Middle East crisis live: Iran attacks tanker in Dubai; explosions in Tehran and Jerusalem amid wave of strikes

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The legislation makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism by a military court.

According to the bill, those sentenced to death will be held in a separate facility with no visits except for from authorised personnel, with legal consultations conducted only by video link. Executions will be carried out within 90 days of sentencing.

Israel has rarely used the death penalty, applying it only in exceptional cases. The Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was the last person to be executed, in 1962.

The measure will allow courts to impose the death penalty without a request from prosecutors and without requiring unanimity, instead permitting a simple majority decision. Military courts in the occupied West Bank will also be empowered to hand down death sentences, with the defence minister able to submit an opinion.

For Palestinians under occupation, the bill closes off avenues for appeal or clemency, while prisoners tried inside Israel could have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. You can read more here:

The foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, France and Italy have expressed “deep concern” over an Israeli bill (now passed into law) that would impose the death penalty on Palestinian people convicted of fatal terror attacks.

In a joint statement, shared on X by the British foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, this morning, they said:

We, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, express our deep concern about a bill that would significantly expand the possibilities to impose the death penalty in Israel and that could be voted into law next week.

We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill. The adoption of this bill would risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regards to democratic principles.

The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect. This is why we oppose the death penalty, whatever the circumstances around the world. The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us.

We urge the Israeli decision makers in Knesset and government to abandon these plans.

The statement was published a day before the new law passed its final reading in the Knesset – the Israeli parliament - by 62 votes to 48 on Monday. The measure has been condemned as discriminatory by European countries and rights groups.

The internet blackout in Iran has entered its 32nd day, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks. It said in a post:

Iran’s internet blackout has entered day 32 with most users cut off from the outside world for over 744 hours.

Extended digital isolation is bringing new challenges for Iranians, from expired domains and accounts to unpatched servers on a degrading national intranet.

Those without access to Starlink or alternative ways to communicate – which are often expensive – are cut off, not only from the outside world but the blackout also severely curtails Iranian’s ability to communicate with each other, making mobilisation, for example, much more difficult.

Israel’s emergency services said this morning that eight people with minor injuries were evacuated to hospitals in the Tel Aviv area, where police reported falling munitions fragments after an alert for incoming Iranian missiles.

Six of the injured were treated in the city of Bnei Brak, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man assesses the damage inside a house following an Iranian strike over Bnei Brak in central Israel on 31 March, 2026. Photograph: Ilia Yefimovich/AFP/Getty Images

The Iranian Red Crescent Society has said its relief teams have been conducting search and rescue operations following a US-Israeli airstrike on the Husseiniya Azam – a key Shia religious site used for ceremonies and gatherings - in the Iranian city of Zanjan this morning. Here are some pictures taken in the aftermath of the attack:

Following this morning’s US Israeli airstrike on Zanjan’s Husseiniya Azam, Red Crescent relief teams are conducting search and rescue operations. Photograph: X / @Iranian_RCS

Relief teams are looking to rescue injured survivors after the reported US-Israeli attack on Zanjan’s Husseiniya Azam. Photograph: X / @Iranian_RCS

The UAE’s defence ministry posted to X about half an hour ago saying that its air defences were intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks – and said this activity explained the sounds audible across various parts of the country.

A US-Israeli attack on the Iranian city of Mahallat last night (at about 11pm local time) killed 11 people and injured 15 others, the Tasnim news agency has cited a deputy security officer as having said.

Four residential units were “completely destroyed” in the attack, in which three children were killed, according to the report, which we have not yet been able to independently verify.

Iranian parliamentary committee approves plan to impose tolls on strait of Hormuz - state media

Iranian state media reported yesterday that an Iranian parliamentary committee had approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz.

The strait will be closed to ships from the US, Israel and countries that have been involved in sanctioning Iran, according to a Telegram post from the Fars news agency, which said that Iran will have a “sovereign” role in the implementation of the new system.

The proposal, approved by Iran’s parliament security committee, would reportedly require agreement from other countries next to the strait. It is not clear how much the toll on vessels will be.

The US president, Donald Trump, warned yesterday that if a deal was not struck with Iran – including to reopen the strait of Hormuz shipping lane – US forces would destroy “all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)”.

The strait’s closure has sent global energy prices soaring, including in the US where residents are being hit hard by surging gas prices and farmers face higher fertiliser costs and falling commodity prices.

Two container vessels belonging to the Chinese shipping giant Cosco have successfully passed through the strait of Hormuz as they have exited the Gulf, ship tracking data indicates.

The two vessels were the CSCL Indian Ocean and the CSCL Arctic Ocean. They passed close to the Iranian-controlled island of Larak and are bound for Port Klang in Malaysia.

Iran has effectively blocked the vital waterway but allowed a trickle of ships through from nations it deems “non-hostile”, such as Thailand, China, Pakistan and India.

Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry has said it has intercepted and destroyed ten drones over the past hours, and eight missiles launched towards the Riyadh area and the country’s eastern region.

Early this morning Kuwait said its air defences were responding to hostile missile and drone attacks. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Kuwait said where the drones or missiles came from.

Interim summary

For those just joining our live coverage of the Middle East war, here’s a snapshot of the latest:

• Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai. Local authorities later said response teams contained the incident with no oil leakage and that no injuries had been reported

• Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.

• The Israeli military said four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

• Two giant Chinese container ships have sailed through the strait of Hormuz on their second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back on Friday, ship-tracking data shows. The transit signals a diplomatic breakthrough between Beijing and Tehran as Iran widens its list of approved nations for transiting the vital route, Lloyd’s List reported.

