Iran-Israel war updates on March 15, 2026: Iran warns against wider war as Donald Trump asks allies to escort ships

The Israeli military said early on Monday it was conducting a fresh wave of “wide-scale” strikes on Tehran.

“The IDF has begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Iranian terror regime infrastructure in Tehran,” the Israeli military posted on Telegram.

- AFP

U.S. President Donald ‌Trump said on Sunday ⁠Washington is in ‌contact with ‌Iran ‌but ⁠expressed ⁠doubt that Tehran is prepared for ‌serious negotiations to end ‌the conflict.

Trump told reporters on Air ⁠Force One ‌his administration is talking to Iran, “but ‌I don’t think they are ⁠ready.”

- Reuters

Dubai ‌Media Office said ⁠on ‌Monday that ‌authorities ‌were ⁠dealing ⁠with a fire ‌resulting from a ‌drone attack in the ⁠vicinity ‌of Dubai ‌International Airport. 

U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump said on ‌Sunday he ‌is ‌demanding ⁠that ⁠other countries help protect the ‌Strait of Hormuz, adding ‌that Washington is in talks ⁠with several ‌nations about policing the critical ‌shipping lane for oil and ⁠gas. 

- Reuters

Australia will not send naval ships to assist in reopening ‌the Strait of Hormuz, a government minister said ⁠on Monday.

“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of ‌Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, ‌but that’s not something ‌that we’ve ⁠been asked or that ⁠we’re contributing to,” Catherine King, a member of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s cabinet, said in an ‌interview with state broadcaster ABC.

- Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that NATO faces a “very ‌bad” future if U.S. allies fail to assist in opening up ⁠the Strait of Hormuz, in an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday.

Trump told ‌the FT he could also delay his summit with China’s President ‌Xi Jinping later this month ‌as ⁠he presses Beijing to help unblock ⁠the crucial waterway.

“I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits,” ‌Trump told the newspaper, adding he would prefer to know Beijing’s position before the planned visit.

- Reuters

A fragment of ‌an Iranian missile struck a ⁠residential building used by the U.S. ‌consul in Jerusalem, Israeli media ‌reported, although ‌the ⁠U.S. State Department said ⁠there were no injuries to U.S. personnel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video of himself getting a cup of coffee and chatting with his aide on ‌Sunday (March 15, 2026), after rumours that he was dead or injured were aired by Iranian ⁠state media and spread online in Iran.

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Netanyahu posts video in response to Iran rumours that he is dead

Netanyahu counters Iranian rumors of his death with a lighthearted video, enjoying coffee and affirming his commitment to Israel.

Global energy markets were rattled within days of the outbreak of the war between Iran and U.S.-Israel, with oil prices surging sharply amid fears of further supply disruptions. In a brief chat with The Hindu, Shalini Medepalli, the acting British Deputy High Commissioner for Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, spoke about the unfolding crisis in West Asia, which severely hurts the State as well as other parts of the country, along with its decision to engage with Kerala under the India-U.K. Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA),which offers India access to the U.K. market.

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U.K. military bases given to U.S. to reduce impact of war on millions of Indians in Gulf, says U.K. Deputy High Commissioner

U.K. military bases support U.S. actions to protect millions of Indians in the Gulf amidst escalating regional tensions.

The Trump ‌administration plans to announce as ⁠early as this ‌week that ‌multiple ‌countries ⁠have agreed ⁠to form a coalition that ‌will escort ships through the Strait ‌of Hormuz, the Wall ⁠Street Journal reported ‌on Sunday, citing U.S. officials.

Reuters could ‌not immediately verify the report. 

- Reuters

A fifth member of the Iranian women’s soccer team who accepted a refugee visa to stay in Australia has left the country, the Australian government said on Monday.

The player’s departure shortly before midnight on Sunday leaves two of an initial seven squad members in Australia, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s office said.

Burke reported on Sunday that two players and a team support staff member had left Sydney for Malaysia on Saturday.

Iran’s team arrived in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup last month, before the war in the Middle East began on Feb. 28.

- AP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed ‌the need to reopen ⁠the Strait of Hormuz to ‌end disruption to global shipping ‌with U.S. ‌President ⁠Donald Trump, a ⁠Downing Street spokeswoman said on Sunday.

Starmer also ‌spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, with ‌the leaders discussing the impact of ⁠the strait’s continued closure on ‌international shipping, the spokeswoman said.

Starmer and Carney agreed to continue ‌talks on the Middle East conflict at a ⁠meeting on Monday, ⁠the spokeswoman added.

- Reuters

Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar has hailed direct talks with Iran as the most effective way ‌to restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, in an interview with the Financial ⁠Times published on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (March 14, 2026) called on nations to send warships to keep the Strait ‌of Hormuz open for shipping as Iranian forces respond to U.S. and Israeli attacks ‌on Iran.

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Jaishankar hails talks with Iran to open Strait of Hormuz, says no “blanket arrangement” for Indian-flagged ships: report

Jaishankar praises Iran talks for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing no blanket deal for Indian-flagged ships.

