US admits navy did not escort tanker through strait<\/p>\n
The White House has now admitted that the US navy has not escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, as claimed by the administration earlier today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can confirm that the US navy has not escorted a tanker at this time,\u201d said Karoline Leavitt.<\/p>\n
Asked why the energy secretary has stated such a thing, she referred reporters to the department of energy.<\/p>\n
White House: War will lower petrol prices<\/p>\n
The White House has claimed that the war in Iran will result in lower petrol prices in \u201cthe long term\u201d.<\/p>\n
Amid growing global concerns over energy prices caused by the war, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that the US military mission was operating \u201cahead of schedule\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis operation will result in low gas prices in the longer term,\u201d she told reporters at a press briefing.<\/p>\n
No ships escorted through strait, US confirms<\/p>\n
A US military source has now confirmed that the American navy has not escorted any ships through the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n
Within the past hour Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, posted then deleted a tweet claiming: \u201cUS navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was immediately denied by Tehran.<\/p>\n
Up to 150 Americans wounded <\/p>\n
As many as 150 American troops have been wounded so far in the war with Iran, Reuters says.<\/p>\n
The figure is far higher than the eight seriously wounded troops publicly disclosed by the Pentagon, which has yet to comment. <\/p>\n
Seven American service personnel have so far been killed.<\/p>\n
Iran denies US tanker claim<\/p>\n
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has denied American claims that the US navy escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, has deleted a tweet in which he made the claim.<\/p>\n
Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, says the US navy has successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz \u201cto ensure oil remains flowing to global markets\u201d.<\/p>\n
Normally, about 100 vessels a day would passing through the strait. <\/p>\n
US \u2018can take Moscow at their word\u2019 on intelligence<\/p>\n
Moscow has told the US that it has not been sharing intelligence with Iran, Steve Witkoff, President Trump\u2019s special envoy, has said.<\/p>\n
Witkoff said in an interview with CNBC: \u201cOn the call with the president, the Russians said they have not been sharing intelligence. We can take them at their word.\u201d<\/p>\n
A call between Trump and President Putin took place on Monday and lasted about an hour. <\/p>\n
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Moscow had passed sensitive intelligence to Tehran, including the locations of US warships and aircraft in the region. Trump said on Saturday that he had no indication Russia was supporting Iran, but that if they were, it was not \u201chelping much\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018No right to pass through Hormuz \u2014 just try it\u2019 <\/p>\n
The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019 navy has warned that no vessel linked to America or Israel has the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, daring them to try.<\/p>\n
Commodore Alireza Tangsiri wrote on Telegram: \u201cAt the beginning of the war, we declared it and we declare it again: no vessel associated with the aggressors against Iran has the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. If you have any doubts, come closer and try.\u201d<\/p>\n
Putin calls for de-escalation<\/p>\n
President Putin called for de-escalation in the Iran conflict during a phone call with President Pezeshkian of Iran on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President of Russia reaffirmed his principled position in favour of a speedy de-escalation of the conflict and for it to be resolved through political means,\u201d the Kremlin said. \u201cPezeshkian thanked Russia for its support, particularly for providing humanitarian aid to Iran.\u201d <\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s ambassador to London said at the weekend that Moscow was \u201cnot neutral\u201d in the war but so far the Kremlin has not indicated willingness to intervene militarily to support Iran<\/p>\n
Listen: Oil and trouble for the economy<\/p>\n
Sir Keir Starmer may get some credit with the public for his response to the war in Iran, but he\u2019s still stuck with its consequences: rising prices just when he\u2019d said he was going to cut the cost of living.<\/p>\n
Has Reform UK\u2019s response compromised its ability to campaign on the cost of living? And who is now wielding the power in No 10?<\/p>\n
Steven Swinford, Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund are your guides. <\/p>\n
US bombers fly from RAF Fairford <\/p>\n
US bombers have been seen taking off from RAF Fairford, having arrived at the Gloucestershire base over recent days.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s government has given the US permission to use Fairford for defensive purposes in its military operations against Iran.<\/p>\n
The destination of the bombers that took off on Tuesday afternoon has not been confirmed.<\/p>\n
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American B1-B bombers take off from RAF Fairford<\/p>\n
PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n
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Peter Macdiarmid FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n
PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n
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Bombers taxi into position<\/p>\n
HENRY NICHOLLS\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
HMS Dragon sails for Cyprus <\/p>\n
HMS Dragon is finally leaving Portsmouth after a week of preparations to sail for Cyprus.<\/p>\n
The Type 45 destroyer was ordered to head to the region last Tuesday to defend RAF Akrotiri from missile and drone attacks.<\/p>\n
It was originally held at three days readiness to move, but having the right weapons fitted has taken a week. It will take five to seven days to reach Cyprus, The Times understands.<\/p>\n
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HMS Dragon leaves Portsmouth<\/p>\n
CHRIS GORMAN\/BIG LADDER<\/p>\n
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HMS Dragon\u2019s crew line the deck<\/p>\n
JUSTIN TALLIS\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
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The Type-45 Daring class frigate has been moored at the Portsmouth Upper Harbour Ammunition Facility during preparations<\/p>\n
JUSTIN TALLIS\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
In pictures: preparations at RAF Fairford ![\"American](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\/e8b0c9b0-5cab-4486-b1b4-0a2e3b145c31.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
American military personnel assemble armaments at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Three more B1-B bombers arrived overnight, bringing the total to eight<\/p>\n
PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n
Inflation surge likely to kill prospect of rate cut <\/p>\n
There could be a \u201cmaterial\u201d and \u201csignificant\u201d surge in inflation as a result of the historic rise in oil and gas prices since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned (Jack Barnett, Economics Correspondent, writes).<\/p>\n
The prediction by David Miles, a member of the OBR\u2019s budget committee, underscored the threat to consumer finances posed by the US-Israeli war with Iran. Not only does the surge in energy prices risk rekindling inflation, it has probably postponed or even eliminated expected interest rate cuts this year from the Bank of England. Traders earlier this week thought a rate rise this year was more likely than not.<\/p>\n
