Iran Fires Cluster Bomb Warhead at Central Israel; UK Deploys Most Combat Aircraft to Region in 15 Years

Iran fired a ballistic missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead at central Israel on Friday, with bomblet impacts reported in the city of Kiryat Ono, east of Tel Aviv. Israeli police and IDF forces were dispatched to the site. No injuries were immediately reported, though footage showed a small crater in a playground caused by one of the bomblets.

The attack came as Israel launched what its military described as strikes on "targets belonging to the Iranian terror regime" in the Noor region on the shores of the Caspian Sea — a new geographic front in a campaign that has now hit targets in at least 26 of Iran's 31 provinces. The IDF separately launched strikes in and around Tehran, as Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year, under the shadow of a 21-day war.

The United Kingdom has significantly expanded its military footprint in response to the escalating conflict. British Royal Air Force Typhoon and F-35 jets are conducting defensive air patrols over Jordan, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain, supported by Voyager refueling tankers. UK pilots have now surpassed 700 operational flying hours in the region, and an additional 500 UK personnel have been deployed to British bases in Cyprus. A small number of British military planners have also been assigned to US Central Command.

A US F-35 made an emergency landing at a Middle East base after what sources believe was an Iranian hit — potentially the first US aircraft struck by Iran in the current war. The pilot survived. US Central Command did not confirm the cause of the damage, saying an investigation was underway.

According to Al Jazeera's death toll tracker, the conflict has now killed at least 1,444 people in Iran, 18 in Israel, 13 US soldiers, and 21 in Gulf states. Lebanese health authorities reported the death toll in Lebanon has surpassed 1,000 since Hezbollah entered the conflict on March 2.