LIVE
Iran's Navy Chief Overseeing Hormuz Blockade Dead: Israel

26 March 2026 6:29 AM IST

Iran's defiance came as Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran and as the United States deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region

Irans Navy Chief Overseeing Hormuz Blockade Dead: Israel

A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

DUBAI: Israel said Thursday it killed Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tangsiri had been killed along with other senior naval commanders in a strike overnight.

Katz said Tangsiri was responsible for bombing operations that have blocked ships from crossing the Strait of Hormuz. He said the strike should serve as a “clear message” to top Iranian military officials that the Israeli military would hunt them down.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge Tangsiri’s killing.

What to know:

- Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including strikes that hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire.

Iran's defiance came as Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran and as the United States deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state TV that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, "and we do not plan on any negotiations.” That followed a report from Iranian state TV's English-language broadcaster quoting an anonymous official as saying Iran rejected America’s ceasefire proposal and has its own demands to end the fighting.

- Earlier, two officials from Pakistan, which transmitted the U.S. plan to Iran, described the 15-point proposal broadly, saying it addressed sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped.

An Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts said the proposal also includes restrictions on Iran’s support for armed groups. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet released.

- President Donald Trump, speaking at a fundraiser Wednesday night in Washington, insisted that Iran still wants to cut a deal. “They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” said Trump, who added: “They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us."

Iran has long insisted it won’t discuss its ballistic missile program or its support of regional militias, which it views as key to its security. And its ability to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz represents one of its biggest strategic advantages.

-More U.S. troops are on the way to the Middle East: At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Mideast in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

The paratroopers are trained to jump into hostile or contested areas to secure key territory and airfields.

The Pentagon is also sending about 5,000 more Marines trained in amphibious assaults and thousands of sailors to the region.

-Most Americans believe the U.S. military action against Iran has gone too far and many are worried about the cost of gasoline, according to a new AP-NORC poll. The survey indicates that while Trump’s approval rating is holding steady, the conflict could be swiftly turning into a major political liability for his Republican administration.

-Diplomatic efforts face major challenges: Mediators are pushing for possible in-person talks between the Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan, the Egyptian and Pakistani officials said.

Trump has said the U.S. is “in negotiations right now” and that the participants include special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. Trump has not identified anyone from Iran taking part.

Press TV, the English-language broadcaster on Iranian state television, cited an Iranian five-point proposal that includes a halt to killings of its officials, safeguards against future attacks on Iran, reparations for the war, the end of hostilities and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”

Those measures, particularly reparations and its continued chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz, likely will be unacceptable to the White House.

While Iran and Oman both have territory in the strait, its narrow shipping channels are viewed as international waters through which all ships can travel.

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. It’s not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority and willingness to negotiate .

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including when the war began on Feb. 28.

-Israel launches new strikes on Iran — and also comes under attack The Israeli military said Wednesday it had carried out waves of airstrikes in Tehran, following strikes a day earlier targeting an Iranian submarine development center in Isfahan.

Missile alert sirens sounded in Israel as Iran and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon launched attacks. Hezbollah has fired rockets into northern Israel around the clock since the war began.

Iran also kept up pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbors. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it had destroyed at least eight drones in its oil-rich Eastern Province, and missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain. Kuwait said it shot down multiple drones but that one hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport.

- Energy prices fall back but remain high: The news of potential negotiations drove down the price of oil. Brent crude oil, the international standard, was trading around $100 a barrel Wednesday, after nearing as high as $120 earlier last week. That's still up around 35% from the start of the war.

Economists and leaders have warned of far-reaching effects if energy prices remain high — from rising prices on food and other basics to higher rates for mortgages and auto loans.

Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but has said no ships from the U.S., Israel or countries seen as linked to them can pass.

Live Updates

26 March 2026 11:00 PM IST
France says 35 nations join military talks on reopening Strait of Hormuz shipping routes
Thursday’s videoconference of defense staff chiefs focused on how to reopen shipping “once the intensity of hostilities has sufficiently decreased,” France’s Defense Ministry said.
That could entail a “strictly defensive” mission to escort commercial vessels and restore freedom of navigation, the ministry said.
26 March 2026 10:58 PM IST
Power cuts reported in parts of Tehran amid ongoing strikes
Witnesses told The Associated Press that power is out in some areas of the Iranian capital, although no official reports have been released yet.
Less than an hour ago, witnesses reported the sounds of heavy strikes and fighter jets overhead.
26 March 2026 10:48 PM IST
Witnesses report fresh wave of heavy strikes in Tehran
They also said they heard the sounds of what appeared to be fighter jets flying overhead.
26 March 2026 10:19 PM IST
Trump says Iran let Pakistan-flagged tankers pass through strait as goodwill gesture for talks
Trump earlier this week cryptically said that Iran “gave us a present.” He revealed the gift during Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.
Trump said that Iranian officials, with whom the U.S. is engaging in backchannel talks, are allowing “eight boats of oil” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting it was an apparent act of good faith for negotiations.
“Well, I guess we’re dealing with the right people,” said Trump, who indicated the tankers are operating under Pakistani flags.
26 March 2026 8:06 PM IST
Uganda’s ‘Tweeting General’ Says He’d Back Israel if Asked to Join War
Uganda’s top general threatened to join the widening war in the Middle East, warning “any talk of destroying or defeating Israel will bring us into the war. On the side of Israel!”
In a series of posts Thursday, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, chief of Uganda’s Defense Forces, said Uganda would be willing to come to Israel’s assistance if asked, citing the Bible as a basis for the deeply Christian East African nation’s support.
The country has a robust military known for campaigns against militias in Congo and for supplying troops to international forces, including in Somalia. Kainerugaba is known as Uganda’s “tweeting general” and was fired by his father, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, in 2022 over provocative posts about faraway wars.
26 March 2026 7:26 PM IST
Iran War’s Environmental Toll May Cause Decades of Damage, Health Risks: Experts
Oil depots spewing black smoke. Debris sinking in the Persian Gulf. Missiles pounding military sites.
The Iran war has unleashed a toxic mix of chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants that threaten everything from agriculture to drinking water to people’s health — and will leave behind environmental damage and health risks that could persist for decades, experts said.
26 March 2026 6:40 PM IST
Pakistan says it’s actively working to bring the US and Iran to the negotiating table
But Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm whether direct talks would take place in Islamabad later this week.
At a weekly news briefing, ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said details on the timing, venue and itinerary would be shared in due course. Asked whether Iranian or U.S. delegations were expected to hold talks in Islamabad later this week, he said, “We will let you know when these developments take place.”
26 March 2026 5:13 PM IST
Loud booms heard in Tel Aviv and other cities
The booms could be heard in Tel Aviv, the central Israel city of Modiin and Jerusalem after the Israeli military warned of another wave of incoming missiles from Iran.
The barrage is the eighth such wave launched at Israel on Thursday.
26 March 2026 3:46 PM IST
Iraq says number wounded in strike on military clinic rises to 23
Iraqi officials had initially reported seven soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in Wednesday’s strike on a military clinic in western Iraq’s Anbar province. Officials took journalists on a tour Thursday at the site of the destroyed clinic, where Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Tahsin al Khafaj said the number wounded had risen to 23.
26 March 2026 3:45 PM IST
Russia says report it is sending drones to Iran 'lies'
The Kremlin said Thursday that a report in the Financial Times that it was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran was "lies". Russia is a close ally of Iran, but denies having sent military aid to its partner since the United States and Israel began attacking the country in February.