Middle East crisis live: Pentagon reportedly requests $200bn in Iran war funds; Tehran vows revenge after Israeli strike on gas field

More on Emmanuel Macron now: the French president said in calling for an immediate moratorium on striking civilian infrastructure that civilian populations and their needs had to be “protected from military escalation”.

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Macron posted on social media:

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n

I have just spoken with the Emir of Qatar [Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani] and President Trump following the strikes that hit gas production facilities in Iran and Qatar today.

n

It is in our common interest to implement, without delay, a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities. Civilian populations and their essential needs, as well as the security of energy supplies, must be protected from military escalation.

n

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president Emmanuel Macron at the Naval Group site in Nantes-Indret, France, on Wednesday”,”caption”:”French president Emmanuel Macron at the Naval Group site in Nantes-Indret, France, on Wednesday. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Billioux Yannick/ABACA/Shutterstock”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1773878586000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”20.03 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1773880704000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”20.38 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1773879222000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”20.13 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”20.13″,”title”:”Macron calls for halt of attacks on civilian infrastructure”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 18 Mar 2026 20.42 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 17 Mar 2026 22.58 EDT”},{“id”:”69bb39078f08376ddad1db4e”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

The Pentagon “has asked the White House to approve a more than $200bn request to Congress to fund the war in Iran, according to a senior administration official”, the Washington Post reports.

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The newspaper explains:

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n

The funding request is likely to stage a major political battle in Congress, as public support for the effort remains tepid and Democrats have been sharply critical. Republicans have signaled support for the forthcoming supplemental request but haven’t committed to a legislative strategy, or found a clear path to surpass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

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President Donald Trump campaigned on ending American adventurism abroad and frequently hammered the Biden administration for the amount of money approved to finance the war in Ukraine. By December, Congress had approved roughly $188 billion in spending for the war in Ukraine, according to the U.S. special inspector general for Operation Atlantic Resolve.

n

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As the Post notes, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised his predecessor for helping Ukraine defend its territory from the full-scale Russian invasion that began in 2022. But Trump has constantly exaggerated or lied about how much the US has spent to help Ukraine deter Russia, offering vastly inflated estimates that could make the cost of his war with Iran seem small by comparison.

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Three Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack in the occupied West Bank late on Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, in the first deadly Iranian strike there and the first to kill Palestinians since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

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A missile struck a hair salon in the town of Beit Awwa, south-west of the city of Hebron, Reuters has cited the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reported. Thirteen were wounded, one of them seriously.

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The Israeli military said it understood the strike was caused by a cluster munition, a warhead that splits into tiny bomblets that scatter into a disparate area.

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The Palestinian Red Crescent reportedly initially confirmed four deaths but the medics then said that one woman remained in critical condition.

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Palestinian civil defence worker inspects the site of the Iranian strike in the West Bank town of Beit Awwa”,”caption”:”A Palestinian civil defence worker inspects the site of the Iranian strike in the West Bank town of Beit Awwa.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Hazem Bader/AFP/Getty Images”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Wafa said the salon had been set up in a metal caravan next to a house. It also said missile fragments landed in multiple locations in the West Bank, including in Hebron.

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Iran has been launching missiles towards Israel daily amid the war but there have been no reports of it deliberately targeting Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

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Most Israelis have access to bomb shelters that protect them from cluster munitions and falling debris but virtually no such shelters exist for Palestinians in the West Bank, Reuters said. Many Palestinians rely on either the sound of sirens from Jewish settlements or neighbouring cities in Israel to alert them to rocket volleys.

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A man has been killed in central Israel in the latest round of Iranian missile fire, medics say.

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It brings the death roll in Israel from the war to 15.

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Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said on Thursday the victim was a “foreign worker” aged in his 30s and that he was killed in Moshav Adanim, about 20km north-east of Tel Aviv.

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“Metal shrapnel was scattered across the scene, and nearby lay a man … unconscious and suffering from severe shrapnel injuries,” MDA medic Idan Shina said in a statement, cited by the AFP news agency.

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The injuries were very severe, and unfortunately we had to pronounce him dead at the scene.

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Shortly before the death the Israeli military said it had identified another round of missile fire headed toward the country from Iran and was “operating to intercept the threat”.

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  This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage – we’ll keep bringing you the latest updates

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As my colleagues Joseph Gedeon and George Chidi report, over in the US, Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee pressed Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, to explain why her deputy, Joe Kent, said in his resignation letter on Tuesday that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation”, which contradicts weeks of statements to the contrary by Donald Trump.

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The president and his aides have repeatedly described the threat posed by Iran as imminent to justify the war, although when he announced the start of “major combat operations in Iran” from his Florida beach club on 28 February, Trump declared that it was a mission “to defend the American people by eliminating eminent threats from the Iranian regime”, having apparently misread the word “imminent” on the Teleprompter.

