Iran confirmed on Monday the death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri after he sustained severe injuries, Iranian media reported, citing a guards statement. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz had said on March 26 that the IDF carried out ‘a precise and lethal operation’ that eliminated Tangsiri along with other senior naval officials.
Key developments:
– US President Donald Trump publicly discussed seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal, and repeatedly said he wanted ‘to take the oil in Iran,’ calling the option one of several under consideration. He also said the US was negotiating with Iran ‘directly and indirectly.’
– Despite tentative signs of progress in nascent ceasefire talks, US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets continued.
– Iran executed two men convicted of links to the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran and of plotting armed attacks, the judiciary reported.
– Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pressed President Trump for clarity on the war’s objectives and urged de-escalation.
– Global fuel prices rose as the conflict drove up costs worldwide, affecting businesses from Kosovo to other markets.
– Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire days after a temporary pause, raising regional tensions while Islamabad prepared to host US-Iran talks.
– The US deployed additional forces to the region; several hundred special operations personnel arrived to join thousands of marines already aboard amphibious assault ships.
– Israel reported launching more than 140 air strikes across central and western Iran, including around Tehran, targeting ballistic missile sites and storage facilities.
– Markets reacted to the widening conflict: Asian stocks fell, Brent crude moved toward a record monthly gain, and the US dollar remained firm amid fears of a protracted Middle East war.
– Australia temporarily halved its domestic fuel excise for three months to ease consumer costs.
– President Trump said his intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, was ‘softer’ than him on curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
– US- and Israeli-led air raids reportedly hit a petrochemical unit in Tabriz.
– Kuwaiti authorities said an Iranian attack on a power and desalination plant in Kuwait killed an Indian worker and damaged a service building.
– Iran’s parliament speaker warned the US against any ground invasion, saying Tehran would respond if American forces were deployed and rejecting humiliation.
Image reports showed smoke rising from Beirut’s southern suburbs after an Israeli strike, underscoring escalating hostilities between Israel, Hezbollah and the wider US-Israel conflict with Iran.
