Here's the latest
• On the ground: There has been no letup in strikes with the war in its sixth day. Israel says it hit Iranian missile sites while Iran carried out fresh retaliatory strikes across the region, with several injured in Abu Dhabi. A CNN team has entered Iran, the first US network to cross into the country since the war began.
• Widening conflict: There are further signs of the war spilling beyond the Middle East. Iran denied its drones struck an airport in Azerbaijan, and Tehran called the US torpedoing of a warship near Sri Lanka an “atrocity.” European powers are working to shore up defenses in Cyprus after a drone attack.
• Evacuations ramp up: Stranded passengers are starting to leave the Middle East as airlines schedule new services and governments rally charter flights. But many remain stuck, with travel options limited.
• Kurds targeted: Iran said it targeted “separatist terrorist groups (that) intended to enter the country’s western borders.” The statement follows reports the CIA was working to arm Kurdish forces, with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran.
Here's how US universities with Middle East campuses are adjusting their operations
As the US State Department urges Americans in the Gulf region to leave immediately, US universities with campuses in the region have adjusted their operations.
American universities with outposts in Doha, Qatar’s Education City — a research hub located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Al Udeid Air Base — as well as other US schools with campuses in the United Arab Emirates, have transitioned to remote instruction until further notice. Here’s a look at how some universities are handling the ongoing conflict:
- Texas A&M University in Doha: More than two dozen Texas A&M University students were headed to Doha from Texas when the war began and were diverted to Istanbul, Turkey, a university spokesperson told CNN. The university’s building is currently locked down with no access for employees, students or visitors.
- Georgetown University in Doha: Georgetown University’s campus in Qatar has shifted to online instruction until further notice, according to an update posted on its website. The university’s interim president also said a group of graduate business students were set to begin a program in Dubai on March 1, but Georgetown has suspended the course and is working to bring students back home as soon as possible.
- Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Doha: VCU Arts Qatar’s dean said in a letter that faculty and staff can leave Qatar and teach remotely — a decision made “in the interest of flexibility and personal safety.” The letter said this option is available to all faculty and staff, not just US citizens, and will not affect their employment status. A university spokesperson told CNN there have been no reports of injuries among VCU Arts Qatar students, faculty or staff.
- New York University in Abu Dhabi: NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus is “assisting with the departure of any students seeking to leave the area by identifying and securing travel arrangements, though air travel remains challenging,” a university spokesperson told CNN, adding: “The safety of our students, staff and visitors is our utmost priority.”
White House posts Iran strike video montage that includes "Call of Duty" footage
The White House is facing criticism for a social media video that mixed “Call of Duty” game footage with clips of American missile strikes inside Iran.
The minute-long montage, captioned “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue,” has garnered more than 30 million views on Elon Musk’s X, according to the social network.
Commenters replied with a mix of astonishment, amusement and disgust. Many said they were shocked to see a “Call of Duty” sequence repurposed by the Trump administration.
“They think war is a video game,” wrote Paul Rieckhoff, the founder of Independent Veterans of America and a staunch Trump critic. He called it “inappropriate, juvenile and unacceptable.”
“Left out of this ‘video game’ are the Iranian school girls blown to bits & American troops killed,” Harvard professor and former NAACP President Cornell William Brooks wrote.
The White House has not ruled out that the US military carried out a strike on a girls’ elementary school in Iran during the initial joint US-Israeli strikes, which killed at least 168 children, according to Iranian state media. Six US service members were killed by an Iranian strike in Kuwait.
White House communications director Steven Cheung seemed to welcome the attention last night. He responded to a reporter’s post about the video and wrote, “W’s in the chat, boys!”
The “W” is short for win; the phrase is popularly used by live streamers to celebrate a gaming victory.
Who are the Kurds in Iran?
The Kurdish people are an ethnic minority group in the Middle East without an independent state.
Estimates of their population range between 25 million and 45 million worldwide, with most living in the mountainous region that stretches across parts of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Armenia. But there are no official statistics because many regional countries do not register ethnicity in censuses. About half of the region’s Kurds are estimated to live in Turkey, where they are the country’s largest ethnic minority.
