The U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran escalated sharply on Monday, expanding into Lebanon as regional tensions deepened and a Kuwaiti air defence unit mistakenly shot down three American fighter jets during an Iranian attack.

The widening campaign has left no clear end in sight, with Israeli forces striking targets in Lebanon after missile and drone launches by Hezbollah, while Tehran continued retaliatory attacks on Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases.

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Kuwait downs US jets during Iranian strike

According to U.S. Central Command, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets amid the chaos of an incoming Iranian assault. All six crew members ejected safely and were recovered.

The incident underscored the volatility of a conflict that has already killed dozens across Iran, Israel and Lebanon, disrupted global air travel and halted shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil trade. Oil prices surged as a result.

Trump says operation could last weeks

U.S. President Donald Trump said the joint U.S.-Israel campaign could continue for several more weeks, describing it as “ahead of schedule” but warning it could take longer than initial projections.

“Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that,” Trump said at the White House.

The operation began with targeted strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, dramatically reshaping the regional landscape. Trump said it remained unclear who was now in charge in Tehran.

The Pentagon said more U.S. forces were deploying to the region. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that military objectives would require “difficult and gritty work.”

So far, six U.S. service members have been killed, all in Iranian retaliatory attacks on Kuwait.

Political and economic fallout

The campaign represents one of the most consequential foreign policy gambles of Trump’s presidency. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found only one in four Americans supports the strikes, posing potential risks for Republicans in upcoming midterm elections.

Rising oil prices have already pushed average U.S. gasoline prices above $3 per gallon, adding economic pressure at home.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has condemned the strikes as unprovoked, saying negotiations with Washington had been ongoing before the assault. Tehran has refused calls to negotiate under fire.

War spreads to Lebanon

The conflict opened a new front when Hezbollah launched missiles and drones toward Israel from Lebanon. Israel responded with sweeping airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, targeting what it described as senior militants. Lebanese officials reported dozens killed and injured.

An Iranian-designed Shahed drone, believed by Cypriot authorities to have been launched from Lebanon, struck a British air base in Cyprus. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would defend its personnel but would not engage in offensive operations.

Meanwhile, Gulf states including Qatar and Saudi Arabia faced renewed missile and drone attacks, forcing energy shutdowns and deepening fears of prolonged regional war.

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now · Source · 02.03 2026

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Kuwaitis check that one of the downed F15 pilots is ok

It was 6 US servicemen killed by what Hegseth flippantly described as a "squirter" (he's used a porno term).

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/02/politics/six-soldiers-killed-in-iranian-strike-kuwait?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=missions&utm_source=reddit

That is JET, Not JETS.

Mistakes are bound to happen in the fog of war, the US has very little experience with operations like this, they have a one a war of any consequence in 81 years, they're already running low on munitions and the expense of this war is up to a billion dollars a day so far. That is money that the cash strapped US ust doesn't have to spend. But Don doesn't mind because the idea of adding to the US deficit means nothing to him, he won't be around anyway, and he cares not one iota for the well-being of the average American.

Nobody knows where this war is going to lead, but it was dangerous, it was reckless, it was unnecessary, it could end up lasting years and costing trillions of dollars, and the end result could be another Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Algeria or Egypt, just a few of the misadventures that the US has gotten themselves involved in, in the past few decades.

It might have been better to just let Israel do a surgical strike of the nasty Ayatollahs building, taking him and some top officials out, and letting it play out that way.

But Trump does not like clean and simple, he prefers messy and very expensive, that's just who he is.

5 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

But Trump does not like clean and simple, he prefers messy and very expensive, that's just who he is.

I think he learnt a lot from his dealings with John Gotti.

The teflon president.

31 minutes ago, cdulaney said:

That is JET, Not JETS.

According to U.S. Central Command, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets

45 minutes ago, JimCM said:

I think he learnt a lot from his dealings with John Gotti.

The teflon president.

He certainly does feel untouchable, when you consider a lifetime of crime, 3600 lawsuits that were pending against him prior to his first term, the billions upon billions of dollars that he's stolen from small contractors, the five huge bankruptcies, the scamming from Trump University, Jan 6th, the Epstein misadventures and likely rapes, and the various other criminal endeavors that this man's been involved in, one would hope he'd be rotting away in a federal prison by now, but instead he's leading America into a potentially long term and devastating war.

Wow, what can one say? All that sort of points toward proof of a declining empire, when the moral barometer becomes that skewed, and moral deviance and criminal behavior is rewarded.

Trump showed what he really thought of veterans when he called McCain a loser because he was a prisoner of war.