‌Israel and Lebanon ⁠are expected to ‌hold ‌talks ‌in ⁠the ⁠coming days aimed ‌at securing a durable ceasefire ‌that will see ⁠Hezbollah ‌disarmed, two Israeli officials ‌said on Sunday.

- Reuters

Iranian ‌President Masoud ⁠Pezeshkian discussed ‌regional ‌developments ‌with ⁠his ⁠French counterpart Emmanuel Macron ‌in a ‌phone call, Iran’s ⁠ Tasnim ‌news agency ‌said on Sunday.

- Reuters

The U.S. has spent about $12 billion on the ongoing war with Iran so far, Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said.

He was speaking on CBS News’ Face the Nation.

“The latest number I was briefed on was 12,” Mr. Hassett said.

Pentagon estimates provided to Congress said the war would cost $11.3 billion in its first week. Hassett did not specify the time frame for the $12 billion in spending.

- AFP

The World Health Organization said on Sunday (March 15, 2026) it had released $2 million from its Contingency ‌Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to support the health response in ⁠Lebanon, Iraq and Syria amidst the ongoing crisis in West Asia.

The ‌conflict has triggered a large-scale population movement, the WHO ‌said last week, estimating ‌that ⁠more than 100,000 people in ⁠Iran have relocated, and up to 700,000 people in Lebanon have been internally displaced.

$1 million has ‌been allocated to Lebanon to strengthen the WHO’s emergency coordination through the Public Health Emergency Operations ‌Centre, scale up trauma care, reinforce disease surveillance, and procure and distribute essential medicines ⁠and medical supplies, the agency said in a statement.

Iraq and Syria ‌have each been allocated $500,000 to support emergency coordination and mass-casualty management, procure and distribute essential medicines and supplies, provide health services for displaced populations, and ‌strengthen disease surveillance and community outreach, it added.

- Reuters

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said its peacekeepers were fired upon three times on Sunday (March 15, 2026) “likely by non-state armed groups” in the country’s south, two days after another position was hit by fire.

“Today, UNIFIL peacekeepers were fired upon, likely by non-state armed groups, on three separate occasions while conducting patrols around their bases” in south Lebanon, the force said, adding that “two patrols returned fire in self-defence and after brief exchanges, the patrols resumed their planned activities. No peacekeeper was injured.”

- AFP

Amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh has reached out to principals of CBSE-affiliated schools in Saudi Arabia to brief them on the current regional situation and the mission’s initiatives to support the Indian community, officials said on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

The embassy shared the update in a post on social media.

“DCM (Deputy Chief of Mission) Mr Abu Mathen George, joined by First Secretary Mr Vipul Bawa, held a virtual interaction with principals of CBSE-affiliated schools across Saudi Arabia,” it said.

The deputy chief of mission “briefed them on the current regional situation and the embassy’s initiatives to support the Indian community and also addressed queries related to the CBSE board examinations,” it said.

- PTI

Several drones and rockets targeted on Sunday (March 15, 2026) a military base at the Baghdad airport complex, which also houses a U.S. diplomatic facility, three security sources told AFP.

“Nine attacks with drones and rockets targeted the Victory military base in the airport,” a security official said, with an AFP journalist reporting hearing explosions in the capital.

Another security source said at least three drones were downed. It remains unclear if the military base was directly hit.

- AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a short video on Sunday (March 15, 2026) making light of rumours on social media that he was dead.

“I’m dead for coffee,” he said sarcastically on his official X account as he received a cup at a cafe outside Jerusalem.

He then raised his hands to the camera, asking, “Do you want to count the number of fingers?” — a reference to speculation on social media that his latest televised address was generated by AI as he appeared to have six fingers on one hand.

“We are doing things that I cannot share at this moment, but we are striking Iran very hard, and also Lebanon,” he added.

- AFP

Oil from the International Energy Agency emergency ‌reserves will begin flowing to ⁠global markets soon, with member countries pledging to ‌make available 411.9 million barrels, the ‌agency said ‌in ⁠a statement on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

Governments ⁠have committed to making available 271.7 million barrels of oil ‌from government stocks, 116.6 million barrels from obligated industry stocks ‌and 23.6 million barrels from other sources, the statement ⁠said.

It added that 72% of planned ‌releases are in the form of crude oil and 28% are oil products.

- Reuters

Sri Lanka on Sunday (March 15, 2026) switched to a digital QR code-based system to ration fuel sales, a move authorities described as a “precautionary measure” amid persisting uncertainty in West Asia.

Citing “prevailing geopolitical developments” in West Asia and their adverse impact on global supply chains, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Energy said the country’s existing fuel stocks were depleting amid an “abnormal increase” in demand. “Therefore, it has become necessary to carefully manage the available fuel reserves in order to sustain the country’s economic activities,” it said in a public notice announcing the switch to a QR code system.

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Sri Lanka switches to QR code-based system to ration fuel sales

Sri Lanka implements a QR code system to ration fuel sales amid global supply challenges, limiting weekly quotas for vehicles.

An Israeli military source on Sunday (March 15, 2026) denied media reports that Israel was running low on missile interceptors crucial to its air defences, adding that the Army was “continuously monitoring the situation”.

Citing U.S. officials, news outlet Semafor had reported that Israel had informed the United States that it was “running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors”, as the US-Israeli war against Iran entered its third week.

