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Ronan McGreevy – 3 minutes ago
Will Trump chicken out?
After barely a week, public support for Trump’s Iran war is at the same level it was for the Vietnam War in late 1967 following more than 11,000 American deaths. There is no US tolerance today for even a few dozen casualties. Taco – “Trump always chickens out” – is thus a question of when, Edward Luce writes.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 11, 2026. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of the Iranian supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes. (Photo by ibrahim amro / AFP via Getty Images)
Ronan McGreevy – 9 minutes ago
Three vessels hit by missiles in the Middle East
The Royal Navy said three vessels were hit with suspected projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, as the conflict in the region continues to menace shipping.
The targets, none of which were identified, include a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, container vessel west of Ras Al-Khaimah and a bulk carrier northwest of Dubai, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said. The cargo ship reported a fire on board and the crew are evacuating, it added.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for energy exports, has virtually ground to a halt since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on the Islamic Republic last month, prompting Iran to retaliate with attacks on shipping and elsewhere in the region.
The near-standstill has forced some of the biggest Gulf producers to lower oil output as storage tanks start to fill – Bloomberg
Ronan McGreevy – 57 minutes ago
Spanish PM shrugs off Trump trade warning
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez dismissed concerns over US president Donald Trump’s threats to cut trade off trade ties with Spain.
In an interview with Spanish website Eldiario.es, the Spanish premier said he was not worried about possible reprisals by the US.
Sánchez’s comments come as Spain has come under attack from Trump over its refusal to let US armed forces use military bases for strikes against Iran. The US president said he had asked the Treasury secretary to cut off all dealings with Spain.
Trump didn’t explain how he planned to cut off trade with Spain, which could prove difficult since the US has a trading relationship with the broader European Union.
Later, he suggested he had the power to impose a full embargo on goods from the country, though didn’t indicate explicitly that he planned to do so.
In the El Diario interview, Sánchez added that being a member of the EU offers assurances against Trump’s threats. Being an ally to the US “doesn’t mean saying yes to everything”, he said – Bloomberg
Ronan McGreevy – 57 minutes ago
Two drones came down in the vicinity of Dubai airport on Wednesday, injuring four people, Dubai’s media office said. Air traffic is operating as normal.
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago
Where is the new supreme leader of Iran?
Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as Iran’s supreme leader, has not been seen from or heard since he assumed the position three days ago.
According to the New York Times, it is likely he was badly wounded in the initial US-Israel attacks on February 28th.
People of Iran,
We are waging a historic war for liberty.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you to remove the Ayatollah regime and gain your freedom.
Together with the United States, we are hitting the Tyrants of Teheran harder than ever.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 10, 2026
BREAKING: Iran has reportedly sent more than 11 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, all bound for China, CNBC reported, citing shipping data. pic.twitter.com/jrmjXvq6Io
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) March 11, 2026
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago
Get rid of the ‘idiot king’ Donald Trump
Only the midterms can save the United States from the “idiot king” Donald Trump, Michael McDowell writes in his weekly column.
Ronan McGreevy – 1 hour ago
The US and Israel traded air strikes with Iran across the Middle East on Wednesday as the besieged Tehran government warned its state security forces were ready with “fingers on the trigger” to confront any anti-government protests.
Following an exchange of some of the heaviest bombardments in the region yet on Tuesday, the combatants renewed their attacks on opposing targets in Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf as the war stretched into its 12th day.
The conflict has effectively blocked vital shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, halting the flow of a fifth of the world’s fossil energy supplies from the petroleum-rich Gulf. After a major surge in crude oil prices on Monday, global energy prices have tumbled and stock markets rebounded as investors bet that US president Donald Trump would seek to end the war soon.
Adding to market optimism, the International Energy Agency has proposed the largest release of oil reserves in its history to further stabilize crude prices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing officials familiar with the matter.
Nevertheless, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to block oil shipments from the Gulf unless US and Israeli attacks ceased. And air strikes between the two sides showed no immediate sign of abatement.
