03-28 00:00 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
The vigilante group Handala Hack Team said that it had successfully gained access to Patel’s personal email account.
A group of Iran-linked hackers have said that they successfully gained access to the personal emails of Kash Patel, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), sharing photographs and documents from the United States official online.
The Handala Hack Team said on Friday that Patel would “will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims”.
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The news outlets Reuters and CNN confirmed the breach, citing unnamed security officials and people familiar with the matter. The FBI and Department of Justice have yet to comment on the incident.
The hacking appears to have released some documents more than a decade old. Some of the emails show Patel’s travel and business correspondence. Others include photos of Patel beside an antique sports convertible, posing with a cigar in his mouth and standing in front of a mirror with a bottle of rum.
Patel is the ninth director of the FBI, and he began his tenure in 2025. But his leadership has been marked by controversy, with critics accusing him of misusing the federal law enforcement agency for personal travel and to carry out President Donald Trump’s priorities.
The hacking group, which describes itself as pro-Palestinian hacking vigilantes, also claimed credit for a recent cyberattack on the medical device company Stryker.
The group, which Western researchers have said is linked to Iranian cyberintelligence, said that the attack was in retaliation for the US-Israeli strike on a children’s school in Minab in southern Iran that killed more than 170 people, most of them schoolgirls.
The group said at the time that the operation marked “the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare”. Iran has threatened to step up attacks on Western economic interests as a form of pressure amid the US-Israel war against the country.
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03-28 00:00 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Russia has long exchanged weapons with Iran and is likely offering satellite support, but lacks the will to do much more
“A bit” is what United States President Donald Trump thinks about the scale of Russia’s military aid to Iran.
Moscow “might be helping them a bit”, he told Fox News on March 13.
A day later, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated laconically that Moscow’s military cooperation with Tehran was “good”.
His words seemed to confirm earlier media reports that Russia is providing Iran with satellite and intelligence data on the locations of US warships and aircraft.
It may not sound like much, given the superiority of Western military satellites and Russia’s battlefield losses and communication problems after Elon Musk’s SpaceX company switched off smuggled Starlink satellite Internet terminals.
But data on US military assets Iran is receiving most likely comes from Liana, Moscow’s only fully functional system of spy satellites, according to an expert on Russia’s space programme and military.
“The [Liana] system has been created to spy on US carrier strike groups and other navy forces and for identifying them as targets,” Pavel Luzin, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a US think tank, told Al Jazeera.
Eyes in the sky
Russia also played a key role in the development of Iran’s space programme and its key satellite, the Khayyam.
Launched in 2022 from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome, the 650kg (1,430 pound) satellite orbits the Earth at 500 kilometres (310 miles) and has a resolution of one metre (3.3 feet).
Moscow “can, in theory, receive and process data from Iran’s optical imaging satellite and share data from its own several satellites”, Luzin said.
On Wednesday, Tehran claimed to have struck the Abraham Lincoln carrier with multiple cruise and ballistic missiles, but the Pentagon called the claim “pure fiction”.
On Sunday, Iranian media claimed that a “massive blaze” was caused by a strike on a US destroyer refuelling in the Indian Ocean.
Washington did not comment on that strike.
Russia has, for decades, supplied weaponry to Iran, including advanced air defence systems, trainer and fighter jets, helicopters, armoured vehicles and sniper rifles, worth billions of dollars.
Since Washington and Tel Aviv began their strikes on February 28, Russia has continued aiding Iran with “intelligence, data, experts and components” for weaponry, Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy chief of Ukraine’s general staff of armed forces, told Al Jazeera.
While Moscow and Tehran loudly proclaim their strategic partnership, they do not have a mutual defence clause, and Moscow has not intervened in the conflict directly.
But the arms supplies have been mutual. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Tehran has provided Moscow with ammunition and artillery shells, firearms and short-range ballistic missiles, helmets and flak jackets.
