03/06/26 21:15
Canada has not received requests for military support from Gulf allies, Carney says
- Steven Chase
- Stephanie Levitz
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks with reporters on the final day of a three-country tour in Tokyo.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada hasn’t received requests from Persian Gulf states for military aid yet and may not get any.
The Prime Minister spoke to journalists in Tokyo on Saturday, near the end of a two-day visit to Japan. Earlier this week, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan had said Ottawa was weighing options to support Gulf states.
“We have not yet received any requests [and] don’t necessarily anticipate those requests,” Carney said, adding that he and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand are in talks with Gulf leaders.
Ultimately, he said, “any decision would obviously be taken by the government, not by the armed forces.”
He reiterated that the country’s priority was protecting Canadians in the region and helping them evacuate.
03/06/26 18:50
Qatar Airways to operate repatriation flights from Doha to Europe as air traffic stays shut
A Qatar Airways plane sits on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, U.S. March 3, 2026.Daniel Cole/Reuters
Qatar Airways plans to operate a few repatriation flights from Doha to Europe on Saturday, but commercial flights remained suspended as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran has forced the closure of Qatari airspace since last week. The state-owned airlines’ flights to London, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Frankfurt will be its first out of Doha since the war escalated.
Commercial flights remained suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace, and overall air traffic remained largely absent across much of the region, with major Gulf hubs — including Dubai, the world’s busiest airport for international passengers — largely shut for the seventh straight day.
Air Canada said it had extended cancellations of its Toronto-Tel Aviv flights until May 2 due to the war.
Industry experts say that even if a ceasefire were declared immediately, normal service would not return overnight.
- Reuters
03/06/26 18:47
Iran’s UN envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war
Smoke rises following an explosion in Tehran, Iran, March 1.Majid Asgaripour/Reuters
Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said on Friday that at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have died so far in the conflict with Israel and the U.S., and that thousands more have been injured.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations in New York, Iravani asserted that the U.S. and Israel had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, while Iran had targeted military sites, not civilians.
The U.S. and Israel have said the opposite is the case.
Iravani said Iran was also not targeting the interests of neighbouring states and was investigating allegations that it had struck non-military sites.
“Our initial assessment indicates that some of these incidents may have resulted from the interceptions or interference by the United States defense system, which could have diverted from intended military targets,” he said.
- Reuters
03/06/26 17:55
U.S. to send anti-drone system to the Mideast after successful use in Ukraine, officials say
A member of the 3rd Army Corps Interception Squadron holds an interceptor drone used to protect against Russian drone attacks, at an undisclosed location near the front lines of eastern Ukraine, on October 9, 2025.ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images
An American anti-drone system proven to work against Russian drones in Ukraine will soon be sent to the Middle East to bolster U.S. defenses against Iranian drones, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Friday.
While the U.S. has used Patriot and Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence missile systems to take down Iranian missiles, there are limited effective anti-drone defenses in the area, according to a U.S. defense official, one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. response to countering Iran’s Shahed drones has been “disappointing,” the other U.S. official said.
The effort to bolster U.S. anti-drone capabilities underscores concerns about plans for an Iranian retaliatory response across the region.
- The Associated Press
03/06/26 17:50
EU members joining the war would become “legitimate targets,” Iranian official says
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, at the time its U.N. ambassador, speaks to the media outside Security Council chambers at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., June 24, 2019.Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
European Union member states that join the U.S. and Israel attacks on Iran would become “legitimate targets” for Iran, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said in an interview with TV station France 24.
“Any country that joins in the aggression against Iran, joins America and Israel in the aggression against Iran, definitely, they will be also legitimate targets for Iran retaliation,” Takht-Ravanchi said.
- Reuters
03/06/26 17:35
Trump meets defense executives, touts production as U.S. strikes Iran
Trump met executives from seven defense contractors on Friday, he said in a social media post, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies drawn down by U.S. strikes on Iran and other recent military operations.
The meeting underscores the Trump administration’s drive to shore up weapons stocks after the Iran operation drew on munitions.
“We just concluded a very good meeting with the largest U.S. Defense Manufacturing Companies where we discussed Production and Production Schedules,” Trump said in the post.
Companies including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon parent RTX, BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris and Northrop Grumman, attended the meeting, Trump said.
The administration has been steadily ratcheting up pressure on defense contractors to prioritize production over shareholder payouts.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Israel’s military operations in Gaza, the U.S. has drawn down billions of dollars’ worth of weapons stockpiles.
- Reuters
03/06/26 17:15
Watch: Canadians relieved to return home from Dubai
Canadians arriving home on a flight from Dubai to Toronto say they're relieved to have made it back amid the travel uncertainty caused by an escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The Canadian Press
- The Canadian Press
03/06/26 16:35
TSX falls more than 520 points as oil rises above US$90 a barrel
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 526.25 points at 33,083.72.Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press
Canada’s stock market fell more than 520 points on Friday as the price of oil rose above US$90 per barrel.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 526.25 points at 33,083.72.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 453.19 points at 47,501.55. The S&P 500 index declined 90.69 points to 6,740.02, while the Nasdaq composite fell 361.31 points to 22,387.68.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.46 cents US compared with 73.12 cents US on Thursday.
The April crude oil contract was up US$9.89 at US$90.90 per barrel.
The April gold contract was up US$80.00 at US$5,158.70 an ounce.
- The Canadian Press
03/06/26 15:22
Canadians stranded in Dubai relieved as flight lands in Toronto
There was tangible relief among Canadians who landed Friday morning in Toronto on a flight from Dubai, as war in the Middle East causes travel chaos that has included thousands of flight cancellations.
Returning travellers described a long and anxious process to find their way home, as the Canadian government announced Friday it had secured hundreds of seats on chartered and commercial flights out of the region.
Neil Danics said he travelled with his wife Irene to attend a conference in the United Arab Emirates last week and wanted to spend a few days in Dubai before returning home on Tuesday, but their flight was cancelled.
Danics said he and his wife sheltered in a parking garage underground on the first night of the war, which began on Saturday.
He said the couple heard explosions almost every night since then as the conflict spread to other parts of the region and stymied transportation routes.
– The Canadian Press
03/06/26 15:18
‘Shia Crescent’ grapples with fear and anger after Iran’s upheaval
- Mark MacKinnon
At Friday’s prayers, several worshippers at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini mosque had posters of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died last week in air strikes.Vahid Salemi/The Associated Press
When the United States and Israel launched their attack on Iran last week, their first target was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself. The idea was to decapitate the Iranian regime, clearing the way for its opponents to seize power.
