Middle East crisis live: Explosions in Tehran as Yemen’s Houthis heighten risks of Iran war | US-Israel war on Iran

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East as the war enters its second month.

The war continues to escalate, with the second wave of attacks on Israel confirmed since Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis joined the conflict on Saturday. They promised to continue the strikes in the coming days; This poses not only a deterioration in regional security but also a threat to global trade.

Two powerful explosions shook northern Tehran in Iran early on Sunday, an AFP journalist said. The explosions occurred around 7.20 in the morning during the operation of air defenses in the Iranian capital, but it was not yet clear what was targeted.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the USA is preparing a plan for land operations against Iran. The Trump administration has already deployed US Marines to the Middle East.

Here is a brief summary of the latest developments:

• Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised speech: The Iran-backed group launched a second attack on Israel, launching a “barrage of cruise missiles and drones” targeting key military sites.. He promised that the Houthis would continue military operations in the coming days until Israel “stops its attacks and aggression.”

• Houthis’ entry poses a direct threat to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of the Red SeaIt is the second largest choke point in the energy supply supply chain and other trade into and out of the Middle East. Closing the Bab al-Mandeb, located between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, along with Iran’s almost complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, will further increase the already serious impact of the war on the global economy and could also reignite the Saudi-Yemeni conflict.

• The Pentagon is drawing up plans for weeks of ground operations in Iran, possibly including raids on Kharg Island and coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz. – although President Donald Trump has yet to confirm any deployments, the Washington Post reported. Any ground operations would be halted until a full-scale invasion, instead involving raids by special operations forces and conventional infantry units, the Post reported, citing unnamed officials.

• Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is ready to lead a new Iranian government, he told one of the largest annual conservative gatherings in the United States According to the AP report, the country will call on its citizens to stand up “when the moment is right.” Pahlavi is the son of the Shah, who was deposed when the Islamic theocracy came to power in 1979.

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened to target US universities in the Middle East after it said US-Israeli attacks deliberately targeted two Iranian universities. In the statement published by Iranian media, it was said, “If the US government wants its universities in the region to be exempt from reprisals… it should condemn the bombing of universities by making an official statement by 12 noon on Monday, March 30, Tehran time.”

• Pakistan said it would host a meeting of Middle Eastern powers on Monday to find a regional approach to ending the conflict. However, the absence of any of the warring parties in the talks that brought together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt has raised doubts about the US’s persistent claims of diplomatic progress.

• Israeli strikes killed three journalists in a targeted attack on their car in southern Lebanon, which Lebanon’s president condemned as “a clear war crime”. Ali Shoeib, Fatima Ftouni and her brother from Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV, and cameraman Mohammed Ftouni from the pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen channel were killed in the attack.

• World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for an end to attacks on medical personnel after nine medics were killed in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

• Israeli army bombs Tehran in “a large-scale wave of attacks”It damages residential areas, civil infrastructure, research and education buildings. The IDF also said it hit Iran’s naval weapons headquarters.

• Iran allowed 20 oil tankers from Pakistan to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar, said two ships would pass a day. The country plays an important mediating role in the conflict.