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In a carefully worded statement after Kent’s resignation on Tuesday, Gabbard, who made opposition to war with Iran the central plank of her failed run for the presidency in 2020, said that “determining what is and is not an imminent threat” was up to the president, not the intelligence community she oversees. She notably failed to say that the intelligence she had seen supported Trump’s claim that Iran was about to attack the US.

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In his questioning of Gabbard, Senator Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, pointed out that on day 2 of the conflict the White House website called the US attack a “military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime”.

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“Was it the assessment of the intelligence community that there was an ‘imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime’, yes or no?” Ossoff asked.

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When Gabbard replied, “Senator, the only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president,” Ossoff shot back: “False. This is the ‘Worldwide Threats’ hearing, where you present to Congress ‘national intelligence, timely, objective and independent of political considerations’. You’ve stated today that the intelligence community’s assessment is that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated and that ‘there had been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability’.”

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“Was it the intelligence community’s assessment,” he continued, “that, nevertheless, despite this obliteration, there was a quote ‘imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime’? Yes or no.”

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“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” Gabbard replied.

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“No, it is precisely your responsibility to determine what constitutes a threat to the United States. This is the ‘Worldwide Threats’ hearing, where, as you noted in your opening testimony, quote, you ‘represent the IC’s assessment of threats’.”

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When Ossoff again repeated the question of whether there was intelligence to support the White House claim Iran posed “imminent nuclear threat”, Gabbard repeated her claim that it was up to the president to say if a threat was imminent.

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“You’re evading a question because to provide a candid response to the committee would contradict a statement from the White House,” Ossoff concluded.

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Operations at Abu Dhabi’s Habshan gas facilities have been shut down over two incidents caused by falling debris from the successful interception of missiles, according to the Abu Dhabi media office.

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It added that the missiles had been on course for the Habshan gas facility and the Bab oilfield.

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Operations at the gas facilities have been suspended, and no injuries have been reported.

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  Qatar’s state-owned oil and gas company reported “extensive damage” caused by fires following Iranian missile attacks on the key industrial city of Ras Laffan. Qatar’s foreign ministry called Tehran’s “brazen” attacks a “direct threat to its national security and the stability of the region” and said it was “pushing the region toward the abyss and drawing in countries that are not parties to this crisis into the circle of conflict”.

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  Doha later expelled two diplomats and their staff as a result of Iran’s repeated attacks on the country, the latest of which targeted Ras Laffan. Its foreign ministry said that if Iran continued to take “hostile” action then Qatar would have to take “additional measures” to protect itself.

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  It came after Iran vowed to retaliate by attacking Gulf energy infrastructure in response to an Israeli strike on its South Pars gas field facilities – the largest in Iran and one of the largest in the world. The strikes on the South Pars gasfield, which Iran shares with Qatar, were widely reported in Israeli media to have been carried out by Israel with the consent of the US. Tehran named several energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to target in retaliation.

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  Donald Trump supported the strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field to send a message to Tehran about the strait of Hormuz, but didn’t want any further strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. But, according to the Journal’s report, the US president could ⁠be open to ​targeting more Iranian energy ​facilities, depending on whether ​Tehran impedes traffic in ⁠the critical waterway.

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  Saudi Arabia said it successfully intercepted four ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh. Debris fell in various parts of the capital due to the interceptions, the ministry said. No damage or injuries were reported. It also intercepted drones attempting to approach gas facilities in the country’s eastern region, with no damages reported there either.

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  The UAE also intercepted Iranian missiles and drones.

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  The oil price climbed towards $110 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon as the mounting threat to the Gulf’s oil and gas infrastructure fuelled concerns of more disruption to global supplies, amid the continuing blockade of the strait of Hormuz.

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Donald Trump does not want any ‌further strikes on Iran’s ​energy infrastructure after Israel struck facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars gas field today, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials.

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The officials told the Journal that Trump supported that attack as a message to Tehran ‌over its blocking of the strait of Hormuz, but is now against any further attacks.

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But, according to the Journal’s report, the US president could ⁠be open to ​targeting more Iranian energy ​facilities, depending on whether ​Tehran impedes traffic in ⁠the critical waterway.

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The Israel Defense Forces said earlier that it had identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel this evening.

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“Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that those in affected areas would receive instructions on their phones.

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Israel has said it has begun striking targets northern Iran for the first time since the war began on 28 February.

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The announcement was made in a brief post on Telegram by the Israel Defense Forces with no further details.

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Qatar’s foreign ministry has declared its Iranian embassy’s military and security attachés, along with their staff, persona non grata and demanded that they leave Qatar within 24 hours.

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It said the decision came as a result of Iran’s repeated attacks on the country, the latest of which targeted Qatar’s key industrial city Ras Laffan.

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In the statement, posted on X, the ministry added that if Iran continued to take “hostile” action then Qatar would have to take “additional measures” to protect itself.

