Trump admin warned lawmakers Israel was ‘determined to act with or without us’ before massive Iran strikes
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., described the recent U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as a defensive measure, saying, “Israel was determined to act with or without us” following a classified briefing on Monday evening. Johnson told reporters after the briefing that Israel viewed Iran’s capabilities as an existential threat and was prepared to conduct operations regardless of U.S. participation. He said Israel’s assessment shaped American deliberations, and it was “determined to act in their own defense here, with or without American support.” The speaker said administration officials had to weigh risks to U.S. forces, regional assets and interests before supporting the operation. “They had to evaluate the threats to the U.S., to our troops, to our installations, to our assets in the region and beyond. And they determined, because of the intelligence that we had, that a coordinated response was necessary,” Johnson said. Johnson said he guarantees that if the U.S. had not acted, the Trump administration would have been hauled in by Congress and asked why they waited if they had “existential intelligence, knowing that that would happen.” EX-CIA CHIEF WARNS NOT TO UNDERESTIMATE IRAN’S RESPONSE AFTER OPERATION EPIC FURY EXPOSED REGIME ‘ARROGANCE’ “I am convinced that they did the right thing,” he said. Rubio confirmed that Israel was prepared to act against Iran and said the president “made a very wise decision.” “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces,” he told reporters. “And we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties.” FIRES RAGE AT IRAN’S BANDAR ABBAS NAVAL HEADQUARTERS, STRAIT OF HORMUZ TRAFFIC STALLED Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., a top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, emerged from the briefing and said he did not believe there was an “imminent threat” prior to Saturday’s strikes. “There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. It was a threat to Israel,” he said. “We equate a threat to Israel is the equivalent of an imminent threat to the United States. Then we are in uncharted territory.” “We have seen the goals for this operation change now, I believe 4 or 5 times,” he went on. US SURGES FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST AS PENTAGON WARNS IRAN FIGHT ‘WILL TAKE SOME TIME’ Rubio insisted the operation was not about Iranian regime change but about taking out its capabilities as a threat to the region – focused on ballistic missiles and naval capacity. He did not say whether strikes would extend to nuclear facilities. “I do believe there is more than adequate justification for our American and Israeli actions,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told reporters he believes there is “more than adequate justification for our American and Israeli actions,” without saying more. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview afterward that he felt administration officials did a good job of illustrating the threat level faced by the U.S. in the days leading up to the strikes. “I think that’s largely been very open source. The president laid that out, you know, very clearly. It does go beyond that to what I can’t get into, but it goes beyond that. I’m sure it’ll come out in the administration’s good time, but it’s not for me to say,” Mast said. “But the more immediate nature of threats — I’m going through the negotiations with [Special Envoy Steve Witkoff], [Jared Kushner], Rubio, others that were a part of having those conversations and throughout that 10-day window of, you know, let’s call it countdown to make a deal, the threats that were going on in that window is probably the high-side information that you have.” He also said there was a lot of daylight between what Democrats and Republicans in the briefing considered an “imminent threat.” “It’s like, for me as a soldier, right, if I see an enemy machine gun nest, that to me, given that it’s an enemy machine gun nest, is an imminent threat,” Mast said. “To Democrats, unless that machine gun is burning up its barrels firing at you, it’s not yet an imminent threat. And those are the two separate ways that we’re looking at it.”. On February 26th, the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran in coordination with Israel. The offensive campaign has resulted in the death of 49 top Iranian leaders, including the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Six U.S. service members have lost their lives in Iranian counterattacks. The opening phase of the conflict struck more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, according to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. American B-2 bombers flew 37-hour round-trip missions from the continental United States to hit underground facilities with penetrating munitions, he added.
