Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

[Saif]

Japan could consider Hormuz minesweeping if ceasefire reached, minister says

Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, if a ceasefire is reached in the US-Israeli war on Iran, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Sunday. "If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaki

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Japan could consider Hormuz minesweeping if ceasefire reached, minister says

REUTERS
Published :
Mar 22, 2026 18:37
Updated :
Mar 22, 2026 18:37

Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, if a ceasefire is reached in the US-Israeli war on Iran, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Sunday.

"If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up," Motegi said during a Fuji TV programme. "This is purely hypothetical, but if a ceasefire were established and naval mines were creating an obstacle, then I think that would be something to consider."

Japan's military actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but 2015 security legislation allows Japan to use its Self-Defense Forces overseas if an attack, including on a close security partner, threatens Japan's survival and no other means are available to address it.

Tokyo has no immediate plans to seek arrangements to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz for stranded Japanese vessels, Motegi said, adding it was "extremely important" to create conditions that allow all ships to navigate through the narrow waterway, the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil shipments.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Japan's Kyodo news agency on Friday that he had spoken to Motegi about potentially letting Japanese-related vessels pass through the strait.

Japan gets around 90 percent of its oil shipments via the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the war, now in its fourth week. A spike in global oil prices has prompted Japan and other countries to release oil from their reserves.

US President Donald Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday, urging her to "step up" as he presses allies - so far unsuccessfully - to send warships to help open the strait.

Takaichi told reporters after the Washington summit that she had briefed Trump on what support Japan could and could not provide in the strait under its laws.​

 

[Saif]

Iran strikes Israeli F-16 fighter jet

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a third hostile fighter jet belonging to the enemy was struck over central Iran. According to the IRGC public relations office, the aircraft, identified as an F-16 fighter jet, was hit at 3:45 a.m. by advanced air defense systems operated by the IRGC Aero

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Iran strikes Israeli F-16 fighter jet

Mehr News Agency
Published :
Mar 22, 2026 18:21
Updated :
Mar 22, 2026 18:21

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a third hostile fighter jet belonging to the enemy was struck over central Iran.

According to the IRGC public relations office, the aircraft, identified as an F-16 fighter jet, was hit at 3:45 a.m. by advanced air defense systems operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force.

The statement added that the successful interception and destruction of more than 200 aerial targets — including drones, cruise missiles, refueling aircraft and advanced fighter jets — during the first three weeks of the war reflects increased monitoring and interception capability in Iranian and regional airspace, as well as stronger national air defense systems.​

 

[Saif]

Iran missile strikes wound over 100 in two south Israel towns

Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns wounded more than 100 people on Saturday, medics said, after Israeli air defence systems failed to intercept the projectiles. The two direct hits tore open the fronts of residential buildings and carved craters into the ground. Magen David...

en.prothomalo.com

Iran missile strikes wound over 100 in two south Israel towns
Iranian state TV said the missile attack on Dimona, which houses a nuclear facility, was a “response” to an earlier strike on its own nuclear site at Natanz.

AFP
Arad, Israel
Published: 22 Mar 2026, 10: 00

This frame grab from AFPTV footage shows first responders inspecting the site of an Iranian missile strike in Dimona on 21 March 2026 AFP

Iranian missile strikes on two southern Israeli towns wounded more than 100 people on Saturday, medics said, after Israeli air defence systems failed to intercept the projectiles.

The two direct hits tore open the fronts of residential buildings and carved craters into the ground.

Magen David Adom first responders said 84 people were wounded in the town of Arad, 10 of them seriously, hours after 33 were wounded in nearby Dimona.

Iranian state TV said the missile attack on Dimona, which houses a nuclear facility, was a “response” to an earlier strike on its own nuclear site at Natanz.

AFP footage from Arad showed rescue workers sifting through rubble for wounded people in a bombed-out building.

Fire engines with their lights flashing were at the scene along with dozens of members of the emergency services.

The Israeli military said it would investigate the failed interception.

“The air defence systems operated but did not intercept the missile, we will investigate the incident and learn from it,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin wrote on X.

The local fire service said there was “extensive damage” in Arad, with three buildings affected and a blaze sparked in one of them.

Medic Riyad Abu Ajaj described “extensive destruction” at the site of the strike, in a statement from the organisation.

“There was a lot of chaos at the scene,” he said.

The rescue operations came not long after similar scenes in Dimona, around 25 kilometres (15 miles) to the southwest.

AFPTV footage from the scene showed a large crater gouged into the ground next to piles of rubble and twisted metal.

Surrounding buildings had their windows blown out and facades heavily damaged as emergency workers combed through the site.

Medics said they treated 33 people injured in the town, including a boy with shrapnel wounds who was in serious condition but conscious.

Dimona hosts a facility widely believed to possess the Middle East’s sole nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never admitted possessing nuclear weapons.

Israel has maintained a policy of ambiguity about its nuclear programme, and the plant officially focuses on research.

After the strikes in the south, Israel’s education ministry ordered all classes to move online, scrapping in-person instruction in the few remaining places that still had it.

Iran has fired repeated barrages of missiles at Israel daily in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks that started on 28 February.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue striking Iran and its allies after what he called a “very difficult evening”.​

 

[Saif]

Iran military says to completely close Hormuz if US targets power plants

Iran's military threatened on Sunday to completely shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz if US President Donald Trump acts on threats to target the country's power plants. Trump has given Iran 48 hours to reopen the strait which has been effectively closed since the start of the war sparked...

en.prothomalo.com

Iran military says to completely close Hormuz if US targets power plants

AFP
Tehran
Published: 22 Mar 2026, 22: 42

The Strait of Hormuz Reuters file photo

Iran's military threatened on Sunday to completely shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz if US President Donald Trump acts on threats to target the country's power plants.

Trump has given Iran 48 hours to reopen the strait which has been effectively closed since the start of the war sparked on 28 February by US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.

The war has since spread across the Middle East, with Iran responding with drone and missile attacks on Israel and US interests in the region.

"If the United States'' threats regarding Iran's power plants are carried out... the Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed, and it will not be reopened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt," the military's operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement carried by state TV.


The military said it would also strike Israel''s "power plants, energy, and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure", along with power plants in regional countries hosting US bases and companies with US shareholders.

It added that the measures will be taken "to defend our country and the interests of our nation".

Traffic through the vital strait -- through which 20 percent of the world''s crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes -- has been brought to a near-standstill since the start of the war.
A relatively small number of vessels have been able to transit it -- around five percent of its pre-war volume, according to analytics firm Kpler.

Iranian forces have attacked multiple vessels, saying they failed to heed "warnings" against transiting the waterway.

In recent days, Iran has allowed some vessels from countries it considers friendly to pass, while warning it would block ships from countries it says have joined the "aggression" against it.

Iran''s parliament is mulling imposing tolls on shipping through the strait with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf saying maritime traffic would "not return to its pre-war status".​

 

[Bilal9]

Offensive strikes will not stop the war - rising oil prices, food/transportation prices and threat of recession in the West will.

Gasoline in Los Angeles hit $9 a gallon over the weekend, normally it is around $5.

What a stupid, needless exercise this is, pushing us all towards a recession - SMH....