In the past week, mortgage providers have lifted rates on products and petrol prices have inched higher. The parlous state of the public finances too, with debt as a share of GDP nearly 100 per cent, makes it unlikely that the government will deploy a blanket energy price cap scheme similar in scale to that launched by Liz Truss after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. The final bill to the taxpayer for that package was \u00a380 billion.<\/p>\n
Security tightens after shots at consulate<\/p>\n
Canada is increasing security around US and Israeli embassies and consulates in Toronto and Ottawa after a shots were fired at the US consulate in Toronto.<\/p>\n
Chief Superintendent Chris Leather, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said the consulate shooting early on Tuesday was being investigated as a \u201cnational security incident,\u201d although no one was injured.<\/p>\n
Lego figures wage Iran\u2019s propaganda war<\/p>\n
Iran has produced a propaganda video showing missiles and drones hitting American and Israeli targets, a British air base and Gulf countries, all in the form of animated Lego.<\/p>\n
Lego-like figures of President Trump, Binyamin Netanyahu and the Devil look at a photo album titled \u201cEpstein file\u201d before Trump pushes a red button, firing a missile at an Iranian school. An Iranian officer weeps over a girl\u2019s pink school bag then appears in a control room to launch his own attacks.<\/p>\n
To nationalist music, Islamic Revolutionary Guards close the Strait of Hormuz and bombard targets in America and Israel. Netanyahu runs away and a coffin draped in the US flag is carried off a plane.<\/p>\n
The video was produced by Iran\u2019s state-run Revayat-e Fath institute and shared on social media. A similar video featuring Lego-style animations was produced during the war that Israel and Iran waged last year against Iran.<\/p>\n
The latest video ends with a message saying it was made in remembrance of 175 people killed in Minab, southern Iran, who it claims \u201cwere martyred at the hands of Zionist and American terrorists\u201d. An airstrike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls\u2019 school<\/a> on February 28, the first day of US and Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n \u2018Nothing but negative effects\u2019 <\/p>\n The Office for Budget Responsibility says the recent fall in inflation could be reversed if the Iran conflict drags on and oil and gas prices stay high. <\/p>\n David Miles, a member of the budget responsibility committee, told the Treasury select committee on Tuesday that the \u201cvery substantial\u201d increase in oil prices had forced a rethink.<\/p>\n The increase in inflation would not be as great as that which followed Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but would be \u201cenough to be noticeable and completely unwelcome\u201d, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re significant importers of both oil and gas, and there\u2019s nothing but negative effects from those prices being higher,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Emergency talks over global oil supply <\/p>\n The International Energy Agency (IEA) will convene an emergency meeting on Tuesday to evaluate global oil supplies in the wake of disruptions to shipping caused by the war. It follows a meeting of G7 energy ministers arranged by the agency on Monday.<\/p>\n Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said member governments would discuss \u201cthe current security of supply and market conditions\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI have convened an extraordinary meeting of IEA member governments, which will take place later today to assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to make emergency stocks of IEA countries available to the market,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n The 32 member countries and 13 association countries of the IEA represent 75 per cent of global energy demand.<\/p>\n US satellite company to delay publishing Middle East images to protect allies<\/p>\n An American satellite imaging company has said it will delay publishing images relevant to the Middle East conflict for two weeks after the orbital photographs are taken, in order to protect US allies in the region.<\/p>\n The California-based Planet Labs had already imposed a 96-hour delay last week for access to its high-resolution satellite images, which are usually available a few hours after they are taken.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter consulting with experts inside and outside of government \u2026 Planet has decided to take additional, proactive measures to ensure our imagery is not tactically leveraged by adversarial actors to target allied and Nato-partner personnel and civilians,\u201d a statement said.<\/p>\n From now on, all data covering \u201call of Iran and nearby allied bases, in addition to the Gulf States and existing conflict zones\u201d will be blocked for 14 days, it said.<\/p>\n A rival company Vantor (formerly known as Maxar) has not commented, but it has had a longstanding policy of not distributing images of US or allied bases.<\/p>\n During the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Planet had imposed a 30-day delay while still maintaining extensive coverage of the territory.<\/p>\n WHO warns of \u2018black rain\u2019 in Iran <\/p>\n The World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday that the \u201cblack rain\u201d and toxic compounds in the air in Iran after strikes on oil facilities could cause respiratory problems, and it backed Iran\u2019s advisory urging people to remain indoors.<\/p>\n The UN health agency, which has an office in Iran and works with authorities on health emergencies, said it has received multiple reports of oil-laden rain this week. <\/p>\n Tehran was choked in black smoke on Monday after an oil refinery was hit, in an escalation in strikes on Iran\u2019s domestic energy supplies as part of the US-Israeli campaign.<\/p>\n \u2022 Fact check: is acid rain falling in Iran after US and Israeli attacks?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n UK inflation could end the year close to 3 per cent, says OBR<\/p>\n The Office for Budget Responsibility has said conflict in the Middle East could mean UK inflation ends the year closer to 3 per cent, versus the current 2 per cent forecast, should energy prices stay as they are.<\/p>\n BA suspends Muscat rescue flights due to \u2018reduced demand\u2019<\/p>\n British Airways has announced it will suspend its daily rescue flights from Muscat \u201cdue to reduced demand\u201d.<\/p>\n It added that the suspension of its flights to the rest of the region will continue until at least later this month because of \u201cthe continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability\u201d.<\/p>\n The airline said: \u201cWe\u2019ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have limited seats remaining on our repatriation flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow on 11 and 12 March for customers with an existing booking.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing these dates, the flights will pause due to reduced demand but will be kept under continuous review.\u201d<\/p>\n War will last into next week, Israel says <\/p>\n The Israeli foreign minister has cited President Trump in saying that the US-Israeli conflict against Iran will last into next week. <\/p>\n Asked when the war might end, Gideon Sa\u2019ar said on Tuesday: \u201cI followed President Trump\u2019s statements \u2014 he said the war would not end this week. So talk to me about it next week.\u201d<\/p>\n Comment: Are we facing an energy crisis?\u00a0<\/p>\n The global economy may have passed through the looking glass (Jack Barnett writes). What was initially hoped to be a time-limited US-Israeli strike to decapitate the Iranian regime now runs the risk of turning into a full-blown oil crisis akin to the one 50 years ago, bringing damaging consequences for growth, inflation and interest rates.