Thousands of Iraqi Kurds ‘launch ground offensive in Iran’ – live

Iraqi Kurdish fighters have reportedly launched a ground invasion of Iran as they look to topple the Iranian regime.

Thousands of soldiers have taken position in Iran as part of a military offensive, according to Fox News, after being secretly armed by the US.

An official, cited by Israeli network I24, claimed fighters began taking combat positions inside Iranian territory on Monday.

‘The ground military movements by Kurdish forces against Iran have already started since the midnight of March 2,’ they added.

The official claimed fighters have moved into positions around the southern mountains of Mariwan in western Iran.

The US and Israel are thought to be seeking an armed uprising and have been smuggling weapons to Kurdish volunteers since last year.

Between four and seven US-Israeli helicopters were said to have conducted an airdrop in the Najaf desert, Iraq, on Wednesday.

A Kurdish Iranian dissident group based in northern Iraq said some of their forces had lined up by the Iranian border, in Sulaymaniyah province, on standby.

Khalil Nadiri, an official with the Kurdistan Freedom Party, said Kurdish opposition group leaders had been contacted by US officials regarding a potential operation

It was reported that an on-the-ground rebellion could begin in the coming days after the American-Israeli offensive struck western Iranian security targets to degrade their capabilities.

Naim Qassem, the head of Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, has said it will not surrender ‘no matter the sacrifices’.

Speaking for the first time since the Iran war broke out, he said: ‘We are facing aggression… our choice is to confront it until the ultimate sacrifice, and we will not surrender’.

The Iranian proxy force fired missiles and drones towards Haifa, Israel, on Sunday in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has continued to trade blows with the group, targeting Hezbollah strongholds – in particular the Dahieh suburb of Beirut.

Hezbollah has significant political authority in Lebanon but the country’s president Joseph Aoun announced a ban on Hezbollah’s military activity, calling it ‘a sovereign and final decision’.

Twenty people in Lebanon died following Israeli strikes on Wednesday, Social Affairs minister Haneen Sayed said, as thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes.

The State Department confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister today.

‘Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss recent developments in Iran and throughout the Middle East,’ a department spokesperson said.

‘The Secretary told the Foreign Minister that attacks on Turkey’s sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full support from the United States. Both leaders reiterated the continued strength of the bilateral relationship.’

Donald Trump said everyone who wants to lead Iran ‘ends up dead.’

‘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,’ he said on Wednesday.

Donald Trump insisted the military effort in Iran is doing ‘very well’ at an unrelated White House event on Wednesday.

‘Their leadership is just rapidly going,’ Trump said. ‘Everybody that seems to want to be a leader, they end up dead. It’s an amazing, an amazing thing that’s taking place before your eyes.’

“We’re doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly,’ he added. ‘I would say – somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15.’

A vigil has been held for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Manchester.

Iran’s Supreme Leader was killed on Saturday in joint US-Israeli strikes.

A candlelit vigil took place at 8pm on Wednesday Sidney Street in the city centre, inviting people to attend an event for the ‘late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Husseini Khamenei’.

Posters said the event, where mourners waved Palestinian flags, was supported by the Friends of Islamic Centre of Manchester.

A number of Islamic socieities at universities in the UK have been condemned after they shared tributes to the ayatollah.

Iran has been warned to stop its attacks on the Gulf nations by the Arab League.

The League, made up of 22 member states, said the Iranian strikes are creating an ‘unprecedented state of hostility’.

Chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit demanded Tehran stop the attacks, which he called a ‘strategic mistake,’ saying ‘Iran must come to its senses.’

A fire has broken out at the oil refinery hub in Fujeirah, United Arab Emirates after it was hit by debris from an intercepted drone

Emmanuel Macron has warned Benjamin Netanyahu against launching a ground invasion of Lebanon.

Israel has been trading fire with Hezbollah since the Iranian backed terror group fired a series of missiles at Haifa in retaliation for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing.

But the French President told Israel to ‘refrain’ from a further ground invasion.

In a statement, he said: ‘I called on the Israeli prime minister to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity and to refrain from a ground offensive.’

Macron, who also spoke with Lebanon’s president and prime minister today, called on Hezbollah ‘to immediately cease its attacks against Israel and beyond’.