live Iran War Enters Its Second Week

The ongoing war in Iran and airspace closures in the region have forced airlines to reroute, creating congestion across alternative paths connecting Europe and Asia. In particular, the Afghan Taliban have been experiencing a windfall in transit fees amid a surge in flights over its territory.

Despite recent clashes and air strikes between Pakistan and Taliban‑controlled areas of Afghanistan, the airspace over both countries, known as the Afghan‑Pakistan Corridor, is now one of the few alternatives to the southern routes.

Live FlightRadar data shows the number of daily flights over Afghanistan has jumped from about 50 to over 280 per day -- representing a fivefold increase -- since February 28. Pilots must fly high and follow strict paths because most of Afghanistan lacks formal air-traffic control.

Transit flights generate revenue for the Taliban, who charge $700 per aircraft without providing any air-traffic control services. The surge in flights is already bringing the Taliban a sudden windfall, with an estimated $196,000 daily in transit fees.

Another crucial route is the Caucasus. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have emerged as a major alternative for Europe‑Asia flights. Pilots must navigate close to restricted airspace over both Russia and Iran. As of March 4, the Caucasus air corridor is experiencing a massive surge in traffic, with volume roughly tripling following the start of military operations in Iran on February 28.

Major carriers such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and British Airways, as well as regional airlines like Uzbekistan Airways and Air Astana, are using both corridors to keep routes open.

FlightRadar24 has noted long lines of planes in the Afghan airspace, which airlines had until recently almost completely avoided. The last time a dramatic increase of flights over Taliban‑controlled airspace was recorded was during June 2025 war on Iran.

For the first time in 36 years, Iran finds itself having to pick a new supreme leader.

It has happened only once before, in 1989, after the death of the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, paved the way for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to take over.

While Khomeini died of natural causes, Khamenei was killed on the first day of a joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28. Now the 88-seat Assembly of Experts must convene in secret to select his successor.

Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told RFE/RL that whoever emerges will be chosen on a single criterion: political expediency. The Assembly of Experts is today a "rubber-stamp body" and the process will be driven by circumstance rather than grooming, Vatanka argued.

Many names over the years have been thrown around as potential successors to Khamenei, but currently three candidates are widely considered to be frontrunners: Mojtaba Khamenei, Alireza Arafi, and Hassan Khomeini.

To read the full report, click here.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed that a US submarine sank ‌an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka as military officials said Iran is firing fewer missiles at targets around the Gulf region due to its decimated capabilities to wage war.

Speaking at a briefing on March 4, Hegseth called the attack -- which left at least 87 seamen dead with dozens of others injured or missing -- "quiet death." Sri Lankan authorities said 32 Iranian sailors were rescued.

"An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo," Hegseth said.

To read the full report, click here.

Turkey summoned the Iranian ambassador to Ankara to the Foreign Ministry on March 4 to express concern over a ballistic missile that was fired from Iran and headed toward Turkish airspace.

The Turkish Defense Ministry announced the interception and destruction of the missile hours earlier, saying parts of the defense system used to intercept the missile fell in the country's Hatay Province, but there were no casualties in the incident.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also contacted his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, and called for avoiding any action that would lead to the spread of war.

Energy market analysis firm Kpler announced on March 4 that tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has decreased by 90 percent since the start of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Spokespeople for the Iranian Armed Forces have said they have completely stopped traffic on the waterway.

“Unlike some other shipping sectors that have largely ground to a halt, some ships are still sailing east and west through the Strait of Hormuz, and some are sailing with their tracking systems off,” said Matt Wright, senior shipping analyst at Kepler, referring to the maritime traffic tracking system.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his UAE counterpart in a phone call that the security of shipping lanes must be protected.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang said the "red line" of protecting civilians in conflicts must not be violated and civilian targets, including energy-related facilities, must not be attacked.

Wang told his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on March 4 that China would send a special envoy to the Middle East to mediate.

China sources most of its oil from the Middle East.

Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, has called on Iran to immediately stop attacks on Gulf countries, saying such attacks do not reflect Iran's goodwill toward its neighbors.

