Amid surprise over Tehran’s reach, Iraq has declared force majeure on foreign-operated oilfields
Published 21 Mar, 2026 06:39
| Updated 21 Mar, 2026 16:21
Military aircraft are seen parked on the tarmac at the joint UK-US Indian Ocean military base at Diego Garcia. © From History / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Iran has reportedly fired long-range ballistic missiles toward the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean – about 4,000km from the Islamic Republic’s territory – in what local media described as a demonstration of Tehran’s extended strike capability.
The missiles did not hit their target, with reports saying one failed mid-flight while another was intercepted by US naval defenses.
Separately, US-Israeli strikes hit Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment complex, one of the country’s main uranium processing sites, with international monitors reporting no increase in off-site radiation levels.
The escalation comes as Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was determined to “decapitate [Iran’s] commanders and thwart its strategic capabilities,” warning the intensity of strikes would “significantly escalate.” Iran’s armed forces vowed the war would continue until further attacks on the country are removed from the “criminals’” agenda.
Here are the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump has ruled out pausing the conflict, saying American forces “knocked out everything” and insisting “you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Tehran as “a loyal and reliable partner” in a Nowruz message released by the Kremlin.
- Iraq has declared force majeure on foreign-operated oilfields after disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz cut southern crude output from about 3.3 million barrels per day to roughly 900,000 bpd, Reuters reported, citing oil ministry officials.
- Drone strikes sparked a major fire near a US-linked military complex in Baghdad, while Iran said its drones also targeted military infrastructure at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, including fuel depots and aircraft refueling sites.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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21 March 2026
16:10 GMT
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis has bemoaned an apparent lack of “strategic articulation of the strategy” by the Trump administration regarding the US campaign against Iran.
The Republican lawmaker said that while he generally supports the military action, “the real question is: What ultimately are we trying to accomplish?” as quoted by AP.
- 16:08 GMT
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran is bound to have grave ramifications that will reverberate for a long time to come.
- 15:08 GMT
The leaders of 22 countries, including the UK, France, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates, have issued a joint statement on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. The signatories “condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces.”
The joint statement urges Tehran to cease the laying of mines and drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels attempting to pass through the strategically important waterway.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” the signatories said.
Finland, together with our close partners, today joined a joint statement regarding the situation in the Persian Gulf and, in particular, the Strait of Hormuz. The statement condemns Iran’s recent attacks on commercial vessels and attempts to disrupt commercial shipping. The…
— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) March 20, 2026
- 14:27 GMT
The IDF has claimed to have conducted a “wide-scale strike sortie in Tehran,” attacking dozens of targets, including ballistic missile production facilities. According to the Israeli military, the strikes have significantly degraded Iran’s capacity to manufacture key missile components.
- 14:15 GMT
Iranian air defense forces destroyed an Israeli F-16 fighter jet early on Saturday, IRNA media outlet has claimed, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) public relations department.
According to Iran’s Fars News, it was the third enemy warplane struck in Iranian airspace since late February, when the US and Israel launched their campaign against the Islamic Republic.
The Israeli Air Force, in turn, has confirmed that a “surface-to-air missile launch was detected toward an Israeli fighter jet,” with no damage inflicted on the warplane.
- 13:20 GMT
The US military has struck more than 8,000 targets in Iran since the start of the conflict late last month, Chief of the US Central Command, Brad Cooper, has estimated. According to the admiral, these have included 130 Iranian vessels as well as “thousands of Iranian missiles [and] advanced attack drones.”
“Iran’s combat capability is on a steady decline as our offensive strikes ramp up,” Cooper claimed.
- 13:03 GMT
Russia has condemned the attack on Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility, calling it a “blatant violation of international law,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
The “irresponsible actions” of the US and Israeli militaries are creating risks of a “catastrophe” that could affect the entire Middle East, she warned.
- 12:53 GMT
Three weeks into the war, the US death toll continues to rise. The US military has confirmed 13 fatalities from Iranian attacks across the region. Additionally, one service member died of a “health-related incident” in Kuwait.
Earlier today, Iran fired missiles towards a joint US-UK base on the island of Diego Garcia after warning that British lives were “in danger” there. Even though the missiles didn’t hit the base, it still marks a sharp escalation in regional tensions.
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Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, is located around 4,000 km from Iran. It is a critical hub for American military operations across Asia since the base hosts long-range bombers and key strategic assets.
The strike comes shortly after the UK reportedly allowed the US to use the base for operations against Iran.
RT has previously published a feature covering the Diego Garcia story.
- 12:25 GMT
Iraq’s National Intelligence Agency has reported in a post on X that its headquarters in Baghdad was attacked by “outlaw entities” on Saturday morning, resulting in the death of an officer.
- 12:13 GMT
Iran was “unsuccessful” in targeting the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, a UK official source told AFP, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran had fired two ballistic missiles at the facility.
The source said the “unsuccessful targeting of Diego Garcia” occurred before London announced it would allow the United States to use some British bases to strike Iranian sites linked to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
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21 March 2026
04:30 GMT
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced the 70th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, saying more than 55 locations linked to US forces and Israel across the region were targeted in the latest phase, and releasing footage it said showed missile and drone strikes.
