Main points
- The European Union’s foreign policy chief is encouraging member states to redirect the bloc’s Red Sea naval mission to help restart oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz after US president Donald Trump demanded assistance
- Trump has said France is willing to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz
- However, a number of countries have declined, including Germany and Greece, while British prime minister Keir Starmer said the UK will “not be drawn into the wider war”
- Irish Embassy in UAE warns of severe consequences for sharing images of bomb damage
Key reads
- If you thought Hizbullah were a spent force, think again
- Violent aggression against violent repression will never bring peace to Iran
This concludes our live updates of developments in the war in the Middle East this evening. We’ll be back with more coverage tomorrow.
Western leaders issue joint statement expression “grave concern” about Israel’s invasion of Lebanon
The leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy have issued a joint statement expressing “grave concern” after Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on Monday.
A significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences, they warned, adding that it could lead to a protracted conflict with “devastating humanitarian consequences”.
“Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel and the targeting of civilians must cease and they must disarm. We condemn Hezbollah’s decision to join Iran in hostilities, which further jeopardises regional peace and security,” the statement reads.
“We condemn attacks directed at civilians, civilian infrastructure, health workers and infrastructure, as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. These actions are unacceptable, and we call on all parties to act in accordance with international humanitarian law”.
The latest reports indicate that Israeli strikes have killed at least 850 people in Lebanon, including at least 107 children.
Iran and US have been in direct contact in recent days
Iran and the US have established a direct communications channel between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, according to reports by Axios.
A US official and a source with knowledge told Axios that Araghchi sent text messages to Witkoff that focused on ending the war.
The US official told Axios it was Araghchi who was attempting to engage, but said the US “is not talking” to Iran.
Meanwhile, Trump said earlier today that Iran had communicated with the US about reaching a deal.
“They want to make a deal. They are talking to our people ... we have people wanting to negotiate, [but] we have no idea who they are,” the US president told reporters.
Explosion heard Baghdad near US embassy
A loud explosion was heard in Iraq’s capital Baghdad, with smoke seen near the city’s heavily fortified Green Zone, according to AFP.
The zone houses the US embassy and other diplomatic missions, as well as international institutions and government offices.
More than 1 million people displaced in Lebanon
More than one million people in Lebanon have been displaced since war between Israel and Hezbollah began two weeks ago, the country’s authorities have said.
Some 850 people are thought to have been killed in Lebanon, including seven people earlier today in an Israeli airstrike, according to authorities and news reports.
Lebanese authorities said the number of people who had registered as displaced had reached 1,049,328, with 132,742 staying in 600 collective shelters.
Trump says Israel ‘would never’ use a nuclear weapon on Iran
US President Donald Trump shut down a reporter’s question about the possibility of Israel using a nuclear weapon on Iran if the conflict continues to escalate.
“Israel would never do that. You’ve pounded them to hell and you could just leave now, and it’ll take 10 years for them to build back not nearly what they have right now,” he said.
It comes after one of his advisors, David Sacks, suggested the possible outcome in a podcast interview last week where he expressed concern about the conflict escalating, in which he said: “Israel could get seriously destroyed. And then you have to worry about Israel escalating the war by contemplating using a nuclear weapon, which would truly be catastrophic”.
Asked if Sacks had shared that assessment with him, Trump replied: “No, he hasn’t.”
Israel says missile shrapnel has hit Jerusalem’s Old City holy sites
Shrapnel from ballistic missiles fired by Iran and debris from the Israeli interceptors that shot them down fell on Monday around Jerusalem’s walled Old City and some of its most sacred Christian, Muslim and Jewish sites, according to Israeli police.
There were no casualties or major damage reported at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or Temple Mount.
“Jerusalem District police, bomb disposal teams, and Border Police units have secured the sites and are currently working to eliminate any remaining risk to the public,” police said in a statement.