“As of now, there is no interceptor shortage. The IDF prepared for prolonged combat. We are continuously monitoring the situation,” the military source said, in response to media queries.

- AFP

US. President Donald Trump’s top energy official said Sunday that Americans will have to endure the “short-term pain” of higher prices at the pump as U.S. forces conduct their war against Iran.

Now in the third week of a multi-dimensional West Asia conflict that has seen U.S. and Israeli forces pound Iran’s military targets, and Tehran responding with missile and drone attacks against several neighboring states, global energy prices have soared.

And concern has swelled that a lengthy blockage by Iran of the critical Strait of Hormuz could send crude prices through the roof.

“President Trump needed to act now... to stop the killing of American soldiers, to stop the destabilization of the region, and to end Iran’s ability to threaten energy markets,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC News talk show “This Week.”- AFP

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was not interested in talks with the United States, pushing back on U.S. President Donald Trump’s stance that Tehran wants a deal to end the war.

“We are stable and strong enough. We are only defending our people,” Mr. Araghchi told CBS’s “Face The Nation,” in an interview aired Sunday.

“We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us.”- AFP

Egyptian Foreign ‌Minister Badr Abdelatty and ⁠Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim ‌bin Hamad ‌al-Thani on ‌Sunday ⁠discussed regional ⁠de-escalation and ending the ongoing war ‌between Israel, the U.S. and ‌Iran, the Egyptian foreign ministry ⁠said.

Abdelatty had travelled ‌to Qatar as part of a ‌Gulf tour to discuss regional developments.--- Reuters

Lebanon’s health ministry said on Sunday (March 15, 2026) that Israeli attacks have killed 850 people in the country during two weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The Ministry statement said the toll included 66 women, 107 children and 32 health workers, with 2,105 other people wounded. -- AFP

Despite the hardline talk from all sides, residents of Tehran were able to go about their work week in the most normal atmosphere since the start of the war on February 28.

Traffic was busier than last week and some cafes and restaurants had reopened.

One resident whizzed down the street on an electric hoverboard, and more than a third of stalls in the Tajrish bazaar, a popular shopping hub in the north of the capital, had reopened, five days before Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

Some shoppers queued at ATMs to withdraw cash. Online operations at Bank Melli, one of the country’s largest, had been paralysed in recent days. 

- AFP

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright ‌said on Sunday (March 15, 2026) that he ⁠expects the U.S. war with Iran to ‌end within “the next ‌few weeks,” ‌with ⁠oil supplies rebounding ⁠and energy costs declining afterwards.

“I think that this ‌conflict will certainly come to the end in ‌the next few weeks – could be sooner ⁠than that. But the conflict will ‌come to an end in the next few weeks, and ‌we’ll see a rebound in supplies and a pushing ⁠down in prices ⁠after that,” Mr. Wright told in an ABC’s program.

- Reuters

An Israeli Embassy spokesperson said that overnight missile and rocket attacks have continued, with several occurring since Sunday morning (March 15, 2026).

“Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service, are treating and transporting a 60 years old injured by shrapnel,” the spokesperson said.

- Kallol Bhattacharjee

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the war pitting his country against the United States and Israel will only end when Tehran can be certain it will not be restarted.

“This war will end when we are certain it will not be repeated and that reparations will be paid. We experienced this last year: Israel attacked, then the United States... they regrouped and attacked us again,” said Mr. Araghchi, referring to Iran’s war with Israel and the U.S. in June 2025.

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Iran warns against wider war as Trump asks allies to escort ships

Iran's Foreign Minister claims war with the U.S. and Israel will end only when assurances against future attacks are guaranteed.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview published Sunday (March 15, 2026) that Tehran has “ample evidence” U.S. bases in the West Asia have been used to target the Islamic republic.

“We have ample evidence of this: satellite imagery and electronic surveillance demonstrate that US bases in this region are being used for attacks,” Mr. Araghchi told Arabic-language news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, claiming that missiles had been launched from the UAE to attack Kharg Island, a vital Iranian oil hub.

- AFP

The Indian vessel Jag Laadki safely departed the UAE’s Fujairah with crude oil after an attack on the oil terminal, said the government on March 15, 2026.

“The vessel sailed safely from Fujairah at 10:30 a.m. IST today, carrying about 80,800 MT of Murban crude oil and is bound for India. The vessel and all Indian seafarers on board are safe,” the Indian Government said in a statement.

The Indian-flagged vessel Jag Laadki was attacked while loading crude oil at the Fujairah Single Point Mooring, the Fujairah oil terminal, on March 14, 2026.

- Saptaparno Ghosh

Israel has approved an $827-million emergency budget allocation for military purchases, Israeli media reported Sunday, as the war with Iran entered its third week.

The 2.6-billion-shekel package was approved over the weekend by cabinet ministers during a telephone meeting, the daily Haaretz reported.

It will be used for “security purchases” and to address “urgent needs”, it said, without providing further details.

- AFP

Gulf Arab states reported new missile and drone attacks on Sunday (March 15, 2026) after Iran threatened to widen its campaign and further expand the war with the United States and Israel, now in its third week.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates warned residents on Sunday (March 15, 2026) that they were working to intercept incoming projectiles, a day after Iran called for the evacuation of three major UAE ports, threatening for the first time a neighbouring country’s non-U.S. assets.

