Iran war live: US bombs Iran’s Kharg Island, warns oil facilities next - 2,500 Marines first US ground troops to be deployed

By Erin Hale, Sarah Haider, Virginia Pietromarchi, and Rosiland Jordan, Reporting from Washington, DC, United States

Published On 14 Mar 2026
Al Jazeera

• President Donald Trump said US forces “obliterated” Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, located off the southwest coast of Iran, and warned oil infrastructure there could be attacked next.
• Iraqi officials say a helipad at the US Embassy in Baghdad was struck in missile attack, the Associated Press news agency reports.

• Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tehran says “huge blasts” rocked central Tehran after thousands rallied in Iran’s capital in a show of support for Palestinians and in defiance of attacks by the US and Israel.

US-Israeli strikes have killed almost 1,450 people in Iran since the war started on February 28, while an Israeli attack on a health centre in southern Lebanon killed 12 medics, as the death toll there from Israel’s strikes has risen to 773, including 103 children.
Countries across the Gulf region, including Qatar and Bahrain, issued evacuation warnings as Iran continued missile and drone attacks.

2,500 Marines first US ground troops to be deployed in US-Israel war on Iran

By Rosiland Jordan

Reporting from Washington, DC, United States

Members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit are now on their way from their home port in Okinawa, Japan, alongside the USS Tripoli, which is an amphibious assault ship.

That’s the vessel from which these Marines would deploy “in theatre”, whether it’s for responding to a crisis or perhaps being deployed to take over some part of Iranian territory.

Essentially, they’re being called the first ground troops being deployed into the US-Israel war on Iran, even though Marines are both on land and on sea.

What we’re to make of this is that the US is very slowly increasing its military posture in terms of prosecuting the war, and that it is not intending to wrap things up any time soon.

36m ago (05:30 GMT)

Smoke seen rising from US embassy in Baghdad

Smoke was seen rising from the US Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad early on Saturday morning following a reported attack.

Security officials told the Associated Press news agency that a helipad at the diplomatic compound was hit in a missile strike though other reports said a drone may have been involved.

46m ago (05:20 GMT)

Iran-aligned armed groups have pledged to attack US Embassy in Baghdad

By Mahmoud Abdelwahed

Reporting from Baghdad, Iraq

Iraqi officials reportedly say a helipad at the US embassy in Baghdad was hit by a missile.

We do not know for certain whether there are casualties, or the volume of damage in this attack.

But we understand that Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq have always pledged to attack US facilities, especially the embassy.

This is because they want to avenge the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, who was killed by a US-Israeli air strike at the beginning of this campaign.

In fact, yesterday, they issued a statement offering $100,000 as a reward to anyone who provides information leading to any US diplomatic personnel inside the country.

They said in the statement that they have been attacking US interests in Iraq, US military bases and facilities, and they have managed to put pressure on US personnel in Iraq to take shelter in civilian houses.