• US President Donald Trump says the US and Israel are close to achieving their war objectives in Iran and that the conflict could be over “very soon”, though it would not end this week.
• Large crowds have gathered across Iran in support of Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his assassinated father, Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader.
• The US and Israel continue attacking Iran, with at least 40 people killed in one strike in eastern Tehran, and three children killed in Lorestan province.
• Iran continues its counterattacks on Israel and US assets in the Middle East, targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. At least two people have been killed in Israel.
• Iranian attacks have forced Gulf states to halt oil production, causing prices to surge to their highest level in four years, before stabilizing.

Oil soars above $100 a barrel

Bahrain says 29-year-old woman killed in Iranian attack

A 29-year-old woman has been killed, and eight other people have been injured, in what Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior says was “a blatant Iranian aggression against a residential building in Manama”, the country’s capital.

The attack occurred earlier in the morning on Monday, March 10.

Saudi Arabia intercepts a ballistic missile

The Saudi Ministry of Defense says it has destroyed a ballistic missile in the east of the country.

IRGC says Iran, not US, will determine the war’s end

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has responded to Trump’s comments on the timeline for the war, saying that it is Tehran – not Washington – that will dictate its end.

IRGC spokesperson Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini described Trump’s comments as “nothing but lies” and said that the US president was trying to “fabricate military achievements” after humiliating defeats.

“We are the ones who will determine the end of this war,” Naeini declared, according to the Tasnim news agency.

“We know that your ammunition is about to run out and that you are looking for an honorable way out of the war. Why don’t you tell the truth to the American people? Trump doesn’t want Americans to know that all US military infrastructure in the Persian Gulf region has been destroyed,” he said.

Naeini also denied Trump’s claim that US and Israeli attacks had degraded Iran’s missile capabilities, saying more projectiles are being fired “than the early days of the war, in larger numbers, and with warheads weighing more than 1 ton”.

He added that Iran’s armed forces will not permit the export of a single litre of oil from the region to the aggressors and their partners until further notice, saying their attempts to control oil and gas prices will be “temporary and futile”.

Israel in ‘tricky position’ if Trump declares ‘victory and walks away’

A situation has emerged where there might be some separation between the Israelis and the Americans.

The Americans, if Trump is to be interpreted correctly from what he was saying earlier on, might be about to declare victory and walk away.

That would, of course, leave the Israelis in a tricky position, because they then have to decide whether they are going to carry on taking the fight to Iran by themselves. Or whether they also wind down the Iranian side of things and do what they have wanted to do for a very long time, which is concentrate on Hezbollah.

Even if the attacks on Iran, the bombing of Tehran, the bombing of oil infrastructure… if that winds down, Israel is likely to carry on fighting a battle that it sees as absolutely in its national interests against Hezbollah, north of the border in Lebanon.

This is a first signal that Netanyahu is going to leave the war on Iran to Trump.

Trump vows to hit Iran ‘twenty times harder’ if it continues blocking Hormuz Strait

Saudi Arabia intercepts two drones near Al-Kharj governorate

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry says the military has intercepted two drones east of the Al-Kharj governorate.

Gulf Air launches special repatriation flights as Bahrain airspace stays closed

Bahrain’s airspace remains closed amid repeated missile and drone attacks from Iran, but the country’s Gulf Air carrier has begun special flights to repatriate people stranded in the country since the US and Israel began their war on Iran on February 28.

On Tuesday, the airline will use Saudi Arabian airspace and the larger nation’s Dammam airport for two flights: the first, taking people from Dammam to Karachi in Pakistan; and the second, returning from Karachi to Dammam.

Canada PM calls Qatar emir to express solidarity amid Iran attacks

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said that he telephoned Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to express his “solidarity with Qatar in the face of Iranian missile and drone attacks”.

Carney said he also thanked Qatar’s emir “for working to ensure the safety of Canadians in Qatar and working with Canada to secure transportation options for Canadians wishing to leave the country”.

Iran war may end ‘pretty quickly’: Trump told Republicans

US President Donald Trump has told congressional Republicans that the war with Iran could be over “pretty quickly”, as he defended the military campaign and outlined Washington’s objectives in the conflict.

The United States and Israel launched the campaign against Iran on February 28, with large-scale air and missile strikes on Iranian military infrastructure, including air-defense systems, missile launchers and naval assets. The first day of the operation killed Iran’s then supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The war has now entered its second week, and in his latest speech, Trump has highlighted what he described as the successes of Operation Epic Fury and suggested that it could end soon.

Trump’s address on Iran reads ‘almost like a post-action report’

Trump has been making various comments about the timeline as well as the justification for the war. He spoke earlier with CBS, suggesting it could be over soon, and then followed that up with a press conference this evening conveying the same message.

When a reporter asked whether he meant within a week, he said he couldn’t say that.

While there were some substantive points in his address, the most notable element was the tone. It read almost like a post-action report. Trump spoke about US actions in Iran largely in the past tense, rather than the present, and said things would be over very soon. He also offered justifications for why the operation was launched in the first place, which seemed again as if this was something that was about to end, and he wanted to justify for posterity why he’d even done it in the first place.

He called it an excursion a couple of times as well, which is an interesting choice of words, rather than military campaign, war or conflict. An excursion implies a quick trip that’s over and finished reasonably quickly.

Even when he was talking about Iran’s new supreme leader, the son of the old supreme leader, he said he was disappointed. But in the past, he had said that that was unacceptable.

So in all respects, this seemed to be a president who wanted to give the impression that the US has done a good job. He said that even if he ended it now, he could call it a success, signalling that he wants the operation to be remembered positively, for posterity already.

‘Markets, munitions’ will determine war outcome: Blinken

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the direction of the US-Israeli war on Iran could be shaped by markets and munitions.

“Watch the oil, stock, and bond markets,” Blinken wrote on X. “And watch our supply of missiles (offensive and interceptors) and that of our regional partners.”

Australian Greens slam Albanese’s decision to send troops, missiles to UAE

Australian Greens leader Larissa Waters has condemned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to send military support to the UAE, saying, “We should be urging peace, not sending missiles.”

“Australians do not want to get dragged into Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal war on Iran,” the senator said in a statement.

“Labor shouldn’t be sending troops to help a military that’s killed 150 schoolchildren in a primary school bombing,” she said. “That will only escalate an illegal conflict that’s already spiralling out of control, and leave Australia trapped in yet another forever war.”

The Australian Greens party has claimed that nearly 100 Australian troops would be sent alongside the military equipment. Walters questioned why missiles were needed to keep Australian civilians in the UAE safe.

Earlier, Albanese said Australia will deploy a military surveillance aircraft to the Middle East following a request from the UAE, as well as medium-range air-to-air missiles.

‘Increasingly clear’: Iranian attacks on Gulf countries target energy infrastructure

In Qatar, the threat level was raised on Monday. The Ministry of Defense later confirmed that they had successfully intercepted 17 ballistic missiles and seven drones.

In Bahrain, it has been confirmed in the last hour or so that a 29-year-old Bahraini woman was killed in an Iranian attack on a residential housing block in the capital, Manama.

It is becoming increasingly clear, that the Iranian attacks are targeting the energy infrastructure in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region.

In Bahrain, BAPCO, one of the largest oil refineries in the country, was targeted by a drone on Monday. Huge plumes of black smoke coming from the facility were seen on photos shared online.

In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Defence there said that they had intercepted nine drones that were trying to target the Shaybah oilfields in the Empty Quarter in the southeast of the country, very close to the border with the UAE.

Taiwan says US has not approached it about transfer of weapons to Middle East

Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the US has not approached the island state about transferring weapons to the Middle East, after South Korea said it was in talks with the Trump administration to do so.

Koo, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said if any of Taiwan’s US-made weapons were to be redeployed, that would only happen if the US side made a request.

“But so far, because of the US-Iran war, they have not approached us about making use of any of our related equipment,” Koo ⁠said, according to the Reuters news agency.

South Korean Foreign Minister ⁠Cho Hyun said on Friday that the US and South Korean militaries were in discussions about the possible redeployment of some US Patriot missile defence systems based in South Korea to be ‌used in the war against Iran.

Media ‌reports citing South Korean government sources said the Patriot systems were being readied for redeployment in the Middle ‌East, ‌with heavy US military transport planes arriving in the country to begin the airlift.

S Korea says unable to stop US redeploying artillery, air defences to Middle East

⁠South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he cannot stop the US from redeploying some weapons based in his country for the US war on Iran, as reports emerge of US Patriot missile systems being sent to the Middle East.

“It appears that there is controversy recently ⁠over US forces in Korea shipping some weapons, such as artillery batteries and air-defence weapons, out of the country,” Lee said in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

He said his government had expressed opposition to the US move, but it was not in ‌a position to make demands on Washington, according to the country’s Yonhap News Agency.

The president added that the removal of some US weapons “does not hinder [the] deterrence strategy towards North Korea” – one of the primary reasons for the large US presence on the Korean Peninsula.

Local media in South Korea have reported that the US Patriot missile defence batteries were shipped out ⁠of the Osan airbase and were likely to be redeployed to US military bases in Saudi Arabia ⁠and the UAE, though ⁠South Korean authorities have not confirmed these reports.

Saudi military intercepts two more drones

The spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry has said the country’s military intercepted two more drones flying towards the vast nation’s east a few minutes ago.

This happened less than three hours after Saudi Arabia’s defences had intercepted two other drones near the Al-Kharj governorate.

Iran escalates missile attacks, rules out ceasefire talks

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has intensified its retaliatory strikes, launching what it calls the 33rd wave of Operation Promise IV.

