The Strait of Hormuz, is this week’s focus, as the war in the Middle East continues.
The Strait is at the border of Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the south and handles an estimated 20% of global oil.
Donald Trump, US President, announced on Saturday that warships from an international coalition, would be sent to patrol the contentious Strait. It is made up of navy vessels from the United Kingdom (UK), China, France, Japan, and South Korea.
This follows Iran’s move to close the Strait and then announcing it would be open to all other countries, except the US.
Iran manages the northern side of the water body, while the southern side, is by the UAE and Oman.
Calls of a ceasefire are getting louder, with the latest call coming from António Guterres, outgoing UN Secretary-General, who met with displaced people from Lebanon, as well as an injured UN Peacekeeper.
Guterres said “this war must stop.”
“Stop the fighting. Stop the bombing. There is no military solution” he said.
This comes amidst escalating threats on Sunday, made by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, of killing Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, to avenge murdered leaders of Iran.
This includes claims the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured.
But Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, rubbished such claims, saying Khamenei is just fine.
The Guard Corps also bragged about launching its “50th wave” of operations against US bases in the region- United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Araghchi said Iran welcomes any regional initiative that could lead to a just end to the war, “we welcome any regional initiative that could lead to a just end to the war.”
More than 1,300+ people were killed in Iran since the start of the war, 13+ American soldiers dead, including 6 in an aircraft crash West of Iraq, on Thursday.
There were about 13-15 deaths in Israel, mostly from Iranian missile strikes.
These figures do not include those killed in the UAE, Lebanon and other countries.
It also emerged on Sunday, from Ali Larijani, a senior officer in Iran’s security department, that “remnants of Epstein’s team” may try to stage a “9/11-style incident” to “frame Iran.”
He also said “Tehran has no war with the American people.”
Israel also filed a response to South Africa’s written pleadings in the case of Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Israel filed this on Thursday, 12 March 2026, way past the deadline of the 28 July 2025.
South Africa filed the Memorial back in October 2024 – but on two occasions Israel requested for an extension to the time limits set by the Court, which the Court granted.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said “ at a time of growing global division and the systematic undermining of the multilateral system, the United Nations in particular, the crisis in Gaza represents an opportunity to unite humanity and remind us all of our shared values. We must all answer to the call to defend the principles of international law and to re-assert the vital role played by the UN and international dispute settlement mechanisms like the ICJ.”
He also said South Africa remains committed to playing its part, along with others, to fulfil the promises of the Genocide Convention and the UN Charter to liberate humanity from the “odious scourge” of genocide.
Picture: Technology