This blog is closing now but we’re continuing our live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran in a new live blog here, including a recap of the latest key developments. Thanks for reading.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Sunday that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has been released and will be returning to Japan, reports Reuters.
Motegi, speaking on a Fuji Television talk show, said the person had been detained since last year and was released on Wednesday.
He said another Japanese national who was arrested earlier this year is still in custody.
Motegi said the release came after his repeated demands to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and that he is “working to win an early release” of the other detainee while communicating with his family and other concerned parties.
Saudi Arabia’s ministry of defence says it detected three missiles launched towards Riyadh. One of the missiles was intercepted, while two fell in an uninhabited area, it said.
Updated
The strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important trade arteries, through which a fifth of global oil and seaborne gas is shipped from production facilities and refineries in the Gulf to buyers around the world.
The strait carries just over 20m barrels of oil a day, making it the busiest oil route after the strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia. It is also the most important trade route for cargoes of liquified natural gas (LNG), shipped on super-chilled tankers.
But unlike the Malacca corridor – which carries roughly 23.2m barrels a day to buyers in China, Japan and South Korea – the Hormuz strait is far more difficult to circumvent, making it the biggest chokepoint in the global energy system.
The crisis has caused soaring oil prices, and had a very immediate impact in parts of Asia, which relies heavily on imported energy from the Gulf. Governments such as Vietnam have encouraged people to work from home to conserve fuel, while the Philippines has introduced a four-day week for many government workers.
Updated
Trump has threatened to “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran does not “fully open” the strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, as he faces growing pressure to secure this crucial waterway.
Iran has effectively closed down the strait by attacking ships and reportedly laying mines in the waterway, causing a major crisis in global energy markets.
There are growing concerns the US does not have a clean exit strategy from the conflict that can guarantee a stable resumption of the oil trade and other freight.
Several Nato members and other US allied nations pledged last week to join “appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the strait. But a joint statement from the leaders of more than a dozen nations – including the UK , France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Bahrain – did not provide details on how they would do this. Trump earlier called alliance members “cowards” for not wanting “to help open” the waterway.
The US is reportedly preparing to send three more warships and thousands more troops to the Middle East – though on Friday Trump also said he was considering “winding down” the US war on Iran.
His latest 48 hour ultimatum, posted on Truth Social, has already prompted warnings from Iran’s military that it will target US energy infrastructure if its own facilities are attacked.
The Iranian military’s operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by Fars news agency:
Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is violated by the enemy, all energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted.”
A Qatari helicopter has crashed in its regional waters after suffering a technical malfunction during “routine duty”, Qatar’s defence ministry said.
Search operations were under way for crew members and passengers.
The Israeli military says its forces have launched a wave of strikes on Tehran early on Sunday.
A brief statement said Israeli forces were “currently conducting strikes on Iranian terror regime targets in the heart of Tehran”.
Updated
Iran threatens retaliation against US energy infrastructure if its facilities are attacked
Iran’s Armed Forces Unified Combatant has warned that if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked, all energy infrastructures belonging to the US in the region will be targeted, according to Iranian media.
This follows an earlier threat by Trump that the US will “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran doesn’t fully open the strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
More than 1,000 cargo ships, mainly oil and gas tankers, have been blocked from transiting the strait since the war began, prompting an escalating energy crisis.
The strait is the only maritime passage out of the Gulf and the route for about a quarter of the world’s liquefied natural gas and seaborne trade. Shipping is confined to a pair of two-mile-wide lanes, one for outbound traffic and one for incoming, separated by a 2-mile-wide meridian.
Updated
An unknown projectile struck a vessel 15 nautical miles north of the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, according to a report from Reuters.
It said that all crew were reported safe.
Updated
Australia’s fuel supply remains strong and there are no immediate plans to ration fuel to manage the impact of the Iran war on the nation’s supply chain, the energy minister Chris Bowen said on Sunday, reports Reuters.
Australia, which imports about 90% of its fuel, has experienced localised shortages as the escalating US-Israeli war disrupts supply.
The nation has 38 days’ worth of petrol and 30 days of diesel and jet fuel, Bowen said in televised remarks, citing data from Saturday. Supply remains strong despite the cancellation of six fuel shipments from Asia, he said.
“While we are dealing with an uncertainty, we still have two refineries working full pelt. It would be better if we had more, sure, but we do have two, and we also have the boats continuing to arrive,” he said.
Asked about whether the centre-left government would consider using emergency powers to ration fuel, Bowen said: “We’re a long way from that”.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, again urged Australians not to panic-buy fuel amid shortages in some rural areas.
“People need to engage responsibly, and I’m sure that overwhelmingly that’s what Australians will do,” Albanese said, according to an official transcript.
Updated
Trump threatens Iran with further attacks if Hormuz does not reopen within 48 hours
Donald Trump has posted this on Truth Social in the past few minutes: “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
A British nuclear-powered submarine equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles has taken position in the Arabian Sea, giving Britain the capability to launch long-range strikes if regional conflict escalates, the Daily Mail reported.
