Israeli and Lebanese envoys will meet in Washington on Tuesday (April 14, 2026) as Israel presses its war on Hezbollah, a ‌diplomatic milestone overshadowed by conflicting agendas, with Israel ruling out discussion of a ceasefire and demanding Beirut ​disarm the group.

The meeting comes at a critical juncture in the crisis in West Asia, a week into a fragile ceasefire between the United States, Israel, and Iran. The parallel war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has been a complicating factor in Pakistan’s mediation to end the wider conflict.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) that the Middle East war presented a “far worse” scenario than the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“This is not the same scenario as the illegal war in Iraq. We are facing something far worse. Much worse. With a potential impact that is far broader and far deeper,” he told parliament.

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“This time, it’s an absurd and illegal war. A cruel one that sets us back from achieving our economic, social, and environmental goals,” he said.

The Socialist premier has refused Washington’s requests to use Madrid’s military bases against Iran, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to sever trade with Spain as a result.

Mr. Sanchez said the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 had failed to achieve its goals and instead made life worse for ordinary people, saying it led to a sharp increase in fuel and grocery prices, a migration crisis and jihadist attacks in Europe.

He warned that the attacks on Iran could have a similar economic impact for millions.

“Every bomb that falls in the Middle East eventually hits — as we are already seeing — the wallets of our families,” Mr. Sanchez said.

His government approved last week a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($5.8 billion) aimed at cushioning the economic impact of the Middle East war, which included reductions on taxes on fuel.

“It is not fair that some set the world on fire while others bear the ashes. It is not right that Spaniards and other Europeans should pay out of their own pockets for this illegal war,” Mr. Sanchez said.

His Iraq reference may strike a chord with Spanish voters.

Support for that war by the conservative Popular Party (PP) in power at the time which sent troops to Iraq was widely unpopular and sparked mass protests.

Some analysts say it paved the way for the Socialist Party’s surprise win in March 2004, days after deadly jihadist bombings hit Madrid.

A branch of Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks and called for the withdrawal of Spanish forces from Iraq.

A majority of Spaniards, 53.2%, back Mr. Sanchez’s decision not to let the United States use the Rota naval base and Moron airbase in strikes against Iran, a poll published earlier this month in daily newspaper El Pais showed.

Blasts were heard and air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem on Sunday (March 22, 2026), AFP journalists said, after the Israeli military warned of incoming missile fire from Iran.

The army issued several alerts saying it had identified that “missiles were launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel”.

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Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service said after the first warning that there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel’s military said personnel were attending “impact sites” in central Israel, with local media showing images of light damage by a road in the city of Holon near Tel Aviv.

The latest alerts come after Iranian missiles struck two towns in southern Israel on Saturday (March 21, 2026) evening.

The Soroka medical centre said it had received and treated 175 people, and 10 were in serious condition, including at least one child.

The blasts in the towns of Dimona and Arad tore open residential buildings and gouged craters in the ground.

Iranian state TV said the strike in Dimona, which houses a nuclear facility, was in response to an earlier strike on its own Natanz nuclear site.

The Israeli military said it was investigating how air defence systems had failed to intercept the incoming missiles.

Sri Lanka discharged from hospital 22 Iranian sailors who were plucked from life rafts after their warship was sunk by a U.S. submarine, officials said on Sunday (March 8, 2026).

The sailors were treated at Karapitiya Hospital in the southern port city of Galle since Wednesday (March 4) after the IRIS Dena was torpedoed just outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.

“Another 10 are still undergoing treatment,” a medical officer at the hospital told AFP.

He said the bodies of 84 Iranians retrieved from the Indian Ocean were also at the hospital.

Those discharged from hospital overnight had been taken to a beach resort in the same district.

Sri Lankan authorities said the survivors from the Dena were being handled according to international humanitarian law, and the government had contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross for assistance.

The island is also providing safe haven for another 219 Iranian sailors from a second ship, the IRIS Bushehr, that was allowed to berth a day after the Dena was sunk.

Sailors from the Bushehr have been moved to a Sri Lanka Navy camp at Welisara, just north of the capital Colombo, and their ship taken over by Sri Lanka’s Navy.

Sri Lanka announced it was taking the Bushehr to the north-eastern port of Trincomalee, but an engine failure and other technical and administrative issues had delayed the movement, a Navy spokesman said.

Sri Lanka has denied claims that it was under pressure from Washington not to allow the Iranians to return home, and said Colombo will be guided solely by international law and its own domestic legislation.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the disposition of the Bushehr crew and Iranian sailors rescued at sea was up to Sri Lanka.

