<article data-history-node-id="436574" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/bahrain-says-fire-broke-out-facility-due-criminal-iranian-aggression"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/bahrain-says-fire-broke-out-facility-due-criminal-iranian-aggression" rel="bookmark"> <span>Bahrain says fire broke out at facility due to ‘criminal Iranian aggression’</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>Bahrain’s Interior Ministry says its civil defence crew “has succeeded in extinguishing a fire that broke out in a facility belonging to one of the companies due to the criminal Iranian aggression”.</p> <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Civil Defence extinguished a fire in a facility of a company as a result of the Iranian aggression. Relevant procedures were taken at the site. <a href="https://t.co/J6heOaQoT5">pic.twitter.com/J6heOaQoT5</a></p> — Ministry of Interior (@moi_bahrain) <a href="https://twitter.com/moi_bahrain/status/2036330106839507160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2026</a></blockquote> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436573" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-war-iran-how-israel-demolishing-myth-once-shielded-it"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/opinion-war-iran-how-israel-demolishing-myth-once-shielded-it" rel="bookmark"> <span>Opinion: War on Iran: How Israel is demolishing the myth that once shielded it</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>Ever since the state’s founding, Israeli leaders have trotted out phrases like “a villa in the jungle”, “tough neighbourhood” or, perhaps most tiresomely, “only democracy in the Middle East”.</p> <p>The function of this propaganda has been to persuade their audience - both the domestic Israeli electorate, and the leaders and citizens of Israel’s allied states in the Global North - that the country is an island of civilisation in a sea of barbarism.</p> <p>They suggest that despite its sweeping victories in most of the wars it has fought, its region-leading military backed by unlimited US aid, and its nuclear arsenal, Israel is in fact at continuous risk of being overrun by Arab, Iranian and Muslim hordes, and its people “driven into the sea” - just as, in fact, Jewish militias drove Palestinian refugees into the sea in 1948.</p> <p>This myth has had a powerful, malign impact.</p> <h3>Read more: <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/war-iran-how-israel-demolishing-myth-once-shielded-it">War on Iran: How Israel is demolishing the myth that once shielded it</a> <em>Opinion by <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/gabriel-polley" title="View user profile.">Gabriel Polley</a></em></h3> <figure role="group"> <div> <div alt="Iranian workers clear debris from a damaged building after a strike on the capital Tehran on 15 March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="393214ec-ff40-44ee-ae64-dee9f912b0a7" data-langcode="en"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/iran-strike-tehran-march-2026-atta-kenare-afp.jpg" width="1024" height="576" alt="Iranian workers clear debris from a damaged building after a strike on the capital Tehran on 15 March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>Iranian workers clear debris from a damaged building after a strike on the capital Tehran on 15 March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436063" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/war-iran-how-israel-demolishing-myth-once-shielded-it"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/war-iran-how-israel-demolishing-myth-once-shielded-it" rel="bookmark"> <span>War on Iran: How Israel is demolishing the myth that once shielded it</span> </a> </h2> <footer> <div> Submitted by <span><a title="View user profile." href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/gabriel-polley" lang about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/users/gabriel-polley" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype>Gabriel Polley</a></span> on <span><time datetime="2026-03-17T20:05:09+00:00" title="17 March 2026 20:05 GMT">Tue, 03/17/2026 - 20:05</time> </span> </div> </footer> <div> <div>Before this conflict, Tel Aviv had largely bent the region to its will, amid false claims of its own vulnerability in a 'tough neighbourhood'</div> <div> <picture> <source srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/iran-strike-tehran-march-2026-atta-kenare-afp.jpg.webp?itok=hrzlwLDt 1x" type="image/webp" width="1400" height="788"> <img srcset="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/article_page/public/images-story/iran-strike-tehran-march-2026-atta-kenare-afp.jpg.webp?itok=hrzlwLDt 1x" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/max_2600x2600/public/images-story/iran-strike-tehran-march-2026-atta-kenare-afp.jpg.jpg?itok=3-sqa2Ag" alt="Iranian workers clear debris from a damaged building after a strike on the capital Tehran on 15 March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </picture> </div> <div>Iranian workers clear debris from a damaged building after a strike on the capital Tehran on 15 March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP)</div> <div>Off</div> <div><p>Ever since the state’s founding, <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel">Israeli</a> leaders have trotted out phrases like “a villa in the jungle”, “tough neighbourhood” or, perhaps most tiresomely, “only democracy in the Middle East”. </p> <p>The function of this propaganda has been to persuade their audience - both the domestic Israeli electorate, and the leaders and citizens of Israel’s allied states in the Global North - that the country is an island of civilisation in a sea of barbarism. </p> <p>They suggest that despite its sweeping victories in most of the wars it has fought, its region-leading military backed by unlimited <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/us">US</a> aid, and its nuclear arsenal, Israel is in fact at continuous risk of being overrun by Arab, <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/iran">Iranian</a> and Muslim hordes, and its people “driven into the sea” - just as, in fact, Jewish militias drove <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/palestine">Palestinian</a> refugees into the sea in 1948.