MARCH 15, 2026
President Donald Trump said Iran is ready to make a deal to end the war but the US wants better terms, signaling no letup in a conflict that’s brought shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill and upended energy markets.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Islamic Republic hasn’t asked for talks or a ceasefire. “We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us, and that was for the second time,” he said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation.
He added that Iran will continue to defend itself until Trump accepts that he’s waging an “illegal war” with no chance of victory.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump told NBC on Saturday, saying that a “very solid” agreement would have to include a commitment by Tehran to abandon nuclear ambitions.
The president gave no further details on any negotiations and it’s not clear who, if anyone, is conveying messages between the US and Iran.
Trump also called on other countries to send warships to keep open the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil exports flow. He said he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would take part.
Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, told MS NOW that “it is clear” the missiles that hit Kharg Island came from the UAE.
Anwar Gargash, a senior foreign policy adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, said the country “has the right to self-defense in the face of this terrorist aggression imposed upon it, yet it continues to prioritize reason.”
Oil-loading operations at Fujairah — a key UAE port — resumed on Sunday after a drone strike and fire forced a halt to exports the day before, according to people familiar with the situation. They asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to comment.
Abu Dhabi authorities also said they contained a fire that broke out at the Ruwais Industrial Complex following a drone strike on March 10.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting at least 10 drones near the capital, Riyadh, and in the kingdom’s eastern region.
Bahrain sounded sirens and urged residents to remain in safe areas.
Aluminium Bahrain BSC, which runs the world’s largest single-site smelter of the metal, started a phased production shutdown to preserve raw materials. The company, known as Alba, said it has initiated a shutdown of three production lines, which together represent 19% of its total output capacity of 1.6 million tons a year.
Iran said it launched a new wave of missile attacks on Israel, where Defense Minister Israel Katz has described the war as entering its “victory phase.” He also said the war, now in its third week, would last “as long as required.”
Domestic pressure is building on Trump as the war causes chaos in the Middle East and global oil prices rise to about $100 a barrel because of Iran’s de facto closure of Hormuz. Trump has dismissed concerns over rising gasoline prices in the US, saying they will fall once the fighting ends.
The conflict has left about 3,750 people dead across the region since it began on Feb. 28 with the US and Israeli bombing of Iran, according to tolls from governments and nongovernmental organizations.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said more than 3,000 people were killed in the last two weeks in Iran. Dozens have died across the Gulf and in Israel, while the US has lost 13 service members.
US Carried Out Strikes on Kharg Island | President Trump threatens to hit oil assets if Iran keeps blocking shipping through Strait of Hormuz
Israel and the US continued striking Iran on Saturday, and Washington told Americans to leave Iraq immediately — citing the “significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups.” That came after the Associated Press reported a missile hit a helipad within the compound of the US embassy in Baghdad.
In announcing the strike on Kharg Island, Trump said military facilities there had been “obliterated,” adding that he chose not to hit oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency.” He threatened to do so should Iran “do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump said that even though Iran’s military was “already destroyed 100%,” it was “easy” for Tehran to continue threatening ships with drones, mines and short-range missiles. The US, he said, “will be bombing the hell out of” Iran’s shoreline to try to counter that.
Araghchi said the strait was only shut to US ships and those of its allies. There have been 16 reported attacks on vessels in and around Hormuz since the war began, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.
“We welcome any regional initiative that leads to a fair end to the war,” he told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, in a rare sign of a possible shift in stance from Iran, where officials have previously said they could sustain the conflict for months. “Ending the war is conditional on guarantees that it won’t be repeated and on the payment of compensation.”
Lebanon’s government said around 700 people have died in Israeli attacks on the country in a parallel war the Jewish state is waging against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
France has drafted a plan to end the war in Lebanon that would require the government there to recognize Israel, Axios reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. It said Lebanon accepted the proposal as a starting point, while Israel and the US are reviewing it.
Jordan, which also houses US troops and aircraft, said on Saturday it intercepted 79 ballistic missiles and drones in the past week. Air defenses failed to stop another six projectiles. Nine people were injured over that period, the Jordanian military said.
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have all had to curb crude production because of Hormuz’s de facto closure, while Qatar has halted operations for liquefied natural gas. It’s one of the world’s top three suppliers of the fuel.
Courtesy/Source: Bloomberg