Radical US mosques honor Iran’s Supreme Leader’s ‘martyrdom’ with memorial services, eulogy: ‘Our leader’
Two United States-based mosques that have faced scrutiny for their ties to Iran held formal events to “honor” Ayatollah Khamenei after U.S. military forces took out the Islamic leader of Iran this weekend, including one mosque in Northern Virginia that referred to Khamenei as “our leader.” Located in Manassas, Virginia, and Dearborn Heights, Michigan, the mosques both publicly advertised events eulogizing the slain leader. In a flyer for the “Potluck Iftar” honoring Khamenei, which is a ceremony where Muslims break their Ramadan fast, the Manassass Mosque, which has faced questions over alleged ties to Iran, referred to Khamenei as “our leader.” Meanwhile, at the Islamic House of Wisdom (IHW) in Dearborn Heights, which has also faced scrutiny over its ties to Iran, the center’s Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi called the U.S. military offensive “evil” and argued that it was based on false-pretenses. “You promised that America First, and now we ended up to have Netanyahu first,” the Michigan-based Imam told his congregants after the attacks this weekend. “Now we realize that all their talk about nuclear [unintelligible] was a joke, it didn’t even exist. From the beginning talking about regime change, we want to change, because we don’t like it. So, starting an illegal – illegal war – and then go and bomb the house of the leader of the country. Where is justification for this? Where is their reason for this, at all?” FBI REMAINS ON HIGH ALERT, DHS MEMO WARNS OF LONE WOLF ATTACKS AMID WAR WITH IRAN The Michigan-based Islamic worship center and its Imam also touted talking points from Iranian state media and officials that have not yet been confirmed, claiming hundreds of young girls were killed by a missile strike on a school in Iran. Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, said Saturday that 60 young children were killed and 80 injured, but by Sunday Iranian officials were saying the death toll had risen to about 150, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) posted on X on Monday that the alleged death toll was now as high as 168. According to The Guardian, Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, indicated they were “aware of reports concerning civilian harm resulting from ongoing military operations,” adding that, “We take these reports seriously and are looking into them.” CHASING THE APOCALYPSE: RADICAL SIITE CLERICS ON AMERICAN SOIL PREACH PROHETIC SHOWDOWN WITH US “Why a school? Why not a military base or a missile base? They attack children first. It’s a form of their – again, call me crazy – but child sacrifice,” said a speaker at the IHW’s Ramadan program, who gave a speech alongside Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi. “This is a war against justice, against morality, against legality, against truth,” Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi added as he was speaking to his followers. “Now we realize that all their talk about nuclear [unintelligible] was a joke, it didn’t even exist. From the beginning talking about regime change, we want to change, because we don’t like it,” the Imam continued. IRAN’S SECURITY CHIEF ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘ISRAEL FIRST’ POLICY, ‘DELUSIONAL FANTASIES’ IN REGION Both the Manassas Mosque and the IWH were listed in a July 2023 letter that Congressional Republicans sent to former Attorney General Merrick Garland and former Director of National Intelligence during the Biden administration, Avril Haines. The letter called out a network of U.S.-based mosques throughout the country that have received financial funding from the Alavi Foundation, which lawmakers said “is a large foundation that has been in litigation for years because of allegations it operates on behalf of the Iranian regime, a state sponsor of terrorism,” or have other close ties to the Iranian regime. “The Imam of IHW, Mohammad Ali Elahi, served as the head of ‘political ideology’ for the Iranian Navy in the 1980s, according to a publicly available Central Intelligence Agency report.” the letter asserts. “He personally claims to be ‘friends’ with three former Iranian Presidents, and since moving to the US, he has had seemingly non-stop contact with senior regime officials.” The letter, which included concerns also laid out in a report drafted by the George Washington University Program on Extremism, adds that IHW has been “a significant purveyor of extremist propaganda, in line with the Iranian regime’s views.” The Manassas Mosque was among the groups that received financial funding from the Alavi Foundation, reportedly totaling around $200,000. The mosque has also reportedly been gifted expensive relics from the Iranian regime, and alleged video of the inside reportedly shows the worship center filled with pictures of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “martyrs” killed in Syria, a life-size cut-out of Khamenei and Iranian flags or other symbols. Fox News Digital reached out to both mosques, but neither returned requests for comment in time for publication.
