19/03/2026 – 15:31The Israeli military says it has struck Iranian targets in the Caspian Sea for the first time
19/03/2026 – 15:21 Iran war exposes Gulf economies’ food, water vulnerability
The spiralling conflict in Iran has highlighted the potential vulnerability of Gulf states when it comes to food and water security.
Countries like Bahrain and Qatar depend heavily on desalinated water, and strikes on desalination plants have sparked concern about water supplies.
Meanwhile, the usual flow of food imports through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted by the fighting.
19/03/2026 – 15:18Lebanon says Israeli strikes have killed over 1,000 people in war with Hezbollah
Lebanon’s health ministry said Thursday that Israeli attacks have killed 1,001 people in the country since war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah on March 2, raising a previous toll of 968 a day earlier.
The new ministry statement said the toll included 79 women, 118 children and 40 health workers, with 2,584 other people wounded.
19/03/2026 – 15:15Mideast war ‘threatens global food security’, WTO chief says
The war in the Middle East poses a dire threat to global food security, the World Trade Organization chief has warned as she appealed for global supply chains to remain open.
The Middle East conflict “threatens global food security, since shipping disruptions and higher energy costs reduce the supply and raise the cost of fertiliser”, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters in Geneva.
“A prolonged interruption in supply could ripple through food systems, prompting farmers to reduce their use of fertilisers and plant less input-intensive crops,” she said, insisting it was “essential to keep global food trade channels open and predictable, allowing food supplies to flow to where they are most needed”.
19/03/2026 – 14:51Iran FM vows ‘zero restraint’ if energy infrastructure hit again
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that Tehran will not excercise any restraint if energy facilities were attacked in the war with United States and Israel again.
“Our response to Israel’s attack on our infrastructure employed FRACTION of our power. The ONLY reason for restraint was respect for requested de-escalation,” said Araghchi in a post on X.
“ZERO restraint if our infrastructures are struck again.”
19/03/2026 – 14:43ECB cuts 2026 growth forecast to 0.9% due to Mideast war
The European Central Bank on Thursday cut its growth forecast and raised its inflation forecast for this year as it warned of the energy price shock from the Mideast war.
ECB staff now see eurozone GDP growth at 0.9 percent in 2026, down from a December forecast of 1.2 percent.
And they raised inflation projections to 2.6 percent for the year, up from 1.9 percent in their December forecast.
19/03/2026 – 14:42KLM cancels flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until May 17
Dutch airline KLM on Thursday said it would not resume flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam until at least May 17 out of safety considerations.
19/03/2026 – 14:35Six nations say ready to boost ‘efforts to ensure safe passage’ in Hormuz (statement)
Six Western allies, including Britain, France, Germany and Japan, said in a joint statement Thursday they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”.
“We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning” the grouping, which also includes Italy and the Netherlands, added, as they condemned “in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf”.
The statement came as around 20,000 seafarers remained stuck on approximately 3,200 vessels west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organization, due to an effective Iranian blockade of the crucial maritime chokepoint.
19/03/2026 – 14:28Israeli attack on Iran gas field was coordinated with US, Israeli officials say
Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas facilities on Wednesday was coordinated with the United States but will likely not be repeated, three Israeli officials said on Thursday.
Trump said in a social media post that Washington “knew nothing about this particular attack”, which has drawn widespread Iranian attacks on energy installations in the Gulf.
19/03/2026 – 14:21France’s Macron and India’s Modi discuss need for de-escalation in the Middle East
French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed on Thursday the need to reduce tensions in the Middle East, they said on their respective X accounts, after Iran attacked energy infrastructure in the region following Israeli and US attacks.
“India and France are working closely together to reduce tensions in the region and to keep diplomacy at the heart of our efforts for peace,” Macron wrote on X, in response to earlier message posted by Modi.
19/03/2026 – 14:19Pentagon seeks $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, AP source says
The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a senior administration official says.
The department sent the request to the White House, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information.
It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in Trump’s big tax cuts bill.
Congress is bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. It is unclear the spending request would have support.
19/03/2026 – 14:18German VCI chemicals lobby warns of price hikes, shortages
Germany’s VCI chemical industry lobby group predicted price increases and shortages because of a lack of essential chemicals from Asia or the Middle East linked to the Iran war and specifically shipping problems through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The situation will hit our small and medium-sized businesses especially hard, as many of them have no way to switch their supply of raw materials at short notice,” VCI Managing Director Wolfgang Grosse Entrup told Reuters.
19/03/2026 – 14:16 Iran women’s football team return after asylum tussle
The Iranian women’s football team, whose plight has become embroiled in the Middle East war, returned back to Iran on Wednesday where they were promised a welcome ceremony in Tehran.
Seven members of the delegation had sought asylum in Australia last week after their decision not to sing the national anthem before their opening game at the Women’s Asian Cup.
19/03/2026 – 14:13Treasury chief says US may ‘unsanction’ Iran oil already being shipped
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington might “unsanction” Iranian oil that is already being shipped, as energy prices surge due to the war in the Middle East.
Speaking to Fox Business, Bessent added that the US government could also release more oil from its strategic reserves.
Recently, the United States also temporarily allowed the sale of sanctioned Russian oil that is at sea as US-Israeli strikes on Iran envelop the Middle East in war.
19/03/2026 – 13:59In photos: Mourners in south Lebanon attend funeral for emergency medic
Mourners on Thursday attended the funeral of Fahmi Mahieddine al-Chami, a member of the Lebanese Civil Defense emergency medical response service. Al-Chami was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in Sidon, south Lebanon, according to local media.
© Amr Abdallah Dalsh, Reuters
19/03/2026 – 13:46Hezbollah says battling Israeli troops’ advance in south Lebanon
Hezbollah said on Thursday its fighters were battling Israeli forces in south Lebanon, as a military source on the ground said Israeli troops were slowly advancing while “systematically destroying” border towns.
In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters had ambushed Israeli troops entering the border town of Taybeh and destroyed a tank.
“The enemy then attempted to continue its advance” from a nearby area, but fighters “again targeted them with guided missiles, scoring direct hits and destroying five Merkava tanks”, Hezbollah added.
“Enemy soldiers were seen fleeing the area of engagement.”
19/03/2026 – 13:41Three French nationals among dozens arrested in Dubai for allegedly filming the war
At least three French nationals are among dozens of people to have been arrested in Dubai for allegedly filming the war, according to France Télévisions sources.
The charges come under UAE cybercrime laws that the country says enforce public security.
19/03/2026 – 13:35US may remove sanctions on Iranian oil stranded in tankers, Treasury says
The US may soon remove sanctions from Iranian oil that is stranded on tankers to help lift global supplies and reduce prices, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday.
“In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that’s on the water. It’s about 140 million barrels,” Bessent told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” program.
19/03/2026 – 13:34Explosion heard near Iraq’s Erbil airport, journalists report
An explosion was heard on Thursday afternoon near the international airport of Erbil city in the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, AFP journalists reported, saying they saw smoke rise just outside the surrounding fence.
A witness said two similar explosions were heard in the morning. Erbil is home to a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses US-led coalition troops.
19/03/2026 – 13:26Hegseth says no ‘definitive time frame’ for ending US military operation in Iran