Drones with ‘comets’
And then there are the Shahed kamikaze drones – slow, noisy, yet cheap to manufacture – which have been launched on Ukrainian cities in swarms of dozens and then hundreds. Ukraine became so adept at bringing these down – now mass-producing cheap interceptor systems specifically to target Shaheds – that it is now providing its own know-how to Gulf states where US military assets have come under fire from Iran in recent weeks.
In the course of its war with Ukraine, Moscow has manufactured and modernised Shaheds, making them faster and deadlier, and equipping them with cameras, navigators and, occasionally, artificial intelligence modules.
And now, some of the upgrades have made their way back to Iran.
A Shahed drone with a pivotal Russian component launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah from southern Lebanon was able to hit a British airbase on Cyprus on March 1, the UK’s Times newspaper reported on March 7.
It reportedly contained Kometa-B (Comet B), a Russian-made satellite navigation module that also acts as an anti-jamming shield, making drones more resistant to interference.
Russia has also perfected the tactic of sending waves of real and decoy drones to exhaust and overwhelm Western-supplied air defence systems in Ukraine.
These days, the scheme helps Iran hit targets in the Gulf, Western officials say.
“I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics and potentially some of their capabilities as well,” British Defence Secretary John Healey said on March 12 after Iranian drones struck a base used by Western forces in Erbil, northern Iraq.
However, if Iran is suffering a shortage of drones – as some analysts believe it is – that would render the use of Russian tactics, as well as Russia-supplied satellite data useless, experts say.
“Russia does supply data, it’s obvious, the data helps Iran, but not much,” Nikita Smagin, a Russian expert who has written extensively on ties between Moscow and Tehran, told Al Jazeera.
After four days of intensive strikes using up to 250 drones a day in early March, Iran has been launching only up to 50 drones a day, according to Nikolay Mitrokhin, a researcher with German
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03-28 00:00 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Uranium facility, steel plants and heavy water complex among targets hit as IRGC warns of escalation.
Israel has struck a uranium processing facility in the central Iranian city of Yazd, the Israeli military confirmed, in an escalatory move that comes as regional diplomats have been attempting to broker an agreement to halt the joint US-Israeli war on Iran.
The Israeli Air Force said it hit a plant used to extract raw materials essential to the uranium enrichment process, describing it as a “unique facility” in Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization confirmed the strike, but said there were no casualties or radiation leaks.
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A projectile also hit near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said. The attack caused “no casualties, financial, or technical damage,” the organisation said.
Friday marked day 28 of the conflict, and the assault by the Israeli army was part of a broad wave of attacks on sites across the country.
The Khondab Heavy Water Complex in central Iran was hit, as well as two major steel plants: the Khuzestan Steel facility and the Mobarakeh Steel complex in Isfahan.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will “exact heavy price” for Israeli attacks on several important infrastructure sites. “Israel has hit 2 of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites among other infrastructure,” said Araghchi in a post on X.
Strikes also hit areas in and around Tehran, the city of Kashan and Ahwaz, while 18 people were killed in Qom.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in US-Israeli attacks on Iran since the war began on February 28.
Iranian officials said US-Israeli strikes have damaged at least 120 museums and historical sites across the country since hostilities began.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera that even Iranians who had been critical of their own government increasingly view the war as an assault on the Iranian people rather than its leadership, saying the targeting of water, electricity, gas, cultural heritage, schools and hospitals was “unacceptable.”
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would “intensify” its campaign and expand the range of sites it targets, accusing Tehran of deliberately directing missiles at Israeli civilians.
IRGC Aerospace Commander Seyed Majid Moosavi warned that the conflict was entering new territory, saying “the equation will no longer be an eye for an eye.” He urged employees of US and Israeli-linked industrial companies across the region to immediately vacate their workplaces.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Tehran, noted that the strikes on two major Iranian nuclear facilities could prompt the IRGC to target Dimona again, Israel’s nuclear site, as it did last week.
Prior to Friday’s strikes, US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had pushed back planned attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure by 10 days, to April 6, saying negotiations to end the war were “going very well”.
Iranian officials flatly rejected that characterisation, describing Washington’s proposal to end the war as “one-sided and unfair” and outlining their own list of conditions, which include war reparations and the recognition of Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, an Iranian official said the ongoing strikes, while simultaneously discussing talks, were “intolerable”.