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Allied powers proposed a Kurdish state in what is now eastern Turkey, but the plan was dropped after the new Turkish government rejected it.
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but the Kurdish population has diverse religious, cultural, social and political traditions, as well as a variety of dialects.
In Iran today, Kurdish people make up an estimated 8% to 17% of the population, according to British government estimates. The Kurdish regions in western Iran have long pushed for greater autonomy or independence, as well as improved rights.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups have detailed widespread human rights abuses against Kurds in Iran. Teaching of the Kurdish language is often restricted, some Kurdish names cannot be officially registered, and Kurdish activists face arbitrary detention.
Armed Iranian Kurdish groups have fought the regime for decades, operating from outposts on the Iraq-Iran border, where they have thousands of forces.
What’s happening now? The CIA is working to arm Iranian Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, multiple people familiar with the plan told CNN. Several Iranian-Kurdish groups have released public statements since the beginning of the war hinting at imminent action and urging Iranian military forces to defect.
Sicily locals confuse earthquake with bombing
The war in Iran is reverberating 2,600 miles away in Sicily, which houses US and NATO bases.
So nervous are locals that on Wednesday when a minor earthquake struck the flanks of Mt. Etna, locals called emergency services asking if the island had been bombed, according to Italy’s Civil Protection authority.
On Thursday morning, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto addressed parliament to reassure lawmakers that regarding US bases, “Treaties govern their use.”
The ministers did not rule out the use of the bases in the future and echoed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s announcement that Italy would send air defense systems to the region.
“We intend to deploy a multi-domain device in the Middle East, with anti-drone and anti-missile air defense systems,” Crosetto said, adding that they would be ready to consider a request to use the bases.
Sicily is home to the Sigonella, the main base of NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance and home to more than 2,000 active-duty US service members.
Ministers were also pressed on concerns that the island could be a target, which has led to some Sicilians evacuating to the mainland.
“Sicily has always been a land of peace and dialogue between peoples and cannot be used as a base for aggression and conflict,” Five Star MEP Giuseppe Antoci said.
Tanker anchored off Kuwait takes on water following a "large explosion"
A tanker ship anchored off the coast of Kuwait has taken on water after an explosion, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an organisation that monitors maritime security.
The ship was at anchor 30 nautical miles southeast of Kuwait’s Mubarak Al Kabeer governorate, said the UKMTO in a statement, adding that the ship’s captain reported “witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side, then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity.”
Although the vessel has taken on water, there are no fires and the crew are safe and well, it added.
The report comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it had hit what it said was an American oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, and Iranian media outlets have also posted video footage that purports to show the incident.
Azerbaijani president calls purported Iranian drone strikes on airport “shameless”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called drone strikes in his country “an act of terror” and “ugly, cowardly, and shameless.” The strikes reportedly injured two people and damaged an airport terminal building in the first attacks on the country since the beginning of the conflict.
Azerbaijani authorities blamed the attack on Iran, but Tehran’s armed forces denied launching the drones and suggested the incident may have been a false-flag operation by Israel.
Azerbaijan’s armed forces have since been instructed to “prepare and implement retaliatory measures,” according to the president. “We are ready to show our strength against any evil force, and Iran should not forget this.”
The president called the strike on civilian targets “an example of great ingratitude,” pointing out that at the request of the Iranian deputy foreign minister, Azerbaijan had sent a plane to help evacuate employees of the Iranian embassy in Lebanon, who had become stranded.
“In return for all this, to strike Nakhchivan in an ugly, cowardly, and shameless manner? This stain will never be erased from their ugly and unsightly face,” Aliyev assured.
Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan is separated from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenia.
Europe vows to scale up evacuation efforts as travel chaos persists
Repatriation flights from the Middle East are underway as countries around the world grapple with how to bring their citizens to safety amid the widening war with Iran.
At least six flights supported by the European Commission have left the region since Wednesday, bringing European citizens back home to Bulgaria, Italy, Austria and Slovakia, the European Commission said in a statement. Additional repatriation flights are planned in the coming days, the statement said.