It has announced that going forward, it will use only its heaviest missiles – those weighing 1 tonne [2,000lbs] or more – against Israel and other targets.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister confirmed that China, France, and Russia have reached out regarding a ceasefire, though he offered no details on the specific proposals.

But he said Iran is adamant about not returning to the negotiating table unless it receives guarantees that aggression like the one we are seeing now and like the one we saw in June will not happen again. So these are the primary conditions for Iran, and his comments do not suggest a willingness by Iran to return to the negotiating table.

Iranian school, homes hit in new US missile attack: Report

Iran’s Mehr news agency says there has been a US missile attack on a school in the central city of Khomeyn.

It identified the site as Dr Hafez Khomeni School and said several residential homes around the building were damaged.

There was no immediate report of casualties.

The report comes amid calls for a probe into a US missile attack on a primary girls’ school in the city of Minab in southern Iran, which killed at least 170 people, most of them students.

Indian hotels warn they’ll need to shut if LPG crisis continues

An association of hotels in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru has warned that its members might need to shut shop soon if liquified petroleum gas (LPG) prices continue to rise.

The association criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for a recent increase in the price of the fuel, which is widely used in many parts of India for cooking.

India imports most of its LPG from the Middle East, via the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively shut at the moment.

Kuwait intercepts six drones

Kuwait’s National Guard says it has downed six drones in the north and south of the country.

The statement comes after the Kuwaiti army said it destroyed two ballistic missiles and two drones in the country’s airspace on Monday.

Trump threatens to hit Iran harder if it blocks energy supplies

The US president has said that Iran “will get hit at a much, much harder level” if it continues to “attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply”.

US military continuing to target Iranian missile launchers

CENTCOM has said that US forces won’t stop looking for Iranian missile launchers.

“When we find them, we’re taking them out,” it said in a post on X.

Air raid sirens activated in Bahrain

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior has warned people to head to their nearest “safe place” and remain calm amid the latest air raid sirens.

Infant killed in US-Israeli strikes in Tehran: Report

The Iranian Mehr news agency says the body of a one-year-old girl has been recovered from the rubble of a residential building in Tehran after it was hit by US and Israeli missiles.

It posted a video on Telegram of emergency workers digging through debris to retrieve the infant’s body.

Egypt hikes fuel prices, cuts government spending

The Associated Press news agency is reporting that the cost of a litre of diesel, which is used heavily in Egyptian public transport, has increased by more than 17 percent.

It said the price of the 92-octane gasoline rose by 15 percent, while 95-octane gasoline increased by 14 percent.

The Egyptian government also approved a series of measures to reduce government spending and energy consumption, according to Al Ahram online, including limiting official travel and accelerating the conversion of vehicles to natural gas.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, is dependent on imported fuel, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has hit the country hard. The Egyptian pound fell to a record low on Monday, trading at more than 52 to the US dollar.

UAE air defences intercepting missile and drone threats

The UAE’s ministries of defense and interior have warned people to “remain in a safe place” and heed “warnings and updates” on official websites, as air defences work to neutralise threats from Iranian drones and missiles.

“The Ministry of Defense confirms that the sounds heard in scattered areas of the country are the result of the air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, and fighter jets intercepting drones and loitering munitions,” the ministry said in a statement.

Top Republican lawmaker tells US’s Gulf allies to ‘step up’

US Senator Lindsey Graham has criticised Washington’s allies in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for refusing to take part in the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

Speaking on Fox News, Graham noted that the UAE has declared it will not let its territory be used for attacks against Iran and said, “This is so disappointing.”

“We need partners that will step forward in a fight that we can’t afford to lose,” he said.

Graham said he wanted the US’s friends in Saudi Arabia and other countries “to step forward and say, ‘This is my fight, too'”.

He added, “To our Arab friends, I’ve tried to help you construct a new Middle East. You need to up your game here.”

The top Republican senator also criticised Spain, which has said it will not let the US use joint military bases on its territory for the war against Iran.

“To our allies: Step up,” Graham said. “Get our airbases out of Spain. They’re not reliable. Move all those aero planes to a country that would let us use them when we’re threatened by a regime like Iran.”

Asia’s stock markets surge

Stock markets across the Asia Pacific region are rallying as oil prices retreat from yesterday’s highs following Trump’s suggestion that the war could end “very soon“.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up about 2.5 percent as of 05:00 GMT, after plunging more than 5 percent on Monday.

South Korea’s KOSPI was up nearly 5 percent, following a 6 percent loss during the previous session.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up about 1.5 percent, reversing all of the previous day’s losses.

Australia’s ASX 200, which fell 2.9 percent on Monday, was nearly 1 percent higher.

The gains follow a rollercoaster 24 hours for crude oil prices, which soared to nearly $120 a barrel before dropping below $90.

The prospect of a prolonged conflict has spooked energy markets amid the effective halt of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about one-fifth of the global oil supply.

No longer room for diplomacy with the US: Iranian official

Kamal Kharazi, foreign policy adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, says there is no longer room for diplomacy with the US and that the Iranian army is ready for a long war.

‘We have the upper hand,’ top Iranian diplomat says

Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy Iranian foreign minister, said earlier that China, France and Russia have reached out regarding a ceasefire.

There is more from his comments on state television.

“Even if they [US and Israel] request a ceasefire, this has to be put forward when Iran is certain they will not attack again, and they have accepted responsibility for their actions. They cannot just come to us and say ceasefire, and we say OK,” he said.

“We have the upper hand. Their plans have failed, and they haven’t reached their goals. Iran has seriously damaged Israel and the US. Look at the state of global energy and the global economy. We have the upper hand, and we will decide when the war will end,” he added.

Trump comments ‘cloud the picture’ on future course of Iran war

Clouding the picture might be the most accurate description of what happened with President Trump’s latest comments on Monday about the course of the war on Iran.

The oil markets internationally were skyrocketing, and consumers were seeing a similar rapid jump in fuel prices. There was concern that this could have an economic impact that the administration might not have anticipated.

The president first indicated that the war was essentially over and may have been over in the last couple of days.

But then, during a press conference in Florida later on Monday, the president indicated that things could go on for perhaps another week or so, and the intensity of the combat against Iran could vary.

He didn’t rule out the possibility of ground troops. He didn’t indicate whether other countries, in addition to Israel, could take part.

So not much in the way of clarity coming from the US president. That has certainly raised more concerns here in Washington because people are now questioning just how much more this is going to cost.

Australia to send missiles to UAE, surveillance plane to help Gulf defense

PM Albanese says Australia will deploy a long-range reconnaissance aircraft and send air-to-air missiles to help countries in the Gulf region to defend against Iranian attacks.

He said the Royal Australian Air Force will send an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft and supporting personnel to “protect and secure airspace above the Gulf” for the next four weeks, and help the region with its “collective self-defense”.

Australia will also send advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles to the UAE, he said, following a phone call with its president.

US, Israel disagreements over Iran war come to the fore

Netanyahu has been waiting for decades for a US president who would go to war with Iran, so he is unlikely to be at odds with Trump publicly.

But behind closed doors, there is a lot of lobbying. From the start, there has been a difference between US and Israeli goals in this war.

It seems now that these differences are being shown to the public. Israeli media have been calling Trump’s remarks “conflicting” because the president’s advisers have told him they’re not winning the war the way they wanted. They expected Iran to fall quickly, but that was not the case.

According to Israeli media, advisers told Trump to start talking about victory in Iran as a way to find an exit, but that is not going to play well with Israel, where officials say they want to crack down more.

These differences might have been the reason why we didn’t see the visit of Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff today. No public explanation was given for that cancellation.

Tough headwinds for South Korean economy amid impacts of Iran war

There was a big downward trend in South Korea’s markets.

At one point, we saw the markets falling more than 8 percent, triggering a temporary suspension.

After President Lee Jae Myung came out and announced some measures, the markets bounce back to about a 6 percent drop, and today, much of that has been reversed.

The market is very much acting as a bellwether for the broader economy, because South Korea is so heavily dependent on the Middle East for energy. This is an industry-based, export-focused economy, so everything here is affected. That applies even if the conflict wraps up in the next few days because insurance prices are very unlikely to go back down on shipping.

The cost of fuel is likely to remain elevated. All of this is going to continue to affect supply chains. It’s going to have a big impact on inflation. All analysts say prices are going to go up.

Planet Labs extends delay on release of Middle East satellite imagery

The US-based commercial satellite provider says it is extending its delay on the release of imagery from the Middle East from four days to two weeks, according to Bloomberg News.

Planet Labs cited concerns that the imagery could be used by “adversarial actors to target allied and NATO-partner personnel and civilians”, Bloomberg reported.

The company told Bloomberg it is also expanding the area under monitoring related to the conflict to include “all of Iran, nearby allied bases, Gulf states and existing conflict zones”.

The report immediately drew criticism from Iranian state media.

“American company PlanetLabs, after conferring with the US government, has announced an unprecedented 14-day blackout on satellite imagery for West Asia — a move critics say is intended to conceal heavy damage to Israeli and US bases following Iran’s retaliatory strikes,” Press TV said in a post on X.

Attacks continue on energy infrastructure across Gulf

In the UAE, air defense systems are dealing with a number of missiles and drones coming from Iran.

In Kuwait, six drones were intercepted, and, in Bahrain, a woman was killed when a projectile hit a residential building.

What we’ve been seeing in the past 24 hours is that these attacks are particularly targeting energy infrastructure.

In Bahrain, the Bapco oilfield has come under drone attack. The company had to declare force majeure, as it cannot meet contractual obligations.

In Saudi Arabia, the oilfield in Shaybah has come under attack.

This is posing serious questions about the security of energy coming from the Gulf.

