Israel, Iran trade airstrikes as war enters 7th day

Israel announced on Friday that it had renewed airstrikes against Iran, while Iran launched two new waves of attacks on Israel using a large number of missiles.

Huge explosions were heard in Tehran on Friday afternoon, according to China Central Television (CCTV) reporter Li Jiannan.

"It's around 18:00 local time on the 6th. Just a few minutes ago, as you can see in the direction I'm pointing, there are multiple explosions not far from our reporting point, with thick smoke billowing from these sites," Li said, reporting from the scene.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Friday afternoon that the Israeli Air Force had launched a new wave of airstrikes against Iranian regime targets in Tehran and Isfahan, marking the 15th wave of strikes on Tehran since the United States and Israel launched joint military attacks on Iran a week ago.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the same day that the United States and Israel attacked residential areas in Ilam Province, destroying multiple residential buildings.

In addition, an official in Qom Province said that three locations in Qom were also hit in the new wave of U.S.-Israeli attack.

The IDF said in a statement on Friday that it dismantled an underground bunker beneath the Iranian leadership compound in central Tehran.

Approximately 50 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped about 100 bombs on the site, it said.

The IDF alleged that the bunker was intended for use by Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a secure emergency command center, although he was killed at the start of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Saturday.

It alleged that the compound continued to be used by senior Iranian officials, adding that it spanned multiple streets in central Tehran and included several entrances and meeting rooms for senior members of the Iranian government.

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Friday that it had launched the 22nd wave of Operation True Promise 4 against Israel, using a large number of ballistic missiles, including its latest super-heavy Khorramshahr-4.

The missiles were fired "directly into the heart of the occupied territories," the statement said.

U.S. and Israeli military bases in Gulf countries, Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport, and military sites in Haifa were all targeted by Iranian missiles.

On Friday evening, the IRGC announced it had launched the 23rd wave of Operation True Promise 4, using drones and missiles to strike U.S. and Israeli targets.

Israel's emergency services, Magen David Adom, said that no casualties had been reported following Iran's latest wave of missile attacks on central Israel.

The IRGC also claimed its missiles and drones destroyed U.S. THAAD radars stationed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan, as well as the U.S. FPS-132 radar in Qatar, according to Iranian media reports.

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency, citing an IRGC official, reported that a new style of attacks using next-generation missiles will be introduced against U.S. and Israeli targets in the coming days.

The official said the production of missiles and missile systems continues uninterrupted on assembly lines in Iran, but did not provide further details.

The death toll from the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran has reached 1,332, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

The U.S.-Israeli attacks have damaged 3,643 civilian sites across Iran, including 3,090 homes and 528 commercial and service facilities.

Israel, Iran trade airstrikes as war enters 7th day

China will strengthen fiscal and financial coordination to amplify policy effectiveness, experts said as the draft central and local budgets for 2026 were unveiled on Friday at the ongoing fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.

According to the draft central and local budgets for 2026, 1.3 trillion yuan (190 billion U.S. dollars) of ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued to provide continued support for the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity-building in key areas and for large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs.

Ultra-long special treasury bonds totaling 800 billion yuan will be allocated to support the implementation of major national strategies and security capacity-building in key areas, and 250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be earmarked for consumer goods trade-in programs.

The country will refine these programs in terms of their scope and subsidy standards, and continue to support the scrapping and replacement of automobiles, home appliance trade-in schemes, and purchases of new digital and smart products.

China will also set up a 100-billion-yuan fiscal-financial coordination fund to boost domestic demand. The fund will support consumption and private investment through loan interest subsidies, financing guarantee, and risk compensation.

"Fiscal and monetary policies are the two major macroeconomic tools for macro-control, and their coordination is crucial. For instance, fiscal funds primarily serve as a guiding role, while financial institutions provide the capital. When fiscal guidance and financial resources are combined, the synergistic effect creates a result greater than the sum of its parts," said Yang Zhiyong, director of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences.

"By leveraging interest subsidies, we can mobilize substantial credit from financial institutions, thereby naturally stimulating consumption. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the People's Bank of China, has introduced highly innovative measures, such as providing guarantees for the issuance of corporate bonds by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and compensating investors for losses. I believe the leveraging effect, making minimal efforts for maximum results, will become even more potent," said Yao Dongmin, director of the Center for China Fiscal Development under the Central University of Finance and Economics.

China's top legislature opened its annual session on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders attending the opening meeting alongside more than 2,700 NPC deputies. This year's NPC session is scheduled to run till March 12.

China to strengthen fiscal, financial coordination to amplify policy effectiveness: experts