Middle East crisis live: Trump says US considering ‘winding down’ war; Iran fired missiles at UK-US base on Diego Garcia

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Intelligence agencies were monitoring Nowruz celebrations in Iran on Friday to see whether Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei would be seen for the first time since his father’s death, Axios reports.

His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously gave a new year’s address, and it was thought Mojtaba could do the same. However he only issued a written statement.

It comes as it is three weeks without him being seen, since he became supreme leader.

“We have no evidence that he is really the one giving orders,” a senior Israeli official told Axios.

Hezbollah has said its fighters have clashed with Israeli forces in two borders towns on Saturday.

AFP reported a Hezbollah statement which said the group had engaged in a four-hour confrontation with Israeli forces in the town of Khiam.

The statement said here had been “direct clashes with forces from the Israeli enemy army in the town of Khiam with light and medium weapons” and rockets.

Israel has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon since Hezbollah launched strikes on 2 March in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The day so far

If you are just logging on, here is a roundup of today’s news in the Middle East conflict. It has just gone 6pm in Tehran, and 4.30pm in Tel Aviv. It’s mid-morning in Washington DC, with the time having passed 10.30am.

• Iran fired missiles at the US/UK Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean, the UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The MoD said the strikes were unsuccessful, and took place before the UK said the US could use its bases for “specific and limited defence operations”.

• Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said strikes on Iran will “intensify” next week. In a statement Katz said there would be a “significant” rise in the attacks.

• Israel and the US targeted an Iranian nuclear enrichment plant overnight. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has called for restraint. Iran said there had not been any radioactive leakage, and no residents were in danger.

• The Israel Defence Force claimed it had “significantly degraded” ballistic missile production at a factory in Tehran with airstrikes. It said “dozens” of targets were attacked, including those used to produce critical parts for missiles.

• Meanwhile the US military said Iran’s ability to threaten ships in the strait of Hormuz has been reduced after it attacked an underground facility that stored cruise missiles. The commander of the US central command said US forces had destroyed intelligence support sites and radar relays.

• Donald Trump has said he is considering “winding down” military operations against Iran. “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives,” the US president posted on Friday on his Truth Social platform in the strongest indication yet that he may be prepared to soon end the hostilities that began three weeks ago.

• More than twenty countries now say they are “ready to contribute” to the safe passage of ships going through the strait of Hormuz. It said they were ready to contribute “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through the waterway, which is critical to global oil markets.

• An officer was killed in a drone attack on Iraq’s intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. The intelligence service blamed “outlaw groups” and said a second officer was wounded. It took place at about 10am local time.

• The Israel Defence Force killed four Hezbollah members in southern Lebanon overnight, the military has said. The IDF posted on Telegram that a combination of ground troops and the Israeli air force killed one – and tanks killed three more.

• European diplomats have criticised increasing “settler terror” in the West Bank, with six Palestinians shot dead in settler attacks in the area this month. Representatives of 13 European countries including the UK and France issued a joint statement alongside Canada.

• In the UK two people have been charged, one of them Iranian, after they allegedly tried to enter a naval base in Scotland which houses the UK’s nuclear Trident submarines. They were arrested on Thursday.
  

European diplomats have criticised increasing “settler terror” in the West Bank, with six Palestinians shot dead in settler attacks in the area this month.

Representatives of 13 European countries including the UK and France issued a joint statement alongside Canada.

It called for Israeli authorities to prosecute those responsible.

It said: “We strongly condemn increasing settler terror and violence by the Israeli security forces inflicted upon Palestinian communities.

“We are especially appalled by the killings of Palestinians over these past weeks. This violence by settler militias, aimed at taking over land and creating a coercive environment, forcing Palestinians to leave their homes, must end.”

Israel’s military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir on Wednesday criticised the increase in settler attacks in the West Bank, calling it “morally and ethically unacceptable”.

Israel has claimed it has “significantly degraded” ballistic missile production at a factory in Tehran after it carried out airstrikes overnight.

The Israel Defence Force said it carried out attacks in Tehran and hit “dozens” of targets. It said the facilities were used to produce critical parts for the development of missiles.

Among the facilities hit were a components storage facility, a missile fuel plant and a production site.

The post by the IDF on Telegram said: “The IDF will continue to expand its strikes against the regime’s weapons production facilities in order to degrade its capabilities to advance its ballistic missile program, which poses a direct threat to the State of Israel.”

Here are some of the latest images from photographers around the Middle East:

Iranian Shia women, including one covered with the Iranian national flag, take part in Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Grand Mosalla mosque in Tehran. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Israeli tanks deployed along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon. Photograph: Atef Safadi/EPA

Displaced children from southern Lebanon eat manakish in the playground of a school turned into a shelter in Beirut. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images

Israeli security personnel inspect the damage near Tel Aviv. Photograph: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP/Getty Images

Twenty countries 'ready to contribute to ensuring safe passage' through strait of Hormuz

More than 20 countries – including the UK, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea – have said they would contribute to efforts ensuring safe passage in the strait of Hormuz, condemning Iran’s closure of the vital waterway.