US-Israeli strikes kill 5 people in western Iran: Report

The Iranian ISNA news agency is reporting that five people have been killed and several injured in a US-Israeli air strike that hit a residential building in the city of Arak, in western Iran.

Drone falls in Saudi Arabia’s Az Zulfi city

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense agency says a drone has fallen on a residential site in the city of Az Zulfi in the Riyadh province, causing “limited material damage and no injuries”.

Saudi military intercepts another drone

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry spokesperson says the country’s military has intercepted and destroyed a drone east of al-Kharj governorate.

The incident comes hours after the interception of two drones flying towards the country’s east, and the earlier interception of two more near the al-Kharj governorate.

No talks, negotiations with US after ‘bitter experience’: Iran’s FM

Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi has told PBS News that talking or negotiating with the US is no longer on the agenda, after “a very bitter experience” during previous rounds of nuclear talks.

“They promised us that they don’t have any intention to attack us, and they wanted to resolve Iran’s nuclear question peacefully and find a negotiated solution,” Araghchi said. “Still, they decided to attack us.

“I don’t think the question of talking with the Americans … once again would be on the table.”

Iran’s Araghchi calls US-Israeli war a ‘failure’

Foreign Minister Araghchi has called the US-Israel war on Iran a failure.

“Plan A was a failure, and now they are trying other plans, but all of them have failed as well,” Araghchi said.

He added that the US and Israel had no endgame in mind and were therefore launching indiscriminate attacks on residential areas.

By attacking Iran’s energy infrastructure, they had caused oil prices to skyrocket, he said.

“I don’t see any reasonable goal that they are following. They failed to achieve their goals at the beginning, and now, after 10 days, I think they are aimless.”

Iran acting in self-defense as it attacks US assets in the region: Iran’s FM

Iran’s FM has said the country is acting in self-defense as it attacks US military bases across the Middle East.

“We have already warned everybody in the region that if the US attack us, since we cannot reach American soil, we have to attack their bases in the region, their facilities, their installations, their assets,” Araghchi said.

“What we are doing is only defending ourselves. We are facing an act of aggression, which is absolutely illegal.”

Egypt raises fuel prices by up to 30 percent

Egypt has raised domestic fuel prices by up to 30 percent, blaming “exceptional” global energy pressures caused by the Middle East war, which has disrupted oil supplies and shipping routes.

The increases, announced by the Petroleum Ministry, apply to petrol, diesel and natural gas used in vehicles.

“This comes in light of the exceptional situation resulting from the geopolitical developments in the Middle East region and their direct impacts on the global energy markets,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hungary bans fuel exports amid soaring prices

Hungary’s government is banning the export of crude oil, ⁠diesel and 95-octane petrol ⁠amid soaring prices, Economy Minister Marton Nagy has said in a Facebook post.

He added that the government would also release 45 days’ worth of state ‌fuel reserves.

The announcement came shortly after PM ⁠Orban said Hungary ⁠would cap fuel ⁠prices to ⁠shield consumers and businesses from soaring prices amid the war in the Middle East.

Potentially ‘catastrophic’ consequences for oil markets if Hormuz stays closed

There could be “catastrophic” ⁠consequences for ⁠the world’s oil markets if the disruption from the ⁠closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues, Amin Nasser, chief ⁠executive of Saudi state oil giant Aramco, has said.

“While we have faced disruptions in the past, this one by far is the biggest crisis the region’s oil and gas industry has faced,” he said.

Iran’s IRGC has said it would not allow any oil to be shipped from the region if the strikes on Iran continue.

Pakistan PM announces ‘war austerity plans’

Pakistan has introduced “war austerity plans” following the global oil crisis in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran.

PM Sharif announced on Monday night that all government offices would work a four-day week, schools and colleges would remain closed for the next two weeks, and higher education institutions would continue online learning, Dawn reported.

The report said he asked “all public and private firms to ensure that 50 percent of their staff work from home … All government and official vehicles would receive 50 percent less fuel for the next two months.”

He also announced a 25 percent salary cut for all parliamentarians.

Iran insists on guarantees of no future attacks for mediation

The Iranian government spokesperson, Fatemeh Mohajerani, has said any mediation “must be in a condition where there is not only [a] ceasefire, but also a complete halt to attacks and an assurance that this will not happen again”.

“This is an issue seriously demanded by our people today, and they need this assurance. We did not start the war, but we will finish it,” she was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Analysts warn market turmoil far from over

Oil has seen some really volatile highs and lows.

On Monday, it surpassed the psychological price point of $100 per barrel, reaching almost $120 at its peak. Now, it’s plunged again, hovering around $90 per barrel.

That is of course because of Trump’s comments that the war could be over “pretty quickly” and also the news that the US will allow some of its navy vessels to try to escort some of those tankers so that they pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

There was also news earlier on Monday that the G7 finance ministers have put on the table as an option releasing some of their strategic oil reserves.

Traders and investors are looking at all these signals as very reassuring – and that’s why we are seeing the stock market perform well.

However, many analysts are warning that this is far from over. Despite Trump’s comments, this doesn’t mean that the price of oil isn’t going to soar again over the next few weeks. We still have to wait and see, and certainly, governments across Asia, including the Chinese government, are maintaining their caution.

On Tuesday morning, people here woke up to higher petrol and diesel prices; they are 8 percent more expensive, and that will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

 

Thousands of Afghans fleeing Iran to Afghanistan each day: UNHCR

Thousands of Afghans living in Iran are crossing the border into Afghanistan each day as they flee US-Israeli attacks on the country, according to the UN’s refugee agency.

Arafat Jamal, the agency’s Afghanistan representative, said he had spoken to some of the estimated 2,000 crossing each day. “They’re reporting that they are fleeing the conditions of war that all people inside Iran are experiencing,” he said, adding that those leaving were not highlighting any specific concerns for Afghans in Iran at present.

The 110,000 Afghans who had left Iran so far this year comprised a “wide assortment of people”, from longtime residents to migrant workers.

“It seems to be more of a preemptive move,” he said, adding that those leaving spoke of their fears of bombing raids, but also a dysfunctional economy that left many unable to find work.

The returnees were “fleeing one war and coming to another”, he said, as they returned to a country in conflict with neighbouring Pakistan. “For these people, there are no good choices.”

Bahrain’s Gulf Air says all flights ‘remain temporarily suspended’

All Gulf Air flights “remain temporarily suspended as closure of Bahrain airspace continues”, the airline announced earlier today.

“Services will resume once BCAA confirms safe reopening.”

Parliament speaker says Iran ‘definitely not looking for ceasefire’

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has rejected the idea that an end to the war could come through negotiations with the US and Israel.

“We are definitely not looking for a ceasefire,” he wrote in a post on X. “We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that it learns a lesson [and] will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again.”

Ghalibaf said Iran wanted to break the cycle of “war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again”, a strategy it said Israel was using to assert its hegemony.

Thailand, Vietnam push remote work to save energy

Thailand and Vietnam have encouraged public employees to work from home and take up other energy-saving measures as the Middle East war disrupted oil supplies and sent fuel prices swinging.

Thai authorities said government workers should shift to remote work where possible and asked that government offices set their air conditioners to 26C to conserve energy. They also urged officials to avoid overseas trips.

In neighbouring Vietnam, the government has scrapped duties on many imported petroleum products in an effort to prevent fuel shortages and stabilise the domestic market.

It also encouraged companies to allow employees to work from home “whenever feasible” to reduce fuel demand. Hanoi also recommended the public limit the use of personal vehicles, and instead opt for public transit, cycling or carpooling.

More questions after Trump’s ‘incompatible’ statements

Scott Lucas, a professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin, about Trump describing the war with Iran as a “short-term excursion”.

“The problem here is using Trump’s words as a marker of where we are,” Lucas told Al Jazeera.

“The statements that are being headlined [are] that the war is very close to an end. He also said in the same conversation, ‘Well, you know, we’ve won, but we have to win more, and this is going to go further.'”

According to Lucas, the reality is that Trump was “rattled” by the surge in oil prices, market losses and domestic pressure against this kind of military operation.

“So he was throwing this out – ‘Hey, everybody, don’t worry. It’s going to be over quite soon’ – but then in the next breath saying, ‘But we’ve got to make sure that we crush the regime,’ and those two things are not compatible.”

Lucas also outlined what it would take for the US to pull back.

“When Donald Trump and his inner circle believe that they have lost a lot of the American people – and 56 percent of Americans already oppose this war – if the global oil price goes back well over $100 and approaches $150 per barrel, when the US stock markets start coming down and when you threaten to basically add to not only the US economic problems but a global economic crisis, that’s when they stop.

“You just have to have someone to help them stop and try to save face.”

Iran under one of most severe internet blackouts recorded globally: NetBlocks

NetBlocks, a global internet monitor, says “Iran’s internet blackout is now among the most severe government-imposed nationwide internet shutdowns on record globally, and the second longest registered in Iran after the January protests, with the country having spent a third of 2026 offline.”

Education department says 4 students killed in Iran’s Lorestan province

The head of Iran’s Education Department in Lorestan province says four students have been killed in US and Israeli air strikes, adding that 52 schools in the province have been damaged in the attacks.

Lack of trust, war goals make ending Iran war unlikely

President Trump is perhaps trying to calm the markets by talking about the war on Iran coming to an end. He’s very concerned about the US economy and the potential political ramifications.

This was a very different message from the one he sent a few days ago, when he was demanding unconditional surrender from Iran’s leadership.

Iran now feels that diplomacy was used as a ruse, so there is a real chance that we won’t see what we saw at the end of the 12-day war in June, where it just stopped and diplomacy kicked in.

Trump had so many shifting reasons for going to war this time, but Netanyahu is clear in wanting to remove the Iranian rulers.