Bill Clinton reveals Trump ‘never said anything’ linking himself to Epstein’s crimes
Former President Bill Clinton told lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee last week that he couldn’t recall President Donald Trump saying anything that would link him to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. As Democrats pressed Clinton on his relationship with Trump and the pair’s numerous mentions in the Epstein files, Clinton paused to clarify his stance. “I hate this because I don’t think I should inject anything, but I do not want to leave the impression… He, the president, never — this is 20-something years ago — never said anything to me to make me think he was involved with anything improper with regard to Epstein,” Clinton told investigators last week. At another point in the deposition, Clinton again clarified his stance on Trump’s relationship with Epstein. HILLARY CLINTON TELLS HOUSE ‘I DO NOT RECALL EVER ENCOUNTERING’ JEFFREY EPSTEIN “As I said earlier, the only conversation I had with President Trump about this was in the early 2000s and I have no information that he did anything wrong,” Clinton said. Lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee deposed the former president as a part of the group’s ongoing probe into Epstein and his crimes. Epstein, a former financier with a robust social circle that included Clinton, Trump, Bill Gates, the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew and other famous figures, died while incarcerated in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking minors. CLINTONS AGREE TO TESTIFY AFTER HOUSE THREATENS CONTEMPT IN JEFFREY EPSTEIN PROBE Lawmakers are investigating whether Epstein used his expansive social connections to facilitate illegal sexual encounters for his contacts. Democrats, in particular, have sifted through the files with an eye for any connections to Trump. Clinton, who was repeatedly asked by Democrats about Trump throughout his deposition, continued to affirm that he had only limited knowledge of Trump’s relationship with Epstein and that his primary concern was about government transparency on the matter. “I just want it all out there. I want everybody to get it all out there and let everybody see where we are,” Clinton said. Notably, Clinton is pictured in several materials released by the Department of Justice. One places him in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell, an accomplice of Epstein, and a third person whose identity has been redacted. RO KHANNA’S STATE OF THE UNION GUEST RECRUITED OVER 20 UNDERAGE GIRLS FOR EPSTEIN: ‘LIKE HEIDI FLEISS’ Asked again about his communications with the president, Clinton said he had not spoken to Trump in the years since the “early 2000s” about Epstein. “It’s the truth,” Clinton added.
WATCH: Bill Clinton grilled on shirtless hot tub photo amid swirling questions on Epstein relationship
Former President Bill Clinton told lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee that recently uncovered images of him in a pool with Ghislaine Maxwell, an accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, and the infamous hot tub photo were taken at a hotel in Brunei and are not linked to any sexual misconduct. “No,” Clinton answered flatly when asked if he had sexual relations with the female in the hot tub photo, whose identity has been redacted by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ is required by law to release any documents or images related to Epstein, but to censor information that could identify Epstein’s victims. Clinton said his stay at the hotel came about as an invitation from the kingdom’s sultan — someone Clinton said he had met during his presidency. HILLARY CLINTON COMES OUT SWINGING AFTER GOP GRILLED HER DURING MARATHON EPSTEIN DEPOSITION “It’s a tiny place but a very wealthy one, and the sultan was a man I had gotten to know well in my eight years as president and his involvement with the Asia-Pacific leaders conference, which I started and which he attended,” Clinton said. Brunei is a kingdom located on an island near Indonesia. “When he knew I was coming, he invited me to stay there. And he said, ‘I want you to stay at this hotel, and I hope that you’ll use the pool.’ So, I did, and then I got out and went to bed, exhausted,” Clinton recalled. BILL CLINTON COMES OUT SWINGING AGAINST COMER FOR REJECTING PUBLIC EPSTEIN HEARING: ‘STOP PLAYING GAMES’ While Clinton said that he remembered that both Epstein and Maxwell had joined him at the resort, he told lawmakers he couldn’t remember who else was there. Clinton didn’t explain why Epstein and Maxwell had accompanied him on the trip. He answered that and said that, to the best of his recollection, no one at the pool had been a minor. He went on to admit that he thought that everybody there was part of their party and that he believes there was a Secret Service agent there too. HILLARY CLINTON TELLS HOUSE ‘I DO NOT RECALL EVER ENCOUNTERING’ JEFFREY EPSTEIN Clinton appeared before lawmakers as a part of their ongoing probe into Epstein and his crimes. Epstein, who rubbed shoulders with rich and powerful figures, died in prison in 2019 while charged with sex trafficking minors. Despite being pictured together with Epstein in several images released by the DOJ, Clinton has denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes or having been party to them. “I don’t think there was anyone else in that hot tub. I had forgotten there was anyone in the hot tub,” Clinton said. “I don’t think I ever knew the photo was taken.”
