![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773990135_610_5000.jpg\")
A woman shops for flowers at a market in preparation for Nowruz celebrations on 19 March 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Activists reported hearing strikes around Iran\u2019s capital. The attacks occurred a day after Israel<\/a> pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field and Iran intensified attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf.<\/p>\n The strikes come as questions mount about how aligned the US and Israel are in their war aims, with Netanyahu saying that Israel had acted alone in the bombing of Iran\u2019s South Pars gas field. He also confirmed that Trump had asked Israel to hold off on such attacks.<\/p>\n Iran is being \u201cdecimated\u201d and no longer had the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles, but a revolution in the country would require a \u201cground component,\u201d he said, without elaborating.<\/p>\n The Israeli premier also rejected the notion that he had dragged Trump into the conflict, implying that he was the junior partner in the joint assault on Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do?\u201d Netanyahu told reporters, at a press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t need any convincing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I. He\u2019s the leader. I\u2019m, you know, his ally.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.27 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Interim summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.<\/p>\n If you are just joining us, here is a quick recap of the latest developments:<\/p>\n Israel pounded Tehran with airstrikes on Friday as Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year. Activists reported hearing strikes around Iran\u2019s capital. The attacks occurred a day after Israel pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field and Iran intensified attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf.<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu denied that Donald Trump was \u201cdragged\u201d into the war by Israel, as he tried to pour cold water on suggestions that Israel influenced the US\u2019s decision to attack Iran and amid growing signs <\/a>that the US and Israel are not aligned on their war aims. \u201cDoes anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do,\u201d the Israeli prime minister said, adding: \u201cI misled no one.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu also stated that Israel \u201cacted alone\u201d in striking Iran\u2019s South Pars gasfield, though he didn\u2019t address whether or not he had told Trump about the attack beforehand. \u201cPresident Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we\u2019re holding out,\u201d he added. Trump has distanced himself<\/a> from Israel\u2019s attack on the world\u2019s largest gasfield<\/a> (which he claimed on Wednesday that Washington \u201cknew nothing\u201d about), and confirmed today that he told Netanyahu to stop attacking Iran\u2019s energy facilities.<\/p>\n Netanyahu also claimed that Iran has \u201cno ability to enrich uranium at the moment and no capability of manufacturing ballistic missiles\u201d. He said that the war would take \u201cas long as is necessary\u201d, adding: \u201cWe will crush them entirely, all those capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesman for Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted Friday that Tehran was still building missiles, seeking to counter a claim by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it no longer could.<\/p>\n Kuwait\u2019s state oil firm KPC said its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was hit by multiple drone attacks early on Friday, causing a fire in some units, with no initial casualties reported, the state news agency said.<\/p>\n Iranian attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar have reduced the country\u2019s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity by 17%, according to QatarEnergy, the state-run energy giant. The \u201cextensive damage\u201d could reduce its annual revenues by $20bn and take \u201cup to five years\u201d to repair, Saad al-Kaabi, the Qatari energy minister and CEO of QatarEnergy, said in a statement.<\/p>\n US Central Command said that it has destroyed the Iranian regime\u2019s surface-to-surface missile plant in Karaj. The plant was used to \u201cassemble ballistic missiles that threatened Americans, neighboring countries, and commercial shipping,\u201d Centcom said<\/a>.<\/p>\n France will double its humanitarian aid to Lebanon to the value of \u20ac17m ($19.7m), foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, as Lebanon<\/a> grapples with Israel\u2019s latest military assault. Israeli strikes on Beirut and its ground invasion of southern Lebanon have killed over 1,000 people, including 118 children, and wounded more than 2,500 since Tel Aviv\u2019s renewed offensive on 2 March. More than one million \u2013 roughly one in five \u2013 of the population have been displaced.<\/p>\n An Iranian missile attack hit Israel\u2019s oil refineries in the northern port city of Haifa but did not cause \u201csignificant damage\u201c, Israel\u2019s energy ministry said. Energy minister Eli Cohen said power was briefly disrupted, with electricity restored to most of those who were affected, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n Petrol prices have surged in some regions, including in Vietnam where the cost of fuel was up 20% on Friday amid fears of oil and gas shortages caused by the war.