Iran retaliates with wave of missiles across Middle East – after Trump demanded ‘unconditional surrender’  – live updates

By JAMIE BULLEN, LIVE COVERAGE EDITOR and WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER

Updated: 20:23 EST, 6 March 2026

Iran has launched a series of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, with five missiles intercepted in Saudi Arabia and ten shot down in Qatar. 

Attacks across the region escalated as US President Donald Trump vowed on Friday that he would no longer negotiate with Iran, and said the only way for them to bring the conflict to a close was ‘unconditional surrender.’ 

Trump said he ‘must be’ involved in picking Iran’s new leader after late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed seven days ago, but said he would accept a non-democratic choice so long as they are amicable to the US and Israel. 

In the early hours of Saturday local time, a fresh wave of strikes launched by the Israeli military struck across Tehran, as footage showed Mehrabad Airport in the capital on fire. 

The tit-for-tat strikes escalated overnight as Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched its twenty-third round of strikes, while the IDF said it was intercepting rocket fire aimed at Tel Aviv. 

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer promised Saudi Arabia‘s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman that the UK ‘stood ready’ to wade into the crisis in the Middle East and back their defense – after finally allowing Trump to use UK military bases in his attacks on Iran. 

A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed additional British helicopters, fighter jets and a destroyer were being deployed to the region and that Britain was ready to support Saudi Arabia ‘should it be needed’. 

US Air Force bombers capable of hitting enemies with up to 34 tons of explosives touched down in the UK on Friday evening – suggesting Trump’s attack on Iran that he dubbed ‘the big one’ may be imminent. 

Follow the latest updates on the US-Iran war below

Explosions at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport as fresh wave of airstrikes hit Iran

A fresh wave of airstrikes on the Iranian capital have appeared to strike Mehrabad Airport.

Footage from Tehran in the early hours of Saturday showed the area around the airport consumed by fireballs, as a number of explosions rocked the capital.

Earlier Friday, the Israeli media announced that it was carrying out a new barrage of attacks on Tehran.

Hostile clashes at pro-Khamenei protest vigil in NYC

Protesters in New York City were seen chanting ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel’ at a public vigil for late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The protest, held in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park on Friday evening, saw demonstrators hold up images of the former leader, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike seven days ago.

Protesters held signs reading ‘solidarity with Iran’, as others brought signs with Trump and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

A speaker said at the event: ‘We must live like the ayatollah did, with his heart for his people, and we must die like he did.’

Counter protesters at the vigil faced off with with the pro-Ayatollah mob, and the NYPD said three people were arrested as the groups clashed.

Trump lauds success of strikes in Iran as conflict hits the one-week mark

President Trump touted the success of his strikes in Iran at the White House on Friday evening, saying that the conflict was going ‘very well.’

‘Somebody said, how would you score it from zero to 10? I said, I’d give it a 12 to a 15,’ Trump told reporters.

The president said earlier in the day that he would no longer consider negotiations with Iran, and said their only chance at ending the conflict was ‘unconditional surrender.’

In his remarks to reporters, Trump added that Iran’s leadership and military generals are now all ‘gone’ – just seven days after launching the first barrage of strikes that killed former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Trump praised his actions against the Middle East nation for bringing its terror campaigns and funding of proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah to an end.

‘A lot of our people were being killed. They were being maimed. They were being destroyed with their bombs all over the planted in roads that we call the roadside bombs, walking around without legs, without arms, face blasted,’ Trump continued.

‘We had a choice. We could take it and go on like that for years, or do something about it, and we did something about it.’

Russia is providing intelligence to Iran to counter US forces, sources allege

Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on the location of US forces in the Middle East, military sources told NBC News.

Insiders reportedly said the Russian intelligence could help Iran locate American warships, radar and other communications systems.

The sources added that at this time, there is no evidence that Moscow is helping Iran to direct its missile or drone strikes, which ramped up across the region in a fresh wave on Friday.

Following reports of Russian intelligence interference on Friday, President Donald Trump deflected when questioned about the allegations.

He admonished a Fox News reporter for bringing up the subject at a White House event on college sports, shouting back: ‘What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also shut down questions on the reports, saying that even if it is true, ‘it clearly is not making any difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them.’

US Treasury Secretary says Trump could ‘unsanction’ Russian oil as prices soar

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Trump could allow the sale of sanctioned Russian oil to boost supplies.

Trump’s war in Iran has increased oil prices in the week since he launched strikes, and Bessent floated freeing up Russian oil as a counterweight on Friday.

‘We may unsanction other Russian oil,’ Bessent said on Fox Business.

‘There are hundreds of millions of sanctioned barrels of sanctioned crude on the water, and in essence by unsanctioning them, Treasury can create supply.’

Bessent made the suggestion after the Treasury Department said it was granting India a 30-day license to buy Russian oil.

‘We’re going to keep a cadence of announcing measures to bring relief to the market during this conflict,’ Bessent said.

It comes as oil price surges put the market on track for its biggest weekly jump since early 2020, with US crude oil spiking more than 11% on Friday, trading at more than $90 per barrel.

Brent oil, the international benchmark, also jumped 8% in midday trading.

Trump announces he is ramping up weapons production amid blitz on Iran

President Donald Trump announced on Friday night that he will be ramping up production of ‘Exquisite Class’ weaponry following a meeting with US defense manufacturers.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he wanted ‘the highest levels of quantity’ of the class of weapons, and bragged that he already has a ‘virtually unlimited supply of medium and upper medium grade munitions.’

