TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday urged the United Nations Security Council to take action to stop the Islamic republic&#39;s war with Israel and the United States.&nbsp;&quot;The United Nations Security Council has a duty... if it wishes, it can certainly act, because there is no obstacle to its action except its own will,&quot; said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a foreign ministry briefing.

Asia

Iran asked the United Nations Security Council to help stop its war with Israel and the United States. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the council can take action if it wants to and has the will to do so.

Iran urges UN Security Council to move to stop war

RIYADH: The US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday warned of an imminent attack in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran, home to much of the kingdom&#39;s energy installations along the Gulf coast.&nbsp;&quot;There is a threat of imminent missile and UAV attacks over Dhahran. Do not come to the US Consulate&quot; the embassy wrote on its official X account.&nbsp;The warning came just hours after the US mission in Riyadh was attacked by two drones that sparked a small fire on the embassy grounds, as Iran pressed on with retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.&nbsp;On Monday, the massive Ras Tanura refinery on Saudi Arabia&#39;s Gulf coast went into partial shutdown after a strike by drones.&nbsp;The complex run by the Saudi state oil giant Aramco is home to one of the largest refineries in the entire Middle East and a cornerstone of the kingdom&#39;s energy sector.&nbsp;Saudi Arabia is the world&#39;s biggest oil exporter, with most of its oil fields and petroleum infrastructure located along its eastern coast, across the Gulf from Iran.

Americas

The US embassy in Riyadh warned of imminent missile and drone attacks over Dhahran after two drones struck the mission. A strike also partially shut Ras Tanura refinery, highlighting threats to Saudi Arabia’s vital eastern oil infrastructure.

US embassy warns of imminent attack in eastern Saudi Arabia

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Tuesday dismissed media reports claiming a partial closure of the country&rsquo;s airspace, terming the interpretation &ldquo;incorrect and misleading.&rdquo; The authority clarified that a recently issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was a routine operational advisory. The NOTAM announces the temporary unavailability of specific Air Traffic Services (ATS) route segments within the Karachi and Lahore Flight Information Regions during daily time windows from 0400 to 1000 UTC (0900 to 1500 Pakistan Standard Time) from March 3 to 31. The PAA said the route segments are closed from ground level to unlimited altitude for standard operational reasons, stressing that the country&rsquo;s airspace remains fully open and safe for all civil aviation traffic, including commercial flights. &ldquo;No restrictions have been imposed on commercial operations, arrivals, departures, or overflights across Pakistan,&rdquo; the authority said, adding that alternative routing options are available and routinely used where required. Air traffic services across the country are continuing without disruption, and controllers and airport teams are managing flight operations normally, the statement added. The authority urged media outlets and social media users to rely on official statements to avoid unnecessary concern among passengers and the public.

An Israeli Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft flies over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. (Photo: AFP/File)

Security

The authority clarifies that a recently issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was a routine operational advisory.

Pakistan Airports Authority rejects reports of airspace ‘partial closure’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that a Zionist-orchestrated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-israel-strikes-iran-live-updates" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">war against Iran</a>&nbsp;aims to extend Israeli influence to Pakistan&rsquo;s border, threatening to surround the nuclear-armed nation with a joint hostile front. The defense minister characterized Zionism &ldquo;as a primary threat to humanity&rdquo; and the &ldquo;cause of every catastrophe in the Islamic world&rdquo; since Israel&rsquo;s establishment. He stated that Zionist ideology and the state have controlled the global economic system for a century. Khawaja Asif stated that major world powers currently remain hostage to these interests. Pakistan&rsquo;s nuclear deterrent and sovereignty The minister stated that Pakistan&rsquo;s status as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/un-nuclear-agency-to-hold-extraordinary-meeting-on-iran-monday" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">nuclear power</a>&nbsp;protects its national sovereignty. He credited the courage of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for conducting nuclear tests and praised the worldwide recognition of the nation&#39;s armed forces. Khawaja Asif said the country remains indebted to its &ldquo;martyrs and ghazis&rdquo; for protecting its security. Threats of regional encirclement The defense minister stated that a war is being imposed on Iran despite its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-lawmakers-say-no-evidence-iran-had-planned-first-strike-on-us" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">readiness for agreements</a>. He said the agenda seeks to create a &quot;single point&quot; of enmity involving Afghanistan, Iran, and India. This alignment would make Pakistani borders insecure and turn the nation into a &quot;vassal state.&quot; &ldquo;Despite Iran&#39;s readiness for agreement, a war has been imposed upon them, and its agenda, orchestrated by the Zionists, includes bringing Israel&#39;s influence right up to Pakistan&#39;s border. The joint single point agenda of Afghanistan, Iran, and India will then be enmity towards Pakistan, making our borders insecure, surrounding us with enemies from all sides, and turning Pakistan into a vassal state,&rdquo; he said. Call for national unity The defense minister urged all 250 million Pakistanis to look past political and religious affiliations to understand these intentions. He called for unity across the Muslim world to recognize its &ldquo;eternal enemies.&rdquo; Khawaja Asif concluded with prayers for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/arab-countries-condemn-us-ambassadors-remarks-on-israels-right-to-mideast-land" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">freedom of Palestine</a> and the continued strength of Pakistan.