It’s been one of the major issues in his political career, and with elections due this year, the Israeli public is unlikely to accept a situation where the new supreme leader is the son of Ali Khamenei.

German foreign minister cautious over early end to war

Johann Wadephul has voiced caution about the possibility of an early end to the US-Israel war on Iran.

Speaking alongside his Cypriot counterpart Konstantinos Kombos in Nicosia, the German FM said the US remains focused on reducing Iran’s military capabilities, “which pose a threat to its neighbours and also to Europe, to such an extent that this danger no longer exists”.

“I think these attacks will continue until this goal is achieved or the Iranian side has shown a serious willingness to negotiate,” he added.

Wadephul said European leaders must “position themselves very quickly now so that we can also play a role in these negotiations”.

He also pledged solidarity with Cyprus in the event of possible new attacks with Iranian missiles or drones, but he again rejected military support.

Iran has previously criticised Germany’s stance in the war.

“Under pressure from the German Chancellor, some EU members risk being placed on the wrong side of history by appearing complicit” in US-Israel acts of aggression and war crimes against Iran, Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said last week.

He said the European Union “must oppose any move reminiscent of historical NAZI mindsets and instead uphold its commitment to international law and justice”.

Eight-month-old among 193 children killed in US-Israeli attacks: Iran

The US-Israeli war on Iran has killed 193 children so far, with the youngest victim an eight-month-old girl, an Iranian government spokesperson says.

Speaking in front of a board displaying portraits of the killed children, Fatemeh Mohajerani said a four-month-old was also injured in the war, the Mehr news agency reported.

During the briefing, Mohajerani detailed attacks on health and medical facilities, saying 11 healthcare workers have been killed in attacks so far.

She said 52 healthcare service units, 29 medical facilities, 19 emergency units and 16 ambulances had been attacked, with four ambulances and a rescue helicopter destroyed.

Thousands of Afghans flee US-Israeli attacks in Iran

Thousands of Afghans living in Iran are fleeing across the border because of the US-Israeli attacks.

According to the UN, three to five million Afghans live in Iran. About 2,000 are crossing the border every day to seek safety. Many of them have been repeatedly displaced by decades of conflict, violence and poverty.

Arafat Jamal is a representative of the UN’s refugee agency in Afghanistan. He says there are no good choices for Afghans deciding whether to remain in Iran or return home.

Ripple effect on oil supply could be visible for months

The world will continue to suffer from “the ripple effect” of the oil crisis for months, according to Vandana Hari, founder and CEO of Vanda Insights.

“The [oil supply] situation has already become a big mess, even if things start going back to normal very quickly,” she said. “If the Gulf countries keep lowering output, how soon does that have even more of an impact, how soon does that become sort of unrecoverable in the short term?

“I guess the silver lining here is that the countries where the output is being shut, which is the Gulf countries, this can be resumed fairly quickly provided exports, once they are resumed, resume as per normal.

“The major concern right now is, of course, the Strait of Hormuz, which remains shut despite everything that Trump said last night.”

Iran tells EU chief to ‘spare the hypocrisy’

Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, has reacted to a speech by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen during which she said, “The people of Iran deserve freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own future.”

Commenting on a video of von der Leyen’s speech, Baghaei said: “Please spare the hypocrisy. You’ve made a career out of standing on the wrong side of history — green-lighting occupation, genocide, and atrocities, and now laundering U.S./Israeli crime of aggression and war crimes against Iranians.”

He accused the EU leadership of being silent “in the face of lawlessness and atrocity”, saying this “is nothing less than complicity”.

‘Where is the off-ramp?’

Scott Lucas, a professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin, says the US’s objectives in the war against Iran were “slightly different” than Israel’s.

“They didn’t necessarily want regime change; they want regime surrender – the regime to give up its nuclear program entirely, to give up its ballistic missile program, to break its alliances in the Middle East,” Lucas said.

“The problem here is that the regime doesn’t appear to be even giving way to those conditions, so where is the off-ramp?”

For Lucas, the only countries that have leverage in the current situation are the Gulf states, because of Trump’s personal and family investments, as well as oil and US assets in the region and strategic interests.

“If the domestic situation worsens for Trump, then there may be that opening for the Gulf states” to ask for a pullback, he said, adding that would be “especially true” if there is another surge in the price of oil in the coming days.

Putin’s Iran proposals still on the table, Kremlin says

The Kremlin says Russian ⁠President ⁠Vladimir Putin, who yesterday held a call with Trump, has offered different options to mediate ⁠and reduce tensions in ⁠the war.

Speaking to reporters, spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined ⁠to offer details ⁠on the specifics of ⁠the “considerations” that Putin raised on the call, but said these proposals are still on the table.

Russia is ready to provide any help it can to reduce the ⁠tensions in the Middle ⁠East, Peskov said.

Vessel reports splash, loud bang near bulk carrier north of Abu Dhabi

The ⁠United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) shipping security monitor says it has received a report of an incident 36 ‌nautical miles (67km) north of Abu Dhabi ⁠in the Gulf and southwest of the Strait of Hormuz. The master ⁠of a vessel reported a splash ⁠and a ⁠loud bang ⁠in close proximity to a ‌bulk carrier, it said.

Azerbaijan ships tonnes of food and medicines to Iran

Azerbaijan says it is sending humanitarian aid to Iran, appearing to offer an olive branch days after an alleged Iranian drone attack sparked fears of the Middle East war spilling into the Caucasus.

Azerbaijan’s Emergency Situations Ministry said it had shipped tonnes of food and medicines to Iran “following the telephone conversation on March 8 between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Iran”.

Iran has long accused Israel, a key arms supplier to Baku, of using Azeri territory for intelligence operations and potential attacks.

Russia ‘only winner’ from war on Iran so far, says EU’s Costa

Russia has been the only ⁠winner ⁠from the US-Israeli war on Iran so far, European Council President Antonio Costa has said

“It gains ‌new resources to finance its war against Ukraine as energy prices rise,” Costa said in a speech to EU ambassadors in Brussels.

“It profits from the diversion of military capabilities that could otherwise have been sent to support Ukraine. And it benefits from reduced ⁠attention to the Ukrainian front ⁠as the conflict in the Middle East takes centre stage.”

Costa underlined the need for the EU to safeguard ⁠the international rules-based order, which he said was being challenged ⁠by the US.

“We must avoid further escalation. ‌Such ‌a path threatens the Middle East, Europe, and beyond.”

Patriot defences deployed in central Turkey

Turkey says a Patriot missile defence system was being deployed in the centre of the country, a day after NATO intercepted a second ballistic missile in Turkish airspace.

The move was announced after a phone call between Turkey's President Erdogan and Iran’s Pezeshkian, with the Iranian president denying the missile had been fired from Iran.

“Necessary measures are being taken for the security of our borders and airspace, and consultations are being held with NATO and our allies. In addition to the measures we have taken at the national level, NATO has strengthened its air and missile defense measures,” a Turkish Defense Ministry statement said.

“Within this scope, a Patriot system assigned to support the protection of our airspace is being deployed in Malatya,” in central Turkey.

Malatya is the home of Turkey's Kurecik airbase, a key facility manned by US troops which houses a NATO early-warning radar system that can detect Iranian missile launches.

‘Trump rhetoric not aligning with action’

Abas Aslani, a Tehran-based senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, says Trump’s “conflicting statements” make it difficult to place much reliance on the US president’s words.

Aslani said Trump’s comments about the possibility of the war ending soon are being interpreted by some as an attempt to affect the oil prices and contain the consequences for the global energy market.

Noting a discrepancy between the comments and what is happening on the ground, Aslani said “at the same time Trump was making those remarks, here in Tehran and the suburbs, including Karaj, we were hearing fighters flying and heavy explosions.”

He added that the view among the establishment in Iran is that “things have not been unfolding as the US and Israel anticipated ahead of the war, so that’s why Trump is trying to manufacture a victory as an off-ramp to exit the situation.”

Bahrain says 105 missiles, 176 drones intercepted

In a statement, the General Command of the Bahrain Defense Force said it intercepted and destroyed 105 missiles and 176 drones since Iran’s retaliatory strikes on nations hosting US forces and assets engulfed the region.

It said its air defense systems continued to respond to “heinous” Iranian attacks.

Dealing with Iranian aggression ‘a priority’, Qatar says

Qatar will continue to defend itself, dealing with Iranian aggression as a priority, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says.

Majid al-Ansari said Qatar still believes in diplomacy but any attack would be dealt with appropriately.

There has been only one contact between Qatar’s prime minister and Iran’s foreign minister since the start of the war, he said, adding that communication channels have not been cut off and Qatar was focused on de-escalation.

He said Qatar has taken the necessary measures to counter the possibility of vital facilities being targeted. Targeting energy facilities is dangerous and would have repercussions beyond the region, he warned.

Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari:

• Qatar had repeatedly warned against escalation and its transformation into a regional war, adding that it was still possible to contain it.
• Qatar had different supply lines, but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and threats to its security negatively impacted everyone.
• No other party could dictate to Qatar who it could deal with diplomatically.
• The contribution of any parties in efforts towards ending the war was welcome.

Qatar sends out ‘elevated’ threat level alert

Qatar has just sent out an “elevated” threat level alert, telling residents to “remain indoors”.

Turkish foreign minister warns Iran against airspace violations: Sources

Turkey Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in which he stressed that the violation of Turkish airspace is unacceptable, sources have said.

Fidan warned Araghchi that Turkey would take the necessary measures to address the violations, a day after the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said NATO air defences intercepted a ballistic missile.

Reiterating previous Iranian statements, Araghchi assured Fidan that the missiles were not launched from Iran and promised a thorough investigation, the sources said.