While that may yet happen, the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei has tainted the way many Shia Muslims view the week-old conflict.
Some Shias feel their entire religion is the target in this widening war, leading to dire warnings about potential repercussions far beyond the Middle East.
Anger over Ayatollah Khamenei’s death has rippled across the so-called “Shia Crescent” that stretches for more than 4,000 kilometres across the Middle East and South Asia, an area otherwise dominated by Sunni Muslims. There were outpourings of grief and rage all the way from Lebanon to the Pakistani city of Karachi, where 22 people were killed after attempting to storm the U.S. consulate on Sunday.
03/06/26 14:55
Poilievre urges government to repeal laws with eye to selling more oil and gas
- Stephanie Levitz
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is urging the Liberal government to move faster to get Canadian oil and gas to market as the war in Iran threatens global supply.
He is calling for the repeal of two laws he argues hamper oil and gas production and sales, as well as the end of the industrial price on carbon. Mr. Poilievre also wants the government to preapprove LNG plant sites on the East Coast and guarantee a maximum six- month approval timeline for all new energy projects.
He is also calling for an emergency debate in the House of Commons on the issue.
Mr. Poilievre is billing the proposals some of which are longstanding demands from his party as an “emergency energy supply plan,” saying they can address pressures in the market.
Mr. Poilievre laid out the demands in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and that was posted online Friday.
03/06/26 14:44
Russia has given Iran information about U.S. to help with strikes: sources
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor Gleb Nikitin at the Kremlin, March 6, 2026. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)Gavriil Grigorov/The Associated Press
Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter.
The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information.
Still, it’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the U.S. and Israel launched on Iran a week ago.
Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilize in its four-year war with Ukraine.
- The Associated Press
03/06/26 14:05
Trump says U.S. is on its way to controlling Iranian airspace
The U.S. is well on its way toward controlling Iranian airspace, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday, adding that Washington expects U.S. objectives to be completed in four to six weeks.
Leavitt also told reporters that Washington was looking at potential candidates to lead Iran, a day after President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview that the U.S. must be involved in choosing the next leader.
In the interview on Thursday, Trump said that he thinks the next leader is unlikely to be the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, who has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed his father, who was killed in a military strike at the start of the war.
Earlier on Friday, Trump said there would be no deal struck with Iran except “unconditional surrender.”
“What the President means is that when he, as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury [have] been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not,” Leavitt said.
- Reuters
03/06/26 13:47
Evidence suggests deadly blast at Iranian school was likely a U.S. airstrike
Rescue workers and residents search through the rubble after an apparent strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Feb. 28, 2026. (Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP)The Associated Press
Satellite images, expert analysis, a U.S. official and information released by the U.S. and Israeli militaries suggest an explosion that killed scores of Iranian students at a school was likely caused by U.S. airstrikes that also hit an adjacent compound associated with the regime’s Revolutionary Guard.
The Feb. 28 strike has come under staunch criticism from the UN and human rights monitors. More than 165 people were killed, most of them of children, in the blast at Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School, according to Iranian state media.
Satellite images taken Wednesday and reviewed by The Associated Press show most of the school in the city of Minab, some 1,100 kilometres southeast of Tehran, reduced to rubble.
Iran has blamed Israel and the United States. Neither country has accepted responsibility. Asked about the strike at a Pentagon press briefing Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “All I can say is that we’re investigating that. We, of course, never target civilian targets.”
According to the Pentagon’s instructions on processes for mitigating civilian harm, an assessment is launched after a group of investigators make an initial determination that the U.S. military may bear culpability.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 13:40
Top soldiers from NATO countries met to discuss potential threats in evolving war
– Stephanie Levitz
Top soldiers from NATO countries met Friday morning to discuss potential threats to the alliance from the evolving situation in the Middle East.
Admiral Guiseppe Cavo Dragone, who is NATO’s chief military officer, said the 32 chiefs of defence discussed NATO’s interception of a ballistic missile launched from Iran and targeting Turkey. The country is a member of NATO.
“This is a clear demonstration that the Alliance is well postured to defend Allied populations against ballistic threats,” Adm. Dragone said in a statement.
Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jennie Carignan, was in the meeting.
She had said Thursday that the meeting would also involve discussions of what allies can do to support Gulf states coming under attack from Iran.
Adm. Dragan’s statement did not mention those talks.
03/06/26 13:30
Along the Turkish border, some Iranians flee while others return
People, mostly Iranians who crossed from Iran at the Kapikoy border crossing, pull luggage in Turkey's eastern Van province on Friday.Murat Kocabas/The Associated Press
Merve Pourkaz, 32, a hairdresser from Iran’s Golestan province, crossed into Turkey Friday to wait out the war. She left after airstrikes hit her area and planned to stay in a hotel in the Turkish border city of Van as long as she could.
“If they let me, I will stay in Van until the war ends,” she said.
Meanwhile, Leila Rabetnezhadfard, 45, was returning to Iran to be with her family. She had been in Istanbul with her German fiancé when the war broke out. She postponed their marriage to return.
“How can I feel safe in Istanbul when my family is living in Iran during the war?” she said. And bringing them to Istanbul was not an option — her brother needs medical care that would be too expensive in Turkey.
“I will not leave Iran until the war ends,” she said.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 13:25
U.S.-Israel struck Iran more often than in any other recent bombing campaign, monitor reports
The U.S. and Israel jointly claimed to have hit around 4,000 targets in the first four days in Iran, according to U.K.-based Airwars.
That is more targets than in the first six months of the U.S.-led coalition’s bombing campaign against the Islamic State group, and nearly double the average number of targets per day claimed by Israel in the first four days of its Gaza war, considered one of the most intense bombing campaigns in the 21st century.
Only the opening salvo of Israel’s war against Lebanon in 2024 may compare. Israel claimed it hit 1,600 targets in the first 24 hours, said Airwars, which with a sister organization monitors civilian casualties and the use of munitions.
The increase in targets hit per day has been facilitated by the extensive use of artificial intelligence in targeting by Israel’s military, Airwars said.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 13:05
Oil prices spike after Qatari minister warns all Gulf output will be shut ‘within days’
– Jeffrey Jones
Qatar Energy's operating facilities in Mesaieed Industrial City, south of Doha, Qatar. The producer announced a complete shutdown of LNG production this week, following Iranian attacks on energy installations.Getty Images/Getty Images
Oil prices shot higher on Friday after Qatar’s energy minister warned Persian Gulf exporters will shut down energy production “within days” as tankers remain unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Qatar’s Saad al-Kaabi said Gulf producers, unable to export crude and liquefied natural gas through the key waterway over fears of attacks, will in the next few days have to declare force majeure, releasing them from obligations to deliver supplies to customers. He said that could drive crude prices to US$150 a barrel.
