21:00 The Pentagon is moving additional Marines and warships to the Middle East as Iran steps up its attacks on the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing three US officials.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a request from US Central Command for an element of an amphibious ready group and attached Marine expeditionary unit (MEU), typically consisting of several warships and 5,000 Marines and sailors, the officials told the WSJ.
According to the WSJ, the Japan-based USS Tripoli and its attached Marines are now headed for the Middle East. Marines are already in the Middle East supporting the Iran operation, the officials said.
CNN was also told about the MEU deployment to the region by three officials familiar with the matter.
“These units have traditionally been used for missions like large-scale evacuations and amphibious operations that require ship-to-shore movements, including raids and assaults. They also have a ground and aviation combat component, and some units are trained for special operations,” reported CNN.
Their presence gives commanders additional options for a range of contingencies, one of the sources told CNN.
Donald Trump and his administration have repeatedly refused to rule out US boots on the ground in Iran.
Read Ahram Online analysis on the vote of technological superiority in this war here.
20:30 US President Donald Trump said he will know when the war with Iran is over when he feels it “in my bones,” offering yet another personal measure for when the conflict might come to an end.
Asked during a phone interview, aired Friday on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox Radio, when he will know the war is finished, Trump responded, “When I feel it, OK, feel it in my bones.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be long when it’s over,” Trump said.
Trump offered his views on decision-making in wartime, suggesting that he is limiting dissent among his top national security officials.
“I let them speak their mind. And they do, and we have some differences, but they never end up being much. I convince them all to let’s do it my way.”
19:00 At least 773 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel began strikes on the country, the Ministry of Public Health said in an update on Friday. Among the dead are 103 children.
18:15 US/Israeli deadly airstrikes across Iran continued on Friday, with Israeli warplanes striking Tehran, Shiraz, and Ahvaz.
The Iranian Ministry of Health said on Friday that "the relentless attacks on civilian areas have injured more than 16,000 people, with 14,904 already treated and discharged, and 1,448 remaining hospitalized."
Among the killed were 11 children under the age of five, while another 200 were under 18 years old, said the ministry, as reported by Tasnim.
"Tragically, 41 of the wounded are toddlers under two years old, and over 1,100 injured are children under 18. The toll on women has been equally severe, with 2,500 injured and 220 martyred in the indiscriminate strikes," said the Iranian health ministry.
"Medical teams have performed 680 emergency surgeries since the onset of the war, as the enemy’s barbaric campaign shows no regard for human life. At least 80 healthcare workers have been wounded, and 13 have been martyred while providing lifesaving care under fire."
"In a flagrant violation of international law, the Israeli regime and its American backers have systematically attacked Iran’s medical infrastructure, damaging over 25 hospitals, 149 health clinics, and 21 emergency response centres. Six hospitals have been forced to evacuate due to the enemy’s criminal bombardments, further crippling the country’s ability to treat the wounded," added the ministry.
The deliberate destruction of medical facilities underscores the aggressors’ intent to maximize civilian suffering, particularly among the most vulnerable, women and children.
18:00 Air defences in the United Arab Emirates have intercepted 27 drones and seven ballistic missiles today, the UAE defence ministry said. Since the start of the conflict, UAE air defences have tallied 285 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1567 drones heading into their territory.
17:45 Two people were killed in Oman on Friday after air defences intercepted a drone over the Al Awahi industrial area, according to state media. The drone was one of two that were shot by air defences on Friday, but the second one did not cause any injuries.
17:00 In a post on X, Araghchi shared footage of the demonstrations and praised what he described as the “strong and resilient people of Iran,” saying the country would “always stand firm and never cower before cowardly attacks.”
International Quds Day is observed annually across Iran and other countries to express support for the Palestinian cause and opposition to Israeli control over Jerusalem, known in Arabic as Al-Quds.
16:45 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also attended the Al-Quds Day march in Tehran on Friday, waving and smiling at the other demonstrators at the annual rally in support of Palestinian rights.
