Iran-US war latest: Iran threatens to ‘completely close’ Strait of Hormuz if Trump destroys its power plants

The relationship between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump has suffered another blow after the US president posted a television skit mocking the prime minister.

In the sketch, from the new Saturday Night Live UK programme, Sir Keir panics as he tries to dodge a phone call from Trump and asks his deputy: “Oh golly – what if Donald shouts at me? What do I say, Lammy?”

Mr Trump did not include any comment when he shared the video on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran launched strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.

Here are the death tolls reported as of March 22 provided by news agency Reuters

US-based rights group HRANA said on March 21 that 3,230 people have been killed. It said 1,406 of those were civilians, including at least 210 children.

Around 1,029 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities. The World Health Organization and Lebanese health authorities said more than 100 of those killed were children.

At least 60 people have been killed, according to Iraqi authorities. Most of those were members of the Shi’ite Popular Mobilisation Forces.

Fifteen civilians have been killed, including nine people in an Iranian missile strike on Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem on March 1, according to Israel’s ambulance service. The Israeli military said two of its soldiers were also killed in southern Lebanon. In addition, four Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack in the occupied West Bank.

Thirteen service members have been killed.

Eight people have been killed in Iranian attacks, including two army soldiers, according to the UAE defence ministry.

Seven people were killed on March 22 in a deadly helicopter crash in Qatar’s territorial waters after a technical malfunction during a “routine duty,” according to Qatar’s defence ministry.

Authorities have reported six deaths, including two people killed in Iranian attacks, two interior ministry officers and two army soldiers.

Four people were killed when an Iranian missile struck a building in the southern Syrian city of Sweida on February 28, state news agency SANA said.

Two people were reported killed on March 13 in a drone strike on an industrial zone in Sohar province.

Two people were killed when a projectile fell on a residential location in Al-Kharj city, southeast of the capital Riyadh.

Two people were killed in two separate Iranian attacks,with the most recent hitting a residential building in the capital Manama, according to the interior ministry.

Following Donald Trump’s issuing of a two-day ultimatum to Iran to enable vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has hit back on social media.

In a post on X, he said US threats to blow up Iran’s energy infrastructure “show desperation”.

He added: “The Strait of Hormuz is open to all except those who violate our soil. We firmly confront delirious threats on the battlefield.”

Israel struck a main bridge linking Lebanon’s south to the rest of the country on Sunday after ordering its military to destroy all crossings over the Litani River and to step up the demolition of homes near the southern border.

The destruction of bridges and homes marks a significant escalation in Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, which was pulled into the regional war on March 2 when armed group Hezbollah fired into Israeli territory.

International law generally prohibits militaries from attacking civilian infrastructure, and the United Nations human rights chief has criticised Israel’s actions in Lebanon, particularly its use of widespread evacuation orders that have displaced more than a million people.

Sunday’s strike damaged a crossing on Lebanon’s coastal highway that runs through farmland and is one of the main routes linking southern and central Lebanon.

As uncertainty hangs over the Strait of Hormuz after Donald Trump’s ultimatium to Iran to “fully open” the strait, experts predict a fall in the stock markets when they reopen on Monday.

Oil prices jumped on Friday, ending the day at their highest in nearly four years.

“President Trump’s threat has now placed a 48-hour ticking time bomb of elevated uncertainty over markets,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.

Markets already under severe strain from blockaded shipping were further rattled last week when Israel attacked a major gas field in Iran, and Tehran responded with strikes on neighbours Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, raising the prospect of damage hindering energy output even if tankers resume sailing.

The UK hit out at the “reckless” Iranian action on Saturday after two ballistic missiles were fired towards the base. Both were unsuccessful, with one shot down by a US warship and the other failing in flight.

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Tehran directed two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands but neither hit. One of the missiles wasreportedly shot down by a US warship, while the other failed in flight.

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The US government has “plenty of money” to fund the war against Iran, but is requesting supplemental funding from Congress to ensure the military is well supplied in the future, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday.

Bessent, speaking on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” program, also ruled out pushing for any tax increases to fund the war.

The U.S. military’s request for $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war faces stiff opposition in Congress, with Democrats and even some Republicans questioning the need after large defense appropriations last year.

Bessent defended the request without confirming the amount.

President Donald Trump has not yet sent a request for the Senate and House of Representatives to approve the sum and his administration ⁠has made clear that the number could change.

“We have plenty of money to fund this war,” Bessent said. “This is supplemental. President Trump has built up the military, as he did in his first term, as he is now doing in his second term, and he wants to make sure that the military is well supplied going forward.”

On Friday, the US president said the UK “should have acted a lot faster” in allowing America to use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz.

It is not the first time the president has berated Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership over the war, including a personal attack on him for being “no Winston Churchill”.

Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky said the two leaders can meet and “reload” the relationship.

He told the programme: “Keir is a smart and very good partner. Absolutely.

“We know there are emotions in everyone at different times. I think that Keir, he’s in touch with President Trump, he can meet with him and reload the relationship again. It happens.

“I don’t see a big problem, to be honest. I do not see a big challenge. Your history is stronger than the emotions of two or three people. Your history is simply stronger.”

Asked if he believes Mr Trump’s actions have made the world more dangerous, he said: “I believe that any split in Nato will weaken both sides. I would really like President Trump to meet with Starmer, with the main countries, so that they have a common position.

“We want to be allies with that kind of Nato, a strong Nato, where everyone respects one another and is ready to defend.”