Meanwhile, Pakistan said it is actively relaying messages between the two sides, with Turkiye and Egypt also supporting mediation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking after G7 talks in France, said he expected the operation to be wrapped up in “weeks, not months”.
Strait of Hormuz tolls
Rubio also warned that Iran’s plans to impose tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz were “illegal, unacceptable and dangerous to the world,” saying he had found broad support among G7 allies for confronting the move.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Friday said it had turned back three ships attempting to use the strait, declaring it closed to vessels heading to or from ports linked to its enemies.
The United Nations announced the creation of a task force to establish a new mechanism to keep fertiliser and related raw materials moving through the waterway.
France said a tanker escort system would be needed once the worst of the fighting subsides.
In a joint statement, G7 foreign ministers called for the permanent restoration of “safe and toll-free freedom of navigation” through the strait in line with international law.
Later on Friday, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations said Tehran has agreed to facilitate and expedite humanitarian aid shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
The World Food Programme warned on Friday that the conflict could push the number of food-insecur
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03-28 00:00 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
A senior IRGC official in Tehran told state television that children over 12 can join armed patrols and checkpoints.
Tehran, Iran – Heavily armed state forces continue to control Iran’s streets, despite the United States and Israel launching more strikes and preparing for a potential ground attack, as the nearly one-month war proceeds with no clear end point on the horizon
Checkpoints, roadblocks and patrols, some manned by masked forces wielding assault rifles and machine guns mounted on pick-up trucks, have become a common sight in Tehran.
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Many of the checkpoints, operated by the paramilitary Basij force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), police or plainclothes forces, have been targeted by deadly drone strikes over the past two weeks. They are, therefore, often on the move, or positioned on highways, in tunnels, and under bridges.
“I counted 40 cars moving through my neighbourhood late last night while honking, flashing their blinkers, waving flags and escorting a pick-up truck that had massive speakers fitted at the back and somebody shouting religious slogans from inside,” a resident of western Tehran told Al Jazeera on Friday, asking to remain anonymous for security reasons.
He said local residents have been invited from the loudspeakers on multiple occasions to join gatherings at the neighbourhood’s mosque to denounce the US and Israel and express support for the theocratic establishment that has been in power since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.
Such state-backed gatherings are taking place in numerous mosques, as well as city squares and streets. But they come as the US and Israel urge Iranians to stay in their homes and wait for a “clear signal” to take to the streets and overthrow the Islamic Republic.
For their part, Iranian state television and other state-affiliated media outlets have encouraged supporters to maintain control on the streets, and have been increasingly releasing footage of armed pro-state people, including women, carrying guns.
Rahim Nadali, the IRGC’s deputy for cultural affairs in Tehran, claimed on state television on Wednesday night that people of all ages have expressed readiness to join intelligence and security patrols and checkpoints.
“We have brought the age limit [down] to over 12 years. So now, children aged 12 or 13 years are going to participate in this space,” he said.
‘Sinking feeling in your gut’
A series of new air raids landed across Iran on Friday afternoon, hitting a civilian nuclear site, as well as power posts and production lines for steel and other industrial factories, according to Iranian authorities.
Washington has also deployed thousands more soldiers to the region while signalling that an attempt to occupy one or more islands on Iran’s southern shores may be imminent.
Iranian officials have promised to retaliate strongly if that happens, including by striking critical infrastructure across the region.
Javad Mogoei, a prominent IRGC-linked media personality, released a video from the island of Qeshm earlier this week, suggesting that the IRGC could launch missiles and drones at Iranian islands if they were occupied by the US.
Despite that potential for even further escalation, and while numerous areas in Tehran have been struck by bombs dropped from Israeli and US warplanes, the city continues to function as people try to practise a semblance of a normal life.
Some people visit friends and loved ones indoors, while others go on daytime walks to hold a routine or work out at gyms that are open for limited hours.
“It looks like the war will last for weeks, if not months, so we can’t afford to get drowned in all the anxieties and fears that come with it,” said another resident of the capital, who had sought safety in one of Iran’s northern provinces earlier in the war, but returned last week.
