US and Israeli strikes against Iran - 28 February 2026, Media, Maps & Timelines *NO DISCUSSION*

[JennieM]

27m ago

Unicef: At least 83 children killed in Lebanon since start of conflict​

At least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in Lebanon since the Israeli military began targeting the country with airstrikes in response to missiles launched into northern Israel by the Iran-back Hezbollah, according to Unicef, a UN agency.

“On average, more than 10 children have been killed every day across Lebanon over the past week, with approximately 36 children injured each day,” Edouard Beigbeder, the Unicef regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.

Beigbeder estimated that since 2 March, 700,000 people – including around 200,000 children – have been displaced from their homes, “adding to the tens of thousands already uprooted from previous escalations”.


“Unicef calls on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and shelters, and to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law,” Beigbeder said. “Unicef urges immediate efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent further harm to children.”

Middle East crisis live: Mojtaba Khamenei chosen as Iran’s new supreme leader as finance ministers prepare to discuss surging oil prices

Iran has named hardliner Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader; Donald Trump says oil price spike ‘a small price to pay’ as markets tumble

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

13m ago

Summary of the day so far​

• Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his slain father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signalling that hardliners remain in charge.
• Fresh missile and drone strikes by Israel and Iran reverberated across the Middle East as the war entered its 10th day. The Israeli military said on Monday it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran after a man was killed in an airstrike fired at central Israel earlier. The Israeli military also said Monday that it had begun targeting Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a US-sanctioned financial organisation that Israel has accused of financing the Iran-backed Hezbollah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
• Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday said the Israeli military unlawfully fired white phosphorus munitions in the town of Yohmor in southern Lebanon.
  The highly toxic white phosphorus can be used by militaries to obscure operations and is not listed a chemical weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), but use of it against humans in a civilian setting is considered a violation of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCCW).
• Unicef, a UN agency, estimates that at least 83 children have been killed and 254 wounded in Lebanon since the start of the conflict – during which time an estimated 700,000 people – including around 200,000 children – have been displaced from their homes.
• Residents in Tehran are still reeling from “apocalyptic” scenes unfolding across their city after airstrikes on oil depots over the weekend filled the sky with black smoke and covered the streets in soot. “The situation is so frightening it’s hard to describe,” one resident told the Guardian. “Smoke has covered the entire city. I have severe shortness of breath and burning in my eyes and throat, and many others feel the same. But people still have to go outside because they have no choice. Many places reopened today, but closed again because it’s impossible to stay outdoors.”
• The war has sent oil prices surging and Asian stock markets into a nosedive. Global oil prices rose past $100 (£74) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the war continues to wipe 20m barrels of oil from the market each day.

Middle East crisis live: Israel resumes strikes across Tehran and Beirut; finance ministers prepare to discuss surging oil prices

The Israeli military announced a ‘wide-scale wave of strikes’ against infrastructure across Iran; EU leaders to discuss releasing emergency oil reserves after oil surged above $100 a barrel

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

Macron's Cyprus visit has poor optics for the UK​

Jessica Parker
Reporting from Cyprus

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS/GONZALO FUENTES/POOL
Image caption, Macron is greeted by his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, as he arrives at the Paphos military airport a short time ago

French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Cyprus today to meet his Greek and Cypriot counterparts in a show of "solidarity", a week after a drone hit a British air base on the island’s southern tip.

France has already sent a frigate to the eastern Mediterranean, while an aircraft carrier is also en route. Greece, Spain and Italy have also deployed warships to help protect their EU ally.

The UK says it has bolstered air defences - both before and after a drone punched a hole in a hangar reportedly used to house American U2 spy planes.

But the optics of other European leaders and warships getting to Cyprus first - when it was a key British base that was struck - will fuel accusations the UK government has been far too slow in deploying HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer that’s yet to set sail.

Iran latest: Iranian missiles intercepted over Turkey and UAE as UK warns inflation could rise

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary John Healey says a drone that hit a UK base in Cyprus last week came from either Lebanon or Iraq.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

12m ago
Cyprus will not engage in any military operations surrounding the Iranconflict but will focus on its humanitarian role, president Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday.

It comes as Cyprus’s foreign minister said there are “questions” about the future of the UK’s military bases on the island after the drone strike last week.

The attack on RAF Akrotiri, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon, caused minimal damage and did not result in casualties.

