Israel, Iran launch fresh attacks as Trump floats ‘winding down’ Mideast operations

Tehran reportedly fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, the joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, but did not hit the base.

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Smoke rises after powerful explosions following Israeli army strikes on Tehran, Iran’s capital, on March 21, 2026. | Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images

March 21, 2026 11:34 am CET

By Ellen O'Regan

Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other on Saturday, the latest in a string of attacks since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran in late February.

The U.S., meanwhile, was sending thousands more Marines to the Middle East, according to media reports, even as U.S. President Donald Trump broached "winding down" American military operations in the regioin.

Israel's military said Saturday's attacks targeted "the Iranian terrorist regime" in Tehran, as well as "Hezbollah targets" in Beruit. Israel also said that it identified missiles fired from Iran at Israeli territory.

Tehran also fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, the joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, but did not hit the base, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The British government condemned "Iran’s reckless strikes" and confirmed London's agreement for Washington to use U.K. bases in attacks against Iranian "missile sites and capabilities being used to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz." The U.K. "is working closely with international partners to develop a viable plan to safeguard international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," it said in a statement.

Defense ministries in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates said on Saturday that they were responding to incoming missile and drone threats, as the conflict continues to spill over into Persian Gulf states.

Trump said in a Truth Social post late Friday that Washington is "getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down" the U.S. military campaign against Iran. He listed the objectives being met as "completely degrading" Iran's missile capability, "destroying" the country's defense industrial base, "eliminating" Iran's navy and air force, keeping the country far away from nuclear capability, and protecting U.S. allies in the Middle East.

Trump's statement is at odds with the reports that the U.S. is sending more troops and warships to the region, and has requested another $200 billion from Congress to fund the war.

The conflict has caused global oil prices to spike, driven in part by Israeli strikes on Iran’s vast offshore gas field and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trade passage that facilitates a significant share of the world’s oil and natural gas trade.

"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other nations who use it — the United States does not," Trump said in his social media post. "If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran's threat is eradicated."

The U.S. said on Friday that it would temporarily waive sanctions on Iranian oil to help ease the short term shock to global markets, as Trump called NATO allies "cowards" for refusing to join the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and help reopen the Hormuz channel.

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Saturday, March 21, 2026