Israeli police prevent Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads Christmas Eve Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Israeli-occupied West Bank, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025 Mussa Qawasma/AP

By Aadel Haleem & Orestes Georgiou Daniel

Published on 29/03/2026 - EURONEWS

Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch and the Custos of the Holy Land were prevented by Israeli police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday. It was the "first time in centuries" the Heads of Church were prevented from attending.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass for the "first time in centuries" after being turned away by Israeli police.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem denounced a "grave precedent", in which both Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land Father Francesco Ielpo were turned away by authorities.

The incident "disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world," the statement read. It said the two were stopped while proceeding privately without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and had to turn back.

"For the first time in centuries, church leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre," the statement read.

The Israeli government subsequently released a statement saying that it had issued instructions for all holy sites of all religions that mass gatherings would not be possible due to the risk of Iranian airstrikes landing in the area.

Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked the Iran war on 28 February, Israeli authorities have banned large gatherings, including at synagogues, churches and mosques.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog later repeated the government's explanation that its approach to the situation "stemmed from security concerns". Herzog added however that he had spoken to Cardinal Pizzaballa to express his "great sorrow over this morning's unfortunate incident" and that Israel is committed to "upholding the status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem".

European leaders react

The incident sparked outrage across Europe and the Catholic world.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas denounced it as a "violation of religious freedom and long-standing protections governing holy sites".

"Freedom of worship in Jerusalem must be fully guaranteed, without exception, for all faiths. Jerusalem's multi-religious character must be protected," she added in a social media post.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticised the Israeli police's actions, saying the incident was "an offence not only to the faithful but to any community that respects religious freedom".

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani separately said on X he had summoned Israel's ambassador over the incident.

French President Emmanuel Macron called it "alarming" and offered his full support to the Catholic figures. "I condemn this decision by the Israeli police, which adds to the alarming proliferation of violations of the status quo of Jerusalem’s Holy Sites," he wrote in a post on X.

Palm Sunday, which opens Holy Week for Christians, marks Christ's final entry into Jerusalem, days before his crucifixion and resurrection, according to the Gospels.

Public gatherings, as per Israeli restrictions, are capped at around 50 people.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land expressed its deep sorrow and apologies to the Christian faithful around the world that the prayer, on one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar, has been prevented in this way.

Latin Patriarch to get immediate access to Holy Sepulchre: Netanyahu

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday the Latin Patriarch would get "full and immediate access" to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, after police denied him entry on Palm Sunday.


Issued on: 30/03/2026 - RFI

Members of the clergy and faithfuls attend a prayer service in the Church of All Nations held by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem © Ammar Awad / POOL/AFP

"I have instructed the relevant authorities that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem," Netanyahu tweeted on X.

Israeli police had prevented the senior Catholic cleric from entering Christianity's most sacred site to celebrate Palm Sunday mass over what Netanyahu had said were security concerns, provoking protests from the European Union and several European countries.

Netanyahu elaborated on Israel's security concerns in his post.

"Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles," he wrote.

"In one strike, missile fragments crashed meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre."

It was to protect worshippers that Israel had asked people of all faiths to "temporarily abstain" from worshipping at all the holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City, he added.

© 2026 AFP

Choirboy, Gamer, Waiter… Spy? Alleged Serb Provocateur Surfaces In Moscow – Analysis

Momcilo Gajic, far left, white sweater,  attending a liturgy at the Serbian Orthodox Church in Moscow in January 2026. Photo: Representation of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Moscow.

March 29, 2026 
Balkan Insight

By Jelena Zoric, Milos Katic and Gordana Andric

BIRN has located one of the alleged ringleaders of a group of Serbs accused of staging stunts in Paris and Berlin to whip up social tensions on behalf of Russia.

In late January, members of the Serb community in Moscow gathered in a church in the Russian capital to remember St. Sava, the first archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the early 13th Century.

Among the silent worshippers was a 29-year-old man called Momcilo Gajic, pictured tall and solemn next to the Church’s most senior representative in Russia, the head of the Church of Peter and Paul, Bishop Stefan.

Such a prominent position is a sign of Gajic’s standing in the church community, as is a decision by the church – reported on its website – to bestow upon him the honour of ‘hosting’ next year’s St. Sava Day celebration alongside the church.

However, in the eyes of European law enforcement agencies, Gajic is not so virtuous.

According to court verdicts obtained by BIRN, he and another unidentified individual codenamed ‘Hunter’ are suspected of staging a string of stunts in France and Germany on the orders of Russian intelligence services, all with the aim of inciting religious and ethnic hatred.

They formed a group of at least 13 people, mostly men, who travelled to Paris and Berlin in spring and autumn last year.

The group is suspected of placing hundreds of stickers referring to the World War One mass killing of Orthodox Christian Armenians by Ottoman Turks all over the French capital’s 18th arrondissement, home to a large Muslim community; of tossing green paint – a colour associated with Islam – over Jewish religious sites in Paris, the Holocaust Museum and Jewish restaurants; of placing pig heads outside mosques across Paris, scribbled with the names of French politicians and the date ‘September 10’, when mass protests had been called against austerity measures; and, in Berlin, placing five plastic skeletons in plastic containers in front of the Brandenburg Gate, near the city’s Holocaust Memorial, bearing the words ‘I’m still waiting for my pension. Thank you, Merz’.

