The US-Israel military campaign against Iran, which began on Feb. 28, reached the one-month mark this weekend with no ceasefire in sight and casualties mounting across the region. More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict began, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least 1,189 people killed there since March 2, including 124 children.
The World Health Organization reported nine paramedics killed and seven wounded in five separate attacks in southern Lebanon on Saturday alone. At least 620,000 women and girls have been forced to flee their homes in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, the UN Women’s agency said Friday, citing Reuters reporting.
On Saturday, at least 10 US service members were wounded in an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, a US official told CNN. No service members were killed. More than 300 American soldiers have been wounded since the conflict began, US Central Command confirmed. Eleven have been killed, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The Washington Post, citing US officials, reported Saturday that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, though whether President Donald Trump would approve deploying ground troops remains uncertain. Thousands of US sailors and Marines also arrived in the Middle East on Saturday, US Central Command announced, with speculation mounting they may be assigned to operations targeting Iran’s Kharg Island.
Iran has agreed to allow 20 ships under Pakistani flag to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced, calling it “a harbinger of peace.” Pakistan has been officially confirmed as a mediator in negotiations between the US and Iran by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who said he expects talks with Iran “this week” and is waiting for Tehran’s response to a 15-point peace plan.
Trump, speaking at the FII Summit in Miami on Saturday, said the conflict “is not finished yet.” He also expressed deep dissatisfaction with NATO, accusing the alliance of failing to support the US in the war despite years of American military spending on allies, Al Jazeera reported. Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned they would enter the conflict if attacks on Iran continue. The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier is expected to deploy to US Central Command’s area of responsibility in the region, CNN reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Air raid sirens were activated in Bahrain and Kuwait early Sunday, with Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior urging citizens to take shelter and Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense reporting it was responding to “hostile missile and drone attacks.”