</p> <p>This myth has had a powerful, malign impact. </p> <p>It has convinced successive US administrations to hand Israel a blank cheque annually; to bankroll its military-industrial complex, despite Tel Aviv’s continual violations of the very <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/international-law">international law</a> Washington claims to uphold elsewhere. </p><div><div> <div> <!-- responsive --> <ins data-ad-client="ca-pub-6114695881218027" data-ad-slot="8690493793" data-ad-format="horizontal" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins> </div> </div> </div> <p>It has convinced Israelis to accept the total militarisation of their society; a permanent state of hostility with most of the Arab and Muslim world (the people, if not their unelected leaders); a permanent <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/occupation">occupation</a> of Palestinian land; and a series of wars disrupting daily life, all while keeping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - the face of a country permanently at war - in power throughout a <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/netanyahu-corruption-trials-charges-pardon-israeli-president">long-running corruption scandal</a>. </p> <p>It also convinced most European countries and Global North governments to extend immediate sympathies to Israel after 7 October 2023, and to <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-keir-starmer-criticised-right-cut-gaza-water-power">turn a blind eye</a> as Israel began its campaign of mass killing, starvation and displacement of Gaza’s people.</p> <h3>Geopolitical shift</h3> <p>That the “tough neighbourhood” mantra is myth, not reality, is borne out by the historical record. Over the last six decades, Israel has seen its enemies fall one by one. The <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/1967-war-how-euphoric-israeli-victory-turned-nightmare">Six-Day War</a> of 1967 showed that neighbouring Arab states collectively could not pose a serious threat to Israel. </p> <p>The 1978 Camp David Accords and subsequent peace treaty between Israel and <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/egypt">Egypt</a> removed from the equation the most populous, powerful and influential Arab country, which under former President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1950s and ‘60s had been at the forefront of confrontation with Israel and solidarity with the Palestinian people. </p> <p>In the 1980s, Israel ironically <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2026-01-16/ty-article-magazine/.premium/why-did-israel-sell-arms-to-the-ayatollahs-iran-its-bitterest-enemy/0000019b-bbf8-d66b-a5df-bff8ad290000">channelled arms</a> to the newborn Islamic Republic of Iran in a bid to weaken its more established enemy, <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/iraq">Iraq</a>. And in 1982, Israel invaded <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/lebanon">Lebanon</a>, triggering the horrific <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/sabra-shatila-massacre-survivors-anniversary">Sabra and Shatila massacre</a>, in a bid to end the threat of an armed Palestinian national movement.</p> <blockquote> <p>By 2023, in reality, Israel faced few regional threats, beyond those deriving from the global and regional antipathy created by its ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people</p> </blockquote> <p>The 1990s and 2000s saw geopolitical shifts in Israel’s favour. The demise of the Soviet Union, once a significant source of support for Palestinians and progressive Arab states, led to a period of unfettered dominance of Israel’s patron, the US. </p> <p>In the early 1990s, Israel succeeded in neutralising the Palestine Liberation Organisation, turning it into a subcontractor for occupation through the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/oslo-accords-thirty-years-peace-distortion">bad-faith Oslo Accords</a>. Lobbying for the US <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/us-iraq-war-disastrous-learned-nothing">invasion of Iraq</a> in 2003, Israel again participated in the destruction of an Arab state it viewed as an enemy. Continuous lobbying against Iran also succeeded in contributing to devastating sanctions placed on that country. </p> <p>More recently, through the so-called <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/normalisation-israel-what-it-means-diplomacy-saudi-arabia">Abraham Accords</a>, Israel forged alliances with distinctly undemocratic partners in the region: the absolutist Gulf monarchies of the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/uae">UAE</a> and <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/bahrain">Bahrain</a>, along with <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/morocco">Morocco</a>, rewarded for its recognition of Israel by US recognition of its own <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-morocco-normalisation-what-gets-return">occupation of Western Sahara</a>.