We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong.”
In the meantime, discussions are ongoing.
Yet if during this period of time, no deal is made, we have our eyes on key targets.”
European defense tech startups are ramping up commercial discussions with Middle East governments since the Iran war, company execs told CNBC. Another CEO said interest from Gulf states was “skyrocketing” as they race to bolster measures to counter drone and missile attacks.
Iran has targeted its neighbors since a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation began at the end of February, with more than 3,000 drones and missiles having been fired on the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, according to data compiled by think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
European startups that develop defense technology, in particular drone and missile interceptors, told CNBC they were increasingly talking with and receiving approaches from Gulf states to supply their militaries. Others are ramping up hiring in the region as they look to meet the demand for their systems.
Earlier this month, the UK government convened a meeting of defense companies to meet ambassadors and defense attaches from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq and Jordan.
The discussion focused on “potential new defensive equipment and technology that British-based companies could supply at rapid pace to allies to counter Iranian drone and missile attacks,” the government said in a statement.
The meeting included Frankenburg Technologies, an Estonia-headquartered startup developing missiles to intercept drones, UK-based drone and missile interceptor company Cambridge Aerospace and Ukrainian-UK startup Uforce, which is developing autonomous systems.
Frankenburg has seen commercial conversations with Gulf states speed up since the onset of the Iran war, CEO Kusti Salm told CNBC.
The startup is currently in discussions with a number of governments in the Middle East about procuring its tech, Salm said, though declined to share which.
The potential order volume from Gulf states is in the thousands of missiles, Salm told CNBC, adding that Frankenburg is working with those customers to meet demand in an “expediated delivery schedule.”
Frankenburg Mark I interceptor missile live-fire test. Credit: Frankenburg.
Cambridge Aerospace, which declined to comment on commercial discussions in the Middle East or fundraising plans when approached by CNBC, announced two missile and drone interceptor products in September.
One is positioned by the company as a low-cost and scalable interceptor for cruise missiles and large drones, while another is described as an “interceptor for higher speed and value targets.”
Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that the company was in talks to raise new funding at more than a $1 billion valuation.
UK-based startup Valarian, which builds digital infrastructure for sensitive use cases including those in defense, didn’t have defense contracts with Gulf states before the Iran war but has seen commercial discussions with them increase since the conflict began, CEO Max Buchan told CNBC.
Uforce has seen interest from Gulf states in its defense tech “skyrocket” since the beginning of the Iran war, CEO Oleg Rogynskyy told CNBC. Uforce is developing several defense technologies, including counter-uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), maritime and strike drones and battlefield software.
“We’re having a ton of inbound interest,” he said. “Gulf states are coming to us to figure out how to do large-scale, unmanned operations.” That included intercept, de-mining, strike, future convoy and escort and patrol operations at sea, Rogynskyy added.
Uforce has been providing defence tech for Ukrainian operations in the Black Sea, he told CNBC, adding that the lessons from that war “are directly applicable to what is happening in Iran, both from an operational, tactical and strategic perspective.”
“We are looking at the very similar mine and missile-based sea denial from the Iran side, to how Russia prevented Ukrainian grain from being exported, initially.”
Uforce, which raised $50 million at a valuation above $1 billion earlier this month, is now looking to hire a team permanently based in the Middle East, because of the demand caused by the Iran war. The company currently has a Ukrainian delegation in the region, but aims to recruit five to 10 employees in the next few weeks, Rogynskyy told CNBC.
Frankenburg is also looking to build out a Middle East-based team. The startup didn’t have any employees in the region before the war, but is now looking to hire there “significantly,” CEO Salm told CNBC. While the Middle East has been a focus of Frankenburg since the company’s inception in 2024, hiring plans have been accelerated because of the Iran war, he said.
Defense tech startups in Europe have raised record sums in recent years as global geopolitical tensions have risen. The sector picked up $1.8 billion in 2025, according to deal-counting platform Dealroom, nearly three times the previous highest yearly figure, and has already raised $854 million so far in 2026.
The U.K. and Germany have emerged as key hubs of this wave of new defense companies, with France and Ukraine also developing increasingly well-funded startups.
The governments of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait have been approached for comment. The Bahraini government declined to comment.
