23:00 European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that "everything necessary" will be done to keep inflation in check during the Middle East war that has already pushed up oil prices.
"We will do everything necessary to keep inflation under control and ensure that the French and the Europeans do not experience inflation increases like those we saw in 2022 and 2023," partly caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Lagarde told the France 2 and France Inter broadcasters in an interview.
She said the situation now was "very different" to the last inflation crisis.
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde. AFP
22:30 The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations once again criticized the UN and its most powerful body, the Security Council, for its continued silence, while the US-Israeli war against Iran stretches into its 11th day.
“The Council is turning a blind eye to these grave violations, despite its primary responsibility under the UN Charter to maintain international peace and security,” Amir Saeid Iravani told reporters Tuesday.
“Today it is Iran,” he said, “tomorrow it could be any other sovereign state.”
File Photo: Iran's UN representative Amir Saeid Iravani speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at the UN headquarters in New York. AFP
22:00 US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Tuesday against mining the Strait of Hormuz, even though he said there were no reports of Tehran placing explosive mines in the strategic waterway.
“If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed—IMMEDIATELY!” he wrote on social media.
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Trump added.
The concern is that mines could make it impossible for tankers to pass through the strait, potentially causing oil and natural gas prices to rise. Trump has been sensitive to higher energy prices as a domestic political issue, as his economic argument to voters is based on keeping gasoline costs low.
A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, which is only about 33 kilometres (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
21:50 The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution demanding that Iran stop attacking its Arab neighbours, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.
The draft, sponsored by Gulf Cooperation Council members, condemns Iran’s missile and drone strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan and calls for an immediate end to all attacks and threats, including those carried out by Iran‑aligned groups in the region.
If adopted, it would be the first Security Council resolution considered since Israel and the United States launched airstrikes on Iran and Tehran responded with attacks on Israel and across the region. Three diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement, confirmed the vote is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
21:47 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told UN chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday that Tehran expected him and the Security Council to take a stronger position condemning US and Israeli "aggression," the Tasnim news agency reported.
In a phone conversation, Araghchi noted the UN's role in maintaining peace and "emphasised the serious expectation of the Iranian government and people from the Secretary-General and the UN Security Council to adopt stronger and more responsible positions in explicitly condemning the aggression," Tasnim said.
21:20 More explosions were heard in Doha Tuesday evening as the Qatari Defence Ministry said it intercepted another missile attack from Iran.
Earlier in the day, Qatar said it intercepted five Iranian ballistic missiles launched, with no casualties or damage reported.
21:00 Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran is not seeking a ceasefire in the war against the United States and Israel, adding that the "aggressor" should be punished.
"Certainly we aren't seeking a ceasefire," Ghalibaf, a former top commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards and key figure after the killing of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote in an English-language X post.
"We believe the aggressor must be punished and taught a lesson that will deter them from attacking Iran again," he added.
20:45 About 140 US troops have been wounded in the Iran war, including eight severely, according to the Pentagon.
“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement. Eight US service members are currently “severely injured,” Parnell added.
The new figure is the first insight into the broader toll of injuries that have been sustained by US troops in the wake of retaliatory rocket and drone strikes from Iran that have also claimed the lives of seven soldiers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
An unidentified US soldier patrols next to the American flag on a military ship docked in Manama, Bahrain. AP
20:40 The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning on the situation in Lebanon, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said, adding that Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher will brief the council.
France called for the meeting with support from the council’s other European members, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece, and Latvia. All condemned the escalating violence in Lebanon, where Israeli airstrikes have killed nearly 400 people and displaced more than 700,000, and also denounced Hezbollah for attacks on Israel. The European members had largely stayed silent during more than 15 months of Israeli strikes and ceasefire violations in Lebanon.
France’s Foreign Ministry urged Hezbollah “to end its operations and hand over its weapons” and on Israel “to refrain from any land-based or long-term interventions in Lebanon.”
20:30 The United States has not escorted any oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, the White House confirmed Tuesday, after the energy secretary deleted a post that had said so and Iran issued a denial.
"I can confirm that the US Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time, though of course that's an option," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
20:10 Iran Guards say no US Navy vessel has "dared" approach Strait of Hormuz.