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The Ministry affirmed that the State of Qatar reserves its right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and security, in accordance with the provisions of international law.

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Following “brazen” attacks on its Ras Laffan industrial city, the Qatari foreign ministry called Iran’s actions a “direct threat to its national security and the stability of the region”.

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The ministry called the attacks a “flagrant violation of the state’s sovereignty, as well as a direct threat to its national security”.

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In spite of Qatar’s attempts to distance itself from the war, it said: “The Iranian side continues its escalatory policies that are pushing the region toward the abyss and drawing in countries that are not parties to this crisis into the circle of conflict.”

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Qatar “reserves its right to respond”, it added, and will “not hesitate to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, security and the safety of its citizens”.

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Separately, Qatar’s defence ministry said that five missiles were launched at the country from Iran throughout Wednesday. Four were intercepted, while the other fell in Ras Laffan, causing the fire that has since been brought under control (see my earlier post).

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Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkain, has said on X that he “strongly condemns” Israel’s attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, after strikes targeted the South Pars gasfield earlier today.

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He wrote:

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Such aggressive actions will not achieve anything for the Zionist American enemy and their supporters. Rather, they will complicate the situation further and could lead to uncontrollable consequences, the scope of which could engulf the entire world.

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As we’ve been reporting, Iran has been responding with attacks on Gulf countries including Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

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Qatar’s state-owned petroleum company has said missiles struck Ras Laffan industrial city, home to a major oil-processing site and the world’s largest LNG production facility, on Wednesday evening.

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“Emergency response teams were deployed immediately to contain the resulting fires, as extensive damage has been caused,” QatarEnergy wrote on X. “All personnel have been accounted for and no casualties have been reported at this time.”

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Qatar’s interior ministry also said in an update on social media that the fire had been “preliminarily brought under control” and there had been no injuries.

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Donald Trump has travelled to Dover, Delaware, where he is set to take part in what’s known in the US military as a “dignified transfer” of military personnel killed overseas.

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It will be the second of these the US president has attended since he launched his war on Iran with Israel on 28 February – the first being the 7 March return of six US soldiers who were killed by a retaliatory Iranian drone strike on a base in Kuwait. (On 9 March his vice-president JD Vance and defence secretary Pete Hegseth attended the dignified transfer ceremony for another soldier who died from injuries sustained in a 1 March strike on Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia).

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Today’s event mark the return to US soil of the six service members who were killed when their KC-130 refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while supporting so-called Operation Epic Fury. The US military has said the crash was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

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The number of US service members killed in the war now stands at 13.

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defence secretary Pete Hegseth follows Donald Trump to board Air Force One.”,”caption”:”US defence secretary Pete Hegseth follows Donald Trump to board Air Force One.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1773858801000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”14.33 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1773859706000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”14.48 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1773859530000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”14.45 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”14.45″,”title”:”Trump to take part in ‘dignified transfer’ of killed US military personnel”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 18 Mar 2026 20.42 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 17 Mar 2026 22.58 EDT”},{“id”:”69baef288f0895668c9dc102″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Speaking in Michigan today, vice-president JD Vance acknowledged the soaring price of oil, and the subsequent increase at the fuel pump for most Americans.

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Today, Brent crude went up by 4.8% – meaning the cost per barrel sits at $108.42. Meanwhile, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the US is $3.84 – almost 30% higher than it was a month ago, according to American Automobile Association (AAA).

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“We know that people are hurting because of it, and we’re doing everything that we can to ensure that they stay low. This is a temporary war. It’s not going to last for ever,” Vance told the crowd at a manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan. “We’re going to take care of business. We’re going to come back home. When that happens, you’re going to see energy prices come back down.”

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Vance in a suit giving a speech to a crowd of people”,”caption”:”JD Vance delivers remarks at a manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on 18 March.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1773858600000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”14.30 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1773858952000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”14.35 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1773858691000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”14.31 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”14.31″,”title”:”‘It’s not going to last forever’: Vance promises lower energy costs as oil prices keep climbing during ‘temporary’ Iran war”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Shrai 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In an update to our earlier post, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has said its air defences have successfully intercepted four ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh.

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Debris fell in various parts of the capital due to the interceptions, the ministry said in a brief statement on X. No damage or injuries were reported.

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In a separate X update, the ministry said a drone “attempting to approach one of the gas facilities” in the country’s eastern region had been intercepted, with no damages reported there either.

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It comes after, as we’ve been reporting, Iranian threats to attack energy infrastructure across the Gulf region in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its largest gasfield, the first targeted attacks on its fossil fuel production since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran.

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Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Wednesday in a written message that the killers of security chief Ali Larijani, who died in an Israeli strike, “will have to pay for it”.

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“Without a doubt, the assassination of such a figure attests to his importance and to the hatred that the enemies of Islam harbour toward him,” Mojtaba Khamenei said, in a message published on his official Telegram channel on the day of Larijani’s funeral in Tehran.

