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23:19
EU Leaders Call For ‘Moratorium’ On Strikes Against Energy, Water Sites In Middle East
The European Council referred to as for a “moratorium” on assaults on power and water amenities within the Middle East, as tit-for-tat strikes by Israel and Iran proceed to roil oil markets within the ever-expanding battle.
“Developments in Iran and the wider region threaten regional and global security,” a Councilstatementsaid on March 19.
The feedback come after a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels to debate developments within the US-Israeli struggle on Iran and Russia’s struggle on Ukraine.
Tehran has launched assaults on the gasoline and oil amenities of US Gulf Arab allies in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes in opposition to Iran that started on February 28 and have killed lots of the regime’s leaders and destroyed a lot of its army capabilities.
SEE ALSO:
Israel’s Strike On South Pars Hits Iran, And Iranians, Where It Hurts Most
After Israel struck Iran’s huge South Pars gasoline area on March 18, Tehran vowed retaliation and struck out in opposition to power websites within the Gulf, hitting — amongst others — Qatar’s important gasoline hub, Ras Laffan.
QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi stated Tehran’s assaults knocked out 17 % of the nation’s liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) export capability and triggered round $20 billion in misplaced annual income.
The Council urged “de-escalation and maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and full respect of international law by all parties, including the principles of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law.”
The assertion additionally stated it “strongly condemns Irans indiscriminate military strikes against countries in the region and expresses its solidarity with countries affected.”
SEE ALSO:
European Nations, Japan Say Ready To Help Secure Passage Through Strait Of Hormuz
“It calls on Iran and its proxies to immediately cease these attacks and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region,” it added
Amid calls by US President Donald Trump for international locations that make the most of the Strait of Hormuz for his or her power provides to assist defend delivery there, the EU assertion stated it “condemns any acts that threaten navigation or prevent vessels from entering and exiting” the essential waterway.
But it didn’t disclose any particular plans to affix a possible coalition being created by Trump, saying, as a substitute, that it referred to as for the reinforcement of EU maritime defensive operations EUNAVFOR ASPIDES and EUNAVFOR ATALANTA.
The two operations are direct EU army operations aimed toward safeguarding freedom of navigation within the Red Sea and on monitoring and reporting on shadow fleets within the Gulf area.
The assertion did say that European leaders welcomed “the increased efforts announced by member states, including through strengthened coordination with partners in the region, to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, once the conditions are met.”
Earlier, US European allies and Japanexpressed readinessfor “appropriate” efforts to safe passage via the Strait of Hormuz. The assertion didn’t define particular parameters of the contributions by European nations and Japan, a rustic that was delivery most of its oil via the Strait of Hormuz.
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22:02
Zineb Riboua: What The War On Iran Means For China And Russia
Beijing and Moscow are each shut companions of Tehran. With the US-Israeli strikes approaching a 3rd week and Iran retaliating throughout the area, the battle is poised to probably — and considerably — have an effect on these ties, the broader roles Russia and China play within the Middle East, and their relations with Washington.
Zineb Riboua is a analysis fellow with the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security within the Middle East and an skilled on Chinese and Russian involvement within the area. She spoke to RFE/RL’s Georgian Service about how China and Russia are responding to the struggle and what they stand to lose or achieve.
To learn the complete interview, clickhere.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Chinese Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi pose after a gathering in Beijing on March 14.
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20:29
Netanyahu Says Iran War Could End ‘Faster Than People Think’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran now not has the capability to proceed its ballistic missile program or enrich uranium after weeks of US-Israeli air strikes, including that the struggle may finish “faster than people think.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offers a press convention in Jerusalem on March 19.
Speaking at a news convention on March 19, Netanyahu additionally stated Tel Aviv was persevering with to create situations for Iranians to overthrow the longstanding hard-line regime in Tehran. However, he added that it was “too early” to evaluate whether or not individuals in Iran would reap the benefits of the state of affairs contained in the nation.
“In the end, everything will depend only on them,” Netanyahu stated in Hebrew throughout a reside tv broadcast.
The joint US-Israeli army effort in opposition to Tehran, which began on February 28, got here after mass protests throughout Iran the month earlier than that had been met with a brutal crackdown by Iranian army forces. Thousands of demonstrators had been killed.