Monday’s incident was the second time a ballistic missile was fired towards Turkey since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

Qatar says it intercepted missile attack

Qatar’s Defense Ministry says its armed forces have intercepted a missile attack targeting the country.

This comes after an “elevated” threat alert was sent out followed by multiple explosions above the capital, Doha.

Qatar says security threat ‘eliminated’, situation ‘normal’

A follow-up message has been sent just now, saying, “The security threat has been eliminated, and the situation has returned to normal.”

Drone attack causes fire in Abu Dhabi industrial complex

Authorities in Abu Dhabi are responding to a fire caused by a drone attack at a facility in the Ruwais industrial complex, the emirate’s media office has said.

No injuries have been reported so far, it added.

At least 460 killed, more than 4,000 injured in attacks Tehran

At least 460 people have been killed and 4,309 wounded in Tehran since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the deputy head of Tehran Emergency Health Department said.

Mehr Soroush told the public broadcaster IRIB News that 18 ambulances and 18 emergency bases were damaged in the capital in attacks since February 28.

Across Iran, these attacks have killed more than 1,200 people and injured more than 10,000.

Trump says possible he ⁠would be willing to talk ​with Iran

Trump has told US broadcaster Fox News that it’s possible he ⁠would be willing to talk with Iran but that it ⁠depends on the terms.

Asked in an interview on Monday evening ‌about the possibility of negotiations with Tehran, Trump said he heard Tehran wanted to talk.

US defense secretary says Tuesday to be ‘most intense day of strikes’ on Iran

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said during a news conference in Washington, DC, that today would be “yet again the most intense day of strikes” and claimed Iran was “badly losing.”

Hegseth also claimed the past 24 hours had seen the lowest rate of missiles fired from Iran.

Iran’s Larijani rebuffs Trump’s ‘empty threats’

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani has responded to a social media post by President Trump saying Washington will hit Iran “twenty times harder” if it continues to stop the commerce of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian people “do not fear your empty threat”, Larijani told Trump in a post on X.

“Those greater than you have failed to eradicate them … So beware, lest you be the ones to perish.”

US has made ‘significant progress’ in limiting Iran’s missile capabilities

US Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said the US military has made “significant progress” in limiting Iran’s missile capabilities.

“We are focused on destroying Iranian missiles, drones, naval forces and industrial bases,” he said at a briefing.

US forces were focused on targeting drone factories as much as they were targeting their launch platforms, he added.

German chancellor concerned about lack of joint plan to end war

German chancellor says he is concerned about the absence of a joint plan to end the war against Iran.

Merz says sees ‘no common plan’ to quickly end Iran war

German chancellor Friedrich Merz says the US and Israel appear to have “no common plan” for bringing the war against Iran “to a swift and convincing end”.

“The United States and Israel have been waging war against Iran for over a week. We share many of these goals, but with each day of the war, more questions arise,” Merz said.

“We are particularly concerned that there is apparently no common plan for how this war can be brought to a swift and convincing end.”

More than 50 Iranian naval ships destroyed, claims US air force general

US Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a briefing in Washington, told reporters that the US ⁠has been targeting Iranian mine-laying vessels and claimed it had sunk or destroyed more than 50 naval ships in the first 10 ⁠days of the war.

He said that Iran was fighting back but was not proving a more formidable opponent than the US had thought it would be.

US defense secretary threatens to hit Iran harder if oil blocked

Hegseth says Iran will be hit “harder than ever” if it does anything to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

During a news conference, he also mentioned yesterday’s call between Trump and Putin, in which he said it was made clear that Russia should “should not be involved” in the war on Iran.

Trump’s pledge to end US’s foreign wars sparks debate among supporter base

Hegseth made it very clear that Trump is going to decide the end of the war. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to end America’s intervention in foreign wars.

This is hugely unpopular, especially among some of the most prominent members of his supporter base. They argue that he’s doing the bidding of Israel; that this is not America first.

It’s important to point out, when they talk about making sure Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, all of the US intelligence seemed to indicate that that wasn’t actually happening. Even the president himself, back in June, when he bombed Iran’s nuclear sites, said that the programme had been obliterated.

So there are a lot of questions about that aspect of this.

UAE says it intercepted eight missiles and 26 drones

The UAE’s Defense Ministry has said it detected nine missiles and 35 drones on Tuesday, as the US and Israeli war on Iran continued to reverberate across the region.

The ministry said in a post on X that eight missiles were intercepted and one fell into the sea, while 26 drones were intercepted.

Trump mulls to ‘take over’ the Strait of Hormuz as oil prices rise

Trump says he is “thinking about taking over” the Strait of Hormuz so that it remains open.

The strait links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman. It is the only route to the open ocean for oil producers in the Gulf.

The war has sent oil prices soaring. As well as attacking US military assets and infrastructure in Middle East countries in retaliation against the US-Israeli campaign, Iran has threatened to attack ships traversing through the Strait of Hormuz, putting the route at severe risk for about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

The impact of oil prices on the cost of food

For the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the price of oil skyrocketed past $100 per barrel this week, driven by ongoing energy uncertainty after the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.

About 20 percent of the world’s oil comes from the Gulf region, and most of it is shipped on massive tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the Iran war began, marine traffic through the vital waterway has nearly ground to a halt.

Without the flow of this oil, global supply chains are severely disrupted. With a limited supply and rising demand, prices are likely to increase, putting pressure on consumers and businesses.

“It’s not a physical blockage – Iran hasn’t built a wall across the sea. It’s all about risk,” Ismayil Jabiyev, supply chain analyst at CarbonChain, said. “Cheap drones will always pose a risk, even if all the launch sites are destroyed, because hidden drone launches could continue for months.”

Netherlands to move embassy staff out of Iran

The ⁠Netherlands has announced it will transfer its Iran-based embassy staff to Azerbaijan over growing security concerns.

“Due to increasing risks to the ⁠safety of ⁠our staff, it has been decided to ⁠temporarily relocate the ⁠activities of ⁠the Dutch embassy in Iran to Baku, ‌Azerbaijan”, Berendsen wrote on in a post on X.

Trump sends mixed signals on how long Iran conflict will last

Trump, over the last 24 hours, has sent out fairly conflicting messages about how long this war is going to last. Late yesterday afternoon, he said they were pretty much complete as far as timing is concerned.

The timing of this is important – it stabilized the markets.

And then he had a news conference, and what he said was that if Iran decided to block the Strait of Hormuz, the US would hit them harder than they ever have before.

He was also asked if the war would end this week, and he said no – but pretty soon.

Trump has been flexible with deadlines in the past – they don’t actually mean a great deal. He will make the decision, but he’s also got to think about the [public relations aspect] of this and what they’ve actually achieved. He wanted regime change, and that clearly isn’t happening at the moment.

War on Iran fuelling Islamophobic social media surge in US: Report

The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has “accelerated” the spread of harmful content targeting American Muslims on social media platforms, a study by the US Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) finds.

The center found that on X alone from February 28, the first day of the war, to Thursday, users posted more than 25,300 Islamophobic remarks.

The report also found that Islamophobia was present on social media before the war. The dataset examined original posts, quotes and replies containing Islamophobic content from January 1 through Thursday, noting that the reach of such posts expanded “significantly once reposts are included” to more than 279,000 mentions of Islamophobic content.

US has operational successes in Iran, but no political endgame

While the US has achieved major operational gains against Iran during the war, it has so far failed to clearly define political objectives that lead to victory, says Andreas Krieg, associate professor of security studies at King’s College London.

“That’s the part that’s missing – how do you translate these operational successes into a political outcome that’s better for the region, better for Iran, better for the Gulf and also better for the United States? That question has not been answered so far,” Krieg said.

“There is no narrative for what victory looks like,” he added. “And for the Iranians it’s quite simple: As long as they don’t lose, they win. And if America doesn’t win, it will lose.”

Iran says bodies of sailors killed in warship sinking to be repatriated

Iran says the bodies of dozens of sailors killed when the US attacked and sank its frigate Dena will soon be returned to the country.

In a statement reported by Iran’s Fars News Agency, the army’s public relations office said 84 of 104 bodies had been identified and would soon be transferred back to Iran.

The statement said the repatriation was being carried out with the efforts of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the cooperation of the Sri Lankan government.

The announcement comes after the ship was sunk by a US submarine last week. Media reports previously suggested Washington was pressing Sri Lanka not to repatriate the bodies of the Iranian sailors.

Trump administration facing growing pressure from base to end war as consequences bite

The Trump administration is still trying to figure out a reason for the American people to support this conflict.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was saying it was because Iran had produced IEDs that wounded American soldiers during the Iraq war. That doesn’t seem to be resonating with the American people.

The main concern is how long this is going to last. With the last seven countries the US bombed, there were very little consequences for the American people.

But this time, they are seeing the increase at the gas pump, it’s risen dramatically. We’re now starting to hear that fertilizer for farmers is going to be greatly impacted because a lot of it comes out of that region, and it’s planting season.

The American people have sent a message that they do not support this military action. The Pentagon is trying to send a message now that this is not going to be like Iraq or Afghanistan, as the Trump administration faces growing pressure from its base to bring this to an end.

IRGC says latest wave of strikes targets US soldiers, Israeli military installations

In a press statement carried by semi-official Mehr news agency, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it launched the 34th wave of strikes at US and Israeli targets, using three types of missiles and on type of hypersonic missile.

This wave targeted American soldiers at al-Dhafra airbase, near Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain’s Jufair airbase, the statement said, and that the several Israeli bases were targeted, “especially” the Ramat David airbase and Haifa’s civilian airport.

