Middle East plunges into wider conflict as US and Israel attack Iran, with Gulf states drawn into it
Although the team later sang the anthem — which pays tribute to the Islamic Republic — in subsequent matches, human rights activists warned that the initial act of remaining silent had already put the players at risk. Reza Pahlavi, who has pitched himself as a leader for a democratic transition in Iran, said the members of the national women’s team face “significant pressure and ongoing threat” from the Iranian regime and urged Australia to ensure their safety and provide all necessary support.
Middle East conflict: Reported deaths in the US–Israel war on Iran (as of March 9, 2026)
Iran: At least 1,230 people have been killed, including 175 schoolgirls and staff in a missile strike on a primary school in Minab on the war’s first day, according to the humanitarian group Iranian Red Crescent Society. It is unclear whether these figures include casualties from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Iranian army separately reported 104 deaths after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka last week; these were not included in the Red Crescent tally.
Israel: The military reported two soldiers killed in southern Lebanon, marking the first troop fatalities since hostilities with Hezbollah resumed. Eleven civilians have died, including nine in an Iranian missile strike on Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem on March 1, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s ambulance service.
United States: Seven servicemembers have been killed during operations against Iran, according to the US military.
Lebanon: At least 394 people have died in Israeli strikes, including 83 children, the health ministry reported.
Saudi Arabia: Two civilians were killed when a projectile struck a residential area in Al-Kharj, southeast of Riyadh.
Bahrain: One person was killed in Salman Industrial City after a missile interception triggered a fire on March 2, per the interior ministry.
Kuwait: One child and four security personnel — two army soldiers and two interior ministry officers — were killed during Iranian attacks, according to the health and foreign ministries and army statements.
Oman: One person was killed after a projectile hit the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MKD VYOM off the coast of Muscat.
United Arab Emirates: Four people were killed, according to the defense ministry.
Syria: Four people died when an Iranian missile struck a building in Sweida on February 28, reported by state news agency SANA.
Iraq: At least 15 people have been killed. One commander from Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed armed groups, was killed in an airstrike on March 5, police sources told Reuters.
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