Gas prices soar, Tehran blasts US‑Israeli ‘war criminals’ over civilian strikes (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

31 March 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone call with his Emirati counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with both leaders expressing “serious concern” over the worsening military‑political situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin has said. They emphasized the importance of a rapid end to hostilities and intensified political‑diplomatic efforts that take into account the “legitimate interests of all states in the region.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reportedly said Iran was attacked twice “during negotiations,” arguing that this shows the US “does not believe in diplomacy.” According to remarks reported by Al Jazeera Arabic, Pezeshkian said tensions in the Strait of Hormuz stem from “American‑Zionist hostile actions” against Iran and criticized what he called Europe’s biased stance toward Tehran in a phone call with European Council President Antonio Costa.

After a month of death and destruction, a lighthearted moment: Iranian Red Crescent rescuers save a cat trapped under rubble after US-Israeli strikes. It looks like the cat escaped dusty but unhurt.

Iranian Red Crescent volunteers have risked life and limb to save civilian lives since the conflict began. One month in, two volunteers have been killed and 17 injured.

The UK is sending extra air‑defense systems and personnel to the Middle East, raising the number of British troops involved in “defending” the Gulf and Cyprus to around 1,000, Defence Secretary John Healey has said. On a visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, he announced the deployment of Sky Sabre missiles to Saudi Arabia, a short‑range system to Bahrain and a Rapid Sentry to Kuwait, while extending the use of RAF Typhoon jets in Qatar. Britain will take only “defensive action” and “not get drawn into” the war, Healey claimed.

Pakistan’s emergence as a mediator between Iran and the US is “not a coincidence,” Jamal Aziz, executive director of the Research Society of International Law, has told RT. 

Speaking from Islamabad, he said Pakistan has “dual access to both Tehran and Washington,” deep cultural and religious ties with Iran and long‑standing military and diplomatic channels with the US, as well as “skin in the game” because its economy is highly vulnerable to an energy shock. 

Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that Islamabad is “happy” that both sides have reportedly agreed to talks it will facilitate “in the coming days,” following a meeting with his Turkish, Egyptian, and Saudi counterparts.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) offices in Tehran have suffered damage after bombs fell in the vicinity over the past two nights, organization chief Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus has said.

“Strikes impacting the operations and damaging the premises of WHO and other agencies, the locations of which have been clearly identified, cannot be tolerated and must be avoided at all costs,” he warned.

It is unclear if the attacks were of Israeli or American origin, but this isn’t the first time that the WHO has been threatened during Israel’s seven-front regional war. Ghebreyesus himself narrowly avoided death when Israeli missiles hit Yemen’s Sana’a Airport as his plane was departing in 2024. One crew member aboard the plane was injured and two airport staff killed.

Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, has said that Moscow “decisively condemns” the Israeli strike that injured RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity in southern Lebanon on March 19, calling it a “grave violation of international law” and a deliberate hindrance to journalists’ work. Speaking at an emergency Security Council meeting over attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon, he described the incident as part of a “dangerous trend” of the IDF targeting media on the ground.

Iran’s national football team has paid tribute to victims of the US‑Israeli campaign ahead of a match against Costa Rica, holding up images of sailors killed on the warship ‘Dena’, Red Crescent workers, firefighters, and staff from destroyed sports venues and historical sites. Footage published by Tasnim news agency shows players standing in silence on the pitch as they display the photographs before kickoff.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will begin striking American tech companies in the region as of April 1, the military force has said in a statement to Iranian media.

”These companies should expect the destruction of their affiliated units for every terrorist act carried out in Iran, starting at 8pm Tehran time on Wednesday,” the statement read. Among the 18 firms on the IRGC’s target list are Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla, and Boeing.

Iran has already attacked Amazon data centers in the UAE and Bahrain, and designated the 18 companies as “potential targets” earlier this month.

More than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria in less than a month since hostilities intensified, the UN Refugee Agency has said. The arrivals are exhausted and traumatized and urgently need food, shelter, health care, and legal support, according to UNHCR.

Israel airstrikes continue to pound Beirut, with an enormous explosion captured on video in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh. There have been no immediate casualty reports, but the building appears to be a residential apartment block. 

China and Pakistan just issued a joint statement calling for a ceasefire and the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The five-part proposal calls for peace talks that safeguard the “sovereignty, territorial integrity, national independence, and security of Iran and the Gulf states,” for the protection of civilians, and the primacy of the UN charter.

Iran has allowed some Chinese and Pakistani ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, with Islamabad on Saturday securing a deal to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass through the vital waterway. Beijing announced on Monday that three of its ships had recently sailed through the strait.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has vowed that “all houses in villages near the Lebanese border will be destroyed,” saying Israel will apply the “model used in Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza” to permanently remove threats to its northern communities.  As quoted by Reuters, Katz said the IDF will create a security zone inside Lebanon and maintain control over all territory up to the Litani River, adding that some 600,000 displaced people will not be allowed to return south of the river “until the safety and security of residents of northern Israel is guaranteed.”

Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah in early March, after the Lebanese‑based militants began firing on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US‑Israeli strike.

