20/03/2026 – 22:31Trump says US considering ‘winding down’ military operations in Iran
President Donald Trump said Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran and that the Strait of Hormuz would need to be “guarded and policed” by other countries who use the vital waterway.
“We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
“The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it – The United States does not!” he said.
20/03/2026 – 21:59Israel police probe blast sites after Iran missile warning
Israeli police said they were investigating blast impact sites around Tel Aviv, after a warning that Iran had fired missiles and air raid sirens sounded in the city.
Sirens and blasts were also heard from Jerusalem, AFP correspondents said, following an earlier blast in the city just a few hundred metres from Jerusalem’s revered holy sites of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
AFP could not independently verify whether it was a direct hit by a missile or fragments that fell after an interception.
20/03/2026 – 21:57Iran says it has no oil surplus to offer global markets
Iran said it had no surplus crude oil to offer to international markets, after the US treasury secretary said Washington could lift sanctions on Iranian oil at sea.
“Currently, Iran basically has no surplus crude oil left on the water or for supply in other international markets, and the US treasury secretary’s statement is solely aimed at giving hope to buyers,” Iranian oil ministry spokesman Saman Ghoddoosi wrote on X.
20/03/2026 – 21:05Israeli attacks on Syria a ‘dangerous escalation’, says Turkey
Turkey lashed out at Israel for striking army camps in southern Syria, urging the international community to intervene.
“We view Israel’s attack targeting military infrastructure in southern Syria as a dangerous escalation and strongly condemn it,” a foreign ministry statement said, urging the international community “to stop the Israeli attacks”.
Syria has so far avoided being dragged into the regional war that began on February 28 when Israel and the United States began striking Iran, which has hit back by firing ballistic missiles and drones at countries across the region.
20/03/2026 – 21:01Trump rules out ceasefire in Iran
US President Donald Trump ruled out reaching a ceasefire agreement with Iran, saying Washington has the upper hand in the three-week-old war.
“I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side,” Trump told journalists at the White House.
20/03/2026 – 21:00Blasts, air raid sirens heard from Jerusalem
A series of blasts were heard from Jerusalem after sirens sounded in northern Israel, AFP journalists said, following a warning that Iran had fired missiles.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the Israeli military said on its official Telegram channel.
20/03/2026 – 19:12UK approves US use of British bases to strike Iran missile sites targeting ships
The British government gave authorisation for the US to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
British ministers met on Friday to discuss the Iran war and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Downing Street statement.
“They confirmed that the agreement for the U.S. to use UK bases in the collective self-defence of the region includes US defensive operations to degrade the missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.
20/03/2026 – 18:54US could ‘take out’ Iran’s Kharg Island at any time, says White House
The United States could “take out” Iran’s Kharg island whenever it wanted, the White House said Friday, after a report that President Donald Trump’s administration was considering plans to occupy or blockade the oil hub.
Axios reported that Trump was mulling an operation against Kharg to pressure the Islamic republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial shipping lane that Tehran has largely blocked.
The United States is at the same time deploying additional Marines to the Middle East, US media reported, possibly signaling a coming ground operation three weeks into the US-Israeli campaign.
“The United States Military can take out Kharg Island at any time if the President gives the order,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly wrote in a statement to AFP when asked about the Axios report.
20/03/2026 – 17:20Impact in Jerusalem Old City after Iran missile warning
A blast blew a crater in a hillside just inside Jerusalem’s Old City, spraying debris across a road, after a warning of incoming missiles fired from Iran.
AFP journalists at the scene saw the damage just a few hundred metres from Jerusalem’s revered holy sites of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Police cordoned off the site in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City shortly after several loud blasts had rocked the centre of Jerusalem.
“The Old City in Jerusalem, right near the Temple Mount, was impacted by Iranian missile fragments,” the Israeli military wrote on X.
Israeli Old City police commander Dvir Tamim said the blast was caused by a “missile impact and not interceptor fragments”.
20/03/2026 – 16:51Khamenei says Iran dealt enemies ‘dizzying blow’ in war
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said that Iranians had dealt a “dizzying blow” to the country’s enemies during the war with Israel and the United States.
By showing unity and resolve, Iranians had “dealt him (the enemy) a dizzying blow so that he now starts uttering contradictory words and nonsense,” Khamenei said in a written message for Persian New Year.