- AP

Iran’s army said on Sunday (March 15, 2026) it had targeted a police unit and a satellite communications centre in Israel with drone strikes.

In a statement, carried by the official IRNA news agency, the army said “it has targeted the security centres and police headquarters of the Zionist terrorist regime, including the regime’s special police unit called ‘Lahav 433’ and the ‘Gilat Defence’ satellite communications centre with powerful drone attacks”.

- AFP

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon ‌Saar said on Sunday (March 15, 2026) ⁠that the government was not planning to hold ‌direct talks with Lebanon ‌in the ‌coming days ⁠and had ⁠not told the United States it was running ‌low on missile interceptors.

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Saturday (March 14, 2026)that Israel and Lebanon were expected to hold direct talks in the coming days. ‌Mr. Semafor also reported that Israel had informed Washington it was running critically ‌low on ballistic missile interceptors.

Asked about the two ⁠reports, Mr. Saar said: “For ⁠the two questions, the answers ‌is no.”

- Reuters

Iraq’s Oil Ministry said on Sunday (March 15, 2026) that ‌the Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources ⁠had refused to resume oil exports for the ‌time being.

The Kurdish Ministry placed ‌conditions that ‌have ⁠no relevance to exporting ⁠crude, the Iraqi Ministry said in a statement.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry ‌also said it was ready to resume exports of no more ‌than 300,000 barrels through the Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey.

Oil ⁠production from Iraq’s main southern oilfields, ‌where most of its crude is produced and exported, has plunged 70% to just 1.3 million ‌bpd, sources told Reuters on March 8, as the country ⁠is unable to export ⁠via the Gulf due to ‌the Iran war. 

- Reuters

Iran’s Foreign Minister told his French ‌counterpart that countries must refrain ⁠from any action that could escalate the conflict ‌in West Asia, Abbas ‌Araqchi said in ‌comments ⁠posted on ⁠his Telegram account on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

This comes after U.S. President ‌Donald Trump called upon various states, including France, to ‌deploy vessels to help secure shipping through the ⁠Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked ‌by Iran following U.S.-Israeli strikes on its territory.

About a fifth of ‌global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through ⁠the strait, a narrow ⁠passage of water between Iran ‌and Oman. 

- Reuters

Donald Trump warned that he is not ready to seek a deal to end the war with Iran, as U.S. ally Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Sunday (March 15, 2026) and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to hunt down and kill the Israeli leader.

The US president, in an interview with NBC News, said he thought Tehran was keen to come to the table but that Washington would fight on for better terms and might bomb targets on Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island once again, “just for fun”.

More than two weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic, neither side is moderating its rhetoric despite a mounting death toll and economic damage from soaring oil prices caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz sea lane.

“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Mr. Trump told NBC News, warning that US forces would step up strikes on the Iranian coast north of the strait to clear a path for oil shipments to resume.

- AFP

U.K. Energy Security Minister Ed Miliband on Sunday (March 15, 2026) said it was essential to calm the situation in West Asia after U.S. President Donald Trump called for other nations to help protect world oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The “plan now has to be to de-escalate the conflict”, Mr. Miliband told the BBC.

- AFP

Overnight strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least four people, Lebanese state media and the government said on Sunday (March 15, 2026), as Israel said it was pressing its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israel struck “an apartment in a residential building” in a northern district of the coastal city of Sidon, killing one person and causing a fire.

- AFP

Iran’s Foreign Minister denied on Sunday (March 15, 2026) that ‌Iran has targeted civilian or residential areas ⁠in West Asia and said Tehran ‌is ready to form a committee ‌with its neighbours ‌to ⁠investigate the ⁠responsibility for such strikes.

Gulf countries have called upon Iran to cease ‌its attacks on their territories, which have not only sustained ‌strikes on U.S. military bases but also damage to ⁠energy facilities and residential areas.

Abbas Araqchi’s Telegram channel ‌quoted him as saying in an interview with Al-Araby al-Jadeed website that Tehran was ‌in communication with various Gulf capitals and would welcome any initiative that ⁠could guarantee a ⁠complete end to the U.S.-Israeli war ‌on Iran. 

- Reuters

Ukraine wants money and technology in return for helping West Asian nations defend against Iranian kamikaze drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after Kyiv sent specialists to four countries in ‌the region.

Mr. Zelenskiy told reporters in comments cleared for release on Sunday (March 15, 2026) that each of the ‌three teams sent to West Asia consisted ‌of ⁠dozens of people, who will conduct ⁠expert assessments and demonstrate how drone defences should operate.

Gulf states have expended large quantities of air-defence missiles to counter Iran’s attack drones and have ‌sought Ukraine’s expertise in downing them. Kyiv downs Russian drones every night using an array of weaponry including cheaper, smaller drones or jamming equipment.

- Reuters

Iraq warned on Sunday (March 15, 2026) that drone attacks near Baghdad airport threatened the security of the nearby prison housing Islamic State group suspects recently brought from Syria.

In February, the United States completed the transfer of 5,700 IS detainees from Syria to Iraq.

