Main points
- US president Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran.
- The UK ministry of defence condemned Iran’s “reckless attacks” after the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia was targeted.
- The US claims Iran’s threat to the Strait of Hormuz has been “degraded” after an underground facility was destroyed.
- Iran has launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Key reads
- Mark Weiss: From ‘winning’ the Iran war to sending more troops, Trump’s mixed messages serve a purpose
- Iran war: What can EU leaders do about rising energy prices?
- Work from home, use public transport: World’s energy watchdog advises 10 measures to combat soaring oil prices
Britain will not be using its bases in Cyprus for any offensive action in the Iran crisis, the Cypriot government spokesperson said on Saturday, citing a phone call between British prime minister Keir Starmer and Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides.
“The British prime minister reiterated ... that the security of the Republic of Cyprus is fundamental to the United Kingdom and, to that end, a decision has been taken to enhance the means contributing to the preventive measures already in place,” the spokesperson said in a written statement.
“Finally, the prime minister reiterated that the British Bases in Cyprus will not be used for any offensive military operations.”
An Iranian-type Shahed drone caused slight damage when it hit facilities at Britain’s Akrotiri airbase in southern Cyprus on March 2nd, with two others later intercepted. There have been no further known security incidents. – Reuters
Both Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman warned on Saturday that Iranian escalation against Gulf nations poses a grave threat to regional security and stability.
According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency, president El-Sissi formally rejected the ongoing Iranian strikes on Gulf states and reaffirmed Egypt’s unwavering solidarity with the kingdom in the face of these threats.
Arab league chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit also praised the recent high-level visits by both El-Sissi and King Abdullah II of Jordan to several Gulf nations. Aboul Gheit said that these diplomatic missions “reflect full Arab solidarity” during the current crisis.
Bahrain cites Patriot interception in Iranian drone incident
A Patriot air defence system was involved in the interception of an Iranian drone over a residential area of Bahrain on March 9th, Bahrain’s government said on Saturday, an incident that the US military had characterised as a direct Iranian drone strike.
At the time, Bahrain said 32 civilians had been injured, including children who required medical treatment, and the US military said an Iranian drone had struck a residential neighbourhood.
On Saturday, a government spokesperson said the kingdom had been subjected to multiple Iranian drone attacks that day, and that the interception over the Sitra district had prevented a drone strike and saved lives.
“During this incident, the Patriot air defence system intercepted an Iranian drone aerially,” they said.
“Had the Iranian drone impacted the residential area, it would have resulted in significant loss of life.”
US Central Command at the time denied reports from Russian and Iranian media that a US Patriot missile had failed to intercept an Iranian missile or drone and instead inadvertently struck a residential area.
The US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile defence system is designed to intercept missiles, drones and other aerial attacks. It has been used by the United States and Gulf Arab allies including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar to protect cities, energy infrastructure and military bases from Iranian missile and drone attacks during the Iran war. – Reuters
Iran’s president says immediate cessation of US-Israeli aggression needed to end war
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday there needs to be an “immediate cessation” of what he described as US-Israeli aggression to end the war and wider regional conflict, Iran’s embassy in India said in an X post on Saturday.
Pezeshkian spoke with India’s prime minister Narendra Modi by phone earlier in the day.
Pezeshkian told Modi that there should be guarantees to prevent a recurrence of such “aggression” in the future. He also called on the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies to play an independent role in halting aggression against Iran.
The Iranian president proposed a regional security framework comprising West Asian countries to ensure peace without foreign interference, according to the country’s embassy in India.
In a separate post on X earlier on Saturday, Modi said he condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the Middle East in the discussion with Pezeshkian.
The Indian prime minister further reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring shipping lanes remain open and secure. - Reuters
Intelligence agencies were monitoring Nowruz celebrations in Iran on Friday to see whether Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei would be seen for the first time since his father’s death, Axios reports.
His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously gave a new year’s address, and it was thought Mojtaba could do the same.
