UK security adviser attended US-Iran talks and judged deal was within reach

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“Jonathan Powell, the UK’s national security adviser, attended the final US-Iran talks and believed Iran’s offer was significant enough to prevent war. Powell’s presence, along with his expertise and the UK’s assessment of the situation, contributed to the UK’s reluctance to support the US attack on Iran. The UK believed diplomatic options were still viable and the attack was premature.

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Patrick Wintour and Julian Borger

Powell’s presence at the talks, and his personal close knowledge of how they were progressing, was confirmed by three sources. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, attended the final talks between the US and Iran and judged that the offer made by Tehran on its nuclear programme was significant enough to prevent a rush to war, the Guardian can reveal.

Powell thought progress had been made in Geneva and that the deal proposed by Iran was “surprising”, according to sources.

Two days after the talks ended, and after a date had been agreed for a further round of technical talks in Vienna, the US and Israel launched the attack on Iran.

Powell’s presence at the talks, and his close knowledge of how they were progressing, was confirmed by three sources. One source said he was in the building at Oman’s ambassadorial residence in Cologny acting as an adviser, reflecting widespread concern about the US expertise on the talks represented by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy on several issues.

Oman’s foreign minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, right, holding a meeting with Steve Witkoff, centre, and Jared Kushner in Geneva on 26 February. Photograph: AP

Kushner and Witkoff had invited Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to the Geneva talks, to provide technical expertise, though Kushner would later claim that he and Witkoff had “a pretty deep understanding of the issues that matter in this”. Nuclear experts would later say that Witkoff’s pronouncements on the Iran nuclear programme were riddled with basic errors.

Powell has long experience as a mediator, and one source said Powell brought an expert from the UK Cabinet Office with him. One western diplomat said: “Jonathan thought there was a deal to be done, but Iran were not quite there yet, especially on the issue of UN inspections of its nuclear sites.”

A former official who was briefed on the Geneva talks by some of the participants said: “Witkoff and Kushner did not bring a US technical team with them. They used Grossi as their technical expert, but that is not his job. So Jonathan Powell took his own team.

“The UK team were surprised by what the Iranians put on the table,” the former official added. “It was not a complete deal, but it was progress and was unlikely to be the Iranians’ final offer. The British team expected the next round of negotiations to go ahead on the basis of the progress in Geneva.”

That next round of talks was due to take place in Vienna on Monday 2 March, but never happened. The US and Israel had launched their all-out attack two days earlier.

Powell’s attendance at the Geneva talks, as well as a previous set of meetings earlier in the month in the Swiss city, helps in part to explain the UK government’s reluctance to back the US attack on Iran, a reluctance that has put the UK-US relationship under unprecedented strain.

The UK saw no compelling evidence of an imminent threat of a Iranian missile attack on Europe, or of Iran securing a nuclear weapon. This is the first time it has become clear that Britain was so closely involved in the talks, and so had good reason to decide whether diplomatic options had been exhausted and a US attack was necessary.

Instead the UK regarded the attack as unlawful and premature since Powell believed the path remained open to a negotiated solution to the long-running issue of how Iran could reassure the US that it was not seeking a nuclear weapon.

Downing Street declined to comment on Powell’s presence at the Geneva talks or his view of them.

Keir Starmer has been repeatedly lambasted by Trump for not doing more to support the US attack, including by initially refusing to let America use British military bases, and only allowing them to be used later for defensive purposes after Iran started attacking UK Gulf allies. Trump has warned it could be bad for Nato if its European member states do not answer his call to help open the strait of Hormuz, a demand that has been declined.

The indirect talks in Geneva between Iran and the US were being mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.

Gulf diplomats did not specify on what basis Powell had been given access to the talks, but it may reflect the relationship he has managed to build with the US over the years, including previously as chief of staff to Tony Blair.

UK officials have subsequently explained they were impressed that Iran was prepared for the deal to be permanent and, unlike the 2015 nuclear agreement, would not have cut-off dates, or sunset clauses ending the restrictions on its programme.