The US State Department has pledged to increase flights “across the region” after saying late Wednesday that more than 17,500 American citizens had returned to the US from the Middle East since February 28.
Elsewhere, evacuations flights have departed from regional hubs like Dubai and Jeddah, while France, Germany and the Czech Republic have also begun arranging flights out of the Middle East.
The UK said today that technical issues delayed the country’s first charter flight out of the Omani capital of Muscat since the conflict began, but added the plane was due to take off shortly. More flights are planned in the coming days, it said.
NATO chief backs Trump on Iran, but rejects involvement of alliance
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Thursday praised US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch strikes on Iran but rejected any suggestion the NATO alliance would participate in the conflict.
“We support the president in taking out that capability,” Rutte said, referring to the US military objective to eradicate the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile program. “We have to be sure going forward that Iran, this republic, is not able again to pose a death threat to its neighbors; to Israel, the Middle East, to Europe,” he added in a video interview.
Speaking the day after Turkey said NATO air defense systems shot down an Iranian missile that was traveling towards its airspace, Rutte condemned the “serious” incident, in which Iran denied any involvement. He described the successful interception as evidence of a “360-degree approach” to defending NATO territory.
Rutte rebuffed however any notion that NATO was actively involved in the conflict but emphasized that the alliance is essential to the effectiveness of the US in its campaign.
“NATO is not itself involved here,” he asserted, “NATO allies are providing key enabling support … NATO, in that sense, is also this power projection platform for the United States because without European allies, the US would have found it very difficult.”
The secretary-general defended his backing for Trump when challenged by Reuters journalist Andrew Gray, explaining: “This decisive action to take out this capability of Iran … as an exporter of terrorism and chaos … I think if the president of a country is providing that type of leadership, some praise is warranted.”
Mourners hold flags and prayers in mass pro-regime processions across Iran
Crowds of women dressed in black abayas and men holding national flags cascaded down the streets of Iran late Wednesday, as they mourned the killing of the country’s Supreme Leader.
Others raised framed photos of the late Ayatollah Khamenei, who was killed by US and Israeli bombing in Tehran on February 28, sparking a wave of regional violence and killing hundreds of civilians over the course of five days – including at least 183 children in Iran alone, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Worshippers took part in prayers at mosques and main squares in Tehran, including in the Narmak neighborhood and at Nabuwwat Square on the capital’s northeastern fringes, as well as in the central city of Arak. People also gathered in cities including Mashhad, Qom, Ahvaz, Karaj, Rasht, Zabol, Isfahan and Abadan, state-affiliated news agency IRNA reported.
The Iranian government announced 40 days of national mourning on Sunday, according to semi-official news agency Mehr News. Then on Wednesday, the official mourning ceremony for the country’s Supreme Leader was postponed, according to the state-affiliated Fars news agency.
Authorities have not given a new timeframe for Khamenei’s mourning ceremony. But as Iranian ruling clerics deliberate over a new incumbent, the Israeli defense minister threatened Wednesday that any leader would be an “unequivocal target for elimination.”
Israel orders entire neighborhoods in southern Beirut to evacuate for the first time
The Israeli military issued what it described as an urgent evacuation warning for entire neighbourhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a significant expansion from previous orders that were typically limited to specific buildings.
In a post on X on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged residents of Burj al-Barajneh and Haret Hreik/Al-Hadath to evacuate via 2 main highways.
The statement warned residents not to head south, saying any movement in that direction could put their lives at risk, and said the military would announce when it is safe for residents to return.
The neighbourhoods are home to tens of thousands of people and are predominantly Shiite areas long regarded as Hezbollah strongholds. The scale of the warning is unprecedented in recent years, including during the 2024 confrontation.
In photos: Projectile from Iran lands near Tel Aviv
Emergency workers respond after a projectile fired from Iran landed in Bareket, east of Tel Aviv, Israel, today.
US gas prices are now at their highest level in 11 months
Gas prices shot higher by another 5 cents a gallon in the latest reading from AAA, taking the average price in the US to $3.25 a gallon, the highest average price in 11 months.
