Donald Trump's has announced a five day pause on attacking power plants and energy infrastructure after 'very good and productive conversations' with Iran over the last two days. He says talks will continue. The Middle East situation enters it's fourth week. Follow live.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday and outlined Berlin’s concern over the situation in Iran and the wider Middle East conflict.
"I am grateful that he said today that he is postponing them for another five days and is now also opening the possibility for immediate and direct contact with the Iranian leadership," said Merz at a press conference in Berlin on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox Business Iran “wants to make a deal badly” and said a deal could happen within five days or sooner following recent talks between U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and their Iranian counterparts.
Two Indian LPG tankers, Pine Gas and Jag Vasant, successfully sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, while most other shipping traffic remains stalled.
Hundreds of vessels and thousands of seafarers are still stranded in the Gulf due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel war with Iran, according to ship tracking data.
Britain welcomed “productive” talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran, calling for de-escalation in the Middle East and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said any progress toward a swift resolution of the conflict is in the global interest.
"We've always said that swift resolution to the war is in global interests and the Strait of Hormuz specifically needs to be reopened," the spokesperson told reporters.
Pope Leo condemned aerial bombardments as “indiscriminate” and called for them to be banned, saying no one should live under the threat of attacks from the sky.
Speaking to ITA Airways staff, he criticised airpower in warfare as a regression, citing lessons from the 20th century, and reiterated calls for a ceasefire in the Iran war, which he has called a “scandal to the whole human family.”
EasyJet says passengers are likely to see higher ticket prices later this summer as fuel hedges expire and the Iran war impacts costs.
CEO Kenton Jarvis said prices will start feeding through to consumers “towards the back end of the summer,” depending on fuel markets.
The airline had previously hedged a majority of its fuel needs into 2026.
The Israeli military says it is conducting strikes “in the heart of Tehran,” marking a further escalation in the ongoing conflict.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions and energy markets will stay volatile, according to Tasnim.
An official added there are no talks with the U.S., and Tehran will continue its response until it achieves deterrence.
Russia has warned that the Iran conflict could spread into the Caspian region after a call between Sergei Lavrov and Iran’s Abbas Araghchi.
Moscow said both sides share concern over the escalation, blaming actions by Washington and Tel Aviv.
"Mutual concern was expressed about the dangerous spread of the conflict provoked by Washington and Tel Aviv to the Caspian Sea area," Russia's foreign ministry said.
Trump has announced a pause in attacks on energy infrastructure and power plants after "very good and productive conversations" with Iran:
Read more : Israeli fire killed first Israeli civilian at border with Lebanon
A European Commission spokesperson has said European Union's gas coordination group will meet on Thursday to assess the impact of the Iran war. The outcome of any decision may be impacted by what happens before Trump's imposed deadline to open up the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid ongoing attacks by Israel, many are displaced. 83 year old Zoher Qazaz is sheltering in a makeshift tent next to his car.
Iran has rejected allegations it targeted a military airbase in Diego Garcia two days ago. They called the claim an 'Israeli false flag'.
In a press conference, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that U.S.-Israeli strikes near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran are extremely dangerous and Russia has shared its concerns with the United States.
"We believe that strikes on nuclear facilities are potentially extremely dangerous. (...) Therefore, the Russian side, taking an extremely responsible stance on this issue, has repeatedly voiced its concerns," Peskov said.
He added that such strikes could have irreparable consequences.
In an interview with the media, British PM Sir Keir Starmer says there is "no assessment" that the UK is being targeted by Iranian missiles and that the government carry out assessments regularly. Starmer repeated calls for de-escalation and said reopening the Strait of Hormuz needs needs careful coordination and a viable plan.
Scott Bessent has said in an interview with NBC News on Sunday that Washington has “plenty of money” to fund its ongoing war against Iran.
He said this while stressing that President Donald Trump does not have any plan to raise taxes to cover the $200 billion request by the Pentagon to fund the ongoing war in Iran.
“Why would we (raise taxes)? We have plenty. We have a trillion dollars in this year's budget for the military,” Bessent said.
Although he didn't shed light on where the funds will be coming from, he said. “Actually, now we have plenty of money to fund this war. What we are doing is – this is supplemental.”
In response to the strikes on Iran's infrastructure, he defended the strikes, saying, “Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate."
US-Israeli strikes against Iran began on 28 February. The strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and at least 1,300 people have also been reported to have been killed in the subsequent strikes. Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and other countries in the Gulf, which they say host US military assets.
Qatar Airways has moved its 20 largest aircraft to a long-term storage facility in Teruel, Spain. This is because of regional tensions, following U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran and reciprocal attacks from Iran targeting some countries in the Gulf region.
In a statement to the Financial Times, Qatar Airways said, "Due to the current situation in the region and the resulting disruptions to flight operations, Qatar Airways has deployed some of its aircraft to selected airports outside of Qatar. This is a temporary measure, and the aircraft will be gradually brought back into service as flight operations return to normal levels."
