Iran continues retaliatory strikes as IDF kills journalists in Lebanon: As it happened on March 28

28 March 2026

The Israeli military says on X it has carried out a third wave of large-scale strikes across Tehran, targeting dozens of what it described as Iranian “terror infrastructure” sites.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said Iran has agreed to allow 20 additional Pakistani-flagged ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “constructive” step toward regional stability.

The move comes as Islamabad steps up mediation efforts in the US-Iran conflict, including facilitating backchannel contacts. On Sunday, Pakistan is also expected to host talks with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Türkiye about the war.

The IRGC has condemned a drone attack on the residence of Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Duhok, a city in northern Iraq near the Turkish border.

In a statement cited by Iranian media, the IRGC described the strike as a violation of international law and regional security, and called on the UN Security Council to respond to what it described as ongoing destabilizing actions in the region.

The attack was confirmed by Iraqi authorities, with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordering an investigation and forming a joint Iraqi-Kurdish team to identify those responsible. No group has claimed responsibility so far.

The Iraqi government also earlier condemned the incident.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry has said an airstrike in Mosul killed two police officers on Saturday, blaming the US and Israel for the attack.

Earlier, Reuters, citing security sources, also reported a strike in the northern Iraqi city that hit a site near a police facility linked to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a state-backed paramilitary network. There has been no independent confirmation of responsibility.

According to local media, the strike targeted a police emergency unit near the city’s Third Bridge, killing two officers and wounding several others. A second strike reportedly hit as personnel were evacuating the injured.

Hundreds of people have gathered in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to decry the killing of three journalists by an Israeli airstrike in the south of the country on Saturday. “The atmosphere here is a very emotional one,” RT correspondent Steve Sweeney reported from the ground, adding that what appeared to be an Israeli drone was buzzing overhead, observing the rally and “attempting to intimidate the people.”

The demonstrators were holding photos of the slain journalists and chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel!”

“The message here on the ground is very clear, but it’s also very defiant – we will not be silenced and we will continue to raise our microphones and raise our voices,” Sweeney reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the “targeted” Israeli attack on a civilian car in southern Lebanon that claimed the lives of the three Lebanese journalists. The slain reporters were wearing clearly distinguishable ‘press’ insignia at the time of the attack, it noted in a statement.

According to the ministry, by merely alleging that one of the reporters was a militant, the Israeli military appears to have given its forces carte blanche to commit what is considered a “grave crime” under international law.

Russian diplomats pointed out that an RT crew similarly came under IDF attack in southern Lebanon last week, where Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive against Hezbollah militants since the start of the month.

The Israeli attacks on reporters must be properly investigated, with those responsible brought to account, the ministry stressed.

The US Central Command has announced on X that the USS Tripoli, along with the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group/31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, has arrived in its “area of responsibility.” The deployment includes around 3,500 US sailors and Marines.

The amphibious assault ship serves as the group’s flagship and is equipped with transport and strike aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and other tactical assets, according to the statement.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defenses have shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper multi-purpose drone over the city of Shiraz, according to Iranian media.

The Kuwaiti Defense Ministry has confirmed that multiple Iranian drones struck in the vicinity of Kuwait International Airport, “leading to significant damage to the radar system, with no human casualties.”

In a separate post on X on Saturday, the Kuwaiti military reported that several fuel tanks caught fire as a result of the attack.

The IDF has claimed to have struck Iran’s Maritime Industries Organization – a defense industry complex – in Tehran overnight. Additionally, Israeli warplanes targeted several other Iranian weapons production facilities, according to the statement.

The US Central Command has dismissed earlier claims by Iranian army spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari that more than 500 American troops had been killed or wounded in strikes on alleged American “hideouts” across the region, stating that “no US personnel have been attacked in Dubai”.

The US military claimed that the “Iranian regime is manufacturing lies on social media to hide the reality that their military capabilities are undeniably overwhelmed and degraded.”

