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Iranian nationals are not allowed to enter or transit through the United Arab Emirates, according to the Emirates airline website.
Under the Emirates airline’s visa advice section, it states: “Nationals of Iran are not allowed to enter and transit”.
The website of another carrier, Flydubai, said Iranian nationals holding a UAE golden visa were exempt and permitted to enter and transit the country.
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Summary
Here is a summary of the latest developments:
Trump said on Tuesday US forces would end operations in Iran “very soon,” suggesting a timeline of two to three weeks. Trump also told reporters that the responsibility for keeping the strait of Hormuz open will rest with countries that rely on it. “That’s not for us … That’ll be for whoever’s using the strait,” he said.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Fox News the US would need to reevaluate the Nato relationship after the conflict in Iran is concluded, saying “If now we have reached a point where the Nato alliance means that we can’t use [US military bases in Europe]... then Nato is a one-way street.”
Two-thirds of Americans believe that the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.
Asian markets rose sharply early on Wednesday after US stocks soared to their best day in almost a year on renewed hopes that the Iran war could soon end. South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.4% in early trading, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.9%, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.4% higher.
Thousands of additional US troops are heading to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush deployed on Tuesday and is slated to travel to the region along with three destroyers, two US officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 personnel.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had identified the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel. It said defence systems were operating to intercept the missile.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said areas in northern, eastern and central Tehran were under attack on Wednesday morning. The broadcaster said on Telegram that explosions were heard in the capital’s north, east and centre, reporting “attacks on Tehran” without immediately providing more details.
A drone attack has sparked a large fire at Kuwait international airport, according to its state news agency, which said no casualties had been reported, while in the last few hours Saudi Arabia has said it intercepted and destroyed two drones. Bahrain also said early on Wednesday that it was working to extinguish a fire at a business facility that resulted from an Iranian attack. A tanker also came under attack off the coast of Qatar early on Wednesday, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre.
Israeli strikes in southern Beirut and a nearby area have killed seven people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the US said. The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups as well as Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets for which she worked.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the US open the strait of Hormuz by force. Citing Arab officials, the newspaper reported the UAE is lobbying for a UN security council resolution that would authorise such action.
Israeli military reports missile launched from Yemen towards Israel
The Israeli military says it has identified the launch of a missile from Yemen towards Israel. It said defence systems are operating to intercept the missile.
We’ll have more news on this soon.
UAE preparing to help US open strait of Hormuz by force: WSJ reports
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the US open the strait of Hormuz by force.
Citing Arab officials, the newspaper reported the UAE is lobbying for a UN Security Council resolution that would authorise such action. If the UAE does get involved, it would be the first Gulf country to become a combatant in the conflict, which began on 28 February.
The UAE and its oil infrastructure has been repeatedly targeted by Iranian drones.
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Asian stocks jump on renewed hopes of Iran war ending
Back to some Asian markets news, shares were up sharply early on Wednesday after US stocks soared to their best day in almost a year on renewed hopes that the Iran war could soon end.
South Korea’s Kospi surged 6.4% in early trading, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.9%, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.4% higher.
Elsewhere, Australia’s S+P/ASX 200 was up 1.7%, and Taiwan’s Taiex was up 4.3%.
The renewed optimism over a possible de-escalation of the Iran war, came after Donald Trump said the US will be done attacking Iran probably in two to three weeks.
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Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said areas in northern, eastern and central Tehran were under attack on Wednesday morning.
The broadcaster said on Telegram that explosions were heard in the capital’s north, east and centre, reporting “attacks on Tehran” without immediately providing more details.
It is now 6.30am in Tehran.
An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the US said, as regional security deteriorates after the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
The US state department said it was working to ensure the American’s release “as soon as possible”.
“An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezballah believed to be involved in the kidnapping has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities,” Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, wrote on X.
Iraq said that authorities intercepted a vehicle that overturned as they tried to flee. “Security forces were able to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the vehicles used in the crime,” the Iraqi interior ministry said in a statement.
“The ministry affirms that efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining individuals involved, secure the release of the kidnapped journalist,” it added.
An Iraqi security source told Agence France-Presse the abduction occurred in Baghdad. Iraqi authorities did not identify the perpetrator or the victim.
The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups as well as Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets for which she worked. Kittleson is a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively from Syria and Iraq.
A drone attack has sparked a large fire at Kuwait international airport, according to its state news agency.
Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said the airport was under an Iranian drone attack on Wednesday that led to “a large fire” at fuel tanks.
“Kuwait International Airport has been subjected to blatant attacks by drones launched by Iran and the armed factions it supports,” the official Kuwait News Agency quoted the spokesman of the general directorate of civil aviation as saying.
The spokesman, Abdullah Al-Rajhi, said “fuel storage tanks... were targeted, resulting in a large fire at the site”. No casualties have been reported.
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Asked about how the strait of Hormuz, Rubio said the US depends “very little” on the strait and that countries around the world should be “stepping up” to ensure the free flow of oil and gas exports.
For all these countries that love to talk about international law, it is a violation of international maritime law to impede the free flow of travel in international waters…
We depend very little on the strait. So if, in fact, Iran decides to set up a toll, if, in fact, Iran decides that they’re going to illegally control the strait of Hormuz or decide they’re going to try to do that, look, I imagine that’ll be the president’s call – whether he wants to help. But this is a problem for the world. It is countries around the world [that] should be stepping up and dealing with that and saying that’s intolerable – and that’s what we’ve encouraged them to do.
Rubio rejected suggestions that the US does not have a clear strategy in Iran.
“I hear these news reports, and it’s very frustrating, that we don’t know what the objectives are,” he said.
The objectives are very clear… and we’re going to achieve all four of them. We’re going to destroy their air force. We already have done it. We’re going to destroy their navy. We’ve largely done that. We’re going to destroy their factories that make these missiles and these drones… We are going to severely degrade their missile launchers so that they can’t fire these multiple salvos…
We are well on our way to achieving all four of those objectives. Those objectives will be achieved. They’ll be achieved very soon.
Rubio says US will 'have to reexamine' NATO relationship
Rubio told Fox News the US would need to “reexamine” the NATO relationship after the conflict in Iran is concluded.