Hegseth’s far less coherent when it comes to the big question: will the US put boots on the ground in Iran?

”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!” he declares. “So if we needed to, we could…or maybe we don’t have to use them at all…the point is to be unpredictable.”

The bigger question is whether this is tactical ambiguity, or whether the US really has no endgame in mind.

Israel will no longer purchase weapons from France, over Paris’ supposedly “hostile stance” toward the Jewish state, Israeli Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram has told Channel 12 news.

The decision comes two years after France imposed an arms embargo on Israel over the war in Gaza, and two days after France refused to allow the US to transport arms to Israel through its airspace.

France’s defense exports to Israel have fallen dramatically since the 2023 embargo. In 2024, Paris authorized around 200 dual-use export licenses to Israel worth around €76 million – a 60% drop on the previous year.

Throughout his speech, Hegseth is equal parts televangelist and Navy Seal podcaster. He tells tales of “the American warfighter unleashed” and anecdotes of troops requesting “even more bombs and more targets,” before calling on Jesus Christ to wrap American servicemen in his “almighty and eternal arms of providence.”

It’s a uniquely American form of communication: Russia’s defense chiefs speak of war in terms of objectives captured, enemy troops and equipment destroyed; Hegseth sermonizes about the “chill in the air on the flight deck” at sunset.

It’s lofty speech for a war that has mostly involved the US lobbing standoff munitions into Iran from a relatively safe distance.

At least 1,268 people have been killed and 3,750 wounded in Lebanon since the start of Israeli attacks on March 2, according to the nation’s Health Ministry. The toll covers strikes across the country as Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in the south of the country intensifies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Israel of “openly and unashamedly bombing pharmaceutical companies,” calling its leaders “war criminals” in a post on X and sharing a photo of a heavily damaged drug plant. Tehran claims that production lines of a major producer of cancer, anesthesia and specialty medicines were hit in Tuesday’s US‑Israeli strikes.

European Council President Antonio Costa has called for “de‑escalation and restraint” in a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, saying the situation in the Middle East is “extremely dangerous.” He urged an end to attacks on countries in the region and called for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran says only vessels from “friendly” countries will be allowed to transit the waterway.

Hegseth is continuing with his military blog-speak: “I witnessed lethality. I met a junior airmen, as the sun was going down and the chill was setting on the tarmac, who when asked what the needed, she simply looked up at me and said, ‘more bombs sir, and bigger bombs’. We will happily provide [them to] her.”

Speaking about the US‑Israeli air campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, Hegseth praised the forces involved, saying he had “witnessed a brotherhood of warriors united in their love” and “sheer competency.” He recalled visiting a command center where “the room was locked in,” adding that he put on a headset and spoke to a bomber crew in the cockpit “locked and loaded.”

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has claimed that “regime change in Iran has occurred,” telling a press conference that “this new regime should be wiser than the last.” He warned that “if Iran is not willing, then the US War Department will continue with even more intensity.”

Donald Trump has expressed frustration over the reluctance of European nations to support the US-Israeli war on Iran, saying that Washington will not be helping them with obtaining oil anymore.

“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the US, we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” the president wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The president also mentioned France, which “wouldn’t let planes headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory,” saying that it is “very unhelpful” and that the US “will remember” it.

Arab nations could lose between $120 billion and $194 billion in GDP as a result of disruption from the US-Israeli war on Iran, a study by the UN Development Program has found.

The conflict could end up costing some 3.6 million jobs and pushing as many as 4 million people in the region into poverty, the authors of the paper warned.

“A short-lived military escalation in the Middle East could generate profound and widespread socio-economic impacts across the Arab States region,” with much harsher consequences if the fighting drags on, they said.

An image has been published on social media purporting to show the damage done to Kuwaiti oil tanker the Al-Salmi from an attack by an Iranian drone. The vessel was hit in the port of Dubai overnight and caught fire. The blaze was extinguished after several hours.

Moscow remains ready to provide mediation and other assistance for a diplomatic settlement in the Middle East conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

"We consider the use of military force against civilians and civilian infrastructure unacceptable, no matter if they are located in Iran or in the Gulf Cooperation Council states, which are also experiencing serious and negative consequences of this situation,” Lavrov stressed.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with his Iranian counterpart, Ishaq Dar, in Beijing later on Tuesday to discuss ways to settle the Middle East conflict, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has said.

She expressed belief that the two diplomats “will strengthen strategic communication and coordination on international and regional issues... such as the situation in Iran, jointly call for peace and justice, and make a new effort… to stop the war and maintain regional peace and stability.”

The spokeswoman condemned the Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, arguing that they violate the UN Charter and undermine efforts to maintain the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

"China firmly opposes this, advocating a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means, and calls on all parties to remain calm and restrained to avoid further escalation,” Mao said.

Inflation in the Euro area is expected rise to 2.5% in March from 1.9% in February amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, has announced.

The average gas prices in the US has hit $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). They are now higher than at any point during US President Donald Trump’s two terms.

The prices have surged since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28, rising by about $1 per gallon over the past month.

