Larijani’s fate unclear as US, Israel, Iran exchange strikes amid Trump vow to reopen Strait of Hormuz

• Missile and drone attacks continue across Gulf and beyond, hitting Israel, Iran, Iraq, and UAE

• President Trump vows Strait of Hormuz will reopen ‘very soon,’ criticizing NATO for refusing to assist US operations

• US National Counterterrorism Center director resigns, calling Iran ‘no imminent threat’

• Israeli strikes reportedly kill Basij commander Soleimani as Larijani’s fate unclear

• IRGC launches 59th wave of strikes targeting Israel and US forces in Kuwait, UAE, and Iraq

• Drone activity reported in Baghdad’s Green Zone; blasts near US embassy

• Iran confirms no damage at Bushehr nuclear plant after ‘enemy projectile’ attack

 TEHRAN/WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV: Missile and drone strikes continue to rock the Gulf region and beyond as the war between the US, Israel, and Iran intensifies. The escalation simmering amid the resignation of the US National Counterterrorism Center director over the conflict and Israeli claims of killing Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, with President Donald Trump warning it won’t be “too long” before ships can move freely through the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump told reporters, “We’re knocking the hell out of the coast. It won’t be too long.” He also expressed frustration with NATO, saying, “They don’t want to help us, which is amazing, amazing,” adding that Washington “doesn’t need any help” and calling NATO’s stance “a very foolish mistake.”

Drone activity has been reported in Baghdad’s Green Zone, and blasts were heard near the US embassy in the Iraqi capital.

The director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned over the war on Iran, arguing that the country posed “no imminent threat.”

 Israel Claims Strikes on Iranian Officials

Israel’s Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced the killing of Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, while the Israeli army also claimed the killing of Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani. Tehran has not confirmed Larijani’s status, while the IRGC has confirmed Soleimani’s death.

سردار غلامرضا سلیمانی، رئیس سازمان بسیج مستضعفین به شهادت رسید pic.twitter.com/ewwS93Zqis

— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) March 17, 2026

SEE: US Central Command continues flight operations in Iran

U.S. Navy aviators have flown hundreds of combat flights during Operation Epic Fury, demonstrating America's unmatched ability to generate air dominance from the sea. pic.twitter.com/oaPc3AJiEr

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 17, 2026

Israeli airstrikes also hit three neighbourhoods in Beirut, and the Israeli army said it launched new attacks on Tehran.

 

IRGC’s 59th Wave of Strikes

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported completing its 59th round of strikes, beginning at dawn Tuesday. Targets included Beit Shemesh, Tel Aviv, and occupied Jerusalem in Israel, as well as US forces at Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Air Base, the UAE’s Fujairah, and Erbil in Iraq, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency. The IRGC stated that these operations aim to ensure “the backbone of arrogance will be broken in the streets and squares.”

 

Iran’s Response and Larijani’s Fate

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the killing of individual officials “won’t really shake the system,” stressing that Iran’s governance is built on institutions rather than individuals. Meanwhile, Israel’s military confirmed that Ali Larijani was targeted, but his status remains unclear. If killed, he would be the most senior Iranian official killed since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died on the first day of the war.

Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator and close ally of Khamenei, was seen in Tehran last Friday participating in Quds Day rallies. The US previously offered a $10 million reward for information on senior Iranian military and intelligence officials, including Larijani.

 

Bushehr Nuclear Facility Hit

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization reported that an “enemy projectile” hit near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran. No human, technical, or financial damage was reported.

مرکز نظام ایمنی هسته‌ای کشور: حوالی ساعت 19 یک پرتابه دشمن به محوطه نیروگاه اتمی‌ بوشهر اصابت کرد که هیچگونه خسارت مالی، فنی و جانی برجای نگذاشته و آسیبی به هیچکدام از بخش‌های نیروگاه وارد نشده است.

— خبرگزاری میزان (@MizanNewsAgency) March 17, 2026

The agency condemned the attack, warning it violated international norms on nuclear facility immunity and could have “irreparable consequences for the region, including Persian Gulf countries.” Bushehr, Iran’s first nuclear power plant, began operations in 2011.