Why do we have billions and billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars, over the years, trillions of dollars, and all these American forces stationed in the region… if in our time of need we’re not going to be allowed to use those bases?” he said.
I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose. Or has it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights and they’re going to deny us overflight. I think these are very legitimate questions that we need to be asking.
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Asked about the possibility of a negotiated settlement with Iran, Rubio told Fox there is “the potential for direct meeting at some point”, but said Trump won’t allow negotiations to be used as a “delay tactic”.
“First of all, we can’t ignore that for 47 years they’ve avoided and rejected any effort to negotiate. That doesn’t mean we’re going to stop trying,” he said, adding:
There are messages being exchanged. There are talks going on. There is the potential for direct meeting at some point. We’re always going to be open for that. Bu what President Trump is not going to allow is, he’s not going to allow fake negotiations to be used as a delay tactic to buy more time, to buy themselves space.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Tuesday Washington could see “the finish line” in the Iran war, now in its fifth week.
“We can see the finish line. It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it is coming,” Rubio told Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” show.
Argentina has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, its presidential office said in a statement on Tuesday.
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile about 17 nautical miles north of Qatar’s Doha, causing damage to the hull above the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday, adding that the vessel’s crew were safe.
There is no environmental impact, UKMTO added
Japan’s Nikkei index climbed more than three percent and South Korea’s Kospi was up nearly five percent in early trade on Wednesday, after Trump indicated that the war with Iran may be over in around two weeks, reports Reuters.
The Nikkei 225 jumped 3.29% to 52,742.62, and the Kospi rose 4.83% to 5,296.29 points.
Saudi Arabia has said it intercepted and destroyed two drones in the last few hours.
A Gulf ally of the United States , the country has been targeted by Iran repeatedly. This week, more than two dozen American service members were injured in missile and drone attacks on a Saudi air base.
Donald Trump will provide an update on the Iran war in an address to the nation at 9pm EST on Wednesday (0100 GMT on Thursday), White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has announced.
Israeli strikes in southern Beirut and a nearby area have killed seven people, Lebanon’s health ministry has announced.
“The Israeli enemy’s raid on the Jnah area in Beirut has, according to an initial toll, resulted in five martyrs and 21 others wounded,” a ministry statement said, referring to an area in the Lebanese capital’s south.
Another strike that hit a vehicle in Khaldeh, just south of the capital, killed two people and wounded three, the ministry of health said in another statement.
More on that Reuters/Ipsos poll looking at American’s views on the war in Iran: a total of 60% of respondents said they disapproved of US military strikes on Iran, while 35% approved in the survey of 1,021 people.
One of the war’s most visible effects in the US has been the rising cost of petrol, which rose above $4 a gallon on Monday for the first time in more than three years.
Two in three respondents said they expected petrol prices to worsen over the next year, including 40% of Republicans.
Trump’s Republicans face voters in November for midterm elections that will decide whether they can hold onto slim majorities in the House and Senate. The incumbent president’s party tends to lose seats in Congress in midterm elections.
More than half of respondents thought the conflict would have a mostly negative impact on their personal financial situation, including 39% of Republicans surveyed.
Two-thirds of Americans believe that the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that means not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.
Around 66% of respondents to the poll, conducted Friday through Sunday, voiced that view, while 27% said the US should work to achieve all its goals in Iran, even if the conflict goes on for an extended period. Six percent did not answer the question.
Among Trump’s Republican party, 40% supported ending the conflict quickly even if it did not achieve US goals, while 57% supported a longer involvement. The month-long war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and has hit the global economy with soaring energy prices, fuelling global inflation fears.
Thousands of additional US troops are heading to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush deployed Tuesday and is slated to travel to the region along with three destroyers, two US officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors.
It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division also have begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other US officials.
While the majority of those troops are part of a rotation of forces planned before the war, some are among roughly 1,500 paratroopers the Trump administration decided to surge into the region last week.
The Trump administration has not said what those troops will be doing, but the 82nd Airborne is trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields. A US Navy ship carrying about 2,500 Marines recently arrived in the Middle East, and another 2,500 Marines also are being deployed from California.
The extra forces, on top of tens of thousands of service members already in the region, come as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other administration officials have avoided questions about whether or not the military will deploy ground troops against Iran.
“You can’t fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do to include boots on the ground,” Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday.
More on the reports of explosions in Beirut: the Israeli army has said it carried out two separate attacks in the Beirut area.
The IDF said it was targeting “Senior Hezbollah Operatives”.
Explosions have been heard in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the AFP news agency has reported.
An AFP correspondent saw a column of smoke rising from the Jnah district after three large explosions were heard across the city and saw ambulances headed towards the site.
Local media footage showed several cars burning after the strikes in front of a building under construction.
State media also reported that an Israeli airstrike hit a car on a key road south of Beirut.
Donald Trump has reiterated that securing the Strait of Hormuz is “not for us”, as he took further questions from journalists.
Trump said the US “will not have anything to do with” what happens in the strait, instead telling reporters that the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.
The president said there’s “no reason for us to do this.”
That’s not for us. That’ll be for France. That’ll be for whoever’s using the strait.”
Earlier today the president lashed out at US allies for not doing more to support American efforts in the Iran war.
Trump says US will leave Iran in 'two or three weeks'
Trump said on Tuesday US forces would end operations in Iran “very soon,” suggesting a timeline of two to three weeks. After his usual claims about “regime change” and how much of Iran’s capabilities the US has “knocked out”, Trump said:
Now we’re finishing the job. I think in two weeks or maybe a few days longer, we’ll do the job. We want to knock out everything they’ve got.
He has previously given vague and mixed messages about the US’s aims and timeline for the war.
Asked by a reporter how he was going to bring oil prices back down, Trump answered:
All I have to do is leave Iran – and we’ll be doing that very soon.
Then prices will “come tumbling down”, he said.
Trump also told reporters that the responsibility for keeping the strait of Hormuz open will rest with countries that rely on it. “That’s not for us … That’ll be for whoever’s using the strait.”
Updated
Trump says war on Iran 'coming to an end'
Donald Trump has told NBC News that he believes the war on Iran is “coming to an end”.
