US Iran war highlights: Iran fires missiles towards Israel, explosive drone lands near US embassy in Baghdad

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Iran told the United Nations on Monday that it would not submit to what it described as “lawless aggression”, warning that its citizens were in “grave danger” from US and Israeli strikes.

“The most urgent and fundamental human rights issue concerning Iran is the imminent threat to the lives of 90 million people whose lives are in immediate and grave danger under the shadow of reckless military aggression,” news agency AFP quoted Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

He described the situation as “an aggression that is carried out by some of the most lawless and unscrupulous actors on the international stage”.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Warning sirens were activated in Bahrain, the Interior Ministry said, urging residents and citizens to head to the nearest safe place.

Authorities in Qatar also issued another “elevated” security threat level alert, asking residents to remain in their homes or safe places, according to Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, several Israeli media outlets, including Channel 13, reported that Iranian missiles or shrapnel impacted the Bet Shemesh area near Jerusalem.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump is in talks with allies in Europe and partners in the Gulf and Arab world, urging them to do more to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“Donald Trump is speaking with our allies in Europe, and also many of our partners in the Gulf and Arab world to encourage them to step up to do more to open the Strait of Hormuz — and our NATO allies especially need to step up... The United States of America is leading way not just to support and protect our American assets and bases in the Middle East, but also to defend Europe, and the Middle East, and the rest of the world from the rogue Iranian regime obtaining a nuclear bomb,” Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday played down suggestions that a potential delay to Donald Trump’s planned trip to China was linked to Washington’s demand that Beijing help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“There’s a false narrative out there that if the meetings are delayed,” it would be over Trump’s demand that China help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz first, Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. “That’s completely false. So if the meeting, for some reason, is rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics.”

Bessent added that if there is any delay, it would likely be because the president may want to remain in Washington to coordinate the war effort.

“The president wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort — and that traveling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal,” he said.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it carried out a strike in the heart of Tehran, destroying a compound it said belonged to Iran and was used to develop capabilities to attack satellites in space.

According to the IDF, the Israeli Air Force acted on precise intelligence to dismantle the facility, which it said was part of Iran’s military space programme and posed a threat to Israeli satellites as well as space assets of other countries.

The military said, “The compound was used to develop military space programs, including the development of the “Chamran-1” satellite, which was built by the Iranian Ministry of Defense’s electronics industries and launched into space in September 2024 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

The IDF added that the strike follows another attack last week on a space-related research compound belonging to the Iranian Space Organization in Tehran.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: The United States Central Command (CETCOM) said US forces carried out a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island last week, hitting more than 90 military targets, including storage sites for naval mines and missiles.

Commander Brad Cooper said in a video briefing on Monday that US and partner forces had flown more than 6,000 combat flights over the past 16 days and were maintaining air superiority over Iranian skies.

Cooper added that US and partner forces had destroyed more than 100 Iranian naval vessels and were working to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: The United States is “fine” for now with some Iranian, Indian and Chinese ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, as global shipping slowly resumes through the key waterway.

“We are seeing more and more of the fuel ships start to go through. The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we've let that happen to supply the rest of the world. We've seen Indian ships go out now ... we believe some Chinese ships have gone out,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC.

“That should start ramping up before there are any of the flotillas or protective armadas in the Gulf. So we think that there will be a natural opening that the Iranians are letting out. And for now, we're fine with that. We want the world to be well supplied,” he added.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: An LPG tanker, Shivalik, which crossed the Strait of Hormuz, arrived at Mundra Port in Kutch, Gujarat on Monday, news agency PTI's video shows.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: A Pakistani oil tanker has passed through the Strait of Hormuz with its automatic transponder system activated despite major disruption to shipping in the key waterway caused by the Middle East war, monitoring service MarineTraffic said on Monday.

Since the peak of disruptions linked to the conflict, “the Aframax tanker Karachi, carrying Abu Dhabi's Das crude, has become the first non-Iranian cargo to transit the chokepoint while broadcasting its AIS signal, suggesting that select shipments may be receiving negotiated safe passage,” MarineTraffic said on X.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain is working with allies to develop a “viable” plan to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but ruled out any role for NATO in such an effort.

“We're working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impacts,” AFP quoted Starmer as saying at a press conference.

