Iran Daily Dispatch — Tuesday, March 17, 2026

This is the Iran Daily Dispatch, Episode 1. Tuesday, the 17th of March, 2026. I'm Tessa Danvers for Fronts.co. In the last 24 hours, Israeli warplanes led the latest waves of airstrikes across Iran, focused primarily on the Iranian capital, Tehran.

One strike destroyed an abandoned police station, according to local residents, while another killed multiple civilians in a residential zone, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. Elsewhere in the city, Israel claimed to have struck sites with links to Iran's space program, including a research facility.

A building tied to Iran's cyber police was also destroyed. And late Monday night, Al Jazeera reported a new wave of explosions in the northern quarter of the city, near Iran's former royal palace.

The United States, by contrast, appeared mostly to follow Israel's lead during Monday's operations, as Washington shifts focus and awaits the arrival of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in advance of potential ground operations. On Monday, an IDF spokesman claimed that Israel has now destroyed an estimated 70% of all Iranian missile launchers.

However, Iranian missile attacks persisted throughout the day, both targeting Israel and other nations across the Middle East. On Monday, Israel issued no fewer than eight warnings to the public throughout the day, and while Israel did not report any successful Iranian strikes, large shrapnel impacts were reported in and around Jerusalem's Old City.

Also on Monday, the IDF announced that limited ground operations are underway in southern Lebanon. Israel expanded its air campaign across Lebanese airspace in recent days, after a wave of rocket and drone attacks by Iran's non-state ally Hezbollah.

In its ground offensive, the IDF appears to be preparing for a prolonged and expanded occupation, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz explaining in a public statement that civilians should not expect to return to areas south of the Latani River until Israel's military objectives are complete.

Israeli ground forces have yet to push towards the Latani, but ordered the evacuation of southern residents two weeks ago on the 4th of March. Israel claims that hundreds of elite Hezbollah fighters have moved into the region after the organization entered the conflict.

On the other side of the conflict, Iran continued to focus its drone and missile fire against the Gulf states of the Middle East. In the early hours of the morning, Saudi Arabia downed at least 60 incoming drones across two barrages, which were targeting an eastern region rich with oil fields and energy infrastructure.

Bahrain reported the interception of four incoming missiles and three drones. Qatar intercepted two waves of missile attacks on Monday afternoon, while Iraqi security officials reported an attack by two drones against a southern oil field and another attempted drone strike on a U.S. logistics center near Baghdad.

On Monday evening, a hotel in Baghdad's fortified green zone was struck by a drone with no casualties reported. The strike may have been an act of retaliation by Iraq's Qatayyib Hezbollah Group, an Iranian proxy ally which announced the death of a senior leader earlier in the day. In comparison to its neighbors, the United Arab Emirates were not so lucky.

On Monday morning, an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank at the Dubai International......National Airport, sparking a large fire. In Abu Dhabi, a ballistic missile killed a Palestinian civilian. And the most severe hit of the day struck the critical oil terminal of Fujairah, the Emirates' only oil export site outside of the Persian Gulf.

There, a successful drone strike caused a fire that Fujairah authorities described as, quote, advanced. The strike on Fujairah was Iran's second in three days and was the subject of an evacuation order issued by Iranian state media.

The evacuation order and Iran's claims that U.S. military forces were present at the facility indicates that Emirati air defenses were almost certainly aware of the threat. Iran, however, was able to strike Fujairah anyway.

Later in the day, a drone struck the Shah oil field southwest of Abu Dhabi, setting off another fire and forcing Abu Dhabi to suspend operations there. The Emirates temporarily closed its airspace on Monday night.

Away from the conflict zone, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged his administration's surprise that Iran strikes against the Gulf nations, confirming reports that had suggested Washington had not taken the threat of Iranian retaliation seriously. Quote, Nobody expected that. We were shocked.

In his remarks, Trump pledged to continue the United States' ongoing military response. Separately, on Air Force One, Trump indicated that U.S. strikes were now targeting Iranian drone factories and had succeeded in degrading Iran's drone manufacturing capability.

Also in Washington, the United States continued to request support from European and Indo-Pacific allies to form a naval coalition in response to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Germany, Spain, and Italy each rebuffed Washington's request, while the European Union's top diplomat, Kaya Callas, proposed an alternative.

According to Callas, the European Union may instead expand Operation Aspides, its ongoing Red Sea security mission, to cover the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. While strait crossings remain at an all-time low, individual ships with ties to Iran-friendly nations have made the crossing safely.

On Monday, a Pakistani trade ship made its way through the strait, as Indian authorities acknowledged the arrival of the first of two liquefied natural gas tankers after the ships were granted passage on Saturday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant acknowledged that the United States is allowing Iranian oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf.

Quoting Besant, For now, we're fine with that. We want the world to be well-supplied. Finally, the status of new Iranian Supreme Leader Mosteva Khamenei remains a mystery, with no appearances, video or voice recordings, or other concrete evidence of his well-being since his elevation.

On Monday, a new statement attributed to Khamenei was presented by Iranian state media, announcing that the jobs of government officials who had been appointed by his father were secure under his leadership. Meanwhile, the Telegraph reported that it had obtained and verified leaked audio that may explain the younger Khamenei's survival.

In the barrage of airstrikes that killed his father, wife, and son, at a site where he was also present. According to the audio, Mosteva Khamenei had stepped outside to check on his garden, Well, a very rare taste in the barrage of the human being. Please. before the first wave of ballistic missiles hit his father's offices.

The Iran Daily Dispatch is presented by Tessa Danvers, written by Evan Maloney, and produced by Jennifer DaSilva. Simon Whistler is our executive producer. The Iran Daily Dispatch is a free-to-access audio news brief, available exclusively on Fronts.co.

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