“We’re doing great,” he told the outlet in a phone interview earlier. “And it’s coming to an end.”
He repeated his usual claims about how the US has “decimated” Iran’s military, adding:
The people we’re dealing with [in Iran] are much more reasonable and not as radicalised. We will not have an Iran with nuclear weapons … I have to go, I have a war to prosecute.
Trump has repeatedly claimed he has “won” the war. At a press briefing yesterday, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US president still stood by his timeline of four to six weeks, adding: “We’re on day 30, so you do the math.”
The Trump administration has also repeatedly claimed to be speaking with new Iranian leadership (and been consistently dismissive of the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei). As we reported earlier, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, maintains that no direct talks have taken place, with all messages exchanged with Washington going through his ministry and intermediaries in the region.
Updated
Donald Trump is due to sign an executive order at the White House shortly. He often makes remarks and takes questions from reporters at these events, so I’ll be watching and will bring you any key lines here.
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In an update on X, Jordan’s armed forces said on Tuesday that it had intercepted and destroyed four Iranian missiles in the past day, and had also responded to 17 reports of falling debris and projectiles.
Israel passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians - podcast
Israel’s parliament has passed a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of fatal attacks – a measure sharply criticised as discriminatory by European countries and human rights groups.
After the law passed, the Knesset erupted into cheers and the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, brandished a bottle in celebration.
The law has been decried as “an act of institutionalised discrimination and racist violence against Palestinians” by Israel’s leading rights group.
In today’s edition of The Latest podcast, Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s deputy head of international news, Devika Bhat.
US aware of reports of journalist kidnapped in Baghdad and liaising with FBI
The US state department has said it is aware of reports that a US journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad and it is liaising with the FBI.
In a post on X, the department’s assistant secretary for global public affairs, Dylan Johnson, said:
The US Department of State is aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad, Iraq.
The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible.
An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hizballah believed to be involved in the kidnapping has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities.
Iraq remains at a Level 4 Travel Advisory and Americans are advised not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now.
The State Department strongly advise all Americans, including members of the press, to adhere to all travel advisories.
The US state department has called on US citizens currently in Saudi Arabia to shelter in place until further notice.
In a statement, it said the US embassy in Riyadh had directed all US government employees to do the same.
The department added that it was “tracking reports of threats against locations where American citizens gather”, and that hotels, US businesses and schools could be “potential targets”.
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Pope Leo says he hopes Trump looking for an 'off-ramp' to end war
Pope Leo XIV has urged Donald Trump to look for an “off-ramp” to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, in an unusually direct appeal from the pontiff to the US president.
Speaking to journalists outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, Pope Leo, the first pope from the United States, said:
I’m told that President Trump has recently stated that he would like to end the war. Hopefully, he’s looking for an off-ramp. Hopefully, he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that’s being created, that’s increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere.
He called on all world leaders to return to dialogue and look for “ways to reduce the amount of violence’’ so that “peace, especially at Easter, might reign in our hearts’’.
It marks the second occasion in as many days that the pope has made remarkably pointed comments over the war.
During a Palm Sunday mass in St Peter’s Square, he said God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war and have “hands full of blood” – in an apparent rebuke to the Trump administration.
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UN says initial findings show roadside blast killed Lebanon peacekeepers
A roadside explosion appears to have struck the convoy of two Indonesian peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon, Reuters reports that the UN peacekeeping chief said on Tuesday, citing initial findings of an investigation.
The peacekeepers with the Unifil force were killed on Monday near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon and two other soldiers were wounded. Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight Sunday into Monday when a projectile exploded near one of the group’s positions.
“Unifil is conducting investigations to determine the circumstances of these reprehensible developments,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the head of UN peacekeeping, told a UN Security Council meeting on Lebanon.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a briefing a “roadside bomb, most likely an IED”, or improvised explosive device, was to blame for the incident.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, meanwhile, blamed the deaths of the three peacekeepers on Hezbollah, charging that the group launches rockets from villages next to UN positions, “putting peacekeepers directly in the line of fire.”
Asked about Danon’s statement, Unifil spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said:
We invite them to share their evidence with our investigative team.
UN secretary-general António Guterres has strongly condemned the killing of the peacekeepers, saying that such attacks were “grave violations of international humanitarian law ... and may amount to war crimes”.
There will need to be accountability.
Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa said his country will stay out of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran unless Syria is subject to aggression and has no diplomatic solutions.
“Unless Syria is targeted by any party, Syria will remain outside any conflict,” the Syrian president said at an event hosted by think tank Chatham House in London.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is forging new alliances with “important” countries in the region to counter what he described as the “Iranian threat.”
Speaking in an address, Netanyahu did not specify which countries were involved, or give further details.
The U.S. State Department is tracking reports of threats against locations where American citizens gather in Saudi Arabia, including hotels, U.S. businesses and educational institutions, the State Department said, advising U.S. citizens in the country to shelter in place until further notice.
“We are tracking reports of threats against locations where American citizens gather,” the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a travel advisory.
“We advise U.S. citizens that hotels and other gathering points including U.S. businesses and U.S. educational institutions may be potential targets.”
The embassy asked Americans to remain inside and stay away from windows until further notice.
The latest advisory came after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they would target U.S. companies in the Middle East as of April 1 in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reported.
Updated
Iranian foreign minister says US and Iran are exchanging messages - but not negotiating
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has told Al Jazeera he has been receiving direct messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, “as before”, but they do not constitute “negotiations”.
The messages include threats or exchanged views delivered through “friends” in the region, he added, and all messages go through his foreign ministry.
There is no truth to the claim of negotiations with any party in Iran. All messages are conveyed through the foreign ministry or received by it, and there are communications between security agencies.
He also reiterated that Iran has not yet responded to the 15-point plan proposed by the US, despite reports that Tehran had responded with its own terms to the plan.
We have not sent any response to the 15 American proposals, nor have we submitted any proposals or conditions.
Araghchi has said that Iran’s “conditions for ending the war are clear” in that Tehran won’t accept a simple ceasefire – it wants “a complete end to the war, not just in Iran but in the entire region”.
Tehran also wants to ensure there is “no repetition” of attacks and guarantees of compensation for the damages of the war.
