Iran-Israel war updates on March 14, 2026: Trump says other countries 'must take care' of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump ‌said on Saturday that ⁠the United States may carry ‌out more strikes on ‌Iran’s Kharg ‌Island ⁠oil ⁠export hub, saying that while Tehran appears ready ‌to make a deal to end ‌the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet.”

He ⁠said the U.S. strikes ‌had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, telling NBC News ‌that “we may hit it a few ⁠more times just for ⁠fun.”

- Reuters

The United Arab Emirates has the right to defend itself against Iran’s ongoing strikes but chooses restraint, a senior UAE official has said, as Tehran continues its retaliatory attacks across the Gulf.

“The UAE has the right to defend itself against this imposed terrorist aggression, but it is still prioritising reason and logic, continuing to exercise restraint and seeking a way out for Iran and the region,” presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said late Saturday on X.

The UAE “made sincere efforts until the very last moment to mediate between Washington and Tehran to avoid this war”, he wrote.

- AFP

The Formula One grands prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been cancelled due to the United States’ and Israel’s war with Iran, motorsport’s governing body the FIA announced Saturday.

“It has been confirmed today that, after careful evaluations, due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April,” the FIA said in a statement.

- AFP

A drone attack targeted the Baghdad airport complex, which houses a military base and a US diplomatic facility, two security sources told AFP.

One security source told AFP that drones “targeted the military base” but were brought down just outside the complex, which previously housed anti-jihadist US-led coalition troops, while a second source said a crashed drone sparked a huge fire outside.

- AFP

The ‌Swiss government said on Saturday that it discussed ⁠requests by U.S. military and official aircraft to fly ‌over the country, and based on ‌its law of neutrality, ‌rejected ⁠two Iran-related war ⁠flights but permitted three others.

“The law on neutrality prohibits overflights by parties to the ‌conflict that serve a military purpose related to the conflict. Permitted are ‌humanitarian and medical transits, including the transport of wounded persons, ⁠as well as overflights that are unrelated to the ‌conflict,” the government said in a statement.

The three approved requests were applicable to two transportation and one maintenance aircraft.

- Reuters

Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it was involved in “direct clashes” with Israeli forces in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam late on Saturday.

In a statement, it said the clashes were ongoing, having started at 9:20 pm (1920 GMT) and involved “light and medium weapons as well as rocket-propelled projectiles”.

It said it had also targeted Israeli forces in three border villages.

- AFP

Several drones struck Kuwait’s international airport on Saturday and hit its radar system but did not injure anyone, the country’s civil aviation authority said.

“Kuwait International Airport was targeted by several drones this evening, which struck its radar system,” the authority said. “Thankfully, no injuries were recorded.”

- AFP

Operations at the ‌Lanaz refinery in the ⁠northern Iraqi city of ‌Erbil have ‌been ‌suspended ⁠until a fire ⁠caused by a drone strike ‌on Saturday is extinguished, provincial officials ‌said.

Work will remain suspended ⁠until the extent ‌of the damage is assessed, officials at ‌the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Natural ⁠Resources told ⁠ Reuters. 

- Reuters

Iran’s envoy to Ukraine, Shahriar Amouzegar, dismissed the support Kyiv has offered to the United States and its Gulf allies, after Ukraine advertised its expertise in destroying Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia.

“As for the actions Ukraine is taking in the Middle East against drones, we essentially consider them nothing more than a joke and a showy gesture,” Amouzegar told AFP in an exclusive interview.

- AFP

The Indian Navy is keeping a close watch on the movement of two LPG carrier vessels — Shivalik and Nanda Devi — as they have successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz and are on their way to India, according to sources. 

- Saurabh Trivedi

Jordan’s military said on Saturday that it had intercepted 79 missiles and drones launched by Iran at the kingdom during the second week of the West Asia war.

Jordan’s armed forces said in a statement that “85 missiles and drones were launched directly from Iran” toward Jordan “during the second week of the war, targeting vital sites”.

- AFP

U.S. citizens should ‌leave Iraq immediately, the ⁠U.S. Embassy in Baghdad ‌said in ‌an ‌updated security ⁠alert on ⁠Saturday, following an overnight missile attack ‌on the embassy’s building.

“U.S. citizens ‌choosing to remain in Iraq ⁠are strongly encouraged to ‌reconsider in light of the significant ‌threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia ⁠groups,” the ⁠embassy said.-- Reuters

Turkey’s top diplomat said Saturday that Iran was denying responsiblity for firing ballistic missiles towards Turkey despite evidence from technical data.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he had spoken with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi after NATO defence systems on Friday shot down another ballistic missile from Iran -- the third in nine days.

