★ISRAEL

1. Israel Strikes Over 200 Targets, Says 150 Launchers Remain

As the Iran–US/Israel war reaches day 14, residents across Tehran reported powerful overnight explosions, with the strongest blasts in the south and jets heard over Karaj, shaking homes in multiple districts. The IDF said it launched a wide new wave of strikes on Tehran, Shiraz and Ahvaz, hitting an underground missile production and storage site near Shiraz, an air‑defense base and other military facilities in Tehran, and additional IRGC‑linked targets in Ahvaz. This comes after Israel said it struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran the previous day in 20 large strike waves, including ballistic‑missile launchers, air‑defense systems and weapons‑production sites, with an Israeli security official estimating Iran has about 150 missile launchers left and vowing to keep targeting them.

2. Israel Strike Kills Displaced Families On Beirut Beachfront

Israeli warplanes carried out a “double‑tap” strike on the Ramlet Al Baida seafront in central Beirut, hitting tents where displaced families sheltering from earlier bombing had gathered for Ramadan with no prior warning. Lebanese authorities say at least 12 people were killed and 28 wounded, many women and children, as witnesses described bodies thrown into the air and a second projectile killing people who rushed to help, reinforcing a growing sense among Beirut’s displaced that “nowhere is safe.”

3. Netanyahu Says Israel ‘Crushing’ Iran And Hezbollah Threat

In his first press conference since the war with Iran began, Netanyahu said Israel is “crushing Iran and Hezbollah” and claimed new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei “cannot appear in public.” He warned he would “not guarantee the life” of any Hezbollah leader, said Israeli strikes have killed senior nuclear scientists, and argued Iran and Hezbollah are now significantly weakened, while threatening Lebanon that Israel will act if Beirut does not move to disarm Hezbollah. Visiting Northern Command, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Israel is fighting a “multi‑front war against Iran and its proxies” and that the battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon is a “major front, not a secondary one,” warning it will not be short. Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said Netanyahu and the ministry have ordered the army to prepare to expand operations in Lebanon. 

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★IRAN

4. Iran, Hezbollah Launch New Barrages At Multiple Israeli Cities

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a fresh wave of missile strikes against Israel overnight, with salvos reported toward Tel Aviv, Eilat and the Jerusalem area that wounded around 60 people and caused new damage in urban zones. Almost simultaneously, Hezbollah fired a large rocket barrage at northern Israel as part of what Tehran called a “joint and integrated operation,” but Israeli air defences intercepted the Lebanese fire with no major additional casualties reported.

5. Iran Launches Three New Waves, Threatens US Troops In Hotels

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired three waves of missiles within about an hour early Friday under “Operation True Promise 4,” targeting Tel Aviv, Eilat, West Jerusalem, northern Israel, and Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti air base with missiles and drones. In a stark warning, the IRGC vowed to “bury” US soldiers “wherever they are, including hotels, tunnels, industrial compounds, and underground shelters.”

6. Khamenei Jr Threatens To Ignite Region’s Energy Infrastructure

Iranian media today published Mojtaba Khamenei’s first message as Iran’s new Supreme Leader as a written statement read by a TV presenter, without him appearing on camera or speaking himself. He described his late father as a “shining treasure” and recounted viewing his body after “martyrdom.” He vowed never to stop avenging Iran’s martyrs, making revenge a top priority until “fully achieved.” He said Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz shut as leverage against the United States and Israel, continue attacks on Gulf Arab neighbors, and urged their publics to close U.S. bases or face being treated as invaders. He promised to seize or destroy enemy assets for compensation and warned that if Iran’s energy or ports are struck, Tehran will “set the region’s oil and gas on fire.” Asked if Mojtaba is dead or alive, Trump said he is “probably alive” but “damaged” and “alive in some form.” Brushing off Mojtaba’s threats against U.S. bases and Gulf oil flows, Trump called Iran’s rulers “deranged scumbags” and warned “watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today,” vowing Iran would face “death, fire and fury” and be hit “at a level never seen before” if it escalates.

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★IRAQ

7. Iranian Boats Blast Two Tankers In Iraqi Waters

Iraqi and maritime officials say two foreign oil tankers, the Safesea Vishnu (Marshall Islands flag) and the Zefyros (Malta flag), were attacked in Iraq’s territorial waters near Basra/Umm Qasr, leaving at least one crew member dead and dozens rescued. The ships, both loaded with fuel from Iraqi ports, were set ablaze in what Iraq called a “cowardly act of sabotage,” with officials and Western sources saying explosive‑laden Iranian boats appear to have carried out the strike, prompting Baghdad to suspend all oil‑terminal operations while keeping commercial ports open.

8. French Soldier Killed In Erbil Drone Strike; German Ship Hit

A French soldier was killed and six others wounded when explosive‑laden drones struck a joint French–Peshmerga base near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, where French forces support counter‑ISIS training missions. In a parallel sign of widening regional risk to Western assets, projectile fragments hit the Liberia‑flagged Hapag‑Lloyd container vessel Source Blessing near the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a fire but causing no injuries as crew brought the blaze under control.