– CNBC’s Emma Graham also contributed to the report.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Monday, March 23, 2026.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The head of the International Energy Agency said on Monday that at least 40 energy assets across nine countries in the Middle East have been “severely or very severely” damaged since the Iran war began, raising fears of prolonged supply disruptions.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Australia’s capital, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said damage to oil and gas fields, refineries and pipelines across the Middle East would take some time to repair.
His comments come as market participants closely monitor threats from the U.S. and Iran over energy facilities as the sprawling regional conflict enters its fourth week.
The Iran war has severely disrupted energy trade flows through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, creating what the IEA says is the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. The global supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has also been reduced by roughly 20% since the conflict began on Feb. 28.
Birol said the fallout from the Iran war is equivalent to the two major oil crises of the 1970s and the 2022 gas crisis “put together.”
He added: “And, if I may, not only oil and gas. Some of the vital arteries of the global economy, such as petrochemicals, such as fertilizers, such as sulfur, such as helium. Their trade is all interrupted, which would have serious consequences for the global economy.”
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
The narrow waterway is a key maritime corridor that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Roughly 20% of global oil and gas typically passes through it.
Iran’s Parliament spokesperson Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf responded, saying that critical infrastructure and energy facilities in the Gulf region could be “irreversibly destroyed” should Iranian power plants be attacked.
Given that shipping has virtually ground to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began, the IEA’s Birol said the reopening of the waterway was the “single most important” solution to the global energy crisis.
He singled out Asia as being at the forefront of the Iran war energy shock and said the IEA was prepared to follow-up its historic release of 400 million barrels of oil to the market on March 11.
“If it is necessary, of course, we will do it,” Birol said.
— CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed to this report.
Women members of Iran’s Red Crescent society stand near smoke plumes from an ongoing fire following an overnight airstrike on the Shahran oil refinery in northwestern Tehran on March 8, 2026.
– | Afp | Getty Images
Analysts warned on Monday that there was no precedent for the surging price of oil, as the Middle East crisis deepens fears of prolonged production shut-ins and disruption to shipments through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices were on track for their biggest-ever jump in a single day on Monday, before significantly paring gains, following a fresh wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes across Iran over the weekend. Oil depots were among the targets.
International benchmark Brent crude futures with May delivery traded 12.8% higher at $104.53 per barrel on Monday morning, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with April delivery were last seen nearly 12% higher at $101.76.
Brent futures had climbed as high as $119.5 per barrel earlier in the trading day, while WTI hit a session high of $119.48.
Neil Atkinson, former head of oil at the International Energy Agency, said the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is something energy markets had never seen before. Unless something changes very soon “we are in a potentially game-changing and unprecedented energy crisis,” he told CNBC on Monday.
Countries across the oil-rich Middle East region have started to scale back crude output. Iraq and Kuwait have already begun to shut-in production, with analysts warning that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia may also be vulnerable if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a sustained period.
“Though there are oil stocks around the world, the point is that if this closure of the Strait persists, those oil stocks if they are deployed will be depleted and we are going to be in a situation where, with the oil production actually shut in, in Iraq and possibly in Kuwait and maybe even in time in Saudi Arabia, that we are going to be in a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before,” Atkinson told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
Brent crude futures over one day.
Asked what this could mean for oil prices, Atkinson replied: “Sorry, we are getting into the realms of educated guesswork here. I mean, there is no precedent for this. The sky is the limit.”
Typically, about 20% of the world’s oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping traffic has all but halted through this key maritime corridor since the war started.
Oil prices came off their session highs on Monday shortly after the Financial Times reported that finance ministers from G7 economies would hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss a possible joint release of petroleum from reserves coordinated by the IEA.
The U.K.’s Treasury and French government confirmed to CNBC that the call would take place on Monday.
Fire breaks out at the Shahran oil depot after U.S. and Israeli attacks, leaving numerous fuel tankers and vehicles in the area unusable in Tehran, Iran, on March 8, 2026.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Tyler Goodspeed, chief economist at ExxonMobil, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday that it had been “consensus last week, and to a certain extent still today,” that everyone but Russia had “an interest in normal traffic resuming through the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added the consensus had been that there was “abundant oil on the water and some strategic reserves to cover any short-term gap.” Goodspeed said he was skeptical of this view as the conflict enters its second week.