“Once again, they are not taking responsibility for this incident. They claim they did not order any such attack, nor are they linked to it,” Mr. Fidan said.

“Of course, there is technical data available... and we are discussing the discrepancy between their statements and the reality with them,” he said, adding it was being discussed at a diplomatic and military level.--- AFP

UN chief Antonio Guterres said Saturday on a visit to Beirut that diplomatic channels remained open to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah and urged the international community to support Lebanon.

Lebanon was dragged into the West Asia war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes, and the Tehran-backed group’s leader has said the militants were ready for a long confrontation with Israel.

On Saturday, Israel kept up strikes on Lebanon as Hezbollah claimed attacks against northern Israel and Beirut said the death toll in the country since March 2 had climbed to 826, including 106 children.-- AFP

Turkey expressed deep concern Saturday over Israel’s ongoing strikes on Lebanon over concerns it would commit “a new genocide” under the guise of fighting Hezbollah.

“We are frankly concerned (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is moving toward a new genocide under the pretext of fighting Hezbollah,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, urging the international community to “take immediate action”.--- AFP

Israel and Lebanon are expected ‌to hold direct talks ⁠in the coming days, their first since ‌the start of the ‌Iran ‌war ⁠that has ⁠drawn Lebanon deeper into conflict, Israeli newspaper Haaretz ‌reported on Saturday, citing two sources with knowledge of ‌the matter.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law ⁠Jared Kushner will be involved in ‌the talks that may be held in Paris or ‌in Cyprus, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidant ⁠Ron Dermer leading the ⁠Israeli delegation, Haaretz ‌said.-- Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday urged other nations to send ships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, the critical chokepoint for global oil supplies disrupted by the West Asian war.

Mr. Trump, who has said the United States will soon start escorting tankers through the Strait, posted on Truth Social that “Many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Strait of Hormuz, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe.”

The U.S. president added: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area.”Read more.--- AFP

Around 1430 Iranian missiles fired at the center north and south of Israel minutes apart. At the south, in the city of Eilat, cluster munitions caused several incidents in the city,” Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s national emergency medical service spokesperson said.

MDA EMTs and paramedics are providing medical treatment and evacuating 2 casualties with shrapnel injuries to Yoseftal Hospital: a 12-year-old boy in serious condition, conscious with injuries to his body, and a 39-year-old man in moderate condition with head and limb injuries.--- Kallol Bhattacherjee

U.S. ‌President Donald ⁠Trump on Saturday ‌said ‌four ‌of ⁠five ⁠tanker planes ‌targeted by an ‌attack in Saudi ⁠Arabia suffered “virtually ‌no damage.”--- Reuters

Discussions within BRICS on a common position are ongoing through the Sherpa channel due to the involvement of some member countries in the current situation. India continues to facilitate consultations as BRICS Chair and remains engaged with partners, including Russia, through high-level diplomatic contacts, an MEA spokesperson said.

Oil export operations from Iran’s Kharg island in the Gulf were proceeding as normal Saturday after U.S. strikes on the crude export hub which caused no casualties, a regional official said.

Activities of oil companies “at this export terminal are continuing as normal”, said Ehsan Jahaniyan, deputy governor of Iran’s southern Bushehr province, quoted by the IRNA news agency.

The Fars news agency, citing sources on the island, earlier reported there had been no damage to oil facilities after U.S. President Donald Trump said US strikes had destroyed only military targets.-- AFP

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) the war with Tehran was entering a “decisive phase”, praising U.S. strikes on what Washington called military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub.

“The global and regional struggle against Iran, led by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is escalating and entering the decisive phase that will continue as long as necessary,” Mr. Katz told military top brass in a televised statement.

- AFP

Next month’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Grands Prix are set to be cancelled due to the West Asia conflict.

Multiple sources told Reuters an announcement, seen within the sport as just a ⁠matter of time, was expected with a March 20 deadline looming for freight that has to be transported to Bahrain for logistical reasons.

Iran has allowed some Indian ‌vessels to sail through the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, Tehran’s Ambassador to India Mohammad ‌Fathali said on Saturday (March 14, 2026), confirming a ‌rare exception ‌to ⁠the blockade that ⁠has disrupted global energy supplies.

Mr. Fathali did not confirm the ‌number of vessels that have been provided safe passage. He ‌was speaking at broadcaster India Today’s conclave in New ⁠Delhi.