In September last year, acting on warrants issued by the High Prosecution Office in the Serbian town of Smederevo, Serbian police arrested 11 alleged members of the group, but not Gajic or the person known as Hunter. A police statement at the time said a suspect it identified by the initials M.G. was “on the run” and suspected of “acting on behalf of a foreign service”.

In December, three of the 11 agreed plea deals and were convicted by the High Court in Smederevo of espionage, membership of a criminal organisation and racial and other discrimination.

In the three verdicts, issued on December 22 and 24 and obtained by BIRN, the court states that Gajic and ‘Hunter’ “received orders, instructions and financial funds from the Russian Federation’s intelligence service”. The verdicts were first reported on by Radio Free Europe.

It is unclear how Gajic evaded arrest. BIRN could not reach him for comment but tracked him to Moscow using Open-Source Intelligence tools. Asked to confirm whether a warrant had been issued for his arrest, the court in Smederevo referred BIRN to the prosecution, which did not respond.

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The Foreign Intelligence Service, SVR, merely referred BIRN to its “current commentary on international affairs” on its website, but there is no reference there to the case involving Gajic.

In Moscow, Gajic has some powerful friends. Bishop Stefan, who studied in the Russian capital in the 2000s, was previously head of the St. Sava Temple in Belgrade and personally received Vladimir Putin during the Russian president’s last visit to Serbia in November 2019.

‘Destabilisation operations’

The stunts Gajic is accused of staging bear all the hallmarks of what European law enforcement agencies say has been a string of Kremlin-sponsored vandalism operations in recent years.

In 2023, in the wake of the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, around 250 blue Stars of David were stencilled on walls across Paris; Moldovan businessman Anatolii Prizenko claimed responsibility, but media reports pinned it on the Russian intelligence service GRU. The European Union said it had a “significant destabilising effect in the context of the conflict between Israel and Hamas” in Gaza, where Israel unleashed a massive military operation in which more than 72,000 Gazans were killed.

In May 2024, a Bulgarian group painted red handprints on the Paris Holocaust Memorial and several other buildings. Four men were later jailed in a verdict that linked the vandalism to Russia. One of them was Mircho Angelov.

As BIRN has previously reported, both Prizenko and Angelov have been involved in Russian operations in Serbia and Bosnia, including camps run by Russian operatives that Moldovan authorities say were used to train Moldovans in destabilisation techniques ahead of Moldovan elections in 2024 and 2025. Prizenko is currently on trial in Moldova for his role in the camps; Angelov is accused in Moldova of acts of vandalism and was convicted in absentia in France for his role in the red handprints stint. He is currently on the run.

Politico quoted Moldovan investigators as saying the camps were part of “a coordinated Russia-backed effort to recruit operatives for destabilisation operations as far away as France and Germany”.

He delegated recruitment to a man identified as Bogdan Djinovic, who found most of the most recruits in his hometown of Velika Plana, a town of some 15,000 people roughly 90 kilometres southeast of Belgrade and directly south of Smederevo. They included a local waiter and friend of Djinovic called Aleksandar Savic, who was later among the three who struck plea bargains.

Djinovic and two other members of the group were arrested in France on June 2. The Tribunal de Paris, which is handling the investigating, did not respond to requests for comment regarding the status of the case.

Savic was sentenced to 18 months in prison for espionage, membership of a criminal organisation and racial and other discrimination. The other two – Filip Petrovic and Nemanja Cevap – were sentenced to house arrest for a year and six months respectively, on the same charges.

The verdicts repeatedly state that Gajic and Hunter worked on the orders of and with funding from Russian intelligence services. The aim in Paris, the court found, was to “incite religious and ethnic intolerance and to destabilise the situation in Paris and the French Republic”.

Church-run rehab

Gajic’s connections to the Serbian Orthodox Church go back years.

In an interview on YouTube, Gajic says he was sent as a 15-year-old to a church-affiliated rehabilitation centre called Land of the Living near his hometown of Novi Sad, northern Serbia, because of an addiction to internet gaming. The centre is run by an NGO, whose legal representatives are listed as Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and a priest called Branko Curcin.

Gajic spent eight months at the centre. In 2017, he told a film crew that, before entering rehab, he was mixing in criminal circles and decided to seek help after he was shot out. He denied any personal involvement in crime and said he sang in a church choir.

After rehab, Gajic found work as a nightclub waiter. In 2015, a former Novi Sad city councillor registered an NGO on Gajic’s behalf. Gajic remained at the helm of the NGO, called Ravnicar, until 2018, when he was replaced by a man called Sava Curcin. It is unclear whether Sava is related to priest Branko Curcin, but social media posts suggest the priest has been engaged with the NGO and in February he blessed one of its initiatives that aim to safeguard Serbian traditions.

Since 2017, the NGO has received at least 36,000 euros in funding for a variety of projects from the City of Novi Sad.

In 2023, Gajic served as host of the Feast of the Ascension in Novi Sad’s church Temple of the Ascension, a role he will again play in Moscow on January 27 next year for St. Sava’s Day.


