Iran war updates: Countries report new attacks; Iran vows to kill Netanyahu

Name: War in the Middle East enters its third week
Uploaded: 2026-03-15T08:55:02-04:00
Description: The conflict between the U.S. and the Middle East has entered its third week. We're hearing reporters that the U.S. conducted a major strike on Kharg island in the Persian Gulf, which is also known as the heart of Iran’s oil system. National security analyst Hal Kempfer is here to join LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to discuss.

The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran that's led to wider war in the Middle East is expanding further as it enters its third week.

The joint attack on Iran, known in the U.S. as Operation Epic Fury, has killed at least 13 service members, with six killed in a refueling plane crash over Iraq Thursday and seven others killed in combat. About 140 U.S. service members have been injured, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week.

In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed so far. Iran's Health Ministry says 223 women and 202 children are among those killed, according to Mizan, the judiciary's official news agency. In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire since the war started. More have been injured.

Fire breaks out at the Shahran oil depot after US and Israeli attacks, leaving numerous fuel tankers and vehicles in the area unusable in Tehran, Iran on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Hassan Ghaedi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Here's the latest:

Gulf states intercept new missiles and drones

8:30 a.m. ET: Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks on Sunday after Iran threatened to widen its campaign and called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates.

Since the war started, Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf states, most of them migrant workers.

Pope demands ceasefire in the Mideast

8:25 a.m. ET: Pope Leo XIV on Sunday escalated his appeal for peace by directly addressing the leaders who launched the war.

War in the Middle East enters its third week

The conflict between the U.S. and the Middle East has entered its third week. We're hearing reporters that the U.S. conducted a major strike on Kharg island in the Persian Gulf, which is also known as the heart of Iran’s oil system. National security analyst Hal Kempfer is here to join LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to discuss.

"On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict," Leo said. "Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that the people are waiting for."

While Leo didn’t mention the United States or Israel by name, he mentioned the bombings that targeted a school — an apparent reference to the missile strike on an elementary school in Iran in the opening days of the war that killed over 165 people, many of them children.

Iran vows to kill Netanyahu

8:23 a.m. ET: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed Sunday to hunt down Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

"If the criminal Zionist prime minister is still alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force," the IRGC said in a statement.

Trump wants other countries to send warships to Strait of Hormuz

Trump calls for allies to help secure Strait of Hormuz

On Saturday, The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad urged American citizens to leave Iraq immediately after the embassy was attacked overnight for the second time since the war with Iran started. The warning said militias allied with Iran had carried out numerous attacks on targets associated with the United States, including diplomatic facilities, American companies and hotels. LiveNOW's Austin Westfall brings Professor Alon Burstein from Israel-Palestine-report to discuss.

8:20 a.m. ET: Trump said Saturday that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and others send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz "open and safe" as oil prices soar amid the U.S. attack on Iran. Those countries rely more heavily than the U.S. on oil and gas that passes through the strait. About 20% of the world's oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz daily.

Iran’s joint military command has reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked "oil, economic and energy infrastructures" in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure is hit.

The Source: This article includes information from The Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.

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