Iran did not surrender: The country’s spiritual leader did not hide and passed away as a strong-willed warrior, and the Iranian military continues to destroy the image that the US has everything under control in the region
Despite the death of Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country continues to resist and strike at all enemy targets it can reach. Strikes from both sides continues day and night: Israel and the United States keep hitting Iran’s entire military infrastructure, while Iran attacks Israel and US bases in the region.
For the entire Iranian system and for the Iranians themselves, it was extremely important that the country’s spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, did not flee anywhere and chose not to hide in a bunker. In the days leading up to the anticipated attack, he chose to remain in a ground-level residence, exposed to potential strikes, in his office. He demonstratively refused to submit to the will of other states.
The entire Iranian system was also prepared for serious losses. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi directly confirmed that the Iranians had activated a strategy of “mosaic defense.” At its core is the decentralization of military command and civilian governance, and the maximum autonomy of decision-making by provincial IRGC commands, missile bases, and so on. Just as separate pieces of a mosaic remain in place when others fall away, individual commands and bases are expected to continue fighting even in complete isolation from others, if necessary.
On March 1, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, in an interview with the Al Mayadeen TV channel, outlined Iran’s main position in the current situation. First, he noted that “the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei is an international crime and a war against Iran.” He recalled that mass protests in many countries (active protests took place in Iraq, Pakistan, and possibly in Bahrain) reflect public outrage over the crime that had been committed.
Secondly, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson explained that Iran does not rely “on one person.” Thirdly, Baghaei emphasized that there had once again been betrayal on the part of the United States, “A meeting between Iran and the US side had been scheduled in Vienna, but two days before that, aggression occurred.” He added that everything “happening is not Iran’s war, but a war against Iran.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with Al Jazeera, clarified that Iran’s supreme leader could be elected within one or two days. He noted that state institutions in the country remain intact.
Iranian media report that meetings of the Interim Leadership Council are currently taking place in the country.
Waves of strikes on targets in Iran continue almost without interruption; only the regions and targets change. More than 700 combat sorties have been carried out. US Central Command stated that more than a thousand targets have been hit since the beginning of the operation in Iran, Reuters informs.
The United States used B-2 stealth bombers against fortified sites in Iran where ballistic missiles were stationed, US Central Command wrote on X. The aircraft were armed with 900-kilogram bombs. “No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve,” the message read.
Israel and the United States are systematically attacking Iranian military infrastructure and IRGC facilities. They are also striking information and ideological centers. In addition, Iran’s Navy is being destroyed.
An Israeli Air Force representative stated on March 1 that the air force is flying freely over Tehran, “Iran’s airspace is fully controlled by Israeli aviation. This is only the beginning.” Israel will intensify its strikes on Iran in the coming days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised in a video address.
Justifying the attacks, US President Donald Trump again spoke of an alleged threat from Iran and the need for preventive actions, which he said he had taken in time.
Tehran was supposed to obtain nuclear weapons within two weeks, which is why the United States attacked it, Trump claimed on Fox News.
The very next day, US administration representatives admitted in closed briefings with members of US Congress that in fact they had no intelligence indicating that Iran planned to attack US Armed Forces first. Reuters wrote this, citing two sources. Senior US administration officials told journalists that Trump might have preemptively carried out the strikes.
The US attacks were described by the US president himself as extremely successful. In a phone conversation with CNBC, Trump said that the US operation in Iran is progressing ahead of schedule. “Things are evolving in a very positive way right now, a very positive way,” the channel quoted him as saying.
In a phone interview with the Daily Mail, Trump stated that he expects the operation against Iran to take approximately four weeks or even less.
The US president also said that Iran had requested negotiations and that he had agreed, The Atlantic writes. “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner. They waited too long,” Trump said.
“They could have made a deal. They should’ve done it sooner. They played too cute,” the US president explained.
Donald Trump himself wants a “Venezuelan scenario” for Iran, in which most members of the country’s government retain their posts while expressing readiness to cooperate with Washington. “What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect, the perfect scenario. Except for the two people, everyone kept their jobs,” the US president explained.
