Middle East crisis live: US eases sanctions on Iranian oil as Trump claims he is mulling ‘winding down’ war; Israel hits Tehran again

From 3h agoUS lifts sanctions on Iranian oil at seaThe US treasury has authorised the purchase of some Iranian oil that is already at sea, exempting buyers from its own sanctions.The sanctions licence permits the purchase of oil from Iran if it was loaded on to a vessel by 12.01am ET (5.01am GMT) on Friday. The exemption runs until 19 April.The licence aims to stem the surge in oil prices caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.The move had been telegraphed earlier this week by US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who told Fox Business Network’s Mornings With Maria: “In the coming days, we may un-sanction the Iranian oil that’s on the water. It’s about 140m barrels.”“That’s about 10 days to two weeks of supply that the Iranians had been pushing out that would have all gone to China,” he added. double quotation markIn essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 to 14 days as we continue this campaign. Key events48m agoIsrael launches fresh attacks on Tehran1h agoIran ready to let Japanese ships through Strait of Hormuz - report2h agoIran fired missiles at US-UK military base Diego Garcia but neither hit – report3h agoIsrael attacking Hezbollah targets in Beirut, says military3h agoOne killed and two wounded in Israeli strike on south Lebanon house – state media3h agoUS lifts sanctions on Iranian oil at sea4h agoMore countries sign joint statement on Strait of Hormuz by European nations and other5h agoIsraeli military issues new 'evacuation order' for Beirut’s southern suburbs6h agoTrump considering 'winding down' Iran war and leaving other countries to 'police' strait of Hormuz6h agoThe day so far7h agoTrump says UK should have 'acted a lot faster' over military base use7h ago'I don't want to do a ceasefire', Trump says7h agoTrump says 'it would be nice' if China and Japan would help secure strait of Hormuz7h agoTrump says US 'roaming free' in Iran and says 'I think so' when asked if Israel would end war when US does7h agoIranian foreign minister says UK prime minister's base decision 'putting British lives in danger'8h agoUS government is 'detached from reality', says Iranian foreign minister8h agoFuel rations and cash handouts: Iran war energy shock hits Asia – podcast8h agoPro-war Israeli and US figures created an 'echo chamber' around Trump, 'isolating' him and pushing for war, says Kent9h agoDonald Trump says 'we want to talk to Iran but we have nobody to talk to'9h agoUK agrees to allow US to use British bases for strikes on Iranian sites targeting strait of Hormuz10h agoThe day so far11h agoIran's Khamenei says enemy 'defeated' in written Nowruz message12h agoPoland evacuates troops from Iraq amid 'worsening security situation'12h agoSpain to propose temporary rent price freezes due to war in Iran, Spanish PM says13h agoUS to deploy of thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, officials tell Reuters13h agoLoud blasts reportedly heard in Jerusalem after Iran missile warning13h agoTrump calls Nato members 'cowards' for not helping secure the strait of Hormuz15h agoSummary of the day so far...17h agoWhat are the risks to the US if it tries to occupy or widen its attacks on Kharg Island?17h agoTrump considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island - report18h agoIran tells UK that providing military bases for the US is considered 'participation in aggression'18h agoBoth sides in US-Israeli war on Iran may have committed war crimes, UN chief suggests19h agoIRGC spokesperson killed in US-Israeli airstrikes, Iranian media reports20h agoInterim summary20h agoIran’s Revolutionary Guard says Tehran still building missiles22h agoKuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery hit by multiple drone attacks23h agoIsrael pounds Tehran with airstrikes on Friday1d agoIsrael launches fresh wave of strikes on Tehran1d agoUAE, Kuwait authorities say responding to missile attacks1d agoWelcome summaryShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureMore here on those latest strikes: the Israeli military said it launched them on “regime targets” in Tehran early on Saturday, after reporting several rounds of Iranian missile fire at Israel.The Israel Defence Forces said on Saturday it was “striking Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran” after an earlier air raid targeted the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.There were no immediate details on the outcome of the strikes, Agence France-Presse reports.Iranians gather at a rally in Tehran on Friday. Photograph: Getty ImagesThe military earlier said it had “identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the state of Israel” at least three times within six hours.Air raid sirens sounded across large parts of Israel, according to the military’s home front command, and there were no reports of casualties.The Israeli military said earlier that recent strikes on Tehran had targeted ballistic missile sites. double quotation markThe IDF will continue to deepen the degradation of the Iranian regime’s fire array. Tehran has come under near