March 5, 2026
A new round of strikes and rising naval incidents marked another volatile day in the widening confrontation between Israel, Iran and their allies, as countries rushed to repatriate citizens from the region.
Iran and Israel exchanged attacks early Thursday. Iranian state media reported explosions in Tehran and other cities after what it described as Israeli strikes “across Tehran,” while Israel said missile fire triggered air-raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The Israeli military announced a large-scale campaign targeting Iranian infrastructure. Iran also reported additional strikes aimed at U.S. bases.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned a recent U.S. action at sea, warning Washington it “will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set” after a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s southern coast. Iran said the ship, in international waters, carried nearly 130 sailors; Sri Lanka’s navy rescued about 30 after the vessel sent a distress call.
Sri Lankan officials said a second Iranian ship, with more than 100 crew aboard, sought entry to Sri Lankan waters, prompting presidential-level discussions about a possible port call and raising concerns the conflict could spread toward the Indian subcontinent.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, claiming the vessel was struck by a missile and caught fire; that assertion has not been independently verified. The U.K.’s maritime security centre reported an attack on an unidentified tanker off Kuwait earlier. Separately, a tanker anchored roughly 30 nautical miles southeast of Kuwait’s Mubarak Al Kabeer reported a large explosion, began taking on water and left an oil slick; a small craft was observed departing the scene. At least nine vessels have been hit in Gulf waters since the fighting escalated, and thousands of ships are delayed in ports near the Strait of Hormuz.
The security fallout has driven a surge in repatriation and evacuation efforts. Israel reopened Ben Gurion Airport for a limited number of civilian flights to bring home nationals; two repatriation aircraft landed in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning. Authorities said they would allow one passenger flight per hour in the first 24 hours, with roughly 5,000 people expected initially.
Germany began government-chartered evacuation flights from Muscat, Oman. A Lufthansa A340 carrying passengers selected by Berlin, with priority for vulnerable people, arrived in Frankfurt early Thursday; another German government-chartered flight landed soon after. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said pregnant women, children and the sick were being prioritized.
Many other countries mobilized evacuations: the U.K., Russia, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Belgium and the United States. The U.K. expected its first government-chartered flight from Oman on Thursday; some commercial services have already repatriated Britons. Russia moved more than 100 citizens overland from Iran into Azerbaijan before flying them to Moscow. France said several flights had reached Paris and more were planned to assist roughly 400,000 French nationals in the affected area.
Belgium reported bus evacuations to neighboring countries with onward travel planned through Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt. New Zealand sent two C-130 Hercules aircraft to the region to move citizens to safer transit points for onward commercial travel. Australian and Canadian leaders called for de-escalation while reiterating that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons; both also warned against the conflict spreading.
Qatar evacuated residents near the U.S. embassy in Doha as a precaution after Al-Udeid Air Base — the region’s largest U.S. installation — was struck earlier in the week. U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have closed after being targeted in Iranian strikes.
On the diplomatic front, Iran postponed a funeral for its late leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in earlier U.S. and Israeli strikes, the government said. In Washington, Senate Republicans rejected a measure intended to pause U.S. military action against Iran; several senators nonetheless expressed concern about the absence of a clear exit strategy.
Maritime disruption is acute: more than 3,000 vessels are reported stuck in Gulf ports awaiting transit of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively choked by threats and attacks. UN agencies have not recorded a major international refugee outflow from Iran so far, though an estimated 100,000 people have fled Tehran internally.
As air and sea lanes remain contested, governments continue coordinated efforts combining military and commercial aircraft, selective road and sea evacuations, and flights focused on those most vulnerable. Officials stressed the situation is fluid and warned further escalation could force changes to evacuation plans and widen the geographic scope of the conflict.