Since the United States and ‌Israel launched a bombing campaign on Iran, Tehran has largely halted traffic through the strait, ‌which runs past its coast and through which ⁠around 20% of global oil ⁠and seaborne liquefied natural ‌gas is supplied. 

- Reuters

Iran’s Defense Ministry spokesperson said that they will increase usage of ‘upgraded weapons’, according to state media.

He said that Iran will use “ballistic missiles and different types of missiles with greater destructive power” and greater precision.

- Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday (March 14, 2026) said Lebanon was ready to engage in “direct talks” with Israel and offered to host negotiations in Paris.

“The Lebanese government has signalled its willingness to engage in direct talks with Israel,” he said on X.

“France is ready to facilitate these talks by hosting them in Paris,” Mr. Macron said, adding he had spoken to the President and Prime Minister of Lebanon.

- AFP

Oil exports from Iran’s Kharg Island continue normally despite attack, reported Iran’s official IRNA news agency, citing a senior provincial official.

Iran’s military warned on Saturday (March 14, 2026) that it considers ports in the United Arab Emirates to be legitimate targets and urged residents to avoid them, in a statement carried by state TV.

Tehran “considers it its legitimate right to defend its national sovereignty and territory by striking American enemy missiles located in ports, docks and U.S. military hideouts” in the UAE, the military’s central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said.

The statement urged civilians to “evacuate” port areas.

- AFP

Iran’s Revolutionary ‌Guards said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) that ⁠U.S. interests in ‌the United Arab ‌Emirates, including ‌ports, ⁠docks ⁠and military locations, are legitimate targets ‌after U.S. forces attacked Iranian ‌islands, Iranian state media reported.

In ⁠its statement, IRGC ‌urged residents in UAE to evacuate ports, ‌docks, and U.S. military shelters ⁠to avoid ⁠civilian casualties.

- Reuters

President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday (March 14, 2026) said he had expressed gratitude to the Iraqi Prime Minister to taking measures to protect French forces, after a drone strike killed a French soldier in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

“Yesterday, I spoke with the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani,” Mr. Macron said on X.

“I thank him for his commitment to getting to the bottom of this attack and to strengthening measures to protect our forces, who are present in Iraq to fight, alongside the Iraqis, against the scourge of terrorism.”

- AFP

Earlier, some oil ‌loading operations in ⁠the port of ‌UAE’s Fujairah, ‌outside ‌the ⁠Strait ⁠of Hormuz, have been suspended ‌after a drone attack ‌and fire on Saturday (March 14, 2026) ⁠morning, Bloomberg News ‌reported on Saturday (March 14, 2026) citing ‌people familiar with the matter.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Ministry said on Saturday that at least 56 museums and historic sites across the country have been damaged, as the West Asia war entered its 15th day.

In Tehran, U.S.-Israeli strikes damaged the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in the early days of the conflict, local media reported.

The palace complex is one of the oldest sites in the Iranian capital and once served as the residence of the Qajar dynasty.

The Ministry said Tehran has recorded the highest number of damaged monuments, with 19 suffering varying levels of harm.

- AFP

An Israeli strike hit an apartment building in a northern Beirut suburb that had been targeted a day earlier, Lebanese state media said on Saturday (March 14, 2026), also reporting strikes in the country’s south.

An overnight Israeli strike killed a dozen medical staff at a clinic in south Lebanon, health authorities said earlier Saturday (March 14, 2026), after Iran-backed Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, said his group was ready for a long confrontation with Israel.

Lebanon was drawn into the West Asian war last week when the militant group attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

- AFP

India has repatriated the non-essential crew members of an Iranian warship that docked in Kochi on March 4 amid the escalating military conflict between Iran and the US, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday (March 14, 2026).

Over 50 of the 183 crew members have stayed back as the ship, IRIS Lavan, remains in Kochi, they said.

The non-essential sailors left India by a Turkish airline aircraft. The aircraft landed in Kochi late last night after picking up the bodies from Colombo of over 80 Iranian sailors of another warship that was sunk by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka on March 4.

- PTI

No oil infrastructure was damaged in U.S. strikes on Kharg Island, Iranian media reported on Saturday (March 14, 2026).

Fars news agency, citing sources on the ground, reported there had been no damage to oil facilities after President Donald Trump said U.S. bombardment of the island had destroyed military targets.

