US attack on Iran – Artifex.News

Iran-Israel war LIVE: Explosions over Tel Aviv as Iran launches barrage of missiles, U.S. claims to have sunk over 30 Iranian ships

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 02:15:00 +0000

The United Arab Emirates is weighing freezing billions of dollars of ‌Iranian assets held in the Gulf state, a move that could ⁠curb Tehran’s access to foreign currency and global trade amid the U.S.-Israeli military conflict, the Wall Street ‌Journal reported on Thursday.

UAE authorities are weighing measures ranging from freezing the assets of UAE-based shadow companies used to mask ‌trade to a sweeping financial crackdown on local currency exchanges, which are used to move money outside of formal banking ‌channels, the report said, citing officials familiar with discussions.

If the UAE decides to move on Iran’s shadow-financing empire, ⁠a key target would be accounts affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ‌report added.

-Reuters

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Rubio says Israel’s strike plan triggered U.S. attack on Iran

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 22:12:00 +0000

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before his scheduled House and Senate Intelligence Committees briefing about Iran on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Monday, March 2, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

The United States attacked Iran only after learning that ally Israel was going to strike and fearing Tehran would retaliate against U.S. forces, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday (March 2, 2026).

“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Mr. Rubio told reporters.

Mr. Rubio, who was preparing to brief key U.S. lawmakers, said that Iran had told field commanders to respond automatically against U.S. forces if there was an attack.

“If we stood and waited for that attack to come first before we hit them, we would suffer much higher casualties. And so the president made the very wise decision” to hit alongside Israel, Mr. Rubio said.

Asked if the United States faced an imminent threat from Iran — a key threshold in the United States as Congress constitutionally has the power to declare war — Mr. Rubio again pointed to the Israeli plans.

“There absolutely was an imminent threat, and the imminent threat was that we knew that if Iran was attacked — and we believed they would be attacked — that they would immediately come after us,” Mr. Rubio said.

“We were not going to sit there and absorb a blow,” Mr. Rubio said, adding that if Iran hit U.S. forces first, “we would all be here answering questions about why we knew that and didn’t act.”

#WATCH | Washington DC: On Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says, “Clearly the United States would not deliberately target a school. Our objectives are missiles, both the ability to manufacture them and the ability to launch them, and the one-way attractor. That would be… pic.twitter.com/YjjQPjnmma

— ANI (@ANI) March 2, 2026

Rubio on objective of U.S. attack on Iran

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier said that it was Israel that carried out the strike Saturday in Tehran that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other key officials, after intelligence emerged that they were meeting.

Mr. Rubio, however, said that President Donald Trump’s administration believed in the need to strike Iran, regardless of how the timing was triggered.

“No matter what, ultimately this operation needed to happen,” Mr. Rubio said.

Mr. Rubio said that the United States would like to see the overthrow of the Iran’s clerical state but that that was not the goal.

“We hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government and establish a new future for that country. We would love for that to be possible,” Mr. Rubio said.

“But the objective of this mission is the destruction of their ballistic missile capabilities and of their naval capabilities.”

Published – March 03, 2026 03:42 am IST

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War widens across West Asia as U.S., Israel launch joint attack on Iran: In Pictures

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 07:23:00 +0000

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the United States, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability.

Explosions rocked Iran’s capital as Israel said it would carry out “non-stop strikes” against its leaders and military. Iran meanwhile fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation for the killing.

The killing of Khamenei, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for the overthrow of the decades-old Islamic Republic, marked the start of a stunning new U.S. intervention in West Asia and potentially a prolonged war.

Also read: Iran vs Israel | Chronicles of a war foretold

The weekend attacks were the second combined strikes in eight months from the U.S. and Israel against Iran. In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defences, military leadership and nuclear programme. But the killing of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.

With inputs from Agencies

A satellite image of a destroyed residence complex belonging to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran on March 1, 2026. Photo: Vantor/Handout via Reuters

Photo:
AP

A damaged car remains on the ground in the aftermath of an Israeli-U.S. strike in Tehran, Iran, on February 28, 2026.

Rescue workers and residents search through the rubble in the aftermath of an Israeli-U.S. strike on a girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran on February 28, 2026.

Photo:
AP

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing for an arrested landing on the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) after a mission in support of Operation Epic Fury, on February 28, 2026.

Photo:
AP

Government supporters chant slogans as they gather in mourning after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in the poster, in Tehran, Iran, on March 1, 2026.

Photo:
AP

Government supporters gather in mourning after state TV officially announced the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran on March 1, 2026.

Photo:
Reuters

Smoke rises following an Iranian projectile strike, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on February 28, 2026.

Photo:
Reuters

Interceptions attempt after Iran launched missiles into Israel, following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, in central Israel on February 28, 2026.

A satellite image of an industrial area covered in smoke in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. Photo: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters

Photo:
AP

Rescue workers and military personnel operate at the scene where several people were killed by an Iranian missile strike in Beit Shemesh, Israel on March 1, 2026.

Photo:
AP

A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran, Iran, on March 1, 2026.

Photo:
AP

Israeli security forces inspect a damaged road after a missile launched from Iran struck Jerusalem, on March 1, 2026.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows a F/A-18F Super Hornet preparing to make an arrested landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on February 28, 2026. Photo: U.S. Navy via AP

Photo:
AP

A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on March 1, 2026.

Published – March 02, 2026 12:34 pm IST

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