Japan won’t send ships for Hormuz escort mission, Takaichi says
Japan has no plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort ships in the Middle East, prime minister Sanae Takaichi said, after Donald Trump called on allies to protect tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are continuing to examine what Japan can do independently and what can be done within the legal framework,” Ms Takaichi told parliament this morning.
The US president’s call in a social media post for US allies, including Japan, to help protect oil and gas shipments through the strategic waterway puts Tokyo in a difficult position because, while it relies heavily on Middle East energy, its war-renouncing constitution limits the scope of overseas military operations it can conduct.
Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has conducted anti-piracy operations in waters near the Middle East, but those missions were policing operations rather than combat missions against state actors.
Japan can deploy its military overseas to respond to what it determines to be an existential threat to the nation, but that would be politically difficult and a high legal threshold for Takaichi’s government to justify.
“I would like to engage in solid discussions based on Japan’s views and position regarding the need for early de-escalation,” she told lawmakers, ahead of her Washington visit.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 04:00
Watch: Three arrests made amid Al Quds Day demonstration and counter-protest
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 03:40
Minister says Australia will not send warships to Strait of Hormuz
Australia will not send ships to the Strait of Hormuz, federal infrastructure minister Catherine King said this morning.
Ms King told RN Australia: “It’s clear, obviously, the longer that the war continues, the greater the impacts will be felt, not just by us, but obviously the Asia-Pacific region overall. We’ll continue to monitor those events as they occur.”
“But at this stage, all of the ships that are planned to come into Australia are coming in. The fuel supply is holding,” she added.
However, she admitted that there were local distribution issues, but the national fuel stockpile would hold Australia “in good stead”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 03:20
Dubai airport temporarily shut
Dubai international airport temporarily suspended flight operations after a fire broke out following a drone attack this morning near the airport.
The fire has been contained with no injuries, authorities said.”A drone incident in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport (DXB) affected one of the fuel tanks”, the Dubai media office said on X.
Emirates airline also announced in a post on X the temporary suspension of flights to and from Dubai.
Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on 28 February, with targets including US diplomatic missions and military bases but also critical Gulf oil infrastructure, ports, airports, hotels and residential and office buildings.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 03:06
Yesterday Dubai – tomorrow, who knows? How Iran conflict could change UK travel plans once and for all
Dubai, seen for decades as a safe and serene haven, now finds itself on the Foreign Office no-go – along with Abu Dhabi, just down the road in the UAE, and Doha in Qatar. So what does this mean for the future of tourism in the Gulf?
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder finds out.
Nicole Wootton-Cane16 March 2026 03:00
Watch: Hundreds protest against Iran at Al Quds rally in London
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar16 March 2026 02:55
Analysis: Artificial intelligence has brought a new way of war to the Middle East – and it makes crimes harder to hide
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley has this report:
Nicole Wootton-Cane16 March 2026 02:30
How the White House is using memes and viral content to frame violence in Iran
Millions of people recently watched a video posted by the White House showing US strikes against Iranian targets. The clip didn’t just resemble Call of Duty: it mixed real strike footage with footage from the game itself, complete with “killstreak” animations designed to reward performance and simulate achievement.
Governments are increasingly communicating war using the visual language of video games and internet memes.
Daniel Baldino has this report:
Nicole Wootton-Cane16 March 2026 02:00
Recap: US energy secretary says Iran war will end ‘in weeks’ and oil prices will bounce back
US energy secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday that he expects the war with Iran to end within “the next few weeks,” with oil supplies rebounding and energy costs declining afterwards.
“I think that this conflict will certainly come to the end in the next few weeks – could be sooner than that. But the conflict will come to the end in the next few weeks, and we’ll see a rebound in supplies and a pushing down in prices after that,” Wright told ABC’s This Week program.
Nicole Wootton-Cane16 March 2026 01:30
Watch: Chris Wright says he thinks Iran conflict ‘will end in next few weeks’
Nicole Wootton-Cane16 March 2026 01:00
