Live: Israel says it will control bridges and area south of Lebanon’s Litani River

The Israeli army has said its soldiers killed four Hezbollah fighters in air and ground operations in southern Lebanon overnight.

In a statement on Telegram, the military also claimed that its air force had struck “a number of Hezbollah headquarters” in Beirut.

One officer has been killed in a drone strike on the Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad, the National Intelligence Service reported in a statement.

The statement said that the attack was conducted by "outlaw groups".

Earlier, the Iraqi News Agency reported that a drone had struck the headquarters, which is located in the Mansour district, at 10:15am local time.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers, here are the latest updates:

• Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the US-British military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, US media is reporting. According to reports, neither hit the base on the Chagos Islands.

• Meanwhile, a new wave of overnight Israeli strikes pummelled Tehran and Beirut. On Saturday morning, a US-Israeli attack struck Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. No leakage of radioactive materials was reported.

• US President Donald Trump on Friday ruled out a ceasefire with Iran. "You know you don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side," he told reporters.

• Later on Friday, however, he posted on his Truth Social account that the US is considering "winding down" operations against Iran, adding that other nations must step in to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

• The US has said it will temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian oil stranded at sea, in a bid to curb soaring energy prices.

• A drone strike struck the headquarters of Iraq's National Intelligence Service in Baghdad, Iraqi security sources are reporting.

Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the ‘Diego Garcia’ US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean but did not hit it, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing multiple US officials.

One of the missiles failed in flight, while a US warship fired an SM-3 interceptor at the other. It could not be determined if the interception succeeded, WJS said. 

The Journal did not specify when the missiles were fired.

Early on Saturday the Israeli military said it was striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanese capital Beirut.

A military spokesman earlier issued a warning to residents of Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate ahead of strikes.

Reporting by Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said early Saturday it downed 20 drones in just a couple of hours in the eastern region, one of the kingdom’s least dense regions but close to Iran and home to major oil installations. The ministry did not immediately report casualties or damage.

Israel said it detected a new missile launch from Iran targeting it early Saturday morning.

Iran has threatened to expand its retaliatory attacks to include recreational and tourist sites worldwide, Al Jazeera is reporting, citing Iran’s top military spokesman General Abolfazl Shekarchi. 

On Friday, Shekarchi warned “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide won’t be safe for the country’s enemies.

The threat renewed concerns Iran may revert to using asymmetric attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic.

Iran has stepped up its attacks on energy sites in Gulf Arab states after Israel bombed Iran’s massive South Pars offshore natural gasfield earlier in the week.

The United States on Friday gave a 30-day authorization for the delivery and sale of crude oil and petroleum products of Iranian-origin loaded vessels, according to the US Treasury Department.

President Donald Trump said on Friday the US was getting very close to meeting its objectives and called on countries that use the Strait of Hormuz to guard and police it "as necessary."

"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it - The United States does not!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated," he said.

Earlier this month, Elbridge Colby, a senior official in the US Department of War, held a call with Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, who is also the brother and top adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Iran’s attacks on US bases in the Gulf were heating up, and the US needed expanded access and overflight permissions. Saudi Arabia agreed to open King Fahd Air Base in Taif, in Western Saudi Arabia, to the Americans, multiple US and western officials familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye.

The base is important because it is farther from Iranian Shahed drones than Prince Sultan Air Base, which has come under repeated Iranian attacks. Taif is also close to Jeddah, the Red Sea port that has become a critical logistics hub since Iran effectively took control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Current and former US officials tell MEE that if the Trump administration is preparing for a longer war on Iran, Jeddah may be critical for sustaining US armed forces. Thousands of US ground troops are en route to the region from East Asia. 

Saudi Arabia’s decision to expand base access, current and former officials say, underscores a shift in how the kingdom and some other Gulf states are responding to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Read more: 'Punish Iran': Saudi Arabia and UAE inch closer to supporting US-Israeli war

The US Department of War has produced detailed plans involving the use of ground troops in the war on Iran, CBS News reported on Friday, citing unnamed officials.

The plans include options for the president in scenarios where Iranians are captured and detained, as well as how to handle paramilitary forces. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CBS that it's normal procedure for the Pentagon to ensure President Donald Trump has several options at his disposal, and that it "does not mean the president has made a decision" to deploy soldiers anywhere. 

A total of four warships and more than 4,000 US Marines have been ordered to the Middle East thus far, with the first set to arrive from the Pacific region in about a week. 

The administration's moves suggest this will be a protracted war, but the president has also been trying to make declarations that can, at least temporarily, calm volatile markets. 

Read more: US military readies plan for ground troops in Iran: Report

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the country will “exercise our legitimate right to self-defence” in response to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to allow the US to use UK bases to carry out strikes on Iranian missile sites targeting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on social media, Araghchi said “the vast majority of the British people” do not want to get involved in the US-Israel war on Iran.

Araghchi said by allowing UK bases to be “used for aggression against Iran”, Starmer is “putting British lives in danger” as “Iran will exercise its right to self-defence”.

Vast majority of the British People do not want any part in the Israel-U.S. war of choice on Iran.

Ignoring his own People, Mr. Starmer is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran. Iran will exercise its right to self-defense.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 20, 2026

While leaving the White House on Friday afternoon, Trump was asked about plans to have US forces further target Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, which is vital to Iran’s oil network.

“I may have a plan, I may not”, he responded, but said he wouldn’t tell reporters one way or the other.

“It’s certainly a place that people are talking about. But I can’t tell you that,” Trump added.

President Donald Trump on Friday replied "I think so" when asked if Israel would be ready to end the war on Iran once the US completed its military action.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has struck targets in Israel, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in attacks.

In a statement by state media, the IRGCS said it hit Tel Aviv, Acre and Haifa Bay, as well as Kuwait’s Ali al-Salem Air Base, and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base southeast of Riyadh.