16/03/2026 – 12:57Trump suggests he may delay China trip, Bessent says not to pressure on Hormuz Strait but down to ‘logistics’
US President Donald Trump may delay his China trip due to the Iran war, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday it’s not to pressure Beijing on the Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent said any delay to Trump’s trip to Beijing would not be because of disagreements over the Iran war or efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“If the meeting for some reason was rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics,” he said. “The president wants to remain in D.C. to coordinate the war and traveling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”
Trump has suggested he may delay the much-anticipated visit to China at the end of the month as he seeks to ramp up the pressure on Beijing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and calm oil prices that have soared during the Iran war.
16/03/2026 – 12:37Middle East war is ‘not NATO’s war’, says Germany’s Merz
The war in the Middle East started by US-Israeli strikes on Iran has “nothing to do with NATO” and is “not NATO’s war”, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman said Monday.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for nations including South Korea, France, China and Britain to help ensure safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has declared closed to US and US-allied traffic.
He later upped the pressure on NATO allies, telling the Financial Times newspaper that the alliance faced a “very bad” future if its members did not do their bit to reopen the strait.
“NATO is an alliance for the defence of territory” and “the mandate to deploy NATO is lacking” in the current situation, Merz’s spokesman Stefan Kornelius told a regular press briefing.
Germany needed to know from Israel and the United States “at what point the military objectives in Iran will have been achieved”, a foreign ministry spokesman said at the same briefing.
Merz said Friday that the Middle East war must end “as soon as possible” as the conflict “benefits no-one and harms many economically, including us”.
16/03/2026 – 12:24Italian FM says ‘diplomacy needs to prevail’ for Stait of Hormuz crisis
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday that diplomacy was the right way
to solve the crisis in the Hormuz Strait and there were no naval missions Italy is involved in that could be extended to the area.
“As far as Hormuz is concerned I believe diplomacy needs to prevail,” Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels.
Italy is involved in defensive naval missions in the Red Sea “but I don’t see any missions that can be extended to Hormuz,” he added.
US President Donald Trump has called on allies to join a mission to safeguard shipping in the Hormuz Strait.
16/03/2026 – 12:16UK’s Starmer says there ‘won’t be’ a NATO misson to reopen Hormuz Strait
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that ongoing work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would not be a NATO mission but would involve a broad alliance including Gulf partners as well as European countries and the United States.
“We are working with others to come up with a credible plan for the Straits of Hormuz to ensure that we can reopen shipping and passage through the Strait. Let me be clear, that won’t be and it’s never been envisioned to be a NATO mission,” Starmer told reporters.
“That will have to be an alliance of partners, which is why we’re working with partners, both in Europe, in the Gulf, and with the US.”
16/03/2026 – 12:11Qatar says diplomacy with Iran possible ‘if they stop the attacks’
16/03/2026 – 12:04First non-Iran tanker transits Hormuz with transponder on since war started, MarineTraffic site reports
16/03/2026 – 12:03EU announces 458 million euros in humanitarian aid for Middle East
The European Union on announced 458 million euros ($525 million) in humanitarian aid for the Middle East, in response to the conflicts in the region such as the US-Israeli war with Iran and Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
“In a war-torn Middle East, the European Union is stepping up while others step back,” said Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s commissioner in charge of humanitarian crises.
16/03/2026 – 12:03’That could be electoral suicide’: Why Trump’s call for US allies to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz fell flat
As US President Donald Trump urges NATO partners and China to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz, closed due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, FRANCE 24’s Oliver Farry looks at why Trump’s plan has been met with a lukewarm reception from allies and adversaries alike.
16/03/2026 – 11:57Germany says it won’t take part in efforts to keep Strait of Hormuz open by military means
The war in Iran has nothing to do with the NATO defence alliance, said a German government spokesperson, who reiterated that Germany would not take part in the war nor in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open through military means.
“As long as this war continues, there will be no participation, not even in any effort to keep the Strait of Hormuz open by military means,” said the government spokesperson.
16/03/2026 – 11:46Britain working with allies on plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz, Starmer says
Britain is working with allies on a collective plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore freedom of navigation in the Middle East but it will not be easy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters.
“Ultimately, we have to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ensure stability in the (oil) market. That is not a simple task,” Starmer said.