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Israel’s defence ministry accused France of actively obstructing the transfer of munitions to Israel, according to a statement.
It said the French ban was imposed despite prior coordination and assurances that the munitions were intended solely for use against Iran, adding the effort was critical to European security.
The ministry said Israel would cut all defence procurement from France and would have no new engagement with the French military.
French arms sales to Israel are relatively small, and it was unclear whether the move would affect French troops serving with U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon.
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US has begun flying B52 bombers over Iran, general says
At the Pentagon’s public briefing earlier, General Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said that the US military had begun flying B52 bomber missions over land.
In the past 30 days, we’ve hit over 11,000 targets. With growing air superiority, we’ve also launched the first B-52 overland missions.
The US military remains focused on “interdicting and destroying the logistical and supply chains that feed” Iran’s missile, drone and naval ship-building programs, Caine added.
Per the New York Times, that in effect means the US has choked off Iran’s ability to replace munitions destroyed in thousands of American bombing runs.
B-52 bombers - unlike the agile or radar-evading aircraft in the US arsenal - are considered highly vulnerable to antiaircraft systems.
The decision to fly the planes directly over Iran signifies the American military’s confidence that it has largely destroyed Iran’s capability to take down the lumbering bombers.
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France has said it is “surprised” by Donald Trump’s comments singling out Paris for not authorising planes headed to Israel fly over its airspace, saying the decision was in line with French policy since the start of the war on Iran.
“We are surprised by this tweet. France has not changed its position since day one [of the conflict] and we confirm this decision,” French president Emmanuel Macron’s office said.
Trump had said in a post on Truth Social earlier that France had been “very unhelpful” and that the United States would “remember”.
The Country of France wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory. France has been VERY UNHELPFUL with respect to the “Butcher of Iran,” who has been successfully eliminated! The U.S.A. will REMEMBER!!!
The French military said on 5 March that France would not authorise the use of French bases by American planes if they took part in attacks on Iran, but would allow it on a “temporary basis” if they were in support of the defence of French allies in the region.
A western diplomat and two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the refusal happened over the weekend and was the first time France had done this since the war started.
Israel had wanted to use France’s airspace to transport US weapons for the war, the sources said.
The day so far
In a post on Truth Social, the US president, Donald Trump, has suggested that countries like the UK should build up the “courage” to go to the strait of Hormuz and “just take” fuel. “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump said as he criticised countries who “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran”.
Extra UK troops are being sent to the Middle East to help the UK’s allies defend their skies from Iranian attacks. On a trip to Gulf nations, defence secretary John Healey announced the UK will deploy the Sky Sabre air defence missile system in Saudi Arabia and extend UK Typhoon jets’ action in Qatar, PA reported.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they will target US companies in the region as of 1 April in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reported. The 18 companies listed in the IRGC’s threat included Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing.
Areas near the World Health Organization’s Tehran office were hit by strikes over the past two nights, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an X post on Tuesday. “Fortunately all WHO Iran office colleagues are accounted for and none were injured,” he added.
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denounced Israel’s deployment of troops against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as an “illegal invasion” that violates its “integrity and sovereignty.” “The government of Lebanon has banned Hezbollah, is taking action, is trying to take action against Hezbollah and their terrorist activities and their threats to Israel, and that is the purported justification for this invasion,” Carney told journalists at an event in Wakefield, Quebec.
Israel said on Tuesday that it will occupy wide swathes of south Lebanon and destroy the homes along the border to prevent the return of some 600,000 residents, prompting concerns of long-term forced displacement.
The Lebanese health ministry said yesterday that nine people had been killed and 137 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past day. It said the latest figures brought the death toll from Israeli attacks since 2 March to 1,247, with 3,680 other people reported injured.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip in two separate attacks on Tuesday, health officials said. An Israeli airstrike killed at least three people in Jabalia, in the north of the territory, while two other people were killed in another airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to medics.
A UN security source told AFP on Tuesday that Israeli fire had killed an Indonesian peacekeeper at the weekend, after the UN force said it was investigating the incident. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon had said that the peacekeeper was killed on Sunday evening when a projectile of unknown origin “exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit al Qusayr”, while two more Indonesian blue helmets were killed in south Lebanon the following day.
Iranian state media reported yesterday that an Iranian parliamentary committee had approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz. The strait will be closed to ships from the US, Israel and countries that have been involved in sanctioning Iran, according to a Telegram post from the Fars news agency, which said that Iran will have a “sovereign” role in the implementation of the new system.
Italy has denied use of an airbase in Sicily to US military craft carrying weapons for the war in the Middle East. A source at the Italian defence ministry confirmed a report in Corriere della Sera that “some US bombers” had been due to land at Sigonella – a key US navy installation and Nato base – before heading to the Middle East.
A US-Israeli attack on the Iranian city of Mahallat last night (at about 11pm local time) killed 11 people and injured 15 others, the Tasnim news agency has cited a deputy security officer as having said. Four residential units were “completely destroyed” in the attack, in which three children were killed, according to the report, which we have not yet been able to independently verify.
Israel vows to occupy large parts of southern Lebanon to expand buffer zone
Israel said on Tuesday that it will occupy wide swathes of south Lebanon and destroy the homes along the border to prevent the return of some 600,000 residents, prompting concerns of long-term forced displacement.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said that it will occupy the area under the Litani River, some 19 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border, as part of its so-called buffer zone inside southern Lebanon when fighting with Hezbollah ends.
“At the end of the operation, the IDF would control the area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges, while eliminating Radwan forces that infiltrated the area and destroying all weapons there,” Katz said, referring to the elite unit of the pro-Iran Hezbollah group.
He added that all homes near the villages would be destroyed “in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza.” The Israeli military razed most homes and public infrastructure in both neighbourhoods of Gaza, reducing them to rubble.
Updated
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denounced Israel’s deployment of troops against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as an “illegal invasion” that violates its “integrity and sovereignty.”
“The government of Lebanon has banned Hezbollah, is taking action, is trying to take action against Hezbollah and their terrorist activities and their threats to Israel, and that is the purported justification for this invasion,” Carney told journalists at an event in Wakefield, Quebec.
“So we condemn it,” he said.
