Saudi forces down drones, French soldier killed in Iraq
While Iranian media reported that there were new explosions in the capital Tehran, it was reported that Israel was also attacked, and despite the increasing economic fears and the increasing death toll, the conflicts did not show any signs of slowing down.
Oil prices remained above the $100-a-barrel reference point after a record release of crude oil reserves, and the International Energy Agency warned that war could lead to the “largest supply disruption” in the industry’s history.
Also read: Why is Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz?
But US President Donald Trump said defeating Iran’s “evil empire” was more important than crude oil prices; however, his administration lifted some additional restrictions on Russian oil sales in an effort to mitigate the impact.
The conflict, which started on February 28 with the US-Israel killing of Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, quickly spread to the region.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that a French soldier was killed and many soldiers were injured in an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq. Macron did not provide details about the attack or say who was behind it. The French army had previously announced that drones hit a base where soldiers were participating in anti-terrorism training with their Iraqi counterparts.
France said its stance in the Middle East war was “strictly defensive”.
Elsewhere in Iraq, a US refueling plane crashed, but the US military said it was “not due to enemy fire or friendly fire”.
However, the Iranian military claimed in a statement made by state television that an allied group in Iraq shot down the plane with a missile and killed the entire crew.
The KC-135 became at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war in the Middle East, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.
Oil prices rose again
Iran has launched waves of drone and missile attacks against neighboring countries hosting U.S. military assets, including Saudi Arabia, whose defense ministry said Friday its forces had seized a total of 28 UAVs.
Israel also reported new missile attacks by Iran.
On Thursday, Iranian security chief Ali Larijani warned Trump that the war “cannot be won in a few tweets” and that “we will not give up until we make you regret this serious miscalculation.”
Also Read: Cracks in Hezbollah’s loyalist base, devastated by war
His comments came after Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a defiant statement on Sunday, his first since succeeding his father.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in the attack that killed his father, has not appeared in public since his nomination. His message calling for revenge was read by an announcer on state television.
In the statement, it was stated that “the arm of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must be used”, referring to Iran’s effective closure of the waterway through which a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes.
The strait, which normally accounts for a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, is located off the coast of Iran and is just 54 kilometers (34 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
Iran also warned on Thursday that it would “set the region’s oil and gas on fire” if its energy infrastructure and ports were attacked.
Benchmark oil prices have risen 40 to 50 percent since the start of the conflict, with Gulf countries cutting production and oil tankers stranded in the Gulf.
‘We will not leave’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war had “crushed” Iran and Tehran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He said the war was aimed at thwarting nuclear and missile programs as well as “creating conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow this regime.”
In an interview with AFP, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said Tehran had acted only in “self-defense” and wanted to ensure war was not “imposed” again.
He said some “friendly countries” had approached Iran in an attempt to end the conflict, but did not specify which ones.
“We tell them the same thing: we want the ceasefire to be part of the overall formula for a complete end to the war,” he said.
The war disrupted the daily life of Iranians.
A 30-year-old woman living in Kermanshah, western Iran, said that 90 percent of the stores in her city were closed.
“People are desperately trying to withdraw their savings from banks because trust in banks is lost,” he said. “Bread is now rationed. The population is extremely tense and angry.”
The conflict spread to Lebanon; where officials reported 687 deaths in Israeli attacks; At least 12 of them were also involved in Thursday’s attack on Beirut’s coast, where displaced families were camped in tents.
Dalal al-Sayed told AFP he pitched his tent there after fleeing attacks in southern Lebanon. He said his family couldn’t afford to rent an apartment.
‘We won’t go, we will stay here even if we die.’
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that he had ordered troops to “prepare to expand” attacks on Lebanon and that Israeli forces were advancing towards southern Lebanon.
Iran’s health ministry said on March 8 that more than 1,200 people had died in the war; This is a figure that AFP has not been able to independently verify.
Three million people have been displaced by the war in Iran, according to figures released by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Thursday.
Officials said that 14 people have been killed in Israel since the beginning of the Iran war, while 24 people, including 11 civilians and 7 US military personnel, died in attacks in the Gulf.
