States: 6 killed, 18 wounded
• Lebanon: 72 killed, 347 wounded
• Iraq: 11 killed, 8 wounded
• Syria: 5 killed, 7 wounded
• Kuwait: 4 killed, 35 wounded
• UAE: 3 killed, 68 wounded
• Oman: 3 killed, 4 wounded
• Bahrain: 2 killed, 8 wounded
• Qatar: roughly 20 wounded
• Jordan: 5 wounded

CBS News has not independently verified the entire INSS knowledge, which the group says relies on fixed monitoring of “intelligence assessments, open-source information, and media reports.”

Residents of the British enclave of Akrotiri, on the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, had been reportedly ordered to shelter in place Thursday as authorities warned of an ongoing safety risk.

The U.Okay. has a sovereign navy base in Akrotiri, which it has granted the U.S. use of for “defensive purposes” amid the continuing war with Iran, that has already been focused not less than twice by missiles or drones for the reason that battle started.

According to the Cypriot information outlet in-cyprus, an alert sounded Thursday and residents had been instructed to stay in place till additional official notification, and to transfer away from home windows and take shelter behind or beneath sturdy furnishings. The Cypriot authorities later introduced that no risk was detected, in-cyprus stated.

A runway on the British Akrotiri base sustained damage on Monday from a suspected Iranian drone strike, although there have been unconfirmed stories on Thursday that it might have been launched from Lebanon, the place the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah relies.

Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands had been set to deploy naval belongings to Cyprus following the drone strikes, the Reuters information company cited Italian Defense Minister Guido Crusto as saying Thursday.

Six individuals had been harm Thursday as particles fell to the bottom from drone interceptions, the federal government of the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi stated Thursday. 

Iran has launched dozens of rounds of missiles and drones at international locations throughout the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the continuing U.S.-Israeli assaults which started on Saturday.

“Abu Dhabi authorities have responded to an incident of debris falling in two locations,” the Abu Dhabi Media Office stated in a press release shared on social media, including that “following the successful interception of drones by air defense systems” six Pakistani and Nepali nationals sustained minor or reasonable accidents.

According to knowledge compiled by the non-public Institute for National Security Studies in Israel, Iran has launched 941 drones, 189 ballistic missiles and 8 cruise missiles on the UAE for the reason that war started on Saturday. The overwhelming majority of the weapons have been intercepted.

The administration of the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi stated Thursday that restricted flights had resumed from its main airport — providing hope for 1000’s of individuals stranded by the shutdown of aviation hubs throughout the Persian Gulf due to the continuing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

In a statement, Abu Dhabi authorities stated Zayed International Airport had “resumed limited flight operations following a period of disruption in a significant display of resilience from Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem.”

“Efforts were conducted over the past few days under strict coordination on safety protocols and in close cross-sector collaboration to ensure comprehensive support. This unified response included the provision of more than 4,300 complimentary hotel rooms across 74 hotels for approximately 7,000 passengers, ensuring those affected by scheduling changes were accommodated in comfort,” the official Abu Dhabi Media Office stated in its assertion. 

“Passengers holding confirmed tickets are requested to contact their airlines for the latest flight schedules and are urged to travel to the airport only after receiving specific guidance on when to arrive at AUH for departure,” the assertion stated.

Azerbaijan’s overseas ministry stated Iranian drones hit an airport terminal and a faculty constructing on Thursday, warning that it reserved “the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures” in opposition to its southern neighbor.

It was the primary influence reported by Azerbaijan amid the widening war sparked by the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran on Saturday.

“One drone crashed into the terminal building of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Airport, and another drone crashed near a school building in the village of Shekarabad,” the overseas ministry said in a statement.

“We strongly condemn these drone attacks carried out from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which resulted in damage to the airport building and the injury of two civilians,” the ministry stated, demanding that “Iran clarify the above issue within a short period of time, provide an explanation, and take the necessary and urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.”

“The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures,” it stated, including that Iran’s prime diplomat in the nation had been summoned.

Iran’s official state information company Fars quoted a commander of the nation’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying Thursday that the approaching days would convey “more intense and widespread” assaults by the Islamic Republic.

Iranian state tv aired a message earlier in the day from an ayatollah in Iran calling for the “shedding” of blood from Israelis and President Trump.

