The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.

Maryland man sentenced to more than 3 years for threatening Jewish institutions

The US Justice Department says a Maryland man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for threatening Jewish institutions and organizations.

Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, Maryland, is sentenced to 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $40,000 fine.

In 2024 and 2025, Seferlis sent at least 40 threatening letters and two postcards to more than 25 Jewish institutions, including synagogues, Jewish museums, community centers, schools, nonprofits, and a delicatessen.

The letters, sent via US mail, threatened to destroy buildings and harm individuals, with the intent to intimidate the recipients, the Justice Department says.

Seferlis pleaded guilty to 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs.

No injuries or impacts reported after most recent Iranian missile attack

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it has received no reports of impacts or direct injuries after the latest Iranian missile attack, with medics treating several people hurt while headed for shelters or suffering from acute anxiety.

The IDF says those ordered to take shelter amid the attack can now leave their homes.

Iranian advisers to Iraqi militias said killed in Baghdad strike

A missile strike on a house in Baghdad on Tuesday killed two people, with initial reports suggesting they are “Iranian advisers” to Tehran-backed groups, a security official tells AFP.

Another two sources from Iran-backed factions confirm that a strike hit a house hosting Iranian advisers in the al-Jadiriyah neighborhood, killing at least two people.

Smoke seen rising from US embassy in Baghdad after its attacked with rockets and drones

Rockets and at least five drones were launched at the US embassy in Baghdad early Tuesday from areas around the city, Iraqi security sources say, describing the attack as the most intense since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.

A Reuters witness saw at least three drones heading in the direction of the embassy. The C-RAM air defense system shot down two of them while a third struck inside the embassy compound, from which fire and smoke could be seen rising, the witness says.

IDF says it launched simultaneous ‘extensive’ waves of strikes in Tehran and Beirut

Amid the latest Iranian missile attack on Israel, the military announces that it has launched “extensive” strikes against targets in both Tehran and Beirut.

In the Iranian capital, the IDF says it’s striking “infrastructure of the terror regime,” while in Beirut it’s attacking Hezbollah targets.

The simultaneous attacks come after Iran and Hezbollah have launched a number of concurrent attacks on Israel, which they say have been coordinated.

Fresh Iran missile fire sets off sirens across central Israel

The Israel Defense Forces says Iran has launched a fresh ballistic missile attack toward the country, with sirens sounding in Tel Aviv, other central Israeli communities and some parts of the West Bank.

Rubio asks US diplomats to push allies to blacklist Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah

US President Donald Trump’s administration is urging US diplomats abroad to push allies to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon-based Hezbollah as terrorist groups, citing elevated risk of attack, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters.

The directive, dated March 16 and signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to all US diplomatic and consular posts worldwide. It asks US diplomats to deliver the message to their counterparts “at the highest appropriate level” and no later than March 20, adding that the advocacy efforts to get these groups blacklisted should be coordinated with Israeli counterparts.

The Trump administration is attempting to rally reluctant allies — many of whom were not briefed ahead of the US-Israeli air war that started two weeks ago — to support its military operation.

In one sign of trouble for that effort, several US allies said Monday they had no immediate plans to send ships to help the US unblock the Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing Trump’s plea to keep the vital oil shipping waterway open.

“With the elevated risk of attack from Iran and its partners and proxies, all governments must move expeditiously to diminish the capabilities of Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups from attacking our respective nations and citizens,” one of the talking points in the cable says.

The IRGC is an elite military force whose purpose is to protect Shi’ite Muslim clerical rule in Iran. It controls large parts of Iran’s economy. Both the IRGC and Hezbollah are already designated as terrorist groups by the United States and some other countries.

The cable doesn’t provide details on the elevated risk but cites examples of how Tehran has attacked its neighbors in the Middle East and urges joint action.

“We assess that the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral action, and that joint pressure is more likely to compel behavior change by the regime than unilateral actions alone,” the cable says.

It adds that such designations would increase pressure on the Islamic Republic and limit its ability “to sponsor terror activities” around the world.

“President Trump is focused on securing peace in the Middle East,” a State Department spokesperson says. “The IRGC, Hezbollah, and other Iranian backed proxies destabilize governments and undermine regional peace.”

UAE announces temporary closure of airspace in ‘exceptional precautionary measure’

The United Arab ​Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority announces the temporary and full closure of the country’s airspace, as “an exceptional precautionary measure,” amid rapidly evolving regional security developments, the state news agency reports.

UAE’s defense ministry said earlier it was responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran.

Ex-wife of Michigan synagogue attacker told 911 that he was suicidal

The man who drove his pickup truck into a Detroit-area synagogue was described as suicidal in a 911 phone call to police by his former wife that day, a TV station reports.

The call to Dearborn Heights police came around the same time last Thursday that Ayman Ghazali attacked Temple Israel and its early childhood learning center in West Bloomfield Township, WXYZ-TV reported. The FBI says he exchanged gunfire with a guard and killed himself while inside the vehicle, which also caught fire.

There was no indication in the call that Ghazali’s ex-wife knew that he had targeted the synagogue, roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) from his home.

“I feel like he’s really upset,” she told police, according to WXYZ, which obtained a recording of the 911 call.

She noted that Ghazali, who was a naturalized US citizen, had lost family members during an Israeli airstrike on March 5 in Lebanon. A memorial service was held for them at the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights.

“He’s like suicidal,” Ghazali’s ex-wife told police, later adding that his “voice is not stable. I just want to make sure he’s OK.”

She said she didn’t know if he had weapons. Dearborn Heights police went to Ghazali’s house, but no one was there.

The FBI says Ghazali waited in his vehicle outside the synagogue for two hours before ramming it into the building where dozens of children were inside. No children were hurt.

Israel’s military said Sunday that the man’s brother, Ibrahim Ghazali, who was killed in the recent airstrike, was a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon. The FBI’s Detroit office, which is investigating the synagogue attack, declines to comment on that description.

No injuries reported in latest Iranian missile attack

No injuries are reported in the latest Iranian missile attack on Israel, as the IDF says residents in targeted areas can now leave bomb shelters.

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