Emirates Global Aluminium has reported that its Al Taweelah site “sustained significant damage during the Iranian missile and drone attacks at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi.” Several employees suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the statement.

The killing of Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shuaib and Al Mayadeen’s Fatima Ftouni by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon was “without doubt, an attempt to silence the truth,” RT correspondent Steve Sweeney believes.

“Ali and Fatima were very powerful voices from the south, very well-known and very well-loved across all of Lebanon,” according to Sweeney’s emotional account.

Ftouni had seven family members killed in an Israeli airstrike several weeks ago, and had to report from the ground, he recounted, calling her an “incredibly brave soul.”

Ftouni’s brother, Mohamed, who was also in the journalists’ car when it came under Israeli attack, perished as well, Sweeney revealed.

“Of course, the Israelis fear a microphone, they fear a camera, they fear a pen more than they do a bullet and a bomb – because it’s this that delivers the truth,” the RT correspondent concluded.

Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida Sbeity, narrowly escaped death just last week while filming in southern Lebanon. An Israeli missile struck less than ten meters away from their filming position, injuring both journalists.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has strongly condemned the Israeli airstrike that killed Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shuaib and Al Mayadeen’s Fatima Ftouni in southern Lebanon.

“Once again, the Israeli aggression violates the most basic rules of international law, international humanitarian law and the laws of war, by targeting journalists, who are ultimately civilians performing a professional duty,” Aoun stated.

He described the attack as a “blatant crime that violates all the norms and treaties under which journalists enjoy international protection in wars.”

RT cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity, who was friends with and worked on multiple occasions with slain Al-Manar correspondent Ali Shuaib and Al Mayadeen’s Fatima Ftouni, said the journalists’ vehicle was hit by an Israeli double-tap strike. The second impact came when emergency workers had approached the car, according to Sbeity.

Ali Shuaib “was seen as the dean of correspondents in southern Lebanon – he’s been there for a very very long time,” Sbeity recounted, adding that the late Al-Manar correspondent was “very supportive to any field journalist who wanted to go south.”

Sbeity also dismissed as absurd IDF claims that Ali Shuaib was a militant operating under the guise of a war correspondent.

US Vice President J.D. Vance has said that Washington expects the conflict with Iran to be “short-term.” Appearing on Benny Johnson’s podcast, published on Saturday, the US official noted that Trump “has been very clear about this – that we’re not interested in being in Iran a year down the road, two years down the road.”

“We’re going to be out of there soon and gas prices are going to come back down,” Vance added.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) claims to have struck a US F-16 fighter jet south of Fars Province, according to Press TV.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims that it located and destroyed 122 cluster bombs dropped by US and Israeli warplanes on Fars Province, according to Tasnim News.

US CENTCOM has dropped yet another piece of “unclassified” strike footage – this time showing what appear to be Iranian naval vessels getting hit, along with the caption: “For decades, Iranian naval vessels have threatened and harassed global shipping… but those days are over.”

A drone has crashed into Iraq’s Majnoon oil field, one of the world’s largest super-giant fields, the country’s Defense Ministry has said on X.

According to the ministry, the UAV did not explode and caused no damage or casualties.

Footage circulating on social media – verified by Al Jazeera – shows cluster munitions striking a building in Tel Aviv during and overnight attack by Iran.

Iranian media has published a photo of the car in which the two journalists killed in an IDF strike, Fatima Ftouni and Ali Shuaib, were traveling.

Israel has done something it rarely does – openly confirm it targeted a journalist – while insisting he wasn’t really one. In a statement on Telegram, the IDF said it killed Ali Shuaib in a “targeted strike,” claiming he “served as a terrorist in Hezbollah… under the guise of a journalist” for Al-Manar.

The Israeli military alleged Shuaib was part of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, accusing him of relaying IDF troop positions and spreading propaganda, and framed the killing as part of its ongoing operations against Hezbollah, vowing to continue strikes against what it calls Iran-backed forces.

