War in the Middle East live: Iran sets “no limits” on right to defend itself

01/03/2026 – 20:30

US announces destroyed headquarters of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

01/03/2026 – 20:20

EU nations call for ‘maximum restraint’, respect for international law in Iran conflict

The EU’s 27 nations ​called for “maximum restraint” and full respect ​for ‌international ⁠law in the Iran ‌conflict and across the Middle ⁠East, the EU’s foreign ​policy chief Kaja Kallas ‌said.

“We call for maximum restraint, protection ‌of civilians and full ​respect of international law, including the principles of the ​United Nations ​Charter, and international ​humanitarian law,” said a statement ​issued by Kallas on behalf of all the EU’s member ⁠countries.

01/03/2026 – 20:17

Blasts heard over Jerusalem after incoming Iran missiles detected

Air raid sirens sounded and explosions were heard over Jerusalem after the Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran towards Israel. 

“A short while ago, the (Israeli military) identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel” the military said. 

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat”, the statement said, urging the public to stay in shelters.

01/03/2026 – 20:01

White House says Trump spoke to leaders of Israel, Bahrain, UAE

US ​President ​Donald Trump spoke ‌with ⁠the ‌leaders of ⁠Israel, Bahrain and the ​United ‌Arab Emirates, ‌White ​House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said ​in ​a ​post ​on X.

01/03/2026 – 20:01

Israel working to get Iranians to take to the streets against the regime, Israeli official says

Israel’s present ​focus in its ​military operations in Iran is to ​undermine ‌the ⁠Iranian regime to the ‌point of toppling it, ⁠an Israeli official said, ​adding that Israel “is ‌acting in its own ways” ‌to get Iranians to ​take to the streets.

The official, speaking on ​condition of anonymity, ​did not elaborate ​on what tactics ​Israel might be using to encourage Iranians to protest ⁠against the regime.

01/03/2026 – 19:56

Strikes kill two Iran-backed fighters near Iraq-Syria border

Two fighters from the powerful Iraqi armed group Kataeb Hezbollah were killed in an airstrike near the Iraqi-Syrian border, two sources from the pro-Iran faction told AFP.

“Two fighters from Kataeb Hezbollah were martyred in an American-Israeli bombing” near the al-Qaim border crossing in western Iraq.

Another group official confirmed the toll.

01/03/2026 – 19:55

Israel army says ‘severe blow’ dealt to Iran’s commmand and control centres

The Israeli military said it had dealt a “severe blow” to Iran’s command and control centres after a fresh wave of strikes on military targets in the Islamic republic. 

The military “struck dozens of the regime’s military command centres, including headquarters belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), intelligence headquarters, IRGC Air Force command centres, and internal security headquarters,” the military said in a statement.

“The completed wave of strikes has dealt a severe blow to the terrorist regime’s command-and-control capabilities, eliminating personnel within its most critical headquarters,” the statement added.

01/03/2026 – 19:47

US strikes Iran as Trump limits AI use: Technology transforming conflict

Watch FRANCE 24 tech journalist Charlotte Lam’s analysis below:

01/03/2026 – 19:44

Son of Iran’s last shah urges people to shut down government

The exiled son of Iran’s last shah urged Iranians to stage nightly street protests to help overthrow the government as the US and Israel maintained massive air strikes on the country’s military and leadership.

US-based Reza Pahlavi said the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war Saturday means the current regime is now “drawing its final breaths.” 

Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, is billing himself as the man to lead a democratic transition to a secular Iran, as the theocratic regime fights to survive.

01/03/2026 – 19:40

Police station near Tehran hit by strikes, people trapped under rubble

Iranian media reported that a police station in a city on the outskirts of Tehran was hit by strikes, killing an unspecified number of people, with others said to be trapped under debris.

“Following the enemy attack on the city of Rey, the Rey Police Headquarters building and nearby residential buildings were hit,” the Tasnim news agency reported. “According to initial reports, a number of citizens were martyred and some were trapped under the rubble.”

