Eleventh day of war in Iran. Following Donald Trump's statements yesterday that the war is "almost over," oil prices have dropped. If Iran "stopped the flow of oil in the Strait of Hormuz," the US would hit Iran "twenty times harder" than it has done so far, Trump wrote in Truth, adding that "it is a US gift to China and all the nations that heavily exploit the Strait of Hormuz." Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated that the country will continue missile attacks as long as necessary and that talks with the US are no longer on the agenda . The Pasdaran announced that they will decide when the war ends . Raids on the United Arab Emirates continue. Air defenses have been activated against Iranian missile and drone threats. Australia will deploy a surveillance plane, air-to-air missiles, and support personnel to the Middle East .

Meanwhile, oil continues to slow in US after-hours trading, hovering below the $90 mark . Asian stock markets, from Tokyo to Shanghai and Hong Kong, appear to be recovering slightly at the opening following Trump's announcements about the end of the war. The US president announced his consideration of easing sanctions on Russian crude oil after a phone call with President Vladimir Putin . Among the options being considered is the release of emergency crude oil reserves, part of a package of options to mitigate the price surge fueled by the war against Iran. The White House fears repercussions for US businesses and consumers ahead of the midterm elections.

NEWS LIVE FROM MARCH 10:

10:30 PM – Netanyahu to Iranians: "The next few days will offer you the opportunity to free yourself. Be ready."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Iranian people, declaring that Israel will soon "create the conditions" for them to "seize their destiny." "People of Iran," he wrote in English on the Israeli Prime Minister's X account, "we are waging a historic war for freedom. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to remove the Ayatollahs' regime and win your freedom." "Together with the United States, we are hitting the tyrants in Tehran harder than ever before," Netanyahu wrote, promising that "we will continue to hit the tyrants who have terrorized you for decades with increasing force." Netanyahu affirmed that "in the coming days, we will create the conditions for you to seize your destiny." "When the time is right, and that time is fast approaching, we will pass the baton to you," he wrote. "Be ready to seize the moment!"

8:50 PM – Trump: "If Iran planted mines in Hormuz, remove them or face unprecedented consequences."

"If Iran has planted mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which we have no reports of, remove them immediately," otherwise "the military consequences will be unprecedented. If it removes them, however, it would be a step in the right direction," wrote Donald Trump on his social media platform, Truth.

7:10 PM – Strong explosions in the sky above Tel Aviv after missiles were launched from Iran.

Loud booms were heard in the Tel Aviv skies immediately after the sirens sounded following Iran's missile launches into the city. Meanwhile, alarms are sounding in other Tel Aviv neighborhoods, as ANSA reported on the scene.

6:45 PM – The US escorted an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

A U.S. Navy ship successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. "The president is maintaining global energy stability during military operations in Iran," he added.

6:00 PM – Iran: "Four of our diplomats killed in Beirut hotel attack"

Iran has accused Israel of killing four of its diplomats in the weekend attack on a Beirut waterfront hotel. "In the early hours of Sunday, March 8, the Israeli regime carried out a deliberate terrorist attack on the Ramada Hotel in Beirut, resulting in the assassination and martyrdom of four diplomats of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Tehran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said.

4:40 PM – Tehran: "We will respond tit-for-tat to attacks on infrastructure."

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared that Iran will respond "an eye for an eye" to any attack on its infrastructure by the United States and Israel. "If they start a war on infrastructure, we will target their infrastructure," Ghalibaf said on his X account. "The enemy must know that whatever they do, we will undoubtedly respond proportionately and immediately. No evil act will go unpunished. Today, we will apply the law of an eye for an eye, and there will be no discounts or exceptions."

4:20 PM – Iran arrests 30 people on espionage charges, including a foreigner

Iran's Ministry of Intelligence announced today the arrest of 30 people on espionage charges, including a foreigner. The foreigner, whose nationality was not disclosed, "was conducting espionage on behalf of two Persian Gulf countries in the name of the American-Zionist enemy" and was arrested in northeastern Iran, the ministry said in a statement published by the online judiciary news portal Mizan.

