Israel Reports Second Attack from Yemen as Middle East Conflict Escalates

 Smoke rises following an Iranian missile strike, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in southern Israel, March 29, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following an Iranian missile strike, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in southern Israel, March 29, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Reports Second Attack from Yemen as Middle East Conflict Escalates

 Smoke rises following an Iranian missile strike, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in southern Israel, March 29, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises following an Iranian missile strike, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in southern Israel, March 29, 2026. (Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Monday that Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, and an attack had also been launched from Yemen for only the second time since the US-Israeli war began.

It said two drones from Yemen were intercepted early Monday but gave no further details. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia entered the war on Saturday, firing missiles at Israel, escalating a conflict that has engulfed the Middle East.

Israel's military also said the Air Force was carrying out strikes on Tehran on Monday, targeting what it described as military infrastructure.

The latest attacks came a day after President Donald Trump said the US and Iran had been meeting "directly and indirectly" and that Iran's new leaders have been "very reasonable", as more US troops arrived in the region.

Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host "meaningful talks" in the coming days aimed at ending the month-long Iran war. It was not clear whether the US and Iran had agreed to attend.

"I think we'll make a deal with them, I'm pretty sure, but it's possible we won't," Trump told ‌reporters on Sunday ‌evening as he traveled aboard Air Force One to Washington.

Trump said he thought the US had already accomplished regime ‌change ⁠in Tehran after ⁠strikes killed the country's supreme leader and other top officials, but said twice that their replacements seemed "reasonable."

An initial Israeli strike on February 28 killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was replaced by his son Mojtaba.

The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies and hitting the global economy.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has accused the US of sending messages about possible negotiations while at the same time planning a ground invasion.

"As long as the Americans seek Iran's surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation," he said in a message to the nation.

The US Department of Defense has dispatched thousands of troops to the Middle East, giving Trump the option of launching a ground offensive.

ISRAELI STRIKES

Israel's military said it had launched over 140 air strikes on central and western Iran, including ⁠Tehran, over the 24 hours to Sunday evening, hitting ballistic missile launch sites and storage facilities, among other targets.

Iranian ‌state media reported strikes had hit Mehrabad airport and a petrochemical plant in the northern city of Tabriz.

Four ‌weeks of intense US-Israeli bombardment has failed to silence Iran's missile and drone batteries, with Kuwait on Monday reporting it had intercepted five drones in areas under its protection.

A chemical ‌plant in southern Israel near the city of Beersheba was hit by a missile or missile debris on Sunday as Israel fended off multiple salvos ‌from Iran.

Iran also continues its effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 20% of global oil and gas shipments, spiking oil prices and spreading economic pain around the world.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis joined the conflict on Saturday, launching their first attacks on Israel and raising the prospect they could target and block a second key shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Stocks slumped in Asia on Monday as investors dug in for a protracted conflict, bringing a spike in inflation and the risk of recession to much of the globe. ‌Japan's Nikkei index was down more than 3%.

Meanwhile, oil prices looked poised to extend their gains, with Brent headed for a record monthly rise. Brent crude futures jumped $2.43, or 2.16%, to $115 a barrel by 0342 GMT after settling ⁠4.2% higher on Friday.

Global airlines have ⁠begun to hike fares and cut capacity to cope with the surge in the oil price, but analysts warn the industry's ability to remain profitable may depend on whether consumers pull back on flying as energy costs threaten household budgets.

MORE US TROOPS ARRIVE

Several hundred special operations personnel have arrived in the region, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing two military officials. That comes on top of thousands of US Marines that came on Friday aboard an amphibious assault ship, the first of two contingents, the US military has said.

Reuters has reported that the Pentagon has been considering military options that could include ground forces, although Trump has not approved any of those plans, according to multiple news outlets.

In an interview with Financial Times published on Sunday, Trump said he wanted to "take the oil in Iran" and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island. Taking control of Kharg would require ground troops.

The island handles 90% of Iran's oil exports and seizing it would give the United States the ability to severely disrupt Iran's energy trade, placing enormous pressure on Tehran's economy.

