TOP DEVELOPMENTS
US–Iran talks: US President Donald Trump claimed that discussions were ongoing with Iran to “determine whether a broader agreement can be reached,” stressing that “this time, Iran means business; they want to settle. They want peace.”
Iran denies talk with US: Tehran denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets.”
Iran strikes Israel: Early Tuesday, state-run Iranian media reported another round of missiles fired at Israel, and rescue services there showed images of a damaged building in the north but reported no casualties.
Trump extends deadline: President Donald Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, saying the U.S. will hold off striking Iranian power plants for five more days.
Oil price drop: Oil prices dropped by about 11 percent after Trump announced a delay to attacks on Iran’s power plants for five days amid his claims of talks.
Ongoing strikes: Despite Trump’s comments, US Central Command says US forces “continue to aggressively strike” targets in Iran, as Iranian missiles and drones continued to target Gulf countries – including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – overnight.
Israel bombs Beirut: Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut’s southern neighbourhood as the Lebanese Health Ministry said the death toll from Israel’s attacks on the country had reached 1,039 people, with 2,786 people injured, since March 2.
Crude oil prices rebounded in futures trade on Tuesday, rising by Rs 204 to Rs 8,549 per barrel amid uncertainty over geopolitical developments in West Asia.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil for April delivery increased by Rs 204, or 2.44 per cent, to Rs 8,549 per barrel.
In the previous session, crude plunged by Rs 1,186, or nearly 13 per cent, to hit an intraday low of Rs 8,072 per barrel before settling at Rs 8,345, down by Rs 913, or 9.86 per cent on the MCX.
Analysts said crude oil prices remained volatile as markets weighed conflicting developments around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday warned that if the West Asia crisis persists for a longer period, “serious consequences are imminent.”
Addressing the Rajya Sabha, Modi said the war in West Asia is a “cause of concern for India” as it has created a “serious energy crisis.”
Modi also warned that the impact of the war may continue for a long time, saying the crisis has shaken the world economy and will take a long time to recover, while adding that the government remains alert and is taking appropriate steps.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened on Tuesday to conduct "heavy" missile and drone attacks on Israel in what it described as support for Lebanese and Palestinian civilians.
"We warn the regime's criminal army that if its crimes against civilians in Lebanon and Palestine persist," Israeli forces "will be the target of heavy missile and drone strikes", the Guards said in a statement.
Iran is at war with Israel and the United States, while Israel is also battling Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israeli military said its overnight air strikes targeted ballistic missile storage sites and several government facilities in Iran, including two intelligence headquarters of the IRGC and a unit of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry in Tehran.
It further claimed that more than 50 locations were hit, including weapon storage sites and air defence systems.
Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region accused Iran on Tuesday of launching an attack against its peshmerga armed forces, following the deaths of six fighters.
"Six Iranian ballistic missiles targeted them" in two attacks, the region's armed forces ministry said in a statement, adding that the incident killed six people and wounded 30 others.
It is the first deadly attack on the regional security forces since the Middle East war began on February 28 with Israeli-US strikes against Iran.
At least 1,500 people were killed, and more than 18,500 were injured in Iran following the US-Israeli strikes.
In Lebanon, 1,001 people were killed and over 2,500 were injured.
In Israel, at least 18 people were killed, and 4,697 were injured.
Among the US military, 13 personnel were killed, and more than 200 have been injured since the beginning of the Iran war.
In Iraq, at least 61 people were killed, with dozens injured.
At least four people were killed each in Palestine and Syria.
Dozens were injured in Kuwait and Bahrain, with six and two deaths reported, respectively.
The UAE reported eight deaths, while Oman recorded three. In Saudi Arabia, at least two people were killed.
A rocket attack on Iraq's north killed six Iraqi Kurdish security personnel, according to an AFP report.
"So far, there are six killed, two missing, and 22 wounded," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, following the strike on Iraqi Kurdish security forces in the Soran border region with Iran.
Kurdish media outlet Rudaw gave a lower toll of five killed in two rocket attacks, quoting a statement from the regional force. There was no indication of who was responsible for the attack.
Iranian media reported that the US-Israeli strikes have targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline.
According to media reports, this comes hours after Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.
“As part of the ongoing attacks carried out by the Zionist and American enemy, the gas administration building and the gas pressure regulation station on Kaveh Street in Isfahan were targeted,” said the Fars news agency. Facilities in central Iran were “partially damaged”, it added.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said “has succeeded in extinguishing a fire that broke out in a facility belonging to one of the companies due to the criminal Iranian aggression”.