Trump says France may help US with Strait of Hormuz
US president Donald Trump has said France is willing to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said he had talked with French president Emmanuel Macron about it and his response had been “an eight, not perfect”.
“I think he’s going to help,” the US president said.
He said he also expected the UK to help secure shipping in Hormuz but he was “not happy” with the UK and “very surprised” over its response to the war.
He said the UK had turned down a request to send ships over to the Middle East, and suggested that a later offer to send aircraft carriers came too late.
“I think they’ll be involved maybe,” he said. “But they should be involved enthusiastically.”
Speaking at a White House event, he said US secretary of state Marco Rubio would be announcing the names of the countries willing to aid the US.
Ireland won’t be involved in securing Strait of Hormuz, says Taoiseach
Ireland will not be getting involved in securing the Strait of Hormuz, the Taoiseach has said.
US president Donald Trump has reiterated a call for assistance in securing the safe passage of ships through the strait, two weeks on from engaging in a bombing campaign with Israel against Iran – which has seen Tehran retaliate across the region.
The escalating conflict has impacts on the supply of oil and other key resources through the Strait.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who is due to meet Trump on Wednesday, said there was a “conversation going on within Nato” about the security of the passage, but added that Ireland was not a member of that alliance.
Asked about Trump’s request for countries to assist in securing the strait, Martin told reporters in Washington: “We’re not a military power. We don’t have that offensive military capacity in any shape or form, so obviously that’s not something that’s on our agenda.”
Iran’s foreign minister accuses Gulf states of facilitating the deaths of Iranian civilians
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that some “neighbouring states” hosting US forces and allowing attacks on Iran were also actively encouraging the killing of Iranians.
He said hundreds of Iranian civilians, including more than 200 children, had been killed in Israel-US strikes.
“Stances should be promptly clarified,” he added in a post on X.
UN says Israeli strike on Iranian prison was a war crime
The head of a UN investigation said on Monday that an Israeli air strike on a prison last year was a war crime, and warned of risks of further repression following the current US-Israeli bombings.
More than 70 people were killed when Israel struck Tehran’s Evin prison last June during an air war with Iran, Iranian authorities have said.
The jail, known for holding political prisoners, has also been damaged in the latest US-Israeli air strikes, raising fears for the detainees, who include a British couple.
“We found reasonable grounds to believe that, in carrying out the airstrikes on Evin prison, Israel committed the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against a civilian object...,” Sara Hossain, chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, told the UN Human Rights Council.
She said 80 people including one child and eight women had been killed.
Her latest report, based on interviews with victims and witnesses, satellite imagery and other documents, was presented to the council on Monday.
Pope criticises those who say God is on their side in war
The first American pope, Pope Leo XIV, is not a fan of the Trump administration.
His comments on Sunday would appear to have been directly aimed at US defence secretary Pete Hegseth who invoked the name of God in defending the war in Iran.
In a CBS News interview, Hegseth said: “Our capabilities are better. Our will is better. Our troops are better. The providence of our almighty God is there protecting those troops, and we’re committed to this mission.
“Troops need a connection with their almighty God in these moments.”
Hegseth even quoted Psalm 144 at a Pentagon press conference: “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.”
On Sunday the pope stated without naming Hegseth or the Trump administration: “Someone presumes to involve the name of God in choices of death, but God cannot be enlisted by the darkness.”
On Monday the pope said it was the duty of journalists to show the suffering in war and not become a “megaphone for power. They must show the suffering that war always brings to populations, which entails showing the face of war and recounting it through the eyes of victims.”
Greece declines to support US attempts to open the Strait of Hormuz
Greece has become the latest European country to decline to participate in military operations to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Greece would only participated in the EU’s naval mission “Aspides” charged with protecting ships in the Red Sea, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told a press conference.
US president Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration was talking to seven countries about helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, calling on them to help protect ships in the vital waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic - Reuters.