White House doctor explains Trump’s visible neck rash
President Donald Trump’s personal doctor on Monday said he was using a cream after a rash was spotted on his neck, which drew criticism online. The redness on the right side of Trump’s neck was imposed during Monday’s Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House. It appeared just above his shirt collar. DOCTORS REACT TO ALLEGED TRUMP HEALTH CONCERNS AS PHOTOS SHOWING SWELLING AND BRUISING “President Trump is using a very common cream on the right side of his neck, which is a preventative skin treatment, prescribed by the White House Doctor,” Dr. Sean Barbabella, Trump’s physician, told Fox News. “The President is using this treatment for one week, and the redness is expected to last for a few weeks.” Questions about Trump’s health began last year after swelling and bruising was seen on his hands and swelling on his ankles. DOCTORS REACT TO ALLEGED TRUMP HEALTH CONCERNS AS PHOTOS SHOWING SWELLING AND BRUISING “At the time, the White House announced that he had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when leg veins fail to send blood back to the heart properly.” White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the diagnosis as “benign and common, particularly in individuals over the age of 70.” Regarding Trump’s hand bruises, Leavitt said it was from “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.” “This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy,” she said. “The president remains in excellent health, which I think all of you witness on a daily basis here.” In October, Barbabella said Trump was in “excellent overall health” after a follow-up evaluation at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Walz jumps into the Iran strike debate and gets dogpiled from both sides
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joined the chorus of Democrats criticizing the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran, leading to brutal mockery on social media, including from those on the left. Walz has been one of the most visible state leaders and Trump critics of the past year, as Minnesota became embroiled in a Somali-linked childcare fraud problem that metastasized to other sectors, while repeatedly condemning the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement efforts in his state. As missiles rained down on Iranian targets and took out 86-year-old theocratic dictator Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Walz posted his objection to X: “No new wars.” JOHN FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS OPPOSED TO IRAN STRIKES, BACKS TRUMP’S DECISION TO ACT That missive set off a whirlwind of blowback, including innumerable memes targeting the controversial Democrat and 2024 vice presidential nominee. Comedian Michael Rapaport, who has been vocal against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani but is known for his anti-Trump commentary, slammed Walz by retweeting a response to the governor from an Israeli diplomat. “Iran started this war 47 years ago when they took Americans hostage Honestly, can people to crack open a book before posting nonsense?” wrote Aviva Klompas, whose bio includes time at the Israeli mission to the United Nations. FETTERMAN BLASTS IRAN STRIKE CRITICS, AYATOLLAH’S APOLOGISTS: ‘LET’S SEE WHO GRIEVES FOR THAT GARBAGE’ Rapaport went on to take issue with critics of the Iranian strikes and condemned those who remained silent as Khamenei oversaw mass-murders of tens of thousands of dissidents in recent months. “I’m glad that old bag of s— and his entire regime are gone,” he said of Khamenei. “Ding dong that old bag of s— is dead. 72 virgins have got to deal with that bull— now; good luck ladies,” he added in a message on Monday. “Will this affect your Somali kickbacks?” asked Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., a top pro-Israel voice in Congress. “Didn’t you just try to start a war with Trump a month ago?” another response from conservative videographer Cam Higby – who has tweeted videos of his stringer-type visits to Minneapolis unrest. “No kings,” another critic retorted, as the left has latched onto the idea that President Donald Trump is a monarch. “Just be thankful this is changing the headlines from the Somali fraud in Minnesota,” said another. Others criticized alleged hypocrisy involving Walz’ prior meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his tweet at the time that “Minnesota stands with the people of Ukraine as they fight to defend freedom and democracy.” Late Monday, reports surfaced that Khamenei’s wife Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh succumbed to her injuries from the missile strike that killed her husband.