Mr. Trump had threatened in a social media post to target oil infrastructure on the island, a crucial hub for Iran, if Tehran continued to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

- AFP

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U.S. is begging world, India, to buy Russian oil: Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi

Iran's Foreign Minister claims the U.S. is now urging India to buy Russian oil after pressuring them to stop imports.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Saturday called on Iran to refrain from targeting neighbouring countries, while affirming Tehran’s right to defend itself against Israel and the United States.

“While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighbouring countries,” Hamas said in a statement.

- AFP

Iran threatened on Saturday to reduce U.S.-linked oil facilities to “a pile of ashes” as the two-week-old West Asia war spilled over into a global oil price crisis.

Iranian armed forces issued the warning after U.S. President Donald Trump said he may decide to “wipe out” Iran’s largest oil export hub on its Kharg Island.

Waves of drone, missile and aerial bombing have displaced millions in the region and reportedly killed more than 1,200 people in Iran since the United States and Israel opened hostilities on February 28.

- AFP

Read more here

The Israeli army told people in an industrial zone in the west of Iran’s northern city of Tabriz to leave ahead of military operations on Saturday.

“Urgent warning to all people located in the industrial area west of Tabriz,” the Israeli military posted on X, adding it would “continue to operate in the area in the coming hours”.

Internet shutdowns in Iran since U.S.-Israeli strikes late last month triggered a war in West Asia meant that residents were unlikely to be able to access online evacuation warnings.

- AFP

Sri Lanka has repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who were killed when their frigate was sunk by a U.S. submarine, an official said.

“Human remains were sent by the Iranian embassy on Friday (March 13, 2026) - all 84”, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

They were sent on a chartered Turkish airliner, which departed on Friday, reporters present at the Mattala international airport in the southern district of Hambantota said.

-PTI

White House AI czar David Sacks said on Friday (March 13, 2026) the U.S. should “declare victory ‌and get out” of its war on Iran, a rare instance ⁠of a prominent figure in Donald Trump’s administration calling for an exit from the Iran ‌conflict.

“This is a good time to ‌declare victory and get out,” Sacks, ‌Trump’s ⁠crypto and AI czar, said ⁠in an appearance on the “All-In Podcast.”

Sacks said the U.S. had degraded Iran’s military capabilities.

-Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday (March 13, 2026) that Iran has been “totally defeated” in the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against the country and wanted a deal he would not accept, despite Iranian officials pledging to continue the fight.

“The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal — But not a deal that I would accept!” Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating.

Read the story here

Donald Trump says Iran ‘totally defeated’, ‘wants a deal’ he won’t accept

Trump claims Iran is "totally defeated" and desires a deal he won't accept amidst ongoing tensions in the region.

Qatar said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) it intercepted two missiles, after blasts were heard in the capital Doha and authorities said they had evacuated some key areas.

Interceptors were seen downing two projectiles over the Qatari capital’s downtown area and blasts were heard, according to AFP journalists, as Iran presses on with its retaliatory air campaign against Gulf states.

Earlier, the Interior Ministry said in a statement it was “evacuating several key areas as a temporary precautionary measure, within the framework of ensuring public safety until the danger has passed”.

-AFP

A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, two Iraqi security officials said.

Associated Press footage showed a column of smoke rising on Saturday (March 14, 2026) morning over the embassy compound.

The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.

Read the story here

​​

Missile strikes a helipad inside U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad: Iraqi security officials

Missile strikes U.S. Embassy helipad in Baghdad, highlighting ongoing threats from Iran-aligned militias amid heightened security alerts.

Threatened by volleys of Hezbollah rockets and missiles from Iran, residents of Arab towns in northern Israel are complaining about a lack of public shelters.

“The state is obliged to build public shelters so that the entire population has access to safe havens,” Mazen Ghanayem, mayor of the town of Sakhnin, told AFP.

“Yet our town doesn’t have a single public shelter worthy of the name.”

Almost two weeks after the U.S. and Israel started the war on Iran, the conflict has spread across the region. Iran retaliated by attacking Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, American assets in the region as well as Israel. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical international maritime checkpoint, remains effectively shut, sending fuel prices through the roof.

“The U.S. and Israel miscalculated big time,” Mohammad Marandi, professor of English literature and orientalism at Tehran University, told The Hindu in an interview. He said the Arab countries in the Gulf are not neutral players as they are hosting American bases. “As time goes on, the price of oil is going to go up. And the world knows that this is not Iran’s fault. This is the fault of the Trump regime and Netanyahu,” he added. Edited excerpts:

Read the story here

U.S., Israel wanted quick win, but they failed: Mohammad Marandi

Mohammad Marandi discusses the miscalculations of the U.S. and Israel in their conflict with Iran and its repercussions.