I don’t think he has feelings for anybody other than himself.

5 hours ago, ASEAN NOW News said:

According to U.S. Central Command, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets amid the chaos of an incoming Iranian assault.

Not just one, but three?

What kind of training do they have there in Kuwait?

14 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Not just one, but three?

What kind of training do they have there in Kuwait?

Poor training and an expensive mistake A F15 plane cost uSD90 million.

2 hours ago, ozfarang said:

According to U.S. Central Command, Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets

I did not know that OZ. Thanks for the update as I do not dwell on the Internet as I am too busy on my farm here in Thailand.

Thanks again.

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

Trump showed what he really thought of veterans when he called McCain a loser because he was a prisoner of war.

I don’t think he has feelings for anybody other than himself.

Well there's no question that he's self-absorbed to a pathological degree but it's obvious that he also has a great deal of disdain for the Armed Forces and veterans. That could be one reason why he picked somebody as grossly subpar as Tiny Petie.

3 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Poor training and an expensive mistake A F15 plane cost uSD90 million.

So, can we charge back the guys who mistakenly shot down three of them?

Did Kuwait really down those planes?

Or is too difficult to admit the truth?

The US IFF codes probably weren't programmed into the Kuwait Anti-Air Defence System.

Glad the crews all escaped just a shame Trump wasn't in one of them.

4 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

So, can we charge back the guys who mistakenly shot down three of them?

With the price going up, Trump can try to recuperate the cost selling the Venezuelan oil that he stole.

18 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Did Kuwait really down those planes?

Or is too difficult to admit the truth?

It is interesting that all those Arabs countries allied with the USA and Israel were in bed with Epstein and his schemes.

Quote:

Sunni-majority countries in the Middle East are nations where Sunni Islam constitutes the predominant religious affiliation, typically comprising over 50% of the population. Key examples include:

Saudi Arabia: The birthplace of Islam, home to the holiest sites of Mecca and Medina, with 85–90% Sunni Muslims.

Egypt: A major cultural and demographic center in the Arab world, with 90% or more Sunni Muslims.

Turkey: Bridging Europe and Asia, with 75–80% Sunni Muslims, shaped by its Ottoman heritage.

Jordan: A strategic Hashemite monarchy in the Levant, where over 95% of the population is Sunni.

United Arab Emirates (UAE): An oil-rich federation with approximately 76% Sunni Muslims.

Qatar: A wealthy Gulf state with 67–77% Sunni Muslims.

Kuwait: A constitutional emirate with about 70% Sunni Muslims.

These countries form a geopolitical bloc influenced by shared Sunni traditions, historical caliphates, and modern alliances, often contrasting with Shia-majority neighbors like Iran and Iraq.

15 hours ago, phetphet said:

With the price going up, Trump can try to recuperate the cost selling the Venezuelan oil that he stole.

I hope you are driving an EV.

Also, I hope that fuel costs go so high that the local boys cannot afford to mindlessly ride around for joy rides on motorbikes minus mufflers.

2 hours ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

It is interesting that all those Arabs countries allied with the USA and Israel were in bed with Epstein and his schemes.

What is the Epstein connection in that list?

3 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I hope you are driving an EV.

Also, I hope that fuel costs go so high that the local boys cannot afford to mindlessly ride around for joy rides on motorbikes minus mufflers.

No EV. Just my GF’s old Honda ICE.

Don’t forget that those price increases will soon show up in the food courts and supermarkets.

21 hours ago, Bannoi said:

The US IFF codes probably weren't programmed into the Kuwait Anti-Air Defence System.

Glad the crews all escaped just a shame Trump wasn't in one of them.

The IFF code to identify friend or foe for Patriots and Kuwait's F-18 fighters were working. Raised the question whether Iran's cyper team was able to damage this critical identification to cause the "friendly fire'. Could also be from Iran's long range missiles or paramilitary groups in Irag that rbought down the 3 F15 fighters. Both reasons seem plausible.

Trump/Israel have really opened the gates of hell with this one. Other Presidents wisely kept this Pandora's box closed and Iran in their lane. Now they have decapitated the snake and fanned the chaos to the worrld.These headchoppers are emboldend , armed and ready to die and take down the global ecomomy with them.

Thanks Trump as you stuff your mouth with Big Macs and french fries (sorry freedom fries) and get ego stroking calls from Netanhayu and his criminal mates. This didn't need to happen but he's now done it.

Here's no 1 in iran - keeping the boys happy. It's actually a good tune well sung - they are getting ready for martyrdom on a mass scale.

The Ghost Of Kuwait strikes!

7 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

What is the Epstein connection in that list?

