Trump issues threat over major Iranian gas field, Moscow warns of ‘tipping point’ (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

19 March 2026

British military officers have been sent to the US to help plan how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, The Times has reported, citing defense officials.

A small team of UK planners has reportedly been deployed to US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, to develop options for allowing shipping through the chokepoint amid concerns it may be mined.

Sources said the UK is unlikely to send Royal Navy ships to escort vessels while fighting continues, citing the risks, but is discussing possible support with the US and European allies if tensions ease. A senior UK defense official described the situation as “incredibly fluid,” adding that few nations would be willing to send warships into such an environment.

Trump has criticized countries, including the UK, for not backing his call to reopen the waterway, while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted he will not allow British forces to be drawn into a “wider war.”

E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and Donald Trump’s former nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has warned that the US economy may not withstand a war with Iran.

“I don’t think this is an economy that is going to be able to handle $100 a barrel for oil, it’s just not,” he told the Financial Times. “The economy is weaker than we thought it was, and inflation is worse than we thought it was. The lower energy prices that we saw in 2025 helped put downward pressure on prices throughout the economy. Now... we’re going to see higher energy prices have exactly the opposite effect and put upward pressure on prices throughout the economy.”

Trump nominated Antoni to lead the bureau in August 2025, but withdrew the nomination a month later with no explanation.

The Lebanese government cannot disarm the Iran-backed Hezbollah while Israel is bombing the country, France’s special envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has said, arguing that only negotiations can resolve the crisis.

“Israel occupied Lebanon for a very long time and failed to eradicate Hezbollah’s military capacity. Therefore, they cannot now ask the Lebanese government to do that job in three days under bombardment,” he told France Info. “There is a process of negotiation and discussion that is possible, but all the parties must want it.”

Israel has previously rejected an offer of direct talks from Beirut, media reports said, citing sources.

The Israeli army says it destroyed an Iranian Mi-17 helicopter during a strike on Sanandaj Airport in Hamadan, citing “precise real-time” intelligence. Footage released by the military purports to show the attack.

Multiple unidentified drones have been spotted over a military base in Washington, DC where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reside, the Washington Post has reported, citing sources.

The drones were detected over Fort McNair on a single night within the past ten days, and their origin remains unclear. The sightings prompted a White House meeting and heightened security measures, with officials reportedly discussing relocating Rubio and Hegseth, though neither has moved as of Wednesday, a senior administration official told the outlet.

Rescue workers in Tehran have pulled a surviving child from beneath the rubble following recent strikes, according to footage released on Wednesday. The child has been taken to hospital for treatment, while the fate of his relatives remains unknown.

Earlier this week Amnesty International said its investigation had found that the US strike on a school in Minab, which killed over 170 people, most of them children, violated international humanitarian law. US officials have said the Pentagon is investigating the incident, while public statements from Washington have stopped short of acknowledging that American forces carried out the attack.

European natural gas prices have jumped to levels last seen during the 2022 energy crisis, with Dutch TTF futures rising nearly 30% in a day after Iran’s missile strikes on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub. Qatar is Europe’s second-largest LNG supplier.

Traders are now pricing in a worst-case scenario, with fears that Iranian strikes could spread to energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, experts say.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has described French President Emmanuel Macron’s stance on the conflict as “sad.”

Responding to Macron’s call for a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, Araghchi said the French leader “has not uttered one word of condemnation of the Israel-US war on Iran,” and only urged de-escalation after Tehran’s strike on a Qatari LNG facility.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has branded former British Prime Minister John Major a “hellish hypocrite” after he criticized the US-Israeli operation against Iran.

Speaking at King’s College London, Major said there had been no diplomatic effort to secure a UN resolution providing a legal basis for the war.

Zakharova responded on Telegram, saying Major had “forgotten” his support for the 2003 US-UK invasion of Iraq, which also lacked UN backing.

“Now, criticizing US and Israeli aggression against Iran, he’s going to argue that this has never happened before? No way. The sacramental ‘here we go again’ is more appropriate here,” she wrote.

A fire has broken out at the Umm Qasr naval base in southern Iraq after a suspected Iranian drone strike overnight, an Iraqi security source told Al Jazeera, adding that the drone hit a water treatment station. Footage circulating on social media and verified by the outlet showed flames and smoke rising from the impact site.

The base is located near the Umm Qasr Port, Iraq’s primary maritime gateway for bulk cargo and industrial supplies.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry says it intercepted and destroyed eight more Iranian drones over the Riyadh and Eastern provinces.

At least 18 Iranian healthcare workers have been killed in recent US-Israeli strikes on medical facilities across the country, according to Mohammad Raeeszadeh, head of Iran’s Medical Organization.

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev has described Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Tehran’s retaliatory bombing of a major LNG terminal in Qatar as a “tipping point.”

He was responding to a post by Donald Trump, who said he would “massively blow up the entirety” of the South Pars field if Iran continues to attack “innocent” Qatar.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has condemned reports that the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in supplemental war funding from Congress, calling it “the tip of the iceberg” of a “trillion-dollar ‘Israel First tax’” imposed on Americans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his “lackeys” in the US.

The Trump administration is weighing the deployment of thousands of US troops for its operation against Iran, Reuters has reported, citing White House sources. Options are said to include securing oil tanker routes through the Strait of Hormuz using air and naval forces, as well as potential troop deployments to Iran’s coastline, Kharg Island – which handles 90% of the country’s oil exports – and sites housing enriched uranium.

“There has been no decision to send ground troops at this time, but President Trump wisely keeps all options at his disposal,” a White House official told the outlet, adding that the goal is to “destroy Iran’s ballistic missile capacity,” cripple its navy, neutralize proxy forces, and ensure Tehran never acquires nuclear weapons. The Pentagon declined to comment.

The Israeli army has released photos showing its forces at sites across Israel hit by Iranian retaliatory strikes.

US CENTCOM has released new unclassified footage that it says shows US forces continuing to “neutralize threats” posed by Iran.

US Senator Chris Van Hollen, a prominent critic of the US-Israeli military operation against Iran, has said the war does not make Americans safer and urged Congress to cut off funding to rein in what he called a lawless administration.

The Pentagon is reportedly seeking more than $200 billion from Congress to fund the Iran war – far more than the $12 billion spent so far on the air campaign. Van Hollen called the request an “absolute nonstarter” in a post on X.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has again questioned the rationale behind the US-Israeli war on Iran, reiterating his refusal to help secure the Strait of Hormuz despite calls from Donald Trump.

“To this day, there is no convincing plan for how this operation could succeed. Washington has not consulted us and did not say European assistance was necessary,” he told lawmakers. “We would have advised against this course of action as it has been pursued. Therefore, as long as the war continues, we will not take part in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, for example by military means.”

US national debt has surpassed $39 trillion, around three weeks into the US-Israeli military conflict in Iran, which White House adviser Kevin Hassett estimated to cost Washington around $1 billion per day and more than $12 billion since the initial strikes in late February.

Annual net interest payments are now projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2026, overtaking the entire national defense budget. At the current pace, experts expect US national debt to hit $40 trillion before the election this autumn.

The Israeli military said it had detected missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory, adding that air defence systems were working to intercept the threat and residents were instructed to move to protected spaces.

Later, the Home Front Command said it was permitted to leave shelters in all areas, while urging the public to continue following official safety instructions.

Iran has warned the UN Security Council that the body’s failure to act over the assassination of senior officials Ali Larijani and Esmail Khatib risks encouraging further targeted killings of government figures. In a letter on Wednesday, Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani said continued “silence and inaction” could embolden Israel and normalise such attacks, potentially putting officials in other countries at risk.

Tehran accused Israel of carrying out the killings as part of its broader military campaign against Iranian leadership, and urged the United Nations to take steps to prevent further escalation and uphold international law, while reaffirming Iran’s right to defend its sovereignty.

Global oil prices surged on Thursday, with Brent crude climbing above $112 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rising toward the $100 mark, as escalating attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East intensified fears of supply disruptions. Markets reacted after Iran confirmed strikes on regional energy facilities in retaliation for earlier attacks on its own gas infrastructure.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that the war with Iran could complicate efforts to bring inflation under control, citing conflict-driven increases in energy prices alongside persistent tariff-related cost pressures.

Speaking at a press conference after the Fed’s latest two-day policy meeting, Powell said such shocks may not be easy for the central bank to “look through” as temporary.

Trump had prior knowledge of and approved Israel’s strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field despite later publicly denying it after Tehran retaliated against Qatar’s gas infrastructure, Axios reporter Barak Ravid cited senior Israeli and American officials as saying.

A vessel was struck by an “unknown projectile” 4 nautical miles east of Ras Laffan, Qatar on Thursday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in a warning notice. All crew were reported safe and well following the incident, while vessels in the area were advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity as authorities continue to investigate.

In a separate incident a day earlier, UKMTO said a vessel was hit by an “unknown projectile” 11 nautical miles east of Khawr Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, causing a fire onboard. Maritime authorities likewise urged heightened vigilance in the busy shipping corridor amid ongoing regional tensions.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Türkiye, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Lebanon and Syria voiced concern over Iran’s recent missile and drone attacks on regional states and energy infrastructure during a consultative meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday. In a joint statement, they criticised what they described as the “deliberate use of ballistic missiles and drones targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” saying such actions “cannot be justified under any circumstances,” and called on Tehran to halt its strikes.

The ministers stressed that future relations would depend on “respecting state sovereignty” and refraining from threats to maritime security in key waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb. 

Several liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities operated by QatarEnergy were hit by missile attacks in the early hours of Thursday, causing sizeable fires and extensive damage, the company said in a statement.

The strikes came a day after Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes on Ras Laffan Industrial City on March 18, after Israeli forces targeted Iran’s South Pars gas field earlier the same day.

Israel carried out a strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field “out of anger for what has taken place in the Middle East,” US President Donald Trump has said, stressing that neither Washington nor Doha had prior knowledge of the operation. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump claimed Tehran later targeted part of Qatar’s LNG infrastructure after failing to understand the circumstances surrounding the attack.

The US leader warned that while no further Israeli strikes would be made on the strategically important field for now, any new attacks on Qatar’s gas facilities could trigger massive American retaliation against the entire South Pars complex. Trump said he did not want to authorize such “violence and destruction” due to the long-term consequences for Iran, but insisted Washington would act “with or without the help or consent of Israel” if Doha’s energy infrastructure were hit again.

Joe Kent, who resigned as director of the US National Counterterrorism Center in protest against the Iran war, rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran was developing nuclear weapons.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Kent said Iran did not pose “an immediate threat” to the United States.

A missile struck a makeshift beauty salon in Beit Awwa in the West Bank, killing four women and injuring at least six others.

