A Qatar Airways plane lands at Teruel Airport as other aircraft remain parked amid airlines withdrawing planes due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, in Teruel, Spain, March 20, 2026. (Credit: Nacho Doce/Reuters)
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
Trump: NATO allies 'cowards'
U.S. President Donald Trump branded the United States' NATO allies "cowards" for not heeding his demand for military assistance against Iran to control the Hormuz Strait shipping route.
"COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!" he posted on his Truth Social platform.
NATO relocates Iraq mission
NATO said it was "adjusting" its mission in Iraq, with a French military source confirming the non-combat force was being temporarily relocated due to the war in the Middle East.
Crude prices dip
Crude prices slipped after US and Israeli leaders said that Israel would no longer target any more of Tehran's energy infrastructure. Benchmark Brent was down 0.7 percent at $107.91 per barrel, and the main U.S. contract, West Texas Intermediate, was off 0.3 percent at $95.24 per barrel.
Iran military threats
Iran's military threatened to hunt down U.S. and Israeli officials and army commanders even while they were on holiday or visiting entertainment centres.
"We are watching your cowardly officials and commanders, pilots and wicked soldiers," armed forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi said, quoted by state TV.
'Major concessions'
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on a visit to Israel that Iran must make "major concessions" as part of any long-term political solution to the Middle East war.
UAE arrests
UAE authorities have arrested at least five members of a "terrorist network" linked to Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, state media said.
The alleged network had "sought to infiltrate the national economy and carry out external schemes threatening the country's financial stability," working "in coordination with external parties linked to Hezbollah and Iran," the state-run WAM news agency said, citing the UAE State Security Apparatus. Hezbollah denied that it has a presence inside the UAE.
Caspian hit again
Israel's military said it was launching strikes in Iran's Noor region on the shores of the Caspian Sea, a day after carrying out its first strikes against Iranian targets in the body of water bordered by five nations.
Syria strike
Israel's military said it had struck Syrian army camps in response to what it called attacks against the Druze community in the southern Sweida province.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that "we will not allow the Syrian regime to exploit our war against Iran and Hezbollah to harm the Druze." Israel is home to a Druze community, the largest Arab minority serving in the Israeli military.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he is working to keep his country out of the war but that Syria was in "full solidarity" with Arab states.
Cargo ships hit
The United States and Israel struck 16 Iranian cargo vessels in port towns on the Gulf in attacks that burnt the vessels, local media reported.
UK 'participation'
Iran's foreign minister told his U.K. counterpart in a phone call that Tehran would view any U.S. use of British bases as "participation in aggression."
"These actions will certainly be regarded as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries," said Abbas Araghchi, according to a statement released by Iran's Foreign Ministry, which did not say when the phone call took place.
Iran's Guard's spokesperson killed by US-Israel strikes
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said in a statement on their website that their spokesperson, Ali Mohammad Naini, had been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Earlier, Naini refuted remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran could no longer produce ballistic missiles, saying there was "no concern" and "even under wartime conditions we continue missile production."
Gulf attacks
Drone attacks hit Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, causing several fires but no casualties, state media said.
Earlier, Kuwaiti and UAE authorities said air defences were responding to missile and drone attacks, and Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed more than a dozen drones in the east and north.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry said shrapnel from an "Iranian aggression" caused a fire at a warehouse.
