Israel hits Tehran with wave of strikes and warns attacks on Iran ‘will escalate and expand’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel launches a new wave of attacks Attacked and threatened Iran On Friday, he said his attacks would “increase and expand” after US President Donald Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going well and gave Tehran more time to turn on its nuclear weapons. Strait of HormuzBut there is no sign that Iran will back down.
With stock markets are shaking Trump is under increasing pressure from Iran to end its stranglehold on the strait, a strategic waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil is typically transported, as the war’s effects and economic fallout extend far beyond the Middle East.
The United States has offered Iran a 15-point ceasefire proposal that includes giving up control of the strait, but has also ordered thousands more troops into the region, possibly in preparation for a military push to free the waterway from Iran’s tight grip.
With Trump’s deadline for Iran to open the strait expiring and then threatening to destroy Iran’s power plants, he postponed his self-imposed deadline to April 6 on Thursday and said talks to end the conflict were going “very well.” However, Iran maintains that it is not participating in any negotiations.
While the army said it was working to block Iranian missiles, air raid sirens rang in Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran “will pay a heavy and increasing price for this war crime.”
“Despite warnings, the shooting continues,” Katz said. “And therefore attacks against Iran will increase and expand to additional targets and areas that will assist the regime in producing and using weapons against Israeli citizens.”
The Israeli military said Friday’s attack targeted facilities “in the heart of Tehran” that Iran uses to produce ballistic missiles and other weapons. Additionally, missile launchers and storage sites in western Iran were also hit.
Smoke rose in Beirut following the pre-dawn attack, and Lebanon’s Ministry of Health later reported two people dead.
Meanwhile, Iran continued to fire missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors with siren warnings of attacks in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia announced that it shot down both missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles targeting the capital Riyadh.
Kuwait said both the Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port in the north, which is under construction as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, suffered “material damage” in the attacks.
This appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the Gulf Arab countries was attacked in the war. Throughout the conflict, China continued to purchase crude oil from Iran.
After Wall Street’s worst day since the war began, Asian stocks mostly fell on Friday as doubts grow about the chances of de-escalating tensions. Oil prices rose again; Brent crude, the international standard, rose more than 45% to $107 a barrel in morning trade since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the war.
US presses for diplomatic solution but sends more troops to region
Iran’s blocking of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has raised concerns about the global energy crisis and appears to be part of a strategy to force the United States to step back by disrupting the world economy. The Gulf Arab bloc said on Thursday that Iran is now demanding fees to ensure the safe passage of ships through the waterway.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said: Washington had delivered A. 15-point “action list” To Iran for a possible ceasefire using Pakistan as an intermediary. The list includes restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran rejected US offer and put forward its own offer five-point suggestionThis includes reparations and recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Diplomats from many countries are trying to organize a direct meeting between the envoys of the United States and Iran, possibly in Pakistan.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the country’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, had phone calls with his Turkish and Pakistani counterparts the previous day as part of “intensive efforts” to organize the talks.
Abdelatty said he hoped the tripartite nation’s efforts would result in “gradual de-escalation efforts that will ultimately lead to an end to the war.”
As diplomatic efforts continued, a group of US ships approached the area with approximately 2,500 sailors. Also at least 1000 paratroopers 82nd Airborne – trained to land in enemy territory to secure key areas and airfields – they were ordered to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council will hold closed consultations on Iran on Friday, according to two UN diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was not open to the public.
He added that Russia requested a meeting regarding US-Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure in the country, and that the US, which holds the presidency of the Security Council, was planning this.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the humanitarian organisation’s teams in Iran reported that “countless houses, hospitals and schools were damaged or destroyed” and that almost every neighborhood in Tehran was damaged.
“Civilians pay the biggest price for this war; this war must end,” he said in the statement.
The International Organization for Migration said on Friday that 82,000 civilian buildings in Iran have been damaged so far, including hospitals and the homes of 180,000 people.
“If this war continues, we will face a much greater humanitarian disaster,” Egeland said. “Millions of people could be forced to flee across borders, putting huge pressure on an already overstretched region.”
Deaths continue to increase, especially in Iran and Lebanon
The Israeli military said on Thursday it had deployed the 162nd Division to southern Lebanon, joining thousands of troops moved there after the outbreak of war. Israel says the open-ended invasion aims to protect northern border towns from Hezbollah attacks and to dislodge the militant group from the region.
While 18 people lost their lives in Israel, 4 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon. Two Israeli soldiers were seriously injured in an “operational accident” in Lebanon on Friday, the military said.
Officials said more than 1,100 people were killed in Lebanon and more than 1,900 in Iran.
At least 13 American soldiers were killed, with four killed in the occupied West Bank and 20 in Gulf Arab states.
80 security officers were killed in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militia groups clashed.
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The rises were reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Fay Abuelgasim in Cairo, Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sam McNeil in Brussels and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