Iran had also agreed to down-blend the 400kg stockpile of highly enriched uranium under the supervision of the IAEA inside Iran. It agreed no stockpiles of highly enriched uranium would be built up in the future.

In the final session of the talks, Iran agreed to a three- to-five-year pause on domestic enrichment, but the US in the afternoon session, after consultations with Trump, demanded a 10-year pause. In practice, Iran had no means to enrich domestically because of the bombing of its enrichment plants in 2015.

Iran had also made an offer of what the mediators described as an economic bonanza, with the US being given the chance to participate in a future civil nuclear programme.

In return, nearly 80% of the economic sanctions on Iran would have been lifted, including assets frozen in Qatar, a demand Iran made in the 2025 talks.

The Oman mediator believed the offer of zero stockpiling of highly enriched uranium was a breakthrough that meant an agreement was within reach.

Accounts differ on whether Kushner left the talks giving the impression Trump would welcome what had been agreed, or that the US negotiators knew it would take something massive to persuade Trump that war was not the best option. One diplomat with knowledge of the talks said: “We regarded Witkoff and Kushner as Israeli assets that dragged a president into a war he wants to get out of.”

 

Trump Can’t Spin His Way Out of This War

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“President Trump’s war against Iran lacks a clear strategy and has resulted in significant challenges. His chaotic approach, reliance on a small circle of aides, and contradictory statements have undermined the war’s objectives. Despite some tactical successes, the war’s outcome remains uncertain, with concerns about regime change, Iran’s nuclear program, and the global economy.

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March 17, 2026

Illustration by Rebecca Chew/The New York Times

By The Editorial Board

The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.

President Trump went to war against Iran without explaining his strategy to the American people or the world. It now appears that he may not have had much of a strategy at all.

Almost three weeks into the war, Mr. Trump has no apparent plan for bringing about the demise of the Iranian regime, something he had said he seeks. If his goal is more modest, such as the seizure of Iran’s nuclear materials, he has not offered credible ideas for accomplishing it. And he has failed to plan for a predictable side effect of a war in the Middle East: a disruption of oil supplies that causes a price spike and impairs the global economy.

The war has become an exemplar of Mr. Trump’s chaotic, ego-driven approach to the presidency. He has relied for advice on a smaller circle of aides than past presidents did when ordering military action and eschewed the careful process intended to surface objections and potential problems. He has made ridiculous and contradictory public statements, including a claim that the war has nearly achieved its goals. He has tried to mislead the world about the tragic deaths of dozens of Iranian schoolchildren, which were caused by a mistargeted American missile. Almost daily, he demonstrates why he cannot be trusted with the most consequential matters of government.

Despite all this, the war has had some tactical successes, and we believe it is important to acknowledge them even if they remain untethered to a strategy. Mr. Trump’s instincts about Iran were correct in a few ways. Its government is distinctly dangerous, having spent decades oppressing its own people, sponsoring terrorism, trying to destroy Israel, turning Lebanon into a failed state, protecting a horrific regime in Syria and pursuing a nuclear program. Mr. Trump also recognized that Iran’s regime was weaker than it pretended and could be weakened further through confrontation.

Over the past few years, a combination of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and allies and military attacks, mostly by Israel, has left Iran less capable of sowing regional problems. The value of its currency has plunged. Many of Iran’s leaders and nuclear scientists are dead. Its aerial defenses are mostly destroyed, and its missile stockpile is depleted. Two of its terrorist proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, are degraded. Its client state in Syria has been overthrown by local rebels.

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But in launching this war two and a half weeks ago, Mr. Trump asserted larger aims than containing Iran. “To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Mr. Trump said shortly after the first strikes. He has called for the unconditional surrender of Iran’s government and said that he must approve the country’s next leader. He has promised to make Iran great again.

