📰 MIDDLE EAST CRISIS BRIEFING — 03:00 CET

3 confirmed sources | Day 27 — early Friday hours

📌 THREAD: Lebanon / Hezbollah Front
Status: ESCALATION

~02:00 CET Guardian Live — IDF strikes Beirut's southern suburbs in the early hours of Friday, March 27. AFP correspondents heard several explosions; AFPTV footage shows columns of smoke rising. No advance evacuation warning was issued, unlike previous strikes in the same area. link

Delta: Until now, IDF had issued warnings before striking Beirut south. The absence of any warning signals an operational shift — either tactical urgency or the end of the "humanitarian gesture" toward Lebanese civilians.

📌 THREAD: Iranian Attacks on Gulf States
Status: EVOLVING

~00:30–02:00 CET Al Jazeera (27 Mar liveblog) — New wave of Iranian missiles and drones strikes Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in the early hours of Friday. Iran continues its Gulf campaign overnight despite the US pause on strikes against Iranian energy sites granted by Trump. link

Delta: Gulf escalation has not stopped with Trump's extension of the US deadline to April 6 — confirms that the diplomatic backchannel and Iranian military operations proceed in parallel. Iran is using the pause as operational space, not as a de-escalation signal.

📌 THREAD: Diplomatic Front
Status: ACTIVE STALEMATE

~01:30 CET Trump (overnight statement) — "Iran has a chance to make a deal." Reiterates openness to negotiations while strikes continue. No new substance beyond the deadline extension already announced on the evening of March 26. link

Delta: Trump's rhetoric unchanged. Diplomatic front remains static: Pakistan backchannel active, Iran officially denies talks, deadline moved to April 6. No verifiable change in position overnight.

⚡ DIVERGENCE: IDF — from "with warning" to "without warning" over Beirut
IDF previous strikes on Beirut south: evacuation ordered hours in advance
vs. Friday 27 early hours strike: zero warning, direct explosions without civilian notification
→ Implication: either a deliberate tactical shift (faster tempo), or a signal that the "war with civilian protection" phase is over on the Lebanese front.