Key occasions
How possible is it that Donald Trump will order a floor invasion of Iran?
Andrew Roth
Thousands of US marines aboard navy amphibious ships from the thirty first and eleventh expeditionary items have been deployed to the Middle East from Asia.
Another 2,000-odd paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne are additionally being despatched to the theatre – they’re tasked with deploying worldwide inside 18 hours of notification and execute parachute assaults, together with in opposition to a “defended airfield” to arrange for further floor operations.
The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, repeated on Friday that the US believes it is going to be in a position to obtain its targets with out boots on the bottom, however when marines are in place subsequent week, Trump might order an assault to both present leverage to reopen the strait of Hormuz or to degrade Iran’s potential to maintain the waterway closed by pressure.
The lack of heavy armoured items, logistical depth and different components wanted for a protracted navy battle will restrict the White House’s potential to escalate the battle, nonetheless, probably extending a stalemate that could possibly be devastating to the worldwide financial system. Read the total piece right here:
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry stated in a statement shared to social media about three hours in the past that the nation had intercepted and destroyed 10 drones in the last few hours.
Qatari information channel Al Araby has stated in a post on X that an Israeli missile had hit the constructing housing its workplace in the Iranian capital of Tehran, inflicting “extensive damage and halting live broadcasts”.
Iran’s international minister, Abbas Araghchi, has condemned Israel’s killing of three journalists in Lebanon on Saturday.
On his Telegram, Araghchi stated the killings amounted to “targeted assassination” and “flagrant violation of international law”. He stated they had been a method of silencing “the voices of those who tell the truth”.
Ali Shoeib, from the Hezbollah-owned al-Manar tv station, Fatima Ftouni and her brother and cameraman Mohammed Ftouni from the channel al-Mayadeen were killed in the Israeli airstrike targeting their car yesterday.
Israel claimed the assault shortly afterwards, saying the goal was Shoeib, whom it accused of being a Hezbollah “terrorist”, with out offering any proof to help its declare. It didn’t remark on the killing of Fatima or Mohamed Ftouni.
Israel, which has killed greater than 220 journalists since 2023, in response to Reporters Without Borders, usually claims the journalists it targets are linked to armed teams (like Hamas) with out offering any proof. International humanitarian regulation is supposed to guard civilian journalists throughout armed battle and Israel has been accused of clearly violating it, with efficient impunity.
Kuwait has stated its air defence techniques intercepted 4 drones attacking the nation this morning.
In a press release posted to social media earlier, the Kuwait military stated that “any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting hostile targets”, with out specifying who was behind the attacks.
US base in Syria focused by Iraq in repelled drone assault, assistant minister says
Syria’s assistant defence minister stated Sunday that his nation’s forces had repelled a drone assault from neighbouring Iraq focusing on one in all Syria’s final US navy bases.
“Earlier today, the US base in Qasrak, located on our territory, was attacked by four drones launched from Iraqi territory,” Sipan Hamo stated on X, including that “the drones were shot down without casualties”.
“We hold Iraq responsible and call upon it to prevent the recurrence of attacks that threaten our stability.”
The assault got here a day after Syria’s military stated it repelled one other drone assault from Iraq aimed toward al-Tanf, a base in the southeast which used to accommodate US forces.
Earlier this week, the Syrian navy stated one other base in the north-east was additionally focused by a missile assault from Iraq, with an Iraqi official saying a neighborhood armed group was behind it. Iraq has arrested 4 folks in reference to that assault.
Iraq has been pulled into the war because it was sparked by US and Israeli strikes in opposition to Iran, with the battle engulfing a lot of the Middle East.
Pro-Tehran Iraqi teams have claimed duty for attacks on US pursuits in Iraq and throughout the area, whereas strikes have additionally focused these teams.
In latest months, American forces have withdrawn from the al-Tanf base, as effectively as Shadadi in the northeastern province of Hasakeh, and had begun withdrawing from the Qasrak base, additionally positioned in Hasakeh.
Oman’s international ministry condemns attacks on its territory
Oman’s international ministry stated on Sunday that it condemns attacks on its territory, including that no celebration has claimed duty.
It stated authorities had been investigating the attacks’ “sources and motives” with out offering further particulars.
Oman stated on Saturday {that a} employee was injured in a drone assault on the Gulf nation’s Salalah port and Danish container delivery group Maersk stated later that it briefly halted its operations on the port after Saturday’s assault.
Five killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran metropolis close to Hormuz strait, state media says
US-Israeli strikes hit a quay at an Iranian port metropolis on Sunday close to the strategic strait of Hormuz, killing 5 folks, Iranian state media reported.
The official IRNA information company reported the “enemy carried out a criminal attack at the quay of Bandar Khamir, killing five people and injuring four others”.
A sequence of loud explosions was additionally heard on Sunday throughout the Iranian capital, an AFP journalist stated. The blasts had been heard in northern Tehran and smoke was seen rising from impacted areas.
If you’re simply catching up on what it implies that Yemen’s Houthi’s have joined the war, you possibly can learn a chunk from the Guardian’s Julian Borger right here.
IDF says it has hit Iranian command centres and weapons websites
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has short-term Iranian command centres and weapons manufacturing and storage websites in Terhan in a recent wave of strikes.
In a put up on X, the IDF stated the websites focused included “ballistic missile production and storage facilities, aerial defense systems, and observation posts of the Iranian regime”.
