Main pointsUS president Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran does not fully reopen the strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Iranian barrages tore through southern Israel on Saturday, leaving around 100 people wounded across Dimona and Arad.Key reads
Katie Mellett – 2 minutes ago
Projectile hits vessel off UAE’s Sharjah, UKMTO says
An unknown projectile struck a vessel 15 nautical miles north of the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said early on Sunday.
It said that all crew were reported safe.
The UKMTO said in a later statement that the target of the incident could not be conclusively identified and authorities were investigating.
Katie Mellett – 23 minutes ago
Israeli military instructed to accelerate the demolition of Lebanese homes in ‘frontline villages’, minister says
A group of Lebanese internally displaced people gathers around a truck to collect water in Beirut, March 21st, 2026. Photograph: Diego Ibarra Sánchez/The New York Times.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that he and prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu had instructed the military to accelerate the demolition of Lebanese homes in “frontline villages” to end threats to Israeli communities.
The military was instructed to immediately destroy all bridges over Lebanon’s Litani river which he said were used for “terrorist activity”, Katz said in a statement released by his office.
Katie Mellett – 28 minutes ago
One Turkish soldier and two personnel from Turkish defence firm Aselsan were killed in a helicopter crash in Qatar on Saturday, the Turkish defence ministry said on Sunday, adding the aircraft had crashed due to a technical issue during a training flight.
In a statement, the ministry said four Qatari troops were also killed in the accident. It added Qatari authorities would carry out inspections to determine the exact cause of the crash. – Reuters
Katie Mellett – 46 minutes ago
Zelenskiy has a ‘very bad feeling’ about impact of Iran war on Ukraine’s fight against Russia 
British prime minister Keir Starmer greets president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy upon his arrival in Downing Street March 17th, 2026 in London, England. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
In an interview during a visit to London in the week, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy talked about the impact of Donald Trump’s attention being diverted from Russia’s war on Ukraine to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
He said, I have a very bad feeling about the impact of this war on the situation in Ukraine and the focus of America is more on the Middle East than on Ukraine unfortunately. Therefore, you see that our diplomatic meetings, trilateral meetings are constantly postponed. There is one reason: war in Iran.
Zelenskiy said that although trilateral meetings have been postponed Kyiv and Washington officials are still talking daily and that Washington and Moscow are speaking daily. – Guardian
Katie Mellett – 49 minutes ago
Bahrain’s defence force says in an update on social media that it has intercepted and destroyed 246 drones and 145 missiles from Iran since the war started. – Guardian
Katie Mellett – 1 hour ago
Overnight attacks target US diplomatic and logistics centre at airport in Baghdad
This photograph shows a house that was damaged by a drone strike in the Al-Saydiya neighbourhood of Baghdad on March 22nd, 2026. Photograph: Murtaja LATEEF / AFP via Getty Images
Earlier, it was reported that a drone attack targeted a military base near Baghdad International Airport on Sunday.
The AFP news agency is now reporting that at least six overnight attacks targeted a US diplomatic and logistics centre at the airport.
“Eight separate attacks, carried out until dawn with rockets and drones targeted the US centre,” a senior security official told AFP, while a second official said there had been six strikes, not saying who was behind them. – Guardian
Katie Mellett – 2 hours ago
Six dead after helicopter crash in Qatar territorial waters
Six people were killed in a helicopter crash in Qatar’s territorial waters while operations continue to find the last missing person, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
The defence ministry earlier said the helicopter had crashed after suffering a technical malfunction during “routine duty”.
Search operations are underway for crew members and passengers.
Katie Mellett – 2 hours ago
Asia’s oil-importing nations seek alternatives to overcome Strait of Hormuz blockage
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuzis piling pressure on major importers of oil, gas and fuels from the Persian Gulf, prompting them to scramble for solutions.
For Asia’s oil-importing nations caught in the crossfire, the closure is limiting supplies of oil, gas and fuels and pushing up prices — forcing them to consider alternatives, in some cases by finding other suppliers or by attempting negotiations with Tehran.
India, in the grip of an acute liquefied petroleum gas shortage, has secured at least two cargoes of the cooking fuel and is negotiating transit for more.
