US–Israel–Iran War: Iran Tightens Control Over Strait OF Hormuz; Trump Claims Iran 'Begging' For A Deal

Heavy strikes were reported early Thursday near Isfahan, a city located about 330 kilometers (205 miles) south of Tehran, according to activists in Iran.

The pro-reform outlet Ham Mihan said online that strikes had taken place in the area.

Isfahan hosts a significant Iranian air base along with other military facilities, and it is also the site of one of the nuclear locations targeted by the United States during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran in June.

The semiofficial Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said the attacks hit “two residential areas,” but did not provide further details.

Earlier, Israel’s military announced it had carried out “a wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran, including in Isfahan.

Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has described the war on Iran as a “catastrophe for the world’s economies” and called for a diplomatic solution to the US-Israeli conflict.

Speaking to reporters at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Pistorius stated that Germany stands ready to help secure any peace agreement.

“To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for the world’s economies. The impact is absolutely evident already now, after a little bit more than two weeks,” he said.

“From the beginning on, we have not been consulted before. Nobody asked us before. It’s not our war and therefore we don’t want to get sucked into that war,” he added.

He urged the US and Iran to stop the shooting and killing, and indicated that Germany would be willing to discuss operations aimed at securing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once a ceasefire takes effect.

“But the time has not yet come, and therefore we appeal for a ceasefire as soon as possible,” he said.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of six individuals — five Kuwaiti citizens and one other national — while dismantling a Hezbollah-linked “terrorist” group.

According to Al Jazeera, authorities also identified 14 other people connected to the cell, including five Kuwaiti citizens, two Iranians, two Lebanese, and five others who have already fled the country.

Following questioning, the six arrested suspects confessed to planning assassination operations targeting state symbols and leaders, as well as recruiting individuals to carry out these tasks.

Authorities stressed that security in Kuwait is a red line, declaring they take such threats very seriously and will show no mercy, severely punishing anyone involved in these kinds of activities.

This marks the third sleeper cell dismantled by Kuwaiti authorities since the fighting began. Last week, the UAE also arrested a similar cell, reflecting a broader determination among Gulf states to take regional security seriously, reported Al Jazeera.

A Japanese official has informed the AFP news agency that the country has begun releasing another portion of its strategic oil reserves in an effort to ease the effects of rising prices triggered by the war on Iran.

“The release [of the national stockpile] started at 10:59 am [01:59 GMT] to oil refiners,” said Kaname Morimoto, an official of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The step follows Tokyo’s announcement that it would release a month’s worth of government stockpiles, after officials had already begun releasing 15 days’ worth of private-sector petroleum reserves.

Japan ranks as the fifth-biggest importer of oil, with more than 90 percent of it coming from the Middle East.

Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara told AFP he was aware that the “transfer of oil from half of the reserve stations to four oil refining companies is scheduled to start” today.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held talks with his Egyptian and Turkish counterparts regarding the US-Israel war on Iran, urging worldwide efforts to encourage dialogue between the parties involved, according to statements from his office.

In his discussion with Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty, Wang noted that both the US and Iran were “signalling a willingness to negotiate”, offering “a glimmer of hope for peace”. He added that the “international community should actively promote dialogue among the conflicting parties” and that “as long as talks begin, there is hope for peace”.

Wang repeated the same message in his conversation with Turkiye’s Hakan Fidan. He told both diplomats that China backs the mediation efforts by Cairo and Ankara aimed at bringing the warring parties together and stopping the war.

The Emirati Ministry of Defence says the country is once again “responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”.

“The sounds heard are the result of the Air Defence Systems intercepting missiles and drones,” the ministry added in a short statement on X.

This announcement comes four hours after the ministry issued a similar statement.

An Israeli attack has injured eight people in the Arab Salim area of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, the Public Health Ministry’s emergency operations centre has reported, according to NNA.

Sultan Al Jaber, ADNOC’s chief executive, has labeled any Iranian attempt to block shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as “economic terrorism”.

“When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the pharmacy,” Al Jaber said in a speech in the US.

“No country can be allowed to destabilize the global economy in this way. Not now. Not ever,” he added.

The ADNOC boss earlier told US Vice President JD Vance that ensuring unrestricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz represents the only lasting way to stabilise global markets.

Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Kung Ming-hsin, stated that the island’s liquid natural gas (LNG) supplies are secured through mid-June, easing concerns over its limited energy reserves.

