Iran in March 2026: the most important developments in security
Iran's security situation in March 2026 was defined by the war that began on 1 March, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran in an operation the US called Epic Fury. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reported killed on the first day. Iran answered with missile and drone strikes on Israel, US bases and Gulf states, and Israel struck Tehran and Beirut. By 10 March the heaviest strikes so far had been carried out, and at least seven US service members had been killed and about 140 wounded. Israel later said it had killed security chief Ali Larijani on 17 March and Revolutionary Guard navy commander Alireza Tangsiri on 26 March. On 14 March the US struck Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal; President Donald Trump said the oil industry's backbone was obliterated, while Iranian media reported no damage. Israel struck oil depots near Tehran.
The second theme was the sea. A US submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka on 4 March. Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to ships from the US, Israel and other countries it called enemies, and US and British officials said it had laid mines. The US destroyed 16 Iranian vessels it described as minelayers on 11 March and said its navy would escort tankers. On 25 March Iran said non-hostile ships could pass.
Iran's retaliation reached far. It struck Israeli cities, including a Haifa refinery, Dimona and Arad, where nearly 200 people were injured. It fired missiles at the US-UK base on Diego Garcia on 21 March, attacked Ras Laffan in Qatar, and wounded about 12 US troops at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Hezbollah joined the attacks, Israel invaded southern Lebanon on 16 March, and Yemen's Houthis entered the war late in the month.
By month end the US was sending more Marines and a third aircraft carrier, and reports described planning for ground options including seizing Kharg Island. On 23 March Trump delayed strikes on Iranian energy sites. A US investigation found that a girls' school in Minab was likely hit by a US strike.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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