Iran Live! Hegseth warns Iran of ‘most intense day yet of US strikes’

Russian and Ukrainian officials are making contradictory claims of battlefield successes in their 4-year-old war, with Ukraine saying it has pushed Moscow's forces back in some places on the front line but the Kremlin insisting that Russia's invasion of its neighbour is making progress.

At the same time, Russia's almost daily aerial attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine continue. Three powerful glide bombs struck the centre of the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, killing four people, the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, said on Tuesday (March 10). At least 16 other people, including a 14-year-old girl, were wounded.

Overnight drone strikes on three other Ukrainian cities wounded at least 17 people, including two children, emergency services said on Tuesday. Ukraine's air force said that it shot down 122 out of 137 drones that Russia launched during the night.

US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine are on hold as Washington's attention is gripped by the Iran war, which has drawn the international spotlight from Ukraine's plight as it strives to hold back Russia's bigger army.

International aluminium prices have surged past 3,400 dollars per tonne amid fears of supply disruptions from the West Asia crisis, offering short-term gains to Indian primary producers but posing long-term challenges through rising input costs, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) said on Tuesday (March 10).

Some of the aluminium smelters based in the Middle East viz. Alba has declared force majeure and temporarily halted shipments, while the Qatalum smelter in Qatar has declared a restricted shutdown.

The region accounts for nearly 8-9 per cent of global aluminium production, a senior official of FIMI said.

For India, the price rise is positive in the short-term for primary producers, the official said, but cautioned that disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have sharply increased freight costs, affecting imports of key raw material Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC) and elevating production costs for domestic smelters.

Once the current tension eases, the prices are bound to soften.

Companies like Nalco, Hindalco and Vedanta, which produce over 4 million tonnes of aluminium annually, rely heavily on CPC imports from the US and the Middle East, exposing them to supply chain vulnerabilities.

FIMI warned that if the crisis persists alongside high aluminium prices, it could curb domestic demand in downstream sectors such as infrastructure, power, consumer durables and automobiles, where aluminium consumption is projected to rise 8-10 per cent yearly under Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives.

The industry body called for government measures like diversifying import sources and a reduction in import duties on raw materials under ongoing geopolitical tensions, the official added.

Vedanta is investing nearly Rs 10,000 crore to expand its aluminium business, including value-added capacity at Jharsuguda in Odisha, expansion at the Balco smelter in Chhattisgarh and ongoing capacity expansion at Lanjigarh.

Nalco has lined up an investment of Rs 30,000 crore to set up a new aluminium smelter and a coal-based power plant over the next five years. Out of this, Rs 18,000 crore has been earmarked for the smelter, and Rs 12,000 crore will be spent on the thermal power plant.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday (March 10) assessed the possible impact of the ongoing conflict in West Asia on the state.

The meeting, attended by senior officials, focused on the safety of the Tamil diaspora in the Gulf countries and the stability of energy supply.

"Held a review meeting today to assess the possible impact of the ongoing US-Iran conflict on Tamil Nadu and to chart the necessary response measures. I have written to the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), urging the Union Government to ensure the safety of Tamils living across the affected Gulf countries and to safeguard the welfare of Tamil Nadu fishermen who are currently stranded in the region," the Chief Minister said in his official X account.

Referring to the disruption of commercial LPG cylinder supply, Stalin said he has requested the union government to ensure that the shortage does not affect the public, commercial establishments or MSME industries.

"I have also urged the Centre to make alternative arrangements for eateries affected by the shortage and secure additional power supplies to mitigate the fuel gap," he added.

Restaurants across the state are staring at a bleak future with existing stocks expected to last only for one or two days due to the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders.

A top Iranian security official has threatened US President Donald Trump in an online message.

Ali Larijani wrote the message on X Tuesday (March 10) after Trump threatened to attack Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if Tehran stopped oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Larijani wrote: “The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn't fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn't eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.” Iran has been accused of plotting attempts to kill Trump in the past.

US President Donald Trump on Monday (March 10) said the US Navy had sunk 46 Iranian naval vessels so far, describing them as “top-of-the-line” ships. Speaking at a gathering of congressional Republicans in Washington DC, Trump recounted a conversation with a military official about the Navy’s operations against Iran’s fleet.

According to Trump, when he asked why the ships were not being captured and reused instead of destroyed, the official responded that it was “more fun to sink them”. Trump’s remarks came after he appeared to shift his stance on the progress of the conflict in the Middle East.

Earlier in the day, he told an American news outlet that the war was “pretty much” over and that the US was well ahead of the four-to-five week timeline he had initially predicted. “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force,” he told CBS News.