Iranian state media released photos of Iran’s senior leadership at the rally in an apparent show of strength. Earlier Friday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran’s leadership was “desperate and hiding.”
“They’ve gone underground. Cowering. That’s what rats do,” Hegseth said.
The US officials' insults and slurs piled on against the Iranians all day! The day started with President Trump calling the Iranian officials "deranged scumbags" before Hegseth called them "cowering" and "rats."
16:42 Ali Larijani, the head of the Iranian National Security Council, responded in a video post on X to the American accusations that the leadership "were desperate and hiding."
At probably the same time that Secretary Hegtheth spoke about "cowards" and "rats," President Pezeshkian was walking on the streets in central Tehran in a demonstration and shook protesters' hands, before jumping behind a motorcyclist to fly through the demo amid public cheers!
16:40 Al-Quds Day fell a day after the Netherlands and Iceland filed a petition with the International Court of Justice to join South Africa's case charging Israel with committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza war since October 2023.
In recent months, the Israeli occupation army has breached the terms of the ceasefire with Hamas, signed in October 2025, on hundreds of occasions, with Israeli strikes killing and wounding hundreds of Palestinians.
Since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza on 7 October 2023:
- Killed: At least 72,136 Palestinians have been confirmed dead, mostly women and children.
- Wounded: At least 171,839 Palestinians have been reported injured.
- Since the October 2025 ceasefire, medical sources have documented approximately 651 fatalities and over 1,741 injuries.
- Missing and Under Rubble: Official figures are considered conservative by many humanitarian organizations, as they do not include thousands of people who remain missing or trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
- Humanitarian Impact: Beyond direct violence, thousands of excess deaths have been attributed to starvation, cold, and the collapse of the healthcare system.
- In August 2025, the United Nations declared famine in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade of the strip.
- At least 25 children were reported to have died from malnutrition in early March 2026 alone.
- West Bank Casualties: Outside of Gaza, at least 1,058 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 7 October 2023.
Maryam Abu Warda, a 46-year-old displaced Palestinian who lost her right hand and right leg when the Israeli army targeted their home during attacks on Gaza, prepares food at Halawa camp in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, on March 10, 2026. AFP
16:30 All six crew members on board a US KC-135 military aerial refuelling plane that crashed in western Iraq yesterday have been confirmed dead, US Central Command said in an update Friday.
US Centcom, which had earlier today said that only four of the six had died, said the crash was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire.
The identities of the members who died are being withheld until their families can be notified, US Centcom said.
This plane was the fourth US aircraft lost since the US and Israel began launching strikes against Iran on 28 February.
Three US Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down in a friendly fire incident by Kuwait air defences earlier this month. All crew members in those jets ejected safely.
Seven US troops have been killed in the conflict, while as many as while as many as 150 US troops have been wounded. The death toll in Iran is more than 1,300, according to the country’s UN ambassador.
16:15 President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Cairo's unequivocal condemnation and absolute rejection of Iran's targeting of the Gulf states, Jordan, and Iraq.
In a phone call, the Egyptian president emphasized to Pezeshkian that these brotherly nations have neither supported nor participated in the war against Iran, but rather contributed to de-escalation efforts and supported the Iranian-American negotiations aimed at reaching a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
The president expressed Egypt's aspiration to uphold the principle of good neighbourliness and to halt these attacks immediately.
He reiterated Egypt's regret over the current escalation and its deep concern about its negative repercussions on the stability of the region and the well-being of its people.
He also outlined the Egyptian efforts exerted to stop the current military conflict and return to the negotiating track, stressing the necessity of flexibility in this regard.
The Iranian president, for his part, expressed his appreciation for Egypt's efforts and for the Egyptian president's role in de-escalating tensions.
He affirmed that his country had participated in the rounds of negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme.
He also emphasized his country's commitment to fraternal relations and good neighbourliness with Arab states.