“The United States, of course, respects and recognises Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in the handling of this situation,” the spokesperson told AFP in Washington.

India, meanwhile, said on Saturday (March 7) that it had allowed a third Iranian warship, the IRIS Lavan, to dock in one of its ports on “humane” grounds after it too reported engine problems.

The three ships were part of a multi-national fleet review held by India before the war in West Asia started last week.

“I think it was the humane thing to do, and I think we were guided by that principle,” Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday (March 7).

The Lavan docked in the south-west Indian port of Kochi on Wednesday (March 4).

“A lot of the people on board were young cadets. They have disembarked and are in a nearby facility,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday (March 7, 2026) that it was inconsequential if Russia has provided Iran with information to help Tehran target U.S. military personnel and assets in West Asia as the week-old war rages.

The President dismissed the import of such information-sharing after he attended the dignified transfer for six Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the day after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran that has unsettled the global economy.

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Mr. Trump stopped short of confirming reports by The Associated Press and other news outlets that U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia has provided Iran with such targeting information. But if Moscow is passing on such details, he said Iran was getting little out of it.

“If you take a look at what has happened to Iran in the last week, if they are getting information, it is not helping them much,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Miami, where he is spending the rest of the weekend.

The President also waved off a question about how Russia assisting Iran in such a way might affect his view of the U.S.-Russia relationship.

“They would say we do it against them,” Mr. Trump responded. “Wouldn’t they say that we do it against them?” Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received U.S. intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets.

Downplaying the significance of Russia handing off battlespace intelligence to Iran came after the U.S. Treasury Department announced earlier this week that it was temporarily allowing India to keep buying crude oil and petroleum products from Russia for a month, until April 4.

The administration decision to grant the world’s most-populous country a temporary exemption faced bipartisan blowback. Critics charge that Mr. Trump was giving Russia a break that will provide Moscow with badly-needed revenue as it looks to keep funding its war machine.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., condemned the move, saying in a post on X that “weakness towards Russia is appalling”.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., in his own X post directed at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also decried the administration’s decision.

“Reverse your decision to lift oil sanctions on Russia. It is traitorous conduct for you to help Russia,” Mr. Lieu said. “Meanwhile, Russia is assisting Iran in targeting American troops.”

Mr. Trump has decided to give India leeway on oil purchases from Russia as global oil prices surge and investors across sectors worry about how long the Iran war will last.

The waiver for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government followed Mr. Trump announcing weeks ago that he was cutting tariffs on India after their officials agreed to reduce its reliance on cheap Russian crude.

India has taken advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The price of oil has surged higher and shows no signs of halting a week into a war that the U.S. and Israel launched and has widened through West Asia as Tehran strikes back. Ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day are unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran.

The shipping disruption and damage to key West Asia oil and gas facilities has interrupted supplies from some of the world’s largest oil producers.

Asked whether he was willing to take other steps to ease oil prices, Mr. Trump said that “if there were some, I would do it, just to take a little of the pressure off”.

He appeared on Saturday (March 7) to wave off, at least for now, the possibility of tapping the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying the U.S. has a “lot of oil”.

The reserve — a supply of oil that the U.S. government can tap in case of emergencies — held more than 415 million barrels as of the end of last month, up from about 395 million barrels at this time in 2025. In total, when full, the SPR can hold more than 700 million barrels.

“We have got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” Mr. Trump said. “There is a lot of oil out there. That will get healed very quickly.”

The England women’s cricket team was forced to shift its T20 World Cup preparatory camp to South Africa after it had to call off its plans to travel to Abu Dhabi due to security concerns owing to the ongoing conflict in the region, involving United States, Israel, and Iran.

Around 30 players will instead assemble in Pretoria for a preparatory camp, where they will be divided into two squads of 15 each for a five-match intra squad series scheduled between March 10 and 27.

The teams have been named in honour of two England greats, Jan Brittin and Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, both members of World Cup winning sides on home soil.

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt will lead Team Brittin, which will be coached by former Durham batter and England Women assistant coach Jon Lewis. Vice captain Charlie Dean will captain Team Heyhoe-Flint, with assistant coach Luke Williams guiding the side.

Head coach Charlotte Edwards will oversee both the squads during the camp and has urged the players to use the series as an opportunity to push their case for selection ahead of the upcoming World Cup at home.

“This is a big opportunity for every player involved to put their hand up and demonstrate that they’re an invaluable part of our World Cup plans,” Edwards said in a release.

“It’s the same chance for every player, whether they’re new to the team or they’ve played 100 games. We want to use this series as a chance to stretch ourselves and put ourselves under pressure in competitive match situations.”

