- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rejects US claims that its missile programme has been destroyed, says it is deploying projectiles in greater numbers, and with warheads weighing more than 1 tonne.
- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says Tuesday will be the most intense days of strikes against Iran since the start of the war.
- Iran continues its counterattacks on Israel and US assets in the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. One person was killed in Manama, and two were killed in central Israel.
- Tehran has experienced “some of the most intense bombardment” of the war overnight, our correspondent says, with at least 40 people killed near the city’s Risalat Square.
- Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade fire as the death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon nears 500 people.Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.
US has not escorted oil tanker through Strait of Hormuz, White House confirms
We’ve heard US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt address a now-deleted social media post from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
The post said the US Navy had “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz”.
When asked about this, Leavitt says the Navy has not escorted a tanker through the strait, and that she’s yet to speak to Wright about his post.
She defers any further questions to the energy department.
- For context: The passage of ships through the strait – the world’s busiest oil shipping canal – has been severely disrupted amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Around 140 people in US military injured, eight severely – Pentagon
Away from the White House briefing, the Pentagon’s just released a statement, saying around 140 US service members have been wounded since the beginning of the Iran war on 28 February.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell says “the vast majority of these injuries have been minor”, and 108 service members have already returned to duty.
“Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care.”
Iranian Red Crescent Society tells of damage to civilian infrastructure, including schools and medical centres
In Iran, more than 19,000 civilian “units” have been damaged since the start of the war, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society tells multiple media outlets, including US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
More than 16,000 of those “units” are residential and more than 3,000 are commercial, the agency says.
Among the damaged facilities are 77 pharmaceutical and medical centres, as well as 69 schools, it adds.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US would investigate allegations of civilian casualties in Iran. “No nation takes more precautions to ensure there’s never targeting of civilians than the United States of America,” he added.
Oil price drops sharply to $82 a barrel
The cost of a barrel of Brent crude oil has dropped sharply in the last hour after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted on X that the US had successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Straights of Hormuz.
Oil fell from a high of $94 a barrel earlier on Tuesday, to then hit $82 a barrel at 17:30 GMT.
Wright’s post on X has since disappeared.
It had said: “President Trump is maintaining stability of global energy during the military operations against Iran.
“The U.S. Navy successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”
US special envoy: Iranian effort to terrorise Middle East having opposite effect
Steve Witkoff says Donald Trump is open to communication with Iran, but there is no indication of a diplomatic solution.
Speaking to CNBC, the US special envoy says the “Iranian effort to terrorise the area is having the opposite effect”, and is instead “bringing people together” in the region.
He adds that multiple countries have reached out to the US “who want to be a part of the Abraham Peace Accords“.
Witkoff also spoke about Trump’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. He says Putin told Trump Russia had not been sharing intelligence with the Iranians about US assets.
New Iranian missiles launched at Israel, IDF says
The Israeli military reports that missiles headed for its borders were launched by Iran a short time ago.
In a post on social media, the Israel Defense Forces says it’s working to intercept the threat, as well as notifying people through mobile phone alerts in the areas that may be impacted.
“Upon receiving an alert, the public is instructed to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice,” the post says.
‘Be careful so that you won’t get eliminated’, Iranian security official tells Trump
Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, has been responding to the US in a series of posts on X.
He says that Iran is not scared of Trump’s “worthless threats”, adding that “even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iranian nation”.
“Be careful, so that you won’t get eliminated,” he concludes.
It comes after the US president warned on TruthSocial that Iran would be hit “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is stopped.
US and Iran trade threats as Hegseth promises ‘most intense’ day of strikes so far
The US says it will ramp up strikes against Iran, as attacks continue across the Middle East. Here’s what you need to know:
- A top Iranian security official has threatened Donald Trump to be careful “so that you won’t get eliminated” after the US president warned against stopping the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz – as oil prices fall from their Monday peak of almost $120 a barrel
- US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says today will be the “most intense” day of US strikes on Iran so far, with “the most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes”
- A mother in the Iranian city of Karaj described feeling the “shadow of death” after a strike hit close to her home
- Our Middle East correspondent reports that in northern Israel there have been at least 30 warnings of incoming missiles and drones today as millions of people in parts of the country rush for shelter. Qatar and the UAE have also reported fresh attacks
- Earlier, the UK Ministry of Defence announced it was preparing another warship for possible deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean as HMS Dragon prepares to leave Portsmouth within days
Wall Street opens flat
The US stock market is flat this morning, as concerns about the situation in Iran persist.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were down about 0.3% in early trade, while the Nasdaq was flat.