Mr. Trump has not even begun to explain how he will accomplish any of these goals. His defenders have claimed that his coyness is a strategic gambit, to preserve his options and keep his enemy guessing. Increasingly, the truth appears to be that the president of the United States has started a war without any idea of how to end it.

Three strategic problems have become clear since the war began.

First, Mr. Trump repeated a mistake that American presidents have made for decades — in Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and even Iran itself, in the 1950s — and imagined that regime change would be easier to accomplish and maintain than it was. In this instance, Mr. Trump’s hubris has been stunning. Air power alone almost never topples a government. Only troops on the ground can seize the instruments of state power and install a new leader.

In defiance of this history, Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have conjured dreams of regime change. Sometimes there is loose talk of arming Iran’s Kurdish minority or hastening the return of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late deposed shah, who now lives in an affluent suburb of Washington. Other times, Mr. Trump encourages Iran’s security forces to defect or its people to “take over” their government. There is no evidence that any of this is working. After Mr. Trump encouraged street protests in January, Iran’s regime massacred thousands of demonstrators and remained securely in charge of the country. Since then, protests have largely ended.

Second, it remains unclear how the United States will achieve a crucial goal: assuring that Iran’s murderous regime does not become a nuclear power. Its stockpile of highly enriched uranium is believed to be intact, in a tunnel complex under mountains near the city of Isfahan. If the war ends with Iran maintaining that stockpile, it will have a path to building a bomb. The military humiliations it has endured over the past few years give it an incentive to take the final steps toward a weapon that it has not previously taken.

When this war began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that ground troops might be the only way to capture the uranium. “People are going to have to go and get it,” he said. Yet when a Fox News Radio host asked Mr. Trump about uranium last week, he replied, “We’re not focused on that.” There are no easy answers here. But the scattered approach to war planning does not inspire confidence.

The third problem involves the global economy. Middle Eastern wars are notorious for causing economic turmoil by raising the price of oil. Iran had a clear way to repeat the pattern by throttling the traffic of ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Yet Mr. Trump tried to wish away this situation.

Before the war, his top military adviser, Gen. Dan Caine, warned him that Iran would likely respond by attacking ships in the strait and effectively closing it. Mr. Trump replied by suggesting that Iran’s government would capitulate before it could close the strait or that the U.S. military could keep the strait open, according to The Wall Street Journal. He was wrong, as should have been obvious. The price of oil has since jumped more than 40 percent.

His responses have had an air of desperation. He temporarily lifted oil sanctions on Russia, which is a gift to an enemy. Over the weekend, he resorted to pleading with Britain, France, Japan, South Korea — allies he has spent years disdaining — and even China to send naval forces to protect the strait.

War is uncertain, and it remains possible that any of these problems will begin to look less serious in the coming weeks. Perhaps an Iranian opposition will somehow emerge, and the current regime will fold as quickly as the Assad government in Syria did in late 2024. Perhaps special forces will remove the enriched uranium without casualties. Perhaps the U.S. military, whose performance continues to be mostly impressive, will work with allies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Indeed, we would welcome any of these outcomes.

The first weeks of this war do not inspire confidence, however. They instead suggest that the behind-the-scenes planning in the White House may have been as reckless as its public behavior. It did not seek congressional approval for the war, as the Constitution requires. It did not plan ahead with allies in Europe or East Asia. It offered the American people only superficial rationales for the war.

Throughout his business and political career, Mr. Trump has often sought to create his own reality. When the truth is inconvenient, he ignores it and tells self-serving falsehoods. It has often worked out for him. But war tends to be less amenable to spin than politics or marketing. The early reality of the Iran war is not cooperating with Mr. Trump’s bluster.

The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.“

War in the Gulf Is Now Churning the U.S.-China Relationship ​ Summary

 

War in the Gulf Is Now Churning the U.S.-China Relationship

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“The war in Iran is straining the U.S.-China relationship, with President Trump requesting China send warships to the Gulf, a request met with resistance from Beijing. China, prioritizing its relationship with Iran and wary of becoming entangled in the conflict, is unlikely to comply. While a delay in the Xi-Trump summit could benefit China by increasing leverage, Beijing may still seek to mediate the situation to protect its economic interests and maintain its image as a responsible global power.