A fire that started aboard a Kuwaiti oil tanker in the port of Dubai after an attack by an Iranian drone has been contained, the local authorities have said. There were no oil leaks or injuries as a result of the incident, they added.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said earlier that the ship, Al-Salmi, had been fully loaded with crude, and that the attack damaged its hull and caused a major blaze.

The Dalai Lama has published an open letter on X, calling for an end to the fighting in the Middle East and in the Ukraine conflict. International crises should be resolved through “dialogue, diplomacy and mutual respect — approached with the understanding that, at the deepest level, we are all brothers and sisters,” the Buddhist spiritual leader argued.

Eight people were lightly wounded as a result of an Iranian missile attack on central Israel, the emergencies services have said.

Explosions have been reported in the cities of Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, and Petah Tikva.

The golden dome and minaret of the Azam Husseiniya religious center in the city of Zanjan in northwestern Iran have been damaged in a US-Israeli airstrike, Fars has reported.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society has published photos of rescuers looking for survivors in the rubble at the site of the attack.

The funeral of IRGC navy chief Admiral Alireza Tangsiri has been held in the port city of Bandar Abbas in southeast Iran.

Tehran confirmed Tangsiri’s death on Monday. Israel said previously that the admiral, who had led the navy since 2018, had been killed in an airstrike last week.

Trump has told his aides that he is willing to end the US military operation against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely shut, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing administration officials.

Trump’s team has come to the conclusion that reopening the waterway would go beyond his four- to six-week timeline for the mission and should be addressed at a later stage, the sources said.

The president has decided to focus on degrading Iran’s missile capabilities and navy, before trying to pressure Tehran diplomatically to restore the movement of oil via the strait, they claimed.

The average price of a gallon of gas in Utah has risen above $4.20 amid fuel shortages caused by the conflict in the Middle East, local media outlets have reported. That is 22 cents higher than the national average in the US.

The American Automobile Association earlier recommended that drivers in the state only use regular gas instead of premium, remove unnecessary weight from their vehicles and avoid excessive idling.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has criticized Spain for barring US forces from using bases in the country for attacks against Iran. Overall, the lack of support from NATO members during the conflict has been “disappointing,” Rubio added.

"I’ve been a big supporter of NATO and one of the reasons why… is because I believe that these basing rights give us leverage and give us flexibility in operational capability all over the world. But if NATO is just about us defending Europe if they’re attacked but then denying us basing rights when we need them, that’s not a very good arrangement,” Rubio told Al Jazeera.

Washington is currently focused on the conflict with Tehran, but once this is concluded then US ties with the bloc are “going to have to be reexamined,” Rubio warned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war on Iran has achieved more than half of its objectives, but declined to give a timeline for its completion.

“It’s definitely beyond the halfway point, but I don’t want to put a schedule on it,” Netanyahu said in an interview with US broadcaster Newsmax.

He added that he was referring to progress “in terms of missions, not necessarily in terms of time,” and expressed his belief that the Iranian “regime will collapse internally.”

The Gulf nations, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are privately urging US President Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, AP has reported, citing US, Gulf and Israeli officials.

Saudi and Emirati officials as well as their counterparts from Kuwait and Bahrain argue that Iran has not been weakened enough by the month-long bombing campaign, it said.

The belief in Riyadh is that if the conflict ends now, it will not lead to a “good deal” that would guarantee security for the region, a Saudi diplomat told the agency.

Oman and Qatar have favored a diplomatic solution to the crisis, the report read.

Iranian media reported a missile strike on the American University of Iraq in Sulaymaniyah, in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had earlier threatened to target US and Israeli universities in the region in response to an Israeli strike on Imam Hossein University in Tehran. The Israeli army described the facility in the Iranian capital as “one of the IRGC’s central military infrastructure sites.”

Four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday, marking the largest single-day loss since the Iran war broke out. Three of the fallen service members were from the Nahal Brigade.

Israel has lost eight soldiers since March 2, all during combat operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Strait of Hormuz would “be open one way or another,” arguing that Iran would eventually “abide by international law and not block the commercial waterway.”

Otherwise, “a coalition of nations from around the world and the region, with the participation of the United States, will make sure that it’s open,” Rubio told Al Jazeera.

“Very little of American energy comes through the Strait of Hormuz in terms of the energy we rely on, but we recognize the impact that it has on global markets and on our neighbors, especially our allies in the region who produce energy and have to get it out to market,” Rubio said.

Another video appears to show airstrikes in Iran’s Isfahan. 

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has released footage of strikes on targets in Iran.

CENTCOM said the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli has arrived in the Indian Ocean. The vessel is part of the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, which carries around 2,200 Marines.

30 March 2026

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Monday that a projectile struck a tanker 31 nautical miles off Dubai in the UAE. “The crew are accounted for and safe. No environmental impact has been reported,” UKMTO added.

The Dubai Media Office later confirmed that a Kuwaiti oil tanker had been struck by a drone.

New airstrikes were reported in Iran in the early hours of Tuesday. A video posted on social media appears to show reddish smoke rising over Isfahan in central Iran.