Balkan Insight

The Balkan Insight (formerly the Balkin Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN) is a close group of editors and trainers that enables journalists in the region to produce in-depth analytical and investigative journalism on complex political, economic and social themes. BIRN emerged from the Balkan programme of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, IWPR, in 2005. The original IWPR Balkans team was mandated to localise that programme and make it sustainable, in light of changing realities in the region and the maturity of the IWPR intervention. Since then, its work in publishing, media training and public debate activities has become synonymous with quality, reliability and impartiality. A fully-independent and local network, it is now developing as an efficient and self-sustainable regional institution to enhance the capacity for journalism that pushes for public debate on European-oriented political and economic reform.

Background To Iran’s Missile Power – OpEd

March 30, 2026 
By P. K. Balachandran

While Iran was concentrating on building missile and drone capability to fight an asymmetric war, the US and Israel were concentrating on a less important thing, Iran’s (non-existent) nuclear weapons programme. They were flummoxed when Iranian missiles and drones rained on them.

Iran has surprised or shocked the world by the display of missile and drone power against the US and Israel when the latter thought that their airpower would crush Iran, which has no air force worth the name. The air escalation that the US and Israel resorted to only resulted in a greater and stronger retaliation by Iran with an endless supply of missiles and drones.

While Iran was concentrating on building missile and drone capability to fight an asymmetric war, the US and Israel were concentrating on a less important thing, Iran’s (non-existent) nuclear weapons programme, and were flummoxed when Iranian missiles and drones rained on them.

Unnoticed or poorly evaluated by the US and Israel, Iran had been preparing for missile and drone warfare for decades with innovative procurement, manufacturing and locational techniques that conventional militaries did not think about and plan for.

All that the US and Israel were aware of was that Iran’s arsenal of missiles was hidden underground. What was not so well known was the way the arsenal was built up and was being maintained.


The Iranians built their ballistic missiles by putting together smaller pieces that could be more easily smuggled and reassembled, making the task of finding them more difficult. The Israelis got an inkling of this when they found that Iran had largely renewed its ballistic missile project after the 12-day war in June 2025.

The Israelis were shocked to find that Iran had developed different types of ballistic missiles, which followed an “arcing path” high into the atmosphere and then used gravity to reach velocities many times faster than the speed of sound, pointed out John Ismay in The New York Times.

Iran’s longest-range ballistic missile can strike targets about 1,200 miles away. In 2019, the Defence Intelligence Agency said that Iran possessed “the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East.”

Iran has built an arsenal of ballistic missiles categorised as “close-range” that can hit targets from about 30 to 190 miles away, “short-range” weapons that fly 190 to 620 miles, and “medium-range” missiles that have a maximum range of about 1,240 miles, Ismay says.

Both the Americans and the Israelis realised that powerful bombs had not dented Iran’s missile launching capability, and concluded that a ground invasion with special forces would shock and awe the Iranians, forcing them to surrender. Since this would lead to colossal human casualties, an alternative was mulled – negotiating peace with the support of other powers using the global energy crisis as the excuse. The bid for a peaceful end is currently in motion with Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia lending a helping hand to the US.

But the preconditions placed by Iran and the US/Israel make bridging the gulf almost impossible. Both sides are not in a position to dilute their demands, Iran because its very existence is threatened and the US because President Trump’s bloated ego and Israeli Prime Netanyahu’s insecurities will not allow going halfway.

Therefore, while the US and Israel will continue to pound Iran and possibly try to take Kharg Island, Iran will continue enhancing its missile production and retaliatory capabilities.

Iran’s Missiles Production

As pointed out earlier, Iran maintains its weapons production through a combination of domestic self-sufficiency, underground location and global procurement networks.

The main planks of Iran’s missile/drone production and storage systems are as follows:

(1) Indigenisation – Iran produces roughly 90% of its own weapons. Due to decades of sanctions, it has mastered the art of “adaptive innovation”.
(2) Reverse Engineering – According to the US, Iran uses “corporate espionage and intellectual theft” to create local copies of Western and Soviet equipment.
(3) Using dual-use components – For its famed “Shahed” drones, Iran sources off-the-shelf commercial components that are difficult to track or sanction.
(4) Building “Missile Cities” and Underground Facilities – To protect production from airstrikes, Iran has built vast underground “missile cities”. These facilities are carved deep into mountains and reinforced with concrete.
(5) Mobile Launchers – Some facilities use rail tracks to move missiles rapidly to concealed launch hatches, ensuring the arsenal remains operational even during active conflict.
(6) Global Production and Supply Networks – Iran has expanded its manufacturing footprint beyond its borders, establishing drone and weapons assembly plants in countries like Tajikistan, Russia, Ethiopia, and Venezuela.
(7) Axis of Resistance: Iran has formed an axis of resistance, which provides the technology and training for its regional allies (Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen) to manufacture their own drones and missiles locally, creating a self-sustaining decentralised network.
(8) Strategic Partnerships – Despite sanctions, Iran continues to receive critical materials and advanced systems (like trainer jets and armoured vehicles) from Russia and imports specialised missile components, like solid fuel mixers, from China.
(9) High-Volume, Low-Cost Strategy – Iran focuses on a “cost-imposition” strategy, producing massive quantities of inexpensive weapons to overwhelm advanced and expensive defences.
(10) Exploiting Asymmetric Advantage – Iran produces and deploys low-cost loitering munitions (drones) that allow Iran to maintain a credible deterrent at a fraction of the cost of traditional air forces.


