APTOPIX Iran War
Iranians reach toward the coffins as they follow the funeral procession of Iran's intelligence minister Esmail Khatib and, according to Iranian officials, his wife and daughter, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2026.
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Iran is threatening recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisting it is still building missiles three weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East. The United States is deploying more warships and another 2,500 Marines to the region. However President Donald Trump said on social media that his administration in fact was considering “winding down” military operations. The mixed messages came after another climb in oil prices plunged the U.S. stock market. The Trump administration also said it will lift sanctions on Iranian oil loaded on ships, a move intended to wrangle soaring fuel prices. The war, meanwhile, has shown no signs of abating. Iran launched more attacks on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states after Israel pounded Tehran.
Iran strikes near Israeli nuclear research center as Trump threatens attacks on Iranian power plants
President Donald Trump on Saturday says the U.S. will “obliterate” Iranian power plants if it doesn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. Trump issued the ultimatum in a social media post while he spent the weekend in Florida. He says he’s giving Iran exactly 48 hours to open the vital waterway or face a new round of attacks. He says the U.S. would destroy “various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump faces increasing pressure to secure the strait as oil prices soar. Iran says any strike on its energy facilities would prompt attacks on U.S. and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets in the region.