War in the region has sparked warnings about oil and gas supply disruptions causing economic crises globally, and Mr. al-Kaabi’s comments on Friday are the starkest yet.
International benchmark Brent oil jumped more than 6 per cent to US$90.92 a barrel following the published interview. That represents a gain of 25 per cent since the start of the conflict seven days ago. West Texas Intermediate spiked more than 9 per cent to US$88.64 on Friday.
This article has been updated to correct the surname of Saad al-Kaabi.
03/06/26 12:55
U.S., Israel have ‘no blank cheque’ in Iran and are bound by international law: Anand
A first aid responder walks amidst the rubble at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Mar Mikhael neighbourhood in Beirut's southern suburbs, on Friday.-/AFP/Getty Images
The United States and Israel do not have a “blank cheque” in their bombing campaign in Iran, and are still bound by international law, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Friday, reiterating comments by Prime Minister Mark Carney this week.
“International law binds all parties and there is no blank cheque, in terms of the operation that is being undertaken,” Anand told reporters in a virtual news conference called to update efforts to help Canadians leave the region.
Anand scheduled a call on Friday with Liberal caucus members to provide them with information for constituents who are looking for assistance in the Middle East.
Some caucus members have said publicly they’re uneasy with Prime Minister Mark Carney expressing support for Washington’s decision to launch the war last weekend.
Others have questioned Ottawa’s push for diplomacy, arguing the Carney government has implicitly accepted the American claim that diplomacy wasn’t working to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
– The Canadian Press
03/06/26 12:50
Canadian dollar outperforms G10 peers as oil prices soar
The commodity-linked Canadian dollar strengthened to a three-week high against its U.S. counterpart on Friday as oil prices jumped.
The loonie was trading 0.5 per cent higher at 1.3610 per U.S. dollar, or 73.48 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since Feb. 13 at 1.3598.
For the week, the currency was up 0.2 per cent, as higher oil prices offset safe-haven demand for the greenback.
The loonie posted sharper weekly gains against the other G10 currencies, particularly those of oil importers. Against the euro, it was up 2.1 per cent, marking its biggest weekly advance since February last year.
– Reuters
03/06/26 12:35
War could drive up costs across Canada’s supply chains: experts
Fraser Johnson of the Ivey Business School at Western University warns that if energy costs remain high, Canadians will feel the pinch at the grocery store.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
Analysts are warning that war in the Middle East could drive up costs across Canada’s supply chains and compound price pressures at the grocery store in the weeks to come.
Fraser Johnson of the Ivey Business School at Western University says that while Canada doesn’t get oil or natural gas from the Gulf region, consumers could feel the jump in global energy prices beyond the gas pumps.
Johnson, a professor of operations management, says rising oil prices eventually lead to higher freight rates, and those costs ultimately are passed on to consumers.
He warns that if energy costs remain high over the coming weeks, Canadians will feel the pinch first at the grocery store — where the shorter shelf life for fresh food means a greater vulnerability to global shipping disruptions.
– The Canadian Press
03/06/26 12:10
Iran fires attack drones at Bahrain residential neighbourhood, U.S. says
Iranian forces fired seven attack drones at civilian, residential neighbourhoods in Bahrain on Thursday night, U.S. Central Command commander Brad Cooper said on Friday in a statement.
– Reuters
03/06/26 12:00
Italy sending navy vessel on mission to help protect Cyprus
A person sits on a scooter next to the gate at RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base that was hit by a drone early on Monday, in Cyprus on Friday.Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters
An Italian navy vessel is preparing to sail to Cyprus, a navy spokesperson said on Friday, as part of a joint European mission to protect the island after it came under Iranian fire this week.
The Federico Martinengo frigate will be deployed in the Cyprus area as part of a co-ordinated mission also involving France, Spain and the Netherlands.
The Italian navy said around 160 crew members will be on board the vessel, which is expected to depart from Italy by Saturday.
A British Royal Air Force base in Cyprus was targeted on Monday by an Iranian-made drone following the U.S. and Israeli attack against Tehran.
– Reuters
03/06/26 11:45
Kurdish Iranian dissidents say they would join a U.S. invasion of Iran
Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq on Feb. 12.Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters
Officials with one of the armed Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq told The Associated Press that they are not planning an imminent cross-border attack on Iran but would join a ground invasion if the U.S. were to launch one.
In that event, “then we would enter alongside the coalition forces,” said Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party PAK, in an interview with the AP Thursday.
Rebaz Sharifi, a military commander with the PAK, said he expects that at some point, U.S. President Donald Trump “might want the Peshmerga forces of Eastern Kurdistan to participate in the conflict during a ground invasion.”
Already Iran and allied Iraqi militias have launched dozens of missiles and drone attacks into northern Iraq, targeting the U.S. bases and consulate in Irbil as well as bases of the Iranian Kurdish dissident groups.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 11:10
Russia considering redirecting LNG exports from Europe to Asia-Pacific: deputy prime minister
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak attends a session of the Russian Energy Week international forum in Moscow, Oct. 15, 2025.Ramil Sitdikov/Reuters
Russia’s deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that he had discussed with domestic energy companies the possibility of redirecting Russian supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Europe to other markets, Interfax news agency and Izvestia newspaper reported.
Earlier this week Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country could halt gas supplies to Europe right now amid a spike in energy prices triggered by the Iran crisis, pre-empting EU plans to stop Russian LNG imports by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by Sept. 30, 2027.
Novak said that Russian companies were considering opportunities to divert shipments to Asia-Pacific markets. Negotiations are already under way, he said, and in the near future supplies will be redirected from the European market to what he described as friendly countries.
“Our companies are considering opportunities, without waiting for further restrictions from Europe, to conclude new long-term contracts with our partners and redirect some of the gas from Europe to other countries, including India, Thailand, the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China”, Novak said.
- Reuters
03/06/26 10:40
Anand to update Liberal caucus on government efforts to help Canadians in Middle East
– Marie Woolf
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says 3,500 Canadians have asked for help to leave the Middle East. She says they have multiple options, including a charter flight out of Dubai and seats on commercial airlines out of Dubai and Beirut.
