US-Israel-Iran War News Highlights : Trump threatens NATO over Strait of Hormuz blockade; ‘very bad future’ if allies don’t help

Kazem Jalali, the Russian ambassador to Iran, says that the perpetrator of the Minab school attack, where at least 170 people were killed, must be held accountable.

“The aggressor must be held accountable for the war it started and is obligated to compensate for all damages caused,” Jalali said, according to remarks carried by Tasmin news agency.

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US President Donald Trump is rallying allies to form a coalition to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route blocked by Iran.

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Japan has started to release oil from private-sector stockpiles to stabilize supply as the war on Iran continues to disrupts tanker traffic from the Middle East, according to the NHK broadcaster.

The fuel released amounts to 15 days of consumption, NHK reported.

“Oil-related companies in Japan hold reserves equivalent to 70 days. The government has a separate stockpile and is expected to release one month of supply later in March,” it said.

US President Donald Trump is rallying allies to form a coalition to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route blocked by Iran.

Trump mentioned he's spoken to "about seven" countries, including China, about "policing" the strait, emphasizing that nations relying on Gulf energy should help secure it. He warned that NATO faces a "very bad future" if allies don't pitch in, and might delay his Beijing summit with Xi Jinping if China doesn't assist.

An explosion has been reported in Nineveh province, northern Iraq, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. This follows an earlier air attack that wounded three people at a base belonging to the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a group with ties to Iran.

The exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who was ousted by the 1979 revolution, has called on Iranians around the world to stage protests to mark an important date in the Persian calendar before the Spring Festival later this week.

“I call on all Iranians abroad to gather on Charshanbeh Suri in front of the regime’s embassies around the world and shout with one voice: the Iranian nation will not rest until Iran is liberated and the Islamic Republic is consigned to history,” the US-based Reza Pahlavi wrote on X.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has stated that the country doesn't plan to send naval vessels to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, citing constitutional limitations. "We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships.

We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework," Takaichi told parliament.

This comes as US President Donald Trump pressures allies to help protect the vital waterway, which Iran has effectively blockaded, impacting global oil supplies.

South Korean shares are trading lower on Monday, with the benchmark KOSPI down 0.52% at 5,458.65, as uncertainty over the Middle East conflict keeps oil prices elevated.

Analyst Han Ji-young notes that hourly updates on the situation are triggering oil price volatility, which in turn affects the stock market.

President Donald Trump mentioned talks with seven countries to secure the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil prices to pare gains, with Brent crude futures at $102.90 a barrel.

Energy prices have kept near the $100 (£75.44) mark since the US bombing of Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub, though charts have been choppy in early Monday trade in Asia.

US-traded crude is down slightly by 0.6% at $98.14 a barrel, while Brent is currently priced at $103.17, largely unchanged.

Oil is still trading at prices higher than they were before the war, even after major nations under the International Energy Agency (IEA) have pledged to release 400 million barrels of reserves to keep a lid on prices.

Major Asian stock markets edged higher during early Monday trade.

South Korea's Kospi index was up by around 1%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 exchange gained by 0.2%. Both have fallen sharply since the start of the Iran war.

Israeli forces have launched two raids targeting southern Beirut's suburbs, with buildings hit in the early morning strike, according to Al Jazeera Arabic. There are no immediate reports on casualties, but the strikes have caused damage to residential areas.

Donald Trump stated that Iran is eager to negotiate, but believes they're not ready yet, saying "we're talking to them but I don't think they're ready, but they're getting pretty close". He also claimed the US has dealt significant damage to Iran, stating it would take them 10 years to rebuild if the US withdrew now.

Trump alleged that reports of support for Iran's leader and attacks on the USS Abraham Lincoln were AI-generated, without providing evidence. He described his relationship with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as "extraordinary" and predicted oil prices will drop once the conflict ends.

New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis said on Monday the country's treasury department has forecast that inflation will rise to 3.7% if the Iran war lasts through the year.

New Zealand's inflation rose 3.1% in the 12 months to the December quarter, above the central bank's ⁠target ​rate and previous forecasts.

Willis said Treasury modelling done for a "worst-case scenario" with a prolonged conflict in Iran and oil prices rising to $135 a barrel forecast inflation to rise to 3.7%.

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party said on Monday that the government will lift limits on coal-fired power generation capacity and raise nuclear power plant utilisation ⁠to ​as high as 80% as part of an energy response to the Middle East ​crisis.

Lawmakers ​in the party's ⁠Middle East crisis economic response task force said in ‌a briefing the measures are aimed at stabilising energy supply and prices as oil and gas shipments to South Korea have ⁠been ⁠blocked by tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that air raid sirens were activated in central parts of the country at around 1:30am local time due to missile fire from Iran.

The projectiles “apparently fell in an open area” and no casualties were reported, it added.

The US president has lashed out at American media over their coverage of the war on Iran, calling for treason charges against outlets that spread false information.

In a Truth Social post, Trump accused US media of being manipulated by Iran, which he claimed is using AI to disseminate disinformation

“Iran, working in close coordination with the Fake News Media, shows our great USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier, one of the largest and most prestigious Ships in the World, burning uncontrollably in the Ocean. Not only was it not burning, it was not even shot at — Iran knows better than to do that! The story was knowingly FAKE and, in a certain way, you can say that those Media Outlets that generated it should be brought up on Charges for TREASON for the dissemination of false information!” he wrote.

Australia will not send naval ships to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a government minister said on Monday.

"We won't be sending a ship to the Strait ⁠of ​Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that's not something that we've been asked or ​that we're ​contributing to," Catherine ⁠King, a member of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's cabinet, said ‌in an interview with state broadcaster ABC.

US president Donald Trump warned NATO allies that the alliance may face a “very bad future” if they don't help the United States in its war against Iran, FT reports.

The report suggested that Trump pressed partners to do more to secure regional energy routes and stabilize the situation as Washington grows frustrated with limited allied involvement.

A position belonging to the Iranian Kurdish opposition party Komala has been struck by three missiles in the Zrgwez area of Sulaimaniya in the Kurdish semi-autonomous entity of Iraqi Kurdistan, Rudaw news reports.

Ali Ranjbari, a senior member of the party, told the Rudaw news platform that the strike has caused no damage to the site.

Iranian forces have warned that logistics and support facilities linked to the US aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford deployed in the Red Sea could become military targets.

Tasnim news agency quoted a spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters as saying the carrier’s presence in the Red Sea is viewed as a threat against Iran and that service and logistics centers tied to the fleet would be considered targets by Iran’s armed forces.

An Israeli strike hit a residential building in Sidon's Sharhabil area, sparking a fire and killing at least one person, with emergency workers retrieving the body.

The Lebanese National News Agency reports the attack, amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, with multiple strikes reported across Lebanon, including in Beirut's suburbs and southern cities like Nabatieh. -Aljazeera

US President Donald Trump threatened more US strikes on Iran’s main oil export hub and called on allied countries to send warships to protect the Strait of Hormuz, as the conflict with Iran continues, according to a report by Reuters.

Speaking in an interview with NBC News, Trump said American strikes had caused heavy damage to Iran’s Kharg Island and warned that more attacks could follow.

“We may hit it a few more times just for fun,” Trump said, adding that although Tehran seemed ready to discuss an end to the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet”. Read more

Hezbollah has claimed four attacks this morning, including launching rockets at Israeli troops at Calf Hill site, north of Kfar Yuval settlement, and firing artillery at soldiers at Jibia point opposite Lebanon's Meiss el-Jabal border town.

Israel’s Channel 12 says there have been “loud explosions” in central parts of the country as air raid sirens blared across the region due to a missile attack from Iran.

The US embassy in Baghdad has issued a fresh warning for its citizens to leave Iraq immediately after a missile hit the embassy building earlier on Saturday. The embassy stated that US citizens choosing to remain in Iraq are strongly encouraged to reconsider due to the significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups.

This warning comes as Iran has launched strikes at US targets across the Middle East, prompting the US to urge its citizens to leave over a dozen countries. Additionally, the US has ordered non-emergency government employees and their relatives to leave Oman.

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix events have officially been cancelled, Formula One has announced.

They were initially scheduled for 12 April and 19 April respectively.

In a statement, Formula One says the cancellation is due to the "ongoing situation in the Middle East" and while alternatives were considered, no substitutions will be made for the races.

The cancellations mean there will be a five-week gap between the Japanese Grand Prix on 27-29 March and Miami on 1-3 May.

"The FIA will always place the safety and wellbeing of our community and colleagues first. After careful consideration, we have taken this decision with that responsibility firmly in mind," said FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Russia is supplying Iran with Shahed drones to use against the US and Israel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN in an interview excerpt aired on Saturday.

Zelenskyy told ⁠CNN's ​Fareed Zakaria that it is "100% facts" that Iran has used Russian-made Shaheds to attack ​US bases.

Shahed ​drones have been ⁠linked to other attacks on countries in the region, ‌although their manufacturers are not always clear.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it targeted Israel and three US bases in Iraq and Kuwait.

“The continuous sound of ambulance sirens” in Israel and the admissions by Israeli authorities on the “increasing number of deaths and injuries” reveal the “depth of the impact of the heavy missiles” of the IRGC in the industrial sectors of Tel Aviv, it said in a statement.

It also claimed that the Harir airbase in Iraq’s Erbil, as well as the Ali Al Salem and Arifjan bases hosting US troops in Kuwait wee “destroyed by powerful Iranian missiles and drones”.

Iran has buried Ali Shamkhani, a top defense official killed in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28. Shamkhani, 70, was a key figure in nuclear negotiations and headed Iran's Defence Council, advising late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Lebanese armed group says it fired a “large barrage of rockets” at Israeli soldiers in the Khallat al-Mahafir area near the border town of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon.

Earlier, the group claimed another attack on Israeli soldiers at the Avivim barracks. (Aljazeera)

Iran urged people Saturday to evacuate the Middle East's busiest port and two others in the United Arab Emirates, openly threatening a neighboring country's non-US assets for the first time as its war with the United States and Israel entered a third week.

Tehran said the US had used “ports, docks and hideouts” in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran's oil exports, without providing evidence.

The US State Department said ⁠on ​Saturday ​it had ​ordered ⁠non-emergency government employees and ‌the family members ⁠of ⁠government employees to ⁠leave ‌Oman, ​citing ‌safety risks ‌as ​the ​US-Israeli war ​on Iran ​continues.

The US State Department said on Saturday it has ordered non‑emergency government employees and their family members to depart Oman, citing safety risks as tensions stemming from the ongoing US‑Israeli conflict with Iran continue to escalate in the region, officials said.

A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress was seen taking off for a night mission during Operation Epic Fury, as American strikes continue, a video shared by CENTCOM on X shows.

The US military has confirmed that six service members were killed in a KC-135 refueling aircraft crash in western Iraq on Thursday.

The incident involved another aircraft, but the crash was not due to hostile or friendly fire, according to US Central Command. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed group, claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft .

The Israeli military says it has detected a new wave of Iranian missiles and that air defences are “operating to intercept the threat”.

The Home Front Command said sirens are blaring in central Israel as well as the Avivim Area of the Upper Galilee in northern Israel.

The Channel 12 broadcaster is reporting that the Israeli military has intercepted missiles launched from Iran over the central city of Eilat.

The Israeli Home Front Command said the attack has ended and those told to take shelter can exit protected areas now.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer may send thousands of interceptor ⁠drones ​to the Middle East, The Telegraph ​reported ​on Saturday.

Military ⁠officials are examining whether ‌the "Octopus" interceptor anti-drone drone system, which is manufactured ⁠in the ⁠UK for Ukraine to ⁠use ‌against ​Russia, can ‌also be used ‌to bolster ​British ​defenses ​against Iran's Shahed ​drones, the report said.