Speaking to Newsmax, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that Arab states could “divert” oil and gas pipelines from the Persian Gulf, “where the Iranians have a geographic chokepoint,” to the Red Sea and Mediterranean ports, including those in Israel. Iran has closed the vital waterway to ships from Western countries since the war broke out on February 28.

In the same interview, Netanyahu argued that Europe was underestimating the threat from Iran’s ballistic missiles. “The question is: will the West wake up?” he said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had killed Hamza Ibrahim Rakin, a senior Hezbollah commander whose unit operates in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon.

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told RT that Tehran is open to dialogue with the US under “proper conditions.”

Jalali dismissed President Donald Trump’s claims that his team has been negotiating with Iran in recent days as “completely false.” Trump is “almost sitting in front of a mirror negotiating with himself,” the diplomat said.

Iranian officials have stressed that Iran did not start the war but would end the hostilities on its own terms.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reiterated Tehran’s stance that it has no issues with Saudi Arabia whatsoever, calling it a “brotherly nation” and urging Riyadh to expel US forces stationed in the country.  

“Our operations are aimed at enemy aggressors who have no respect for Arabs or Iranians and cannot provide any security. Just look at what we did to their aerial command,” Araghchi wrote on X.

The United Arab Emirates will extend remote schooling for students across the country for another two weeks, the country’s Education Ministry has announced. The measure was rolled out early in the hostilities and has been repeatedly extended.

If you’re just tuning in, the White House press secretary provided several updates on the ongoing US-Iran negotiations.

She was asked about President Donald Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iran’s energy sources if a deal to end the war is not reached and if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

Iraqi children have donated a missile mockup with cash strapped to its body at a fundraising event in support of Tehran, footage being circulated in the Iranian media shows.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has participated in an online meeting with the foreign ministers of Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Jordan. The meeting was also attended by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiw.  

The discussion focused on the situation in the Middle East, with the Russian top diplomat reiterating Moscow’s position that “a resolution to the conflict, caused by the unprovoked and senseless aggression of the United States and Israel against Iran, is possible only through political and diplomatic means,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reiterated his stance that the UK will not get directly involved into the US-Israeli attack on Iran. While Britain has been providing logistical support to the US military, which has used British airbases for strategic aviation bombing runs, as well as deploying fighter jets to fend off Iranian long-range strikes, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly berated London and Starmer personally over the lack of “help.” 

Asked about the prospect joining the Americans in a potential ground invasion of Iran, the PM firmly ruled out such a scenario.  

“This is not our war, and we’re not going to get drawn into it. What we have done is taken defensive action: so we’ve had our pilots up in the air since an hour or two after this war started, defending British lives, British interests, and, of course, our allies in the region.”

US President Donald Trump is looking into making the Gulf states bankroll the US-Israeli attack on Iran, Karoline Leavitt has said. The White House press secretary made the remarks during a briefing after a reporter invoked the First Gulf War when the “vast majority of the cost” was footed by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. 

“Well, I think it’s something the president would be quite interested in calling them to do. I won’t get ahead of him on that. But certainly it’s an idea that I know that he has and something that I think you’ll hear more from him on,” she stated.

The true goal of Vladimir Zelensky’s tour to the Middle East was to promote a Ukrainian tried-and-tested corruption scheme to embezzle funds meant for weapons procurement, an informed source with Russian security services has told TASS.

The scheme was allegedly run by the Ukrainian leadership and the US Democratic Party, who received kickbacks in return for securing more weaponry and funding, the source claimed. The black money was ultimately used by the party to bankroll election campaigns, including those of Joe Biden and some European politicians, the source added.

Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Russia, has said that as of now Iran “doesn’t need any negotiations,” but remains a “rational player” that is “not looking for war.” Speaking on RT’s ‘Sanchez Effect’, he said that Tehran has “never denied peace talks,” but insisted there must be “proper conditions” before any dialogue can begin.   

Jalali said Israel had told Russian President Vladimir Putin it did not intend to attack Iran but then “didn’t keep its word,” and accused Washington of striking Iran twice during previous negotiation rounds. He outlined Tehran’s minimum conditions for talks as a “sustainable peace” to start negotiations, clear identification and punishment of the aggressor, and compensation for wartime damage, saying that some losses, such as the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “cannot be compensated.”

The White House aimed to present a favorable view of indirect negotiations between the US and Iran on Monday. It suggested that negative public statements from Tehran did not accurately represent the private communications occurring between the two parties.

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated that the US presented its suggestions for halting the conflict, but they contain “largely excessive, unrealistic, and unreasonable demands,” contradicting Trump’s earlier claims that Iran had agreed to “most of” the requests on the list.

”It’s no surprise that we are seeing the remaining elements of the regime become increasingly eager to end the destruction and come to the negotiating table while they still can,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday after claiming that the US military was making progress in the war.