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: Are we facing an energy crisis? How history could repeat itself<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The key variable in all of this is how long President Trump and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, envision their onslaught on Iran lasting. <\/p>\n If the US and Israel have a drawn-out conflict in mind, with the ultimate aim of wiping out the last vestiges of the Iranian regime, then the global economy is very much staring down the barrel of another energy shock comparable to those in the 1970s and after Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n \u2018We can\u2019t let war against Iran push Gaza out of sight\u2019<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s foreign minister said that the US-Israeli war against Iran should not push the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza out of sight.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must not lose sight of the plight of the more than two million people there. The humanitarian situation remains dire. Furthermore, there is still insufficient access for humanitarian aid workers,\u201d Johann Wadephul said in Jerusalem at a press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa\u2019ar.<\/p>\n Wadephul said he also addressed the extremely tense situation in the West Bank during his discussion with Sa\u2019ar, during which he strongly condemned the deadly violence caused by radical settlers.<\/p>\n In Berlin, Friedrich Merz, the chancellor, earlier said a new West Bank construction project being pushed by the Israeli government to the east of Jerusalem was a \u201cbig mistake\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe German government urgently calls for such steps to be refrained from,\u201d Merz said, claiming that advancing the so-called E1 project would \u201ccomplicate the two-state solution\u201d.<\/p>\n Israel approved 19 settlements in December, a move Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right finance minister, said was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n PSG president stuck in Qatar<\/p>\n The president of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is stuck in Qatar due to the Iranian conflict and will struggle to attend his team\u2019s Champions League clash with Chelsea in Paris on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Al Khelaifi, who is also the chairman of European Clubs Association, is the figurehead of the PSG\u2019s ownership, Qatar Sports Investments, a state-backed investment fund who purchased the club in 2011.<\/p>\n Al-Khelaifi returned to Doha last week to be with his family but due to the ongoing missile threat caused by Iran\u2019s retaliation to the United States and Israeli-led military operation, he was unable to leave the country on Tuesday. <\/p>\n Qatar, the Gulf state that hosts the largest American base in the Middle East, the Al Udeid airbase, has been subject to missile and drone attacks by Iran. On Tuesday, the Qatari defence ministry confirmed they had intercepted another missile from Iran.<\/p>\n Analysis : Israelis betray their own for Iran<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s missile defence system, of which its vaunted Iron Dome is just one component, is its last line of protection (Marc Bennetts writes). Without its missile batteries, radars and mobile launchers, Israel\u2019s cities would resemble the shattered remains of Ukrainian towns that have been flattened by Russian bombing.<\/p>\n It is unsurprising, then, that Iran has long sought to gather intelligence on the system. Yet what is surprising, at least to many people in Tel Aviv, is that Israel\u2019s own citizens have been willing to provide this and other potentially sensitive information to the regime in Tehran, whose longstanding aim is the total destruction of the Jewish state.<\/p>\n \u2022 The enemy within: Israelis betray their own for Iran<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n In the past two years, amid what some have described as a breakdown of societal cohesion, about 60 Israelis, including significant numbers of Israeli Jews, have been accused of co-operating with Iranian intelligence agents.<\/p>\n Analysis: media face censorship and outages in reporting conflict <\/p>\n While truth has long been characterised as the first casualty of war, The Times and other news organisations are facing challenges from censorship to internet outages while trying to cover the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Some of the tightest restrictions are in Iran and Israel, although Gulf monarchies have also imposed tight controls and arrested suspects for filming evidence of drone and missile attacks from Iran.<\/p>\n In Iran itself, media access to areas outside the capital Tehran is limited or non-existent. The near-total internet blackout in the country is silencing many sources, except for Iranian state media, which focuses on reporting civilian casualties and damage to civilian targets, and its claims are hard to verify.<\/p>\n Israel also has military censorship rules and has also banned live broadcasts of the Israeli skyline when alarms have been sounded to warn of incoming missiles or drones. So images of missiles being intercepted \u2014 similar to those seen during last year\u2019s 12-day war with Iran \u2014 have not been published in the past few days.<\/p>\n Iran footballer \u2018forced onto bus\u2019 An Iranian footballer appeared to be forced onto a bus by her team-mates as the national women\u2019s team prepared to fly out of Australia, a day after five players escaped and were granted asylum.<\/p>\n Video published online on Tuesday showed the player being firmly escorted by one member of the squad and ushered from behind by another woman, as police watched. One player was also later heard wailing as she said goodbye to a supporter.<\/p>\n \u2022 Iran footballer \u2018forced onto bus\u2019 after others escape Australian hotel<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The women\u2019s team had been branded \u201ctraitors\u201d by Iranian conservatives after they did not sing the national anthem at their opening match of the Asian Women\u2019s Cup, which was held two days after Ali Khamenei<\/a>, the Iranian supreme leader, was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes.<\/p>\n Two more Iranian female footballers stay in Australia<\/p>\n A further two Iranian female football players have stayed in Australia as the national team departed to fly back to Iran.<\/p>\n Local media said an Australian Federal Police officer was filmed at Sydney airport telling protestors that two additional members of the Iranian women\u2019s football team had decided to remain in the country.<\/p>\n The Albanese government has already granted humanitarian visas to five Iranian players who fled the team\u2019s hotel on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n The Iranian regime described the women who sought asylum as \u201ctraitors\u201d.<\/p>\n Merz: \u2018US and Israel have no common plan to end war\u2019<\/p>\n Friedrich Merz, the chancellor of Germany, voiced concern on Tuesday that the United States and Israel appear to have \u201cno common plan\u201d for bringing the war against Iran \u201cto a swift and convincing end\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States and Israel have been waging war against Iran for over a week. We share many of these goals, but with each day of the war, more questions arise,\u201d Merz said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are particularly concerned that there is apparently no common plan for how this war can be brought to a swift and convincing end.