In the same vein, the Egyptian president discussed with the Iranian president possible ways to end the escalation, stressing Egypt's readiness to exert every effort to mediate and prioritize political and diplomatic solutions to the current crisis.
He also emphasized the necessity for all parties to respect international law and the UN Charter, as well as the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and to refrain from interfering in their internal affairs.
16:00 The relentless Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon exact more casualties and human suffering by the minute.
Total Deaths: Over 687 people have been killed in the most recent week of intensified Israeli bombing of the country.
Recent Strikes: On 12 March 12, 2026, at least 52 people were killed in a single day of strikes, followed by over 25 deaths on 13 March.
Displacement: Approximately 800,000 to 950,000 people have been displaced due to the recent Israeli airstrikes and bombings.
A man carries two children in his arms as he flees the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighbourhood in the town of Mieh Mieh, some five kilometres east of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, on March 13, 2026. AFP
15:30 When the United States launched its military campaign against Iran in late February 2026, the conflict quickly moved beyond the battlefield. It also entered the pages of Western magazines, where editors and illustrators began translating the war into striking visual narratives.
From Newsweek and The Week to Guardian Weekly and Washington Examiner, magazine covers have offered sharply different interpretations of the unfolding conflict.
These covers do more than illustrate current events. They reveal how Western media institutions understand the war and how divided opinion has become about its meaning and consequences.
Read an Ahram Online synopsis here.
15:00 The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth gloated to the media on Friday that "the Iranian regime will only see the Stars and Stripes of the USA and Israel’s Star of David," which he describes as “their worst nightmare."
Hegseth claimed Iran’s missile volume is down 90 percent, while its one-way attack drones were down 95 percent yesterday.
Iran cannot build any more weapons, he said.
The US is “dealing with” Iran’s attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, and it is something that does not need to be worried about, Hegseth said.
At the same briefing, Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that Iran still retains the capacity to threaten commercial shipping and forces allied with the United States.
He said US operations were continuing to target Tehran’s mine-laying capabilities.
Caine added that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz remained tactically complex and was continuing to evolve. Asked about US casualties, he said the “large majority” of personnel who had sought medical treatment had since returned to duty.
14:10 Reports from various international and local agencies indicate significant loss of life and injuries within Iran:
Killed: Most reports estimate between 1,230 and 1,348 deaths.
Iran's representative to the UN reported at least 1,348 civilians killed as of this week.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported over 1,200 deaths due to Israeli and American strikes.
High-profile fatalities include the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Wounded: Injury tolls are estimated to be between 12,000 and 17,000 people.
A significant number of casualties are reported to be civilians, including 168 children killed in a single strike on an elementary school in Minab in the early hours of the war on 28 February.
14:05 A video verified by The New York Times on Wednesday shows the destruction to Chehel Sotoun, a 17th-century palace with a Persian garden compound, due to US/Israel strikes on the country.
There, the 20 towers of the palace are reflected in a shallow blue pool in the garden, creating the illusion of 40, accounting for the name. In Persian, chehel sotoun means 40 columns.
A host of UNESCO-protected historic sites in Iran have been struck by the US and Israel.
14:45 Norwegian Refugee Council warned Friday that Lebanon was nearing a “breaking point” as displacement surged during the ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the country, with roughly one in seven people forced from their homes in the first ten days of the conflict.
The aid group said at least 816,000 people, about 14 percent of Lebanon’s population, had been displaced since early March, citing official figures.
It added that the number was likely to rise as Israel continued issuing forced displacement warnings and carrying out strikes across villages and neighbourhoods in the country.
According to the NRC, Israeli forced displacement orders now cover about 1,470 square kilometres, or roughly 14 percent of Lebanese territory, including areas of south Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and parts of the Bekaa Valley.
NRC Lebanon director Maureen Philippon said conditions in collective shelters were deteriorating as displaced families arrived in large numbers. More than 122,000 people are staying in such facilities, with some schools hosting up to 1,200 people and classrooms sheltering an average of 15 people each, often with limited water, sanitation, or cooking facilities.