Iran’s sustained missile and drone barrages are putting heavy pressure on US and Gulf air defenses, with regional states having fired at least 2,400 interceptor missiles since the latest Middle East escalation, a figure close to their known pre‑war stockpiles, Bloomberg has reported. Despite intense US‑Israeli airstrikes, Iran has launched almost 1,200 ballistic missiles and around 4,000 Shahed‑type drones and cruise missiles at Gulf targets since February 28, forcing allies to rely heavily on Patriot and other high‑end interceptors, the outlet wrote. This has reportedly sparked concerns that Washington may need to divert weapons earmarked for Ukraine to the region.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told his Gulf counterparts that the conflict sparked by the “unprovoked and senseless aggression” of the US and Israel against Iran must be resolved “exclusively by political and diplomatic means,” with full respect for the legitimate interests of all regional states. According to a Foreign Ministry transcript of his video conference with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Lavrov voiced support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Gulf monarchies. He warned them not to allow themselves to be compelled to play an active role in the fighting, noting the risk to their civilian energy infrastructure, and pledged to maintain close coordination, including in the UN, to secure a ceasefire and prevent the conflict from spreading.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has condemned a deadly attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, saying “a new red line was crossed” after one Blue Helmet was killed and three others wounded. In a post on X, he demanded clarity on the origin of the projectile, called on the Israeli government to halt hostilities, and said assaults on UN peace missions are an “unjustifiable aggression against the entire international community.”

Two peacekeepers from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were killed in southern Lebanon on Monday when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan, according to a statement from the UN mission.

Two other peacekeepers were injured, one of them severely, according to UNIFIL. The mission described it as the second fatal incident involving its personnel in the past 24 hours.

Lebanon has requested that Ukraine’s embassy in Beirut expel a man seeking refuge there, who is suspected of collaborating with Israel’s Mossad spy agency, according to a senior security official and a source from Hezbollah, as reported by AFP.

The Hezbollah source indicated that a Syrian-Palestinian national, who also possesses Ukrainian citizenship, was detained in September after parking a motorbike on a road leading to Beirut International Airport, which passes through the southern suburbs of the city – an area where Iran-backed fighters maintain a de facto security presence.

The motorbike “was planted with an explosive device disguised as a battery,” the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss security issues.

Hezbollah held the man until Israel started its strikes on Lebanon.

Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Russia, has dismissed Trump’s claims that Tehran is negotiating with Washington, calling them “completely false.” In an interview on RT’s ‘Sanchez Effect’, he said Iranian officials have repeatedly denied any talks and added that, as some Americans have sarcastically written, Trump is “almost sitting in front of a mirror negotiating with himself.” Jalali argued that Washington is talking up negotiations to undermine Iran’s internal unity and “control energy prices,” while at the same time Trump and Netanyahu are “planning how to strike Iran.”

Tino Chrupalla, the co-leader of Germany’s AfD, has urged Berlin to demand the withdrawal of US troops from the country over the war on Iran, saying Germany should follow Spain’s example and stay out of the conflict. Speaking at a party conference in Saxony, he praised Madrid for “blocking its bases for the Iran war” and “not interfering in this war.” Spain has closed its airspace to flights involved in the US‑Israeli campaign and barred the use of its Rota and Morón bases by participating warplanes, while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has branded the assault on Iran an “illegal war” and called for an end to hostilities.

Wall Street’s main indices opened higher on Monday after falling in the previous session following Trump’s threats to “obliterate” Iran’s energy facilities if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. The Dow Jones gained about 0.26% at the open, the S&P 500 rose 0.54% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.71%, with all three benchmarks starting the week strong despite the ongoing war and market volatility.

Exports from Iraq’s Kirkuk oil fields have resumed via the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, as well as overland routes, the head of state energy firm SOMO has said. He added that Baghdad is studying offers from local and international shippers to move crude through its southern border crossings.  

Global oil prices remain elevated, with Brent trading around $115 a barrel and up more than 55% so far in March, putting the benchmark on track for its steepest monthly rise on record amid the Iran war and repeated threats against the country’s energy infrastructure.

Iran’s embassies in the UK and South Africa have mocked the possibility of US troop deployments to the Middle East, with the London mission writing on X that “the US coffin industry is about to have a golden age” and coining the slogan “Make American Coffin Industry Great Again (#MACIGA)” under a photo of US soldiers in a transport plane. The embassy in Pretoria posted a cartoon of a Stars‑and‑Stripes‑covered casket, commenting that “they are hammering the nails into their own coffin.”

The Turkish Defense Ministry says a ballistic projectile allegedly fired from Iran entered Turkish airspace but was intercepted by NATO air and missile defense assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean. In a statement on X, the ministry said all threats to the country’s territory and airspace are being met with “firm and unequivocal” measures, and that developments in the region are being closely monitored with national security as the priority.

The war on Iran has fractured the political coalition that helped return Trump to power, The Atlantic has reported, writing that “the broad coalition that put him back in the White House no longer appears to exist” and that, for many supporters, Trump has become “just another unreliable politician.” The publication later changed the headline of its piece to ‘The Manosphere Turns on Trump.’

Iran will face “severe consequences” if it tries to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed once the current military operation ends, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned in an interview with Al Jazeera. He said the key waterway “will reopen one way or another,” either with Iran’s consent or through an international military coalition that includes the US, claiming that Washington’s objectives will be achieved “within weeks, not months.”