However he only issued a written statement.
It comes as it is three weeks without him being seen, since he became supreme leader. “We have no evidence that he is really the one giving orders,” a senior Israeli official told Axios. - Guardian
Hizbullah has said its fighters have clashed with Israeli forces in two border towns on Saturday.
AFP reported a Hizbullah statement that said the group had engaged in a four-hour confrontation with Israeli forces in the town of Khiam.
The statement said here had been “direct clashes with forces from the Israeli enemy army in the town of Khiam with light and medium weapons” and rockets.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, 1,001 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Hizbullah launched strikes on March 2nd in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Israel has claimed it has “significantly degraded” ballistic missile production at a factory in Tehran after it carried out air strikes overnight.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it carried out attacks in Tehran and hit “dozens” of targets.
It said the facilities were used to produce critical parts for the development of missiles.
Among the facilities hit were a components storage facility, a missile fuel plant and a production site.
The post by the IDF on Telegram said:
“The IDF will continue to expand its strikes against the regime’s weapons production facilities in order to degrade its capabilities to advance its ballistic missile program, which poses a direct threat to the State of Israel.” - Guardian
Twenty-two countries condemn Iran’s closure of Strait of Hormuz
More than 20 countries have said they would contribute to efforts ensuring safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz, saying interference with shipping and the disruption of global energy supply “constitute a threat to international peace and security”.
A joint statement signed by countries including the UK, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea, condemned Iran’s closure of the vital waterway and attacks on “unarmed commercial vessels” and civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations.
The 22 countries called on Iran to “cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping”.
“The effects of Iran’s actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable,” the statement says.
It says such interference with international shipping and the disruption of global energy supply chains “constitute a threat to international peace and security”.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.
“We welcome the International Energy Agency decision to authorise a co-ordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves. We will take other steps to stabilise energy markets, including working with certain producing nations to increase output.
“We will also work to provide support for the most affected nations, including through the United Nations and the IFIs [international financial institutions].
“Maritime security and freedom of navigation benefit all countries. We call on all states to respect international law and uphold the fundamental principles of international prosperity and security,” the statement says.
The statement has also been signed by Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Romania, Bahrain, Lithuania, Australia and United Arab Emirates.
Iran threat to Strait of Hormuz ‘degraded’ after facility targeted
Iran’s ability to “threaten freedom of navigation” along the Strait of Hormuz has been “degraded” after US forces destroyed an underground facility that “presented a risk to international shipping”.
In a video posted on X, US admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the US military’s Central Command, said US forces remain “zeroed-in on dismantling Iran’s decades-old threat to the free flow of commerce throughout the Strait of Hormuz”.
“For example, earlier this week we dropped multiple 5,000-pound bombs on an underground facility located along Iran’s coastline.
“The Iranian regime used the hardened underground facility to discreetly store anti-ship cruise missiles, mobile missile launchers and other equipment that presented a dangerous risk to international shipping.
“We not only took out the facility but also destroyed intelligence support sites and missile radar relays that were used to monitor ship movements.
“Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz is degraded as a result, and we will not stop pursuing these targets,” he said.
Over 8,000 military targets struck by US since conflict began
More than 8,000 military targets, including 130 Iranian vessels, have been struck by US forces, “constituting the largest elimination of a navy over a three-week period since World War II”.
That is according to admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the US military’s Central Command, who said Iran’s combat capability is on “a steady decline as our offensive strikes ramp up”.
Attack on Iranian nuclear facility a ‘blatant violation of international law’ - Russia’s foreign ministry
The Russian foreign ministry has condemned an attack on Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility that occurred on Saturday.
“This is a blatant violation of international law,” ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. - Reuters
Iranian gas supplies to Iraq have resumed at a rate of five million cubic metres per day, the Iraqi electricity ministry said on Saturday, according to the state news agency.
Flows had been halted after Israel attacked Iran’s main gasfield, South Pars, on Wednesday.
Iranians in Tehran celebrate Eid al-Fitr, marking end of Ramadan
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has said he spoke to Iran’s president on Saturday, during which he “condemned” attacks on critical infrastructure in the region.
Modi said such attacks “threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains”.
While speaking to Masoud Pezeshkian, Modi said he “reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure”.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran to intensify, says Israeli defence minister
Strikes by the US and Israel on Iran will intensify in the next week, Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has said.
In a statement published by AFP, Katz said there would be a significant rise in the attacks on the country.
“This week, the intensity of the strikes to be carried out by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and the US military against the Iranian terror regime and the infrastructure on which it relies will rise significantly,” he said. - Guardian
UK ministry of defence condemns ‘reckless attacks’ after joint US-UK base targeted
The UK’s ministry of defence has condemned “Iran’s reckless attacks”, after Tehran fired missiles towards a joint US-UK base in the Indian Ocean.
Two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands on Friday but neither hit, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On Saturday morning a ministry of defence spokesperson said: “Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies.
“RAF jets and other UK military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region.
“This government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.” - PA
There has been no increase in off-site radiation levels reported following an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The UN nuclear watchdog said it was informed by Iran that the facility was attacked on Saturday.
British prime minister Keir Starmer will next week convene an emergency meeting of senior ministers and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to discuss plans to help households with the soaring cost of living caused by the war in Iran, the Times reported on Saturday.
Starmer is under pressure to assist UK consumers after the US-Israeli war in Iran drove up petrol, energy and mortgage costs.
On Monday, he promised to support “working people” with cost-of-living pressures worsened by the conflict.
A spokesperson for Starmer’s office and one for the Bank of England declined to comment on the report.
Officer killed in drone strike on Iraqi intelligence headquarters
An officer was killed after a drone launched by “outlaw groups” struck near the Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad on Saturday, the national intelligence service said in a statement. - Reuters
Iraqi intelligence headquarters targeted by drone strike
Iraq’s intelligence headquarters in the country’s capital, Baghdad, has been targeted by a drone strike.
Gen Saad Maan, head of Iraq’s government security media unit, confirmed the attack in central Baghdad on Saturday morning.
In comments reported by AFP, he said a drone targeted the headquarters of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service in the Mansour district at 10am local time.
An Iraqi security official told the news agency the attack targeted a national intelligence service “telecommunications building”. It co-operates with US advisers in Iraq as part of an anti-jihadist coalition.
Iraq has been drawn into the conflict since the US and Israel attacked its neighbour, Iran, in late February. Strikes have hit Iran-backed groups, which have in turn attacked US-linked buildings or facilities in the region, including Iraq.
At least three drone attacks overnight targeted a US diplomatic and logistics hub that houses US military personnel at Baghdad International Airport, according to two security officials speaking to AFP.
On Thursday, the Pentagon said combat helicopters had carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq. - Guardian
Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility attacked, state media reports
The US and Israel launched an attack on the Natanz uranium-enrichment facility on Saturday morning, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said.
No radioactive leaks occurred and residents near the site were not at risk, Tasnim added. - Reuters
Some photos are coming in from the southern suburbs of Beirut which have been targeted in Israeli air strikes.
The Israeli military said early on Saturday it was striking Hizbullah targets after issuing an evacuation warning for seven neighbourhoods.
EU urges members to cut gas-storage targets
The EU has urged member states to lower natural gas-storage targets and start refilling reserves gradually to curb demand, as energy prices spike during the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
Energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen instructed member states to lower the filling target for their gas storage facilities to 80 per cent of capacity, 10 percentage points below the EU’s official targets “as early as possible in the filling season to provide certainty and reassurance to market participants”, the newspaper said, citing a letter.
Gas prices in Europe surged as much as 35 per cent on Thursday as Iranian and Israeli strikes targeted some of the Middle East’s most important gas infrastructure, doing damage that will likely take years to repair.
Gas storage allows Europe to meet winter heating and power demand, underpinning the region’s energy security. - Reuters
Israeli military says it is striking Hizbullah targets in Beirut
The Israeli military said early on Saturday it was striking Hizbullah targets in Beirut, after issuing an evacuation warning for seven neighbourhoods in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israel has been stepping up air strikes against Lebanon in the third week of its war with Iran-backed Hizbullah.
The Hizbullah-Israel conflict has become the deadliest spillover of the US-Israeli war on Iran since the Lebanese militant group fired at Israel in support of Tehran on March 2md, with more than 1,000 people killed in Lebanon and more than one million displaced. - Reuters
Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulates Iranian leaders
Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulated Iranian leaders on Nowruz and said Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner to Tehran, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
The extent of Moscow’s support for Iran, though, is in dispute. Some Iranian sources have said that they have had little real help from Moscow in the biggest crisis for Iran since the US-backed Shah was toppled in the 1979 revolution.
Putin sent congratulations to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on the Iranian new year, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin wished the Iranian people to overcome the harsh trials with dignity and stressed that in this difficult time Moscow remains a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran,” the Kremlin said.
Russia says the US and Israeli attacks on Iran have thrust the entire Middle East into the abyss and triggered a major global energy crisis, while describing the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “cynical” murder.
Politico reported that Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to Washington: the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence with Iran if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intelligence about Russia, but the United States rejected the idea. The Kremlin has dismissed the report as fake.
Russia was deprived of an ally when the United States toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, though Moscow has benefited from the high oil prices triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, a strategic partner.
The published strategic partnership does not contain a mutual defence clause, and Russia has repeatedly said that it does not want Iran to develop an atomic bomb, a step that Moscow fears would trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East. - Reuters
Iran attack on Indian Ocean base ‘a significant step’
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency also reported on Saturday that Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Mehr said targeting the base was a “significant step ... that shows that the range of Iran’s missiles is beyond what the enemy previously imagined”.
The reported attacks on the island mark a significant attempt by Iran to reach far beyond the Middle East and threaten US interests.
The Wall Street Journal described Diego Garcia – about 4,000km from Iran – as a crucial overseas US military staging post for operations far from home and a key airfield for the US military’s heavy bomber fleet.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said last month that Iran had deliberately limited the range of its missiles to 2,000km.
As the Guardian reported in March, Trump said he was “very disappointed” in British prime minister Keir Starmer over the UK government’s deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as a means to preserve the status of the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, which is part of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
The Chagos deal, which Trump initially supported before changing his mind, was a “very woke thing”, the US president said.
Elsewhere, Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Israel, meanwhile, after supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei claimed to have dealt a “dizzying blow” to his country’s enemies.
In response, the Israeli military launched strikes on “regime targets” in Tehran early on Saturday.
Diego Garcia ‘targeted by Iran missiles’
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and CNN reported, citing multiple US officials.
The WSJ said one of the missiles failed in flight, and a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other. Neither outlet confirmed when Iran launched the missiles. One person was killed and two others wounded after an Israeli air strike hit a house in a town in southern Lebanon early on Saturday, state media said.
Donald Trump considering ‘winding down’ war on Iran
Good morning – and welcome to our ongoing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its repercussions for the Middle East, the world and the global economy.
US president Donald Trump said on Friday he was considering “winding down” military operations against Iran, as the US temporarily eased sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to stem a global supply crisis.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the US was “getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East”.
His post was the strongest indication yet that he may be prepared to soon end hostilities that began on February 28th.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said on X shortly after Trump’s message: “The President and the Pentagon predicted it would take approximately 4-6 weeks to achieve this mission.”
Amid growing concern over oil prices and global supply shortages, the US Treasury said it was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded on to vessels. The authorisation allowed for the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil and other petroleum products loaded on to ships before March 20th and would last until April 19th, it said. – Guardian
