546 stories · Page 21 of 55
Around midnight 17–18 March 2026, an Israeli precision airstrike in Tehran killed Iran’s intelligence minister Esmail Khatib, the third senior Iranian official felled in 24 hours, a loss publicly confirmed hours later by President Masoud Pezeshkian.
On 18–19 Mar 2026 Israel bombed Iran’s South Pars gas field, Iran retaliated by firing five missiles at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub—one penetrated defences—prompting President Trump to warn he will “massively blow up” South Pars if Tehran attacks Qatar again and to declare Israel will halt further strikes.
In the pre-dawn hours of 18 March 2026, Iran admitted that a joint U.S.–Israeli missile strike on a residence in Pardis, near Tehran, killed Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani and several aides, instantly removing the man who had filled the power vacuum after Ayatollah Khamenei’s death.
On 16 Mar 2026, President Trump publicly asked at least seven allies to deploy warships to clear Iran-laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz, but by day’s end no government had formally agreed to send a vessel.
On 17 March 2026 Iran’s government confirmed that Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani, 67, was killed in a nighttime Israeli strike on Tehran, removing the country’s top wartime decision-maker weeks after Khamenei’s death.
On 18 March 2026, Israel widened its campaign beyond southern Lebanon, leveling a 15-storey Bashoura tower after a 04:00 warning and simultaneously bombing multiple Lebanese cities, killing 20 and forcing fresh evacuation orders for Tyre and four nearby towns.
Just after 02:00 local time on 17 March 2026, the UAE closed its entire airspace for roughly one hour while Emirati air defenses shot down incoming Iranian missiles and drones, then reopened it once the threat subsided.
Before dawn on 17 March 2026, an Iranian drone-missile salvo forced the United Arab Emirates to close its entire airspace for several hours, the first such shutdown at the Gulf’s main aviation hub, pushing oil above $100 and prompting President Trump to publicly demand a multi-nation fleet to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On 16 March 2026 the Israel Defense Forces crossed the border and began “limited, targeted” assaults on Hezbollah positions, the first declared ground incursion since the 2024 cease-fire, while signalling displaced Lebanese will stay out until a security belt is carved out to the Litani River.
On 15 Mar 2026, President Trump spurned Tehran’s offer to pause hostilities, vowed new strikes on Kharg Island, and kept the Strait of Hormuz sealed, prompting the International Energy Agency to order the largest emergency oil release in its history.
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