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“Every drop of spilled blood comes at a price, and the criminal murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay it,” added Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public after taking office following the killing of his father, ex-supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the war.

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The UAE condemned the targeting on Wednesday of Iranian facilities in a gas field shared with Qatar, calling the attack attributed by Iran to the US and Israel a “dangerous escalation” in a rare rebuke.

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“The United Arab Emirates affirmed that targeting energy facilities linked to the South Pars gas field in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is an extension of the North Field in the sisterly State of Qatar, constitutes a dangerous escalation,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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“Targeting energy infrastructure poses a direct threat to global energy security… It also entails serious environmental repercussions and exposes civilians, maritime security, and vital civilian and industrial facilities to direct risks,” it added.

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Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, said Iran’s government has suffered heavy blows in the US-Israeli military campaign but that it remains “intact”.

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The US intelligence community “assesses the regime in Iran to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities,” she told a US Senate hearing.

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She said that if Iran’s leadership survived the war it would begin a years-long effort to rebuild its missile and drone programmes.

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Israel’s strike against Iran’s South Pars gas field was coordinated with and approved by the Trump administration, the American news website Axios reported, citing two senior Israeli officials.

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The report says a US defence official also confirmed the claim.

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The offshore gas field in the Persian Gulf, which Iran shares with Qatar, is the largest such facility in the world. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman, Majed Al Ansari, described the targeting of the field — an extension of Qatar’s North Field — as a “dangerous and irresponsible step”.

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Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, confirmed the country’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, had been killed.

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Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said earlier today that Khatib was killed in a strike overnight.

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Khatib.”,”caption”:”Esmail Khatib.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

“The cowardly assassination of my dear colleagues Esmail Khatib, Ali Larijani, and Aziz Nasirzadeh, along with some of their family members and accompanying team, has left us heartbroken,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X, mentioning the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council and defence minister who were also killed in previous Israeli attacks.

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Majed Al-Ansari, adviser to the Qatari prime minister and spokesperson for the foreign ministry, has blamed Israel for the reported strikes on facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, which Doha shares with Tehran.

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He described it as “a dangerous and irresponsible step” that threatens global energy security.

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In a statement posted on X, he said:

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n

The Israeli targeting of facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars field, an extension of Qatar’s North Field, is a dangerous & irresponsible step amid the current military escalation in the region.

n

Targeting energy infrastructure constitutes a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region & its environment.

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We reiterate, as we have repeatedly emphasised, the necessity of avoiding the targeting of vital facilities. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, & work toward de-escalation in a manner that preserves the security & stability of the region.

n

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n
• n

  Israel has claimed Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, was killed in a strike overnight. There has been no comment from Iran on Khatib’s reported assassination but it would be the latest in a string of Israeli strikes that have killed senior Iranian leaders.

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• n

  The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had authorised the military “to assassinate any senior Iranian official … without the need for additional approval”. He added that “significant surprises” are expected today as the “intensity of the strikes in Iran is increasing”.

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• n

  It comes a day after Iran confirmed the deaths of its security chief, Ali Larijani, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Basij paramilitary force commander Gholamreza Soleimani. Iranian media reported that a funeral procession for both men will take place today in Tehran.

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• n

  At least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes in central Beirut, according to the Lebanese health ministry. News agencies reported four airstrikes over an eight-hour period this morning in a densely populated area within walking distance of the city centre and headquarters of the Lebanese government. The Israeli military said it had completed an overnight wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

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• n

  The Israeli military said it will begin attacking bridges across the Litani river in southern Lebanon as it once again ordered people to flee north. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said the military was carrying out the bombing to prevent Hezbollah from moving reinforcements and combat equipment to areas where Israeli forces are operating.

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• n

  Iran launched an attack on an airbase in the UAE where Australian soldiers are stationed, the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said. An Iranian projectile hit a road just outside the Al Minhad base, which hosts more than 100 Australian military personnel. Albanese confirmed that no Australian personnel were injured.

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• n

  Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the global repercussions of the Middle East war “will hit all”, suggesting more western officials should push back against the conflict.

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• n

  In an interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi also said that Iran’s stance against the development of nuclear weapons would not significantly change.

n

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Iranian state media reported that US and Israeli strikes have hit Iran’s offshore South Pars natural gas field in the southern Bushehr province.

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South Pars, the world’s largest natural gas field, is shared between Iran and Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

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It was not immediately clear if Israel or the US had carried out the attack and neither have commented on the reported strikes. If confirmed it would mark a significant escalation of US and Israeli attacks against Iranian energy infrastructure.

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As of today, Esmail Khatib, allegedly killed by Israel in an overnight strike, served as Iran’s intelligence minister, having been appointed in August 2021 by president Ebrahim Raisi. A cleric with deep roots in the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus, his career spanned roles within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the judiciary, and he was sanctioned by the US treasury in 2022 over alleged cyber operations targeting Washington and its allies.

