Iran-US war latest: Tehran strikes Israel and US Gulf allies after calling Trump peace talks ‘fake news’
Aftermath of Iranian missile barrages in central Israel
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Iran launched another blistering attack against Israel and American allies in the Gulf on Tuesday after dismissing Donald Trump’s claims that Washington and Tehran were holding “productive” talks to end the war as “fakenews”.
The Israeli military reported a fresh wave of missile attacks, triggering air raid sirens across the country, including Tel Aviv, where blasts from interceptions were heard. Homes in the north were damaged by falling debris. No deaths were reported.
Kuwait also responded to drone and missile attacks overnight, while Saudi Arabia intercepted a wave of more than 20 drones and Bahrain activated alert sirens. Explosions continued to rock Iran through the night, heard in Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan and Karaj.
There was no sign of de-escalation after Iran rubbished Donald Trump’s claims that talks towards a ceasefire were ongoing with an unnamed “top person” in Iran.
Administration officials told Politico yesterday that the White House was eyeing Iranian parliament speaker Ghalibaf as a potential US-backed leader, and an Israeli official told Axios that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were negotiating with him instead of the new supreme leader.
Reassurances were further muddled as a social media account in Ghalibaf’s name said no negotiations have so far taken place, and Iran’s foreign ministry said the regime had not responded to American requests to talk.
Iran has just 1,000 missiles left, estimates Israeli thinktank
An Israeli think tank estimates that Iran could have as few as 1,000 missiles left in its stockpile, having already spent more than half.
The Alma Research Centre estimates that Iran likely had around 1,500 missiles by the end of the 12-day war last summer.
In the eight months that followed, it likely would have been able to build a further 1,000.
After three weeks of war, it estimates Iran’s arsenal could have fallen back down to 1,000 – even if it can quickly replenish stocks.
James Reynolds24 March 2026 09:32
Iran arrests almost 500 accused of ‘stirring public opinion’ amid war
Iran’s police says it arrested 466 individuals accused of ‘stirring public opinion’ and ‘online propaganda in favour of the enemy’, according to the IRNA news agency.
James Reynolds24 March 2026 09:24
Sirens sounding across Israel as Hezbollah claims rocket attack
Sirens were sounding across Israel’s Acre and the Krayot suburbs of Haifa on Tuesday morning after Hezbollah claimed a rocket attack from Lebanon.
Israel’s army says it intercepted most of the rockets.
Israeli emergency service personnel gather at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv on March 24 (AFP/Getty)
James Reynolds24 March 2026 09:10
Trump determined to reach deal with Iran, Israeli officials believe
Donald Trump appears to be determined to reach a deal with Iran aimed at ending hostilities in the Middle East, three senior Israeli officials said on Tuesday.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they viewed it as unlikely that Iran would agree to US demands in any new round of negotiations, which broke down with the start of the war at the end of February.
Those demands were likely to include curbs on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, the sources said.
James Reynolds24 March 2026 09:04
Major airlines cancel more flights as Middle East conflict escalates
Global air travel remains severely disrupted, with many people still unable to fly as planned to destinations after the Iran war forced the closure of major Middle Eastern hubs, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. Among the airlines cancelling flights:
IAG-owned British Airways has extended cancellations of flights to Amman, Bahrain, Dubai and Tel Aviv until May 31 and to Doha until April 30, while adding flights to Bangkok and Singapore. Flights to Abu Dhabi remain suspended until later this year.
Wizz Air has suspended flights to Israel until March 29, and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Jeddah from mainland European destinations until mid-September.
Qatar Airways said it would operate a revised limited number of flights until March 28.
Planes are parked at Dubai International Airport as smoke rises following a drone strike on 16 March (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Etihad Airways said it was operating a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and select destinations.
Emirates said it was operating a reduced flight schedule following a partial reopening of regional airspace.
Germany’s Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and ITA Airways, has suspended flights to Tel Aviv through April 9, and to Beirut, Dubai, Amman, Erbil and Abu Dhabi until March 28. Flights to Tehran are suspended through April 30 and to Riyadh until April 5.
Air France has cancelled Tel Aviv and Beirut flights until March 28 and Dubai and Riyadh flights until March 24, as well as a March 25 departure from Dubai.
James Reynolds24 March 2026 09:00
Iran threatens to strike Israeli troops in Gaza
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warn that they will target Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip “without any limit” if Israel targets civilians in Palestinian territories and Lebanon, per IRNA news agency.
James Reynolds24 March 2026 08:47
Watch: Aftermath of Iranian missile barrages in central Israel
Aftermath of Iranian missile barrages in central Israel
James Reynolds24 March 2026 08:30
Are Washington and Tehran in talks to end the war?
Donald Trump’s claims that the US and Iran were already in talks to end the war were pounced upon by the regime in Tehran, which said the US president was only trying to soothe damaged markets and denied any such conversations had taken place.
Trump said yesterday that negotiators spoke on Sunday and could speak again on Monday, sparking a flurry of market activity and hopes of de-escalation just hours from Trump’s deadline to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face ‘obliteration’.
Iranian officials cited in local media soon said there were no such discussions, before a spokesperson for the foreign ministry put out a statement claiming that while the US had tried to get in touch, Iran had not responded.
Trump did say in his comments to reporters that he was speaking to a “top person” in Iran and did not acknowledge new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei as leader, indicating the US might not be going through the official channels.
An Israeli official told Axios that Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf was negotiating with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, before Trump administration officials told Politico that Ghalibaf was being eyed for a future leadership role, supported by the US.
A social media account in Ghalibaf’s name on Monday afternoon said that no negotiations have been held with the US, claiming “fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets”.
Trump told reporters on Monday that the US and Iran were working to secure peace (Reuters)
James Reynolds24 March 2026 08:10
Watch: Netanyahu says Trump believes military ‘achievements’ against Iran can be used to end war
Trump believes military ‘achievements’ against Iran can be leveraged into a deal to meet the war’s ‘objectives’: Netanyahu
James Reynolds24 March 2026 07:51
Philippines considers grounding long-haul flights
Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has told Bloomberg News that grounding planes due to a shortage of jet fuel was a “distinct possibility”.
“Several countries have already told our airlines they cannot fuel their aircraft, so they have to carry fuel there and back,” Mr Marcos Jr said. “Long haul is going to be a much more serious problem.”
Philippine energy secretary Sharon Garin told reporters today that the country will try to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down.
Ms Garin said the country would “temporarily” be forced to lean even more heavily on coal due to the ongoing LPG crisis fueled by the war in the Middle East.
“We talked to the generation companies, the coal-powered plants, to check how much they can increase their generation,” Ms Garin said, adding that the “temporary measure” that could start as early as next month.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar24 March 2026 07:50