Iran denied Trump’s statement about a request for negotiations. Iran will not negotiate with the United States, wrote the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, on the social network X.
On the evening of March 1, a joint statement by the leaders of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom was published. The leaders threatened Iran with military measures if it continues to strike their allies in the Middle East.
Earlier, the UK Ministry of Defense reported that a British fighter jet had shot down an Iranian drone near Qatar. French authorities began redeploying the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle from the Baltic Sea to the eastern Mediterranean, BFMTV reported.
Despite triumphant reports from Israel and the United States, the situation in the region does not look like a Western victory over Iran. Columns of smoke rise over Tel Aviv and US bases in the region — photographs are spreading through all the world’s media.
Bloomberg, citing sources, reports that interceptor missile arsenals in the United States, Israel, and the Persian Gulf countries could be depleted within days if Iran maintains the current intensity of retaliatory strikes. Interceptors are required to defend against Iranian drones and missiles, including cruise missiles. Two or three interceptors must be launched at each target.
Iran is increasing both the scope and the critical impact of its strikes. The IRGC launched four missiles at the US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of Iran, according to the IRGC press service (according to Central Command, the aircraft carrier was not damaged, but one of the escort vessels was affected).
Iran launched two missiles toward Cyprus, where key British military bases are located. The port in Abu Dhabi was struck by missiles and drones. Eyewitnesses are posting footage showing a column of black smoke rising over the port.
Iran attacked the Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi. According to Reuters, the drone was intercepted, but its debris damaged the complex housing the Israeli embassy and other diplomatic missions.
Iran struck three oil tankers belonging to the United States and the United Kingdom with missiles. The vessels were in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC reported.
In addition, two US naval bases were attacked — in Salman Port in Bahrain and Ali Al Salem in Kuwait. The latter has been completely put out of operation, Iranian military officials claim.
One of the F-15 fighter jets that took part in the operation was shot down in the skies over Kuwait.
Iran shelled bases in Iraq and Jordan, where German servicemen are also stationed, Der Spiegel writes. Tehran used missiles and drones.
On the night of March 2, Iran attacked the NATO base Victoria located in Iraq, the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB)reports. The base is situated near Erbil International Airport (Iraqi Kurdistan) in Baghdad.
The US base at Erbil airport is under constant attack by Iran and pro-Iranian militias of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. After the new strikes, a large fire broke out at the base.
Iran is carrying out targeted strikes on the government complex in Tel Aviv, on military and security facilities in Haifa, as well as on East Jerusalem, the IRGC reported on the morning of March 3.
On the morning of March 3, sources reported that smoke was rising from the US embassy building in Kuwait after it was hit by an Iranian missile.
On March 3, Iran also struck Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, after the kingdom had the previous day expressed the possibility of joining strikes against Iran due to attacks on its territory.
On March 3, an Iranian drone hit the country’s largest oil refinery in Ras Tanura. Saudi Arabia’s state oil and gas company, Saudi Aramco, halted operations at the plant. The refinery is the largest oil processing and export complex in the world, and an attack on it could cause colossal damage not only to the Saudi economy but also disrupt the stability of the global energy market.
Tehran has not officially blocked shipping, but traffic has already fallen by 70%. Carriers are sounding the alarm: major hubs (for example, Jebel Ali) have effectively been cut off, and many vessels cannot escape the Persian Gulf. About 20% of the world’s oil and 31% of global seaborne crude oil trade pass through the strait. A sharp spike in oil prices on exchanges has been forecast since March 2.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah announced its intention to continue resistance against Israel and the United States. The group attacked Israel. In response, Tel Aviv declared a campaign against Hezbollah and began striking several areas of Lebanon. The head of Hezbollah’s political wing, Mohammed Raad, has been killed, Al Arabiya and Al Hadath report, citing sources.
For now, there are no signs of the conflict coming to an end. Active strikes are ongoing.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
