The UN has warned of a humanitarian crisis as the US-Israeli war on Iran enters its second week, with strikes continuing on both sides
Welcome to RT’s live coverage of the eighth day of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that Tehran would “never surrender” in a televised address on state media on Saturday, while apologizing to neighboring Gulf states and saying the country’s forces would stop striking them unless attacks on Iran originated from their territory.
In a Saturday post on his Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump said Iran “will be hit very hard,” a day after saying Washington would not negotiate with Tehran except on the basis of “unconditional surrender.”
The US-Israeli war on Iran has entered its second week, with strikes continuing on both sides. Explosions were heard in Tehran hours after footage showed the capital’s Mehrabad airport in flames. Israel announced it had used more than 80 fighter jets to carry out a “broad-scale wave of strikes” on Iran, while it said its air defenses intercepted multiple waves of Iranian attacks.
- Israeli jets have bombed towns in southern and eastern Lebanon as well as targeting the southern suburbs of the capital, Beirut. The UN has warned of a humanitarian crisis.
READ MORE:
How much damage has Iran done to US bases in the Middle East?
- US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, Iranian UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani has said. The deadliest strike to date hit an elementary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab, killing at least 168 children, as well as teachers and staff. The New York Times said in an analysis published on Thursday that American forces were likely responsible for the strike.
- Trump has dismissed the possibility of a US ground invasion of Iran, calling it a “waste of time” in an interview with NBC. Washington could shift its focus to Cuba after the conflict with the Islamic Republic is over, with Trump saying it would be “a question of time.”
READ MORE:
US behind strike on Iranian school – NYT
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is not seeking a ceasefire and sees no reason to negotiate with the US, arguing that previous talks had been interrupted by attacks.
Follow our live coverage for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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07 March 2026
12:55 GMT
The US Central Command says American forces have struck over 3,000 targets in the first week of Operation Epic Fury.
U.S. forces have struck over 3,000 targets in the first week of Operation Epic Fury, and we are not slowing down. pic.twitter.com/Nqn30feTQA
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 7, 2026
- 12:38 GMT
US President Donald Trump said he would increase pressure on Iran after President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an apology to Middle Eastern countries over previous attacks.
Trump said the Islamic Republic was suffering a “crushing defeat,” adding that it was happening “for the first time in thousands of years.”
- 10:01 GMT
At least 6,668 civilian sites have been struck in the US-Israeli attacks since the start of the war against Iran in late February, Fars news has reported, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society. The report has indicated the following sites:
• 5,535 residential units
• 1,041 commercial units
• 14 medical centers
• 65 schools
• 13 centers affiliated with the Iranian Red Crescent Society
- 09:26 GMT
Dubai International Airport has “partially resumed operations.”
“Please do not travel to the airport unless you have been contacted by your airline that your flight is confirmed, as schedules continue to change,” the airport has announced on X.
- 08:16 GMT
Tehran has decided to stop attacking targets in neighboring states, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised speech. Pezeshkian also apologized to the countries of the region and expressed the Islamic Republic’s respect for their sovereignty.
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- 08:13 GMT
Dubai International Airport has suspended operations, the emirate has reported. Local authorities are following the approved safety protocols, the Dubai media office has confirmed.
For the safety of passengers, airport staff, and airline crew, operations at Dubai International (DXB) have been temporarily suspended. All procedures are being managed in line with established safety protocols.
— DXB (@DXB) March 7, 2026
- 07:29 GMT
The southern suburbs of Beirut have been evacuated due to Israeli strikes, the local governor, Marwan Abboud, has told RT.
“We decided to open a temporary accommodation center here at the stadium. It can accommodate 10,000 people,” he said.
- 07:10 GMT
Eight more people have been killed in US-Israeli strikes on the Iranian city of Isfahan, the Islamic Republic’s state media have reported. In the Iranian counties of Isfahan, Lenjan, and Borkhar, 80 homes are said to have sustained heavy damage from the attack.
- 06:47 GMT
China may “provide Iran with financial assistance, spare parts and missile components, three people familiar with the matter said,” CNN has reported, citing three unnamed sources.
“China is more cautious in its support. It wants the war to end because it endangers their energy supply,” one of them said. Beijing hasn’t yet responded to the report, or detailed its overall involvement in the conflict.