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With the Xi-Trump summit almost certainly delayed, and tensions rising over the war in Iran, vital issues for both the U.S. and China are also being cast into uncertainty.

March 17, 2026Updated 2:18 a.m. ET

The Chinese destroyer Tangshan at dock near an Iranian navy ship in Cape Town, South Africa, in January for joint maritime safety operations.Rodger Bosch/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The war in Iran is threatening a fragile détente between China and the United States, with the two powers now moving to postpone a much anticipated summit meeting after President Trump demanded that China send warships to the Gulf.

Mr. Trump on Monday said that he had requested that his visit to Beijing at the end of the month be postponed because of the war. Just a day earlier, he threatened to delay the meeting if China did not contribute warships to end Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is squeezing oil markets.

“I’d love to, but because of the war, I want to be here,” Mr. Trump said of meeting China’s leader, Xi Jinping. “I’m looking forward to being with him. We have a very good relationship.”

In a sign the relationship may not be as warm as Mr. Trump says, Chinese officials have reacted coolly to the president’s call for nations to escort merchant vessels through the strait. When asked on Monday about the president’s proposal, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said only that his country called on “all parties to immediately cease military operations.”

Outside of official circles, Mr. Trump’s demand has been met with outright ridicule in China.

One prominent Chinese blogger said the request was so absurd that the U.S. president might as well as invite Iranian warships to escort U.S. vessels. The Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party tabloid, on Sunday asked, “Is this really about ‘sharing responsibility — or is it about sharing the risk of a war that Washington started and can’t finish?”

Other Chinese news outlets, describing the lack of response by other nations, said Mr. Trump had received “a nose full of dust,” or a cold shoulder.

President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s leader, last met in Busan, South Korea, in October.Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Beijing has little incentive to risk Chinese personnel and ships or undermine ties with Iran, its closest partner in the region. Iran has said it is only targeting vessels linked to the United States and its allies, and is allowing ships carrying oil to China to cross the strait.

“This is not a difficult question to answer. Regardless of whether Trump comes or not, China will absolutely not send warships to participate in an escort operation,” said Ding Long from the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University.

Dr. Ding said that sending Chinese naval ships would be “tantamount to entering the war and joining the conflict against Iran” — something China is unwilling to do.

For Mr. Xi, who is working to cement Beijing’s position as a superpower and global leader, contributing Chinese warships would mean submitting to U.S. leadership.

“From Beijing’s perspective, this is an American war rather than China’s problem,” said Claus Soong, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies who focuses on China’s global strategy. Responding to Mr. Trump’s call to send naval forces would make it look as if “China is following his order,” he said.

But not responding at all may jeopardize a trade truce between China and the United States. Beijing has been counting on the summit to lower pressure on China as it tries to overhaul a slowing economy. Beijing wants Washington to reduce support for Taiwan, ease restrictions on technology exports, and extend a pause on tariffs struck last year after months of a bruising trade war.

And while China has invested in renewables and electric vehicles to reduce reliance on oil and other foreign energy sources — as well as stockpiling oilbefore the U.S. and Israel opened their war on Iran — the country is still affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. As much as 40 percent of China’s oil imports are shipped through the waterway.

Shipping data since the beginning of the war shows that few Chinese vessels are risking the journey, according to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. As of Tuesday, at least nine Chinese carriers appeared to be stuck in the Gulf, according to Marine Traffic, a maritime data platform.

“Everyone benefits from the reopening of the strait,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, who said that Beijing may try to mediate or quietly pressure Iran to reopen the strait.

Doing more to push for the reopening would help Beijing build good will with Washington before the summit, burnish its image as a responsible great power and help China’s partners in the Gulf, she said.

“China just can’t push Iran with one-sided pressure,” Dr. Sun said, adding that Beijing would likely also privately urge the United States and Israel to declare a cease-fire.

