Trending 
The conflict initiated by the United States and Israel against Iran escalated into a regional conflagration on Monday, as combat spread far beyond the borders of the Islamic Republic.
On the third day of the joint assault, explosions continued to rock Tehran, where U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine announced that American forces had successfully established air superiority.
However, the costs of the campaign mounted as three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle jets were mistakenly shot down by friendly fire from Kuwaiti air defences during a chaotic Iranian drone and missile barrage.
The war’s expansion has paralysed the global energy sector and disrupted international travel.
Following attacks on tankers in the critical Strait of Hormuz and a fire at a Saudi oil refinery, energy prices soared, while Qatar took the drastic step of halting liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.
The violence reached as far as Cyprus, where an Iranian drone struck a British airbase at Akrotiri.
In response, Greece deployed frigates and fighter jets to protect the island, an EU member, as the Cypriot government began emergency evacuations of the Paphos airport area.
In Lebanon, the situation deteriorated rapidly as Hezbollah entered the fray, triggering devastating Israeli retaliatory strikes on Beirut and southern regions.
Amidst the rising violence, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took the unprecedented step of declaring all Hezbollah military activities illegal.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Sidon, thousands of civilians were seen fleeing with their belongings strapped to car roofs.
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir vowed that the campaign would not end until both Iran and Hezbollah had suffered a “devastating blow,” emphasising a policy of striking all regional factions that rise against them.
Inside Tehran, the capital has transformed into a “ghost town” as residents flee the intensifying bombardment.
The death of the Supreme Leader’s wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh—who succumbed to wounds sustained in the strike that killed her husband, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—has added to the sombre atmosphere.
While some residents expressed terror at the shaking of their homes, others voiced a desperate hope that the current government’s days might be numbered.
As the Trump and Netanyahu administrations urge the Iranian public to overthrow the regime, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that while ground troops are not yet deployed, the coalition is prepared to go as far as necessary to achieve its objectives.
