Iran war live: Trump says wants to take Iran’s oil; Kuwait power site hit

United States President Donald Trump says in an interview he wants to “take the oil in Iran” as Tehran accuses Washington plotting a ground attack despite publicly pushing for a negotiated deal.
Kuwait says an Indian worker has been killed in an Iranian attack on a power and desalination plant, as Gulf states report intercepting drones and missiles.
US-Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical plant in Iran’s Tabriz and knock out power across parts of Tehran, as Iranian forces target an industrial zone in southern Israel, sparking a fire and fears of a chemical leak.
Israel intercepts two drones fired by Yemen’s Houthis, as the UN reports the killing of a peacekeeper in an attack in southern Lebanon.
Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia meet in Islamabad and say they are committed to paving a path to de-escalation in the US-Israel war.
Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.Read less



Philippines oil refinery secures 2.5 mn barrels of crude from Russia, but fuel prices set to rise again


The Philippines’ sole oil refinery has secured nearly 2.5 million barrels of crude from Russia out of “extreme necessity”, AFP news agency reported, but fuel prices are expected to price anew on Tuesday amid fast-dwindling reserves.

In a filing before the Philippine Stock Exchange, Petron said it had agreed to purchase Russian crude after seeing at least four million barrels in shipments cancelled since February 28, when the US and Israel launched its war against Iran.

“The purchases were undertaken strictly out of extreme necessity as an extraordinary emergency measure in response to unprecedented geopolitical and supply-chain disruptions and only after exhausting all commercially and operationally viable alternatives,” the report said.

“A refinery shutdown for failure to secure crude would lead to serious nationwide fuel shortages and sharp price spikes,” said the company, whose refinery accounts for about 30 percent of the country’s fuel needs.

Crude oil undergoes a process at oil refineries to turn into fuel like diesel.

Based on 2024 estimates, the daily diesel consumption in the Philippines is 201,927 barrels per day.

According to the Marcos administration, as of March 27 the country has an inventory of gasoline good for 53 days, diesel, 45 days, kerosene, 97 days, 23 days for LPG and 38 days for jet fuel.

On Tuesday, the Philippines is expected to see anew an increase in fuel prices, which has more than doubled since February 28.Members of a jeepney, or local minibus, union participate in a transport strike in Quezon City, Metro Manila, to demand increase in fare amid the recent fuel price increase [Rolex dela Pena/EPA]



Asian currencies remain weak against the US dollar


The South Korean won fell anew against the US dollar, opening at 1,515.2 per US dollar, down 6.3 won from the previous session.

The won has been hovering around the psychologically important 1,500 level in recent sessions, and fell to as low as 1,517.3 on March 23, its weakest level in 17 years.

Japan’s yen remains volatile, opening at 159.84 per US dollar earlier today, about 2.46 percent weaker than on February 28.

The Singapore dollar is trading at about 1.29 to a US dollar, compared to 1.26 on February 28.


The Israeli military says it is “currently attacking the infrastructure” of the Iranian government “throughout Tehran”.


WATCH: Iranian academic describes US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s universities


A post-doctoral fellow in Tehran has told Al Jazeera there was no warning before US-Israeli strikes hit the Iran University of Science and Technology on March 28.

Helyeh Doutaghi says the attack reflects a wider pattern and raises questions about what defines “legitimate retaliation”.