The Yemeni Houthis say they’re ready for “direct military intervention” and confirmed their first ballistic missile strike on Israel
Published 27 Mar, 2026 21:45
| Updated 28 Mar, 2026 13:09
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned nations in the region not to allow their territory to be used for attacks against Iran, urging them to stay out of the conflict.
“We have said many times that Iran doesn’t carry out preemptive attacks,” Pezeshkian wrote on X, but warned that it “will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted.”
“To the countries of the region: If you want development and security, don’t let our enemies run the war from your lands,” he said.
His warning follows claims by army spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari that more than 500 US troops have been killed or wounded in strikes on alleged American “hideouts” across the region. Zolfaghari said US President Donald Trump and his commanders must “fully understand that the region will become a cemetery for American soldiers” if the US launches a ground invasion.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Egypt will meet with him in Islamabad for talks aimed at de-escalating tensions over Iran and the wider region.
Earlier, the Yemeni Houthis said they are ready for “direct military intervention” on Iran’s side, confirming their first ballistic missile strike against Israel. The group said its “operations… will continue… until the end of the offensive on all resistance fronts in Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine.”
Trump maintains that Iran has been “decimated,” telling a Saudi-backed forum there are only “3,554 targets left” to strike. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, said the administration hopes to hold talks with Tehran in the coming days, even as reports suggest the US is weighing a ground invasion, deploying additional forces, and drafting options for a “final blow.”
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The US wants talks with Iran but not peace
Here are the latest developments:
- The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran reported a new suspected Israeli strike near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant – the third incident of the kind in ten days – with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi urging “maximum military restraint.”
- Trump is reportedly considering renaming the Strait of Hormuz if Iran is pushed out of the waterway, with options including the ‘Strait of America’.
- Iran claims it destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone systems depot in Dubai in strikes against alleged US “hideouts,” and struck key Israeli electronic warfare and radar facilities in Haifa and fuel storage sites linked to Ben Gurion Air Base.
- An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon has killed two journalists – Al Mayadeen’s Fatima Fatuni and Al-Manar’s Ali Shuaib – just over a week after RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida Sbeity, were injured in a similar strike while filming in the area.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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28 March 2026
13:24 GMT
A drone has crashed into Iraq’s Majnoon oil field, one of the world’s largest super-giant fields, the country’s Defense Ministry has said on X.
According to the ministry, the UAV did not explode and caused no damage or casualties.
بيان•••في تمام الساعة (0830) من صباح يوم السبت الموافق 28 آذار 2026، سقطت طائرة مسيرة داخل حقل مجنون النفطي ضمن قضاء الدير في محافظة البصرة، ضمن قاطع مسؤولية الفوج الثالث اللواء التاسع مديرية شرطة الطاقة، دون ان تنفجر، ولم يسبب سقوطها حدوث أي أضرار مادية أو إصابات بشرية.… pic.twitter.com/AOBqrwXvOt
— وزارة الدفاع العراقية (@modmiliq) March 28, 2026
- 13:10 GMT
Footage circulating on social media – verified by Al Jazeera – shows cluster munitions striking a building in Tel Aviv during and overnight attack by Iran.
Footage shows the moment one of several cluster munitions struck Tel Aviv during Iran's ballistic missile attack on central Israel this evening. pic.twitter.com/smuxEa1195
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 27, 2026
- 12:33 GMT
Iranian media has published a photo of the car in which the two journalists killed in an IDF strike, Fatima Ftouni and Ali Shuaib, were traveling.
- 12:30 GMT
Israel has done something it rarely does – openly confirm it targeted a journalist – while insisting he wasn’t really one. In a statement on Telegram, the IDF said it killed Ali Shuaib in a “targeted strike,” claiming he “served as a terrorist in Hezbollah… under the guise of a journalist” for Al-Manar.
The Israeli military alleged Shuaib was part of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, accusing him of relaying IDF troop positions and spreading propaganda, and framed the killing as part of its ongoing operations against Hezbollah, vowing to continue strikes against what it calls Iran-backed forces.
The IDF also released footage of the strike, which killed another journalist Al-Mayadeen’s Fatima Ftouni.
- 12:08 GMT
Trump went unusually crude – even by his standards – at a Saudi-backed investment forum in Miami, boasting about his leverage over Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid tensions with Iran.
“He didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass. He really didn’t… but now he has to be nice to me – he better be,” Trump told the audience. He went on to mock past US leadership and hype his own impact: “He [bin Salman] thought I’d be just another American president that was a loser… but now he has to be nice to me. He’s got to be.”
🇺🇸🇸🇦 Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman wasn't expecting to be kissing his ass."He has to be nice to me, he better be nice to me, he’s gotta be.”Trump's art of diplomacy; subtle as usual 😂pic.twitter.com/VsYd5zijk4https://t.co/yz5Mi0sLDQ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 28, 2026
- 11:47 GMT
An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon has killed two journalists – Al Mayadeen’s Fatima Fatuni and Al-Manar’s Ali Shuaib – their outlets report. The strike reportedly hit the vehicle they were travelling in.
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Western silence allows Israel to get away with killing journalistsFatuni had earlier learned live on air that seven members of her family had been killed in an Israeli strike this month. Shuaib, a veteran correspondent, had survived multiple previous attacks, including a 2024 strike that killed his cameraman.
Israeli forces have been accused of killing hundreds of journalists in recent years, mainly in Gaza and the West Bank, and of deliberately targeting media crews. Just last week, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida Sbeity, were injured in a strike while filming in southern Lebanon.
