The Israeli prime minister said the IDF would reduce Tehran’s military capabilities “to dust” as the Middle East war enters its third week
Published 19 Mar, 2026 10:00
| Updated 20 Mar, 2026 10:02
Tajrish Bazaar, Tehran, Iran, March 19, 2026. © Getty Images / Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to reduce Iran’s ability to enrich uranium and build ballistic missiles “to dust” during a meeting with journalists on Thursday. He claimed that Israel and the United States had “decimated” Iran over the past 20 days.
Iran has remained defiant, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowing “zero restraint if our infrastructure is struck again.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its air defenses had struck a US F-35 stealth fighter jet and released a short video clip purportedly showing the hit. However, the IRGC has also confirmed that its spokesperson, Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, has been killed in a US-Israeli airstrike.
Also on Thursday, RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida, were injured by shrapnel during an Israeli airstrike while reporting in southern Lebanon. Sweeney and Rida said Israeli forces had “deliberately” targeted the crew despite them wearing vests clearly labeled “press.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the strike, arguing that it was “not accidental.”
The incident occurred during Israel’s airstrikes and ground operation against the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which has fired rockets at northern Israel in support of Iran.
Meanwhile, Muslims across the Middle East are marking Eid, the Islamic festival celebrating the end of Ramadan, while Iran also observes Nowruz, the Persian New Year marking the arrival of spring, despite the threat of US-Israeli airstrikes. In cities such as Tehran and Isfahan, crowds have been seen at markets buying flowers and traditional sweets.
Here are the latest developments:
- Iranian strikes have knocked out nearly a fifth of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, cutting an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue and threatening supplies to Europe and Asia, QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi says.
- Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, one of the Middle East’s largest, has been partially shut down after Iranian drone attacks.
- Israeli Ambassador to Russia Oded Yosef has declined to answer questions from journalists on whether there will be an investigation into the IDF strike that injured RT journalists in Lebanon or who would conduct it.
- Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “alive and well,” the country’s ambassador to France said, dismissing reports that he was incapacitated in US-Israeli strikes.
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20 March 2026
10:55 GMT
Israeli security forces have reportedly arrested a 26-year-old reservist from Jerusalem, Raz Cohen, on suspicion of spying for Iran.
Cohen, who is said to have served in the Iron Dome air defense unit, is accused of passing sensitive intelligence to Iranian handlers, including locations of missile batteries, operational procedures, and technical data.
According to the Times of Israel, he was allegedly recruited via social media and messaging platforms – part of what Israeli intelligence says is a growing Iranian effort to target Israelis through financial incentives and “digital entrapment.”
- 10:40 GMT
The Russian Foreign Ministry has lodged a formal protest with Israeli Ambassador Oded Yosef over an IDF strike that injured RT journalists in Lebanon. Yosef was summoned to the ministry and met with Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko on Friday.
“The Russian side protested the wounding of RT television crew members in an Israeli Air Force missile strike in southern Lebanon,” the ministry said, calling for a thorough investigation and steps to prevent similar incidents.
Yosef earlier declined to answer journalists’ questions about whether there would be an investigation into the strike or who would conduct it.
- 10:38 GMT
Beirut-based pan-Arab channel Al Mayadeen has expressed solidarity with RT after an IDF strike injured correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida near the Al-Qasmiya Bridge in southern Lebanon.
“With deep indignation… Al Mayadeen expresses its strongest solidarity with you,” the network said in a letter, condemning what it called “another criminal act” and “the latest in a long chain of attacks on media” by Israel.
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‘Deliberate attack’: RT correspondent recounts surviving Israeli airstrike (VIDEO)It added that the strike was a “deliberate assassination attempt aimed at intimidating and silencing witnesses,” and called on “all Arab and international media to unite in condemning Israel.”
- 10:22 GMT
Iran’s envoy to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, has warned of a “very grave and serious situation” after a strike near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, built with Russian support and still staffed by Rosatom personnel.
Speaking to Press TV, Najafi said Israel’s “intentional attack” on Tuesday struck around 200 meters from the reactor, calling it the third strike of the kind near Iranian nuclear facilities after Natanz and Isfahan.
He added that Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami urged IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to condemn the attack but said the letters were not answered.
“We have not seen any positive reaction from the IAEA, just calls for restraint,” Najafi said, arguing that it’s the agency’s duty “to condemn these attacks.”
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WHO warns of ‘worst-case’ nuclear scenario in IranRussia’s envoy to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, suggested earlier that the agency’s response is not “commensurate with the gravity of the situation.”
- 09:04 GMT
At least 21 historical monuments in Iran’s Isfahan province, including several UNESCO-listed sites, have been seriously damaged in US-Israeli strikes, Governor Mehdi Jamalinejad said, estimating the damage at $500 million.
He added that authorities plan to seek reparations and international condemnation through bodies such as UNESCO and the UN.
Isfahan is home to landmarks such as Naqsh-e Jahan Square, the Shah Mosque, and the Si-o-se-pol Bridge, with Iranian officials condemning the damage as an attack on Persian cultural identity.
- 09:04 GMT
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has voiced deep concern over the Middle East conflict, condemning Israel’s strikes on Iran.
“At the moment, the Middle East is burning,” he said after Eid al-Fitr prayers in his hometown of Rize. “Zionist Israel has massacred hundreds, thousands of people. I have no doubt it will be held accountable.”
Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, is being celebrated across Türkiye with prayers, family gatherings and acts of charity.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Rize, Türkiye, March 20, 2026. © Getty Images / TUR Presidency/ Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu
- 09:04 GMT
Israel’s Oil Refineries has said essential infrastructure was damaged in an Iranian strike on its Haifa complex on Thursday, though most facilities remain operational and others are being restarted.
The company reported “localized hits” to electrical systems supplying a service unit and to an open area near an administrative building. No injuries were reported.
- 08:54 GMT
Israeli Ambassador to Russia Oded Yosef declined to answer questions from journalists when arriving at the Russian Foreign Ministry, following a summons. Yosef refused to confirm if there will be an investigation into the IDF strike that injured RT journalists in Lebanon on Wednesday, or who would conduct it.
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‘Deliberate attack’: RT correspondent recounts surviving Israeli airstrike (VIDEO)Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier condemned the attack, saying the targeting of journalists wearing press markings “cannot be called accidental,” and added that Moscow is “awaiting the response of international organizations.”
- 08:54 GMT
Iranian strikes have disabled nearly a fifth of Qatar’s LNG export capacity, wiping out an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue and putting supplies to Europe and Asia at risk, QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi has told Reuters.
Al-Kaabi said two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids facilities were damaged, with repairs expected to sideline 12.8 million tons per year of LNG for three to five years.
“I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that Qatar – and the region – would face such an attack, especially from a brotherly Muslim country during Ramadan,” he said.
QatarEnergy is expected to declare force majeure on long-term LNG contracts for up to five years, affecting deliveries to Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China, he added.
- 08:41 GMT
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has praised the reported downing of a US F-35 by Iranian air defenses over the central part of the country.
The IRGC earlier said it targeted the jet with anti-aircraft fire and released footage purportedly showing it being hit. CNN reported the aircraft was damaged but managed to make an emergency landing at a US base in the region.
“The F-35 was not just a fighter jet but a symbol of the US military’s invincibility and arrogance,” Ghalibaf wrote on X. “This symbol was struck for the first time in the world – and this was the moment of collapse of their order.”
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19 March 2026
09:59 GMT
US CENTCOM has posted an update on X outlining its campaign against Iran, claiming that as of March 18, US forces have struck more than 7,800 targets and damaged or destroyed over 120 Iranian vessels.
The report also details the US military assets involved in the operation.
Operation Epic Fury: March 18th Update pic.twitter.com/LPgEPadZYM
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 18, 2026
- 10:13 GMT
Relief and debris removal operations are continuing in Tehran, where rescue teams have pulled one injured person alive from the rubble of a residential building, the authorities said on Wednesday.
- 10:14 GMT
Trump has temporarily waived a century-old shipping law known as the Jones Act to ease surging energy costs and allow oil and other resources to move more freely within the US.
The Jones Act normally requires goods shipped between US ports to be transported on US-built, US-owned, and US-crewed vessels. The waiver allows foreign-flagged tankers to carry oil, LNG, and other commodities between ports, such as from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast.
“This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to US ports,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X.
The waiver is set to last 60 days but could be extended depending on the conflict and market conditions.
President Trump’s decision to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver is just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the U.S. military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury. This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural… https://t.co/q6xu36exzy
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 18, 2026
- 10:37 GMT
US-Israeli strikes have damaged or destroyed at least 108 historical and cultural sites across Iran since the escalation began on February 28, RT’s Tehran bureau chief, Hami Hamedi, reports.
Tehran has been hit the hardest, with more than 60 sites affected. The latest strike targeted the Saadabad cultural-historical complex – Iran’s largest of its kind – on March 17.
You can watch Hamedi’s full report below.
- 10:37 GMT
Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly warned that escalation around Iran would destabilize the Middle East and global energy markets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
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The Iranian knot: Why Trump turned to Putin“We are now witnessing this extreme destabilization throughout the region. The geography of military operations is expanding. We are also seeing the destabilization of global energy markets. These are the consequences that the entire world is now feeling, including the Russian Federation,” he told reporters.
- 10:38 GMT
Peskov added that the situation is being worsened by Ukrainian strikes on energy infrastructure linked to Russia, calling them a “threat to international energy routes.”
“At a time when global energy markets are feeling, to put it mildly, uneasy, such irresponsible, thoughtless actions by the Kiev regime could further destabilize the situation not only in the region but throughout the world,” he said.
- 10:39 GMT
The Israeli Army has released footage showing strikes on what it describes as Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, saying it carried out precision strikes on fighters and infrastructure in the Bint Jbeil area. The video shows smoke rising from impact sites, including what the military said was an anti-tank missile position.
Lebanese security sources said Israeli ground forces are advancing toward Bint Jbeil after encircling the town of Khiyam. The developments follow what Israel called “limited” ground operations launched in southern Lebanon on March 16.
- 11:08 GMT
RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and his cameraman, Ali Rida, have been injured in an Israeli strike while filming in southern Lebanon.
They said an Israeli aircraft fired a missile at their filming position near Al-Qasmiya Bridge, not far from a local military base.
Rida said Israeli forces “deliberately attacked” the crew despite their wearing uniforms displaying their press credentials.
- 11:45 GMT
Rida’s camera has captured the moment of the strike as he filmed Sweeney’s report. The footage shows the missile hitting less than ten meters behind Sweeney as he ducks for cover.
- 12:19 GMT
In a separate video, Rida says both he and Sweeney are fine, joking that “it turns out that when a missile is flying at you, you can hear it.”
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