31/03/2026

TUESDAY | MAR 31, 2026

9 ‘Israel hit Kuwait water plant’

GUARDS NAVY COMMANDER KILLED TEHRAN: Iran confirmed yesteray that an Israeli strike had killed the commander of the naval force of the Revolutionary Guards, who Israel had said was responsible for the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. A statement carried by the Guards’ Sepah News website said Alireza Tangsiri “succumbed to severe injuries” from the attack last week. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday that an airstrike had killed Tangsiri, describing him as the “man who was directly responsible for mining and blocking the strait. The Guards statement said he had been organising coastal defences when he was killed and vowed “that we will not rest until the enemy is completely destroyed”. He is the latest top Iranian official to have been confirmed by Tehran to have been killed in the war. Tangsiri had vowed earlier in this month to “deliver the harshest blows to the aggressor enemy while maintaining the strategy of closing the strait”. – AFP KOSOVO APPROVES GAZA TROOPS PRISTINA: Kosovo yesterday approved sending troops to Gaza for an international security force as part of a US-backed initiative. Several nations including Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan and Albania have committed troops to the International Stabilisation Force to keep peace and back a transitional administration in Gaza under President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”. Kosovo’s government said in a televised ministerial meeting yesterday the Defence Ministry had decided to send a force to Gaza after receiving a US invitation in December. “We are ready to take part and help the people of Gaza, because we ourselves have been and are beneficiaries of international forces since 1999,” Prime Minister Albin Kurti told the session. The government did not reveal numbers of troops going to Gaza. – Reuters

BR I E F S

o Trump wants to seize Kharg Island

TEHRAN: Iran’s military said yesterday that Israel was behind an attack on a desalination plant in Kuwait. “The brutal aggression by the Israeli regime against Kuwait’s desalination plant, carried out in recent hours under the pretext of accusing the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sign of the vileness and depravity of the Zionist occupiers,” said the military’s operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya in a statement carried by state TV. Israel said two drones from Yemen were intercepted early yesterday but gave no further details. Yemen’s Houthi militia entered the war on Saturday, firing missiles at Israel, escalating a conflict that has engulfed the Middle East. Israel’s military also said its Air Force was carrying out strikes on Tehran yesterday targeting what it described as military infrastructure. The latest attacks came a day after President Donald Trump said the US and Iran had been meeting “directly and indirectly” and that Iran’s new leaders have been “very reasonable”, as more US troops arrived in the region. “I think we’ll make a deal with them, I’m pretty sure, but it’s possible we won’t,” Trump said on Sunday. Trump said he thought the US had already accomplished regime change in Tehran after strikes killed the country’s supreme leader and other top officials but said twice that their replacements seemed “reasonable”. An initial Israeli strike on Feb 28 killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was replaced by his son Mojtaba. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has Palm Sunday, which opens Holy Week for Christians, marks Jesus Christ’s final entry into Jerusalem, days before his crucifixion and resurrection, as described in the Gospels. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre contains the sites where Christians believe Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. “War will not erase the resurrection. Grief will not extinguish hope,” Pizzaballa said at a Palm Sunday mass held later at the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives. The Patriarchate had already announced the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, which normally draws thousands. Israeli police said all holy sites in Jerusalem have been closed since the start of the war. – AFP

Smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut yesterday. – AFPPIC

had intercepted five drones in areas under its protection. A chemical plant in southern Israel near the city of Beersheba was hit by a missile or missile debris on Sunday. Houthis joined the conflict on Saturday, launching their first attacks on Israel. In an interview with Financial Times , Trump said he wanted to “take the oil in Iran” and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island. Taking control of Kharg would require ground troops. The island handles 90% of Iran’s oil exports and seizing it would give the United States the ability to severely disrupt Iran’s energy trade. Israel has said it will seize a chunk of southern Lebanon. – AFP/Reuters

accused the US of sending messages about possible negotiations while planning a ground invasion. “As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation,” he said in a message to the nation. Israel’s military said it had launched over 140 airstrikes on central and western Iran, including Tehran, over the 24 hours to Sunday evening, hitting ballistic missile launch sites and storage facilities. Iranian state media reported strikes had hit Mehrabad airport and a petrochemical plant in the northern city of Tabriz. Four weeks of intense bombardment has failed to silence Iran’s missile and drone batteries, with Kuwait yesterday reporting it

Indonesian peacekeeper

killed in Lebanon JAKARTA: Indonesia confirmed yesterday that one of its peacekeepers was killed in Lebanon, where the UN force said a projectile hit one of its positions. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has reported that its positions have been hit more than once since the start of the latest fighting. On Sunday, a projectile exploded near the town of Adchit Al Qusayr, killing one peacekeeping soldier on Sunday, said Unifil. Unifil said it did not know the origin of the projectile but had launched an investigation. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said “indirect artillery fire” near town of Adchit al Qusayr killed one of its peacekeepers and wounded three others. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family, and we wish a full and swift recovery to the injured personnel,” the ministry said. “Indonesia is working with Unifil to ensure the prompt repatriation of the fallen and the best possible medical treatment for the injured.” Indonesia strongly condemned the incident and called for an investigation, adding that safety and security of UN peacekeepers must be respected “at all times”. Adchit al Qusayr lies near Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, where Israeli forces have been battling Hezbollah fighters for a month. On March 7, three Ghanaian soldiers were wounded by gunfire in a border town in southern Lebanon. – AFP

Latin Patriarch regains access to Holy Sepulchre TEL AVIV: Israel said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem would regain access to Christianity’s holiest site after the decision to block him from entering the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday triggered international condemnation. Police prevented Cardinal the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” it said, calling the incident a “grave precedent” that disregards the sensibilities of Christians.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the church, citing security concerns as Israel enforces a ban on gatherings in synagogues, churches and mosques during the war with Iran, which has brought missile strikes near holy sites. After widespread backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday the Latin Patriarch would get “full and immediate access”. The Latin Patriarchate said in a statement that Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, were travelling privately without a ceremonial procession when officers at the church entrance forced them to turn back. “As a result, and for the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating

Pizzaballa at the Church of All Nations on Sunday. – REUTERSPIC