\u201d<\/p>\n US to look at \u2018range of options\u2019 if tasked to escort ships through Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n America\u2019s top general said that the US military would look at a range of options if it was tasked with escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cIf tasked to escort, you know, we\u2019ll look at the range of options to set the military conditions to be able to do that,\u201d General Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told reporters.<\/p>\n He said US forces were striking Iranian mine-laying vessels on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201c[US Central Command] continues today to hunt and strike mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities,\u201d Caine said.<\/p>\n Britain working to support shipping through Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n Britain is working with allies on a range of options to support commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the face of Iranian threats, Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s spokesperson said on Tuesday after calls with the leaders of Italy and Germany.<\/p>\n After speaking to Germany\u2019s Friedrich Merz and Italy\u2019s Giorgia Meloni late on Monday, Downing Street said that they agreed on the \u201cvital importance of freedom of navigation\u201d through the Strait and \u201cagreed to work closely together in the coming days in the face of Iranian threats\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re working with our allies on a range of options to support commercial shipping through the Strait as the threat picture develops,\u201d the spokesman said. <\/p>\n \u2018Strait of peace \u2014 or suffering and defeat\u2019 <\/p>\n The Strait of Hormuz will be a place of defeat and suffering for those warmongering against Iran, Ali Larijani, Tehran\u2019s security chief has said.<\/p>\n In comments published by the Fars news agency, which is linked to the IRGC, Larijani said Hormuz could be \u201ca strait of peace and prosperity for all, or it will be a strait of suffering and defeat for warmongers\u201d.<\/p>\n More than a week of conflict has severely disrupted shipping in the strait, through which nearly one fifth of the world\u2019s crude oil usually passes.<\/p>\n Iranian forces have threatened to block \u201cthe export of a single litre of oil from the region\u201d to allies of the United States and Israel as long as the war continues.<\/p>\n US does not target civilians, says Hegseth<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth has said the US \u201cdoes not\u201d target civilians amid mounting evidence that an American Tomahawk missile killed 175 people, many of them children, at a girls\u2019 school in southern Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cNo nations take more precautions to make sure there\u2019s not targeting of civilians than the United States of America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOpen source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n US \u2018knew it was possible Iran would strike Gulf\u2019<\/p>\n The US \u201cknew it was a possibility\u201d that Iran would attack its Gulf neighbours in retaliation for American and Israeli airstrikes, Pete Hegseth said.<\/p>\n \u201cBig mistake by the Iranian regime to start targeting their neighbours right away,\u201d the war secretary added. \u201cI can\u2019t say we anticipated exactly how they would react. But we knew it was a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n War with Iran will \u2018not be endless\u2019<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth has said the war with Iran will \u201cnot be endless\u201d and said it was for President Trump to decide when to end the attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cOur will is endless,\u201d he said. \u201cUltimately the president gets to determine \u2026 It\u2019s not for me to posit whether it\u2019s the beginning, the middle or the end.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThis is not endless, this is not protracted, we will not allow mission creep.\u201d<\/p>\n US has carried out airstrikes on 5,000 Iranian targets<\/p>\n The US has carried out airstrikes on more than 5,000 targets in Iran, America\u2019s top general has said.<\/p>\n Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said more than 50 ships had been struck.<\/p>\n He said there had been a 90 per cent drop in missiles fired from Iran and a 83 per cent decrease in drone launches due to American strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is gritty and tireless work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Hegseth: We\u2019re crushing the enemy<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth said the US would not stop the war with Iran \u201cuntil the enemy is totally and decisively defeated\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of tactical skill and military force,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated \u2026 We do so on our timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n Hegseth calls Iran\u2019s leaders \u2018barbaric savages\u2019<\/p>\n Pete Hegseth, the war secretary, has described Iran\u2019s leaders as \u201cbarbaric savages\u201d.<\/p>\n In a briefing at the Pentagon, Hegseth accused Iran of firing missiles \u201cfrom schools and hospitals, deliberately targeting innocents\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cToday will be the most intense day of strikes inside Iran,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Shots fired outside US consulate Toronto<\/p>\n Canadian police are investigating after shots were fired outside the US consulate in Toronto, Canada, early on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n Officers were called to the building at 5.29am local time. They told 680 NewsRadio that a door was damaged, with roughly ten shell casings found outside of the building.<\/p>\n No injuries were reported, and police have not released information about possible suspects or a motive. It comes US embassies and diplomatic missions are on high alert for possible attacks amid the conflict in the Middle East<\/p>\n On Sunday, a bomb exploded and damaged the entrance of the US embassy<\/a> in Oslo, Norway.<\/p>\n Iranian attacks on Bahrain injure 32<\/p>\n Iran unleashed a large wave of attacks overnight with Bahrain experiencing the highest number of casualties since the beginning of the war.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s interior ministry said 32 people were injured on the island of Sitra when its Bapco refinery was struck by drones.<\/p>\n Among the Bahraini citizens were four \u201cserious cases\u201d, including a girl aged 17 and a two-month-old baby, according to the health ministry.<\/p>\n Fire breaks out at Abu Dhabi industrial site<\/p>\n A fire has broken out after a suspected Iranian drone strike at an industrial facility in Abu Dhabi, the emirate\u2019s media office said.<\/p>\n The blaze is at one of the facilities within the Ruwais Industrial Complex, on the Persian Gulf coast, but there were no injuries reported so far.<\/p>\n Meanwhile the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO), a branch of the Ministry of Defence, said it had also received a report from a ship north of Abu Dhabi of a splash and a loud bang in close proximity of a bulk carrier. <\/p>\n \u201cAuthorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,\u201d the centre said. <\/p>\n Trump could be willing to negotiate with Iran depending on terms<\/p>\n President Trump told Fox News that it\u2019s possible he would be willing to talk with Iran but that it depends on the terms, the US broadcaster said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Asked in an interview on Monday evening about the possibility of negotiations with Tehran, Trump said that he heard Tehran wanted to talk badly, according to the news network.<\/p>\n The Republican president also reiterated his unhappiness with Iran\u2019s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, telling Fox: \u201cI dont believe he can live in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also echoed his comments made at a press conference earlier on Monday, telling Fox the results of the US military operation in Iran were \u201cway beyond expectation\u201d.