The Trump administration said ‌on Friday (March 13, 2026) it expects early deliveries of oil from ⁠the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve to reach the market by the ‌end of next week as part of an ‌effort to combat the ‌energy ⁠price spike since the start ⁠of the Iran war.

The oil will be released in the form of loans ‌that companies will return with extra barrels as a premium, the U.S. Energy Department said ‌in a statement. This system was meant to stabilize markets “at no cost to ⁠American taxpayers,” it said.

The Energy Department said it had ‌requested companies to bid for 86 million barrels of crude oil, which will be the first from the release of 172 million ‌barrels that Washington announced this week.

-Reuters

Iran’s leaders are seeking to show the staying power of their near half-century old clerical-based system and prove that it can withstand the killing of its longtime ruler and war with United States and Israel, analysts said.

But analysts said the system he led, based on Shia Islam and hostility to the West, remained firmly in place, even if it was likely to be adapted by his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei.

This was likely to mean even greater influence for the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military created to ensure the survival of the system and whose influence is felt across Iran, including in the economy.

-AFP

Just over two weeks before President Donald Trump is due to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, Chinese uncertainty over the U.S. leader’s goals and the impact of the Iran war hang over the highly anticipated state visit.

Mr. Trump’s trip, his first to China in his second term, is aimed at sealing a trade war truce the two leaders shook hands on when they met in South Korea in October.

But for Beijing, which likes to carefully choreograph such events to avoid any possibility of embarrassment, Mr. Trump’s free-wheeling style is proving a challenge.

A source familiar with negotiations told AFP that Chinese officials were expecting more ambitious preparations for such a summit between the leaders of the rival superpowers.

-AFP

An explosion was heard in Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Saturday (March 14, 2026), an AFP journalist reported, hours after a missile struck a powerful Iran-backed group in the city.

Residents in the Zayouna district in eastern Baghdad told AFP that the force of the blast shook their houses.

Explosions were heard earlier in Baghdad, which appeared to be a missile strike on a house used by the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing “a key figure” and wounding two others, according to a security source.

Israeli ‌strikes in Gaza killed four Palestinians, including two 17-year-olds, in two separate attacks, Palestinian medics said on Friday (March 13, 2026), with violence ⁠continuing in the West Bank and Gaza even as Israel expands its offensive across the region. Israel has used lethal force in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and ‌the occupied West Bank over the past 24 hours.

After nearly ⁠two weeks of war, 2,000 people have been killed, most of them in Iran, with several million people displaced from their homes.

The Israeli military told Reuters it was not aware of the earlier ‌airstrike reported in Gaza, which paramedics said killed three people, including two 17-year-old males.

-Reuters

The resumption of some flights from Dubai has allowed gold flows from this major global trading ‌hub to partially resume this week, three sources familiar with the ⁠matter told Reuters on Friday (March 13, 2026).

Deliveries of physical gold to and from Dubai — a ‌major hub supplying Switzerland, Hong Kong and India — have been affected since ‌the start of the U.S.–Israeli ‌war ⁠on Iran on February 28, which ⁠triggered widespread passenger flight cancellations across West Asia.

Read the story here

Partial flight resumptions restore some gold flows from key hub Dubai

Partial flight resumptions from Dubai are helping to restore gold flows, but demand in India remains weak.

The United States is offering a reward ‌of up to $10 million for information about senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including its new Supreme Leader Ayatollah ⁠Mojtaba Khamenei.

The reward targets 10 officials associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to the State Department website.

Read the story here

U.S. offers $10 million reward for information on Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, senior officials

The U.S. offers a $10 million reward for information on Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and key officials.

Qatari authorities evacuated parts of Doha’s ‌Msheireb district, which includes ⁠government offices and a Google office, ‌early on Saturday (March 14, 2026), witnesses said.

The ‌witnesses ‌also ⁠said authorities ⁠evacuated parts of Doha’s education city, which is ‌home to branch campuses of six U.S. universities.

The ‌evacuation orders come after Qatar’s interior ⁠ministry said authorities were evacuating a “number ‌of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure,” without providing ‌details on the areas. It came about an ⁠hour before authorities ⁠reported missile interceptions in ‌Qatar.

-Reuters

The Iranian armed ‌forces said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) that any ⁠attack on Iran’s oil and energy infrastructure ‌will lead to ‌attacks on ‌energy ⁠infrastructure owned ⁠by oil companies cooperating with the United ‌States in the region, Iranian media reported.