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard says Tehran still building missiles<\/p>\n The spokesman for Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted Friday that Tehran was still building missiles, seeking to counter a claim by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> that it no longer could.<\/p>\n Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini made the comments in a report quoted by Iran\u2019s state-run IRAN newspaper.<\/p>\n Referencing how Iranian schools consider a 20 as a perfect score, the general said:<\/p>\n double quotation markOur missile industry score is 20 and there is no concern in this regard because we are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said the war would go on.<\/p>\n \u201cThese people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted,\u201d the general said of the Iranian public. \u201cThis war must end when the shadow of war is lifted from the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The leaders of some Pacific countries have appealed for help with oil supplies while others urge against \u201cpanic buying\u201d as the import-reliant nations grapple with fears over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Oil prices have surged<\/a> to nearly $110 a barrel after strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran and the Gulf states.<\/p>\n Read more about the impacts here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Asian shares were mixed on Friday following Wall Street losses, and oil prices pared earlier gains on the intensifying Iran<\/a> war, falling back to about $107 a barrel. US futures were higher.<\/p>\n Oil prices had a rollercoaster day on Thursday with the Brent crude, the international standard, briefly surging to about $119 per barrel as attacks by Iran on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf escalated after Israel\u2019s attack of Iran\u2019s key natural gas field.<\/p>\n In early Friday trading, Brent crude fell 1.6% to $106.90 a barrel, following Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s remarks that he would hold off on further attacks on Iran\u2019s gas field at the request of US President Donald Trump. Benchmark US crude was down 2% to $93.63 a barrel.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The cost of petrol was up by more than 20% in Vietnam on Friday after the government announced an overnight hike amid fears of oil and gas shortages caused by the Middle East war.<\/p>\n South-east Asian countries have borne the brunt of surging diesel prices after strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran<\/a> and the Gulf states.<\/p>\n People queue to buy petrol at a petrol station after Vietnam’s trade ministry called on local businesses to encourage their employees to work from home to save fuel amid disruptions in supply and price surges triggered by the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Hanoi, Vietnam, 10 March 2026. Photograph: Khanh Vu\/Reuters<\/p>\n Just before midnight Thursday, the Vietnamese government announced an increase in the price of 95-octane gasoline by 20% from the weekend to 30,690 Vietnamese dong ($1.20) per litre, while diesel was up by nearly 34% to 33,420 dong.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n More than 3,000 people are believed to have been killed<\/a> across Iran so far, and the Pentagon says more than 15,000 targets<\/a> in the country have been hit in the first two weeks. A girls\u2019 school in the south-eastern Iranian city of Minab lies in rubble, with about 175 children and teachers killed in a strike that the US is believed to have carried out. The strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea passage turned chokepoint for the Gulf\u2019s oil and the world, is, in effect, closed.<\/p>\n And the bill, according to analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is growing by roughly half a billion dollars every day.<\/p>\n Read this clever interactive piece on the cost of Operation Epic Fury.<\/p>\n Mourners hold a portrait of students during a funeral ceremony for children, who lost their lives after a primary school in Iran\u00e2s Hormozgan province was targeted in US and Israeli attacks, on March 03, 2026 in Minab, Iran. Photograph: Stringer\/Anadolu\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.40 EDT<\/p>\n Kuwait\u2019s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery hit by multiple drone attacks<\/p>\n Kuwait\u2019s state oil firm KPC said its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was hit by multiple drone attacks early on Friday, causing a fire in some units, with no initial casualties reported, the state news agency said.<\/p>\n Firefighters responded immediately, with several units shut down as a precaution to ensure workers\u2019 safety.<\/p>\n The Al-Ahmadi refinery south of Kuwait City Photograph: KUNA\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThe Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery… was subjected early today to several hostile drone attacks, causing fires in some of its units,\u201d the official Kuwait News Agency said, adding that \u201cseveral refinery units were shut down\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.33 EDT<\/p>\n Some analysts believe that China will be in a stronger position to extract concessions from Donald Trump when the US president finally visits Beijing after becoming entangled in his Middle East war.<\/p>\n Trump had been due in the Chinese capital at the end of this month for talks with president Xi Jinping, but has delayed his trip by several weeks to deal with the fallout from the war.