Israeli media and military officials said the women were killed by shrapnel from an Iranian missile fired toward southern Israel. Palestinian media blamed Israeli interceptors for the damage.

A graphic video shows the aftermath of the strike, revealing the extent of the damage and bloodstains on the floor.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for “a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities.”

He made the remarks following attacks on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG terminal on Wednesday.

18 March 2026

A Ruptly video shows large crowds attending funeral processions in Tehran on Wednesday for security chief Ali Larijani, Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani, and sailors from the frigate Dena, which was sunk by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka.

“The people will not give up on Islamic Iran, not even for a moment. We will stand until our last breath,” a man in the crowd told Ruptly. He added that the US and Israel would not succeed in driving a wedge between the government and the people.

Iranian missiles struck buildings in central Israel, including in Adanim, where a foreign worker was killed by shrapnel, Magen David Adom said.

Projectiles also damaged buildings in Ramat Aviv and Neta, injuring one person.

An Iranian strike was also reported in Jaljulia.

Qatar announced the expulsion of Iranian diplomats following a strike on gas facilities in Ras Laffan on Wednesday.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said it considers Iran’s military attaché and security attaché, as well as their staff, persona non grata, citing “blatant aggression” against the kingdom.

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, released a statement vowing to avenge the killing of the country’s senior officials by the US and Israel.

“Every drop of spilled blood comes at a price, and the criminal murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay it,” he said, according to AFP.

On Tuesday, Ali Larijani, Iran’s influential security chief, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a suburb of Tehran.

If you’re joining us now, here’s what has happened in the last few hours:

• Tehran is stepping up missile and drone attacks on Israeli and US targets in response to killings of top Iranian officials.

• Gulf energy under attack: Qatar confirms a major fire and “extensive damage” at Ras Laffan, the world’s biggest LNG hub, after drone/missile attacks.

• IAEA says a structure just 350m from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor was destroyed.

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warns that strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure could cause “uncontrollable repercussions” that would “engulf the entire world” 

• Heavy toll in Lebanon: Lebanese officials report 968 killed, over 2,400 injured and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli strikes as the IDF announces a ground offensive against Hezbollah in the south.

• NATO chief Mark Rutte says allies are discussing how to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway, while global energy prices continue to soar, with Brent crude topping $110 per barrel.

• US Vice President J.D. Vance says Trump does not want another “long‑term quagmire” but is ready to use force to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

The price of Brent crude has risen by more than 5% to reach $110 per barrel following the Israeli strikes on the South Pars gas field shared by Iran and Qatar and an Iranian attack on a major Qatari fuel hub.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei over the death of Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has reported.

The IAEA says a structure just 350 meters from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant was “hit and destroyed” on Tuesday evening, though the reactor itself was not damaged and no staff were hurt. Any attack “at or near nuclear power plants” violates the agency’s “seven indispensable pillars” of safety and “should never take place,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned on X.  

Tehran has blamed a US or Israeli munition for the strike near the Russian‑built facility, while Rosatom said a missile landing so close to an operating reactor shows “flagrant disregard” for international nuclear safety principles, adding that radiation levels remain normal and around 480 Russian specialists are still working at the site.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned that attacks on his country’s energy infrastructure could lead to “uncontrollable repercussions” that would “engulf the entire world,” saying on X that such actions “will not achieve any gains for the Zionist–American enemy.”

Former US Army officer Stanislav Krapivnik has told RT that many American bases in the Gulf “don’t have bunkers” and that US troops are instead staying in nearby hotels, which he suggested explains why such sites are reportedly being targeted in Iranian strikes. Speaking on RT’s ‘Sanchez Effect’, Krapivnik said he was “shocked” to learn from “very, very good sources” that the US Air Force “never built bunkers” at some of the facilities currently under fire.

Qatar’s authorities say Civil Defense teams are responding to a fire at Ras Laffan Industrial City, home to the world’s largest LNG export terminal, following drone attacks in the area. Footage circulating online shows flames and smoke rising from the site. The Interior Ministry confirmed the incident in a post on X, while QatarEnergy said “extensive damage” had been caused, but no detailed figures on damage or casualties have yet been released.

Global competition for energy resources, including the latest escalation in the Middle East, has triggered “the world’s biggest energy crisis in 40 years,” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak has said. According to him, most wars over the past 30–40 years have been driven by the struggle for oil and gas, saying it is “clearly visible” that all recent US‑initiated conflicts “are in one way or another linked to countries that are energetically important for the whole world and possess energy resources – the latest being Iran, before that Iraq, Kuwait, Syria, Libya and so on.” Novak added that the current crisis is bringing not only shortages and disrupted logistics, but also “global changes in world commodity markets.”

A huge blast has been reported in Riyadh, with videos circulating online showing black smoke over the Saudi capital amid claims that Iranian missiles struck multiple locations. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry says its air defenses intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles fired at the city, adding that debris fell in scattered areas of the capital and that initial assessments indicate no damage or casualties.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed 968 people, injured more than 2,400 and forced over 1 million people from their homes in the past two weeks, according to local authorities. The IDF on Monday announced a ground offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, after weeks of airstrikes in response to the group’s rocket attacks. Hezbollah began its barrage after the US and Israel attacked Iran and assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

RT correspondent Charlotte Dubenskij says Israelis are growing increasingly worried as more Iranian missiles “get through” the country’s multi‑layered air defenses. Speaking on Sanchez Effect, she said that while many Israelis were used to hearing sirens, going into a “safe room” and then returning to normal life, there are now “more and more deaths” and “more and more impact sites” being reported.

US Vice President J.D. Vance has said that Trump is not seeking another “long‑term quagmire” in Iran, telling reporters that “nobody likes war” and that such a scenario is “not a risk with this President at all.” He added that Trump has been “consistent for 10, 15 years” in saying that Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and that he is prepared to use diplomacy – or “military action if he has to” – to prevent that. Tehran denies that it is developing a nuclear weapons program.

NATO chief Mark Rutte says members of the US-led military bloc are discussing the best way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters at an exercise in Norway: “we all agree… that strait has to open up again.” The key waterway, which carries around 20% of the world’s seaborne crude, has been effectively closed during the Iran war, sending oil prices as high as $120 a barrel earlier this month. Trump has criticized the reluctance of other NATO countries to join the US-Israeli operation against Iran, calling the bloc a “one-way street” that America has never really needed.

Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, has said that Iran’s government has suffered heavy blows in the US-Israeli campaign but remains “intact.” Gabbard, a long‑time critic of US interventions in the Middle East, told a US Senate hearing that the intelligence community “assesses the regime in Iran to be...largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities.”

Trump is the “most bullish” figure in the White House on going to war with Iran and is more closely aligned with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s maximalist aims than many of his aides, several US officials have told Axios. Three of the president’s advisers said they expect him to want to end major operations before Israel does, adding that Washington is prioritizing global oil market stability and has asked Israel not to strike oil facilities again without a clear green light from the US.

A US defense official has told Axios that Israel’s strike on a gas facility in Iran was coordinated with the Trump administration. Senior Israeli officials earlier said that their Air Force hit a natural gas processing site in southwestern Iran, while Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that several installations in the South Pars field near Bushehr were targeted. Axios described it as Israel’s first attack on Iranian gas infrastructure. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed that Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib was killed in US-Israeli strikes.

Khatib, Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, and senior commander Aziz Nasirzadeh were assassinated “along with some of their family members and accompanying team,” he wrote on X.

Iranian missiles have hit three aircraft at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in recent days, Al Arabiya reports. Separately, the airport authorities told the Times of Israel that three private planes were damaged by falling debris after the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile, with images showing one jet catching fire and two others sustaining minor damage.

Thousands of people have gathered in Tehran for the funeral of Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholam Reza Soleimani, Iranian media reports. The event also honors 84 navy personnel killed in recent US-Israeli attacks, with large crowds marching and attending prayers in the capital. Here are some of the images.

High‑resolution satellite imagery of Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE circulating online appears to show impact craters and structural damage consistent with recent Iranian strikes. The IRGC Navy says it used Shahed‑107 loitering munitions, Fajr‑5C guided rockets, and Fateh‑110 short‑range ballistic missiles against US facilities in Qatar and the UAE.

Sweden has confirmed that one of its citizens has been executed in Iran. Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told the TT news agency that she tried to contact the Iranian authorities to protest on Tuesday mere hours before the execution, but to no avail.

Stockholm did not reveal the identity of the person involved, but Iranian media previously named him as Kourosh Keyvani, who was sentenced to death for allegedly providing sensitive data to Mossad.

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his call to NATO members to “step up and help open the Strait of Hormuz.”

Qatar – which shares South Pars gas field with Iran – has condemned the Israeli strike on the area as “dangerous and irresponsible.”

“Targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region and its environment,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari has said.

Iran could retaliate for a strike on a gas facility in the South Pars field by targeting several key gas and oil compounds in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, local media have said.

They specifically mentioned Saudi Arabia’s Samref Refinery and Jubail Petrochemical Complex, as well as the UAE’s Al Hasan Gas Field.

A US-Israeli strike has hit the South Pars natural gas field – the world’s largest – and infrastructure in the area, Iranian media outlets have reported. The field, which covers almost 10,000 sq km, is located at the Persian Gulf and is operated by both Iran and Qatar.

A source told the Jerusalem Post that the attack was coordinated with the US and targeted Iran’s largest gas facility in Bushehr. He also noted that Washington has been more accepting of strikes on gas infrastructure as compared to oil facilities.

Photos circulating on social media show damage to the American Al-Jafair naval base in Bahrain.

Iranian media has shared footage from funeral processions honoring Larijani, Soleimani, and dozens of sailors killed on the Dena frigate which was sunk by the US Navy early on in the conflict.

The IDF has said it plans to target an unspecified number of bridges over the Litani River in Lebanon, claiming this would “prevent the transfer of reinforcements and combat equipment” by Hezbollah.

It advised Lebanese civilians to move north of the Zahrani River, located some 20 km of the Litani River, and “refrain from any movement southward that could endanger your lives.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has claimed that Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, has been killed in an overnight strike on Tehran. Iran has yet to comment.

Moscow firmly condemns attempts to assassinate top Iranian officials, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, after a US-Israeli strike killed the country’s top security official, Ali Larijani.

RT’s Steve Sweeney reports from Sidon, Lebanon, following Israeli strikes. He says Israel appears to be expanding the geographical scope of the attacks as part of a doctrine to inflict “maximum civilian damage and try to break support for Resistance” and pressure the Lebanese government.

An Israeli strike on Beirut has killed Al Manar’s head of the Political Programming Department, Hajj Mohammad Sherri, the network has said.

RT footage shows a woman standing on the balcony of a heavily damaged building in Beirut.