Defense Minister of Pakistan Khawaja Muhammad Asif. (Associated Press of Pakistan)

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says Israel is creating a hostile front to surround and destabilize the nuclear-armed nation.

War on Iran aims to bring Israeli influence to Pakistan border: Defense Minister

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) struck Afghanistan&rsquo;s&nbsp;Bagram Air Base&nbsp;as part of the ongoing <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/operation-ghazab-lilhaq-435-killed-as-pakistan-strikes-afghan-targets" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Operation Ghazab lil-Haq</a>&nbsp;against the Afghan Taliban, security sources confirmed Tuesday. The sources referred to a report issued by Afghanistan&rsquo;s defense ministry detailing the damage caused by the strike. The report stated that several key military assets were destroyed. This includes Black Hawk helicopters, a Hercules cargo aircraft, a Tucano aircraft, armored vehicles and other equipment, targeting one of the Afghan Taliban&rsquo;s most prized military assets The strike on <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-deal-on-bagram-base-not-possible-afghan-taliban" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bagram Air Base</a> was confirmed by satellite images obtained by The New York Times. The American newspaper reported that Pakistan carried out multiple strikes to destroy equipment and supplies. Afghan officials confirmed Sunday that there had been an attack on the base.

Bagram Airfield (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Afghanistan

PAF strike on Bagram destroyed key Taliban assets: Black Hawk helicopters, Hercules cargo aircraft, Tucano aircraft, armored vehicles, and other equipment, per Afghan defense ministry report cited by security sources.

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq: Pakistan Air Force strikes Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 464 Afghan Taliban terrorists and injured more than 665 during cross-border strikes under Operation &ldquo;Ghazb lil Haq,&rdquo; the country&#39;s information minister reported. In a summary of the operation posted on X at 1600 hours on March 3, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that 56 locations across Afghanistan were effectively targeted by air. The ongoing strikes destroyed 188 check posts and 192 tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery guns, while Pakistani forces captured an additional 31 posts. <div class="fr-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">✅Operation Ghazb lil Haq ✅Update 1600 hours 3 March ✅Summary of Afghan Taliban losses ▪️464 Killed, ▪️665 + Injured ▪️188 Check posts destroyed ▪️31 Posts captured, ▪️192 tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery guns destroyed ▪️56 locations across Afghanistan effectively&hellip;&mdash; Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) <a href="https://twitter.com/TararAttaullah/status/2028791616123634016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2026</a></blockquote></div> The large-scale military response followed multiple attempted cross-border attacks by Afghan Taliban fighters overnight in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. In an earlier update at 1000 hours, Tarar said terrorists in northern Balochistan launched physical attacks at 16 locations across the Qilla Saifullah, Noshki, and Chaman districts, alongside fire raids at 25 locations. Those initial attacks were effectively repulsed, leaving 27 terrorists dead and scores injured. One soldier from FC Balochistan (North) was killed, and five soldiers were wounded during the clashes. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an attempted physical attack at one location and fire raids at 12 locations were repelled without any Pakistani casualties. Security forces killed 40 Afghan Taliban in overnight operations in the province.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says Afghan Taliban attacks repulsed in Balochistan and KP, claims 67 terrorists killed; one FC soldier martyred, five injured.