- 06:26 GMT
Iran has attacked a building where a group of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) officers were staying in Bahrain, the organization’s secretary-general, Jassim al-Budaiwi, has told Sky News Arabia.
© The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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05 March 2026
06:44 GMT
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has condemned the US and Israel for failing to consult Ottawa before the bombing of Iran.
He said the current conflict reflects “the failure of the international order,” stressing that “the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the UN or consulting with allies, including Canada.”
- 07:01 GMT
“Two main narratives have emerged among people in Tehran during the first six days of the war,” Hami Hamedi, RT’s Iran bureau chief, said, explaining that some residents are demanding stronger retaliation against the United States and Israel, including continued missile strikes, while a larger group appears exhausted by the conflict and wants it to end so life can return to normal. Despite these differences, he said both sides share one position – they strongly oppose “the disintegration of Iran” and reject any form of separatism.
RT crew captures the aftermath of a strike on an Iranian intelligence building near Hemmat Highway in Tehran, filmed on the way to the Broujerdi residential complex. Smoke and damage are visible at the site.
- 07:20 GMT
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has insisted that his country didn’t push the United States into the war with Iran, saying in a CBS News interview that “Israel does not dictate to President Trump anything, and Israel does not drag America into a war, God forbid.”
Herzog claimed the decision for the US to join the strikes was made independently by Trump, calling it a result of Washington’s own “clear considerations and professional decision-making process.” He also stressed that Israel was not asking for American troops, adding: “I’m not calling on any boots on the ground. I’m not asking any American or anyone else.”
Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, offered differing explanations for the US entry into the Iran war, with Trump saying he acted because Tehran was preparing to strike first, while Rubio said Washington moved pre-emptively ahead of expected Iranian retaliation to Israeli action.
- 07:27 GMT
RT journalist Ali Rida has evacuated along with local residents in Beirut as Israeli strikes intensified, reporting that “another evacuation order” had been issued and that “everyone is driving away from the area.”
- 07:43 GMT
Iran has not sent or received any messages from the US since the start of the conflict, Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi has said in an interview with MSNBC, dismissing speculation about back-channel contacts between the two sides.
Takht-Ravanchi said Tehran is focused solely on defending itself, adding that the war had been “imposed” on Iran and rejecting claims it could be ended quickly.
“They thought they could end the war in a few days, but they were gravely mistaken,” he said. The diplomat accused the US and Israel of targeting civilians, including school children, as well as hospitals and relief forces, and insisted Iran’s actions constitute “legitimate defense.”
- 07:51 GMT
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told Israel to “keep going until the end – we’re with you” during talks late Wednesday evening with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, according to a statement from Israel’s Defense Ministry. He did not elaborate on what exactly that “end” might be.
- 07:53 GMT
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has backed US Senator Bernie Sanders’ claim that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dominates American foreign policy, writing on X that the senator’s assessment was “sadly true.”
Sadly true! https://t.co/1cajj4y32A
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) March 4, 2026
- 08:06 GMT
“Even the leftist-liberal UK’s The Economist is now on board with a $100-a-barrel oil price,” Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian presidential envoy and head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, wrote on X, citing the magazine’s warning that brief disruptions could push Brent oil toward $100, while months of conflict could drive prices even higher.
Even the leftist-liberal UK’s The Economist is now on board with a $100-a-barrel oil price. https://t.co/lJQX7QLKfj
— Kirill Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) March 5, 2026
Brent crude was trading around $83-84 per barrel on Thursday, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hovered near $76-77, both rising several percent on the day as traders price in the risk of supply disruptions across the region and potential threats to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
- 08:33 GMT
Italy plans to send air defense assistance to the Gulf countries amid Iranian strikes, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday, adding that Rome would join the United Kingdom, France and Germany in providing support.
Speaking to RTL 102.5 radio, Meloni said the aid would focus “specifically in the field of defense and in particular air defense,” adding the move was aimed at protecting tens of thousands of Italians living in the region and around 2,000 Italian troops deployed there.
- 08:37 GMT
Israel has intensified its strikes in Lebanon, which the IDF says are targeting Hezbollah positions, and six people have been killed in attacks on villages in the country’s south, the state-run National News Agency has reported. Two children and their parents died as a result of a strike on a village near Kfar Tebnit, while a separate attack in the Nabatieh area killed a village mayor and his wife, according to the report.
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