A delay of the summit between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi could be in China’s interests, too. If the war drags on, added pressure on Washington could mean more leverage for China.

“Both Beijing and Washington have expectations for the summit, but it may be that Trump needs the meeting more as a way to demonstrate that he can make a deal,” Mr. Soong said.

Pei-Lin Wu contributed reporting.

Lily Kuo is a China correspondent for The Times, based in Taipei.“

 

Iran War Live Updates: Israel Says It Has Killed Iran’s De Facto Leader

Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, was killed in an overnight strike, the Israeli military said. His death would deal another severe blow to Iran’s power structure.

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The Israeli military announced the killing of Ali Larijani, a high-ranking Iranian leader, and Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij militia, in airstrikes near Tehran. Larijani, a close confidant of the supreme leader, was a prominent figure in Iran’s government and a potential negotiator with the U.S. His death raises questions about the future of U.S.-Iran relations and the endgame of the ongoing conflict.

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Updated 

March 17, 2026

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had killed one of Iran’s highest-ranking leaders, Ali Larijani, in an overnight airstrike near Tehran, dealing another severe blow to a power structure already decimated by three weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The killing of Mr. Larijani — who became Iran’s de facto leader after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes killed the upper echelons of Iran’s government and military — removes one of Iran’s most prominent voices of defiance. But Mr. Larijani was also an influential pragmatist who was seen as having the clout to negotiate with the United States, and his death could embolden Iranian hard-liners who believe that the Islamic republic can only survive by doubling down.

The Israeli military also said on Tuesday that it had killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij, Iran’s powerful plainclothes militia. The Iranian authorities and state media did not comment on the Israeli announcements. But two Iranian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, said they believed Mr. Larijani and Mr. Soleimani had been killed.

Mr. Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was a close confidant of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike at the start of the war on Feb. 28. Mr. Larijani in effect ran Iran behind the scenes even before Ayatollah Khamenei’s death, leading the brutal crackdown early this year on protests against Islamic rule.

He took on a more prominent role in key decision making during the war, including after the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader. Mr. Larijani had opposed that choice, lobbying for a more moderate option.

Mr. Larijani’s killing on Tuesday shows that Israel is not slowing down in its effort to eliminate top leaders of a regime it considers an existential threat. But it also renews serious questions about President Trump’s endgame for the war: he has not clearly articulated his goals or how the assault on Iran might end, and he has acknowledged that many of the Iranian officials that the United States might have negotiated with have been killed.

“We don’t even know their leaders,” Mr. Trump said on Monday. “We have people wanting to negotiate,” he added. “We have no idea who they are.”

Here’s what else we are covering:

• Powerful militia: Mr. Soleimani had led the Basij since 2019 and was under U.S. and European sanctions for his role in the violent suppression of protests. The Basij, estimated to number at about one million, are affiliated with Iran’s most powerful military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and have played a central role in repressing dissent.

• Tanker attack: A tanker anchored near a port in the United Arab Emirates sustained minor damage when it was hit by a projectile early Tuesday, the first strike on a ship in and around the Strait of Hormuz in five days, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a monitoring agency. At least 17 vessels have been attacked in the region since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began. Read more ›

• U.S.-China relations: China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Beijing was “maintaining communication” with Washington about Mr. Trump’s visit to China, after he requested a postponement. On Sunday, Mr. Trump threatened to delay the meeting if China did not send its navy to help protect oil tankers in the Gulf. Read more ›

• Lebanon evacuations: The Israeli military again urged residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate north of the Zahrani River, saying it was attacking Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in that region. A day earlier, Israel’s defense minister had announced a “ground maneuver” in southern Lebanon, defying concerns over the consequences for civilians. More than a million people have fled their homes, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

• Death toll: At least 1,348 civilians in Iran have been killed since the start of the war, Iran’s U.N. representative told the Security Council last Wednesday, the latest figure the country has provided. In Lebanon, officials said that 886 people had been killed. In Israel, at least 12 people have been killed, according to the authorities. The Pentagon has said that 13 American service members have died since the start of the war.“