01/03/2026 – 19:32

UAE announces closure of embassy in Tehran, withdrawal of ambassador

The United Arab Emirates was shuttering its embassy in Iran and recalling its ambassador, a statement from the foreign ministry said, following a barrage of Iranian attacks targeting the Emirates. 

“The UAE announces closure of its embassy in Tehran and withdrawal of its ambassador and all members of its diplomatic mission, and condemns the Iranian missile attacks,” read a statement posted by the foreign ministry’s director of strategic communications on X. 

The decision was made in response to “the blatant Iranian missile attacks that targeted the country’s territories, which constitute aggressive assaults that struck civilian sites, including residential areas, airports, ports, and service facilities, and exposed defenceless civilians to danger”.

01/03/2026 – 19:31

Iran media outlets report strikes hit hospital in Tehran

Iranian news agency ISNA reported that Gandhi hospital in northern Tehran was targeted by strikes, on the second day of a US-Israeli air campaign against Iran.

“Tehran’s Gandhi hospital was attacked by Zionist-American air strikes,” ISNA reported, while the Fars and Mizan agencies published a video, presented as being from inside the facility, showing debris on the floor among wheelchairs. 

01/03/2026 – 19:13

Turkey’s Erdogan says ‘saddened’ by Khamenei’s death

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was “saddened” by the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a wave of US and Israeli air strikes on Iran.

“I was saddened to learn of the passing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a result of the attacks that took place yesterday,” he said, his words relayed in a post on X, extending Turkey’s “sympathies” to the people of Iran.

01/03/2026 – 19:08

UK defence ministry says RAF jet takes out Iranian drone heading to Qatar

Britan’s ⁠Defence ​Ministry ​said ​a ‌Royal ⁠Air ‌Force ⁠Typhoon fighter ​jet ‌operating from Qatar ‌took ​out an Iranian ​drone ​heading ​towards ​Qatari territory.

01/03/2026 – 19:07

The UK denies involvement in strikes on Iran

Benedicte Paviot, FRANCE 24 correspondant in the UK, has more.

01/03/2026 – 19:05

Broadcasting of Iran’s state TV interrupted, after reported strikes on headquarter

01/03/2026 – 19:03

Protesters, police clash near US embassy in Baghdad

Iraqi protesters clashed with security forces near the US embassy in Baghdad, AFP journalists said.

Protesters tried to storm Baghdad’s Green Zone, where the US embassy is located, but security forces used tear gas to disperse them. It was their second attempt Saturday to enter the area.

The US embassy had warned earlier that demonstrations near its compound “may turn violent.”

01/03/2026 – 18:55

UKMTO receives report of incident near UAE’s Sharjah

British ⁠maritime agency ​UKMTO said it had received a report of ​an ‌incident ⁠35 nautical miles west ‌of UAE’s Sharjah.

It said ⁠an unknown projectile exploded in ​very close proximity ‌to a vessel, adding that all ‌the crew were ​safe.

It is the third incident the agency reported ​on Sunday ​after others in ​Oman, including one in ​the vital oil export route the Strait of Hormuz.

01/03/2026 – 18:50

11 still missing after deadly Iranian strike in central Israel

Police said 11 people were still missing after an Iranian missile strike on the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh that killed at least nine people.

“So far, more than 45 injured people in varying degrees of severity have been evacuated, and the bodies of nine fatalities have been recovered. At this time, there are 11 missing persons with whom contact has not yet been established,” Israeli police said in a statement, adding that search operations were ongoing.

01/03/2026 – 18:46

Two more powerful explosions shake Tehran

Two further powerful explosions rocked Tehran, rattling the apartment windows of two AFP journalists living several kilometres apart, on the second day of US-Israeli strikes against Iran.

The explosions, which were of considerable force, came around 9:00pm local time (1730 GMT), the same time that state television said it was being attacked. It was not immediately clear what the target was.