Almost 100 wounded in Iranian missile strikes on southern Israel
Iranian ballistic missile barrages wounded about 100 people in southern Israel on Saturday, striking the cities of Arad and Dimona after air defence systems failed to intercept at least two projectiles.
Among the injured were a 12-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, both reported to be in serious condition.
Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 reported early indications of possible fatalities, though there was no official confirmation.
Officials said at least 27 people were wounded in Dimona, including a teenager who sustained severe injuries from shrapnel. In Arad, at least 68 people were injured, including 10 in serious condition and 14 moderately hurt. The remainder were treated for lighter injuries.
A mass-casualty incident was declared at Soroka hospital in Beersheba, as emergency teams responded to multiple impact sites.
Magen David Adom’s chief executive, Eli Bin, said some people were believed to be trapped in damaged buildings in Arad. He described the scene as “an event of enormous magnitude”, adding that there were concerns for individuals who remained unaccounted for.
Updated
Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued a sharp critique of what he described as a resurging “colonial approach” toward developing nations on Saturday, specifically citing the recent removal of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and the war in Iran.
Speaking at a forum in Colombia involving delegates from Africa and the CELAC summit, Lula questioned the legitimacy of current US regional maneuvers. “It’s not possible for someone to think that they own other countries,” he said. “What are they doing with Cuba now? What did they do with Venezuela? Is that democratic?”
Lula also drew a direct parallel between the US-Israeli military campaign in Iran and the 2003 Iraq War. “Iran has been invaded under the pretext that Iran was building a nuclear bomb. Where are Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons? Where are they? Who found them?” he asked.
The Brazilian leader reminded the assembly that every nation present had a history of being plundered for its natural wealth. He accused modern global powers of attempting to seize control of critical minerals and rare earth deposits under a new guise of dominance.
“After taking everything we had, now they want to own the critical minerals and rare earths that we have,” Lula warned. “They want to colonize us again.”
The foreign secretary has condemned Iran’s strikes on a joint US-UK military base on the island of Diego Garcia, while stressing the UK has “taken a different position from the US and Israel” on the conflict.
Yvette Cooper said ministers wanted to see a swift resolution to the war, adding the government was supporting defensive action against the “reckless Iranian threats”.
Iran fired the missiles after warning that British lives were “in danger” after the prime minister authorised the US to carry out further strikes from British bases.
Tehran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the Chagos island but neither hit, the Iranian news agency Mehr reported.
Read more:
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on social media responding to the Iranian strikes that tore through southern Israel on Saturday, leaving around 100 people wounded across Dimona and Arad.
“This is a very difficult evening in the campaign for our future. Just a short while ago, I spoke with the Mayor of Arad, Yair Maayan, and asked him to convey, on behalf of all Israeli citizens, our prayers for the peace of the injured,” Netanyahu wrote.
He continued: “I have instructed the Director General of my office to provide all the necessary assistance together with all government ministries. I strengthen the emergency and rescue forces operating in the field right now, and I call on everyone to heed the instructions of the Home Front Command.”
“We are determined to continue to strike our enemies on all fronts.”
Israeli Air Force investigating failure to intercept missile
The Israeli Air Force has opened an investigation into its failure to intercept a ballistic missile that struck the southern city of Arad shortly before.
The missile is believed to have carried a conventional warhead containing hundreds of kilograms of explosives. It left dozens injured and caused widespread damage across the area.
Israel’s Home Front Command has also launched a parallel inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the impact.
Both the Air Force and Home Front Command are examining an earlier strike in the nearby city of Dimona, where dozens more people were reported injured.
Among the injured, seven are said to be in serious condition and 15 in moderate condition, while 42 others sustained minor injuries. Emergency teams are continuing to search the scene for additional casualties.
Updated
The Defense Ministry of the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted three ballistic missile and eight drone attacks on Saturday.
According to a statement posted on social media, the “UAE air defences have engaged 341 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,748 UAVs,” since the escalation began.
Officials also reported casualties and injuries involving multiple nationalities, while reaffirming that the UAE remains fully prepared to counter any further threats and protect its sovereignty and security.
“A total of 160 people were also injured, with injuries ranging from minor to moderate and severe,” it said. “The Ministry of Defence affirmed that it remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats, and will firmly confront any attempts to undermine State security in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security and stability, and safeguards its national interests and capabilities.”
Iranian barrages tore through southern Israel on Saturday, leaving around 100 people wounded across Dimona and Arad, among them a 5- and 12-year-old boy. The strikes inflicted extensive damage on multiple buildings, the force of the blast suggesting a conventional warhead packed with hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
In Arad, medics reported that a 5-year-old girl remained in serious condition following the impact of a ballistic missile. Emergency services from Magen David Adom said they were treating roughly dozens of people with injuries ranging from light to severe, after the strike damaged several residential structures. Footage circulating on social media appeared to capture the moment of impact, the explosion rippling through the city’s skyline
“It is an event of enormous magnitude,” said the organisation’s chief executive, describing scenes of chaos and uncertainty. “There are individuals we have lost contact with, and we fear for their safety.”
Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 reported early indications of multiple fatalities, though confirmation remained unclear. Unverified accounts suggested that one building had collapsed with people trapped inside, while another was engulfed in flames, raising fears that the toll could rise further as rescue efforts continue.
At least five people are reported to have been killed and over 70 injured in the southern Israeli city of Arad following Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack.
Some reports suggest a building collapsed with people in and another is on fire.
Nine buildings are believed to have been damaged with concerns over a high number of missing and trapped people.
A large casualty incident has been declared with rescue forces and fire brigades dispatched.
Updated
An Israeli military commander said he has approved new plans “to continue the fighting” with Iran.
Chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said: “We are midway along the path, but the direction is clear.”
Zamir said the “extensive” attacks Israel has carried out with the US have weakened Iran, adding: “No containment any longer! But initiative! And attack!”
Saudi Arabia has ordered Iran’s military attache and four other embassy staff to leave the kingdom within 24 hours after declaring them persona non grata, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement, citing what it described as continued Iranian attacks against Saudi territory.
No indication of damage to Negev nuclear research center, reports UN's nuclear watchdog
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday it was aware of reports that a projectile had struck the city of Dimona in Israel but had received no indication of damage to the Negev nuclear research center.
The agency said regional authorities reported no abnormal radiation levels following the incident and that it was closely monitoring the situation and would continue to seek further information, Reuters reports.
Updated
The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries said on Saturday they stood ready to take necessary measures to support global energy supplies and reaffirmed the importance of safeguarding maritime routes, including in the strait of Hormuz.
“We ... express support to our partners in the region in the face of the unjustifiable attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies,” the ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, as well as the top EU diplomat, said in a statement.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the regime’s reckless attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including energy infrastructure,” they said.
Thousands gathered on Saturday in central London for a Stop the War demonstration to protest against the war in Iran. Here are some photos of the protests:
Key event
Iran has claimed it attacked Dimona “after the US and Israel attacked the Bushehr power plant and the Natanz facilities.”
The Iranian Tasnim news agency wrote: “The enemy has once again received an unforgettable lesson. The missile attack on the Dimona area has once again sent a clear message: No area is safe from Iranian missiles. The enemy must surrender before it is too late.”
The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, commonly known as the Dimona nuclear reactor, is a nuclear installation located in the Negev Desert in southern Israel, approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) southeast of the city of Dimona.
Updated
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters this week that he believes the military operation in Iran is “all but done.”
“I do think the original mission is virtually accomplished now,” Johnson said, speaking at the Capitol. “We were trying to take out the ballistic missiles, and their means of production, and neuter the navy, and those objectives have been met.”
Johnson acknowledged that Iran’s ability to threaten ships in the strait of Hormuz is “dragging it out a little bit,” especially as the US allies have mostly ignored Trump’s requests for help, but he added: “As soon as we bring some calm to the situation, I think it’s all but done.”
The Lebanese Health Ministry said Saturday that three deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, and 99 people were wounded, raising the total number of injured individuals to 2,740.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, when the Iran-backed militia fired rockets into northern Israel two days after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran triggered a widening war in the Middle East.
Israel has since ordered evacuations from large parts of southern and eastern Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, and more than 1 million people have been displaced.
When Israeli and American missiles first started falling on Tehran, and as news of the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leaked out, Nasser, a sixtysomething Iranian American dad from Boston who regularly travels to Iran, briefly experienced something akin to optimism. He “felt a flash of hope”, he told me, “or maybe vengeance, when Khamenei and his circle were hit”.
It was a common sentiment among the millions of Iranians in the North American diaspora who have, for multiple reasons, come to reject the rule of the velayat-e-faqih, or the “guardianship of the Islamic jurist”, the Islamic Republic’s governing doctrine. Many Iranians inside and outside the country had just recently held Khamenei directly responsible for the horrific bloodshed during the mass protests in January. If the top leadership of the Islamic republic was decapitated, perhaps, many believed, Iran could forge a different future.
But now, after three weeks of all-out war on his homeland and with thousands of dead Iranians, damage to cultural heritage sites, and seeming randomness of missile attacks in cities, that hope has disappeared. “Now,” he tells me, “I feel sick about it.”
Read more:
A Patriot air defence system was involved in the interception of an Iranian drone over a residential area of Bahrain on March 9, Bahrain’s government said on Saturday according to Reuters. The incident was characterized by the US military as a direct Iranian drone strike.
At the time, Bahrain said 32 civilians had been injured, including children who required medical treatment, and the US military said an Iranian drone had struck a residential neighborhood.
On Saturday, a government spokesperson said the Kingdom had been subjected to multiple Iranian drone attacks that day, and that the interception over the Sitra district had prevented a drone strike and saved lives.
“During this incident, the Patriot air defense system intercepted an Iranian drone aerially,” they said. “Had the Iranian drone impacted the residential area, it would have resulted in significant loss of life.”
US Central Command at the time denied reports from Russian and Iranian media that a US Patriot missile had failed to intercept an Iranian missile or drone and instead inadvertently struck a residential area.
