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Wednesday marks the 19th day of the US-Israel-Iran conflict, with no signs of de-escalation as US President Donald Trump asserts that the "war" is proceeding strongly.
Earlier, Iran confirmed that its national security chief, Ali Larijani, had died hours after Israel had claimed killing him in an overnight strike, AFP reported. Meanwhile, Trump lashed out at NATO allies for their limited involvement in the conflict and asserted that the US does not need help from anyone.
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Several African economies are running on weeks of refined fuel after Iran's war shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Around 600,000 barrels a day of oil products typically flow to the continent from the Middle East are at risk, Bloomberg reported.
“A wave of global repercussions has only begun and will hit all — regardless of wealth, faith, or race,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.
The director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent, stepped down on Tuesday, highlighting his worries over the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the Trump administration’s war, AP reported.
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, oil prices held firm on Wednesday. Brent crude traded above $103 per barrel, while the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was around $96.
The UAE Defence Ministry on X said, "The UAE's air defenses are currently dealing with missile attacks and incoming drones from Iran, and the Ministry of Defense confirms that the sounds heard in various parts of the country are the result of the air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, as well as fighter jets intercepting drones and loitering munitions. UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran."
Nearly 17 people were killed, and several were injured by Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Tuesday night, CNN reported.
Iran has pledged to seek revenge for the killing of its top national security advisor, Ali Larijani, as Sardar Mousavi, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force, declared a “rapid strike,” saying “tonight, the enemy’s sky will become more spectacular for you,” CNN reported, citing state media..
I'm here with Israel's Defense Minister, our Chief of Staff, the head of the Mossad, the Chief of Air Force, our senior commanders. In the past 24 hours, we knocked out two of the terrorist chieftains, the top terrorist chieftains of this tyranny.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 17, 2026
Our aircraft are hitting the… pic.twitter.com/lFJKEMvgxR
Iran hit missiles at Tel Aviv on Wednesday, killing two. The deceased were two civilians in their seventies, a couple, killed in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, the Jerusalem Post reported.
In a post on X, US Central Command said, "Hours ago, US forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait."
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has rejected proposals for "reducing tensions or ceasefire with the United States," Reuters reported, citing a senior Iranian official.
On Wednesday morning, drone and rocket attacks restarted at the United States Embassy in Baghdad, CNN reported, citing a local security official.
Trump alleged that Iran was two weeks away from having a new nuclear weapon. Addressing from the White House, Trump was quoted by PTI as saying, "If those beautiful, magnificent machines, those B2 bombers, if they didn't do their job, seven or eight months ago, they would have had, they would have had a nuclear weapon and there would have been no talking to him, no talking at all."
He added, "They would have used it very gladly, very happily, and you sort of see that by the fact that they were sending missiles, ballistic missiles, powerful missiles to all of their neighbours, and for the most part, they were supposed to be somewhat friendly with their neighbours."
Criticising NATO allies, Trump in a post on Truth Social said, "The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon. I am not surprised by their action."
He added, "however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need. Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military — Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again! Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID!"
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