The IDF also released footage of the strike, which killed another journalist Al-Mayadeen’s Fatima Ftouni.

Trump went unusually crude – even by his standards – at a Saudi-backed investment forum in Miami, boasting about his leverage over Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid tensions with Iran.

“He didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass. He really didn’t… but now he has to be nice to me – he better be,” Trump told the audience. He went on to mock past US leadership and hype his own impact: “He [bin Salman] thought I’d be just another American president that was a loser… but now he has to be nice to me. He’s got to be.”

An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon has killed two journalists – Al Mayadeen’s Fatima Fatuni and Al-Manar’s Ali Shuaib – their outlets report. The strike reportedly hit the vehicle they were travelling in.

Fatuni had earlier learned live on air that seven members of her family had been killed in an Israeli strike this month. Shuaib, a veteran correspondent, had survived multiple previous attacks, including a 2024 strike that killed his cameraman.

Israeli forces have been accused of killing hundreds of journalists in recent years, mainly in Gaza and the West Bank, and of deliberately targeting media crews. Just last week, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida Sbeity, were injured in a strike while filming in southern Lebanon.

As tensions rise in the Middle East and the death toll grows, all sides in the conflict are accusing each other of committing war crimes.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he believes all parties may be violating international law, stressing that any targeting of civilians must be held accountable.

To discuss this, RT is joined by a panel of guests: Stanley Cohen, attorney and human rights advocate; Alexandre Guerreiro, international law analyst and academic; and Stanislav Krapivnik, former US Army officer.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned regional states not to allow their territory to be used for attacks on Iran, urging them to stay out of the conflict.

“We have said many times that Iran doesn’t carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted,” he wrote on X. “To the countries of the region: If you want development and security, don’t let our enemies run the war from your lands.”

Iran’s military claims it destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone systems depot in Dubai during an IRGC missile operation, alongside strikes on alleged US personnel “hideouts.”

A spokesperson said the site was being used to support US forces and that 21 Ukrainian personnel were present at the location during the attack. No confirmed information has been released on their fate.

Ukraine has denied Tehran’s claim, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhy slamming it as “a lie.”

The Iranian army says it has carried out drone strikes on key Israeli electronic warfare and radar facilities in Haifa, as well as fuel storage sites linked to Ben Gurion Air Base.

According to Iranian military statements, the targets included the Alta electronic warfare center, a major radar and surveillance hub, and fuel infrastructure supporting Israeli air operations, with officials saying the strikes will impact Israel’s interception capabilities and refueling capacity.

Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Egypt are set to meet in Islamabad for talks aimed at de-escalating tensions over Iran and the wider region.

The meeting will focus on diplomatic efforts to reduce the conflict, according to a notice posted on social media by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari claims that more than 500 US troops have been killed or wounded in strikes on alleged American “hideouts” across the region.

In a televised address, he said two locations were targeted, including one with over 400 personnel, resulting in what he described as “heavy casualties.”

“Trump and the commanders of the US Army must fully understand that the region will become a cemetery for American soldiers,” he warned.

New structural damage has been discovered at Iran’s 1,800-year-old Falak-ol-Aflak Castle following a recent US-Israeli airstrike, raising concerns over the monument’s stability.

Officials say blast waves, worsened by recent rainfall, have caused cracks and fissures to emerge across the site, with experts warning that the full extent of the damage may only become clear over time.

Several nearby historic buildings were also damaged, and one barrack was completely destroyed, the authorities said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has mocked French President Emmanuel Macron over plans to deploy an aircraft carrier near Cyprus to protect allied forces in the Middle East.

“Well, France ‘plans’, and that always sounds a little more ambitious than it actually is,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “France has one aircraft carrier, more or less operational. It’s now been sent to the Mediterranean. Let’s put it this way: we would probably only have a real ability to ensure peace through joint efforts.”

Macron announced earlier this month that France would send the nuclear-powered carrier Charles de Gaulle to the region.