Eyewitness video released on 31 March and verified by Reuters shows a large explosion and plumes of smoke rising in Isfahan.
The central Iranian city is home to a number of important military facilities, including nuclear facilities.
Analysts believe much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely stored there.
Extra UK troops to help defend Gulf against Iranian attacks, Healey announces
Extra UK troops are being sent to the Middle East to help the UK’s allies defend their skies from Iranian attacks.
On a trip to Gulf nations, defence secretary John Healey announced the UK will deploy the Sky Sabre air defence missile system in Saudi Arabia and extend UK Typhoon jets’ action in Qatar, PA reported.
Additional air defence teams and systems have also arrived in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Healey said “Britain’s best” will help protect Gulf partners as he visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Sky Sabre – and a Royal Artillery battery and battle space managers who operate the system – will be moved to Saudi Arabia this week.
The defence system, composed of radars, control node, and missile launchers, can intercept munitions and aircraft.
It will be integrated into broader Saudi and regional air defences, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Areas near the World Health Organization’s Tehran office were hit by strikes over the past two nights, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an X post on Tuesday.
“Fortunately all WHO Iran office colleagues are accounted for and none were injured,” he added.
A UN security source told AFP on Tuesday that Israeli fire had killed an Indonesian peacekeeper at the weekend, after the UN force said it was investigating the incident.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon had said that the peacekeeper was killed on Sunday evening when a projectile of unknown origin “exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit al Qusayr”, while two more Indonesian blue helmets were killed in south Lebanon the following day.
The source told AFP on condition of anonymity that evidence had been identified that the source of the fire on Sunday was an Israeli tank.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they will target US companies in the region as of 1 April in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reported.
The 18 companies listed in the IRGC’s threat included Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing.
“These companies should expect the destruction of their respective units in exchange for each terror act in Iran, starting from 8 PM Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1st,” the IRGC statement said.
The destruction of a US E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft in an Iranian strike on a Saudi Arabian airbase has raised questions over how a critical surveillance asset was left unprotected, and how Iran was able to launch a direct strike on the plane.
The plane was one of 16 operational E-3s, which first went into production in the 1960s and carry sophisticated monitoring equipment that allow them to warn of airborne threats such as missiles, as well as surveil and monitor their assigned battle space including communications, troop and equipment movements and air defence sites.
The attack that destroyed it on 27 March, while it was parked at Prince Sultan airbase, underlined once again the continuing ability of Iran to attack and accurately strike high-value targets in the region despite a month of US and Israeli air raids.
Images from the scene of the attack, which also injured US servicemen and damaged several in-flight refuelling aircraft, show a direct strike on the E-3’s radar dome located near the tail, suggesting a high degree of accuracy.
The E-3 Sentry was destroyed at Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia on 27 March 2026.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukrainian intelligence had information that a Russian spy satellite had photographed the base three times before the attack, on 20 March, 23 March and 25 March.
China and Pakistan called on Tuesday for an immediate end to the war in the Middle East, and for peace talks as soon as possible, as they agreed to boost their cooperation on Iran.
The two countries outlined a joint initiative “for restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East region”, after a visit from senior Pakistani officials to Beijing.
Both countries have sought to mediate in the Middle East to prevent the conflict from escalating, with Islamabad saying it is ready to host “meaningful talks” between the United States and Iran.
Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and agreed to “strengthen strategic communication and coordination on the Iran situation and ... make new efforts towards advocating for peace”, Beijing said.
Dar’s ministry later said the two sides had agreed on a five-point plan, starting with the “immediate cessation of hostilities” and the “start of peace talks as soon as possible”.
You can keep up with the latest developments around Europe in our live blog here:
Italy denies use of Sicily airbase to US aircraft carrying weapons for Iran war
Italy has denied use of an airbase in Sicily to US military craft carrying weapons for the war in the Middle East.
A source at the Italian defence ministry confirmed a report in Corriere della Sera that “some US bombers” had been due to land at Sigonella – a key US navy installation and Nato base – before heading to the Middle East.
According to treaties signed in the late 1950s, the US navy can use the base for logistical and training purposes but not as a transit hub for aircraft used to transport weapons for war unless in an emergency situation, permission for which needs to be approved in parliament.
The source said the US had only sought permission to land the aircraft while they were en route to Sicily, therefore failing to follow procedures that require authorisation to be approved in parliament. It is unclear when the aircraft had been due to land at the base but the source said there was no time to seek approval in parliament.
For days, politicians in Sicily from Italy’s leftwing opposition parties have been urging Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to clarify the situation at Sigonella after activity at the base increased since the start of the war in Iran and asked it to block the US from using bases in Italy for involvement in the conflict. Italy hosts seven US navy bases.
The Lebanese health ministry said yesterday that nine people had been killed and 137 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past day.
It said the latest figures brought the death toll from Israeli attacks since 2 March to 1,247, with 3,680 other people reported injured.
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The UN’s refugee agency has said that over 200,000 people crossed from Lebanon into Syria between 2 March – 27 March as residents fled from the renewed Israeli war on Lebanon.
Nearly 180,000 of those who crossed into Syria were Syrians returning to their country, in addition to more than 28,000 Lebanese people, the agency said. However, the Syrian government has restricted the entry of Lebanese people unless they have residency in Syria, a Syrian spouse or parent, or other exceptional circumstances, leaving many effectively stranded.
“Most are people fleeing the intense Israeli bombardments. They arrive exhausted, traumatized and with very, very few belongings,” UNHCR’s representative in Syria, Aseer Al-Madaien, told a UN briefing in Geneva by video from Damascus.
The renewed Israeli assault on Lebanon was launched after Hezbollah – the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group – fired rockets into northern Israel in response to the killing of the former Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in joint US-Israeli airstrikes.
Israel has said that the military will take control of south Lebanon all the way to the Litani river, which is about 30km (19 miles) from the Lebanon-Israel border, and has said a so-called “security zone” will be established.
Many Lebanese people fear Israel is attempting to separate southern Lebanon from the rest of the country ahead of a large-scale invasion.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said Israel will prohibit the return of 600,000 Lebanese who fled the area over the last few weeks until safety and security were “ensured” for residents of Israel’s north. He said Israel will destroy all homes in Lebanese villages near the border.