<\/p>\n Chinese president Xi Jinping, right, waves, with president Donald Trump, ahead of their summit talk in Busan, South Korea, Thursday, 30 Oct., 2025. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\n His decision last month to join Israel<\/a> in strikes on Iran has plunged the Middle East into violence, pushed energy prices to years-long highs and seeded fears of global supply shortages due to Iran\u2019s effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n With Trump struggling to define how the intervention will end and traditional allies reluctant to back him, the US leader may come to China needing a diplomatic win, analysts told Agence France-Presse.<\/p>\n double quotation markA show of US force that was meant to intimidate Beijing has instead served to puncture the illusion of US omnipotence,\u201d said Ali Wyne, a senior adviser focusing on US-China ties at the International Crisis Group thinktank.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Some more images of people preparing for Nowruz, or Persian New Year, in Tehran.<\/p>\n People shop for flowers at a market ahead of Nowruz celebrations on 19 March 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ImagesPeople shop at a market in preparation for Nowruz celebrations on 19 March 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ImagesPeople shop for goldfish at a market ahead of Nowruz celebrations on 19 March 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ImagesA vendor sells flowers at a market as people shop in preparation for Nowruz celebrations on 19 March 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>Israel pounds Tehran with airstrikes on Friday<\/p>\n Israel pounded Tehran with airstrikes on Friday as Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> denied he \u2018dragged\u2019 Trump into the war with Iran.<\/p>\n A woman shops for flowers at a market in preparation for Nowruz celebrations on 19 March 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Majid Saeedi\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Activists reported hearing strikes around Iran\u2019s capital. The attacks occurred a day after Israel<\/a> pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field and Iran intensified attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf.<\/p>\n The strikes come as questions mount about how aligned the US and Israel are in their war aims, with Netanyahu saying that Israel had acted alone in the bombing of Iran\u2019s South Pars gas field. He also confirmed that Trump had asked Israel to hold off on such attacks.<\/p>\n Iran is being \u201cdecimated\u201d and no longer had the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles, but a revolution in the country would require a \u201cground component,\u201d he said, without elaborating.<\/p>\n The Israeli premier also rejected the notion that he had dragged Trump into the conflict, implying that he was the junior partner in the joint assault on Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do?\u201d Netanyahu told reporters, at a press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t need any convincing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I. He\u2019s the leader. I\u2019m, you know, his ally.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.27 EDT<\/p>\n As other Asian economies race to conserve energy amid a shortage sparked by the war, China has huge reserves of oil and gas, as well as alternative energy sources like wind and solar.<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s Callum Jones look\u2019s at how Xi Jinping has been preparing for a crisis like this for years.<\/p>\n A drone view shows oil storage tanks at a depot at Tsing Yi port in Hong Kong, China March 19, 2026. Photograph: Joyce Zhou\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.24 EDT<\/p>\n South Korea, the world\u2019s third biggest importer of liquified natural gas (LNG) has played down the impact of Iranian strikes on Qatari energy facilities.<\/p>\n QatarEnergy, the state-run energy giant, estimated earlier that Iran\u2019s strikes on Ras Laffan Industrial City have reduced the country\u2019s LNG export capacity by 17%, and warned it could take up to five years to repair \u201cextensive\u201d damage.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that the share of imports from Qatar is relatively low (at around 14% in 2026) and alternative supply sources are available, there are no issues regarding gas supply and demand,\u201d South Korea\u2019s industry ministry said in a statement. \u201cHowever, as uncertainty has been growing, we plan to closely monitor supply, demand, and price trends and respond accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n Only China and Japan import more LNG from overseas than South Korea.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n One of Iran\u2019s top football players has been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government, according to Iranian media.<\/p>\n Sardar Azmoun is said to have upset authorities this week by posting a picture on social media of a meeting with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai.<\/p>\n A report on the Fars News Agency, which has links to Iran\u2019s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cited \u201can informed source within the national team\u201d as saying that Azmoun, 31, had been expelled from the squad.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s women\u2019s football team returned to Iran earlier this week<\/a>. While seven members of the delegation had sought asylum in Australia last week, five later changed their minds, including captain Zahra Ghanbari.