Donald Trump’s plans for Iran appear to be increasingly faltering, as he again criticizes NATO allies for “not being there” for Washington. As the cost of the conflict rises and fuel prices climb worldwide, critics argue the United States has largely brought the strain on itself, deepening tensions within Western alliances.

Lebanese demonstrators have taken to the streets in Beirut to denounce Israeli strikes on the country.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has shared UN reports on “genocide” in Gaza and “Israel’s systematic use of sexual violence,” arguing they explain Tehran’s stance.

“If you want to understand why Iran is fighting for humanity and why Israel poses a grave threat to human civilization, read these three UN reports,” he wrote on X. “Raising awareness is a vital part of the resistance. These war crimes can only be described in one way: ‘More than a Human Can Bear’.”

The Israeli army says it has killed two senior members of Hezbollah’s communications unit, identifying them as Ayoub Hussein Yacoub and Yasser Muhammad Mubarak.

Yacoub was killed in a strike in Beirut, the military said.

It added that air and naval forces carried out overnight attacks across southern Lebanon, targeting weapons depots, launchers and other military infrastructure. Israel said the strikes are part of ongoing efforts to degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and pledged to continue operations against the group.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned that the “unlawful” US-Israeli war against Iran risks spiraling into a wider regional war.

“We warned against this manufactured chaos... One thing is certain: Our region will never be the same again,” he told A Haber, arguing that the conflict is designed to keep the region “weak, divided, and fragile.”

Fidan claimed that negotiations are underway, with Pakistan playing a key mediating role. “The Americans are coordinating this with us, and we are informing the Iranians,” he said, adding that some progress has been made.

He also pointed to a possible regional meeting in Pakistan and described Israel as “the primary obstacle to peace,” warning of “Israeli expansionism.”

More than two dozen US troops have been wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base over the past week, media reports claim, citing sources.

In the latest strike, Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones, wounding at least 15 troops – five seriously – after earlier reports put the figure at ten injured.

The base was hit twice earlier in the week, including an attack that injured 14 US personnel, the sources said. Located about 96km (60 miles) from Riyadh, the base is operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force and also hosts US troops.

The Israeli military says more than 50 fighter jets carried out strikes on Iranian “weapons production facilities” during a bombing wave, targeting sites linked to missile and military manufacturing.

Kuwait International Airport has been targeted in a series of drone attacks, according to the civil aviation authority.
No casualties were reported, but officials said the airport’s radar system sustained heavy damage.

Thailand says it has reached an agreement with Iran to guarantee safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

The deal will help “ease concerns about fuel supplies to Thailand,” Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at a news conference, adding: “With this agreement, we are confident we will no longer face disruptions like those seen in early March.”

Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Bangkok made it clear that it is “not a party to the conflict” and retains “the right to safe maritime passage under international law.”

A dozen US troops have been injured in an Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

The war with Iran has reportedly left 13 American service members dead and more than 300 wounded.

RT correspondent Igor Zhdanov looks at how Washington’s military presence across the Middle East may be becoming a liability not only for the US, but also for its regional hosts.

Iranian media has released another Lego-style animation depicting the US-Israeli war, this time focusing on a hypothetical US ground incursion into Iran.

The video shows a cartoon Trump ordering an invasion, with a cowboy-style commander leading the charge, before Iranian forces shoot down all incoming aircraft.

It ends with the commander telling Trump “you killed me,” followed by a scene of an Iranian island turning into a vast “American soldiers cemetery.”

Cuba has condemned the US-Israeli war against Iran.

“We want to emphasize our strongest condemnation of the aggression of the US and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which constitutes a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, a blatant breach of the UN Charter and international law,” Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga told the Eurasian intergovernmental council’s meeting in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

“This irresponsible action sabotages international diplomatic efforts in the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program for the second time.”

Perez-Oliva said Cuba supports calls to halt the aggression and urged respect for good neighborliness and steps to avoid further escalation in the Middle East.