Rubio also insisted that “the Iranian regime can never acquire nuclear weapons,” accusing Tehran of using short‑range missiles to threaten Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Tehran has long insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, Iranian lawmakers now say they are considering withdrawing from the 1968 Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty, arguing that Tehran “cannot simultaneously adhere to the rules of the game and be bombed.”

The EU has extended sanctions over what it calls “human rights violations in Iran” for another year, according to a press release from the European Council. The measures targeting the Islamic Republic include travel bans and asset freezes, as well as a ban on exporting equipment that could be used for “internal repression or telecommunications monitoring,” and now apply to 262 individuals and 53 entities.

Satellite images reportedly show fires at two pump stations on the Habshan–Fujairah pipeline, a key route that carries crude to the port of Fujairah in the UAE and bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. According to media reports, the incident could indicate that Iran is seeking to target alternative export corridors used by US allies to avoid the contested waterway.

The US war against Iran has cost more than $35 billion in just 30 days, according to the Iran War Cost Tracker, which says it is using figures drawn from Pentagon briefings to Congress. The estimate suggests the campaign has already exceeded NASA’s entire annual budget, which stands at about $24.4 billion for the 2026 fiscal year.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has confirmed that the country’s parliament is discussing Tehran’s possible withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Remaining a party to the 1968 accord is questionable for Iran when “bullies” like the US and Israel are preventing it from using the rights and benefits that it offers, he said.

“Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and is not doing so now,” Baqaei stressed.

According to tracking data from MarineTraffic, two large Chinese‑owned container ships, CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean, crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday in what the service described as the “first confirmed transit” by major container carriers since the start of the conflict. Both vessels reportedly list Chinese ownership and crews in AIS records and are currently bound for Port Klang, Malaysia, on COSCO’s MEX service linking the Middle East with the Far East.

Apparently poking fun at Trump, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has reported on X that Tehran has “responded positively” to the US president’s threats and reopened the Strait of Hormuz – but only for two Chinese oil tankers.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that Iran’s “threats” to control the Strait of Hormuz and create a “tolling system” “are not going to be allowed to happen.” In a post on X, he claimed there is “a way forward” to achieve US objectives in the conflict “in a matter of weeks, not months.”

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has pleaded with Donald Trump to stop the war with Iran, warning that fears of oil going beyond $200 per barrel could materialize if the fighting drags on.

“I tell President Trump: nobody can stop the war in our region in the Gulf but you. Please, Mr. President, please. Please help us stop the war. You are capable of doing so,” el-Sissi said at Egypt Energy Show 2026 in Cairo.

Donald Trump has once again threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants and oil infrastructure if it doesn’t unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington is in “serious discussions” with the new, “more reasonable” authorities in Tehran about achieving an end to the fighting, he claimed.

"But, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached… we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched,’” the president warned.

The Gulf states will be making “a very disastrous miscalculation” by accepting military assistance from Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has said in response to a question from RT.

"The countries in the region that he has traveled to are certainly smarter than to allow themselves to be persuaded by someone who has exposed his own country to a destructive war over the past four years, bringing such tragedies on the good people of Ukraine,” Baqaei said during a briefing.

Zelensky visited the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar last week and signed defense agreements with them, including on cooperation in using Kiev’s experience in the field of air-defense obtained during the conflict with Moscow to counter missiles and drones fired by Iran.

Spain has closed its airspace to all flights involved in the US-Israeli war on Iran, El Pais has reported, citing military sources.

Madrid is prohibiting the use of its military bases in Rota and Moron de la Frontera by fighter jets and air-air refueling aircraft participating in the strikes, the paper said.

It is also denying airspace access to American warplanes stationed in third countries such as the UK or France, according to the sources.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been the most vocal critic of the attack on Iran in the EU, branding it an “illegal war” and urging an end to hostilities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, have held a telephone call during which they discussed energy issues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Peskov confirmed that Russia is eager to remain a reliable energy supplier to “any international markets,” including European ones.

"We are particularly committed to our obligations towards friendly and fraternal countries such as Serbia,” he stressed.

The US military used its new short-range ballistic missile, the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), in a strike on a sports hall and nearby buildings in the southern Iranian city of Lamerd on February 28, according to a New York Times investigation based on expert analysis of footage.

The report said the PrSM, which completed testing in 2025 and had not previously been used in combat, may have been involved in the attack, though it remained unclear whether any damage to civilian structures was the result of a targeting error or technical malfunction. The site of the strike was located near a military facility, the newspaper added.

The Lamerd incident was part of a broader wave of US-Israeli strikes launched on February 28, marking the opening day of the war. In a separate strike the same day, a girls school in the city of Minab, also in southern Iran, was hit, killing around 175 people, most of them children.

Washington has not formally acknowledged responsibility for either strike. The Pentagon has said it is reviewing the incidents and maintains that US forces do not deliberately target civilians. Iran has condemned the attacks as war crimes and insists civilian sites were deliberately targeted.

The IDF should reverse its decision to suspend the 941st Reserve Battalion over mistreatment of journalists, the head of the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Boaz Bismuth, has argued.