Operation Ghazb Lil Haq: Pakistan’s cross-border offensive kills 464 Taliban terrorists

LONDON: US President Donald Trump said the historical relationship between his country and Britain was &quot;not like it used to be&quot;, in an interview to British daily newspaper The Sun, amid a major transatlantic fall out over US-Israeli strikes against Iran. &quot;This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in Europe,&quot; he said, singling out France and Germany, after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer&#39;s initial refusal to allow the United States to use British military bases in its war with Iran. Trump said Starmer &quot;has not been helpful&quot;, adding: &quot;I never thought I&#39;d see that. I never thought I&#39;d see that from the UK. We love the UK.&quot; In a telephone interview from the White House on Monday evening, Trump said: &ldquo;This was the most solid relationship of all. And now we have very strong relationships with other countries in &nbsp;Europe.&rdquo; &quot;It&#39;s a different world, actually. It&#39;s just a much different kind of relationship that we&rsquo;ve had with your country before. &quot;It&rsquo;s very sad to see that the relationship is obviously not what it was,&quot; he added. The scathing comments come a day after Trump described Starmer&#39;s reaction as &quot;very disappointing&rdquo; in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. He added that Starmer&rsquo;s later decision to allow the use of UK bases on specific grounds as &quot;useful&quot; but said it &quot;took far too much time&quot;. Any potential military action in the Middle East is politically sensitive in the UK following former prime minister Tony Blair&#39;s disastrous support for the US-led invasion of Iraq. &#39;National interest&#39;&nbsp; Starmer defended his position to parliament on Monday. &quot;President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain&#39;s national interest,&quot; he told lawmakers. &quot;That is what I have done and I stand by it,&quot; he added. After initially refusing to have any role in the strikes, Starmer on Sunday announced that he had agreed to a US request to use British military bases for a &quot;specific and limited defensive purpose&quot;. His Downing Street office said Starmer took the decision after Iran fired missiles over the weekend that put British interests and people &quot;at risk&quot;. &quot;We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learnt those lessons. Any UK actions must always have a lawful basis and a viable thought-through plan,&quot; he added in parliament. The prime minister also said that British military bases in Cyprus &quot;are not being used by US bombers&quot; during the US-Israeli war with Iran. Britain&#39;s Akrotiri air force base on Cyprus came under attack by an unmanned Iranian drone that hit the base&#39;s runway early on Monday. Starmer said the strike &quot;was not in response to any decision that we have taken,&quot; adding that the British government believed the drone &quot;was launched prior to our announcement&quot;. Iran&#39;s approach is becoming &quot;more reckless and more dangerous&quot;, Starmer said. &quot;They are working ruthlessly and deliberately through a plan to strike, not only military targets, but also economic targets in the region, with no regard for civilian casualties. That is the situation we face today and to which we must respond,&quot; he added.

United Kingdom

Trump told The Sun the US-UK relationship is “not like it used to be,” criticizing PM Keir Starmer for denying Cyprus base access in the Iran war, while praising ties with France and Germany.

Trump says US-UK relationship 'not like it used to be'