19:55 US energy secretary deletes post saying US Navy escorted tanker in Strait of Hormuz.
19:30 US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Tuesday said the US Navy escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, in what was understood to be the first such operation since the launch of the US-Israel war on Iran.
18:45 The United Nations rights chief voiced alarm Tuesday over the growing impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran on civilians, warning of the dangers of an escalating “tit-for-tat dynamic” between the warring sides.
"This apparent tit-for-tat dynamic, involving essential infrastructure with extremely significant civilian impacts, will only increase risks for civilian populations more broadly, with potentially dire consequences across the entire region," Volker Turk said in a statement.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk speaks to the media at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. AP
18:40 Four Iranian diplomats were killed in Lebanon on Sunday in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media said on Tuesday, citing Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani.
Damaged hotel rooms hit by an Israeli strike are seen in Beirut, Lebanon. AP
18:30 The Iranian army said on Tuesday it had targeted a military and an intelligence site in Israel, as the warring sides pressed attacks for an 11th day.
"The army, using attack drones, struck a military centre in Haifa and the reception centre for spy satellites," it said in a statement.
The military centre "plays a key role in arms production and is of major strategic importance for strengthening the enemy's combat capabilities," added the statement carried by Tasnim news agency.
18:20 US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday that Russia denied providing Iran with intelligence on US military assets in the Middle East.
The denial came after a phone call on Monday between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Witkoff told CNBC.
His comments followed a report by The Washington Post on Friday that Russia had shared targeting information with Iran, including locations of US warships and aircraft, raising concerns in Washington about Moscow’s role in the conflict.
18:10 Russian President Vladimir Putin called for de-escalation in the Iran conflict during a phone call on Tuesday with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said.
"The President of Russia reaffirmed his principled position in favour of a speedy de-escalation of the conflict and for it to be resolved through political means," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.
"Pezeshkian thanked Russia for its support, particularly for providing humanitarian aid to Iran," the Kremlin added, confirming Moscow has sent assistance to its ally Tehran.
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting on the global oil and gas market situation in Moscow. AFP
18:00 US special envoy Steve Witkoff, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday that he probably will travel to Israel next week to coordinate on Iran war plans.
17:50 Iran launched a new salvo of missiles on Tuesday at Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and US targets in the region, the Revolutionary Guards said, as fighting between the foes showed no signs of letting up.
The latest salvo utilized "strategic" missiles, including some of the most powerful in Iran's arsenal, such as the Fattah, Emad, and Khaibar missiles, the Guards said in their statement.
17:40 Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Tuesday that the country would respond to any attack on its infrastructure with an “eye for an eye.”
"The enemy should know that whatever they do, undoubtedly it will have a proportionate and immediate response," Ghalibaf wrote on X, more than a week into the Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
"We today go with the rule of 'an eye for an eye', without compromise, without exception," he said. "If they start a war on infrastructure, we will undoubtedly target infrastructure."
17:00 Iran’s intelligence ministry said on Tuesday that 30 people had been arrested on suspicion of espionage, including one foreigner whose nationality was not disclosed.
In a statement published by the judiciary’s Mizan Online news portal, the ministry said the foreigner was detained in northeastern Iran and “was spying on behalf of two Persian Gulf countries in the name of the American-Zionist enemy.”
The announcement came a day after the judiciary said Iranian authorities would confiscate property and impose penalties on members of the Iranian diaspora who “cooperate” with Israel and the United States.
16:00 Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that Israel was not seeking an endless war with Iran and would coordinate with the United States on when to end the conflict, now in its 11th day.
“We will consult with our American friends when we think it is the right time to do that. We are not looking for an endless war,” Saar told reporters in Jerusalem, declining to say when the war might end.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the country's war against Iran was "not done yet," despite comments from US President Donald Trump that the war could be over "very soon."
15:45 The death toll from the US/Israel war on Iran and Iran's retaliatory attacks on neighbouring states is rising by the minute.
- At least 1,332 people have been killed, including 175 schoolgirls and staff killed in a missile strike on a primary school in Minab in the country's south on the war's first day, and 12,000 injured, according to the non-profit humanitarian group Iranian Red Crescent Society.