As a major producer of oil and gas, the US is less exposed to economic risks from the jump in oil prices sparked by the US-Israeli war.
Its shares have been less impacted than those in regions that rely more heavily on energy imports.
UAE air defences deal with nine ballistic missiles and 35 drones today – MOD
United Arab Emirates air defences have detected nine ballistic missiles today, destroying eight while one fell in the sea, the nation’s Ministry of Defence has said.
An additional 35 drones were detected, 26 of which were intercepted while nine fell in UAE territory.
According to the MOD’s post on X, this brings the total of Iranian weaponry directed at the UAE to 262 ballistic missiles (241 of these destroyed) and 1,475 drones (1,385 of these intercepted).
The attacks have resulted in six deaths, of Emirati, Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationalities.
“The Ministry of Defense affirms that it is on high alert and readiness to deal with any threats and to firmly counter all that targets the destabilization of the state’s security, ensuring the preservation of its sovereignty, security, and stability, and protecting its interests and national capabilities,” the MOD said.
Iran war offers a boon to Russia’s war economy
The ongoing crisis in the Middle East is allowing Russia to make more money out of oil and gas exports, analysts say.
Russia is benefiting from the disruption of the global oil supply and the resulting higher energy prices, as well as from the easing of sanctions on Russian oil.
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air think tank (CREA), a week after Israeli-US airstrikes on Iran started on 28 February, Russia’s average daily fossil fuel export earnings have totalled an estimated €510m (£441m) per day, 14% more than February’s daily average.
CREA’s Vaibhav Raghunandan says the figure is only likely to rise, undoing the recent damage to Vladimir Putin’s war economy caused by sanctions imposed over his invasion of Ukraine.
“There’s a huge amount of sudden gains over the past week, and they’ll only increase as time goes by. The longer this crisis continues, the better it is for Russia,” Raghunandan said.
“It’s a bit of a gut punch for, I would say, Ukrainian support, simply because this is a huge huge oxygen boost for Russia,” he said.
Currently, oil and gas account for about a quarter of Russia’s state revenue, according to CREA.
HMS Dragon leaves Portsmouth and heads to Cyprus
British warship HMS Dragon has left Portsmouth and is heading to Cyprus.
UK PM Keir Starmer confirmed a week ago that the Type 45 Destroyer would be deployed to the Mediterranean region, after a drone struck the runway at the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, causing what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) described as “minimal damage”.
The Royal Navy has no major warship in the Mediterranean region.
Trump administration facing growing pressure from base to end war as consequences bite
The Trump administration is still trying to figure out a reason for the American people to support this conflict.
We heard Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth saying it was because Iran had produced IEDs that wounded American soldiers during the Iraq war. That doesn’t seem to be resonating with the American people.
The main concern is how long this is going to last. With the last seven countries the US bombed, there were very little consequences for the American people.
But this time, they are seeing the increase at the gas pump, it’s risen dramatically. We’re now starting to hear that fertiliser for farmers is going to be greatly impacted because a lot of it comes out of that region, and it’s planting season.
The American people have sent a message that they do not support this military action. The Pentagon is trying to send a message now that this is not going to be like Iraq or Afghanistan, as the Trump administration faces growing pressure from its base to bring this to an end.
‘Life has to go on,’ Tehran shopkeeper says as strikes on Iran intensify
“The Bazaar has been closed since last Saturday [when the strikes started]. We’ve only been back at work for about two or three days now”, a Tehran shopkeeper, identified as Mr Ghasemi, told the Reuters news agency.
“For the past two or three days, we’ve been coming back to work in the Bazaar. Compared to the first day, the number of customers and the foot traffic have increased a bit. God willing, it will return to normal soon, but compared to before, it has changed a lot. Our sales and the number of customers have both changed a lot”, he said.
“In the end, life has to go on. Even in wartime conditions. We experienced the eight-year war [with Iraq in the 1980s] as well, so we are fully familiar with these conditions. It doesn’t affect us very much, but what is very important for us is that work gets back to normal”, Ghasemi said.
British Airways cancels more Middle East flights
British Airways has cancelled more flights to the Middle East.
BA said flights to Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Tel Aviv have been cancelled up to and including 28 March.
Abu Dhabi will not restart until October, as this is only a winter route for BA.
The airline said the update was to give more certainty to passengers.
BA still has two more repatriation flights from Oman to the UK this week, with tickets still on sale. The airline continues to operate a reduced service to Larnaca, Cyprus.