Trump awards Medal of Honor to three soldiers, honors ‘unsurpassed courage’
President Donald Trump bestowed the Medal of Honor to three U.S. Army soldiers Monday in a White House ceremony honoring their “unsurpassed courage.” The president touted the “three really incredible American heroes — one living and two no longer with us.” TRUMP SAYS US SANK 10 SHIPS IN IRAN STRIKE, ‘LAST, BEST CHANCE’ TO ACT The president posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Master Sgt. Roderick (Roddie) W. Edmonds; posthumously awarded the medal to Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis and awarded the medal to Command Sergeant Major Terry P. Richardson. The president, Monday, first introduced the award for Edmonds. “In 1941, Roddie Edmonds of Knoxville, Tennessee, enlisted in the US Army and soon rose to one of the youngest master sergeants in the military,” the president said. “In 1944, he sailed to Europe vim and vigor, Roddie soon found himself on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge. That was a big one, massively outnumbered by enemy forces, his 1,200 soldier unit fought valiantly until they were completely overrun. The force was massive on the other side. … After a four-day death march, one that was covered very well by the history books, through bitter cold, they were put into a German POW camp.” The president said Edmonds “was the top ranking infantryman and the camp he was number one, meaning he was responsible for the lives of his fellow service members.” “On July 26th, 1945, a Nazi SS officer issued an order over the camp loudspeaker, loud and strong, he said that only American Jews were to show up to roll call. Following this morning, he added ‘all who disobey this order will be shot immediately,’” the president explained. “There were more than 200 Jewish American soldiers in the camp, and Roddie knew their separation from the group would mean certain death. So that night he summoned his team and devised a plan. The next morning, all 1,200 American men fell in line together, shoulder to shoulder. “Enraged, the Nazi commandant rushed forward, drew his Luger pistol, and pressed the barrel between Sgt. Edmond’s eyes. He barked at Roddie, ‘They cannot all be Jews!’ He screamed loud and again and again. And, staring straight back into the raging face of evil, Sgt. Edmonds replied fearlessly, ‘We are all Jews here.’ The Nazi officer lowered his weapon and the soldiers erupted in cheers.” The president said that “with total disregard for his own life, Roddie had saved over 200 of his fellow service members.” “Their camp was liberated two months later,” the president said. The award was accepted by Edmonds’ son, Chris. Next, the president honored Richardson. “On Sept. 12, 1968, 102 brave men of Terry’s Alpha Company were tasked with securing Hill 222 deep behind the enemy’s line in Vietnam,” Trump said. “They didn’t know it at the time, had no idea, but the area was totally infested with nearly 300 enemy bunkers and many, many enemy soldiers, far outnumbering them by at least 4- or 5-, even 6-to-1,” the president said. “As Terry led Lima Platoon up Hill 222, the enemy launched an ambitious and violent attack, unleashing a withering fire of machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. Just didn’t stop. They just kept coming, pinned down and hell on Earth.” The president said, “Terry summoned unimaginable courage. Three times. He exposed himself to enemy fire to rescue severely wounded comrades, and three times he dragged them back to the group.” “Terry soon realized that the 82 remaining men had one chance of survival. That was air support. Acting without regard of his own life, he grabbed the radio and charged up hill 222 alone. He needed to be there. It was the only place you’d get reception,” the president explained. “He withstood a storm of enemy bullets, eventually reaching the top where he spent the next eight hours calling in tactical strikes, completely exposed. … An enemy sniper shot rang out and the bullet tore through his right leg violently. He was in bad shape, but Terry disregarded that and pushed through. And after seven more hours of calling in American fire from above, the enemy retreated.” “Later that day, his team found him with both eardrums totally ruptured and a mangled right leg and foot, but still barely living but living nevertheless,” the president said. “Due to Terry’s actions above and beyond the call of duty, 82 men, Alpha Company survived this battle, including two in this room.” The president invited Norm Meyer and Dave Hemmer to stand up. IN MEMORY OF WORLD WAR II VETERAN LESTER TANNER: ‘WE ARE ALL JEWISH’ The president congratulated Richardson, and told him that “today you entered the ranks of the bravest warriors ever to strike the face of the earth.” Finally, the president posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis for gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, while serving in Afghanistan. “On Aug. 28, 2013, terrorists detonated a 400-pound car bomb on the east wall of the Forward operating base Kinzie, ripping