The Iran conflict entered its seventh day on March 6 with the most intense bombardment of Tehran since the war began, as IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir announced that the joint US-Israeli campaign was entering its next phase. After completing what he described as the surprise opening blow that established air superiority and suppressed Iran's ballistic missile array, Zamir warned of undisclosed surprise moves ahead. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced the escalation from CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, stating that firepower was about to surge dramatically with additional fighter squadrons and bomber pulses being deployed.
US B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers, while Israeli forces released footage showing the destruction of six missile launchers and three advanced defense systems minutes before they were set to fire. Explosions were reported across Tehran, Kermanshah, Shiraz, and Isfahan, with a military academy in central Tehran struck during live state television coverage. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper reported that Iranian ballistic missile attacks had fallen 90 percent from day one and drone attacks were down 83 percent, while the IDF claimed to have destroyed 80 percent of Iran's air defenses and 60 percent of its missile launchers. More than 30 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk or destroyed since operations began, including the IRIS Shahid Bagheri drone carrier.
A significant new front opened as Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party began taking combat positions inside Iranian territory around the Zagros Mountains near Mariwan in western Iran. According to multiple reports, the CIA and Israeli intelligence have been working to arm Kurdish forces to spark an uprising, with the Israeli military striking Iranian border outposts to lay groundwork for the flow of armed Kurdish fighters. Iranian forces reportedly evacuated the border city of Mariwan and began establishing defensive positions. In Lebanon, Israel issued a blanket evacuation order for the entirety of the Dahiyeh area in Beirut and struck 10 multi-story buildings overnight, with more than 420,000 Lebanese civilians displaced from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah responded by issuing its own evacuation order for Israeli border towns in a provocative taunt.
Iran's attempts at diplomacy met a firm rejection. Operatives from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence quietly reached out to the CIA through a third country's intelligence service offering to discuss terms for ending the conflict, but President Trump publicly declared it was too late for talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately stated that Iran was not asking for a ceasefire and saw no reason to negotiate, adding that Tehran was waiting for and confident it could confront a ground invasion. The US House of Representatives voted 212 to 219 to reject a war powers resolution that would have required withdrawal of forces without congressional approval, following the Senate's 47 to 53 rejection the previous day. Only 27 percent of Americans approve of the strikes according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll, while 43 percent disapprove.
The humanitarian toll continued to escalate, with the Iranian Red Crescent reporting at least 1,332 dead and over 6,000 wounded, including 181 children killed. A US military investigation found it was likely that American forces were responsible for the strike on a girls' school in Minab that killed between 165 and 180 people. In Israel, 12 civilians have died from Iranian strikes and 2,800 residents have been displaced. Oil markets surged with Brent crude settling at 85.41 dollars per barrel and West Texas Intermediate jumping 8.51 percent to 81.01 dollars, its biggest single-day gain since May 2020. The Dow Jones fell 785 points while analysts at Barclays warned Brent could reach 100 dollars per barrel. A critical interceptor stockpile crisis emerged, with the first 36 hours consuming more than 3,000 precision-guided munitions, and at the current rate the US could deplete half its entire interceptor stockpile within four to five weeks. The United States and South Korea confirmed discussions about redeploying Patriot missile systems from the Korean peninsula to the Middle East, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered Gulf states interceptor drones in exchange for PAC-3 missiles for Ukraine's defense.
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