The Turkish military is deploying an additional US-made Patriot air defense system in the southern part of the country, the Defense Ministry has said, after officials in Ankara reported several Iranian missiles falling on the country’s territory.

The Iranian authorities announced the execution of what they claimed was an Israeli spy who “provided Mossad officers with images and information about sensitive areas in the country.” 

The man, identified as Kourosh Keyvani, met with Israeli operatives in Berlin after being approached on the internet. The would-be spy was also found to be in possession of various intelligence and satellite communications equipment. The authorities also confiscated €30,000.

Iranian media has shared a picture of the coffin of senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani alongside his son, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes.

RT footage shows several buildings in the Lebanese city of Nabatieh destroyed or damaged by Israeli strikes.

A US-Israeli strike on a residential area in the western Iranian city of Dorud left seven people dead and 56 injured, Tasnim reports, citing local officials.

Vladimir Zelensky has said he has a “very bad feeling” about the impact of the Iran war on Ukraine, noting that hostilities have led to the postponement of peace talks.

In an interview with the BBC, he also urged Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “re-load the relationship” and hold in-person talks.

Araghchi has stressed that the conflict is “neither the war of the American people nor the war of Iran.”

“This is Israel’s war, designed for Israel’s interests, for those who believe in ‘Israel First.’ The cost is being paid by the people of Iran, the people of the region, and the people of the United States… I believe that ending the war depends on the will of the American people to compel their government to take a wiser path.”

The US has been dragged into the Middle East conflict by Israel and has no idea what its objectives are, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.

He told Al Jazeera that the US must acknowledge its mistakes and put an end to the hostilities, adding that Iran does not seek a ceasefire because it “does not want the scenario to be repeated again” and would prefer a sustainable settlement.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has mocked the death of top Iranian security official Ali Larijani, saying that though he had a $10 million bounty on his head, Israel “did it for free.”

The Israeli military has bombed several targets in Tehran, including the headquarters of the IRGC Security Unit, a logistics department of internal security forces, and a command center belonging to the ballistic missile array, the IDF has said.

An unnamed US official has confirmed to CNN that American forces used powerful 5,000-pound GBU-72 bombs to hit well-fortified Iranian missile sites on the coast of the Strait of Hormuz.

Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton has criticized Trump over his claims that he had not been warned of the possibility of Iran launching retaliatory strikes on the Gulf states and blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

”I know for a fact that he was aware of those potentials,” Bolton told CNN, adding that he had raised the possibility of regime change in Iran when he held the post between 2018 and 2019.

He said that at the time many Trump officials warned of the difficulties such a move would entail, adding that “if you’re going to embark on it you better have answers to them and certainly closing the Strait of Hormuz was always one of them and so were attacks on the Gulf Arab states, particularly their oil infrastructure so he knew about it in his first term.”

Bolton has long advocated a US assault on Iran, but criticized Trump for not having clear war plans.

The IRGC claims that it hit more than 100 targets in Tel Aviv, with Tasnim releasing a video of the missile launches. It claimed that 230 people were killed and wounded in the attack.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has weighed in on the resignation of Joe Kent, the head of the US National Counterterrorism Center, the first senior Trump official to stand down in protest against the US war on Iran.

“A rising number of voices – [including] European and US officials – exclaim that the war on Iran is unjust. More members of the international community should follow suit.”

He went on to warn that “the wave of global repercussions has only begun and will hit all – regardless of wealth, faith, or race.”

Chinese state-owned Global Times has blasted what it described as Western narratives seeking to discredit Beijing, including claims that it stands to benefit from the Iran conflict.

“Whether it is rising international energy prices, disruptions to key shipping routes, or volatility in global financial markets, all of these factors inevitably affect economies along global industrial and supply chains,” the paper’s editorial read.

It added that “aside from the Western military-industrial complex profiting from arms sales, there are no winners in this war,” noting that China is not involved in the hostilities.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that an Iranian projectile hit a road outside Al Minhad Air Base near Dubai, which houses Australian troops.

“There was minor damage to an accommodation block and a medical facility due to a small fire that was created as a result of the projectile hitting a road leading up to the base,” Albanese told reporters.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced a new wave of strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon “in response to rocket fire toward Israeli territory.”

The IDF earlier issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon’s coastal city of Tyre.

The national average gasoline price in the US reached $3.79 per gallon on Tuesday, up about 30% from a month earlier, according to CNBC.

The outlet added that average gasoline prices are higher than at any point since October 2023.

Although US President Donald Trump initially downplayed the surge in oil prices, he later urged NATO countries to help secure shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed to Western vessels.

The death toll from Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the beginning of the month has risen to 912 people, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

New Israeli strikes were reported in Beirut on Wednesday, with videos from the scene showing damaged apartment blocks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a message, apparently once again encouraging Iranians to protest their government.

“Our aircraft are hitting the terror operatives on the ground, in the crossroads, in the city squares,” Netanyahu said from a command bunker in Tel Aviv. “This is meant to enable the brave people of Iran to celebrate the Festival of Fire.”

New photos and videos show the aftermath of Iranian strikes in Tel Aviv. 

Iran reportedly used Khorramshahr‑4 ballistic missiles with cluster munitions in the barrage.

17 March 2026

New Iranian strikes have been reported in Tel Aviv, where a projectile hit a high-rise building.

The Times of Israel reported that Tel Aviv’s Savidor train station was damaged. Medical services said that two people were killed in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.

Iran confirmed on Tuesday evening that Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, was killed in US‑Israeli strikes.

Larijani was described as one of Iran’s most powerful politicians. He served as a senior adviser to slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The attack hit an area adjacent to the Bushehr Power Plant’s meteorology department, near an operating reactor, the head of Russia’s nuclear giant Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev has said.

“Preparations are underway for the third evacuation of personnel from Bushehr,” he said, adding that none of the roughly 480 personnel from the Russian nuclear agency remaining on site were harmed.

The company has been the key contractor at the Iranian plant, currently constructing its second and third power units.

A US-Israeli attack struck the territory of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday evening, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization reported.

“Fortunately, no human, financial, or technical damage has been reported,” it said.

“This action constitutes a clear violation of international laws and poses a serious threat to regional security.”

The conflict in Iran could cost the US trillions of dollars if Washington gets bogged down and hostilities drag on for months, The Intercept has reported.

A three-week conflict could cost US taxpayers somewhere between $60 billion and $130 billion, the outlet wrote, citing two anonymous officials. This cost could rise to a quarter of a trillion for an eight-week war, it added.

“These costs aren’t known to the American people. You’re never going to hear about them from the White House or the DoD,” the outlet quoted one official as saying. “My kids’ kids, and probably their kids, are going to be paying for this.”

Trump administration officials have admitted that Washington had spent around $12 billion dollars in the first week after the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran.

The US embassy compound in Baghdad has purportedly been struck by drones, according to multiple videos circulating on social media.

The facility has faced multiple attacks since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, which suffered a massive fire earlier this week, will leave the Red Sea for maintenance at the US base in Crete, the US Naval Institute News has reported.

The warship will undergo more than a week of pierside repairs at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, the outlet cited a senior US official as saying.

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz “won’t return to its pre-war status,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned.

Tehran has effectively blocked the key transit corridor, only allowing ships from countries it considers friendly to pass.

The Israeli military has detected ballistic missile launches towards Israel from Iran, the IDF has said, warning citizens to take shelter when instructed.

Israel’s strikes on residential buildings and civilian sites in Lebanon may constitute war crimes, the UN Human Rights office has said.

“In many instances, Israeli airstrikes have destroyed entire residential buildings in dense urban environments, with multiple members of the same family, including women and children, often killed together,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan said in a briefing on Tuesday.

“Such attacks raise serious concerns under international humanitarian law,” he added.

“Deliberately attacking civilians or civilian objects amounts to a war crime.”

The death toll from Israeli strikes has risen to 912 as of Tuesday, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported earlier.

“The elimination operation was successful,” the IRGC intelligence department said in a short, cryptic statement. It did not elaborate.

Iranian special operations forces have targeted one of the “senior members of the regime’s security cabinet” in a strike deep into Israeli territory, the Fars news agency claimed, citing anonymous sources.

The Israeli military has warned of a new incoming rocket barrage from Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Simultaneous to efforts to intercept the launches, the Israeli Air Force is currently striking Hezbollah launchers and additional terrorist infrastructure across Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement.

The commander of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force, Gholamreza Soleimani, was killed in a US-Israeli strike, the IRGC confirmed in a statement as cited by the Fars news agency.

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Soleimani had been assassinated by an IDF strike along with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani.

Tehran has not confirmed that Larijani has been killed.

The Israeli military is tracking and striking members of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force, the IDF has said.

Iran’s Red Crescent Society has released footage of a person being rescued from the rubble of a destroyed building following a US-Israeli airstrike on the Iranian city of Hamedan on Tuesday.

Trump has said that he will delay a long-planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing due to the Iran conflict.

“We’re resetting the meeting and it looks like it’ll take place in about five weeks,” he said in a press conference at the White House. “We have a very good working relationship with China. So, we’re making it in about five or six weeks.”

Earlier, the US president threatened to delay the summit if Beijing refused his call to send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz. China left Trump's demand without an answer.

At least 912 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since March 2, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported on Tuesday.

At least 2,221 people were wounded in the attacks, it said.

Beijing has called on all parties in the Iran conflict to stop military operations and cease further escalation to avoid destabilizing the global economy.

“The recent tense situation in the Strait of Hormuz and waters nearby has impacted the route for international goods and energy trade, disrupting peace and stability in the region and beyond,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a post on X.

China will send emergency aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq to help ease the difficult humanitarian situation in the region, he added.

Trump has declared that the US does not need and has never needed the help of NATO allies in its war against Iran.

“We no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance – WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” he wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social.

He argued that Washington spends hundreds of billions of dollars annually defending its allies. “We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need” he said.

“In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the most powerful country anywhere in the world, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”

Just days earlier, Trump called on countries that receive oil through the Strait of Hormuz to help secure it, after Iran effectively closed off the route by barring vessels from countries it sees as hostile.

Protective screens have been put up around the British Royal Air Force (RAF) base Fairford in the UK, which has been used by the US in its war against Iran, after a recent spike in people filming and taking photographs of the facility.

According to the BBC, plane-spotters began to regularly visit the airbase after US Air Force bombers began using the facility earlier this month.

Ukrane's Vladimir Zelensky is trying to drag his country into the US-Israeli “unlawful, illegal aggression” against Iran, associate professor at the University of Tehran Hassan Ahmadian has told RT.

Zelensky’s offer to help Washington and its Gulf allies with counter-drone warfare is not “militarily troubling” for Tehran, he said, however, “this can have reverberations moving forward…Iranians won’t turn a blind eye to this.”

