LIVE | Trump rules out a ceasefire

(AFP) The United Kingdom has authorized the United States to use British bases to attack Iranian facilities in the Strait of Hormuz as part of its “defensive operations” against Iran, Downing Street said on Friday.

On Friday, the Trump Administration filed a lawsuit against Harvard University in a Massachusetts court, accusing the institution of allowing “antisemitism” and creating a “hostile environment” for Jewish and Israeli students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus between 2023 and 2025.
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​“Harvard allowed anti-Israel protesters to occupy its libraries. Harvard allowed an anti-Israel encampment to remain in place for twenty days, in violation of university regulations,” the lawsuit states.
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​“Harvard fostered and continues to foster a campus climate where hostile antisemitism and anti-Israel conduct thrive,” the Trump administration added.

Israel's foreign ministry on Friday accused Iran of an "attack on the holy sites" of Jerusalem after an impact near the walls of the Old City following a missile warning.

"The Iranian attack on the holy sites sacred to all three religions reveals the madness of the Iranian regime, which claims to be religious," the Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote on X, calling it an "Iranian 'gift'" for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.

It was unclear whether the impact was from a missile or was caused by an interception.

JNS

US Justice Department seizes four websites tied to Iranian hacking, targeting Israelis

JNS (Jewish News Syndicate)

The United States and Israel on Friday attacked 16 Iranian cargo ships in Gulf ports, local media reported, noting that the vessels were burned to a crisp.

"Following the American-Zionist air strike, at least 16 cargo ships were completely burned in the fire," said a local official from the southern province of Hormozgán, as cited by the Tasnim News Agency.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, in a telephone call that any use of British bases by the United States would be considered as a "participation in aggression" against the Islamic republic, AFP reported.

It was unclear when the conversation with Cooper took place.

According to a statement released Friday by the Foreign Ministry, Araghchi said, "These actions will undoubtedly be considered as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed Friday that U.S. and Israeli attacks killed its spokesman, Ali Mohammad Naini.

According to the statement posted on its Sepah News website, the Iranian regime spokesman "was martyred in the cowardly and criminal terrorist attack perpetrated by the U.S.-Zionist side at dawn."

The Revolutionary Guards, Iran's ideological army, claimed Friday that the country has continued to produce missiles despite the war against Israel and the United States.


"Our missile industry deserves a perfect rating, and there is no cause for concern in this regard, because even in war conditions we continue to produce," Guardians spokesman Ali Mohamad Naini assured, as quoted by the Fars news agency.


On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran no longer has "the capacity to enrich uranium" or "produce ballistic missiles."

Sri Lanka denied permission for two U.S. aircraft armed with missiles to use an airport on its territory during the period March 4-8, the president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, announced to Parliament.

The Lebanese news agency NNA reported Israeli bombardments against several towns in the south of the country.

"Israeli enemy warplanes attacked at dawn" towns in the districts of Tyre and Bint Jbeil, it said, adding that Israeli forces also attacked five other towns in the south of the country.



"Israeli enemy warplanes attacked at dawn" towns in the districts of Tyre and Bint Jbeil, it said, adding that Israeli forces also attacked five other towns in the south of the country.

A fire broke out Friday at the Mina Al Ahmadi refinery, following a drone attack.

Several units at this refinery, belonging to Kuwait's national oil company, were paralyzed while firefighters try to contain the blaze.

Air defenses in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait responded Friday to missile attacks, officials in those Gulf states reported.

The Saudi Defense Ministry reported intercepting and destroying 10 unmanned aircraft in the east of the country and others in the north, while Bahrain's interior ministry said shrapnel from an "Iranian aggression" caused a fire in a warehouse, which was brought under control and caused no injuries.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates arrested at least five members of a "red terrorist" group linked to Iran and the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, state media reported.

The alleged group had "attempted to infiltrate the national economy" as part of "a pre-established strategic plan in coordination with external parties linked to Hezbollah and Iran," the official WAM news agency claimed, citing the Emirati State Security agency.

"The Israeli army launched a new wave of attacks targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime in Tehran," military forces indicated Friday morning via the Telegram messaging platform.

French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of a "UN framework" for a future mission to ensure safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities cease.

France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan
declared themselves "ready to contribute," in due course, to ensure the safety of that vital sea lane for the hydrocarbon trade.

European leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels on Thursday called for a "moratorium" on attacks on energy and water infrastructure in the Middle East war.

The member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) began placing strategic oil reserves on the market, as announced in mid-March. This is a total of 426 million barrels, mostly of crude oil.

Several explosions rocked Jerusalem Thursday night after Israel reported a fresh salvo of Iranian missiles and warning sirens sounded in the city, AFP journalists noted.