The Israeli army has told residents of southern Lebanon, specifically the Burj Shemali area near Tyre, to flee, warning of upcoming attacks and to “move north of the Zahrani River”.
Hezbollah said it has launched attacks on five Israeli targets early on Tuesday.
In a series of statements, the group said it targeted Israeli troop gatherings, a barracks, a radar site, and artillery positions at dawn.
It said, among those targeted with rockets were Israeli soldiers at the Fatima Gate in the town of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said it also used drones and rockets to target a radar site near Ma’alot-Tarshiha and artillery positions in the settlements of Sasa and Ein HaKovshim in northern Israel.
At least six people have been killed and nine injured after a US-Israeli strike hit one of the residential areas of East Azerbaijan province, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported quoting provincial officials as saying the attack took place in Shahid Mofatteh, northwest of Iran, near the border with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkiye.
The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for the US and Iran to come to the negotiating table and immediately end the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the war.
Von der Leyen said Iran’s efforts to block the strategic waterway “must be condemned”, adding that an end to the war is necessary to stop growing global economic disruption.
“Iran has to cease the threats immediately, laying of mines, drones and missile attacks, and other attempts to block the strait to commercial shipping,” she said in Canberra on Tuesday.
“We all feel the knock-on effects on gas and oil prices … but it is of utmost importance that we come to a solution that is negotiated, and [that] this puts an end to the hostilities that we see in the Middle East.”
A strike in western Iraq on Tuesday killed a commander and 14 fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, a statement from the group said, updating the toll and blaming the United States.
The fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), were killed in a "treacherous American attack that targeted the operation headquarters" in western Anbar province, the statement said. An earlier toll put the toll at seven.
The PMF is now part of Iraq's regular army, but also includes some pro-Iranian groups.
First responders said six people were injured on Tuesday in Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv, where police reported several impact sites after the military warned of incoming missile fire from Iran.
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said "six people were lightly injured at four different sites" and released videos showing a partially gutted building and vehicles on fire.
Police in Tel Aviv said they were handling "several impact sites of munitions."
Asian countries are ramping up use of polluting coal to tackle energy shortages and price spikes linked to the Iran war.
More than 80 percent of the crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) that passes through the Strait of Hormuz heads to Asia, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are all major importers of LNG from Qatar, which said last week that its export capacity had been slashed by 17 percent because of Iranian attacks.
It warned it would be forced to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts, signalling it may be unable to fulfill the agreements.
US President Donald Trump appeared to shift responsibility for the decision to launch military strikes against Iran onto his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, as the conflict entered its fourth week and scrutiny over Washington’s role deepened.
Speaking at a public roundtable of the Memphis Safe Task Force on Monday, Trump suggested that Hegseth had been the first senior official to push for military action. “Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up, and you said, ‘Let’s do it because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,’”Trump said, with the Defence Secretary seated beside him.
The ongoing West Asia conflict has caused an alarming situation in Bangladesh, where the shortage of fuel has taken on a severe form, especially at various stations, where there are long queues and all sorts of chaotic conditions.
The amount of fuel that was supposed to be available is not being supplied, and in this regard, petrol pump owners are also expressing serious concerns.
The owners have threatened to stop supplying fuel, urging security at petrol pumps and asked the government to take decisive action to control the situation.
The number of children killed in Iran since the US-Israeli war began on February 28 has risen to 208, the head of Iran’s emergency service said.
In a video statement published by the state broadcaster IRIB, Jafar Miadfar said that of the 208 children killed, 168 were from the US missile strikes on the girls’ school in Minab city at the start of the war.
Miadfar added that 13 of the children killed were under the age of 5, and the youngest was a three-day-old infant.
An Israeli strike on Bshamoun, a town south of Beirut, killed at least two people, Lebanon's health ministry said Tuesday.
"The Israeli enemy raid on the town of Bshamoun in the Aley district resulted, in a preliminary toll, in the martyrdom of two citizens and the injury of five others," the ministry said in a statement.
Bshamoun lies outside of the traditional strongholds of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has been trading strikes with Israel since the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Israeli-US attack.
Iran fired three waves of missiles at Israel early Tuesday, with reports of an impact in the country's north, the Israeli Home Front Command said.
Israel, meantime, pounded Beirut's southern suburbs saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.
In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defense shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages in several hours. Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.
