Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on facilities for the South Pars gasfield, Asaluyeh, Iran, March 18, 2026

US, Israel, and Iran: What Kind of War Is This Becoming?

US-Israel War, Day 19: Israel Assassinates Iran’s Leading Politician Larijani and Commander of Basij Paramilitary Force

UPDATE 1555 GMT:

An agitated Donald Trump has again snapped at NATO members over their refusal to join a naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz while the US-Israel War on Iran continues.

Trump ranted, “Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER! They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran.”

He blustered, “COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”

Trump maintained that some countries are willing to help escort ships through the strait, but would not name them.

Only the UAE has said it will consider deployment in the current situation.

Germany, the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, and Canada pledged on Thursday to join “appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz. However, they have all emphasized the necessity of de-escalation of the war and Iran’s retaliation.

UPDATE 1531 GMT:

The US military is deploying thousands of additional marines and sailors to the Middle East, confirm three American officials.

One official said the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer and the Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard are leaving the US about three weeks ahead of schedule. He did not give an indication of the mission.

“Four sources with knowledge of the issue” say that — despite his declaration yesterday, “I’m not putting troops anywhere” — Donald Trump is considering the use of troops to seize or blockade Kharg Island in the northern Persian Gulf, which handles more than 90% of Iran’s oil exports.

A “senior Administration official” said:

He wants Hormuz open. If he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that’s going to happen. If he decides to have a coastal invasion, that’s going to happen. But that decision hasn’t been made.

A second senior official said, “We’ve always had boots on the ground in conflicts under every president, including Trump. I know this is a fixation in the media, and I get the politics, but the president is going to do what’s right.”

UPDATE 0924 GMT:

UN Secretary General António Guterres says there are “reasonable grounds” to conclude that both sides in the US-Israeli war on Iran have committed war crimes.

“If there are attacks either on Iran or from Iran on energy infrastructure, I think that there are reasonable grounds to think that they might constitute a war crime,” Guterres said. “I don’t see any difference. It doesn’t matter who targets civilians. It is totally unacceptable.”

UPDATE 0634 GMT:

The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is battling a fire at a unit of the Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery after Iranian drone attacks early Friday.

Parts of the refinery have been shut down as a precautionary measure. No injuries have been reported.

UPDATE 0624 GMT:

Revolutionary Guards spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini has been killed by US-Israeli airstrikes, Iranian media confirm.

UPDATE 0618 GMT:

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned on social media:

Our response to Israel’s attack on our infrastructure employed FRACTION of our power. The ONLY reason for restraint was respect for requested de-escalation.

ZERO restraint if our infrastructures are struck again.

Any end to this war must address damage to our civilian sites.

UPDATE 0608 GMT:

Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi says “extensive damage” from Iran’s retaliatory strikes could reduce annual revenues by $20 billion and take “up to five years” to repair.

The “unjustified and senseless” Iranian attacks on Ras Laffan Industrial City have reduced Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity by 17%.

UPDATE 0555 GMT:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump are differing over the possibility of a ground invasion of Iran.

Netanyahu told a press conference that it is “often said…[you can’t] do revolutions from the air”.

There has to be a ground component as well. There are many possibilities for this ground component and I take the liberty of not sharing [those] with you.

Trump said in a White House appearance, “I’m not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”

UPDATE 0550 GMT:

France plans to consult fellow Security Council members to gauge the prospect of a UN framework to secure the Strait of Hormuz, says President Emmanuel Macron.

In a joint statement France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, and Japan expressed “readiness” for an arrangement to maintain passage through the Strait.

“We have initiated an exploratory process, and we will see in the coming days whether it stands a chance of succeeding,” Macron said.

International Maritime Organization chair Victor Jimenez Fernandez expressed confidence that talks with Iran and regional powers will be started over the next week.

“No regional country can be outside of these negotiations,” he said. “All [of] the region needs to come to gather to find a solution to allow the safety and secure transit of commercial vessels through the strait of Hormuz.”

UPDATE, MARCH 20:

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prevented a rift with Donald Trump by declaring that “Israel acted alone” in the strike on the South Pars gasfield on Wednesday.

Israeli and US officials had confirmed that the US approved the Israeli strikes on the production hub in Asaluyeh in southern Iran. But Trump insisted his Administration “knew nothing” about the attacks.

Netanyahu did not address whether Trump was told in advance of the operation. He said, “President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we’re holding out.”

Trump said that he told Netanyahu to stop attacking Iran’s energy facilities.

UPDATE 1315 GMT:

Oman Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who mediated talks between the US and Iran, says the Trump administration has “lost control of its own foreign policy”.

The last round of US-Iran talks over Tehran’s nuclear program was in Geneva on February 26. Two days later, the Trump camp joined Israel in strikes and targeted assassinations on Iran.

Albusaidi said the US and Iran were “on the verge of a real deal” in June, when Israel pre-empted talks with a 12-day war on the Islamic Republic, and in February.

It was a shock but not a surprise when on February 28th – just a few hours after the latest and most substantive talks – Israel and America again launched an unlawful military strike against the peace that had briefly appeared really possible.

He blamed “Israel’s leadership” for persuading Trump that “an unconditional surrender would swiftly follow the initial assault and the assassination of ]Iran’s Supreme leader”.