This 26-cent-a-gallon increase since Friday is a reaction to the war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial channel through which 20% of the world’s oil passes. Gas prices have also risen after Iran launched retaliatory attacks on the oil facilities of its oil-rich neighbors, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.
Most of the increase has come in the last three days, although today’s 5-cent jump in prices is less than the 9-cent increase in Wednesday’s reading and the 11-cent spike in prices on Tuesday, which had been the biggest one-day increase since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Still, the 25-cent gain in gas prices in the last few days is the largest three-day rise since March 2022, shortly after sanctions were imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Diesel prices are rising even faster. The average price of diesel rose 12.8 cents to $4.17 a gallon in Thursday’s reading, taking it up 40 cents in just that last three days. While few American drivers have cars powered by diesel, the spike may be felt by the average consumer in coming weeks. Most heavy trucks use diesel, and most trucking companies have a fuel surcharge they add onto their rates. Fuel surcharges are also being put in place on ocean shipments. So, moving goods is becoming more expensive and could be passed onto consumers in higher prices.
High diesel prices could also hurt farmers, who use diesel in their farm equipment, just as they prepare for the spring planting season. And homeowners in the Northeast who use heating oil will be hurt since that is the same product as diesel.
And more prices hikes could be on the way. Wholesale gas prices, along with West Texas Intermediate oil and Brent Crude, the two benchmark readings for oil prices, were all slightly higher in early trading today.
European powers move to defend Cyprus after drone attack on island
European nations are working together to shore up defenses in Cyprus after a British airbase on the Mediterranean island was hit by a drone attack on Monday.
France cut short the deployment of its aircraft carrier strike group to the Baltic to respond to the Iranian bombing campaign, and on Thursday a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron told CNN that the country will coordinate with Italy and Greece in shoring up defenses in Cyprus.
Italy’s defense minister Guido Crosetto confirmed his country’s involvement, saying “we must reassess our assets in the region and respond to the requests of friendly countries in difficulty.”
Spain is sending its Cristóbal Colón frigate to Cyprus as part of a joint deployment with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and vessels from the Greek Navy, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement Thursday.
The Cristóbal Colón is Spain’s “most technologically advanced frigate,” said the ministry, which added that the deployment shows the country’s “commitment to defending the European Union and its eastern border.”
Monday’s drone attack targeted RAF Akrotiri, a key hub for UK air operations in the Middle East, and is believed to be the first attack on the British base since 1986.
US-Israeli attack hits Tehran's iconic Azadi sports complex, Iranian state media reports
Tehran’s iconic Azadi sports complex has been hit by a US-Israeli attack, according to state media.
The attack hit the complex’s indoor, multi-purpose stadium, the Azadi 12,000 Capacity Hall. It is mainly used for volleyball, wrestling and futsal.
Tehran’s Persepolis Football Club issued a statement condemning the attack, saying that sports venues symbolized peace and fair competition.
The complex was built by Iranian architecture firm AFFA for the 1974 Asian Games, which were the first Asian Games held in the Middle East.
France allows US aircraft on mainland base for non-combat purposes
France has permitted US non-combat aircraft to use an airbase on the French mainland with the “complete guarantee” that these aircraft “do not participate in any way in US operations in Iran” only in defense of regional partners, a spokesperson for the French Armed Forces told CNN Thursday.
Non-combat support aircraft have been permitted to use the Istres air base outside of Marseille in the south of France. The spokesperson added that this was a “routine procedure” with the framework of NATO.
France has not permitted US aircraft to use the country’s air bases in the Middle East region.
According to a source close to French President Emmanuel Macron, France will `also coordinate with Italy and Greece in shoring up defenses in Cyprus, which was hit by a drone attack.
European dilemma: Like other US allies in Europe, France has faced tough choices about how far to get involved in the conflict. President Emmanuel Macron said the US-Israeli attacks were “conducted outside the framework of international law” while blaming Iran for the escalation that follows.
France cut short the deployment of its aircraft carrier strike group to the Baltic to respond to the Iranian bombing campaign, with French aircraft already credited with shooting down drones in defense of Gulf allies.
