LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (March 7, 2026)

More than 80 Filipino tourists who were left stranded in Jordan as a result of US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran are now being repatriated, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday.

"As of March 7, 82 out of the 113 initially stranded individuals have safely departed from Queen Alia International Airport to several transit hubs, including Cairo, Dubai, Mumbai, and Riyadh, where passengers are boarding their respective connecting flights to Manila," the DFA said in a statement.

"At present, the Embassy continues to assist the remaining 31 Filipino tourists still in Amman."

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed Saturday that his country would never surrender, as Israel announced a fresh blitz led by 80 fighter jets which set one of Tehran's main airports on fire.

AFP photos showed fire and smoke billowing from Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, one of two that serve the capital.

But Pezeshkian struck a defiant tone in a speech broadcast on state TV in which he appeared to address US President Donald Trump, who said Friday that only Iran's "unconditional surrender" could end the war.

Iran's enemies "must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves," Pezeshkian said. 

The United States Embassy in the Philippines has urged Americans to remain alert, heighten situational awareness, and practice personal security measures after the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran.

The embassy told US citizens to avoid political demonstrations to prevent violation of local immigration laws and to exercise caution when in the vicinity of any large gatherings. 

Eighty one stranded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have returned to the country following prolonged conflict in the Middle East, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Saturday.

In a report, the DMW said the OFWs arrived in the morning via Emirates Airlines flight EK 336 at NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

An explosion was heard over Dubai airport on Saturday followed by a cloud of smoke in the air, a witness told AFP, as Iran pressed attacks across the Gulf.

The Flightradar24 tracking website showed planes circulating above the airport in an apparent holding pattern.

Continuing concerns over the Middle East conflict may push the next week's fuel pump prices even higher than recent projections, while the government awaits the decision of petroleum companies on possibly implementing staggered increases.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB on Saturday, Atty. Rino Abad, director of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oil Industry Management Bureau, said the "minimum estimates" for next week's fuel price increases are as follows:

• Diesel — P19.00 per liter
• Gasoline — P9.00 per liter
• Kerosene — P31.00 per liter

Vice President Sara Duterte on Saturday urged government agencies to "act now" as she made some suggestions amid the expected economic impact of a possible major pump price hikes next week due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said on Friday that at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have died so far in the conflict with Israel and the US, and that thousands more have been injured.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations in New York, Iravani asserted that the US and Israel had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, while Iran had targeted military sites, not civilians.

US President Donald Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" on Friday, a dramatic escalation of his demands a week into the war he launched alongside Israel, which could make it more difficult to negotiate a swift end to it.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Friday talked on the phone with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and expressed solidarity with the people of the United Arab Emirates amid the continuing tension in the Middle East.