<\/p>\n But Trump added that he was surprised that Iran was striking Gulf countries with missiles and drones, according to the network.<\/p>\n Nearly 670,000 flee Lebanon in just over a week<\/p>\n Israeli attacks on Lebanon and mass evacuation orders have seen nearly 670,000 people flee their homes in just over a week, the United Nations said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cLives have been upended on a massive scale,\u201d said Karolina Lindholm Billing, the representative in Lebanon of UNHCR, the refugee agency.<\/p>\n Since the start of Israel\u2019s new offensive against the militant group Hezbollah last Monday, evacuation warnings \u201cforced families across Lebanon to flee within minutes\u201d, she told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than 667,000 people in Lebanon have now registered on the [Lebanese] government\u2019s online platform as displaced \u2026 an increase of 100,000 in just one day,\u201d Lindholm Billing said, stressing that this is \u201ca faster pace of displacement compared to 2024\u201d, during Israel\u2019s last war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.<\/p>\n Lebanese authorities said on Monday that Israel\u2019s attacks since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded at least 1,313 people there.<\/p>\n Explosions in Doha after residents receive warning<\/p>\n Loud explosions have been heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, after residents received a national emergency alert on their mobile phones.<\/p>\n The warning sounded just after 2pm local time (11am UK), advising residents to stay indoors and avoid windows. Shortly afterwards, loud blasts were heard in different parts of the city.<\/p>\n Al Udeid airbase, America\u2019s biggest military base in the Middle East, is located in Doha and has previously been targeted by Iranian missile attacks.<\/p>\n RAF Typhoons destroy drones overnight<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n RAF Typhoons destroyed a drone in Jordanian airspace and another heading for Bahrain overnight, the Ministry of Defence has said.<\/p>\n Eight of the warplanes are now deployed at a joint airbase in Qatar, from where they have been flying defensive sorties to protect Gulf allies.<\/p>\n A further eight Typhoons are stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, alongside six F-35 fifth generation jets.<\/p>\n Footage released by the MoD shows RAF pilots blasting drones from the air with what appear to be Asraam short range air-to-air missiles, which cost about \u00a3200,000 per shot.<\/p>\n The Typhoons are now also flying missions to defend the United Arab Emirates from Iranian attacks.<\/p>\n Qatar warns on impact of energy infrastructure damage <\/p>\n Qatar warned on Tuesday that attacks on regional energy infrastructure would be have global economic consequences.<\/p>\n \u201cThe attacks on energy facilities that have happened, also on both sides, are a dangerous precedent \u2026 it will cause repercussions throughout the world,\u201d foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.<\/p>\n \u2018Iran not afraid of Trump\u2019s empty threats\u2019<\/p>\n Ali Larijani, Iran\u2019s security chief, has dismissed threats by President Trump to hit the country harder if the flow of oil stops through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cIran is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Take care of yourself not to be eliminated!\u201d said Larijani in a post on X on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Stranded British pair say \u2018UK help appalling\u2019<\/p>\n Sarah Ewing and John Mitchell explain their predicament to Times Radio<\/p>\n A British pair stuck abroad since the beginning of the war in the Middle East say they deserve an apology from the government after its \u201cappalling\u201d handling of the crisis.<\/p>\n John Mitchell, 52, and his close friend Sarah Ewing, 56, are currently in Mauritius after spending \u00a310,000 so far in their attempts to get home.<\/p>\n The pair were on a ten-day holiday at a five-star Sofitel resort at the Palm Jumeirah when missile and drone strikes began, forcing them to sleep under beach towels in the only windowless room.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: We spent \u00a310,000 fleeing Dubai. The UK help has been appalling<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Israel begins new wave of strikes on Iran<\/p>\n The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had begun a new wave of strikes on Tehran, on the 11th day of the Middle East war.<\/p>\n \u201cThe IDF has begun a wave of strikes against Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran,\u201d the military said in a brief statement.<\/p>\n Analysis: Does Trump really have a plan for what he is doing in Iran?<\/p>\n As fears in Washington rose over the soaring price of oil, President Trump offered some words of calm.<\/p>\n The US president told a journalist from CBS News over the phone that the war with Iran could soon be over. \u201cI think the war is very complete, pretty much,\u201d he said. \u201c[Iran has] no navy, no communications, they\u2019ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones.\u201d<\/p>\n The remarks appeared to do the trick, at least temporarily, as the price of oil fell from the highs of $120 a barrel<\/a> earlier that day. But the comments were in sharp contrast to Pete Hegseth, his secretary of war, who had told CBS only the night before that \u201cthis is only just the beginning\u201d. When asked in a press conference on Monday afternoon which stance was right, he replied: \u201cYou could say both.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: Does Trump really have a plan for what he is doing in Iran?<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Putin \u2018ready to help ease Iran tensions\u2019<\/p>\n President Putin has offered to help ease tensions in the Iran conflict on a call with President Trump, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Moscow is ready to provide any assistance it can to reduce the tensions in the Middle East, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. <\/p>\n Peskov declined to provide additional details on the specifics of the \u201cconsiderations\u201d on Iran that Putin raised with Trump.<\/p>\n However, the Kremlin said different options to mediate and other proposals were still on the table.<\/p>\n Farage offers fuel discount Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick at New Haven Services in Buxton on Tuesday<\/p>\n JACOB KING\/PA<\/p>\n On Monday in the House of Commons, Rachel Reeves was bigging up the new, government-backed cheaper fuel-finder website, where people can find the cheapest petrol in their area (writes Tom Peck from Derbyshire).<\/p>\n But, for some reason, the biggest discount of all isn\u2019t on there. There\u2019s 25p off a litre at Newhaven Services, near Buxton, Derbyshire. And, at some point soon, you might even get your tank filled by Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n The Reform UK leader and his Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick will be dishing out petrol to punters at a press conference, where they\u2019ll be pledging to undo Labour\u2019s 5p fuel duty hike.<\/p>\n NFU warns crisis could raise food prices <\/p>\n Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers\u2019 Union of England and Wales, told Times Radio there is a \u201creal worry\u201d that the war in Iran has triggered \u201cthe next inflationary cycle on food production\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve now seen markets rise in a way that nobody predicted two weeks ago and so whether they will return back to where they were I think is really questionable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bradshaw said that after Brexit, farms were more exposed to volatile markets than they ever.