Lucy Campbell (now); Fran Lawther, Matty Edwards, Tom Ambrose, Yohannes Lowe , Vicky Graham and Adam Fulton (earlier)

March 16, 2026

Middle East crisis live: Trump vents frustration with allies over strait of Hormuz; Iran denies report of direct contact with US | US-Israel war on Iran

www.theguardian.com

Trump says he is ‘not happy’ with UK and ‘very surprised’ by its response to Iran war

Donald Trump has said he was “not happy” with the UK and “very surprised” over its response to the Iran war.

The US president said the UK had turned down a request to send ships over to the Middle East, and suggested that a later offer to send aircraft carriers came too late.

“I think they’ll be involved maybe,” he said. “But they should be involved enthusiastically.”

However, Trump, speaking at a White House event, said he had spoken to French president Emmanuel Macron, who he said was willing to help unblock the strait of Hormuz.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio is expected to announce the names of the countries willing to aid the United States.

At the same press conference, Trump repeated his call to other countries to help reopen shipping traffic in the strait, saying some countries told him they were on the way and others were “not that enthusiastic” about helping.

The US president wants nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to US-Israeli attacks by using drones, missiles and mines to effectively close the channel for tankers that usually transport a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.

Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t. Some are countries that we’ve helped for many, many years. We’ve protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren’t that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me.

Key events

Operations at the Shah oil and gas field are suspended following a fire that broke out due a drone attack, Abu Dhabi officials announced on X.

“Abu Dhabi authorities and relevant response teams have contained and brought under control a fire that broke out at Shah gas field, caused by a drone attack,” the statement said. “Operations at the facility have been suspended while damage is assessed, and no injuries have been reported.”

No injuries reported after drone hits hotel in Baghdad

We have more now from Iraq’s interior ministry, which said that a drone hit a hotel in Baghdad without causing casualties or material damages on Monday.

Security sources earlier told Reuters a drone hit Al-Rasheed hotel in the Green Zone, which houses governmental buildings and the US embassy, as fire and smoke were seen rising.

After examination, it was determined a drone had collided with the hotel’s upper fence, the ministry said, condemning any attempts to target diplomatic envoys in the country.

Security sources had also earlier told Reuters that two Katyusha rockets were fired at the US embassy in Baghdad.

The day so far

Donald Trump said he will “soon” announce countries that have agreed to help the US reopen the strait of Hormuz, as he criticised his many allies, including Nato and the UK, that have so far declined to get involved. He told reporters in the Oval Office that South Korea, Japan, and China, should be helping the US. He warned that Nato faced a “very bad” future if it didn’t help and said he was “not happy” with the UK.
Meanwhile, allies responded by saying “this is not Nato war”, with the EU insisting it has “no appetite” to expand its naval mission to the strait of Hormuz. German chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier said this war “is not a matter for Nato”, while Nato said “allies have already stepped up to provide additional security in the Mediterranean”. The UK prime minister Keir Starmer had earlier resisted Trump’s call to send warships to the strait, saying the UK “will not be drawn into a wider war” but was working “with allies” on a plan to reopen the strait.
Trump also said the war would be “wrapped up” soon, saying it wouldn’t be this week but “it won’t be long”. He also suggested he would delay his upcoming trip to China, which was scheduled for the end of March, by “a month or so”. His administration has insisted that this was not to pressure Beijing to help reopen the strait of Hormuz.
US vice-president JD Vance deflected and attacked the media when he was asked if he supports Trump’s war on Iran, given his prior criticisms of open-ended US foreign interventionism. It followed US media reports that he had privately expressed scepticism and counselled Trump against striking Iran. Vance accused the media of trying to “drive a wedge” between him and his president, and repeated Trump’s claim that Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon. “I trust President Trump to get the job done,” he said.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi denied recent contact with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, and said their last contact was prior to the US attack on Iran. He wrote on X: “My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran. Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public.” It followed an Axios report that a direct communications channel between Witkoff and Araghchi had been reactivated in recent days, with Araghchi attempting to engage with Witkoff about ending the war.
The leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy issued a joint statement expressing “grave concern” after Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon. They called for meaningful engagement by Israeli and Lebanese representatives to negotiate a sustainable political solution. A significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences, they warned, adding that it could lead to a protracted conflict with “devastating humanitarian consequences”.
Earlier on Monday, the IDF had said its troops had begun what it described as “⁠limited and targeted” ⁠ground operations – a ground invasion – against ‌Hezbollah strongholds in ‌southern Lebanon, and told hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians they cannot return to their homes.
It comes as the latest reports indicate that Israeli strikes have killed at least 850 people in Lebanon, including at least 107 children, and have left more than a million displaced.
Elsewhere, explosions were reported in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the highly secure section of the Iraqi capital that is home to diplomatic missions including the US embassy, and international organisations.
Operations at the UAE’s Shah gas and oil field are suspended after a fire that broke out due a drone attack. Abu Dhabi authorities said on Monday night that the fire had been brought under control.
Qatar said it intercepted a second wave of missiles from Iran following an attack earlier on Monday.