The Canadian Press
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said consular officials are looking at providing emergency travel documents for Canadians whose passports may have run out, or to expedite the issuing of visas to their family members to accompany them.
Anand is this morning updating members of the Liberal caucus on efforts the government is making to help Canadians in the Middle East.
Asked about concerns among some Liberal MPs about the government’s stance on the conflict and failure to keep them updated on the position it is taking, Anand said she plans to say to Liberal MPs that “The Liberal Party of Canada has always been a party with numerous viewpoints, and we welcome diversity.”
“I have great respect for my caucus colleagues across the board, and very much look forward to hearing their viewpoints,” she said, adding that Canada’s position will be discussed next week when the House of Commons resumes sitting.
“We will continue to engage and ensure that together we’re charting the strongest and the right path for Canada, while keeping Canadians safe throughout the region and ensuring that they can return home through viable and safe means.”
03/06/26 10:30
Ottawa charters plane to evacuate 180 Canadians from Dubai as 3,500 request help
– Marie Woolf
Smoke rises from the site of air strikes in Tehran on Wednesday.ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images
About 3,500 of the 108,000 Canadians registered in the Middle East have now asked the government for help evacuating the region, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a press conference Friday morning.
Ottawa has chartered its first plane to fly 180 Canadians from Dubai to Istanbul on Saturday and has block-booked seats on flights from Lebanon and UAE to fly Canadians out in the coming days.
The government has also booked four buses from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, and is looking at the possibility of using boats from Lebanon, although Ms. Anand cautioned that using a seaway is “especially dangerous at this time.”
The U.S. has been torpedoing the Iranian fleet in the region.
A block booking on a flight from Dubai to Toronto, leaving tomorrow, for 51 Canadians and their immediate family is now sold out.
03/06/26 10:21
Israel hits Iranian leaders’ bunker
Israel’s military said Friday that it had pummelled an underground bunker Iranian leaders had planned to use in emergencies, deploying more than 50 fighter jets and 100 munitions.
Iran has spent decades constructing underground bunkers for a range of purposes and contingencies. Many of them have been targeted this week.
After strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders, Israel’s military has continued to strike their infrastructure. Israel’s military said its targets have included the Supreme National Security Council’s building — the meeting place for the country’s top security forum — as well as a Revolutionary Guard military academy.
Here’s an overview of which countries have been attacked so far. Zoom in to learn more about the civilian and military sites affected.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 10:15
Displaced Beirut residents sleep on streets as Israeli strikes southern suburbs
Displaced people fleeing Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh sleep on the Beirut corniche in Lebanon on Friday.Hussein Malla/The Associated Press
Beirut’s roads were choked with traffic and its squares and parks dotted with tents as residents fled Israeli strikes Friday.
As smoke from air strikes rose over the city’s southern districts, Israel’s warnings to leave the area caused gridlock downtown. More than 95,000 people have been displaced.
Those unable to find shelter in schools put up tents or slept in cars. Others laid blankets on pavement.
“What can we do? We prayed here under the tree. During the night we slept in the car because there is no place to stay,” said Jihan Shehadeh, who like many others is fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“They threatened the southern suburbs, so we gathered our things, left and moved out of the whole area. Now we’re living a tragic life here, displaced,” added Jamal Saif Al-Din.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 10:09
U.S. military looking at plan to get ships through Strait of Hormuz, White House says
The U.S. military is putting together a plan to get ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC and Bloomberg Television on Friday, but declined to give any details on timing.
– Reuters
03/06/26 10:05
Oil prices jump to highest in nearly two years
Vehicles queue at a fuel station, as concerns grow over fuel supplies following U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Friday.Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped another 5.7 per cent to US$90.25. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude climbed 8.9 per cent to US$88.20.
Oil prices have surged, with Brent up from near $70 late last week, as the war has expanded and targeted areas critical to the production and movement of energy in the Middle East. Much will depend on what happens with the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil typically sails through the narrow waterway off Iran’s coast.
The conflict also halted exports of Iranian gas to much of Asia. If that stoppage is drawn out, it will likely lead to a bidding war between Europe and Asia that would send energy prices even higher, said Fatih Birol, chief of the International Energy Agency.
If oil prices spike further, like to US$100 per barrel, and stay there, some analysts and investors say it could be too much for the global economy to withstand.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 09:59
Dow drops 900 points
U.S. stocks are falling sharply Friday after getting a whiff of a worst-case scenario for financial markets: a weakening economy combined with high inflation.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.6 per cent after a report showed U.S. employers cut more jobs last month than they created and after oil prices jumped to their highest level in nearly two years because of the Iran war. It’s a combination that investors hate because no one in the world has a good tool to fix both a weak economy and high inflation at the same time.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 909 points or 1.9 per cent as of 9:35 a.m. ET, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.6 per cent lower.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.17 per cent from 4.13 per cent late Thursday and from just 3.97 per cent before the war started.
In stock markets abroad, indexes slumped in Europe following a better finish in Asia. France’s CAC 40 fell 1.6 per cent, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.8 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.7 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.6 per cent.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 09:52
More U.S. charter flights are bringing Americans back from Middle East
The State Department says more U.S. government chartered flights are bringing stranded Americans home from the Middle East daily, including one plane emblazoned with the New England Patriots’ logo.
Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for public affairs, posted a photo of Americans boarding the Patriots plane, at least the second such flight that landed Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Friday.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft is a friend and supporter of Trump, but his football franchise did not arrange or pay for the flight, the social media post said.
“One of the companies the State Department contracted for charter flights also manages the New England Patriots team plane. This flight was entirely paid for by the State Department. The New England Patriots organization was not involved in this flight,” it said.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 09:45
TSX falls over 1% as war stokes inflation fears
Canada’s main stock index opened lower on Friday as a surge in oil prices fanned fears of a spike in inflation.
At 9:32 a.m. ET, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 1.1 per cent at 33,234.88 points.
– Reuters
03/06/26 09:43
Iran won’t compete at Milan Cortina Paralympics
Iran's Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei (L) competes during the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. Iran's sole competitor at the Paralympics in Milan-Cortina has been forced to pull out due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images
Iran will not participate in the Milan Cortina Paralympics because its only athlete set to compete can’t safely travel to Italy, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Friday.
The announcement that Aboulfazl Khatibi won’t compete came just hours ahead of the opening ceremony in Verona. The Games are beginning less than a week since the United States and Israel launched a military attack against Iran.
“Due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Paralympian cannot travel safely to Italy,” the IPC said.
Khatibi was set to compete in two cross-country events beginning next week. He had been announced as Iran’s flagbearer but was not going to actually carry the flag - volunteers will be handed the task for all nations because not all flagbearers will be able to attend the ceremony for logistics and training issues.
The IPC said Iran’s flag was removed from the nations’ parade at the opening ceremony on Friday.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 09:20
Thousands march and hold prayers in Tehran
Iranians take part in a demonstration against the United States and Israel following Friday prayers on Friday in Tehran, Iran.Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Thousands of men and women gathered in Tehran’s streets Friday in a show of defiance and to hold prayers in the open.
Waving clenched fists and Iranian flags as they filed past a poster of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the marchers chanted “We’ll fight, we’ll die, we won’t accept humiliation” and “No compromise, no surrender, destruction of Israel.”
Hassan Fathollahi, 54, said he had brought his children to “make our enemies understand that we and our children will sacrifice our lives for the [Islamic] revolution.”
“We will not give up the blood of our leader. Every single son of Iran is ready to fight America and Israel until victory, God willing,” he said.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 09:20
Canada has chartered flight to evacuate 180 people from Dubai
A map showing travel advisory risk levels in the Middle East is shown behind Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand as she speaks at a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Canada has chartered a flight to take 180 Canadians from Dubai to Istanbul, Foreign Minister Anita Anand told reporters on Friday, saying around 3,500 citizens had asked for help in leaving the Middle East.
– Reuters
03/06/26 09:08
Trump says there will be no deal with Iran except ‘unconditional surrender’
People hold portraits of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as they take part during an anti US-Israel demonstration after Friday prayer in Tehran on Friday.-/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to rule out negotiations with Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East, saying in a social media post Friday that there will be no deal absent “unconditional surrender” from Tehran.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” Trump said.
He has said multiple times that whomever takes over leadership of Iran must be to the U.S.’s liking.
Trump signed off the social media post with “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!),” a riff on his long-time campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 09:01
Tug hit by unknown projectiles in Strait of Hormuz: U.K. trade operations
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident six nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz.
A third-party source reported a tug being hit by unknown projectiles in the strait, UKMTO said.
– Reuters
03/06/26 08:53
Missile fire hinders Middle East rescue flights
A Lufthansa plane carrying German tourists evacuated from the Middle East arrives from Muscat, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany on Friday.Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
A Lufthansa flight to Saudi capital Riyadh diverted to Cairo on Friday over safety concerns after a similar move by an Air France repatriation flight late on Thursday.
A government-chartered Air France flight to bring French nationals back from the United Arab Emirates was forced to turn back on Thursday because of missile fire in the area, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said.
“[It] reflects the instability in the region and the complexity of repatriation operations,” Mr. Tabarot said.
– Reuters
03/06/26 08:00
Israel tells residents to leave industrial area of Qom in Iran’s capital
Israel’s military has issued a warning that people should flee an industrial area of Qom, the Shiite seminary city south of Tehran.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 07:57
UAE says three drones hit its territory
Three aerial drones hit the United Arab Emirates on Friday, the country’s Defence Ministry said on X. It did not elaborate on where they fell or any damage caused.
The UAE’s air defences destroyed nine ballistic missiles and intercepted a further 109 drones on Friday, the ministry added. Since the start of the war, 205 ballistic missiles and 1,184 drones have been detected in UAE territory, with most destroyed, officials said.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 07:54
German foreign minister tells Iran to stop attacking third countries, sees no imminent threat to NATO
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul addresses a press conference on Friday.JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Friday called on Iran to stop launching “irresponsible” attacks on third countries but added that he saw no imminent threat to the NATO alliance.
Wadephul also announced additional humanitarian aid of nearly €100-million ($157-million) and said countries must ensure that displacements of people in the Middle East do not turn into a “a new wave of refugees.”
“It is completely unjustified that Iran is attacking uninvolved states that did not participate in the attacks against Iran,” he said.
– Reuters
03/06/26 07:40
Stocks slide as Gulf oil supply fears rattle global markets
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday.Spencer Platt/Getty Images
European stocks and U.S. futures tumbled on Friday as the U.S.-Iran war drove fresh concerns about oil supplies, prompting traders to wind in their bets on interest rate cuts and fret about the impact on the global economy.
Benchmark global and U.S. oil prices hit their highest levels in almost two years as U.S. Treasuries fell for the fifth day in a row. Global stocks headed for their biggest weekly drop in a year.
Futures for the U.S. S&P 500 fell 0.62 per cent while Nasdaq futures dropped 0.75 per cent.
Europe’s STOXX 600 index dropped 1.04 per cent in choppy trading, undoing an earlier rise of almost 0.5 per cent as oil prices appeared to stabilize.
The MSCI all-world stock index was set to drop 2.9 per cent in the biggest weekly fall since March 2025.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 per cent and was set to fall 6.6 per cent for the week, its steepest weekly drop since March, 2020.
– Reuters
03/06/26 07:25
Drone strike drives calls to end British military presence on Cyprus
A British Airbus A400M military aircraft approaches RAF Akrotiri, a British sovereign base that was hit by a drone early on Monday, causing limited damage, in Cyprus, on Thursday.Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters
A drone strike this week on a British air base in Cyprus has renewed calls for an end to British military presence on the Mediterranean island as many fear being dragged into the wider Iran conflict.
Cypriot politicians have long been uneasy with Britain’s two air bases, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which have existed as sovereign British territory since Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960.
But the issue has come to the surface since an Iranian drone, which security officials believe was fired by Iran’s ally Hezbollah, hit the Akrotiri base on Monday. No one was hurt, but the incident sent the island into high alert and forced nearby civilians to evacuate.
So far there are no concrete signs that Cyprus is going to ask for the bases to close. But growing calls for a review of the bases’ status point to how the Iranian conflict has already complicated international relations across the region.
– Reuters
03/06/26 07:20
Japan may use part of national oil stockpile amid war supply crisis, Kyodo reports
The Japanese government is considering using part of its national oil reserves amid the ongoing Iran crisis that has disrupted global energy supplies, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday citing sources, and may do so in co-ordination with other countries or even on its own.
Japan relies on the Middle East for around 95 per cent of its oil supplies with around 70 per cent coming via the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed because of the Iran war.
Tokyo holds emergency national reserves equivalent to around 146 days of consumption, while it also has private-sector stockpiles and joint stockpiles with oil-producing countries. Overall, Japan’s oil stockpiles are equal to 254 days of imports and are some of the world’s largest.