“The American administration’s greatest miscalculation, of course, was allowing itself to be drawn into this war in the first place,” the Foreign Minister noted.

“America’s friends have a responsibility to tell the truth,” he continued, which “involves indicating the extent to which America has lost control of its own foreign policy”.

UPDATE 1245 GMT:

US and Israeli attacks have killed several people, including four taekwondo athletes, in Tabriz in northwest Iran.

An Iranian official said 12 people were killed in a residential area of Dorud Province in western Iran.

UPDATE 1240 GMT:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the US may lift sanctions on Iranian oil which is at sea.

“In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days as we continue this campaign,” he told Fox TV.

Bessent said earlier this week that the Administration is “fine” with Iranian, Indian, and Chinese oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

He said today that the US could also carry out a unilateral release of oil reserves.

Bessent held out the possibility of the US seizing control of Kharg Island, through which more than 90% of Iran’s oil exports pass.

UPDATE 1018 GMT:

Four Palestinian women and a Thai national have been killed by Iranian missile attacks on Israel.

The women were slain in Beit Awwa, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, when debris or a munition fell on a hair salon.

Three were murdered at the site. Another, 32-year-old Samir Masalmeh, died in hospital from shrapnel wounds. She was six months pregnant.

The Thai man was killed by a direct hit on an agricultural structure in the Sharon area just north of Tel Aviv.

UPDATE 1013 GMT:

European gas prices have spiked 35% this morning amid the Israel strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field and Iranian retaliatory attacks across the Gulf.

Qatar reports “extensive damage” to its Ras Laffan complex, the world’s largest for liquefied natural gas.

European prices have risen by 60% since the start of the US-Israel War on Iran on February 28.

UPDATE 0935 GMT:

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farman says the kingdom has not ruled out military action in response to Iran’s missile and drone attacks.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting in Riyadh of the region’s foreign ministers, the Minister said:

The kingdom is not going to succumb to pressure, and on the contrary, this pressure will backfire… Certainly, as we have stated quite clearly, we have reserved the right to take military actions if deemed necessary.

Saudi’s Samref refinery in the Red Sea port of Yanbu was attacked on Thursday, but with minimal impact.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had issued an evacuation warning to Samref, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil.

Yanbu is currently the only export outlet for any crude oil out of Gulf Arab countries amid Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah oil refineries in Kuwait were also targeted in drone strikes, sparking “limited” fires.

UPDATE 0915 GMT:

A ship near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz has been set afire by an “unknown projectile”, says the UK Maritime Trade Operations center.

The vessel was hit off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the UAE.

A second vessel was reportedly east of Ras Laffan in Qatar. All crew are “safe and well”.

UPDATE 0623 GMT:

Republicans in the US Senate have blocked a measure that aimed to curb Donald Trump’s power for war on Iran.

The Senate voted 53-47, almost completely on party lines, against consideration of the measure.

“We do not know Donald Trump’s goals,” Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer said before the vote. “We do not know Donald Trump’s timeline. We do not know what victory even looks like in his eyes. Enough is enough.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The US-Israel War on Iran escalated on Wednesday with Israeli strikes on the world’s largest gasfield.

Israel hit facilities in Asaluyeh, Iran serving the South Pars field off the southern Iranian coast. The attack was carried out with the consent of the US, confirmed two Israeli officials and a US defense official.

Qatar, which shares South Pars with Iran, and the UAE condemned the strikes as “dangerous and irresponsible”. A Qatari Government spokesperson, Majid al-Ansari, warned that the targeting of energy infrastructure is “a threat to global energy security, as well as to the peoples of the region and its environment”.

A senior Iraqi official said Iranian gas flows, providing between 33% of 40% of Iraq’s power, were suspended.

The global oil price spiked to $112 per barrel, a rise of almost 9% and the highest level since March 9. Daily oil exports from the region have fallen by at least 60% during the war.

Iran Pledges Retaliation

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened retaliation on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. State media identified Saudi Arabia’s Samref refinery and Jubail petrochemical complex; the UAE’s al-Hosn gasfield; and Qatar’s Ras Laffan refinery and Mesaieed petrochemical complex as the Guards said in a statement:

These centers have become direct and legitimate targets and will be targeted in the coming hours. Therefore, all citizens, residents, and employees are requested to immediately leave these areas and move to a safe distance without any delay.

State company QatarEnergy, the world’s largest liquified natural gas producer, said several of its LNG facilities were targeted by missiles early Thursday, causing “sizeable fires” and extensive damage. The Defense Ministry said missiles also were fired upon the Ras Laffan Industrial City.

Operations were shut down at the UAE’s Habshan gas facility and Bab field after Iranian munitions were intercepted over the sites.

Trump Says He Will “Blow Up” South Pars

US officials said the Trump camp had approved the Israeli strikes as a response to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world’s maritime gas and 25% of maritime oil passes. They said Donald Trump had told Israel to refrain from further attacks.

But Trump railed on Truth Social that he will “massively blow up” the entire South Pars field if the Iranians retaliate against Qatar’s liquefied natural gas facilities.

He lied that the Administration “knew nothing” about Israel’s strikes while declaring “no more attacks will be made by Israel” unless Iran “decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar”.

In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before.