 Trump Signals Continued US Presence

President Trump said Washington is not yet ready to end military operations in Iran but expects to leave “in pretty much the very near future.” Addressing NATO’s refusal to aid in securing the Strait of Hormuz, Trump again called their stance “a very foolish mistake,” despite asserting that the US “doesn’t need any help.”

On France’s refusal to join military operations, Trump remarked, “He’ll be out of office very soon, so let’s see,” referring to French President Emmanuel Macron.

 

France will never take part in operations to unblock Hormuz Strait amid hostilities, says Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron says France will never take part in operations to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, and that Paris is carrying on with work to prepare a coalition that can provide freedom of navigation once hostilities end, AFP reports.

“We are not party to the conflict and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” Macron has said at the start of a cabinet meeting to discuss the conflicts in the Middle East.

“However, we are convinced that once the situation becomes calmer … we are ready, alongside other nations, to take responsibility for an escort system.”

Trump assails allies for refusing to join Iran operations, says US no longer ‘needs’ Nato assistance

US President Donald Trump has castigated Nato members and other allied nations for refusing to participate in military operations against Iran.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump lamented that allies are not getting involved even though other nations “strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a nuclear weapon”.

pic.twitter.com/Qna3VG5CKU

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 17, 2026

“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered Nato, where we spend hundreds of billions of dollars per year protecting these same countries, to be a one-way street — we will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” the US president has said.

Trump reiterated his claim that US forces “decimated” Iran’s navy and air force and destroyed their anti-aircraft and radar, along with making sure that Iranian leaders “at virtually every level, are gone”, no longer posing a threat to Middle Eastern allies, or the world.

“Because of the fact that we have had such military success, we no longer ‘need’, or desire, the Nato Countries’ assistance — we never did! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” Trump said.

Calling the US “by far the most powerful country anywhere in the world”, he added that Washington does not need the help of anyone.

 

Here’s more from Joe Kent’s resignation letter over the war on Iran

In his letter to US President Donald Trump resigning as director of the US’s National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent said he supported “the values and the foreign policies” Trump had campaigned on in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and which he said he had enacted in his first term.

Kent said that in his first term, Trump had “understood better than any modern president how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars”.

The #UnitedStates authorities are repeating a “big lie”—namely, “#Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon”—to justify their illegal war against Iran.

The world, the American people, the region, Europe, and the broader international community must recognize that this is a brutal,… pic.twitter.com/0fiu5IYlPI

— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) March 17, 2026

But early in his second term, he said, “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran”.

“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that you should strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory,” he added.

“This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war.”

 

Iranian official says Strait of Hormuz won’t return to pre-war status

In a brief post on X, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote in English that “the Strait of Hormuz situation won’t return to its pre-war status”.

The speaker did not elaborate further.

The Strait of Hormuz situation won't return to its pre-war status.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 17, 2026

US President Donald Trump had previously encouraged other countries to send their navies to secure the waterway.

 

UN says Israel may be committing war crimes in southern Lebanon

Israel has renewed forced evacuation orders for much of southern Lebanon, comprising about 14 percent of Lebanese territory, to the north of the Litani River.

Furthermore, at least 886 people have been killed since March 2, including a Lebanese soldier who died of his wounds and four others who were injured by Israeli shelling.

Israel says it’s not targeting Lebanese soldiers as its fight isn’t with them, but with Hezbollah. However, it says that Lebanon is an active combat zone, so these kinds of casualties are to be expected.

Finally, the UN Human Rights Office says that killing healthcare workers and air strikes on the displaced could amount to war crimes under international law. It cites a couple of examples, including one overnight air strike on March 12 on the Beirut seafront that killed 12 people who had been camping there after being displaced from elsewhere in Beirut.

 

 Rocket, drone attacks resume on US embassy and diplomatic facility in Baghdad

Rocket and drone attacks on the US embassy and a diplomatic facility in Iraq have resumed after a series of strikes earlier today, Al Jazeera reports citing security sources.

Rockets and an explosive drone targeted the embassy in Baghdad, triggering sirens, and an explosion was heard near the compound.

At least three explosive drones also targeted a US diplomatic facility near Baghdad International Airport, activating the counter-rocket artillery and mortar (C-RAM) air defence systems, the sources added.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

 

Kataeb Hezbollah demands every ‘foreign soldier’ leave Iraq

The Kataeb Hezbollah group in Iraq has demanded that every “foreign soldier” leave the country, AFP reports citing a statement from its security chief.

“Iraq’s instability is due to the malicious American presence, and security will not be achieved until the last foreign soldier leaves Iraqi territory,” the group’s new security chief, Abou Moujahed al-Assaf, has said.

 

 

IRGC warns of ‘bloodlust’ after Soleimani’s killing

We have more from the IRGC’s statement about the killing of Basij force commander Gholamreza Soleimani.

“We warn the evil and terrorist murderers of this high-ranking martyr that the Basij will never abandon the bloodlust of the martyred leader, martyred commanders, and various members of the people’s martyrs,” the IRGC said.

سردار غلامرضا سلیمانی، رئیس سازمان بسیج مستضعفین به شهادت رسید pic.twitter.com/ewwS93Zqis

— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) March 17, 2026

Instead, their deaths will “double the will of the heroic Iranian nation and all the Basij fighters to continue the path of resistance”, the group concluded.

 

Head of Iran’s Basij force killed in US-Israeli strike: local media

Iran’s Fars news agency reports that Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary force, has been killed in a US-Israeli strike.

“This cowardly assassination reflects the importance and role of the Basij in the comprehensive battlefield against the terrorist army of the United States and the Zionist regime and their mercenaries, especially in the recent war,” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said in a statement.

 

Iran’s FM applauds resignation of top US counterterror official

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reacted to the resignation of the director of the US’s National Counterterrorism Centre Joe Kent.

Araghchi reposted Kent’s resignation letter, writing that “a rising number of voices”, including European and US officials, “exclaim that the war on Iran is unjust”.

“More members of the international community should follow suit,” he added. The “wave of global repercussions has only begun and will hit all – regardless of wealth, faith, or race. Our foe is one.”

 

 Saudi Arabia intercepts seven drones in eastern region: defence ministry

Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has said that seven drones were intercepted and destroyed over the country’s eastern region over the past few hours.

المتحدث الرسمي لـ #وزارة_الدفاع: اعتراض وتدمير 7 مسيّرات خلال الساعات الماضية في المنطقة الشرقية. pic.twitter.com/IMHev6t5tA

— وزارة الدفاع (@modgovksa) March 17, 2026

 

Trump says he thought Europe would have sent minesweepers to Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump has told reporters that he thought Europe would have sent minesweepers to assist Washington in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that it was “not a big deal” but “unfair” to the United States, Reuters reports.

 

Trump says Britain’s Starmer made ‘big mistake’ not supporting US

US President Donald Trump has said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made the wrong choice in not supporting Washington over the war in the Middle East, AFP reports.

“He hasn’t been supportive, and I think it’s a big mistake,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I’m disappointed with Keir — I like him, I think he’s a nice man, but I’m disappointed.”

US President Donald Trump has said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made the wrong choice in not supporting Washington over the war in the Middle East, AFP reports.

“He hasn’t been supportive, and I think it’s a big mistake,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I’m disappointed with Keir — I like him, I think he’s a nice man, but I’m disappointed.”

 

 White House official rails against outgoing national counterterrorism chief

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has assailed outgoing US national counterterrorism chief Joe Kent, who resigned earlier today over his opposition to the war in Iran.

“There are many false claims in this letter, but let me address one specifically: that ‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,’” Leavitt has said on X, referring to Kent’s resignation letter.

There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation."

This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.

As President Trump has clearly and… https://t.co/AC8M5L8lye

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 17, 2026

She noted that this was the “same false claim” repeated by “Democrats and some in the liberal media”.

“As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,” Leavitt added.

“This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.”

Calling Tehran the “number one state sponsor of terrorism”, Leavitt has alleged that Iran “proudly killed Americans” and openly threatened Washington until the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

“Iran was aggressively expanding their short-range ballistic missiles to combine with their naval assets to give themselves immunity – meaning they would have a degree of a capabilities [sic] that would give them immunity to hold us and the rest of the world hostage,” Leavitt added.

 

 Why Israel is framing Larijani’s assassination as a victory

The Israeli prime minister has said that Israel has a historic opportunity to achieve what it wants, and that is to end the Islamic Republic of Iran, not just to assassinate its most senior leaders.

Of course, Ali Larijani himself had been described in Israeli commentary over the past week or so as the most “dangerous mind” in Iran.

That tells you a lot, because Israel understood that Larijani would be critical if a deal is to be reached to end this war – and that is not the scenario that the Israeli prime minister and his government are looking for.

They’re looking to serve that end goal of ending the Islamic Republic, in the window that is provided to them by the US president.

They’re afraid of anything that might expedite Trump’s decision to end the war – and hence that assassination is framed as a victory.

 

Ballistic missile intercepted over Al-Kharj: Saudi defence ministry

The Saudi defence ministry has said that a ballistic missile was intercepted and destroyed over the Al-Kharj governorate.

المتحدث الرسمي لـ #وزارة_الدفاع: اعتراض وتدمير صاروخ باليستي أُطلق باتجاه محافظة الخرج. pic.twitter.com/RsSWpuCS9Z

— وزارة الدفاع (@modgovksa) March 17, 2026

 

Iran’s FM urges international community to speak out against US-Israeli offensive

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has encouraged the international community to raise their voices against US-Israeli strikes on Iran, after a top US counterterrorism official resigned in protest of the war.

“A rising number of voices — including European and US officials — exclaim that the war on Iran is unjust. More members of the international community should follow suit,” Araghchi has said on X.

A rising number of voices—incl European and U.S. officials—exclaim that the war on Iran is unjust. More members of the international community should follow suit.

Wave of global repercussions has only begun and will hit all—regardless of wealth, faith, or race. Our foe is one. pic.twitter.com/sZGHyvv6v8

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 17, 2026

Araghchi has also warned that the “wave of global repercussions has only begun and will hit all — regardless of wealth, faith, or race”.

“Our foe is one,” he has stated.

 

 German foreign minister says unrealistic to expect controlled regime change in Iran

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says it is not realistic to expect controlled regime change in Iran and adds that the war cannot have only a military solution, Reuters reports.

“There will be no military solution. And to have a controlled regime change, is, I would say, a hypothetical idea, which is not realistic,” he has said, speaking alongside his French counterpart in Berlin at an event hosted by the ZEIT media group.

“So chaos in Iran, as bad as the regime is, is also not in our interest and not in the interest of the region and, of course, in the interest of the people living in Iran.”

 

 Kuwait intercepts 2 ballistic missiles, 13 drones during past 24 hours

Kuwait’s air defence system has detected and intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones within the country’s airspace during the past 24 hours, a statement by the defence ministry’s spokesperson on X has said.

بيان رقم (33)

صادر عن المتحدث الرسمي لوزارة الدفاع
العقيد الركن سعود عبدالعزيز العطوان

رصدت منظومة الدفاع الجوي خلال الـ (24) ساعة الماضية عدد (2) صاروخ باليستي معادٍ، وعدد (13) طائرة مسيّرة معادية داخل المجال الجوي الكويتي، وقد تم التعامل معها واعتراضها، مع تسجيل إصابتين… pic.twitter.com/0wdC7UY0Jp

— KUWAIT ARMY - الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) March 17, 2026

It adds that two minor injuries have been recorded as a result of falling debris. Both individuals are in stable condition, and no significant material damage has been reported.

 

US to partner with Venezuela, Morocco on supply chain resilience

When asked by Al Jazeera about how the Trump administration plans to deal with ongoing economic challenges such as rising food and petrol prices, presidential aide Kush Desai says that Trump is “working very closely” with countries including Venezuela and Morocco to “shore up production of certain fertiliser inputs, to make sure that our supply chains are resilient”.

“The president has a lot of tools in his tool belt to deal with these disruptions, and we’re seeing the administration take a very robust, very nimble and very multifaceted approach to deal with these issues,” he has said.

 

Iraq’s president urges finding a way to resume oil exports

The Iraqi president is pushing for cooperation between the federal government and Kurdish leaders to restart crude oil exports, Al Jazeera reports.

“Finding a way to export Iraqi oil is an important matter that serves the country’s best interests,” the president’s office has said in a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency.

 

White House ‘very confident’ in Iran military resolution: Trump aide

Al Jazeera is speaking with Kush Desai, special assistant to US President Donald Trump and senior deputy press secretary at the White House.

Pir Hossein Kolivand, President of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, said that the IRCS psychosocial support teams are working at full potential to help people feel safer and foster greater empathy and solidarity during the war. https://t.co/FNWL12ltJh pic.twitter.com/WI8tuCG8o7

— جمعیت هلال‌احمر ایران (@Iranian_RCS) March 17, 2026

“We’re very confident we’re going to see a military resolution here in a four to six week timeline”, Desai says, claiming the US has made “astonishing” progress in Iran.

Trump is “working on a plan” to mitigate economic impacts, Desai added, including providing political risk insurance so that cargo ships can begin moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

 

 UAE could join international effort led by US to secure Strait of Hormuz, says adviser

A diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, Anwar Gargash, says his country could join an international effort led by the US to ensure the safety and security of the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Speaking in an online event organised by the Council on Foreign Relations, an American-based think tank, Gargash has said that the UAE does not currently have active talks with Iran.

 

Saudi interior minister, Omani counterpart discuss recent developments

Saudi Interior Minister Abdulaziz bin Saud has discussed recent developments and attacks on the Gulf countries and the region in a call with his Omani counterpart Hamoud bin Faisal Al Busaidi.

“I affirmed to His Excellency that the Kingdom stands by the sisterly Sultanate of Oman in everything that ensures its security, stability and the safety of its citizens and residents,” the Saudi interior minister said on X.

أجريت اتصالاً هاتفياً بأخي معالي السيد حمود بن فيصل البوسعيدي وزير الداخلية في سلطنة عُمان، تناولنا خلاله المستجدات مع استمرار الاعتداءات الإيرانية الغاشمة على دول الخليج والمنطقة، وأكدت لمعاليه وقوف المملكة إلى جانب سلطنة عمان الشقيقة في كل ما يحقق أمنها واستقرارها وسلامة…

— عبدالعزيز بن سعود بن نايف Abdulaziz bin Saud (@AbdulazizSNA) March 17, 2026

 Israel has won war with Iran but goals remain unmet: foreign minister

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says Tel Aviv has effectively won its war with Iran, but has not indicated when the conflict might end, saying only that the campaign would continue until its objectives were achieved, Reuters reports.

Speaking at a news conference, Saar said Israel was seeking to remove “existential threats”, but did not say how the government would determine when those goals had been met.

“One must be patient,” he said, speaking on the 18th day of a war that has killed more than 2,000 people, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, but also in Israel, Iraq and across the Gulf.

 

 ‘He is right’: US senator agrees with US counterterrorism chief’s decision to step down over Middle East war

US Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders says he agrees with Joe Kent’s decision to resign as Washington’s national counterterrorism chief over the Iran war.

“Kent and I don’t agree on much, but he is right: ‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,’” Sanders has written on X.

Joseph Kent, a top counterterrorism official under Trump, just resigned.

Kent and I don't agree on much, but he is right:

"Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 17, 2026

  Turkiye calls Israel’s killings of Iran leaders ‘illegal’

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has lashed out at Israel after it claimed to have killed Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani, denouncing its targeting of Tehran’s leaders as “illegal”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Israel’s political assassinations, especially those targeting Iranian statesmen and politicians, are truly illegal activities outside the normal laws of war,” Fidan has told a news conference.

Larijani’s death has not been confirmed by Iran.