They have been held since in Baghdad’s al-Karkh prison, once a U.S. Army detention centre known as Camp Cropper, which is part of Baghdad airport’s complex.

Justice Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi said in a statement that “the areas surrounding Baghdad International Airport and the airport prison (Al-Karkh Central) have been subjected to repeated strikes”.

- AFP

Israel’s military said it began a broad wave of strikes on western Iran on Sunday, more than two weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.

“A short while ago, the IDF began a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in western Iran,” the army said in a statement.

- AFP

Ukraine does not want to lose U.S. support for its struggle against Russia as a result of Washington’s war with Iran, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told journalists.

“We don’t want to lose the Americans” while they are “without a doubt currently preoccupied with the Middle East”, the Ukrainian leader told the press, including AFP reporters, on Saturday (March 14, 2026). His comments were under embargo until Sunday.

“We are showing our willingness to help the United States and their allies in the Middle East” by offering to share Ukraine’s drone expertise, and “we strongly hope that as a result of the Middle East, the United States will not turn its back on the question of the war in Ukraine”, he added.

- AFP

Iranian authorities have arrested at least 20 people in the country’s northwest on suspicion of cooperating with Israel, local media reported on Sunday (March 15, 2026), more than two weeks into the West Asian war.

The arrests took place during raids on networks linked to Israel in the West Azerbaijan province, the Fars news agency said, quoting provincial prosecutor Hossein Majidi.

“Twenty people were arrested and detained” after they were found to be “sending details of military, law enforcement and security locations to the Zionist enemy”, it added.

- AFP

Clouds of toxic smoke unleashed into the atmosphere by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iranian oil facilities made a dangerous return to Earth in the form of “black rain,” prompting international health officials to warn of serious risks to the public.

Residents in Tehran complained last week of burning eyes and difficulty breathing when the dark and oily precipitation fell near the Iranian capital after several fuel oil depots and a refinery were struck.

Plumes of dark smoke have also been seen across other parts of the region over two weeks of war, as Iran retaliates against US-Israeli airstrikes by firing drones and missiles at the oil and natural gas facilities of its Persian Gulf neighbours.

- AP

South Korea’s ‌presidential office said on ⁠Saturday (March 14, 2026) that it would ‌carefully review ‌U.S. President ‌Donald ⁠Trump’s calls ⁠on allies to send warships ‌to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

“We ‌will communicate closely with the ⁠U.S. regarding this matter ‌and make a decision after careful ‌review,” the office said in a ⁠statement.

- Reuters

Oil-loading operations at the United ‌Arab Emirates’ Fujairah emirate, ⁠a major bunkering hub and crude ‌export terminal, have resumed ‌following ‌a ⁠drone attack and ⁠fire a day earlier, Bloomberg News ‌reported on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

Reuters could not immediately verify ‌the report.

Fujairah, outside the Strait of ⁠Hormuz, is the outlet ‌for about 1 million barrels per day of the ‌UAE’s Murban crude oil - a volume equal to ⁠about 1% of ⁠world demand.

-Reuters

Twenty people were arrested in ‌northwestern Iran for attempting ⁠to cooperate with Israel, Tasnim news ‌agency reported on Sunday (March 15, 2026), ‌citing ‌a ⁠statement by ⁠the West Azerbaijan province’s prosecutor office.

They are accused ‌of sending location details on Iran’s military and ‌security assets to Israel.

Israel has launched ⁠a new phase of ‌its assault on Iran, targeting security checkpoints based on tip-offs ‌from informants on the ground, a source briefed ⁠on Israel’s military ⁠strategy told Reuters last week.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed on Sunday (March 15, 2026) to target Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the war with Israel and the United States continues.

“If this child-killing criminal is alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force,” said the Guards on their website Sepah News.

-Reuters

Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials are set to launch a new round of talks in Paris on Sunday (March 15, 2026) to iron out kinks in their trade truce and clear a smooth path for U.S. President ‌Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of March.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran will likely come up at the Paris talks, especially in reference to the spike in oil prices and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which China gets ‌45% of its oil. Mr. Bessent on Thursday (March 12, 2026) night announced a 30-day waiver of sanctions to allow the sale of Russian oil stranded at sea in tankers, a move to raise supplies.

On Saturday (March 14), Mr. Trump urged other nations to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington bombed military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island oil loading hub and Iran threatened to retaliate.

-Reuters

The spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has accused the United States and Israel of conducting a false-flag campaign using a rebranded version of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, known as “Lucas,” state broadcaster Press TV reported on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

The official claimed these drones are being deployed against civilian infrastructure across the region to deliberately frame the Islamic Republic.

In a formal statement, the spokesman suggested that after facing military challenges and failing to establish political alliances against Tehran, the enemy has turned to deceptive tactics.

The objective of these manoeuvres, according to the statement, is to “create doubt and accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran” while damaging ties between Tehran and its regional partners, Press TV noted.

-ANI

The Congress on Sunday (March 15, 2026) said the Chabahar port now not being “on the horizon” for India is the second “strategic setback” to the country’s Central Asian diplomacy after the closure of its air force base in Ayni in Tajikistan.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh alleged that continuity in governance is an essential reality that is never acknowledged by the “self-obsessed” PM.