US troops “will not return alive” if they attempt to seize Iran’s Kharg Island, a key oil export hub, Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei has warned.

“Along with a number of our colleagues, we have arrived at the resilient Kharg Island… oil exports are proceeding without any problems,” he said in a video message. “What I can confidently tell you is that our armed forces are committed and sworn that if any aggressor violates this Iranian island, they will certainly face the harshest response and will not return alive.”

The warning comes amid reports that the Pentagon is weighing scenarios involving the seizure or blockade of Iranian islands in the Strait of Hormuz, including Kharg.t

The Yemeni Houthis say they are ready for “direct military intervention” on Iran’s side and have confirmed that they launched their first ballistic missile at Israel.

“We targeted the Zionist enemy with a group of ballistic missiles. In the first military operation, we targeted sensitive military targets of the Israeli enemy in the south of occupied Palestine with a group of ballistic missiles… this operation successfully achieved its goals,” spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised address.

“Our operations… will continue… until the end of the offensive on all resistance fronts in Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine.”

Several residential buildings in Borujerd, Iran have been hit by an airstrike, leaving at least five people dead and 35 wounded, according to a local official.

The authorities warn that the toll could rise as rescue teams continue clearing debris at the scene.

Trump has argued that his MAGA base will ultimately support the war on Iran, saying they “want strength,” even as divisions have emerged within the movement.

“MAGA wants to win, number one. Number two, they want our country protected. They don’t want another country out there that’s hostile and crazy to have a nuclear weapon,” he said at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami. “They like us protecting certain allies, whether it’s Israel or Saudi Arabia or Qatar or UAE, any of them, they want that. MAGA wants strength.”

The comments come amid a growing rift within MAGA. Though much of Trump’s base still supports the movement, a vocal ‘America First’ wing views the war as a betrayal of his ‘no more foreign wars’ pledge.

Videos circulating online purport to show Hezbollah missile strikes on northern Israel.

Iranian media, citing university officials, report an airstrike on the Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran, targeting research and educational buildings.

The university said the strike caused damage but no casualties, and condemned the attack as a violation of humanitarian principles and international law.

Iranian media is circulating footage of a reported explosion at the Port of Salalah in Oman.
No details have been provided so far on the cause of the blast.

Trump is seriously considering renaming the Strait of Hormuz if he succeeds in pushing Iran out of the key oil route, New York Times sources claim. Options include the ‘Strait of America’ or even his own name. “He does believe that if we’re going to guard it, if we’re going to take care of it, if we’re going to police it… why should we call it [Hormuz]?” a senior official said.

Trump hinted at the idea on Friday. “They have to open up the Strait of Trump – I mean Hormuz,” he said, insisting that the slip-up was not an accident. “There’s no accidents with me.”

The move would not be unprecedented. Last year, Trump pushed through the redesignation of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The idea has drawn mixed reactions from his allies.

“This whole naming thing is getting as tiresome and tacky as the gold in the Oval Office,” a former Trump staffer said. “It’s only tarnishing his legacy and hurting the party before the midterms.”

Religion is increasingly being invoked to justify the US-Israeli war on Iran, with all sides framing the conflict in existential terms that go beyond geopolitics.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth recently led a Pentagon prayer calling for “overwhelming violence” against America’s enemies, while Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has drawn biblical parallels, likening Iran to Amalek – an enemy that “cannot be reasoned with.”

Tehran continues to frame the conflict as part of a broader “resistance,” with rhetoric centered on historical grievance and vengeance.

RT’s Oumaima Ichchar notes the shift: “If it’s a war about survival, then what exactly is there to give up?”

Footage circulated by Iranian media purports to show a Hezbollah missile striking a target in northern Israel.

The Israeli military says a missile launched from Yemen has struck the country – the first attack of the kind in the month-long US-Israel war on Iran.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have not claimed responsibility, but said on Friday they are ready to intervene militarily if other countries join the war or if the Red Sea is used to launch attacks on Iran.