Taiwan normally obtains roughly one-third of its LNG from Qatar, but those deliveries have been interrupted since early March due to attacks on Qatari energy facilities. Although LNG accounts for about half of Taiwan’s power generation, the country maintains only an 11-day reserve of the fuel.

Kung indicated that alternative supplies have been arranged to cover the remainder of March, as well as April, May, and the first half of June. However, this has come at a significant extra cost. According to the Commercial Times, Taiwan’s state-owned CPC corporation is paying an NTD 1 billion ($31.3 million) premium per ship for spot LNG purchases. The newspaper further estimated that, factoring in both spot prices and related price stabilisation measures, CPC’s additional costs through June will total NTD 26.5 billion ($829 million).

Oil prices have moved higher as optimism for an end to the conflict diminishes after Iran rejected Trump’s assertion that the two sides are engaged in negotiations to resolve the war.

Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, gained almost 2 percent on Thursday and briefly surpassed $104 per barrel.

The increase follows a dip in prices on Wednesday after reports emerged that Trump had presented a 15-point proposal aimed at ending the war with Iran.

Oil prices have surged more than 40 percent since the conflict began, mainly because of the sharp drop in shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz.

Asian stock markets opened in negative territory on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s KOSPI, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index all recording declines.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry has announced the interception and destruction of a drone in the Eastern Province.

Earlier today, Trump took part in a Republican Party fundraising event. At the gathering, he declared that the Republicans would win the midterm elections scheduled for later this year.

However, recent polls paint a different picture.

A fresh survey by Reuters indicates that Trump’s approval rating currently stands at around 36 percent, largely due to the war with Iran along with rising oil and gas prices in the country, which have increased by about a dollar since the conflict began, Al Jazeera reported.

During the event, Trump once again addressed the situation with Iran.

He claimed that the US is winning the war and that Iranian leaders are eager to reach a deal.

“We’re winning so big. Nobody’s ever seen anything like we’re doing in the Middle East with Iran. And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” he said, reported Al Jazeera.

“They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us. There’s never been a head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran.”

Injuries have been reported after a series of impacts took place in central Israel, possibly from cluster munitions, following Iran’s latest missile barrage.

A footage, captured by surveillance cameras, shows scenes of rocket interceptions in the sky over central Israel after what Israeli media reported was a wave of rockets fired from Lebanon.

Despite the Trump administration insisting that negotiations are under way, the US government has been continuing to send troops to the Middle East, reports Al Jazeera.

2500 Marines, part of special operations forces, have been sent to the region with three warships. Reportedly, the 82nd Airborne Division will be deployed, too - a rapid response unit that can be deployed in about 24 hours. They are involved in special operation.

Al Jazeera reports that there is a possibility of operations on Kharg island. which has been referred to by Trump as the 'jewel of the crown', the place where Iran exports most of its oil.

The Israeli army says it will deepen ground operations in Lebanon, whose army has been accused of failing to meet its commitment to disarm Hezbollah and push it out from parts of southern Lebanon.

An Israeli army spokesperson claimed it has so far struck more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets, killing some 700 fighters, including hundreds who are members of the elite Radwan Force.

A Turkish-operated crude oil tanker was targeted on Thursday in a drone attack in the Black Sea near Istanbul, Türkiye's transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said. No casualties were reported among the crew.

According to reports, the vessel is owned by a Turkish firm and carries the flag of Sierra Leone. It had left Russia’s port of ‌Novorossiysk with about one million barrels of crude oil.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has briefed Malaysia’s leader Anwar Ibrahim on his discussions with Gulf countries and Iran aimed at bringing Washington and Tehran to talks.

Sharif thanked Ibrahim for supporting Pakistan’s peace efforts. Ibrahim, in turn, informed Sharif of his own conversations with world leaders and emphasised the urgent need to end the conflict, according to a statement from Sharif’s office.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it has initiated the 82nd wave of its military operation against the United States and Israel, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.

The IRGC stated that the latest phase began at dawn on Thursday, involving a large-scale assault using drones and missiles. The strikes were aimed at Israel’s military command control centre and facilities linked to its nuclear infrastructure in the southern region near the Dead Sea, it said.

- Al Jazeera

Oil prices gained again on Thursday (March 26) and Asian shares were mostly lower as a de-escalation of the Iran war remains uncertain.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.5% to $98.72 per barrel. It was below $95 on Wednesday.