Beginning in the late 1990s, India began to explore possibilities of making investments in Iran’s Chabahar port as part of an India-Afghanistan-Iran cooperation strategy, Mr. Ramesh said on X.

A senior Japanese policy adviser said on Sunday (March 15, 2026) the threshold is “extremely high” for Tokyo to send its warships to help protect a shipping lane for oil in West Asia, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for other countries to do so.

“I regard the threshold as extremely high” for sending Japanese navy ships to the region under existing Japanese laws, Takayuki Kobayashi, the policy chief of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said on Sunday (March 15) on the public broadcaster NHK’s political debate programme.

“Legally speaking, we do not rule out the possibility, but given the current situation in which this conflict is ongoing, I believe this is something that must be considered with great caution,” he said.

-AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the vital Strait of Hormuz while Iran urged people to evacuate three ports in the United Arab Emirates as its war with the United States and Israel showed no signs of ending.

Iran’s call to evacuate West Asia’s busiest port and two other UAE ports marked the first time it had openly threatened a neighbouring country’s non-U.S. assets.

Tehran said the U.S. had used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran’s oil exports, without providing evidence. It urged people to leave areas where it said U.S. forces were sheltering.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis deepened, with over 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

-AP

Another three members of the Iran’s women’s soccer team who accepted refugee visas to stay in Australia have decided to return to their homeland, an Australian government minister said on Sunday (March 15, 2026). 

The departure leaves three of an initial seven squad members in Australia.

“Overnight, three members of the Iranian Women’s Football Team made the decision to join the rest of the team on their journey back to Iran,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.

“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Mr. Burke added.

-AP

In the two weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump increasingly has been knocked on his political heels.

He’s grown more agitated with news coverage and has failed to find a way to explain why he started the war — or how he will end it — that resonates with a public concerned by American deaths in the conflict, surging oil prices and dropping financial markets. Even some of his supporters are questioning his plan and his overall poll numbers are declining.

Meanwhile, Moscow is getting a boost from the war’s early days after Mr. Trump eased sanctions on some Russian oil shipments. That, combined with rising oil prices, undercut the yearslong push to crimp President Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war in Ukraine.

Then there are Democrats, who were left reeling after Mr. Trump won the 2024 election. With control of Congress at stake in November’s midterms, the party has come together to oppose Mr. Trump’s Iran policy and point to the economic turmoil as proof that Republicans haven’t kept their promises to bring down everyday costs.

-AP

The ‌Swiss government said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) 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.

Read the story here

Switzerland rejects two flyover requests from U.S. for flights related to Iran war, permits three others

Switzerland denies two U.S. military flyover requests for Iran conflict, approving three for non-combat purposes.

President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States must leave West Asia for the region to achieve security as the tensions in the Gulf continue to escalate.

In a post on X, Mr. Pezeshkian said, “In short: For the region to be secure, the United States should not be there.”

-ANI

Russia is supplying Iran with Shahed drones to use against the ‌U.S. and Israel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told ⁠ CNN in an interview excerpt aired on Saturday (March 14, 2026).

Mr. Zelenskyy told CNN’s ‌Fareed Zakaria that it is “100% facts” that Iran ‌has used Russian-made ‌Shaheds ⁠to attack U.S. ⁠bases.

Shahed drones have been linked to other attacks on countries in the region, ‌although their manufacturers are not always clear.

-Reuters

The U.S. Department of Defense on Saturday (March 14, 2026) identified ‌the six U.S. airmen who were killed in a ⁠plane crash over Iraq.

The airmen were on a KC-135 aerial refueling ‌tanker supporting U.S. attacks on Iran. The crash ‌involved another aircraft but was ‌not ⁠the result of ⁠hostile or friendly fire and is under investigation, the military has said.

1. Major John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama

2. Captain Ariana G. ⁠Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington

3. Technical Sergeant Ashley B. ‌Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky

4. Captain Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana

5. Captain Curtis J. Angst, ⁠30, of Wilmington, Ohio

6. Technical ⁠Sergeant Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio

-Reuters

Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold direct talks in the coming days, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Saturday (March 14, 2026), in what would be a diplomatic ‌milestone between the two states as Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah wage war.

Three Lebanese officials said Beirut is forming a delegation for talks but no date has been set. One of the officials said Lebanon ⁠needed clarity on whether Israel would abide by President Joseph Aoun’s first point - a demand for a full ceasefire to allow negotiations to take place.

There was no immediate comment on the Haaretz report from the Israeli government.

-Reuters

The ‌Swiss government said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) 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

Amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, Iranian ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, on Saturday (March 14, 2026) said Iran has “allowed some ships” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic trade route.

He, however, did not specify the number of vessels that have been allowed to pass through.

During an interactive session, Mr. Fathali was asked if Iran has “allowed passage to Indian ships” stranded in the Strait of Hormuz and for how many days, given the looming LPG shortage, and the series of telephonic conversations between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

Read the story here

We have allowed some ships: Iranian envoy Fathali on passage of vessels via Strait of Hormuz

Iranian envoy confirms some ships allowed passage through the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating West Asia conflict, addressing India-flagged vessels.