9. Lanaz Oil Refinery West Of Erbil Hit By Drones

Several drones targeted sites around Erbil, including the Lanaz oil refinery west of the city, causing material damage but no reported casualties as Kurdish authorities activated air defences and emergency procedures. The attack on the privately owned refinery, a key local fuel supplier, extends the recent wave of missile and drone strikes on energy and strategic sites in Iraqi Kurdistan, compounding risks already highlighted by attacks on coalition bases and diplomatic facilities.

10. U.S. KC-135 Lost Over Western Iraq During Epic Fury

CENTCOM reported a KC-135 refueling aircraft lost in friendly airspace over western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury, after an incident involving two U.S. aircraft in which one crashed and the other landed safely, and said search-and-rescue operations are ongoing while ruling out hostile or friendly fire as the cause. Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters, the IRGC, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed Iraqi “resistance factions” fired missiles that shot down the aircraft in western Iraq and killed the crew, framing the attack as a defense of Iraqi sovereignty and airspace.

11. Strikes Kill Iran-Backed Fighters, Drones Downed Over Iraqi Oilfield

An airstrike by unidentified aircraft on a base in the Jurf al‑Sakhar/Jurf al‑Nasr area southwest of Baghdad killed at least two Kataeb Hezbollah fighters and wounded others. Separate airstrikes near the Iraq–Syria border hit a base used by Harakat Ansar Allah al‑Awfiya, killing at least nine Iran‑backed fighters. Two other drones came down at the Majnoon oilfield in southern Iraq with no casualties or damage reported.

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★GULF STATES

12. Iranian Drone Ignites Dubai High-Rise

An Iranian drone struck a residential high-rise in Dubai’s Creek Harbour, sparking an upper-floor fire and nighttime evacuations. UAE officials said air defenses intercepted most missiles and drones, calling the Dubai hit an outlier in a wider Iranian barrage. Civil defense teams quickly contained the blaze, with authorities reporting no fatalities and limited injuries, while Dubai’s airport and core business districts remained largely operational. The UAE Defence Ministry says its air defences intercepted 10 ballistic missiles and 26 drones launched from Iran on March 12 alone. 

13. Saudi Defense Ministry Reports Interception Of At Least 50 Drones

Saudi Defense Ministry and Saudi press reports say air defenses intercepted and destroyed 50 drones in the last 24 hours of attacks on Saudi territory, including 28 drones shot down in three waves (12, 9, and 7) plus at least three additional drones reported after it had already entered Saudi’s airspace.  Local news outlets reported that the strikes targeted central Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, Prince Sultan Air Base near Al Kharj, and energy‑linked sites in Eastern Province and near the Shaybah oil field.

14. Saudi, Pakistan Tighten Security Coordination Under Defense Pacts

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Jeddah to review close bilateral ties and coordinate responses to the widening regional war. Against the backdrop of Riyadh’s activation of its Mutual Defense Agreement with Islamabad, both sides discussed military escalation risks, energy and shipping security, and pledged “full solidarity” while exploring deeper security cooperation under existing Saudi–Pakistan defense frameworks.

15. Oman Reports Two Dead As Iranian Drones Hit Salalah, Sohar

Iranian Shahed‑136 drones struck Oman’s Port of Salalah, igniting major fires at the MINA oil storage facility and suspending part of its operations. Omani authorities also reported that two people were killed when two drones crashed in the Wilayat of Sohar.

16. Kuwait Intercepts 5 Missiles And 7 Drones In 24 Hours

Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said air defences detected five hostile ballistic missiles in the past 24 hours, shooting down four while one fell outside the threat zone. Seven hostile drones were also detected; five were intercepted and destroyed, while two remained outside engagement areas, with debris and at least one drone strike causing damage and minor injuries in residential areas. 

17. Total Shuts Gulf Offshore Fields, Sees 10% Cashflow Hit

TotalEnergies says war‑driven shutdowns at offshore fields in the UAE, Qatar and Iraq have cut about 15% of its regional output, with halted volumes equal to roughly 10% of its exploration and production cash flows, while its onshore UAE output via Fujairah continues.

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★TURKIYE

18. Iran’s Third Missile at Incirlik NATO Base Intercepted

Iran fired another ballistic missile toward the Incirlik Air Base area in southern Turkey overnight, marking at least the third such shot at or near NATO assets there in roughly ten days; allied air defenses intercepted it before impact and no Turkish casualties were reported, but repeated air‑raid sirens and falling debris are steadily eroding Ankara’s tolerance and increasing pressure for a stronger response.

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★ Disclaimer: This publication is a digest of various news sources compiled by the Early Phoenix team and edited by Rania Kisar. The items are curated, concise summaries of news items hyperlinked within each story. The items and summaries presented do not necessarily represent the views of the American Center for Levant Studies.