“This is a wrong move that harms the troops and gives a boost to narratives against the IDF,” he said in an appeal to Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir.

The suspension was announced on Sunday following an incident last week in the village of Tayasir in the occupied West Bank.

A CNN team covering the aftermath of an attack on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the area ended up being held by Israeli troops for several hours.

During the detention, a soldier placed CNN photojournalist Cyril Theophilos in a chokehold, forcing him to the ground and damaging his camera, according to the broadcaster.

An oil refinery in the Israeli city of Haifa has caught fire following attacks from Iran and Hezbollah, the Kan broadcaster has reported.

A total of 6,008 people have been wounded in Israel by retaliatory strikes from Iran and attacks by Hezbollah since February 28, the Israeli Health Ministry has said. In the past 24 hours alone, 232 have required hospitalization, it added

The death toll in Israel stands at 15 people, according to the country’s ambulance service.

At least 1,900 people have so far been killed and 20,000 others injured in Iran as a result of the US-Israeli bombing campaign, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Friday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has confirmed the death of its navy chief, Alireza Tangsiri.

"Our nation has become accustomed to these martyrdoms… and will continue on its path with greater strength,” it said in a statement. Iranian sailors have “kept delivering decisive blows and maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz in the absence of their wise commander in recent days,” it added.

Israel said that Tangsiri, who had led the navy since 2018, was killed in an airstrike last Thursday.

Footage from RT shows Israeli strikes in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Iran could withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) because further participation has become pointless after the attack by the US and Israel, MP Alaeddin Borujerdi, who sits on the parliament’s National Security Committee, has said.

Tehran is “not seeking to develop a nuclear bomb, but we cannot simultaneously adhere to the rules of the game and be bombed,” he argued.

“Ultimately, the time has come to withdraw from the NPT,” Borujerdi said.

Iran will be taking payments from ships going through the Strait of Hormuz in line with a law being prepared by the country’s parliament, high-ranking MP Alaeddin Borujerdi has said.

Under the “new regime,” vessels would only be able to use the waterway with permission from Tehran, which will be providing security in the area, Borujerdi, who is a member of the parliament's National Security Committee, explained.

The Philippines’ sole oil refinery, Petron, has announced that it has secured almost 2.5 million barrels of crude oil from Russia.

The move was made after at least 4 million barrels in shipments were canceled since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February, the company explained.

Russian oil is needed to keep the refinery running because its shutdown “would lead to serious nationwide fuel shortages and sharp price spikes,” it added.

A US military base in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia has been targeted by drones, Iran’s Fars news agency has reported, citing Arab sources.

There have also been explosions at ports in Kuwait, with plumes of smoke rising from the impact sites, according to the agency.

Iran has executed two men for plotting armed attacks in Tehran using improvised launcher devices, the Iranian judiciary news outlet has said.

The defendants, who had links with the banned People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, were sentenced to death after being found guilty of various terrorism-related offenses.

The men had appealed the ruling, but it was upheld by a higher court and they were hanged, the outlet said.

The IDF has warned of a new wave of missiles launched at Israel from Iran.

”Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” it said, telling residents to enter shelters and remain there until further notice.

New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis has warned that inflation in the country “will go much higher this year” than the current 3.1% and “stay out of our target band” if the conflict in the Middle East drags on and leads to the further disruption of supply chains.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Wellington is currently considering buying Russian oil, provided it is reified outside the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to expand its offensive in southern Lebanon, saying he had instructed forces to “further expand the existing security buffer zone” and was determined to “fundamentally change the situation in the north.” 

The announcement comes as Israeli troops advance on multiple fronts toward the Litani River in a bid to push back Hezbollah, which entered the wider Iran war last week with retaliatory strikes following the killing of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The Israeli Home Front Command has again urged residents to seek shelter after the IDF detected missiles launched from Iran.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said one Indonesian peacekeeper was killed and three others were injured while serving with UNIFIL in southern Lebanon after indirect artillery fire near Adchit Al Qusayr on March 29.

“Indonesia reiterates its condemnation of Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon and calls on all parties to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, cease attacks against civilian populations and infrastructure, and return to dialogue and diplomacy to prevent further escalation and advance peace,” it said, demanding a “thorough and transparent investigation.”

President Trump is considering launching a military raid on Iranian nuclear sites to extract some 450 kilograms of enriched uranium believed to be stored there, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous US officials.

While the US president has yet to make a final decision or give the order, he “remains generally open to the idea,” despite the risks such a raid would pose to American troops, the publication wrote.

In a brief post on Truth Social, President Trump has touted a “big day in Iran.”

“Many long sought after targets have been taken out and destroyed by our GREAT MILITARY, the finest and most lethal in the World. God bless you all!” he wrote.

Israel has announced a new wave of airstrikes against “military infrastructure across Tehran.”

The US president told reporters aboard Air Force One that Washington was negotiating with Iran “directly and indirectly” and that the talks were going “extremely well.”

“They are gonna do everything that we want them to do. And you know what? They are gonna go on and maybe have a great country again. But if they don’t do that, they’re not gonna have a country,” Trump said.

“I think we’ll make a deal with them, I’m pretty sure. But it’s possible we won’t,” he added.

President Trump said his “preference” would be for Washington to fully control Tehran’s oil industry and exports, as it did in Venezuela following a military raid in January.

Following the US military raid on Venezuela that kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and installed a friendlier government in Caracas, Trump vowed to control the country’s oil industry “indefinitely.”

Washington has imposed control over Venezuelan crude exports, with proceeds deposited into restricted US Treasury-run accounts rather than going directly to the Venezuelan state. The country’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has also agreed to sell some $100 million worth of physical gold to the US, with the proceeds similarly controlled by Washington.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said one of the country’s power generation and water distillation plants was damaged in what it described as an attack as part of the “largest Iranian aggression” against Kuwait.

“A service building at a power and water desalination plant was attacked as part of the Iranian aggression against the State of Kuwait, resulting in the death of an Indian worker and significant material damage to the building,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Officials said technical and emergency teams were deployed immediately under approved contingency plans to manage the aftermath and maintain operations, while coordinating with security authorities to secure the affected site.

Tehran has yet to comment or claim responsibility for the strike. Iran had previously promised tit-for-tat retaliation for attacks on its infrastructure, vowing to strike similar US-linked facilities in the region.

Donald Trump reiterated his claim that talks with Tehran, conducted with the help of Pakistani “emissaries,” were going well, insisting that a “deal could be made fairly quickly.”

Last week, Iran agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz, in what Islamabad’s foreign minister hailed as a “welcome and constructive gesture” and a “harbinger of peace.”

Trump again attempted to portray the move as a “gift” to him personally, saying: “Now they’re giving 20, and the 20 have already started, and they’re going right up the middle of the Strait.”

However, officials in Tehran have consistently insisted that the strategic waterway was never closed to friendly nations, including Pakistan, provided they coordinate their passage with the Iranian armed forces.

President Trump claimed that Washington had already carried out a “regime change” in Tehran after US-Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and numerous other top Iranian officials over the past month.

“The people we’re dealing with are a totally different group of people,” Trump told the Financial Times, describing them as “very professional.

President Donald Trump told the Financial Times that he wants to “take the oil in Iran” and does not rule out the possibility of US forces seizing the country’s key export hub on Kharg Island.

“To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” Trump said in an interview on Sunday.

“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump added. “It would also mean we had to be there [on Kharg Island] for a while.”

The US president dismissed the possibility that Tehran would put up a fierce fight, saying: “I don’t think they have any defence. We could take it very easily.”

29 March 2026

Several videos circulating online purportedly show a facility belonging to the Tabriz Petrochemical Company on fire in northwestern Iran.

The international benchmark Brent crude has surged above $115 a barrel, starting the week more than 3% higher as Asian markets opened and roughly 50% above its level before the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran more than a month ago.

The main US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, has also crossed the psychological threshold and was trading at about $103.13 a barrel.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said a peacekeeper was killed and another critically injured after a projectile exploded at a UN position near Adchit Al Qusayr overnight, in one of the deadliest incidents involving the mission in recent months.

The UN force said it does not yet know the origin of the projectile and has opened an investigation into the circumstances of the blast. In a statement on Sunday, UNIFIL extended condolences to the family and colleagues of the peacekeeper who was killed and said the injured peacekeeper remains in hospital with serious injuries. It urged all parties to protect UN personnel – warning that attacks on peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.

The Israeli Air Force intercepted two drones launched from Yemen in the past hour, according to the IDF.

Yemen’s Houthi armed forces, which control the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north, announced their formal entry into the conflict in the Middle East over the weekend.

The group had stayed out of the fighting since the U.S. and Israel first attacked Tehran on February 28, but on Saturday it fired several missiles at Israel and vowed to continue its strikes “until the aggression against all resistance fronts ceases.”

Tasnim news agency said the fire at the Tabriz Petrochemical Company was “under control” and that no toxic or polluting substances had been released, citing the head of the crisis management center for Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.

A suspected US-Israeli attack targeted the Tabriz Petrochemical Company, with a photo shared by Press TV showing a massive fire and a column of smoke rising from the facility.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after meetings with the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia that Islamabad is pushing for urgent collective efforts to end the widening hostilities in the region.

In a series of posts on X, Sharif said he had stressed the heavy human and economic toll of the conflict across Iran and other Muslim countries, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to helping bring Iran and the US to the negotiating table. He also said he had agreed with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to remain in close coordination, while emphasizing unity among Islamic countries in pursuit of regional peace and stability.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Israel’s expanding military operations in southern Lebanon had killed another health worker, bringing the number of confirmed fatalities among medical personnel to at least 52.

“A paramedic was killed in a strike on an ambulance in Bint Jbeil. Additionally, a medical warehouse in the same city was destroyed in an attack,” Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on X, adding that attacks on health facilities “cannot become the norm” and “must cease immediately.”

Iran’s joint military command spokesperson, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, said Tehran would “start bombing” the private residences of US and Israeli officials in the Middle East, including Israel, calling them legitimate targets “in response to the enemy’s attacks on residential and civilian homes in Iran.”