At least 1,332 civilians have been killed in Iran in the first week of the war
RT footage from Beirut, Lebanon, and the aftermath of Israeli strikes. © RT
Welcome to RT’s live coverage of the seventh day of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The US-Israeli war against Iran continues to escalate, with Washington striking Tehran’s military assets and deploying additional forces to the Middle East while the Islamic Republic launches retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the region.
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US President Donald Trump has said he would not accept any deal with Iran short of “unconditional surrender.” He previously said it would be “a waste of time” to consider sending American ground troops into Iran at the moment, responding to the Iranian foreign minister’s warning that any such move would spell disaster for the invading forces.
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Israel has issued an evacuation warning for an industrial area in Iran’s Qom region, not far from the Fordow uranium enrichment site.
- The US is likely responsible for the bombing of a school in the town of Minab in southern Iran that left at least 168 children dead, as well as teachers and staff, the New York Times has concluded in an analysis published on Thursday.
- 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?
- At least 1,332 people have been killed in US and Israeli attacks on Iran since Saturday, and Fars News Agency reports that two schools were hit by missiles in the town of Parand, southwest of the capital Tehran.
- 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.”
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- Iran launched overnight strikes on several targets, including sites in Bahrain, Tel Aviv, and what it said were US military positions in Kuwait. Israeli forces, meanwhile, have carried out strikes on Beirut and the Iranian capital Tehran.
- 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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06 March 2026
22:40 GMT
At least four sailors were killed and three injured in an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, International Maritime Organization Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez told UN News.
Dominguez added that 20,000 sailors remain stranded aboard some 3,000 vessels unable to pass through the strait due to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
JUST IN: Video shows ship traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/C6pBHI0W35
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) March 6, 2026
- 22:28 GMT
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt clarified President Donald Trump’s demand for an “unconditional surrender” of Iran.
“Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender … whether they say it themselves or not,” she told journalists, adding that the US would stop the strikes if Trump “determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America.”
- 21:52 GMT
UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to authorize the Royal Air Force to strike Iranian missile sites.
British planes have been helping shoot down missiles and drones after an Iranian UAV hit a UK air base in Cyprus.
“If you have someone with a gun shooting, stopping the bullets is not enough, you need to go after the weapon,” Badenoch told BBC Breakfast.
- 21:35 GMT
At least 1,332 Iranian civilians were killed and thousands more were injured during the US and Israeli strikes, Iran’s envoy to the UN Amir-Saeid Iravani said.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Iravani accused the US and Israel of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, including schools, healthcare centers, residential buildings, and mosques.
- 20:58 GMT
A spokesperson for the Iranian military has said that Tehran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz, attributing the decrease in traffic to the danger posed by the ongoing war.
“We will target any ship belonging to the Zionist entity [Israel] and America if it attempts to cross the Strait of Hormuz,” he clarified.
- 20:45 GMT
The US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford has now moved from the Eastern Mediterranean, where it was recently based, to the Red Sea, transiting the Suez Canal.
The carrier has played a central part in two of Trump’s recent military campaigns: the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro at the start of the year, and now the war on Iran.
- 20:28 GMT
Vladimir Putin has expressed his deepest condolences over the assassination of Ali Khamenei and his family members during a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“Russia’s principled position is that there’s a need for an immediate cessation of hostilities […] and a swift return to the path of political and diplomatic resolution,” the statement published on the Kremlin website says.
Putin also noted that he is in constant contact with the leaders of the countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
- 19:31 GMT
Saudi Arabia is trying to engage with Iran to help contain the war in the Middle East, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing European officials.
- 19:26 GMT
The US is well on its way toward controlling Iranian airspace, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said, adding that the operation against Iran could last up to two months.
“What I will tell you is what President Trump has already laid out, which is that the achievable objectives of Operation Epic Fury, we expect to last about four to six weeks, and we are well on our way to achieving those objectives,” she stated.
- 19:07 GMT
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said that US forces are “well on track to control Iranian airspace.”
Three days ago, Leavitt promised that the US would have “complete and total dominance over Iranian airspace in the coming hour.”
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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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