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Hegseth concludes by reiterating that the mission will “end on our terms” and picks up on Trump’s talking points earlier today about America’s Nato allies.
He says:
We remain committed to a conflict that ends on our terms. In the president’s terms, there’s no doubt about that.
And as far as Nato’s concerned, that’s a decision that’ll be left to the president. But I’ll just say, a lot has been laid bare.
A lot has been shown to the world about what our allies would be willing to do for the United States of America when we undertake an effort of this scope on behalf of the free world.
He adds:
These are missiles that don’t even range the United States of America. They range allies and others. And yet when we ask for additional assistance or simple access basic overflight, we get questions or roadblocks or hesitations.
And the president’s pointing out you don’t have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them.
And, with that, the press conference is over.
Hegseth says “maybe negotiations will work” but he is unwilling to commit one way or the other when asked about the potential for American boots on the ground.
He says:
You can’t fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do, to include boots on the ground.
Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground and guess what? There are.
And so if we needed to, we could execute those options on behalf of the president of the United States and this department.
Or maybe we don’t have to use them at all. Maybe negotiations work, or maybe there’s a different approach. But the point is to be unpredictable in that certainly not let anybody know what you’re willing to do or not do.
The Pentagon chief says “other countries should listen when the president speaks” in reference to Donald Trump’s latest tirade at allies for not joining his war on Iran.
Hegseth says:
We will make sure Iran is it knows that very clearly is not just the United States of America problem set.
But it’s not just us. So ultimately, I think other countries should pay attention when the president speaks. He’s proven that when he speaks, he means something.
And he’s pointing out, you know, you might might want to start learning how to fight for yourself. It’s something some of us have been saying for quite some time.
You can’t just have flags. You have to have formations. You can’t just have a few ships. You have enough to affect change. Those things matter in a dangerous world with ascendant adversaries.
Asked about talks with Iran, Hegseth says the US “would much prefer” to strike a deal but “in the meantime, we’ll negotiate with bombs”.
The Pentagon chief describes talks as “active” and ongoing”, adding:
On the talks, I can tell you, having been with with Steve and Jared and the vice president and many Marco and many others yesterday, they are very real.
They are ongoing. They’re active, and I think gaining strength. And we appreciate that. As I said in my remarks, we would much prefer to get a deal if Iran was willing to relinquish, material they have and ambitions they have open the strait. That’s the goal.
We don’t want to have to do more militarily than we have to. But I didn’t mean it flippantly when I said, in the meantime, we’ll negotiate with bombs.
Hegseth: next days in Iran war will be 'decisive'
The next days of the Iran war will be “decisive,” Pentagon chief Hegseth says.
“The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it,” Hegseth tells the news conference, his first in nearly two weeks.
He adds:
We have more and more options, and they have less... in only one month we set the terms, the upcoming days will be decisive.
Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it.
Caine says the US is delivering precision strikes against manufacturing nodes “deep within Iran”.
He says around 11,000 targets have been hit in the past 30 days. The US “continues to assert dominance over the Iranian navy,” he adds.
Caine adds that more than 150 ships have been “taken out”.
“If Iran is wise, they will cut a deal,” says Hegseth, adding that president Donald Trump “doesn’t bluff”.
He refers to the Iranian regime as a “new regime” and says that regime change “has occurred” in Iran.
We are now about to hear from joint chiefs of the staff Dan Caine.
Hegseth starts the press conference by saying he visited the Middle East on Saturday and spoke with US troops.
He claims morale is high and there is an appetite among the military personnel to “finish the mission” and that they want bigger bombs and weapons to attack Iran with.
He says:
These troops want to finish this fight for their kids and their grandkids.
This is about history, this is about legacy.
The defence secretary says that while previous presidents were “all talk”, Trump is “all action”.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip in two separate attacks on Tuesday, health officials said. An Israeli airstrike killed at least three people in Jabalia, in the north of the territory, while two other people were killed in another airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to medics.
In its latest update, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 72,285 Palestinian people have been killed and 172,028 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023.
At least 709 Palestinian people have been killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025, according to the ministry, whose figures the UN generally find reliable.
Most of the people killed have been civilians and the true death toll is likely much higher given the number of those still buried under rubble across the Gaza Strip.
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth and joint chiefs of staff Dan Caine are due to give an update on the military campaign in Iran on the hour.
It comes as Donald Trump described Iran as having been “decimated” by the US-Israeli war.
We will have all the latest news lines here on the Middle East crisis live blog. Stay tuned.
Donald Trump seems to still be bitter at European countries who earlier this month ruled out sending warships to the strait of Hormuz, despite him warning that Nato faced “a very bad future” if members failed to help reopen the vital waterway.
He has reserved particular criticism for the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, whom he once enjoyed warm relations with, calling him “no Churchill” and saying the so-called special relationship is not what it was after Starmer refused to permit the use of UK bases for the initial US-Israel strikes on Iran.
In an unusual break from London sticking closely to Washington on foreign policy issues, Starmer has insisted the UK would not be “drawn into the wider war”. In a strong rebuke of the US-Israeli assault on Iran, widely seen to have been launched illegally, he said Britain did not believe in “regime change from the skies”.
However, with the war continuing to escalate, the UK has confirmed it is authorising the use of British military bases to strike Iranian missile launchers that are targeting commercial ships in the strait of Hormuz, as my colleagues write here. Previously, UK bases were only being used to strike Iranian sites targeting British allies and interests in Gulf states.
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Countries like the UK should go to strait of Hormuz and 'just take' fuel, Trump says
In a post on Truth Social, the US president, Donald Trump, has suggested that countries like the UK should build up the “courage” to go to the strait of Hormuz and “just take” fuel.
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump said as he criticised countries who “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran”.
He said these countries could buy “jet fuel” from the US, where there is “plenty”, if they are running low on supplies.
“Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!” Trump concluded his social media post by saying. More details soon…
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Our graphics team have produced a useful map showing the location of the Kuwaiti oil tanker – Al-Salmi – hit near Dubai, reportedly by an Iranian strike, on Tuesday (see opening summary for more details):
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said the Al-Salmi was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai port in the UAE, causing a fire onboard and other damage to the vessel.