Officials earlier this week said Japan had no current plans to release its stockpiles.
Japan’s industry ministry was not immediately available for comment on Friday.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Japan released some of its oil reserves in co-ordination with the International Energy Agency and other countries.
– Reuters
03/06/26 07:13
Oil set for steepest weekly gain since 2020
The U.S. Treasury Department is expected to announce measures aimed at combating rising energy prices in the wake of the Iran conflict, including potential action involving the oil futures market, a senior White House official said.
Reuters
Crude oil was set on Friday for its strongest weekly gain since the extreme volatility of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, as conflict in the Middle East kept shipping and energy exports through the vital Strait of Hormuz halted.
Brent crude futures have surged nearly 22 per cent this week, the biggest jump since May, 2020, when a record OPEC+ production-cut agreement prompted a recovery from pandemic lows. West Texas Intermediate has gained close to 27 per cent, the most since April, 2020.
On Friday, Brent extended its rally, rising US$2.95 or 3.45 per cent to US$88.36 per barrel at 11:35 a.m. GMT (6:35 a.m. ET). WTI rose US$3.94 or 4.86 per cent to US$84.95. Both benchmarks traded at their highest levels since 2024.
U.S. crude oil prices jumped more than 5 per cent to US$86.22 a barrel, the highest since April, 2024.
Qatar’s energy minister told the Financial Times he expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks, a move he said could drive oil to US$150 a barrel, according to an interview published on Friday.
– Reuters
03/06/26 07:10
Saudi Aramco boosts Red Sea oil shipments
Vehicles move along a road as smoke billows from Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery after a reported Iranian drone strike in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia on March 2.Stringer/Reuters
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia is increasing shipments from the Red Sea, but the volumes are far from enough to offset the drop from the crisis-hit Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed.
With hundreds of vessels now stuck near the strait, Aramco has told some buyers to load cargoes at the Red Sea port of Yanbu, sources said.
The terminal loaded 9.4 million barrels, or 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd), in the first five days of March, up about 60 per cent from 1.1 million bpd in February and 1.3 million bpd in January, according to LSEG data.
Saudi Arabia exports over seven million bpd, of which around six million bpd pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The country can, in theory, reroute up to five million bpd to the Red Sea via the East-West pipeline.
The Red Sea port could handle in excess of 4.5 million bpd, but rarely loaded more than 2.5 million bpd, traders said, and the pipeline is mainly designed to transport Arab Light, one of several crude grades the country produces.
The Red Sea route also carries risks from Houthi forces, whose attacks disrupted shipping during the Israel-Gaza war.
– Reuters
03/06/26 07:04
Lebanon’s prime minister calls for international help
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to journalists in Beirut, Lebanon, on Dec. 3. Salam is calling on the international community to help Lebanon amid the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war.Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is calling on the international community to help Lebanon amid the Israel-Hezbollah war.
“A humanitarian disaster is looming” because of huge displacements of people, Salam said.
Salam criticized both Israel and Hezbollah over the current crisis saying that the Lebanese state and people “did not choose this war.”
Speaking to heads of diplomatic missions in Beirut, Salam appealed to the friends of Lebanon to support “us in this endeavour” and called on the international community to help stop Israel’s attacks and spare the country’s infrastructure.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 07:00
Qatar condemns Iranian attack on Bahrain
Qatar has denounced an Iranian attack on Bahrain that targeted buildings housing elements of its forces there.
Doha says the attack targeted the unified military command of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation bloc in the region.
It says none of the Qatari sailors were hurt and called the assault “a direct threat to its security and stability and the security of the region.”
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 06:55
Azerbaijan pulls all diplomats from Iran
Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov says the country will evacuate its diplomats from Iran after the Iranian drone attacks.
Bayramov said the staff of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran and its consulate-general in Tabriz will return home on orders from Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
Azerbaijan said Thursday that Iranian drones attacked its exclave of Nakhchivan, wounding four civilians and damaging an airport building in what Aliyev denounced as a “groundless act of terror and aggression.”
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 06:24
Sri Lanka takes control of Iranian vessel off its coast
Morning haze blankets the Port of Colombo in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Friday.Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters
Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from an Iranian vessel to shore Friday after the ship sought assistance while anchored outside the country’s waters. Tensions have mounted in the Indian Ocean following the sinking of an Iranian warship by a U.S. submarine.
Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said the sailors of the IRIS Bushehr were brought to a naval base near the capital, Colombo, where they underwent medical tests and border control procedures.
He said 204 sailors have been brought to the Welisara Naval Base so far, while about 15 others have been left aboard the ship with Sri Lankan naval personnel for assistance because they had reported a defect in the ship.
The Iranian sailors are helping their Sri Lankan counterparts in interpreting operational instructions, manuals and logs in Persian because the ship will be in Sri Lankan custody until further notice, Sampath said.
None of the Iranians were found to have health issues.
The ship will be taken to the port of Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka, Sampath said.
Sri Lanka has released video showing its navy personnel rescuing Iranian sailors from a warship that was sunk by a torpedo from a U.S. submarine on Wednesday.
The Associated Press
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 06:00
Middle East situation is ‘major humanitarian emergency’, UN refugee agency says
A displaced man with his family fleeing Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh rests on the Beirut corniche, Lebanon on Friday.Hussein Malla/The Associated Press
The UN refugee agency said on Friday that nearly 100,000 people have been displaced within Lebanon and tens of thousands of Syrian refugees there have fled back over the border, calling the situation in the region a “major humanitarian emergency”.
Israel has issued large-scale evacuation orders for southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut amid hostilities with the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah since a U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran began on February 28.
“UNHCR has declared the escalating crisis in the Middle East as a major humanitarian emergency requiring an immediate response across the region and into Southeast Asia,” Ayaki Ito, the U.N. refugee agency’s Director of Emergency and Programme Support, told a Geneva press briefing.
Ito added that the figures given for the scale of displacement so far are likely an underestimate.
He said that some 100,000 people have been displaced within Iran in the first days of the conflict and that UNHCR staff there are receiving hundreds of calls daily from Iranians seeking assistance.
The World Health Organization is stepping up disease surveillance in Lebanon due to the mass displacement, said regional director Hanan Balkhy.
“It worries us very much, the numbers of the displaced populations and the lack of adequate water and sanitation,” she said.
– Reuters
03/06/26 05:29
U.S. says it struck an Iranian drone carrier
The U.S. military said early Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze.