Hopes rose that the Iran war could begin winding down as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that his government was holding productive talks with Tehran, but fighting showed no signs of slowing and Iran denied there were talks.
Trump extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, saying the U.S. will hold off striking Iranian power plants for five more days to allow U.S. envoys to hold talks with a “respected” Iranian leader.
Iranian officials said that the American leader had backed down “following Iran’s firm warning.”
Israel targeted seven areas of Beirut's southern suburbs overnight, Lebanese state media reported on Tuesday.
"Enemy warplanes launched seven raids overnight on the southern suburbs, targeting the areas of: Bir al-Abed, Al-Ruwais -- outskirts of Al-Manshiyya, Haret Hreik, Sayyed Hadi Nasrallah Highway, Saint Therese, Burj al-Barajneh and Al-Kafaat," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel attack.
The Israeli military has repeatedly bombarded south Beirut in recent weeks, while also carrying out deadly strikes elsewhere in the capital and across Lebanon.
Iranian officials “need to think wisely” before entering into any talks with the US, a senior Iran parliament member warned, citing Washington’s recent history of launching attacks on Tehran while talks to achieve peace were in progress.
“This is not the first time they have lied about negotiations,” Esmaeil Kowsari, a member of Iran parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
“Trump, Netanyahu and their ilk are inherently liars and their nature is to sow division,” Kowsari said.
“Their nature is to create division so that they can make people sceptical of the authorities and feel that something has been done, when nothing has been done,” said Kowsari, who is also a major general in the military
Iran launched another round of missiles towards Israel on Tuesday morning, state television announced, after earlier strikes hit a building in the north while a loud explosion rang out in Jerusalem.
"Iran fires new wave of missiles at occupied territories," the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) posted on Telegram.
Moments later, it posted that the "Iranian missiles pass(ed) through several Israeli missile defences".
The Magen David Adom emergency services released video of a damaged building in the north of Israel, and said there were no deaths from the incident.
The Israeli military later on Tuesday morning issued several notices that it had detected incoming Iranian missiles and was working to intercept them.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on X that he spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Monday evening and expressed his “deep concern” about the war and its impact on the global economy.
During the phone call, Cho called for de-escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has closed to most maritime traffic, and urged Iran to take “proactive measures to ensure safe navigation” through the waterway.
Cho also asked Iran to ensure the safety of ships and crew still stranded in the strait, including those owned and operated by South Korean companies.
오늘 저녁, 세예드 압바스 아락치(Seyyed Abbas Araghchi) 이란 외교장관과 전화 통화를 갖고 중동 상황에 대해 의견을 교환하였습니다.
— 조현 외교부 장관 FM Cho Hyun (@FMChoHyun) March 23, 2026
저는 최근 중동 정세가 글로벌 안보와 경제에 미치는 영향에 깊은 우려를 표명하고, 호르무즈 해협의 항행 안전 보장과 긴장 완화를 위한 이란의 적극적인 조치를…
Japan plans to start releasing oil from joint stockpiles held in the country by the end of March, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has announced.
In a lengthy statement written in Japanese and posted on X, Takaichi also announced that the government will start releasing national oil stockpiles on March 26.
These moves will help ensure “that there is no disruption whatsoever in the supply of petroleum products such as gasoline”, she said.
“Maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East region, including ensuring the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, is of utmost importance to the international community, including Japan, from the perspective of stable energy supply as well,” she added.
ホルムズ海峡における航行の安全の確保を含む中東地域の平和と安定の維持は、エネルギーの安定供給の観点も含め、日本を含む国際社会にとって極めて重要です。… pic.twitter.com/ychGb6J1rh
— 高市早苗 (@takaichi_sanae) March 24, 2026
Wall Street stocks closed higher Monday after US President Donald Trump hailed "very good" talks with an unidentified Iranian official while shelving plans for new attacks.
Even though Tehran denied that negotiations took place, both the Dow and Nasdaq Composite index jumped by 1.4 percent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday ordered the government to ensure stable diesel supplies, as the war in West Asia sends oil prices spiralling.
Russia has battered Ukraine's refining capacity since invading in 2022, making Kyiv heavily dependent on fuel imports.
Diesel prices in Ukraine have surged almost 25 percent since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, with analysts warning that supply prospects for April remained unclear.
The Israeli military says more missiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel’s territory.
In a statement, the military said air defence systems are operating to intercept the attack.
Oil prices have tumbled after US President Donald Trump announced a five-day delay in strikes on Iranian energy facilities. Brent crude fell below $100, plunging 11 percent, then dipping as much as 15 percent.