Jon Stewart Invites Panel of Trumps to Debate Iran War | The Daily Show

 

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US allies reject Trump's call for help in Strait of Hormuz

 

J.D. Vance: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

 

(1) Middle East crisis live: European countries resist Trump’s demand for help to clear the strait of Hormuz

Middle East crisis live: European countries resist Trump’s demand for help to clear the strait of Hormuz

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"European countries, including Italy, Germany, the UK, and Greece, are resisting US President Trump’s call for assistance in clearing the Strait of Hormuz, fearing involvement in the escalating US-Israeli conflict with Iran. Despite Trump’s warning that non-cooperation could harm NATO, these nations are cautious about being drawn into the conflict. Meanwhile, Iran claims the strait is only blocked for US, Israeli, and allied vessels, while a non-Iranian oil tanker successfully transited the waterway.

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Italy, Germany, UK and Greece react cautiously after Trump threatens failure to do assist would be ‘very bad for the future of Nato’

1m ago

An LPG gas tanker at anchor in Shinas, Oman, as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

09.06 EDT

Summary of the day so far...

It has just gone past 4.30pm in Tehran, and 3pm in Tel Aviv and Beirut. Here is a quick recap of events:

• European countries have resisted Donald Trump’s demand for help to clear the strait of Hormuz, seemingly reluctant to get dragged into the escalating US-Israeli war on Iran.

• It comes after Donald Trump called on the UK, China, France, Japan, South Korea and other countries to send ships to the world’s busiest shipping route, which has been effectively blockaded by Iran.

• The US president said it would be “very bad for the future of Nato” if allies don’t help secure the strait.

• Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, however, told reporters that the strait is only cut off for vessels of the US, Israel and their allies.

• A oil tanker appears to have cleared the strait of Hormuz and is now sailing to Pakistan, a country Iran has thanked for the “solidarity” it has shown in the face of ongoing US-Israeli attacks.

• A fire broke out on Monday after a drone attack on an industrial oil facility in the UAE’s Fujairah, officials said.

• Israel’s military said it had launched a broad wave of strikes on the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz.

• The Israeli army said it had begun what it described as “limited ground operations” against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon – but IDF attacks in Lebanon have killed many civilians and have hit residential neighbourhoods.

• Debris from an intercepted projectile fell across several cities near Tel Aviv – including Shoham, Rishon LeZion, Lod and Ness Ziona – though authorities reported no casualties

• The Lebanese health ministry said 850 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since 2 March, when Israel started striking Lebanon following Hezbollah’s firing of rockets towards the country.

• Iranian drone attacks temporarily shut Dubai airport and hit a key oil facility in the UAE.

21m ago08.45 EDT

Israel’s military said on Monday that it had launched a “wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure” in the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Tabriz, marking a further escalation in the intensifying confrontation between the two regional powers.

Explosions were reported in the Iranian capital just hours after Israel said it had carried out extensive overnight operations. Blasts echoed across central Tehran as air defence systems were activated, according to local media reports, suggesting coordinated strikes aimed at strategic sites across the country.

The Israeli military also claimed that overnight strikes had destroyed an aircraft used by Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport. According to Israeli officials, the plane had been used by senior Iranian political and military figures for domestic and international travel, as well as for coordination with allied states.

Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that there are detailed operational plans for the war with Iran in place for the next three weeks, along with additional plans extending further ahead.

“We want to make sure that they are as weak as possible, this regime, and that we degrade all their capabilities, all parts and all wings of their security establishment,” Shoshani said.

Emergency personnel work at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a residential building, in Tehran, Iran, on 16 March 2026.Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters

29m ago08.38 EDT

European countries resist Trump's request to help clear the strait of Hormuz

Italy is the latest European country (after the UK, Germany and Greece) to react cautiously to Donald Trump’s demand that allies help open the strait of Hormuz.

