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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 26 Mar 202626 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
The United States and Israel\u2019s war on Iran continues<\/a>, with an Al Jazeera correspondent in Tehran reporting strikes are \u201cincreasing in number and in intensity\u201d amid conflicting claims about whether negotiations are taking place.<\/p>\n US President Donald Trump says talks are happening, but Iran rejects the talks, saying it will continue to \u201cresist\u201d US aggression.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Iran carried out retaliatory strikes against Israel and several Gulf countries, as the Middle East conflict sees no signs of ending, and global energy and food prices continue to rise.<\/p>\n In Iran
\nIntensifying attacks: US-Israeli attacks on Iran are \u201cincreasing in number and in intensity\u201d, according to Al Jazeera correspondent, with Israel announcing extensive strikes on central Isfahan. Alongside US forces, Israel has launched a \u201cwave of extensive strikes\u201d across Iran.
\nCivilian casualties reported: Iranian media reported that two teenage boys were killed in a recent US-Israeli strike on a residential area in a village in the county of Shiraz.
\nIran talks: US President Donald Trump insisted that Iran<\/a> was taking part in peace talks.
\nIran chooses \u2018resistance\u2019: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran will continue its \u201cresistance\u201d and does not intend to negotiate.
\nUS targets missile capacities: The US has hit two-thirds of Iran\u2019s production facilities for missiles and drones, a top officer said.
\nThreat to Iranian island: Tehran warned enemies<\/a> may try to occupy one of its islands with support from an unnamed regional country.
\nIran\u2019s leverage: Jane Foley, an analyst from Rabobank, noted that Tehran\u2019s position on negotiations leaves the ball firmly in their court. Because the critical Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, she suggests Iran could have the power to dictate the terms of any resolution.
\nNew toll legislation: The Iranian parliament is preparing a draft law that would mandate the collection of tolls and duties from ships and tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, treating the waterway like a standard transit corridor.
\nIn the Gulf
\nHezbollah plot uncovered in Kuwait: Authorities arrested six people allegedly linked to Hezbollah, accused of planning assassinations in the Gulf state, the Interior Ministry said.
\nSaudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia\u2019s Defence Ministry on Thursday morning announced the interception and destruction of a drone in the Eastern Province. Its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed at least two dozen drones targeting the Eastern Province, home to the majority of the kingdom\u2019s oil facilities, on Wednesday.
\nBahrain: A fire broke out at a facility in the Muharraq Governorate due to what the Interior Ministry described as \u201cIranian aggression\u201d.
\nUnited Arab Emirates: The UAE\u2019s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that its air defence systems have been actively responding to and intercepting incoming missiles and drones from Iran.
\nIn the US
\nTrump says Iran wants a deal: Trump again claims Iranian leaders want to \u201cmake a deal so badly\u201d but are afraid to say so \u201cbecause they figure they\u2019ll be killed by their own people\u201d.
\nTrump threatens \u2018hell\u2019 if no deal: Trump is ready to \u201cunleash hell\u201d on Iran if Tehran does not accept a deal to end the war, the White House warned on Wednesday.
\nStrategic posturing: Jason Campbell, a former Pentagon official, said US threats to \u201chit Iran harder\u201d are more about signalling than intensifying attacks.
\nIntentional vagueness: Campbell told Al Jazeera that Trump is deliberately omitting specific details because he wants the Iranian regime to believe the US is fully capable and willing to execute these harsher attacks.
\nIn Israel
\nMissile salvoes: Israel\u2019s army on Thursday morning said it had detected a wave of missiles from Iran heading towards the country, the second salvo in less than 30 minutes.
\nRockets and missiles targeting Israel: Iranian missiles continue to target central and northern Israel. Additionally, Hezbollah has fired volleys of rockets into the Western Galilee region.
\nIn Iraq, Lebanon
\nGulf issues Iraq demand: Gulf states and Jordan have urged Iraq to stop attacks by pro-Iran armed groups from its territory.
\nGround clashes with Hezbollah: Israeli troops have crossed the border into Lebanese territory and are actively engaging in ground combat. Hezbollah says its fighters are continuing to clash with invading Israeli troops in south Lebanon.
\nDefending Lebanese soil: Hezbollah\u2019s Secretary-General Naim Qassem<\/a>\u00a0stated that the group is now in a war against both the US and Israel and will do everything it can to defend Lebanese territory.
\nOil markets and food
\nOil prices climb: Oil prices have climbed higher amid fading hopes of de-escalation in the Iran war following Tehran\u2019s rejection that talks with the US are under way.
\nFood supply shocks: Antony Currie, a columnist for Breakingviews, warned that the Iran war will likely have a more severe impact on global food security than Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXPLAINER The US and Israel\u2019s war on Iran is intensifying, as Trump again claims Iranian leaders want to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546070,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[28,1127,12,101,1872,11501,31737,129,4379,3,45063,15275,131,11636,21,1209,231941],"class_list":["post-546069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-conflict","tag-donald-trump","tag-economy","tag-energy","tag-explainer","tag-lebanon","tag-middle-east","tag-military","tag-news","tag-oil-and-gas","tag-qatar","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-united-arab-emirates","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada","tag-us-israel-war-on-iran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}