“[The Ukrainians] want to prove their functionality… to their patron,” he added. “I think it’s basically proving that ‘we can be of service at any time so please help us’.”

Israeli forces have struck Hezbollah launchers, warehouses, and other infrastructure sites in Lebanon, including the organization’s HQ in Beirut, the IDF has said.

“In addition, three launch sites were struck in the Bekaa area deep in Lebanon, from which terrorists of the terror organization launch rockets toward the State of Israel,” it said.

Iranian forces have launched missile and drone strikes at the bases from which recent US strikes originated, the IRGC has said in a statement cited by the Fars news agency.

Trump gambled that Iran would quickly submit after the initial US and Israeli strikes, but miscalculated, market analyst and former hedge fund manager Alex Krainer told RT.

“Last summer, he kind of avoided it with a bit of a fake war,” a quick “25 minute bombing campaign” for the US, he said, adding that this appeared to be a face-saving agreement between Washington and Tehran.

However, Trump “pulled the trigger” this time and went all out, Krainer said.

“It seems to have been a gamble that it would be short, that it would intimidate the Iranians to the negotiating table to accept American and Israeli terms,” he said.

“But it obviously backfired and now the Iranians have had enough and they want a complete overhaul of the security architecture in the region.”

Photos from Tehran have captured the devastation in the Iranian capital caused continuing by US and Israeli strikes.

© Getty Images

Joe Kent, the Trump-appointed director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has announced his immediate resignation over his opposition to the US-Israeli attack on Tehran.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he wrote in a post on X.

An additional 45 million people are projected to face acute hunger if the US-Israeli war against Iran goes on until June, according to the World Food Program (WFP).

This would happen as a result of a spike in food, oil, and shipping costs, WFP Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told journalists.

In this case, the global tally for acute hunger will increase from the current 274 million, which is already a record, to 319 million, he warned.

RT correspondent Steve Sweeney has reported from near front line in Lebanon, warning that “we are seeing the beginning of what could be a full scale invasion” of the country by Israel.

Footage has been published on social media purporting to show the aftermath of an Iranian strike on a train station in the Israeli city of Holon, south of Tel Aviv.

Following the statement from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, the IDF has also announced that Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani “has been eliminated.”

Larijani “served as the de facto leader of the Iranian terror regime” after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli airstrike in late February, the IDF said in a statement. Tehran has not confirmed the Israeli claims regarding Larijani.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has published a photo that it said shows him ordering strikes against high-ranking Iranian officials.

Israel earlier said that it had assassinated Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani. Tehran has not confirmed the claims.

New Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has rejected proposals for a ceasefire with the US conveyed to Tehran by two intermediary nations, the Times of Israel has reported, citing an unnamed senior Iranian official.

According to the source, Khamenei’s desire to take revenge on Washington and West Jerusalem for attacking Iran and killing his father, Ali Khamenei, was “very tough and serious” during his first foreign policy session.

The supreme leader’s stance is that it is not “the right time for peace until the US and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation,” the official stressed.

Naval escorts will not 100% guarantee the safety of ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the chief of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, has told the Financial Times.

Military assistance proposed by Donald Trump is “not a long-term or sustainable solution” to the closure of the waterway by Iran, Dominguez said.

RT’s correspondent Caleb Maupin asked the residents of New York about their opinion on the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has already cost taxpayers some $12 billion.

A new message has appeared on the X account of Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani shortly after Israel claimed that he was assassinated in an airstrike.

The post contained a screenshot of a written note by Larijani dedicated to the funeral of Iranian sailors killed in the US sinking of the Iris Dena frigate off Sri Lanka’s coast on March 4.

Israel has assassinated Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, Defense Minister Israel Katz has claimed.

Larijani, who was a senior adviser to late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was killed in an airstrike along with Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani, Katz said.

“Larijani and the Basij commander were eliminated overnight and joined the head of the annihilation program, Khamenei, and all the eliminated members of the axis of evil, in the depths of hell,” the Israeli minister announced during a meeting, as cited by his office.

Tehran has not confirmed the death of the high-ranking officials.

The Israeli military has claimed it killed Iran’s Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani in an overnight strike.

Soleimani’s deputy and other high-ranking Basij officials were also eliminated in the attack on a tent camp in an undisclosed location, it said.

According to the IDF, Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani was also the target of the latest strikes, but his fate currently remains unclear.

Iranian missiles struck targets “just meters away” from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem, Iranian news agency SNN has claimed.

It also cited Israeli media reports as saying the IDF’s air defenses were only able to intercept only a single missile, with the rest making it through.

Footage has been published online purporting to show huge plumes of smoke following Israeli strikes on the city of Shiraz in southern Iran.

The IDF said it targeted missile production sites and command centers in the area.

It’s unsurprising that some members of the European Parliament were unable to find Iran on the map as “widespread ignorance” in EU bodies is well known, international law analyst and academic Alexandre Guerreiro has told RT.

“We have people like this deciding on an armed conflict based on prejudice… Many EU politicians also fail to understand the history, the culture, and even how the Persian society and institutions work,” he said.

At least 12,000 housing units in Tehran have been destroyed or damaged as a result of the US-Israeli attacks since February 28, the Iranian capital’s governor, Mohammad Sadegh Motamadian, has said. Residents affected by the situation can file for compensation with the city authorities, he added.

There have been more reports of explosions heard in Tehran in recent hours.

The fire that broke out aboard the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier last Thursday was not put out until 30 hours later, the New York Times reports, citing the sailors.

Dozens of crew members suffered smoke inhalation due to the fire, which started in the laundry area, the paper said.

More than 600 sailors were left without beds as a result of the incident, and were forced to sleep on the floor and on tables in other parts of the ship, according to the report.

The USS Gerald Ford, which is taking part in the US-Israeli war against Iran, is currently entering its tenth month of deployment, the second longest for any American carrier since the Vietnam War.

The US has “no standing to do anything” regarding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as only Iran and Oman have the right to decide which ships can use the waterway under international law, attorney and human rights advocate Stanley Cohen told RT.

The Saudi Arabian Defense Ministry reports that it has shot down at least 14 incoming drones in the past several hours.

One person has been killed by falling debris from an intercepted ballistic missile in the Baniyas area of Abu Dhabi, the local authorities say. They identified the victim as a citizen of Pakistan.

The death toll in the UAE since the launch of the US-Israeli war against Iran is at least eight people. Those killed induce Emirati, Pakistani, Nepali, Palestinian, and Bangladeshi nationals.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Esmail Baghaei has dismissed speculation that the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is severely wounded as a result of US and Israeli strikes.

“I can tell you that he’s fine. I’m sure you have already heard about his message and hopefully, very soon, he will give another message to the public,” Baghaei told NDTV.

The Iranian leadership remains intact and continues to counter the “unprovoked, unwarranted act of aggression” by the US and Israel, he said.

The US military campaign against Iran is failing, with Washington lacking a coherent plan and sufficient forces to achieve its goals, American international relations expert and political science professor at the University of Chicago, John Mearsheimer, has said.

“We’re not winning. What message are we sending? We’re sending a message that we’re a bunch of fools. We started a war. We can’t win,” he said in an interview with Tom Switzer’s YouTube channel.

The US and Israel “were looking for a quick and decisive victory,” which was an unrealistic expectation considering Tehran’s asymmetric strategy, he added. “Iran does not need a navy; all it needs is missiles to target whom it wants,” Mearsheimer explained.

Air traffic operations across the UAE have returned to normal following a temporary shutdown, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced.

The decision was made after a comprehensive assessment of operational and security conditions, the GCAA said.

Flights were halted in the UAE on Monday after a fuel tank caught fire near Dubai International Airport as a result of a “drone-related incident.”

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that the US military would not be able to secure the Strait of Hormuz as quickly and easily as Donald Trump hopes.

“Having a Navy ship there is going to act as a deterrent,” he said, adding that Iran would “not hold back” in attacking hostile vessels. He added that attempting to use US military assets in the strait would be “almost suicidal.”

The US Fifth Fleet said on Monday that two of its minesweepers, the USS Tulsa and the USS Santa Barbara, were making “brief logistical stops” in Malaysia.

Friedrich Merz has said that the Iranian government cannot be toppled through military means.

“It must be replaced by a democratically legitimate government. But attempting to bomb such a system into existence will, in all likelihood, fail, based on the experience gained over previous years and decades,” he said.

Regime change in Iran remains part of US President Donald Trump’s rationale for the current war.

Israel carried out a wave of artillery barrages and airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, hitting the city of Taybeh, local media reported.

Israel previously announced “limited and targeted” ground operations against Hezbollah in the area.

A new video appears to show a strike on the US Embassy in Baghdad.

AP and Reuters reported earlier that a strike on Monday evening hit the top floor of the Al-Rasheed Hotel in the Green Zone, which houses government buildings and the US Embassy.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh warned that a potential US ground invasion of Iran would be defeated.

“Just read what happened in Vietnam,” the diplomat told Sky News in an interview aired on Monday. He argued that American troops would face a similar fate in Iran.

“They understand that those who dragged them into this war can also drag them into a quagmire,” he said.

16 March 2026

Videos posted to social media appear to show an air defense system at the US Embassy in Baghdad firing to intercept an incoming projectile.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied reports that he had resumed communications with US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.

“My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran,” Araghchi wrote on X on Tuesday.

“Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public,” he added.

Axios earlier cited a US official as saying that a direct communications channel between Witkoff and Araghchi had been “reactivated in recent days.”

Israeli Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said the Israeli army is “determined to deepen the operation until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Zamir said additional troops have been sent to strengthen Israel’s Northern Command, which is responsible for operations in Lebanon, to “deepen the damage to Hezbollah and push the threat away from the communities in the north.”

US President Donald Trump has called NATO members unreliable partners after America’s European allies declined to send warships to police the Strait of Hormuz.

“We spent trillions and trillions of dollars on NATO to defend other countries. And I always said, but if it ever comes time to defend us, they are not going to be there. Many of them would not be there,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Iran has closed the crucial oil trade route to Western ships following the start of US-Israeli strikes on February 28.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Israeli jets “dismantled” a headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fleet in Tehran last week.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that his trip to Beijing this month to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping could be delayed by “a month or so.”

“We’re speaking to China. I would love to, but because of the war, I want to be here,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here,” he added.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said earlier that the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 was illegal under international law and called on all sides to end hostilities.

Trump is being presented with daily military options on how to proceed in the war with Iran – some involving massive strikes on nuclear facilities and regime targets – but has so far rejected the most extreme proposals, NBC News reports. Sources told the outlet that aides and allies are pulling him in different directions, that the White House is favoring a “step‑by‑step” mix of limited strikes, cyber operations and economic pressure, and that the timeline for the war “could change every day.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has praised Iraq’s Kurdistan Region as a “stabilising force” in the Middle East, saying after a call with regional leader Nechirvan Barzani that the EU will “continue supporting the Republic of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.” Her remarks come as Brussels faces growing criticism, including from former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, over what he called the bloc’s selective approach and largely passive stance on the US‑Israeli bombing of Iran, which EU leaders have insisted is “not Europe’s war.”