Recent estimates suggest Iran can produce over 100 missiles per month, far outstripping the production rate of the expensive interceptors used to stop them.
Russian and Chinese Help

China and Russia are helping Iran through weapons delivery, supply chains and satellite intelligence. Iran, China and Russia form what The Atlantic Council calls an “Axis of Evasion.” The axis helps evade US sanctions.

China enables Russia and Iran by importing their sanctioned oil and selling them sophisticated dual-use technology in turn. Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers, as well as on alternative payment systems, and barter trade play a part in breaking US sanctions.

There is an integrated supply chain among the three. Trade and technology transfer between China, Russia, and Iran—and the associated supply chains—are the result of geography as well as significant Western economic pressure. Due to restrictive export controls and sanctions, these states cannot easily access Western technology and components directly from the US and other Western countries. Because trade among the Axis of Evasion occurs outside of the Western financial system and, therefore, the reach of Western economic restrictions, these integrated supply chains are more resistant to sanctions and export controls enforcement, the Atlantic Council says.

Iranian UAVs, such as the Shahed series, rely on an ecosystem of imported electronics, engines, navigation components, batteries, and semiconductors. While many of these parts originate in the US, Europe and Japan, procurement networks frequently get them through Chinese distributors or trading companies before they reach Iranian manufacturers. Chinese dual-use exports to Iran spiked in January 2024.

Since 2022, Moscow and Tehran have exchanged drone technology and production know-how, allowing both countries to expand manufacturing capacity. As part of a deal, Iran transferred 600 disassembled Shahed-16 drones, components for 1,300 drones, training, and technical expertise to Russia to assist in its war in Ukraine.

 
Navigation systems

Chinese electronics markets and distributors play a critical role in this process. Components originally manufactured for civilian applications—such as inertial sensors or satellite navigation modules—can be purchased through Chinese intermediaries and integrated into Iranian weapons systems. Russia’s experience adapting commercial electronics also feeds into this innovation ecosystem.

Some experts believe that Iranian drones and missiles incorporate Chinese satellite navigation systems to target US and Israeli military assets. In November 2025, a separate network connected to Iran’s Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company was accused of using shell firms to acquire Chinese sensors and navigation equipment.

In 2021, China gave Iran access to BeiDou, the global positioning satellite system owned and operated by the China National Space Administration. Since the start of the war with the United States and Israel, Iran has used BeiDou to produce decoy signals to confuse threat analysis and conceal actual Iranian military movements.

Chemical precursors

Iran’s ability to sustain missile and explosives production depends on access to chemical precursors and industrial materials. Although these substances are subject to Western export controls, enforcement is more difficult when production is distributed across multiple jurisdictions, the Atlantic Council says.

The Post-American Climate Order: Power, Policy, And The Vacuum Ahead – OpEd

March 30, 2026
By Anchal Mathur


Recently, US President Donald Trump threw yet another bombshell by revoking the ‘Endangerment Finding’ clause under the Clean Air Act 2002, that can further cripple America’s environmental protection. The ‘endangerment finding’ was drafted by America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2009. In 2007, in Massachusetts vs. EPA case, the federal court ordered EPA to confirm if greenhouse gases (GHG), that warm the Earth, are also pollutants that can potentially harm public health. It was in response to Federal court’s direction that the EPA issued this finding claiming that six GHGs- carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. This endangerment finding was included in America’s Clean Air Act, giving legal authority to the federal government to curb carbon emissions especially from vehicular sector and fossil-fuel based power plants.

However, unlike his recent measures that came as a shock to the world, this move is not out of the blue. President Trump has been one of the most vocal critics of climate change, denying its existence altogether. His climate scepticism stems from the fear of losing revenue and markets for the oil industry as well as the automobile sector. Trump justifies his move by arguing that this clause had put greater burden on the automobile companies to raise their anti-pollution standards, raising the cost of vehicles and burdening the consumers with higher prices. Clearly his climate scepticism is nothing but a mercantilist attitude prioritising profits over the planet.

This move has been hailed by his MAGA crowd in anticipation of lower vehicular prices. In the short term, such moves can help garner public support. But in the long run, denial of climate realities can cost a bomb. America, in recent times, has seen one of the worst disasters, unprecedented in scale. There is ample scientific evidence proving that climate change has the potential to derail developmental progress, development that the Trump regime is working hard for. Data from National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) shows that frequency and cost of disasters have increased in the USA over the last century. In 2024 alone, USA witnessed 27 climate disaster events with losses amounting to $1 billion.

Moreover, disasters in his own constituencies like Pennsylvania’s flash floods and North Carolina’s hurricane helene are a grim reminder of worsening of the crisis waiting for acknowledgement. In fact, as per The U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, states such as Kentucky and South Carolina are some of the most vulnerable states which have shockingly been Trump loyalists in each of his three campaigns. However, the Trump regime has been audacious enough to leave his own support base in peril. He has called for repealing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that looks after hazard and disaster management in the USA, even though 50% of FEMA funding from 2015 to 2024 went to states that voted for Trump in 2024 [3].

In face of dwindling support from America for the climate cause, the world should now prepare itself for a post-American climate order. Such a system shall be less dependent on America for climate action. Instead, it must be led by serious actors like India. India’s curation of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) can be seen as an effort to move away from America-led environmental institutions. Further, climate multilateralism needs to be more issue-specific rather than generic, making climate action precise, targeted and effective. The climate crisis is multifaceted and so are its solutions. With generic framework and overarching goals, little can be achieved. The world must identify the priority areas and create separate institutional structure for each. For instance, India launched the Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) in 2023 to decarbonise the transportation sector by popularising use of alternate cleaner fuels and given that the transportation sector contributes a massive 14% of annual GHG emissions, this initiative can indeed be a way towards greener mobility.

