US-Israel Iran war enters third day: All you need to know

Here’s what happened so far:

1. 01

   Operation Epic Fury focused on destroying Iranian missiles, says Pete Hegseth

   Reiterating US President Donald Trump's stance, American Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in a press conference at the Pentagon, urged people of Iran to take advantage of what he described as an “incredible opportunity”. Describing it as an "endless war", Hegseth acknowledged that the operation would involve casualties while addressing reports that four US service members were killed. In a stark warning, Hegseth said Washington will pursue and kill those responsible for the deaths of US citizens. Tracing back the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under former US President Barack Obama, Hegseth called it as a failed deal and said the current campaign, “Operation Epic Fury”, is focused on destroying Iranian missiles, missile production facilities, naval assets and other security infrastructure.

2. 02

   Three American F-153 fighter jets shot mistakenly by Kuwait

   As many as three US F-15 fighter jets were mistakenly shot by Kuwait's air defence in an apparent friendly-fire incident, US Central Command said. All six crew members ejected from the aircraft safely, were recovered and are in stable condition, CENTCOM said. The incident was the first downing of US aircraft since the war began.
   The CENTCOM added that a probe has begun into the incident and video images showed a U.S. warplane falling out of the sky over ⁠Kuwait early on Monday, while a person could be seen parachuting, Reuters reported.

3. 03

   Conflict spreads to Lebanon

   The tensions spread to Lebanon when Hezbollah, one of Tehran's key allies in the Middle East launched air strikes against Israel. Lebanese state news agency NNA said an initial tally showed 31 people had ⁠been killed and 149 injured. However, in retaliation, Israel said it targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut and struck senior militants. Israel declared Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem a "target for elimination".

4. 04

   Gulf nations hit ‌

   The war had adverse impacts in the Gulf as its nations came under renewed attack from Iranian missiles and drones. Loud explosions continued to rock as interception of missiles went on in Dubai, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar. Qatar’s Defence Ministry was quoted as saying by Reuters that two drones struck energy facilities in the industrial city of Ras Laffan and Mesaieed with no reported casualties.

5. 05

   Saudi’s Aramco shuts Ras Tanura refinery

   Qatar has halted the production of liquefied natural gas and Saudi Arabia shut its biggest domestic oil refinery. The development followed a drone strike and is a precautionary measure adopted across oil and gas facilities in the Middle East. Apart from that, oil production has been halted in Iraqi Kurdistan and several major Israeli gas fields, putting exports to Egypt to a standstill. Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery has been shut while companies including DNO, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Dana Gas and HKN Energy have halted their production in Iraqi Kurdistan.

6. 06

   Drone hits Britian's Akrotiri air base in Cyprus

   A drone hit Britian's Akrotiri air base in Cyprus overnight and there were no casualties.UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that British bases will be used for “defensive purposes” and that the country won’t join “US-Israeli offensive”. Starmer added that the UK government is taking all possible measures to bring back British citizens from the disturbed areas.

7. 07

   Oil price surges

   Oil and gas prices spiked, the dollar gained and stock indexes fell around the world while safe-haven gold rallied. The conflict has posed a threat to upend a global economic recovery and may reignite inflation. The disruption of shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz has led to skyrocketing of oil and gas prices with US crude rising 6.86% to $71.62 a barrel and Brent rose to $78.74 ⁠per barrel, ​up 8.07%.

8. 08

   Global air travel disruptions

   Global air travel suffered disruptions as the war in Iran led to the closure of key Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, stranding tens of thousands of passengers in different parts of the world. Across the Middle East, global airlines cancelled flights.