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According to Israeli sources reported by national media, he was close to the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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The Israeli military said the intelligence ministry led by Khatib was “the Iranian terrorist regime’s primary intelligence organisation, which also played a key role in supporting the regime’s repression and terrorist activities”.

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The ministry “possesses advanced intelligence capabilities, overseeing surveillance, espionage, and the execution of covert operations worldwide, particularly against the State of Israel and Iranian citizens”, the IDF said.

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Khatib’s reported killing removes yet another pivotal figure from the core of Iran’s political and security establishment at a moment of acute crisis, following the deaths of Ali Larijani — a linchpin of the system and the most senior figure to be killed since Ali Khamenei — and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani, along with other senior paramilitary figures.

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The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, has claimed that Iran’s intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, was killed in a strike overnight.

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“On this day, significant surprises are expected across all arenas that will escalate the war we are conducting against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” Katz said during a briefing with military officials, according to Israeli media.

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“The intensity of the strikes in Iran is increasing. The Iranian intelligence minister Khatib was also eliminated overnight.”

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He added that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had authorised the military “to assassinate any senior Iranian official … without the need for additional approval”.

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It comes a day after Iran confirmed the deaths of its security chief, Ali Larijani, and Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani.

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There was no immediate comment from Iran on Khatib’s reported assassination.

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Israeli strikes on central Beirut this morning have killed at least 12 people, the Lebanese health ministry said.

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A further 41 people were wounded in the attack on Beirut’s Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, the ministry added. It was the second Israeli strike on the densely populated area after a building in Bashoura, also in central Beirut, was struck some hours earlier.

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The airstrikes were within walking distance of the city centre and the headquarters of the Lebanese government, according to Reuters. The news agency reported that there were four airstrikes over an eight-hour period, between 1.30am and 8am local time, with the Israeli military issuing a warning on social media before one of the attacks but not the other three.

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Iran launched an attack on an airbase in the UAE where Australian soldiers are stationed, causing a fire that damaged medical and accommodation facilities, the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said.

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An Iranian projectile hit a road just outside the Al Minhad base, which hosts more than 100 Australian military personnel.

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Albanese confirmed that no Australian personnel were injured.

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It was not clear if the projectile was a missile or drone strike, but Albanese said it started a fire that caused “minor damage” to an accommodation block and medical facility.

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He could not confirm if Iran directly targeted the Al Minhad base while maintaining Australia was not at war.

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“The Iranian regime is engaging in random attacks right across the region. We know that is the case,” he said.

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It is the second time that the base has been targeted in recent weeks, with an Iranian drone strike hitting the facility in the first few days of the conflict.

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Dan Jervis-Bardy, chief political correspondent for Guardian Australia, reports:

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Iran’s stance against the development of nuclear weapons won’t significantly change, foreign minister Abbas Aragchi told Al Jazeera, in remarks relayed by Iranian media on Wednesday, cautioning that the new supreme leader is yet to publicly express his view on the matter.

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foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi.”,”caption”:”Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Sayed Hassan/Getty Images”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed early in the US-Israeli war against Iran, opposed the development of weapons of mass destruction in a fatwa, or religious edict, issued in the early 2000s.

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Western countries, including the US and Israel, have for years accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, while Iranian authorities have said their nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes.

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Aragchi said fatwas depend on the Islamic jurist issuing them and added he was not yet in a position to judge the jurisprudential or political views of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader.

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.

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If you are just joining us, here is a quick recap of the latest developments:

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  Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the global repercussions of the Middle East war “will hit all”, suggesting more western officials should push back against the conflict.

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  In an interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi also said that Iran’s stance against the development of nuclear weapons would not significantly change.

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  His comments came after the Iranian army vowed revenge for the killing of security chief Ali Larijani in an Israeli airstrike, with Iran’s army chief threatening to launch a “decisive and regrettable” retaliation.

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  Donald Trump continued to lash out at Nato allies, claiming “we don’t need” their help in the Iran war after pressuring them to help the US secure the strait of Hormuz.

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  The US military said it targeted sites along Iran’s coastline near the strait of Hormuz because Iranian anti-ship missiles posed a risk to international shipping there. US Central Command said US forces successfully employed “multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions” in the strikes.

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  The International Maritime Organization will begin an extraordinary session today to discuss establishing “a safe maritime corridor” to allow the safe evacuation of tens of thousands of seafarers and thousands of ships stranded in the Persian Gulf.

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  An Iranian missile barrage killed two people in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, and Israel’s national railway company said shrapnel had disrupted train services.