“So we’re working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impact.”
16/03/2026 – 11:39Middle East war ‘nothing to do with NATO’, German government says
The war in the Middle East started by US-Israeli strikes on Iran has “nothing to do with NATO” and is “not NATO’s war”, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesman said.
“NATO is an alliance for the defence of territory” and “the mandate to deploy NATO is lacking” in the current situation, Stefan Kornelius said at a regular press briefing.
16/03/2026 – 11:29Israel’s ‘buffer zone’ in southern Lebanon is ‘expanding significantly’
Israel’s announcement that it had launched a “limited” ground offensive in southern Lebanon echoes statements issued in 2024, when Israel and Hezbollah fought a major war in Lebanon, and in 2023, when the military launched a devastating ground assault in the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza in response to the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.
FRANCE 24’s Noga Tarnopolsky reported from Jerusalem that Israel’s so-called buffer zone in Lebanon’s south had “expanded significantly”.
“What we can sum up is that there are very much drums of war, drums of a major occupation of a large buffer zone in southern Lebanon,” she said.
16/03/2026 – 11:21Tehran says states not party to US-Israeli war on Iran can pass vessels through Strait of Hormuz
Iran has not requested a ceasefire, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday according to the semi-official Students News Network, and wants to ensure that any end to the war with Israel and the US is definitive.
Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz is only closed to “enemies and those supporting their aggression”.
A foreign ministry spokesperson added that states not party to the war have been able to transit their vessels through the strait with coordination and permission from Iran’s armed forces.
16/03/2026 – 10:48Israel military says launching new wave of strikes across Iran
Israel’s military said it had launched a broad wave of strikes on the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, more than two weeks into the US-Israeli war against Iran.
“The IDF has just begun a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in Tehran, Shiraz, and Tabriz,” the military said in a statement.
16/03/2026 – 09:42Explosions hit Iranian capital, AFP journalist reports
Explosions hit the Iranian capital, an AFP journalist reported, hours after Israel said it conducted large-scale overnight strikes.
The blasts were heard in central Tehran as air defence systems were activated, the journalist said. It was not immediately clear what was targeted.
The city was rocked by heavy explosions overnight, the reporter added.
16/03/2026 – 09:21In Pictures: Overnight Israeli strikes hammer Beirut’s southern suburbs
Men inspect a site of overnight Israeli air strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 16, 2026. Photo: AFP
16/03/2026 – 09:16Iran threatens USS Ford aircraft carrier strike group
Logistics and service centres enabling the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier to remain operational were considered to be targets by Iran, the spokesperson for the unified command of Iranian armed forces, Khatam al-Anbiya, said.
“Aircraft carrier Gerald Ford in the Red Sea is a threat to Iran. Accordingly, the logistics and service centres for USS Ford strike group are considered to be targets,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari said in a video shared by the semi-official Fars news agency.
16/03/2026 – 09:15Israel says it destroyed plane used by Iran’s late supreme leader
The Israeli military said it had destroyed a plane used by Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport overnight.
It said the aircraft had been used by senior Iranian officials and military figures to travel domestically and internationally and coordinate with allied countries.
Mehrabad is one of Tehran’s oldest airports, now serving domestic and regional flights. In addition to being the busiest civilian domestic airport, it is a dual-use facility housing air force assets.
16/03/2026 – 08:32Iran judiciary chief urges swift verdicts for those linked to US and Israel
Iran’s head of the judiciary said there should be no leniency or delay in issuing verdicts against those working with Israel and the United States.
“We must not delay or show leniency in executing final verdicts against those who, during wartime and unrest, committed crimes and were affiliated with the aggressor enemy,” said Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, according to Tasnim news agency.
He added that it was “necessary to accelerate the review and resolution of cases involving elements accused of threatening public security”.
Authorities have in recent weeks carried out sweeping raids across Iran, arresting in the last few days hundreds of people suspected of cooperating with Israel and the United States, local media reported.
16/03/2026 – 08:31One person killed after missile hits civilian car in Abu Dhabi
A Palestinian civilian was killed on the outskirts of the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi when a missile hit their car, authorities said.
“Authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi responded to an incident in the Al Bahia area involving a missile strike on a civilian vehicle, which resulted in the death of one Palestinian national,” the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement.