Israel warned Friday it will expand its attacks on Iran as Tehran kept firing missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab nations. The U.S. military also continued striking Iran, while President Donald Trump delayed his threat to obliterate Iran’s energy plants over its effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel has moved thousands of troops across the border into Lebanon, where Israeli officials said they want to take control of the entire area south of the Litani River — some 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) north of the border.
Facing a convulsing stock market, Trump on Thursday extended a deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz until April 6, saying Iran asked for the grace period and that talks were going “very well,” despite the fact Iran continues to publicly insist it is not negotiating with the White House on a 15-point proposal to end the conflict.
The war has killed more than 1,900 people in Iran and nearly 1,100 in Lebanon. Eighteen people have died in Israel, while four Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. Thirteen U.S. military members have died, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.
Here is the latest:
Iran formalizing its chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz
Iran appears to be setting itself up as the gatekeeper for the Strait of Hormuz. The move could cement Tehran’s de facto chokehold over the crucial waterway and formalize its ability to keep its own oil flowing to China.
Iranian communications to the U.N. maritime authority and the experience of ships transiting the strait suggest the creation of something akin to a “toll booth.” Ships must enter Iranian waters and be vetted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. At least two vessels paid for passage using Chinese currency.
Iranian news agencies quoted a lawmaker as saying “parliament is pursuing a plan to formally codify Iran’s sovereignty, control and oversight over the Strait of Hormuz, while also creating a source of revenue through the collection of fees.”
Traffic through the strait has fallen by 90%, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and inflicting alarming shortages on Asian nations in particular.
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Markets point lower and crude prices jump following worst day on Wall Street since Iran war began
Wall Street lurched lower in premarket trading and oil prices rose another 2% as Israel launched a new wave of attacks on Iran and Trump extended his deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.3% early Friday, adding to the 1.7% decline a day earlier. The index is headed for a fifth straight losing week, which would be the longest such losing streak in almost four years.
Futures for the Dow and Nasdaq also fell. Unlike the rally earlier this week, markets appeared skeptical of Trump’s latest claim that talks with Iran were going “very well.”
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Israel strikes with what appears to be white phosphorous near Lebanese city of Tyre
Associated Press journalists in the area saw the smoke plumes resembling the controversial substance, which is banned under international law when used in civilian areas.
“This image clearly shows the use of artillery-delivered white phosphorus being dispersed over a wide area,” said Rich Weir, Senior Advisor at Human Right Watch’s Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division. “While the legality of its use here is difficult to ascertain without more information, it’s incendiary effects can can cause devastating injuries.”
Weir said the rights group has documented Israel using the substance “repeatedly unlawfully” in populated areas in Lebanon in other instances.
Israel has maintained that it has used the substance as a smokescreen or to light up areas in line with international law.
Gaza hosts first running event since the war
Wearing white numbered shirts, athletes ran through the streets of Gaza on Friday in the first “marathon” in more than two years. Organized by the Emirati group Al Fares Al Shahm, the race had some 300 participants from across the enclave, running 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to the backdrop of cheering fans.
“It was a wonderful feeling today, after a break from sports for more than two years,” said Mahmoud Abu Sbeitan, a participant.
Salah al-Din street — where the race was run — was once difficult to walk on, said Kamel Khatib, another runner. “But today we are participating in a marathon and this is a very wonderful feeling.”
ASEAN shifts most meetings online as oil prices surge
The Philippines will shift online about 650 meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, including by its foreign ministers, in a drastic move to save money as a result of the crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., this year’s ASEAN chair, said only an annual summit hosted by the Philippines in May will be done face-to-face but even that will be stripped of the pomp and pageantry in “a very bare-bones summit.”
“ASEAN meetings cannot be impervious to the complex adversities that the bloc has to overcome,” Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said.
Israel warns attacks on Iran will expand
Defense Minister Israel Katz made the comment in a statement noting that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “warned the Iranian terrorist regime to stop firing missiles at the civilian population in Israel.”
“Despite the warnings, the firing continues — and therefore (Israeli military) attacks in Iran will escalate and expand to additional targets and areas that assist the regime in building and operating weapons against Israeli citizens,” Katz said.
“They will pay heavy, increasing prices for this war crime.”
Israel said a third Iranian missile barrage targeted the country on Friday.
More Iranian missiles headed toward Israel
For the second time on Friday Israel’s military said it identified missiles being launched from Iran toward the country.
Lebanon says 2 were killed in Israeli strike on a Beirut suburb
The Health Ministry gave no further details on the early Friday strike that came without warning on the southern suburb of Tahwitat al-Ghadir.
Iran accuses US and Israel of ‘clear intent to commit genocide’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said more than 600 schools have been damaged or demolished and more than 1,000 students and teachers “martyred or wounded” in Iran during the war.
“The aggressors’ targeting pattern accompanied by their rhetoric leave little doubt as to their clear intent to commit genocide,” Araghchi said by video during an urgent debate at the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday.
The debate focused on a Feb. 28 strike at an elementary school in the southern city of Minab. More than 165 people were killed, most of them of children, according to Iranian state media. Experts says evidence suggests the blast was likely caused by U.S. airstrikes. U.S. officials have said an investigation is underway. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
An Israeli soldier and a combat officer were severely injured in Lebanon
The military said Friday the service members were evacuated to a hospital after being injured during an “operational accident” in southern Lebanon. No other details were immediately available.
France’s minister of armed forces says Middle East war ‘not ours’
Catherine Vautrin also said that France’s position is strictly defensive.
Speaking on Europe 1 and CNews on Friday as G7 foreign ministers met outside Paris in presence of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vautrin said that France’s strategy in the Middle East is based on a diplomatic approach to avoid any escalation in the region.
“The goal, I repeat, is truly to facilitate the diplomatic path,” she said. Referring to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Vautrin said “the aim is truly this diplomatic approach, which is the only one that can guarantee a return to peace. Many countries are concerned, and it is absolutely essential that we find a solution.”
UK says Iran can’t be allowed to hold global economy hostage
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for a “swift resolution” to the war in the Middle East and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers on the outskirts of Paris, Cooper said Iran is undermining the global economy by blocking international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important waterway for oil shipments. “Frankly, Iran cannot be allowed to hold the global economy hostage as a result of a strait that is vital to international shipping routes and the freedom of navigation,” she said.
Ukraine’s leader talks drone defense on Saudi visit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country and Saudi Arabia have made “an important arrangement” on defense cooperation.
Zelenskyy, on a visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday, said on social media that the document “lays the foundation for future contracts, technological cooperation, and investment.” He provided no details.
Ukrainian experts in drone combat, with experience of more than four years fighting Iranian drones used during Russia’s invasion, are helping five Middle East and Gulf countries to counter attacks, according to Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader said he would meet later in the day with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Egypt warns Rubio of economic repercussions
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio “emphasized the importance of providing economic support” to Egypt as his country grapples with the economic crisis triggered by the war.
Egypt has started implementing fuel hikes and restrictions, and the government has reduced official overseas trips.
Saudi Arabia says Iran launched 6 missiles toward Riyadh
Of the six missiles, four fell into the Persian Gulf and on uninhabited areas, while two others were intercepted, the kingdom said.
82,000 civilian buildings have been damaged in Iran, UN says
Attacks on Iran have damaged 82,000 civilian buildings, including hospitals, residential units and the homes of 180,000 people, across 20 of Iran’s 32 provinces, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.
Kuwait says a second port attacked
A second Iranian attack on a port in Kuwait on Friday targeted a facility under construction as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the oil-rich nation.
Kuwait said Mubarak Al Kabeer Port came under attack by drones and cruise missiles. It said there was “material damage” there, but no injuries. The attack appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the Gulf Arab states has come under assault. China has continued to purchase Iranian crude oil during the war.
Marco Rubio tries to sell Iran war to skeptical G7 diplomats
The U.S. secretary of state is in France meeting his Group of Seven counterparts Friday, after Trump criticized NATO countries for being reluctant or refusing outright to join the U.S. and Israel in the Iran war.
Rubio will have a hard time trying to sell the other top diplomats on the U.S. strategy for the Iran conflict, to which almost all nations have raised objections. On his arrival at the historic 12-century abbey in Vaux-de-Cerney outside of Paris, Rubio posed for a group photo with his fellow foreign ministers. None spoke.
Egyptian foreign minister talks with Turkish and Pakistani counterparts
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry says phone calls between Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Turkish and Pakistani counterparts involved “intensive efforts” to set up direct talks between the United States and Iran. It offered no other details.
Mothers of Israeli soldiers call for a stop to the war in Lebanon
In a letter Friday to the military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, mothers of soldiers called for an end to Israel's ground offensive into Lebanon.
The Parents of Combat Soldiers group includes 600 military parents. The letter said the military has been taking orders from politicians who are ready to “sacrifice” its children, and urged Zamir to focus on a political solution. “Four soldiers have already been killed in Lebanon, how many more will sacrifice their lives in vain?!” said the letter.
Norwegian aid group warns of devastating toll on Iranians
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the humanitarian organization’s workers in Iran have reported to him that “countless homes, hospitals and schools have been damaged or destroyed,” and that nearly every neighborhood in Tehran has sustained damage.
“Civilians are paying the highest price for this war — it must end” he said in a statement.
“If this war continues, we risk a far wider humanitarian disaster,” he added. “Millions could be forced to flee across borders, placing immense pressure on an already overstretched region.”
Iran launches missiles toward Israel
Israel’s military said Friday morning that Iran launched a new wave of missiles toward the country.
Why Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between US and Iran
Islamabad isn’t often called on to act as an intermediary in high-stakes diplomacy, but it’s stepped into the role this time because it has relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran and because it has a lot at stake in seeing the war resolved.
Pakistani officials have said their public peace effort follows weeks of quiet diplomacy, though they have provided few details. They have also said that Islamabad stands ready to host talks between representatives from the U.S. and Iran.
According to Pakistani officials, U.S. messages are being passed to Iran and Iranian responses relayed to Washington. They did not specify how the process is being handled or who is directly communicating with whom. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said this week that Turkey and Egypt are also working behind the scenes to bring the sides to the negotiating table.
Russia’s top diplomat denies Moscow is providing intelligence to Iran
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and Iran have a military-technical cooperation agreement, and Moscow “supplied Iran with certain types of military products.”
“But we can’t accept the accusations that we’re helping Iran with intelligence,” Lavrov said in an interview to France Television on Thursday night.
“Everyone knows” the coordinates of U.S. military bases in the region," Lavrov added. "It’s public information. I’m not surprised that Iran is attacking them.”
Saudi Arabia urges citizens to leave Lebanon immediately
The Saudi Embassy in Beirut cited “repercussions of the current events” in Lebanon in its statement Friday. The embassy added that Saudi Arabia’s travel ban to Lebanon has been in place for years.
Israel has moved thousands of troops across into Lebanon, and Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have been fighting on the ground for at least three weeks.
Missile alerts in Bahrain and Qatar
Bahrain sounded its missile alert siren late Friday morning over an incoming Iranian attack.
Qatar, which had not seen a major attack in days, also sounded its alerts Friday.
The main port in Kuwait is damaged in an attack
Kuwait said Friday its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City came under attack and sustained “material damage.” It said no one was hurt in the attack but offered no other details.
Thai cargo ship reportedly runs aground after Iran attack
A Thai-flagged cargo ship has run aground after it came under attack from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and was abandoned by its crew, Iranian media reported Friday.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the Iranian and Omani authorities were able to reach the Mayuree Naree on a rescue mission as three sailors remain unaccounted for. The ship came under attack March 11.
The semiofficial Tasnim and Fars news agencies, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported that the ship ran aground near the village of Ramchah on Qeshm Island.
New Zealand’s government unveils fuel scarcity response due to war
Finance Minister Nicola Willis outlined Friday a four-tier plan for responding to future fuel shortages, which at its most severe levels includes limits on buying gasoline and prioritizing life-preserving services.
Criteria include export restrictions and the state of domestic fuel stocks to guide movement between the four levels. Willis said the current designation is phase one, the lowest level, but it's important for New Zealanders to know what future restrictions are possible.
There are no restrictions currently enacted on gasoline use or purchasing in New Zealand.
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