Germany declines help for US saying ‘this is not our war’
German defence minister Boris Pistorius on Monday rejected demands by US president Donald Trump for military support in the war against Iran and downplayed threats that such a stance by allies would hurt Nato.
“What does (...) Donald Trump expect a handful or two handfuls of European frigates to do in the Strait of Hormuz that the powerful US navy cannot do?” he said in Berlin.
“This is not our war, we have not started it.”
Asked about Trump’s warning that Nato faces a “very bad” future if its members fail to come to Washington’s aid, Pistorius said he did not anticipate Nato to fall apart over these differences.
Dutch police investigate possible antisemitic attack on building
Dutch police are investigating an explosion that damaged an office building in Amsterdam and was claimed by the same extremist organisation that also claimed it was behind a recent blast at a Jewish school in the area, a police spokesperson said on Monday.
It was not immediately clear if the building has a link to Amsterdam’s Jewish community.
Officers were investigating the explosion, which led to a small fire that was quickly extinguished by security guards and caused minor damage, the spokesperson said, adding that police were examining whether the two incidents were indeed linked.
Sienna Investment Managers, which manages the building, did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
Saturday’s explosion, for which the same group claimed responsibility, caused minor damage to a Jewish school. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema and Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten condemned the attack.
The group has also claimed earlier attacks on synagogues in Rotterdam and in neighbouring Belgium’s Liege. The attacks had already triggered heightened security at Jewish sites in Amsterdam.
Dutch justice minister David van Weel said on Saturday that a link between the explosions in Amsterdam and Rotterdam could not be excluded, but did not confirm any claims made on social media by the group.
Concerns about possible attacks against Jewish communities around the world have risen following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the subsequent response from Tehran - Reuters
President Catherine Connolly has just posted the St Patrick’s Day card she has sent to people around the world. It mentions the UN Charter and article 29 of the Irish Constitution. You can view it here.
Irish Embassy warns of severe consequences for sharing images of bomb damage
The Irish Embassy in the United Arab Emirates has warned Irish citizens in the Middle East not to film or photographs Iranian attacks.
In a statement posted on its X page, the embassy, which represents Irish citizens in the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, said sharing images of Iranian attacks could lead to fines, imprisonment or deportation.
Prohibited images include those of drone or missile activities and damage to property.
Posting such images on social media is illegal, the embassy said.
“We request that all Irish citizens continue to follow the advice of local authorities and follow official news sources.”
Three people were held by the authorities in Dubai for sharing images of a drone strike on their apartment building.
They were arrested after the Iranian projectiles hit Creek Harbour, causing significant damage on Thursday, according to action group Detained in Dubai.
Chief executive Radha Stirling said these arrests were all the more shocking because the pictures were not shared publicly.
She said: “Foreign residents often assume that sending a photo privately to family members is harmless.
“In the UAE, even a personal unshared photograph related to sensitive events can trigger a criminal investigation.”
Dubai police said any violators of the law could end in imprisonment or fines of up to €50,000.
British prime minister Keir Starmer said the UK will “not be drawn into the wider war” seemingly rebuffing US president Donald Trump’s call for allies to join to open the Stait of Hormuz.
“We are working with all of our allies including our European partners to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible,” Starmer said.
His remarks indicate the UK is unlikely to meet Trump’s request to send British naval assets to the Strait while the fighting goes on. However, the UK is considering whether it can help by deploying mine-hunting drones alongside allies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Starmer stressed his view was that the war would need a diplomatic rather than a military resolution. “We are going to need time sort of negotiated agreement,” he said.
The prime minister also warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin was benefiting from the conflict as the price of oil spiked and Trump lifted sanctions on Russian energy.
“It’s vital we continue to focus on supporting Ukraine. We cannot allow the war in the Gulf to turn into a windfall for Putin,” Starmer said - Bloomberg.
Starmer seeks ‘viable plan’ to ease the crisis in the Middle East
British prime minister Keir Starmer said he is working with allies on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Starmer has resisted Donald Trump’s demands to send Royal Navy warships to help secure the vital shipping route for oil and gas which has been effectively closed to tankers by the Iran war.
