Indian Military Says Pakistani Troops Fired at Positions along Border in Disputed Kashmir Overnight

Indian security force personnel stand guard on the banks of Dal Lake, following a suspected militant attack near south Kashmir's Pahalgam, in Srinagar April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Indian security force personnel stand guard on the banks of Dal Lake, following a suspected militant attack near south Kashmir's Pahalgam, in Srinagar April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
TT

Indian Military Says Pakistani Troops Fired at Positions along Border in Disputed Kashmir Overnight

Indian security force personnel stand guard on the banks of Dal Lake, following a suspected militant attack near south Kashmir's Pahalgam, in Srinagar April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Indian security force personnel stand guard on the banks of Dal Lake, following a suspected militant attack near south Kashmir's Pahalgam, in Srinagar April 25, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Pakistani soldiers fired at Indian posts all along the highly militarized frontier in disputed Kashmir for a second consecutive night, the Indian military said Saturday, as tensions continued to escalate between nuclear-armed rivals following a deadly attack on tourists.
The Indian army said in a statement on Saturday that soldiers from multiple Pakistani army posts overnight opened fire at Indian troops “all across the Line of Control” in Kashmir. “Indian troops responded appropriately with small arms,” the statement said, calling the firing “unprovoked.”
There were no casualties reported, the statement added.
On Friday, the Indian army said Pakistani soldiers had fired at an Indian post in Gurez sector with small arms late the previous night.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, and the incidents could not be independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region.
An uneasy calm prevailed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Saturday. Markets and bazaars were open and there was no sign of evacuations from villages located near the Line of Control.
Attack caused spiking tensions
India has described the massacre in which gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it.
Pakistan denied any connection to the attack near the resort town of Pahalgam in India-controlled Kashmir, and the attack was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the restive region's worst assault targeting civilians in years. In the days since, tensions have risen dangerously between India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety.
On Wednesday, India suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the countries and closed their only functional land border crossing. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals with effect from Sunday.
Pakistan responded angrily that it had nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indian nationals, closed its airspace to all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India. Nationals from both sides began heading back to their home countries through the Wagah border near Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Friday.
Islamabad also warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert the flow of water would be considered an “act of war.” The suspension of the water treaty could lead to water shortages at a time when parts of Pakistan are already struggling with drought and declining rainfall.
“Pakistan is fully prepared to confront any Indian aggression,” the country's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a televised statement Friday.
New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
Iran offers to mediate while Trump declines to engage
With tensions high between the two countries, Iran offered mediation, while US President Donald Trump said he expected them to work out their differences.
“Tehran stands ready to use its good offices in Islamabad and New Delhi to forge greater understanding at this difficult time,” Iranian Foreign Minister Syed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday
“India and Pakistan are brotherly neighbors of Iran, enjoying relations rooted in centuries-old cultural and civilizational ties. Like other neighbors, we consider them our foremost priority,” Araghchi wrote in a social media post.
Trump on Friday said “there’s great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been.”
Trump, who spoke on board Air Force One, did not answer when asked by reporters whether he would contact leaders of the two countries, but said “they’ll get it figured out one way or the other.”
The US has long called for calm between India and Pakistan, and mediated between the two rivals during a major border skirmish in 1999.
US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard expressed solidarity with India.
“We are with you and support you as you hunt down those responsible for this heinous attack,” Gabbard said in a post on social media platform X.
On Friday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said senior diplomats from Saudi Arabia and Iran had spoken with Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to discuss the ongoing regional situation.
India has already briefed the envoys of all G-20 countries and Gulf nations, apprising them of the incident and steps taken by New Delhi.



Iranian Attack Hits Israeli Oil Refinery in Haifa, Some Damage Reported

Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
TT

Iranian Attack Hits Israeli Oil Refinery in Haifa, Some Damage Reported

Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)

An Iranian missile attack hit Israel's Oil Refineries in the northern port city of Haifa but did not cause "significant damage", Israel's Energy Ministry said on Thursday.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen said power was briefly disrupted, with electricity restored to most of those who were affected.

"The damage to the power grid in the north is localized and not significant," Cohen said. "Also, in the barrage towards the north, ‌there was ‌no significant damage to Israeli infrastructure sites."

Iran's ‌⁠Revolutionary Guard Corps ⁠said it had targeted refineries in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, and in Ashdod, in the country's south, "along with a range of security targets and military support centers of the Zionist regime", which it said "were hit by pinpoint missiles".

There was no immediate ⁠word on whether the Ashdod refinery was ‌hit.

Israel's Ministry of Environmental ‌Protection said debris from a missile that was intercepted fell ‌in Haifa and was being examined as a ‌hazardous materials incident.

Israel Electric Corp said a power line in the Haifa area was hit by shrapnel, causing a brief outage, but that electricity was restored to ‌all customers within about 45 minutes.

Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said debris fell in ⁠two locations ⁠at Oil Refineries and caused a fire that disconnected supply sources but there were no casualties.

"Full control has been achieved over the impact incident at the Haifa refineries," it said after examining the site for hazardous materials. "Tests carried out by monitoring teams found no abnormal air values and there is no danger to the public."