“When I think of the probability distribution of possible outcomes here, it seems to me there are many more scenarios, and more probable scenarios, in which the strait remains effectively closed harder for longer than there are scenarios in which normal traffic resumes,” Goodspeed said.
Analysts at Societe Generale, meanwhile, warned that prolonged production shut-ins from Middle East countries “materially increase” the risk of restart complications.
“The UAE is likely the next producer at risk of shutting in output, potentially within the next five to seven days,” the analysts said in a research note published Monday.
“Qatar is also vulnerable, though its oil volumes are modest relative to its LNG exposure. Saudi Arabia faces less immediate risk but shut ins would become plausible if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a further two to three weeks,” they added.
— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.
Iran has announced it has chosen a new supreme leader, as Tehran continues to choke on thick, acrid smoke following US-Israeli airstrikes on fuel dumps last night.
The clerical body tasked with choosing a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – killed just over a week ago in the strikes that triggered the war in the Middle East – has reached a decision, but not yet named the new leader.
‘The vote to appoint the leader has taken place and the leader has been chosen,’ said Ahmad Alamolhoda, a member of the Assembly of Experts, as quoted by Iran’s Mehr news agency.
Alamolhoda said the secretariat of the body would announce the name later. Other assembly members confirmed a decision was made, with one suggesting the son of the late leader would take the post.
Israel, meanwhile, issued a stark warning that its forces would not hesitate to target the new chief and members of the Assembly of Experts that met to confirm him.
Its reach was underlined by two new operations overnight – strikes against fuel dumps in and around Tehran, and an attack on a hotel in the heart of Lebanon’s capital Beirut that targeted suspected Iranian commanders.
As the war extended into its ninth day, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had enough supplies to continue their aerial drone and missile war over the Middle East for up to six months.
US President Donald Trump again refused to rule out sending American ground troops into Iran, but continued to insist that the war was all but won despite the ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes.
A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike late Saturday in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026
Rubble of destroyed buildings is seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese village of Sir el Gharbiyeh on March 8, 2026
Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran had so far used only first- and second-generation missiles, but would use ‘advanced and less-used long-range missiles’ in the coming days.
Saudi Arabia intercepted a wave of drones headed for targets including the diplomatic quarter in its capital Riyadh, Kuwait said an attack hit fuel tanks at its international airport and Bahrain reported a water desalination plant had been damaged.
Warplanes hit five oil facilities in overnight strikes in and around the Iranian capital, killing four people, the CEO of the national oil products distribution firm told state television.
Tehran’s governor told the IRNA news agency that fuel distribution had been ‘temporarily interrupted’ in the capital while repairs were carried out.
A dark haze hung over the city as morning broke and a smell of burning lingered in the air.
The Israeli army confirmed that its air force had struck ‘fuel storage facilities in Tehran’ to prevent their use by the Iranian military.
Tehran has vowed to go after US assets in the region, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait all reported new attacks on Sunday.
Inside Iran, damage to infrastructure and residential areas is mounting as its people report growing anxiety and a heavy security presence.
‘I don’t think anyone who hasn’t experienced war would understand it,’ a 26-year-old teacher told AFP on condition of anonymity, describing the fear of living under bombardment.
Iran’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,200 civilians had been killed and around 10,000 wounded – figures AFP could not independently verify.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 294 people have been killed in Israeli air strikes over the past week, prompting Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to warn of a looming ‘humanitarian disaster’.
Trump, meanwhile, attended the return of the bodies of six American service members killed in a drone strike on a US base in Kuwait last Sunday.
Explosions erupt following strikes at Shahran Oil Refinery in Tehran on March 7, 2026
Analysts warn there is still no clear path to ending a conflict that US and Israeli officials say could last a month or longer.
Trump has suggested Iran’s economy could be rebuilt if a leader ‘acceptable’ to Washington replaces the late supreme leader, which Tehran has rejected.
China and Russia have largely stayed on the sidelines despite close ties with Tehran.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday that the war in the Middle East should ‘never have happened’, telling a press conference in Beijing that ‘a strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle.’
An Iranian ballistic missile has exploded near the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, which also hosts US troops, a social media video appears to show.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have began its twenty-third round of strikes, a statement from the country’s news agency Tasmin has said.
It comes after the IDF said they were working to intercept incoming attacks after reporting missiles launched from Iran towards Israel had been detected.
Meanwhile, alerts were issued to mobile phones in areas which could be impacted by the country’s Home Front Command, the IDF said.
Meanwhile Donald Trump said he would not make a deal with the Iranian regime unless they offer ‘unconditional surrender’.
‘There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!’ he wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
Follow the latest updates on the US-Iran war below
‘It is inevitable that strong feelings will result in protest or other forms of public assembly.
The role of the police is not to try limit that freedom of expression, but to ensure that it doesn’t result in disorder and that it doesn’t cause others to be threatened or intimidated
‘We will ensure that ordinary life in London can still go on without protests being the cause of serious disruption.’
Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,.
The public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice. Leaving a protected space is permitted only after receiving explicit instructions.’
What the President means is that when he, as Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America, and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realised, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not.’
Donald Trump said a full-scale invasion of Iran would be ‘a waste of time’ on Thursday and called for the country to get a new leader who would ‘clean out everything.’
Trump spoke to NBC News as the Islamic Republic sought a new supreme leader after the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and their foreign minister said a ground invasion would be a ‘disaster’ for the US.
‘We want to go in and clean out everything. We don’t want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period,’ Trump told NBC.
‘We want them to have a good leader. We have some people who I think would do a good job,’ he said, though he did not offer any names.
According to Al Jazeera, Iran’s interim council has discussed the gathering of the Assembly of Experts, which is tasked with selecting the new supreme leader.
Trump said somewhat sarcastically that ‘at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like’ to replace Khamenei.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the deceased Ayatollah, has emerged as the favorite to succeed his father, though Israel has pledged to kill him, too.
Trump also responded to a warning from Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Iran was prepared for the US to launch ground attacks.
‘We are waiting for them because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them,’ Araghchi said.
Donald Trump would prefer Iran get a new leader who would ‘clean out everything’ in the country, while also calling a full-scale invasion ‘a waste of time’
Shop owners clean up the rubble caused by missile explosion in the vicinity of a building in Shahid Borujerdi residential complex in south east Tehran which was heavily struck and destroyed by Israel and the US
Trump dismissed it, saying: ‘It’s a waste of time. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost everything they can lose.’
He called Araghchi’s statement a ‘wasted comment’ and said that the US attacks on Iran are going to increase in the coming days.
Earlier Thursday, Trump warned the regime’s besieged military force to surrender or face ‘guaranteed death’ as the US ramps up attacks on Tehran.
Iran unleashed its ‘most intense barrage’ yet on Thursday night with a series of bombardments on Israel and US allies in the Gulf as it threatened to drag even more countries into the conflict.
The Islamic Republic had vowed the US would ‘bitterly regret’ torpedoing one of its warships as it sent hundreds of drones and missiles at its Arab neighbors.
Smoke was seen billowing in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh and above the world-famous Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi – where six people were injured.
But Iran’s threats were met with fury from Trump, who urged the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to lay down their arms or face the same fate as Khamenei.
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Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is the favourite to become Iran’s new Supreme Leader but Trump said it would be ‘unlikely’ he comes to power
Trump also responded to an interview Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (pictured) gave to NBC earlier Thursday that they ‘are waiting’ for the US to launch ground attacks
‘I’m once again calling on all members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the military and the police to lay down their arms,’ Trump said from the White House.
‘Now is the time to stand up for the Iranian people and help take back your country.
‘You’re gonna have a chance after all these years to take back your country. Accept immunity, we’ll give you immunity.
‘You’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity or you’ll face absolutely guaranteed death, and I don’t want to see that.’
Trump also claimed Iran has reached out to ‘make a deal’ to end the US military operation.
He said: ‘They’re calling, they’re saying, “How do we make a deal?”
‘I said, “You’re being a little bit late,” and we want to fight now more than they do.’
He also claimed the Iranian navy ‘is gone’ and the US wiped out ’24 ships in three days’, adding: ‘They have no air force, they have no air defense.