Trump says he’ll ‘soon’ announce nations helping with strait of Hormuz

The US president said he would “soon” announce countries that have agreed to help the US reopen the strait of Hormuz amid rising global oil prices, as he acknowledged that many allies have so far declined to do so.

He told reporters in the Oval Office:

There are a couple, we’ll be announcing some names soon There are some that really were right up front.

Trump added that nations like Japan, South Korea, and China – which get much of their oil through the key waterway – “should be thanking me”.

And they should be not only thanking us, they should be helping us. What does surprise me is that they’re not eager.

Trump says war will be ‘wrapped up soon’

Donald Trump also claimed his war with Iran would be “wrapped up soon”.

Asked if the US could finish the war this week, Trump was vague, telling reporters:

I don’t think so. But it’ll be soon. Won’t be long. We’re gonna have a much safer world when it’s wrapped up. It’ll be wrapped up soon.

Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Iran’s Araghchi denies recent contact with US envoy

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has said that his last contact with US special envoy Steve Witkoff was prior to the US attack on Iran.

He wrote on X:

My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran. Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public.

It follows an Axios report that a direct communications channel between Witkoff and Araghchi had been reactivated in recent days, with Araghchi attempting to engage with Witkoff about ending the war.

Robert Mackey

Donald Trump also suggested that, despite all evidence to the contrary, that Iran’s retaliation against neighbouring states that host US military bases was a surprise, and that Tehran was not only close to having nuclear weapons, but planned to use them.

The president said that Iran’s leaders “unexpectedly started firing missiles” in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes this month and then claimed that Iran would use a nuclear weapon “within an hour if they get it”.

They wanted to take over the Middle East, and if I didn’t terminate Barack Hussein Obama’s horrible Iran nuclear deal, which I did in my first term, you would’ve had them have a nuclear weapon three years ago, maybe four years ago, they would’ve used it, blown up the Middle East and then they would’ve then come after us.

Trump’s comments are contradicted by the fact that the Iran nuclear deal explicitly prevented Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief, included strict international monitoring of its enrichment of uranium for energy or medical purposes, and was not between just the United States and Iran, but the entire world and Iran.

Non-proliferation experts have also pointed out that the logic for countries that do obtain nuclear weapons, like North Korea, is to ensure that they are not attacked by other nations, not that they would use the weapons in an attempt to conquer nations, like Israel and the US, that already have nuclear weapons.

Trump to delay trip to China because of Iran war

Donald Trump also suggested that his trip to China this month to meet with Xi Jinping could be delayed by “a month or so”.

We’re speaking to China. I would love to, but because of the war, I want to be here.

We have requested that we delay it a month or so, and I’m looking forward to meeting with him. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here. So it could be that we delay it a little bit, not much.

His press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier that the trip could be delayed. His treasury secretary Scott Bessent also cast doubt on the trip, but insisted this was not to pressure Beijing to help unblock the strait of Hormuz. He told CNBC:

We will see whether the visit takes place as scheduled. But what I do want to parse, and there’s a false narrative out there that if the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president’s demanded that China police the straits of Hormuz.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump said: “I think China should help too [to reopen the strait of Hormuz] because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits.”

Western leaders ‘gravely concerned’ as Israel launches ground invasion of Lebanon

The leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy have issued a joint statement expressing “grave concern” after Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on Monday.