The message from Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli represented one of many few statements from Iran’s highly effective Islamic clerics for the reason that war started.

“We are now on the verge of a great test and we must be careful to fully preserve this unity, to fully preserve this alliance,” Amoli stated, including a name for “the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump’s blood.”

Israel’s airspace reopened for restricted incoming flights Thursday after being closed for the reason that joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started.

Under the phased plan, one passenger flight per hour might be allowed in the primary 24 hours, totaling about 5,000 individuals, with extra later relying on safety.

Outgoing business flights are nonetheless prohibited.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed an assault Thursday on an American oil tanker in the northern reaches of the Persian Gulf, nevertheless it seems to have been a Bahamas-flagged ship that reported a doable sea-drone strike.

Maritime safety businesses together with Vanguard stated the assault claimed by Iran was possible in opposition to the Sonangol Namibe, which was tracked off the coast of Kuwait on Thursday.

The firm that operates the oil tanker, Sonangol Marine Services, informed CBS News in a press release on Thursday that it was “approached by an unknown small vessel while anchored near Khor Al Zubair, Iraq” early on Thursday, “and a short time later a loud bang was heard.”

“All 23 crew members are safe and accounted for and have mustered inside the ship. The crew reports that a port ballast tank is losing water which suggests some form of hull breach but the ship remains stable and safely afloat. The ship was in ballast with no cargo on board and there currently are no reports of any pollution,” the corporate stated.

The British maritime safety company UKMTO earlier reported an explosion off the port facet of the tanker, which traces up with info supplied by the Namibe’s operators. Public monitoring knowledge confirmed the tanker close to the Iraq-Kuwait border in the far northern Persian Gulf. 

CBS News has obtained satellite tv for pc imagery exhibiting the location of a faculty in Minab, southern Iran, the place Iranian officers say a U.S. or Israeli strike killed as many as 175 people over the weekend, lots of them schoolgirls. 

CBS News had beforehand confirmed that the constructing was situated in shut proximity to two websites managed by the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, together with the IRGC’s Seyyed Al-Shohada Barracks.

Analysis of photographs shared by Planet Labs exhibits the varsity was not the one constructing broken on the website. Imagery captured 4 days after the purported Feb. 28 strike exhibits one other collapsed constructing extra clearly throughout the IRGC website, and a gap in the roof of one other constructing, as effectively as rubble in the realm.

Neither the U.S. nor Israel has stated it was behind the strike. An Israel Defense Forces spokesman informed CBS News earlier in the week that the IDF had not “found any connection to our operations.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the Pentagon was investigating.

“Mr. Trump! Was this the hymn you composed for freedom in Iran?!,” Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, raged in a social media post on Thursday, condemning what he known as “the mass martyrdom of innocent girls in Minab at a school by Israeli–American criminals.”

The Israeli navy stated it launched focused assaults in Lebanon on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, together with a “large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure” in Iran’s capital, with out elaborating. 

Explosions had been heard in a number of areas in Tehran a short while later.

CBS/AP

The Senate defeated a war powers decision that sought to block President Trump from utilizing additional military force against Iran, rejecting a Democratic push to rebuke the president amid the administration’s shifting justifications for the war and warnings about extra American casualties to come.

The measure was voted down 47-53.

Read more here.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated Wednesday that Israel and the U.S. didn’t have “much of a choice” however to “take action” and strike Iran. 

In an interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, Herzog stated there have been considerations that Iran was going to develop its weapons arsenal, and that the U.S. and Israel believed Iran had “another new secret plan to rush” to develop a nuclear weapon.

“When you know that they have invested all their nation’s resources and money in creating havoc in the Middle East as you try to make peace with Muslim countries,” Herzog stated. “When you know that they have another new secret plan to rush to the bomb, you have to take action.” 

The U.S. intelligence neighborhood assessed last year that Iran was not constructing a nuclear weapon, and the U.S. and Israel have not supplied proof of a brand new plan to develop nuclear bombs. Iran has lengthy insisted its uranium enrichment program is simply meant for peaceable functions, although it enriches effectively past the extent wanted for non-weapons makes use of.

Herzog additionally stated that Israel shouldn’t be calling for a floor invasion of the nation.

“Let me be clear, I’m not calling on any boots on the ground. I’m not asking any American or anyone else,” Herzog stated.

Read more here.