Aktualizujeme
17.16 Over 20 countries have expressed support for ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, condemning Iran’s closure of the vital waterway.
“We strongly condemn the recent attacks by Iran against unarmed commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas facilities, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces,” stated 22 nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, though the majority were European states.
“We express our readiness to participate in appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait. We welcome the commitments of countries engaging in preparatory work,” the countries said in a joint statement.
According to analytics firm Kpler, only 116 cargo ships transited the strait between March 1 and March 19, a 95 percent decrease compared to average peacetime levels.
Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies normally pass – and numerous attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East have caused a sharp rise in energy prices. The situation highlights the region’s critical role in global energy markets and the potential for disruption.
“We call for an immediate and comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas facilities,” the countries added.
16.36 Three weeks after the start of the conflict, Iran maintains a defiant stance. The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Saturday, according to state television IRIB, that it has analyzed “enemy vulnerabilities” and is preparing a new wave of attacks with “new strategies and more modern systems.” The Guard also reiterated threats of retaliation for attacks on the country’s infrastructure.
Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, stated via the ISNA news agency that the United States and Israel “talk so much about victory as if they are trying to convince themselves.” He added that the world will be different after the current war, according to him “multipolar and with Iran as the main axis of the Islamic pole.”
A statement attributed to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, read on television to mark the Persian New Year, claimed the enemy is broken and final victory is near.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously stated that the U.S. Is nearing its objectives in the war against Iran. “I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don’t do ceasefires when you’re literally crushing the other side,” media outlets quoted him as saying Friday. (dpa, tasr)
16.17 The U.S. Military has struck over 8,000 targets during its three-week offensive against Iran. This includes 130 Iranian vessels, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Brad Cooper.
“This is the largest destruction of naval forces in a three-week period since World War II,” the American admiral said in a video posted on social media. He confirmed the goal is to counter Iran’s threat to international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Cooper detailed that the U.S. Military dropped several bombs weighing over 2,200 kilograms this week on an underground facility on Iran’s coast, which Tehran used to store anti-ship missiles and other weaponry threatening maritime traffic.
“We destroyed not only this facility, but also intelligence support facilities and radar stations that were used to track ship movements,” Cooper added, stating this disrupted Iran’s ability to threaten free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding areas.
Since the start of U.S. And Israeli attacks on Iran at the conclude of February, shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has almost come to a standstill. Approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil supplies usually pass through the strategic waterway between Iran and Oman. (tasr)
10.44 The United States and Israel reportedly attacked Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, no radioactive leaks were detected and residents in surrounding areas are not at risk.
“Following the criminal attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime against our country… the enrichment complex (uranium) in Natanz was targeted this morning,” the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) said in a statement published by Tasnim.
The AEOI stated that this attack constitutes a violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and other regulations concerning nuclear safety and security.
Technical and expert assessments regarding radioactive contamination indicate that no radioactive materials were released.
Sky News reports that U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that eliminating Iran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons is a primary goal of the U.S. War with Iran. Israel and Western countries have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, allegations Tehran denies.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced in March, several days after the start of the war in Iran, that the Natanz nuclear facility was partially damaged as a result of a U.S.-Israeli air operation.
According to the Associated Press, Natanz was struck during the first week of the war in Iran, which began on February 28 following attacks by the U.S. And Israel. Sky News claims satellite imagery shows the Natanz complex was damaged as a result of the attacks.
The nuclear facility is located nearly 137 miles southeast of Tehran and was also targeted during a 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025.
The latest attack comes after Trump said Friday on his Truth Social platform that the United States is considering a “gradual winding down” of its military operation in the Middle East. (tasr)
07.40 Iran recently fired two ballistic missiles toward the joint U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. Officials. Neither missile hit its target, which is approximately 2,500 miles from Iranian territory. But, the attack itself suggests that Tehran possesses missiles with a longer range than previously thought.
If the range of Iranian missiles significantly exceeds the previously estimated 1,243 miles, it would mean Iran could also threaten targets in Western Europe. Iran likely extended the range by lightening the explosive warhead, according to Bruno Tertrais, deputy director of the French think tank FRS.
“A range of 2,500 miles changes the map. Major European metropolises are becoming the subject of discussion. Paris is within range. London is getting much closer to the vulnerability threshold, depending on the launch site and payload. This would mean that the missile threat is no longer limited to the Persian Gulf, Israel or parts of South Asia. It would mean a dramatic expansion of the radius of deterrence, defense and fear,” says Qatari analyst Nawaf Al-Thani.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
One of the missiles failed during flight, and the second was attempted to be intercepted by a missile launched from a U.S. Warship, with it being unclear if it was hit.
The Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands is one of two bases that Britain provides to the United States for operations related to Iran.
U.S. Forces have deployed bombers and other equipment there. It is a key hub for operations in Asia, and has previously been used to launch U.S. Bombing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Britain has agreed to return the Chagos Islands, which it has controlled since the 1960s, to Mauritius, although retaining the lease for the Diego Garcia base, the largest of the islands.
U.S. President Donald Trump sharply criticized this decision.
06.50 The Israeli army announced that it launched a wave of attacks on Beirut, Lebanon, early this morning, targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The attacks followed a call for residents of several areas to evacuate.
The army said in a brief statement that its forces “are currently attacking terrorist targets of the Hezbollah organization in Beirut.”
A military spokesperson had previously warned residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, to leave their homes.
What happened on Friday, March 20:
