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Catch up with the latest news and headlines from around the world in relation to what happened in the US/Israel-Iran war.
Following Israel’s attack on the Iranian gas fields, Iran’s retaliatory strikes continued throughout the day, including attacks on two Mina refineries in Kuwait, an attack on an oil refinery within Yanbu’s port in Saudi Arabia, as well as attacks on the Bazan Group oil refinery in Haifa, northern Israel, one of two refineries responsible for roughly two-thirds of Israel’s refined fuel output.
After the last strikes in the afternoon, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to X, saying that the retaliatory strikes had now stopped following a meeting with Gulf countries that requested for the attacks on their infrastructure to halt immediately, but added that they could just as easily resume and cause catastrophic damage should Iran’s infrastructure become a target again.
Following the attacks in Qatar that left the world’s largest LNG plant offline, QatarEnergy’s CEO Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters: “I never in my wildest dreams would have thought Qatar would be – Qatar and the region – in such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of Ramadan, attacking us this way,” adding that the Iranian attacks knocked out 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity, causing an estimated $20-billion lost revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia.
President Donald Trump claimed that he wasn’t aware of any action Israel was going to take, adding to this in the Oval Office yesterday afternoon that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a good relationship with the US, but they were keen on doing strikes, so after the strikes had taken place, Trump contacted Bibi to put a halt to any further strikes, (which was supposed to have also happened after Israel turned rain black following Tehran attacks last week).
Exports and imports are steadily rising in all commodities, as the European stock market experienced one of their worst days this year after the strikes on gas and oil in the Middle East resumed, while bottled water made an 11% rise across India, reported Reuters.
Israel claimed to have successfully targeted numerous Iranian ports on the Caspian Sea along with ‘dozens of military vessels’ in the area, however, this is contrary to America’s claims that the naval fleet had been destroyed at least 3 times, including last night again by Trump, yet somehow new vessels appear all the time, but footage shared by the IDF showed major explosions in the port, as the IDF claimed that the missile carriers were docked in an important hub used for transferring weapons to the area.
Reports surfaced stating that a US F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing in the Middle East following a direct hit from what was believed to be Iranian anti-air weaponry, marking the first time an F-35 had been successfully shot and damaged in combat in its history.
Tajik and Iranian opposition figures claimed Tajikistan was using humanitarian aid as a cover to smuggle drones into Iran, following a massive convoy of trucks being sighted passing to Iran from Tajikistan this week.
Lloyds List reported Iran was in talks with India, Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia and China regarding an Iranian-administered maritime corridor between Qeshm Island and Larak Island in the Persian Gulf, followed by safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, the United States was considering lifting sanctions on Iranian oil that was currently being shipped at sea, which could free up an estimated 140 million barrels for delivery.
US officials told Newsmax that the military had accelerated the deployment of thousands of Marines and sailors to help reinforce the troops currently fighting against Iran.
An Iranian missile targeted a warehouse in Bahrain which was alight after the attack, reported the Bahraini Ministry of Interior.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said: “I think we need to send a clear message to our citizens and the rest of the world that Europe is with multilateralism and is with international law, and we are against this war – we are against this war because it’s illegal, there’s no reason behind it and it is causing a lot of damage.”
Observers reported that a joint IAF/USAF airstrike hit an IRGC missile base located in the town of Borozjan in the Bushehr province, southern Iran, last night, as more than 40 explosions were heard, and images showed a fire at the facility along with ammunition cook-off.
According to the UAE State Department, a cell that was allegedly funded and directed by Hezbollah and Iran had been dismantled and its members arrested: “The group had been operating in the country under the fictitious commercial front, seeking to infiltrate the national economy and carry out activities that threaten the financial stability.”
Head of the IAEA Rafael Mariano Grossi was questioned about the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, in which Gabbard told Congress there has been no indication that Iran tried to rebuild their enrichment capability, to which Grossi agreed, stating that there was no major activity, which was only logical because there is unlikely to be any logistical movements while there is an ongoing military campaign.
Major destruction was caused to the settlement of Kiriyat Ata near Haifa following Iranian bombing last night, while power outages were reported in the Beitar Illit settlement near Bethlehem, and damage was caused to a civilian car by falling debris in Shfar’am.
According to the IRGC, during the afternoon of March 19 both the Haifa and Ashdod refineries were struck using the ‘Nasrallah’ missile system, noting that it was the first time it had been used.
Israeli media also reported that they were instructed by military censorship not to publish footage of the impacts in Haifa, but Telegram channels didn’t comply which meant video footage appearing online, however Israel claimed that the oil refinery impacts were caused by falling fragments following the interception of a missile, stressing that there were no direct missile impacts at the facilities.
As a result of the war in the region, the US approved major defence sales to Gulf Allies, which included F16 munitions and upgrades, long-range discrimination radar with THAAD integration and advanced medium-range-air-to-air missiles, along with counter-drone systems, at a total spend of eight-and-a-half billion dollars, while Kuwait also spent eight billion dollars on lower-tier air and missile radar systems.
PM Netanyahu was seen live at a press conference, marking the first public appearance of the Israeli war lord since rumours circulated believing Netanyahu was ill, injured or had been killed, where he stated that Israel acted alone regarding the Iranian Pars field, in which Trump asked them to stop such attacks in the future, and also stated that he had issued instructions to the IDF and Mossad to target Iranian regime officials, even on the streets.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the media yesterday: “It should be especially noted that the primary responsible party for this war, which has drawn our region into an unprecedented crisis, is Israel.”
France, UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan issued a joint statement yesterday, stating that: “We are ready to contribute to ensuring the safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Chairman of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen Mahdi al-Mashat said both people and governments must stand fully alongside the people and system of Iran and appreciate Iran’s sacrifices and stances over the past five decades in confronting the ‘Zionist’ project and American hegemony, calling on Arab and Islamic countries to stand against the brutal aggression of Iran, condemn it, and prevent the enemies of the Islamic Ummah from using their lands, waters, or airspace, emphasizing Yemen’s support for the Islamic Republic and its right to defend itself against ‘American-Zionist’ aggression.