The Israeli military says it is carrying out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, focusing on infrastructure and positions linked to the Iran‑backed group, as part of intensified operations in the ongoing conflict. The military has warned residents in southern suburbs ahead of the strikes, which mark a significant escalation in hostilities within Lebanon’s capital and surrounding areas
Iran has not updated official casualty figures since March 8, when it reported about 1,200 civilian deaths from US and Israeli airstrikes. Human rights groups outside the country say the death toll is likely higher, but chronic internet and phone outages are preventing accurate reporting. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates at least 1,407 civilians, including 214 children, have been killed.
Damage to infrastructure is extensive, with 61,555 homes, 19,000 businesses, 275 medical centres, and nearly 500 schools hit. Reporters cannot move freely in Iran without official permission, and authorities have reportedly threatened or arrested people attempting to share information internationally.
Major civilian losses include an airstrike on an elementary school in Minab that killed at least 165 people and a flour factory strike in Naqadeh killing 11 workers. Observers stress the need to focus on civilian harm amid ongoing geopolitical coverage.
Elsewhere, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed 1,029 people, while Iranian attacks have claimed 16 civilian lives in Israel and 17 in Gulf countries.
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday called for an immediate halt to attacks on essential infrastructure in the Middle East, warning that damage to nuclear and energy facilities could have “irreversible consequences.” ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric said strikes on civilian infrastructure risk amounting to war crimes and underscored that targeting essential services punishes millions of civilians.
The warning comes amid ongoing hostilities between the US-Israel and Iran, including an Iranian strike on Dimona in southern Israel, home to a nuclear facility. Spoljaric said the repeated targeting of energy sites and critical infrastructure “normalises a style of warfare that strips away our shared humanity.”
US President Donald Trump has temporarily paused threats to attack Iranian power plants following “very good” talks with unnamed Iranian officials, while Tehran denies any negotiations. The ICRC stressed that deliberate or incidental harm to nuclear and energy facilities is particularly alarming under international law.
The UN Security Council is negotiating a draft resolution, introduced by Bahrain, that would allow states to use “all necessary means” to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The text demands Iran immediately stop attacks on merchant vessels and attempts to impede lawful passage. Since Iran effectively blocked the Strait in response to US-Israeli strikes, only a few ships have passed. The draft also threatens targeted sanctions and could be revised during council negotiations, though its approval remains uncertain.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had spoken with Donald Trump and that the US president believed the countries' military gains in Iran could be converted into a negotiated agreement that protected Israel's interests.
"President Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the (Israeli military) and the US military in order to realise the war's objectives in an agreement -- an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
An Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs, state media reported, hours after the Israeli army issued a warning for residents of the area to evacuate.
AFPTV's live broadcast showed a cloud of smoke over the southern suburbs, which are considered a stronghold of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on "the grave situation in the Gulf region", and promised Pakistan was committed to playing "a constructive role in advancing peace".
A malfunction in Israel's "David's Sling" aerial interceptor system allowed two Iranian ballistic missiles to strike the south of the country, wounding dozens of people over the weekend, the military confirmed.
The system is a key component of Israel's multi-layered air defence shield.
The Israeli military announced it struck a site in Tehran belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and used for directing battalions of the Basij paramilitary force.
The hit came days after Israel announced it had "eliminated" the intelligence chief of the Basij in a strike that had also killed the force's top commander, Gholamreza Soleimani.
Israel has been targeting the Basij force as part of efforts to undermine the Iranian authorities' grip on power.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim of ongoing negotiations, saying no talks had taken place. Posting on X, Ghalibaf accused the US of using “fake news” to manipulate oil and financial markets and distract from the challenges faced by Washington and Israel.
Trump had earlier announced “very good” discussions with an unnamed Iranian official after postponing strikes on Iran’s power plants. Axios, citing an Israeli source, identified Ghalibaf as Trump’s interlocutor. Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei noted that messages from “friendly countries” suggested a US request for negotiations to end the conflict, according to IRNA.
Britain is sending short-range air defence systems to the Middle East to counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
"We're deploying short range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed," Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding that Britain was "doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia".
Trump announced "very good" talks with an unidentified Iranian official after abruptly shelving plans to attack the Islamic republic's power plants.
Trump made clear the talks -- denied by Tehran -- were not with Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, but with people he described as "very reasonable", and said so many top officials had already been killed in the conflict that "there's automatically a regime change".