Britain will not be using its bases in Cyprus for any offensive action in the Iran crisis, a Cypriot government spokesperson said on Saturday, citing a phone call between British prime minister Keir Starmer and Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides, according to Reuters.
“The British Prime Minister reiterated ... that the security of the Republic of Cyprus is fundamental to the United Kingdom and, to that end, a decision has been taken to enhance the means contributing to the preventive measures already in place,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Finally, the Prime Minister reiterated that the British Bases in Cyprus will not be used for any offensive military operations.”
An Iranian-type Shahed drone caused slight damage when it hit facilities at Britain’s Akrotiri airbase in southern Cyprus on March 2, with two others later intercepted. There have been no further known security incidents.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian expressed that an “immediate cessation of aggressions by the US and Israel, along with guarantees against their recurrence in the future,” is the only path to ending the current war and preventing a broader regional catastrophe.
In a telephone conversation with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, Pezeshkian said that any resolution must include firm guarantees to prevent future military strikes against Iran, according to a post from Iran’s embassy in India.
During the conversation, Pezeshkian also called on the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies to play an independent role in halting aggression against Iran. He also reiterated Iran’s stance that the US is responsible for the military strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed an estimated 168 schoolchildren.
Both Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman warned on Saturday that Iranian escalation against Gulf nations poses a grave threat to regional security and stability.
According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency, president el-Sissi formally rejected the ongoing Iranian strikes on Gulf states and reaffirmed Egypt’s unwavering solidarity with the Kingdom in the face of these threats.
Arab league chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit also praised the recent high-level visits by both el-Sissi and King Abdullah II of Jordan to several Gulf nations. Aboul Gheit said that these diplomatic missions “reflect full Arab solidarity” during the current crisis.
In an operational update video posted Saturday, the head of the US military’s Central Command, Adm Brad Cooper, said that in the US military has struck more than 8,000 military targets, including 130 Iranian vessels.
“Their Navy is not sailing. Their tactical fighters are not flying, and they’ve lost the ability to launch missiles and drones at the high rates seen at the beginning of the conflict,” he said in the video.
Intelligence agencies were monitoring Nowruz celebrations in Iran on Friday to see whether Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei would be seen for the first time since his father’s death, Axios reports.
His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously gave a new year’s address, and it was thought Mojtaba could do the same. However he only issued a written statement.
It comes as it is three weeks without him being seen, since he became supreme leader.
“We have no evidence that he is really the one giving orders,” a senior Israeli official told Axios.
Hezbollah has said its fighters have clashed with Israeli forces in two borders towns on Saturday.
AFP reported a Hezbollah statement which said the group had engaged in a four-hour confrontation with Israeli forces in the town of Khiam.
The statement said here had been “direct clashes with forces from the Israeli enemy army in the town of Khiam with light and medium weapons” and rockets.
Israel has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon since Hezbollah launched strikes on 2 March in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The day so far
If you are just logging on, here is a roundup of today’s news in the Middle East conflict. It has just gone 6pm in Tehran, and 4.30pm in Tel Aviv. It’s mid-morning in Washington DC, with the time having passed 10.30am.
Iran fired missiles at the US/UK Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean, the UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The MoD said the strikes were unsuccessful, and took place before the UK said the US could use its bases for “specific and limited defence operations”.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said strikes on Iran will “intensify” next week. In a statement Katz said there would be a “significant” rise in the attacks.
Israel and the US targeted an Iranian nuclear enrichment plant overnight. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has called for restraint. Iran said there had not been any radioactive leakage, and no residents were in danger.
The Israel Defence Force claimed it had “significantly degraded” ballistic missile production at a factory in Tehran with airstrikes. It said “dozens” of targets were attacked, including those used to produce critical parts for missiles.
Meanwhile the US military said Iran’s ability to threaten ships in the strait of Hormuz has been reduced after it attacked an underground facility that stored cruise missiles. The commander of the US central command said US forces had destroyed intelligence support sites and radar relays.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “winding down” military operations against Iran. “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives,” the US president posted on Friday on his Truth Social platform in the strongest indication yet that he may be prepared to soon end the hostilities that began three weeks ago.
More than twenty countries now say they are “ready to contribute” to the safe passage of ships going through the strait of Hormuz. It said they were ready to contribute “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through the waterway, which is critical to global oil markets.
An officer was killed in a drone attack on Iraq’s intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. The intelligence service blamed “outlaw groups” and said a second officer was wounded. It took place at about 10am local time.
The Israel Defence Force killed four Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon overnight, the military has said. The IDF posted on Telegram that a combination of ground troops and the Israeli air force killed one – and tanks killed three more.
European diplomats have criticised increasing “settler terror” in the West Bank, with six Palestinians shot dead in settler attacks in the area this month. Representatives of 13 European countries including the UK and France issued a joint statement alongside Canada.
In the UK two people have been charged, one of them Iranian, after they allegedly tried to enter a naval base in Scotland which houses the UK’s nuclear Trident submarines. They were arrested on Thursday.