He added that the proposal would be made “credible” but stressed it would not involve NATO. “Let me be clear, that won't be and it's never been envisioned to be a NATO mission,” he said.

Starmer said the effort would instead involve an alliance of partners across Europe, the Gulf and the United States. He also reiterated that while Britain is taking steps to defend itself and its allies, it will not be drawn into a wider war.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: The United Kingdom will not be drawn into a wider war in the Middle East, prime minister Keir Starmer said, according to AFP.

His remarks came after Donald Trump warned that the future of NATO could be at stake unless allies, including the UK, provide military support in the region.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Fire and thick plumes of smoke rise after a drone struck a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates early Monday, March 16, 2026.

The strike triggered a fire and forced the temporary suspension of flights at the airport.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: A fire broke out in a building in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates following a drone attack, local media reports said on Monday.

No injuries have been reported so far.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Oil loading operations have resumed at the Port of Fujairah in the UAE after they were halted earlier following a drone attack that triggered a fire in the emirate’s petroleum industrial zone, two sources told Reuters on Monday.

The halt in loading marked the second disruption at the vital bunkering hub in recent days. Operations at Fujairah had resumed on Sunday after a separate drone strike over the weekend.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: The European Union on Monday announced 458 million euros ($525 million) in humanitarian aid for the Middle East in response to ongoing conflicts in the region, including the US-Israeli war with Iran and Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.

“In a war-torn Middle East, the European Union is stepping up while others step back,” Reuters quoted Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s commissioner in charge of humanitarian crises as saying.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Italy’s foreign minister said he does not see any existing naval missions that could currently be extended to the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Greece has no plans to take part in operations in the Strait of Hormuz, a Greek government official said, reported Reuters.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Iran has not requested a ceasefire, foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday, according to the semi-official Students News Network cited by Reuters, adding that Tehran wants any end to the war with Israel and the United States to be definitive.

Araqchi also added that the Strait of Hormuz is only closed to “enemies and those supporting their aggression”.

A foreign ministry spokesperson added that countries not party to the conflict have been able to transit their vessels through the strait with coordination and permission from Iran’s armed forces.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Iran said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz has not been closed, but ship movements are taking place under special conditions as Iranian armed forces control passage through the key waterway.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said insecurity created by the United States and Israel had prompted Iran to tighten oversight of vessels passing through the strait.

“No coastal state in such a situation can allow enemy ships and vessels to move normally to strengthen themselves or carry out aggressive actions,” Baghaei told a weekly news conference, as reported by Iran International.

He added that countries not involved in military attacks against Iran have been able to pass through the strait in coordination with and with permission from Iran’s armed forces.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Denmark’s foreign minister said the country is open to examining how it could contribute to ensuring safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

After being asked about a reported request from the US, the minister said, “We must look, with an open mind, on how to contribute to enabling sailings,” reported Reuters.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Evacuations in parts of Doha on Saturday were triggered after an Iranian missile was launched towards a residential neighbourhood, a spokesperson for the Qatar ministry of foreign affairs said.

The spokesperson said the missile was intercepted before it could strike the area, prompting authorities to evacuate residents as a precaution, reported Reuters.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Iran has not requested a ceasefire and will continue its resistance in the ongoing conflict, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday, reported Iran International.

Speaking to reporters, Araghchi said Iran had gone through “difficult but proud days” and would continue resisting without hesitation.

“We have not sent any message and we have not requested a ceasefire,” Araghchi said, adding that the war should end in a way that prevents it from happening again.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: According to the ministry of external affairs spokesperson, 550 Indian nationals have crossed into Armenia through the land border, while 90 Indians have moved into Azerbaijan.

Officials said 284 Indians had travelled to Iran for pilgrimage. Some of them have already returned to India, while others are expected to return over the next few days. Read More

US-Iran war LIVE updates: India said the domestic LPG situation remains a concern, but there are no reports of supply drying up, the government said during an inter-ministerial briefingon Monday. Officials added that the situation is being closely monitored.

US-Iran war LIVE updates: Germany’s foreign minister said Berlin does not see a role for NATO in securing the Strait of Hormuz, amid tensions affecting the key global shipping route, reported Reuters.

The minister also said Germany supports sanctions against those responsible for the blockade of the strait, according to Reuters.