A Sri Lanka Navy vessel approaches an Iranian vessel during a rescue operation, after the crew of a distressed Iranian military ship, IRIS Dena were assisted in waters south of Sri Lanka, off the coast of Colombo. (REUTERS)
US-Israel vs Iran War News Live Updates: The conflict in the Middle East escalated to a ferocious new level on Tuesday as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the “most intense day of strikes” inside Iran since the war began eleven days ago. Even as the Pentagon ramped up its aerial campaign, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pivoted the war’s rhetoric toward total victory, declaring that the objective is now the popular overthrow of the Iranian government.
“We are breaking their bones,” Netanyahu told health officials in Jerusalem, asserting that the campaign aims to empower the Iranian people to “cast off the yoke of tyranny.” In Tehran, the mood remains one of fierce defiance. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed any rumours of a ceasefire, vowing to “punch the mouth” of the aggressors to end the cycle of negotiation.
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What are the current developments? Here are 5 updates
- Pentagon escalation: Defence Secretary Hegseth confirmed Tuesday is the peak of the US air campaign, despite noting that Iranian missile fire reached its lowest volume in 24 hours.
- Gulf under fire: Intercepts were reported over Qatar and the UAE. In Bahrain, a missile struck a residential building in Manama, killing a 29-year-old woman.
- Maritime terror: The UK military warned of a probable attack on a bulk carrier off the coast of Abu Dhabi, signalling an expansion of Iran’s naval targeting.
- Energy chokehold: The Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) vowed that “not a single liter of oil” will leave the Persian Gulf, directly defying President Trump’s earlier threats of massive retaliation.
- Global fallout: Egypt hiked fuel prices by up to 17%, while Thailand and Vietnam have urged citizens to work from home and limit vehicle use to conserve dwindling supplies.
Global energy crisis deepens
The economic ripples of the conflict are now crashing into kitchen tables worldwide. In India, a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has left restaurants in Mumbai and Bengaluru struggling to stay open. Meanwhile, the G7 nations are convening an emergency video call this afternoon to discuss the coordinated release of strategic oil stocks to blunt the “war premium” that has kept prices volatile.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that global inventories are “eroding fast” as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. While Saudi Arabia is racing to bring its East-West pipeline to maximum capacity (7 million barrels per day) to bypass the chokepoint, experts warn it may not be enough to stabilise a market deprived of 20% of the world’s daily oil flow.
One Week of War: Key Events — Feb 28 to March 9, 2025
Chronology of the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran and its escalating regional fallout
U.S. and Israel launch coordinated attack on Iran — war begins
American and Israeli forces strike Iran in a coordinated military operation. Iranian counter-attacks begin almost immediately across multiple theatres.
Day 1 · War Begins
Missile hits Minab primary school — 175 schoolgirls & staff killed
A strike on a primary school in Minab, southern Iran, kills 175 schoolgirls and staff on the war’s first day — the single deadliest civilian attack of the opening week, per Iranian Red Crescent Society.
Civilian Deaths · Iran
Iranian missile strikes Sweida, Syria — 4 killed
An Iranian missile hits a building in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, killing four people, according to Syrian state news agency SANA.
Regional Spillover · Syria
Iranian missile hits Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem — 9 civilians killed
Nine of Israel’s 11 civilian deaths in the first week come from a single Iranian missile strike on Beit Shemesh, a city near Jerusalem, per Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service.
Civilian Deaths · Israel
Iran strikes Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases — 15 killed
Iranian missiles and projectiles hit UAE (4 dead), Saudi Arabia (2), Bahrain (2, incl. Manama residential building), Kuwait (6, incl. a child), and a tanker off Oman’s coast (1) — drawing all U.S. base-hosting nations in the Gulf into the conflict.
Gulf Escalation · 5 States Hit
U.S. airstrike kills Islamic Resistance in Iraq commander
A commander of the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq — an umbrella group of armed factions — is killed in a strike on his vehicle, per Reuters sources. Iraq’s overall death toll stands at 15.
Targeted Strike · Iraq
Hezbollah re-enters conflict; IDF reports first soldier deaths
Lebanon’s Hezbollah resumes attacks on Israel in solidarity with Iran. Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill at least 486. Two Israeli soldiers are killed in southern Lebanon — the first IDF fatalities since hostilities with Hezbollah resumed.
Lebanon Front · 488 Killed
U.S. submarine sinks Iranian warship off Sri Lanka — 104 killed
The Iranian army reports 104 deaths after a U.S. submarine sinks an Iranian warship in waters off Sri Lanka’s coast. These deaths are additional to the Red Crescent Society’s 1,230+ toll for Iran.
War at Sea · Indian Ocean
Confirmed death toll reaches 1,770+ across 11 countries
More than ten days after the war began, confirmed deaths span Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, the U.S., Kuwait, Syria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. Reuters has not independently verified the figures.
Toll Update · March 9
The Indian Express Global Desk is providing minute-by-minute updates, including exclusive satellite analysis of the strikes in Tehran and real-time tracking of shipping disruptions in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
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