In a statement on Saturday, the force described the opening moments of the strikes as marked by “loud explosions, bursts of fire, and columns of smoke,” adding that attacks were carried out using Qiam and Emad missile systems alongside drones as part of what it called a strategy of “gradual attrition.”
According to the IRGC, five US military installations — including al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia, al-Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, Ali al-Salem in Kuwait, Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain — were among the targets, while Aerospace Force units also focused on strategic areas in Haifa and Tel Aviv. The Corps warned it would continue to strike the “origin of any aggression” against Iran’s sovereignty, saying its forces had prepared for a further stage of confrontation.
Iran released footage of the 70th wave of missile, drone attacks against US-Israeli assets.Follow https://t.co/B3zXG73Jympic.twitter.com/qE7qAn9LUP
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 20, 2026
- 04:37 GMT
Footage aired by Press TV appears to show the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with visible damage to buildings and debris scattered across the area.
Footages of the aftermath of Israeli airstrike in southern suburb of Beirut, LebanonFollow https://t.co/B3zXG73Jympic.twitter.com/vBRZCnzipo
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 21, 2026
- 04:46 GMT
Kuwait’s military has said its air defense systems were responding to a missile and drone attack on Saturday morning, as Iran continues to strike Gulf nations.
- 04:47 GMT
Trump has claimed US forces have effectively defeated Iran militarily, rejecting calls for a ceasefire while speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday.
“Oh, I think we’ve won,” Trump said, adding that US strikes had “knocked out their Navy, their Air Force… their anti-aircraft. We’ve knocked out everything.”
He insisted Iran was no longer capable of mounting a meaningful military response. “We’re roaming free… From a military standpoint… they’re finished,” he said.
Trump also ruled out pausing the conflict during the same exchange with journalists. “Well, look, we can have dialogue, but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You know, you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”
- 04:56 GMT
Trump has downplayed Iran’s remaining military role in the conflict, saying its actions now largely amount to disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“From a military standpoint, all they’re doing is clogging up the strait,” Trump said on Friday, arguing that securing the vital energy route would be a relatively straightforward task.
Describing efforts to reopen the waterway, he said it was “a simple military maneuver… but you need a lot of help. You need ships, you need volume,” while criticizing NATO allies for failing to support the operation.
He added that major energy-dependent nations should take responsibility for the route, suggesting that “at a certain point, it will open itself.”
- 06:25 GMT
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will temporarily allow the sale of Iranian crude already stranded at sea to ease supply pressures. Writing on X, he said the Treasury was issuing “a narrowly tailored, short-term authorization” that would “quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets… helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply.”
He stressed the measure is “strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production,” adding the US would continue to maintain “maximum pressure” on Iran while working to expand global energy supply and stabilize markets.
Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and through President Trump’s Operation Epic Fury, we are winning this critical fight at an even faster pace than anticipated. In response to Iran’s terrorist attacks against global energy infrastructure, the Trump…
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) March 20, 2026
- 06:29 GMT
United Airlines is preparing for a prolonged period of elevated oil prices, with Chief Executive Scott Kirby telling staff he expects crude to stay above $100 a barrel until the end of 2027 and could spike as high as $175, according to a Reuters report.
Jet fuel prices have nearly doubled since late February, potentially increasing the carrier’s annual fuel bill by about $11 billion, prompting plans to cut less profitable flights and keep services to Tel Aviv and Dubai suspended.
- 06:32 GMT
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organization is exploring ways to help restore safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting a framework similar to the Black Sea grain corridor. In an interview with Politico, he said his “main objective” was to see whether conditions could be created in the strategic waterway comparable to earlier efforts to keep global trade moving amid hostilities.
The Black Sea deal, agreed in 2022 between Russia and Ukraine with UN and Turkish mediation, created a monitored safe shipping corridor that enabled tens of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural cargo to leave ports during the conflict, although Moscow later withdrew from the arrangement, saying its own food and fertiliser exports continued to face obstacles. Guterres added that the UN is engaging Gulf states and European officials on possible de-escalation and maritime security measures.
Fuel prices climb above €2 per litre at a gas station in Siegen, Germany, on March 20, 2026, as energy markets remain under pressure. © Global Look Press / IMAGO / Rene Traut
- 06:53 GMT
A major fire reportedly broke out at the US Victory base in Baghdad following a drone attack.
Large fire at US Victoria Base in Baghdad following drone attacks Follow https://t.co/B3zXG73Jympic.twitter.com/xHGeJOCnds
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) March 20, 2026
- 06:57 GMT
Footage allegedly shows scenes of widespread destruction in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas following Israeli-American airstrikes.
مشاهد لدمار واسع في مدينة بندر عباس جنوبي إيران جراء غارات إسرائيلية — أميركيةقناة الحدث pic.twitter.com/h7DpogvBEP
— ا لـحـدث (@AlHadath) March 21, 2026
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