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US posts bounty for info on Iranian leaders as they join massive rallies across the country (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

The US-Israeli attack on Iran is entering its third week with continuing long-range strikes and an escalating war of words on both sides
Published 13 Mar, 2026 20:55 | Updated 13 Mar, 2026 23:07
US posts bounty for info on Iranian leaders as they join massive rallies across the country (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Washington continues to insist that it is “winning” the war on Iran and that its warfighting capabilities have been significantly degraded after Israeli and US forces carried out more than 15,000 strikes on targets across the country.

Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the volume of Iranian missile and kamikaze drone strikes has dropped around 90% compared to the first days of hostilities. Tehran is no longer able to build additional weapons, while its leadership has gone into hiding, he asserted.  

“Iran’s leadership is in no better shape, desperate and hiding, they’ve gone underground, cowering. That’s what rats do,” Hegseth stated.  

Meanwhile, top Iranian officials took to the streets in multiple cities to participate in rallies marking International Al-Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestine event established by Tehran in 1979. President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and other senior officials were seen walking among the crowds. Larijani took the opportunity to ridicule Hegseth, stating that Iran’s leaders have always been “and still are among the people,” unlike top US politicians who prefer “Epstein’s island” instead.

Here are the latest developments as RT continues to bring you up to date:

  • The US Treasury temporarily lifted its sanctions on Russian oil shipments in order to reduce the burden on global energy markets. Several countries have already lined up to negotiate deals with Moscow while G7 members slammed the move, insisting on continued pressure on Russia.

  • The US and Israel conducted airstrikes on Tehran during a massive government-organized Quds Day march in support of Palestine. 

  • US CENTCOM has announced that all six crew members of the US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker have been confirmed dead after the aircraft went down in “friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury” over western Iraq.
  • US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has lashed out at the media for not being positive enough about the ongoing US-Israeli attack on Iran. Speaking at a press briefing, Hegseth insisted that the US has been “decimating the radical Iranian regime’s military in a way the world has never seen before.”

Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.

  • 13 March 2026

    23:06 GMT

    The Nepalese consulate in Beirut has condemned the Israeli attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outpost hosting a Nepalese battalion, calling it a serious breach of international law.

    “The Nepalese soldiers participating in UNIFIL have served for many years with a spirit of commitment and discipline to promote peace and stability in southern Lebanon,” the consulate said. It is unclear if anyone was injured or killed.

  • 23:00 GMT

    At least 13 civilians, including children, were killed by Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Friday evening, according to local health officials.

    The death toll over the past two weeks has risen to more than 773 people, including over 100 children, and nearly 2,000 injured.

    The Lebanese Health Ministry said one of the strikes hit an emergency point operated by the Islamic Health Authority and the Islamic Risala Scouts, killing two rescuers and wounding at least five others. The state-run National News Agency said another six people, including a young girl, were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a house in the city of Nabatieh. Three more people were killed in the border city of Bint Jbeil , while two children were killed in the coastal town of Ghazieh.

  • 22:35 GMT

    Tehran is allegedly considering allowing oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz if their cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, rather than US dollars, an unnamed senior Iranian official told CNN.

    Responding to a question from an RT India correspondent earlier on Friday, Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, highlighted converging interests between the two countries and when asked directly whether India would receive safe passage through the strait, he replied: “Yes, because India is our friend.”

    The United States has been aggressively defending the petrodollar system, utilizing a combination of financial sanctions and military-backed pressure since its establishment in the 1970s. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused BRICS nations of seeking to undermine the US dollar’s dominance in global trade. Moscow argues Washington itself undermined its currency by using it as a weapon, while Russia and its partners were merely forced to seek alternatives.

  • 22:19 GMT

    At least six Iranian civilians have been killed and seven others injured in a suspected Israeli attack on a village in the central Markazi province, according to Fars news.

  • 22:10 GMT

    Qatar has ordered evacuations from “a number of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure, in the interest of public safety until the threat has subsided.”

    The Interior Ministry has urged everyone to “rely on official sources for information and to adhere to the issued instructions” – but did not immediately provide any specifics or a list of affected areas.

  • 21:47 GMT

    Israeli shells reportedly hit a United Nations peacekeeping base near the border village of Mays al-Jabal in southern Lebanon, landing inside the Nepalese battalion’s compound, according to state-run National News Agency.

    There were no immediate reports of casualties or comments from UNIFIL, Nepal, or Israel.

    Earlier this week, Ghana urged the international community to condemn another missile attack that injured four of its soldiers serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.

    Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, described last Friday’s bombing as an attack on multilateralism and every principle that the UN Charter exists to defend.”

  • 21:21 GMT

    Sirens have blared in Tel Aviv as the Home Front Command instructed residents to seek shelter in a protected space and remain there until further notice. The IDF said it detected several missile launches from Iran – hours after Israel announced a new wave of strikes against Tehran.

    “Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said.

  • 21:07 GMT

    The Pentagon has approved sending a Marine expeditionary unit and additional warships to the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported citing three unnamed US officials. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has approved a request from US Central Command for the additional assets, including the amphibious assault-ready expeditionary unit, which typically consists of some 5,000 Marines and sailors.

  • 20:57 GMT

    European countries thought they would get more support for Ukraine by backing the war against Iran, but instead, the conflict resulted in sanction relief for Russian oil imports, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.

    Except for Spain and a few other nations, European countries and the European Union condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which legal scholars have deemed unlawful, by criticizing the Iranian government.

    ”Europe thought backing illegal war on Iran would win US support against Russia,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X. “Pathetic.”

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