Tel Aviv/Washington: Iran said on Sunday it would strike the energy and water systems of its Gulf neighbours in retaliation if US President Donald Trump follows through with a threat to hit Iran’s electricity grid in 48 hours, escalating the three-week-old war.The prospect of tit-for-tat strikes on civilian infrastructure could deepen the regional crisis and rattle global markets when they reopen on Monday morning.Air raid sirens sounded across Israel from the early hours of Sunday, warning of incoming missiles from Iran, after scores of people were hurt overnight in two separate attacks in the southern Israeli towns of Arad and Dimona.The Israeli military said hours later that it was striking Tehran in response.Trump threatened overnight to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, barely a day after he talked about “winding down” the war. He made the new threat as US Marines and heavy landing craft are heading to the region.But while attacks on electricity could hurt Iran, they would be potentially catastrophic for its Gulf neighbours, which consume around five times as much power per capita. Electricity makes their gleaming desert cities habitable, and most of them produce nearly all of their drinking water by purifying it from the sea.Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf wrote on X that critical infrastructure and energy facilities in the Middle East could be “irreversibly destroyed” should Iranian power plants be attacked.Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards said it would also mean the shipping lane where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally transits along Iran’s southern coast would remain shut.“The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will not be opened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” the Guards said in a statement. ReutersHezbollah strike on northern Israel claims first fatality thereMarch 22, 2026 9:01 pmThe Israeli civilian was killed in the northern town of Misgav Am in what Israel’s military said “seemed to be” a rocket attack. Hezbollah launched strikes on Israel soon after the war began, calling it retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel then targeted Hezbollah in deadly airstrikes and expanded its ground presence in southern Lebanon.Iran says strikes hit hospital in AndimeshkMarch 22, 2026 9:00 pmIran said strikes hit a hospital in Andimeshk. Its health ministry said patients and doctors were evacuated to another city. Iran’s death toll in the war has surpassed 1,500, state media reported on Saturday, citing the ministry. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. More than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have been killed in strikes.Turkey discusses steps to end war with Iran, US, EU, Egypt in callsMarch 22, 2026 7:06 pmTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed steps to end the war between Iran, the United States and Israel with counterparts from Iran and Egypt, as well as U.S. officials and the European Union, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Sunday. The source said Fidan had held separate calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and U.S. officials, without elaborating further.International law bars targeting purely civilian targets like power plants, says expertMarch 22, 2026 7:04 pmRachel VanLandingham, a professor at Southwestern Law School, says plants that are confirmed to be dual-use — meaning they also benefit the military — can be targeted only if the strategic advantage outweighs the harm it causes to civilians. Causing excessive suffering to civilians makes it a war crime under international law, said VanLandingham, a retired lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force who served chief legal adviser for international law at US Central Command.Netanyahu doesn’t say whether Israel will strike Iran’s energy gridMarch 22, 2026 7:04 pmIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was noncommittal when asked about Trump’s threats to strike Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz isn’t opened, and whether Israel would join. “I think President Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. And whatever we do we do together and as far as possible in confidence,” Netanyahu Israeli prime minister said Sunday.’Not be dragged into war but will protect our own interests’: UK MP rejects Trump’s 48-hour deadline to IranMarch 22, 2026 5:52 pmUK Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed on Sunday said that the United Kingdom will not be drawn into the conflict involving Iran in West Asia; however, it will remain committed to safeguarding its national and regional interests. Responding to questions by Jattvibe over US President Donald Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum to Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Secretary of State said the British government’s focus remains on security and de-escalation as the conflict, which started on February 28, escalates.Saudi air defences intercept missiles, dronesMarch 22, 2026 3:19 pmDubai: Air defences early on Sunday tracked the launch of three ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, intercepting one, while the other two fell in an uninhabited area, according to the Defence Ministry. The ministry said it downed six drones headed towards the kingdom’s eastern region, one of its least densely populated areas near Iran and home to major oil installations. No casualties or damage were immediately reported. APSri Lanka increases fuel prices by about 25 per centMarch 22, 2026 3:17 pmDubai: The government said the decision was made due to soaring global oil prices and as the country’s stocks have depleted due to panic buying in recent weeks. With the latest increase, the second in two weeks, local fuel prices have gone up by about one-third since the war in the Middle East started. The