On March 4, the Qatari Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on X Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told al-Thani in a phone call that "Iran's missile attacks were aimed at American interests and did not target the Qatari government."

According to the report, al-Thani rejected the claim and said objective evidence shows that areas targeted by Iranian attacks included residential areas inside Qatari territory, critical infrastructure, and industrial areas where liquefied natural gas production facilities are located.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the launch of an investigation after reports emerged of an air strike on a girls' school in the southern Iranian city of Minab on February 28 that Iranian media said killed more than 160 people.

"All I can say is that we're investigating that," he told reporters at a Pentagon news conference on March 4. "We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that."

The girls' school was located near a base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Hegseth did not provide further details about who may have been responsible for the attack or the type of ammunition used, only saying the Department of Defense was investigating the attack.

JERUSALEM -- Crowds of civilians in costumes were literally dancing in the streets as they marked the Purim holiday here when air-raid sirens rang out. Immediately, people streamed toward the shelters -- some clutching babies, others drinks.

On this occasion, the shelter was a nearby underground parking lot where revelers continued the party, spinning around with arms linked and singing vigorously. One man was attached to an inflatable horse. A child was dressed as a chick, a parent as a penguin.

It was a jarring moment where a high-spirited party collided with war.

To read the full report by RFE/RL Senior International Correspondent Ray Furlong, click here.

US President Donald Trump said Iranian officials who seek to assume top positions to replace Iran’s fallen leaders “end up dead” and he vowed that the United States and Israel will “continue forward” in the military campaign against the Middle East country.

"We're in a very strong position now, and their leadership is just rapidly going. Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead," Trump told a meeting with technology sector leaders at the White House on March 4.

"We're doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15," Trump said, as the war entered its fifth day.

Trump said that Tehran's arsenal of ballistic missiles was being "wiped out rapidly."

The president said he would "continue forward" with the air campaign, being conducted jointly with Israel, that has killed Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and many other security, military, and political leaders.

The White House has received criticism from Democrats and some Republicans for launching the attack against Iran, with some questioning the legality of the decision to go to war.

On March 4, a majority of the Republican-controlled US Senate voted to block a bipartisan resolution seeking to stop the war and require any military actions against Iran to be authorized by Congress.

The US president again stated that a key reason for launching the attack, starting on February 28, was to eliminate Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon.

"When crazy people have nuclear weapons, bad things happen," Trump said.

While Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and others in the West have accused Iran of attempting to build a nuclear weapon, Tehran has insisted that its program is for civilian purposes.

Washington and Tehran had been locked into a series of indirect negotiations, mediated by Oman, on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, However, Trump said he determined Tehran was not going to accept a deal and decided to launch the massive air campaign against Iran.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

WASHINGTON — The US Senate voted 53–47 to block a bipartisan resolution seeking to curb President Donald Trump’s authority to continue military action against Iran without congressional approval.

The measure would have required Congress to authorize further strikes, but Republicans largely opposed it, arguing the president has commander-in-chief authority to direct ongoing operations.

Only Rand Paul of Kentucky broke with his party to support the resolution. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against advancing it, while voicing concern about the scope of the conflict.

Collins said the administration had briefed Congress more thoroughly than it did before the overnight operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, yet stressed that lawmakers must remain fully informed.

Passing the resolution now, she said, “would send the wrong message to Iran and to our troops,” emphasizing the need for “unequivocal support” alongside continued consultation with Congress.

Murkowski said communication had improved compared with Venezuela -- “but that doesn’t say much” -- and acknowledged public anxiety over the lack of a defined endgame. “That’s what most Americans are thinking,” she said.

Democrats cast the vote as a constitutional test. Chuck Schumer of New York said lawmakers must decide whether to send “sons and daughters into harm’s way.” John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote to block the measure.

Republican leaders defended the president. John Thune of South Dakota said Trump is acting to protect US forces, while Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called the resolution unconstitutional.

The vote leaves the White House with broad latitude to continue operations as debate over Congress’s war powers persists.