• Indonesia’s foreign minister called for an emergency UN security council meeting and a thorough investigation” into a “heinous attack” after three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in southern Lebanon.

• Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Hezbollah in Beirut.

• Japan and Indonesia agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.

• Two Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, Israeli media reported, with the emergency service saying it had not received reports of any injuries.

• Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.

• An earlier summary of key developments is here.

Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Middle East in week five of the war.

A woman inspects the damage at the site where an Israeli air raid targeted a building on the edge of Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photograph: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The funeral of an Israeli soldier in Holon after he was killed by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile in southern Lebanon. Photograph: Erik Marmor/Getty Images

Volunteers help with rescue and debris removal from a building in Tehran after a US-Israeli attack. Photograph: Maryam Rahmanian/Shutterstock

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images

A Bedouin boy tidies up a cave he has turned into a makeshift bomb shelter in an unrecognised Bedouin village near Arad in southern Israel. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

Macron due in Japan for talks dominated by Iran war

French president Emmanuel Macron arrives in Japan on Tuesday for a visit that initially aimed to strengthen partnerships in nuclear energy and space innovation but will now be dominated by the Middle East war.

Macron will hold talks with prime minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday and “the crisis in the Middle East will be at the heart of discussions”, the Élysée Palace said ahead of the trip.

It added that the two leaders would discuss “how we can try to find common solutions”, reports Agence France-Presse.

Japan depends on the Middle East for 95% of its oil imports and has had to dip into strategic stockpiles to temper the impact of rising fuel prices since the start of the war.

Economy and finance ministers of G7 countries, which include France and Japan, said on Monday they stood ready to take “all necessary measures” to ensure the stability of the energy market as they tackled the economic consequences of the war.

Israel finishes 'another wave' of strikes in Tehran

The Israeli military says it has “just completed another wave of strikes” targeting Iranian regime infrastructure in the heart of Tehran.

The post on social media also said the military “continues to deepen the damage” to the infrastructure.

No oil leakage after Kuwaiti oil tanker attack – authorities

Dubai response teams have successfully contained the incident involving a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters with no oil leakage, authorities say.

The Dubai media office also reiterated no injuries were reported.

Earlier on Monday Iran reportedly carried out a drone attack that set ablaze to a fully loaded crude oil tanker in Dubai waters, while the ship’s owner warned of a possible oil spill.

Japan and Indonesia have agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.

“In light of the Iran situation, the strategic importance of resources and energy security is once again being recognized globally. Indonesia is a major resource-rich nation,” Takaichi said alongside Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto after they met for talks in Tokyo.

The summit came as the US-Israeli war on Iran squeezes oil and gas supplies vital to Asia.

Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal for power generation, supplying about half of global exports, Reuters reports. It is also a major liquefied natural gas exporter, with roughly a quarter of its shipments bound for Japan.

More now on three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia being killed in two incidents in southern Lebanon: Indonesia’s foreign minister has called for an emergency UN security council meeting and “for a swift, thorough and transparent investigation” into the “heinous attack”.

Sugiono made the call on Tuesday in a post on X after speaking with UN secretary António Guterres.

Israel’s military said it was aware of the reports regarding the two incidents and they were being reviewed thoroughly to determine whether they resulted from the military’s activity or Hezbollah’s.

Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping force (Unifil) said. Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight into Monday when a projectile exploded near one of the group’s positions close to the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr.

Unifil peacekeepers drive past firefighters clearing the road at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the area of Naqura, southern Lebanon, on Friday. Photograph: Kawnat Haju/AFP/Getty Images

In response to the first death, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Monday the deceased peacekeeper was one of its citizens and that three others were injured by “indirect artillery fire”.

Indonesia condemned the incident and said any harm to peacekeepers was unacceptable, while reiterating its condemnation “of Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon”.

Guterres said attacks on peacekeepers were grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.

Four Israeli soldiers killed in southern Lebanon – IDF

The Israeli military said on Tuesday four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

A military statement named three soldiers from the same battalion who “fell during combat” and a separate statement said another soldier – who had not yet been publicly named – had died in the same incident, Agence France-Presse is reporting.

Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, a second statement said.

Opening summary

Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its impact on the region, the world and the global economy.

Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday while Donald Trump warned the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.

The apparent strike on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi is the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Persian Gulf and the strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

Crude oil prices briefly spiked anew after Kuwait’s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2m barrels of oil worth more than $200m at current prices.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship’s owner, said work was under way to assess damage and warned of a possible oil spill. Authorities in Dubai later said they had brought the fire under control after a drone attack on the tanker, and that no injuries were reported.

In other key developments:

• Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut, leaving black smoke hanging over the Lebanese capital.

The interior of a home destroyed in an Israeli-US attack in Tehran. Photograph: Maryam Rahmanian/Shutterstock

• Two successive Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, the Times of Israel reported, quoting the emergency service as saying it had not received any reports of injuries.

• Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.

• Oil prices were headed on Tuesday for a record monthly rise while Asian shares were headed for their steepest fall since 2022, capping a tumultuous month as the war fanned fears of higher inflation and slower growth. Bonds were headed for their largest decline in months, while the dollar recorded its strongest gain in eight months.

• The US national average retail price of fuel crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years on Monday, data from price-tracking service GasBuddy showed, as tightening global supplies pushed US crude prices above $101 a barrel.

• Three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon.

• Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters. , as part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory, even as he pursues talks with Tehran.

• The White House later said talks with Iran were progressing and Trump wanted to reach a deal with Tehran before a 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline he had set for Iran to open the largely blocked strait of Hormuz oil route.

• Trump had told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the strait or Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal later reported.

• Iran said on Monday it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries and that they were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.