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Israel pounded Tehran with airstrikes connected Friday (March 20, 2026) arsenic Iranians marked Nowruz, oregon the Persian New Year, successful the midst of a warfare that has sent daze waves done the planetary system and risked drafting Iran's Arab neighbors straight into the conflict.
Activists reported proceeding strikes astir Iran's capital. The attacks came a time aft Israel pledged to refrain from much strikes connected a cardinal Iranian state tract and Iran intensified attacks connected lipid and earthy state facilities astir the Gulf.
Heavy explosions shook Dubai aboriginal connected Friday (March 20) arsenic aerial defenses intercepted incoming occurrence implicit the city, wherever radical were observing Id-ul-Fitr, the extremity of the beatified Muslim fasting period of Ramzan, and mosques made the day's archetypal telephone to prayers.
Iran kept up its question of attacks launched astatine Israel that person sent millions of radical to shelters, with sirens sounding crossed a wide swath of the north, from Haifa to the Galilee to the borderline with Lebanon. It came aft an aggravated time that saw much than a twelve rocket launches connected Thursday alone, according to Israel's military.
Global substance supplies person been nether aggravated unit due to the fact that of Iran's stranglehold connected the Strait of Hormuz, a strategical waterway done which a 5th of the world's lipid is transported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said precocious connected Thursday (March 19) that, astatine the petition of President Donald Trump, Israel volition clasp disconnected immoderate further attacks connected Iran's offshore South Pars state field. Iranian strikes successful retaliation person led to already elevated planetary vigor prices further surging and spurred Gulf allies to telephone for Trump to rein successful Netanyahu.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched the warfare connected Feb. 28, Iran's apical leaders person been killed and the country's subject capabilities person been severely degraded. Mr. Netanyahu said successful a televised code that Iran nary longer has the quality to enrich uranium oregon marque ballistic missiles, though helium did not supply evidence.
Still, Iran — present led by the lad of the ultimate person killed successful the war's opening salvo — remains susceptible of rocket and drone attacks.
Brent crude oil, the planetary standard, concisely surged supra $119 a barrel, up much than 60% since the warfare started. The European benchmark for earthy state prices besides roseate sharply and has astir doubled successful the past month.
U.N. Security Council meets implicit Iran's attacks connected Gulf states
The United Nations Security Council held an urgent closed gathering connected Thursday (March 19) during which Gulf countries stressed the request for Iran to halt attacks connected them, said Bahrain's U.N. Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei, the Arab typical connected the UN's astir almighty body.
But Iran has showed nary signs of backing down. Saudi Arabia said its SAMREF refinery successful the Red Sea larboard metropolis of Yanbu was hit. Saudi Arabia had begun pumping ample volumes of lipid westbound toward the Red Sea to debar the Strait of Hormuz.
Qatar, a cardinal root of earthy state for satellite markets, said Iranian missiles that caused extended harm to the Ras Laffan liquefied earthy state facility, reduced its exports by astir 17% and volition outgo astir $20 cardinal successful mislaid gross a year. The harm volition instrumentality up to 5 years to repair, adjacent though accumulation astatine the installation had already been halted aft earlier attacks.
Two lipid refineries successful Kuwait and state operations successful Abu Dhabi besides were targeted by Iran, authorities said.
Underscoring the information to ships successful the region, a vas was acceptable ablaze connected Thursday (March 19) disconnected the United Arab Emirates' seashore and different was damaged disconnected Qatar. Efforts to bypass the strait were besides nether pressure: An Iranian drone deed a Saudi refinery connected the Red Sea, which the state had hoped to usage arsenic an alternate route.
Meanwhile, the UAE said Friday it disrupted what it called “a violent web funded and operated by Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran,” arresting its operatives. It accused the men of laundering wealth portion “operating wrong the state nether a fictitious commercialized cover” that sought to transportation retired schemes that would endanger the country's fiscal stability.
It published images of 5 prisoners connected its state-run WAM quality agency, without identifying the men.
Netanyahu says Iran's subject has been severely hit
At Thursday's (March 19) quality conference, Mr. Netanyahu said: “Iran's aerial defenses person been rendered useless, their navy is lying astatine the bottommost of the sea. ... Their aerial unit is astir destroyed.” He said helium hopes the Iranian radical volition emergence up against the Islamic Republic that has ruled for astir a half-century. There's been nary motion of immoderate organized absorption since the warfare began, aft Iranian authorities crushed wide protests successful January.
The Prime Minister's comments to overseas journalists came amid hard days for Trump and Netanyahu, with a apical US quality authoritative resigning and claiming Israel pushed Trump into the war, and Israel's attacks connected South Pars, which led to Iran's retaliatory strikes connected the region's lipid and state fields.
“I misled nary one,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “And I didn't person to person President Trump astir the request to forestall Iran from processing its atomic program.” Gen. Dan Caine, president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that US forces were attacking deeper into Iranian territory, with warplanes hunting Iranian boats successful the strait and dropping 5,000-pound bombs connected underground weapons-storage facilities.
Trump says helium is not deploying troops to Iran
Iran condemned Israel's onslaught connected South Pars, the Iranian portion of the world's largest state field, located offshore successful the Persian Gulf and owned jointly with Qatar.
With immoderate 80% of powerfulness generated successful Iran coming from earthy gas, according to the International Energy Agency, the onslaught threatens the country's energy supplies.
After Trump requested Israel not onslaught South Pars, helium besides warned connected societal media that if Iran continued striking Qatar, the US would “massively stroke up the entirety” of the field.
Asked aboriginal astir the anticipation of US crushed troops being deployed to Iran, Trump responded: “No. I'm not putting troops anywhere.”
Death toll climbs successful 3rd week of war
More than 1,300 radical successful Iran person been killed during the war. Israeli strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant radical successful Lebanon person displaced much than 1 cardinal people, according to the Lebanese government, which says much than 1,000 radical person been killed. Israel says it has killed much than 500 Hezbollah militants.
In Israel, 15 radical person been killed by Iranian rocket fire. Four radical were besides killed successful the occupied West Bank by an Iranian rocket onslaught overnight.
At slightest 13 U.S. subject members person been killed.