According to the IDF, Iran had moved some command centres to short-term websites. “Several temporary command centers were dismantled, including commanders who were operating within the HQ’s,” the IDF stated in the put up.
Iran Guards say strikes on Bahrain and UAE aluminium crops are retaliation for US-Israeli attacks
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards says it launched missile and drone strikes on aluminium crops in Bahrain and the UAE over the weekend in retaliation for a US-Israeli assault on Iranian industrial infrastructure launched from bases in Gulf states.
The IRGC stated the strikes had been focusing on what they described as industries linked to the US navy.
Since the Middle East war erupted on the finish of February, Bahrain and different Gulf nations have frequently been focused by Iranian missile and drone strikes in retaliation for the US-Israeli marketing campaign.
In a press release carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, the Guards stated they hit an aluminium facility in the UAE and Aluminium Bahrain’s fundamental plant, calling each websites “industries affiliated with and connected to the US military and aerospace sectors in the region”.
Aluminium Bahrain, one of many world’s largest aluminium producers, stated two staff had been wounded in an Iranian strike focusing on its facility on Saturday.
The firm, additionally recognized as Alba, stated the employees suffered minor accidents.
Shipping helplines ring with alerts from seafarers trapped amid war
Seafarers’ helplines say they’re overwhelmed with messages from crews caught in the Gulf by the Middle East war, desperately searching for repatriation, compensation and onboard provides.
“Writing to urgently inform you that our vessel is currently facing a critical situation regarding provisions and one crew health conditions,” learn an e mail from one seafarer on 24 March to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)’s Seafarer Support staff.
“Immediate supply of food, drinking water, basic necessities is required to sustain the crew,” stated the message to the staff’s helpline.
The ITF stated it had acquired greater than 1,000 emails and messages from seafarers caught across the strait of Hormuz and the broader area for the reason that war erupted with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.
Opening abstract
Hello and welcome to our stay protection of occasions in the Middle East as the war enters its second month.
The war solely continues to escalate as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis confirmed a second wave of attacks on Israel since becoming a member of the battle on Saturday. They have vowed to proceed strikes in the approaching days, posing a risk not simply to worsening regional safety but additionally international commerce.
In Iran, two highly effective explosions shook northern Tehran early on Sunday, an AFP journalist reported. The blasts occurred in the Iranian capital about 7.20am as air defences operated, nevertheless it was not but clear what was focused.
Meanwhile, the US is reportedly getting ready plans for floor operations in Iran. The Trump administration has already deployed US Marines to the Middle East.
Here’s a fast recap of the most recent:
In a televised speech, Houthi navy spokesperson, Yahya Saree, stated the Iran-backed group had launched a “barrage of cruise missiles and drones” in a second assault on Israel, focusing on key navy websites. He vowed the Houthis would proceed navy operations in the approaching days till Israel “ceases its attacks and aggression”.
The entry of the Houthis, poses a direct risk to the Bab al-Mandab strait on the southern finish of the Red Sea, a second main choke level in the availability chain of power provides and different commerce in and out of the Middle East. With Iran’s close to complete closure of the strait of Hormuz, a shutdown of the Bab al-Mandab, positioned between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, would amplify the already grave influence of the war on the worldwide financial system, and will additionally reignite a Saudi-Yemen battle.
The Pentagon is getting ready plans for weeks of floor operations in Iran – probably together with raids on Kharg Island and coastal websites close to the strait of Hormuz – although President Donald Trump has not but accredited any deployment, the Washington Post is reporting. Any floor operation would cease wanting a full-scale invasion, as an alternative involving raids by particular operations forces and standard infantry troops, the Post stated, citing unnamed officers.
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has instructed one of many US’s greatest annual gatherings of conservatives that he’s prepared to steer a brand new Iranian authorities and would name on the nation’s residents to stand up when the “right moment arrives”, AP stories. Pahlavi is the son of the shah, a monarch deposed in 1979 when the Islamic theocracy got here to energy.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to focus on US universities in the Middle East after saying US-Israeli strikes had intentionally focused two Iranian universities. “If the US government wants its universities in the region to be free from retaliation… it must condemn the bombing of the universities in an official statement by 12 noon on Monday, March 30, Tehran time,” stated the assertion printed by Iranian media.
Pakistan has stated it might host a gathering of Middle Eastern powers on Monday in an effort to discover a regional strategy to ending the battle. But the talks, which deliver collectively the international ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, didn’t seem to incorporate any of the opponents, casting further doubt on persistent US claims of diplomatic progress.
Israeli attacks killed three journalists in a focused strike on their automobile in southern Lebanon, which the Lebanese president condemned as a “blatant war crime”. The strike killed Ali Shoeib, from Hezbollah-owned al-Manar TV, Fatima Ftouni and her brother and cameraman Mohammed Ftouni from pro-Hezbollah outlet al-Mayadeen.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director basic of the World Health Organisation, known as for an finish to attacks on medical employees after 9 paramedics had been killed in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
The Israeli navy bombarded Tehran with a “wide-scale wave of strikes”, damaging residential areas, civilian infrastructure, and analysis and academic buildings. The IDF additionally stated it had hit Iran’s headquarters for naval weaponry.
Iran has allowed 20 oil tankers from Pakistan to go by means of the strait of Hormuz. Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, stated two ships would cross per day. The nation has been taking part in a key mediatory function in the battle.