Russia is reassessing its energy supply chains as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz raise fears of disruptions, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev told RT, warning that “any supply chain could now be under attack.”

Videos show Iranian cluster munitions lighting up the night sky over Tel Aviv.

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, has warned that “the American-Israeli-Arab alliance has crossed all of Iran’s red lines.”

“Iran no longer has any restrictions on responding to the Epstein gang’s criminals. This is not a threat, but an evacuation warning,” he wrote on X.

US forces are expending Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Iran war faster than they can be replaced, the Washington Post and CBS report, citing Pentagon sources.

Around 850 Tomahawks have been fired over the past four weeks – around nine times the annual procurement rate of 90 – raising concern among officials that stockpiles could take years to replenish.

One official described the remaining supplies in the Middle East as “alarmingly low.” Another warned that the Pentagon is nearing “Winchester” – military slang for running out of ammunition.

The US is estimated to hold around 3,100 Tomahawks in total. “It’s been recognized that we don’t have enough long-range strike capability… but we keep depleting them,” Stimson Center fellow Kelly Grieco said.

Footage shows the aftermath of Iranian missile fragments striking a residential building in Tel Aviv, reportedly killing one civilian and injuring two others.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has urged people to stay calm and move to the nearest safe location after warning sirens were activated, without providing further details on the cause of the alert, in a brief post on X.

The FBI has confirmed that Iran-linked hackers have managed to breach into the agency director Kash Patel’s personal email account, but insisted that the information they obtained “is historical in nature and involves no government information.”

“The FBI is aware of malicious actors targeting Director Patel’s personal email information, and we have taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity,” a statement from the FBI said.

While the agency downplayed the threat, the US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program swiftly set a $10 million award for anyone possessing information about the alleged perpetrators.

New footage shared by pro-Tehran Telegram channels appears to show how “Iranian missiles penetrated and defeated US air defense systems, striking their target in Bahrain,” according to Press TV.

Five Indian nationals were injured by falling debris after air defense systems intercepted ballistic missiles near the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, according to the Government Media Office. Authorities said the injuries ranged from moderate to minor, and that two fires caused by falling debris in the Khalifa Economic Zones were being extinguished.

Officials described the interceptions as “successful” and urged the public to rely only on official sources and avoid spreading “rumors or unverified information.”

Washington is “hopeful” of holding a meeting with Iranian officials this week, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said.

“We think there will be meetings this week, we’re certainly hopeful for it,” he said. “We have a 15-point deal on the table that the Iranians have had for a bit of time. We expect an answer from them.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said that the US had clear objectives and was “very confident we are on the verge of achieving them very soon.”

The UN’s newly appointed coordinator for the Strait of Hormuz has announced that the task force is aimed at ensuring the safe passage of commercial fertilizers through the waterway, warning that disruptions in maritime trade risk triggering a “massive humanitarian crisis.”

Jorge Moreira da Silva said the task force will focus on facilitating shipments of fertilizers and related raw materials to countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia that are heavily dependent on imports.

“We are standing by to support this lifesaving operation,” he said, adding that it is urgent to prevent ripple effects on global agricultural production.

Tehran maintains that the strategic waterway remains open for all vessels except those affiliated with what it deems “hostile” nations – specifically the United States and Israel – and those directly aiding the ongoing attacks against Iran.

Yemen’s Houthi-led armed forces have warned they are prepared for direct military action if the US and Israel continue to escalate their aggression against Iran and the Axis of Resistance in Lebanon and Gaza.

“We confirm that our hands are on the trigger for direct military intervention,” spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in a statement on Friday.

The Houthis outlined several conditions that could trigger intervention, including the participation of additional countries in the ongoing conflict, the use of the Red Sea to carry out hostile operations against Iran or any Muslim country, and further escalation of the war.

Unlike Hezbollah, which has already engaged in the conflict, the Houthis have so far held back from openly backing Tehran militarily after the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran on February 28. 