AI-created videos circulating on Elon Musk’s X depict American soldiers captured by Iran, an Israeli city in ruins, and U.S. embassies ablaze -- a surge of lifelike deepfakes despite a policy crackdown to curb wartime disinformation.

The West Asian war has unleashed an avalanche of AI-generated visuals, dwarfing anything seen in previous conflicts and often leaving social media users unable to distinguish fabrication from reality, researchers say.

In a bid to protect “authentic information” during conflicts, X announced last week that it would suspend creators from its revenue sharing program for 90 days if they post AI-generated war videos without disclosing they were artificially made.

Subsequent violations will result in permanent suspension, X’s head of product Nikita Bier warned in a post.

-AFP

Dubai is scrambling to preserve its image as a safe haven despite Iran’s onslaught, with influencers rallying behind the government’s message as authorities crack down on those sharing footage of strikes.

For decades, the Gulf was seen as an oasis of safety in a tumultuous Middle East, with the United Arab Emirates branding itself the safest country in the world and boasting of its very low crime rates.

But that image has now been shattered.

Iran has fired over 1,800 missiles and drones at the Emirates, more than any other country targeted by Tehran in the conflict, upending its aura of tranquillity despite its air defence intercepting a vast majority of the projectiles.

-AFP

U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to leave interest rates unchanged at their meeting next week, as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran sends shock waves through markets and recent economic data has begun to show weakness.

The Fed will start its two-day meeting on Tuesday (March 17, 2026), with an announcement of the benchmark lending rate in the world’s largest economy a day later.

The central bank cut rates three consecutive times last year before holding them steady at its January meeting.

-AFP

The U.S. State Department ⁠said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) ‌it ‌had ‌ordered ⁠non-emergency government ⁠employees and the family ‌members of government employees ‌to leave Oman, citing ⁠safety risks ‌as the U.S.-Israeli war ‌on Iran continues. 

-Reuters

As Gulf routes that have long formed the backbone of Indian airlines’ international networks are hit by the ongoing regional conflict, aircraft utilisation at domestic carriers has dropped sharply.

At Air India Express, for example, nearly a quarter of the fleet is effectively idle. “About one in four aircraft of Air India Express’s 115-strong fleet is grounded,” an industry executive said about the country’s second-largest domestic airline.

While the aircraft are not formally grounded, airlines are flying them once every three to four days to keep them serviceable, and because parking stands are scarce at several airports.

Read the story here

Why Indian airlines are among the worst hit by the Gulf conflict

Indian airlines face severe challenges due to Gulf conflict, leading to idle fleets, increased costs, and flight cancellations.

War enthusiasts in the U.S. cannot find a more effective voice than South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Credited with the feat of steering Mr. Trump into attacking Iran alongside Israel, Mr. Graham is not stopping. “Cuba is next,” he said, soon after the U.S.-Israel axis started bombing Iran. He has also warned Saudi Arabia and Spain, two allies, of consequences if they do not stay in tune with U.S. war plans.

Mr. Graham thinks bombing all the “bad guys” around the world is America’s manifest destiny. Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Summit in late 2025, he said: “I feel good about the Republican Party. I feel good about where we’re going as a nation. We’re killing all the right people, and we’re cutting your taxes. Trump is my favourite President.”

Read Lindsey Graham’s profile here

Lindsey Graham | Trump’s whisperer of war

Explore Lindsey Graham's unwavering support for Trump's military agenda and his perspective on America's role in global conflicts.

Iraq will travel to Mexico for a 2026 World Cup playoff match despite calls for it to be postponed due to the West Asian war, the country’s football association said on Saturday (March 14, 2026).

“The national team will depart at the end of the week to Mexico via a private plane,” said Iraq football association president Adnan Dirjal in a statement, adding they had contacted FIFA to help facilitate the trip during the conflict in the region that has hampered flights.

“We succeeded in communicating with some of the clubs of our professional players to facilitate their joining the national team.”

The match date has been set for March 31 in the Mexican city of Monterrey.

-AFP

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 (March 14, 2026) 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 younger Khamenei was at Ali Khamenei’s residence in Tehran when it was struck on the first day of the ongoing war. He lost his father, who had been Iran’s rahbar for 37 years, as well as his mother and his wife, along with other top officials of the Islamic Republic. “He [Mojtaba] was there, and he was injured in his legs and hand and arm... in the bombardment,” Iran’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Alireza Salarian, later said. Yousef Pezeshkian, son of President Masoud Pezeshkian, wrote in a social media post on March 11 that Mojtaba was injured “but safe and sound”.

A wounded man who lost his parents and wife and was elected the ‘Supreme Leader’ of a nation under attack from the world’s most powerful country and its closest ally, Mojtaba Khamenei now faces a rare crisis his predecessors never confronted — to survive the storm and preserve the republic.

Read Mojtaba Khamenei’s profile here

Mojtaba Khamenei | The cleric with a gun

Explore the challenges of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's newly appointed Supreme Leader, amid unprecedented turmoil and conflict.