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, told reporters in Brussels that Italy backs reinforcing EU naval missions in the Red Sea.

But he added: “However, I don’t think these missions can be expanded to include the strait of Hormuz, especially since they are anti-piracy and defensive missions.”

Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister Xavier Bettel said his country would not give in to “blackmail” from the US to join the war, saying: “With satellites, with communications, we are very happy to be useful. But don’t ask us with troops and with machines.”

Trump’s call for countries, including France and the UK to send warships to help unblock the strait have been met with a cool response despite governments around the world being hit by surging energy prices.

Any military involvement would see such countries being dragged into the escalating war, which was launched by the US and Israel illegally, according to many legal experts.

Aside from its widespread economic toll and grave consequences for regional stability, the war has already had a devastating human cost with a high civilian death toll in both Iran and Lebanonfrom US-Israeli airstrikes.

Trump had suggested allies could contribute naval assets such as minesweepers – vessels Europe has more of than America. But European governments have so far resisted the president’s pressure, although this is a fast-moving situation so divergence could happen.

As we mentioned in a previous post, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called for a diplomatic effort to get oil and gas through the strait of Hormuz modelled on an initiative that enabled Ukraine to export its grain to the world.

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1h ago08.01 EDT

Non-Iranian oil tanker transits strait of Hormuz , monitor says

A non-Iranian oil tanker transited the strait of Hormuz despite major disruption to shipping in the crucial waterway, monitor Marine Traffic said earlier today.

“The Aframax tanker Karachi, carrying Abu Dhabi’s Das crude, has become the first non-Iranian cargo to transit the choke point while broadcasting its AIS signal, suggesting that select shipments may be receiving negotiated safe passage,” the monitor said.

The Karachi, controlled by Pakistan’s National Shipping Corp., made the dangerous journey on Sunday, according to shipping data analysed by Bloomberg, which reported that the Pakistan-flagged tanker was spotted in the waters off Oman’s Sohar this morning.

At least sixteen tankers have been attacked in the strait of Hormuz since the war started on 28 February and Iran has threatened to lay explosive mines in the waterway.

But the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters earlier that the strait was only cut off for vessels of the US, Israel and their allies. In a social media post this morning, he thanked the government and people of Pakistan for their solidarity with – and support for – Iran in the face of ongoing US-Israeli attacks.

1h ago07.43 EDT

Starmer says UK 'will not be drawn into wider war'

Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street, the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he has been clear in his objectives about the war, which has entered its third week. Starmer said:

First, we will protect our people in the region.

Second, while taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war.

And third, we will keep working towards a swift resolution that brings security and stability back to the region and stops the Iranian threat to its neighbours.

Starmer told journalists he is working with allies on a plan to reopen the strait of Hormuz, having resisted Donald Trump’s demands to send Royal Navy warships to help secure the vital shipping route. He said the UK was working with countries, including European allies, on a “viable plan” to reopen the strait. You can read more in our UK politics live blog.

The UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference to update the public and journalists about the US-Israeli war on Iran. Photograph: Brook Mitchell/WPA Pool/Getty Images

2h ago07.36 EDT

The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called for a diplomatic effort to get oil and gas through the strait of Hormuz modelled on an initiative that enabled Ukraine to export its grain to the world, as the EU weighs options to keep open the vital waterway.

Kallas also warned of food shortages next year as a result of fertiliser shortages if the strait remains closed. Around one-third of global seaborne trade in fertilisers passes through the strait, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Speaking to reporters Kallas said she held talks during the weekend with UN secretary general António Guterres whether it was possible to replicate the Black Sea grain initiative for the strait of Hormuz.

The Black Sea Grain deal, negotiated in June 2022, ensured Ukraine, one of the breadbaskets of the world, could export grain from its southern ports, despite the ongoing war.

Kallas said the closure of the strait of Hormuz was really dangerous for energy supplies to Asia, but also risked reducing supply of fertilisers, adding: “If there is lack of fertilisers this year there’s going to be also food deprivation next year.”