daily bombardment since the joint US-Israeli attack that started the war on 28 February.Israel launches fresh attacks on TehranThe Israeli military says it is striking Iranian regime targets in Tehran.That move came after its strikes on Beirut earlier on Saturday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on social media.A while before the Tehran strikes the military said it had identified missiles fired from Iran towards Israel and that its defence systems were operating the intercept them.Iran ready to let Japanese ships through Strait of Hormuz - reportIran is ready to facilitate letting Japanese vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Japan’s Kyodo News is reporting Iran’s foreign minister as saying.It quoted Abbas Araghchi as saying negotiations with Japan on the issue were ongoing.He also said in the interview of Friday that “we have not closed the strait – it is open”, while stressing that Tehran is seeking “not a ceasefire, but a complete, comprehensive and lasting end to the war”, Kyodo reported.It quoted Araghchi as saying Iran had not closed the Strait of Hormuz but had imposed restrictions on vessels belonging to countries involved in attacks against Iran, while offering assistance to others in the vital waterway amid heightened security concerns.Araghchi said Iran was prepared to ensure safe passage for countries such as Japan if they coordinated with Tehran, the report said.Japan relies on the Middle East for more than 90% of its crude oil imports, most of which travel through the strait, it said.Iran fired missiles at US-UK military base Diego Garcia but neither hit – reportIran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia but neither of them hit the joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, citing multiple US officials.However, the move marked a significant attempt by Iran to reach far beyond the Middle East and threaten US interests, the report said.CNN is also reporting Iran’s missile launches targeting Diego Garcia, citing a US official, and calling it a crucial overseas US military staging post for operations far from home as well as a key airfield for the US military’s heavy bomber fleet.The WSJ said one of the missiles failed in flight, and a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other, according to two of the people. It couldn’t be determined if an interception was made, according to one of the officials.File shot of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a US-UK military facility. Photograph: ReutersIran’s targeting of Diego Garcia, about 4,000km from Iran, implies its missiles have a greater range than Tehran has previously acknowledged, the WSJ continued. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said last month that Iran had deliberately limited the range of its missiles to 2,000km.Reuters is saying the White House, the British embassy in Washington and the UK Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment.As the Guardian reported in March, Trump said he was “very disappointed” in British prime minister Keir Starmer over the UK government’s deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as a means to preserve the status of the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, which is part of the Indian Ocean archipelago.The Chagos deal, which Trump initially supported before changing his mind, was a “very woke thing”, the US president said.Several Nato members and other US-allied nations have pledged to join “appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz.But the joint statement from the leaders of more than a dozen nations – including the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Sweden and Bahrain – did not provide details on how they would do this.That followed a recent bashing by Donald Trump, who called alliance members “cowards” for not wanting “to help open” the Strait of Hormuz, as you can read in our latest summary of Trump administration news amid the Iran war.The Nato allies’ pledges comes as the US is reportedly preparing to send three more warships and thousands more troops to the Middle East.File shot of the US amphibious assault ship USS Boxer. Photograph: Craig Z Rodarte/AFP/Getty ImagesBut at the same time, as mentioned, Trump said was considering “winding down” the US war on Iran. As for a ceasefire? The president said no thanks, telling reporters on Friday: double quotation markLook, we can have dialogue but I don’t want to do a ceasefire. You don’t do a ceasefire when you’re literally obliterating the other side. The full Trump news summary is here:Israel attacking Hezbollah targets in Beirut, says militaryThe Israeli military says it is now attacking Hezbollah targets in Beirut.It made the announcement in a short post on social media, after warning residents in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs hours earlier to evacuate immediately.In that warning, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson listed seven neighbourhoods in the southern area, which is a stronghold of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.Avichay Adraee said in the post: double quotation markThe Defense Army continues its operations and strikes against military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist Hezbollah in various parts of the suburbs with increasing force. One killed and two wounded in Israeli strike on south Lebanon house – state mediaLebanese state media is saying the death of one person and the wounding of two others came after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in a southern town early on Saturday.