US President Donald Trump claimed on Saturday the US has knocked out 42 Iranian Navy ships in three days.Trump, while delivering remarks at the “Shield of Americas Summit”, said the US has destroyed their modes of communication there.Trump said, “We’re doing very well in Iran. We’ve knocked out 42 Navy ships, some of them very large, in three days. That was the end of the Navy. We knocked out their Air Force. We knocked out their communications, and all telecommunications is gone. I don’t know how they communicate, but I guess they will figure something out. It’s not working out too well. And they’re bad people…This had to be done. They were very close to a nuclear weapon. They would have had one if we didn’t do our B2 hit, Midnight Hammer. They would have had it eight months ago…So we did the world a favour.”Earlier, Iran’s President apologised for attacks on regional countries even as its missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states. He also rejected US President Donald Trump’s repeated demands for surrender.President Masoud Pezeshkian, one member of a tripartite leadership council overseeing Iran since a February 28 airstrike started the war and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered the defiant message on Saturday, exactly one week into a conflict that has spread across the region, rattled global markets and air travel and left Iran’s own leadership greatly weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.Shortly after Pezeshkian’s message, Trump warned in a social media post on Saturday that more Iranian officials would become targets in the war, writing: “Today Iran will be hit very hard!” In his comments on his Truth Social website, Trump noted the apology by Pezeshkian.“Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behaviour, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time,” Trump wrote, without elaborating.While the Iranian President attempted to assuage growing Gulf Arab anger over the attacks, just hours earlier, a wave of missiles and drones had disrupted flights at Dubai International Airport, targeted a major Saudi oil facility and sent people fleeing for cover multiple times in Bahrain.Pezeshkian also kept up his criticism of Trump’s call for Iran to unconditionally surrender to America.“That’s a dream that they should take to their grave,” he said. — with agenciesUK puts one of its aircraft carriers on advanced preparednessMarch 7, 2026 11:02 pmThe UK’s Ministry of Defence said one of the country’s two flagship aircraft carriers has been placed on advanced preparedness, stoking speculation that it may be deployed to the Middle East. Following reports that an aircraft carrier was being prepared in response to the crisis in the Middle East, the ministry said it is “reducing the time it would take” for HMS Prince of Wales to set sail for any deployment. “HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness and we are increasing the preparedness of the carrier,” it said in a statement.Bahrain reports damage to house, surrounding buildingsMarch 7, 2026 11:02 pmThe island Kingdom’s Interior Ministry said on Saturday evening that Iranian missiles caused a fire and other damage to a house and several surrounding buildings in the country’s capital of Manama. It was not clear if an Iranian missile hit the country or the damage was a result of interception efforts. This is the first material damage the country reports Saturday, but sirens have sounded at least seven times.Iran’s President apologises for strikes on neighbours, rejects Trump’s demandsMarch 7, 2026 9:26 pmIran’s President apologised on Saturday for attacks on regional countries even as its missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states. He also rejected US President Donald Trump’s repeated demands for surrender.Qatar warns that war can bring down economiesMarch 7, 2026 8:05 pmQatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, warned in an interview with the Financial Times that the war could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to USD 150 a barrel. The price for a barrel of benchmark US crude rose above USD 90 on Friday for the first time in more than two years.US says more intense bombing lies aheadMarch 7, 2026 8:04 pmThere was no foreseeable end to the fighting. Trump’s administration approved a new USD 151 million arms sale to Israel after Trump said he would not negotiate with Iran without its “unconditional surrender”, and US officials warned of a forthcoming bombing campaign they said would be the most intense yet in the week-long conflict.Fighting with Israeli troops reported in eastern LebanonMarch 7, 2026 6:41 pmThe Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with an Israeli force that landed late Friday in the mountains of eastern Lebanon. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes on the eastern town of Nabi Chit and nearby areas left 41 people dead and 40 wounded. The Lebanese army said the dead included three of its troops. The area witnessed intense clashes and airstrikes overnight into Saturday after an Israeli force landed there and clashed with local gunmen.Miscommunication among Iran’s ranksMarch 7, 2026 6:40 pmPezeshkian’s statement on Saturday said Iran’s three-man leadership council had been in touch with the armed forces over the attacks. “I should apologise to the neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” the President said. “From now on, they should not attack neighbouring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”Israel hammers Beirut, Tehran; operations suspended at Dubai airportMarch 7, 2026 6:36 pmGulf countries say they have intercepted more ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes. Saudi Arabia said early Saturday it stopped four drones attacking the country’s massive Shaybah oil field, the second attack within hours. In Dubai, long-haul carrier Emirates said that “’all flights to and from Dubai have been suspended until further notice” after an Iranian attack earlier in the morning. Passengers at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, heard a boom while sheltering in train tunnels at the massive facility.Trump rebukes a reporter for asking about possible Russian involvement in the warMarch 7, 2026 1:50 pmTrump berated a reporter for raising the matter when the president opened the floor to questions from the media at the end of a White House meeting about how paying student-athletes has recalibrated college sports. “I have a lot of respect for you, you’ve always been very nice to me,” Trump said to Peter Doocy, the Fox News reporter. “What a stupid question to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.”Loud booms sound in JerusalemMarch 7, 2026 1:50 pmPeople headed to bomb shelters across Israel early Saturday after hearing loud booms as Iranian missiles attacked more targets. There were no immediate reports of casualties by Israel’s emergency services.Fighting with Israeli troops reported in eastern LebanonMarch 7, 2026 9:18 amLebanon’s state-run news agency reported that local fighters clashed early Saturday with an Israeli force that landed near the town of Nabi Chit, a Hezbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon. There was no word on casualties. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment. Israel has carried out waves of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a large presence but which is also home to hundreds of thousands of civilians. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 217 people had been killed by Israeli strikes since Monday and 798 wounded. Roads in the Lebanese capital were choked with evacuating traffic as smoke rose over the city’s southern districts. Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. “What can we do? We prayed here under the tree. During the night, we slept in the car because there is no place to stay,” Jihan Shehadeh, one of the tens of thousands of displaced, said.US official warns that biggest bombing is comingMarch 7, 2026 9:17 amUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a television interview that the “biggest bombing campaign” of the war was still to come.US has given ‘permission’ to India to accept Russian oil: Treasury Secretary BessentMarch 7, 2026 8:14 amThe US said it has given “permission” to India to buy Russian oil that is on ships already floating on waterways with a view to easing supplies around the world amid the West Asia conflict. “The world is very well supplied in oil. Yesterday, the Treasury (Department) agreed to let our allies in India start buying Russian oil that was already on the water,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview to Fox Business on Friday. “The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil. But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept the Russian oil. We may unsanction other Russian oil,” he said.