The majority of Americans are opposed to the war and a military escalation, which would risk a protracted crisis, would likely weigh further on Trump's already low approval ratings ahead of November midterm elections for Congress.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered the military to further expand its operations in southern Lebanon, citing continued rocket fire by Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Israel has said it will seize a chunk of southern Lebanon to create a "buffer zone" against Hezbollah, stoking fears among Lebanese of Israeli military occupation that could deepen instability and stoke further displacement.



Rubio Says US Hopeful in Private Talks After Iran ‘Fractures’

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks to the press before his departure following a G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting with Partner Countries before his departure at the Bourget airport in Le Bourget, outside Paris, France, March 27, 2026. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks to the press before his departure following a G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting with Partner Countries before his departure at the Bourget airport in Le Bourget, outside Paris, France, March 27, 2026. (Reuters)
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Rubio Says US Hopeful in Private Talks After Iran ‘Fractures’

 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks to the press before his departure following a G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting with Partner Countries before his departure at the Bourget airport in Le Bourget, outside Paris, France, March 27, 2026. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks to the press before his departure following a G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting with Partner Countries before his departure at the Bourget airport in Le Bourget, outside Paris, France, March 27, 2026. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday voiced hope for working with elements within Iran's government, saying the United States privately had received positive messages.

Rubio said there were internal "fractures" inside the country and that the United States hopes figures with "power to deliver" take charge.

"We are hopeful that that's the case," Rubio told the ABC News program "Good Morning America."

"There are clearly people there talking to us in ways that previous people in charge in Iran have not spoken to us in the past, some of the things they're willing to do," he said.

Rubio nonetheless also denounced Tehran in broad strokes, insisting that the war aimed to end its nuclear weapons building capacity, which President Donald Trump said he accomplished during an attack last year.

"These people are lunatics. They are insane. They are religious zealots who can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon because they have an apocalyptic vision of the future," Rubio said.

In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, Rubio said there were "messages and some direct talks going on between some inside of Iran and the United States."

The communication is "primarily through intermediaries, but there's been some conversation," he told the Qatar-based news channel.

"I think the president always prefers diplomacy."

Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and the UN nuclear watchdog has said no bomb was imminent.

Rubio's comments came a day after Trump said that Iran has already gone through "regime change," one month into the war launched by the United States and Israel.

Trump said that the United States was speaking to a "whole different group of people" and that they were "very reasonable."

On the first day of the war Israel assassinated Iran's longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and subsequent strikes have killed other top leaders.

Rubio said that there was a difference between private and public messages coming from Iran.

"Obviously they're not going to put it out in press releases, and what they say to you or put out there for the world doesn't necessarily reflect what they're saying in our conversations," Rubio said in the ABC interview.

Despite the Trump administration's public talk of diplomacy, the United States has been reinforcing its military presence in the region and Trump on Monday threatened to "blow up" Iran's oil-exporting island of Kharg if purported talks fail.

The comments from the administration signal a readiness to work with some form of the regime, after the United States and Israel at the start of the war spoke of toppling the government which weeks earlier killed thousands of people as it crushed mass protests.


Iran Hangs Two ‘Political Prisoners’ from Banned Opposition

A member of police special forces stands guard on top their car at the Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)
A member of police special forces stands guard on top their car at the Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)
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Iran Hangs Two ‘Political Prisoners’ from Banned Opposition

A member of police special forces stands guard on top their car at the Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)
A member of police special forces stands guard on top their car at the Enqelab-e-Eslami square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP)

Iran hanged two men on Monday for membership of a banned opposition group, with rights groups describing them as political prisoners and expressing fear of a surge in executions aimed at cowing the population during the Middle East war.

Akbar Daneshvarkar, 60, and Mohammad Taghavi-Sangdehi, 59, were hanged at dawn in the notorious Gehzel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj for membership of the outlawed People's Mujahedin of Iran, also known as Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK).

They were executed "after confirmation and final approval of the sentence by the Supreme Court", the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

The MEK opposed the rule of the shah and initially supported the 1979 revolution but rapidly fell out with the new clerical leadership in the 1980s. It is now based in exile and is designated as a terrorist organization by Tehran.

