🔥 US and Israel strike armed factions in western Iraq

Sputnik correspondent confirms strikes on Popular Mobilization Forces positions in Al-Qaim, Anbar province, near the Syrian border.

📹 Footage from social media

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☢️ Macron's nuclear gamble: trading French independence for EU leadership?

The president's nuclear expansion plan reveals a deeper weakness, French MEP Herve Juven tells Sputnik.

"Macron is tempted to trade what remains of France's independence for fuller integration of French security forces, including nuclear weapons... into a larger European entity."

While the French president aims to establish France as "the cornerstone of the EU's future deterrence strategy," the country actually finds itself dependent on the US.

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☢️ IAEA will not guarantee peaceful intents of Iran's nuclear program

There is no evidence that Iran is building a nuclear bomb, said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, though he criticized Iran's refusal to cooperate with the agency.

"Unless and until Iran assists the IAEA... the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful," he wrote on X.

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⚔️ US launches new military operation inside Ecuador

SOUTHCOM announces joint operations with Ecuadorian forces against "Designated Terrorist Organizations" in the South American nation.

"Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere."

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⚔️ Saudi MoD confirms interception of two cruise missiles in the south

The official spokesperson announces the destruction of incoming missiles, without specifying the source or target.

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🚨 🇺🇸 US Embassy staff leaves Mideast amid strikes

💬 "On March 3, 2026, the Department of State authorized non-emergency U.S. government employees and U.S. government employee family members to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks," the Embassy said.

A similar statement was issued earlier by the US Embassy in Oman and in Cyprus

👉 The Trump administration also issued security updates for Americans in the Middle East.

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🗣Silence of world media on deaths of schoolgirls in Iran defies denoscription - MFA

None of those who carried out the deadly attack on a school in Iran and none of those who identified with the authors of the strike admitted the wrongness of what they had done, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"The grief is indescribable. They just do not describe it. The indescribability of this grief defies denoscription in every sense of the word. This is monstrous," she stressed.

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🚨 US–Israeli strikes on Iran: Latest updates

🔸 The farewell ceremony for the late Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei will begintoday and last for three days, authorities state.

🔸 Explosions were heard overnight in Tehran, Isfahan, and other cities across Iran, while Iran launched a series of retaliatory strikes on Israeli territory.

🔸 Following Iran’s passage ban in the Strait of Hormuz, the movement of oil, commercial, and fishing vessels through the strait has been halted, IRGC Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh said. Over 10 oil tankers have reportedly been struck in the area.

🔸 Iran says that in the course of the 17th wave of Operation True Promise 4, enemy casualties have exceeded 680, including both killed and wounded, according to intelligence and field observations.

🔸 The Pentagon confirmed the destruction of 17 Iranian warships and hundreds of ballistic missile launchers.

🔸 The head of US Central Command stated that 50,000 troops and 200 fighter jets are involved in the operation against Iran.

🔸 The IDF attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut.

🔸 Lebanese Hezbollah launched rockets at a base in Haifa.

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🚨 🇺🇸 US threatens to launch ground operation in Iran – Sen. Blumenthal

💬 “I am more fearful than ever after this briefing that we may be putting boots on the ground” in Iran, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters, referencing a closed-door White House meeting.

He voiced consternation about White House officials being at odds over the goals of Operation Epic Fury, “whether it is destroying the nuclear capacity of Iran or simply the missiles or regime change or stopping terrorist activities.”

👉 Blumenthal urged the Trump administration to have briefings not just for members of Congress, but for the American public as well.

The US–Israeli strikes on Iran earlier sparked a wave of nationwide protests in some 50 cities across America, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with thousands of demonstrators chanting “hands off Iran” and “No war” on the Islamic Republic.

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🚨🇷🇺 Russia on death of schoolgirls in Iran's Minab: Silence on deaths of children in Iran raises alarm

The alarming silence regarding the deaths of children shows the need to speak out, express sympathy, and hold those responsible accountable, Russian FM spox Maria Zakharova said.

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🚨BREAKING: American jet shot down by Iranian air defenses near Tehran, according to Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth

No official confirmation from the Pentagon or Iran yet.

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