News blog about the war in the Middle East
Shah’s son calls on Trump to rethink
Updated March 23, 2026 – 12:39 a.mReading time: 37 mins.
Shah’s son Pahlavi comments on Trump’s Hormuz ultimatum. Iran reports “severe damage” to the country’s energy infrastructure. All developments in the news blog.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will chair a crisis meeting Monday on the economic impact of the war in Iran. According to the government, Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and the head of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, will take part in the meeting. The discussions focus on energy security, the resilience of supply chains and the consequences of the crisis for families and companies. Great Britain is dependent on natural gas imports.
Shah’s son Reza Pahlavi has called for a rethink in light of US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Iran. Trump should reconsider his ultimatum in the Strait of Hormuz conflict and spare the civilian infrastructure in attacks on the Islamic leadership in Iran, Pahlavi demanded on Platform
Pahlavi appealed to Trump to continue to specifically attack the structures of Islamic rule – but not the civilian infrastructure that belongs to the Iranian people and is indispensable for the reconstruction of a free Iran. Both Pahlavi and the monarchist opposition in exile have so far largely aligned themselves with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Sunday night (CET), Trump threatened Iran with the destruction of its energy facilities if the country did not open the Strait of Hormuz completely and “without threats” within 48 hours.
The Israeli military expects the fighting against Iran and the Hezbollah militia to continue for weeks. Regarding the heavy hits from Iranian missiles, a military spokesman said that Israel had intercepted more than 90 percent of the incoming missiles, but that the air defense did not offer 100 percent protection. It is currently being investigated why the defense systems were unable to intercept Iranian missiles on Saturday evening.
More than three weeks after the start of the Iran war – and after he rejected participation in the US government’s military actions – Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz exchanged views with US President Donald Trump. “This afternoon I discussed the situation in Iran, Israel and Ukraine with US President Donald Trump. We have agreed to remain in close contact. Our exchange will continue soon,” wrote the Chancellor on the X platform. The federal government did not provide further details.