One relatively reassuring aspect about America’s climate politics is that Trump will not remain in office indefinitely, leaving room for hope that new leadership can recalibrate the country’s climate foreign policy. However, the concern is that America’s foreign climate posture has often dwindled, failing to exhibit sincerity in dealing with climate challenges. Even during the Kyoto negotiations, the US remained reluctant to commit to binding targets and accept the responsibility of having caused climate change in the first place. It did not ratify the protocol and insisted on binding promises from India and China like countries that were neither responsible for the cause nor had the capacity to commit to emissions reduction, given the need for development and poverty alleviation. Such hypocritical behaviour has remained almost consistent in America’s foreign climate policy.

The subnational governments such as California, on the contrary, are working earnestly to follow a low-carbon economic model and minimize the country’s reputational damage due to federal inaction. However, subnational diplomacy has its limitations. Despite best efforts, they cannot represent their nations as federal governments can. And therefore, the world should prepare for a new climate order that is less dependent on America for climate resources, where partnering with America is a choice and not compulsion and where promises translate into action


Anchal Mathur

Anchal Mathur is a doctoral candidate at the Jindal School of International Affairs, with research interests centred on climate diplomacy and international climate governance. She holds a Master’s degree in International Relations, Security and Strategy from JSIA.

ECOCIDE

Toxic Fallout From Gulf War ‘Could Last Decades’


Airstrikes against fuel depots in Tehran, Iran. Photo Credit: PMOI

March 30, 2026 
By Mohammed El-Said


Environmental experts are warning that the ongoing war in the Gulf region is likely to leave a legacy of severe and long-lasting environmental damage, extending far beyond the immediate conflict zone.

The impacts, they say, could spread across the Eastern Mediterranean, affecting air, land, and marine ecosystems, and ultimately human and animal health.

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, sustained bombing on both sides has led scientists to repeatedly caution about risks of pollution to air, water, and foodsystems.

Fires in oil facilities and the destruction of industrial infrastructure are already releasing pollutantsthat may persist in the environment for years, if not decades, they warn.

“It is often less about the materials from the bombs themselves […] and more about what they are striking,” Richard Marcantonio, assistant professor of environment, peace and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame, in the US, told SciDev.Net.


“For example, if a building is destroyed that is lined with asbestos or an oil refinery and the fires continue extensively, it is these sorts of materials that tend to be the most impactful to human health risks.”
Toxic fallout

US-Israeli airstrikes on energy infrastructure near Tehran in early March ignited massive fires, sending thick plumes of black smoke over the Iranian capital. Reports indicated that oil storage depots and fuel transport networks in Tehran and Alborz province were among the targets.

As the crisis escalated, attacks spread to major oil and gas facilities, including the South Pars gas field and the Asaluyeh refinery. Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the Gulf, in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, included a number of energy infrastructure targets.

A wide range of pollutants can be released during such conflicts, particularly as a result of bombing and the subsequent redistribution of materials, says Marcantonio.

Oil facility fires release toxic gases such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide and hazardous organic compounds, explains Alaaeddin Alsbaiee, director of research and development at BASF Chemicals.

“Explosions and oil fires release large quantities of fine particles with diameters of less than PM 2.5, in addition to toxic carbon smoke, which are particles capable of reaching deep into the lungs and blood,” he told SciDev.Net.

These pollutants can spread over wide distances in the atmosphere by wind, raising pollution levels in areas near bombing sites and increasing the risk of respiratory diseases, especially among children and the elderly, Alsbaiee says.

The World Health Organization has already warned of risks posed by pollution from burning fuel depots in Tehran. Reports of so-called “black rain” following the strikes point to the presence of hazardous compounds in the atmosphere, including hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides and nitrogen compounds.
Soil, water contamination

According to experts, pollutants from explosions and fires can transfer to the soil, surface water, and groundwater.

Soil and groundwater contamination is among the most serious long-term consequences of war, says Marcantonio.

Pollutants resulting from bombing or fires can seep into the soil and groundwater layers and may remain in the environment for long periods if they are not treated by effective environmental cleanup processes, such as filtration or burning.

“Those pollutants can persist in the environment for generations or more,” Marcantonio warns.

Alsbaiee explains that oil facilities are among the most dangerous sources of environmental pollution during wars, because they combine air pollution resulting from fires with water and soil pollution resulting from oil leaks.

He adds: “Oil spillage into soil or water can also lower oxygen levels in the water, leading to the death of fish and aquatic organisms, as well as weakening soil fertility and affecting microorganisms necessary to maintain its biological balance.”

Threat to desalination

In the Gulf region, environmental risks are compounded by heavy reliance on seawater desalination for drinking water.

Experts warn that attacks on oil tankers at sea could be especially damaging. Large spills can spread on currents and winds, potentially reaching desalination plant intakes within hours or days. This scenario could disrupt water production or degrade water quality, raising the prospect of a dual crisis affecting both water and energy systems in the region.