Updated
European diplomats have criticised increasing “settler terror” in the West Bank, with six Palestinians shot dead in settler attacks in the area this month.
Representatives of 13 European countries including the UK and France issued a joint statement alongside Canada.
It called for Israeli authorities to prosecute those responsible.
It said: “We strongly condemn increasing settler terror and violence by the Israeli security forces inflicted upon Palestinian communities.
“We are especially appalled by the killings of Palestinians over these past weeks. This violence by settler militias, aimed at taking over land and creating a coercive environment, forcing Palestinians to leave their homes, must end.”
Israel’s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on Wednesday criticised the increase in settler attacks in the West Bank, calling it “morally and ethically unacceptable”.
Israel has claimed it has “significantly degraded” ballistic missile production at a factory in Tehran after it carried out airstrikes overnight.
The Israel Defence Force said it carried out attacks in Tehran and hit “dozens” of targets. It said the facilities were used to produce critical parts for the development of missiles.
Among the facilities hit were a components storage facility, a missile fuel plant and a production site.
The post by the IDF on Telegram said: “The IDF will continue to expand its strikes against the regime’s weapons production facilities in order to degrade its capabilities to advance its ballistic missile program, which poses a direct threat to the State of Israel.”
Here are some of the latest images from photographers around the Middle East:
Twenty countries 'ready to contribute to ensuring safe passage' through strait of Hormuz
More than 20 countries – including the UK, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea – have said they would contribute to efforts ensuring safe passage in the strait of Hormuz, condemning Iran’s closure of the vital waterway.
The 22 countries, mostly European but also including the UAE and Bahrain, said:
We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.
We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that strikes will “intensify” in the next week, with a “significant” rise in attacks.
Despite the war, some Iranians said they were determined to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian new year.
Nowruz – also celebrated across Central Asia, parts of the Caucasus and among Kurds throughout the Middle East – marks the spring equinox, and is traditionally seen as a time of renewal, hope, and new beginnings.
You can see the Guardian’s picture essay, with photographs by Mohammad Mohsenifar, here:
Updated
US military claims Iran threat to Hormuz 'degraded’
The US military has said that Iran’s ability to threaten the strait of Hormuz has been “degraded” by the bombing of an underground facility where it stored cruise missiles and other weaponry.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command said in video message posted on X:
We not only took out the facility, but also destroyed intelligence support sites and missile radar relays that were used to monitor ship movements.
He added:
Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the strait of Hormuz is degraded as a result, and we will not stop pursuing these targets.
The US-Israel war on Iran is a disaster for the climate, according to an analysis that finds it is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries combined.
As warplanes, drones and missiles kill thousands of people, level infrastructure and turn the Middle East into a gigantic environmental sacrifice zone, the first analysis of the climate cost has found the conflict led to 5m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in its first 14 days.
The analysis, shared exclusively with the Guardian, adds another layer on to reporting of the catastrophic environmental harm being caused by attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure, military bases, civilian areas and ships at sea.
“Every missile strike is another downpayment on a hotter, more unstable planet, and none of it makes anyone safer,” said Patrick Bigger, a research director at the Climate and Community Institute and a co-author of the analysis.
“Every refinery fire and tanker strike is a reminder that fossil‑fuelled geopolitics is incompatible with a livable planet. This war shows, yet again, that the fastest way to supercharge the climate crisis is to let fossil fuel interests dictate foreign policy.”
Read the full report here:
As we’ve been reporting, Iran fired two missiles at the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
Part of the Chagos Islands, Diego Garcia is about 3,800km (2,360 miles) from Iran and home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers.
The island has been at the centre of a political row after the UK agreed to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and lease back the base.
Updated
Russia has condemned the US and Israel’s attack on the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.
In a statement reported by Reuters, Russia’s foreign ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: “This is a blatant violation of international law”.
During its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war, Russia has attacked nuclear power plants in Ukraine, including the Chornobyl site which suffered a meltdown in 1986.
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has spoken to the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian as he “condemned attacks” on infrastructure in the region.
Modi posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Spoke with President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed Eid and Nowruz greetings. We expressed hope that this festive season brings peace, stability and prosperity to west Asia.
“Condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains.
“Reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure.
“Appreciated Iran’s continued support for the safety and security of Indian nationals in Iran.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for “restraint” after Israel and the US targeted a nuclear enrichment facility in central Iran.
The Iranian Tasnim news agency said the Natanz site between Tehran and Isfahan was targeted earlier on Saturday. It said it had not led to any radioactive leakage, and residents were not at risk (See 09.24am)
A post on X, formerly Twitter, by the IAEA on Saturday quoted its director general Rafael Grossi and said: “IAEA director general Grossi reiterates call for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.”
Reports of an Iranian missile attack on the UK and US Diego Garcia military base in Indian Ocean are correct, the Guardian understands.
The Ministry of Defence indicated that the failed strikes (see 7.05am) at the base were before the announcement last night that UK bases can be used by the US for “specific and defensive operations”.
Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford can be used by the US.
An MoD spokesperson said: “Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies.