A cargo vessel was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a fire onboard and prompting the crew to evacuate and request assistance, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.
The maritime body also said it had received a report of a separate incident off the UAE coast, with the master of a container vessel reporting it sustained damage from a suspected but unknown projectile.
The White House on Tuesday reiterated Trump’s threat to hit Iran hard over moves by Tehran to stop the flow of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. The US Central Command said 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels had been “eliminated” near the strait on Tuesday.
Millions of Israelis were repeatedly driven into bomb shelters overnight as the military warned Iran had launched missiles toward Israel, a sign that Tehran retains the capacity to strike Israel after nearly two weeks of hostilities.
The sound of explosions from air defences intercepting the rockets punctuated the pre-dawn darkness as air raid sirens blared and Israelis scrambled to safe rooms and shelters. There was no immediate word of whether any of the missiles reached the ground.
Iran’s armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi on Wednesday urged regional countries and fellow Muslims to indicate “US-Zionist (Israeli) hiding places” to maximise the precision and impact of Iranian strikes, while minimising harm to civilians, who he said are “used as human shields”, according to Defapress, a news outlet affiliated with the military.
Shekarchi also said that Iran will respond to recent US-Israeli strikes in residential areas.
The latest attacks from Iran roughly coincided with a new Israeli barrage on Beirut aimed at rooting out the Iran-backed group Hizbullah, which has fired into Israel from Lebanon in solidarity with the Tehran government.
Large-scale rallies have been held in Iran in support of its newly named supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, a hardliner chosen to succeed his father, who was killed on the war’s first day. A funeral procession for high-level Iranian military commanders killed early in the war will be held in Tehran on Wednesday from 10am.
Many Iranians want change and some openly celebrated the death of the elder Khamenei, weeks after his security forces killed thousands of people to put down anti-government protests.
But there has been little sign of protest during the war, and Iran moved to clamp down further on internal dissent days after Trump exhorted Iranian citizens to seize an opportunity afforded by US and Israeli attacks to rise up and overthrow their government.
Fearing a revival of anti-government demonstrations, Iran’s police chief Ahmadreza Radan warned that “anyone taking into streets at the enemy’s request will be confronted as an enemy not protestor”.
“All our security forces have their fingers on the trigger,” Radan told state television.
Iran also arrested dozens of people, including a foreign national, accused of spying for the country’s “enemies,” the intelligence ministry said on Tuesday.
More than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since the US and Israeli air strikes began on February 28th, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani. He said nearly 8,000 homes have been destroyed, along with 1,600 “commercial and service centres” and dozens of medical, educational and energy-supply facilities.
Scores have also been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, while Iranian strikes on Israel have killed at least 11 people. In addition to seven US soldiers killed in the conflict, the Pentagon on Tuesday estimated about 140 American troops have been wounded – Reuters
Emergency personnel work at the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a building in Beirut’s Aisha Bakkar neighbourhood on Wednesday. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
US strikes 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels
Overnight the US military said it struck 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important passageways for oil.
Tanker traffic through the strait is largely paused because of concerns they could be hit by drones or missiles, resulting in soaring oil prices across the world.
It is not clear if Iran has deployed any naval mines since the US-Israeli strikes began on February 28th, but Iran’s ability to potentially block the strait of Hormuz with mines has long been a concern for the United States.
US president Donald Trump has said the destruction of Iran’s navy is among the core objectives of the US military campaign.
The US believes Iran was preparing to mine the strait but had not begun the operation, according to a US official.
The preparations prompted the White House to order the strikes on Iran’s mine-laying capabilities. Along with ships, US forces were also targeting mine-storage facilities, Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, said on Tuesday.
– New York Times
Ronan McGreevy – 2 hours ago
There have been US strikes on 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz overnight, while Iran has said it launched missile attacks on the US bases of Al Udeid in Qatar, Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and Harir in Iraq.
The UN Security Council is due to vote later today on competing draft resolutions over the war in Iran and its impact across the region.
We will bring you the latest as it happens here.