Gas prices soar, Tehran blasts US‑Israeli ‘war criminals’ over civilian strikes (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
Welcome to RT’s live coverage of the US‑Israeli war on Iran and the wider chaos across the Middle East and beyond that the unprovoked attack has caused. Overnight, there were reports of significant strikes both on Tehran and Israel, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accusing US‑Israeli “war criminals” of bombing civilian targets, including pharmaceutical plants.
Meanwhile, in Dubai there are reports of loud explosions and a strike on a Kuwaiti tanker, sending US gas prices higher. Oil has slipped by almost 1% on global markets, while Russia has doubled down on its refusal to sell oil and gas to “unfriendly” nations.
The Pentagon held its sixth press briefing since the conflict began over a month ago, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine appearing before journalists on Tuesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on Monday that “a coalition of nations” would secure the Strait of Hormuz by force while Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali spoke to RT’s Sanchez Effect and dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claims that Tehran is negotiating with Washington, saying that US and Israeli officials are “planning how to strike Iran” rather than seeking peace.
Trump has also claimed that his goal of regime change in Iran was achieved by killing the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in the initial strikes on February 28.
“The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime – we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before... it truly is regime change… you can’t do much better than that,” Trump said.
The new leadership in Iran is “very reasonable,” he said, claiming that he feels that a deal with Tehran could be reached “soon.”
Here are the latest developments:
- The average US gasoline price rose to $4 per gallon on Tuesday, the highest level since 2022. Pump prices are now above levels seen at any point during President Donald Trump’s two terms. Oil prices edged higher, while Asian markets traded lower.
- A fully loaded Kuwaiti tanker in waters off Dubai was struck in an Iranian drone attack. Explosions were heard across Tehran after Israel’s military said it carried out multiple waves of strikes on targets in the Iranian capital. In central Israel, cars caught fire after being hit by falling missile fragments.
- Iran’s Tabriz Petrochemical Company has been struck in a US-Israeli attack, according to media reports.
- Trump remains “generally open to the idea” of launching a special operations raid on Iranian nuclear sites to seize some 450 kg of enriched uranium believed to be stored there, according to the Wall Street Journal’s sources. The US president also told the Financial Times that he was not ruling out the possibility of seizing Iran’s key export hub, Kharg Island, in order to take control of Tehran’s oil exports.
- The IDF and Iranian forces have continued to exchange strikes, with videos capturing a major blaze erupting at an oil refinery in Israeli city of Haifa after one of the attacks.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
31 March 2026
16:58 GMTRussian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone call with his Emirati counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with both leaders expressing “serious concern” over the worsening military‑political situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin has said. They emphasized the importance of a rapid end to hostilities and intensified political‑diplomatic efforts that take into account the “legitimate interests of all states in the region.”
- 16:58 GMT
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has reportedly said Iran was attacked twice “during negotiations,” arguing that this shows the US “does not believe in diplomacy.” According to remarks reported by Al Jazeera Arabic, Pezeshkian said tensions in the Strait of Hormuz stem from “American‑Zionist hostile actions” against Iran and criticized what he called Europe’s biased stance toward Tehran in a phone call with European Council President Antonio Costa.
- 16:55 GMT
After a month of death and destruction, a lighthearted moment: Iranian Red Crescent rescuers save a cat trapped under rubble after US-Israeli strikes. It looks like the cat escaped dusty but unhurt.
Iranian Red Crescent volunteers have risked life and limb to save civilian lives since the conflict began. One month in, two volunteers have been killed and 17 injured.
- 16:47 GMT
The UK is sending extra air‑defense systems and personnel to the Middle East, raising the number of British troops involved in “defending” the Gulf and Cyprus to around 1,000, Defence Secretary John Healey has said. On a visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, he announced the deployment of Sky Sabre missiles to Saudi Arabia, a short‑range system to Bahrain and a Rapid Sentry to Kuwait, while extending the use of RAF Typhoon jets in Qatar. Britain will take only “defensive action” and “not get drawn into” the war, Healey claimed.
- 16:30 GMT
Pakistan’s emergence as a mediator between Iran and the US is “not a coincidence,” Jamal Aziz, executive director of the Research Society of International Law, has told RT.
Speaking from Islamabad, he said Pakistan has “dual access to both Tehran and Washington,” deep cultural and religious ties with Iran and long‑standing military and diplomatic channels with the US, as well as “skin in the game” because its economy is highly vulnerable to an energy shock.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that Islamabad is “happy” that both sides have reportedly agreed to talks it will facilitate “in the coming days,” following a meeting with his Turkish, Egyptian, and Saudi counterparts.
- 16:26 GMT
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) offices in Tehran have suffered damage after bombs fell in the vicinity over the past two nights, organization chief Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus has said.
“Strikes impacting the operations and damaging the premises of WHO and other agencies, the locations of which have been clearly identified, cannot be tolerated and must be avoided at all costs,” he warned.
It is unclear if the attacks were of Israeli or American origin, but this isn’t the first time that the WHO has been threatened during Israel’s seven-front regional war. Ghebreyesus himself narrowly avoided death when Israeli missiles hit Yemen’s Sana’a Airport as his plane was departing in 2024. One crew member aboard the plane was injured and two airport staff killed.
- 15:48 GMT
Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, has said that Moscow “decisively condemns” the Israeli strike that injured RT correspondent Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity in southern Lebanon on March 19, calling it a “grave violation of international law” and a deliberate hindrance to journalists’ work. Speaking at an emergency Security Council meeting over attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon, he described the incident as part of a “dangerous trend” of the IDF targeting media on the ground.
- 15:47 GMT
Iran’s national football team has paid tribute to victims of the US‑Israeli campaign ahead of a match against Costa Rica, holding up images of sailors killed on the warship ‘Dena’, Red Crescent workers, firefighters, and staff from destroyed sports venues and historical sites. Footage published by Tasnim news agency shows players standing in silence on the pitch as they display the photographs before kickoff.
#BREAKING The Iran national football team held images of martyrs of the Dena ship, destroyed sports venues and historical buildings, Red Crescent forces and firefighters during the US-Israeli aggression on war ahead of the match against Costa Rica. pic.twitter.com/6c16AMLPkQ
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) March 31, 2026 - 15:11 GMT
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will begin striking American tech companies in the region as of April 1, the military force has said in a statement to Iranian media.
”These companies should expect the destruction of their affiliated units for every terrorist act carried out in Iran, starting at 8pm Tehran time on Wednesday,” the statement read. Among the 18 firms on the IRGC’s target list are Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla, and Boeing.
Iran has already attacked Amazon data centers in the UAE and Bahrain, and designated the 18 companies as “potential targets” earlier this month.
- 15:10 GMT
More than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria in less than a month since hostilities intensified, the UN Refugee Agency has said. The arrivals are exhausted and traumatized and urgently need food, shelter, health care, and legal support, according to UNHCR.
