The Iran-U.S.-Israel conflict is intensifying, with fresh strikes near Tehran, European calls for restraint, and Iran threatening to target U.S. firms in the region, raising fears of a broader escalation across the Middle East.
Here is a summary of our top stories on the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict :
Tehran attacked and set ablaze a crude oil tanker off Dubai, despite threats by the U.S. that it will obliterate Iran's assets if it does not agree to a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel is prepared for more "weeks” of fighting in Iran, a military spokesman said on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war was "beyond the halfway point."
Italy has denied permission for U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before flying to the Middle East, a source close to the matter said.
The United Nations reports that about 20,000 seafarers remain stranded on around 2,000 ships in the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
France did not allow Israel to use its airspace to transport American weapons to be used in the war against Iran, according to sources.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they will target U.S. companies in the region as of 1 April in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reported.
John Healey, the UK defence secretary, has said that the country will deploy more troops and air defence systems to the Middle East to help its allies against Iranian attacks.
Reuters reports that the White House has said the U.S. military is ready to counter any potential attacks by Iran, following threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting American companies in the region.
According to the report, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "The United States military is and was prepared to curtail any attacks by Iran, as evidenced by the 90 percent drop in ballistic missile and drone attacks by the terrorist regime."
The comments came after the IRGC warned it would begin targeting US companies operating in the region from April 1, in retaliation for recent strikes on Iran, according to state media.
Poland has ruled out sending its Patriot air-defence batteries to the Middle East, as the escalating U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict drives up demand for missile defence across multiple regions, Anadolu reports.
Anadolu further reports that the Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday that Warsaw would not deploy any of its Patriot batteries abroad, after reports that Washington had informally approached Poland to consider the move.
According to Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, the United States had sounded out Warsaw about sending one of its two Patriot systems as missile attacks linked to the Iran war intensify against US forces and allies in the region.
Kosiniak-Kamysz dismissed the suggestion, writing on X that Poland’s Patriots “serve to protect Polish skies and NATO’s eastern flank.”
The Israeli Ministry of Defence has reportedly cancelled a high-level visit by French defense official Alice Rufo, following Paris’s decision to block U.S. aircraft carrying military supplies to Israel from using its airspace, Anadolu reports.
Anadolu also reports that the standoff, first reported by Yedioth Ahronot, emerged after France denied a request for Israeli planes to transport American munitions through French territory for use in the ongoing conflict with Iran. Despite Israel providing "detailed information" on the intended use of the equipment, Paris maintained its closure, sparking a significant diplomatic rift between the two nations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke by phone on Tuesday and expressed serious concern about the military and political situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.
The parties emphasised the importance of bringing hostilities to an end as soon as possible, it added.
John Healey, the UK defence secretary, has said that the country will deploy more troops and air defence systems to the Middle East to help its allies against Iranian attacks.
According to a report by the BBC, Healey said on Tuesday, during a trip to the Gulf nations, that the UK will deploy extra air defence teams and systems to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait. The country also pledged an extension of the use of Typhoon jets in Qatar.
The U.S. and Israel launched an air offensive on Iran starting from 28 February, killing more than 1,340 people, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tehran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets.
The foreign ministers of 10 European countries including Britain, France and Italy called on Israel to avoid widening its military operations in Lebanon, and to respect its neighbour's territorial integrity.
A joint statement also signed by the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed the countries' "full support for the government and the people of Lebanon, who once again are suffering the dramatic consequences of a war that is not theirs."
The EU is preparing a "toolbox" of measures for member states to deal with the consequences of the war in Iran, as energy markets will remain disrupted for a long time, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said.
"In financial terms, 30 days of conflict have already added 14 billion euros to the (European) Union's fossil fuel import bill," Jørgensen told reporters in Brussels.
"Even if there would be peace tomorrow, still we would not go back to normal. Energy infrastructure in the region has been ruined by the war and continuously is being ruined," he said.
The upcoming EU toolbox will include proposals on lowering tax rates for electricity and grid tariffs, the commissioner added
Areas near the World Health Organization's Tehran office were hit by strikes over the past two nights, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an X post.
"Fortunately all WHO Iran office colleagues are accounted for and none were injured," he added.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they will target U.S. companies in the region as of 1 April in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reported.
The 18 companies listed in the IRGC's threat included Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing.
"These companies should expect the destruction of their respective units in exchange for each terror act in Iran," the IRGC statement said.
In a press briefing, Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Economy, Airlangga Hartarto, announced the introduction of a work-from-home policy, which he said is an "adaptive and preventive step to mitigate global dynamics, the government has agreed upon policies regarding work culture transformation to push a more efficient, effective, and digital-based work."
Hartarto went ahead to say that the policy includes several main steps, such as a work-from-home rule for civil servants in central and regional institutions for one day each week on Friday.
Indonesia heavily relies on crude oil imports from the Middle East, with roughly 19% of its supply passing through the volatile Strait of Hormuz. The conflict in Iran has put an immense strain on the country's fuel supply.
France did not allow Israel to use its air space to transport American weapons to be used in the war against Iran, a Western diplomat and two sources familiar with the matter told.
