Smoke and flames rise from buildings following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo)
The Middle East is on fire and the world is watching. What began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks against Iran, exploded into a full-scale regional war with no end in sight. Twelve days later, the conflict has reshaped the geopolitical map, caused a free fall in energy markets and endangered civilian lives in several countries.
How things are now:
US President Donald Trump proclaimed victory in the war against Iran saying: “We won in the first hour.” Iran says US and Israeli forces have bombed nearly 10,000 civilian sites, killing more than 1,300 civilians since the war began.
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The once bustling streets of Tehran have become ghost towns as Israel attacked densely populated areas. The UN warns of a toxic “black rain”, mass displacement and disrupted supply chains of life-saving goods as humanitarian conditions rapidly deteriorate.
On the military front, the conflict is escalating, not diminishing. Iran and Hezbollah carried out a joint operation that involved five hours of sustained fire and hit more than 50 targets across Israel. In response, Israel launched large-scale attacks in Lebanon after being attacked by dozens of Hezbollah rockets. Iran has launched attacks on military bases in Middle Eastern nations such as Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The war has already claimed a key leadership in Iran. The attacks killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior military officials. House of Commons Library His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was quickly elected the new supreme leader on March 8, although CNN reported that he suffered a broken foot and other minor injuries in the first wave of strikes.
The economic shock waves are global. The International Energy Agency agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of crude oil in response to the disruption caused by the conflict.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says it destroyed Iranian navy ships, including 16 minelayers, near the Strait of Hormuz, the choke point through which about a fifth of the world’s crude oil flows.
We will update this page as events develop. Refresh to get the latest updates.
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