“But you still can’t help but get that sinking feeling in your gut for a moment, not knowing whether you will be next when you hear the jets flying over,” he said.
Another resident, a woman who lives in the more affluent northern areas of Tehran where multiple senior officials have been assassinated in residential buildings since the start of the war, said she finds herself worried.
“My mind sometimes automatically goes back to the concern that some official might be living in an adjacent alley or a nearby home, and my family could become collateral,” she said, adding that she has only been outside her home three times over the past month to buy essentials or visit immediate family.
Iranian authorities have said nearly 2,000 people have been killed since February 28 by US and Israeli attacks, and a large number of residential units, hospitals, schools and civilian vehicles have been affected.
Economy under strain
More businesses
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03-28 00:00 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Rubio reiterated President Donald Trump’s call for other countries to participate in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has offered wide-ranging remarks upon his departure from the latest Group of Seven (G7) ministers’ meeting in France, denouncing Iran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz as well as settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Standing on an airport tarmac on Friday, Rubio fielded questions from journalists about reports that Iran plans to implement a tolling system in the strait, a vital waterway for the world’s oil supply.
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Rubio used the topic to double down on pressure for countries to participate in securing the Strait of Hormuz, a demand US President Donald Trump has repeatedly made.
“One of the immediate challenges we’re going to face is in Iran, when they decide that they want to set up a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz,” Rubio said.
“Not only is this illegal, it’s unacceptable. It’s dangerous for the world, and it’s important that the world have a plan to confront it. The United States is prepared to be a part of that plan. We don’t have to lead that plan, but we are happy to be a part of it.”
He called on the G7 members — among them, Japan, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and the European Union — as well as countries in Asia to “contribute greatly to that effort”.
Rubio calls toll plan ‘unacceptable’
The Strait of Hormuz is a key artery for the global transport of oil and natural gas, and prior to the start of the US and Israel’s war against Iran on February 28, an average of 20 million barrels of oil per day passed through the waterway.
That amounted to roughly 20 percent of the world’s liquid petroleum supply.
But since the outbreak of war, Iran has pledged to close the Strait of Hormuz, which borders its shores. The threat of attacks has ground most of the local tanker traffic to a standstill, though a few vessels, some linked to Iran or China, have been allowed to pass through.
Media reports suggest that Iran is setting up a “tollbooth system” that would require passing ships to put in a request through Iran’s armed forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). There would also be a fee to secure passage.
“ They want to make it permanent. That’s unacceptable. The whole world should be outraged by it,” Rubio said on Friday.
He added that he conveyed a warning about the polling scheme to his colleagues at the G7.
“All we’ve said is, ‘You guys need to do something about it. We’ll help you, but you guys are going to need to be ready to do something about it,'” Rubio said.
“Because when this conflict and when this operation ends, if the Iranians decide, ‘Well, now we control the Strait of Hormuz and you can only go through here if you pay us and if we allow you to, that’s not only is it illegal under international law and maritime law. It’s unacceptable, and that can’t be allowed to exist.”
The Trump administration, however, has struggled to rally allies and world powers to join the US in its offensive against Iran.
Legal experts have criticised the initial strikes against Iran as an unprovoked act of aggression, though the Trump administration has cited a range of rationales for launching the attack, including the prospect that Iran may develop a nuclear weapon.
Many of the US allies in Europe have maintained that they would limit their involvement to defensive actions. Trump, meanwhile, has accused members of the NATO alliance of being “cowards”, adding in a social media post, “We will REMEMBER.”
In a statement following the G7 meeting, member countries reiterated their stance that there should be an “immediate cessation of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure”.
They also underscored the “absolute necessity to permanently restore safe and toll-free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”. But the statement fell short of pledging any resources or aid to the US and Israeli war effort.
Achieving goals ‘without any ground troops’?
It is unclear when the war might end. On Saturday, it reaches its one-month anniversary, having stretched for four weeks.
Rubio on Friday echoed Trump’s assessment that the war was going as planned and that the US was achieving its objectives, including to destroy Iran’s navy, missile stockpiles and uranium enrichment programme.
“ We are ahead of schedule on most of them, and we can achieve them without any ground troops, without any,” he said, addressing an oft-raised concern about the prospect of US troops being deployed to Iran.
Rubio also briefly addressed the increasing levels of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Footage has shown settlers this month torching Palestinian homes and vehicles, as well as assaulting residents.
On March 19, the United Nations estimated that more than 1,000 Palestin
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03-27 00:02 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Lebanon’s PM warns Israeli actions and statements threaten Lebanese sovereignty and violate international law.
The Israeli military is sending more troops into southern Lebanon despite growing international concern about Israel’s deadly bombardment and push to deepen its invasion of Lebanese territory.
The Israeli military said in a social media post on Thursday that troops from Division 162 would operate in southern Lebanon “with the aim of expanding” a so-called “buffer zone” in the area.
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Division 162 is joining two other army divisions already operating in southern Lebanon, it said in a social media post.
The deployment of additional troops comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military planned to create “a larger buffer zone” in southern Lebanon to push back a missile threat from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Israel launched intensified attacks on its northern neighbour in early March after Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israeli territory following the February 28 assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the US-Israel war on Iran.
The Israeli military has carried out aerial and ground attacks across Lebanon while issuing mass forced displacement orders for residents of the country’s south, as well as several suburbs of the capital, Beirut.
More than 1.2 million people have been forced out of their homes since the beginning of March, according to the United Nations, prompting concerns about a mounting humanitarian crisis.
Israel’s attacks have also killed at least 1,116 people and wounded 3,229 others, figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health showed.
Foreign countries have called for de-escalation, with France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Canada warning last week that an expanded Israeli ground offensive “would have devastating humanitarian consequences” and “must be averted”.
But Israeli troops have pushed deeper into Lebanese territory while Defence Minister Israel Katz said Lebanese citizens would not be allowed to return to their homes in the south until the safety of northern Israel is secured.
‘Threatens Lebanon’s sovereignty’
On Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned against Israel’s push to deepen its ground invasion during a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
In a readout of the talks, Salam’s office said the Lebanese leader told Guterres that Israel’s actions and statements “constitute a matter of utmost gravity that threatens Lebanon’s sovereignty” and violates international law and the UN Charter.
Salam also said his government would submit a complaint to the UN Security Council to urge the world body “to fulfill its responsibilities in putting an end to these violations”.
Amnesty International also warned that the destruction of bridges and homes in southern Lebanon reflected Israel’s “record of atrocity crimes” in the Gaza Strip, where it has carried out a genocidal war against Palestinians since October 2023.
“The Israeli military has already extensively destroyed and devastated civilian life in southern Lebanon. The world must not stand by as Israeli leaders shamelessly threaten further destruction and displacement,” the rights group said in a post on X.
“Israel must not be allowed to violate international law with impunity across the region. World leaders must uphold their international legal obligations to halt Israel’s unlawful destruction of civilian property.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem this week promised that the group would continue fighting “without limits” against what he described as “an enemy that occupies land and continues daily aggression”.
Hezbollah announced more than 45 military operations against Israel on Thursday, including rocket and drone firings and the targeting of Israeli troops inside Lebanon.
The group also said it targeted several Israeli armoured vehicles with guided missiles, including two Merkava tanks in the border town of Deir Siryan.
A Hezbollah rocket attack on the coastal Israeli city of Nahariya also killed one person and injured 11 others, according to the Israeli authorities.
Separately, the Israeli military said one soldier was killed, and four others were injured, in an “incident” in southern Lebanon.
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03-27 00:02 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Defence minister claims Israel has killed Alireza Tangsiri, citing his role in blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
An Israeli air strike has killed the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy, Israel’s defence minister says.
The assassination of Alireza Tangsiri was carried out on Wednesday night and targeted other “senior officers of the naval command”, Israel Katz said on Thursday in a video statement.
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“The man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz to shipping was blown up and eliminated,” he said.
