Iran Defiant Nearly 3 Weeks Into War, Hitting Oil Facilities Around Gulf

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran defiantly said Friday it would impede the security of its enemies and is still nearly producing missiles Three weeks until US-Israeli attacks Those who killed many of Tehran’s top leaders and damaged its arms and energy industries.

Iran opened fire on Israel Energy fields in neighboring Gulf Arab countries Many people in the region celebrated one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar.

Because so little information came from Iran, it was not clear how much damage Iran’s weapons, nuclear or energy facilities had suffered since the war began on February 28, or even who was who. He was truly in charge of the country.. However, Iran has shown that it is still capable of carrying out attacks that would disrupt oil supplies and put the global economy in trouble. Increasing food and fuel prices Far beyond the Middle East.

The United States and Israel have identified a wide range of goals in the conflict, from hoping to incite an uprising that would overthrow the Iranian leadership to eliminating Iran. nuclear and missile programs. There are no public signs of such an uprising happening, and it is unclear what capabilities Iran has, so it remains unclear how and when the war will end.

US and Israeli leaders say weeks of attacks have decimated Iran’s military. The airstrikes also killed the religious leader, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and one other person. another high-end raft military and political leaders.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Iran’s navy had been sunk and its air force had been disintegrated, adding that its ability to produce ballistic missiles had been eliminated. But the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted on Friday that they were still in production.

“We produce missiles even in war conditions, which is surprising, and there are no particular problems with stockpiling,” spokesman General Ali Mohammad Naeini said in Iran’s state-run IRAN newspaper.

Naeini added that Iran has no intention of ending the war quickly. “These people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted,” he said.

Shortly after the statement was published, Iranian state television said that Naeini was killed in an air strike, emphasizing that the Iranian administration was under great pressure.

The country’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, also made a rare statement, saying that Iran’s enemies should be stripped of their “security”.

Khamenei has not been seen since he succeeded his father, 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war.

After Israel bombed Iran’s huge power plants, Iran increased its attacks on energy facilities in the Gulf Arab countries. South Pars offshore natural gas field at the beginning of the week.

Early Friday, two waves of Iranian drones attacked an oil refinery in Kuwait, causing a fire. The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, which can process approximately 730,000 barrels of oil per day, is one of the largest refineries in the Middle East. It was damaged in another Iranian attack on Thursday.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said a fire broke out when shrapnel from an intercepted bullet fell into a warehouse, and Saudi Arabia reported that several drones targeting the oil-rich Eastern Province were shot down.

Heavy explosions shook Dubai as air defenses blocked fire from entering the city, where people celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile in Iran many were celebrating NowruzIranian New Year – When Israel says it has launched new attacks and explosions are heard over Tehran.

After the Israeli army warned about Iranian missiles, violent explosions were heard in Jerusalem.

In addition to constantly attacking Iran, Israel also regularly strikes Lebanon, targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. On Friday it expanded its attacks into Syria, saying it was hitting infrastructure there in response to what it described as attacks on the Druze minority population in southern Sweida province. Syria’s state-run SANA news agency did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

More than 1,300 people were killed during the war in Iran. Israeli attacks in Lebanon have displaced more than 1 million people and left more than 1,000 dead, according to the Lebanese government. Israel says it has killed more than 500 Hezbollah militants.

15 people lost their lives in an Iranian missile attack in Israel. Four people also died in Iran’s missile attack in the occupied West Bank.

At least 13 US soldiers were killed.

Iran’s attacks on the energy infrastructure in the Gulf, Trouble with shipping inside Strait of HormuzA. strategic waterway This ship, which carries one fifth of the world’s oil and other critical goods, has increased concerns about the global energy crisis.

Brent crude oilThe international standard .

The increase in fuel prices comes at a time when many world leaders are trying to reduce high prices on food and many consumer goods. Asian takes hit the hardest Most of the oil and gas from the Strait of Hormuz is transported there.

But price shock echoes in the world economy. Essential raw materials such as helium, used to make computer chips, and sulfur, a fertilizer raw material, have been blocked and could soon be in short supply, pushing up prices of goods at all stages of the supply chain.

The rises were reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami and Sam Mednick in Jerusalem contributed to this report.