Oil pollution can also damage desalination infrastructure directly. Hydrocarbon compounds may clog filtration membranes, reducing efficiency, increasing maintenance needs, and driving up energy consumption, says Mohamed Dawoud, a water expert at the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, in the United Arab Emirates. In severe cases, plants may be forced to shut down temporarily to prevent contamination, he says.

A previous study indicates that oil spills resulting from maritime accidents or wars in the Gulf region can reach the intakes of desalination plants within hours or days, depending on the direction of the winds and sea currents.
Lasting consequences

Moreover, the environmental effects of war do not end when the fighting stops, researchers stress. While air quality may gradually improve once fires are extinguished, contaminants in soil and water can linger for decades.

Experiences from other conflict zones illustrate the scale of the challenge. In Gaza, for example, clearing millions of tonnes of debris is expected to take decades, with cleanup efforts themselves generating additional emissions and pollutants.

The pace of environmental recovery depends on several factors, including the type and extent of contamination and the characteristics of the affected ecosystems, says Alsbaiee. While some may be mitigated within months or years through remediation techniques, heavy oil pollution or groundwater contamination often requires long-term, complex interventions.

Panagiotis Kosmopoulos, a senior researcher at the National Observatory of Athens in Greece, agrees that the long-term impacts on air, soil, water and ecosystem health “may persist for years or even decades after the conflict ends”.

Given these risks, monitoring or air and water quality using satellites and ground-based monitoring stations is important, he says.

“Real-time environmental monitoring can help authorities and international organisations better understand the scale of pollution and take measures to reduce risks to public health and critical water infrastructure,” he tells SciDev.Net.

This article was produced by the SciDev.Net Middle East and North Africa regional office and adapted for the Global edition.


Mohammed El-Said writes for SciDev.Net.

Satellite imagery confirms extensive damage at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG plant

Satellite imagery confirms extensive damage at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG plant / bne IntelliNewsFacebook

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By Ben Aris in Berlin March 29, 2026

Satellite imagery indicates significant damage at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG plant that was hit by Iranian missiles on March 18, including the apparent collapse of primary heat exchangers at Train 6 and structural damage to adjacent facilities, according to open-source analysis.

The extent of. The damage has raised concerns the time table for effecting repairs might be increased from the preliminary estimate of one year to closer to fire years if critical equipment has been destroyed. That would have the short-term effect of pushing up gas prices and long-term effect of leaving the US as the predominant supplier of LNG to the international market.

The extent of the damage has prompted expectations of a fresh force majeure declaration, with QatarEnergy’s chief executive now saying that repairs could take between three and five years, contingent on an immediate halt to hostilities. The disruption could result in an estimated $20bn in lost revenue annually.

The attack took two of the facility's 14 trains offline but it has been unclear just how much damage was done. The key component in an LNG plant is the brazed aluminium heat exchanger known as a BAHX (brazed aluminium plate-fin heat exchanger) that cools gas to close to absolute zero. One of the most complicated pieces of machinery in the world, only five firms worldwide can make them and already have a backlog of orders. If Ras Laffan has to order new ones from makers, delivery could take up to five years.

Train 6 forms part of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas infrastructure at Ras Laffan, the world’s largest LNG export facility. The reported damage is estimated to have removed approximately 17% of the country’s LNG export capacity from the market.

Major importers, including Italy, Belgium, South Korea and China, are expected to be affected by any sustained outage. The scale of the disruption has raised concerns among market participants about tightening global gas supplies, particularly as demand remains elevated in both Europe and Asia.

One market participant described the situation as “as close as you get to an Armageddon scenario for global gas markets”. Another comment circulating online attributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying “it’s a shame Europe no longer has Nord Stream”.

Iranian strikes on Gulf aluminium plants raise supply concerns

Two key aluminium producers in the UAE and Bahrain were hit by Iranian missile strikes doing significant damage. / bne IntelliNewsFacebook

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By Ben Aris in Berlin March 29, 2026

Two major aluminium production facilities in the Middle East were hit by Iranian strikes on March 28, raising concerns over global supply as disruption in the region intensifies.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), one of the world’s largest producers, sustained “significant damage”, while Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) said it is “assessing the extent of the damage” following a separate strike on its operations.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed the sites targeted were linked to the United States military, in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB. The strikes were retaliation for a US-Israeli attack on Iranian industrial infrastructure launched from military bases hosting US forces in the Gulf states, the IRGC said.

EGA said on March 28 its Al Taweelah site sustained significant damage during Iranian missile and drone attacks at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi, with assessments ongoing. The company said a number of employees were injured, but added that none of the injuries were life-threatening.

The biggest non-energy industrial company in the UAE, the Al Taweelah smelter produced 1.6mn tonnes of cast metal in 2025. The company added it had "substantial metal stock on the water when the conflict began, and stock on the ground in some overseas locations." EGA operates two smelters, one each in the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Alba said in a statement that two employees were injured in the attack on its facility.  

The Middle East accounts for approximately 9% of global aluminium supply, making it a critical source for international markets. Analysts warn that disruption to production and exports could tighten supply chains already under pressure from logistical constraints in the Gulf.

Emirates Global Aluminium, jointly owned by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and the Investment Corporation of Dubai, is a major supplier to international markets, including the US. The UAE is the second-largest aluminium exporter to the US after Canada.