Middle East crisis live: Israel resumes strikes across Tehran and Beirut; finance ministers prepare to discuss surging oil prices

The Israeli military announced a ‘wide-scale wave of strikes’ against infrastructure across Iran; EU leaders to discuss releasing emergency oil reserves after oil surged above $100 a barrel

www.theguardian.com

 

[CrimeDawg123]

Video appears to show U.S. cruise missile striking Iranian school compound

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/08/nx-s1-5739395/iran-school-airstrike-tomahawk-missile-trump

 

[JennieM]

When Cyprus is attacked, Europe is attacked - Macron​

IMAGE SOURCE, GONZALO FUENTES/POOL/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

French President Emmanuel Macron is currently visiting Cyprus to meet his Greek and Cypriot counterparts in a show of "solidarity" - after a drone hit a British air base on the island’s southern tip.

At a press conference in Paphos, the French president says: "When Cyprus is attacked, Europe is attacked."

The French president says France will deploy two frigates - a type of warship - as part of the EU's naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea.

"We are in the process of setting up a purely defensive, purely escort mission, which must be prepared together with both European and non-European states," he says.

Iran latest: Iranian missiles intercepted over Turkey and UAE as UK warns inflation could rise

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary John Healey says a drone that hit a UK base in Cyprus last week came from either Lebanon or Iraq.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

43 minutes ago

Ukraine says it received 11 requests on countering Iran's drones​

Anna Pruchnicka and Olena Harmash

FILE PHOTO: Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Ukraine. March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukraine had received 11 requests for drone interceptors, electronic warfare systems and training.

The requests came from countries neighboring Iran, as well as European states and the United States, he said.

After meeting his top military and government officials, he said in a post on X they had "reviewed in detail requests from states for security support from our side in countering 'Shahed' drones and other similar challenges."

"Ukraine is ready to respond positively to requests from those who help us protect the lives of Ukrainians and the independence of Ukraine," he added.

"Some requests have already been met with concrete decisions and specific support."

Ukraine is hoping the Middle East crisis will increase its leverage with allies by showing them that the expertise it has built during four ‌years ⁠of Russia's full-scale invasion could be invaluable to partners' own long-term security.

Zelenskiy said that Kyiv has unique experience in combating drones, which Iran actively uses in its attacks on Middle Eastern countries.

Iran war live: Mojtaba Khamenei named new supreme leader, G7 to discuss emergency oil reserves

Iran's clerical leadership chose confrontation over compromise in appointing Mojtaba Khamenei.

www.reuters.com

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2031050210235888095

 

[otto]

"The Iranian girls' school that was attacked in the city of Minab on the first day of the Iran-Iran war was likely hit by an American missile. This is the conclusion reached ...

The footage, which lasts just seconds, shows a missile hitting ... the girls' school.

Trevor Ball, a former weapons expert with the US Army, analyzed the footage for Bellingcat. He assumes the footage shows a Tomahawk missile, which, as far as we know, can only be deployed by the US in the war. There is no footage of fragments of the munitions on the ground.
...

The New York Times also verified the footage and concluded that a Tomahawk missile was used in the attack.
...

"I assume something went wrong with the Americans, either technically or in terms of planning. They may have based their actions on very outdated information, thinking the school building was still part of the military complex." Tomahawks can hit their targets with extreme precision, "provided they work properly."

'Amerikaanse Tomahawk-raket trof Iraans militair complex bij school'

Bij de luchtaanval op zaterdag 28 februari, de eerste dag van de oorlog, werd een meisjesschool geraakt. Er zouden zeker 165 doden, onder wie veel kinderen.

nos.nl

<modsnip: Not MSM or other approved source>

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2031017069798420857

 

[otto]

"Video appears to contradict Trump claim that U.S. wasn't responsible for deadly Minab school blast
...

Trevor Ball, a Bellingcat researcher, identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile — which only the U.S. is known to possess in this war.

U.S. Central Command has acknowledged using Tomahawk missiles in this war and even released a photo of the USS Spruance — part of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group located within range of the school — firing a Tomahawk missile on Feb. 28."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iran-minab-school-bellingcat-investigation-9.7120487

 

[Lyanna]

Iran latest: Iranian missiles intercepted over Turkey and UAE as UK warns inflation could rise

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary John Healey says a drone that hit a UK base in Cyprus last week came from either Lebanon or Iraq.

www.bbc.co.uk