LIVE: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand hold joint press conference after meeting in Ankara https://t.co/fSb7jiXJo9

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) March 17, 2026

If the Middle East war spreads, it could create a “permanent” refugee crisis, Turkiye’s top diplomat has warned, as Lebanon said Israel’s bombardment had displaced over a million people, according to AFP.

“If the war … spreads, there is a possibility this will turn into a permanent refugee crisis with refugees seeking shelter outside the borders of their countries,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has told a news conference.

“This needs to stop as soon as possible.”

 

 Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon rises to 912: health ministry

Since March 2, Israeli attacks have killed 912 people in Lebanon and wounded 2,221 more, the country’s Ministry of Public Health has said in its latest update, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera adds that the toll stood at 886 a day prior.

 

Israel claims to ‘eliminate’ Hezbollah members, infrastructure across Lebanon

The Israeli military says it has carried out another wave of attacks against alleged Hezbollah members and infrastructure over the past day.

In a statement on Telegram, the army said it struck fighters and equipment, including a launcher in the Deir ez-Zahrani area of Nabatieh governorate and a logistics building in Beirut.

The statement also claimed Israeli forces “eliminated” Hezbollah members across southern Lebanon, but did not provide more details.

Israeli attacks have killed 912 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

 

Hezbollah preparing to fire rockets at Israel in coming hours, says Israel’s military

Israel’s military claims it has observed “increased preparations” by Hezbollah to fire rocket salvos towards its territory “in the coming hours”.

In a post on X, it said its air defence array and forces along the border were poised for the rocket barrage, and that it was acting to thwart Hezbollah’s operations.

 

Two Lebanese soldiers killed in Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon

Lebanon’s Army says two of its soldiers have been killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon.

In a post on X, it said the soldiers were attacked when they were travelling on motorcycles on the road between Zebdin and Nabatieh.

 

Hezbollah denies any members in Kuwait after arrest of 16 alleged affiliates

Hezbollah has denied having any members in Kuwait a day after the Gulf country announced the arrest of 14 Kuwaitis and two Lebanese nationals allegedly affiliated with the group over a “sabotage plot”.

“Hezbollah categorically denies the allegations and accusations issued by the Kuwaiti interior ministry”, the Iran-backed Lebanese group said in a statement, calling the allegations “baseless” and adding, “There are no Hezbollah cells, members or networks in Kuwait.”

 

 Starmer, Zelenskyy urge ‘focus’ on Ukraine as Iran war diverts attention

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London to sign a new defence pact as the unfolding US-Israeli war on Iran threatened to divert international attention away from Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.

Starmer welcomed Zelenskyy at his official Downing Street residence on Tuesday, reassuring the Ukrainian leader that “the focus must remain on Ukraine”, days after the US partially rolled back sanctions against Moscow to cool oil prices sent soaring by its attacks on Iran.

The British Prime Minister’s office said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte would also join the meeting to discuss peacemaking efforts in Ukraine, which have so far been led by the US, but have stalled as the war on Iran escalates, and “the need to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia”.

“There is obviously a conflict in Iran going on, in the Middle East, but we can’t lose focus on what’s going on in Ukraine and the need for our support there,” said Starmer, who was meeting Zelenskyy to sign a defence partnership aimed at boosting “global defensive capability against the proliferation of low-cost, high-tech military hardware”.

“Our priorities are clear – more security and opportunities for Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy on X, as he arrived in London, before his trip to Spain on Wednesday.

 

 WFP warns number of people facing acute hunger levels could reach record levels due to Iran war

The UN’s World Food Programme has warned that a record could be set this year for the number of people “facing acute levels of hunger” around the world if the US-Israel war on Iran continues to affect the global economy.

According to new analysis, “almost 45 million more people could fall into acute food insecurity or worse (known as IPC3+) if the conflict does not end by the middle of the year, and if oil prices remain above USD 100 a barrel,” it said in a statement.

That would be in addition to the 318 million people “who are already food insecure”.

The WFP added that “countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are the most vulnerable due to a reliance on food and fuel imports”.

The “projections indicate an increase of 21 percent in food-insecure people for West and Central Africa and 17 percent for East and Southern Africa”, it said.

Meanwhile, a 24 percent increase is forecast for Asia.