‘The United States military, together with the wonderful Israeli partners, continues to totally demolish the enemy, far ahead of schedule and at levels that people have never seen before.’
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference at CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa regarding the strikes on Iran
Smoke rises over buildings following explosions in the central region of Tehran on Friday morning
Trump’s comments came as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it was ‘moving to the next phase of the operation’ against Iran, insisting it will ‘further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities’.
IDF Chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said Israel and the US had been ‘strategically isolating’ Iran and bringing it to a point of weakness ‘unlike any it has known’.
He said Israel has pounded Iran ‘without pause’ and the ‘operation is proceeding at the pace we planned it to advance at’.
Meanwhile, Pete Hegseth hit out at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer for not allowing the US to launch attacks from British bases from day one.
‘The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically,’ he warned.
Hegseth said it was ‘unfortunate’ access wasn’t granted ‘from day one’.
He added: ‘But we got there. We got there, and that’s now part of the way that we’re operationalizing bomber runs… It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities, and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.’
Hegseth also said Trump would be ‘having a heck of a say in who runs Iran given the ongoing operation’.
People and rescue forces work following a reported strike on a school in Minab, Iran
Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, launched missiles at Israel in what it said was retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran
Trump has said he would personally select a new leader and Khamenei’s son Mojtaba was ‘unlikely’.
Mojtaba, 56, Ali Khamenei’s second oldest son, has strong links to the IRGC, and was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts ‘under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards’, according to Iranian opposition outlet Iran International.
Mojtaba is not a high-ranking cleric, has never held office and does not have an official role in the regime.
But he served in the Iranian armed forces during the Iran-Iraq war and is believed to wield considerable influence behind the scenes. He has been touted as a possible successor to his father for years.
However, he was not included in a list of three senior clerics Ali Khamenei reportedly identified last year.
Iran continued to bombard Saudi Arabia with missiles on Thursday.
Plumes of smoke could be seen billowing across the capital Riyadh after a barrage of cruise missiles thumped into the city on the sixth day of the conflict.
And following a mass drone attack on the United Arab Emirates, smoke could be seen rising from the world-famous Yas Marina, home to Abu Dhabi’s F1 grand prix circuit and hugely popular with tourists.
A number of alerts rang out across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, warning residents and visitors to stay safe after the UAE confirmed it was struck with a ballistic missile and six out of a barrage of 131 suicide drones.
Six people were injured in Abu Dhabi as a result of falling debris when drones were intercepted by air defense systems.
Iran continued to bombard Saudi Arabia with missiles on Thursday. Pictured: Smoke rises above the city, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Smoke rises from an Israeli strike in Beirut on Tuesday
Explosions were also heard in Qatar and Kuwait while an Iranian missile struck Bahrain’s largest petroleum refinery, capable of producing 267,000 barrels of oil per day, sending a huge fireball into the sky.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan became the latest country dragged into the escalating conflict as Iranian-made drones struck the country near the border with Iran and injured four civilians.
One hit the terminal building of an airport in Nakhchivan, sparking a fire, and the other came down beside a nearby school.
Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev accused Iran of ‘terrorism’ and threatened retaliation as he demanded an apology and explanation.
However, Tehran denied the allegation and blamed Israel, Azerbaijan’s ally, of trying to stage a provocation.
The Iranians claimed a US oil tanker was on fire after being hit in the Strait of Hormuz, though images of the unconfirmed attack are yet to emerge.
Iranian military is targeting American sites and energy infrastructure in the region in retaliation for the US-Israeli air offensive which killed its Supreme Leader and several senior officials.
The American embassy in Riyadh issued a security threat after Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said three Iranian cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed outside nearby Al-Kharj.
But Iran denied attacking the US embassy in Saudi Arabia after it was struck with drones on Tuesday night.
‘We confirmed that Iran has no role in the attack on the US embassy in Riyadh,’ Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza Enayati said.
Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Thursday.
It also continued to trade blows with Hezbollah, targeting the Iranian-backed terror group’s stronghold of Dahieh in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The Israeli military also said it launched a ‘large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure’ in Iran’s capital, without elaborating.
