According to various reports on X, a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle reportedly crashed early Wednesday during a strike mission over southwestern Iran, possibly due to Iranian air defenses.

Both crew members reportedly ejected safely, and a U.S.–Israeli combat search and rescue (CSAR) team reportedly entered Iran about an hour later and recovered them.

However, U.S. officials speaking to The Washington Post rejected the claim.

Official confirmation from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) remains pending.

Iran Fires 3 Missiles at Kurdish Opposition Bases in Iraq

Iran said its Revolutionary Guards fired 3 missiles at Iranian Kurdish opposition bases in Iraqi Kurdish Regional Governmen near Sulaymaniyah. Explosions were reported in Zirgwez village with 4 blasts heard and no casualties.

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Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke overnight with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth thanked Katz for condolences over six U.S. soldiers killed and said:

“Keep going to the end — we are with you.”

BREAKING: Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says separatist militant groups planned to enter from the western border and carry out attacks in Iranian cities with U.S.–Israeli support.

It claims a preemptive operation by intelligence forces and the IRGC destroyed several militant positions and inflicted heavy losses.

Iran's Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari:

We haven't truly closed the Strait of Hormuz.

You could say the Americans have closed it.

In the Strait of Hormuz, we exercise our maritime sovereignty. There, we deal with moving vessels according to international protocols.

Iran's Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari:

We are engaged in a heavy battle at sea, in the air, and in space with the globalist America.

We are face-to-face with the Americans in a historical battle that the US military has not experienced throughout its shameful and criminal existence, and they will surely receive a very hard and regrettable consequence.

China will increase its defense budget by 7% in 2026 to about $277 billion as part of plans to modernize its military by 2035.

Premier Li Qiang said Beijing will develop “advanced combat capabilities” and vowed to “resolutely fight” Taiwan independence.

Iran’s underground “missile cities”—tunnel complexes built to hide its missile arsenal—are becoming key targets for U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Aircraft and drones are destroying launchers as they leave the tunnels, while bunker-buster bombs hit entrances and surface infrastructure.

According to U.S. commanders, hundreds of missiles, launchers, and drones have been destroyed, and Iran’s missile launches have dropped about 86% in four days.

Source: WSJ

Pentagon’s preliminary estimate puts the cost of the Iran war at about $1 billion per day.

Source: The Atlantic

NEW: Meloni says Italy intends to send defensive aid to the Gulf.

AI Targeting System Guided Iran Strike Planning

Washington Post said the Pentagon used Anthropic’s Claude AI integrated with Palantir’s Maven system to identify nearly 1,000 targets during the Feb. 28 U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, highlighting the growing role of artificial intelligence in modern military planning.

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The Iran war is pushing Europe toward a new energy crisis.

Gas prices in Europe have jumped about 53% in just a few days, driven by disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian strikes affecting Qatar’s LNG production.

Competition for LNG is intensifying as Asian buyers outbid Europe, even causing tankers originally headed for Europe to reroute to Asia.

At the same time, EU gas storage is under 30% full, far below the normal ~45% for this time of year, raising concerns about refilling supplies before next winter.

If the conflict continues, energy costs, inflation, and economic pressure could rise across Europe, particularly in Germany and Italy, which rely heavily on LNG imports.

Source: FT

NEW: Sri Lanka says an Iranian vessel named “Bushehr” is currently in international waters near its maritime border, and the government is providing maximum assistance to safeguard those onboard.

Earlier, a U.S. submarine sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena near Sri Lanka.

Trump administration is scrambling to manage the fallout of the Iran war.

The Pentagon is requesting additional intelligence officers for at least 100 days, suggesting the war could last far longer than the initially suggested four-week timeline.

Officials say planning was limited.

A State Department source said “too few people were read in on the war plans,” which slowed evacuation preparations and travel alerts for Americans in the region.

Critics say the response looked improvised, with one former U.S. diplomat calling it “a completely ad hoc operation… like they woke up on Saturday and decided to start a war.”

Source: Politico

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani says the region “will not be part of any conflict or military escalation.”

Iraq's KDP leader Masoud Barzani:

We will do everything possible to keep Iraq’s Kurdistan Region out of the war.

BREAKING: Iranian drone hits Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan.

This marks the first time Iranian drones have targeted Azerbaijan.

WATCH: Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone visible on Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan attack.

WATCH: IDF releases footage showing an Iranian Yak-130 jet shot down over Tehran by an Israeli F-35I “Adir.”

BREAKING: Reuters reports, citing a source close to the Azerbaijani government, that missiles and drones launched from Iran fell near Nakhchivan Airport.