The sources said the refusal, which happened at the weekend, was the first time France had done this since the start of the conflict in Iran.
Neither the French presidency nor the foreign ministry were immediately available for comment.
Iran's foreign minister, in a call with his Turkish counterpart, warned of repeated false-flag operations aimed at undermining regional ties, the foreign ministry said, a day after NATO intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran over Türkiye.
Türkiye is playing a mediating role, alongside other regional countries, between Washington and Tehran to help de-escalate tensions and end the war.
More vessels are flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told a briefing.
"There are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well," he told reporters.
Talks aimed at ending the U.S.-Iran conflict are ongoing and gaining momentum, Hegseth added.
The European Council President António Costa said on Tuesday he had spoken on the telephone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and urged him to engage on the diplomatic track and ensure the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
Costa also said he had told Pezeshkian that Iran must stop what Costa described as "unacceptable attacks" on countries in the region.
President Donald Trump urged countries that did not help in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran to buy American oil and go to the Strait of Hormuz and "just TAKE it."
Trump singled out Britain and France as unhelpful in the month-long war that has roiled global markets, driven up energy prices and seen Iran effectively close oil tanker traffic through the Strait.
"All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: 1 Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT," Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Tehran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai, despite a threat by President Donald Trump that the U.S. will obliterate Iran's energy plants if it does not agree to a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.
Authorities in Dubai said the fire on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi had been brought under control following a drone attack, with no oil leak and no injuries to the crew. Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship's owner, said the vessel's hull was damaged.
Some 20,000 seafarers remain stranded on around 2,000 ships in the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, a situation described as unprecedented in the post-Second World War era.
Since the conflict began a month ago, the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London reports 19 attacks on vessels in the strait. Seven seafarers have been killed, eight injured, and five reported missing following Israeli-US bombing operations on Iran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed the war in the Middle East by phone on Tuesday, Russia's TASS state news agency reported.
The two men also spoke about large-scale investment projects in energy and industry, Russian state news agencies said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that U.S. plans to unfurl regime change in Iran and Venezuela were aimed at gaining more control over oil and gas resources.
Lavrov said the United States and Israel did not want normalisation between Iran and its neighbours, and cautioned that the war in the Middle East could spiral into a wider conflict.
Italy has denied permission for U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before flying to the Middle East, a source close to the matter said.
Daily Corriere della Sera reported "some U.S. bombers" had been due to land at the base in eastern Sicily before heading to the Middle East.
The source, who was not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified, also did not specify how many aircraft were involved or when Rome declined to give permission.
It also added that permission was not granted as the U.S. had not sought authorisation and Italy's military leadership was not consulted, as required under treaties governing the use of U.S. military installations in the country.
The Italian defence ministry had no immediate comment.
Romania wants to bring U.S. investors to the Black Sea, Romanian Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan said on Tuesday, adding the Neptun deep offshore gas project was a success and the country needed more such projects.
The Neptun Deep project, backed by OMV Petrom and state-owned Romgaz with a total investment of €4 billion ($4.59 billion), is expected to produce around 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year once production starts in 2027.
People in Iran have now been cut off from the global internet for over 744 hours- more than four weeks and three days, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks.
Israel is prepared for "weeks" more of fighting in Iran, a military spokesman said on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview the war was "beyond the halfway point."
Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters the decision is up to political leaders. But "we are prepared to keep operating for weeks to come. We have the targets for that, the munition for that, the manpower for that, and it's up to the leadership to decide," he said.
One of the desalination plants on Iran's Qeshm Island has been out of service since being hit by an air strike, an official from the Health Ministry told Iranian media on Tuesday (31 March).
"Drinking water on Qeshm Island is provided by desalination plants. One of the desalination plants on Qeshm Island was targeted and is completely out of service as it is not possible to repair it in the short term," the Health Ministry's head of the Environmental and Occupational Health Centre said.
People accused of spying or cooperating with "hostile states" could face the death penalty and confiscation of all assets under a recently enhanced law, an Iranian judiciary spokesperson said.
Even sharing photos or videos that could aid enemy targeting may be treated as intelligence cooperation, the spokesman added.
Iranian media have reported more than 1,000 arrests over the course of the month, related to individuals accused of filming sensitive locations, sharing anti-government content online, or "cooperating with the enemy".
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has thanked the people of Iraq after Iranian officials received a convoy of Iraqi paramilitary forces earlier this week.
“The Iraqi Muslim people stood bravely alongside Iran in this unjust war; this stance is not due to the compulsion of geography, but due to history, identity, and shared religious values,” Pezeshkian wrote on X.
European Union governments have been warned to prepare for a “prolonged disruption” to energy markets due to the Iran war, with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen urging ministers to take early action.
In a letter ahead of an emergency meeting, he said that while the immediate impact on supplies remains contained, countries should make timely preparations for potential longer-term shocks to oil and gas markets.
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has called for peace in the Middle East and other conflict zones, urging an end to violence and a return to dialogue.
In a message shared on X, the 90-year-old backed Pope Leo XIV’s appeal for peace, saying lasting solutions can only come through diplomacy and mutual respect.