The U.S. military’s Central Command released black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian military did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-meter-long (yard) runway for drones. The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2025 inauguration.
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, described the carrier as “roughly the size of a World War II aircraft carrier.”
“And as we speak, it’s on fire,” Cooper told reporters.
Earlier in the week, an American submarine sank an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka as it was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the U.S. also joined. The sinking killed at least 87 sailors.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 05:29
U.S. says bombardment to ‘surge dramatically’ as Israeli strikes on Iran, Lebanon intensify
A member of the civil defence makes his way through debris at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday.AFP/via Getty Images
Intense Israeli airstrikes pounded the capitals of Iran and Lebanon early Friday as the U.S. apparently struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea, intensifying its campaign targeting the Islamic Republic’s fleet of warships.
Iran launched new retaliatory attacks in the Middle East at the end of a full week of bombardment, which U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned was “about to surge dramatically.”
Israel’s military said Friday morning it had begun “a broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran, Iran’s capital. Witnesses described the Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
The Israeli military said strikes have already destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers.
The war has escalated to affect countries across the Middle East and beyond. Early Friday, Iran fired missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host U.S. forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
In Lebanon, where the war has intensified fighting between Israel and Iran-allied Hezbollah militants, Israel launched a series of airstrikes late Thursday into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas. Motorists jammed roads trying to flee or seek shelter.
The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with nationwide strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program.
Iran’s attacks have targeted their Arab neighbors, disrupted oil supplies and snarled global air travel. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
– The Associated Press
03/06/26 04:44
Kremlin says the war in Iran has fuelled significant demand for Russian energy
The Kremlin said on Friday that the war in Iran had fuelled demand for Russian energy products, a day after the U.S. Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea.
The Iran conflict, now in its seventh day, has left the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping chokepoint, all but shut, cutting countries off from a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
“We are seeing a significant increase in demand for Russian energy resources in connection with the war in Iran,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, saying Russia “remains a reliable supplier” of both oil and gas, including LNG.
On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil currently stuck at sea, following months of U.S. pressure on New Delhi not to purchase Russian barrels.
Peskov declined to disclose possible volumes that could be shipped to India under the waiver.
Traders are selling Russian Urals crude to India at a $4 to $5 a barrel premium to Brent on a delivered basis for March and early-April arrival, three sources told Reuters.
– Reuters
03/06/26 03:58
Tokyo says second Japanese citizen detained in Iran
– James Griffiths
Two Japanese nationals have been detained in Iran, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told lawmakers Friday.
Speaking to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Diet, Mr. Motegi said the affected individuals are safe, and Tokyo will continue to “strongly demand their release as soon as possible.”
The government is “doing everything to support them, their families and others involved,” Mr. Motegi added.
One of those held has been detained since late January. He has been identified by multiple Japanese and international media reports as Shinnosuke Kawashima, the Tehran bureau chief for Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
In a statement last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Mr. Kawashima is believed to have been transferred to the notorious Evin Prison in late February. His detention followed a pattern of escalating harassment against the NHK crew in Iran aimed at stifling foreign reporting on the aftermath of mass anti-government protests, CPJ said.
While Tokyo has not openly supported the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday said Tehran’s “nuclear weapons development can’t be tolerated.”
“We will strongly urge Iran to stop actions that destabilize the region, including attacks on neighbouring countries, and to pursue negotiations and other diplomatic efforts,” she told lawmakers, adding Tokyo will “make all necessary diplomatic efforts to help calm the situation as soon as possible.”
03/06/26 03:38
Australian personnel on board U.S. sub that which sank Iranian ship, prime minister says
– James Griffiths
Three Australian military personnel were on board a U.S. submarine that sank the IRIS Dena, as the Iranian ship was transiting the Indian Ocean earlier this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Friday.
Speaking to Sky News Australia, Mr. Albanese confirmed earlier media reports about the presence of the Australians, noting “I can confirm also, though, that no Australian personnel have participated in any offensive action against Iran.”
“Australian Defence Force personnel, where they’re embedded in third countries’ defence assets, they act in accordance with Australian law, with Australian policy,” Mr. Albanese said.
Like Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Mr. Albanese has been full-throated in his support of U.S. military action against Iran, to the surprise and anger of many in his centre-left Labor Party.
Justifying his support for the war, Mr. Albanese said Friday that Iran could not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, and had exported terrorism around the world through proxies of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“They brought terrorism to our shores here when the IRGC was responsible for at least two attacks on Australian soil,” Mr. Albanese said, referring to incidents last year targeting Jewish institutions in Melbourne and Sydney which the Australian security services linked to Iran, leading Canberra to break off diplomatic relations with Tehran.
Iran, Mr. Albanese added, “was prepared to reach across the other side of the world to promote an attack on Australian soil, to promote division here in Australia.”
The Australian personnel were on board the U.S. submarine as part of a training deal under a trilateral security pact between Canberra, Washington and London known as AUKUS, which will also see the delivery of U.S.-made nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in coming years.
In the Sky interview, Mr. Albanese said “one of the big pluses behind the AUKUS arrangements are Australian personnel getting experience across a range of assets including being on board nuclear-powered submarines.”
Writing on social media, Australian Greens Senator David Shoebridge called the attack on the Dena “a violation of international law.”
“Albanese has now admitted that Australians were on board the US nuclear sub that sank an Iranian vessel and left the crew to drown, in a violation of international law,” he said. “This was always an inevitability of AUKUS. End AUKUS now.”
Albanese has now admitted that Australians were onboard the US nuclear sub that sank an Iranian vessel and left the crew to drown, in a violation of international law. This was always an inevitability of AUKUS. End AUKUS now.
— Senator David Shoebridge (@davidshoebridge.bsky.social) March 5, 2026 at 9:03 PM
[image or embed]
03/06/26 01:12
Gulf carriers resume limited flights, but missile fire fuels uncertainty
A person takes a photo of an Emirates flight arriving from Dubai as it lands at Taoyuan International Airport, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Taoyuan, Taiwan on Thursday.Ann Wang/Reuters
Emirates and Etihad Airways were resuming limited flight schedules to key global cities from their United Arab Emirates hubs on Friday, though the threat of missile fire piled pressure on airlines as they scramble to accommodate travellers.
With most airspace in the Middle East still closed over missile and drone concerns since the start of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, authorities have been arranging charter flights and securing seats on limited commercial services to evacuate tens of thousands of people.
A government-chartered Air France flight to bring French nationals back from the United Arab Emirates was forced to turn back on Thursday due to missile fire in the area, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said.