- In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 650 and left nearly 700,000 displaced across the country.
- In Iraq, at least 15 people have been killed, according to Iraqi police and health officials. One commander from Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, was killed in an airstrike on his vehicle on 5 March, police sources told Reuters.
- Seven US service members have been killed in action during operations against Iran, the Pentagon said.
- Four people were killed when an Iranian missile struck a building in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on February 28, state news agency SANA said.
- In the UAE, four people have been killed in Iran's attacks, according to the UAE's defence ministry.
- Two people were killed when a projectile fell on a residential location in Al-Kharj city, southeast of the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
- In Bahrain, two people were killed in two separate Iranian attacks, with the most recent hitting a residential building in the capital Manama, according to the interior ministry.
- In Kuwait, two people, including a child, have been killed in Iranian attacks on the country, according to Kuwait's health ministry. Two interior ministry officers and two army soldiers were also killed on duty, the army said.
- One person was killed after a projectile hit the Marshall Islands–flagged product tanker MKD VYOM off the coast of Muscat.
14:20 US War Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the most intense airstrikes against Iran since the start of the US/Israel war on the country would take place today.
This came during a press conference with General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Pentagon.
14:10 Iranian security chief Ali Larijani said on X on Tuesday that “the Strait of Hormuz will either be a path of peace and prosperity for all, or a path of failure and suffering for warmongers.”
The strategic oil route has been largely closed since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Tehran has threatened to block the waterway in response to any attack.
Separately, US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military is considering options to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is open for tanker traffic but has not yet been asked to escort tankers through the narrow passage.
He told reporters, “If tasked to escort, you know, we’ll look at the range of options to set the military conditions to be able to do that.”
Britain is also working with allies on ways to support commercial shipping through the Strait in the face of Iranian threats, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
After talks with Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni on Monday, Downing Street said the leaders “agreed on the vital importance of freedom of navigation.”
They also agreed “to work closely together in the coming days as the threat picture develops.”
14:00 The Israeli military has announced that it has begun another fresh wave of strikes on Tehran.
Israeli warplanes carry out airstrikes on the eastern areas of Tehran. Photo courtesy of Quds news.
13:45 Authorities in the United Arab Emirates say firefighters are battling a blaze in Ruwais after an Iranian drone strike.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office, which speaks for the capital, says there have been no injuries reported.
Ruwais is about 175 kilometres (110 miles) southwest of the capital city of Abu Dhabi in its desert reaches near the border with Saudi Arabia. It is home to petrochemical plants.
A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse in the industrial area of Sharjah City following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP
12:50 The United Nations said Tuesday that more than 100,000 people had been newly displaced within Lebanon in just 24 hours amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
"As of today, more than 667,000 people in Lebanon have now registered on the (Lebanese) government's online platform as displaced — and this is an increase of 100,000 in just one day," said Karolina Lindholm Billing, the UN refugee agency's representative in Lebanon.
"That's a faster pace of displacement compared to 2024," she told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Beirut.
A woman looks on as people sleep wrapped in blankets in a makeshift encampment along the waterfront in Beirut. AFP
At least 486 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
12:20 The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said its appeal for 40 million Swiss francs ($51.5 million) would help support five million people through the next 16 months.
"Across the country, communities are facing growing humanitarian needs related to healthcare, shelter, water and sanitation, and mental health and psychosocial support," the IFRC said.
The funds will help the national Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) to prioritize those directly affected by the war and deal with infrastructure damage and disruptions to essential services.
"With humanitarian needs growing sharply with every passing day, this emergency appeal will help scale up lifesaving assistance and get support to those most affected," Maria Martinez, the IFRC's delegation chief in Iran, said in a statement.
Rescuers search through the rubble of a collapsed building at the site where a missile hit a neighbourhood, in Tehran. AFP
11:45 German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says there is no need now to send his country’s warships or other military hardware to Cyprus or the eastern Mediterranean.
An Iranian Shahed drone struck a British air base on Cyprus’ southern coast last week.
Wadephul lauded Greece, France, and Italy for dispatching warships to the region as a “pragmatic step,” adding that Germany would augment a European force presence if needed.
Following talks with his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, Wadephul said he does not have intelligence indicating “a real current threat” to Cyprus or another European country from the Iran war.
