War in Iran/Middle East/Gulf and beyond
(Barak Ravid, Marc Caputo – Axios) The Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran’s Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, four sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios. President Trump can’t end the war, at least on his terms, until he breaks Iran’s chokehold on shipping through the strait. In the meantime, global energy prices are surging. But an operation to take over Kharg Island, which sits 15 miles offshore and processes 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports, could put U.S. troops more directly in the line of fire. Thus, such an operation would only be launched after the U.S. military further degrades Iran’s military capacity around the Strait of Hormuz. “We need about a month to weaken the Iranians more with strikes, take the island and then get them by the balls and use it for negotiations,” a source with knowledge of the White House thinking said. Such an operation, if approved, would also require more troops. Three different Marine units are on their way to the region. The White House and the Pentagon are considering sending even more troops soon, a U.S. official said. – Trump mulls risky Kharg Island takeover to force Iran to open strait
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Sri Lanka refused permission to the United States to station two of its warplanes at a civilian airport in the island’s south in early March, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Friday. Washington wanted to relocate two of its missile-armed aircraft from a base in Djibouti to Sri Lanka’s civilian Mattala International Airport, Dissanayake told parliament. – Sri Lanka refused ground access to US warplanes: President
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that US-Israeli strikes had killed their spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini. – Iran’s IRGC spokesman killed in US-Israeli strikes
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Friday that the Islamic Republic has continued to produce missiles despite the war with Israel and the United States. – Iran’s IRGC say missile production continues despite war
(Frud Bezhan – RFE/RL) Since the United States and Israel launched their bombing campaign against Iran, Tehran has expanded the battlefield across the Middle East. That includes in Iran’s western neighbor, Iraq, where Tehran’s proxy forces have carried out almost daily attacks against US targets, including diplomatic and military facilities, triggering retaliatory American air strikes. Iran itself has carried out waves of missile and drone strikes in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region in the north, where Iranian Kurdish opposition groups operate camps and offices. – Iraq Pulled Into Iran War As Tehran Expands The Battlefield
(Global Times) Beyond the leadership of Spain and Italy, even a self-described Transatlanticist like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated bluntly that Germany would not participate in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, for example, by military means as long as the war continues. Even as some European countries were discussing ways to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital to their energy supply, they explicitly ruled out the US-led approach of deploying warships. This reflects Europe’s pragmatic interests. Zhao Junjie, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that participating in warship escorts would bring significant risks and costs. Amid high fiscal pressure and continuous drain of resources by the Ukraine conflict, using taxpayer funds for such missions risks triggering a backlash from domestic opposition. Moreover, any direct or indirect clash with Iran could draw Europe into a quagmire of conflict. – Europe should not underestimate its value and significance of strategic autonomy – Global Times
(Vazha Tavberidze – RFE/RL) Beijing and Moscow are both close partners of Tehran. With the US-Israeli strikes approaching a third week and Iran retaliating across the region, the conflict is poised to possibly — and significantly — affect those ties, the broader roles Russia and China play in the Middle East, and their relations with Washington. Zineb Riboua is a research fellow with the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East and an expert on Chinese and Russian involvement in the region. She spoke to RFE/RL’s Georgian Service about how China and Russia are responding to the war and what they stand to lose or gain. – Zineb Riboua: What The War On Iran Means For China And Russia
Belarus/US
(RFE/RL) The United States has lifted sanctions on several Belarusian entities and the country’s Finance Ministry as Minsk announced the release of scores of prisoners — including political detainees Kim Samusenka and journalist Katsyaryna Andreyeva. US Special Envoy John Coale announced the sanctions relief for Belinvestbank and the Development Bank of Belarus, along with the removal of all remaining sanctions on potash companies Belaruskali, Belarusian Potash Company, and Agrorozkvit after a meeting on March 19 with Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk. In the deal, Coale said 250 prisoners held in Belarus were being released in what he called “a significant humanitarian milestone and a testament to the President’s [Donald Trump] commitment to direct, hard-nosed diplomacy.” Of those, 15 were sent to neighboring Lithuania, while the remainder were released domestically. – Washington Eases Sanctions On Minsk As Belarus Releases 250 Prisoners
China/South Korea
(Global Times) China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Resource Kim Jung-kwan in Beijing on Wednesday. The two sides exchanged views on deepening economic and trade cooperation and other issues, according to the website of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday. China is willing to work with South Korea to accelerate the second-phase negotiations on the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA), maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains, and deepen cooperation in trade and investment, Wang noted. – GT Voice: What signal does China-S.Korea FTA negotiation direction send? – Global Times
Hungary/Israel
(Human Rights Watch) Hungarian authorities should arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters Hungarian territory, Human Rights Watch said today. Netanyahu is expected to travel to Hungary on March 21, 2026, to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference Hungary, an official source reported. The visit comes shortly before Hungary’s national elections, scheduled for April 12. On November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, alongside then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip from at least October 8, 2023. Both Netanyahu and Gallant remain fugitives from justice before the ICC. ICC members countries are required to arrest them if they enter their territory. – Hungary: Arrest Netanyahu if He Visits | Human Rights Watch
Russia/Ukraine/China/Iran/North Korea
(Yuliia Taradiuk – The Kyiv Independent) The authoritarian regimes of China, Iran, and North Korea are actively engaged in reshaping the economy within Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, a new report has revealed. The Eastern Human Rights Group and the Institute for Strategic Research and Security published an analytical report last week that features the role of Russia’s allies in the economic reorientation of all Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia since 2014 and during the full-scale invasion. The report indicates that Russia has been substituting Western technology and financial systems in Crimea, occupied parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, with the backing of China, Iran, and North Korea, to circumvent international isolation and sanctions from Europe and the United States. Vera Iastrebova, the head of the East Human Rights Group, told the Kyiv Independent that Russia aims to retain control over the occupied territories but requires external allies willing to operate outside “standard international rules” to compensate for “Russia’s own weaknesses.”. “The entry of China, Iran, and North Korea to the temporarily occupied territories is not a sign of (Russia’s) strength but a sign of forced adaptation,” Iastrebova said. – China, Iran help Russia prop up economy in occupied Ukrainian territories, report says
Russia/Ukraine/US
(Alex Raufoglu – RFE/RL) As the US Congress begins shaping its Fiscal Year 2027 budget, a small but symbolically powerful provision has emerged from both chambers: $15 million dedicated to tracking Ukrainian children abducted by Russia — a program whose funding was cut by President Donald Trump’s administration last year but that advocates say is essential for future war crimes prosecutions and, ultimately, bringing those children home. Buried in early drafts of the State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) appropriations bills in both the House and Senate, the funding reflects rare bipartisan alignment in an otherwise polarized Washington. Of that total, $5 million is earmarked for the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), a key player in documenting the forced transfer of Ukrainian children into Russia’s custody, sources told RFE/RL. – US Lawmakers Back Funds To Track Abducted Ukrainian Children As Key Research Unit Nears Shutdown
Tanzania
(Human Rights Watch) Tanzanian security forces cracking down on protests during and after the country’s 2025 general elections killed and injured people who were not participating in demonstrations. Based on initial research into the killings, Human Rights Watch believes that hundreds of people across the country may have been killed. The Tanzanian authorities should recognize that impunity for rights abuses encourages further political violence. They should end the continuing political repression and the detention of government critics, civil society and media. – Tanzania: Bystanders Shot in Post-Election Crackdown | Human Rights Watch