The Israeli Home Front Command has once again instructed residents to seek shelter, just an hour after permitting everyone to leave protected spaces in all areas of the country.

“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said after detecting the third wave of missiles from Iran overnight.

The United Arab Emirates’ air defense units and fighter jets are responding to an “incoming missile and drone threat from Iran,” the defense ministry said in a post on X.“MOD asserts that the sounds heard are the result of Air Defence Systems engaging missiles and that the Fighters are intercepting cruise missiles and UAVs,” it added.

President Trump dismissed Iranian officials’ denials of ongoing talks as lies, telling a Saudi-backed investment conference in Miami that the US is “crushing Iran currently, as we speak.”

“They are being hit so hard, anybody would be negotiating. They are negotiating. They’re begging to make a deal,” he said. “Turned out, I was right. They were negotiating, which they admitted two days later, and in order to make up for their misstatement, they said we’re going to send you eight ships of oil.”

Iranian officials strongly denied that any such oil “gift” or negotiation was taking place, calling the claims a deception aimed at manipulating global oil prices and distracting the American public from the fact that their country is being dragged into yet another endless war in the Middle East.

The US forces have completely wiped out Iranian air defences and now “just floating over the top looking for whatever we want” to strike, President Trump has claimed.

“We have another 3,554 targets left. That’ll be done pretty quickly. And then, you know, at some point, we’re going to have to determine what we do,” Trump said.

President Trump has blasted NATO as a “paper tiger” bloc that made a “tremendous mistake” when it “just wasn’t there” to support American operations against Iran.

“We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year protecting NATO,” he said at a Saudi-backed investment conference in Miami on Friday. “Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us.”

Trump’s remarks follow his previous criticism of NATO for refusing to provide military support to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

“I’ve always said NATO is a paper tiger,” he added. “We help NATO, but they’ll never help us. And if the big one ever happened, I guarantee you, they wouldn’t be there.”

The IDF has detected another wave of missiles from Iran, and urged residents to seek shelter while defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat.

Five people have been killed and seven injured in a US-Israeli strike on an apartment building in the northwestern Iranian city of Zanjan shortly after midnight, Iran’s ISNA news agency reports citing the region’s deputy governor.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said civil defense crews have extinguished a fire at an unidentified facility “targeted by the Iranian aggression,” without providing further details on the location or extent of the damage. Meanwhile, pro-Iranian sources circulated footage online reportedly showing a large fire erupting at a “US facility” in Bahrain.

The Department of War is deploying a third aircraft carrier group to the US Central Command’s area of responsibility in the Middle East to potentially join combat operations against Iran, according to multiple US media reports.

The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier group completed training earlier this month that certifies its readiness for major combat operations, CBS News reports. CNN added that it is unclear if Bush will join or replace either of the two US aircraft carriers already in the region.

Two carrier strike groups – led by the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Abraham Lincoln – had spearheaded the US attack on Iran since last month, until the Ford suffered an alleged “non-combat” fire aboard and retreated for repairs to a naval port in Souda Bay in Crete.

Three guided missile destroyers assigned to the Bush group – USS Ross, USS Donald Cook and USS Mason – have all reportedly deployed to join Operation Epic Fury earlier this week.

Satellite imagery circulated by open-source intelligence analysts online appears to show that several US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft have been damaged, if not destroyed, as a result of an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia earlier on Friday.

Kuwait’s National Guard said it shot down at least six unidentified drones over the past 24 hours as part of ongoing efforts to “secure vital sites and confront potential threats.” The Guard affirmed that its forces, in cooperation with the army, police and fire service, remain on high alert to protect the country’s “sovereignty and stability.”

The IDF has announced that it is “currently striking Iranian terror regime targets across Tehran,” after at least one Iranian missile struck Tel Aviv earlier in the day.

More than 300 American service members have been wounded in action since the US war with Iran began, with most having returned to duty, a US Central Command spokesperson said earlier on Friday.