- 11:42 GMT
As tensions rise in the Middle East and the death toll grows, all sides in the conflict are accusing each other of committing war crimes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he believes all parties may be violating international law, stressing that any targeting of civilians must be held accountable.
To discuss this, RT is joined by a panel of guests: Stanley Cohen, attorney and human rights advocate; Alexandre Guerreiro, international law analyst and academic; and Stanislav Krapivnik, former US Army officer.
Footage released by Iranian military sources purports to show strikes on key Israeli military infrastructure in Haifa.
- 11:04 GMT
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned regional states not to allow their territory to be used for attacks on Iran, urging them to stay out of the conflict.
“We have said many times that Iran doesn’t carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted,” he wrote on X. “To the countries of the region: If you want development and security, don’t let our enemies run the war from your lands.”
We have said many times that Iran doesn't carry out preemptive attacks, but we will retaliate strongly if our infrastructure or economic centers are targeted.To the countries of the region:If you want development and security, don't let our enemies run the war from your lands.
— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) March 28, 2026
- 11:04 GMT
Iran’s military claims it destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone systems depot in Dubai during an IRGC missile operation, alongside strikes on alleged US personnel “hideouts.”
A spokesperson said the site was being used to support US forces and that 21 Ukrainian personnel were present at the location during the attack. No confirmed information has been released on their fate.
Ukraine has denied Tehran’s claim, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tikhy slamming it as “a lie.”
- 11:02 GMT
The Iranian army says it has carried out drone strikes on key Israeli electronic warfare and radar facilities in Haifa, as well as fuel storage sites linked to Ben Gurion Air Base.
According to Iranian military statements, the targets included the Alta electronic warfare center, a major radar and surveillance hub, and fuel infrastructure supporting Israeli air operations, with officials saying the strikes will impact Israel’s interception capabilities and refueling capacity.
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27 March 2026
20:40 GMT
Air raid sirens have blared across Israel after the IDF said it “identified missiles launched from Iran” with “defensive systems operating to intercept the threat.”
- 21:05 GMT
“Search and rescue forces, both reserve and regular forces, are currently operating at the sites in central Israel where reports of impact have been received,” the IDF said in a statement, urging the public to avoid gathering in these areas or recording the interceptions and impact sites.
- 21:34 GMT
Iranian media and pro-Tehran Telegram channels have circulated multiple videos allegedly showing the Israeli air defense failure to intercept several missiles over Tel Aviv.
- 21:43 GMT
Israeli first responders report that one person has been killed and several others injured after a ballistic missile carrying a cluster bomb warhead struck central Israel.
Following missile fire toward central Israel: MDA EMTs and paramedics have pronounced the death of a man approximately 60 years old at a scene in Tel Aviv, and are providing medical treatment to 2 lightly injured casualties at another scene in central Israel. pic.twitter.com/6ltXIcKWc6
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) March 27, 2026
- 22:08 GMT
The International Atomic Energy Agency has insisted that there was no radiation threat, following the suspected Israeli strikes on multiple facilities linked to Iran’s civilian nuclear program and plants that use radioactive isotopes in their production processes.
“IAEA was informed by Iran that the heavy water production plant at Khondab was also hit today. No radiation risk seen as installation contains no declared nuclear material,” the UN nuclear watchdog said in a statement.
“Separately, Iran reported today that an industrial facility – the Khuzestan Steel Production Factory which uses sealed Co‑60 and Cs‑137 radioactive sources for gauging – was subjected to strikes but there was no off-site radiation release,” it added.
In a separate statement earlier in the day, the nuclear watchdog said it “has been informed by Iran that the Shahid Rezayee Nejad Yellow Cake Production Facility in Yazd province (also known as Ardakan) was attacked today. No increase in off-site radiation levels reported.”
- 22:17 GMT
Last night’s airstrikes on what Israel called the “heart of Tehran” were among the most intense since the start of the month, according to RT’s Tehran bureau chief Hami Hamedi, who visited the site earlier in the day and witnessed rescuers combing through the debris in the hope of finding survivors.
“They are targeting residential areas, now they are attacking ordinary people,” one of the firefighters working at the site told Hamedi.
According to the rescuer, a two-year-old child was among the people pulled out from under the rubble. The death toll from the attack on Friday morning remains unclear as several more people are believed to still be trapped under the rubble.
- 22:38 GMT
Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant was struck by a missile at around 11:40 pm Friday, marking the third reported attack on the facility, according to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
“An attack on peaceful nuclear facilities constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and poses a grave threat to regional security,” the organization said, while noting that luckily “no casualties, material damage, or technical disruptions have been reported.”
- 22:43 GMT
Dashcam footage circulating online apparently captured the moment one of Iranian missiles hit Tel Aviv, where Israeli authorities previously confirmed at least one fatality and several injuries.
- 23:30 GMT
The UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Iran informed it about a new suspected Israeli strike near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, marking the third such incident in 10 days, with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi reiterating his call on unnamed parties to exercise “maximum military restraint.”
“Grossi has again expressed deep concern over military activity in the vicinity of the facility, warning that damage to the reactor could cause a major radiological incident, and reiterated his call for maximum military restraint to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident,” the IAEA said.
- 23:41 GMT
The US president has called the Strait of Hormuz the “Strait of Trump,” and insisted that it was not an “accident,” referring to his move to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America shortly after taking office in January 2025.
“We’re negotiating now, it would be great if they could do something, but they have to open up the Strait of Trump, I mean Hormuz,” Trump told a Saudi-backed investment conference in Miami. “Excuse me, I’m so sorry, such a terrible mistake. Fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said.’ There’s no accidents with me, not too many. If there were, we’d have a major story.”
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