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to have a plan for how we\u2019re going to produce food for 70 million people living on an island and the resilience of our domestic industry is absolutely critical to that.\u201d<\/p>\n The NFU president added that farmers may need to cut back on planting crops, and that \u201cthere\u2019ll be really big questions asked about whether they go ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Djalili: UK should seize ayatollah\u2019s properties<\/p>\n Omid Djalili, the British-Iranian comedian, said the British government should seize the assets of Iran\u2019s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, including his extensive property portfolio in London,<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are not seeing these people coming in from the West to create regime change,\u201d he told Times Radio.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at the new supreme leader. We\u2019ve just found out that in Britain he has properties worth \u00a3250 million pounds. And when the Ukraine war happened, the British government were very happy to get rid of Roman Abramovich and get rid of Russian oligarchs and seize their assets. Why haven\u2019t they done that for this regime?<\/p>\n Tens of thousands Iranians flee cities<\/p>\n Terrified Iranians are fleeing by their tens of thousands from Tehran and other cities, and seeking refuge in remote towns to wait out Israel and US bombing.<\/p>\n In the first 48 hours after the US and Israel attacked, about 100,000 people fled Tehran, a city of around 9.7 million, according to the UN refugee agency.<\/p>\n A situation report from the UNHCR revealed a significant internal exodus between 1,000 and 2,000 vehicles departing the city daily, largely headed towards Iran\u2019s northern provinces.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just feels so chaotic. I thought it\u2019d be very short but it\u2019s dragging on,\u201d Pouya Akhgari, 22, told The Associated Press from a village in Zanjan province, 120 miles from his home in the capital.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it goes on like this, we\u2019ll run out of money.\u201d<\/p>\n While hold up in the village, Akhgari said he mostly spends his time watching movies and TV shows, and occasionally ventures out to the nearest main town.<\/p>\n Navy prepares ship to evacuate Britons from Middle East The Royal Navy is preparing RFA Lyme Bay to evacuate British citizens from the Middle East if the war expands.<\/p>\n Lyme Bay has been inactive alongside in Gibraltar and had not been expected to return to operations until the start of the new financial year in April.<\/p>\n An MOD spokesman said: \u201cAs part of prudent planning, we have taken the decision to bring RFA Lyme Bay to heightened readiness as a precaution, should she be needed to assist in maritime tasks in the eastern Mediterranean.\u201d<\/p>\n RFA Lyme Bay is a Bay Class Landing Ship. She is equipped to function as an aviation platform and has medical facilities, making her well-suited for humanitarian and disaster relief missions.<\/p>\n Iran \u2018absolutely not after a ceasefire\u2019<\/p>\n Iran is not looking for a ceasefire, and aggressors must \u201clearn lesson\u201d before considering invading, the speaker of its parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, has said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re absolutely not after a ceasefire; we believe the aggressor must be struck in the mouth to learn a lesson so that they will never again think of invading dear Iran,\u201d Ghalibaf wrote on X.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Zionist regime sees its ignoble existence in perpetuating the cycle of \u2018war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again\u2019 in order to consolidate its domination. We shall break this cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n Sirens in Jerusalem as Israeli military warns of missiles from Iran<\/p>\n Sirens sounded in Jerusalem and central Israel on Tuesday, as the Israeli military warned of incoming missiles from Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cDefensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,\u201d the military said in a statement, shortly before AFP journalists heard at least one blast from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating \u201ca small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas, as well as individuals suffering from anxiety\u201d.<\/p>\n Comment: Next stage of Iran war looks perilous for US<\/p>\n It is 28 years since I first met Bibi Netanyahu, when he was in his first term of office as prime minister of Israel and I was leader of the opposition. The main topic he wanted to discuss was Iran\u2019s nascent ballistic missile programme. I can see him now, armed with charts, numbers and intelligence assessments. He was convinced even then, nearly three decades ago, that all Iranian missiles must be destroyed.<\/p>\n Whatever we think of Netanyahu \u2014 and I strongly disagree with his quashing of all hopes for Palestinian statehood \u2014 he is a leader who knows what he wants. In the past ten days, many of the arms factories and most of the launchers for Iran\u2019s missiles have been blown to pieces. He has got there in the end, surviving long enough in politics to find a US president who will do this with him.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: Next stage of Iran war looks perilous for US<\/a><\/p>\n Iraq \u2018shouldn\u2019t be used to attack Iran\u2019<\/p>\n Iraq should not be used as a launch pad for attacks in the Middle East war, its prime minister has told the US. <\/p>\n In a phone call with US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stressed \u201cthe importance of ensuring that Iraqi airspace, territory, and waters are not used for any military action targeting neighbouring countries or the region\u201d, his office said.<\/p>\n Sudani rejected \u201cany attempt to drag the country into ongoing conflicts\u201d, or \u201cviolations of its airspace by any party\u201d.<\/p>\n Iraq has long been a proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran. <\/p>\n On Saturday, air defence systems intercepted rockets fired at the US embassy in Baghdad.<\/p>\n Poll: have your say on oil prices Aramco warns of \u2018catastrophic consequences\u2019 for oil market<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia\u2019s Aramco, the world\u2019s top oil exporter, has warned there could be \u201ccatastrophic consequences\u201d for the world\u2019s oil markets if the Iran war continues to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The disruption in the key waterway, through which around 20 per cent of all oil supplies pass, has upended the shipping and insurance sectors<\/a> and is likely to hit aviation, agriculture, carmaking and other industries, Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: Saudi Aramco warns of \u2018catastrophic consequences\u2019 for oil market<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n He added that global inventories of oil were at a five-year low, that the crisis would lead to drawdowns at a faster rate, and that it was critical for shipping in the strait to resume.<\/p>\n Seoul \u2018can deter North even if US redeploys weapons\u2019 US Patriot missile air defence systems stationed in South Korea on Tuesday<\/p>\n KIM HONG-JI\/REUTERS<\/p>\n South Korea can deter any threats from North Korea even if the US redeploys weapons stationed in the country, President Lee said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n His remarks come after reports that Washington was diverting missile defence systems used to deter military flexing by China and North Korea to the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cIt appears that there is controversy recently over US forces in Korea shipping some weapons, such as artillery batteries and air-defence weapons, out of the country,\u201d Lee said in a cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n He added South Korea\u2019s defence spending and conventional capabilities far exceeded those of its nuclear-armed neighbour.