However, hours later, while addressing congressional Republicans, Trump said the US had “not won enough” and that the conflict would continue until Iran was “totally and decisively defeated.”

Former Ladakh LG Kavinder Gupta was sworn in as the governor of Himachal Pradesh in a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday (March 10), following which he said the position does not belong to any political party.

The governor works for the overall development of the state and society, he added.

Gupta performed a traditional pooja with his family members before proceeding to the oath-taking ceremony. He took the oath in Hindi.

Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia administered the oath of office and secrecy to him. Earlier, Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta read out the warrant of appointment issued by the President after which the governor's signature on the charge certificate was obtained.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, several Cabinet ministers, senior civil and police officers and other prominent personalities were present on the occasion.

Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh also attended the ceremony.

For the first time at the Lok Bhavan, the ceremony began with the singing of Vande Mataram, followed by the national anthem.

As the conflict spread across the region, Israel launched multiple attacks on the militant Hezbollah group in Lebanon, which responded by firing missiles into Israel.

Pro-Iran militias in Iraq have also launched attacks at US bases in the country since the beginning of the conflict.

Early Tuesday (March 10), one such militia — the 40th Brigade of the Popular Mobilisation Forces in the city of Kirkuk — was hit with an airstrike that killed at least five militiamen and wounded four, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the strikes.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Tuesday it completed a series of strikes targeting Hezbollah's financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan. Israel had also targeted several of the group's branches in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.

Israel's military also reiterated a call for all residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes, saying it planned to “operate forcefully” there against Hezbollah.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra says she is speaking in support of the motion seeking the Speaker’s removal, accusing him of presiding over what she described as the “liquidation of parliamentary democracy”. She says it was “divine karma” that she, who she claimed was “illegally targeted by this misogynistic government” and expelled from the House without being allowed to speak in her defence, was now participating in a no-confidence motion against the same Speaker.

Moitra alleges that the functioning of the Lok Sabha had deteriorated to the point where “the moment the Speaker enters the House, dignity leaves it”. She said the suspension of 100 MPs in a single day under Om Birla accounted for nearly 40 per cent of all suspensions in the Lok Sabha so far, and argues that the manner in which certain laws, including amendments to criminal laws, had been passed made the Speaker “complicit in throttling democracy”.

Treasury bench MPs objected to her description of the Speaker as “criminally complicit”. Moitra responds that the words could be expunged from the record, “though it will not make him any less of a criminal”. She was also cautioned by the Chair for remarks about the Marshal while questioning why the official appeared to be pointing out rules to the presiding officer. When BJP MPs demanded that she be warned against making remarks about the Chair, Moitra replied that since the motion was against the Chair, criticism of it was inevitable.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra alleged that Speaker Om Birla had “perfected the art of switching off the microphones of Opposition MPs mid-sentence”, while members from the Treasury benches were allowed to speak at length without interruption from the Chair.

She also recalled that the Speaker did not permit a discussion on the situation in Manipur despite repeated adjournment motions, forcing the Opposition to bring a no-confidence motion against the government to secure a debate. Moitra further alleged that the Speaker took no action when BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri made abusive remarks against SP MP Danish Ali in the House, allowing Bidhuri to continue as a member without facing any action.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi responds to Rijiju's quip at her. "They said I was smiling. I only want to clarify why I was smiling. It was because those who used to constantly abuse Nehru had to admit in this House today that Nehru strengthened democracy and had to quote Nehru's speeches in their own defence," Priyanka says.

The only person in the country in the past 12 years who has not bent before these people (the government) is Rahul Gandhi and that scares them, she adds.

Australia granted asylum to five members of the Iranian women's soccer team who were visiting the country for a tournament when the Iran war began, a government minister said on Tuesday (March 10).

The announcement followed days of urging by Iranian groups in Australia and by US President Donald Trump for the Australian government to help the women, who had not spoken publicly about a wish to claim asylum.

The team drew speculation and news coverage in Australia when players didn't sing the Iranian anthem before their first match.

Early Tuesday, police officers transported five of the women from their hotel in Gold Coast, Australia, “to a safe location” after they made asylum requests. There, they met with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and the processing of their humanitarian visas was finalised, the minister told reporters in Brisbane.

The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women's Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war began on Feb 28. The team was knocked out of the tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country under bombardment. Iran's head coach Marziyeh Jafari said on Sunday the players “want to come back to Iran as soon as we can." An official squad list named 26 players, plus Jafari and other coaches. Burke said the offer of asylum was extended to all on the team.