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Pakistani nationals hauled heavy suitcases across the border from neighbouring Iran on Monday, recounting scenes of missile launches and travel chaos as they rushed to leave following US and Israeli strikes over the weekend. AFP journalists witnessed a steady flow of people passing through large metal gates at the remote crossing between Mirjaveh in Iran and Taftan in Pakistan&rsquo;s southwestern Balochistan province. Families, traders and pilgrims wheeled bulky luggage across the frontier&rsquo;s pedestrian route, while freight trucks lined up in long queues nearby. Powerful explosions have rocked Iran&rsquo;s capital, Tehran, since Saturday, prompting embassies from several countries to advise their citizens to leave. &ldquo;All our Pakistani brothers who were in Tehran and other cities had started to leave and were arriving at the terminal, which caused a lot of crowd pressure,&rdquo; said Ameer Muhammad, a 38-year-old trader. &ldquo;Due to the crowds, there were major transport problems.&rdquo; The Taftan crossing lies about 500 kilometres (310 miles) from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, and is one of the few official land routes between the two countries. On the Iranian side, AFP reporters saw the national flag flying at half-mast as security personnel stood guard. Irshad Ahmed, a 49-year-old pilgrim, described seeing missiles launched near his accommodation in Tehran. &ldquo;There was an army base near the hostel, and we saw many missiles being fired,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;After that, we went to the Pakistani embassy so that they could evacuate us from there. They brought us here safely.&rdquo; Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the killing of Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling it a &ldquo;violation&rdquo; of international law. &ldquo;It is an age-old convention that the Heads of State/Government should not be targeted,&rdquo; Sharif wrote on social media platform X. He added that the people of Pakistan stood with Iran &ldquo;in their hour of grief and sorrow&rdquo; and extended condolences on Khamenei&rsquo;s &ldquo;martyrdom.&rdquo; A teacher at the Pakistani embassy in Tehran, who identified himself as Saqib, said the situation had initially appeared manageable. &ldquo;Before we left, the situation was normal. The situation was not that bad,&rdquo; the 38-year-old said. However, he added that strikes on Saturday night forced many to reconsider. &nbsp;&ldquo;The situation became bad when attacks caused precious lives to be lost.&rdquo; As tensions continue to escalate, more Pakistanis are expected to cross through Taftan in the coming days, seeking safety amid growing regional uncertainty.

Pakistanis walk across the Taftan border as they return from Iran, in Balochistan province on March 3, 2026 amid ongoing US-Israel strikes on Iran. (AFP)

Middle East

AFP journalists witness a steady flow of people passing through large metal gates at the remote crossing between Mirjaveh in Iran and Taftan in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province. Families, traders and pilgrims wheeled bulky luggage across the frontier’s pedestrian route, while freight trucks lined up in long queues nearby.

Pakistanis at remote border describe scramble to leave Iran

ISLAMABAD: The attack on Saudi Arabia&#39;s Aramco oil facilities this morning was carried out by the Israelis and is an example of a &quot;false flag&quot; operation, Iran&rsquo;s semi-official news agency reported on Monday.&nbsp;The strike earlier in the day was deliberately designed to frame other regional actors and inflame tensions across the Gulf, Tasnim news agency said, quoting an &ldquo;informed source.&rdquo;&nbsp;He maintained that Tehran has been transparent about its response strategy.&nbsp;&ldquo;Iran has clearly announced that it will target all American and Israeli interests, installations and facilities in the region, and it has acted accordingly. However, Aramco facilities have not been among the targets of Iranian operations so far,&rdquo; the source said.&nbsp;According to the source, intelligence assessments indicate that the alleged Israeli operation aimed to portray Iran as a destabilizing force while diverting attention from Israeli actions inside Iranian territory.&nbsp;He further warned that the port of Fujairah Port in the United Arab Emirates could potentially be targeted in additional &ldquo;false flag&rdquo; attempts intended to deepen mistrust among Gulf states.&nbsp;There was no immediate comment from Israeli or Saudi officials regarding the allegations.&nbsp;Mossad agents arrested in GulfSeparately, US media personality Tucker Carlson said on his program, The Tucker Carlson Show, that authorities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia had detained alleged agents linked to Mossad who were reportedly planning bomb attacks.&nbsp;Carlson questioned the logic of Israel allegedly conducting operations in Gulf countries that are also facing tensions with Iran.&nbsp;He further suggested that Israel&rsquo;s broader strategic objective may extend beyond Iran to include exerting pressure on several Gulf states, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

The attack on Saudi Arabia Aramco oil facilities this morning was carried out by the Israelis and is an example of a "False Flag" operation, an informed source told Tasnim.

Speaking to Tasnim, the source says the strike on Saudi Aramco earlier in the day was conducted by Israel and described it as a deliberate attempt to frame other actors and escalate tensions in the region.