He said the UK was working with countries, including European allies, on a “viable plan” to ease the crisis, which has driven up global oil prices.
The prime minister also set out measures to ease the cost-of-living pressures in the UK, with a plan to help households reliant on heating oil.
Setting out his response in a Downing Street press conference Starmer said he would not allow the UK to be drawn into a “wider war” in the Middle East.
He said: “We’re working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impacts.”
End to war must be definitive, says Iran minister
Iran has not requested a ceasefire, foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday according to the semi-official Students News Network, and wants to ensure that any end to the war with Israel and the US is definitive.
Araqchi said that the Strait of Hormuz is only closed to “enemies and those supporting their aggression”.
A foreign ministry spokesperson added that states not party to the war have been able to transit their vessels through the strait with co-ordination and permission from Iran’s armed forces - Reuters
Israel captures territory in southern Lebanon
Israel is expanding its military presence across southern Lebanon following a surge in cross-border rocket attacks by Hizbullah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has moved into more than a dozen locations in Lebanon and are likely to deploy further, according to an Israeli official who requested anonymity to discuss military movements.
The advance is meant to “strengthen a forward defensive posture” against Hizbullah, an Iranian ally, according to an IDF statement on Monday.
It is the latest escalation of what is now a major front of the war in the Middle East and a further indication that Israeli operations in Lebanon could outlast its fighting with Iran.
Hizbullah began firing rockets toward Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes that kicked off the war more than two weeks ago. Subsequent Israeli air strikes in Lebanon have killed 850 people, according to the Lebanese government, and displaced hundreds of thousands. Parts of Beirut have been levelled.
According to Nadav Shoshani, an IDF spokesperson, Hizbullah attacks have recently intensified, with the group launching about a hundred rockets and drones toward Israel every day since late last week. About a third of Israelis live within range of the weapons.
Hizbullah attacks have so far killed two IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon - Bloomberg
Trump threatens to delay China summit
US president Donald Trump threatened to delay his summit with Xi Jinping if Beijing doesn’t help secure the Strait of Hormuz, as the US-Israel war stifles oil supplies and unsettles ties between the world’s biggest economies.
Trump stressed China’s dependence on oil from the Middle East in an interview with the Financial Times, as he reiterated a demand for Beijing to help unblock the key waterway. One day earlier, the Republican leader appealed to China to join a team effort to send ships to the strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump said Sunday in the FT interview.
His trip to Beijing slated for the end of this month would be too late, Trump added, underscoring the growing urgency around efforts to counter Iran’s chokehold on the strait.
Iranians are victims both of internal oppression and external aggression, writes two Iranian academics living in Ireland.
Trump is not offering liberation for Iran, and the Islamic regime is not offering resistance to empire. Both are bullies buying time to navigate domestic protests, to test the limits of their power and to rally their political base on a war footing.
Prof Roja Fazaeli, who was born in Iran, is established professor of Law and Islamic Studies at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, University of Galway. Joel Hanisek is research fellow at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway.
You can read their analysis here.
Message from the Editor
EU ponders intervention to unblock Strait of Hormuz
The European Union’s foreign policy chief is encouraging member states to redirect the bloc’s Red Sea naval mission to help restart oil and gas shipments in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If we want to have security in this region, it would be easiest to already use the operation we have in the region and maybe change a bit,” Kaja Kallas said Monday, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
The EU operation in question is Aspides, which was launched in 2024 after the Houthis attacked shipping vessels in the Red Sea. Officials are now discussing whether the bloc could turn that mission to the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route that has been effectively closed since the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Ministers will debate “whether it’s possible to really change the mandate of this mission”, Kallas said.
The blockade has sent energy prices soaring, leaving European officials anxious about inflation, economic slowdowns and even food supply disruptions. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil moves through the narrow passage.
