'I think the war is very complete,' Trump claims in interview

US president Donald Trump has said the US is “very far” ahead of his initial four to five week estimated time frame, according to CBS correspondent.

In a phone interview, Mr Trump told Senior White House Correspondent for CBS Weijia Jiang, the war could be over soon.

In a post on X she reported that the president said: “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 19:31

Nearly 700,000 people in Lebanon including 200,000 children have been forced to flee their homes

Bel Trew Chief International Correspondent in Beirut reports:

Nearly 700,000 people in Lebanon including 200,000 children have been forced to flee their homes under Israel’s intense bombardment, the United Nations said on Monday.

Many of them have ended up camping in schools, stadiums and makeshift tents along Beirut’s seafront.

There, Ibrahim Nassar, a 42-year-old father-of-three from Aleppo in Syria, said his family had nowhere to go after they escaped Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut that has been the focal point of Israel’s firey campaign.

His family fled bombing and war in Syria in 2014 and have been displaced multiple times since then, most recently last week when an Israeli bomb brought down a building a few doors from them.

They fashioned a tent out of blankets, cardboard and bits of wood and have been camping using sea water for a week.

Now they told The Independent the Lebanese authorities have instructed displaced people to leave the waterfront area and go to one of the designated temporary shelters.

But Ibrahim and his wife Iman say they have been turned away from shelters because they are not Lebanese.

“When the explosion happened it was 2.30am last week. The dust and smoke was black and we couldn’t breathe, so we grabbed the children who were screaming and ran here,” he told The Independent, clutching his youngest who is just four yeras old.

“We have tried to go to the shelters in schools but have been told we can’t.

“We don’t have a car, we don’t have any money, there is nowhere for us to go and no way for us to even go back to Syria.

“If we have to leave here, then we will just be on the road or have to go back to Dahiyeh, which is being bombed.”

Israel continued to pound Dahiyeh on Monday and issued fresh warnings to residents to vacate.

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 19:10

Iran to increase force and frequency of missile attacks, say Revolutionary Guards

The force and frequency of Iranian missile launches will increase, and their range will become wider, state media cited the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force as saying on Monday.

From now on, no missiles will be launched with warheads lighter than one ton, Majid Mousavi said.

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 19:09

Macron to deploy eight warships to the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East

French president Emmanuel Macron described his naval deployment in response to the Iran war as "unprecedented".

He said he would deploy eight warships, two helicopter carriers and the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, during a visit to Cyprus.

Cyprus came under attack on 1 March after the start of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran.

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 19:06

The US is not winning this war – Iran’s new supreme leader shows it is little more than Team America: World Police

In the latest development, the stated aim of toppling the theocrats who rule a country larger than France, Germany, Spain, and the UK combined has resulted in the entrenchment of their power with the election of Mojtaba Khamenei as the nation’s third supreme leader.

The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:

Maira Butt9 March 2026 19:00

Watch: Rachel Reeves warns US-Iran war likely to cause rise in inflation

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 18:50

Delay in sending Royal Navy ship 'undermined Britain’s international standing' says shadow defence secretary

The delay in sending a Royal Navy ship to the Mediterranean during the Iran conflict has “completely undermined Britain’s international standing”, the shadow defence secretary said, as he criticised the Government’s response.

Conservative shadow minister James Cartlidge said: “Despite the Secretary of State just saying, and I quote, ‘Since January he has been moving military assets to the region’, there isn’t a single Royal Navy warship present, and our Type 45 HMS Dragon hasn’t even set sail.”

He added: “Last week the Cypriot foreign minister said, and I quote, ‘There are questions about the future of the UK’s military bases on the island’.

“Isn’t the reality that Greece, France and Spain are all sending ships and that Labour’s failure to deploy the Royal Navy to the eastern Mediterranean has completely undermined our international standing, not just in the eyes of our many allies in the Middle East, but also in the eyes of those who can now exploit such weakness?”

Defence Secretary John Healey replied by calling Mr Cartlidge an “armchair general”.

Mr Healey said: “While we have been building up that significant military presence in the Middle East since January, which he, for the first time, has recognised and welcomed, it is totally right that as circumstances change, so should our military posture.”

He criticised the Conservatives’ record in government with the Royal Navy and added: “We only have HMS Dragon available to go to the Middle East today because the Labour Government commissioned it before 2010.”

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 18:38

Embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates withdrawn due to 'security situation'

The UK has “temporarily” withdrawn the dependents of embassy staff in the United Arab Emirates “as a precautionary measure”, the Foreign Office said.

In an update to its travel advice, the Foreign Office said: “Due to the ongoing security situation, as a precautionary measure we have decided to temporarily withdraw the dependents of British Embassy staff from the United Arab Emirates. Our embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai continue to operate as normal.”

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 18:30

37,000 British nationals have been evacuated since the start of the crisis

Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs that 37,000 British nationals have been evacuated since the start of the crisis in the Middle East and “we will not stop until our people are safe”.

He said: “Many of us as MPs have constituents with friends and family that are caught in the region, worried for the safety of their loved ones, and the Foreign Secretary and the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) teams are working as fast as possible to get our people out of the region.

“Three chartered flights have now taken off, with more to come this week.

“More than 170,000 people have registered their presence, which has allowed us to get them information and support and advice that they need.

“More than 37,000 British nationals have been evacuated since the start of the crisis response, and as the Prime Minister said last week, we will not stop until our people are safe.”

Rebeca Whittaker9 March 2026 18:26

First US bomber landed at RAF Fairford on Friday

Defence Secretary John Healey has confirmed that the first US bomber landed at RAF Fairford on Friday, after the UK gave the US permission to use British bases for specific defensive operations.

He told MPs: “I can also confirm to the House that, having given the US the go ahead to use British bases for specific defensive operations into Iran last Sunday, the first US bomber landed at RAF Fairford on Friday”.

He reiterated that these missions are to destroy Iranian missiles at source and are in accordance with international law.

Mr Healey told MPs that the UK is “leading this response to Iranian threats in close coordination with our allies”.

Rebecca Whittaker9 March 2026 18:24