Israel launched strikes on Tehran and Beirut on Saturday (21 March) as the United States deployed thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East, while President Donald Trump criticised NATO allies as "cowards" over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
The Israeli military said it had targeted sites in Iran and carried out strikes in Beirut on Saturday, as it intensified operations against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia.
The strikes marked the deadliest spillover into Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing on Israel in support of Tehran on 2 March.
Israel also confirmed new strikes on Iran, including in the capital Tehran, according to a military statement.
Key energy infrastructure across Iran and neighbouring Gulf states has been hit, with oil prices rising by around 50% since the conflict began, raising concerns about a global economic shock.
In the United States, United Airlines said it would cut scheduled flights by 5% in the second and third quarters, citing expectations of prolonged higher fuel costs.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for around one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has been effectively closed to most shipping since the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran.
Trump on Friday accused U.S. allies of "cowardice" for declining to assist in reopening the strait.
Several allies, who were not consulted prior to the conflict, have said they would support "appropriate efforts" to ensure safe passage, although Germany and France have stressed that fighting must first stop.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would speak with Trump over the weekend.
Iran is prepared to allow Japanese-linked vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Kyodo News reported on Saturday, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Japan receives around 90% of its oil imports via the route.
The White House said it would waive sanctions for 30 days, allowing the sale of around 140 million barrels of Iranian oil stranded on tankers, in an effort to stabilise global markets.
The administration had previously eased sanctions on a similar amount of Russian oil.
Before launching Saturday’s strikes, the Israeli military said it had issued evacuation warnings for seven neighbourhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon and over one million have been displaced, according to reports.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the Israeli attack that killed his father, said Iranians had responded with unity and resistance, adding they had "dealt a disorienting blow to the enemy".
A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Khamenei's statement raised questions about his condition, noting that his father had traditionally delivered a New Year address.
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Russian authorities said 11 people, including four children, had been killed by Ukraine in an overnight attack on a holiday camp, accusing Kyiv on Saturday of deliberately targeting civilians.
The U.S. military said it completed a fresh wave of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, marking the 13th consecutive night of American attacks. The latest operation lasted more than two hours, according to U.S. Central Command.
Iran will halt its own attacks as long as the United States maintains its pause on strikes, but Tehran remains sceptical of U.S. intentions, a senior Iranian source told on Sunday.
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Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto recently offered the dismissed Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Mykhailo Federov an adviser role in Italy.
A new state agency wants the world to take Georgian food as seriously as Georgians already do.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have signed regional and commercial agreements worth more than 80 billion tenge ($146 million). The deals aim to expand cooperation between the two Central Asian neighbors in trade, transport, industry and cross-border development.
UN Secretary General António Guterres arrived in Damascus on Saturday for the first trip to Syria by a serving United Nations' chief since 2009, before the start of a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
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