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  In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes have targeted central Beirut, with the Israeli military issuing a statement urging residents to evacuate ahead of the first attack targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

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  Iran has confirmed the death of the Basij militia commander Gholamreza Soleimani, after Israel earlier claimed its military assassinated him. It marks the highest level assassination in the war since joint US-Israeli strikes killed the former supreme leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February.

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  A projectile hit the premises of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday night. But no damage to the plant or injuries to staff were reported, Iran told the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.

n

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A new Israeli strike has hit central Beirut’s Zuqaq al-Blat neighbourhood, state media reported, the second on the densely populated area since the early morning without prior warning.

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A blast was heard throughout the capital, and AFPTV’s live broadcast showed plumes of smoke rising from the area as the war between Hezbollah and Israel continued.

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As we posted earlier, a building in Bashoura, also in central Beirut, was struck some hours earlier after an Israeli warning.

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The International Maritime Organization will begin an extraordinary session today to discuss shipping, including establishing “a safe maritime corridor to allow the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships stranded in the Persian Gulf”.

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The meeting of the London-based UN agency – responsible for regulating international shipping safety – comes as fears grow over the fate of thousands of ships and seafarers stranded by the war. Iran’s retaliation to Israeli-US strikes has crippled commercial shipping in or near the strait of Hormuz.

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Although, as we noted in an earlier, post Iran is still managing to export millions of barrels of oil.

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An effective Iranian blockade of the strait has dramatically spiked oil prices, spooked markets, and left about 20,000 seafarers stranded on approximately 3,200 vessels west of the strait, according to the IMO.

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At least 21 ships have been hit, targeted or have reported attacks since the start of the conflict, according to an AFP tally based on data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations, the IMO and Iraqi and Iranian authorities.

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An Israeli airstrike has hit Beirut’s Bashoura neighbourhood, according to reports from Reuters and AFP, with a loud explosion heard in the area.

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The strike came after the Israeli military issued a statement urging the evacuation of a building in the central Beirut neighbourhood ahead of the attack targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

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The residential and commercial area has become a target of Israeli airstrikes this month.

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and engineers clear up and assess the aftermath of an Israeli attack on a residential block in the Bashoura neighbourhood of central Beirut “,”caption”:”Workers and engineers clear up and assess the aftermath of an Israeli attack on a residential block in the Bashoura neighbourhood of central Beirut on Tuesday. More attacks on the area are being reported today.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1773805801000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”23.50 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1773806613000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”00.03 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1773806614000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”00.03 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”00.03″,”title”:”Israeli airstrike hits Beirut’s Bashoura neighbourhood”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 18 Mar 2026 20.42 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 17 Mar 2026 22.58 EDT”},{“id”:”69ba194d8f08b5a2eb926886″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Iran’s foreign minister said today that the global repercussions of the Middle East war “will hit all”, suggesting more western officials should push back against the conflict.

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“[A] wave of global repercussions has only begun and will hit all – regardless of wealth, faith, or race,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X, accompanied by a copy of the US National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent’s resignation on Tuesday.

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In his resignation letter, Kent said he could not “in good conscience” support the ongoing war in Iran,” because “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation”.

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Abbas Araghchi said there was a “rising number of voices – (including) European and US officials” exclaiming that the war on Iran was unjust. “More members of the international community should follow suit,” his post said.

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Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi”,”caption”:”Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi earlier this week. “,”credit”:”Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1773803853000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”23.17 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1773804946000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”23.35 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1773804608000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”23.30 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”23.30″,”title”:”Iran foreign minister says global repercussions of the war ‘will hit all'”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 18 Mar 2026 20.42 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 17 Mar 2026 22.58 EDT”},{“id”:”69b9df968f0833896286a7a3″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the broader crisis in the region, and global economy.

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Here are the latest developments:

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  The Iranian army has vowed revenge for the killing of security chief Ali Larijani in an Israeli airstrike, with Iran’s army chief threatening to launch a “decisive and regrettable” retaliation.

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  Iran also confirmed the death of the Basij militia commander Gholamreza Soleimani, after Israel earlier claimed its military assassinated him. It marks the highest level assassination in the war since joint US-Israeli strikes killed the former supreme leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February.

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  The Israeli military called on residents of a central Beirut neighbourhood to evacuate early Wednesday, warning of an imminent attack on the Lebanese capital targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. In a statement on social media, the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee issued “an urgent warning to residents of… Bashoura neighbourhood”, saying Israeli forces would operate against a Hezbollah facility there.

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  Donald Trump continued to lash out at Nato allies, claiming “we don’t need” their help in the Iran war after pressuring them to help the US secure the strait of Hormuz, but added that “they should’ve been there”. Trump said Nato was making a “foolish mistake” and once again framed the issue as a loyalty test for the alliance.

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  The US military said it targeted sites along Iran’s coastline near the strait of Hormuz because Iranian anti-ship missiles posed a risk to international shipping there. US Central Command said US forces successfully employed “multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions” in the strikes.