In a weekend call with Iran’s president Ahmad Masoud Pezeshkian, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi stressed the importance of keeping shipping lanes “open and secure,” according to a post on X.
A Pakistan-bound crude tanker made its way through the corridor a week ago, while Turkey was also given the green light, according to a state-owned news outlet.
Other Asian buyers with close ties to the US are attempting to navigate the delicate balance between the urgent need for oil and lower prices — and the need to avoid antagonizing a volatile Trump administration, especially when most have resisted calls from Washington for warships to help secure the strait.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi indicated in an interview on Friday that the country was ready to allow Japan-related ships to transit the waterway. His counterpart in Japan quickly clarified that the country was not considering unilateral negotiations.
Instead, Japan would focus on ensuring “conditions where everyone can pass,” foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi said, stressing the importance of maintaining broad freedom of navigation. About 45 Japan-linked vessels remain affected in the strait, he said on Sunday.
South Korea, another major importer of crude and exporter of fuels into Asia and beyond, has been similarly circumspect, saying it is closely monitoring developments and communicates with relevant countries, including Iran. – Bloomberg
Katie Mellett – 3 hours ago
Strait of Hormuz remains open to all except ‘enemies’, Iran tells UN maritime agency
The Strait of Hormuz remains open to all shipping except vessels linked to “Iran’s enemies”, Iran’s representative to the UN maritime agency said on Sunday.
The threat of Iranian attacks during the US-Israeli war on Iran has kept most ships from getting through the narrow strait, the conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, threatening a global energy shock.
Ali Mousavi said Tehran was ready to cooperate with the International Maritime Organisation to improve maritime safety and protect seafarers in the Gulf, adding that ships not linked to “Iran’s enemies” could pass the strait by coordinating security and safety arrangements with Tehran.
“Diplomacy remains Iran’s priority. However, a complete cessation of aggression as well as mutual trust and confidence are more important,” Mousavi said, adding that Israeli and US attacks against Iran were at the “root of the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz”. – Reuters
Katie Mellett – 3 hours ago
More than 100 people were wounded in Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns
More than 100 people were wounded in Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns on Saturday, after Israeli air defence systems failed to intercept the projectiles.
Images from the scene showed first responders searching the wreckage, including damaged residential buildings.
Tehran’s main nuclear enrichment site at Natanz was hit earlier in the day and it responded with missiles that hit the southern cities of Dimona and Arad, the largest near the centre in Israel’s sparsely populated Negev desert. It was the first time Iranian missiles penetrated Israel’s air defence systems in the area around the nuclear site.
“If the Israeli regime is unable to intercept missiles in the heavily protected Dimona area, it is, operationally, a sign of entering a new phase of the battle,” Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X before word of the Arad strike spread.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men look at destroyed buildings after an Iranian missile strike on March 22nd, 2026 in Arad, Israel. Photograph: Getty Images
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said more emergency crews were being sent to the scene.
“This is a very difficult evening,” he said.
Rescue workers said the direct hit in Arad caused widespread damage across at least 10 apartment buildings, three of them badly damaged and in danger of collapsing. At least 64 people were taken to hospitals.
Dimona is about 12 miles west of the nuclear research centre and Arad is around 22 miles north. – Associated Press
Destroyed buildings after an Iranian missile strike on March 22nd, 2026 in Arad, Israel. Photograph: Getty Images
Katie Mellett – 3 hours ago
Donald Trump warns US will ‘obliterate’ Iranian power plants if it fails to open Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump warned the US will “obliterate” Iranian power plants if it does not fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
His statement came hours after Iranian missiles struck two communities in southern Israel late on Saturday, leaving buildings shattered and dozens injured in dual attacks not far from Israel’s main nuclear research centre.
The developments signalled the war was moving in a dangerous new direction at the start of its fourth week.
Trump — who is facing increasing pressure at home to secure the Strait as oil prices soar — issued the ultimatum in a social media post while he spent the weekend at his Florida home.
Trump said he is giving Iran 48 hours to open the vital waterway or face a new round of attacks. He said the US would destroy “various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”
Iran warned early on Sunday that any strike on its energy facilities would prompt attacks on US and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets in the region, according to a statement citing an Iranian military spokesperson carried by state media and semi-official outlets. – Associated Press