Epstein is all over that region. This is only a sample of his activities.

Quote:

Sulayem and Epstein worked together for more than a decade, cultivating a friendship between Israel and the United Arab Emirates long before the Abraham Accords agreement in 2020. Zeitlin wrote to Epstein in September 2018, after Djibouti nationalized DP World’s main hub in East Africa, “I hope your pal’s sojourn in Tel Aviv … was more effective than his efforts on the African continent.” After Epstein’s death, DP World acquired a controlling stake in a Nigerian logistics provider in 2022 and began expanding its footprint in Lagos as of last year.

On December 26, 2025, Israel became the first country to recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state, signing a mutual declaration “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.” The surprise diplomatic announcement landed after months of public advocacy from one of Somaliland’s most important foreign investors: Dubai’s DP World, whose chief publicly argued for recognition at a conference in October—touting hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the company’s port at Berbera.

The Israeli move inflamed the government of Somalia, and drew denunciations from the African Union and Arab League. Formal recognition of Somaliland strengthens the UAE’s logistics hub in Berbera, where Israel is already building up a military base to protect their Red Sea shipping interests from drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi government. Israel’s efforts to shore up the government in Hargeisa come as the UAE continues its own brash series of interventions in the Horn of Africa, and support for the genocidal Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.

The strategic gambit in Somaliland marks another chapter in the deepening relationship between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi. In the last two decades of his life, American financier Jeffrey Epstein acted as an informal diplomatic bridge between Israel and the United Arab Emirates—through his intimate friend Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman of DP World and a close associate of the ruler of Dubai.

Epstein took a keen interest in DP World, one the world’s largest container terminal operators, which controls the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) in Dubai, an essential logistics hub for trade transiting through the Persian Gulf. JAFZA is the U.S. Navy’s most frequently visited foreign port, and the U.S. has more ships in UAE ports than any other port outside the United States.

After bouncing back from his first prison stint for child prostitution in 2009, Epstein bragged about his relationship with “the owner of the deep-water port of Djibouti on the horn of Africa, a smuggler’s paradise.” The Port of Djibouti was DP World’s largest container terminal in Africa at the time. Epstein claimed that his relationship with Sulayem was so close, “he was basically in charge” of the port.

There are so many connections to Epstein.

Quote:

Emails published as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation into Epstein's estate this week shed new light on the late sex trafficker's international political dealings. Long after his 2008* guilty plea for procuring a minor for prostitution, he was active and welcome in powerful circles. Epstein bragged to a former Norwegian president about passing on information about Trump to a Russian ambassador, and offered former Trump adviser Steve Bannon help meeting with politicians in Europe.

But the most intriguing revelations have been about Epstein's dealings in the Middle East. Some of Epstein's relationships to the region are already known. He kept a photo of himself with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his apartment, and did business with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, while helping Barak set up backchannel contacts with Russia to negotiate over the future of Syria.

The House Oversight Committee's disclosures add two other countries to the mix. Along with the mysterious figure asking about favors for Kuwait—the name is completely redacted—the emails show that Epstein was in contact with an influential man in Qatar referred to only as "Jabor Y."

In November 2016, shortly before the U.S. election, Epstein apologized to Jabor for canceling an audience that Jabor had arranged with Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar.** "[T]oo much work around the election," Epstein wrote, adding that "the states will be in turmoil for awhile no matter who wins" and promising to "explain when i see you."

The disclosures also touch on Epstein's longstanding relationship with Thomas Barrack, a real estate investor close to Trump. During the 2016 election, Barrack was a major fundraiser for the Trump campaign. He now serves as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Trump's special envoy to Syria.

In March 2016, Epstein and Barrack made small talk via email. Barrack asked Epstein to "catch up," while Epstein complained about the constant questions from the media about his relationships with Trump and former President Bill Clinton. "[S]end photos of you and child," Epstein added. "[M]ake me smile."

In January 2017, according to the House Oversight Committee emails, Epstein told Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem that "it might be worth it" to accept an invitation from Barrack to attend Trump's inauguration. "Do you think it will be possible to shake hand with trump," bin Sulayem wrote back. Epstein told bin Sulayem to call him on the phone.

Emails from the Handala leaks show Epstein introduced Barak to bin Sulayem in 2013, describing bin Sulayem as "the right hand of maktoum," the ruling family of Dubai. In 2015, bin Sulayem reached out to Epstein to arrange another meeting with Barak, for reasons unexplained. Epstein also kept a photo of himself with bin Sulayem in his apartment, according to images released by The New York Times.

Americans on the receiving end of ‘friendly fire’, that’s new.