LIVE: Turkey-operated oil tanker attacked in Black Sea: Transport minister

This live blog follows updates for Day 27 of the US-Israeli war on Iran. For a recap of Day 26, go here.

• Turkey-operated oil tanker attacked in Black Sea: Transport minister 
• Israeli soldier killed in south Lebanon fighting: Military
• Israel strikes Iran as Trump says Tehran wants deal to end war
• Israel says air defenses responding to Iranian missiles
• China says 'glimmer of hope' on Iran war talks

Turkey-operated oil tanker attacked in Black Sea: Transport minister 

Published: March 26, 2026 | 08:28 GMT

A Turkish-operated oil tanker was attacked early Thursday in the Black Sea, possibly by an unmanned surface vehicle, Turkey's transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.

"I can say that a foreign-flagged ship operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported an explosion in its engine room after midnight to our emergency call center," the minister said in a televised interview.

"We believe that the engine room was specifically targeted. We think the attack was not carried out by a drone, but by an unmanned surface vehicle at water level."

The minister would not specify if the attack on the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker happened in Turkish waters but local media reported that it took place less than 30 kilometers from the Bosphorus Strait.

"It appears to be an externally caused explosion, particularly directed at the engine room, with the aim of completely disabling the ship," Uraloglu said.

"We have sent the necessary units to the scene and are monitoring the situation," he added.

Israeli soldier killed in south Lebanon fighting: Military

Published: March 26, 2026 | 08:28 GMT

An Israeli soldier was killed in fighting in south Lebanon on Thursday, the military said, after the army announced it was conducting ground operations against Hezbollah.

"Staff sergeant Ori Greenberg, aged 21, from Petah Tikva, a soldier of the Reconnaissance unit, Golani Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon," the military said.

In total, three Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in south Lebanon since Hezbollah drew the country into war by launching rocket attacks against Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.

Israel medics say Iranian missile attack leaves 6 wounded

Published: March 26, 2026 | 07:15 GMT

The Israeli military said air defenses responded to missile attacks from Iran on Thursday that according to medics left six people lightly wounded and caused some damage.

A spokesperson for Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said paramedics were providing medical treatment to "six people who were lightly injured by blast effects", updating an earlier toll of two injured.

Earlier on Thursday, a spokesperson for MDA told public radio there was damage to several houses in the central city of Kafr Qassem, whose Mayor Haitham Taha said it was caused by cluster munitions.

The military said Home Front Command rescuers were called to an impact site "in central Israel".

Israel strikes Iran as Trump says Tehran wants deal to end war

Published: March 26, 2026 | 06:47 GMT

Israel launched strikes across Iran on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump said Tehran wanted a deal to end the nearly four-week war despite its top diplomat rejecting any talks with Washington.

The conflict has mushroomed to draw in nations around the Middle East, sending energy markets into a tailspin and threatening to torpedo the global economy.

Iran, under near-daily bombardment since a joint US-Israeli attack started the war on Feb. 28, was hit early Thursday by what the Israeli army said was "a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure", including in the central city of Isfahan.

In turn, an Iranian missile attack activated sirens across central Israel including Tel Aviv and parts of Jerusalem on Thursday morning, according to the Israeli military, the first launches it identified from Iran in more than 14 hours.

"They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly," Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.

"But they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," he said. "They're also afraid they'll be killed by us."

The Islamic republic's top diplomat slapped down Trump's comments, saying the country did not intend to negotiate.

"We seek an end to the war on our own terms, of course, and in a way that it will not be repeated here again," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV.

Pakistan has passed on a 15-point US plan to stop the fighting to Tehran, two officials in Islamabad said.

But Iran's state-controlled Press TV cited an unidentified official saying Tehran had "responded negatively" to the proposal.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump "does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell" on Iran if no deal is struck.

China's top diplomat Wang Yi, meanwhile, said Thursday that signs both sides could be open to talks offered a "glimmer of hope" for peace.

Israel says air defenses responding to Iranian missiles

Published: March 26, 2026 | 06:47 GMT

The Israeli military said air defenses were responding to missile attacks from Iran on Thursday, with sirens activated across central Israel, parts of Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

In two separate statements about 20 minutes apart, the military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel".

"Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the statements said.

After the first attack, the military said people were "now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas of the country".

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said there were no reports of casualties.

The attacks came more than 14 hours after the military had previously announced incoming missiles from Iran.

China says 'glimmer of hope' on Iran war talks

Published: March 26, 2026 | 04:28 GMT

China's top diplomat has said that a "glimmer of hope" for peace has emerged due to moves to stop the US-Israeli war on Iran, despite Tehran vowing to keep fighting.

China's foreign minister Wang Yi urged dialogue in separate calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, suggesting that both Tehran and Washington had shown signals they were willing to return to the negotiating table.

"With both the United States and Iran signaling a willingness to negotiate, a glimmer of hope for peace has emerged," Wang told Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, according to a Beijing readout published late Wednesday.

Iran wants war to end 'on our own terms,' guarantee of no repeat: FM

Published: March 26, 2026 | 03:28 GMT

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran wanted to the end the war on its own terms and in a way that ensured no further war.

"We seek an end to the war on our own terms, of course, and in a way that it will not be repeated here again," he told state TV.

Trump says Iran negotiators fear being 'killed by own people'

Published: March 26, 2026 | 00:01GMT

US President Donald Trump insisted that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran's denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.

"They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.

Israel military says carried out 'wide-scale' strikes in Iran

Published: March 26, 2026 | 02:28 GMT

Israel's military said Thursday its forces had carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including in the central city of Isfahan.

A brief military statement said Israeli forces "completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in several areas across Iran."

Australia bans visitors from Iran

Published: March 26, 2026 | 01:15GMT

Australia banned visitors from Iran, saying war in the Middle East increased the risk they would refuse to fly home once their short-term visas expired.

For the next six months, people travelling on Iranian passports will be barred from visiting Australia for tourism or work, the Home Affairs department said.

"The conflict in Iran has increased the risk that some temporary visa holders may be unable or unlikely to depart Australia when their visas expire," it said in a statement.

Some exceptions would be made on a case-by-case basis, the department added, such as for the parents of Australian citizens.

"There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran, which may not have been issued if they were applied for now," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

"Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who booked a holiday."

More than 85,000 Australian residents were born in Iran, according to government figures, with vibrant diaspora communities found in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.

US says two-thirds of Iranian missile, drone production capacity hit

Published: March 26, 2026 | 00:36GMT

The United States has hit two-thirds of Iran's production facilities for missiles and drones, and a similar proportion of its naval production, a top officer said.

In a video posted on X, Admiral Brad Cooper, head of Central Command, also estimated that 92 percent of the Iranian navy's largest vessels had been damaged or destroyed.

"And my operational assessment is that they've now lost the ability to meaningfully project naval power and influence around the region and around the world."

With the war now in its fourth week, he added that "we remain on plan or ahead of plan in achieving very clear objectives" for the war launched with Israel.

"We have damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran's missile, drone, and naval production facilities and shipyards, and we're not done yet," he said, adding that US forces had now struck over 10,000 military targets.