Trump said a deal to increase production of the munitions was reached following a meeting with the CEOs of BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris Missile Solutions, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon.

It comes after military insiders told the Wall Street Journal that Trump was warned his war in Iran could severely deplete America’s stockpile of missiles and interceptors if the conflict becomes drawn out.

US military has struck over 3,000 targets in the first seven days of the war, CENTCOM says

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in updated figures on Friday night that US forces have struck over 3,000 targets in the first seven days of the conflict with Iran.

The first week of Operation Epic Fury also saw 43 Iranian Navy ships damaged or destroyed, CENTCOM said.

The US military account said in an X post that the staggering number of targets hit were intended to ‘dismantle the Iranian regime’s security apparatus, prioritizing locations that pose an imminent threat.’

It said the targets hit included Iranian Command and Control Centers, the IRGC Joint Headquarters, the IRGC Aerospace Forces Headquarters, and Iranian Navy ships.

Alongside a list of US weaponry utilized, including B-2 Stealth Bombers and F-35 Stealth Fighters, CENTCOM added that is also used ‘special capabilities we can’t list here.’

Breaking:Israel launches new wave of ‘broad scale’ strikes on Tehran

Israel army says it is launching ‘broad-scale’ strikes on Tehran.

Ireland condemns Israel’s attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon as ‘unacceptable’

Ireland’s foreign minister, Helen McEntee, has denounced attacks by both Hezbollah and Israel in a statement today.

She voiced her concerns about the worsening security situation in Lebanon, describing it as ‘extremely worrying.

She said it could set back the country years.

She also condemned the attack on a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, branding it ‘unacceptable.

She also confirmed that she had been in touch with the Irish military’s chief of staff, AlJazeera reported,

She described Israel’s response as ‘disproportionate’, noting there had been several attacks from the ground and air, as well as evacuation orders which have impacted civilians in southern Lebanon and Beirut.

She confirmed Irish peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had been accounted for and are safe.

US military investigators believe its forces were responsible for ‘strike on Iranian girls school’ killing several children

US military investigators believe it is likely that the US military was responsible for an alleged strike on an Iranian girls’ school, Reuters reported.

On Saturday, the air strike killed several children. Two US officials told Reuters that a final conclusion on the probe had not been reached.

It has not been determined how long the investigation will last or what evidence US investigators are looking for before concluding their assessment.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday acknowledged the US military was investigating the incident.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, did not rule out evidence that could emerge absolving the US of responsibility.

Iranian proxy claims attack on US military near Iraqi airport

Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a network of Iranian-backed Shia factions, has alleged it launched an attack on a US military base near an airport in Baghdad.

They said the attack was ‘retribution’ for the death of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

In a statement, they said:

Our valiant fighters carried out today… an attack with a rocket barrage targeting the American Victoria base at Baghdad Airport,”

Iran denies drone strike on Azerbaijan

An Iranian security official has denied allegations that Iran enacted a reported drone strike involving Azerbaijan.

They said Iran would not use what it labelled as a ‘small drone’ in a defensive operation.

‘If Iran decides to carry out defensive operations against any country, it will act in the same way it dealt with other countries in southern Iran, not through a small drone,’ the official told Fars news agency, closely linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

They said ‘self-restraint towards neighbouring countries is a fundamental principle in Iranian national security’.

However, they added that the level of restraint was dependent on “the extent of the other party’s cooperation with external enemies”.

Key Updates

• Israel has launched another wave of strikes on Lebanon, IDF confirms

  View post

• European countries could become ‘legitimate targets’ if they get involved in conflict, Iran’s deputy foreign minister warns

  View post

• A USAF B1-B bomber prepares to land at RAF Fairford airbase

  View post

• Iran has ‘begun its twenty-third round of strikes’, local media reports

  View post

• Iran has attacked 12 countries, US military says

  View post

• Iranian missiles detected making their way to Israel, IDF says

  View post

• PICTURED: Royal Navy helicopter arrived in Cyprus

  View post

• Trump says no deal with Iran unless they offer ‘unconditional surrender’

  View post

• Russia ‘is sharing targeting intelligence on US warships and planes with Iran’

  View post

• IDF release footage of moment Ayatollah Khamenei’s bunker is blown up

  View post

• Watch: Huge airstrike rocks Tehran as US warns ‘big one’ is on its way

  View post

• Qatar warns that oil could double to $150 a barrel and ‘bring down world economies’

  View post

• Qatar declares Iran targeted its navy during Bahrain attack

  View post

• US stealth bombers land at UK bases as Trump warns Iran ‘big one’ is coming

  View post

• Azerbaijan pulls out diplomats from Iran

  View post

• The most dangerous and safest places in the Middle East since Iran war

  View post

• Israel claims to have destroyed Hezbollah ‘terror sites’ in new Beirut strikes

  View post

• Dubai residents receive ‘missile threat’ alert on their phones

  View post

• Four men are arrested in London on suspicion of spying for Iran

  View post

• Brits arrive home after ‘traumatic’ government repatriation flight from the Middle East

  View post

• Saudi Arabia intercept three drones near Riyadh

  View post

• Watch: Iranian missiles hit two hotels in Bahrain

  View post

• Israel declares war in ‘new phase’ as more strikes launched in Tehran

  View post

• US announces strike on Iranian drone carrier

  View post

Share or comment on this article:
Iran retaliates with wave of missiles across Middle East – after Trump demanded ‘unconditional surrender’  – live updates