Kremlin responds to Khamenei speculation, Trump eyes taking Iranian oil hub, Israel invades Lebanon (VIDEO)
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Source: RT News
One person has been killed after a missile hit a car in Abu Dhabi
US President Donald Trump is considering deploying American troops to seize an oil terminal on Iran’s Kharg Island, which processes some 90% of the country’s crude exports, Axios has reported.
Trump has also threatened NATO members if they fail to deploy naval support to protect US- and Israel-related shipping through the Persian Gulf.
Iran has responded to US strikes on the island by threatening to target US-linked oil infrastructure in the region.
Here are the latest developments:
Israel has launched “limited and targeted ground operations” against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF. RT's Steve Sweeny reports from a bombed school in the evacuation zone.
“A missile falling on a civilian vehicle” in Abu Dhabi has reportedly killed one person while Dubai airport was closed after a drone struck an oil storage site.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has responded to speculation that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is being treated in Moscow.
The price of Brent crude has surged to nearly $106 per barrel on Monday amid the continuing Middle East tensions.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
16 March 2026
15:09 GMT
At least 886 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the country’s health ministry announced on Monday. Over 2,100 people have also been wounded since March 2, it said, noting that the strikes have also hit the health sector.
READ MORE: Israel starts ground operation in Lebanon
According to Beirut, at least 38 health workers have been killed and 69 injured while responding to the attacks.
15:09 GMT
Hamas has pledged its unwavering support for Iran and has allegedly called on Tehran to “activate all fronts” against Israel in a secret letter reported on by Israeli media on Sunday.
The Palestinian militant group had previously publicly asked Tehran to refrain from striking neighboring Gulf countries.
However, in the supposed secret letter addressed to Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Hamas reportedly said it “stands today with all its weight” behind the Iranian leadership “in the face of the ‘Zionist-American’ anarchy,” and looks forward to “forging” victories together with its allies in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
14:36 GMT
Germany has categorically rejected Trump’s demand that NATO help secure the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that the military bloc has no place in the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Securing Strait of Hormuz should be ‘a team effort’ – Trump
“This war has nothing to do with NATO. It’s not NATO’s war,” Stefan Kornelius, a spokesperson for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, told reporters on Monday, insisting that “NATO is a defensive alliance.”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius similarly dismissed Washington’s request, stating that “it is not our war” and questioning “what does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in the Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US Navy cannot manage alone?”
Pistorius stressed there will be “no military participation” from Germany, but said Berlin is prepared to support diplomatic efforts.
13:57 GMT
A video by RT correspondent Charlotte Dubensky has captured the devastation caused by IDF strikes on areas of Lebanon near the border with Israel.
13:53 GMT
The Trump administration had “no idea of what it was getting itself into” when it attacked Iran on behalf of Israel, Marwa Osman, professor at Al-Maaref University, has told RT.
“Trump is swamped by a war that had nothing to do with his administration,” Osman said, adding that Tehran “never attempted to be a threat” to Washington, but was instead ready to negotiate with it.
13:19 GMT
Moscow is ready to act as a mediator in resolving the crisis in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. “We believe we have such capability,” he said.
“I stress once again that we, together with other like-minded countries, advocate and will continue to advocate for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the search for a political settlement,” he added.
According to Lavrov, the “first priority” at the moment is “to ensure that all participants… cease actions that damage civilian infrastructure and lead to civilian casualties – both in the Gulf states and in Iran.”
13:07 GMT
Qatar has intercepted a missile attack targeting its territory, the Gulf nation’s Defense Ministry has said. It did not reveal any further details.
12:54 GMT
The US and Israel miscalculated when they launched their “unprovoked aggression” against Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
“If they expected to achieve the goal of completely subjugating this nation in a day, in a few hours, then they probably now understand how wrong they were, how deluded they were,” Lavrov said.
12:42 GMT
RT correspondent Steve Sweeney has visited areas in southern Lebanon subjected to Israeli attacks over the past two weeks. Schools, residential buildings and other civilian facilities are being “increasingly targeted” by the IDF, he said. More than 800 have been killed since the start of the current escalation with Israel, according to the Lebanese health authorities.
12:21 GMT
Tehran “has not sent any messages” to the US and Israel and is not looking for a truce with them, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.
Araghchi clarified that “saying that we do not want a ceasefire is not due to us being after war [either]. The actual reason is rather that this war should end in a way that the thought of repeating these attacks and aggression would not occur to the enemies again.”
Speaking about the situation with the Strait of Hormuz, he insisted that the waterway remains open to everyone with the exception of the US, Israel, and their allies.
“So far, the enemies have learned a good lesson and found out with what nation they are dealing with, a nation that does not hesitate to defend itself, and is prepared to continue the war as long as it takes,” he stressed.