“RAF jets and other UK military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region.
“This government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.”
Updated
Sardar Azmoun has been omitted from the Iran squad announced for two World Cup friendlies games after Iranian media reports that the striker had been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government.
Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 internationals, was the most notable absentee from a 35-man squad named by the head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, on Friday for games against Nigeria and Costa Rica in the Turkish city of Antalya.
Azmoun, who plays his club football in the United Arab Emirates for Shabab Al Ahli, upset the Iranian authorities this week by posting a picture on his Instagram feed of a meeting with Dubai’s ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Iran has launched rocket and drone attacks on the UAE after airstrikes by the United States and Israel, which killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Strikes by the US and Israel on Iran will “intensify” in the next week, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz has said.
In a statement published by AFP, Katz said there would be a “significant” rise in the attacks on the country.
He said: “This week, the intensity of the strikes to be carried out by the IDF and the US military against the Iranian terror regime and the infrastructure on which it relies will rise significantly.”
Iranian among those charged with trying to enter UK naval base
In the UK two people have been charged, one of them Iranian, after they allegedly tried to enter a naval base in Scotland which houses the UK’s nuclear Trident submarines.
A 34-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were charged after the incident at the HM Naval Base Clyde, which is known as Faslane. Police Scotland said inquiries were continuing and that the pair were due to appear at Dumbarton sheriff court on Monday.
A police spokesperson said: “Around 5pm on Thursday, 19 March 2026 we were made aware of two people attempting to enter HM Naval Base Clyde.
“A 34-year-old Iranian man and a 31-year-old Romanian woman have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
Here’s a dispatch from William Christou and Abbas Abdelkarim in South Lebanon as Israel’s attacks on the area continue.
Lebanese healthcare workers and officials say Israeli bombings have deliberately targeted medical workers and facilities in south Lebanon, including through the use of double-tap strikes, in what they describe as a systematic effort to make the area unlivable.
Since the war began on 2 March, Israel has struck at least 128 medical facilities and ambulances across south Lebanon, killing 40 healthcare workers and wounding 107, according to the Lebanese ministry of health. The war started when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel, triggering an Israeli military campaign.
Most of the strikes on medics happened while they were sitting in ambulances or at first aid centres, several of which have been destroyed in south Lebanon. Israel has also carried out at least five double-tap strikes, a tactic in which an initial strike is followed by a pause, allowing medical workers to arrive before the area is bombed for a second time.
One dead in drone attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters
An officer was killed in the drone attack (see 9.16am) on the Iraqi intelligence headquarters on Saturday, the intelligence service has confirmed.
In a statement the intelligence service said the drone, launched by “outlaw groups”, had killed an officer at the headquarters in Baghdad.
The strike took place at about 10am local time, 7am GMT, on Saturday.
“An officer was martyred,” Iraqi intelligence said in a statement published by AFP.
It condemned “a terrorist attack carried out by rogue elements”.
A security official and an Iraqi emergency services source reported that another officer was wounded.
Israel and US attack Iranian nuclear enrichment facility
Israel and the US have attacked a nuclear enrichment facility in Iran, according to Iranian media.
The Iranian Tasnim news agency said the latest attack on Saturday on the Natanz site in central Iran had not led to any radioactive material leakage.
It said residents near the facility between Tehran and Isfahan were not at risk.
Earlier in March the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had suffered damage after the US and Israel launches its strikes on the country on 28 February.
Updated
Iraqi government confirms drone strike on intelligence services
There’s an update on the reported drone attack on Iraq’s intelligence headquarters (see 8.34am).
General Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s government security media unit confirmed the attack in central Baghdad on Saturday morning.
In comments reported by AFP, he said: “A drone targeted the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the Mansour district.” He said the attack took place at about 10am local time, 7am GMT.
An Iraqi security official has told the news agency the attack targeted a national intelligence service “telecommunications building”. It cooperates with US advisers in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition.
Iraq has been drawn into the conflict since the US and Israel attacked its neighbour Iran in late February.
Strikes have hit Iran-backed groups, which have in turn attacked US-linked buildings or facilities in the region, including Iraq.
At least three drone attacks overnight targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub that houses US military personnel at Baghdad International Airport, according to two security officials speaking to AFP.
On Thursday, the Pentagon said combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq.
The Israel Defence Force killed four Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon overnight, the military has said.
The IDF posted on Telegram that a combination of ground troops and the Israeli air force killed one – and tanks killed three more.
The post on Saturday morning said jets also hit a series of Hezbollah buildings in Beirut it claimed were used by the group’s members.
Updated
Iraq's intelligence headquarters in the country’s capital Baghdad has been targeted by a drone strike, according to agency reports.
Reuters reported the strike, as security sources told the AFP news agency that a communications building in Baghdad had been hit by a drone strike.
The communications building, according to a security source referenced by AFP, housed an Iraqi security agency that works with the US in Iraq as part of the anti-jihadist coalition.
