TEL AVIV DAILY - 7 MARCH 2026
Iran Expands Gulf Strikes as IAF Destroys Underground Missile Factory; IDF Lebanon Raid Seeks Ron Arad Remains; US Moves Third Carrier Group
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Iran Launches Major Missile Barrage Against Israel and Gulf States
Iran fired over 80 missiles at Israel in multiple salvos while expanding attacks to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and UAE, with Iranian drones striking Dubai International Airport. IDF reports intercepting most projectiles with no Israeli casualties reported from the latest barrage.
US Says Third Aircraft Carrier Deploying to Middle East as Operations Intensify
US Central Command reports hitting over 3,000 Iranian targets to date while deploying additional naval assets including a third carrier group. Trump announces defense companies agreed to quadruple weapons production to address stockpile concerns.
IDF Conducts Deep Lebanon Raid Searching for Ron Arad Remains
Israeli special forces conducted helicopter-borne commando operation in eastern Lebanon's Nabi Chit seeking remains of missing aviator Ron Arad but found no evidence. Hezbollah reports 16 killed in associated clashes and airstrikes.
DRIVING THE DAY
SUMMARY: Iran fired over 80 missiles at Israel in six salvos since midnight 6-7 March while expanding attacks across the Gulf, striking Dubai International Airport with drones and hitting sites in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait, killing an 11-year-old Iranian girl in Kuwait. The IAF destroyed what the IDF described as an underground missile factory and additional key sites in Iran on 6 March, part of over 400 targets struck in western Iran that day, while US Central Command reported hitting over 3,000 Iranian targets to date with a third carrier strike group now deploying to the region. Israeli special forces conducted a helicopter-borne commando raid in eastern Lebanon's Nabi Chit seeking remains of missing aviator Ron Arad but found no evidence, with Hezbollah reporting 16 killed in associated clashes. President TRUMP announced defense companies agreed to quadruple weapons production to address stockpile concerns as Secretary RUBIO reportedly told Arab states the war will last several more weeks. END SUMMARY.
Iran Front -- Regional Escalation Accelerates as Tehran Targets Gulf Infrastructure
Iran fired over 80 missiles at Israel in multiple salvos during the early hours of 7 March, with the IDF reporting most projectiles intercepted and no Israeli casualties from the latest barrage, Times of Israel reported. Tehran simultaneously expanded attacks across the Gulf region, with Iranian drones striking Dubai International Airport, forcing operations to suspend, and missiles hitting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait. An 11-year-old Iranian girl, Elena Abdullah Hussein, was killed by shrapnel in Kuwait when a drone struck her home as she slept, Times of Israel reported. Iran claimed 7 March it targeted US sites in the UAE despite earlier pledging to halt attacks on neighboring states unless attacked from their territory, Haaretz reported.
The IAF struck more than 400 targets in western Iran on 6 March, including what the IDF described as an underground missile factory and ballistic missile launchers, Times of Israel and Ynet News reported. The IAF deployed over 80 jets dropping 230 bombs in the operation, Times of Israel reported. The strikes represent what one report characterized as the most intense Israeli operations against Tehran since the war began, Haaretz reported. The IDF estimated 6 March it has destroyed over 60 percent of Iran's missile launchers, Israel Hayom reported, attributing declining Iranian launch rates to launcher network degradation.