Most of the aircraft transported to Spain were the Airbus A380, A350 and Boeing 787 types.
A portrait of Ali Larijani hangs above the grave of Iran's former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Thousands turned out for his funeral in Iran's capital Tehran.
Grave of Ali Larijani in the holy city of Qom pic.twitter.com/KOxewjotL9 — Mehr News Agency (@MehrnewsCom) March 23, 2026
Russian news agency Interfax says Russia opposes any blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. They say, however, such issues must be viewed in the context of the broader global situation.
In an uncharacteristically short post on his social media platform, Trump said:
Goldman Sachs bank has raised its 2026 average price forecast for Brent crude oil to $85 per barrel up from $77. They say disruptions in crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and stockpiling are the reasons.
An Indian national suffered minor injuries from falling debris after the UAE's air defence systems successfully intercepted a ballistic missile targeting the country's capital.
The incident occurred in Abu Dhabi's Al Shawamekh area.
State media report an IRGC statement saying that Iran will retaliate to an attack on its electricity sector by targeting Israel's power plants as well as power plants supplying U.S. bases with electricity in regional countries.
"The lying... U.S. President has claimed that the Revolutionary Guards intends to attack the water desalination plants and cause hardship to the people of the countries in the region," the statement continued.
Israel says they are carrying out a 'wide-scale wave of strikes' across Iran and the capital, Tehran. They have just released footage of this on the social media platform, X:
‼️ رژیم تروریستی ایران و ارکان آن تحت حمله هستند pic.twitter.com/Zae0ifyE3V — ارتش دفاعی اسرائیل | IDF Farsi (@IDFFarsi) March 23, 2026
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is to chair an emergency COBRA meeting today following a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump last night. The two leaders discussed the urgent need to open up the Strait of Hormuz.
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and the Governor of the Bank of England are expected to attend.
Mostly NATO countries along with others such as Japan, Bahrain, New Zealand are working together to open up the Strait, which is vital for oil and gas distrubtion across the world.
Mark Rutte says it was "crucial" and "necessary" for the U.S. President Trump to carry out attacks on Iran.
In a joint statement, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese
and Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong said they "are committed to working together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience, including by deepening regional cooperation, accelerating renewable energy transition, addressing unjustified import and export restrictions, and maintaining open trade flows."
New Zealand will temporarily permit fuel meeting Australian standards to be imported for up to 12 months, but will not do the same back.
State media reports Iran's capital was hit by missles early Monday morning as the Israel Defence Force (IDF) says they have launched a 'wide-scale wave of strikes'.
Executive Director of the agency, Fatih Birol, said the situation is "very severe", the global economy is facing a major threat and will be consulting with governments in Asia and Europe on the release of more stockpiled oil "if necessary".
He also pushed for energy reduction measures such as working from home and is speaking to the Australian PM Anthony Albenese later today. The single most important solution to this problem, he said, is "opening the Hormuz Strait".
The Nikkei in Japan started early trading being down at 4.8%, South Korea's Kospi was more than 5.5% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell more than 2%.
Crude oil remains more than $110 a barrel.
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Iran has launched long-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards the joint U.S.-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, in what Israeli officials said was a major escalation in the war.
The British government gave authorisation on Friday (20 March) for the U.S. to use military bases in Britain to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites that are attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tensions between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have surged after the Taliban government accused Islamabad of carrying out an attack that killed more than 400 people, an allegation Pakistan denies. Here is how the two sides compare in military strength, from troop numbers to nuclear capability.
China’s special envoy for Afghanistan has begun visits to Kabul and Islamabad to mediate between the two countries, as cross-border clashes continue following Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan in February.
The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet were killed after it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia airport late on Sunday, in an incident that closed the airport, authorities and U.S. media said.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. was considering "winding down" its military operation against Iran, as Iran and Israel traded attacks on Saturday (21 March) and Iranian media said the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz had been attacked.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that American forces could target Iranian power plants if the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and Iran, in return, warned that any attack on its energy infrastructure would trigger strikes on regional facilities.
Iran has launched long-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards the joint U.S.-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, in what Israeli officials said was a major escalation in the war.
A British nuclear-powered submarine armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles has reportedly taken up position in the Arabian Sea, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday (21 March). The deployment gives the UK the ability to carry out long-range strikes if tensions in the Gulf escalate.
Israel said on Monday its own forces had misfired artillery that killed an Israeli farmer near the Lebanese frontier, the first Israeli civilian killed in a border conflict being waged in parallel with the war in Iran.
In a metro station in downtown Tehran, pictures of Iranian school children alleged to have been killed by U.S.-Israel attacks are being displayed along the walls.
Iran warned it would strike energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to attack its electricity grid, raising fears of mass disruption in a region heavily dependent on desalination for drinking water.
The International Energy Agency is consulting with governments in Asia and Europe on the release of more stockpiled oil "if necessary" due to the Iran war, Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday.
Georgia bid farewell to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II on Sunday (22 March). He was considered one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the country’s modern history.
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