“We’ve had two training camps this year, in Oman and Stellenbosch, which focused on skills. Adding a more competitive element is our next step and I’m really pleased with how the group is coming along ahead of a massive summer.”

It will be England’s second training camp in South Africa this year, following skill-based trips to Oman in January and Stellenbosch last month.

England are scheduled to host New Zealand and India in white ball series ahead of the T20 World Cup, to be held from June 12 to July 5. They will then face India in a historic women’s Test at Lord’s.

Team Heyhoe Flint: Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Charlie Dean (capt), Sophie Ecclestone, Mahika Gaur, Dani Gibson, Jodi Grewcock, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Grace Potts, Grace Scrivens, Alexa Stonehouse, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

Team Brittin: Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Sophia Dunkley, Lauren Filer, Freya Kemp, Charis Pavely, Davina Perrin, Paige Scholfield, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Linsey Smith, Rhianna Southby, Ellie Threlkeld, Mady Villiers, Issy Wong.

An explosion was heard over Dubai airport on Saturday (March 7, 2026), followed by a cloud of smoke in the air, a witness told AFP, as Iran pressed attacks across the Gulf.

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The Flightradar24 tracking website showed planes circulating above the airport in an apparent holding pattern.

Limited flights resumed from Dubai’s main airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, on Monday (March 2, 2026) despite daily drone attacks on targets in the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai Media Office described “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception” in a post on X, but also denied reports circulating about the airport in the same post.

Four staff were injured, and a concourse was damaged at Dubai airport last Saturday (February 28, 2026), as war erupted following U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran.

Dubai Airports said at the time that the incident was “quickly contained”, without giving further details.

Iranian attacks have also hit Abu Dhabi airport, the upmarket Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday (March 3, 2026).

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged a ceasefire in the Middle East during phone calls with Emirati and Qatari leaders on Monday (March 2, 2026) amid the escalating war in the Middle East.

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Following U.S. and Israeli barrages on the Russian ally Iran, retaliatory strikes from Tehran have hit targets across the Gulf, forcing authorities to close airspace and stalling traffic at big hubs such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

In a call with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, both leaders “emphasised the need for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the political and diplomatic process,” the Kremlin said in a readout.

The Russian leader also said he was ready to convey to Tehran the UAE’s concerns about Iranian retaliation strikes and to provide assistance stabilising the situation in the region.

During the call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, both leaders shared concerns about “the risks of the conflict’s expansion and the danger of third countries being drawn into it,” the Kremlin said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier slammed “any attacks on civilian targets, whether in Iran or Arab countries,” in the conflict.

Facing isolation from the West after sending troops to Ukraine, Mr. Putin has sought to strengthen partnerships in the Middle East, maintaining close relations both with Iran and the Gulf monarchies.

The UAE has emerged as a key mediator in the four-year-long Russia-Ukraine war, brokering a number of prisoner exchanges between the two sides and most recently hosting talks between U.S., Russian and Ukrainian officials on a U.S.-drafted plan to end the fighting.

Tehran is Moscow’s key ally and has supplied it with the Shahed drones used in the Ukraine offensive.

The U.S. on Monday (March 2, 2026) issued a clarification that three fighter jets crashed in Kuwait in an apparent “friendly fire” incident. It said the cause of the incident is under investigation.

“At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident,” the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. “During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defences,” it added.

Iran-Israel conflict updates on March 2, 2026

The CENTCOM also confirmed that the crew members have ejected safely. “All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defence forces and their support in this ongoing operation. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” it said.

Earlier in the day, Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said that several American warplanes crashed in the country, amid Iran’s continued attacks in the Gulf region.

“Several US warplanes crashed this morning. Confirming that all crew members survived,” a Defence Ministry spokesman said in a statement, adding that the cause was under investigation.

“Authorities immediately initiated search and rescue operations, evacuating the crews and transporting them to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. He noted that their condition is stable,” the statement added.

(with AFP inputs)

​​The U.S. ‌aircraft carrier ​USS Abraham ⁠Lincoln was targeted with ‌four ballistic ‌missiles ‌on Sunday (March 1, 2026), ⁠Iran’s Islamic ⁠Revolutionary Guard Corp ​said in ‌a statement reported by state media.

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“The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles,” the Guards said in a statement carried by local media, warning that the “the land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors”.

The ‌USS ​Lincoln is one ⁠of two aircraft ‌carriers deployed to the region in recent ‌weeks and ​the only one ⁠relatively close ⁠to Iranian shores. 

With inputs from Reuters, AFP