📰 MIDDLE EAST CRISIS UPDATE — 18:31 CET
Day 4 — Tuesday, March 3, 2026 | 15 sources consulted
🔥 Key Developments:
• NATO CHIEF WELCOMES DEATH OF KHAMENEI — the NATO Secretary General publicly declared he "welcomes" the elimination of Iran's supreme leader. A statement that breaks every diplomatic convention: NATO openly sides as a belligerent.
🔗 Al Jazeera (EN)
• TRUMP CHANGES STORY: "I forced THEIR hand — Israel didn't drag the US" — Trump claims the war decision as his own. Contradicts all previous versions (including Rubio who had said the opposite).
🔗 Haaretz (EN)
• Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministers discuss US, Israeli strikes on Iran — Lavrov-Araghchi call: Moscow and Tehran coordinate diplomatically. Russia doesn't fight but backs Iran diplomatically while collecting the energy windfall.
🔗 Asharq Al-Awsat (EN)
• BRICS "missing in action" as war on permanent member Iran spirals — MEE analysis: the BRICS group is paralyzed. No joint statement, no coordinated action. Internal BRICS divisions exposed in full light.
🔗 Middle East Eye (EN)
• "People are gripped by huge fear": defiance and hope on the streets of Tehran — Guardian ground report: terror over bombing, but also hope of change from those who hated the regime. The war divides Iranian civilians.
🔗 Guardian (EN)
🔍 Narrative Divergences:
• 🪖 NATO (Al Jazeera): "welcomes" Khamenei's death — NATO behaves as a belligerent, not an arbiter.
↔️ 🌍 Global South/UN: statement incompatible with international law.
• 🔄 Trump (Haaretz): "I forced their hand" — claims the decision.
↔️ 🇮🇱 Israel/previous Rubio: it was Israel's strike plan that triggered US involvement.