The company is also involved in plans to develop what has been described as the first new aluminium smelter in the US in decades, a project in Oklahoma backed by state-level incentives and aimed at strengthening domestic supply.

Damage to facilities in both the UAE and Bahrain could therefore have implications beyond the region, particularly for US manufacturers reliant on imported aluminium.

There has been no independent verification of the extent of the damage, and neither company has provided detailed operational updates.

“Emirates Global Aluminium sustained ‘significant damage’,” according to the report, while Alba said it is “assessing the extent of the damage”.

Iran Claims Aluminum Plant Attacks In Bahrain, UAE

Iran launches a missile. Photo Credit: Tasnim News Agency

March 30, 2026 
By Arab News


Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Sunday they launched missile and drone strikes on aluminum plants in Bahrain and the UAE over the weekend, targeting what they described as industries linked to the US military.

The Guards also threatened to target US universities in the Middle East, while saying US-Israeli strikes had destroyed two Iranian universities. They demanded a US condemnation of the bombing of universities by noon (0830 GMT) Monday.

Since the Middle East war erupted at the end of February, Bahrain and other Gulf countries have regularly been targeted by Iranian missile and drone strikes in retaliation for the US-Israeli campaign, now in its second month.

In a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, the Guards said they hit an aluminum facility in the UAE and Aluminium Bahrain’s main plant, calling both sites “industries affiliated with and connected to the US military and aerospace sectors in the region.”

The IRGC said the strikes were retaliation for a US-Israeli attack on Iranian industrial infrastructure launched from bases in Gulf states.

Aluminium Bahrain, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers, said two employees were wounded in an Iranian strike targeting its facility on Saturday.

The company, also known as Alba, said the workers suffered minor injuries.

Alba added that it was assessing the impact on operations and would provide updates when available. It gave no details on damage to the site.

Emirates Global Aluminium confirmed on Saturday that the company’s Al-Taweelah site sustained significant damage during the Iranian missile and drone attacks at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi.

A number of EGA employees were injured. None of the injuries were life threatening.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive of EGA, said: “The safety and security of our people is our top priority at EGA at all times. We are deeply saddened and are assessing the damage to our facilities.”

EGA’s Al-Taweelah smelter produced 1.6 million tonnes of cast metal in 2025. EGA had substantial metal stock on the water when the conflict began, and stock on the ground in some overseas locations.

Gulf states intercept Iranian missile and drone attacks

Defense forces in the UAE and Kuwait said early Sunday they were actively responding to new waves of hostile missile and drone attacks launched from Iran, as the conflict triggered by a joint US-Israeli assault on Tehran entered its second month with no sign of abating.

The defense ministries of both states posted on X to reassure citizens that the explosions they were hearing were the result of air defense systems intercepting incoming fire.

“Everyone is requested to adhere to the security and safety instructions issued by the competent authorities,” Kuwait’s Army General Staff said in a separate statement, as four Iranian drones were intercepted and destroyed.

Air defenses engaged 16 ballistic missiles and 42 drones on Sunday, the UAE defense ministry said.

In Saudi Arabia, the defense ministry reported Sunday morning the interception and destruction of 10 drones during the past hours.

Bahrain’s Defense Force reported it has engaged a total of 385 drones and 174 missiles since February 28.

Indonesia: Massive Blaze Engulfs Plastic Factory

A shot of massive fire engulfed at a plastic factory in the West Java, Indonesia. Photo credit/ social media/ Al Bawaba

March 30, 2026 
Al Bawaba News
By Mansour Al-Maswari

(Albawaba) — A large fire broke out at a plastic factory in Wanaherang, Gunung Putri, Bogor Regency, West Java, on Sunday evening, sending thick black smoke into the sky as flames rapidly consumed the facility.

The factory, which processes plastic materials, was reported by local residents around dusk, prompting a swift response from emergency services.

Firefighters deployed multiple units to contain the blaze, which continued into the night. No casualties have been officially reported so far, and authorities are still investigating the cause. Industrial fires in plastic factories are often linked to flammable materials, electrical faults, or storage issues.

Indonesia’s manufacturing sector has faced recurring safety challenges, including dense factory clusters and inconsistent enforcement of fire regulations. Similar incidents occurred recently, such as a February 2026 fire at a plastic facility in Bandung and earlier blazes in East Java.

Myanmar: Examining The Discord Between The Arakan Army’s Words And Actions – Analysis

File photo of Arakan Army soldiers in Myanmar. Photo Credit: Arakan Army

March 29, 2026 
IPCS
By Fiona Raval

Recent reports document accusations against the Arakan Army (AA) of detaining, extorting, and abusing refugees returning to Maungdaw from Bangladesh. As Myanmar’s civil war continues unabated, instances of brutality and human rights violations against civilians have increasedexponentially, with the AA emerging as a particularly notorious entity.

As per the most recent estimates, the AA, an anti-junta ethnic armed organisation, controls around 90 per cent territory in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. It came into being in 2009 for Arakan self-determination through the ‘way of the Rakhita’ (Rakhine way of life) and is known for its commitment to a people-first approach, with an emphasis on inclusive governance.

The discord between the AA’s purpose and practice raises the question of whether the AA has sidelined its raison d’etre by perpetrating the same violence that necessitated its creation.
AA on Paper

The AA was established with the intention of liberating the people of Arakan from Burmese ‘colonialism’ and building a just, free, developed, and sovereign future for them. The AA proposes a confederate status within the larger state of Myanmar. It is part of a long-standing anti-state resistance in the Rakhine region, stemming from concerns about poverty, lack of development benefits, state repression, and political under-representation.


