Members of Iranian security forces stand guard on a street next to a billboard of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on March 2, 2026. [AFP]
The escalating conflict in Iran has once again brought the Middle East to the brink of wider regional war. Coordinated military strikes by the United States (US) and Israel have targeted Iran, resulting in the murder, this past weekend, of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. America, in justifying its interference in Iran, has described its attacks as pre-emptive. Iranian forces have responded with waves of missiles and drones aimed at Israeli positions and US military assets across the Gulf, including in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The exchanges have caused heightened fears of a protracted confrontation that could engulf neighbouring states, and aroused suspicion over the intentions of the United States and Israel.