Benchmark U.S. crude was 2% higher at $92.16 a barrel.

On Thursday, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.8% to 53,343.25. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.3% to 5,458.37. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.9% to 24,855.12.

Source: AP

The Kremlin said on Thursday (March 26) that a report in the Financial Times that it was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran was “lies”.

“There are so many lies being spread by the media... Do not pay attention to them,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to an AFP question.

The Financial Times, which published the report on Wednesday, cited Western intelligence officials as saying that Russia was in the process of delivering drones to Tehran and would complete the shipments by the end of March.

Source: AFP

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz claims an Israeli air strike has killed the IRGC’s navy commander, Alireza Tangsiri.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said Pakistan has been relaying messages between the US and Iran as part of mediation efforts.

He said Turkiye, Egypt and unspecified other countries area “also extending their support to this initiative.”

“Pakistan remains fully committed to promoting peace and continues to make every effort to ensure stability in the region and beyond,” said Dar in a post on X.

NetBlocks, which tracks internet connectivity and cybersecurity, says Iran’s digital blackout has now entered its 27th day.

In a post on X, NetBlocks said Iran had now been isolated from the global internet for 624 hours with connectivity levels at less than 1 percent.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reportedly said the United States has reached out to Kyiv for assistance in countering Iranian drone threats in the Middle East.

In an interview with Le Monde, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian teams are already deployed in parts of the region, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, drawing on their experience in dealing with similar drone attacks used by Russia during the war in Ukraine.

He noted that Washington has been in discussions with Kyiv on strengthening the protection of US bases in the region, while warning that existing air defence systems are insufficient to effectively counter Iran’s drone capabilities.

“There are modern interceptors designed to counter heavy drone strikes. Now, we are discussing future deliveries of certain equipment that Ukraine has. We want Middle Eastern countries to give us the opportunity to strengthen ourselves as well. They have some air defence missiles that we lack,” he said.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine is seeking agreements that would also help bolster its own defences, highlighting funding shortages as a key constraint. “We would like to reach agreements on this. Funding is the scarcest resource today. Our defence industry is currently operating at half-capacity, and we need more financing to produce drones for ourselves.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual meeting with Chief Ministers on Friday evening to assess state-level preparedness in light of the ongoing West Asia conflict.

The interaction, to be conducted via video conferencing, is expected to focus on coordinated response measures and strengthening “Team India” synergy between the Centre and states.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will continue targeting Iran “with full force” following claims that an Israeli strike killed Alireza Tangsiri, the naval commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

His remarks, according to Associated Press (AP), came after Israeli officials earlier stated that Tangsiri was killed in an airstrike inside Iran.

“We continue to forcefully strike the targets of the Iranian terrorist regime,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “Last night, we eliminated the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps navy. This man had a great deal of blood on his hands, he was also the one who led the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”

He added that the operation reflected close coordination with the United States, describing it as part of a shared effort to achieve the war’s objectives.

There has been no official confirmation from either the US or Iran on the claimed killing.

GCC Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi said Iran’s actions — including recent attacks and the reported closure of the Strait of Hormuz have “crossed all red lines.”

Meanwhile, the United States has warned Tehran to accept defeat or face unprecedented retaliation, a demand Iran has rejected, vowing to continue its counterstrikes. As tensions escalate, US-Israeli strikes on Iran persist, while Iranian missiles continue to hit targets in central and northern Israel.

- Al Jazeera

The standoff between Iran and the United States deepened on Thursday, with both sides hardening their positions and raising the risk of further escalation. As additional US troops moved into the region, Tehran tightened control over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel amid fresh Iranian missile barrages, even as Gulf states attempted interceptions and heavy strikes were reported in Tehran and other cities.

- AP

An Iranian health official has said the death toll from the ongoing war has risen to at least 1,937. Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian shared the figures with Al Jazeera on Thursday, noting that 240 of those killed were women and 212 were children. He added that more than 24,800 people have been injured so far.

- Al Jazeera, AP

The leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement has warned that the armed group could enter the Israeli-US war on Iran if conditions demand it.

Abdel Malek al-Houthi said the Houthis are ready to act despite not yet joining the fighting.

“At the slightest development in the conflict calling for a military response, we will intervene without delay … as we did in previous phases,” he said.