“Israeli fighter jets launched a heavy strike at dawn on a house in the town of Ghandouriyeh ... resulting in one martyr and two wounded people who were pulled from under the rubble,” said Lebanon’s official National News Agency, cited by Agence France-Presse.Israeli strikes have killed one person and wounded two in south Lebanon, state media is being quoted as saying.We’ll have more on this soon.Saudi Arabia has intercepted and destroyed 10 drones in its eastern region, the defence ministry is saying on social media.The ministry said a while earlier that it had intercepted six drones in the east.In the previous couple of hours the United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said it was responding to missile and drone attacks from Iran.Kuwait’s army also said it was also “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks”. This is Adam Fulton picking up our live coverage - keep with us for the latest updates US lifts sanctions on Iranian oil at seaThe US treasury has authorised the purchase of some Iranian oil that is already at sea, exempting buyers from its own sanctions.The sanctions licence permits the purchase of oil from Iran if it was loaded on to a vessel by 12.01am ET (5.01am GMT) on Friday. The exemption runs until 19 April.The licence aims to stem the surge in oil prices caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.The move had been telegraphed earlier this week by US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who told Fox Business Network’s Mornings With Maria: “In the coming days, we may un-sanction the Iranian oil that’s on the water. It’s about 140m barrels.”“That’s about 10 days to two weeks of supply that the Iranians had been pushing out that would have all gone to China,” he added. double quotation markIn essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 to 14 days as we continue this campaign. United Airlines chief executive, Scott Kirby, has said the airline will cancel about 5% of this year’s planned flights in the short term, as the escalating war in the Middle East causes jet fuel prices to soar.“If prices stayed at this level, it would mean an extra $11bn in annual expense just for jet fuel,” Kirby said in a message to employees, according to Reuters.The airline’s current plan is to restore its full flight schedule this fall, Kirby added.United Airlines planes sit on the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on March 18, 2026. Photograph: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty ImagesMissiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel, the IDF has said in the past few minutes.“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” it said in a statement on Telegram.It urged residents to follow instructions issued by Israel’s Home Front Command, which “has sent a precautionary directive directly to mobile phones in the relevant area”.An Iranian missile with cluster munitions flies over Jerusalem on Friday. Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/ReutersMore countries sign joint statement on Strait of Hormuz by European nations and otherSeveral more countries on Friday joined leading European nations, Japan and Canada in signing a joint statement saying they were ready to join appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and would take steps to stabilise energy markets (though they do not specify what this means in practice).This is the full text of the statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Denmark, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Romania, Bahrain and Lithuania: double quotation markWe condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces. We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817. Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The effects of Iran’s actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable. Consistent with UNSC Resolution 2817, we emphasise that such interference with international shipping and the disruption of global energy supply chains constitute a threat to international peace and security. In this regard, we call for an immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations. We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning. We welcome the International Energy Agency decision to authorise a coordinated release of strategic petroleum reserves. We will take other steps to stabilise energy markets, including working with certain producing nations to increase output. We will also work to provide support for the most affected nations, including through the United Nations and the IFIs (International Financial Institutions). Maritime security and freedom of navigation benefit all countries. We call on all states to respect international law and uphold the fundamental principles of international prosperity and security.