<\/p>\n He said the removal of some US weapons from the country \u201cdoes not hinder deterrence strategy towards North Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel warns Lebanese residents of strikes <\/p>\n Israel said it was preparing to strike Hezbollah infrastructure in the southern Lebanese cities of Tyre and Sidon. <\/p>\n \u201cUrgent warning to the residents of Tyre and Sidon. The IDF will soon attack military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah,\u201d one of the military\u2019s Arabic-language spokesmen, Avichay Adraee, posted on X.<\/p>\n \u201cWe urge residents of the buildings marked in red on the two attached maps and the nearby buildings: you are located near buildings used by Hezbollah. For your safety, you must evacuate immediately and move at least 300 metres away,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n FTSE 100 rebounds after turbulent day<\/p>\n The FTSE 100 index has rebounded 1.42 per cent this morning after President Trump\u2019s claim that the Middle East war could \u201ccome to a quick end\u201d. <\/p>\n Oil companies BP and Shell were the big fallers after Brent crude fell below $100 following a turbulent day yesterday when it hit $119.50. Financial and mining stocks led the recovery.<\/p>\n On the continent, Germany\u2019s DAX and France\u2019s CAC 40 rose 2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.<\/p>\n Comment: Absence of clarity spreads fear through markets<\/p>\n The hour-by-hour noise from financial markets can usually be safely ignored. The prices of stocks, bonds and commodities fly around, not communicating anything lastingly meaningful (Patrick Hosking writes). Greed turns to fear and back again in seconds. But the recent trajectory of markets is certainly not pretty.<\/p>\n For four successive trading days now, all the main financial needles have been creeping deeper into the red zone. The cost of wholesale oil and gas has soared while most of the world\u2019s stock markets have been tumbling.<\/p>\n The maxim attributed to the 19th-century banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild, \u201cBuy to the sound of cannons\u201d, has definitely not been the way to bet this time.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: Absence of clarity from Trump spreads fear through markets<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Five Iranian football players granted asylum in Australia<\/p>\n At least five members of the Iran women\u2019s football team who fled from their team hotel under police protection during a tournament in Australia have won asylum after they were branded \u201ctraitors\u201d by the regime in Tehran.<\/p>\n Australia has also offered protection to other members of the Iranian team if they defect, the government said on Tuesday after confirming a police and security operation to remove the women from their team\u2019s Gold Coast hotel.<\/p>\n \u201cAustralians have been moved by the plight of these brave women,\u201d Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, said. \u201cThey are safe here and they should feel at home here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: Five of Iran women\u2019s football team granted asylum in Australia<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Netanyahu: It\u2019s up to Iranians to cast off tyranny<\/p>\n Netanyahu speaks on the Iran war<\/p>\n The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, warned that Israel\u2019s offensive against Iran was \u201cnot done yet\u201d, but said it is up to the Iranian people to cast off \u201cthe yoke of tyranny\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur aspiration is to bring the Iranian people to throw off the yoke of tyranny,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cUltimately it depends on them. But there is no doubt that through the actions taken so far we are breaking their bones \u2014 and our arm is still outstretched.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we succeed together with the Iranian people, we will bring about a permanent end \u2014 if such things exist in the life of nations \u2014 and we will bring about change.\u201d<\/p>\n He said there is already a \u201ctremendous change\u201d in Israel\u2019s standing in the world.<\/p>\n Iranian football player forced onto team bus <\/p>\n Protesters block bus taking the Iranian footballers to the airport<\/p>\n An Iranian football player was pulled by the wrist onto a bus by one of her team-mates as the Iranian national women\u2019s team departed their Gold Coast hotel on Tuesday to fly out of Australia. <\/p>\n Another player was heard wailing as she said goodbye to a supporter.<\/p>\n Video published by The Australian shows the player being firmly escorted by one member of her squad and being ushered from behind by another woman, just hours after five of her team-mates were granted asylum.<\/p>\n Police looked on as the woman hung her head and walked onto the bus, believed to be taking the players to the airport, before they fly back to Iran via Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n Pakistan navy to escort cargo ships<\/p>\n The Pakistani navy will start escorting the country\u2019s commercial vessels in the Middle East due to attacks in neighbouring Iran and the disruption to oil tanker routes. <\/p>\n The conflict has heightened fears about fuel supplies and prompted stringent austerity measures in Islamabad, given Pakistan\u2019s reliance on energy imports from the Gulf.<\/p>\n On Monday the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, ordered half of civil servants to work from home, took 60 per cent of government vehicles off the roads, and imposed a four-day week for all public sector buildings except banks. <\/p>\n All schools will close for two weeks from March 16, and universities will move to online classes.<\/p>\n Announcing the escort mission, the navy said the action is intended to protect the nation\u2019s essential energy shipments and prevent supply interruptions.<\/p>\n Turkey deploys Patriot air defence system<\/p>\n Turkey has deployed its Patriot missile defence system to a central province, a day after Nato intercepted a second ballistic missile fired from Iran in Turkish airspace.<\/p>\n \u201cA Patriot system assigned to support the protection of our airspace is being deployed in Malatya,\u201d Turkey\u2019s defence ministry said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The area hosts the Kurecik air base, which houses an early-warning radar system that can detect Iranian missile launches.<\/p>\n On Monday, the Turkish and Iranian presidents spoke by phone. <\/p>\n President Erdogan of Turkey said: \u201cDespite our sincere warnings, extremely wrong and provocative steps continue to be taken that will jeopardise Turkey\u2019s friendship\u201d.<\/p>\n President Pezeshkian of Iran offered to set up a joint inquiry.<\/p>\n Iran \u2018guarantees players\u2019 safety\u2019 The Australian home affairs minister, Tony Burke, poses with five Iranian footballers who have sought protection in Australia<\/p>\n @TONY_BURKE ON X\/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS<\/p>\n A senior Iranian politician has criticised President Trump after he called on Australia to support members of the Iranian women\u2019s national football team to claim asylum.<\/p>\n At least five members of the team, including the captain, sought police protection after they were branded \u201ctraitors\u201d on Iranian state media for refusing to sing the national anthem during the Asian Women\u2019s Cup tournament, which took place in Australia.<\/p>\n Some of the rest of the team are understood to be returning home, but will be given the option to claim asylum should they wish to.