GPS interference around the Strait of Hormuz has increased since the Iran war began, triggering false ship positions on tracking systems, according to analytics firm Kpler. The company warned that the electronic disruption is undermining vessel monitoring and maritime safety in one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.

A drone attack has sparked a fire at the UAE’s Shah oil field, the authorities in Abu Dhabi have said, adding that no injuries have been reported so far. The field, located about 230km south of the capital and operated by state‑owned ADNOC, is one of the largest of its kind in the world and can produce around 70,000 barrels of crude per day, according to the company.

Footage by Tasnim News shows large crowds rallying in several Tehran neighborhoods, including Naziabad, with people waving flags and filling the streets despite heavy rain and cold weather. Similar gatherings have been reported across Iran in recent days, with demonstrators chanting “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” in response to heavy US‑Israeli bombing.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for an end to the use of US military bases in the Middle East for operations against Iran, saying on X that such actions are aimed at disrupting Tehran’s relations with its neighbors. He added that “peace and stability in the region cannot be achieved while disregarding the Zionist‑American invasion in our country” and declared that the Islamic Republic “will not surrender to bullies.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has said electricity substations were targeted in an apparent bid to plunge the capital into darkness, writing on X that “Tehran’s sky once again shook with the sound of explosions by the ‘Epstein camp’.” The ministry said on Monday that the US and Israel had struck Tehran’s substations in an attempt to completely cut off power to the city.

Middle East oil exports have plunged by at least 60% since the start of the Iran war as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to normal traffic, tanker‑tracking data cited by Reuters shows. Shipments from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE have all been hit, with most crude now rerouted through alternative ports or held offshore in storage.

Trump has claimed he “predicted” long ago that the Strait of Hormuz would be used “as a weapon,” and that Osama bin Laden would “knock out the World Trade Center” a year before the 2001 attacks, saying he “wrote it in a book.” He added that former US President Bill Clinton “had a shot at” bin Laden and “didn’t take it.”

Trump has said that “oil prices are going to be down very, very rapidly when [the Iran war] is over.” Speaking at a White House event, he repeated his call for other nations to help reopen shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the US has the key chokepoint in “very good shape.”

A diplomatic source at Iran’s embassy has told RT that following the initial US‑Israeli attack, Trump turned to anti‑Iranian Kurdish groups in northern Iraq as part of the “next phase” in the campaign. Washington expected these factions, with US military and logistical backing, to launch a ground push into western Iran, seize territory with the help of sympathetic Kurds and dissatisfied locals, and set up a new power structure based on the idea of a Kurdish confederation, the source said. 

However, the plans have effectively stalled after pre‑emptive strikes by the IRGC on Kurdish opposition bases and headquarters, leaving the groups under constant military pressure and fueling discontent in their ranks. Some Kurdish organizations refused to join any ground offensive, while others now fear Iranian reprisals after the war, with reports of certain leaders fleeing or going underground, the source said.

Trump has claimed ⁠that French President Emmanuel Macron has responded to Washington’s SOS to unblock the Strait of Hormuz. He has reportedly agreed to help.

However, France recently stated it will not join the war on Iran, maintaining a strictly “defensive” approach in the Middle East. Iran itself claims that Hormuz is only closed to its “enemies,” meaning the US and Israel.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry has said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed more drones entering the kingdom’s airspace on Monday, with posts on X indicating that over 60 UAVs targeted the eastern region and the capital Riyadh.

The EU has imposed sanctions on 16 more individuals and three entities over what it described as “serious human rights violations in Iran,” including several regional IRGC commanders. Brussels says it has now blacklisted a total of 263 people and 53 entities in the Islamic Republic.

Global oil prices are trading above $100 a barrel, more than 40% higher than before the Iran war began, stoking fears of a deeper energy crisis. Trump’s call for other nations to help secure passage through the vital Strait of Hormuz – paralyzed for over two weeks by the escalation – has so far drawn no firm commitments. Analysts say a spike toward $200 per barrel cannot be ruled out if the conflict drags on.

Iranians will never forgive Ukraine if it joins the US-Israeli war, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has said. 

Asked to comment on Vladimir Zelensky’s recent statements about sending military advisers to help the US repel Iranian drone attacks, Baghei stated that “Ukraine’s problem and the swamp which the Ukrainian people have been driven into will not disappear by such methods and through attempts to interfere in other conflicts.” 

“This only means complicity [in the conflict] and cooperation with the aggressors against Iran, which will entail international responsibility for this state,” the spokesman said.

The US is avoiding strikes on Iran’s infrastructure, President Donald Trump has told PBS.

He claimed he “could knock out the electric plants in one hour,” but stated that “if I do that, that’s years of rebuilding and it’s trauma. So I’m trying to hold off on that kind of thing.”

At least 886 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the country’s health ministry announced on Monday. Over 2,100 people have also been wounded since March 2, it said, noting that the strikes have also hit the health sector.

According to Beirut, at least 38 health workers have been killed and 69 injured while responding to the attacks.

Hamas has pledged its unwavering support for Iran and has allegedly called on Tehran to “activate all fronts” against Israel in a secret letter reported on by Israeli media on Sunday. 

The Palestinian militant group had previously publicly asked Tehran to refrain from striking neighboring Gulf countries.

However, in the supposed secret letter addressed to Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Hamas reportedly said it “stands today with all its weight” behind the Iranian leadership “in the face of the ‘Zionist-American’ anarchy,” and looks forward to “forging” victories together with its allies in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

Germany has categorically rejected Trump’s demand that NATO help secure the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that the military bloc has no place in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

“This war has nothing to do with NATO. It’s not NATO’s war,” Stefan Kornelius, a spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, told reporters on Monday, insisting that “NATO is a defensive alliance.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius similarly dismissed Washington’s request, stating that “it is not our war” and questioning “what does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in the Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US Navy cannot manage alone?”

Pistorius stressed there will be “no military participation” from Germany, but said Berlin is prepared to support diplomatic efforts.

The Trump administration had “no idea of what it was getting itself into” when it attacked Iran on behalf of Israel, Marwa Osman, professor at Al-Maaref University, has told RT.

“Trump is swamped by a war that had nothing to do with his administration,” Osman said, adding that Tehran “never attempted to be a threat” to Washington, but was instead ready to negotiate with it.

A video by RT correspondent Charlotte Dubensky has captured the devastation caused by IDF strikes on areas of Lebanon near the border with Israel.

Moscow is ready to act as a mediator in resolving the crisis in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. “We believe we have such capability,” he said.

“I stress once again that we, together with other like-minded countries, advocate and will continue to advocate for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the search for a political settlement,” he added.

According to Lavrov, the “first priority” at the moment is “to ensure that all participants… cease actions that damage civilian infrastructure and lead to civilian casualties – both in the Gulf states and in Iran.”

Qatar has intercepted a missile attack targeting its territory, the Gulf nation’s Defense Ministry has said. It did not reveal any further details.

The US and Israel miscalculated when they launched their “unprovoked aggression” against Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

“If they expected to achieve the goal of completely subjugating this nation in a day, in a few hours, then they probably now understand how wrong they were, how deluded they were,” Lavrov said.

RT correspondent Steve Sweeney has visited areas in southern Lebanon subjected to Israeli attacks over the past two weeks. Schools, residential buildings and other civilian facilities are being “increasingly targeted” by the IDF, he said. More than 800 have been killed since the start of the current escalation with Israel, according to the Lebanese health authorities.

Tehran “has not sent any messages” to the US and Israel and is not looking for a truce with them, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.

Araghchi clarified that “saying that we do not want a ceasefire is not due to us being after war [either]. The actual reason is rather that this war should end in a way that the thought of repeating these attacks and aggression would not occur to the enemies again.”

Speaking about the situation with the Strait of Hormuz, he insisted that the waterway remains open to everyone with the exception of the US, Israel, and their allies.

“So far, the enemies have learned a good lesson and found out with what nation they are dealing with, a nation that does not hesitate to defend itself, and is prepared to continue the war as long as it takes,” he stressed.

RT’s Tehran bureau chief, Hami Hamedi, visited the famous Tajrish Bazaar in the Iranian capital, where he spoke with shopkeepers and customers. There are fewer people at the market than usually, but the trade continues despite the US and Israeli strikes in and around the city.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that the UK “will not be drawn into the wider war” in the Middle East.

Starmer claimed that he has a “good relationship” with US President Donald Trump despite his reluctance to respond to Trump’s call to send British warships to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

“We are strong allies; have been for decades. But it is for me to act in what I consider to be the best interest of Britain,” he said.

According to Starmer, the US-Israeli war against Iran also cannot be allowed to become “a windfall for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

“It's vital that we continue to focus on supporting Ukraine,” he said, adding that he is planning to meet with Vladimir Zelensky soon.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has neither confirmed nor denied Kuwaiti media reports claiming that Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has arrived in Moscow for treatment.

“We do not comment on such reports in any way,” Peskov told journalists.

Last week, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed that the younger Khamenei, who was chosen as the new supreme leader after his father Ali Khamenei was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes in late February, was “wounded and likely disfigured.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted on Sunday that Khamenei remains “in perfect health and is fully managing the situation.” The 56-year-old had not been seen in public during the conflict, only releasing a written statement in which he vowed to “avenge the blood” of Iranians killed by Washington and West Jerusalem.

Hezbollah MP Hussein Jashi has given an exclusive interview to RT, refuting Israeli claims of the Lebanese movement using ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes.

“The Zionist enemies are cruel criminals. It’s not something unusual or new for them to target ambulances or medical staff. We locals know they are hostile to anything in this country,” he said.

When asked about the possibility of a truce with West Jerusalem, Jashi said “we are accustomed to lies and deception from the Zionists in the four wars they unleashed on Lebanon. They were the ones asking for a ceasefire. So, they asked for this and at the same time claim that we are the ones seeking negotiations in order to undermine the morale of our people.”

Donald Trump behaves as if “he is playing a chess game” by urging China to send warships to help the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Nelson Wong, vice chairman of the Shanghai Center for International Studies, has told RT.

However, what the US president is doing in Iran is “a bloody war” rather than a game, Wong said. “He is bombing one of the biggest countries in the Middle East,” which could well end up provoking World War III, he warned.

“I don’t believe that the Chinese government is going to respond to Trump’s call,” the expert said.

The chief commander of Iran’s IRGC, Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, has warned the US against targeting Kharg Island, which processes some 90% of Tehran’s crude oil exports.