He warned that violence “only begets more violence” and called for conflicts, including those in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, to be resolved through negotiation.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that three Chinese ships recently passed through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring Beijing’s ongoing maritime presence in the strategically vital waterway.
The spokesperson added that China appreciates the assistance provided by relevant parties in ensuring the safe transit of its vessels.
China’s foreign minister H.E. Wang Yi is set to discuss the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East conflict with his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
The Pakistani FM is expected to visit Beijing on Tuesday (31 March) at the invitation of China’s top diplomat.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society says its aid workers have launched rescue operations in Tehran and Zanjan following recent U.S.-Israeli attacks.
In statements on X, the humanitarian group said its teams have rescued injured survivors and taken them to hospitals in Tehran and that search and rescue efforts are underway at the Husseiniya Azam site in Zanjan.
The Red Crescent has been active across Iran throughout the conflict, providing emergency assistance in hard‑hit areas.
The golden dome and minaret of the Azam Husseiniya in northwestern Zanjan were, reportedly, damaged in a U.S.-Israeli attack on Tuesday morning.
Translation of the X post: "Husseiniyeh-e Azam of Zanjan sustained damage following the enemy’s dawn attack on the Ferdowsi Street area of this city. In this attack, parts of the dome and minarets of this Husseiniyeh were damaged, and there is also a possibility of damage to the interior of the structure."
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday (31 March) morning that it had intercepted and destroyed 10 drones over the past several hours.
Iran executed two men convicted of links to the opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran and plotting armed attacks using improvised launcher devices. This was reported by Iran's judiciary news outlet on Tuesday (31 March).
The men were executed following convictions tied to security‑related offences, though authorities did not detail when they were arrested.
Hezbollah announced that its fighters targeted an Israeli air defence system in the settlement of Ma’alot-Tarshiha at around 0300 GMT using a “swarm of attack drones.”
This marks the third attack claimed by the group so far this morning amid ongoing hostilities along Israel’s northern border with southern Lebanon.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for “bold measures” to address economic fallout from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. The government is, reportedly, proposing a $17.3 billion supplementary budget to support consumers and businesses affected by rising energy costs.
The move marks South Korea’s second extra budget in under a year, as the administration pursues an expansionary fiscal policy.
The country, which sources 70% of its oil from the Middle East, is also seeing market turbulence: the KOSPI index has fallen 11.36% over the past month and dropped 2.71% on Tuesday (31 March), down 143 points to 5,134.16.
Iranian media reported that electricity has been restored to parts of eastern Tehran after recent airstrikes damaged sections of the power grid.
Repair crews worked to bring the affected areas back online following the outages linked to ongoing strikes on energy infrastructure.
The Israeli military confirmed that four more soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon, bringing the total to at least 10 since 2 March.
Among the latest casualties are two 21-year-olds and a 22-year-old. The fourth soldier’s details were not released pending official clearance.
The deaths come as Israel continues its military operations south of the Litani River amid escalating hostilities in the region.
Israel’s military warned of an incoming missile barrage from Iran early Tuesday (31 March) triggering air raid sirens in Jerusalem shortly after, with loud explosions heard overhead.
The blasts are likely linked to interception attempts by Israeli air defences, as seen in previous attacks where incoming missiles prompted sirens and explosions across central Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump has told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing officials.
The move would mark a potential shift toward winding down hostilities while leaving the complex task of reopening the key oil transit route for a later stage.
The report could not be independently verified.
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India has purchased crude oil from Iran for the first time in seven years, as supply disruptions in the Middle East threaten global energy markets.
British police have arrested a fourth person in connection with an arson attack on ambulances belonging to a Jewish community charity. The arrest took place at a London court on Saturday, where three other suspects were already appearing.
Senegal has taken steps to curb government spending by banning non-essential foreign travel for ministers, as rising global oil prices place increasing pressure on the country’s finances.
One U.S. crew member has been rescued after two American warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, as the search continues for a missing pilot, while President Donald Trump has given Tehran 48 hours to agree to a deal to end the war.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and protect commercial shipping, diplomats said on Friday, amid opposition from China to any authorisation of force.
One crew member from a U.S. warplane shot down over Iran has been rescued, U.S. officials said, as a search continues for a second crew member.
Iran has strongly condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb the country “back to the Stone Age”, calling his remarks an example of “war crimes and genocide.”
France and South Korea have agreed to strengthen defence ties and energy security cooperation following a two-day visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Seoul.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and protect commercial shipping, diplomats said on Friday, amid opposition from China to any authorisation of force.
One U.S. crew member has been rescued after two American warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, as the search continues for a missing pilot, while President Donald Trump has given Tehran 48 hours to agree to a deal to end the war.
Iran has strongly condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb the country “back to the Stone Age”, calling his remarks an example of “war crimes and genocide.”
International law experts from across the U.S., including Harvard, Yale and Stanford, have signed an open letter saying the strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes. America and Israel began airstrikes on 28 February on Iran's capital, Tehran.
The global commodities market is facing a severe structural supply shock after a series of coordinated military strikes in the Middle East devastated critical industrial infrastructure, threatening the manufacturing base of Western economies.
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