Here's where Iran hit in the latest strikes
Iran has continued retaliatory strikes, using drones and missiles to hit various locations throughout the Middle East, as well as allegedly hitting Azerbaijan for the first time.
Six Pakistani and Nepali nationals were injured in an Iranian strike on Abu Dhabi, the emirate’s media office said Thursday, while Qatari air defense systems intercepted Iranian missiles over the capital Doha.
CNN journalists on the ground reported that explosions caused by missile intercepts rattled buildings as booms rang out across the city, and video shot by CNN shows smoke in the sky where the intercepts took place.
Iran launched further attacks on Israel, with a projectile landing in Bareket, east of Tel Aviv, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched missiles at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Drone strikes in Azerbaijan reportedly injured two people and damaged an airport terminal building in the first attacks on the country since the beginning of the conflict.
Azerbaijani authorities blamed the attack on Iran, but the country’s armed forces denied launching the drones and suggested the incident may have been a false-flag operation by Israel.
Asian stocks rebound, European indexes also up
Asian stocks staged a strong recovery Thursday after steep declines the previous day, while European stocks were slightly higher. US stock futures, after rebounding Wednesday, were broadly flat Thursday morning.
South Korea’s Kospi index closed 9.6% higher after a record 12% selloff Wednesday.
One explanation for the massive declines in Seoul earlier this week is “that Korea’s equities have (recently) benefitted from extreme exuberance, perhaps speculative excess, and were due a break,” Thomas Mathews, head of markets analysis for Asia-Pacific at consultancy Capital Economics, said Thursday. “Indeed, earnings expectations had grown sky-high.”
A rebound in other Asian stock indexes was less stark after Wednesday’s smaller falls. Europe’s benchmark STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.5%, building on a bigger rise the previous day after sliding earlier in the week.
US futures signaled a mixed open on Wall Street. The Dow was on track to open 0.1% down, while S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures were little changed.
More broadly, markets have “remained very sensitive to headlines,” Deutsche Bank said in a note Thursday, noting that oil prices had fallen during the day on Wednesday after the New York Times reported that Iran had made indirect contact with the United States to discuss negotiations to end their conflict.
Likewise, Mohit Kumar, economist at Jefferies, wrote Thursday that the report had helped “set a tone for higher markets.”
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, still ended Wednesday’s session up on the day, settling at the highest level since January 2025. It rose 2.4% in morning trade Thursday to $83 a barrel. WTI, the US benchmark, was up 3%.
In photos: Evacuations from the Middle East, seen around the world
Tearful reunions have been taking place in airports around the world as thousands evacuate from the Middle East. Many travelers spent days stranded in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and other regional airports.
Several countries, including the UK, India, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia and the Czech Republic, are working to increase flights and safe border crossings from the region.
Watch CNN cross into Iran as first US network to enter country since beginning of war
A CNN team has crossed over into Iran, becoming the first US network to cross into the country since the war with the US and Iran began.
After crossing into Iran today, CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen says he and his team are now trying to make it “to the capital Tehran as fast as possible,” having a received a visa from the government to report inside the country.
“We also don’t know what the situation on the road to Tehran is going to look like, how many checkpoints there’s going to be, and of course we know at the same time there are massive combat operations,” Pleitgen says during a short report filed from the road.
Pleitgen and team are mindful that their destination Tehran “has been under almost sustained attacks with massive airstrikes going on there” and suffered extensive damage and casualties due to US-Israeli bombardment, he said.
Iran has continued to strike a host of countries across the Gulf and vowed to continue its retaliatory campaign for the forseeable.
Israel targets Iranian missile sites in overnight strikes on Tehran
The Israeli military said it carried out a wave of airstrikes overnight against targets in Tehran, including ballistic missile infrastructure and launch sites above and below ground.
In a statement published Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strikes hit an underground facility used to store ballistic missiles, as well as additional missile storage sites it claimed were intended to target aircraft. The IDF also said it struck several long-range ballistic missile launchers that it described as posing an “immediate threat” to Israel.
The military added that an Israeli Air Force fighter jet identified Iranian operatives preparing a loaded launcher intended for use against aircraft and struck both the launcher and the operatives.