The Israeli Air Force said it has dropped more than 5,000 munitions on Iran since the conflict started on Saturday. Pictures coming out of Tehran show the destruction levelled on the country with extensive damage to key buildings in the capital and the sports stadium severely damaged.
In one of the few clerical statements so far from Iran, Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi Amoli used state television to call for ‘the shedding of Zionist blood, the shedding of Trump’s blood’.
The latest exchanges came after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship, the Iris Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka on Tuesday night, killing at least 87 Iranian sailors with a further 70 missing and presumed drowned.
Hegseth said the ship had been hit by a torpedo and had died a ‘quiet death’. It is the first time a US submarine has sunk an enemy warship by torpedo since the Second World War.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi decried it as ‘an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores’, and warned the US would ‘bitterly regret’ it.
Iran has blown up a CIA station at the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia as the agency works to arm militants for an uprising against the Islamic regime.
A suspected Iranian drone struck the CIA station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, on Monday, just two days after the spy agency pinpointed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s location in the strike that killed him.
An internal State Department alert revealed that Tehran’s attack ‘collapsed’ part of the station’s roof and ‘contaminated’ the compound with smoke, according to the Washington Post.
The station also sustained ‘structural damage’ while personnel were advised to ‘shelter in place.’
The US and Saudi governments confirmed that two drones hit the U.S. embassy complex, but did not disclose that the CIA station was impacted, the Post said.
There was no indication that CIA personnel were wounded.
The CIA has long been viewed by the Islamic regime as its arch-enemy, in part because of the agency’s history of covert efforts aimed at undermining its leadership.
The American spy agency and the United Kingdom’s MI6 set in motion the 1953 Iranian coup d’état, which led to the overthrow of Iran’s democratically elected leader.
The US embassy headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is photographed Tuesday after it was hit by suspected Iranian drone strikes. The Washington Post reported that the CIA station located at the embassy was blown up
President Donald Trump ordered the launch of ‘Operation Epic Fury’ starting on Saturday, which has now led to the death of six American troops
An undated photo of the US embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh. The Washington Post uncovered that a CIA station located at the embassy complex sustained some damage from two suspected Iranian drones on Tuesday
Tehran’s attack also comes as the spy agency works to arm Kurdish militants inside the country in an effort to foment an uprising following the ayatollah’s death.
The Daily Mail has contacted the CIA for comment.
Top White House officials have been in active discussions with Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support to strike the regime.
Iranian Kurdish militants have thousands of soldiers along the Iraq-Iran border with major support in Northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, this semi-autonomous region has served as a haven for local Kurdish groups that pose a military threat to Iran’s regime.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has targeted these groups with dozens of drone strikes since the start of the war on Saturday.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday reportedly spoke with the president of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, one of the major Kurdish opposition groups targeted by Tehran’s military.
The Sunni Muslim group has engaged in guerrilla warfare against the Iranian military and the IRGC.
Smoke rises from an Israeli strike in Beirut on Tuesday
Smoke plumes billow following Israeli bombardment on Beirut’s southern suburbs
Iran’s capital of Tehran has been ravaged by US-Israeli airstrikes since Saturday
Iran retaliated to the US and Israeli strikes with a barrage of missiles at neighboring nations – some of which broke through air defense systems (seen in Dubai)
Trump’s war has now spiraled across the Middle East, with Israeli cities and several Gulf allies coming under Iranian drone and missile attacks
‘Operation Epic Fury’ wiped out much of Iran’s top leadership over the weekend as part of a joint US–Israeli military campaign aimed at crippling the regime after Trump’s diplomatic talks collapsed last week.
Despite the death of the ayatollah, the Islamic government appears to remain in control of the country. The CIA’s reported efforts to arm Kurdish militants could pose one of the most existential threats to the regime.
Trump’s war has now spiraled across the Middle East, with Israeli cities and several Gulf allies coming under Iranian drone and missile attacks.
The US has responded with a wave of airstrikes aimed at crippling Iran’s military bases and remaining leadership.
American embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE have been struck by drones. The State Department has ordered the departure of non-emergency personnel in response.
A total of six American troops are dead following the launch of ‘Operation Epic Fury, ‘ while nearly two dozen remain hospitalized from injuries.
