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Fighting over Strait of Hormuz ramps up as Israel expands ground operation in Lebanon

Smoke and flames rise from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Qasmiyeh Bridge near the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon, Sunday, March 22, 2026.

Israeli forces expand operations on the ground in Lebanon. Source: AP / AAP

Missiles have struck Israel, as Israeli forces expand operations on the ground in Lebanon. The developments mark a significant widening of the war in the Middle East, raising fears of there being no end in sight. Meanwhile, the US is warning Iran about the risks involved, if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.


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TRANSCRIPT

Iran has warned it would close the Strait of Hormuz immediately, if the US attacks its power plants.

Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesman for Iran's military has threatened to target regional energy and desalination sites in retaliation.

He also says Iran would target Israel’s power plants as well as its IT infrastructure.

"If US threats regarding Iran’s power plants are carried out, the following punitive measures will be implemented immediately. The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and will remain closed until our damaged power plants are restored. All power plants, as well as the energy and information and communications technology infrastructure of the Zionist regime, will be extensively targeted. All similar companies in the region that have American shareholders will be completely destroyed."

Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened to obliterate Iranian power plants if the Strait was not reopened within 48 hours.

Shortly after, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN defended Mr Trump’s threat in a FOX News interview.

So what exactly will happen if they don't open up the Strait?

Mr Waltz says as the President announced, he will start by attacking and destroying one of Iran's largest power plants.

He says Iran's power plants are valid military targets.

"There are gas-fired thermal power plants and other type of plants. And I want to be clear here before there's, you know, kind of hand-wringing out in the international community. The IRGC [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]], which we've declared a terrorist organisation, along with many European countries, control much of Iran's economy, control its critical infrastructure, and continue to power what's left of its war effort through this control of its critical infrastructures."

In a statement, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the full return of security and lasting stability to this Strait requires an end to military aggression and the cessation of threats, a cessation of the destabilising actions of the US and Zionist regimes, and full respect for Iran’s legitimate interests.

But why is the Strait important?

The war in the Middle East has largely shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 per cent of global oil and liquified natural gas flow.

According to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration, in 2025, about 20 million barrels of oil moved through Hormuz each day.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Mr Trump is using the only language the Iranians understand.

In an interview with NBC News' Meet the Press, he says the US President will take whatever steps it takes to achieve his goals with the war in the Middle East.

He also defended the US strikes on Iran's Kharg Island - which processes 90 percent of Iran's oil export - saying sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate.

"He (US President Donald Trump) is leaving all options on the table. We had a very successful bombing campaign against the military installations at Kharg Island, the nexus for all the Iranian oil supply. What could happen with Kharg Island? We'll see. And again, just to be clear, the command and control system of the Iranian regime is in chaos. This is Hitler's bunker. Hitler is dead. Himmler is dead, Goring is dead."

In Israel, air raid sirens could be heard over the weekend, warning of incoming missiles from Iran..

Scores of people were hurt overnight in two separate attacks.

Israeli authorities have reported Iran's missile attacks injured 175 people in Israel's southern cities of Arad and Dimona - close to a nuclear facility.

Police spokesman Dean Elsdunne says rescuers were still searching for victims from residential buildings in Arad.

"The forces need to go floor to floor to make sure that there's nobody remaining underneath any of this rubble. Also, the Israel police bomb disposal unit arrived here, and they had to clear the site of any dangerous debris from unexploded ordinances or things of that sort."

The spokesman for the IDF, Adam Ittah describes the size of the missile.

"So the missile size is, what we appraise, is about half a ton. It's a missile that we didn't intercept. We have a great air defense system, but nothing is 100 percent."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited Dimona and Arad after the destruction.

He's now calling on the international community to join Israel and the US in the war against Iran.

Mr Netanyahu says missile attacks on Israeli cities, near Jerusalem's holy sites and on the Indian Ocean air base on Diego Garcia, along with the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are evidence Iran is a threat to the world.

He says he believes Israel and the US are taking the right course of action.

"Israel and the United States are working together for the entire world. And it's time to see the leaders of the rest of the countries join up. I'm happy to say that I can see some of them beginning to move in that direction, but more is needed. President Trump's call to have the international community confront this terrorist, fanatic regime of zealots, that is a call not only for the security of America and the security of Israel, it's for the security of the entire world. And it's time for them to act."

Meanwhile, Lebanon's President, Joseph Aoun, says Israel's latest strikes indicate a full ground invasion could be imminent.

This, as Israel's military announced it had begun "a wide wave of strikes" against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says Israel's strategy aligns with how Israel carried out its devastating military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have ordered the IDF to immediately destroy all bridges over the Litani River that are used for terrorist activity, in order to prevent the passage of Hezbollah terrorists and weapons south, and in addition to this, to accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes in the contact villages in order to thwart threats to Israeli communities, in accordance with the Beit Hanoun and Rafah models in Gaza."

Mr Aoun says Israel's targeting of bridges over the Litani River is an attempt to sever the geographical link between the area south of the Litani and the rest of Lebanon's territory.

More than a million people from southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut's southern suburbs have been displaced.

Michael Merhi is among them.

"We left Tayouneh neighbourhood of Beirut after the big threat (evacuation order) to the southern suburbs, we’re staying here but with our heads held high. We suffered and there was rain, but thanks to God we will come out with our head held high."

The death toll from the war in the Middle East has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US military members.

In the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV calls for an end to hostilities in the Middle East.

"I continue to follow with dismay the situation in the Middle East, as well as in other regions of the world torn apart by war and violence. We cannot remain silent in the face of the suffering of so many people who are defenseless victims of these conflicts. What hurts them hurts the whole of humanity. The death and suffering caused by these wars are a scandal for the entire human family and a cry before God."


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