But he added, “You can never predict what will happen the next day” with groups like Hezbollah.
11:30 Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said that with the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late ayatollah, as Iran’s new supreme leader, the US and Israel have failed in their goal for regime change.
In an interview with PBS News Hour that aired Monday night, Araghchi said that he did not think that the US and Israel have a realistic endgame and are now just sowing chaos.
“They thought that, in a matter of two or three days, they could go for a regime change, they could go for a rapid, clean victory, but they failed…they failed to achieve their goals at the beginning, and now, after 10 days, I think they are aimless,” Araghchi said.
A snapshot of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking during the interview with PBS. AFP
10:50 Hezbollah says its fighters lured Israeli occupation forces into a well-prepared ambush on the southern outskirts of Al-Khiam in South Lebanon, targeting troops attempting to retrieve casualties from the battlefield.
The group stated that resistance fighters struck the forces with appropriate weapons, directly hitting a third Merkava tank during the ongoing clashes, which was seen burning like the previously targeted vehicles, as confrontations continue in the area.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Taybeh in southern Lebanon as seen from nearby Marjeyoun. AFP
10:45 Over 10,000 Chinese people have safely returned from Middle Eastern countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry has said.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, has arranged for Chinese airlines to significantly increase flight capacity,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Tuesday in Beijing.
10:30 Iranian forces will not allow the export of oil from the region to allies of the United States and Israel as long as the war continues, a Revolutionary Guards spokesman said Tuesday.
"The Iranian armed forces... will not allow the export of a single litre of oil from the region to the hostile side and its partners until further notice," said Ali Mohammad Naini, according to a report from Iran's Tasnim news agency.
He said any change would take place based on the conditions of the conflict.
Cargo ships and tankers ply the Strait of Hormuz. AFP
10:15 Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iraq should not be used as a launch pad for attacks in the Middle East war.
Iraq has been hit with Iranian missile and drone attacks since the US and Israel launched the war.
In a phone call with Rubio, Sudani stressed "the importance of ensuring that Iraqi airspace, territory, and waters are not used for any military action targeting neighbouring countries or the region," the prime minister's media office said.
Sudani rejected "any attempt to drag the country into ongoing conflicts," as well as "violations of its airspace by any party."
Civil defence and security forces inspect the body of an unidentified missile that fell in a rural area near the city of al-Qasim, in the south of Iraq's central Babylon province. AFP
10:00 Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a ballistic missile and five attack drones overnight.
The Kuwaiti military says it successfully intercepted and downed six drones.
Following the death of a 29-year-old woman in an attack on Bahrain's capital, Manama, late on Monday, Bahrain has sounded its warning sirens, while urging residents to shelter.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) defence ministry announced early on Tuesday that it was continuing to intercept "missile and drone threats" from Iran and has deployed air defence systems and fighter jets.
The UAE also said its consulate in Erbil, northern Iraq, was targeted with a drone, causing damage but no injuries.
09:40 Iran's Revolutionary Guards have said they targeted a US base in Iraq's Kurdistan region as the war with the United States and Israel continues.
"The headquarters of the invading US army in Al-Harir Air Base in the Kurdistan region was targeted with five missiles," the Guards said in a statement on their Telegram channel.
09:35 Australian police extracted five Iranian women's soccer team players from the team's hotel before they were granted asylum, Australia's government said.
The players granted asylum were Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali Alishah, Mona Hamoudi, and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, all in their early 30s, as well as 21-year-old Fatemeh Pasandideh.
The five players sought protection after the team was denounced as "wartime traitors" on Iranian state television for not singing their national anthem before an Asian Cup match.
Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told a press conference that conversations with the players about asylum had been ongoing for several days.
Iran players salute during their national anthem ahead of the Women's Asia Cup soccer match between Australia and Iran in Robina, Australia. AP
09:30 Syrian army officials said artillery shells fired from Lebanon landed near the town of Serghaya, west of Damascus, the state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.
The army accused Hezbollah of targeting Syrian army positions, telling the news agency it observed Hezbollah reinforcements at the Syrian-Lebanese border.
"The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria," the army said in a statement to SANA.
Hezbollah did not claim any attacks on Syrian territories.
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