The warning ‌came after President Donald Trump said ⁠that the United States destroyed ‌military targets on Iran’s main oil hub of Kharg Island. ‌The island serves as the export terminal ⁠for 90% of ⁠Iran’s oil shipments. 

-Reuters

Two Indian nationals lost their lives in an attack in Oman’s Sohar amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, the Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday (March 13, 2026). Several other nationals were also injured.

A drone crashed on Friday (March 13, 2026) in an industrial area in the region of Sohar, “killing two foreigners and wounding other people”, the Oman News Agency said.

Read the story here

West Asia conflict: Two Indians killed in attack in Oman’s Sohar

Two Indians were killed in a drone attack in Sohar, Oman, amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.

U.S. law enforcement officials are on heightened alert as the Iran war enters its third week, but the limits of ‌their vigilance were on display as seeming lone-wolf attacks unfolded more than 500 miles apart in Virginia and Michigan on Thursday (March 12, 2026) alone.

In Michigan, where a Lebanon-born gunman rammed a pickup truck laden with fireworks and jugs of gasoline into a synagogue, sparking a fire, it appeared to be one ⁠of the first known instances of a specific bombing in the Iran war leading to retaliatory violence on American soil since the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.

Authorities have not suggested a motive for the attack on Temple Israel in the Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield, which ended when the pickup driver fatally shot himself in the head in the midst of a gunfight with ‌a security guard.

-Reuters

The U.S. military said on Friday (March 13, 2026) it has elevated the investigation into a devastating February 28 strike on an Iranian girls’ school after media reports revealed the probe shows ‌U.S. forces were likely responsible.

Iran has said the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School killed 168 children. If U.S. fault is confirmed, it would rank among the worst incidents of civilian deaths in decades of ⁠U.S. military strikes in West Asia. Reuters first reported the investigation’s initial findings on March 5.

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Pentagon elevates investigation into Iran school strike

Pentagon escalates investigation into a deadly strike on an Iranian school, potentially implicating U.S. forces in civilian casualties.

The United States on Friday (March 13, 2026) told its non-emergency U.S. government employees in Oman and their family members to leave the Gulf country as war rages in West Asia.

The State Department updated its advisory to warn Americans of “safety risks,” noting “there has been an ongoing threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran and significant disruptions to commercial flights.”

Two people were killed by drone in northern Oman, state media reported on Friday (March 13), as Iran continues its retaliatory attacks on neighbouring countries.

-AFP

Police in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) they had arrested 45 people, including foreigners, for “spreading misinformation and filming and sharing event locations” as Iran continued to strike the Gulf.

“The Abu Dhabi Police Criminal Investigation Department arrested 45 individuals of various nationalities for filming different locations during ongoing events and posting them on social media platforms,” the police said.

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Abu Dhabi police arrest 45 people of ‘various nationalities’ for filming, spreading misinformation on Iran attacks

Abu Dhabi police arrest 45 individuals for filming and spreading misinformation amid ongoing tensions related to Iran attacks.

A missile struck a house used by the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah in Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Saturday (March 14, 2026), killing one person and wounding two others, a security source told AFP.

“At 02:15 a.m. (1115 GMT Friday), a missile struck a house that was being used by Kataeb Hezbollah,” said the security source, adding that “a key figure was martyred,” and two members of the group were wounded.

The American military has ordered 2,500 Marines and an amphibious assault ship to West Asia, a U.S. official said on Friday (March 13, 2026), in a major addition of forces in the region after nearly two weeks of war with Iran. Hours later, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces had “obliterated” military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island — the primary terminal that handles Iran’s oil exports — and warned that the island’s oil infrastructure there could be next.

Meanwhile in the Iranian capital, a large explosion rocked a central square where thousands were gathered for an annual state-organised rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel’s demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area in central Tehran.

-AP

At least 12 ‌medical personnel were killed ⁠in an Israeli strike ‌on a healthcare ‌center ‌in ⁠the ⁠town of Borj Qalaouiya in southern Lebanon, ‌the Lebanese state news agency reported ‌on Saturday (March 14, 2026), citing the health ⁠ministry.

The health ministry ‌said the death toll was preliminary, with ‌rescue operations underway to search for ⁠missing persons.

Read the story here

At least 12 medical staff killed in Israeli strike on health centre in southern Lebanon: ministry

Israeli airstrike kills at least 12 medical staff in southern Lebanon, marking a second attack on healthcare within hours.