</p> <p>By 2023, in reality, Israel faced few regional threats, beyond those deriving from the global and regional antipathy created by its ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people. Yet a group of foes remained, sometimes labelled collectively as the “axis of resistance”. </p> <p>This included armed groups in the occupied Palestinian territories, notably Hamas; Hezbollah in Lebanon; <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/syria">Syria</a>, weakened by civil war, but still the main conduit through which weapons reached these armed groups; the Houthis in <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/yemen">Yemen</a>; and Iran, which never attacked Israel directly before the countries exchanged missiles over 12 days in 2025.</p> <h3>Worst enemy</h3> <p>Following the start of the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-genocide-gaza">Gaza genocide</a> in October 2023, Israel’s political and military leaders greedily seized on what they saw as an opportunity to reshape the Middle East based on their own interests, regardless of international law and whatever suffering this campaign might cause. </p><div><div> <div> <!-- responsive --> <ins data-ad-client="ca-pub-6114695881218027" data-ad-slot="8690493793" data-ad-format="horizontal" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins> </div> </div> </div> <p>Devastating assaults on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon reduced the capacity of resistance groups to a point that Israeli leaders found tolerable, but which also allowed them to continue to use these groups as boogeymen to motivate the Israeli public for war. </p> <p>After the <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/trending/syria-fall-of-assad-like-middle-east-berlin-wall">fall of the Assad government</a> in Syria, Israel effectively demilitarised the country through a bombing campaign that destroyed Syria’s heavy weaponry and its naval and air forces. Israel also occupied more of the Golan Heights, to <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-government-criticism-israel-use-air-space-attack-iran">surprisingly little objection</a> from the country’s new authorities, eager to curry favour with the US. </p> <div> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/iran-war-will-show-israel-and-us-why-colonial-era-ended"><img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/read_more/public/images-story/israel-guard-tel-aviv-iran-strike-march-2026-ilia-yefimovich-afp.jpg.webp?itok=BoIs-ulX" width="400" height="250" alt loading="lazy" typeof="foaf:Image"> </a> <div>Israeli society is intoxicated by war and the dream of expansion. It cannot last</div> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/iran-war-will-show-israel-and-us-why-colonial-era-ended">Read More »</a> </div> <p>Now, after the unprovoked US-Israeli bombing of Iran in the midst of what were surely viewed by the Trump administration as sham negotiations, Israel clearly believes it can obliterate the last state that has really stood up to it. It seems likely that however Iran emerges from this war, it will either have little ability or no desire to engage in or sponsor significant resistance against Israel in the near future.</p> <p>Far from finding itself in a “tough neighbourhood”, Israel today sits virtually in an empire of its and Washington’s own making - a region that it has brutally bent to its own will. </p> <p>While once western powers might have given Israel military and diplomatic support because they saw Tel Aviv as a defender of their interests and assets in a Middle East that was awash with anti-imperialist, pro-Palestine and Arab nationalist sentiment, today the picture is very different. Not one Arab government has offered more than verbal condemnation of Israel’s Gaza genocide. </p> <p>The vicious, hubristic and absurd attack on Iran is an attempt to warn off anyone who might think about turning such verbal criticism into action. But without its old myths to protect it, and continuing to damage its own image with its treatment of the Palestinian people and its regional belligerence, Israel may soon reveal itself as its own worst enemy.</p> <p><i>The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.</i></p> </div> <div><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/war-on-iran" hreflang="en">War on Iran</a></div> <div><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/all" hreflang="en">Opinion</a></div> <div> <div>Post Date Override</div> <div>0</div> </div> <div> <div>Update Date</div> <div><time datetime="2020-05-04T21:29:16+01:00">Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29</time> </div> </div> <div> <div>Update Date Override</div> <div>0</div> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436571" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/south-korea-seeks-omani-support-oil-lng-iran-war-disrupts-shipping"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/south-korea-seeks-omani-support-oil-lng-iran-war-disrupts-shipping" rel="bookmark"> <span>South Korea seeks Omani support on oil, LNG as Iran war disrupts shipping</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Tuesday asked his Omani counterpart for support on crude oil and LNG supplies, Cho's office said, due to shipment disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.