Since the start of the United States-Israel war on Iran on February 28, Israel has announced the assassination of several top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani.
The toll on civilians is far heavier.
In almost one month, at least 1,937 people have been killed, including 452 women and children, Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian told Al Jazeera. In addition, at least 24,800 people have been injured, including 4,000 women and 1,621 children, Jafarian added.
Earlier, Al Jazeera reported on the latest victims – two teenage boys who were killed in Shiraz.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Tehran, said Tangsiri was a “well-known commander” who was instrumental in shaping the country’s naval doctrine underpinning its strategy in the Strait of Hormuz.
“He’s been commander of the navy for years, the IRGC’s navy, and he’s known to have worked a lot on developing the posture and the technicalities of this navy,” Hashem said. “He’s responsible for also developing drones for military maritime use.”
Hashem added that in recent weeks, Tangsiri had been in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, directly overseeing Iran’s efforts to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz by blocking some vessels.
He said Tangsiri’s social media accounts had also been posting updates on which ships were permitted to pass through the strait, moves that have contributed to a global surge in energy prices.
“He was one of those commanders who survived the two waves of assassinations, the one in 2025 and the one in 2026,” Hashem said. “But at the end, he was killed in Bandar Abbas. At least this is what the Israeli reports are saying.”
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, said the assassination of Alireza Tangsiri “makes the region safer,” and added in a post on X that US forces have destroyed about 92 percent of Iran’s large naval vessels in ongoing operations.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, also in Tehran, said there was no official Iranian confirmation yet of Tangsiri’s killing.
“But if it’s true, it’s going to be another major blow for a country that has already experienced a lot of military commanders being killed,” he said.
The head of the Basij paramilitary forces, Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, and Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib were also assassinated in Israeli attacks.
In recent days, Israeli forces have carried out several strikes targeting the naval assets of Iran.
Last week, Israeli air attacks hit several Iranian naval ships in the Caspian Sea, including ones equipped with missile systems, support vessels and patrol craft.
Iran has been blocking ships it perceives as linked to the US and Israeli war from the Strait of Hormuz, but it is letting a trickle of others through the crucial waterway.
Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a bloc of six Gulf Arab nations, said Iran was charging for safe passage through the strait.
On Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Iran was letting its tankers pass through the strait, after talks with Iranian, Turkish and other regional leaders.
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03-27 00:02 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
The US president has threatened the attacks as a means of pressuring Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway.
United States President Donald Trump has pushed back a self-imposed deadline for attacks on Iran’s power grid to April 6, citing progress in negotiations to end the ongoing war in the country.
Thursday’s announcement comes as the president continues to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil traffic.
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“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 PM, Eastern Time,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.”
The post marked the latest postponement Trump has announced since he first threatened Iran’s energy system.
On Sunday, Trump threatened to attack Iran’s power grid if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened within 48 hours. He wrote that he would strike energy plants, “STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST”.
Then, on Monday, he said he would delay the strikes for another five days based on “good and productive conversations” that Iran denies took place. Thursday’s is the second such delay.
The Trump administration has often put forward contradictory statements about the direction of the war, which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran nearly one month ago, on February 28.
But intentionally targeting Iran’s power supply could increase criticism of the overall military campaign.
A possible war crime?
Already, legal experts have described the initial attack on Iran as an act of unprovoked aggression.
Destroying or damaging civilian infrastructure, meanwhile, could be considered a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Analysts, however, have noted a trend in contemporary warfare towards attacking “dual-use” structures that benefit both military and civilian populations.
In Ukraine, for instance, Russian President Vladimir Putin justified an attack on energy infrastructure by saying it would set back the country’s military industrial complex. Still, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for those Russian attacks.
Amnesty International is among the rights groups that have denounced Trump’s plans to bomb Iranian power stations as “a threat to commit war crimes”.
Despite confident assertions from the White House that the victory in Iran is close at hand, the war shows few signs of ending.
Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile, has sent shockwaves through the global economy. More than one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the narrow waterway, along Iran’s shoreline.
Faced with threats to oil tankers, traffic through the strait has largely ground to a halt.
