The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
A meeting of the foreign ministers of the regional countries, hosted by Saudi Arabia, has condemned Iran’s retaliatory campaign against Gulf countries, calling on the country to “immediately” cease the aggression
Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s key South Pars gas field if there are further attacks against Qatar’s main gas plant
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that Ankara is conveying “friendly” advice to Iran to avoid spreading its war with the United States and Israel to the Middle East, adding that Tehran’s attacks on regional countries are unacceptable, Reuters reports.
Speaking in Doha, Fidan has said Israel is the main perpetrator of the war but that Iran has a “historic responsibility” not to attack regional countries.
He adds that Ankara is in contact with both Washington and Tehran to gauge where they stand, and that Turkiye’s efforts to end the conflict will continue.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the consultative ministrial meeting in Riyadh, on March 19. — AFP
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has just spoken at a press conference alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Al Jazeera reports.
Sheikh Mohammed has said that the war must stop immediately and that Iran must stop its attacks and not expand the conflict to the region.
“Any expansion of the war will never enable stability,” he has stated.
The Qatari PM adds that Iran’s claims of targeting US bases in neighbouring nations are “unacceptable and unjustified”.
“Yesterday’s attack on the Ras Laffan gas plant shows Tehran is targeting energy infrastructure that is vital for Qatar and the entire world,” Sheikh Mohammed has said. “The attack will affect millions of people around the world.”
The Israeli military said that its fighter jets had struck several Iranian naval vessels in the Caspian Sea the previous day, including vessels equipped with anti-submarine missiles, AFP reports.
The targets included ships equipped with missile systems, support vessels and patrol craft, the military said, adding that a port command centre was also hit in the operation.
The targeted Iranian ships were also equipped with aerial surveillance systems and anti-submarine missiles, the military said
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani condemned Iran’s attacks on the state’s main gas hub, AFP reports.
“This attack has significant repercussions for global energy supplies. Such attacks bring no direct benefit to any country, rather, they harm and directly impact populations,” he told a press conference following extensive damage to the Ras Laffan facility.
QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi says Iran’s attacks have damaged facilities that produce 17 per cent of the company’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, and that it will take three to five years to repair them, Al Jazeera reports.
“I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar would be — Qatar and the region — in such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country in the month of Ramadan, attacking us in this way,” he said.
The Middle East war could weigh heavily on already slowing global trade, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) warns, saying merchandise trade volume growth could be as low as 1.4 per cent this year, compared to 4.6pc in 2025.
“Sustained increases in energy prices could increase risks for global trade, with potential spillovers for food security and cost pressures on consumers and businesses,” (WTO) chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warns in a statement.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned Iranian missile attacks on Turkiye and expressed solidarity with the people of Turkiye amid the Middle East conflict, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The premier has made these remarks during a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where both leaders expressed Eid greetings and prayed for peace, unity and prosperity in the Ummah.
“The prime minister reiterated his strong condemnation of the ongoing escalation in the region, particularly the missile attacks on Turkiye, and said that the entire Pakistani nation stood in solidarity with their Turkish brothers and sisters in these challenging times,” the PMO has said.
“The two leaders urged the international community, especially those in the region, to seek a resolution of their problems through dialogue and diplomacy.”
According to the PMO, PM Shehbaz and Erdogan also exchanged views on Afghanistan, with the latter noting Ankara’s constructive role in promoting peace efforts between Islamabad and Kabul, especially in the recently announced temporary ceasefire for Eidul Fitr.
Recalling mutual visits to each other’s countries, the premier highlighted that both nations were “working together assiduously to further advance bilateral ties across all spheres of mutual interest”.
PM Shehbaz and Erdogan have agreed to maintain close coordination to promote peace, prosperity and economic growth, both bilaterally and regionally.
The defence ministry of the United Arab Emirates says its air defences are “currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”, Al Jazeera reports.
Sounds being heard were the result of defence systems intercepting the missiles and drones, it said in a statement.
Six major international powers, including Britain, France, Germany and Japan, say they are ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”, AFP reports.
“We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning” the grouping — which also includes Italy and the Netherlands — said in a joint statement, as they condemned “in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf”.
“We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping,” the statement added.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has called on the United States and Israel to end their war with Iran before it spirals “out of control,” warning of “potential tragic consequences” for civilians as well as the global economy, AFP reports.
“To the United States and to Israel: it’s high time to end this war that is risking to get completely out of control,” Guterres has told reporters at an EU summit in Brussels. “To Iran, stop attacking your neighbours. They were never parties to the conflict.”
Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres speaks to press as he arrives for the European Union Summit at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 19. — AFP
An Israeli minister has called the US-Israeli strikes against Iran “an immense blessing” for Israel, nearly three weeks into the Middle East war, AFP reports.
“The debate should not be about when (the war) will end, but about how we are going to prolong and deepen the damage caused,” says Zeev Elkin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party.
“Every day of the campaign is an immense blessing for the State of Israel,” Elkin adds, speaking on Army Radio.
Elkin is also a member of the security cabinet that is charged with approving large-scale military operations.
Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah has spoken by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after Iranian attacks, Al Jazeera reports citing the state-run Kuwaiti News Agency.
It said the two leaders stressed they would “devote all their capabilities and resources to preserving the security and stability of the region”.
The United States may ease restrictions on Iranian oil already at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said on Fox Business, as Washington looks to stabilise global supply, Al Jazeera reports.
He added that the US could also carry out a unilateral release of oil reserves.
Hezbollah says it has fired rockets at a military base and a village in Israel, as well as targeting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.
In posts on Telegram, the group said it had fired missiles at the Israeli military’s Tefen base east of Acre, and at the settlement of Even Menachem in northern Israel.
It said it had also fired rockets at a newly established Israeli military position in Nimr al-Jamal, opposite the border town of Alma al-Shaab, and had also targeted a group of Israeli soldiers in the al-Labouneh area of southern Lebanon.
A senior Russian official has called for the creation of a safety zone around Iran’s Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant to prevent a major disaster, two days after a projectile struck within several hundred metres of its reactor, Reuters reports.
Alexei Likhachev, head of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said there were 72 tonnes of fissile material and 210 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel at the site, and that any strike on it could lead to a catastrophe.
“If an incident were to occur, it would be at least regional in scale and would affect a large number of countries in the Middle East. None of the parties to the conflict would avoid radiation exposure in the event of a serious accident at Bushehr,” Likhachev told reporters.
An explosion has been heard near the international airport of Erbil city in the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region, AFP journalists report, saying they saw smoke rise just outside the surrounding fence.
A witness said two similar explosions were heard in the morning.
Erbil is home to a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses US-led coalition troops.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says there is no “time frame” for ending the US-Israeli war against Iran, AFP reports.
“We wouldn’t want to set a definitive time frame,” Hegseth told reporters, adding that “we’re very much on track” and that President Donald Trump will be the one to decide when to stop.
“It will be at the president’s choosing, ultimately, where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve achieved what we need to.’”
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on March 19, 2026. — AFP
Hezbollah says its fighters are battling Israeli forces in south Lebanon, as a military source on the ground says Israeli troops are slowly advancing while “systematically destroying” border towns, AFP reports.
In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters had ambushed Israeli troops entering the border town of Taybeh and destroyed a tank.
US and Israeli attacks this morning in Iran’s north-western city of Tabriz have killed several people, including four taekwondo athletes, Al Jazeera reports citing Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned “in the strongest terms” Iranian strikes on Qatar’s main gas hub, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility, AFP reports.
“We are working towards a swift resolution to the situation in the Middle East, in the best interests of the British people,” Starmer added in a post on X.
He discussed the “egregious” strikes with Nato chief Mark Rutte and French President Emmanuel Macron in a call today, Starmer’s office said in statement.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the US objectives in Iran are on target and on plan and they have not changed since day one, Reuters reports.
“Today again will be the largest strike package on Iran,” Hegseth said, adding Iran’s ability to make new ballistic missiles has probably been hit hardest.
A pregnant Palestinian woman has died in the occupied West Bank from shrapnel wounds sustained after an Iranian missile attack, bringing the death toll from the incident to four, the Ramallah-based health ministry says according to AFP.
The health ministry added that a girl who was seriously injured in the blast was now in stable condition in hospital.
Saman*, a resident of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was at her workplace when a loud explosion occurred in Abu Dhabi — a retaliatory strike by Iran against US-Israel strikes on its territory. Her two children were at home, while her husband was also at work.
Her workplace was far from the site of the explosion, so she did not hear it. However, she remained in denial that such an incident could occur in a safe and secure country like the UAE.
“Neither did I hear the sound of the first explosion, nor did I concentrate on it as it was another super busy day at work,” Saman told Dawn, adding that her colleagues, who were surprised by the incident, shared the news with her.
While still in denial, she immediately checked the news and learned about the incident. Her focus then shifted from the event to the safety of her children and her husband.
State-run Pakistan TV reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held separate phone conversations with his counterparts in Turkiye, Egypt, and Pakistan.
“According to a statement, he discussed US and Israeli military actions against Iran, their regional and global implications, and the need for vigilance and coordination among regional countries,” it said.