The AA has consistently presented itself in ‘oneness’ with the people and maintained that the protection of people is its prime consideration. It has been able to amass popular support by invoking cultural notions like ‘way of the Rakhita’ and involving all communities. It is through this support that people have not only signed up as recruits for the AA but also granted it legitimacy and success.

The AA, through its political wing, the United League of the Arakan (ULA), has been able to establish administrative systems, an independent police force, a tax regime, and a judicial set-up within Rakhine. In its foray as a parallel government, the AA has set up multiple committees and commissions, both to ensure better political representation from minority communities and to focus on targeted issues, like Humanitarian and Development Coordination Office (HDCO) for human rights matters.

In order to further its goal of administrative inclusion and in an effort to address the communally charged nature of the region, the AA eased many restrictions for the Rohingya Muslims. They were allowed to move from one town to another as long as they had a permit and were given some freedom to seek occupation. The Rohingya have been allowed to form a ‘Muslim Affairs Association’, granting them some autonomy in managing minor, intra-community affairs. The AA Commander-in-Chief also articulated that all ethnic people living in Arakan are “citizens” of Arakan, and gunned for their dignity and protection without any discrimination. Post such leadership proclamations, some Rohingya individuals claim a dial-down in racism and reduced discrimination while accessing public facilities like healthcare centres.

AA in Practice

Despite its professed policies based on the inherent right of the Arakan people’s dignity and right to life, the AA has been carrying out major human rights violations in the region to maintain and expand control.

The AA has been committing civilians into forced labour. A Fortify Rights report indicates that civilians, usually ethnic minorities like Rohingya Muslims, Hindus, and Chakmas, among others, have been either arbitrarily detained to be used as forced labour or been forced into hard labour at gunpoint. Such labour is both military and non-military in nature and includes repairing roads, making and repairing trenches and barracks, transporting ammunition and rations, tending to cattle, farming, etc. Survivors have recounted that they were made to work in inhumane conditions, without access to food or water, for prolonged hours. They were reportedly subject to hefty fines, beatings, and physical torture as punishment for poor work or resisting work.

The AA introduced military conscription to bolster its forces in March 2025 and even banned travel of all conscription-aged individuals outside AA-controlled areas. In early February 2026, the AA forcibly conscripted 20 youth into military service while introducing a minimum quota of 25 recruits per village, including women. There are also reports of civilians being sent to the frontlines without any training to serve as human shields.

The AA has been detaining individuals on grounds (founded or unfounded) of having pro-junta allegiances. Not just the individuals in question but their families, including children and the elderly, have also been held in prolonged detention. Detained individuals have been subjected to vicious physical and mental torture. Another report highlights brutal killings and mutilations of individuals taken away for detention. The AA abducted and detained journalist Mu Dra in September 2025 for alleged investigative overreach but with no proof to support the grounds on which she has been detained. Mu Dra is yet to be released.

Despite its ‘progressive’ policy for the Rohingya, the community is the worst persecuted by the AA. The AA doesn’t acknowledge the Rohingya as native to the Arakan and refers to them as Muslim inhabitants of Rakhine. They continue to face livelihood restrictions by losing land for agriculture and areas for fishing. While they are allowed inter-village movement, the required permits are often denied and are hard to access. There is a disproportionately high number of Rohingya among victims of arrests, detention, and killings. The AA has also been accused of contributing to the ‘second genocide’ of Rohingya people by using scorched earth tactics like burning villages, forcing displacement, and orchestrating mass-killings.


Most infamously, the AA has been accused of the brutal killings of over 150 individuals, mostly Rohingya, by drone strikes while they were attempting to flee through the Naf River in August 2024. While the AA has denied responsibility, in the subsequent months, they did close off access to the same route on the grounds that militant groups were using it for escape. The Rohingya also get caught in the brutal crosshairs of the increasingly violent rivalry between the AA and some Rohingya representative organisations like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation.

The AA has also reportedly ‘nationalised’ properties belonging to individuals who were accused of supporting the junta or having anti-AA loyalties. Among other things, the AA has been involved in drug trafficking and opium production in order to obtain arms and fund recruitment drives.
Conclusion

The AA has routinely and vociferously denied all allegations of excessive use of power against civilians. However ground-reports and survivors’ testimonies point to the opposite. While the AA has been a formidable military force since its inception and an important contestor of political power, their antagonisations were traditionally targeted only at the power centre in Naypyidaw. The crux of their policy is to strengthen popular support and represent the people. Their contradictory on-ground practices therefore appear particularly hypocritical. These violations dilute the AA’s core distinguishing factor by eroding public trust. Public legitimacy is foundational to the organisation’s success—disregarding this is poor strategy.

About the author: Fiona Raval is Researcher with IPCS’ Southeast Asia Research Programme (SEARP).

Source: This article was published by IPCS

IPCS (Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies) conducts independent research on conventional and non-conventional security issues in the region and shares its findings with policy makers and the public. It provides a forum for discussion with the strategic community on strategic issues and strives to explore alternatives. Moreover, it works towards building capacity among young scholars for greater refinement of their analyses of South Asian security.