Israeli agents carrying out sabotage in Gulf states: Iran, US media

NEW YORK: First Lady Melania Trump presided over a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, calling for cause of children affected by conflict as fighting continued in the US-Israeli war against Iran. Ambassadors from all of the Security Council&#39;s members, including Washington&#39;s rivals Russia and China, lined up to meet with Trump. Representing the United States as it assumed the monthly Security Council&rsquo;s rotating presidency.&nbsp; She opened the session with a ceremonial strike of the gavel, thanking the United Kingdom for its previous month-long presidency, and spoke again later apparently to honor US service members killed in the war on Iran. &ldquo;The US stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours,&rdquo; she said, without directly referencing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.Later, she paid tribute to American service members killed in the war on Iran. &ldquo;To the families who have lost their heroes who sacrifice their lives for freedom, their bravery and dedication will always be remembered,&rdquo; she told the packed chamber. She added that &ldquo;enduring peace will be achieved when knowledge and understanding are fully valued within all our societies.&rdquo; Ambassadors from all 15 Council members, including rivals Russia and China, attended the meeting and greeted the First Lady. Greece&rsquo;s ambassador Aglaia Balta addressed her as &ldquo;Madam President,&rdquo; while France&rsquo;s envoy drew comparisons to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a noted human rights advocate. Even Russia offered polite praise, steering clear of direct mention of Iran. Bahrain, a close US ally, was the only Council member to explicitly reference the conflict. However, criticism emerged from Iran. Its UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, called it &ldquo;deeply shameful and hypocritical that on the very first day of its presidency of the Security Council, the United States convened a high-level meeting on protecting children.&quot;&nbsp; Moments later the First Lady said &quot;the US stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours&quot; &nbsp;without referring directly to the attacks across the Middle East. She was warmly received by the countries represented in the Council however, with Greece&#39;s ambassador Aglaia Balta saying &quot;thank you madam president,&quot; while France&#39;s envoy compared her to the celebrated former first lady and activist Eleanor Roosevelt.&nbsp; Even Russia joined the chorus of polite praise, avoiding any mention of Iran, which was mentioned only by Council member and Washington&#39;s staunch ally Bahrain. &quot;I wish you all strength and resolve to succeed in preserving peace and security throughout the world,&quot; Trump said as she closed the two-hour meeting.&nbsp; &nbsp;Financial, political tensions&nbsp;Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, confirmed that Trump&#39;s appearance was the first time a first lady or first gentleman had presided a Security Council meeting. The United States holds the Council&#39;s rotating presidency for March. President Donald Trump&#39;s third wife has dabbled in diplomacy before, notably to try to secure the release of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.&nbsp; Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, paid tribute to her &quot;for her work to give visibility to the issue of children in conflict, and particularly for her personal engagement to reunite Ukrainian children with their families.&quot; Political and financial tensions have mounted between the United States and the United Nations in recent years, with Washington chafing at its role as the main contributor to the body&#39;s cash-strapped budget.&nbsp; Many observers say the US president intends to bypass the Security Council with his new &quot;Board of Peace,&quot; which held its inaugural session in Washington last month, with several countries pledging funds and personnel to rebuild Gaza. At the meeting, Trump repeated his stance that the UN had failed in its mission. Since returning to the White House last year, he has withdrawn support from several major UN agencies, including the World Health Organization. The world body has recently launched a reform program, and a few days ago Washington paid $160 million into the organization&#39;s regular budget after paying nothing in 2025.&nbsp; But the United States is still $4 billion in arrears to the UN for its regular budget and its peacekeeping budget, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning of imminent financial collapse.&nbsp;

US First Lady Melania Trump chairs a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York on March 2, 2026.

Ambassadors from all of the Security Council's members, including Washington's rivals Russia and China, lined up to meet with Trump. Representing the United States as it assumed the monthly Security Council’s rotating presidency. 

Iran urges UN Security Council to move to stop war

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US embassy warns of imminent attack in eastern Saudi Arabia

Iran urges UN Security Council to move to stop war

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War on Iran aims to bring Israeli influence to Pakistan border: Defense Minister

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq: Pakistan Air Force strikes Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base