Last June, Oil Refineries in Haifa was hit by an Iranian missile, which killed three people and halted operations.


Trump Says Not Putting US Troops in Region Amid Iran War

Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)
Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)
TT

Trump Says Not Putting US Troops in Region Amid Iran War

Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)
Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested he was not looking at deploying soldiers to the Middle East with the Iran war heading toward a fourth week.   

"I'm not putting troops anywhere," Trump ‌said in ‌response to a reporter ‌who ⁠asked whether he ⁠was planning to send more service members to the region. "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you. But I'm not putting ⁠troops. We will do ‌whatever ‌is necessary."   

Trump spoke at the White House ‌during an Oval Office ‌meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration is considering deploying thousands of US troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the US military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran, said a US official and three people familiar with the matter. 

The deployments could help provide Trump with additional options as he weighs expanding US operations, with the Iran war well into its third week. 

Those options include securing safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a mission that would be accomplished primarily through air and naval forces, the sources said. But securing the Strait could also mean deploying US troops to Iran's shoreline, said four sources, including two US officials. 

Reuters granted the sources anonymity to speak about military planning. 

The Trump administration has also discussed options to send ground forces to Iran's Kharg Island, the hub for 90% of Iran's oil exports, the three people familiar with the matter and three US officials said. One of the officials said such an operation would be very risky. Iran has the ability to reach the island with missiles and drones. 

The United States carried out strikes against military targets on the island on March 13 and Trump has threatened to also strike ‌its critical oil ‌infrastructure. However, given its vital role in Iran's economy, controlling the island would likely be viewed as a better ‌option ⁠than destroying it, ⁠military experts say. 

Any use of US ground troops - even for a limited mission - could pose significant political risks for Trump, given low support among the American public for the Iran campaign and Trump's own campaign promises to avoid entangling the US in new Middle East conflicts. 

Trump administration officials have also discussed the possibility of deploying US forces to secure Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium, one of the people familiar with the matter said. 

The sources did not believe a deployment of ground forces anywhere in Iran was imminent but declined to discuss specifics of US operational planning. Experts say the task of securing Iran's uranium stockpiles would be highly complex and risky, even for US special operations forces. 

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "There has been no decision to send ground troops at this time, but President Trump wisely keeps all options ⁠at his disposal. 

"The president is focused on achieving all of the defined objectives of Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran's ballistic missile ‌capacity, annihilate their navy, ensure their terrorist proxies cannot destabilize the region, and guarantee that Iran can ‌never possess a nuclear weapon." 

Asked on Thursday whether he intended to put more troops in the region, Trump told reporters that he was not putting troops "anywhere," but that ‌if he was going to, he would not tell journalists. 

The Pentagon declined to comment. 

The discussions come as the US military continues to attack Iran's navy, its ‌missile and drone stockpiles and its defense industry. 

The US has carried out more than 7,800 strikes since launching the war on February 28 and damaged or destroyed more than 120 Iranian vessels so far, according to a factsheet released on Wednesday by the US Central Command, which oversees the roughly 50,000 US troops in the Middle East. 

US CASUALTIES 

Trump has said his goals go beyond degrading Iran's military capabilities and could include securing safe passage through the Strait and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 

Ground forces could help broaden ‌his options to address those goals, but carry significant risk. Even without any direct conflict in Iran, 13 US troops have been killed so far in the war and about 200 have been wounded, although the vast ⁠majority of the injuries have been minor, ⁠the US military says. 

For years, Trump has railed against his predecessors for getting involved in conflicts and has vowed to keep the United States out of foreign wars. But more recently he has refused to rule out the possibility of "boots on the ground" in Iran. 

A senior White House official told Reuters that Trump has various options for acquiring Iran's nuclear material but has not decided how to proceed. "Certainly there are ways in which it could be acquired," the official said, adding: "He hasn't made a decision yet." 

In written testimony to lawmakers on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Iran's nuclear enrichment program had been obliterated by strikes in June and the entrances to those underground facilities had been "buried and shuttered with cement." 

The sources said the discussions on US reinforcements go beyond the arrival of an Amphibious Ready Group next week in the Middle East, with an attached Marine Expeditionary Unit that includes more than 2,000 Marines. 

But one of the sources noted that the US military was losing a significant number of forces with the decision to send the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to Greece for maintenance after a fire on board the vessel. 

Trump has also oscillated on whether the US should secure the Strait of Hormuz. 

After initially saying the US Navy could escort vessels, he called on other countries to help open the key water way. Trump on Wednesday also mused about simply leaving. 

"I wonder what would happen if we 'finished off' what's left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don't, be responsible for the so called 'Strait?,'" Trump posted on Truth Social. 


Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion in Additional Funds for the Iran War

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
TT

Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion in Additional Funds for the Iran War

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a senior administration official says.

The department sent the request to the White House, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information.

It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts bill, The AP news reported.

Congress is bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. It is unclear the spending request would have support.

The new funding request was first reported by The Washington Post. Asked about the figure at a press conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the figure, saying it could change. But he said “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to to ensure that we’re properly funded.”

“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.