“You once tested Iran through the Strait of Hormuz. If the intelligent control of the strait reshaped oil pricing for you, an attack on Kharg would create an even more severe and unprecedented equation for global energy rates and distribution,” Tangsiri wrote on X.

The Israeli military has claimed it destroyed the Iranian supreme leader’s plane during an overnight attack on Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran.

According to the IDF, the aircraft in question had been used by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes in late February, as well as by other senior Iranian civilian and military officials.

Donald Trump is weighing up the possibility of deploying US troops to seize the terminal on Iran’s Kharg Island, which processes some 90% of the country’s crude exports, Axios has reported, citing US officials.

The potential move appeals to the president because it could amount to “an economic knockout” for the authorities in Tehran, one source explained.

“There are big risks. There are big rewards. The president isn’t there yet and we’re not saying he will be,” the official said.

The capture of Kharg Island would require boots on the ground and could trigger retaliatory Iranian strikes against oil facilities across the Persian Gulf, Axios pointed out.

Several French European Parliament members were unable to find Iran on the map after being asked to do so by journalists, Le Parisien has reported.

Emma Rafowicz confused it with Bulgaria, Fabienne Keller with Türkiye, and Marie Toussaint with Afghanistan, the paper said.

Greens MEP David Cormand, who pointed at Saudi Arabia instead of Iran, later explained that “there are a lot of subjects on which we have to learn, and so we are not walking encyclopedias, we do what we can to be aware of things.”

Iran’s police chief has said 500 people have been arrested for spying in the country during the conflict with the US and Israel.

Some 250 suspects have been identified as “important cases” over providing information to Tehran’s adversary by “taking footage of strike locations and sending it to them,” Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Radan said in a televised interview. He did not disclose when and where the arrests took place.

One person has been killed as a result of “a missile falling on a civilian vehicle” in Abu Dhabi, the local authorities have said. The victim is of Palestinian nationality, they added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Israel of “ecocide” over attacks targeting fuel storage in Tehran, which have resulted in toxic “black rain” falling on the city.

Israel has announced that its troops have begun “limited and targeted ground operations” against the strongholds of the Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon.

“This activity is part of broader defensive efforts to establish and strengthen a forward defensive posture, which includes the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X.

The goal of the incursion into the neighboring country is “to create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel,” according to the IDF.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is resisting calls by Donald Trump to send British warships to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, The Telegraph has reported.

London is considering the possibility of providing mine-hunting drones, but is not currently prepared to deploy any vessels, according to the paper.

It cited UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband as saying that the government was “intensively looking” at what could be done to resume oil shipments through the waterway, but refused to offer a firm commitment.

France, Germany, and South Korea have also signaled reluctance to join the mission, the report added.

The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization has condemned recent US and Israeli strikes on airports and civilian aircraft in Tehran and other parts of the country.

The attacks directly contradict the “accepted principles and commitments” that govern the civil aviation sector worldwide, it said in a statement.

“Those actions constitute a clear example of violating the provisions and requirements set out in this international civil aviation convention, and the resulting consequences will be borne by the United States and the Zionist regime (of Israel),” it read.

One of the fuel tanks at the Dubai International Airport remains on fire hours after being struck in what the local authorities have described as “a drone-related incident.” Flights have been suspended at the airport “as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all passengers and staff,” the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has said.

Japan has rejected President Trump’s call for a joint naval deployment to the Middle East, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi saying that any maritime security operation would be “extremely difficult legally.”

“In the current Iran situation, we are not at the moment considering issuing a maritime security operation,” Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi added.

President Trump has accused the “fake news media” of knowingly colluding with Tehran to disseminate all kinds of AI-generated misinformation that casts doubt on Washington’s decisive “victory.”

“The fact is, Iran is being decimated, and the only battles they ‘win’ are those that they create through AI, and are distributed by Corrupt Media Outlets. The Radical Leftwing Press knows this full well, but continues to go forward with false stories and LIES,” he said in a lengthy 400-word rant on Truth Social.

Trump went on to warn that the outlets spreading “knowingly FAKE” reports “should be charged with TREASON for the dissemination of false information.”

President Trump has framed his plea to allies to help with securing the Strait of Hormuz as “something that we don’t need, and these countries do need.”

“I think it’s a good thing for other countries to come in,” the US president told journalists aboard Air Force One, suggesting that it would have been even nicer if others joined the initial US-Israeli attack on Iran.

Trump recalled how he rejected the British PM Keir Starmer’s belated offer to send two aircraft carriers, allegedly telling him: “I don’t want them after we win the war. I want them before we start the war.”

“So, whether we get support or not, I can say this, and I said it to them: We will remember,” Trump said.

The US Central Command has shared footage of a mid-air refueling of a B-1B Lancer involved in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury against Iran, touting the bomber’s “world records for speed, payload and range.”

The US has recently lost a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker over the “friendly airspace” of Iraq in an unexplained “incident” that killed all six crew members. The second tanker involved in the same incident was damaged but managed to make an emergency landing in Tel Aviv.

Another five KC-135 tankers were damaged during an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. President Trump has insisted that four of them sustained “virtually no damage,” and only one had “slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly.”

President Trump has indicated that if Beijing refuses to help Washington, he could “delay” his visit to China for a summit with President Xi Jinping.

“I think China should help too, because China gets 90 percent of its oil from the Straits,” Trump said, stressing that “it’s a long time” and that he wants to know the answer before the March 31–April 2 visit dates.

Washington wants its allies to send “whatever it takes” to help deal with the “nuisance” in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump told the FT.

That could potentially include European special force teams or other “people who are going to knock out some bad actors that are along the [Iranian] shore,” he said.

Australia will not send warships to help Washington “secure” the Strait of Hormuz, federal infrastructure minister Catherine King has said.

“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something we’ve been asked to do or are contributing to,” she said, adding that the country’s fuel supply has not been affected.

“At this stage, all of the ships that are planned to come into Australia are coming in. The fuel supply is holding,” she said.

Emergency teams have successfully contained the fuel tank fire near Dubai International Airport, with no reports of injuries following a suspected drone strike, according to the city’s media office.

The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has, however, decided to suspend all flights as a “precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all passengers and staff.”

The United States is actively seeking allies to “police” the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump reiterated in a press gaggle aboard Air Force One.

“We are talking to other countries about working with us on the policing of the Strait. And I think we’re getting a good response,” Trump said. “It’d be interesting to see what country wouldn’t help us with a very small endeavor, which is just keeping the Strait open.”

Israel has launched a new “wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Iranian terror regime infrastructure in Tehran,” the IDF has announced.

An unidentified drone has “affected” one of the fuel tanks in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport (DXB), the city’s media office has confirmed, with footage circulating online showing a large fire in the area.

Any attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure on Kharg Island “will create another severe and entirely new equation for the price and distribution of energy in the world,” IRGC naval commander Alireza Tangsiri has warned.

15 March 2026

President Donald Trump has warned European NATO members of a “very bad future” if they reject his plea for help with securing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times. “If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

Trump claimed that Washington helped NATO arm Kiev and bankroll Ukraine’s war effort against Moscow – even though “Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us.”

“Now we’ll see if they help us. Because I’ve long said that we’ll be there for them but they won’t be there for us. And I’m not sure that they’d be there,” he said.

The IDF has detected a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran toward Israel, warning citizens in Tel Aviv to seek shelter as air defense systems are “operating to intercept the threat.”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman has challenged President Donald Trump to send US warships to the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“Didn’t Trump say that Iran’s navy has been destroyed? If so, let him send his ships into the Persian Gulf if he dares,” Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naini said in a statement carried by Tasnim news agency. “The Strait of Hormuz is under Iran’s full control, and any aggression will be met with a decisive response.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he just spoke with his Iranian counterpart Massoud Pezeshkian.

“I called on him to put an immediate end to the unacceptable attacks Iran is carrying out against countries in the region, whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq,” Macron wrote in a lengthy post on X.

“Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as soon as possible,” Macron added, reiterating the talking points about Iran’s nuclear and ballistic threats – but without mentioning the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The French leader also insisted that “France is acting within a strictly defensive framework” and that “it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted.” Last week, a French soldier was killed and several others were injured in a drone attack on a military base in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

More blasts have rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to Reuters footage of the city’s skyline, shortly after the IDF announced strikes against “terrorist targets.”

Pope Leo XIV has spoken against the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran in a weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican, where he decried two weeks of “horrific violence” suffered by the people of the Middle East.

“I renew my prayerful closeness to all who have lost loved ones in the attacks, which have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas,” Leo said.

“Violence can never lead to justice, stability and peace for which the peoples are waiting,” Leo warned. During a visit to a Rome parish later on Sunday, the pontiff also denounced the idea that disputes could be resolved through war as “absurd.”

Brent crude, a major benchmark used to price most of the world’s traded oil, has surged more than 2.5% to nearly $106 per barrel at the Asian market opening.

The IDF has confirmed that it is “currently striking Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Beirut.”

Al Jazeera is reporting fresh Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, including a large strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahieyh and three raids on the city of Khiam. Earlier attacks on Qatrani, Majdal Selm and Aitaat killed 10 people and wounded 13 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli military and security establishment have requested government approval to mobilize up to 450,000 reservists, according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN. The request seeks to raise the current cap of 260,000 in preparation for a possible ground operation in Lebanon.

Israel intensified its strikes against Lebanon two weeks ago, after Hezbollah backed Iran in its retaliatory strikes following the US-Israeli attack. Since then, the civilian death toll has risen to 850, including more than 100 children, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The war with Iran will “certainly” end in the next few weeks – but there are “no guarantees” that the oil prices will immediately fall, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has claimed.

“I think that this conflict will certainly come to an end in the next few weeks,” Wright told ABC News’ ‘This Week’. “Could be sooner than that, but the conflict will come to an end in the next few weeks.”

“There’s no guarantees in wars at all,” he added. “Right now, our focus is destroying their military capabilities, including those that are used specifically to threaten the straits… But we need to finish those tasks first, and you will see the straits open again in the not-too-distant future.”

While the world is watching Iran, Israel continues attacks on Gaza and the West bank.

Israeli forces shot dead four members of a Palestinian family – including two little boys aged 5 and 7 – while they were driving in West Bank’s Tammun, multiple outlets have reported.

Two brothers survived the shooting, but were stripped naked and beaten by the Israeli soldiers before being released, they told the media after the incident.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has spoken with US President Donald Trump and “discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” Downing Street has said in a statement cited by British media.

Starmer also spoke with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney, and agreed to discuss the Iran conflict further at a meeting on Monday, the statement reportedly said.

Earlier, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC’s Sunday Morning that London is “intensively” looking at ways to aid its allies against Iran.

“There are different ways that we could contribute, including with mine-hunting drones… Any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at,” he said.

