1h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 3:09amWhat’s the latest?
If you’re just joining us, let’s get you up to speed with today’s events:
Australia won’t be sending ships to the Strait of Hormuz, Transport Minister Catherine King said, after US President Donald Trump called on countries to send navy assets to the area. The UK’s prime minister has spoken with Trump about the strait, but has not revealed details of the discussion. A fire broke out at Dubai International Airport after a drone-related incident. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the country had not sought any negotiations or ceasefire deal with the US. Prior to that, US President Donald Trump had claimed Iran tried to make a deal with the US, but that the terms weren’t good enough. Israel has said it is “expanding the scope” of its attacks to include areas in western and central Iran. One more member of the Iranian women’s soccer team has withdrawn her asylum claim and is returning to Iran.
35m agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 3:38am
Iran ‘applied pressure’ on women’s soccer team, advocates say
Advocates believe the Iranian regime has applied pressure on the country’s women’s soccer team to return to the country after seeking asylum in Australia.
As we reported this morning, a fifth member of a group of seven team members who applied for asylum in Australia has withdrawn their applications.
(ABC News: Kristian Silva)
Australian Iranian Society of Victoria vice president Kambiz Razmara says they are returning to an unknown fate.
“It’s horrible; the uncertainties of life in a new country, fearful for your family there, the influences of people, and I’m sure they would have applied pressure through intermediaries here on these players,” he says.
58m agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 3:15am
WHO directs emergency funding to Middle East
The World Health Organization has released $US2 million ($2.8m) from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies to support the Lebanese, Iraqi and Syrian governments’ response to the ongoing conflict.
According to WHO estimates, the war has displaced up to 700,000 people in Lebanon, and $US1 million has been allocated to the Lebanese government to scale up trauma care, reinforce disease surveillance, and distribute essential medicines and supplies.
“At a time when health services are already facing significant challenges, support is essential to sustain frontline health workers and maintain critical care services,” said Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
Iraq and Syria will receive $US500,000 each to purchase and distribute medical supplies, support mass-casualty management and health services for displaced people.
Reporting with Reuters
1h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 2:53amWATCH: Fuel tank fire at Dubai AirportLoading…
Earlier today a fire broke out at Dubai International Airport after a drone-related incident near a fuel tank.
Flights have been temporarily suspended and the Dubai Media Office says the fire has been contained and no injuries have been reported.
Dubai Police reported Airport Road and Airport Tunnel have been closed temporarily.
1h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 2:29am
Iranian foreign minister says fuel depot strikes are ‘ecocide’
(Majid Asgaripour/ West Asia News Agency)
Seyed Abbas Araghichi, Iran’s foreign minister, has called Israel’s bombing of fuel depots in Tehran a violation of international law and “constitutes ecocide”.
“Residents face long-term damage to their health and wellbeing. Contamination of soil and groundwater could have generational impacts,” he said.
ABC NEWS Verify confirmed on Friday three Iranian oil facilities had been hit so far during the war, including the Shahran Oil Depot, pictured above.
Iran itself has been targeting oil refineries and storage facilities across the region including the Ras Tanura facility in Saudi Arabia and the Salalah Port in Oman, as well as the seaborne tanker Mayuree Naree.
1h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 2:19am
WATCH: Aftermath of an Israeli strike on a medical centre in LebanonLoading…
Video has crossed our desks of what remains of a medical centre in Lebanon destroyed by an Israeli strike on Friday.
The World Health Organization says 12 doctors, paramedics and nurses were killed in the strike.
The Lebanese health ministry says the death toll from Israeli attacks has risen to around 850, with at least 107 of those killed being children according, to the WHO.
2h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 1:59am
Rescued Thai sailors arrive in Bangkok
The crew of Thai bulk carrier Mayuree Naree have arrived to Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
Oman authorities rescued 20 sailors last week after the cargo ship was hit by two projectiles.
Three other crew members were trapped in the ship’s engine room.
(Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
(Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
(Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)
(Reuters: Athit Perawongmetha)2h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 1:40amDubai Airport suspends flights
The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority has temporarily suspended flights at Dubai International Airport as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all passengers and staff, the Dubai Media Office has announced.
This follows a drone-related incident that sparked a fire at one of the facility’s fuel tanks earlier today.
2h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 1:34am
Pope makes plea for peace in Middle East
Pope Leo XIV has renewed his appeal for peace in the Middle East and criticised those who invoked religion to wage war, saying “God cannot be enlisted by darkness”.
“Currently, many of our brothers and sisters in the world are suffering from violent conflicts, caused by the absurd claim that problems and differences can be resolved through war,” he said on a pastoral visit to a Rome suburb on Sunday, local time.
He added: “Some claim to involve the name of God in these deadly decisions, but God cannot be enlisted by darkness.
“It is peace that those who invoke him must seek.”
Pope Leo XIV says the idea that differences can be settled by war is “absurd”. (Reuters/Vatican Media)
Earlier on Sunday, the US-born pontiff used his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican to again pray for the victims of the “atrocious violence of war” in the Middle East and urge dialogue and peace.
Reporting with AFP
2h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 1:18am
Trump says Iran ‘not ready’ for negotiationsLoading…
US President Donald Trump has just been speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, expressing doubt that Iran is “ready” for negotiations.
He said his administration was in talks with Tehran, “but I don’t think they are ready”.
Trump also reiterated calls for allies to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory,” he said.
He previously said in a social media post he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain would participate.