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18:01
Israel’s Haifa Oil Refinery Hit By Iranian Missile
An oil refinery within the northern Israeli port metropolis of Haifa was hit on March 19 after the nation’s army warned of missile launches from Iran, Israeli media reported.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan 11 aired photos displaying darkish plumes of smoke rising from the refinery space, and stated in a publish on X that there have been “no concerns about the leakage of hazardous materials.”
Israel’s Energy Ministry confirmed the strike, saying it didn’t trigger “significant damage” to the ability. Energy Minister Eli Cohen stated energy was “briefly disrupted, with electricity restored to most of those who were affected.”
“The damage to the power grid in the north is localized and not significant,” stated Cohen. “In the barrage toward the north, there was no significant damage to Israeli infrastructure sites.”
Police stated bomb disposal models had been deployed to a number of websites in Haifa the place munitions landed, and no casualties had been reported.
Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry stated particles from an intercepted missile that fell in Haifa is being examined “as a hazardous materials incident.”
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16:21
European Nations, Japan Say Ready To Help Secure Passage Through Strait Of Hormuz
US European allies and Japan say they’re prepared for “appropriate” efforts to safe passage via the important thing Strait of Hormuz, because the already widespread battle within the Middle East threatens to spin uncontrolled, with power infrastructure broken throughout the area.
“We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” stated a jointstatementfrom the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan revealed on March 19.
“We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning,” it added, whereas additionally criticizing Tehran for its current assaults on civilian vessels and power infrastructure within the area.
The assertion didn’t define particular parameters of the contributions by European nations and Japan.
To learn the complete report, clickhere.
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15:25
Israel’s Strike On South Pars Hits Iran, And Iranians, Where It Hurts Most
When Israeli jets struck the South Pars gasoline complicated close to Asaluyeh, they hit greater than pipes and compressors. They struck the one piece of infrastructure most important to Irans capability to perform — a area that gives 75 % of Iran’s home gasoline provide and powers roughly 80 % of the nation’s electrical energy technology.
The strike halted output at two refineries with a mixed day by day capability of round 100 million cubic meters, sending costs hovering and triggering Iranian retaliatory strikes on power infrastructure in Gulf Arab states, together with Qatar’s Ras Laffan liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) terminal.
South Pars was already struggling earlier than the primary bomb fell. Straddling the maritime border with Qatar within the Persian Gulf — the place the identical reservoir is named North Dome and provides roughly 20 % of world LNG — Iran’s facet of the sphere has suffered years of continual underinvestment.
To learn the complete report, clickhere.
Map: South Pars / North Dome Gas Field
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15:21
Tulsi Gabbard Says US, Israel Have Different Goals In War With Iran
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said on March 19 throughout a listening to earlier than the House Intelligence Committee on worldwide threats that the United States and Israel don’t have the identical objectives of their army operations in opposition to Iran.
“The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israeli government,” Gabbard stated.
Tulsi Gabbard testifies on the committee listening to on March 19.
“We can see through the operations that the Israeli government has been focused on disabling the Iranian leadership,” she added. “[US President Donald Trump] has stated that his objectives are to destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles launching capability, their ballistic missile production capability, and their navy,” she added.
Gabbard additionally commented on the struggle with Iran in a gathering with the US Senate Intelligence Committee on March 18, saying that US assaults have weakened the Iranian authorities however the Islamic republic nonetheless exists and poses a menace to US pursuits.
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14:37
US Could Lift Sanctions On Iranian Oil On Tankers, Says Bessent
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (file photograph)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated Washington might quickly carry sanctions on roughly 140 million barrels of Iranian oil stranded on tankers, aiming to spice up international provide and ease costs amid disruptions brought on by Irans closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking in an interview with the Fox Business Network on March 19, Bessent stated the extra oil may cowl “10 days to two weeks of supply” and assist stabilize markets.
Bessent added that the US may launch extra oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the governments emergency oil stockpile, and is in talks with Japan on securing protected passage via the strait, with Tokyo probably growing its personal emergency stock releases.
He confused that Washington wouldn’t intervene in monetary markets however would deal with boosting bodily provide to offset shortages.
Bessent additionally warned that China has change into an unreliable provider of refined fuels, citing lowered exports of merchandise reminiscent of jet gasoline, which has added to provide strains in Asia.
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14:05
RFE/RL’s graphics division has up to date its checklist of high Iranian officers who’ve been confirmed useless because the US and Israel’s struggle on Iran started on February 28.
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12:54
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has shared avideo on X,displaying what it says are US forces “destroying Iranian naval targets that threaten international shipping in and near the Strait of Hormuz.”
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