<\/p>\n Iran’s Sardar Azmoun in action with United Arab Emirates’ Kouame Kouadio, Azadi Sports Complex, Tehran, Iran – March 20, 2025. Photograph: Majid Asgaripour\/WANA (West Asia News Agency)\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.18 EDT<\/p>\n Israel launches fresh wave of strikes on Tehran<\/p>\n Israel says it has launched more strikes on the Iranian capital.<\/p>\n In a brief statement on X, the Israel Defense Forces said: \u201cThe IDF has now begun a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran.\u201d<\/p>\n Activists reported hearing strikes across the city, the AP reports.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>UAE, Kuwait authorities say responding to missile attacks<\/p>\n Emirati and Kuwaiti air defences were responding to missile attacks early on Friday, Kuwait\u2019s army and the UAE\u2019s interior ministry said in separate statements.<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain\u2019s interior ministry said air raid sirens were activated, and Saudi Arabia\u2019s defence ministry said it had intercepted a drone in the country\u2019s east.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.36 EDT<\/p>\n Welcome summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a> and the effect the conflict is having on the region, the world and the global economy.<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu has hinted at a possible \u201cground component\u201d to the US-Israel warn on Iran \u2013 while Donald Trump suggested the US had no plans to put boots on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t want to replace one ayatollah with another,\u201d the Israeli prime minister said on Thursday, adding that the Iranian regime was unlikely to be overthrown \u200busing air strikes alone.<\/p>\n It is \u201coften said\u201d that you can\u2019t \u201cdo revolutions from the air\u201d, Netanyahu told a press conference. \u201cThere has to be a ground component as well. There are many possibilities for this ground component and I take the liberty of not sharing [those] with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump, meanwhile, claimed he had no plans for the US to engage in such an operation. \u201cI\u2019m not putting troops anywhere,\u201d he told a reporter, when asked about using ground troops. But he added: \u201cIf I were, I certainly wouldn\u2019t tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n The president also confirmed that the Pentagon has asked Congress to approve a further $200bn to fund the war.<\/p>\n Some 65% of Americans believe Trump will order troops into a large-scale ground war in Iran<\/a>, according to a new Reuters\/Ipsos poll, but just 7% support that idea.<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Benjamin Netanyahu denied that Donald Trump was \u201cdragged\u201d into the war by Israel, as he tried to pour cold water on suggestions that Israel influenced the US\u2019s decision to attack Iran and amid growing signs <\/a>that the US and Israel are not aligned on their war aims. \u201cDoes anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do,\u201d the Israeli prime minister said, adding: \u201cI misled no one.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu also stated that Israel \u201cacted alone\u201d in striking Iran\u2019s South Pars gasfield, though he didn\u2019t address whether or not he had told Trump about the attack beforehand. \u201cPresident Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we\u2019re holding out,\u201d he added. Trump has distanced himself<\/a> from Israel\u2019s attack on the world\u2019s largest gasfield<\/a> (which he claimed on Wednesday that Washington \u201cknew nothing\u201d about), and confirmed today that he told Netanyahu to stop attacking Iran\u2019s energy facilities.<\/p>\n Netanyahu also claimed that Iran has \u201cno ability to enrich uranium at the moment and no capability of manufacturing ballistic missiles\u201d. He said that the war would take \u201cas long as is necessary\u201d, adding: \u201cWe will crush them entirely, all those capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n Iranian attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar have reduced the country\u2019s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity by 17%, according to QatarEnergy, the state-run energy giant. The \u201cextensive damage\u201d could reduce its annual revenues by $20bn and take \u201cup to five years\u201d to repair, Saad al-Kaabi, the Qatari energy minister and CEO of QatarEnergy, said in a statement.<\/p>\n US Central Command said that it has destroyed the Iranian regime\u2019s surface-to-surface missile plant in Karaj. The plant was used to \u201cassemble ballistic missiles that threatened Americans, neighboring countries, and commercial shipping,\u201d Centcom said<\/a>.<\/p>\n France will double its humanitarian aid to Lebanon to the value of \u20ac17m ($19.7m), foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, as Lebanon<\/a> grapples with Israel\u2019s latest military assault. Israeli strikes on Beirut and its ground invasion of southern Lebanon have killed over 1,000 people, including 118 children, and wounded more than 2,500 since Tel Aviv\u2019s renewed offensive on 2 March. More than one million \u2013 roughly one in five \u2013 of the population have been displaced.<\/p>\n An Iranian missile attack hit Israel\u2019s oil refineries in the northern port city of Haifa but did not cause \u201csignificant damage\u201c, Israel\u2019s energy ministry said. Energy minister Eli Cohen said power was briefly disrupted, with electricity restored to most of those who were affected, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n