According to CENTCOM, 13 US service members have been killed in the conflict. Six were killed in an Iranian strike on a US facility in Kuwait hours after the war began, while another six died in the crash of a US refueling aircraft over Iraq. An additional fatality was an Army soldier wounded in an earlier attack on Prince Sultan Air Base who later succumbed to his injuries.

27 March 2026

The Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base also damaged “several” US refueling aircraft, according to US officials familiar with the situation cited by AP and the WSJ.

Ten US service members were wounded in an Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, according to US media reports.

Two of the Americans were very seriously injured, while eight others were seriously wounded under the military’s classification system, sources told CBS News. The wounded troops were inside a building on the base that was hit in the attack, according to US and Arab officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.

The US president has called the Strait of Hormuz the “Strait of Trump,” and insisted that it was not an “accident,” referring to his move to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America shortly after taking office in January 2025.

“We’re negotiating now, it would be great if they could do something, but they have to open up the Strait of Trump, I mean Hormuz,” Trump told a Saudi-backed investment conference in Miami. “Excuse me, I’m so sorry, such a terrible mistake. Fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said.’ There’s no accidents with me, not too many. If there were, we’d have a major story.”

The UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Iran informed it about a new suspected Israeli strike near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, marking the third such incident in 10 days, with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi reiterating his call on unnamed parties to exercise “maximum military restraint.”

“Grossi has again expressed deep concern over military activity in the vicinity of the facility, warning that damage to the reactor could cause a major radiological incident, and reiterated his call for maximum military restraint to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident,” the IAEA said.

Dashcam footage circulating online apparently captured the moment one of Iranian missiles hit Tel Aviv, where Israeli authorities previously confirmed at least one fatality and several injuries.

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant was struck by a missile at around 11:40 pm Friday, marking the third reported attack on the facility, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

“An attack on peaceful nuclear facilities constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and poses a grave threat to regional security,” the organization said, while noting that luckily “no casualties, material damage, or technical disruptions have been reported.”

Last night’s airstrikes on what Israel called the “heart of Tehran” were among the most intense since the start of the month, according to RT’s Tehran bureau chief Hami Hamedi, who visited the site earlier in the day and witnessed rescuers combing through the debris in the hope of finding survivors.

“They are targeting residential areas, now they are attacking ordinary people,” one of the firefighters working at the site told Hamedi.

According to the rescuer, a two-year-old child was among the people pulled out from under the rubble. The death toll from the attack on Friday morning remains unclear as several more people are believed to still be trapped under the rubble.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has insisted that there was no radiation threat, following the suspected Israeli strikes on multiple facilities linked to Iran’s civilian nuclear program and plants that use radioactive isotopes in their production processes.

“IAEA was informed by Iran that the heavy water production plant at Khondab was also hit today. No radiation risk seen as installation contains no declared nuclear material,” the UN nuclear watchdog said in a statement.

“Separately, Iran reported today that an industrial facility – the Khuzestan Steel Production Factory which uses sealed Co‑60 and Cs‑137 radioactive sources for gauging – was subjected to strikes but there was no off-site radiation release,” it added.

In a separate statement earlier in the day, the nuclear watchdog said it “has been informed by Iran that the Shahid Rezayee Nejad Yellow Cake Production Facility in Yazd province (also known as Ardakan) was attacked today. No increase in off-site radiation levels reported.”

Israeli first responders report that one person has been killed and several others injured after a ballistic missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead struck central Israel.

Iranian media and pro-Tehran Telegram channels have circulated multiple videos allegedly showing the Israeli air defense failure to intercept several missiles over Tel Aviv.

“Search and rescue forces, both reserve and regular forces, are currently operating at the sites in central Israel where reports of impact have been received,” the IDF said in a statement, urging the public to avoid gathering in these areas or recording the interceptions and impact sites.

Air raid sirens have blared across Israel after the IDF said it “identified missiles launched from Iran” with “defensive systems operating to intercept the threat.”