“The hidden missile launchers of the Zionist army in ‘Bnei Brak’ east of Tel Aviv, were struck by powerful Iranian missiles”, the statement added.

Those with ‘illusion of destroying Iran know nothing of history’, says Iran’s president

Masoud Pezeshkian has issued another statement of defiance, saying adversaries who believe they can destroy the country are entertaining an “illusion”.

“Through the trials of history, no power has ever succeeded in erasing this storied name,” the Iranian president said in a post on X.

“Anyone who entertains the illusion of destroying Iran knows nothing of history. Aggressors have come and gone; Iran has endured.”

G7 energy ministers prepared to carry out joint oil stockpile release, Japan says

Energy ministers from Group of Seven (G7) countries have said they are ready to take necessary steps ‌to support global energy supplies, including the potential joint release ⁠of strategic oil ⁠stockpiles, Japan’s Industry Minister ⁠Ryosei Akazawa has told a briefing.

The comments came as French ‌Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters that the ⁠International Energy Agency had been asked to detail ⁠scenarios for ⁠a potential ⁠oil stockpile release.

Every G7 member, including the United States, was willing to take measures ⁠to stabilize the ⁠oil market, he added.

‘Escalation dominance lies with Iran’

Andreas Krieg, associate professor of security studies at King’s College London, says the US is likely to try to “dictate the terms” of the war, eventually claiming that it has degraded Iran enough so that it can pull out while claiming victory.

“But I don’t think the Iranians will allow them to do that,” Krieg said, arguing that the “escalation dominance lies with the Iranians.”

“What’s going to happen to the relationship between Iran and the Gulf? Will they [Iran] keep on firing at very low cost? What about the Strait of Hormuz? What about energy security? What about the security of supply chains?” he asked.

“All of that could potentially be collateral damage of a longer period of war, and none of that has anything to do with the sort of tactical achievements the US military is boasting about.”

Iran’s parliament speaker warns Tehran will hit infrastructure if ‘enemy’ does

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Iran will adopt an “eye for an eye” approach to warfare, meeting any “act of aggression” with “a proportionate and immediate response”.

“No act of aggression will go unanswered. Today we declare the rule of ‘an eye for an eye’ — without hesitation and without exception”, Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

“If they begin a war against infrastructure, we will certainly target infrastructure in return,” he added.

Most Iranian Americans back diplomacy, poll suggests

More than 61 percent of Iranian American respondents in a new poll say they support diplomacy to reduce tensions between the US and Iran.

The poll, conducted by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and the polling firm Zogby Analytics, also suggested that Iranian Americans are divided on support for the US on Iran.

More than 49 percent of respondents said they oppose the US “initiating a war on Iran” while 48.9 percent said they support it.

“Taken together, the results send a clear message: Iranian Americans are not a pro-war monolith and support diplomacy to reduce tensions,” NIAC said.

“At a moment when bombs are falling and families in our community are worried about loved ones in Iran, it is critical that policymakers hear directly from the people most affected.”

Denmark temporarily closes embassy in Tehran

Denmark is the latest country to suspend operations at its embassy in Tehran.

Speaking to reporters, Denmark’s Foreign ‌Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, “The security situation is too ⁠tense for us ⁠to keep the embassy open.”

He added ⁠that Denmark’s ⁠move was in line with that ‌of several other European countries.

Iran’s leaders will be more ‘hardened when all the dust settles’

The US-Israel assault on Iran is increasingly putting pressure on the US government as its economic fallout grows and Tehran’s resistance continues, an analyst says.

“To be frank, I think it’s been quite catastrophic for the Trump administration. It’s looking more and more like they were pushed into this war by Israel,” said Mohamad Elmasry from the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies.

“That isn’t going over very well in the United States, not even in Republican camps.”

Polls have suggested the war on Iran is the least popular in all early war surveys in US history, he said. Petrol prices have soared 20 percent since its start – something that will roil Americans struggling with the rising cost of living.

“It’s looking like the Iranian regime is still intact and, if anything, is going to be hardened when all of the dust settles. And they’ll probably be more intent than ever in getting a nuclear weapon,” Elmasry told Al Jazeera.

“So it’s going to be very difficult to sell the American population on the success [of the war].”

Putin speaks with Iran’s president, urges quick ‘de-escalation’: Kremlin

Russia’s president has spoken by phone with Pezeshkian, according to Russia’s TASS news agency, which cites the Kremlin.

During the call, the Kremlin said, Putin “confirmed his principled position in favour of the earliest possible de-escalation of the conflict and its resolution through political means”.

Ukraine to send military experts to Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine will send military experts to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week to consult on how to down Iranian drones.

“The first three countries to which we sent them, according to our agreements, are Qatar, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia,” Zelenskyy said in an audio message to reporters.

Ukraine has extensive battlefield experience with Iranian-made Shahed drones, which Russia has used in its four-year war on the country.

Hegseth says US doesn’t target civilians despite loosening rules of engagement

As the outcry grows over the strike on an elementary school that killed more than 170 people in southern Iran, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth stressed that the US does not target civilians.

“No nation takes more precautions to ensure there’s never targeting of civilians than the United States of America,” he told reporters.

But since the outset of the war, Hegseth himself has been boasting about loosening what he called “stupid rules of engagement” and increasing targeting authorities.

Annie Shiel, US director at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC), said civilians – such as the children killed in the strike at the school of Minab – pay the price for such “reckless rhetoric”.

“Rules designed to protect civilians aren’t ‘stupid’,” she said.

“They’re based on decades of US military lessons learned from past wars where civilians bore the brunt of conflict, with severe humanitarian and strategic consequences.”

Shiel added Hegseth’s approach “also undermines years of work within the military to learn from past mistakes and improve how the US prevents and responds to civilian harm”.

Qatar urges halt to attacks, quick return to diplomacy

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari has addressed the latest war developments during his weekly press briefing.

Al-Ansari said Qatar backs all diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict and restore regional stability.

“Reaching the negotiating table quickly and halting attacks would serve the interests of the peoples of the region as well as international peace and security, in addition to strengthening global economic stability,” he said.

However, as long as Qatar is suffering daily attacks, its priority is on repelling those strikes, he added.

Qatar thwarting Iranian attacks ‘with great efficiency’: Al-Ansari

Continuing in his weekly press briefing, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Iran’s commitment to halt attacks on neighbouring Gulf states unless attacks emanate from them has not “translated into reality on the ground”.

He said daily Iranian attacks on Qatari territory have continued – and that Qatar’s military is repelling them “with high efficiency”.

He added that Qatar’s security situation remains stable and that the Iranian attacks have not caused major damage

Al-Ansari said “no successful attacks were recorded on the vital civilian infrastructure on which the lives of the population depend”, according to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.

British warship sets sail for eastern Mediterranean

The Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon has begun departing Portsmouth Harbour as it starts its journey to the eastern Mediterranean.

The deployment was announced following a drone attack that targeted the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus.

According to the UK government, the ship is fitted with a Sea Viper missile system, which can launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously.

British Airways will not fly to Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Tel Aviv until ‘later this month’

British Airways announced it’s cancelling a number of its Middle East flight routes until later this month as war-related travel disruptions continue.

In a statement, the airline said all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, and Tel Aviv are suspended “until later this month”.

Flights to and from Abu Dhabi will not return until “later this year”, it added.

US likely to look for exit from war before Israel

The US and Israel are unlikely to be on the same page as to how long to continue the war in Iran, says Andreas Krieg, associate professor of security studies at King’s College London.

For the US, there are “diminishing returns … every day this war continues”, said Krieg, while Israel has greater “willpower” to keep it going.

“In this context, Trump will be the one to call it quits at some point. And he seems to be quite eager to get to this point,” said Krieg.

“The Israelis might not be happy with it … The Israelis will not say mission accomplished because they can keep it going for quite some time,” he added, though noting that Israel will ultimately be pushed to succumb to “whatever the US is saying”.

Iran accuses US of obstructing rescue after sinking of Dena warship

Iran has accused the United States of obstructing rescue operations after the sinking of its Dena frigate earlier this month.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the vessel had been invited by the Indian Navy to take part in a joint naval exercise and port visit when it was attacked near the coasts of India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Baghaei described the attack as a “brutal act amounting to a war crime” and alleged that the United States had “deliberately obstructed rescue operations for the sailors”.

Iran says 104 sailors were killed in the incident. Earlier, we reported that the bodies of 84 of the sailors have since been identified and will be repatriated to Iran with the cooperation of the Sri Lankan government.

US says it has escorted oil tanker through Strait of Hormuz

United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said that the US Navy has successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, amid Iranian threats to attack vessels passing through the narrow waterway.

“President Trump is maintaining stability of global energy during the military operations against Iran,” Wright wrote on X. “The U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”

About 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and a significant chunk of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies pass through the strait. With passage through the waterway heavily curtailed since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28, oil prices have skyrocketed in recent days, and remain high despite coming down on Tuesday.

US Energy Secretary deletes X claim on Strait of Hormuz escort

Earlier, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright had posted on X claiming that the US Navy had escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.

But now, he appears to have deleted that post.

It is unclear why, but some reporters who have followed the US approach to the Strait of Hormuz had questioned Wright’s claim.

IRGC denies US warship navigated Strait of Hormuz

A spokesperson for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps denied the claim made in a now-deleted post by the US energy secretary that a US warship escorted a tanker through the vital waterway without incident.

“None of the US warships during the war even dared to approach the Sea of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Hormuz”, the spokesperson said.

The US ‘has not’ escorted tanker through Hormuz: White House

The White House has disputed US Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s claim — made earlier on Tuesday — that the country’s navy escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, amid tensions over the flow of oil and gas through the narrow channel.