open a 60 foot-wide breach into a compound that housed NATO coalition forces,” the president explained. “A lot of them, ten Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests swarm through from across the compound.” “Michael saw the pillar of white smoke rising and ran to join the fight, rushing without his gear, wearing almost no gear, no Kevlar helmet, no body armor. Just one magazine in his rifle,” the president continued. “Along the way, he encountered a Polish soldier, and together they advanced under heavy fire. Very, very heavy fire. At one point, shrapnel ripped through the Polish soldier’s legs, rendering him unable to walk very, very severely hurt. In that chaos of gunfire, explosions and charred human remains, a terrorist insurgent appeared rounding a corner with his suicide vest, fully armed. And you could see it. It was going to happen.” The president said the terrorist “charged the wounded Polish soldier without hesitation.” “Michael raised his
Lebanese civilians flee amid deadly Israeli strikes on Beirut suburbs
Published On 2 Mar 20262 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Lebanese civilians have fled southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs as a deadly escalation erupts between Israel and Hezbollah. Many are seeking sanctuary in makeshift shelters across Lebanon’s capital. At least 31 people were killed and 149 wounded in overnight Israeli strikes on Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Highways became gridlocked as people evacuated following Israel’s deadliest assault on Lebanon in over a year. The strikes came shortly after Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel for the first time in more than 12 months. “I don’t know how long it will take us to reach Beirut,” said Ali Hamdan, who had been travelling for seven hours on what should have been a 30-minute journey from his village to Sidon. “I’m headed towards Beirut, but I don’t know where yet. We don’t have a place to stay.” In Beirut, public schools transformed into emergency shelters. Families arrived with mattresses and belongings, while volunteers registered names as classrooms and courtyards filled with displaced people. Hussein Abu Ali, who fled with his family from a southern Beirut suburb, recounted the strikes: “My son began shaking and crying. Where are you supposed to go? I stepped outside, then back in because I was afraid of shooting in the air. I gathered my children and went down to the street.” Nadia al-Salman, displaced from Majdal Zoun in the south, declared: “They do not intimidate or frighten us, and they will not make us retreat even an inch from the path of resistance.” Advertisement During the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war, over one million Lebanese were displaced. Many remain unable to return to their destroyed border villages. Hezbollah stated Monday’s attacks were retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and “repeated Israeli aggressions”, calling them “a legitimate defensive response”. The Israeli military warned residents in approximately 50 communities across southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate. Military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin stated Israel is considering “all options,” including a potential ground invasion, warning that “Hezbollah will pay a very heavy price”. He added that Israel has mobilised over 100,000 reservists since the war with Iran began on Saturday. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Speed, surprise, and violence of action’: how US launched attack on Iran
NewsFeed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US General Dan Caine detailed how American forces launched a “massive, overwhelming attack across all domains of warfare” targeting Iran. Published On 2 Mar 20262 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Starmer lets US use bases for Iran clash: UK’s military, legal quagmire
Early on Monday, a suspected Iranian drone crashed into the runway at the United Kingdom’s RAF Akrotiri base in southern Cyprus. British and Cypriot officials said the damage was limited. There were no casualties. Hours later, two drones headed for the base were “dealt with in a timely manner”, according to the Cypriot government. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The incidents came after Prime Minister Keir Starmer signalled on Sunday that the UK was prepared to support the United States in its confrontation with Iran – raising the prospect that the UK could be drawn deeper into a war it did not choose by its closest ally. In a joint statement with the leaders of France and Germany, Starmer said the European group was ready to take “proportionate defensive action” to destroy threats “at their source”. Later, in a televised address, he confirmed that Westminster approved a US request to use British bases for the “defensive purpose” of destroying Iranian missiles “at source in their storage depots, or the launches which are used to fire the missiles”. But his agreement did little to placate US President Donald Trump, who said the decision came too late. UK-based military analyst Sean Bell cautioned against reading too much into the Akrotiri incident. “I understand the projectile that hit Cyprus was not armed, it hit a hangar [with] no casualties, and appears to have been fired from Lebanon,” he said, citing sources. Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify the claim. The broader context, he argued, is more consequential. Advertisement The US has taken the action “and everybody else is having to deal with the fallout”, he said. Iran’s military strength lies in its extensive ballistic missile programme, he said, adding that while some have the range to threaten the UK, they do not extend far enough to strike the US. “I don’t think [US] President Trump has yet made the legal case for attacking Iran, and … international law makes no discrimination between a nation carrying out the act of war and a nation supporting that act of war, so you’re both equally complicit,” he said. Bell said that Washington likely reframed the issue, communicating to London that, whatever triggered the escalation, US forces were now effectively defending British personnel in the region. That shift, he suggested, provided a legal basis to “not to attack Iran, but to protect our people”, allowing the UK to approve US operations from its bases under a “very, very clear set of instructions” tied strictly to national interest and defence. UK officials ‘tying themselves in knots’ However, concerns of complicity had reportedly shaped earlier decisions, according to Tim Ripley, editor of the Defence Eye news service, who said the British government initially concluded that US and Israeli strikes on Iran did not meet the legal definition of self-defence under the United Nations Charter. When Washington requested the use of bases such as RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, UK, and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Starmer is understood to have consulted government lawyers, who advised against participation. Up until Starmer’s televised address, in which he approved the US request, the UK had not considered the campaign a war of self-defence, said Ripley. While Washington’s legal reasoning has not changed, the war’s trajectory has. Iranian retaliatory strikes – which have seen drones and missiles targeting Gulf states – have placed British expatriates and treaty partners under direct threat. “The basis of our decision is the collective self-defence of longstanding friends and allies, and protecting British lives. This is in line with international law,” Starmer said. According to Ripley, several Gulf governments, which maintain defence relationships with the UK, sought protection, allowing London to focus on protecting British personnel and partners rather than endorsing a broader campaign. However, with memories of the Iraq War hanging over Westminster, British ministers have stopped short of explicitly backing the US bombing campaign. Advertisement British officials are “tying themselves in knots” trying to describe a position that is neither fully participatory nor detached, he said. US-UK: A strained relationship Starmer on Monday told Parliament that the UK does not believe in “regime change from the skies” but supports the idea of defensive action. But Ripley warned that any arrangement allowing US warplanes to operate from British air bases carries significant risks. Iran’s missile systems are mobile and launchers mounted on trucks, he said. From RAF Fairford or Diego Garcia, US aircraft face flight times of seven to nine hours to reach Iranian airspace, necessitating patrol-based missions. Once airborne, pilots may have only minutes to act. The idea that a US crew would pause mid-mission to seek fresh British legal approval is unrealistic, he said. London must rely on Washington’s assurance that only agreed categories of “defensive” targets will be struck. If an opportunity arose to eliminate a senior Iranian commander in the same operational zone, the temptation could be strong. Yet such a strike might fall outside Britain’s stated defensive mandate. The aircraft would have departed from British soil, and any escalation could implicate the UK, Ripley said. Bell highlighted another weakness: Britain has no domestic ballistic missile defence system. If a ballistic missile were fired at London, he said, “We would not be able to shoot it down.” Intercepting such weapons after launch is notoriously difficult, reinforcing the argument that the only reliable defence is to strike before launch. The UK, therefore, occupies a grey zone: legally cautious, operationally exposed and strategically dependent on US decisions, it does not fully control. Beyond the legal and military dilemmas, Starmer must also contend with a sceptical public. A YouGov poll conducted on February 20 found that 58 percent of Britons oppose allowing the US to launch air strikes on Iran from UK bases, including 38 percent who strongly oppose. Just 21 percent support such a move, underscoring limited domestic backing for deeper involvement. Adblock test (Why?)