“This situation reflects the instability in the region and the complexity of repatriation operations,” he said.
Britain’s first repatriation flight from Oman landed at London’s Stansted Airport early on Friday after being rescheduled due to operational issues, including delays in boarding passengers.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said on Friday it would resume a limited flight schedule through March 19. The flights will operate to and from Abu Dhabi and around 70 destinations including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Delhi, New York, Toronto and Tel Aviv.
Dubai-based Emirates said late on Thursday it was operating a reduced flight schedule to 82 destinations including London, Sydney, Singapore and New York until further notice, and customers transiting in Dubai would only be accepted if their connecting flight was operating.
– Reuters
03/05/26 23:10
CBSA has removed only one senior Iranian official from Canada under federal ban
- Maura Forrest
Canadian border authorities have identified nearly 30 suspected senior Iranian officials who they believe should be barred from remaining in the country under a federal ban, amid a widening conflict in the Middle East that could see more regime officials seek refuge.
The Canada Border Services Agency has been investigating 95 cases involving possible high-ranking members of the Iranian regime, up from 66 last June, according to figures provided by the agency.
Of those 95, the CBSA has identified 28 people it believes are inadmissible since senior Iranian officials were banned from the country in November, 2022. That number is up from 20 last year.
But the CBSA has so far removed only one official from Canada – a number that remains unchanged from last year.
03/05/26 21:54
B.C. couple who got out of Dubai urge fellow Canadians not to rely solely on Ottawa
- Janice Dickson
Graham and Jennifer Williamson, pictured here in Peru in 2023, are urging other Canadians to leave the Middle East after being stranded in Dubai.Supplied
Graham Williamson and his wife, Jennifer, were having a glass of wine in the ninth-floor lounge at Fairmont The Palm, a luxury hotel in Dubai, when all of a sudden a barrage of missiles and drones flew toward the city. From the patio outside the lounge, alongside other tourists, the B.C. couple watched air-defence systems intercept the projectiles, lighting up the sky. Then there was an explosion, and the hotel shook.
Williamson, 46, went down to their room to take a look, then texted his wife to come down. “We just got hit,” he said.
The couple spent the following days at the pool, watching those air-defence systems at work, before catching a flight to Madrid on Thursday. Williamson said that, in his opinion, anyone waiting for the Canadian government to help them with flights should instead find their own if possible.
“Canada’s response has not been underwhelming − rather, they are constrained by the situation. Travellers cannot, and should not, rely on the government to rescue them,” he said, adding that the United Arab Emirates has established a safe air transportation corridor and Canadians can book one-way flights from Dubai to any major European city.
“And my advice is leave now. Calm reassurance should not be taken as a sign not to immediately leave the region by appropriate means, while those options are still available. The situation is incredibly fluid and volatile.”
03/05/26 20:55
Iran conflict drives up fertilizer costs during busy season for farmers
- Kate Helmore
The war with Iran is pushing the price of critical fertilizers higher, just as farmers across North America begin the spring planting season and are in need of crop nutrients.
A significant amount of all fertilizer trade passes through the 39-kilometre-wide Strait of Hormuz, which essentially shut down this week after Iran said it would “set fire” to any ships that try to pass through.
Growers have been beleaguered over the past year by a series of geopolitical tensions and can ill afford higher input costs.
Retailers, analysts and economists are questioning how much more uncertainty and volatility agricultural operations will be able to absorb before fertilizer demand falls, soil is depleted and harvests suffer.
“Whether it’s a tariff, a tax or a supply constraint, all those things turn into costs that pile up on farmers acres, and just further challenge farm gate economics,” Kreg Ruhl, vice-president of crop nutrients for Growmark, one of North America’s largest agricultural retailers and farmer co-operatives.
03/05/26 18:03
Canada’s defence chief says allies may help Gulf states bombed by Iran
- Stephanie Levitz
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan says Canada is discussing possible help for Gulf states under Iranian siege.Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press
Canada’s top soldier said she is meeting Friday morning with her counterparts from European countries and elsewhere to discuss options for supporting Gulf states now caught up in the Iranian war.
Chief of the Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan said the meeting will see military leaders discuss what the needs on the ground might be and how they could all assist, before presenting options to their respective governments.
Gen. Carignan said Canada is not taking part in Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the United States and Israeli governments’ military actions against Iran.
“However, our Gulf partners may require defence and support, so within that context, these would be the type of military options that we could consider,” she told reporters on the sidelines of a defence conference in Ottawa Thursday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has left the door open to the involvement of Canadian troops in the conflict, without specifying what they could do.
Gen. Carignan called the situation “dire and dangerous” for Gulf states, noting Iranian attacks on their military and civilian installations.
03/05/26 18:01
Hezbollah’s decision to enter the war sparks anger and confusion among Lebanese
- Mark MacKinnon
Fatima Daoud, 52, sits in the security guard’s room in the Sobhi Al Mahmasani High School which she nows calls home after being displaced from her home in the Dahiyeh in Beirut.Oliver Marsden/The Globe and Mail
There was a time when Fatima Daoud supported Hezbollah and saw the group as defending Lebanon’s sovereignty. But her affection for the “Party of God” expired as it dragged her country into war after war, driving her family from one home to another.
The Israel-Hezbollah war that began Monday has forced Ms. Daoud and her family to move seven times, from their destroyed home in southern Lebanon, via a succession of rented apartments and temporary shelters, to the high school where she and her family were camped Thursday.
Hezbollah’s decision to launch a volley of rockets at Israel on Monday – an attack it said was retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran, which has supported Hezbollah since its founding in 1982 – has provoked the predictably harsh Israeli military response, but also a firestorm of criticism within the country. It is the third such conflict in 20 years and the second in 15 months.
What’s different this time is that many in Hezbollah’s own Shia Muslim community are expressing bafflement and anger at the decision to pull the country into yet another war. Many feel that the group has shown that its ultimate loyalty has always been to Tehran.
03/06/26 06:00
Are you a Canadian traveller affected by what’s happening in the Middle East?
Are you a tourist or business traveller whose plans have been affected by the conflict in the Middle East? Have you been dealing with travel delays or suspended flights? Share your story below for a future Globe story, or e-mail audience@globeandmail.com. If you’d like to submit a photo, use this link.
Have your travel plans been impacted by the Middle East war?
Are you a tourist or business traveller whose plans have been affected by the conflict in the Middle East? Have you been dealing with travel delays and suspended flights? Share your story below.