Trump has issued calls to allies to help reopen the strait, but so far, he has encountered scepticism from NATO countries and other partners.
In a cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday, Trump reiterated his position that Iran was “begging” for a deal to end the war, despite continued strikes against US bases and allies across the region. He also blasted media reports that Iran has rejected the US’s 15-point plan to reach a ceasefire.
“ They’ll tell you, ‘We’re not negotiating. We will not negotiate.’ Of course, they’re negotiating. They’ve been obliterated. Who wouldn’t negotiate?” Trump asked.
“If they make the right deal, then the strait will open up.”
Reports in the US media have suggested that the White House is considering ground operations against Iran, a step that analysts warn would lead to further escalation.
Already, an estimated 1,937 people have been killed in Iran, and 13 US military members have died. Dozens more deaths have been reported around the Middle East.
Iran, however, has denied that talks are taking place and has threatened to step up attacks around the region if the US or Israel target its energy grid.
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03-27 00:02 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Iran has blocked the passage of vessels carrying 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
The de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran in response to the United States-Israel war has caused one of the worst energy crises in decades with experts warning of a looming global recession.
The maritime route, through which about 20 percent of global oil and gas supplies pass, has been thrust into the spotlight as Tehran has used it as a geopolitical bargaining chip in the war.
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Nearly 2,000 vessels are stranded close to the narrow strait, which is located between Iran on its north side and Oman and the United Arab Emirates on its south side.
On Thursday, Iranian media reported that the country’s parliament is seeking to pass legislation to collect tolls for ships transiting the world’s single most important oil passageway.
The reports by the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, quoting the chairman of parliament’s Civil Affairs Committee, said a draft law has been prepared and will soon be finalised by the Islamic Consultative Assembly’s legal team.
“According to this plan, Iran must collect fees to ensure the security of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” an official was quoted as saying.
“This is completely natural. Just as in other corridors, when goods pass through a country, duties are paid. The Strait of Hormuz is also a corridor. We ensure its security, and it is natural for ships and tankers to pay us duties,” he added.
But even without that domestic legal framework, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has already imposed a “toll booth” system to control vessel traffic through the strait, the shipping journal Lloyd’s List reported on Wednesday.
So what is the toll booth system? How does it work? Is it legal?
Here’s what we know:
Why has Iran made the decision to impose tolls?
Iran, whose territorial waters extend into the strait, has blocked the passage of vessels carrying oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Gulf to the rest of the world since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28.
The move has sent global oil prices soaring above $100 per barrel – a jump of roughly 40 percent from before the war – forcing countries, particularly in Asia, to ration fuel and cut industrial production. Impacted countries have been lobbying Iran to allow vessels to pass through the strait, which is the only route through which to export oil and gas from most of the Gulf producers.
Iran has demanded international recognition of its right to exercise authority over the Strait of Hormuz as one of its five conditions for ending the war.
On Sunday, Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi told the United Kingdom-based, Farsi-language satellite TV channel Iran International that the country has been charging some vessels $2m to pass through the strait.
“Now, because war has costs, naturally, we must do this and take transit fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
How many ships are waiting to pass through the strait?
International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told Al Jazeera that nearly 2,000 ships are waiting on both sides of the strait to sail through it.
Maritime intelligence service Windward said this build-up suggests that “many operators have chosen to hold position outside Hormuz rather than commit immediately to long-haul rerouting.”
Only 16 crossings by ships with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) switched on were observed in the Strait of Hormuz in the week from March 15 to Sunday. Windward separately confirmed that four cargo vessels crossed or were crossing the strait overnight on March 13 and into the early morning, including one Pakistani vessel.
Windward also observed the presence of eight “dark ships” exceeding 290 metres (950ft) long and operating in the strait with their AIS switched off.
Dark ships included a US-sanctioned ship observed near the UAE’s Khor Fakkan port, an important hub for oil tankers, on March 16 before turning off its AIS.
What is the process to collect tolls?
