By Middle East Correspondent
LONDON, (The Muslim News): US defence officials on Thursday dismissed reports circulating on social media claiming that an American fighter jet had been shot down over Basra in southern Iraq.
Local media earlier suggested that the Basra Police Command had begun searching for an American pilot after a fighter jet allegedly crashed inside the province following an interception by Iranian air defences.
The claims were quickly rejected by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which described the reports as misinformation.
“Rumours are circulating on social media of a U.S. fighter jet shot down over Basra. These are baseless and NOT TRUE,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on the social media platform X.
A US defence official also said there had been no American aircraft losses in Iraq, dismissing the online claims as unfounded.
The denial came as the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States continues to intensify across the Middle East, with missile strikes, cross-border attacks and naval clashes raising fears of a broader regional war.
Trump vows to shape Iran’s next leadership
Amid the escalating confrontation, US President Donald Trump said Washington would ensure that whoever replaces Iran’s leadership after the war will not threaten the United States or its regional allies.
“The United States will ensure that whoever leads the country next, Iran will not threaten America or its neighbours, Israel, anybody,” Trump said during an event at the White House on Thursday while hosting the American soccer club Inter Miami CF.
“Long before this ever started, they were going after the entire Middle East. And then we came along, we blew up their party,” he added.
Trump has previously said he should play a role in shaping Iran’s post-war leadership, drawing a comparison with his involvement in Venezuela after President Nicolás Maduro was captured by American forces earlier this year and extradited to the United States.
Speaking to Axios, Trump dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei — the son of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and widely viewed as a possible successor—as “a lightweight”.
Trump warned that if Iran’s next leader pursued similar policies to the late supreme leader, the United States could face another confrontation within years.
“We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he said during a phone interview.
He also urged Iranian officials and diplomats to defect from the government.
“You’re going to have a chance, after all these years, to take back your country, accept immunity. We’ll give you immunity, and we’ll be giving you really the right side of history,” Trump said. “So you’ll be perfectly safe with total immunity.”
Iran has not yet announced a successor to Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated alongside dozens of senior Iranian officials following joint US–Israeli strikes launched last weekend.
Though he holds no formal public office, Mojtaba Khamenei has long been regarded as one of the most influential figures within Iran’s political and security establishment. He was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2019 and has been linked to the Basij militia, which suppressed protests following Iran’s disputed 2009 election.
Iran launches new missile barrage on Tel Aviv
Meanwhile, Iran continued its retaliatory attacks against Israel, reportedly using cluster missiles during a new bombardment of Tel Aviv late Thursday.
Israel’s Channel 12 television reported that fragments from the missiles fell across the city and surrounding areas, causing fires and significant damage.
Eyewitnesses told reporters that fires broke out at multiple locations across the metropolitan area.
Iranian officials have described the strikes as retaliation for the coordinated attacks launched by Israel and the United States.
Ukraine offers drone defence support
The widening conflict is also drawing in other countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Washington had requested assistance from Kyiv to help counter Iranian-made Shahed drones in the Middle East.
“We received a request from the US for concrete support in protecting against Shaheds in the Middle East region,” Zelenskyy said in a message posted on Telegram.
“Ukraine has unique experience in countering Iranian-made Shahed drones, and we are ready to share this experience with partners,” he added.
Sanders criticises Netanyahu
The war has also sparked criticism within the United States.
US Senator Bernie Sanders accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pushing Washington toward war with Iran.
“Netanyahu is the extremist who killed 75,000 in Gaza. The extremist who said invading Iraq would create ‘enormous positive reverberations.’ The extremist who has pushed U.S. presidents to go to war with Iran for decades,” Sanders wrote on X.
“Finally, he found a President who said yes. Tragic.”
Sanders also warned that the United States must avoid becoming further entangled in another major conflict in the Middle East.
Israel–Hezbollah fighting intensifies in Lebanon, with Israel killing 4 people incl 2 children
Fighting has also escalated along the Israel–Lebanon border.
An Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon killed four people, including two children, after striking a house in the town of Mashghara without prior warning, according to the state-run National News Agency (Lebanon).
Israel has launched extensive airstrikes across Lebanon since Monday, killing more than 70 people and injuring over 600 others following cross-border attacks by Hezbollah.
Hezbollah said Thursday that it carried out six drone and missile strikes targeting Israeli military positions.
The group said its attacks were conducted “in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza and in response to Israeli aggression against Lebanon.”
According to Hezbollah, rockets were fired at Israeli forces gathered near the Talat al-Ajl site north of the settlement of Kfar Yuval as well as the Ya’ara military barracks in northern Israel.
The group also said Israeli troops were targeted with a guided missile at the Blat military site in southern Lebanon.
Additional rocket fire targeted Israeli positions in the Galilee region and a defence complex belonging to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems south of Acre.
Israel has expanded its offensive against Hezbollah despite a ceasefire agreement reached with the group in late 2024.
Israeli minister threatens Beirut devastation
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that Israel could intensify its bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs until they resemble Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Smotrich made the threat during a visit to Israeli border towns including Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Shlomi and Zar’it, according to the Israeli news portal Walla.
Khan Younis was almost completely destroyed during Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and devastated much of the territory’s civilian infrastructure.
Lebanese health authorities say Israeli attacks since Monday have killed at least 102 people and injured nearly 650 across the country.
US Naval clash near Sri Lanka kills 87 sailors
The widening confrontation has also spread to international waters near Sri Lanka.
Officials in Colombo said they were preparing to evacuate 208 personnel aboard an Iranian ship after a US submarine torpedoed the unarmed Iranian warship IRIS Dena off the island’s coast.
The attack reportedly killed at least 87 sailors and left dozens wounded.
The warship had been returning home after taking part in naval exercises hosted by India.
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his government would proceed cautiously given the country’s neutral position.
“We cannot act hastily. We must work based on international agreements and commitments. Both parties need to reach an understanding,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack, saying the vessel was not engaged in combat operations.
“The Iranian Dena navy ship, near Sri Lanka, was UNARMED. Attacking an unarmed ship full of training officers and sailors is a war crime,” he said.
Missile strike hits Bahrain refinery
In the Gulf, Bahrain reported that an Iranian missile strike caused a fire at a unit of the Bapco Energies refinery on Thursday evening.
The country’s National Communication Centre (Bahrain) said emergency teams quickly contained the blaze.
“Emergency teams responded immediately and the situation was brought under control,” the centre said in a statement, adding that no injuries had been reported.
Authorities said the refinery continued operating normally while a full assessment of the damage was under way.
[Photo: A view of destruction of residential area on Enqelab Square following the attacks launched by the US and Israel on Tehran, Iran on March 4, 2026. Photojournalist: Fatemeh Bahrami/AA]
