‘We’ve knocked out everything’: Trump rejects Iran ceasefire (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

US President Donald Trump has ruled out a ceasefire with Iran as the war in the Middle East enters its fourth week, arguing that Washington holds the upper hand militarily.

“I don’t want to do a ceasefire… You know you don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday.

He said US strikes had “knocked out everything” – Iran’s navy, air force and air defenses, adding that Tehran was “finished” militarily.

Trump branded NATO allies “cowards” on Friday and warned the bloc was a “paper tiger” without US leadership, urging partners to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a key global oil shipping route.

Speaking to reporters later, he downplayed the waterway’s importance for Washington, arguing that countries more dependent on it should take responsibility for restoring flows, adding that the straight will “open itself” at a certain point.

However, US media have reported that American amphibious ships and thousands of Marines are being deployed toward the region as part of a broader military buildup, potentially to reinforce naval operations around the strategic choke point.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, marking the Persian New Year of Nowruz, said the country had dealt “a dizzying blow” to its enemies and described the US‑Israeli assault as a “gross miscalculation.” An Iranian military spokesman also warned that “even parks, recreational areas, and tourist destinations anywhere in the world will no longer be safe” for Tehran’s enemies.

Here are the latest developments:

• Trump suggested that the US would help other countries police the Strait of Hormuz if they answered his call, claiming it would be “an easy” operation.

• According to Lloyd’s List, several countries, including India, Pakistan, China, Iraq, and Malaysia are directly discussing the procedures to allow the transit of their ships with Iran.

• Israel said it had killed two more senior Iranian commanders, identifying them as Esmail Ahmadi, intelligence chief of the Basij paramilitary force, and Mehdi Rostami Shamastan, a senior Intelligence Ministry official.

  Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.

• 21 March 2026

  09:54 GMT

  Israel’s Home Front Command has said search-and-rescue teams are operating at the impact site of a strike they claim hit a kindergarten in central Israel.

• 09:52 GMT

  Iran’s armed forces have vowed the war will continue until further attacks on the country are “removed from criminals’ agenda,” saying recent “unprecedented” strikes demonstrate Tehran’s “high hand in the enemy’s permeable skies.”

• 08:59 GMT

  The IDF said its troops identified several armed Hezbollah militants during a targeted ground operation in southern Lebanon overnight, eliminating one fighter in a ground engagement and three others with tank fire after directing an Israeli Air Force strike on militants who had opened fire. The military added that no Israeli troops were injured in the clashes.

  The IDF also said the Israeli Air Force struck several Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut based on military intelligence, vowing to continue operations against the group, which it accused of joining the war with the backing of Iran, and stressing it would not allow harm to Israeli civilians.

• 08:59 GMT

  Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nasser Eldine said the death toll from Israeli strikes has surpassed 1,000, with thousands more wounded, and warned that medical facilities have been heavily affected.

• 07:31 GMT

  Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said the Natanz enrichment complex was hit in a renewed Israeli-US attack on Friday morning. In a written statement, the agency said the strike targeted the Martyr Ahmadi Roshan facility, calling the action a violation of international law and commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as nuclear safety regulations.

  The organization added that technical teams had carried out specialized assessments to determine whether any radioactive contamination had been released in the surrounding area. “Based on the obtained results… no radioactive material leakage has been reported at this complex, and no danger threatens the residents of the surrounding areas of this site,” the statement said, noting that prior precautions and monitoring systems had been in place.

• 07:29 GMT

  The IDF said Home Front Command search and rescue teams were being deployed to missile impact sites in central Israel, urging the public to avoid gathering near the locations and to continue following official safety guidelines.

• 07:29 GMT

  A potential Western ground operation against Iran would amount to a “suicide mission,” former CIA analyst Larry Johnson has warned, arguing that any large-scale invasion would face overwhelming logistical and geographic obstacles. Speaking to RT, he said the US would need to deploy “an army of about 3 million” to defeat Iran’s forces — far beyond its current capabilities — adding that even limited troop deployments would be unable to achieve “any meaningful objective.”

  Johnson also dismissed recent US claims of battlefield success, accusing Trump of being “detached from reality” and questioning the logic of declaring victory while the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. He warned that inserting Western light infantry into Iran would likely result in “a massacre of Western forces,” stressing that sustaining troops in combat conditions there would be nearly impossible due to stretched supply lines and Iran’s rugged terrain.

• 07:29 GMT

  Iraq has declared force majeure on oilfields developed by foreign companies after disruptions to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz effectively halted crude exports, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two Iraqi oil ministry officials familiar with the matter.

  The move comes as escalating regional tensions have made it difficult for tankers to load and depart from the country’s main southern export terminals, forcing operators to curb production as storage capacity fills. Southern output has reportedly fallen sharply from around 3.3 million barrels per day to roughly 900,000 bpd, with some crude being redirected to domestic refineries.

• 07:29 GMT

  Iran has fired ballistic missiles toward the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, about 4,000 km from Iranian territory, the Wall Street Journal reported citing US officials. According to the report, the missiles did not hit the facility — one is believed to have failed during flight while a US Navy warship attempted an interception.

  Iranian media framed the launch as a demonstration of Tehran’s long-range strike capability. Mehr News Agency said the move showed the reach of Iranian missiles was “beyond what the enemy previously imagined.”

• 07:29 GMT

  Video posted by Iran’s Tasnim news agency appears to show significant damage to residential and commercial buildings in Tel Aviv following an Iranian missile strike.

Iran war: Dubai poses a threat to West’s position, media happy with what’s happening – Habib Al Mulla

The truth behind the Epstein files with the hosts of Redacted