West Asia crisis timeline: the key dates from 28 February to 31 March 2026

The current war formally began on 28 February. CENTCOM says that was the date it commenced Operation Epic Fury at the direction of the U.S. president. The IDF’s official pages later described Operation Roaring Lion as a broad joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran.

Within days, the conflict had already widened. On 3 March, OHCHR warned that the situation was worsening by the hour after attacks on Iran, retaliatory action across the region and Hezbollah’s entry into the conflict. On 6 March, UN experts condemned the school strike in Minab and called for an independent investigation.

By 11 March, the economic shock had become undeniable. The IEA announced the largest coordinated stock release in its history, saying Hormuz flows were below 10 per cent of pre-conflict volumes. Two days later, in a Pentagon briefing, Hegseth said more than 15,000 enemy targets had been struck by U.S. and Israeli forces, while Gen. Caine said over 6,000 targets had been attacked by U.S. forces alone in under two weeks; those were official U.S. claims, not neutral tallies.

The second half of March was defined by spread and consolidation. OHCHR warned on 25 March about the impact of Iranian attacks on GCC countries and Jordan. The Secretary-General appointed Jean Arnault the same day. On 27 March, UNICEF said roughly one in five people in Lebanon had been displaced in three weeks. By 30 March, UN experts said close to 2,000 civilians had been killed in Iran according to Iranian authorities. On 30 March too, the IEA launched a tracker for emergency policy responses to the energy shock.