Interim summary
In case you’re just tuning in to today’s live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran, here’s a recap of the latest developments. It’s just passed 11.30am in Tehran, 10am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 4am in Washington DC.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “winding down” military operations against Iran. “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives,” the US president posted on Friday on his Truth Social platform in the strongest indication yet that he may be prepared to soon end the hostilities that began three weeks ago.
Israel launched military strikes on “regime targets” in Tehran, Iran, and Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut, Lebanon, early on Saturday. Iran earlier launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel.
The US temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem the global supply crisis. The US Treasury’s authorisation allowing for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products loaded on to ships before 20 March would last until 19 April, it said. It is the third time the US has temporarily waived sanctions in about two weeks.
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal and CNN reported, citing multiple US officials. One of the missiles failed in flight and a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, the WSJ said. Neither outlet confirmed when Iran launched the missiles.
Iran’s military warned the United Arab Emirates on Saturday against allowing attacks from its territory on two disputed islands – Abu Musa and Greater Tunb – in the Persian Gulf near the strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia said it was continuing to intercept and destroy drones – the defence ministry said it had intercepted dozens overnight in the east – while neighbouring Kuwait said it had also been intercepting air attacks.
Iran is willing to help Japanese ships sail through the strait of Hormuz, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Kyodo News in an interview published on Saturday, if it coordinates with Tehran.
Donald Trump said he was “very surprised” Australia had not sent warships to help open the strait of Hormuz amid the oil route’s effective shutdown. He has also lashed out at Nato, describing alliance members as “cowards” for not wanting to help unblock the strait.
The European Commission has urged EU states to lower natural-gas storage targets and start refilling reserves gradually to curb demand, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
Iran’s military has threatened recreational and tourist sites worldwide, amid its retaliatory strikes in the Gulf region. The top military spokesperson, Gen Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” globally would not be safe for the country’s enemies.
One person was killed and two others wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in a southern Lebanon town early on Saturday, state media said.
Updated
Vladimir Putin has said Moscow remains a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran, the Kremlin was quoted as saying on Saturday.
The Russian president’s comment came as he congratulated Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian on Nowruz, the Persian new year.
Updated
Iran fired two missiles at US-UK Diego Garcia base but neither hit – reports
Circling back now to Diego Garcia, Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean – but neither of them hit, according to news reports citing US officials.
The Wall Street Journal said one of the missiles failed in flight, and that a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, citing two US officials. It could not be determined if an interception was made, one said.
CNN also reported the launches targeting Diego Garcia, citing a US official, while describing it as a crucial overseas US military staging post for operations far from home and a key airfield for the US military’s heavy bomber fleet.
The launches marked a significant attempt by Iran to reach far beyond the Middle East and threaten US interests, the WSJ said. And Iran’s targeting of Diego Garcia – about 4,000km from Iran – implied its missiles had a greater range than Tehran had previously acknowledged.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said last month that Iran had deliberately limited the range of its missiles to 2,000km, the report said.
Reuters is saying the White House, the British embassy in Washington and the UK Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
As the Guardian reported in March, Trump said he was “very disappointed” in British prime minister Keir Starmer over the UK government’s deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as a means to preserve the status of the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, which is part of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
The Chagos deal, which Trump initially supported before changing his mind, was a “very woke thing”, the US president said.
Updated
The Israeli military said a short time ago that missiles had been launched towards Israel and that its defence systems were operating to intercept them.
Updated
Iran’s military warned the United Arab Emirates on Saturday against allowing attacks from its territory on two disputed islands near the strait of Hormuz.
“If any further aggression originates from its territory against the Iranian islands of Abu Musa and Greater Tunb in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s powerful armed forces will subject Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE to heavy strikes,” the military’s operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said in a statement carried on the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The two islands, which are controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE, have long been a source of dispute between the two countries, Agence France-Presse repots.
The islands are located near the entrance to the strategic strait of Hormuz, which is now effectively blocked but through which about a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes.
Updated
Donald Trump says he is surprised Australia has not sent warships to help open the strait of Hormuz amid the vital oil route’s effective shutdown triggering soaring fuel prices.
“I was very surprised,” the US president said in Washington on Friday when asked what he took issue with regarding Japan, South Korea and Australia.
“Well, they should get involved, and I was a little bit surprised that they said no, because we always say yes to them,” Trump told Sky News Australia.
He did not answer when asked what Australia had said no to.
Earlier this week, the US president slammed Japan, Australia and South Korea for saying they would not send warships to the Persian Gulf amid the US-Israeli operation against Iran.
“We no longer ‘need’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance – WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Also on Friday, Trump lashed out at Nato, describing alliance members as “cowards” for not wanting “to help open” the strait of Hormuz.
Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Saturday that Australia had provided the support it had been asked to – and that it had not received a request from the president.
Updated
Analysis: Iran’s willingness to escalate high-stakes war is its greatest weapon
Brinkmanship – the ability to take a country to the edge of war without plunging it into the abyss – was the cornerstone of cold war diplomacy. But in our different, more unstable times, the world this week finally tipped over the edge, and suddenly it is in freefall.