Speaking at a media briefing, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that, in fact, the US Navy had as of yet not escorted any vessel through the strait.

Wright, who had made his claim on X, has since deleted the post.

Iranian FM says US ‘posting fake news’ about Hormuz to manipulate financial markets

Abbas Araghchi’s X post comes after the US walked back a claim that one of its warships had escorted an energy tanker through the Strait of Hormuz today.

“US officials are posting fake news to manipulate markets. It won’t protect them from the inflationary tsunami they’ve imposed on Americans,” the Iranian foreign minister wrote.

“Markets are facing biggest shortfall in HISTORY: bigger than Arab Oil Embargo, Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the Kuwait invasion COMBINED,” he concluded.

More US B-1 bombers arrive at UK base

Three US B-1 bombers have landed at the Royal Air Force base in Fairford in the United Kingdom.

The aircraft arrived at the base in Gloucestershire, which hosts US Air Force bomber deployments.

The development comes after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer allowed the United States to use British bases, including RAF Fairford, for what London described as “defensive” operations linked to the conflict with Iran.

Newly arrived bombers joined a fleet of US military planes stationed at the base after a B-1 Lancer bomber arrived on Friday followed by two more on Saturday.

Qatar says it has intercepted five Iranian ballistic missiles

Qatar’s Ministry of Defense has said that the country’s armed forces intercepted five Iranian ballistic missiles launched towards the country on Tuesday afternoon.

There were “no casualties or damages reported,” the ministry said.

Italy condemns Iranian attacks on Qatar, calls for political solution

Italy’s foreign minister has condemned what he described as Iranian attacks on Qatar and called for a political solution to the crisis.

In a post on X, Antonio Tajani said he held a “long conversation” with Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, discussing the war in the Middle East.

Tajani said the “new Iranian attacks on Qatar are unacceptable”, adding that their shared goal was to reach a political solution to the crisis.

He also said Italy wanted to defend freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and maritime security, while thanking Qatar for assisting Italian citizens in the country during the emergency.

Democrats raise questions about cost, goals of Iran war after briefing

This was a classified military intelligence meeting for the Senate Armed Services Committee.

In Congress, support for the war is generally along party lines. When Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, walked out, his support for the war remained intact.

But then we heard from one Democrat after another – they said they had a lot of questions and did not get answers, things like the cost of the war, the length of the war, the objectives and whether there would be boots on the ground.

Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, said that what she heard is not just concerning, it’s disturbing, adding that she was not sure what the endgame is or what their plans are.

‘Operation against Iran will reduce oil and gas prices’ — White House

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has doubled down on the Trump administration’s argument that the rise in oil and gas prices is “temporary”.

On Tuesday, Leavitt said that in fact, energy prices would come down for Americans — potentially to levels lower than even before the start of the war.

The operation, she said, “will reduce oil and gas prices”.

US Pentagon says around 140 US personnel injured during Iran war

In an emailed statement cited by The Associated Press, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said “the vast majority of these injuries have been minor”, with 108 having “already returned to duty.”

He put the number of US service members “severely injured” at eight.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt also suggested a similar toll, confirming during a briefing that an earlier Reuters report that as many as 150 US troops had been wounded was in the right “ballpark”.

Qatar intercepts new missile attack

Qatar’s Ministry of Defense has said that the country’s military has intercepted a fresh missile attack aimed at the Gulf nation.

The latest attack followed just hours after Qatar said that it intercepted five ballistic missiles fired at the country.

Qatar lowers ‘security threat’ alert

Qatar’s Ministry of Interior has sent messages to residents of the country informing them that the “security threat has been eliminated and the situation has returned to normal” after the nation’s military forces intercepted an incoming missile.

Defense Dept will release full investigation into Minab school killing

The US Department of Defense will release the full report of the investigation into the bombing of a school in Iran’s Minab on February 28, in which more than 160 schoolgirls were killed, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has said.

Leavitt said that the investigation was still ongoing, but that President Donald Trump would accept its findings — regardless of what they are.

Evidence so far suggests that a US-made Tomahawk missile exploded near the school, in the single deadliest attack on Iran since the launch of the US-Israeli war on the country.

Pakistan’s deputy PM calls Saudi FM amid diplomatic juggle

Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has telephoned Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud amid continuing Iranian attacks on its Gulf neighbours.

Dar’s phone call came soon after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote to Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, consoling him on the death of his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28, when the US and Israel started their war on Iran. Sharif, in his letter, also expressed “hope” for Iran’s future under the younger Khamenei.

The outreach to both Saudi Arabia and Iran signals the delicate tightrope walk that Pakistan is attempting between two important partners. Pakistan has a long border with Iran, while Saudi Arabia is one of Pakistan’s most vital economic and strategic allies.

UN releases study on Strait of Hormuz implications

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published an analysis on the global ramifications of the closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor during the US-Israel war on Iran.

Here are some of its findings:

• Freight rates for oil tankers and war risk insurance premiums are surging, while marine fuel costs are also rising, increasing shipping costs across supply chains.
• One-third of global seaborne fertilizer trade (about 16 million tonnes) passes through the strait, raising concerns about fertilizer access for some of the poorest countries.
• Developing economies may be particularly exposed as high debt burdens and rising borrowing costs limit their ability to absorb new price shocks.
• Past crises – including COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine – showed how disruptions to energy, transport and agricultural inputs can quickly spread across interconnected markets.

“UNCTAD stresses that the ultimate scale of the economic impact will depend on the duration and intensity of disruption, and emphasizes the need for continued monitoring and efforts to safeguard maritime trade corridors in line with international law,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Oil prices sink 13% as Trump predicts Middle East de-escalation

Oil prices plunged more than 13 percent ⁠after soaring to their highest levels since 2022 in the previous session as US President Trump predicted the war with Iran could end soon.

Brent futures fell $12.46, or 12.6 percent, to $86.50 a barrel at 12:58 pm EDT (16:58 GMT) while US West ⁠Texas Intermediate crude fell $12.24, or 12.9 percent, to $82.53.

Both crude benchmarks surged to more than $119 a barrel on Monday as supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and other producers stoked fears of major disruptions to global supplies.

“Clearly, Trump’s comments about a short-lived war have calmed markets. While there was an overreaction to the upside yesterday, we think there is an overreaction to the downside today,” said Suvro Sarkar, energy sector team lead at DBS Bank.

Iran: Missiles, drones will target any US vessels in Strait of Hormuz

The naval commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that any US military vessels or those of its allies traversing the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.

The comments come after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s earlier claim that the US Navy escorted an oil tanker through the strait, a post he later deleted from X.

“The claim of an oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz with a US military escort is utterly false. Any passage of the US fleet and its allies will be halted by Iranian missiles and suicide drones,” said IRGC’s navy chief Alireza Tangsiri.

Absolutely critical’: Aramco boss calls for opening of Hormuz Strait

Traders and energy policymakers are nervously following the hostilities in the Middle East as attacks have shut down energy production and vital shipping routes.

“There would be catastrophic consequences for the world’s oil markets the longer the disruption goes on, and the more drastic the consequences for the global economy,” Saudi oil giant Aramco’s president and CEO, Amin H Nasser, told journalists.

“It’s absolutely critical that shipping resumes in the Strait of Hormuz.”

‘Iran still in the game’ in Strait of Hormuz

Despite threats from Trump and other US cabinet members, Iran retains significant influence in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Osama bin Javaid.

“Iran is still in the game in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, pointing out that Iran did not need to actively block the waterway using ships. All it needed to do was to fire enough missiles and drones to make ship insurers reluctant to back voyages through the strait.

President Trump warns Iran not to mine Strait of Hormuz

President Trump says there’s no evidence that Iran has mined the Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor, but warned if it does, it will suffer at a “level never seen before”.

“If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!”

US-Israel war with Iran could fuel global inflation

The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has caused the largest energy supply shock in decades.

The Strait of Hormuz is in effect closed, and attacks are being carried out on energy facilities in the Middle East, rattling oil markets.

From Americans filling their tanks at the pump to European factories and Asian economies, the impact is already being felt.

US President Donald Trump says the rise in oil prices is a “very small price to pay” for “safety and peace”. But investors warn that if the conflict drags on, there’s a danger of stagflation.

Iran, Egypt discuss regional tensions in phone call

The foreign ministers of Iran and Egypt have discussed rising regional tensions following recent attacks involving the United States and Israel, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

In a post on X, the ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty that Iran’s armed forces were fully prepared to exercise what he described as the country’s “legitimate right to self-defense”.

Araghchi said Iran’s attacks on US bases and assets in the region were carried out “within the framework of the legitimate right to self-defense” and in response to what he described as aggression.

He also said Iran seeks to maintain “friendly and brotherly relations” with neighbouring countries.

Egypt has previously condemned the Iranian attacks on Arab countries, describing them as a clear violation of international law.

Iran FM denies allegations of planned strikes on US forces

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has dismissed US claims that Iran was planning a preemptive or preventive strike against the United States or its military forces.

“The claim that Iran was planning on attacking the US or US Forces, whether preventively or pre-emptively, is a sheer and utter lie,” he said.

In a post on X, Arragchi added: “The sole purpose of that lie is to justify Operation Epic Mistake, a misadventure engineered by Israel and paid for by ordinary Americans.”

The foreign minister was referring to the US’s name for its military attack against Iran, Operation Epic Fury.

Iran UN ambassador says nearly 10,000 civilian sites hit

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations has criticised the UN Security Council for what he described as its “silence” over the ongoing US-Israel war on his country.

Amir-Saeid Iravani said it’s “regrettable” the council is “turning a blind eye despite its responsibility under the charter to maintain international peace and security”.

