DHAKA, March 1, 2026 (BSS) - US-Bangla Airlines today resumed its scheduled flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Muscat while temporarily suspending services to several Middle Eastern destinations amid the prevailing regional situation. The flights to Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Muscat in Oman will operate as per schedule from Sunday, said an airlines press release today. Considering the overall situation in the Middle East, US-Bangla Airlines has temporarily suspended flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, as well as to Doha, Qatar. The airline authorities said affected passengers will be contacted once flight operations to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar resume, subject to improvement in the situation. For flight-related information, passengers have been advised to contact the airline's hotline at 13605 or 01777777800-806, the release added.

At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been openly pressing for a US strike, describing Iran as an existential threat to Israel. The Saudi push for military action came even as Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were engaged in talks with Iranian officials over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs. Privately, however, the crown prince warned US officials that failing to strike now would embolden Tehran and increase future risks, the Post reported. Iran did retaliate following the initial US strikes, targeting Saudi Arabia. In explaining the strikes, Trump invoked decades of hostility between Washington and Tehran, framing the operation as retribution for past attacks.

DHAKA, Mar 1, 2026 (BSS) – Bangladesh today voiced deep concern over the safety of its nationals in Iran following recent attacks, urging all parties to exercise maximum restraint and return to diplomacy to ensure regional peace and stability. A press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dhaka said it remains deeply concerned about the safety and security of Bangladeshi nationals residing in Iran in the wake of the attacks. Bangladesh warned that any continuation of hostilities would further endanger regional peace, stability and the wellbeing of civilian populations. Calling upon all concerned parties to exercise maximum restraint, the government stressed the need to return to dialogue and diplomacy to resolve differences. Bangladesh expressed hope that calm would prevail at the earliest and that peace, security and stability would soon be restored across the region.

Bangladesh on Sunday condemned the violation of sovereignty of some countries, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Bangladesh hopes that calm will prevail at the earliest, and peace, security and stability will be restored soonest across the region, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the wake of attacks on Iran, Bangladesh continues to be 'deeply concerned' at the safety and security of Bangladeshi nationals residing in this country. Bangladesh warned that the continuation of hostilities will only endanger regional peace, stability and the wellbeing of civilian populations. Bangladesh called upon all concerned parties to exercise maximum restraint and return to diplomacy to resolve the differences.

Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment verified the identities of the four Bangladeshi expatriates, injured in a drone attack at Kuwait International Airport on Saturday. According to the ministry, one expatriate sustained a serious knee injury from the explosion, while the remaining three suffered cuts and injuries from shattered glass. The injured were immediately provided with initial treatment at a local hospital. The identities of the injured Bangladeshis have been confirmed as: Aminul Islam, Village: Doulatpur, Police Station: Nabinagar, District: Brahmanbaria, Rokibul Islam, Village: Bhulbaria, Police Station: Sathia, District: Pabna, Masudur Rahman, Village: Latifpur, Police Station: Begumganj, District: Noakhali, Dulal Mia, Village: Pathalia Kandi, Police Station: Homna, District: Comilla. The ministry is closely monitoring the situation and maintaining communication with local authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of the injured expatriates.

Bangladesh doesn’t want to see any killing at border: Home MinisterIndian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma paid a courtesy call on Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed at his office today. Photo: MinistryDHAKA, Mar 1, 2026 (BSS) – Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said Bangladesh does not want to see any killing at the borders. He made the remarks while Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma paid a courtesy call on him at his office here today. Stressing constant engagement of two border security forces, BGB and BSF in this connection, he said that many outstanding matters can be solved through discussions. During the meeting, he said they have discussed several bilateral issues that included trade and business, people-to-people connection and border security.

Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud has stated that preparations for upcoming local government elections will commence after Eid. Speaking at the annual general meeting of the Reporters Forum for Election and Democracy (RFED) at the Election Commission building in Agargaon on Sunday, Masud emphasized that the Commission has no respite from its responsibilities. “In addition to parliamentary and presidential elections, we must also organise numerous local government polls. Elections will be held throughout the year, and all preparations for the local government elections will begin after Eid,” he said. Highlighting the role of journalists, Masud noted, “Journalists are significant stakeholders for the Election Commission.

Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir on Sunday said there is no reason for Bangladesh to be worried about fuel supplies despite growing instability in the Middle East following attacks by the US and Israel on Iran. The country currently has sufficient stock and there is no immediate concern, said the adviser when asked about the possible impact of the Middle East crisis on Bangladesh, particularly regarding fuel supplies. He came up with the information while talking to reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Secretariat. The top priority of the government is Bangladeshis living in the Middle East and assisting passengers waiting at airports, he added. Kabir also said that he personally visited the airport along with the aviation minister to oversee the situation as per the directives of the Prime Minister.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Sunday said he has urged Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh to take necessary measures to ensure that the incidents of ‘border killings’ do not happen in the future. “I told the Indian High Commissioner that we do not want to hear about any more border killings. He made the remarks while talking to reporters at the Home Ministry after a meeting with Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Kumar Verma at the Secretariat. Responding to a question about the discussions, the minister said border issues were discussed in detail. The minister said the Indian High Commissioner paid a courtesy call as part of ongoing diplomatic engagements following the formation of a new government.

UK Defense Secretary John Healey said Sunday that “few people will mourn” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the British government’s first public response to the Iranian supreme leader’s death in US-Israeli strikes. “Iran and the regime he’s led for so long, it’s a source of evil, murdering its own citizens and sponsoring and exporting terror, including to countries like Britain,” Healey told Sky News. “It is for the US to set out the legal basis of the action,” he told the BBC. “Britain played no part in the strikes on Iran. “It demonstrates how our bases, our personnel, military and civilians at the moment are at risk with a regime that is increasingly indiscriminate, widespread and uncontrolled in the attacks it’s mounting,” he said.

Iranian missile strikes on Tel Aviv damaged at least 40 buildings, forcing more than 200 residents to evacuate their homes and take shelter in three hotels, Israeli daily Haaretz reported, citing the city municipality. The strikes came after Iran vowed sweeping retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli attack, reports UNB. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service reported that a woman died Saturday night from wounds sustained in a missile strike in the Tel Aviv area. “This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country,” Trump said. Iran swiftly formed a governing council to run the country until a new supreme leader is selected.

Emirates suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Sunday afternoon. Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain shut their airspace Saturday, forcing hundreds of thousands of travelers to either delay journeys or divert to alternative airports. Major hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha were shut down, leading to more than 1,800 flight cancellations by key regional carriers. US carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines paused Tel Aviv flights through the weekend. Other airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France, Transavia and Pegasus Airlines, canceled flights to Lebanon, while American Airlines suspended services from Philadelphia to Doha.

Furious Iraqi protesters tried on Sunday to storm a fortified zone housing the US embassy in Baghdad, as the threat of military escalation loomed over the country. Khamenei was killed on Saturday as the United States and Israel launched a wave of strikes on the Islamic Republic. The powerful group Kataeb Hezbollah said it would attack US bases after two of its fighters were killed in air strikes in southern Iraq. Pro-Iran groups later said they launched dozens of drones against “the enemy bases in Iraq and the region”, without providing further details. The US embassy in Iraq urged its nationals to limit movement and be ready to shelter after “reports of missiles, drones, or rockets in Iraqi airspace.”

The number of fatalities from a joint US-Israeli airstrike on a girls’ primary school in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province has risen to 148, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported on Sunday. According to Taheri, most of those killed in the attack were students, while teachers, school employees and parents were also among the victims, reports UNB. On Saturday morning, Israel and the United States carried out coordinated strikes on Tehran and several other cities, including Tabriz, Qom, Isfahan, Kermanshah and Karaj. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US military bases in the region. The strikes on Tehran reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Secretary of the country’s Defense Council Ali Shamkhani, and Mohammad Pakpour, chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Hamas on Sunday mourned Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a firm supporter of the Palestinian Islamist movement, after his death in what it described as a “heinous” US-Israeli attack. “We in Hamas mourn the passing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He provided all forms of political, diplomatic and military support to our people, our cause, and our resistance,” the Palestinian Islamist movement said in a statement. “This substantial support has been a key factor in the development of the resistance and its tactics, culminating in the remarkable achievements” during the October 7, 2023, resistance campaign in Israel, the group added. Militant group Islamic Jihad, which along with Hamas and its armed wing fought a war against Israel in Gaza for two years, said the killing of Khamenei was a “war crime” by the US and Israel in a “treacherous and malicious attack.”