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s first vice\u2011president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said decisions about leaving or returning were personal and insisted no one would be \u201cbanished from their homeland\u201d over \u201cemotional mistakes\u201d. He added that the Islamic Republic guarantees their safety.<\/p>\n According to the Tasnim news agency, he added: \u201cTrump and his Zionist supporters should know that these games will not create a rift between the Iranian people and their country; Iran welcomes its children with open arms.\u201d<\/p>\n We will determine the end of the war, says Iran<\/p>\n Iran has said it would decide when the war started by US-Israeli strikes ends, after President Trump suggested it could be over \u201csoon\u201d.<\/p>\n Abbas Araghchi, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, said Tuesday that his country would keep fighting as long as necessary, casting doubt on Trump\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps also said that they would \u201cdetermine the end of the war\u201d. Araghchi effectively ruled out negotiations with Washington, saying Tehran had \u201ca very bitter experience of talking with Americans\u201d.<\/p>\n Recalling previous US attacks during earlier negotiations, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t think talking with Americans anymore would be on our agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran targets US base in Iraq<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said that they targeted a US base in Iraq\u2019s Kurdistan region, as the war with the United States and Israel continues.<\/p>\n \u201cThe headquarters of the invading US army in al-Harir airbase in the Kurdistan region was targeted with five missiles,\u201d the IRG said on their Telegram channel on Tuesday. <\/p>\n Iran continues to strike energy infrastructure across the Gulf. In the UAE, air defence systems dealt with a number of missiles and drones. In Kuwait, six drones were intercepted and a woman was killed when a projectile hit a residential building in Bahrain.<\/p>\n William Hague: Next stage of Iran war looks perilous for US<\/p>\n It is 28 years since I first met Bibi Netanyahu, when he was in his first term of office as prime minister of Israel and I was leader of the opposition. The main topic he wanted to discuss was Iran\u2019s nascent ballistic missile programme. I can see him now, armed with charts, numbers and intelligence assessments. He was convinced even then, nearly three decades ago, that all Iranian missiles must be destroyed.<\/p>\n Whatever we think of Netanyahu \u2014 and I strongly disagree with his quashing of all hopes for Palestinian statehood \u2014 he is a leader who knows what he wants. In the past ten days, many of the arms factories and most of the launchers for Iran\u2019s missiles have been blown to pieces. He has got there in the end, surviving long enough in politics to find a US president who will do this with him.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: <\/b>Unless he halts soon, Trump will find he has to police the Strait of Hormuz<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Germany temporarily pulls embassy staff out of Iraq<\/p>\n Germany has temporarily withdrawn staff from its embassy in Baghdad due to heightened security risks.<\/p>\n Amid the conflict in the Middle East, the embassy remains reachable, though its legal and consular services had already been severely limited for some time due to the security situation, a foreign ministry spokesperson said late on Monday. They added that the safety of staff was being continuously assessed.<\/p>\n Johann Wadephul, the foreign minister, speaking in Nicosia, Cyprus, late on Monday, said he had discussed the regional situation with Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state.<\/p>\n Both condemned what Wadephul called Iran\u2019s \u201cindiscriminate attacks\u201d against countries in the region and urged Tehran to halt them.<\/p>\n Israeli attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon<\/p>\n Israeli strikes hit southern and eastern Lebanon overnight as it targeted the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n \u201cEnemy warplanes launched strikes overnight on the towns of Almajadel, Shaqra, and Srifa,\u201d the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday,<\/p>\n It added strikes were also carried out in the Bekaa Valley.<\/p>\n UAE intercepts attack from Iran<\/p>\n The United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted a drone and missile attack from Iran on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cUAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran,\u201d the defence ministry wrote on X.<\/p>\n UK now unlikely to send aircraft carrier<\/p>\n Britain is unlikely to send one of its two aircraft carriers to bolster defences in the Middle East despite France deploying an \u201cunprecedented\u201d naval force as the conflict with Iran intensifies.<\/p>\n HMS Prince of Wales was placed in an advanced state of readiness on Saturday, meaning that it could set sail within five days if given the order instead of the usual 14 days.<\/p>\n It prompted speculation that it would head to the Mediterranean to protect RAF Akrotiri, a British airbase in Cyprus, from further Iranian drone and missile attacks, or to the Gulf to defend British interests.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: <\/b>UK now unlikely to send aircraft carrier as French fleet sets sail<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n China in talks with shipping giants over oil concerns<\/p>\n China\u2019s ministry of transport has summoned the heads of shipping firms Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to discuss international shipping business practices.<\/p>\n An estimated 40 to 50 per cent of China\u2019s seaborne oil imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, which has ground to a virtual halt since the war in Iran began. <\/p>\n Maersk, one of the world\u2019s largest shipping companies, has suspended vessel transit through the strait, while MSC said on Monday it would formally halt certain export shipments from the Gulf.<\/p>\n Oil prices dip and markets rebound after Trump\u2019s comments<\/p>\n After the price of US crude oil soared to as high as $119 per barrel on Monday, the highest in nearly four years, it fell to $88 a barrel as markets reacted to President Trump\u2019s comments that \u201cthe war is very complete\u201d.<\/p>\n Asian markets also rallied. Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 index surged 3.3 per cent in the first few hours of trading, and South Korea\u2019s Kospi also rose nearly 6 per cent early Tuesday.<\/p>\n Iranian football players are \u2018safe here\u2019, says Australian PM<\/p>\n Australia has issued five humanitarian visas to the Iranian women\u2019s football team, Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, said.<\/p>\n The five women said to have claimed asylum in Australia<\/p>\n \u201cAustralians have been moved by the plight of these brave women. They are safe here and they should feel at home here,\u201d Albanese said. The team had been playing in the Asian Cup in Australia.<\/p>\n \u2022 Read in full: <\/b>Five of Iran women\u2019s football team granted asylum in Australia<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n North Korea condemns \u2018reckless\u2019 military drills during time of insecurity<\/p>\n The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un criticised joint US-South Korea military exercises taking place during a time of global insecurity.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\/c104f2a2-8e9d-42e3-8aba-2b16f9c0cfa3.gif\")
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![\"JD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\/89f54041-3dc7-4da9-9e99-ba8088c54ea0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"JD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\/8b30b05a-8056-4290-95b4-5e0913b4c54c.jpg\")
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