The first six days of the Iran war cost the US $12.7bn (£9.5bn), but now the Pentagon is seeking as much as $200bn in military funding. Oil at $125 a barrel is no longer an Iranian, or Russian, fantasy. The crown jewel of Qatar, Ras Laffan – the world’s largest liquefied natural gas plant – may not reopen fully for five years, at a cost of $20bn a year. Other combustible oil depots in the Gulf, from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi, are exposed to Iran’s low-cost drones.
Then add the human cost of 18,000 civilians injured and more than 3,000 killed in Iran alone.
The Iranian regime – fighting for its survival – has no compunction about escalating the war. Indeed, its willingness to do so is its greatest weapon. An Iranian official warned this week:
Other playing cards have been designed that will enter the fray at the right time.
This is probably a reference to the Gulf’s desalination plants, the centre of the region’s fragile ecosystem.
Iran’s leadership, with nothing to lose, benefits from an asymmetric advantage of fear.
To read the full analysis, click here:
Updated
The European Commission has urged EU states to lower natural-gas storage targets and start refilling reserves gradually to curb demand, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
The EU energy commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, instructed member states to lower the filling target for their gas storage facilities to 80% of capacity – 10 percentage points below the EU’s official targets – “as early as possible in the filling season to provide certainty and reassurance to market participants”, the newspaper said, citing a letter.
The Iran war has disrupted key suppliers and prompted soaring energy prices.
Updated
Iranian military threatens tourist sites worldwide
Amid Iran’s retaliatory strikes in the Gulf region, the military has also threatened recreational and tourist sites worldwide.
Iran’s top military spokesperson, Gen Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” globally will not be safe for the country’s enemies.
The threat, quoted by the Associated Press, has renewed concerns that Tehran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic to halt US and Israeli strikes.
Updated
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait intercept air attacks
Saudi Arabia says it is continuing to intercept and destroy drones in recent hours while neighbouring Kuwait says it has also been intercepting air attacks.
The Saudi defence ministry, quoting a spokesperson, said on Saturday in the last of a series of social media posts that it had intercepted five drones in its eastern region.
Its previous posts said it had intercepted a total of seven drones, and shortly before that another 12, in the area.
Reports quoted the ministry as saying it had intercepted dozens of drones overnight in the east.
In Kuwait, the army said air defences were intercepting missile and drone attacks. The post on Saturday also said:
The General Staff of the Army notes that if explosion sounds are heard, they are the result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks.
Updated
Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli attacks in Syria
The Saudi foreign ministry has condemned Israeli strikes on Syrian army camps as “aggression”, joining Turkey in calling on the international community to intervene.
Israel’s military said on Friday it had struck southern Syria in response to what it called attacks against the Druze community in Sweida province and that it “will continue to act for their protection”.
The Saudi ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the kingdom condemned “the blatant Israeli aggression ... in flagrant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty”, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
The foreign ministry urged the international community “to put an end to Israel’s violations of international laws and norms”.
Turkey’s foreign ministry called the Israeli attack “a dangerous escalation” that the international community must stop.
Last year Israel launched airstrikes in Syria during a deadly bout of sectarian violence, saying it was acting to defend the minority group.
Syria has so far avoided being dragged into the regional conflict sparked by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that clashes with government forces in Sweida province had left at least four Druze fighters dead. Israeli shelling later hit residential neighbourhoods in Sweida city, it said.
Syria’s foreign ministry denounced an “outrageous assault on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and called the Israeli justification “flimsy pretexts and fabricated excuses”.
Updated
Welcome summary
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its repercussions for the Middle East, the world and the global economy.
President Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran, as the US temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem a global supply crisis.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the US was “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East”. His post was the strongest indication yet that he may be prepared to soon end hostilities that began on 28 February.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on X shortly after Trump’s message: “The President and the Pentagon predicted it would take approximately 4-6 weeks to achieve this mission.”
Amid growing concern over oil prices and global supply shortages, the US Treasury said it was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded onto vessels. The authorisation allowed for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products loaded on to ships before 20 March and would last until 19 April, it said.
Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel, meanwhile, after supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei claimed to have dealt a “dizzying blow” to his country’s enemies. In response, the Israeli military launched strikes on “regime targets” in Tehran early on Saturday.
Here’s a snapshot of other key developments:
Iran is willing to help Japanese ships sail a vital route for global fuel supplies, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Kyodo News in an interview published on Saturday. Japan depends on crude oil imports from the Middle East, most of which transits the strait of Hormuz.
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal and CNN reported, citing multiple US officials. The WSJ said one of the missiles failed in flight, and a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other. Neither outlet confirmed when Iran launched the missiles.
One person was killed and two others wounded after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in a town in southern Lebanon early on Saturday, state media said.
Trump continued to make his disappointment with the British government known, saying the UK “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing the US military to use its bases in the Middle East.
Earlier, Downing Street approved US use of its bases “for the collective self-defence of the region”, including “defensive operations” degrading Iranian missile sites targeting ships in the strait of Hormuz. Britain had previously only allowed US forces to use its bases for operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.
Araghchi said Keir Starmer “is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran”.
Updated