The 22 countries, mostly European but also including the UAE and Bahrain, said:

We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning.

We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces.

Stefanie Glinski

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that strikes will “intensify” in the next week, with a “significant” rise in attacks.

Despite the war, some Iranians said they were determined to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian new year.

Nowruz – also celebrated across Central Asia, parts of the Caucasus and among Kurds throughout the Middle East – marks the spring equinox, and is traditionally seen as a time of renewal, hope, and new beginnings.

Mohammad, 50, is a retired employee of an Iranian automotive company. He celebrates Nowruz every year at home with his wife, Darya, 48, and their 25-year-old daughter, Masiha, and they read poetry by Saadi. Photograph: M.Mohsenifar/The Guardian

You can see the Guardian’s picture essay, with photographs by Mohammad Mohsenifar, here:

US military claims Iran threat to Hormuz 'degraded’

The US military has said that Iran’s ability to threaten the strait of Hormuz has been “degraded” by the bombing of an underground facility where it stored cruise missiles and other weaponry.

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command said in video message posted on X:

We not only took out the facility, but also destroyed intelligence support sites and missile radar relays that were used to monitor ship movements.

He added:

Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the strait of Hormuz is degraded as a result, and we will not stop pursuing these targets.

The US-Israel war on Iran is a disaster for the climate, according to an analysis that finds it is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84 countries combined.

As warplanes, drones and missiles kill thousands of people, level infrastructure and turn the Middle East into a gigantic environmental sacrifice zone, the first analysis of the climate cost has found the conflict led to 5m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in its first 14 days.

The analysis, shared exclusively with the Guardian, adds another layer on to reporting of the catastrophic environmental harm being caused by attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure, military bases, civilian areas and ships at sea.

“Every missile strike is another downpayment on a hotter, more unstable planet, and none of it makes anyone safer,” said Patrick Bigger, a research director at the Climate and Community Institute and a co-author of the analysis.

“Every refinery fire and tanker strike is a reminder that fossil‑fuelled geopolitics is incompatible with a livable planet. This war shows, yet again, that the fastest way to supercharge the climate crisis is to let fossil fuel interests dictate foreign policy.”

Read the full report here:

As we’ve been reporting, Iran fired two missiles at the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

Part of the Chagos Islands, Diego Garcia is about 3,800km (2,360 miles) from Iran and home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers.

The island has been at the centre of a political row after the UK agreed to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and lease back the base.

Russia has condemned the US and Israel’s attack on the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.

In a statement reported by Reuters, Russia’s foreign ministry’s spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: “This is a blatant violation of international law”.

During its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent war, Russia has attacked nuclear power plants in Ukraine, including the Chornobyl site which suffered a meltdown in 1986.

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has spoken to the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian as he “condemned attacks” on infrastructure in the region.

Modi posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Spoke with President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian and conveyed Eid and Nowruz greetings. We expressed hope that this festive season brings peace, stability and prosperity to west Asia.

“Condemned attacks on critical infrastructure in the region, which threaten regional stability and disrupt global supply chains.

“Reiterated the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring that shipping lanes remain open and secure.

“Appreciated Iran’s continued support for the safety and security of Indian nationals in Iran.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for “restraint” after Israel and the US targeted a nuclear enrichment facility in central Iran.

The Iranian Tasnim news agency said the Natanz site between Tehran and Isfahan was targeted earlier on Saturday. It said it had not led to any radioactive leakage, and residents were not at risk (See 09.24am)

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by the IAEA on Saturday quoted its director general Rafael Grossi and said: “IAEA director general Grossi reiterates call for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident.”

Reports of an Iranian missile attack on the UK and US Diego Garcia military base in Indian Ocean are correct, the Guardian understands.

The Ministry of Defence indicated that the failed strikes (see 7.05am) at the base were before the announcement last night that UK bases can be used by the US for “specific and defensive operations”.

Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford can be used by the US.

An MoD spokesperson said: “Iran’s reckless attacks, lashing out across the region and holding hostage the strait of Hormuz, are a threat to British interests and British allies.

“RAF jets and other UK military assets are continuing to defend our people and personnel in the region.

“This government has given permission to the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.”

Sardar Azmoun has been omitted from the Iran squad announced for two World Cup friendlies games after Iranian media reports that the striker had been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government.

Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 internationals, was the most notable absentee from a 35-man squad named by the head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, on Friday for games against Nigeria and Costa Rica in the Turkish city of Antalya.

Azmoun, who plays his club football in the United Arab Emirates for Shabab Al Ahli, upset the Iranian authorities this week by posting a picture on his Instagram feed of a meeting with Dubai’s ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Iran has launched rocket and drone attacks on the UAE after airstrikes by the United States and Israel, which killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.