Reporting with Reuters
3h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 1:00am
Drone attack sparks fire at Dubai Airport
The government of Dubai’s media office says a drone-related incident near the Dubai International Airport has caused a fire at one of the fuel tanks.
No injuries have been reported at this time and civil defence teams are working to bring the fire under control.
“All necessary measures are being taken to ensure everyone’s safety,” they said.
Dubai International Airport is open, however the threat of Iranian drone attacks has forced a number of global airlines to suspend their services.
3h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 12:44am
Trump: We didn’t have to help NATO with Ukraine … Now we’ll see if they help us
(Reuters: Evan Vucci )
As we’ve just mentioned, US President Donald Trump has said it would be “very bad for the future of NATO” if allies don’t help protect the Strait of Hormuz.
“We didn’t have to help them [NATO] with Ukraine. Ukraine is thousands of miles away from us . . . But we helped them. Now we’ll see if they help us,” he told The Financial Times.
“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” he added.
“[Iran has] got nothing left but to make a little trouble in the strait.
“But these people [NATO] are beneficiaries and they ought to help us police it.”
3h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 12:27am
Saudi Arabia says drones intercepted, destroyed
A Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defence spokesperson says six drones have been intercepted and destroyed in the country’s east.
4h agoMon 16 Mar 2026 at 12:11amTrump calls on NATO, China to help clear Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump says NATO faces a “very bad future” if its members don’t help open the Strait of Hormuz.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said in an interview with The Financial Times.
He pressed for Beijing to help keep the strait clear ahead of a planned visit to China later this month.
“I think China should help too because China gets 90 per cent of its oil from the straits,” he said.
Reported with Reuters
4h agoSun 15 Mar 2026 at 11:59pm
Death toll updates in Lebanon and Israel
As Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon exchange strikes, both countries have issued updates on the toll the conflict has taken on their populations.
The Lebanese health ministry says 850 people have been killed, 107 of which are children.
Emergency services say the death toll in Israel has risen to 15.
Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces issued fresh evacuation orders for several neighbourhoods in Beirut and carried out strikes on its southern suburbs.
Israel’s foreign minister has denied reports that Israel could soon hold direct talks with Lebanon, saying simply when asked: “The answer is no.”
4h agoSun 15 Mar 2026 at 11:46pm
Aftermath of Israel strikes on Lebanese clinic
Photos have come through showing the aftermath of Israeli strikes against a healthcare centre in the southern Lebanon town of Burj Qalawiya.
The strike killed 12 medical personnel, according to Lebanese health authorities over the weekend.
(Reuters: Mohammad Yassine)
(Reuters: Mohammad Yassine)
An Israeli artillery unit fires, on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border. March 15, 2026. (Reuters: Shir Torem)
4h agoSun 15 Mar 2026 at 11:29pm
Military base, US consulate, international airport damaged in attacks
Some military and civilian infrastructure outside of Iran has been hit overnight, including:
A drone attack at the joint Italian-US military base in Kuwait. Italian Chief of the Defence General Staff, General Luciano Portolano, said in a post on X that all its personnel were safe, but a shelter housing a remotely piloted Italian aircraft was destroyed.
Missile fragments struck a residential building used by the US consul in Jerusalem. A State Department spokesperson said in a statement that debris struck a residential area following the intercept of a missile and the US strongly condemned Iran’s strikes on diplomatic, military and civilian infrastructure in the region. The Iraqi government confirmed five people were wounded in a rocket attack on Baghdad International Airport. The strike hit airport facilities and a nearby water desalination plant.
Reporting with wires
5h agoSun 15 Mar 2026 at 11:13pm
The killing of a Nepali security guard reveals the hidden toll of the Iran war
On March 1, an Iranian missile fired toward the United Arab Emirates was intercepted above Abu Dhabi.
Debris from the interception fell near the airport, killing a 29-year-old.
For his family in Nepal, the news arrived slowly.
Dibas’s grieving parents in Nepal are preparing the final rituals following his death from a war thousands of kilometres away. (ABC News: Bhat Burhan)
“I saw news that three people had been killed: a Nepali, a Pakistani and a Bangladeshi,” his father says.
“A photo of the Nepali victim was shown in the media, but it wasn’t my son.”
A short time later, officials confirmed that it was.
As South Asia bureau chief Meghna Bali and reporters Bhat Burhan and Som Patidar write, his killing highlights the growing risks faced by millions of migrant workers across the Gulf as the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States escalates.
5h agoSun 15 Mar 2026 at 10:58pm
Iran arrests dozens over alleged Israeli ties
Iranian authorities have arrested dozens across the country on suspicion of cooperating with Israel, local media is reporting, more than two weeks into the Middle East war.
“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,” the Fars news agency said, quoting provincial prosecutor Hossein Majidi.
Those arrests took place during raids on networks linked to Israel in West Azerbaijan province, it added.
At least 18 people were also arrested over “sending images of locations bombed by Israel and the US” and other sites to the London-based TV channel Iran International, the Tasnim news agency said, quoting the intelligence ministry.
Reporting by AFP
5h agoSun 15 Mar 2026 at 10:44pm
‘Unacceptable’: Macron calls on Iran to end strikes across the Middle East
(AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron has called on Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to end the strikes on countries across the region.
In a post on X, the French leader says he told the Iranian leader it was unacceptable for the “unchecked escalation” to continue.
“France is acting within a strictly defensive framework aimed at protecting its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation, and that it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted,” Macron said.
He said freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored and called for a new security framework in the region which guaranteed Iran never acquired nuclear weapons.