He also said Iran and allied forces in the region were “in no way” behind attacks on Oman and Turkey during the war, instead blaming “deception by the Zionist enemy” in reference to Israel.
20/03/2026 – 16:34Drone attack causes fire at Kuwait oil refinery
Drone attacks hit Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, causing several fires but no casualties, state media said, citing the national oil company.
“The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery… was subjected early today to several hostile drone attacks, causing fires in some of its units,” the official Kuwait News Agency said, adding that “several refinery units were shut down”.
The Kuwaiti army later said that the fire was brought under control without any casualties.
“Two drones targeted one of the units in a refinery of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, resulting in a fire that was brought under control by the specialised teams, without any injuries,” it said on X.
20/03/2026 – 16:16Iran’s top leader issues another defiant written statement and praises Iranians’ steadfastness
Iran’s supreme leader has issued another defiant written statement praising Iranians’ steadfastness three weeks into the war launched by the United States and Israel.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said that US and Israeli attacks were based on an illusion that by killing top leaders they could cause the overthrow of the government.
His written statement, marking the Persian New Year, Nowruz, was read on Iranian television.
He commended Iranians for “building a nationwide defensive front and strongholds across cities, neighborhoods, and mosques, delivering such a bewildering blow that the enemy fell into contradictions and irrational statements.”
20/03/2026 – 16:15Blasts heard in Tehran as Iranians celebrate Nowruz
AFP journalists reported hearing several blasts in Tehran, as the war with Israel and the United States continued.
The blasts, which came with Iranians celebrating Nowruz, the Persian new year, came from the eastern and northern parts of the capital, the journalists said.
20/03/2026 – 15:58Iran’s Quds Force chief Qaani lauds anti-US, Israel ‘resistance front’, state media
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani praised Tehran’s “resistance front” regional allies for fighting the U.S. and Israel in the current conflict, Iranian media reported.
Qaani made the remarks in his first statement since Israel’s killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28 at the start of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
20/03/2026 – 15:51Iran’s new Supreme Leader to issue message within minutes for Persian New Year
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei will issue a message within minutes marking the start of Persian New Year, state media reported.
20/03/2026 – 15:51Hezbollah says targeting Israeli forces in six south Lebanon villages
Hezbollah said it has targeted Israeli soldiers in six south Lebanon villages, in a series of statements, as Israeli ground forces attempt to push into southern Lebanon.
The pro-Iran armed group said it targeted a “gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers” in each of the six border villages, and a Merkava tank, as its war with Israel neared the three-week mark, having started on March 2 when the group launched rockets towards Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli attack on Iran that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
20/03/2026 – 15:43Impact near Jerusalem Old City after Iran missile warning
Smoke was seen rising from an impact site near the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli television showed, after AFP journalists heard loud blasts following a warning of Iranian missiles
Israeli media showed footage of a crater in a road that appeared to be close to the Jewish and Armenian quarters of the historic Old City.
Israeli police said they were “conducting searches to locate the impact sites of weapons and munitions or interception fragments within the Jerusalem District”.
20/03/2026 – 15:39UK foreign minister warns Iran against ‘directly’ targeting British bases
Britain’s Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper warned her Iranian counterpart in a phone call “against targeting UK bases, territory or interests directly”, a foreign office statement said.
The statement was response to one issued by Iran’s foreign ministry in which it said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Cooper in the call on Thursday that any US use of British bases would be seen as “participation in aggression” against the Islamic republic.
Cooper told Araghchi “the defensive UK operations in the region were a response to the Iranian aggression against Gulf partners”, the UK foreign office said, adding: “She made clear that the UK wants to see a swift resolution to this conflict.”
20/03/2026 – 15:38China, France should ‘work together’ to resolve Mideast crisis, says Beijing
China’s top diplomat told a French presidential adviser that both countries should work together towards resolving the crisis in the Middle East.
Beijing is a partner of Iran, which has been targeted by US-Israeli attacks since last month, but has also criticised Tehran’s strikes against Gulf states housing US military bases and urged a ceasefire.
Wang Yi told Emmanuel Bonne over a phone call that the situation in the Middle East “continues to deteriorate” and that “an unjust war must not continue”.
“The right way out of the crisis remains dialogue and negotiation”, he said, according to a readout from Beijing’s foreign ministry.