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Malaysian tankers permitted to pass through the strait of Hormuz will be exempt from paying any tolls imposed by Iran, Malaysia’s transport minister, Anthony Loke, said on Tuesday.
Malaysia said over the weekend that the tankers – owned by petroleum giant Petronas, Sapura Energy and maritime firm MISC – were awaiting clearance to safely sail through the narrow waterway, which has effectively been closed by Tehran as leverage in the war, started by the US and Israel on 28 February.
“No, this is a complete no... The Iranian ambassador (to Malaysia) has mentioned this, no toll being imposed on Malaysian vessels,” Loke told reporters earlier today.
“We are a friendly party. We have a good diplomatic relationship with the Iranian government.”
Loke said it would take time for Malaysian vessels to pass through the strait as “there are many ships that are stranded and anchored there”.
Iran has allowed a trickle of ships through from nations it deems “non-hostile”, such as Thailand, China, Pakistan and India.
An Iranian parliamentary committee yesterday approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz but said ships from the US, Israel and countries that imposed sanctions on Iran would not be permitted (see post at 08.35 for more details).
In an earlier post we brought you pictures following US-Israeli airstrikes on the Husseiniya Azam – a key Shia religious site used for ceremonies and gatherings - in the Iranian city of Zanjan, with damage reportedly caused to parts of the dome and minarets. We can now bring you some more information.
State television said the site “was damaged following the enemy’s morning attack on the Ferdowsi street” in Zanjan, an industrial provincial capital located about 200 miles northwest of Tehran.
The airstrikes killed at least four people and injured 26 others in the area, according ISNA news agency, citing Ali Sadeghi, a provincial deputy governor.
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Dubai’s media office said in a social media post that authorities are responding to an “incident caused by debris from a successful interception that fell on residential houses in southern Dubai, resulting in property damage and minor injuries to four Asian nationals”.
Israel prepared to keep attacking Iran for 'weeks to come', military spokesperson says
We are getting some comments through from the Reuters news agency citing an Israeli military spokesperson saying Israel is prepared for “weeks” more of fighting in its war on Iran, which began on 28 February when joint US-Israeli airstrikes killed the late Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Lt Col Nadav Shoshani told reporters the decision is ultimately up to political leaders, but added: “we are prepared to keep operating for weeks to come. We have the targets for that, the munition for that, the manpower for that, and it’s up to the leadership to decide”.
His comments come after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the assault on Iran was “definitely beyond the halfway point”, later clarifying he meant in terms of “missions” and “not necessarily in terms of time”.
Citing reports, Amnesty International said that as of 27 March at least 1,900 people, including at least 100 Minab schoolchildren, have been killed in Iran as a result of Israeli and US attacks.
The legislation makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism by a military court.
According to the bill, those sentenced to death will be held in a separate facility with no visits except for from authorised personnel, with legal consultations conducted only by video link. Executions will be carried out within 90 days of sentencing.
Israel has rarely used the death penalty, applying it only in exceptional cases. The Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was the last person to be executed, in 1962.
The measure will allow courts to impose the death penalty without a request from prosecutors and without requiring unanimity, instead permitting a simple majority decision. Military courts in the occupied West Bank will also be empowered to hand down death sentences, with the defence minister able to submit an opinion.
For Palestinians under occupation, the bill closes off avenues for appeal or clemency, while prisoners tried inside Israel could have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. You can read more here:
The foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, France and Italy have expressed “deep concern” over an Israeli bill (now passed into law) that would impose the death penalty on Palestinian people convicted of fatal terror attacks.
In a joint statement, shared on X by the British foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, this morning, they said:
We, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, express our deep concern about a bill that would significantly expand the possibilities to impose the death penalty in Israel and that could be voted into law next week.
We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill. The adoption of this bill would risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regards to democratic principles.
The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect. This is why we oppose the death penalty, whatever the circumstances around the world. The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us.
We urge the Israeli decision makers in Knesset and government to abandon these plans.
The statement was published a day before the new law passed its final reading in the Knesset – the Israeli parliament - by 62 votes to 48 on Monday. The measure has been condemned as discriminatory by European countries and rights groups.
The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 32nd day, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks. It said in a post:
Iran’s internet blackout has entered day 32 with most users cut off from the outside world for over 744 hours.
Extended digital isolation is bringing new challenges for Iranians, from expired domains and accounts to unpatched servers on a degrading national intranet.
Those without access to Starlink or alternative ways to communicate – which are often expensive – are cut off, not only from the outside world but the blackout also severely curtails Iranian’s ability to communicate with each other, making mobilisation, for example, much more difficult.
Israel’s emergency services said this morning that eight people with minor injuries were evacuated to hospitals in the Tel Aviv area, where police reported falling munitions fragments after an alert for incoming Iranian missiles.
Six of the injured were treated in the city of Bnei Brak, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service.
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The Iranian Red Crescent Society has said its relief teams have been conducting search and rescue operations following a US-Israeli airstrike on the Husseiniya Azam – a key Shia religious site used for ceremonies and gatherings - in the Iranian city of Zanjan this morning. Here are some pictures taken in the aftermath of the attack:
The UAE’s defence ministry posted to X about half an hour ago saying that its air defences were intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks – and said this activity explained the sounds audible across various parts of the country.
A US-Israeli attack on the Iranian city of Mahallat last night (at about 11pm local time) killed 11 people and injured 15 others, the Tasnim news agency has cited a deputy security officer as having said.
Four residential units were “completely destroyed” in the attack, in which three children were killed, according to the report, which we have not yet been able to independently verify.
Iranian parliamentary committee approves plan to impose tolls on strait of Hormuz - state media
Iranian state media reported yesterday that an Iranian parliamentary committee had approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz.
The strait will be closed to ships from the US, Israel and countries that have been involved in sanctioning Iran, according to a Telegram post from the Fars news agency, which said that Iran will have a “sovereign” role in the implementation of the new system.
The proposal, approved by Iran’s parliament security committee, would reportedly require agreement from other countries next to the strait. It is not clear how much the toll on vessels will be.
The US president, Donald Trump, warned yesterday that if a deal was not struck with Iran – including to reopen the strait of Hormuz shipping lane – US forces would destroy “all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)”.