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  Trump’s former director of the national counterterrorism center Joe Kent quit, saying he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran”. In his resignation letter, Kent accused “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” of deploying “a misinformation campaign” that ultimately “sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran”.

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  Israel’s assault on Lebanon has killed at least 912 people, including 111 children, and wounded 2,221 others, per the Lebanese health ministry, with over a million people displaced.

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  Israeli attacks on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon may amount to war crimes, the United Nations human rights office said.

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  The Israeli military earlier issued a fresh evacuation order for the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre and its surrounding villages and Palestinian refugee camps, sparking an exodus of residents from Lebanon’s fourth largest city.

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  A projectile hit the premises of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday night. But no damage to the plant or injuries to staff were reported, Iran told the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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Macron calls for halt of attacks on civilian infrastructure

More on Emmanuel Macron now: the French president said in calling for an immediate moratorium on striking civilian infrastructure that civilian populations and their needs had to be “protected from military escalation”.

Macron posted on social media:

I have just spoken with the Emir of Qatar [Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani] and President Trump following the strikes that hit gas production facilities in Iran and Qatar today.

It is in our common interest to implement, without delay, a moratorium on strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly energy and water supply facilities. Civilian populations and their essential needs, as well as the security of energy supplies, must be protected from military escalation.

Pentagon asks White House for $200bn more to fight Iran war – report

Robert Mackey

The Pentagon “has asked the White House to approve a more than $200bn request to Congress to fund the war in Iran, according to a senior administration official”, the Washington Post reports.

The newspaper explains:

The funding request is likely to stage a major political battle in Congress, as public support for the effort remains tepid and Democrats have been sharply critical. Republicans have signaled support for the forthcoming supplemental request but haven’t committed to a legislative strategy, or found a clear path to surpass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

President Donald Trump campaigned on ending American adventurism abroad and frequently hammered the Biden administration for the amount of money approved to finance the war in Ukraine. By December, Congress had approved roughly $188 billion in spending for the war in Ukraine, according to the U.S. special inspector general for Operation Atlantic Resolve.

As the Post notes, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised his predecessor for helping Ukraine defend its territory from the full-scale Russian invasion that began in 2022. But Trump has constantly exaggerated or lied about how much the US has spent to help Ukraine deter Russia, offering vastly inflated estimates that could make the cost of his war with Iran seem small by comparison.

Three dead in first Iranian attack to kill Palestinians in West Bank

Three Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack in the occupied West Bank late on Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, in the first deadly Iranian strike there and the first to kill Palestinians since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

A missile struck a hair salon in the town of Beit Awwa, south-west of the city of Hebron, Reuters has cited the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency reported. Thirteen were wounded, one of them seriously.

The Israeli military said it understood the strike was caused by a cluster munition, a warhead that splits into tiny bomblets that scatter into a disparate area.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reportedly initially confirmed four deaths but the medics then said that one woman remained in critical condition.

Wafa said the salon had been set up in a metal caravan next to a house. It also said missile fragments landed in multiple locations in the West Bank, including in Hebron.

Iran has been launching missiles towards Israel daily amid the war but there have been no reports of it deliberately targeting Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

Most Israelis have access to bomb shelters that protect them from cluster munitions and falling debris but virtually no such shelters exist for Palestinians in the West Bank, Reuters said. Many Palestinians rely on either the sound of sirens from Jewish settlements or neighbouring cities in Israel to alert them to rocket volleys.

French president Emmanuel Macron is reportedly calling for a moratorium on strikes on civilian infrastructure amid the Iran war.

We’ll bring you more on this shortly.

Foreign worker killed in Israel after Iran attack – medics

A man has been killed in central Israel in the latest round of Iranian missile fire, medics say.

It brings the death roll in Israel from the war to 15.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said on Thursday the victim was a “foreign worker” aged in his 30s and that he was killed in Moshav Adanim, about 20km north-east of Tel Aviv.

“Metal shrapnel was scattered across the scene, and nearby lay a man … unconscious and suffering from severe shrapnel injuries,” MDA medic Idan Shina said in a statement, cited by the AFP news agency.

The injuries were very severe, and unfortunately we had to pronounce him dead at the scene.

Shortly before the death the Israeli military said it had identified another round of missile fire headed toward the country from Iran and was “operating to intercept the threat”.

• This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage – we’ll keep bringing you the latest updates

Gabbard won’t say if White House claim Iran posed an ‘imminent nuclear threat’ is true

Robert Mackey

As my colleagues Joseph Gedeon and George Chidi report, over in the US, Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee pressed Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, to explain why her deputy, Joe Kent, said in his resignation letter on Tuesday that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation”, which contradicts weeks of statements to the contrary by Donald Trump.