Reuters ⁠could not immediately verify ‌the ⁠report.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer may send thousands of interceptor ⁠drones ​to the Middle East, The Telegraph ​reported ​on Saturday.

Military ⁠officials are examining whether ‌the "Octopus" interceptor anti-drone drone system, which is manufactured ⁠in the ⁠UK for Ukraine to ⁠use ‌against ​Russia, can ‌also be used ‌to bolster ​British ​defenses ​against Iran's Shahed ​drones, the report said.

Reuters ⁠could not immediately verify ‌the ⁠report.

Iraq’s Justice Ministry says the surrounding areas of Baghdad International Prison and the Central Airport Prison have been subjected to repeated attacks in recent days.

Iraqi News Agency quoted ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi as saying some of the attacks occurred “very close to the prison”.

“The most severe strikes occurred on Saturday, with six strikes from 6pm until now, some close to the prison, which raises concerns regarding the potential impact on the security of the prison housing high-risk terrorist inmates,” he said.

Laibi also said “the fall of projectiles near the prison site is cause for concern regarding their potential effect on our precautionary measures and security plans for protecting the prison or damaging its infrastructure.”

Speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Saturday listed radars, batteries, tankers, bases, and drones destroyed by Iran on X, then taunted US Secretary of War "Tele-General Hegseth" to send infantry “to die for Israel.”

Switzerland’s Federal Council on Saturday rejected two overflight requests from the United States for military flights connected to the war involving Iran, while approving one maintenance flight and two transport overflights, reaffirming its neutrality and outlining criteria for future requests, the Swiss government said.

President Donald Trump said US forces on Friday "obliterated" targets on Iran's Kharg Island, which is home to the primary terminal that handles the country's oil exports. The speaker of the Iranian Parliament had warned that such strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation.

Meanwhile, an American official said 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East nearly two weeks into the war with the Islamic Republic.

Sri Lanka has repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who were killed when their frigate was sunk by a US submarine, an official said.

Last week on Wednesday, Sri Lanka said it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors after the US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle on the island's southern coast.

The ship was returning to Iran from Visakhapatnam, India, where it had participated in a naval fleet review exercise.

"Human remains were sent by the Iranian embassy on Friday - all 84", a foreign ministry spokesman said.

The Israeli military has issued an evacuation warning for a designated industrial area in Tabriz, in northwestern Iran, saying it will “conduct operations in this area in the coming hours”. The warning, issued on social media, tells citizens to “immediately evacuate”.

President Donald Trump said the US destroyed military sites on an island vital to Iran’s oil network and warned that its oil infrastructure could be next if Iran continues to interfere with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said US forces on Friday “obliterated” targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, which is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports. The speaker of the Iranian Parliament had warned that such strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation.

The Associated Press news agency is reporting that Iraqi officials say a helipad at the US embassy in Baghdad was hit by a missile.

US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One, saying the war with Iran will last "as long as it's necessary" and that Iran's military has been "decimated".

He previously stated the war would end with Iran's unconditional surrender, meaning their navy, air force, and most of their military would be "gone", putting the US in a position of dominance.

Trump also acknowledged differences in objectives with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but emphasized the unmatched power of the United States.

European leaders are criticizing the US decision to temporarily ease sanctions on Russian oil purchases.

European Council President Antonio Costa calls it "very concerning" as it impacts European security and could increase Russia's resources for its war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns the move could give Russia $10bn, undermining peace efforts.

French President Emmanuel Macron disagrees with lifting sanctions, citing the Strait of Hormuz shutdown.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz labels the decision "wrong", while Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney insists on maintaining sanctions on Russia.

A drone hit the US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, with an official confirming the attack, which comes after two Iran-backed fighters were killed in strikes on the capital. The attack is likely linked to escalating tensions between the US and Iran, with Iran-backed groups targeting US interests in the region.

About 2,500 US Marines are being deployed to the Middle East as American and Israeli strikes keep pounding Iran and the Islamic Republic keeps attacking Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure. As Iranian threats choke global oil shipments, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “we have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.