3:00 PM – UK, Italy, and Germany are working on options to protect ships in Hormuz.

"Working together on a range of options to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, in response to growing threats from Iran," the leaders of Italy, the United Kingdom, and Germany—Giorgia Meloni, Keir Starmer, and Friedrich Merz—agreed in separate phone calls, as reported by Downing Street. They also emphasized "the vital importance of freedom of navigation" and agreed to close coordination in the coming days.

1:25 PM – Hegseth: "Mojtaba injured? I can't comment."

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth declined to comment on the health of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Asked if there were any indications that he was injured, Hegseth replied, "That's something I can't comment on at this time." The new Supreme Leader "would be wise to heed the words of our president" and say "that he does not intend to pursue nuclear weapons," he emphasized.

1:10 PM – Hegsteh: "We're winning in Iran, this isn't 2003."

In Iran, "we are winning. We will not give up until the enemy is completely defeated. This is not 2003," said Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. "We are suffocating the enemy and will not tire until it is completely defeated," he added, specifying that, in any case, "the president decides the end of the war."

12:50 PM – Trump: "I might be willing to talk to Tehran."

US President Donald Trump told Fox News that he might be willing to talk to Iran, but that it would depend on the terms. Trump told Fox News that he had heard Tehran was keen to talk, a Reuters report quoted on its website. "It's possible, it depends on the terms, but it's only possible," he told Fox News. "We actually don't need to talk to them anymore, if you think about it, but it's possible."

12:45 PM – At Chigi Crosetto, Mantovano, Intelligence and military leaders, focus on the crisis in the Gulf

Military and intelligence leaders met this morning, attended by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and Undersecretary of the Prime Minister's Office for Security of the Republic Alfredo Mantovano. Sources at Palazzo Chigi reported that the meeting provided an update on the military and intelligence aspects of the Gulf crisis.

12:30 PM – Iran to Trump: "Be careful not to get eliminated."

"Iran is not afraid of your empty threats," said Ali Larijani, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, addressing President Donald Trump, who had threatened that the United States would hit Iran harder if it blocked the flow of oil from the Strait of Hormuz. "Those bigger than you cannot eliminate Iran, so be careful not to be eliminated," he added on his X account.

11:55 AM – New Israeli raids on Gaza, 3 children killed

Israeli forces are shelling eastern areas of Khan Younis and Gaza City. Al Jazeera reports from the Strip, stating that "three Palestinian children were killed, bringing the death toll to at least 648 since the October ceasefire began."

11:15 a.m. – Tehran, 1,255 dead and over 12,000 injured

Iran has reported 1,255 deaths, including 200 children and 11 health workers, and over 12,000 injuries since the US and Israeli attacks began. Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian announced the news, as reported by Al Jazeera.

10:45 AM – Iran vows to block oil from the Middle East until further notice

Iran denies Trump's optimistic statements yesterday about the duration of the war and promises that not a drop of oil will leave the Middle East "until further notice." The Islamic Republic declared that negotiations with Washington are "no longer on the agenda" in the conflict that has engulfed the entire region since February 28 and sent global markets into a panic on Monday. "Iran's armed forces will not allow the export of a single liter of oil from the region to the enemy camp and its partners until further notice," said Ali Mohammad Naini, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Iranian regime thus denies Washington the right to unilaterally decide the course of the conflict, asserting its full control over the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production passes.

10:05 AM – Gulf countries reduce daily oil production

Middle Eastern countries are reducing their daily oil production, Bloomberg reports. Saudi Arabia has reduced its oil output by between 2 and 2.5 million barrels per day, while the United Arab Emirates has cut its output by 500,000 to 800,000 barrels per day. Kuwait has also reduced production by half a million barrels per day, and Iraq by about 2.9 million, the report adds, citing people familiar with the matter.