The group's political wing, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCIR), confirmed in a statement that the two were members of the MEK.

Its leader Maryam Rajavi said "the desperate clerical regime, in fear of the people's uprising, vainly attempts to delay the explosion of the people's anger for a short while by executing the bravest children of Iran."

Activists expressed fear that there would be a new surge in executions as authorities sought to spread fear throughout society against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the United States.

Amnesty International described the executions as arbitrary and said the two men had been subjected "to torture and other ill-treatment in detention" and also not allowed a final goodbye to families.

- 'Ruthless execution machinery' -

"Even amid the aerial bombardment, authorities are continuing their ruthless execution machinery, weaponizing the death penalty against dissidents in a desperate bid to stifle dissent and tighten their grip on power," Amnesty said.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group, said "we fear that the Islamic Republic will exploit the current wartime conditions to carry out mass executions inside prisons to instill societal fear".

IHR said the two men were political prisoners and were "subjected to physical and psychological torture, denied due process rights and sentenced to death in a process that did not meet minimum fair trial standards".

It warned that four co-defendants were "at grave and imminent risk of execution" in Ghezel Hesar prison after being sentenced to death in the same case.

Shadi Sadr, co-founder of the NGO Justice for Iran, which seeks legal accountability for rights violations in the country, said "the Iranian people are trapped between an international war and severe internal repression".

Mizan said the two executed men were charged with participating in "terrorist acts", carrying out actions aimed at overthrowing the regime, and disrupting national security.

According to the NCRI, the MEK regularly carried out actions inside Iran aimed at the clerical authorities.

Iran on March 19 executed three men who were accused of killing police officers during protests in January, the first hangings Iran has carried out related to the nationwide demonstrations that were met with a brutal crackdown by the authorities.

It also executed Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, the same month on charges of spying for Israel, drawing condemnation from Stockholm and the EU.

Iran is the world's most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups. Last year it hanged at least 1,500 people, according to figures from IHR.


Türkiye Says NATO Defenses Down Missile from Iran

Türkiye's ‌defense ministry did not say where it thought the missile was heading ‌on Monday. (Reuters file)
Türkiye's ‌defense ministry did not say where it thought the missile was heading ‌on Monday. (Reuters file)
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Türkiye Says NATO Defenses Down Missile from Iran

Türkiye's ‌defense ministry did not say where it thought the missile was heading ‌on Monday. (Reuters file)
Türkiye's ‌defense ministry did not say where it thought the missile was heading ‌on Monday. (Reuters file)

A ballistic missile fired from Iran entered Turkish airspace on Monday and was shot down by NATO defenses, Ankara said, in the fourth such incident reported since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

There was no immediate comment from ‌Tehran which has ‌denied specifically targeting its neighbor Türkiye during the ‌conflict and ⁠has said it ⁠was not involved in the previous three missile launches, which were all downed by NATO defenses.

NATO's spokesperson said the alliance intercepted an Iranian missile heading towards its member country Türkiye, adding that it was "prepared for such threats and will always do what is necessary to defend all Allies".

Iran has fired missiles at countries across the Middle East since the ⁠start of the conflict, striking oil infrastructure and bases ‌with US forces in the region.

Türkiye's ‌defense ministry did not say where it thought the missile was heading ‌on Monday.

Türkiye's Incirlik Air Base in the southern Adana province hosts ‌US, Turkish, Polish, and other personnel.

US personnel are also stationed at NATO's Kurecik radar station in Türkiye's southeastern Malatya province where the alliance recently deployed a Patriot missile defense system.

Separately, Türkiye's Chief of the General Staff, ‌General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, held a video conference with NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone on Monday, ⁠to discuss regional ⁠defense and security issues, the defense ministry said.

The ministry said all necessary measures were being taken "decisively and without hesitation" against any threat directed at Türkiye's territory and airspace.

The incident comes after talks in Islamabad at the weekend between the top diplomats of Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia on potential ways to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.

Türkiye had offered and tried to mediate between Iran and the United States before the war started at the end of last month.

Ankara has repeatedly called for an end to the conflict, criticized the US-Israeli attacks as illegal, and described Iran's attacks on regional countries as unacceptable.