Qatar was targeted by a number of drones launched from Iran over the course of the day, the Qatari Defense Ministry has said.

“Our Armed Forces, by the grace of God, successfully intercepted and neutralized all the drones,” it said.

The Iranian military has announced imminent strikes on certain areas of Doha and Dubai, warning locals to evacuate in advance.

“Due to the presence of US military personnel in these areas, they may be attacked within the next few hours. Please leave these areas immediately,” it said in a statement cited by Iranian media.

“Your rulers have harbored American terrorists and allowed your territories to be used to launch attacks against Iran.”

The death toll since Israeli attacks resumed last Monday has risen to 850, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Sunday.

More than 100 of those killed were children, it said.

Take a look around the areas of Beirut destroyed by recent Israeli bombings in footage provided by RT’s Lebanon correspondent.

The IDF’s Persian-language X account has posted footage of Israeli F-35I jets.

“‘Adair’ Fighter Jets (F-35I) on the Way to Attack Iran,” it wrote.

Nearly 412 million barrels of oil from the International Energy Agency’s emergency reserves will hit the global markets soon, the IEA said in a statement.

Nations have committed to make available nearly 272 million barrels of oil from government stocks and nearly 117 million barrels from obligated industry stocks, it said.

A further 23.6 million barrels will come from other sources.

Nearly three quarters are in the form of crude oil, while 28% are oil products.

Tehran is mostly still tapping old stockpiles for use in its retaliatory strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has stated.

“Many of the missiles we produced after the 12-day war have not yet been used,” the IRGC said, cited by Fars news agency. “Many of our missile shelters are still intact.”

Israel has struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran, including related to Tehran’s ballistic missile program, military headquarters and arms production sites, the Israeli Air Force has said.

The US and Israel imposed a “war of choice” on Iran just as indirect talks between Tehran and Washington were making headway, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.

“As fair and equitable deal was within reach, those providing poor advice to POTUS are responsible for bloodshed,” he wrote on X.

“This war is imposed on both Americans and Iranians.”

The US has betrayed its regional Gulf state allies, and failed to protect them just like Iran warned, IRGC Navy chief, Alireza Tangsiri has said.

“In past years, we have repeatedly told the rulers of the Persian Gulf states: the United States and other foreign powers will not provide you with security, and will sacrifice you for their own interests when needed,” he wrote on X.

“And today you see how you have become victims of their ambitions,” he said, calling for Islamic nations to unite and expel US forces from the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has posted a video taken in a coffee shop to counter social media rumors claiming that he was dead.

“I can’t share at this moment, but we are doing things that hit Iran very hard, even today, even in Lebanon, we are continuing,” he said after showing both hands to the cameraman.

Poorly made AI deepfake videos often have inconsistencies in hands and fingers.

American attacks on Iran have cost Washington $12 billion so far, the director of the US National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, has said.

“The latest number I was briefed on was 12,” Hassett said in an interview on CBS News’s Face the Nation.

Pentagon estimates provided to Congress said the war would cost $11.3 billion in its first week, The New York Times previously wrote. Hassett did not specify the time frame for the $12 billion in spending.

Asked if the US would need to seek additional funding from Congress, Hassett replied, “I think right now we’ve got what we need. Whether we have to go back to Congress for more is something that I think that Russ Vought and OMB [the US Office of Management and Budget] will look into.”

Russia and China are aiding Iran by providing “military cooperation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has admitted in an interview with MS NOW.

“Russia and China are our strategic partners, and we have had close cooperation in the past, which is still continuous, and that includes military cooperation as well,” he said, refusing to go into any details.

Moscow and Beijing have yet to react to Araghchi’s comments.

To secure the Strait of Hormuz, the US will need a large-scale military commitment and could take months, with even a ground operation not eliminating all threats to shipping, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday citing experts.

Footage online reportedly shows the aftermath of a US-Israeli strike on Iran’s Tarash Space Research Center in Tehran. The IDF claimed to have destroyed it yesterday.

Italy’s military has said there was a drone attack today on the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, which hosts Italian and US forces, but says all its personnel are safe.

According to the Italian military, the drone struck a shelter used by the Italian Task Force Air. Even though the Italian military didn’t name the exact aircraft involved, it could have been the MQ-9A Predator B, a key asset for the Italian Air Force in international theaters.

The incident follows a drone attack on an Italian military site in Erbil in northern Iraq, where Italy also maintains a presence. No injuries were reported in that attack either; however, Rome subsequently withdrew about 300 troops in response.

The US Central Command has released aerial footage of strikes on different Iranian military installations.

Tehran has “never” asked for a ceasefire or negotiations with the US in its ongoing war, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said. Earlier Trump claimed that the Islamic Republic appeared ready to make an agreement on terms unsuitable to Washington.

”We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes,” Araghchi says in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation.

He also denied the assessment that this is “a war of survival” for Iran, saying the country is “stable and strong enough.”

The UK MOD has said Typhoon and F-35 jets carried out deployment across Qatar and Cyprus “in defense of British interests.”

It added that the sorties were also sent in defense of allies across Qatar, Cyprus, the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain.

Iranian intelligence has arrested 18 domestic operatives linked to an Israeli media network, the Tasnim news agency has reported, citing the relevant ministry.

The accused were reportedly sending images of sites targeted by US and Israeli attacks, along with the positions of emergency responders, rescue teams, and checkpoints, to the enemy. Another 21 people are facing legal action, the Intelligence Ministry added.

The Iranian authorities said the crackdown  would continue, and warned that anyone acting as a “fifth column” for the enemy during the conflict would face the severest penalties under national security laws.

The Russian Consulate General in the Iranian city of Isfahan has temporarily halted its operations due to the ongoing situation in the country.

Consular services will resume at a later date, and further updates will be provided once the situation allows, the diplomatic mission said in a post on Telegram.

An Israeli strike in the Sidon area of southern Lebanon has claimed the life of Hamas official Wissam Taha, a Palestinian source told AFP. The attack reportedly hit an apartment in a northern district of Sidon, a city that hosts Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp and has been targeted by Israel in previous months.

The bodies of 84 sailors who served on the Iranian  warship IRIS Dena, a multi-purpose naval destroyer, have arrived at the Martyrs’ Hall at Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery in Tehran.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has denied reports that West Jerusalem plans to hold direct talks with Lebanon in the coming days. The minister also dismissed claims that Israel had informed the United States it was running critically low on missile interceptors.

Rising global energy prices linked to the latest escalation of the Middle East conflict could ultimately benefit the US, the Financial Times has reported.

If the average oil price reaches $100 per barrel this year, annual profits for US oil producers could climb to $63.4 billion, estimates from research firm Rystad Energy suggest, as cited by the newspaper.

While higher crude prices are also pushing up gasoline, diesel, and consumer costs in the US, The Wall Street Journal notes that the country’s position as one of the world’s largest oil producers helps shield its economy from the worst effects seen in past oil crises.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has reported it launched a series of missile strikes against targets linked to Israeli air operations and military infrastructure. According to the statement cited by Tasnim, the attack involved several types of ballistic missiles, including Khorramshahr missiles with two-ton warheads, Kheibar Shekan, Qadr, Emad, and for the first time in the campaign the Sejjil solid-fuel strategic missile.

The IRGC said the strikes were aimed at command and decision-making centers, defense-industry infrastructure, and locations where Israeli forces were gathered in what it described as the “heart of the occupied territories.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot discussed the latest developments in the Middle East during a Sunday phone call, according to Tasnim news agency.

Araghchi called on other countries to “refrain from any actions that could lead to the escalation or expansion of the conflict,” Tasnim cited the Iranian Foreign Ministry as saying.

The UK is “intensively looking” at ways to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, British Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has told Sky News.

Miliband added that there are a range of things London can do, including the use of autonomous mine-hunting equipment.

Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, has reported that 125 missiles and 211 drones have been intercepted over the kingdom since the US and Israel began launching coordinated strikes against Iran in February.

Hundreds of people have gathered at Imam Khomeini Square in the center of Tehran for a pro‑government rally. Participants reportedly chanted “Allahu Akbar” and calls for unity, as well as exhortations to resist enemies.

Israel’s security and defense personnel, including the special police unit Lahav 433 and Gilat Defense, a satellite communications center, were targeted by powerful drone strikes early today, the Iranian Army has said, as cited by Tasnim news agency.

The strikes were reportedly conducted in response to Israeli attacks on Iranian personnel.

Lahav 433 is considered Israel’s equivalent of federal police, while Gilat Defense works with the US Department of Defense and NATO on military satellite communications.

Hezbollah infrastructure across Lebanon has been struck, including several launch sites from which the organization’s operatives had planned imminent attacks, Ynet reported, citing the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Command centers of the Radwan Force in Beirut, from which operatives advanced terror operations, were reportedly targeted and destroyed.

The Qatar Grand Prix, a Formula One motor racing event, has been rescheduled from April to November, according to MotoGP, which organizes the racing.

“MotoGP confirms that the Qatar Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April, has been postponed to November 8 due to the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East,” the organization said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Formula One and its governing body, FIA, said the Grands Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not happen in April due to safety concerns related to the Middle East conflict.

Mohammed al‑Bukhaiti, senior political official and spokesperson for Yemen’s Ansar Allah, told RT that “all options are on the table” regarding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key maritime chokepoint carrying over 12% of global trade. He said Yemen could target countries involved in aggression against Iran and Lebanon if compelled, while non-belligerent nations like China and Russia would not be affected. Al-Bukhaiti highlighted full coordination among the Axis of Resistance, including Yemen, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq, and warned that previous US and Israeli efforts to secure maritime routes had failed, with future interference likely to incur heavy losses.

The official described the Bab al-Mandab “card” as a strategic measure to protect regional allies, adding that Yemen’s missile and aerial capabilities have strengthened and that any actions would be announced in due course.

The end of the war is contingent on guarantees against repetition and reparations, while no concrete peace initiative has yet been proposed, Abbas Araghchi also said. He confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to all except US and allied ships, and that Iran’s government and military remain unified. Diplomatic communications continue with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and neighboring countries, and the Supreme Leader is reportedly in full health, fully managing the crisis.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that Tehran is ready to form a regional committee to investigate recent attacks, stressing that Iranian strikes have only targeted US bases and interests. He accused Israel of possibly attacking civilian targets in Arab countries in order to sabotage relations with Iran and clarified that no civilian or residential areas have been targeted by the Islamic Republic.

Araghchi also warned that if Iranian energy facilities are attacked, privately owned US facilities in the region could be targeted in response.

At least 108 injured people have been hospitalized as a result of the conflict with Iran within the past 24 hours, according to Israel’s Health Ministry, as cited by The Times of Israel newspaper.

Video footage shows aftermath of the latest Iranian strike in Israeli city of Holon.