While the Iranian parliament is yet to pass the legislation to impose tolls, in the past two weeks, “26 vessel transits through the strait have followed a route pre-approved under the IRGC ‘toll booth’ system that requires the ship operators to submit to a vetting scheme,” Lloyd’s List reported on Wednesday. These ships did not have their AIS switched on.
Sources familiar with the new system have told Lloyd’s List that to pass through the strait, vessel operators have to first reach out to intermediaries connected to the IRGC and submit all details of the vessel. This includes documentation, its International Maritime Organization number, the cargo being transported, the names of all members of the crew and the vessel’s final destination.
The intermediaries then
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03-27 00:02 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Trump claims US, Israel wiped out navy and air force, as Iran lawmakers plan to collect tolls for transiting ships.
Tehran has formally responded to Washington’s 15-point plan to end the US-Israel war on Iran, asserting its “natural and legal right” over the Strait of Hormuz, as US President Donald Trump claimed it was “begging to make a deal”.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim news agency cited an “informed source” as saying that Iran had sent its official response to a US proposal to end the nearly monthlong war on Wednesday night and was awaiting a response.
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The Tasnim report published Thursday appeared to contradict Trump’s claim, laying out conditions that signalled a continued hardening of Tehran’s position.
These included an end to “aggressive acts of assassination” that have decapitated Iran’s leadership, from late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to security chief Ali Larijani, “compensation and war reparations”, measures to ensure “war does not recur”, and an end to hostilities from “all resistance groups that took part in this battle throughout the region”.
State English-language broadcaster Press TV cited an unnamed official outlining a five-point proposal covering the same conditions.
Signs of indirect Iranian engagement came as US special envoy Steve Witkoff claimed on Thursday that Tehran was seeking an “off-ramp”.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Witkoff said there were “signs” Iran had realised there was no alternative to negotiation.
“We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction,” Witkoff told reporters.
He confirmed Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, adding that the US had “multiple reach outs from the region and others who want to play a role in ending this conflict, peacefully” and pinning blame on Iran for “stalling talks”.
But the source cited in Tasnim’s report slammed the US proposal, claiming that the US sought to “deceive the world by presenting an apparently peaceful image that seeks an end to the war” to keep oil prices low and prepare for “ground invasion”.
The source indicated that Washington’s bombings of the country during peace talks had eroded trust regarding its “willingness to negotiate at any point”.
‘Lousy fighters, but great negotiators’
On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would pause attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure for 10 days until April 6, claiming Tehran requested the move amid “ongoing” talks that were “going very well”.
Earlier, the US president had presented Iran as being on the back foot, saying the country was “begging to make a deal”. “We are absolutely obliterating Iran,” he said, claiming to have “completely” wiped out the navy and air force. He called Iranians “lousy fighters, but great negotiators”.
His comments, including claims that the US was “way ahead of schedule” in the war came as the economic and humanitarian toll of the conflict mounted, with Iran continuing to effectively block the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway through which a fifth of global oil supplies pass – leading to fuel shortages spreading worldwide, and sending companies and countries scrambling to contain the fallout.
Alluding to an earlier remark about Iran giving the US a “very big present” as a concession, he said that the country was letting 10 oil tankers transit the Strait of Hormuz as an apparent goodwill gesture. On the same day, Iranian media had reported that lawmakers were seeking to pass legislation to collect tolls for transiting ships.
Reporting from Washington, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said Trump was “running into problems domestically – long lines at airports to get through security, the cost-of-living crisis getting worse, fuel becoming much more expensive. He needs reaffirmation from his cabinet that he’s doing a good job.
“Now, from people I speak to, they still believe that Donald Trump wants to see this war done within the four-to-six week timescale that he’s talked about,” said Fisher. “He wants to be able to say: ‘See, it was done. I predicted it. I was right.’”
In other comments, US Vice President JD Vance echoed Trump, saying the “conventional military” in Iran had been “effectively destroyed” during the war. Vance said Iran no longer had a navy and “they don’t have the ability to hit us like they could of, even a few weeks ago.”
The Reuters news agency cited a Pakistani source as saying that Israel had taken Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf off its list of targets after Pakistan urged Washington to press Israel not to target people who could be negotiating partners.
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