As the Iran War enters its sixth day, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that U.S. and Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,230 people in Iran since Saturday.
After the sinking of an Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, the IRGC said retaliatory attacks would intensify in the coming days, according to Iran’s Nour news agency.
CENTCOM will ask the Department of War for extra military intelligence personnel at its Tampa, Florida headquarters to support operations against Iran for at least 100 days, but probably through September, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.
Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday morning responded to “incoming missile and drone threats from Iran,” the country’s Ministry of Defense said. The UAE says it was targeted with seven Iranian ballistic missiles today.
Footage posted on X Thursday morning showed Bahrain’s Petroleum Company refinery on fire, probably following Iranian ballistic missile attacks.
The U.K said it was sending four fighter jets to Qatar to reinforce what Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “defensive operations” across the region. Military helicopters equipped with counter-drone systems are due to arrive in Cyprus on Friday. Italy also pledged on Thursday to provide Gulf nations with air-defense systems, including anti-drone and anti-missile capabilities.
Iraqi officials and senior members of Iranian Kurdish groups told the New York Times that Iranian Kurdish groups are preparing armed units that could enter Iran. CNN reported on Tuesday that the U.S. will consider arming Kurdish factions in Iran to wage civil war against the government. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that the U.S. was arming Kurdish groups, and Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Nechirvan Barzani has said that his government is not considering joining the conflict.
New polling from the Angus Reid Institute finds Americans divided over American-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, opposed to deploying ground troops, and skeptical the conflict will end quickly. The survey, conducted March 2–4 among 1,215 U.S. adults, reports that 47 percent oppose the airstrikes, compared to thirty two percent who support them. Twenty-one percent say they are unsure.
Oil prices continued to climb Thursday due to the Strait of Hormuz’s closure. AAA reported that average gas prices reached $3.25.
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