In addition to shifting the Aspides operation, countries are also exploring a “coalition of the willing” operation, Kallas said.
“We also need to see what would be the fastest way to provide this opening of the Strait of Hormuz,” Kallas said.
US president Donald Trump is separately trying to pressure countries to help reopen the strait. On Sunday, he said he was “demanding” that others offer assistance.
“Why are we maintaining the Hormuz strait when it’s really there for China and many other countries? Why aren’t they doing it?” Trump said - Bloomberg
Oil rallied as supply risks in the Middle East escalated following a second attack in three days on Fujairah, a vital port in the United Arab Emirates that’s just outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent rose above $106 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $101. Futures had risen more than 40 per cent in the past two weeks. The US said late on Friday that it had struck military sites on Kharg Island, which handles the bulk of Iran’s oil shipments, although the Fars News Agency reported that exports from the island were continuing.
Oil loading at Fujairah was suspended and damage was being assessed, according to people familiar with the latest incident. That followed a drone strike at the site on Saturday, which interrupted shipments from the country’s only viable oil export route.
Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he is “demanding” that other countries contribute to the defence of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime thoroughfare linking the Persian Gulf to international markets.
The bombing of Kharg Island added to the scope of the conflict, which the International Energy Agency last week said has already caused the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has remained at a near-standstill since fighting began - Bloomberg
China is in communication “with all sides” about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry said on Monday, reiterating the country’s call for a de-escalation of the Middle East conflict.
At a regular press briefing, the ministry was asked if China had received any request from US president Donald Trump to assist in ensuring the security of the strait, a vital artery for global energy shipments.
“We are in communication with all parties on the current situation and are committed to promoting the easing and cooling down of the situation,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.
Lin said China again urged all sides to cease fighting immediately to prevent escalation and broader economic fallout - Reuters
Trump Strait of Hormuz call goes unanswered
US president Donald Trump’s demand that other countries help reopen the Strait of Hormuz has been made with a resounding no by most countries that have been asked, with none committing to the task, according to this analysis.
Dubai International Airport to reopen after drone incident
Emirates said it will resume limited services at Dubai’s main international airport after a drone incident caused a suspension of flights hours earlier, the latest incident to set back the aviation hub’s efforts to normalise operations as the Iran conflict enters its third week.
Emirates said it expects to operate a limited schedule after 10am local time. The state-owned carrier had to cancel some flights from today’s schedule after a suspension of operations that lasted more than seven hours — the longest halt since Dubai restarted flights at the airport through what it calls “safe air corridors” three days into the war.
Local authorities announced the suspension after a “drone incident” caused a fire at a nearby fuel tank on Monday, which forced aircraft to circle outside the airport while emergency teams responded. The fire was successfully contained, Dubai’s media office said in a post on X. No injuries have been reported so far.
Dubai, the world’s busiest international hub, has faced a series of attacks since the war started, regularly disrupting flights. It’s the third incident the media office has confirmed in the past two weeks, including a hit on the second day of hostilities that damaged a concourse and resulted in four injuries.
Two drones also fell in the vicinity of the airport last week on Wednesday, resulting in injuries to four people. All the attacks, along with missile and drone interceptions happening across Dubai, have resulted in frequent delays and lengthened flight times as aircraft circle the skies outside Dubai International Airport on a daily basis.
The facility had stopped all flights for more than two days at the start of the conflict as Iran launched retaliatory strikes.
Emirates, the biggest carrier operating out of the airport and the world’s largest international airline, had suspended flights overnight and urged passengers not to go to the airport. Dubai police shut down several roads that lead there.
EU to discuss Strait of Hormuz
EU member states will discuss what can be done from the European side to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.
“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and that’s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” she said, speaking to journalists ahead of a EU foreign affairs meeting in Brussels - Reuters.
Israel completely underestimated the resilience of Hizbullah, according to this analysis by Mark Weiss.
