Spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has asserted that Iran is fully prepared for a “prolonged war,” adding that the country is set to introduce advanced weaponry that has not yet been used in the conflict.
In a statement, Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini said that Iran’s enemies “should expect painful blows” in the coming new wave of attacks.
“Iran’s new initiatives and weapons are on the way. These technologies have not yet been deployed on a large scale.”
Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini
Naeini said that Iran is more prepared now compared with last year’s 12-day war launched by the US and Israel, describing the ongoing military confrontation as “sacred and legitimate war.”
Israel on the other hand is showing no sign of slowing down as its military Chief warned that the US-Israeli campaign against Iran was moving to “the next phase” and would “further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities.” “We have additional surprises ahead which I do not intend to disclose,” Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a televised statement.
The Israeli military said that strikes have already destroyed most of Iran’s air defenses and missile launchers.
Zamir issued the statement as a wave of new attacks was reported in the Iranian capital Tehran in the early hours of today, Friday, March 6, 2026. Intense Israeli airstrikes pounded the capital of Lebanon as well.
The US military said early Friday that it struck an Iranian drone carrier, setting it ablaze.The drone carrier, the IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-meter-long (yard) runway for drones. The vessel can travel up to 22,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel in ports, reports said at the time of its 2025 inauguration.
Earlier in the week, an American submarine sank an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka as it was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian navy that the US also joined.
In retaliatory strikes, Iran fired missile and drone attacks into Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host US forces.
Qatar’s Defense Ministry reported early today that it intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command.
Spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense stated that Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles fired early Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which hosts US forces.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the Interior Ministry said Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. In Kuwait, the Kuwaiti army said its air defenses were activated when missile and drone attacks breached Kuwait’s airspace.
In Lebanon, where the war has rekindled fighting between Israel and Iran-allied Hezbollah militants, Israel launched a series of airstrikes late Thursday into Friday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas.
Israel carried out at least 11 airstrikes late Thursday and early Friday, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.
Trump Dismisses Sending Troops To Iran
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said in remarks to a news agency that it would be a “waste of time” currently to consider sending US ground troops into Iran.
“It’s a waste of time. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost everything they can lose.”
Donald Trump
He also dismissed as a “wasted comment” the warning by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that a deployment of foreign troops into Iran would spell disaster for the invaders.
Separately, Trump said in an interview that he should be involved in choosing Iran’s new Supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war.
Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, being a front-runner to replace his father, calling him “a lightweight.” “We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said.
In an interview with a US news agency, Araghchi said that his country is ready for a potential ground invasion by US troops.
Analysts are predicting that the US could ramp up its military operation against Iran in the coming days, but it remains unclear if that would involve deploying ground troops to an invasion aimed at toppling the leadership in Tehran.
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