Kaja Kallas has called for a diplomatic effort to get oil and gas through the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Omar Havana/Reuters

She was speaking ahead of talks with EU foreign ministers on Monday, where she said the main topic would be how to keep the strait of Hormuz open, reflecting conversations that began before Donald Trump urged allies to send warships to the region.

EU leaders last week expressed openness to extending existing naval missions in the region, notably Operations Aspides, which was set up in 2024 to protect commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf, from attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on international shipping.

While France has announced it will send two frigates to boost Aspides, Germany has said it is sceptical about extending its mission to the strait of Hormuz. Germany foreign minister Johann Wadephul described the existing mission to help commercial shipments pass through the Red Sea as “not effective”.

Kallas said member states would discuss whether to change the mandate of Operation Aspides. She also mentioned talks to set up an ad-hoc “coalition of the willing”, but said it could be easiest to use the existing operation in the region.

Acknowledging scepticism from Germany, Kallas said member states needed to be on board: “If the member states say that we are not doing anything with this then of course it’s their decision but we have to discuss how we help to keep the strait of Hormuz open.”

2h ago07.27 EDT

Iran 'prepared to continue the war wherever it is', foreign minister says

In a statement shared to Telegram this morning, Abbas Araghchi said:

That we say we don’t want a ceasefire is not because we want war, but because this time this war must end in a way that our enemies will never think of repeating these attacks and this aggression again.

I think they have learned a good lesson by now and realised what kind of nation they are dealing with, one that has no hesitation in defending itself and is prepared to continue the war wherever it is and to take it wherever it is.

2h ago07.15 EDT

Iran says strait of Hormuz is closed only to US, Israel and their allies

Also speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that the strait of Hormuz is only cut off for vessels of the US, Israel and their allies.

“From our perspective it is open,” he said. “It is only closed to our enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has vowed to continue fighting against the US and Israel. Photograph: Pierre Albouy/Reuters

His comments come after the US president, Donald Trump, said it would be “very bad for the future of Nato” if allies don’t help secure the strait of Hormuz for global oil shipping. No countries have yet committed to sending warships.

Germany said this morning that the US-Israeli war with Iran has nothing to do with ⁠the Nato alliance and said Berlin would not help keep the strait open through ⁠military means, probably summing up the mood felt by a lot of European officials.

2h ago07.11 EDT

Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has been speaking at a press conference. He said:

The situation surrounding the strait of Hormuz in Iran has always been critical, and the security of ships passing through this strait has been a major concern. 

The incidents we have witnessed in recent days are a direct result of the imposed war by the United States and the occupying regime on the region.

As a coastal nation, we have the right to ensure the security of our region and to prevent the misuse by aggressors and occupiers of this waterway for their aggressive actions. 

This is the right of the Islamic Republic based on international law, and it applies regionally as well.

Just as we are determined to prevent the misuse of this waterway by aggressors, we are also addressing issues concerning ships that do not belong to these aggressors or their affiliates, while still ensuring safety and carrying out necessary actions.

2h ago07.03 EDT

Greece will not engage in military operations in the strait of Hormuz, spokesperson says

The Reuters news agency has quoted Greece’s government spokesperson as saying his country will not engage in any military operations in the strait of Hormuz.

It comes after Donald Trump called on the UK, China, France, Japan, South Korea and other countries to send ships to the world’s busiest shipping route, which is being effectively blockaded by Iran.

But the response to the call has been largely reluctant with countries issuing non-committal statements saying dialogue is ongoing and that they are working with allies, but, crucially for Trump, not agreeing to dispatch any assets into the incredibly dangerous strait.

Iran has attacked ships and reportedly started to lay mines in the strait, in effect closing it to marine traffic, leading to a huge rise in global oil prices. Last year, about 20m barrels of oil passed through the strait each day."

Middle East crisis live: European countries resist Trump’s demand for help to clear the strait of Hormuz