</p> <figure role="group"> <div> <div alt="Boats manoeuvre around a tanker during a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, on 17 February 2026 (Sepah News/AFP)" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="90ea3487-529c-4bb1-b848-63f7ee1a6763" data-langcode="en"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/images-story/Tanker-Hormuz-Iran-AFP.jpg" width="1200" height="674" alt="Boats manoeuvre around a tanker during a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, on 17 February 2026 (Sepah News/AFP)" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>Boats manoeuvre around a tanker during a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz by members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, on 17 February 2026 (Sepah News/AFP)</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436570" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/iran-police-arrest-three-spying-sensitive-sites-local-media-reports"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/iran-police-arrest-three-spying-sensitive-sites-local-media-reports" rel="bookmark"> <span>Iran police arrest three for 'spying on sensitive sites', local media reports </span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>Iranian authorities on Tuesday arrested three people for“spying on sensitive sites”  in the city of Shahroud in Semnan province, local media reported.</p> <p>Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that the individuals are accused of trying to “obtain information and documentation” on military and law enforcement sites and “send it to the enemy”. </p> <p>The report said that the provincial police commander confiscated “communication equipment and some prohibited items” from the suspects, who had contacts in the US and Israel. </p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436569" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/rocket-attack-kills-six-kurdish-peshmerga-fighters-iraqs-kurdistan"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/rocket-attack-kills-six-kurdish-peshmerga-fighters-iraqs-kurdistan" rel="bookmark"> <span>Rocket attack kills six Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq's Kurdistan, sources say</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>At least six Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and 22 wounded in a rocket attack on their base north of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, security and Peshmerga sources said on Tuesday.</p> <p>It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, the sources added.</p> <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Division 7 of the Peshmerga was hit by drones and missiles around 03:00 on March 24 in Spilk Heights, Khalifan, Erbil. 6 were martyred and 20–25 injured, with at least five projectiles used, some intercepted, a senior official told Rudaw. <a href="https://t.co/TzP0gEFJqC">https://t.co/TzP0gEFJqC</a> <a href="https://t.co/E1gkUH9dy2">pic.twitter.com/E1gkUH9dy2</a></p> — Ali Sarbaz (@alisarbazj) <a href="https://twitter.com/alisarbazj/status/2036346082595094852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2026</a></blockquote> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436568" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/death-toll-strikes-iraqs-pmf-reach-15"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/death-toll-strikes-iraqs-pmf-reach-15" rel="bookmark"> <span>Death toll from strikes on Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces reaches 15</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>The death toll from air strikes targeting a site belonging to Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in the western province of Anbar has reached at least 15 fighters, while 30 others were wounded, security and health sources told Reuters early on Tuesday.</p> <p>The PMF confirmed in a statement the death of its Anbar commander, Saad al-Baiji, and 14 of his companions. It accused the United States of carrying out the attack, saying a US airstrike targeted a command headquarters while personnel were on duty.</p> <p>Health sources said some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise.</p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436567" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/irans-decentralised-electricity-can-be-rebuilt-restored-after-strikes"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/irans-decentralised-electricity-can-be-rebuilt-restored-after-strikes" rel="bookmark"> <span>Iran says 'decentralised' electricity grid can be quickly restored after strikes</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>Iran’s Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi on Tuesday said that the country has decentralised its power and can quickly rebuild electricity production facilities in case of being targeted by US-Israeli strikes. </p> <p>“People should not be concerned at all; if power plants are hit, they will be rebuilt and modernised quickly,” said Aliabadi in comments carried by Iran’s IRIB broadcaster.</p> <p>US President Donald Trump on Monday announced a five-day postponement of all strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, citing “very good and productive” talks with Tehran over the past two days.