The president and his aides have repeatedly described the threat posed by Iran as imminent to justify the war, although when he announced the start of “major combat operations in Iran” from his Florida beach club on 28 February, Trump declared that it was a mission “to defend the American people by eliminating eminent threats from the Iranian regime”, having apparently misread the word “imminent” on the Teleprompter.

In a carefully worded statement after Kent’s resignation on Tuesday, Gabbard, who made opposition to war with Iran the central plank of her failed run for the presidency in 2020, said that “determining what is and is not an imminent threat” was up to the president, not the intelligence community she oversees. She notably failed to say that the intelligence she had seen supported Trump’s claim that Iran was about to attack the US.

In his questioning of Gabbard, Senator Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, pointed out that on day 2 of the conflict the White House website called the US attack a “military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime”.

“Was it the assessment of the intelligence community that there was an ‘imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime’, yes or no?” Ossoff asked.

When Gabbard replied, “Senator, the only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president,” Ossoff shot back: “False. This is the ‘Worldwide Threats’ hearing, where you present to Congress ‘national intelligence, timely, objective and independent of political considerations’. You’ve stated today that the intelligence community’s assessment is that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated and that ‘there had been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability’.”

“Was it the intelligence community’s assessment,” he continued, “that, nevertheless, despite this obliteration, there was a quote ‘imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime’? Yes or no.”

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” Gabbard replied.

“No, it is precisely your responsibility to determine what constitutes a threat to the United States. This is the ‘Worldwide Threats’ hearing, where, as you noted in your opening testimony, quote, you ‘represent the IC’s assessment of threats’.”

When Ossoff again repeated the question of whether there was intelligence to support the White House claim Iran posed “imminent nuclear threat”, Gabbard repeated her claim that it was up to the president to say if a threat was imminent.

“You’re evading a question because to provide a candid response to the committee would contradict a statement from the White House,” Ossoff concluded.

Abu Dhabi gas facilities shut down due to falling debris after missiles intercepted

Operations at Abu Dhabi’s Habshan gas facilities have been shut down over two incidents caused by falling debris from the successful interception of missiles, according to the Abu Dhabi media office.

It added that the missiles had been on course for the Habshan gas facility and the Bab oilfield.

Operations at the gas facilities have been suspended, and no injuries have been reported.

The day so far

• Qatar’s state-owned oil and gas company reported “extensive damage” caused by fires following Iranian missile attacks on the key industrial city of Ras Laffan. Qatar’s foreign ministry called Tehran’s “brazen” attacks a “direct threat to its national security and the stability of the region” and said it was “pushing the region toward the abyss and drawing in countries that are not parties to this crisis into the circle of conflict”.

• Doha later expelled two diplomats and their staff as a result of Iran’s repeated attacks on the country, the latest of which targeted Ras Laffan. Its foreign ministry said that if Iran continued to take “hostile” action then Qatar would have to take “additional measures” to protect itself.

• It came after Iran vowed to retaliate by attacking Gulf energy infrastructure in response to an Israeli strike on its South Pars gas field facilities – the largest in Iran and one of the largest in the world. The strikes on the South Pars gasfield, which Iran shares with Qatar, were widely reported in Israeli media to have been carried out by Israel with the consent of the US. Tehran named several energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar to target in retaliation.

• Donald Trump supported the strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field to send a message to Tehran about the strait of Hormuz, but didn’t want any further strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. But, according to the Journal’s report, the US president could ⁠be open to ​targeting more Iranian energy ​facilities, depending on whether ​Tehran impedes traffic in ⁠the critical waterway.

• Saudi Arabia said it successfully intercepted four ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh. Debris fell in various parts of the capital due to the interceptions, the ministry said. No damage or injuries were reported. It also intercepted drones attempting to approach gas facilities in the country’s eastern region, with no damages reported there either.

• The UAE also intercepted Iranian missiles and drones.

• The oil price climbed towards $110 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon as the mounting threat to the Gulf’s oil and gas infrastructure fuelled concerns of more disruption to global supplies, amid the continuing blockade of the strait of Hormuz.

Trump wants no more strikes on Iran’s energy sites – report

Donald Trump does not want any ‌further strikes on Iran’s ​energy infrastructure after Israel struck facilities linked to Iran’s South Pars gas field today, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials.

The officials told the Journal that Trump supported that attack as a message to Tehran ‌over its blocking of the strait of Hormuz, but is now against any further attacks.

But, according to the Journal’s report, the US president could ⁠be open to ​targeting more Iranian energy ​facilities, depending on whether ​Tehran impedes traffic in ⁠the critical waterway.

IDF says it’s working to intercept Iranian missiles

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier that it had identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel this evening.

“Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that those in affected areas would receive instructions on their phones.

Israel says it’s attacking northern Iran ‘for first time’

Israel has said it has begun striking targets northern Iran for the first time since the war began on 28 February.

The announcement was made in a brief post on Telegram by the Israel Defense Forces with no further details.