10:00 AM – UNIFIL soldiers escort fleeing Christians in southern Lebanon

Residents of a predominantly Christian Lebanese town in southern Lebanon are leaving their homes, escorted by Italian soldiers from the United Nations mission (UNIFIL), following repeated threats of displacement throughout the area from Israel, which yesterday killed the Catholic parish priest of a nearby town in the south. This was reported by the Lebanese news agency NNA, and confirmed by the UNIFIL press office to ANSA. Dignitaries from the town of Alma Shaab, in the Tyre district, have decided to leave their homes following yet another forced evacuation order (an "evacuation notice") and following Israel's killing yesterday of parish priest Pierre Rai from the nearby town of Qlaiaa. Residents of Rmeish, another Christian town along the demarcation line with Israel, have instead decided to remain in their town for now, as they did previously during the long conflict of 2023-24.

9:30 a.m. - Netanyahu: "We're breaking Iran's bones, but we're not done yet."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has been "breaking the bones" of Iranian power since the start of its joint US-led offensive on February 28, but that it is "not finished yet." "We aspire to lead the Iranian people to break the yoke of tyranny, but ultimately it is up to them," Netanyahu said during a visit to an Israeli Health Ministry emergency center late yesterday evening. "There is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones—and we are not finished yet," he added.

9:15 a.m. – Turkey deploys Patriot missiles in consultation with NATO

Turkey announced that a Patriot air defense system is being prepared for deployment in the eastern part of the country, as part of coordinated efforts with NATO to help protect its airspace amid regional tensions. Anadolu reported. In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said, "In light of recent developments in our region, necessary measures have been taken to ensure the security of our borders and airspace, and we are in consultation with NATO and our allies."

8:42 AM – IDF announces imminent raids on Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon.

The IDF has issued an evacuation order for some buildings in the Lebanese coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon, ahead of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure. "The IDF will target military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist organization Hezbollah," said spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee. Civilians in the area have been instructed to stay at least 300 meters away from the buildings.

8:25 AM – The US Embassy in Beirut urges its citizens to leave Lebanon.

The US Embassy in Beirut is urging its citizens to seek "safe haven" if they do not intend to leave Lebanon, the BBC reports. In a security advisory issued this morning, the embassy states that US citizens "should seriously consider" leaving the country on Middle East Airlines flights departing from Beirut's Rafic Hariri Airport if they believe it is safe to do so.

8:13 AM – Iran: We will not allow oil exports while there is war.

"Iran will not allow the export of even a single liter of oil from the region until further notice to the hostile enemy and its partners, as long as the US and Israeli aggression against Iran and its civilian infrastructure continues," said Revolutionary Guards spokesman Mohammad Ali Naeini. Referring to President Donald Trump's remarks that Iran's military power has diminished, Naeini argued that it is US forces that are weakening. "Now, the Americans are seeking an honorable end to the war, as all their military infrastructure has been destroyed in the Persian Gulf region," he added, quoted by Tasnim.

7:53 AM – New wave of Iranian attacks in the Gulf, US-based missiles in Iraq

Iran has launched new attacks against Gulf countries: missile sirens sounded in the early hours of the morning in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Riyadh destroyed two drones in its oil-rich eastern region. Kuwait, meanwhile, shot down six drones. The IRGC then announced it had "hit" the US air base at Al-Harir, in Iraqi Kurdistan, targeting it with "five missiles."

6:26 a.m. – Araghchi: "Continue the attacks as long as necessary."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country will continue missile strikes as long as necessary, according to AFP. Araghchi ruled out talks after US President Donald Trump declared that the war with Iran would end "very soon." The minister told US broadcaster PBS News that his country is ready to continue missile strikes and that negotiations with the United States are no longer on the agenda.

6:17 a.m. – Australia to send aircraft and air-to-air missiles to the Gulf

Australia will deploy a surveillance aircraft, air-to-air missiles, and Australian Defence Force support personnel to the Middle East, responding to a request from United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed. Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it "an effort to help protect Australians in the region under threat of attack from Iran." He reiterated that Australia will not take offensive action against Iran and will not deploy troops on the ground in any offensives led by the United States and Israel.

6:13 AM – New attack from Iran against the United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates faced a new attack by Iranian drones and missiles on the eleventh day of the Middle East conflict, the Ministry of Defense said, according to AFP. "The UAE's air defenses are currently responding to missile and drone threats from Iran," the ministry wrote on X.

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