At least 153 health facilities across Iran have been damaged by US‑Israel strikes, Tasnim news agency has reported, with investigations showing that out of the affected units, 56 comprehensive health service centres represented the largest share.

Residential areas in Shiraz, the capital of Iran’s Fars province, were attacked in US-Israeli strikes early Sunday morning, Iran’s Tasnim news agency has reported.

The “inhumane” attack, which occurred in a southeastern part of the metropolis, reportedly resulted in the destruction of several residential units belonging to workers and individuals being supported under the Welfare Organization, and caused injuries to innocent residents.

Shiraz, often called the City of Wine, is home to the UNESCO-listed Eram Garden.

More than 15 people were killed in a US-Israeli attack on an industrial unit in Isfahan, home to one of the Islamic Republic’s key nuclear facilities, Mehr has reported. Akbar Salehi, Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement of Isfahan Province, told the news agency that the missile strike targeted a factory producing heating and cooling equipment, and that several workers were present at the site during the assault, resulting in both fatalities and injuries.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that Tehran had no involvement in the latest reported drone attack on Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the IRGC urged Saudi officials to investigate the source of the strike – ten drones reportedly targeted Riyadh and the kingdom’s Eastern Province of Al-Sharghiyeh.

A senior Iranian security official told RT that the news published by Reuters regarding ceasefire proposals and mediators was rejected, declaring the information released to be completely wrong and far from reality.

Reuters had earlier reported, citing Iranian and regional sources, that several Middle Eastern countries were attempting to mediate between Tehran, Washington and West Jerusalem in order to explore a possible ceasefire. According to the report, Iran had been approached through intermediaries and regional channels to discuss halting the fighting, while both sides signalled little willingness to begin talks as the conflict continues to escalate. Sources familiar with the matter told the news agency that the efforts had been rebuffed by the US administration as well.

The supply chain disruptions triggered by coordinated US-Israel strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliation have sent shockwaves through global fertilizer markets, raising concerns over tightening supplies and rising food inflation risks. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a key route for energy and agricultural inputs — has reportedly fallen by about 75%, disrupting flows of fertilizer feedstocks such as ammonia and urea.

As the Middle East is a major exporter of nitrogen fertilizers, higher natural gas prices, freight costs, and logistical constraints are pushing up production costs and threatening fertilizer availability ahead of key planting seasons, potentially worsening food security in import-dependent regions.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he’s not ready to make a deal with Iran. Talking to NBC News over the phone, Trump stressed that “the terms aren’t good enough yet.”

The closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Horn of Africa and the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula will be a primary option for Yemen’s Islamic militant Ansarullah group (Houthis) if it decides to help Iran in its war against the US and Israel, according to a senior Yemeni commander.

“Once the decision to intervene is made, the first measure could be the official declaration of a naval blockade against the United States and the Zionist regime,” Abed al-Thawr said on Saturday, as quoted by Iranian Press TV.

Hezbollah has said it launched rockets at Israeli troops at the Calf Hill site north of the Kfar Yuval settlement. The group also reported artillery fire targeting soldiers at the Jibia point opposite the Lebanese border town of Meiss el-Jabal.

The Israeli military has not confirmed any casualties or damage in the strikes, as footage circulated by Press TV allegedly shows air defenses attempting to intercept the rockets.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that it targeted Israel as well as US military facilities in the region overnight, including the Harir airbase near Erbil in Iraq and the Ali Al Salem and Arifjan bases hosting American troops in Kuwait.

President Trump has dismissed Ukraine‘s Vladimir Zelensky’s offer to assist with countering Iranian drones in the Middle East.

“We don’t need help,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News , adding that Zelensky is the “last person we need help from.”

Since the launch of US-Israeli strikes on Iran late last month, Zelensky has repeatedly signaled his readiness to get involved in the conflict, claiming that Washington has appealed for help defending American assets stationed in the Gulf against Iranian retaliatory attacks. On Friday, he again claimed that without Kiev’s “expertise,” Washington will not be able to “stabilize the situation.”

Air raid sirens have sounded across central Israel as a missile attack from Iran triggered “loud explosions” in several areas, according to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12.

Reports said debris fell in parts of the region, while Israel’s ambulance service treated four people who were injured while heading to shelters.

Dubai authorities have confirmed successful air defense interceptions of unidentified projectiles in the Marina and Al Sufouh areas.

At least 30 drones have been intercepted over Riyadh and Eastern regions of Saudi Arabia overnight, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The Department of War has published a video of a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress taking off for a night mission against Iran. “Strikes from US forces continue to be unpredictable, dynamic, and decisive,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

The IDF has detected a new barrage of missiles launched from Iran toward Israel, warning citizens to seek shelter as air defense systems are “operating to intercept the threat.”

A senior Yemeni Houthi military commander has warned that the group could block another strategic waterway to assist Iran in fighting off the ongoing US-Israeli attack, according to Press TV.

“Once the decision to intervene is made, the first measure could be the official declaration of a naval blockade against the United States and the Zionist regime,” Abed al-Thawr said on Saturday. “Merchant vessels and warships, including aircraft carriers, destined for US soil and the occupied territories could therefore be stopped.”

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a vital maritime chokepoint through which an estimated 10% of global seaborne oil trade passes. The Houthis had previously imposed a similar naval blockade on Israeli-owned or Israeli-affiliated ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s military campaign there.

The spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has accused the United States and Israel of deploying a rebranded copy of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone – designated “Lucas” – to carry out attacks on civilian infrastructure in regional countries as part of a deliberate false-flag operation aimed at framing the Islamic Republic.

“As the Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly announced, it only targets the objectives, centers, and interests of the United States and the Zionist regime, and assumes full responsibility for any location it targets by issuing an official statement,” the spokesman declared.

However, there was a series of “suspicious attacks” in recent days on facilities in friendly neighboring countries, including Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq, which Western media outlets immediately attributed to Iranian forces, the spokesman said.

Iran’s top military command has issued a warning to civilians in neighboring states, urging them to stay away from American soldiers and US-owned military and industrial facilities.

“Our deadly drones are searching point by point for the hiding places of terrorist US soldiers in the region, and upon obtaining intelligence they will precisely strike each and every American terrorist in the area,” a spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said.

“We ask the people living near industrial areas in which Americans are shareholders, or individuals who are close to the hiding places of American terrorist soldiers, to move away from those areas to avoid being harmed.”

President Trump has claimed that Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Washington’s regional allies hosting US military bases were “the biggest surprise I had of this whole thing.”

“I was very surprised,” Trump told NBC News, claiming that the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and others “got shot at unnecessarily.”

The US Central Command has shared new footage of its sorties, saying American forces “continue to degrade Iranian military capability.”

Formula One has announced that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April due to the ongoing war in the region, confirming the decision in a statement on Sunday.

“While alternatives were considered, no substitutions will be made in April,” Formula One’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), said in a statement.

Both races are regular fixtures on the Formula One calendar, with Bahrain initially scheduled as the fourth Grand Prix this season on April 10-12, followed by the Saudi race a week later. The Formula 2, Formula 3, and F1 ACADEMY rounds have also been cancelled.

The IRGC has shared new footage of its strikes against US and Israeli positions, showing drones taking off from undisclosed locations.

14 March 2026

President Trump has claimed that Iran’s Kharg Island was “totally demolished” in the US bombing raid on Saturday – but suggested “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”

“We’ve totally decimated it,” the president told NBC News. “Except, as you know, I didn’t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years.”

The island, located in the northern Persian Gulf approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) off the coast of mainland Iran, hosts a vital oil terminal responsible for almost 90% of the country’s maritime oil exports.

Tehran threatened to turn all US-linked oil infrastructure across the Middle East into a “pile of ashes” if Washington targets its oil facilities. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps acknowledged that the island’s military infrastructure was damaged but dismissed Trump’s claims of its complete destruction.

The Israeli Home Front Command has instructed residents to seek shelter in a protected space and remain there until further notice, after the military detected several missile launches from Iran. “Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said.

Switzerland has rejected at least two US requests to fly spy planes through its airspace, while approving a maintenance flight and two transport aircraft flights scheduled for Sunday, citing its neutrality laws amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

“The law of neutrality prohibits overflights by parties to the conflict that serve a military purpose,” the federal government in Bern said in a statement Saturday. Permitted flights include humanitarian and medical transports, including the evacuation of the wounded.

For future requests, the council said it will only approve flights “demonstrably unrelated to the conflict” and will reject requests that exceed “normal traffic levels” if their purpose cannot be determined.

Several drones struck Kuwait International Airport – which serves as a major U.S. air logistics hub and hosts the 387th Air Expeditionary Group – and damaged its radar system, according to the country’s civil aviation authorities.

“Kuwait International Airport was targeted this evening by several drones, which damaged the airport’s radar system,” spokesperson for Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Abdullah Al-Rajhi, said in a statement on X.

Authorities did not provide details on the extent of the damage, after videos circulated by pro-Iranian sources showed over two dozen explosions in the area.

The US Victoria base near Baghdad International Airport has reportedly come under a missile strike, with videos circulated by local pro-Iranian sources showing fire and smoke rising from the facility.

Israel allegedly informed Washington that it is running critically low on long-range missile interceptors and is “coming up with solutions to address” the shortage as the war with Iran stretches into its 16th day, US officials told Semafor.

While the official insisted that American stockpiles remain sufficient, reports suggest Washington is quietly redeploying assets from other regions. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said this week that US air defense weapons stationed at Osan Air Base may have been transferred to the Middle East, acknowledging Seoul’s opposition but noting it cannot “fully enforce” its position.

President Donald Trump has touted a “virtually unlimited” US munitions supply, even as observers caution that stockpiles are lower than desired. The Pentagon maintains it has “everything it needs” to execute its missions, but its Gulf allies are reportedly facing shortages, forced on a daily basis to intercept hundreds of missiles and cheap drones targeted at US bases on their territory.

The Strait of Hormuz remains open for international shipping, except for vessels belonging to the United States, Israel, and their allies, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, has said.

“The Strait of Hormuz has not been militarily blocked and is merely under control,” the statement said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi similarly told US media earlier in the day that the strategic waterway is closed only to hostile nations.

“It is only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies. Others are free to pass,” Araghchi said.

“The touted US security umbrella has proven to be full of holes and inviting rather than deterring trouble. The US is now begging others, even China, to help it make Hormuz safe,” Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on X, calling on “brotherly neighbors to expel foreign aggressors, especially as their only concern is Israel.”

President Trump has promised to “coordinate” with foreign states that agree to send their military vessels to the Strait of Hormuz “so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well.”

“The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both militarily, economically, and in every other way, but the countries of the world that receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In a previous post, the US president said: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others that are affected by this artificial constraint will send ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a nation that has been totally decapitated.”