island nation has taken up other measures including strict fuel rationing system and closing of schools, universities and government offices on all Wednesdays. Long lines of vehicles still persist at fuel stations across the country. APIsraeli military says Iran has fired a new missile barrage towards IsraelMarch 22, 2026 3:01 pmDubai: Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is visiting the southern town of Arad, where dozens of people were hurt by a missile strike overnight. The hard-line national security minister says Israel is waging a “historic battle” against Iran and that it must “continue until victory”. APHealth Ministry says patients evacuated from heavily damaged Iranian hospitalMarch 22, 2026 2:59 pmDubai: Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour says the evacuations from the Imam Ali Hospital in the southwestern city of Andimeshk came after an airstrike a day earlier. “Suffering patients in the city of Andimeshk were forced to leave the only hospital in the city,” Kermanpour wrote on X. He posted images showing a hospital ward with a partially collapsed ceiling, a corridor with broken glass, and debris scattered across the floor. Kermanpour said the patients have been evacuated to another city. APQatar confirms 6 dead in helicopter crash off its coastMarch 22, 2026 2:59 pmDubai: The Qatari Interior Ministry said one person is still missing from the crash on Saturday in the Persian Gulf country’s territorial waters. A ministry statement on Sunday didn’t clarify the nationality of the dead or say if they were civilian or military. The Defence Ministry blamed a “technical malfunction” for the crash. APProjectile hits close to a vessel off UAE coastMarch 22, 2026 11:05 amCairo: A projectile struck close to a bulk carrier off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, causing an explosion, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said early on Sunday. The attack occurred about 15 nautical miles north of Sharjah in the UAE. The UKMTO said the ship’s crew was safe. APSaudi air defenses intercept missiles, dronesMarch 22, 2026 11:04 amCairo: Air defences early on Sunday tracked the launch of three ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, intercepting one, while the other two fell in an uninhabited area, according to the Defence Ministry. The ministry said it downed six drones headed towards the kingdom’s eastern region, one of its least densely populated areas near Iran and home to major oil installations. No casualties or damage were immediately reported. APIsraeli troops and Hezbollah militants clash in LebanonMarch 22, 2026 10:13 amCairo: Israel’s military said it was conducting a “targeted ground operation” in southern Lebanon and at least four militants were killed. Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with troops in the southern village of Khiam. Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government. Hezbollah’s civilian assets also have been targeted. APGlobal pressure increases to get shipping back on trackMarch 22, 2026 10:11 amCairo: As Iran threatens shipping on the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates joined 21 other countries including the UK, Germany, France and Japan in expressing “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage”. The Trump administration announced it was temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil that was already loaded on ships as of Friday, but that does not increase oil production, a central factor in surging prices. The oil ministry of Iran, which has evaded sanctions for years, replied that it “essentially has no crude oil left in floating storage”. APUS can use Diego Garcia base to protect Strait of HormuzMarch 22, 2026 10:11 amCairo: UK officials did not give details of the strike that targeted the Diego Garcia base on Friday, which was unsuccessful. Britain’s Ministry of Defence described Iran as “lashing out across the region”. It’s unclear how close the missiles came to the island. Iran previously asserted that it has limited its missile range to below 2,000 kilometres. But military experts said Iran may have used its space launch vehicle for an improvised firing. “If you’ve got a space program, you’ve got a ballistic missile program,” said Steve Prest, a retired Royal Navy commodore. APIsrael had denied responsibility for attack on NatanzMarch 22, 2026 10:09 amCairo: Israel on Saturday denied responsibility for the strike on the Natanz nuclear facility, nearly 220 kilometres southeast of Tehran. The Iranian judiciary’s official news agency, Mizan, said there was no leakage. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said the bulk of Iran’s estimated 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium is elsewhere, beneath the rubble at its Isfahan facility. It said on X it was looking into the strike. The Pentagon declined to comment on the strike on Natanz, which was also hit in the first week of the war and in the 12-day war last June. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said such strikes posed a “real risk of catastrophic disaster throughout the Middle East”. Iran retaliated hours later. APA dangerous new direction in the warMarch 22, 2026 8:55 amCairo: “The war is not close to ending,” Israel’s army chief, Gen Eyal Zamir, said. Iran also targeted the joint UK-US Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean about 2,500 miles away, suggesting that Tehran has missiles that can go farther than previously acknowledged – or that it had used its space program for an improvised launch. The US and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran’s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs and its support for armed proxies. There have been no signs of an uprising, while internet restrictions limit information from Iran. The war’s effects are felt far beyond the Middle East, raising food and fuel prices. AP