{"id":357680,"date":"2026-03-21T11:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T11:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/357680\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T11:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T11:04:10","slug":"trump-considering-winding-down-war-on-iran-israel-launches-fresh-attacks-on-tehran-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/357680\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump considering \u2018winding down\u2019 war on Iran, Israel launches fresh attacks on Tehran \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Main pointsUS president Donald Trump<\/a> said on Friday he was considering \u201cwinding down\u201d military operations against Iran.The US temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem a global supply crisis. Iran has launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel.Key readsMark Weiss: From \u2018winning\u2019 the Iran war to sending more troops, Trump\u2019s mixed messages<\/a> serve a purposeIran war: What can EU leaders do about rising energy prices<\/a>?Work from home, use public transport: World\u2019s energy watchdog advises 10 measures<\/a> to combat soaring oil prices<\/p>\n

Jack White – 16 minutes ago<\/p>\n

US-Israeli strikes on Iran to intensify, says Israeli defence minister<\/p>\n

Strikes by the US and Israel on Iran will intensify in the next week, Israel\u2019s defence minister Israel Katz has said. <\/p>\n

In a statement published by AFP, Katz said there would be a significant rise in the attacks on the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis week, the intensity of the strikes to be carried out by the IDF and the US military against the Iranian terror regime and the infrastructure on which it relies will rise significantly,\u201d he said. – Guardian<\/p>\n

Jack White – 24 minutes ago<\/p>\n

UK ministry of defence condemns \u2018reckless attacks\u2019 after joint US-UK base targeted<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s ministry of defence has condemned \u201cIran\u2019s reckless attacks\u201d, after Tehran fired missiles towards a joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

Two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands on Friday but neither hit, the Wall Street Journal reported.<\/p>\n

On Saturday morning a ministry of defence spokesperson said: \u201cIran\u2019s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies.<\/p>\n

\u201cRAF jets and other UK military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.\u201d – PA<\/p>\n

Jack White – 30 minutes ago<\/p>\n

There has been no increase in off-site radiation levels reported following an attack on Iran\u2019s Natanz nuclear facility, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. <\/p>\n

The UN nuclear watchdog said it was informed by Iran that the facility was attacked on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The IAEA has been informed by Iran that the Natanz nuclear site was attacked today. No increase in off-site radiation levels reported. IAEA is looking into the report.
IAEA Director General @rafaelmgrossi<\/a> reiterates call for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/jDCWYbOwao<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency \u269b\ufe0f (@iaeaorg) March 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Jack White – 38 minutes ago<\/p>\n

British prime \u200cminister Keir Starmer will next week convene \u200can emergency meeting of senior ministers and Bank \u200bof England governor Andrew Bailey to discuss plans to help households with \u200bthe soaring cost of living caused by \u2060the war in Iran, the \u200cTimes \u200creported \u200bon Saturday.<\/p>\n

Starmer is under \u200bpressure to assist UK consumers \u2060after the US-Israeli war \u2060in \u200bIran drove up petrol, energy and mortgage costs.<\/p>\n

On Monday, he promised to support \u201cworking people\u201d with cost-of-living pressures worsened by the conflict. <\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Starmer\u2019s office and one \u2060for \u200bthe Bank of England \u200bdeclined to comment on the \u200creport.<\/p>\n

Officer killed in drone strike on Iraqi intelligence headquarters <\/p>\n

An officer \u200bwas killed after \u200ba drone \u2060launched \u200cby \u201coutlaw \u200cgroups\u201d \u200bstruck \u2060near \u200bthe \u200bIraqi intelligence \u200cheadquarters in \u200bBaghdad \u2060on \u2060Saturday, \u200bthe national intelligence \u200cservice said \u2060in a \u200cstatement. – Reuters<\/p>\n

Iraqi intelligence headquarters targeted by drone strike<\/p>\n

Iraq\u2019s intelligence headquarters in the country\u2019s capital Baghdad has been targeted by a drone strike. <\/p>\n

Gen Saad Maan, head of Iraq\u2019s government security media unit, confirmed the attack in central Baghdad on Saturday morning. <\/p>\n

In comments reported by AFP, he said a drone targeted the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the Mansour district at 10am local time.<\/p>\n

