War in the Middle East: Donald Trump claims to have negotiated the passage of tankers in the Strait of Hormuz

The Israeli army said it was responding on Monday, March 30, to a missile attack from Iran. “Earlier, the Israeli army identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israeli territory,” they declared on Telegram, adding that their defense systems were in action “to intercept the threat”. In response, “the Israeli army is currently striking military infrastructure of the Iranian regime across Tehran,” an army spokesperson wrote on Telegram without further details.

• Potential blockade at the Strait of Hormuz? Donald Trump stated on Sunday, March 29, that the US had negotiated with Iran the passage of tanker ships through this strategic strait, where a bottleneck since the start of the war has driven up oil prices. “Out of respect, I believe, they have given us, 20 very big oil tankers that are going through the Strait of Hormuz, and it starts Monday morning for the next few days,” assured the US President during a press briefing. Follow our live updates.
• American approval. Donald Trump praised the aerial strikes in Iran with Israel, which killed both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several top officials of the Islamic Republic. “We’re dealing with different people than anyone’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people, so I would consider it a regime change,” he told the press.
• FINUL soldiers affected. “A peacekeeper was tragically killed [Sunday night] when a projectile exploded at a Finul position near Adchit Al Qusayr,” in southern Lebanon, where clashes are ongoing between Israel and Hezbollah. “Another was seriously injured,” the UN force wrote in a statement released Monday. The origin of the projectile is unknown but an investigation has been opened.
• Israel continues its ground offensive in Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he had ordered the Israeli army “to further extend the existing security zone” in southern Lebanon. Israeli troops, engaged against Hezbollah, have been carrying out a deep ground incursion into Lebanese soil since early March in order to expand a “buffer zone” between the pro-Iranian movement and the population of northern Israel.
• An American university in Lebanon closes its campus. The American University of Beirut announced that classes would be held online on Monday and Tuesday, “out of caution.” Earlier, the Revolutionary Guards had threatened to target American universities in the Middle East, after reporting the destruction of two universities in Iran by American-Israeli strikes.