</p> <p>However, on Tuesday morning, Fars News Agency reported that energy-related facilities in Iran’s Isfahan province and the southwestern city of Khorramshahr were struck by US-Israeli strikes. </p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436566" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/amazon-says-aws-bahrain-region-disrupted-following-drone-activity"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/amazon-says-aws-bahrain-region-disrupted-following-drone-activity" rel="bookmark"> <span>Amazon says AWS' Bahrain region 'disrupted' following drone activity</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>Amazon said on Monday its Amazon Web Services region in Bahrain has been "disrupted" amid the current conflict in the Middle East, marking the second time in a month that its operations have been affected by the war.</p> <p>The disruption is due to drone activity in the area, an Amazon spokesperson said, following a Reuters inquiry. As of Monday night, AWS had not updated its status page to reflect the impact.</p> <p>Amazon did not immediately respond to a query on whether its Bahrain facility was directly hit by a drone attack or if the disruption was due to nearby strikes.</p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436565" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/six-people-killed-us-israeli-strike-east-azerbaijan-report-says"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/six-people-killed-us-israeli-strike-east-azerbaijan-report-says" rel="bookmark"> <span>Six people killed in US-Israeli strike on East Azerbaijan, report says</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>A US-Israeli strike killed at least six people and injured nine in one of the residential areas of East Azerbaijan Province, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported, citing provincial officials.</p> <p>The officials said the strike hit the Shahid Mofatteh region of the province, located northwest of Iran near the border with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.</p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436564" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/flight-data-suggests-possible-us-troop-movement-toward-middle-east"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/flight-data-suggests-possible-us-troop-movement-toward-middle-east" rel="bookmark"> <span>Flight data suggests possible US troop movement toward Middle East</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>Open-source flight-tracking data indicated possible movement of US military personnel from the East Coast toward the Middle East, with multiple flights departing from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.</p> <p>The data reported by the Anadolu news agency suggests elements of the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force could be involved, though it remains unclear who is on board.</p> <p>Defence officials told The New York Times that such forces had been considered in planning but that no deployment had been ordered.</p> <p>Flight data shows dozens of US military transport aircraft heading to bases in Israel and Jordan since the conflict began, as Washington maintains heightened readiness. </p> <figure role="group"> <div> <div alt="A member of the ground crew prepares a USAF B-1 bomber before dawn at RAF Fairford airbase, used by United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, amid the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Toby Shepheard" data-embed-button="file_browser" data-entity-embed-display="image:image" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="97b28109-e31c-472f-b322-0154c9b9786c" data-langcode="en"> <img src="https://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/IRAN-CRISIS-BRITAIN_0.JPG" width="1341" height="754" alt="A member of the ground crew prepares a USAF B-1 bomber before dawn at RAF Fairford airbase, used by United States Air Force (USAF) personnel, amid the U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran, in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Toby Shepheard" typeof="foaf:Image" fetchpriority="high"> </div> <figcaption>Ground crew member prepares a USAF B-1 bomber used by US Air Force in Britain on 23 March 2026. REUTERS/Toby Shepheard</figcaption> </div> </figure> <p><span><img height="15" role="presentation" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" loading="lazy"></span></p> </div> </div> </article>

<article data-history-node-id="436563" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/former-israeli-speaker-claims-extremists-tried-destroy-al-aqsa-multiple"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/former-israeli-speaker-claims-extremists-tried-destroy-al-aqsa-multiple" rel="bookmark"> <span>Former Israeli speaker claims extremists tried to destroy Al-Aqsa multiple times</span> </a> </h2> <div> <div><p>Speaking to Tucker Carlson, Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Knesset and interim president of Israel, stated that there have been at least five attempts by Israeli extremists to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock since 1967.</p> <blockquote data-media-max-width="560"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Speaking to Tucker Carlson, Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Knesset and interim president of Israel, stated that there have been at least five attempts by Israeli extremists to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock since 1967 <a href="https://t.co/kccW7oKj5U">pic.twitter.com/kccW7oKj5U</a></p> — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) <a href="https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/2036320195762070014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2026</a></blockquote> </div> </div> </article>