March 28, 2026, 2:31 p.mMarch 28, 2026, 2:31 p.m
Houthi militia enters war
A few hours after announcements from the US government about imminent negotiations, the militant Islamist Houthi militia entered the Iran war. The rebels claimed a rocket attack on Israel in the early hours of the morning. According to media reports, the rocket was intercepted and there were no injuries or damage.
Supporters of the Houthi militia on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Yemen.Image: keystone
Witkoff promised talks
The US government’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had previously promised talks with Iran this week. In particular, this is about a response to a 15-point plan the USA has presented to Iran to end the war. In an effort to de-escalate the situation, the Pakistani government also invited the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey to discussions on Sunday and Monday.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.Image: keystone
Details about the agenda of the meeting in Islamabad were not initially given. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that the talks would focus, among other things, on the recent escalation in the region. Pakistan shares a border of around 900 kilometers with Iran and has offered itself as a mediator for a possible end to the conflict since the war spread to the Gulf states.
Iran’s president threatens retaliation
Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian on Saturday threatened his neighbors with retaliatory strikes if the country’s infrastructure and economic centers were attacked. In a “message to the countries of the region,” Peseschkian wrote on the X platform: “If you want development and security, do not allow our enemies to wage war from your soil.” Iranian attacks on its neighbors in the region and on Israel continued into the fifth week of the war.
Peseschkian again threatens retaliation.Image: AP
Injured in Iranian missile attacks
The media office in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi reported fires as a result of falling rocket parts. A total of six people were injured. One injured person was also reported in Oman. Two drones attacked the port of Salalah in the west of the country, reported the Omani news agency ONA.
The Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported, citing the aviation authority, that the airport in the capital Kuwait City was attacked by several drones. There were no injuries. However, there was significant damage to the airport’s radar system. According to the Saudi Defense Ministry, a ballistic missile aimed at the region of the capital Riyadh was intercepted and destroyed during the night. Three drones were also intercepted.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, twelve US forces were recently injured in an Iranian attack on an air base in Saudi Arabia. They were in a building at Prince Sultan Airbase that was hit in the bombing, the US newspaper reported, citing US and Arab officials. American tanker aircraft were also damaged.
In return, Israel reported that it had again attacked targets belonging to the Iranian leadership in the capital Tehran. Another wave of attacks had been completed, the military said. There were initially no details about the exact goals and possible effects. According to Israeli information, targets of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon were also attacked again. Hezbollah, for its part, once again claimed responsibility for several rocket attacks on Israel.
Rubio: Deployment of ground troops not absolutely necessary
The USA and Israel started the war on February 28th. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after talks with the group of economically strong democracies (G7) in Paris that the military was ahead of schedule to achieve its war goals. “And we can reach them without ground troops,” said Rubio. The operation in Iran could be completed “in a few weeks, not months.” However, Rubio did not want to categorically rule out the use of ground troops.
The USA would reserve this flexibility in order to give President Donald Trump “maximum freedom of action and maximum opportunities to adapt to eventualities”. Meanwhile, the US President once again addressed the NATO allies at a congress in Miami and also criticized Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio does not believe the deployment of ground troops is absolutely necessary.Image: keystone
Trump repeats criticism of Germany and NATO
“The German Chancellor said: ‘This is not our war,'” said Trump. He added that the war in Ukraine was not the war of the USA. The sentence “This is not our war” originally came from German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD). Merz recently said this during a visit to Norway: “Germany is not part of this war, and we don’t want to be one either.”
Donald Trump confused Friedrich Merz with Boris Pistorius.Image: keystone
Trump had asked NATO allies for help in militarily securing shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which was largely blocked by the Iran war. The strait is important for global oil trade. Because the NATO partners did not comply with the request, he repeatedly criticized them with sharp words. On Friday he said: “We would have always been there for her, but now, given her behavior, we don’t have to anymore, do we?”
“These are escalations that are already threatening”
Merz, on the other hand, attacked Trump for his actions in the Iran war. “What Trump is doing at the moment is not de-escalation and an attempt to find a peaceful solution, but a massive escalation with an open outcome,” said Merz at the “FAZ Congress 2026”. “These are escalations that are already threatening. Not just for those affected, but for all of us.” (hkl/sda/dpa)