LIVE UPDATES
President Donald Trump says Iran is being “decimated,” while his envoy is “hopeful” for talks this week
Published 27 Mar, 2026 21:45 | Updated 28 Mar, 2026 08:51
Iran’s latest retaliatory attacks on US and Israeli facilities in the region reportedly injured at least 29 US troops, while President Donald Trump claims that Iran has been “decimated” and has no capacity to fight back.
As the war enters its second month, the US president told a Saudi-backed investment conference on Friday that there were only “3,554 targets left” to strike in Iran. The US Department of War recently touted the milestone of 10,000 sorties.
While Trump continues to claim that talks with Tehran are ongoing, the Pentagon is reportedly drafting options for a “final blow” against Iran and is considering deploying a third aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, to the Middle East.
Iran launched waves of drones and missiles against US and Israeli facilities in the region, including Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where at least 29 Americans were injured and several KC-135 Stratotanker refuelers were damaged, according to media reports.
Tehran vowed to exact a “heavy price” on its enemies, after two of its largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites – including the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant – came under attack over the past 24 hours.
Here are the latest developments:
-
The Trump administration is hopeful that a meeting with Iranian officials will be held this week, Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said.
- The UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Iran informed it about a new suspected Israeli strike near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which would be the third incident in ten days.
- Trump blasted NATO as a “paper tiger” that made a “tremendous mistake,” as it “just wasn’t there” to support US operations against Iran.
- Yemen’s Houthi-led armed forces have warned that their “hands are on the trigger for direct military intervention” if the US and Israel continue to escalate their aggression against Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
-
28 March 2026
10:01 GMT
New structural damage has been discovered at Iran’s 1,800-year-old Falak-ol-Aflak Castle following a recent US-Israeli airstrike, raising concerns over the monument’s stability.
Officials say blast waves, worsened by recent rainfall, have caused cracks and fissures to emerge across the site, with experts warning that the full extent of the damage may only become clear over time.
Several nearby historic buildings were also damaged, and one barrack was completely destroyed, the authorities said.
-
09:58 GMT
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has mocked French President Emmanuel Macron over plans to deploy an aircraft carrier near Cyprus to protect allied forces in the Middle East.
“Well, France ‘plans’, and that always sounds a little more ambitious than it actually is,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “France has one aircraft carrier, more or less operational. It’s now been sent to the Mediterranean. Let’s put it this way: we would probably only have a real ability to ensure peace through joint efforts.”
Macron announced earlier this month that France would send the nuclear-powered carrier Charles de Gaulle to the region.
-
08:34 GMT
Donald Trump’s plans for Iran appear to be increasingly faltering, as he again criticizes NATO allies for “not being there” for Washington. As the cost of the conflict rises and fuel prices climb worldwide, critics argue the United States has largely brought the strain on itself, deepening tensions within Western alliances.
-
08:34 GMT
Lebanese demonstrators have taken to the streets in Beirut to denounce Israeli strikes on the country.
-
08:34 GMT
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has shared UN reports on “genocide” in Gaza and “Israel’s systematic use of sexual violence,” arguing they explain Tehran’s stance.
“If you want to understand why Iran is fighting for humanity and why Israel poses a grave threat to human civilization, read these three UN reports,” he wrote on X. “Raising awareness is a vital part of the resistance. These war crimes can only be described in one way: ‘More than a Human Can Bear’.”
If you want to understand why Iran is fighting for humanity and why Israel poses a grave threat to human civilization, read these three UN reports. Raising awareness is a vital part of the resistance.These war crimes can only be described in one way: “More than a Human Can Bear” pic.twitter.com/Ik81wBwDx7
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 28, 2026
-
08:33 GMT
The Israeli army says it has killed two senior members of Hezbollah’s communications unit, identifying them as Ayoub Hussein Yacoub and Yasser Muhammad Mubarak.
Yacoub was killed in a strike in Beirut, the military said.
It added that air and naval forces carried out overnight attacks across southern Lebanon, targeting weapons depots, launchers and other military infrastructure. Israel said the strikes are part of ongoing efforts to degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and pledged to continue operations against the group.
-
08:33 GMT
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned that the “unlawful” US-Israeli war against Iran risks spiraling into a wider regional war.
“We warned against this manufactured chaos… One thing is certain: Our region will never be the same again,” he told A Haber, arguing that the conflict is designed to keep the region “weak, divided, and fragile.”
Fidan claimed that negotiations are underway, with Pakistan playing a key mediating role. “The Americans are coordinating this with us, and we are informing the Iranians,” he said, adding that some progress has been made.
He also pointed to a possible regional meeting in Pakistan and described Israel as “the primary obstacle to peace,” warning of “Israeli expansionism.”
-
08:33 GMT
More than two dozen US troops have been wounded in Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base over the past week, media reports claim, citing sources.
In the latest strike, Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones, wounding at least 15 troops – five seriously – after earlier reports put the figure at ten injured.
The base was hit twice earlier in the week, including an attack that injured 14 US personnel, the sources said. Located about 96km (60 miles) from Riyadh, the base is operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force and also hosts US troops.
-
08:33 GMT
The Israeli military says more than 50 fighter jets carried out strikes on Iranian “weapons production facilities” during a bombing wave, targeting sites linked to missile and military manufacturing.
-
08:33 GMT
Kuwait International Airport has been targeted in a series of drone attacks, according to the civil aviation authority.
No casualties were reported, but officials said the airport’s radar system sustained heavy damage.
American foreign policy with Judge Andrew Napolitano
War on Iran: Will this be the end of the US bases in the Gulf States? (Dr. Abdulaziz Sager)