The strait’s closure has sent global energy prices soaring, including in the US where residents are being hit hard by surging gas prices and farmers face higher fertiliser costs and falling commodity prices.
Two container vessels belonging to the Chinese shipping giant Cosco have successfully passed through the strait of Hormuz as they have exited the Gulf, ship tracking data indicates.
The two vessels were the CSCL Indian Ocean and the CSCL Arctic Ocean. They passed close to the Iranian-controlled island of Larak and are bound for Port Klang in Malaysia.
Iran has effectively blocked the vital waterway but allowed a trickle of ships through from nations it deems “non-hostile”, such as Thailand, China, Pakistan and India.
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Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has said it has intercepted and destroyed ten drones over the past hours, and eight missiles launched towards the Riyadh area and the country’s eastern region.
Early this morning Kuwait said its air defences were responding to hostile missile and drone attacks. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Kuwait said where the drones or missiles came from.
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Interim summary
For those just joining our live coverage of the Middle East war, here’s a snapshot of the latest:
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai. Local authorities later said response teams contained the incident with no oil leakage and that no injuries had been reported
Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.
The Israeli military said four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Two giant Chinese container ships have sailed through the strait of Hormuz on their second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back on Friday, ship-tracking data shows. The transit signals a diplomatic breakthrough between Beijing and Tehran as Iran widens its list of approved nations for transiting the vital route, Lloyd’s List reported.
Indonesia’s foreign minister called for an emergency UN security council meeting and a thorough investigation” into a “heinous attack” after three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in southern Lebanon.
Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Hezbollah in Beirut.
Japan and Indonesia agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.
Two Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, Israeli media reported, with the emergency service saying it had not received reports of any injuries.
Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.
An earlier summary of key developments is here.
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Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Middle East in week five of the war.
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Macron due in Japan for talks dominated by Iran war
French president Emmanuel Macron arrives in Japan on Tuesday for a visit that initially aimed to strengthen partnerships in nuclear energy and space innovation but will now be dominated by the Middle East war.
Macron will hold talks with prime minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday and “the crisis in the Middle East will be at the heart of discussions”, the Élysée Palace said ahead of the trip.
It added that the two leaders would discuss “how we can try to find common solutions”, reports Agence France-Presse.
Japan depends on the Middle East for 95% of its oil imports and has had to dip into strategic stockpiles to temper the impact of rising fuel prices since the start of the war.
Economy and finance ministers of G7 countries, which include France and Japan, said on Monday they stood ready to take “all necessary measures” to ensure the stability of the energy market as they tackled the economic consequences of the war.
Israel finishes 'another wave' of strikes in Tehran
The Israeli military says it has “just completed another wave of strikes” targeting Iranian regime infrastructure in the heart of Tehran.
The post on social media also said the military “continues to deepen the damage” to the infrastructure.
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No oil leakage after Kuwaiti oil tanker attack – authorities
Dubai response teams have successfully contained the incident involving a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters with no oil leakage, authorities say.
The Dubai media office also reiterated no injuries were reported.
Earlier on Monday Iran reportedly carried out a drone attack that set ablaze to a fully loaded crude oil tanker in Dubai waters, while the ship’s owner warned of a possible oil spill.
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Japan and Indonesia have agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.
“In light of the Iran situation, the strategic importance of resources and energy security is once again being recognized globally. Indonesia is a major resource-rich nation,” Takaichi said alongside Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto after they met for talks in Tokyo.
The summit came as the US-Israeli war on Iran squeezes oil and gas supplies vital to Asia.
Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal for power generation, supplying about half of global exports, Reuters reports. It is also a major liquefied natural gas exporter, with roughly a quarter of its shipments bound for Japan.
More now on three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia being killed in two incidents in southern Lebanon: Indonesia’s foreign minister has called for an emergency UN security council meeting and “for a swift, thorough and transparent investigation” into the “heinous attack”.
Sugiono made the call on Tuesday in a post on X after speaking with UN secretary António Guterres.
Israel’s military said it was aware of the reports regarding the two incidents and they were being reviewed thoroughly to determine whether they resulted from the military’s activity or Hezbollah’s.
Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping force (Unifil) said. Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight into Monday when a projectile exploded near one of the group’s positions close to the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr.
In response to the first death, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Monday the deceased peacekeeper was one of its citizens and that three others were injured by “indirect artillery fire”.
Indonesia condemned the incident and said any harm to peacekeepers was unacceptable, while reiterating its condemnation “of Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon”.
Guterres said attacks on peacekeepers were grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.
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Four Israeli soldiers killed in southern Lebanon – IDF
The Israeli military said on Tuesday four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A military statement named three soldiers from the same battalion who “fell during combat” and a separate statement said another soldier – who had not yet been publicly named – had died in the same incident, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, a second statement said.
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Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its impact on the region, the world and the global economy.
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday while Donald Trump warned the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.
The apparent strike on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi is the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Persian Gulf and the strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
Crude oil prices briefly spiked anew after Kuwait’s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2m barrels of oil worth more than $200m at current prices.
Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship’s owner, said work was under way to assess damage and warned of a possible oil spill. Authorities in Dubai later said they had brought the fire under control after a drone attack on the tanker, and that no injuries were reported.
In other key developments:
Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut, leaving black smoke hanging over the Lebanese capital.
Two successive Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, the Times of Israel reported, quoting the emergency service as saying it had not received any reports of injuries.
Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.
Oil prices were headed on Tuesday for a record monthly rise while Asian shares were headed for their steepest fall since 2022, capping a tumultuous month as the war fanned fears of higher inflation and slower growth. Bonds were headed for their largest decline in months, while the dollar recorded its strongest gain in eight months.
The US national average retail price of fuel crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years on Monday, data from price-tracking service GasBuddy showed, as tightening global supplies pushed US crude prices above $101 a barrel.
Three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon.
Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters. , as part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory, even as he pursues talks with Tehran.
The White House later said talks with Iran were progressing and Trump wanted to reach a deal with Tehran before a 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline he had set for Iran to open the largely blocked strait of Hormuz oil route.
Trump had told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the strait or Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal later reported.
Iran said on Monday it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries and that they were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.