They call for meaningful engagement by Israeli and Lebanese representatives to negotiate a sustainable political solution.

A significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences, they warn, adding that it could lead to a protracted conflict with “devastating humanitarian consequences”.

An extract from the statement reads:

Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel and the targeting of civilians must cease and they must disarm. We condemn Hezbollah’s decision to join Iran in hostilities, which further jeopardises regional peace and security.

We condemn attacks directed at civilians, civilian infrastructure, health workers and infrastructure, as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. These actions are unacceptable, and we call on all parties to act in accordance with international humanitarian law.

A significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences and could lead to a protracted conflict. It must be averted. The humanitarian situation in Lebanon, including ongoing mass displacement, is already deeply alarming.

Earlier, the IDF said its troops had begun what it described as “⁠limited and targeted” ⁠ground operations against ‌Hezbollah strongholds in ‌southern Lebanon.

The latest reports indicate that Israeli strikes have killed at least 850 people in Lebanon, including at least 107 children, and have left more than a million displaced.

We have more on this story here:

Vance deflects when asked if he’s ‘completely onboard’ with US war on Iran

Asked if he was “completely onboard” with the US-Israeli war on Iran – given his past scepticism of open-ended US military missions overseas – Vance told reporters he wants the operation to be as “successful as possible”.

Pressed on whether he had any hesitation on the current operation, Vance added:

We have a smart president, whereas in the past we have had dumb presidents, and I trust President Trump to get the job done.

It comes as a number of outlets have reported that Vance counselled Trump against launching strikes on Iran in the lead-up to Trump deciding to go to war.

The US vice-president also attacked the media, accusing the reporter who asked the question of “trying to drive a wedge” between him and Trump.

JD Vance and Donald Trump speak to reporters in the Oval Office. Photograph: Aaron Schwartz/EPA

Donald Trump has been speaking from the Oval Office as he takes part in a signing ceremony with his vice-president, JD Vance. I’ll bring you any relevant lines here.

Qatar intercepted Iranian missile and drone attack, defence ministry says

The Qatari defence ministry has said that it was attacked by Iranian missiles on Monday, though most of them were intercepted.

The attack involved 14 ballistic missiles and several drones, the defence ministry said, noting that 13 of the ballistic missiles were intercepted, as were all of the drones.

One missile landed in “ an uninhabited area without causing any losses”, the ministry said.

Iran and US have been in direct contact in recent days – report

A direct communications channel between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has been reactivated in recent days, Axios reports, citing a US official and a source with knowledge of the matter.

Per Axios’s report, it isn’t clear how substantive the messages passed between Araghchi and Witkoff were, but it’s the first known direct communication between the parties since the war started more than two weeks ago.

The US official and the source with knowledge told Axios that Araghchi sent text messages to Witkoff that focused on ending the war.

It comes after Drop Site News reported today that Witkoff had sent messages to Araghchi and quoted Iranian officials who claimed the Iranian foreign minister was ignoring his messages.

The US official told Axios it was Araghchi who was attempting to engage, but said the US “is not talking” to Iran. Neither of the sources spoke in detail about how many texts had been exchanged or about their content.

Donald Trump said earlier today that Iran had communicated with the US about reaching a deal.

“They want to make a deal. They are talking to our people … we have people wanting to negotiate, [but] we have no idea who they are,” the US president told reporters.

Here’s more on the explosion head in Iraq’s capital Baghdad – Agence France-Presse journalists report smoke was seen near the city’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

The zone houses the US embassy and other diplomatic missions, as well as international institutions and government offices. High-ranking officials and politicians also live there.

Explosion heard near US embassy in Baghdad, reports say

An explosion has been heard near the US embassy in Baghdad, Reuters reports.

The agency says a witness reported sirens being sounded in the Iraqi city.

We’ll bring you more details as we get them.

Drone strike causes fire at Abu Dhabi oil field, officials say

Authorities in Abu Dhabi have said they are dealing with a fire at the Shah oil and gas field caused by a drone attack and said that no injuries had been reported so far, per the Abu Dhabi media office.

The Shah field is one of the largest of its kind in the world and is located 230km southwest of the Emirati capital. It is operated by the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). According to ADNOC’s website, the field has a production capacity of around 70,000 barrels of oil per day.

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