Spain’s Prime Minister reaffirms ‘no to war’ against Iran

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that Spain had agreed to cooperate with the US military amid its war against Iran.

“It’s my understanding, over the past several hours, they’ve agreed to cooperate with the US military,” she said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had previously refused to let the US use jointly operated naval and air bases in southern Spain.

A clarification from Madrid would be necessary to confirm this announcement, since Sanchez earlier in the day reaffirmed his government’s position against the war.

Trump on Tuesday said he wanted to cut all US trade with Spain over its position. It was not immediately clear how that would work as Spain is part of the European Union which is a free-trade zone.

There are several reports coming out from Iraq right now that include a nationwide blackout.

News agency AFP and Iraqi Kurdish news outlet Rudaw both cited the Electricity Ministry. It wasn’t immediately clear how much of the country was impacted and what the cause was.

At the same time, there were reports of more explosions in Erbil, in the Kurdish north, while Reuters said drones had been shot down close to Baghdad airport.

The US Embassy in Baghdad also recommended its citizens leave the country.

“US citizens in Iraq are strongly encouraged to depart as soon as they are safely able to do so, and shelter in place until such time as conditions are safe to depart,” it said in a post on X.

We will bring you more on these reports as more updates come through.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has doubled down on his opposition to the US-Israeli war against Iran.

He appeared unimpressed by US President Trump’s threats to punish Spain by cutting off all trade to the country.

Iran‘s armed forces have threatened to carry out attacks on Israeli embassies around the world if Israel strikes the Iranian mission in Lebanon.

Military spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi said in a televised address that “if Israel commits such a crime, it will force us to make all Israeli embassies around the world our legitimate target.”

The threat followed comments on Tuesday by Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesperson Avichay Adraee, telling Iranian officials to leave Lebanon within 24 hours.

He said the Israeli military “warns representatives of the Iranian terror regime who are still in Lebanon to leave immediately before being targeted.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made somewhat critical remarks about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran during a debate in the German parliament on the war in Iran.

He described their approach as “illusory,” saying conflicts cannot be resolved “by military force and unilateral action alone.”

“We must emphasize this repeatedly to our American and Israeli friends, and we will continue to do so,” Pistorius said.

At the same time, he made clear that Germany is not party to the war, adding: “The German Bundeswehr will not take part in this war.”

He also stressed the importance of abiding by international law, but added that Iran had ignored these rules for decades. The international community had tried to curb Iran’s destructive role, but “without success,” Pistorius said.

It was clear during the debate that many in parliament were concerned about the lack of clear justification in international law for the military action by the US and Israel.

Typical of the comments was this from Norbert Röttgen, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party: ” War is an evil, no question, but I say just as clearly: the regime of the mullahs is the greatest evil for the region, for the people in Iran and beyond.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote a message on X to Iran’s neighbors that have borne the brunt of its retaliatory strikes.

He said the neighboring countries had supported efforts to avoid this war, but the US and Israeli attacks had left Iran no other option.

“We respect your sovereignty,” Pezeshkian added, saying regional peace should be up to the countries in the region.

Iranian strikes have targeted not only US military targets, but also US embassies as well as its neighbors’ oil and gas infrastructure as Iran seeks to make the war as costly as possible for the US.

This has led to fears that the countries on the receiving end of the strikes may fire back in turn.

Following weeks of negotiations between US and Iranian officials over Iran’s nuclear program, the US and Israel on February 28 launched a coordinated cooperation dubbed Operations “Epic Fury” and “Roaring Lion” against the Iranian regime. 

To better understand the conflict, here is a breakdown of what happened and its consequences in maps and charts.

Here is a recap of the main developments of the US-Israel war against Iran so far on Wednesday:

• Turkey says NATO air defenses destroyed an Iranian missile that was heading towards its airspace
• Debris landed in Hatay province near the border with Syria, with no casualties reported
• The incident is the first time a NATO member’s territory has been impacted by Iran’s escalating retaliation
• The US has torpedoed an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said
• It is the first US sinking of an enemy warship by torpedo strike since World War II
• Israel has continued its air strikes on Hezbollah targets across Lebanon
• Iran is scrambling to elect a new supreme leader after the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei on Saturday
• Israel has warned thatany successor to the slain Supreme Leader Khamenei would be a “certain target for assassination”

Videos claiming to show the US-Israel-Iran war are flooding social media.
And while many look dramatic or terrifying, a lot of them are fake, AI-generated, or taken completely out of context.

DW Fact Check debunks a few viral claims and puts together a list that will help you tell what’s fake and what’s real.

A United States submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters in the Indian Ocean, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said.

“An American submarine sunk [sic] an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon. “Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo.”

Hegseth did not provide further details on the ship, but an Iranian warship was reported to have sunk off the coast of Sri Lanka earlier this week.

Hegseth told the press conference that the strike on the Iranian warship came on Tuesday night, US time. The ship had issued a distress call at dawn on Wednesday local time.

He added that it was the first time the US had sunk an enemy ship by torpedo strike since World War II.

Sri Lankan authorities said they had rescued 32 crew members from the IRIS Dena frigate, but that 148 other sailors were still unaccounted for.

The US has said one of the main objectives of its joint operation with Israel against Iran is to eradicate Tehran’s naval capabilities.

For more on this story, read our full report.

NATO air defenses in the eastern Mediterranean have destroyed an Iranian missile that was heading toward Turkish airspace, officials in Ankara said Wednesday.

In a statement, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said the ballistic missile, which flew over Iraq and Syria, “was engaged in a timely manner … and rendered inactive.” There were no casualties, the ministry said.

“Any steps necessary to defend our territory and airspace will be taken decisively and without hesitation,” the statement added.

This is the first time that Turkey — a NATO member which shares a border with Iran — has been directly involved in the escalating conflict that began on Saturday when the United States and Israel launched a large-scale air attack on Iran.

Tehran’s response in the days since has seen it launch drones and missiles at several countries across the Gulf, as well as Israel. 

“We warn all parties to refrain from actions that would lead to further escalation of conflict ‌in the region,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

A Turkish official told the AFP news agency that Ankara believes that Turkey was not a target of the missile, which veered off its course to a base in Cyprus.

NATO spokesperson ‌Allison ⁠Hart said the alliance condemns the incident.

“​NATO stands ​firmly with ‌all allies, including Turkiye, ‌as Iran continues ‌its indiscriminate ​attacks across the region. Our deterrence ​and defence posture remains strong ⁠across ​all domains, ​including when it ​comes to ‌air and missile ​defence,” ⁠Hart said.

Turkey has summoned Iran’s ambassador to Ankara over the incident, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters news agency.

Use the sliders to reveal the extent of the damage to the missile facilities at several sites in Iran.

Dubai influencers are accused of generating “tone-deaf” social media posts as they react — or avoid reacting — to the Iranian missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates.

Read more in our in-depth report.

Iraq is the only country in the Middle East to be targeted by both sides in the current conflict. There, the war could impact everything from the next government to intercommunal violence and civil servants’ salaries.

Read more on how the conflict in Iran is affecting neighboring Iraq here.