He said nearly 10,000 civilian sites have been hit, including about 8,000 residential homes, and the death toll is more than 1,300 people.

“Today, it is Iran, tomorrow it could be any other sovereign state,” Iravani said, urging the international community to act to stop the war.

He also called on UN member states to condemn US-Israeli “aggression” that “poses a serious threat” to international law.

Iranians brace for ‘most intensive’ attacks after US threats

During the last few hours, the situation was calm, but before, during the day, there were powerful blasts in Tehran, and also, Karman’s airport was targeted.

In Shiraz, some oil depots were reportedly hit, but we don’t have details. We don’t know how big that attack was. In Karaj, west of Tehran, loud explosions also occurred.

Isfahan was again hit, as it has been every day since the beginning of this war. But so far, the US threat of making today the “most intensive bombardment” since the beginning of the US-Israel attack – that has yet to be seen.

People here are bracing for that threat to materialise, and the worst in this war, because of those threats from the United States.

Former Trump aide Bolton says Iran’s government ‘is the problem’

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton spoke to Al Jazeera about the Iran war, saying he believes the US’s attacks on the country are a “legitimate” course of action.

Bolton claimed Iran has a long-running “record of deception” in nuclear negotiations, while refusing to address its ballistic missile program and what he called support for “international terrorism” and “state terror”.

“When you have this extent of experience and could see in recent days that the government was doing everything possible to buy time in order to avoid what has now happened”, Bolton said, there’s no way to “negotiate in good faith”.

“The government itself is the problem,” added Bolton, who has long advocated for a military confrontation with Iran.

“Iran is the proximate threat to peace and security in the Middle East, and until that regime is overthrown and the people of Iran have a chance to govern that country, there’s no chance for lasting peace and security in the region”, continued Bolton.

Iran is not the problem, as that is the secretly US-invented nuclear militarization from 1942, that the Israelis in 1956 secretly introduced in the Middle East in breach of the Atoms For Peace Agreement.

In 1968, the Israelis introduced the Menachem Begin doctrine to make sure that no country in the region has its own nuclear program.

Talking about whatever Iran is (falsely) to be accused for is trying to deflect from the real problem as written above.

Saudi Arabia says two drones intercepted near Shaybah oilfield

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry says two drones heading towards the Shaybah oilfield were intercepted and destroyed.

In a statement, the ministry’s spokesperson said the drones were detected and downed in the Empty Quarter desert before reaching the oil facility.

UN chief expresses ‘deep concern’ to Iran’s foreign minister

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held a phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss the intensifying war in the Middle East.

The two discussed the current military escalation, and Guterres called on all sides to “fully respect international law”, and “refrain from any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure”, his office said in a statement.

“He also expressed deep concern at the regional spillover and the impact of the ongoing conflict on the global economy,” the statement added.

Iran has retaliated to US-Israel attacks, firing missiles and drones towards Israel and Gulf countries, which has disrupted global markets and air travel and sent oil prices soaring.

UAE says responding to ‘barrage of ballistic missiles’

The United Arab Emirates says its “air defences are currently dealing with a barrage of ballistic missiles coming from Iran”.

In a post on X, the Defense Ministry said it has “full readiness to address all threats to ensure the protection of the state’s territories and the safety of citizens and residents”.

The UAE, with ties to Israel, has repeatedly been attacked since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran on February 28.

Egyptian FM offers to mediate, in call with Iranian counterpart

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has offered to “help de-escalate tensions” in the Middle East, in a telephone call with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

Araghchi justified Iran’s attacks on its Gulf neighbors as acts of self-defense.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks the continuation of friendly and brotherly relations with regional countries and advocates for joint regional cooperation to ensure stability and security without foreign interference,” Araghchi said.

Bahrain reports more than 280 intercepted projectiles since war began

Bahrain’s military has announced that its air defence systems have successfully intercepted and destroyed 106 missiles and 176 drones since the beginning of the “sinful Iranian terrorist aggressions” on the kingdom.

“The use of ballistic missiles and drones to target civilian objects and private property has constituted a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the United Nations Charter,” the military said in the statement.

Sirens go off across Jordan

Sirens have been activated across Jordan, including in the capital, Amman, and the coastal city of Aqaba.

Chuck Schumer, the veteran US lawmaker and Senate Democratic leader, has accused Trump of lying about the killing of more than 160 Iranian girls at a school in Minab bombed on February 28, the day the US and Israel began their war on Iran.

The evidence suggests that a US-made Tomahawk missile was behind the explosion that led to the single deadliest incident of the war so far. But even as the Department of Defense investigates what happened, Trump has insisted that he believes that Iran itself attacked the girls’ school — without offering either any evidence or explanation for why it may have wished to do so.

“Donald Trump lied,” Schumer wrote on X. “No other leader in the Administration—not even Pete Hegseth—is claiming Iranian tomahawk missiles were responsible for the bombing that killed 170 people at an Iranian all-girls’ school.”

Iran FM tells UN chief world body must condemn ‘aggression’

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has told UN chief Antonio Guterres that Iran expected him and the Security Council to take a stronger position condemning US and Israeli “aggression”.

In a phone conversation, Araghchi noted the UN’s role in maintaining peace and “emphasised the serious expectation of the Iranian government and people from the secretary-general and the UN Security Council to adopt stronger and more responsible positions in explicitly condemning the aggression”, the Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.

On February 28, the day the US and Israel launched the war on Iran, Guterres issued a statement reminding the Security Council that Article Two of the UN Charter states all member states must “refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”.

Trump announces destruction of 10 Iranian ‘mine-laying’ boats

Trump says US forces destroyed 10 mine-laying vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, minutes after warning that Iran would face “unprecedented consequences” if it put ordnance in the crucial waterway.

“We have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships with more to follow,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

US Central Command later posted a video on X, which it claimed showed Iranian boats being blown up.

Qatar condemns impact of Iran’s attacks on children’s wellbeing

Qatar’s UN envoy, Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Mansoori, has “strongly condemned Iran’s aggressive armed attacks”, noting that they have affected the rights of children in Qatar and neighbouring countries.

Al Mansoori made the remarks during an event with Virginia Gamba, the UN special envoy on children and armed conflict.

Iran’s bombardment has “had direct effects on children’s right to life, health, education and security”, he said, demanding that “these attacks be stopped”.

"Iran’s bombardment has “had direct effects on children’s right to life, health, education and security”

Qatar ignores the same effects on the rights children by Israeli and US bombardments on Iran.

Bahrain sounds alarm siren, asks residents to take shelter

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior has said the country’s alarm siren has been activated, suggesting that defence forces are combating incoming missiles or drones.

“Citizens and residents are requested to remain calm, head to the nearest safe location, and follow updates through official channels,” the ministry said.

India’s Jaishankar speaks to Iran’s Araghchi

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held a telephone conversation with his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, their second call in the past week, as the impact of the US-Israel war on Iran is increasingly felt globally.

Neither side divulged details of the call, but India is currently sheltering an Iranian Navy ship that had participated in exercises hosted by the Indian Navy in February.

A second Iranian Navy ship that had also joined the Indian exercises was torpedoed by a US submarine last week, just outside Sri Lankan waters, as it was trying to get back home.

Gulf ‘anger’ moving towards Israel and US over Iran war fallout

Jason Campbell, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, says Iran’s threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz over the past week has been mostly psychological, but laying mines in the waterway would be a serious escalation.

Oil tankers and cargo ships currently stranded in Hormuz would be unable to move for “the foreseeable future, as the US has limited capacity to physically remove them from the strait”, he said.

The burgeoning fallout from the US-Israel attack on Iran is leading to more frustration among the Gulf countries, Campbell added.

“Right now, you’re starting to see the initial anger from some of the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] and other states towards Iran start to spread a little bit more towards Israel and the US, as all these countries are now really affected both physically and economically,” he said.

Kuwait says defense systems neutralised ‘wave of hostile aerial’ threats

The Kuwaiti armed forces have announced that air defense systems successfully intercepted a barrage of hostile drones that breached the country’s airspace.

Military officials reported that five drones were detected and four were intercepted and destroyed. The fifth crashed outside the designated threat zone.

Colonel Saud Abdulaziz al-Otaibi, in a statement, said the military is on high alert and will “ensure the preservation of [the country’s] sovereignty, security, stability, and protect its national interests”.

Rubio discusses reinforcing defense in call with Saudi counterpart

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud spoke on the phone about “Iran’s reprehensible attacks”.

The US State Department said Rubio condemned Iran’s ongoing attacks on Saudi Arabia, and the top diplomats discussed “how to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s defense as Iran continues its baseless aggression against civilian targets”.

This week, two people were killed after a projectile fell on a residential location in Saudi Arabia‘s city of Al-Kharj.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier that it had been targeting radar systems in the Al-Kharj governorate, which is home to the Prince Sultan airbase, used by US forces, and has come under repeated attack.

Saudi Arabia battles wave of missiles, drones

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry says security forces are combating a wave of missiles and drones.

The operations have included two drones targeting Hafar Al-Bati and six ballistic missiles launched towards Prince Sultan airbase, the ministry said.

All were intercepted and destroyed, with no casualties reported.

Iran launches latest round of missiles, drones

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has announced the launch of the 37th wave of missiles and drones, amid reports that Tel Aviv has been hit, and with defense forces in Saudi Arabia battling incoming projectiles.

Iran’s police chief warns protesters will be treated as ‘enemies’

Iran’s police chief, Ahmed-Reza Radan, has warned on state television that protesters who take to the streets at the call of “the enemy” will be treated as enemies.

US President Donald Trump has exhorted Iranians opposed to the theocratic government to try to seize power following the US-Israeli bombing campaign against the country.