March 5, 2026 at 2:31 PM PST
Updated on March 5, 2026 at 11:50 PM PST
Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones targeting countries across the Persian Gulf overnight, while Israel renewed airstrikes on the Islamic Republic in a war that’s entered a seventh day with no end in sight.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain were among those came under renewed attack from the Islamic Republic, while Israeli airstrikes hit Tehran and Beirut.
US and Israel Intensify Strikes on Iran as Tehran Retaliates Across the Region
Sources: Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project as of March 6 morning Middle East time, Bloomberg News reporting
The US-Israeli war has left at least 1,332 people dead in Iran so far, and dozens of others have been killed elsewhere in the region in retaliatory strikes. The Pentagon said six US troops have been killed, all in the first two days of fighting.
President Donald Trump said the US continues to “totally demolish” Iranian forces, telling NBC he wanted to “clean out” Iran’s leadership structure and he had names in mind to take over.
Iran has “no air force, they have no air defense,” Trump said. “Their navy is gone — 24 ships in three days.”
Fears of a protracted war around the strategic Strait of Hourmuz, through which a fifth of world’s oil supplies transit, are roiling markets. Crude is headed for its biggest weekly surge since 2022 and a global bond rout is continuing unabated.
Emerging markets, in particular, are seeing a sell off of their assets. Turkey has spent $12 billion, equal to roughly 15% of its foreign-currency reserves, to keep the lira stable this week.
Airlines remain hamstrung, with the number of canceled flights to Middle East hubs surpassing 23,000 since fighting began. Thousands of passengers remained stranded in the Gulf region.
In all, around a dozen countries have been embroiled in the conflict and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said it’s increasing its alliance-wide ballistic missile defense posture.
Iran is poised to elect a successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Feb. 28, and Mojtaba Khamenei, the slain leader’s second-oldest son, is in the running. Trump said he was a “lightweight” who wouldn’t change the regime’s policies and insisted on being personally involved in picking the country’s next leader.
“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” the president said in an interview with Axios.
Arab states reported intercepting Iranian projectiles overnight into Friday. Bahrain said a unit at its Sitra refinery, the region’s oldest, caught fire after being struck by a missile. Kuwait intercepted another drone and Qatar thwarted an attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, a US military facility. The US suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait.
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted multiple missiles and drones overnight. Strikes have mostly been directed at Al Kharj near Riyadh, where the US has a facility, or the east where Saudi Aramco operates its headquarters. The kingdom is diverting millions of barrels of crude to a port on its Red Sea coast, helping the world’s top exporter maintain supplies.
Of the 500 ballistic and cruise missiles and 2,000 drones Iran has launched since the start of the war, about 60% were aimed at American targets, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency. Many of those US assets are located in Gulf states.
Countries in Europe and Asia are moving to bolster the region’s defenses. Italy intends to send air- and missile-defense systems, as well as counter-drone capabilities, to the Gulf, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said Thursday.
South Korea said it is in talks with the US about the possible redeployment of weapons, including Patriot air-defense systems. France has authorized US military support aircraft not involved in operations in Iran to use Istres Air Base, AFP reported.
NATO said it was boosting its missile defense posture following the downing on Wednesday of an Iranian missile heading toward Turkish airspace.
Trump, when asked by Reuters on Thursday if Ukraine could help with countering Iranian drones, said: “I’ll take any assistance from any country.”
Explosions were heard in parts of Tehran overnight, while Israel said Iran had launched a new wave of missiles at its cities. Hours earlier, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said strikes have neutralized more than 60% of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers and the IDF is moving into the next phase of its efforts to dismantle the Iranian regime and its military capabilities.
Meanwhile, Israel’s strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon continued, with Lebanese authorities saying at least 102 people have been killed since March 2.
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has ground to a near-complete halt, with crossings falling to their lowest level since the weekend’s effective closure of the key global artery for commodities from oil to fertilizers.
Recent reviews of shipping signals in the Strait “indicates transits have reduced to single-digit levels, with only two confirmed commercial transits observed in the past 24 hours,” the Joint Maritime Information Center said in a note on Friday.
Trump on Thursday dismissed concerns about the rise in energy prices, saying “further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent, and the oil seems to have pretty much stabilized.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters “it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three” weeks before operations are concluded. Trump told Politico the US has an “unlimited supply of weapons,” remarks Hegseth echoed.
“Iran is hoping we cannot sustain this,” Hegseth told news conference later at Central Command’s headquarters in Florida,. “Our capabilities are overwhelming and gathering still, as are those of our Israeli partners. Our munitions are full up.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said retaliatory attacks will intensify in coming days, the country’s Nour news agency said.
Disputing tthe Trump administration’s claims on an Iranian outreach, the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News his country hasn’t asked for a ceasefire and had no intention to negotiate.
“We see no reason why we should engage once again with those” who are “not honest,” he said.
— With assistance from Jeff Mason, Kate Sullivan, Andrea Palasciano, Kateryna Kadabashy, Alisa Odenheimer, Benoit Berthelot, Laura Davison, Jordan Fabian, Ani Avetisyan, Courtney McBride, Jon Herskovitz, Roxana Tiron, Bill Faries, Derek Wallbank, Tom Hall, and Yasufumi Saito
(Updates with details on overnight attacks throughout.)
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