Israel to ‘intensify’ strikes on Iran, says defence minister

The Guardian -March27th2026

Tom Ambrose (now); Morgan Ofori and Adam Fulton (earlier)

Israel are to step up strikes against Iran as a result of its continued missile fire, says Israel Katz, warning the Islamic republic would pay a “heavy price”.

“Despite the warnings, the firing continues – consequently, IDF strikes in Iran will intensify and expand to other targets in sectors that help the regime develop and use military means against Israeli civilians. They will pay a heavy price, an increasingly heavy one, for this war crime,” Katz said in a video released by his office.

According to Reuters, more than 1,900 people have been killed and at least 20,000 injured in Iran since the start of U.S. and Israeli attacks, said Maria Martinez of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on Friday, citing figures provided by the Iranian Red Crescent.

Martinez said the Iranian Red Crescent continues to serve as the only nationwide humanitarian organization operating across the country amidst the escalating conflict.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid warned last night his country’s government for the first time that the war was taking too high a toll.

“The IDF is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield,” Lapid said, echoing a warning delivered a day earlier by military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.

“The government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers,” Lapid said.

EU energy ministers to hold extraordinary videocall on Iran war

European Union countries’ energy ministers will hold an extraordinary videocall on Tuesday, on the Iran war’s impact on European energy security of supply, a spokesperson for Cyprus’ EU presidency said on Friday.

Cyprus holds the EU’s rotating presidency and chairs meetings of EU countries.

From Wall Street to the White House, the dish everyone’s talking about this week is the Persian Taco. It’s what’s served when Trump chickens out in Iran.

In the early hours of Monday morning, witnessing oil prices surge, stock futures plummet and bond yields climb due to his threat to pummel Iran’s civilian power infrastructure, the president hurriedly walked it back, announcing he would put off the bombing because talks with Iran were actually going great. After the bombast and bloodshed, it was time for Taco (Trump Always Chickens Out)

US can only confirm about a third of Iran’s missile arsenal destroyed, sources say

Reuters report that the United States can only determine with certainty that it has destroyed about a third of Iran’s vast missile arsenal, according to US intelligence sources.

The status of around another third is less clear but bombings likely damaged, destroyed or buried those missiles in underground tunnels and bunkers, the sources said.

One of the sources said the intelligence was similar for Iran’s drone capability, saying there was some degree of certainty about a third having been destroyed.

The assessment, shows that while most of Iran’s missiles are either destroyed or inaccessible, Tehran still has a significant missile inventory and may be able to recover some buried or damaged missiles once fighting stops.

Donald Trump’s had said on Thursday that Iran had “very few rockets left”.