The organization also said its office in the southern city of Tyre was badly damaged in an Israeli strike on the surrounding neighbourhood, though no staff were present at the time. NRC said it had previously shared the location of the office with the United Nations and had received no prior warning.
14:30 Two prominent Lebanese professors have been killed following an Israeli airstrike earlier near the Faculty of Sciences at the Lebanese University in Hadath.
The victims are Dr Murtada Srour, regarded as one of Lebanon’s leading physics experts, and Dr Hussein Bazzi, director of the Faculty of Sciences at the Lebanese University.
13:55 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has landed in Beirut today for “a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon."
During a short news conference, he called on Hezbollah and Israel to negotiate a ceasefire “to stop the war and pave the way to find a solution to allow Lebanon to become a country independent, with sovereignty and territorial integrity respected,” adding that this “is no longer the time of armed groups. This is a time of strong states.”
“Lebanon was dragged into a war that is not a war that its people would be willing to have,” he said. “I sincerely hope that in my next visit to Lebanon, I’ll be able to visit a Lebanon in peace.”
13:30 The United States has temporarily waived sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea as Trump administration officials attempt to reverse a surge in prices that is causing mounting apprehension about global supplies.
Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, announced a “temporary authorization” late on Thursday, allowing countries to buy the stranded Russian oil for 30 days. Trump is “working to keep prices low," he said, after average US fuel prices rose by 65 cents per gallon in a month.
13:00 The Secretary-General of the United Nations began a visit to Beirut on Friday during the Israel-Hezbollah war.
António Guterres posted on X that his visit is in solidarity with “the people of Lebanon.”
Smoke from an explosion rises behind demonstrators attending the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day demonstration in Tehran. Photograph: AP
12:45 NATO defences on Friday intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran over Turkey, the third such incident since the start of the war.
Turkey’s Defence Ministry said the missile was destroyed by NATO air defences deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.
Residents in the southern city of Adana reported hearing a loud explosion and sirens sounding at Incirlik Air Base, which is used by US forces, in the early hours of Friday.
No casualties were reported.
NATO deployed an additional Patriot air defence system this week in the southeastern province of Malatya, where the Kurecik radar station is based.
The Defence Ministry stressed Thursday that Incirlik is a Turkish base and that a foreign troop presence does not alter the base’s status.
The statement was an apparent response to warnings from Tehran to regional countries not to host US military bases.
12:15 Iranian security official Ali Larijani called the suspected Israeli attack in the area of Tehran’s Ferdowsi Square on Friday a “sign of its desperation.”
“The problem with Trump is that he is not smart enough to see that the Iranian nation is a mature, strong and determined nation,” Larijani told Iranian media.
“The more pressure he puts on the people, the greater their willpower becomes.”
Iranians hold up posters as they take part in the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day rally, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Tehran on March 13, 2026. AFP
12:00 An explosion rocked an area near Ferdowsi Square, just down Enghelab Street from Tehran University, the epicentre of ongoing Quds, or Jerusalem, Day demonstrations.
The area is home to many government buildings.
Video published by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency showed a plume of grey smoke rising as demonstrators screamed “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!”
Footage from Ferdowsi Square showed people shouting “God is the greatest!” as smoke rose.
The strike came as Iranian media published videos showing top members of the country’s government at the demonstration in Tehran, including the head of the National Security Council, Ali Larijani, and the head of the country's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi.
Larijani called the suspected Israeli attack a “sign of its desperation.”
“The problem with Trump is that he is not smart enough to see that the Iranian nation is a mature, strong and determined nation,” Larijani added. “The more pressure he puts on the people, the greater their willpower becomes.”
However, the site of the blast appeared near where Israel said it would strike. Just before the Tehran strike, an explosion shook the city of Qazvin, which Israel also had warned it would target.
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