US-Israel-Iran War Live: SpiceJet to operate 13 special flights from UAE, death toll in Iran tops 1,000

SpiceJet will operate a total of 13 special flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 5 to facilitate the return of stranded Indian nationals. Of the 13 flights, 12 will operate from Fujairah and one will operate from Dubai. 

The airline will operate 7 special flights to Mumbai, 5 to Delhi, and one special flight from Dubai to Mumbai. The airline operated 12 special flights on March 3 and 4 from the UAE, repatriating stranded citizens to Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi.

• Explosions were heard in the western and eastern parts of Tehran, The Associated Press reported. 
• Iran's Minister for Energy Abbas Aliabadi said that water and electricity facilities across the country have been damaged due to joint strikes by the US and Israel. He said that repair efforts are underway maintain uninterrupted service, while advising citizens to use water and electricity cautiously. 

The Israeli army has renewed its evacuation warning for south Lebanon residents and urged them to move towards the north of the Litani River. The army advised them against being near Hezbollah personnel, facilities, or equipment. 

Israel also reported airstrikes on Beirut in which several Hezbollah command centres were hit, including the one used by its aerial units. 

Besides this, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the country is sending its military assets to the Middle East as a precaution though he provided no details on the nature of the deployment. Two Australian military planes have already been dispatched, SBS News reported. 

• Iran's armed forces denied launching any missile towards Turkiye after Turkish authorities said that a missile from Iran was intercepted near their airspace.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi condemned the US for striking IRIS Dena in Sri Lanka. He wrote in a post on X, "The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set."
• Israel's air defence system intercepted two drones over the Western Gailee region, with sirens being sounded in several nearby towns. 
• IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that Israeli aircraft destroyed a ballistic missile launcher in Qom that was allegedly preparing to launch an attack. 

Two Russian oil cargoes that had been signalling East Asia as a destination have switched to India, according to ship-tracking data, suggesting New Delhi is becoming more willing to take the crude as the Middle East conflict worsens, Bloomberg reported. 

Read for more

Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Thursday said that geopolitical shocks, such as the US-Israel joint strikes on Iran, will keep testing India's security. He said that India should focus on not only adding clean capacity but also on delivering reliable clean power at home. 

In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM said that its forces are locating and striking Iran's mobile missile launchers with "lethal precision". 

Qatar Airways has said that its flight operations will remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace. The airline stated that it would resume its services only after the Qatari Civil Aviation Authority confirms that the airspace has safely reopened. 

Meanwhile, the airline would operate several relief flights starting Thursday to assist stranded passengers. These flights will depart from Muscat to several European destinations, including London Heathrow, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Rome, and Amsterdam besides one flight from Riyadh to Frankfurt. 

Passengers are advised to head to the airport only after getting official confirmation from the airline. 

The US military has successfully conducted a test launch of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the California coast. The launch, which took place at 11:00 pm PT from Vandenberg Space Force Base, comes at a moment of heightened geopolitical friction, particularly regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Know more about Minuteman III here

Iran has postponed a major mourning ceremony for the country's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israel strike over the last weekend. Officials said that more preparations were needed to handle an unprecedented crowd. 

"The farewell ceremony for the martyred Imam has been postponed. The new date will be announced later," Iranian state television reported.

As per authorities, the tribute would be held in Tehran before Khamenei's body is transferred to his birthplace, Mashhad, for burial. 

The Saudi Arabian Defence Ministry said that air defences have intercepted another drone near the Al Jowf region, Al Jazeera reported. Authorities had shot down 3 drones east of Al-Kharj Governorate before this. 

China has told the country's largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline as the war in the Middle East disrupts the arrival of crude from one of the world's largest producing regions, Bloomberg reported.

China is one of the several major Asian economies that depend on the Strait of Hormuz, where the traffic is currently blocked for energy. In 2025, 57 per cent of China's direct seaborne crude imports came from the Middle East.