CAIRO, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict entered its 26th day on Wednesday, with the U.S.-proposed 15-point ceasefire plan dismissed by Iran as excessive and detached from battlefield realities. Military strikes continued across the region, dashing the hope of a swift de-escalation.
The following is an overview of the latest developments in the escalating crisis affecting much of the region and beyond.
The United States
-- The United States and Israel believe that the conflict with Iran could continue for another two to three weeks, Axios reported, citing unnamed U.S. and Israeli officials. Axios added that U.S. President Donald Trump reserves the options for both diplomacy and further military escalation to make decisions based on the developments.
-- About 59 percent of Americans believe the recent U.S. military action against Iran has been excessive, according to a new poll from The Associated Press (AP)-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Meanwhile, 45 percent are "extremely" or "very" concerned about being able to afford gas in the next few months, up from 30 percent in a previous AP-NORC poll.
-- Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, according to Tuesday reports.
Israel
-- The Israeli military said it has completed two waves of large-scale airstrikes targeting government sites in Tehran. It also said that it struck and significantly damaged a research and development facility for submarines and underwater systems in Iran's Isfahan on Tuesday.
-- Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel has dropped over 15,000 munitions on Iran since the start of the nearly month-long conflict, about four times the number used in the Israel-Iran war last summer.
-- Israel continued to pound Lebanon with overnight airstrikes, attacking additional gas stations and a building it described as a Hezbollah command center in Beirut's southern suburb.
-- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is creating an expanded buffer zone in southern Lebanon to push Hezbollah forces further from the border.
-- A missile fired from Iran on Wednesday evaded Israel's air defense systems and struck the city of Dimona, near which Israel's main nuclear facility and reactor are located, state-owned Kan TV reported. The Magen David Adom ambulance service reported no injuries.
Iran
-- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that different messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States through intermediaries over the past few days, while Tehran has held no talks with Washington since the beginning of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country late last month.
-- Iran has reviewed a U.S.-proposed 15-point plan on ending the Middle East war, and sees it as "excessive and disconnected from the realities on the battlefield," Iran's state-run Press TV reported.
-- Press TV said a senior political-security official familiar with the matter listed Iran's five conditions for ending the war: a complete end to aggression and assassinations by the United States and Israel; guaranteed mechanisms to prevent future attacks; guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages; stopping the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved in West Asia; and recognizing Iran's sovereign right over the Strait of Hormuz.
-- Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman of Iran's main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, rejected any negotiations with the United States, stressing that the country will not come to terms with the U.S. government, according to the official news agency IRNA.
-- Iran could open another battlefront against the United States in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. "If the enemy seeks to take any action on the ground in Iranian islands or any other location in our lands, or inflict any cost on Iran through naval movements in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, we will open other battlefront against it as a surprise so that its actions will not only fail to be beneficial, but will also double its costs," Tasnim quoted a military source as saying.
-- The Iranian military said it fired several cruise missiles from Iran's southern coast at the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, some of which struck the warship and "forced it to change its position." The army also said its Navy's air defense struck a U.S. F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet in the country's southeastern airspace.
-- Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on social media that intelligence suggests "enemies" are planning to occupy an Iranian island with support from an unnamed regional country.
Iraq
-- Iraq's Ministry of Defense said a military clinic in western Anbar province was struck by an airstrike in the morning, leaving seven soldiers dead and 13 others wounded. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has instructed the foreign ministry to summon the U.S. charge d'affaires in Baghdad in this regard. Iraq also said it will submit a formal complaint to the UN over recent strikes in its territory.
-- The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced another 72-hour extension of the country's airspace closure to all arriving, departing, and overflying aircraft, citing ongoing security concerns.
Kuwait
-- Kuwaiti authorities said air defenses have intercepted multiple hostile drones and missiles, while a fuel depot at Kuwait International Airport was struck in an attack that caused a fire but no casualties.
The United Arab Emirates
-- The UAE Ministry of Defense said that its air defenses intercepted nine drones launched from Iran.
Saudi Arabia
-- Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud received a phone call from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during which the two sides discussed regional security developments and their impacts on regional and global peace and economy, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Jordan
-- The Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) said that Iran launched five missiles and one drone targeting Jordan over the past 24 hours. One missile evaded defense systems, and the others were intercepted.
No casualties were reported, according to authorities. The Public Security Directorate said that it handled 15 reports of falling debris and missiles during the same period, with only material damage recorded.
Lebanon
-- UN humanitarians said Tuesday that new mass displacement orders for several Beirut neighborhoods preceded seven overnight airstrikes on the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs.
-- Naim Qassem, secretary-general of Hezbollah, said that the group will continue what he described as a "defensive battle" against Israel, urging national unity and rejecting calls to disarm amid ongoing hostilities.
Cyprus
-- Cyprus is demanding new and improved British security guarantees following an allegedly Iranian drone attack on March 1 targeting one of the two British military bases on the island, The Telegraph newspaper reported.
Türkiye
-- Türkiye's energy dependence on the Strait of Hormuz is at a manageable 10 percent for oil and zero for natural gas, and the country has no need for emergency rationing, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, downplaying fears of supply disruptions amid escalating regional tensions.
Egypt
-- The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the country delivered nearly 1,000 tons of aid, including food, blankets, shelters, tools, and medical equipment and medicine, to Beirut on Tuesday through a ship.
It condemned the repeated Israeli incursions into Lebanese territories as a clear violation of international law.
-- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he cannot elaborate on the U.S.-proposed 15-point plan, but assured ongoing efforts among Egypt, Pakistan and Türkiye, as well as other regional and global partners. Abdelatty said Egypt is ready to host any meetings related to the conflict as long as it serves de-escalation.
-- Abdelatty, during his phone calls with his Saudi and Bahraini counterparts, also reiterated "Egypt's full solidarity" with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in confronting any Iranian attacks or threats that affect their security and sovereignty, adding the security of Gulf states is "an integral part of Egypt's national security."
Britain
-- According to several British media reports, Britain and France will host talks of about 30 countries this week to set up a coalition mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Germany
-- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government may be able to do some things to balance the energy shock from the Iran war, but public finances could not make up for price rises in every area.
-- German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul welcomed Trump's pursuit of negotiations to end the war with Iran and said he hopes the talks would be given a chance to succeed. ■
