(AFP) – Here are the latest developments Tuesday in the Middle East war:
Some 201 Ukrainian anti-drone military experts were in several Middle East countries to help defend against Iranian-designed drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The US embassy in Baghdad was the target of a drone and rocket attack, a security official said. The strike sparked a fire on embassy grounds, the source said, while a witness reported seeing the fire from her balcony.
Crowds gathered in Iranian cities after authorities called for nationwide rallies to defy enemy “plots,” state television said. The rallies come on a night usually marked by Persian new year (Nowruz) festivities, with the authorities apparently keen to prevent any anti-government dissent at a time when people traditionally take to the streets.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that her country was prepared to host Iran’s first-round matches at the 2026 World Cup if needed. Earlier, Iran’s football federation said it was negotiating with FIFA to relocate the country’s World Cup first-round matches to Mexico from the United States because of the war.
US President Donald Trump said that NATO was making a “foolish mistake” on Iran, after the military alliance’s members largely rebuffed his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic. Trump also said he was disappointed with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s response, telling reporters: “He hasn’t been supportive, and I think it’s a big mistake… I’m disappointed with Keir — I like him, I think he’s a nice man, but I’m disappointed.”
Israel’s military said it was striking positions of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force around Tehran, after announcing it had killed the volunteer militia’s top commander.
Trump said “we no longer need” help reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after his request for allies to quickly send warships was snubbed. “We have had such Military Success, we no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”
Israeli officials stated that Iran’s powerful national security chief Ali Larijani was “eliminated” in a nighttime strike. Iran has not confirmed the death.
A top US counterterrorism official, Joseph Kent, resigned to protest the war. “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent, who was appointed by Trump, said in his resignation letter. Trump responded, stating that Kent was “weak on security” and it was a “good thing” he quit.
Lebanon’s military reported that three soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes in the country’s south. Lebanon’s health ministry indicated that Israeli attacks have killed 912 people in the country since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted on March 2, raising a previous toll of 886 a day earlier.
Hezbollah denied it had any members in Kuwait after the Gulf country announced the arrest of 14 Kuwaitis and two Lebanese nationals allegedly affiliated with the group over a “sabotage plot.” Kuwait’s interior ministry stated that the group “aimed to destabilise the country’s security and recruit individuals to join the terrorist organisation.” It also noted that weapons, camera drones, and communication devices were seized.
France is ready to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz but only once the crisis is “calmer,” President Emmanuel Macron said. “We are not a party to the conflict and therefore France will never take part in operations to open or liberate the Strait of Hormuz in the current context,” Macron stated following Trump’s weekend demand that allies help secure the waterway.
Iraq said it was in contact with Iran to try to arrange passage for some of its oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. “Communications are underway with the relevant authorities to authorise the passage of certain oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, in order that we can resume our exports,” Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told local television.
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