THE conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran entered its sixth day on Thursday with fresh missile exchanges, widening regional repercussions and escalating rhetoric from political leaders as casualties mount across the Middle East.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Iran launched another wave of missiles towards Israel, forcing millions of civilians to seek shelter in bomb shelters, while the Israeli military said it had begun a new round of strikes targeting the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The intensifying conflict has also spilled beyond the immediate battlegrounds, drawing neighbouring countries and international actors into the crisis.
Amid the continuing attacks, senior Iranian and American officials traded sharp statements over the course of the war.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X that the United States had suffered “painful damage” from what he described as Iran’s “targeted and effective strikes,” adding that Washington had “no exit plan.”
He said U.S. officials privately acknowledged the situation while publicly making statements aimed at “managing the markets,” and warned that Iran would continue pursuing the “aggressor” until it was punished.
On Wednesday, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth struck a defiant tone in remarks to reporters.
"Iran's leaders were 'toast'."
"America is winning - decisively, devastatingly and without mercy," he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated the confrontation with Iran could continue for up to four weeks.
At the same time, lawmakers from both major political parties in Washington have criticised the administration for failing to outline a clear post-conflict strategy, which appears largely based on the expectation that the Iranian public could eventually rise up against their government after decades of repression.
"We can sustain this fight easily for as long as we need to," Hegseth said, adding that the only limit was Trump's desire to achieve specific objectives.
The conflict has also triggered diplomatic tensions elsewhere in the region.
Azerbaijan demanded an explanation from Iran after two drones crossed its border and injured two people in the exclave of Nakhchivan.
According to Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, one drone struck the terminal building at Nakhchivan International Airport, located about 10 kilometres from the Iranian border, while another landed near a school in a nearby village.
"We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify the matter in the shortest possible time, provide an explanation and take the necessary urgent measures to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future," the ministry said, adding that Azerbaijan reserved the right to take “appropriate response measures” against Tehran.
European governments are also responding to the widening crisis.
Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands are expected to deploy naval assets to safeguard Cyprus in the coming days, according to Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.
The move follows an incident earlier in the week in which an Iranian-made drone targeted a British Royal Air Force base on the island.
Meanwhile, Turkey said it was closely monitoring the activities of the Iranian Kurdish militant group Kurdistan Free Life Party, which Ankara warned could threaten regional stability.
Turkish officials said the group’s activities were being tracked due to concerns that the conflict might encourage militant movements along Iran’s western border.
"The activities of groups that fuel ethnic separatism, such as the terrorist organization PJAK, negatively affect not only Iran's security but also the overall peace and stability of the region," Turkey's defence ministry said at a weekly briefing.
Since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, the war has spread across several parts of the Middle East, with countries hosting American military bases and personnel drawn into the confrontation.
According to figures released by authorities in the affected countries, more than 1,000 people have been reported killed in Iran, including 175 schoolgirls and staff who died in a missile strike on a primary school in Minab on the first day of the war, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.
Israel has reported 10 civilian deaths, while Lebanon’s health ministry says 77 people have been killed in Israeli strikes.
Additional fatalities have been reported in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Iraq, along with six U.S. service members killed in a strike on a facility in Kuwait.
The death toll has not been independently verified, but the figures underline the growing human cost as the conflict continues to widen across the region. - March 5, 2026