An Iraqi security official told the news agency the attack targeted a national intelligence service \u201ctelecommunications building\u201d. It co-operates with US advisers in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition. <\/p>\n

Iraq has been drawn into the conflict since the US and Israel attacked its neighbour, Iran, in late February. Strikes have hit Iran-backed groups, which have in turn attacked US-linked buildings or facilities in the region, including Iraq. <\/p>\n

At least three drone attacks overnight targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub that houses US military personnel at Baghdad International Airport, according to two security officials speaking to AFP.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the Pentagon said combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq. – Guardian<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Natanz nuclear facility attacked, state media reports<\/p>\n

The US \u200cand Israel launched \u200ban attack on the \u200bNatanz \u2060uranium-enrichment facility \u200con \u200cSaturday morning, \u200bIran\u2019s \u2060Tasnim news \u200bagency \u200bsaid.<\/p>\n

No \u200cradioactive leaks \u200boccurred and \u2060residents \u2060near \u200bthe site were not at \u200crisk, Tasnim \u2060added. – Reuters<\/p>\n

Some photos are coming in from the southern \u2060suburbs of Beirut which have been targeted in Israeli air strikes.<\/p>\n

The Israeli \u200cmilitary said early on Saturday it was \u200bstriking Hizbullah targets after issuing an evacuation warning \u200bfor seven neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

\"AA picture shows damaged buildings following an Israeli air strike that targeted the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Saturday. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images EU urges members to cut gas-storage targets<\/p>\n

The EU has urged member states to lower natural gas-storage targets and start \u200crefilling reserves gradually to curb demand, as energy prices spike during the US-Israeli war on \u200bIran, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen instructed member states to lower the filling target for their gas storage facilities to 80 per cent of \u200bcapacity, 10 percentage points below the EU\u2019s official targets \u201cas early as possible in the \u2060filling season to provide certainty and reassurance to market participants\u201d, \u200cthe \u200cnewspaper said, \u200bciting a letter.<\/p>\n

Gas \u2060prices in Europe \u200bsurged as much as 35 per cent on \u200bThursday as Iranian and Israeli strikes targeted some of the Middle \u200cEast\u2019s most important gas infrastructure, doing \u200bdamage that will likely take years to repair.<\/p>\n

Gas storage allows Europe to meet winter heating and power demand, underpinning the region\u2019s energy security. – Reuters<\/p>\n

\"IsraeliIsraeli air strikes have hit Dahiyeh, Beirut\u2019s southern suburbs (AP) Israeli military says it is striking Hizbullah targets in Beirut<\/p>\n

The Israeli \u200cmilitary said early on Saturday it was \u200bstriking Hizbullah targets in Beirut, after issuing an evacuation warning \u200bfor seven neighbourhoods in the southern \u2060suburbs of the Lebanese capital.<\/p>\n

There \u200cwere \u200cno \u200bimmediate reports of casualties.<\/p>\n

Israel has been \u2060stepping \u200bup air strikes against \u200bLebanon in the third \u200cweek of its \u200bwar with Iran-backed Hizbullah.<\/p>\n

The Hizbullah-Israel \u2060conflict has \u2060become \u200bthe deadliest spillover of the US-Israeli war on Iran since the Lebanese militant group fired at Israel in \u200csupport of \u2060Tehran on March 2md, with more than 1,000 people \u200ckilled in Lebanon and more than one million displaced. – Reuters<\/p>\n

Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulates Iranian leaders<\/p>\n

Russian president Vladimir Putin<\/a> congratulated Iranian leaders on Nowruz and said Moscow remained a loyal friend \u200cand reliable partner to Tehran, the Kremlin said on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The extent of Moscow\u2019s support for \u200bIran, though, is in dispute. Some Iranian sources have said that they have had little real help from Moscow in the biggest crisis for Iran since the US-backed Shah was \u200btoppled in the 1979 revolution.<\/p>\n

Putin sent congratulations to Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and \u2060Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on the Iranian new year, the Kremlin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cVladimir \u200cPutin \u200cwished \u200bthe Iranian people to overcome the harsh trials with dignity and stressed that in this difficult time Moscow \u2060remains a loyal friend and \u200breliable partner of Tehran,\u201d the Kremlin \u200bsaid. <\/p>\n