A ⁠fire that broke out at the Lanaz refinery ‌in the northern Iraqi city ‌of Erbil ‌after ⁠a drone strike ⁠was contained by authorities, but operations at the refinery remain ‌suspended, officials at the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources ‌told Reuters early on Sunday (March 15, 2026).

Provincial officials said earlier ⁠that operations at the refinery would be ‌suspended until a fire caused by a drone strike on Saturday (March 14) was extinguished.

Officials at ‌the Kurdistan region’s ministry told Reuters earlier that work would ⁠remain suspended until ⁠the extent of the damage is ‌assessed.

Iran’s Foreign Minister said Saturday (March 14, 2026) that there was “no problem” with the Islamic republic’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei after U.S. officials reported he was wounded.

On Friday (March 13, 2026) , U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he believed Mr. Khamenei, who took power after his father was killed in a strike at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, “is wounded and likely disfigured.”

-AFP

British Prime Minister ‌Keir Starmer may send thousands ⁠of interceptor drones to ‌West Asia, ‌ The Telegraph ‌reported ⁠on Saturday (March 14, 2026). 

Military ⁠officials are examining whether the “Octopus” interceptor ‌anti-drone drone system, which is manufactured ‌in the U.K. for Ukraine to ⁠use against Russia, ‌can also be used to bolster British defences ‌against Iran’s Shahed drones, the report said.

Reuters ⁠could not ⁠immediately verify the ‌report.

The head of the World Health Organization said on Saturday ‌that it has verified 12 doctors, paramedics ⁠and nurses were killed in a strike on ‌the Bourj Qalaouiyeh primary healthcare center in ‌Lebanon late on ‌Friday (March 13, 2026).

“The ⁠killings in the ⁠last 24 hours of 14 health workers in southern Lebanon mark a ‌tragic development in the escalating Middle East crisis,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom ‌Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, noting that earlier in ⁠the day two paramedics had been killed in ‌an attack on a health facility in Al Sowana.

Read the story here

WHO chief Tedros says 12 dead in strike on primary healthcare center in Lebanon

WHO chief reports 12 healthcare workers killed in Lebanon amid escalating violence from Israel's bombing campaign against Hezbollah.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ordered the arrest and urgent trial of 10 people of various nationalities for publishing video clips on social media platforms containing misleading and fabricated content amid regional tensions due to the war in Iran.

In a statement released by the country’s official news agency Wam, UAE Attorney-General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the action follows the continuous monitoring of digital platforms amid regional developments. The attorney-general did not reveal the nationalities of the accused.

“Such events have been exploited to disseminate misinformation intended to deliberately mislead the public while undermining national security, order and stability,” he said.

-PTI

Iran will target American companies in the region if its energy facilities are attacked in the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic republic, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday (March 14, 2026).

The U.S. military struck Kharg Island on Friday (March 13, 2026), from which nearly all of Iran’s oil is exported, with President Donald Trump saying every military target had been “obliterated” but its energy facilities had been spared.

Read the story here

Iran threatens U.S. companies in region if energy facilities hit

Iran warns it will retaliate against U.S. companies in the region if its energy facilities are attacked amid escalating tensions.

The Israeli Military said on Saturday (March 14, 2026) it had killed two senior Iranian intelligence officials in a strike in Tehran, just days after they replaced the former head of the directorate who was assassinated on February 28.

Israel said the two men, identified as Abdollah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, were senior officials in the intelligence directorate of the Khatam al-Anbiya, the Iranian Military’s central operations command.

Read the story here

Israel says killed two top Iran intelligence officers in Tehran

Israel claims to have killed two senior Iranian intelligence officers in Tehran amid escalating tensions in the region.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub and urged allies to send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran vowed to ‌step up its response and the war showed no sign on Sunday (March 15, 2026) of coming to an end.

Mr. Trump said the U.S. strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island and warned that more could follow, telling NBC News, “We may hit it a few more times ⁠just for fun.” While he said Tehran appeared ready to make a deal to end the conflict, he added that “the terms aren’t good enough yet.”

The comments marked an escalation in rhetoric from the President, who had previously said the U.S. targeted only military sites on Kharg. They also undercut diplomatic efforts, with three sources familiar with the situation telling Reuters that Mr. Trump’s ‌administration had already rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start negotiations aimed at ending the war.

-Reuters

Formula One races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been cancelled as the West Asia war engulfs the region, motorsport’s governing body the FIA announced on Saturday (March 14, 2026).

“It has been confirmed today that, after careful evaluations, due to the ongoing situation in the West Asia region, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April,” the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement.

Read the story here

F1 races in Bahrain, Saudi cancelled due to Iran war

Formula One cancels Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races due to the ongoing Iran-Israel war, prioritizing safety.

Three of the five players from the Iran women’s soccer team, who had attempted to seek ‌asylum earlier this week while the team was ⁠in Australia, have elected to return home, The Australian newspaper reported Saturday.

The ‌Iranian team was in Australia for the Women’s ‌Asian Cup when the ‌war between ⁠Iran, Israel and the ⁠Unites States began. Five players left the team and were given humanitarian visas in Australia.

Read the full story here

Three asylum seekers choose to leave Australia, return to Iran: report

Three Iranian soccer players return home from Australia after seeking asylum amid escalating conflict in their homeland.