Russia says the US and Israeli attacks on Iran have thrust the entire \u200cMiddle East into the abyss \u200band triggered a major global energy crisis, while describing the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah \u2060Ali Khamenei as a \u201ccynical\u201d murder.<\/p>\n

Politico reported \u2060that Moscow \u200bproposed a quid pro quo to Washington: the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence with Iran if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intelligence about Russia, but the United States rejected the idea. The Kremlin has dismissed the report as fake.<\/p>\n

Russia was deprived of an ally when the United States toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, though Moscow \u200chas benefited from the \u2060high oil prices triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, a strategic partner.<\/p>\n

The published strategic partnership does not \u200ccontain a mutual defence clause, and Russia has repeatedly said that it does not want Iran \u200bto develop an atomic bomb, a step that \u200bMoscow fears would trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East. – Reuters<\/p>\n

Iran attack on Indian Ocean base \u2018a significant step\u2019<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s semi-official \u200bMehr news agency \u2060also reported on Saturday that Iran \u200cfired two ballistic missiles at \u200cthe US-UK military base \u200bon Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

Mehr \u200bsaid targeting the base was a \u201csignificant step … that shows that the range \u200cof Iran\u2019s \u2060missiles is beyond what the enemy \u200cpreviously imagined\u201d. <\/p>\n

The reported attacks on the island mark a significant attempt by Iran to reach far beyond the Middle East and threaten US interests. <\/p>\n

The Wall Street Journal described Diego Garcia \u2013 about 4,000km from Iran \u2013 as a crucial overseas US military staging post for operations far from home and a key airfield for the US military\u2019s heavy bomber fleet. <\/p>\n

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said last month that Iran had deliberately limited the range of its missiles to 2,000km.<\/p>\n

As the Guardian reported in March, Trump said he was \u201cvery disappointed\u201d in British prime minister Keir Starmer over the UK government\u2019s deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as a means to preserve the status of the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, which is part of the Indian Ocean archipelago. <\/p>\n

The Chagos deal, which Trump initially supported before changing his mind, was a \u201cvery woke thing\u201d, the US president said. <\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel, meanwhile, after supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei claimed to have dealt a \u201cdizzying blow\u201d to his country\u2019s enemies. <\/p>\n

In response, the Israeli military launched strikes on \u201cregime targets\u201d in Tehran early on Saturday. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe tail section of a ballistic missile fired from Iran sticks out of the ground at a vineyard in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Iran has continued firing waves of drones and missiles at Israel after the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran early on February 28th. Photograph: Amir Levy\/Getty Images Diego Garcia \u2018targeted by Iran missiles\u2019<\/p>\n

Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and CNN reported, citing multiple US officials. <\/p>\n

The WSJ said one of the missiles failed in flight, and a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other. Neither outlet confirmed when Iran launched the missiles. One person was killed and two others wounded after an Israeli air strike hit a house in a town in southern Lebanon early on Saturday, state media said.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump considering \u2018winding down\u2019 war on Iran<\/p>\n

Good morning \u2013 and welcome to our ongoing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a> and its repercussions for the Middle East, the world and the global economy. <\/p>\n

US president Donald Trump<\/a> said on Friday he was considering \u201cwinding down\u201d military operations against Iran<\/a>, as the US temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem a global supply crisis. <\/p>\n

Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the US was \u201cgetting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East\u201d. <\/p>\n

His post was the strongest indication yet that he may be prepared to soon end hostilities that began on February 28th. <\/p>\n

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on X shortly after Trump\u2019s message: \u201cThe President and the Pentagon predicted it would take approximately 4-6 weeks to achieve this mission.\u201d <\/p>\n

Amid growing concern over oil prices and global supply shortages, the US Treasury said it was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded on to vessels. The authorisation allowed for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products loaded on to ships before March 20th and would last until April 19th, it said. \u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n

Since Day One of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump clearly outlined the U.S. Military\u2019s objectives to end the threat of the Iranian terrorist regime. <\/p>\n

The President and the Pentagon predicted it would take approximately 4-6 weeks to achieve this mission. <\/p>\n

Tomorrow marks week\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/A5F8UTxpPZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n